


RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Dark, Drama, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Fantasy, Fluff and Smut, Grief/Mourning, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Sad, Smut, Some Humor, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 13:07:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 64
Words: 1,098,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6052726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UGX7/pseuds/UGX7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of Beacon's fall Ruby and what remains of Team JNPR travel to Haven City to avenge their fallen friend, with help from a new, but mysterious friend while Jaune struggles to come to terms with Pyrrha's death and his feelings for her. </p><p>Meanwhile Weiss, wanting to help Ruby, discovers a dark conspiracy in Atlas and fights against with help from other friends. </p><p>Blake aims to take down the White Fang alone and make Adam pay for what he has done.</p><p>Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, her feelings towards her friends and her family, and her mother.</p><p>And Ozpin awakens to find an evil man he thought long dead. </p><p>All the while a man from Cinder's past returns to stop her and Salem's newest pawn rises. </p><p>The fate of these young warriors' battles could decide Remnant's destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Journey's First Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can not wait for Volume 4, that finale was too devastating; I needed to write an epic fic again, like I did for KND with Operation: Stardust over on FF.Net. I don't know how long this one'll be, could be anywhere between 100,000 to 200,000 words and over. It'll be big, dark, funny, adventurous, scary, filled with action and drama. Maybe it'll be even longer than my last big fic. This is in the same universe as my previous Arkos grief oneshot 'I Never Even Told You' think of it as a much bigger, more epic sequel. Fanfiction has become my mental therapy.
> 
> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.

 

In the grand palace that was both terrible and wonderful at the same time, ugly and beautiful, both a ruin and a grand castle, in this place a great evil resided. This great evil was the biggest threat to life in the world of Remnant, all other evil was but mere paltry in comparison to the Mistress of Grimm, Salem.

Salem looked out to her subjects with her piercing red eyes and her face of pure white. She gave off a feeling so oppressive and commanding that all but those who served her would feel terror in their hearts while those who were familiar with her would feel oddly comforted by her gaze.

Cinder Fall bowed down to her master. Salem looked upon her student and smiled with something resembling pride. "You have done very well my dear Cinder. Your handling of our great announcement to the world went over marvelously." She praised.

"Thank you my Master." Cinder said, trying to be modest and calm, but underneath her exterior she had a burning question that needed to be answered.

"The loss of the Wyvern was a disappointment, but there will always be more Grimm." Salem assured her student.

"Master, that girl; Ruby Rose, How did she kill the Wyvern?" Cinder asked, trying to hide her anxiety over what had happened on the top of the tower.

"I have had my eyes on that girl for some time, ever since she attracted the attention of our dear friend Ozpin over there." Salem said, gesturing to where the unconscious man known as Professor Ozpin was chained to the wall until he awakened.

"Yes, but what is she? How did she kill the dragon? How did she nearly defeat me?" Cinder demanded.

"That child is one of the last of the silver eyed people. They are among the great mysteries of Remnant, old legends say they are connected to the great catastrophe that shattered the moon and nearly destroyed our world and they were also responsible for its rebirth. I have seen these silver eyed warriors in action many times and I have personally slain dozens of them. Their eyes give them a special power over the creatures of Grimm, a power even the mighty Wyverns are helpless against."

Cinder could not believe what she was hearing; silver eyes rendered all Grimm helpless? What was that girl?

"She is a threat to us." Cinder stated.

"Yes, but not entirely." Salem said.

"What?" Cinder asked, confused.

"Your actions have created a schism within her team. Her sister's arm has been cut off, driving her into a depression. Her remaining teammates, the Schnee and the Faunus, have been taken and fled respectively. But I have kept my eyes on this child, she determined and not likely to give up. What you did to Pyrrha Nikos has awakened a rage inside of Ruby Rose as well as Nikos' teammates. She will band with them, and they will hunt you down." Salem said.

"Let them come. I will destroy them all." Cinder said defiantly.

"Maybe, but not completely, you took the Nikos girl from them. Taking away loved ones creates avengers; believe me I have put down more than a few in my time. However, some avengers will not stop until their appointed tasks are completed and they believe justice has been served. They think you are in command of our machinations, so they will hunt you, hound you and your followers, and if they do, they will discover my plans. They are but children, I know, but children can make the biggest changes in life. Look at you my disciple," Salem gestured to Cinder, "you were but the 'future guardian' of the Aura Crystal when I found you."

Cinder cringed. She rarely thought about her old home, her family, her heritage, the destiny that Salem had saved her from. "And with the proper training I made you into my greatest apprentice, my burning messenger, my Fall Maiden." She praised.

"Thank you my Master, without you I'd be the silly girl in that old temple wishing for a better life, but you have given me a grander purpose and for that I will always be in your debt." Cinder said.

"I know my child. Tell me, when you were disguised as one of the student teams you became acquainted with Ruby Rose and her team did you not?" Salem questioned.

"We did." Cinder confirmed.

"Where do they think you are from?" Salem asked.

"Haven." Cinder answered.

"Then that is where they will go. Take your followers, Emerald, Mercury, and that Neo girl. With Beacon out of the way and Vale in chaos the criminal element of the city will not be a priority for now. Roman Torchwick's death was a loss, but a minor one, and he has given us a great tool in the form of his pet. Go to Haven and take control of our operations there and wait for further orders." Salem instructed.

"But Haven means I'll have to put up with..." Cinder began in annoyance.

"I do not care for Damien Ante any more than you my dear, but he and his thugs are necessary pawns for now. You will watch over Dr. Sherizawa as he constructs our new army and give him any assistance her requires." Salem said.

"I assure you Mistress, whatever aid Lady Cinder and her band of orphans can give me is quite minor." Said a calm, thin looking man with slicked back hair. This man was Dr. Toma Sherizawa, a scientist that Salem had recruited to help her with technological experiments as well as her biological ones.

"I agree with the doctor, I think my powers will be needed on the front lines." Cinder objected.

Salem smiled and shook her head. "No my disciple, the Arc boy and Ruby Rose both had good looks at you. You will be the most wanted person in all of Remnant, especially since the military and the hunters now suspect that you are the grand master behind the Vytal tragedy. I cannot have my Fall Maiden fall to the lowly hunters. Therefore you shall lay in wait and stay hidden until the time is right." Salem instructed.

Cinder nodded, not fully wanting to go along with her Master's plans, but understanding the need for subterfuge, but she also felt frustrated, because with her newly whole Fall Maiden powers she felt as though she could destroy an entire legion of Huntsmen and Huntresses without much effort.

"Doctor, tell me about the progress on our mechanical army." Salem instructed the thin scientist.

"Well, all is going as planned. Thanks to the information, schematics, and data that Cinder and your spies have collected I will be able to make our army a grand one. While they will be similar in design to Atlas' robots, they will be improved; thicker armor, better weaponry, and most importantly our enemies will not be able to turn them against us like we did with Atlas' drones." The doctor said, allowing a small sign of pride to shine through his stoic face.

"Excellent. That is all for now, go to Haven and await further orders." Salem said. Both of her followers bowed, turned and made for the exit from Salem's open throne room.

Cinder stopped before she reached and door and turned to ask her Master one last question. "What if Rose and Nikos' team find me?" she asked.

"Kill Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, but bring Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc to me. They have parts to play in this story." Salem answered simply. Cinder would have asked why she should spare the pathetic Arc child, but knew better than to ask too many questions, so she left her Master.

After Cinder left Salem brought up a hologram of a dark looking man. "Victor, are you happy with your new subject?" she asked.

"Oh yes Mistress, she is perfect for the fourth Grimm Commander." The man, Victor Giger promised the Mistress of Grimm.

"Good, start her conditioning as soon as possible. And Victor, have her bond with the Wyverns." Salem said.

"As you command." Giger said obediently, looking a bit excited at the prospect.

"Also, how goes your Chimera?" Salem asked.

"It goes wonderfully." Giger said proudly as the hologram deactivated.

Salem then turned to another holographic generator as she brought up another figure. "You placed it within him?" she asked.

"Yes Mistress, the fool doesn't even suspect a thing." The figure assured her.

"Wonderful, now is the time for subtlety, after the Vytal Tournament, the people have lost faith in Atlas' military and we can use that fear and paranoia to manipulate and control the populace and with us manipulating a man of his standing into our hands, the world will fall into an even greater pit of chaos and fear. The politics will do half the work for us." Salem said.

"I need to go Mistress, they cannot suspect me."

"Go then my soldier, keep up the facade." Salem permitted him.

Salem then turned to her guards that held Ozpin in place. "Take him to the infirmary and keep him in place until he shows signs of awakening, then have the doctors alert me once he begins to stir." She ordered. The guards both said "Yes Mistress." In unison and dragged the comatose Ozpin away.

Salem sat on her throne, smiled with satisfaction and said "I told you we'd destroy you Ozpin, but I can't destroy you, not yet anyway. Although I can destroy the ones you love and trust."

* * *

Cinder followed Sherizawa out to a large courtyard where her own students, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai waited for her, joined by the mysterious quiet girl known as Neopolitan, or just Neo for short.

She saw Emerald looking down to concrete ground, her hands shaking somewhat. "Emerald, are you alright?" she asked. Emerald's head shot up.

"I'm fine. Just thinking." Emerald said.

"You regret what we did at Vale, don't you?" Cinder asked, causing Mercury to glance at Emerald suspiciously.

"A little. I... I wonder did we really have to cause the deaths of so many people?" Emerald asked.

"You knew what our mission would cause. Why do you regret it now?" Cinder asked, "Because she gets the basic concept of chaos and murder, but when it comes to the act she chickens out." Mercury taunted.

Emerald jumped up and held her twin gun-sickles and pointed them at Mercury's smug face. "Go ahead Mercury. Push it one more inch." She dared him.

"One jump and a well placed kick and your neck is broken in a second flat." He said to her, his smirk growing.

"Enough." Cinder said, her tone was not angry but loud and commanding enough to get them apart from each other. She looked at Emerald and said "Dear Emerald, the world must change, the world must no longer tolerate the suffering people like you two had to go through. With Salem in charge she can make sure it never happens again. The road to a perfect world is hard but the rewards are very satisfying." She promised her student, affectionately rubbing her cheek.

Emerald nodded and said "I understand."

"Good." Cinder said in return.

"What now?" Mercury asked. "My Master has instructed us to go to Haven with Dr. Sherizawa and help oversee the construction of the new mechanical army." Cinder explained.

"You gotta be kidding me." Mercury muttered.

"She has ordered us to lay low for the time being. Our actions at the Vytal Festival have made us criminals wanted by the Atlas Military, every Huntsman and Huntress in Remnant, every law enforcement office on the planet, and a plethora of bounty hunters. So we should stay hidden until the time is right." Cinder explained.

"What about Team RWBY and what's left of JNPR? We told them we came from Haven, so if they come after us for revenge that's literally the first place they'll look for us." Emerald pointed out.

"I am aware of that, and so is my Master. She wants us to capture both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc if they come after us." Cinder elaborated.

"Arc? That moron? I get taking Ruby but what the hell does the all powerful Mistress of Grimm want with a failure like Arc?" Mercury asked, dumbfounded.

"We shall wait and see. Ours is not to ask why, but to do and, if necessary, die." Cinder said.

"Well that's encouraging." Mercury snarked.

"Neo, order Roman's gangs to head to Haven and to wait for us, once there we will put them under the control of Damien Ante." Cinder said. Neo looked as if she wanted to protest, but said nothing as usual.

"Damien? That idiot? I think I'm beginning to miss Torchwick." Emerald said. "I know, but as I said Emerald, the road is hard." Cinder agreed as she led them to the airship.

* * *

Weiss Schnee sat on her bed in her nightgown, feeling miserable. She was back home at the Schnee mansion, safe in her room, but she would give up her family's legacy and fortune just to be back with the amazing trio of girls who had changed her life; Ruby Rose, the absentminded, powerful, goofy, wonderful, clumsy, funny, cheerful girl who had proved herself worthy of leading Weiss into battle. Blake Belladonna, the quiet and mysterious girl who had taught her that Faunus weren't bad and that humanity, her family chief among them, was responsible for many injustices against her kind and made Weiss determined to change that and be a better person. And finally Yang Xiao Long, the brave, once unstoppable, girl who had shown Weiss what a fun time could be with common people, and how powerful a commoner could be.

But they were gone now, after the battle of Beacon had ended, the dust settled with her friend Pyrrha Nikos, the girl Weiss had once selfishly planned to use for her own ends, dead, Yang's arm being cut off by a monstrous White Fang commander. 'Just another reason for me to hate the White Fang.' Weiss thought to herself. Blake had ran away, why she had done that Weiss didn't know but she suspected Yang's injury had something to do with it.

Weiss felt so helpless. She wanted to stay and help her friends, but her father gave no choice in the matter. Before she was forced to leave however her father did allow her to visit the surviving members of Team JNPR.

Nora, easily excitable, optimistic, kooky, was in the most depressed state Weiss had ever seen her in. Lie Ren, the calm, strong, stoic, Ren who looked after Nora had been forced to speak for her.

And Jaune. Poor stupid, lovable, persevering, Jaune. Weiss had hugged him in his bed, intruding upon the privacy between Jaune and his seven sisters. She felt like that, a hug from the girl he had a crush on would cheer him up, but it did no such thing. He said he was in love with Pyrrah and he didn't fully realize it until it was too late. Weiss, feeling a little hurt that Jaune no longer harbored romantic feelings for her, understood. Pyrrha loved Jaune, that much was obvious, and that Jaune could no longer love anyone else but the girl who died for destiny.

Destiny. Such a stupid thing. If Pyrrha was to die against that crazy Cinder witch then what was her destiny? Was her destiny to continue her family's legacy of cruelty, corruption, and harsh business? Was it to redeem the Schnee name? Was it to be a pampered Princess who tried to be something she wasn't and would never be? And for that matter what was Ruby's destiny? What was Yang's destiny or Blake's destiny or Jaune's destiny or Winter's destiny or anyone's destiny?

Weiss didn't have the answers. No one did.

As Weiss set down to sleep she had two hopes for her future; that Team RWBY would be reunited and that destiny was not set in stone and if it was, she'd chisel it away.

* * *

Winter Schnee walked with her father, Willow Schnee to the control room of the Atlas Military Command Headquarters.

"Is Weiss alright? I didn't get the chance to speak with her." Winter asked her father.

"She'll be fine. She's like you, she'll recover and some day she will understand why I took her away from that mess." Willow Schnee said.

"She wanted to stay with that Ruby girl, didn't she?" Winter guessed.

"Yes. That child has had quite the effect on Weiss." Schnee said.

"I hope the girl's pathetic Uncle doesn't have the same effect on her." Winter muttered as the door to the command room opened.

"I heard that Ice Queen." Said the mocking voice of the new Headmaster of Beacon, Qrow Branwen who was there via video screen.

"I know." Winter said, uncaring.

"Lady, if I was ten years younger I'd actually find you attractive." Qrow said, with that cocky smirk of his.

"Oh please. Like you could handle me." Winter shot back.

"You'd be surprised what I've handled in my life." He said, his eyebrow cocking up.

"Cut the pillow talk you two, we have more important matters to discuss." Ordered General James Ironwood, his half-cyborg body now mended thanks to the technicians under the Atlas Military's employ.

"You're welcome to join in any time Jimmy." Qrow joked.

Ironwood shot him an annoyed, dirty look before continuing. "Our spies, information gatherers, and scouts have made no such progress in locating Ozpin. We've infiltrated White Fang bases, crime syndicates, pirates, but we have found no link to Ozpin or to our priority target Cinder Fall." Ironwood said, before he looked to Qrow, "Any luck on your end?"

"I got my best spies looking as hard as they can. Top to bottom and everywhere in-between, in every back alley, every seedy tavern, every establishment of questionable ethics, old ruins, Grimm infested forests, and under every rock they could turn over. I even had a forensics team scan the vault, try to see if that witch bitch killed Ozpin. No luck so far." Qrow answered.

"And what of said witch?" asked Winter.

"Nothing but rumors and scuttlebutt. Most of the White Fang thugs we managed to capture are too scared of her to speak; they say we can't protect them against her now that she's taken the Fall Maiden's powers. Torchwick's gangs and the criminals connected to them have all gotten out of dodge. I have my spies looking for them, but so far nothing. If anyone knows anything they're probably like the White Fang, too damned scared to talk, and considering what she did right under our noses, turned your tin soldiers against you with the press of a button, murdered a champion like Nikos, and did something to Ozpin I don't blame them." Qrow admitted.

"Damn it." Ironwood muttered.

Willow noticed the distressed looks on both men's faces and decided to intervene "Yes, well things are not all bad gentlemen; my Dust intake from the mines has gone up, the Dust is ready to be weaponized and be to be used to protect the world in your capable hands." Schnee said proudly.

"Yes Mr. Schnee, we know how well your business has been going over. Our contracts are still in place, we will purchase it from you as long as you supply it to us." Ironwoods assured the rich man.

"Yeah, not like a little less military is what we need right now." Qrow remarked.

"What are you saying?! After the disaster at the Vytal Tournament we are needed now more than ever." Ironwood objected.

"Listen Jimmy, after your toys got turned on us, only to be taken down by a bunch of teenagers, the common folk, as Schnee here would call 'em, is scared. They don't fully understand what happened, hell we barely know what went down, I'm not suggesting you cease operations, but be more subtle about it, teach your boys and girls to be more friendly to people. Anyway it's like I said earlier Cinder Fall was right in front of us, we could have stopped her had we the common sense to notice the subtle warnings. I've had some of the schools tech teachers look into the tournament's records; they show signs of being sabotaged. Someone manipulated the pair ups so that my niece fought Mercury Black, so that your android girl went up against Nikos. Security footage also caught Black walking around the arena just before your little robo-girl got sliced." Qrow said.

"This is most troubling. If we did not catch on to their plans as they happened, then how can we catch them now?" Winter asked.

"We'll just have to keep a tighter look out. Increase patrols, put out curfews, tighten security, investigate homes, at this point anyone could be a threat." Ironwood said.

"A wise idea sir." Said one of Ironwood's men, known as Ulysses Cy. Several of Cy's colleagues voice agreement.

"No, bad idea, stupid idea." Qrow objected.

"How so?" asked Schnee.

"Well for starters, the people out there are already wary of the Atlas army, we don't need curfews and patrols to make them even more paranoid. Some people think you're even in league with Cinder Fall, that you told her how the robots turned against us to get to the vault to kill Ozpin." Qrow said.

Winter glared at the man, who was surprisingly sober, a rarity to be sure, so this ridiculous theory couldn't be drunken ramblings. "How could you even say that?!" Winter demanded.

"I know it's not true. Jimmy might be a jackass, but he's no traitor, especially not to Ozpin, but you can't tell that to scared people. People are afraid, you can't really talk sense into them until they calm down." Qrow reasoned.

"Why would they think I'm a traitor? I got shot down, the Atlesian Knights turned against me too, I was forced to shoot my own soldiers." Ironwood pointed out.

"Classic misdirection, because of movies and TV shows some people are becoming more familiar with military tactics." Qrow explained.

Ironwood sighed, there was no denying the hacking of the Atlesian Knights and the Paladins was a blow to both the military's ego and credibility as well as a mighty blow to the faith the people of Remnant had in them. Ironwood knew that Qrow was right and the fear of the populace was not unfounded.

"It will not come to that." Cy objected, "We will not let Atlas subjugate the world and force a police state into effect. That will only give Cinder Fall power that we cannot let her obtain." He finished. There was a small chorus of agreements.

"At least there's someone with sense on Ironwood's elite." Qrow muttered.

"While I do agree with Branwen that we cannot bully the people of Remnant into our rule, I think General Ironwood is right when he says we must remain vigilant." said another one of Ironwoods loyal officers known as Jackson Chamberlain.

"I'm not saying we should let Fall and her cronies do whatever they please, I think we should lay in wait, watch for them, and the moment they set their foots out a door we jump 'em." Qrow said.

"Yes, all well and good except for the fact we don't know where they are." Winter reminded him.

"You are a constant downer." Qrow chuckled.

"Enough. We already have several new battalions of Atlesian Knights, a new model, the 300." Ironwood said, bringing up a hologram of the new model of the robotic soldier. It was the same size as the previous one, but its color was a dull gray, its arms and leg looked to be more flexible, and had built in blasters on the wrist. "The new model will be able to infiltrate enemy bases, get intel, and sneak out without being seen. We've spared no expense on it; new weapons, new camouflage system, new flight tech, new everything." Ironwood said, as he noticed a skeptical look on Qrow's face.

"You sure that's such a good idea?" Qrow asked.

"Yes, we are taking new extreme precautions. It will no longer take orders from a central computer, only a biological leader and even then the only ones who can change orders are those among my chose staff, such as myself, Miss Schnee, Cy, Chamberlain, and hopefully you Qrow if you'll agree to it." Ironwood explained.

"I'll think on it. How soon until their ready to be publicly announced?" Qrow asked.

"Within the week." Ironwood stated.

Qrow sighed, he knew there was no changing Ironwood's mind on this "Just be careful Jimmy. I'll contact you if my spies find anything." Qrow said.

"One last thing before you leave, how is Glynda?" Ironwood asked, trying to keep it casual.

"As well as you can expect. She took it hard, we all did. My niece Ruby woke up the other day in case you were wondering, she didn't take any of it well and before you ask Jimmy don't you dare approach her and recruit her into your special division because of her eyes. Qrow out." And with that Qrow's face, which now had a serious and stern expression on it vanished from the screen.

"I cannot believe Ozpin worked so closely with that drunken fool." Schnee said.

"I had my doubts, still do, but I trust Qrow and I will do my best to earn his trust." Ironwood said.

"On the note of our robotics division, how is progress on the reconstruction of Penny Polendina?" asked Winter.

"We'll have to speak to Joseph in person about it. He didn't take it well." Ironwood said grimly.

"And what of the security increase?" Cy asked.

"Do it for Atlas. At least our own people know we'd never turn on them." Ironwood permitted.

* * *

An old man rubbed the metal head of the destroyed Penny Polendina. "I can rebuild you Penny. I... I promise. You'll never be hurt again. I'm sorry I let them use you like that but I had no choice in the matter. And it's likely they'll take you away again. I failed you my daughter. Forgive me."

* * *

_4 Months Later_

Night had fallen in the woods thirty miles away from the city of Haven, snow covered the ground. It was quiet, birds had flown south for warmth and what little birds that had stayed were sleeping in their nests. Rabbits and other animals of the forest hibernated, so they were blissfully unaware of the four teenagers that trekked through the barren woods with brown, leafless tress surrounded by snow that covered miles of ground.

The young girl in front looked behind her to her fellow new teammates; Lie Ren was behind her, calm and stoic as always. She knew his face hid a mind filled with thoughts about what the future could hold and one that mourned for his fallen friend.

Behind Ren was his partner and best friend Nora Valkyrie. A small smile was on her face, the cold seemingly not bothering her despite wearing shorts. She looked around, admiring the beauty of winter. Despite Nora's constant cheerfulness Ruby could tell there was an inner sadness like Ren as she mourned the late Pyrrha Nikos. Out of the three survivors of the team she hid her grief the best, as Nora's eccentric personality could practically trump anything.

And bringing up the rear, walking slowly behind the other three at his own pace was Jaune Arc, the former leader of the now defunct Team JNPR. He did not bother to hide his grief, his face wore a frown, his eyes looked down, his face somewhat rugged with a small growing beard (a thing no one could see him with prior to him quitting shaving), hair uncombed. He looked up to the girl and front and gave a smile. She smiled back as she knew out of the three surviving members of Team JNPR he had suffered the most from Pyrrha's sacrifice.

After Jaune and Pyrrha had ran so Professor Ozpin could battle Cinder they quickly saw Cinder had defeated the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, whatever had happened to their Headmaster they hoped he was alright, and Pyrrha had revealed her love for the goofy Arc boy by kissing him, and then shoved him into a rocket-locker and launched him off into another part of Vale, so she could go and fight Cinder. Fighting Cinder with her newly acquired Fall Maiden powers was suicide, but the brave, 'invincible' Pyrrha Nikos went to her destiny without any hesitation but a kiss to the boy she loved.

Her sacrifice had driven Jaune into a depression, causing him to feel guilt over it, blaming himself for not realizing her feelings for him until it was too late but he had somewhat bounced back, willing to go out and avenge the girl he loved. His depression was still there, he mourned her, regretted his naiveté that had cost him a potential relationship with the redhead beauty, but he still moved on, he still lived his life and knew his purpose. At least Jaune handled depression better than the lead girl's sister.

As for the girl who led this group, her name was Ruby Rose, the former leader of the now disbanded team RWBY. She had came up with this idea, this personal mission to hunt down Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black and anyone else working with them and bring them to justice. Those three people had caused the deaths of Pyrrha, Ruby's friend Penny Polendina, and over a hundred other innocent people who had been killed by the Grimm that had attacked the city.

Ruby's friends were gone; Blake had ran away, as she had when she had revealed she was once a member of the White Fang. She had asked Yang what had happened, Yang had said some guy from the White Fang had stabbed Blake in the gut and when Yang tried to save her said White Fang thug had severed Yang's arm off from the elbow down. She did not blame Blake at all for running away, who could? Blake had finally found a home, friends, a family only for her past to rip it away and maim Blake's best friend. Ruby knew Blake blamed herself for this, she just wished Blake trusted her more. The loss of Yang's arm had caused Ruby's beloved sister to sink into a depression the likes of which Ruby had never seen her sister in. Yang had been one of Ruby's many inspirations growing up, her strong, brave, beautiful, cocky big sister, always rushing into things, always trying to look on the bright side. However Yang Xiao Long was now nothing more than a broken shell of the woman she once was, sitting in bed for hours on end, only getting up to go to the bathroom, letting their father bring her food and drink. It broke Ruby's heart to see her big sister like that.

Yang was another reason she was going on this mission. Her sister might never snap out of this, so Ruby had to do it for her. And finally Weiss, the girl that Ruby had so desperately tried to befriend their first few months at Beacon. She and the rich Schnee girl had made progress, a lot of it. Weiss was no longer the spoiled, pampered, snooty, prejudiced, stuck up girl that had come to Beacon expecting herself to be treated like royalty by everyone, now she saw herself as equal to almost everyone. Her father had taken her away to their home in Atlas. Ruby understood why her father had done so, any father would do the same, get their daughter to safety as fast as possible. She smiled as she briefly thought about her own father, Taiyang Xiao Long, the man who had lost two wives but carried on regardless, raising two little girls almost entirely alone and no matter what the situation would always give his daughters a smile and tell them everything would be alright. Ruby was going on this mission to prove to her father that he didn't need to make everything right by himself. She and her friends would do it this time.

As they continued walking through the woods, with the only source of light being the shattered moon, Ruby's thoughts strayed to Emerald Sustrai, the illusionist who tricked people into thinking Yang was a mindless brute. She thought of Mercury Black who had cruelly taunted her over tricking Pyrrha into destroying Penny. But the woman her thoughts would often go to was the monster responsible for the deaths of her friends, the woman who was behind this, the monster known as Cinder Fall.

These three, these murderers, were responsible for the deaths of two friends, and possibly an untold amount of people prior to Ruby meeting the evil trio. Earlier, when the three and the forth one, the girl who Ruby had fought on Ironwood's airship, had infiltrated Beacon academy as students in for the Vytal Festival, they told them that they were from Haven Academy, the academy in Haven City, a large and very populated city that Ruby's friends Sun and Neptune of Team SSSN as well as Team ABRN, the team her old team had fought in the Vytal Tournament, had all hailed from.

She had never been there, neither had Ren or Nora, but Jaune had been there once on a family vacation and he described the city as gigantic, metropolitan, by the sea but only with a few sunny beaches while the rest of the border between sea and land was covered with harbors and docks. Large towers that towered above the city and giant factories dotted the sounded bigger than any city Ruby had ever been to, but that failed to impede her determination. Cities were just cities, they could be big or small but it was the people of that city that mattered, and if those buildings contained the people they were after, then they mattered. It would be hard and tedious looking through such a gigantic metropolis, but Ruby hoped and prayed that it would be worth it.

Ruby felt her legs ache; it had been three hours since their last break so her legs naturally begged for rest, plus the night and the falling temperature signaled the need for the night's camp.

"I think we should stop for the night." She said to the other three, making them stop in their tracks.

"Fine by me." Jaune said simply.

"Eh, I could go for some on my butt or on my back time." Nora admitted, kneeling down and rubbing her sore knee.

"I could use a rest as well." Ren added.

Ruby nodded, they were all in agreement. "Ren, scout around for a suitable camping sight." She said. Ren nodded and walked off into the woods. Nora and Jaune sat down, taking a load off their tired legs.

"How much further to Haven?" asked Nora.

Jaune took out Pyrrha's scroll, which Pyrrha's parents had allowed him to keep. He checked a map on the device and said "About thirty, maybe twenty-nine miles. We'll make it by tomorrow." He said, feeling a sense of relief.

Nora leaned down and picked up a wad of snow. "Anyone up for a snowball fight until Ren gets back?" she asked.

"I'll pass." Jaune said, "Besides, you'd cream me." He added.

"You better believe it." Nora teased; she then looked to Ruby for her answer.

"Sorry Nora, I'm way too tired, maybe in the morning on our way to Haven." Ruby said. She knew that Nora was trying to cheer them us, it was a talent for her. Ruby remembered that Blake suggested Nora's overly cheerful persona hid something very sad underneath, but she kept up her silly antics to cheer up everyone as well as herself.

Ren walked through the snowy forest and breathed in and out. Despite hours of silent contemplation, well it would have been silent if not for the interruptions of Nora, he didn't really know if this mission would truly succeed or not. They could be captured by the Haven police and sent back home to Vale, or even find nothing and this entire expedition would be pointless.

But Ruby and Jaune and Nora seemed to believe they'd find something, and that was enough for him.

Lie Ren was always a follower, when he was young he always followed his parents instructions, and when they were killed in a horrible Grimm attack caused by that... thing, he had been hidden safely and left a helpless child, but he hadn't been alone. In that dark hiding place, he found another hidden child, the girl who would go on to his best friend and partner; Nora Valkyrie. He used his own Semblance to hide them from the monsters outside and they stayed together, sitting in the rubble of the village for several days until they were found by a rescue group and when they took them to their camp the two discovered that their parents were indeed dead, and so they decided that they would stick together for as long as they could, they had both lost their families, so they would start a new family, just the two of them.

It had been Nora's idea, and when she proposed the simple idea to him, asking if he wanted to stick with he, he had decided to stay and joined the energetic redhead. They had been together ever since, with her making most of the big decisions for them, but he would occasionally have to jump in and talk her out of something when it was particularly dangerous or crazy.

Ren did not mind the life of a follower, but he knew occasionally he'd have to make decisions of his own. This quest was one of them. He wasn't doing it because someone told him to go; he was doing this because he wanted to go. For his friend Pyrrha.

Just then he heard something that sent a chill down his spine; a scream from nearby, one that was not any of his teammates. The scream was male, and he knew Jaune's screams and this wasn't one of them. He ran forward, looking to find the source of the scream.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long sat in her bed looking out the window. She watched as the night wind occasionally carried snow off the roof, but that was all.

She stayed in isolation, alone in her room. No Blake, she had run off because she was too damn guilty and sorry for herself. 'Just like you are.' Her subconscience told her. Yang ignored it. No Weiss, too pampered, too much of a daddy's girl to try and fight anymore. 'Look who's talkin'.' Her inner self snapped at her. Again, she ignored it.

And worse of all no Ruby. She had run off as well with Jaune, Ren, and Nora on some idiotic crusade to avenge Pyrrha and Penny. Going out into the dark and dangerous winter to bring the new Fall Maiden to justice. Stupid kid. She'll get herself killed. 'Your little sister, is alone in the world. She's trying to save Remnant, you should get up and go after her, join her, help her bring down that witch and her lackeys.' Her inner self said to her. Yang continued to ignore her urges, the burning urge to get up, put on one of her gauntlets again, and go out and fight with Ruby and her friends, and bring that bitch down.

Instead she sat in her bed, wallowing in self pity. She hated it. She hated Blake for running, she hated Weiss for leaving with her dad, she hated Ruby for going on a impossible mission, she hated her dad for nursing her too much, she hated Pyrrha for stupidly sacrificing herself, she hated Ozpin for allowing this to happen, she hated Jaune for being too weak to do anything, she hated Nora for that cheery attitude that she wanted to have again, she hated Ren for just going with the flow, she hated Ironwood for letting his army get turned against him, but there were five people she hated in particular; Mercury for making her look like a thug, Emerald for fooling everyone with that illusion, Cinder for manipulating everyone and murdering Pyrrha, that White Fang scumbag that stabbed Blake and had taken her arm from her, rendering her helpless in this damned bed in this damned room.

She hated her mother for abandoning her twice. 'You left me alone as a kid, you broke dad's heart. The only good things to come from you leaving were Summer, a better mom that you'll ever be, and Ruby. Why didn't you help us at Beacon? You saved me on the train from the girl with the umbrella, why couldn't you help when I really needed you?' "You dumb bitch!" she said aloud, gritting her teeth and digging her nails on her remaining hand into her palm.

The last person Yang hated so much was herself. She hated herself for losing to that White Fang asshole, hated herself for being so angry at everyone, hated herself for letting Ruby and the others go alone, hated herself for being so useless, hated herself for just laying in her bed all day, hated herself for being so pathetic, hated herself because she was no longer the boisterous, pun and fun loving, take the world head on come what may girl she used to be. She was now just a hollow shell.

She looked down besides her bed and saw her dog Zwei. She reached down with her remaining arm and gently rubbed the spot behind his ear that he always loved to be rubbed. He quietly barked, a gentle and happy bark. She smiled, something she had done a total of three times since that night in Beacon. "Sometimes Zwei I feel like it's just you and me." She said sadly.

She heard the door creak as it opened and she looked to see her father, Taiyang come in with her scroll. "Yang, honey, a friend is calling you." He said.

"Is it Jaune? Or Ren? Or Nora?" she asked, daring to hope for news on Ruby.

"No, it's someone called Sun, says he knows you." Her dad said as he placed the scroll in her hand.

"Sun?" she asked, curious as to why her former friend's boyfriend would be calling her. She looked at the scroll and said "Hey Sun." in a melancholic voice.

"Hey Yang, you doing any better?" he asked, hopefully.

"Not really. Still the same as the last four months." She answered sadly.

"Aw man, you gotta snap out of it! Blake said that you could..."

"Well Blake's gone. She ran off like the coward she is." Yang snapped angrily.

"Don't say that about her! She'd never abandon you or anyone for no reason! There had to be a good reason why she left without telling any of you guys or me where she'd go." Sun tried to reason.

"I don't care Sun. She left, that's that. She can go and do whatever she wants." Yang said bitterly.

"I can't believe you'd say that! She never had anything bad to say about you, aside from the puns, she said you were her best friend! She loved you Yang!" Sun argued.

"Not enough! It's her fault I'm like this! Bound to this stupid room all day without my fucking arm!" Yang yelled at him. "

"Yang, please calm down." Her father pleaded as Zwei backed up to the door.

"It's not her fault! It was that White Fang bastard that did this to you, not Blake! Yang, hear me out okay, I'm gonna try to find Yang, find out what's going on with her and if I need to, help her out with whatever she needs to do. Please Yang, I need your help." Sun begged, sounding desperate.

"No." Yang said sternly.

"Come on Yang! She deserves another chance! And you can't let yourself rot away like this! Come with me, please!" Sun begged again.

"No, I'm not going to help the bitch that left me. If you find her, tell her Yang said 'fuck you.'" Yang said, her eyes glowing with rage, shocking her father with her harsh words.

Sun sounded like he was holding back tears. "Yeah? Well fuck you too!" he shouted as he shut off his own scroll.

Yang threw her scroll to the ground and broke down crying. She pounded the bed with her only fist, tears pouring out of her eyes.

Her father sat down on the bed, grabbed his daughter and pulled her into a strong hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Yang began to chant as she buried her head in her father's chest.

"I'm sorry too Yang. I wasn't a good enough dad. I never was." He said as he cried with his daughter.

Yang cried for Blake, for Sun, for Ruby, for Pyrrha, for Jaune, for Penny, for her dad, and for who she used to be.

Taiyang cried for the broken daughter he held in his arms, for his brave younger daughter that was off on a journey to avenge her friends and save the world, for his love Summer Rose who had died, for his first love Raven Branwen who had left him. He cried for his broken, scattered family.

Zwei came back in, jumped on the bed, and cuddled up next to Yang to comfort her.

* * *

"Yeah? Well fuck you too!" Sun shouted as he cut off the call. He tightened his grip on his scroll as he tucked it into his pocket. He ran over to the wall and punched it, hard enough to shatter the plaster wall.

"You'll get in trouble for that." Said his teammate and best friend Neptune Vasilias. Sun glared at Neptune before looking down to the ground in defeat.

"I'll cover it with a poster so Sage and Scarlet won't bitch at me." He said miserably.

"Didn't go too well did it?" Neptune asked.

"What was your first clue?" Sun snapped.

"She won't help you will she?" Neptune guessed.

"Got it in one." Sun answered dryly.

Neptune sighed, sat on his bed and said to Sun "Take it easy on Yang. She's been through a lot. What that creep did to her was horrible and Blake leaving was salt in the wound. It takes a lot to turn someone like Yang into a broken shell." Neptune said, remembering Yang's constant bravado at Junior's Club or at the Vytal Tournament.

"Blake said Yang was her best friend. That team was the family she hadn't had in years! How can Yang just give up on her like that?!" Sun cried in frustration, his tail swinging furiously.

"Loss does a lot to us man. We all have our ways of dealing with it. This is Yang's way. Let her go." Neptune advised, trying not to provoke his Faunus friend.

Sun lay down on his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

"You really do love Blake, don't you?" Neptune said, knowing what Sun's answer would be.

Sun raised his head up from his pillow and said "I remember the first time I saw take off her bow in the streets. How miserable she looked, how sad and tired of running she was. I wanted to help her, I needed to help her. Those eyes man, they were just so haunting. It's cheesy, I know, but I knew then and there that I needed to help her. I love her man." Sun finished.

"And your going to go out into the world and look for her, with or without help, aren't you?" Neptune asked.

Sun nodded, "I don't care if you report me, I don't care if you try to stop me. I'm going to find her and help her. I will never abandon her. I'll take on the entire White Fang on alone if I have to, but I will find her." Sun vowed.

Neptune shook his head and said "You won't do it alone. I'm going with you."

Sun looked at his friend and smiled. He walked across the small dorm room and hugged his best friend. "Thanks bro." he said.

"Don't mention it. Thick and thin, rain or shine, we'll do it together." Neptune promised.

Sun smiled and said "Now the hard part will be to find out where she is and to find out who that White Fang shithead was."

"The other hard part will be to convince Scarlet and Sage to go along with us." Neptune added.

"Even if they don't, it'll be the two of us." Sun said to his guy he was proud to call his best friend.

Sun looked out to the night sky and promised "I'll find you Blake."

* * *

Blake Belladonna watched from afar as Glynda Goodwitch, Bartholomew Oobleck, Peter Port, and the other teachers and some the senior students of the once grand Beacon Academy slaughtered the Grimm that now tried to invade the ruins of the school and the capital city that surrounded it.

She watched as Port blasted the head off of a Beowulf, as Oobleck impaled a Deathstalker's head, as all of the teachers and students encircled Goodwitch as she used ever ounce of her power to repair the once great city of Vale. Blake knew it wouldn't be enough. The fallout of the disaster had caused so much fear and grief that the Grimm were stronger than she had ever seen them.

Blake had been in hiding, out of shame, out of guilt, out of fear. She just needed to get away. She had been moving about the Kingdom of Vale for the last four months, killing the occasional Grimm, helping the stragglers out of danger, and would secretly return to the capital to help out every now and then but she knew this was not enough to undo what had been done. What she had done.

It was her fault. Her fault Adam had allied with Cinder, her fault Yang's arm had been cut off, and her fault Team RWBY was no more. It was her fault Adam had taken control of the White Fang; she thought things weren't getting done. Humans still held prejudice against innocent Faunus, Faunus children were still bullied and tormented for their animal traits, humanity needed to be taught a lesson.

But Blake had realized that it was herself that needed to learn, and she had learned at a great cost, she had learned that Faunus and humans could both be just as bad as one another.

What Adam had done to the once peaceful White Fang was monstrous, turning its agents into killers, banishing and exiling, even executing any who spoke against him.

She remembered that day when that mysterious woman came and offered Adam assistance if he allied with her. That was the morning of the train robbery, the last time the two former lovers had fought as one. It was then she realized that Adam wasn't going to change. She abandoned him and that drove him over the edge, it turned him to the woman Blake now realized was Cinder Fall. It had made Adam into the monster he was now. The monster Blake wanted nothing more than to hunt down and make him pay for what he did to Yang. She couldn't face Yang, or Ruby, or Weiss, or Jaune, or Sun, or anyone. Blake had never felt so helpless in her entire life.

She watched as the teachers and students worked together, successfully fending off the Grimm together.

'Teachers and students.' Blake thought to herself. An idea popped into her head and she now knew what she had to do. She jumped to another building behind her and began running to the city's exit with precision and grace. She needed to get to him.

A man she had not seen in over two years was the only what who could help her now. She needed to go to the man who founded the White Fang, the man who she once looked to as a father figure, the one she had helped Adam overthrow as the leader of the White Fang; Claudandus.

* * *

Qrow sighed as he listened to Goodwitch's report on the situation. Over two hundred and eighty-six grim had been killed today by the combined efforts of teachers and the few senior students that were allowed to stay and help. Repairs to the city were coming along slowly but surely and they would take months to get the city presentable again, even with her powers.

Qrow shook his head and said "I am way too sober for this shit."

"Stay sober, until we locate Ozpin you're stuck here as our new leader." Glynda scolded.

"Trust me, I'd like nothing more than to find Ozpin and for everything to go back to the status quo, but things aren't that easy." Qrow shot back.

"How are your nieces?" Glynda asked, ever the good teacher.

"Yang's still in a rut. Ruby's still out there with the Arc kid and what's left of his team. I'd send someone to find them and bring 'em back, but we're too busy looking for Ozpin and that witch bitch that fancies herself a Maiden." Qrow said. He had lied about Ruby, he knew where they were and where they were going, but he knew that his silver-eyed niece was their best chance at stopping Cinder Fall and her mysterious master.

"I wish I could do more Branwen. I feel so damn helpless!" Glynda said, breaking her normally calm exterior.

"We all do." Qrow said in agreement with her.

Glynda looked down and said "It's our fault. It's our fault that Pyrrha Nikos is dead, our fault that Ozpin is gone... if we had paid more attention. If we had been faster, stronger, better..."

"We'd only delay the inevitable. There's nothing we can do to stop it for now, until we fully understand what the hell we're dealing with we can't do anything. I know we gave the girl a death sentence when we chose her as the new Fall Maiden, I know Ozpin is God knows where, but I know that for now we can only wait for the right time." Qrow said.

There was a silence between the two teachers.

"You know, you can be quite profound and wise when you not drunk." Glynda said, and with that she walked out of his office.

Qrow heard his scroll beep and he answered it. "Hey Taiyang, Blondie doing any better?" he asked his brother-in-law.

"No." the blonde man answered sadly.

Qrow sighed once again and said "Well that's to be expected. And before you ask; no, there is still no word on Ruby."

Taiyang's face darkened and he answered with "I feel like a failure Qrow."

"You aren't a failure man, you did your damn best to raise these girls, I think Yang will snap out of it in time. As for Ruby, well she's Ruby. She's like her mom, the unstoppable girl with silver eyes. They'll be fine Taiyang, I promise." He said to the worried man.

"I hope so Qrow, I can only hope for now." Taiyang said as he hung up.

Qrow felt sorry for his former teammate, but knew there was only one thing that could get everything back to normal. He activated another communications line on his scroll and said to the person who answered him "Get back here, we need to talk."

* * *

Voices. He heard voices. "He's waking up! Go get Mistress Salem!"

Salem? What...? Ozpin could not process the thought as he slipped back into sleep.

* * *

**_The young man and a few dozen other people were surrounded by Grimm of all kinds in that hellish pit. "Help us! Please somebody! Get us out of here!" a young girl yelled before a duo of Beowolves slammed her into the cliff wall so hard they broke her neck, ending her life instantly._ **

**_The young man witnessed it, he screamed in terror as he blasted the beasts with his weapon; he turned around to blast away another Beowulf before it could pounce on him. He heard a middle aged man scream as Blood Lusts, Grimm Leeches, began to tear him apart limb by limb, feasting on his blood. "Hoyt!" the young man yelled in horror at the sight of the man's bloody demise._ **

**_The young man looked up and saw a friend of his climbing up the rocky cliffside. "Rex! No! It's too dangerous! Get down!" he called to his fellow young soldier, but it was too late, as the claw of a crab-like Grimm punched out of a small, thin cave opening, grabbed Rex and pulled him inside, snapping his spine in two like a twig to do so._ **

**_He heard sudden screams be silenced by gunshots. He turned around to see the only officer left had begun shooting his own people, putting them out of their misery and giving them merciful deaths. "What are you doing?! Stop!" the young man cried, before the officer brought the revolver to his forehead and pulled the trigger._ **

**_The young man fell to his knees and screamed in terror and woe as chaos reigned supreme around him._ **

**_Then there was a light._ **

* * *

Ren found the source of the screams, a tent in the middle of the woods, in what was the perfect camping ground for the location.

Ren drew out a flashlight, as well one of the StormFlowers and made sure they were ready, just in case.

He ran towards then tents opening flap and ripped it open and shone the light on a man who had just woken up.

The man had dirty grayish-black hair, appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, his body was covered with sweat and his eyes were wide with terror.

He looked at Ren and demanded to know "Who the hell are you?"

"My apologies sir, you were screaming and I thought someone was in trouble. My name is Lie Ren." Ren answered calmly, putting away his weapon.

"Sorry to scare you. Just having a nightmare, old ghosts." The man apologized in return.

Ren heard footsteps in the snow, he turned to see him team, with Nora in front naturally, running towards him. "Ren! Are you okay?!" Nora cried as she ran forward and hugged him with a crushing bear hug.

"I'm fine! I need some air though!" he managed to gasp out.

Nora dropped her partner, blushing, and said "Sorry!"

Ruby looked to the adult coming out of the tent, wearing a gray hoodie to protect himself form the cold.

"What are four teenagers doing out in the woods at this hour?" he asked.

"We're on a mission." Ruby said vaguely.

The man looked at Ruby and said "I know who you are, yeah; you're that girl they've been talking about. I've been hearing all kinds of rumors." He said, recognizing her face from a news report on TV.

"People are talking about me?" Ruby asked, confused. She knew that people had been shocked by her somehow killing the Wyvern, but rumors about her?

"Who are you?" Jaune asked suspiciously. The man looked to Jaune; before he answered him he paused and looked Jaune in the eye, but continued on.

"Name's Ashe. Now how about introductions all around? I know two of you are Ruby Rose and Lie Ren, but who're the other two?" Ashe asked.

"My name is Jaune Arc." Jaune said, wondering why the man had looked at him like that.

"And I'm Nora Valkyrie! Pleased to meet you!" Nora said, shaking the stranger's hand.

The man, now known to the group as Ashe, chuckled at Nora's forwardness.

"So what are you doing out here?" Jaune asked,

"You kids are on a mission, I'm looking for a mission. I'm on my way to Haven to find my sister. Haven't seen her since our parents died." He explained.

"Why are you looking for a mission?" Ruby asked.

Ashe smiled at the young girl and said "Purpose. Something I've been lacking for five years."

"You said you were going to Haven to find you sister. What else do you need for a purpose?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry, my life has no consistency so neither does my mind." Ashe joked.

"May we camp here with you for the night? It's the best ground I can see for it." Ren stated.

"Of course you can. I don't own the forest. Besides, it would be nice to have some company for once." He agreed.

And with that the four teenagers were able to get up both tents, one for girls and the other for buys, in no time with the help of Ashe.

And with that all of them went to sleep, feeling safe with this new, strange man. Ren did, however, sleep with his weapon under his pillow just in case.

* * *

Ozpin woke up. He felt terrible. Thoughts slammed through his mind instantly. Cinder Fall attacking, Amber's dead, Jaune and Pyrrha run off to get help, fighting Cinder, he gets slammed into a wall, a sharp pain in his lower back, a feeling of numbness... then nothing. What had happened? Had Cinder won? Where was he? Not a medical station or an infirmary that was for sure. The ceiling was dark and made up of gray, decaying bricks.

He tried to move, but realized his movement was impeded by chains. "Not good." The man muttered to himself.

"Oh Ozpin, you don't know the half of it." Said a voice that Ozpin had not heard in a long time and one he never expected to hear from again outside of his nightmares.

His upper body forced itself up and he looked to the other end of the small, damp cell. An older man, matted and ratty white hair with dead, haunting looking blue eyes, skin so pale it was obvious this man had not seem natural light in decades, a beard that went down to his chest, and a body that had multiple old scars was tied to chains as Ozpin was, although his own chains were longer and gave him room to move while his cellmate's chains were short and restricted most movement.

Ozpin knew why this man's movements were to be restricted. This man was a killer, a cannibal, a psychopath, a monster.

"William Ozpin, the one who got away." Said the man.

"Norvik the Hunter." Ozpin hissed out in horror and disgust.

"Surprised to see me? After all, you did shoot me in the back and throw me off that bridge, and that was what? Forty years ago? Forty-five?"

"Forty-four." Ozpin answered.

"That long? How the time doesn't fly when you're locked in a cell." Norvik joked.

"How are you still alive you monster?" Ozpin demanded.

"Salem, the Master. She saved me from a watery grave. Even then she knew what a threat you'd be Ozpin and who better for her to recruit against you that the man who murdered your entire team?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interested? EDIT: I know this opening chapter isn't very good, but I promise you it gets better, I just needed time to improve, so I hope you'll keep reading. Please.


	2. Alone in the Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 2 of this story, things get to be a bit more driven here and we meet new characters, and by that I mean one good character and a lot of villains.  
> I'm also foregoing the 'color name' rule of Ruby's as I think it'd hold me back a bit but Ashe does follow it with a gray and black color scheme. 
> 
> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.

  _ **Ashe held the woman he loved in his arms as she gave out her dying breath, the dagger he had just pulled from her heart lay on the ground with her blood pooling around it.**_

" _ **Please Mila! You can't die! I stayed for you! You... you gave me a life again." He sobbed as he held her dying body.**_

_**The woman with pitch black hair reached up and rubbed his face lovingly "I'm sorry Ashe, I have to go." She said as her eyes began to glaze over.** _

_**"No! Please! I love you!" Ashe begged.** _

_**"And I love you." Mila said as her soul left the world of Remnant and ascended to a better place.** _

_**The townspeople had gathered around and watched in sorrow and horror as the pretty girl who ran the bookshop died in her lover's arms.** _

_**The man who killed Mila watched the scene, nursing a wound she gave him before he killed her. "Such a brave young girl. Pity she had to fall in love with a wannabe hero like you Ashe."** _

_**Ashe leaped up towards Mila's murderer with pure, unyielding, animalistic rage.** _

Ashe jolted up from his sleeping bag and let out a small growl of anger. That damned kid, Jaune, he had the same look in his eyes that he had when Mila died. He shook his head and thought 'Shouldn't blame the kid, not his fault.'

He got up and stripped off his hoodie and replaced it with his normal outerwear, a robe of a priest that he had sliced open down the middle to look like a trench coat. He placed two keepsakes he kept around his neck; his mother's whistle and the wedding ring he had proposed to Mila with and went outside to see if his younger companions were awake.

One of them was.

He saw Jaune Arc sitting by a frozen creek nearby, with his scroll out watching a video of some pretty redhead girl that Ashe felt looked familiar. He listened closely and he heard what she was saying.

"Hello Jaune. If you're watching this, then something bad must have happened. Jaune if I haven't told you already then I should tell you now. Professor Ozpin has selected me to become a 'fall maiden', I don't fully understand it but apparently if I say yes I will be granted enormous power. The thing is I don't want more power. I feel that I'm powerful enough and I'm an idol to thousands, even though I never really wanted to be one. I feel like taking this power would make me some kind of religious figure and I'm... I'm afraid of what would happen. I'd gain followers, zealots, but I'd lose you and Ren and Nora and Team RWBY and all the friends I've made since I began attending Beacon. Truth be told Jaune, you were the first person in a long time to see me for me, and not Pyrrha Nikos the champion, Pyrrha Nikos the prodigy, or something like that. You just saw another girl. It was after what we went through in the Emerald Forest, what happened with Winchester that I realized... I love you Jaune. I love you Jaune and I hope you return the feeling. I mean not a lot of people will do what you did at the dance. Jaune, I don't know what the future holds, if I'll take the maiden's powers or not, but I know that no matter what, nothing will change two facts about us. One; you are stronger, smarter, and braver than you know or believe, and two is that I love you." The video stopped playing and Jaune let out a sob that was all too familiar to Ashe, a sob of regret, loneliness, self loathing, and most of all mourning the one you loved.

Ashe silently made his way down to Jaune and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. Jaune's head snapped back and looked at the man he had only met last night, giving him a sympathetic and understanding look.

"I've been there kid. I'm sorry a guy as young as you had to come to this point in life so early." Ashe said as he sat down next to Jaune.

They sat in silence for several minutes until Ashe asked "Who was she? She looks familiar."

"She was my partner, Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune answered sadly.

"The Champion of Sanctum? Oh yeah, I did hear she was killed in that attack at Beacon." Ashe said, understanding more and more. He asked "You loved each other, didn't you?"

Jaune was silent for a moment, he didn't really want to tell any of this to a stranger, but he was hurting in a way that made him want to pour his heart out to anyone that was willing to listen.

"She loved me, but I didn't realize it or realized that I loved her until it was too late. I was too stupid, too dense to notice her. Too caught up with pining after Weiss Schnee to notice just how... perfect Pyrrha was." Jaune said, tears coming out of his eyes.

"Ouch." Muttered Ashe, visibly wincing.

"What did you mean 'you've been there' anyway?" Jaune asked the older man. "Why do you even care?"

"I'm still here, kid. You're sure as hell not the only one who has lost a lover." Ashe said, a bit annoyed at Jaune's attitude.

Jaune sighed and said "Can you... tell me about it?"

"Why should I tell some random kid I met last night about things personal to me?"

"So I can learn to cope." Jaune answered quietly.

Ashe looked at the blond and saw sadness, guilt, and a slimmer of self-loathing in his eyes. It was a look he had seen many times when he looked in a mirror.

"Okay, I'll give you the basics. Five years ago the woman I loved was taken from me. I had taken up defending her village, we fell in love, I went up against this insane drug lord that had been trying to take the town over, I got captured and tortured, she came to my rescue but at the cost of her own life. She died in my arms." Ashe said to the younger man.

"What happened after that?" Jaune asked.

"I killed the drug lord. Our battle afterwards got so heated, so intense, so filled of hate that it attracted a horde of Grimm. I threw him off a cliff and they took him to hell. After that I left the town, wandered around taking job after job, been miserable ever since." Ashe finished.

"H-how did you learn to come to terms with it?" Jaune inquired.

"I didn't really. I guess I've gotten used to the pain. You're new to it. Maybe this'll help you out a bit." Ashe said gently, but he sounded a bit off, like he wasn't used to acting this gentle. "The pain is horrible at first, but as time goes by it dulls, but it still hurts, and the more you think about the person you lost, the more it hurts. You want it to stop hurting, that's why you told me your story, you think if you share your pain with someone else it might diminish, because you desperately want the pain to end... but you loved them too much for it to end. The pain just stopping would mean you didn't love that person anymore, and even if you accept their death, losing them still hurts no matter what.

"I know what you mean. I miss her so much and it hurts to think about her, and how different things could have been if I wasn't so stupid. I wanted to punish myself for my stupidity, so I made a promise I'd never love another woman but her. No matter how beautiful or how much I want it, my heart and body will only be for Pyrrha." Jaune said.

"That's very admirable of you. I made the same promise. It was hard, I've seen plenty of beautiful women, gorgeous bodies, but I always think of Mila's eyes, her smile, the times we made love and I can't bring myself to look at another woman that way." Ash said.

"I never made love with her; we only kissed once... she kissed me before she shoved me into a locker and then went off to die in a pointless fight. I'm still a virgin, but I don't care. I won't love anyone but Pyrrha. I'll die a virgin, but it's worth it for her." Jaune said.

"Kid, wherever she is right now, she knows she made the right choice when she fell in love with you." Ashe assured him.

"I don't think she did." Jaune said, tears brimming from his eyes, and with that. he began to break down. "I'm a weakling, I lied and cheated my way into Beacon, she had to unlock my Aura, she trained me, she helped me get stronger but it wasn't enough. She couldn't even help me discover my Semblance! I was never strong enough to help her. She shoved me into a rocket-locker because she knew I'd get in the way. I'd only slow her down."

Jaune wondered to himself why he was pouring his heart out for this stranger, telling him something that only Pyrrha and Cardin had known, but he was hurting. He had hurt long enough, and was willing to share his pain with anyone willing to listen.

"That's not it! It sounds more like this girl wanted to protect you." Ashe argued.

"I was too weak! No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much we trained I was never good enough. I was the worst in my team and somehow I was the leader. I let her down, I wasn't strong enough to help her, not even strong enough to get out of the locker... I... I don't know." Jaune said miserably.

"Don't know what?" Ashe asked.

"What to do! Or where to go! I always had Pyrrha; she was with me, that's how I knew how to lead. But now she's gone because of how pathetic I am. I mean, look at me! Here I am telling you, a total stranger, everything! What kind of sense does that make?! I'm... I'm just so lost and messed up... and everything is just... I don't even know how to describe it, it's just painful..." Jaune confessed, tears brimming in his eyes before he forced them down to finish. "All I want now is to take revenge on the monster who took her from us but I'm afraid I'll become something just as bad if I give into my hate. She loved me, and I failed her completely."

"I failed my Mila too. Sometimes when it's quiet I think about what if I had been stronger, what if I recovered from my beating quicker, fast enough to stop that bastard from stabbing her? Maybe we'd have gotten married like we were supposed to. Maybe I would have died. Maybe we both would have died. But the thing is I lived and she didn't. I hate it, but I have to live with it. You never really get over losing the woman you love. You cry enough tears to fill a hundred storms, you have enough bad dreams to break your mind, but you have to keep going for her. She wouldn't want you to give up. We can't bring 'em back. I've looked into time travel and resurrection, the former is impossible and the second can go horribly wrong. We go on, we mourn them, we miss them every single day, we live our lives with our friends and family. We try our best to persist in life. One day we'll die, and if we play our cards right, they'll be there waiting for us, still as beautiful as we remember them." Ashe said, tears now welling up in his eyes as he remembered his own love that was taken from him.

Jaune was utterly shocked. This stranger he had just met seemed to handle the situation and give him better advice and more comforting words that worked for him than anyone he knew, with the exception of Jaune's eldest sister Bianca who had lost her fiancé in a car accident before they married. Bianca had helped Jaune cope with his loss, teaching him how wrong it was to lock away tomorrow and wallow in misery, it was one of the reasons he was on this quest. And yet this man had been through the exact same thing that Jaune had, losing the girl who loved you because you weren't strong enough. Ashe had just said the right words.

Jaune rubbed the tears out of his eyes and said "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ashe said in return.

"Yeah, we owe you one." Said the voice of Ruby, which caused the two to turn around and see her standing above them atop the embankment.

"How much did you hear?" Jaune asked. Ruby winked at her friend through teary eyes and answered "When you started to spout out that nonsense about how weak you are."

Ashe chuckled; something in his gut told him to stay with these kids.

* * *

It was morning in Haven Academy, Scarlet David and Sage Ayana sat on one side of the room looking across the room at their teammates Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias as if they were out of their minds.

"Have you gone daft?! There is no way we can do it! We don't even have the slightest idea of where to begin looking for her!" Scarlet pointed out.

"And chances are we'll have to go up against the White Fang, something I'm not really eager to do." Sage added.

"I know it sounds hard guys, hell it may be impossible, but I gotta try." Sun said. "I've looked up lists of missing people, I've asked Headmaster Argo for info, I even called Goodwitch, but it's not enough! We need to take matters into our own hands!"

Scarlet and Sage looked at one another, then to Neptune. "And you're going along with this?" Sage asked the blue haired boy. Neptune nodded,

"Finding Blake may set things right. I think we all know how important Team RWBY is. Maybe if we help them get back together, things might go back to normal." Neptune reasoned.

"That's nonsense. Getting those four girls back won't bring back Pyrrha Nikos, or all the innocent people the Grimm killed at Beacon." Sage pointed out.

"We know that, it's shitty yeah, but we can sure as hell avenge those people and working with Team RWBY is the main way to bring this 'Cinder Fall' down." Sun argued.

"You really want to help save the world? Or is this about Blake?" Scarlet asked.

Sun sighed, "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it." he admitted.

"I am not gonna get myself killed just so you can get back with your girlfriend, I don't care if you are my leader, it's way too risky." Sage said defiantly.

"It's okay man, if you don't want to come you don't have to come. What about you Scarlet?" Sun asked.

The redhead boy stood up and said "I'll go."

"What?" asked Sage.

"You will?" asked Neptune, equally confused.

"Yes! Thank you pirate boy!" cheered Sun.

"Why?! You know how hopeless this is!" Sage argued.

"Yeah, but that's never really stopped us before. It looked like we were gonna be killed by all those Grimm and robots at Beacon and yet we made it out. Ruby took down that airship and saved us, we owe her." Scarlet said.

Sage sighed and said "This is insane. Completely, utterly hopeless. And yet I'm not letting you three have all the fun."

"Yes! I promise you guys you won't regret it!" Sun vowed as began to bro-fist all of them.

"The idea is all well and good, but do you have the slightest idea of how we should start our search?" Scarlet asked.

"The White Fang, obviously." Neptune stated.

"He's right. Blake used to be a member of the White Fang until its new leader twisted it into what it's been for the last few years. We find one of the White Fang bases in Haven, make 'em talk, we find out who their leader is, we find out who was the one to lead their assault on Beacon, we find out who cut off Yang's arm, we kick his ass, present it to Blake and Yang on a silver platter, badda-bing badda-boom they'll make steps to getting back together." Sun said.

"The White Fang have been in hiding ever since Beacon fell, how are we gonna find one of them, let alone an entire base?" Sage asked.

"Haven's a big city. We all know how bad the criminal element has gotten; chances are someone will know how to get in touch with the White Fang." Sun said confidently.

* * *

Ozpin and his old enemy Norvik the Hunter had sat in silence for several hours. Ozpin had been trying to wrap his head around how it was possible for this murderer to be alive, but he knew that Salem had powers he didn't fully understand.

When he next saw Salem they would have much to discuss.

"I still hear from your team occasionally. I hear all the voices of the ones I have killed. The voices rarely ever stop. I remember them all so well, they scream, they cry, they accuse, and they ask me one question very often; 'why?'." Norvik said, smiling as he knew he was getting to Ozpin.

"Why did you do it? Murder dozens of young Huntsmen and Huntresses? We could never figure out your motive." Ozpin said with his curiosity only matched by his hatred for this man.

"The Grimm needed to be avenged. Grimm may have killed thousands of Hunters but you and your kind Ozpin have slaughtered millions of theirs and you continue to do so to this day. When I was young, whenever I saw a Grimm they would never attack me. They would attack others around me, but they always left me alone. I once saw a Huntsman slaughter an entire pack of Beowolves with such ferocity and force that I knew this was a sign, a sign that I must help them. Protect Grimm from Hunters no matter the cost. So I decided the best way was to kill Hunters before they graduated, before they could become the threats to the creatures of Grimm that they longed to be so much."

Ozpin shot up and got as close to Norvik as he could, which was surprisingly very close given the chains. "The Grimm are mindless beasts, you are barley any different from them, at least they had their animalistic instinct, you however are just insane." Ozpin spat out.

"Am I William? I suppose from the point of view of the normal person I am, but to the Master Salem I am an inspiration! Saving her children, hunting those who hunt her kind, she now sees me as one of her own." Norvik said his eyes wide with pride.

"And yet she has kept you down here for decades. Why is that? Could it have something to do with the fact that you are an unstable, psychotic, murderer?" Ozpin prodded sarcastically.

"Well, my survival wouldn't exactly be a surprise if she let me walk around, now would it?" Norvik asked.

Ozpin glared at this man, the man he failed to stop in time. The man who murdered his team, Team WZRD, this man killed all of them because Ozpin hadn't been strong enough.

Ozpin sat down and remembered his teammates; Zachery Shimmer, the brave and cocky muscle of the team. Rouge Batton, the beautiful, lonely girl that Ozpin had been in a relationship with before this manic took her from this world. And Daisy Harrison, a girl who was stuck up but had learned to be a better person because of her team. The only reason Ozpin had gotten away was because Norvik always saved the team leaders for last. That was a mistake. It allowed William Ozpin to escape, get help and hunt this sick freak down before he could claim another life.

They had battled on an old railway viaduct. Ozpin fought the murderer with sheer brute force and strength driven by anger. He had shot Norvk in the back with a policeman's shotgun, then in a fit of blind rage Ozpin had thrown the man off the viaduct and into the raging river below.

Apparently his enemy Salem, the Mistress of Grimm and the greatest threat to Remnant had been watching, had foreseen her future war with Ozpin and had saved this madman to spite him.

Ozpin had never gotten over the deaths of his teammates and had always wondered what if he had saved them. He remembered their memorial service where Rouge's father had told him outright "It should have been you." And Ozpin never disagreed with the older man.

"Did Rouge sing?" Norvik asked. Ozpin glared at him, because Rouge did sing. She sang beautifully, but never in front of people. Her family and Ozpin had been the only ones she had ever shared it with as she was too shy to sing in front of crowds.

"I ask this because I have heard a singing in my head and it sounds remarkably like her. Would you care to hear it?" Norvik asked cryptically.

"What do you mean? If it's in your head how can I..." Ozpin was stopped by a beautiful singing voice coming out of the old man across from him. A voice he hadn't heard in forty-four years. The voice of the woman he loved, singing a song she made for him.

" _Light a Candle, stay the night_

_Love me and our hearts will write_

_A never..."_

Norvik was unable to continue singing as Ozpin's fist hit his face and slammed his head into the brick wall, knocking him out cold.

Ozpin slumped back onto his cot and did something he had not done in two decades. He wept.

* * *

In the woods Ruby and the surviving members of Team JNPR began to pack up, ready to continue their journey and arrive at Haven by nightfall. Ashe had packed his things up as well, watching them as they worked.

Ren had noticed something while Ashe was packing: a small two foot long, one foot wide case as well as a sword and several guns. This combined with Ashe's attire of a gray shirt, gray trousers, and the priest robe that had been transformed into a trench coat made him suspicious. Ashe did not strike him as a preacher and the weapons were a definitely an odd sight for a man with a priest's robe to have.

After several long hours of walking Ren finally asked "Are you a holy man?"

"Me? Gods no. Got this robe from a friend, kept it as a memento after he died." Ashe explained. Ren nodded understandingly.

A little after that, as they traveled out of the forest and into farmland Ashe questioned them, "So, what are you kids up to really? After all you've been through and after what Ruby here did to a Wyvern I'd think you'd be in the employ of the Atlas Military."

The four teens looked at one another. "I think we can trust him to an extent." Jaune said to the other three.

"If Jaune trusts you then so do I. We're on our way to Haven to try and find Cinder Fall, the one who killed Pyrrha and another friend of mine. We're going to find her, stop whatever she's doing, take away the powers she's stolen and finally bring her to justice." Ruby answered confidently.

Ashe whistled, impressed. "You four kids are going to take down the new Fall Maiden and save the world. Mind if I join you?" he asked.

The four teens were taken aback by this. This man they had only known for a few hours wanted to help them take down Cinder?

"I'm sorry, but this is a personal quest." Ruby said.

"Wait a minute, we should think about this." Jaune objected, wanting to give the man a chance. "After all, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"A valid point Jaune, but this man has no stake in this." Ren pointed out.

"The hell I don't! It's my world too; I deserve the chance to help save it." Ashe objected.

"Fair point." Ren relented.

As they kept walking Ruby asked, "Jaune, why are you so eager to give this guy a chance?"

"Ashe said some things to me this morning, things that... put Pyrrha's death in perspective for me. I can't bring her back, but I can avenge her and I say the more help we have with that the better." Jaune said.

"I don't mind, he seems like a good guy." Nora agreed optimistically.

"That remains to be seen. What is your profession Ashe?" Ren asked, "You say you are not a holy man, and when you were packing I got a glimpse at some weapons. Are you a Huntsman?"

"Kinda." Ashe said with a shrug.

"Kinda? What does that mean? Either you are a Huntsman or you're not." Ruby pointed out.

Ashe chuckled again and said "Things aren't that black and white kid. I am a Guerrilla Huntsman."

"You hunt gorillas?" asked Nora, clueless.

Ren facepalmed and corrected her. "No Nora, it means he is an illegal Hunter. Some people who desire to become Hunters are rejected by the Academies so they join illegal Grimm fighting operations and they are not officially recognized by any government. Some villages use them because they are cheaper and at times they can respond faster and often they have no home or loyalty to any particular kingdom. Sometimes they even stay in a village they protect, but most towns use the official Huntsmen and Huntresses who graduate from Academies like we would have." He finished explaining.

"He's right, I'm not an official Huntsman, but I'm about as good as one." Ashe confirmed.

After a few moments of silence Ruby asked "Why weren't you accepted into an academy?"

"I wasn't in one when I was young. I was homeschooled by my parents, they taught me enough about Aura and fighting to get by, even though I didn't have my family's Semblance. My parents were dead by the time I applied to get into an Academy, and back then they didn't take in orphans like they do now, but I was desperate, I needed a purpose so I sought out a Guerrilla Operation. They trained me to be better at fighting and with weapons. I've been one of those wandering Hunters ever since, on and off. I've taken up the odd job here and there when I get depressed and try to quit being a Hunter. I tried to be a guard on a train, tried to be a merchant, but the life of a Hunter always called me back." Ashe explained.

The four kids looked at him. "I don't think we need to totally trust him for now, but I say he can come." Jaune said.

"Me too!" Nora agreed, but Ren was not convinced.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. What do you think Ruby?" he asked.

Ruby looked at her three teammates. Her vote would either make it a tie or would decide if Ashe joined them.

"Have you ever been to Haven?" she asked.

"Yes, about a dozen times. I know the city well enough and I know how to get around it without being noticed, and if this Cinder woman is there she'll be on the look out for you if she's really as smart as she seems to be, and considering what she did to Beacon she must be pretty damn smart. I can help you kids. Let me help you guys make a difference." Ashe pleaded.

"What about your sister?" Ruby asked.

"Let's make a deal, I help you guys take down Cinder and save the world and after the dust has settled you help me find my sister. Deal?" Ashe asked.

Ruby pondered for a minute and then she gave him a bright smile and said "Deal." She said putting out her hand in friendship. Ashe accepted without a second thought.

"Alright! Let's get going! Oh and Ruby, now that we're all rested up... snowball fight!" Nora cheered as she pulled a snowball out of nowhere and hit Ashe right in the head.

"Ow! No fair, surprise attack! I didn't even know this was a thing!" Ashe laughed as he ducked down.

"You get used to her. Somewhat." Ren called to him.

Ruby laughed as she ran ahead with Jaune to get away from Nora's barrage of snowballs, a little game to cheer them up wouldn't hurt along the way.

* * *

In another woods, far away on the other side of Mistral, Blake ran as fast as she could to get to the cabin where her destination lay. She had decided to take a page out of Sun's book and stowaway on the cargo freighter that was making a quick trip to Mistral where Blake needed to go to get in contact with the founder of the White Fang.

She was tired, she could barely stand, she was chilled to the bone as the coat she wore didn't give her much protection from the elements, her legs were aching, and her ears were twitching at every sound in the forest. But she carried on into the woods; she wasn't going to give up this time.

She finally saw it, a small three room cabin in the middle of the woods. She hoped he was still there.

She ran to the door as fast as her legs could carry her through the heavy snow and she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" the voice of an old man called from inside.

"Claudandus it's me! Blake! Let me in!" she cried. She pressed her head against the door and she heard the sound of locks quickly being unlocked and she held herself up as the door opened to reveal an old Cat Faunus in his seventies. Old brown and black ears, one of which was torn from a fight years ago, folded down in sorrow to see his former student in this shape.

"Blake! Thank god you're alright! When I heard about Beacon I feared the worst." He said as she walked inside.

The elderly Faunus shut the door as Blake stripped her coat off and let it drop to the floor. "I've been making my way here for the past twelve hours, I am exhausted." She said weakly.

"I bet you are, it would usually take two or three days to make a trip like that and you did in half a day." Claudandus said, impressed.

"Claudandus, I'm so tired. I'm tired of running away from everything, tired of the White Fang, I'm tired of..." she ranted, getting angry before Claudandus reached around her and hugged her. "... I'm tired of being such a failure." She said.

"You are not a failure. You never were and you never will be." The old man said as he guided the young woman into the bedroom.

"It was Adam, he... he hurt my friend... he's working with someone called Cinder Fall, I..."

"Hush child. Sleep, we will discuss the situation when you are rested." He said as she sat down on the bed and laid back, laying her head upon a soft pillow and she went to sleep immediately.

Claudandus exited the room, closed the door behind him and muttered aloud "Damn you Adam."

* * *

In the grand city of Haven a meeting was being held in a medium sized business building. The meeting was to determine the situation and where the power of the criminal element of the city would be placed.

A crime boss known as Milo the Jazzman sat across from the city's reigning crime lord Damien Ante and two of the eight freaks that had allied themselves to him. Damien Ante himself was a dark-skinned, thin man with dreadlocks and piercing brown eyes. He was quite intelligent, you had to be to get where he was now, but you wouldn't have known that from his immature and chaotic personality. On his torso he wore two bandoliers that were not loaded with bullets, but with daggers.

On his right stood one his chief enforcers; Lao, a man who was an expert swordsman and explosives operator with a calm and confident aura about him, his two professions often left scars and wounds but he had none visible on him. To the left was another enforcer known as Trooper, a former Lieutenant in the Atlesian army until he was dishonorably discharged for accidentally causing the death of an underling, after that he turned to the life of a mercenary until he was hired by Damien Ante and had remained as one of Ante's top men ever since.

Jazzman would have felt nervous were it not for the ten bodyguards behind him and the ten on each side of the long table that safeguarded him from any thing these nuts might try on him.

Damien smirked and asked "So what do you say Jazzman? Are you in or are you out?"

Jazzman glared at the man that sat at the other end of the long table and shook his head. "I'm sorry Damien, the answer's still no. Five years ago I would have gladly thrown in with you, but that was before you became so fond of killing and surrounded yourself with these freaks of yours." He said gesturing to the two men flanking him.

"Come on Jazzy, you're the only boss in the city that's not with our program and still alive. You have severely limited options." Damien pointed out.

"That may be, but I'll take my chances. I'd rather have my current pay than the scraps you feed the others." Jazzman said.

"And that's your final answer?" Damien asked.

"Yes." Jazzman said firmly.

Damien smirked and said "Okay then, let's get this over with!" and with that Trooper held up his rifle and Lao drew out his katana.

"Aim to kill." Jazzman ordered his guards as they pulled out their guns.

Damien laughed and clapped his hands. Suddenly a sniper shot burst through the window, catching one of the rear bodyguards in the back of the head. "What the...?!" one of the bodyguards cried out before another bullet caught him in the head.

The battle began as Lao began slashing guards on the right side apart with his katana, cutting guns in two and slitting throats wide open. Trooper made quick work of the left side guards with his rifle, blasting them down with a satisfied look on his face.

Jazzman ducked down and began to crawl his way under the table to get to the other side. He heard eight more sniper shots as his remaining eight rear guards dropped dead.

Across the street in an old apartment another one of Damien's enforcers, a marksman known as Merrick, made sure he had gotten all his targets, grinned and muttered "Ten for ten."

In the meeting room Jazzman ran out from underneath the table and into the hallway, seemingly ignored by Damien and his hired killers as they finished off his remaining guards. He heard gunshots downstairs, his men screaming. No doubt Damien's other thugs were going to work wiping out his men.

He ran down the hall to the emergency elevator which he saw open. Inside were six or seven of his guards. "Boys! Thank god! We gotta get out of here before that..." he was cut off by a bullet hitting him in the shoulder and knocking flat on his back.

He forced his head to look up, wincing as the wound in his shoulder began to spread pain all throughout his body. What had just three seconds ago been a team of his men was now a pile of corpses and one living being, another one of Damien's freaks known as Zane Zhan, a tall and thin man with the Semblance of illusion, his head was bald except for a goatee and he wore a pair of black sunglasses. "Going somewhere?" he asked mockingly as he pointed his heavy caliber handgun at him. Jazzman seethed in pain as he wondered why his Aura wasn't healing him.

"You son of a bitch! I..."

"Should've taken me up on my deal, Jazzman." Said Damien as he, Trooper, and Lao approached him. Jazzman forced himself to stand up as the four surrounded him and backed him up against the wall. "The alliance only works if everyone's in, and if you ain't in, then you're an enemy, and an enemy is on the 'to kill' list." Damien explained condescendingly, as if he was speaking to a child.

"You'll never get away with it Damien! I know you're working for somebody! You aren't worth shit to them! Whatever these people you're working for are up to, they'll fail, and when they do they'll drag you down with 'em!" Jazzman shouted.

"You know what? You could be right. But then again you could be wrong. Either way, your final answer sealed your fate old buddy." Damien said as he took out a dagger.

He threw the dagger into Jazzman's chest. The fallen crime boss screamed out in pain as he realized what was coming. "Take a step back boys, this gets messy." Damien said as he began to walk away and take out a detonator and he pressed the button.

Blood, viscera, and body parts exploded all over the hallway.

The four men soon arrived down stairs where three more of Damien's top enforcers stood in front of a crowd of over fifty of Jazzman's men all of them on their knees. These three were Little Steve, a massive man armed with a minigun similar to that used by Coco Adel but instead of coming out of a purse his was contained within a duffle bag.

Tom-Tom was the second of the three men, a kid who raised himself on the streets vowing to become a force to be reckoned with and with help from Damien he had achieved that goal and was now a feared man on the streets of Haven, he stood with a smarmy grin on his face, armed with a shotgun that turned into a mallet.

The seventh of Damien's men was a deformed man known only as Fireball; he had once been a Huntsman whose preferred weapon was a flamethrower, until a skirmish with some Ursa had caused his flamethrower to explode and engulf his body, giving him third degree burns all over. He had been forced to quit the life of a Huntsman, but he didn't quit a life of fighting as he was soon discovered by Damien and given a purpose again.

What was left of Jazzman's men were terrified of what was next as they didn't know if these psychos would spare them or kill them.

Damien cleared his throat and began to speak. "Okay people, Jazzman is no longer in charge of this operation, he has retired and by retired I mean I blew him the hell up! Anyone of you idiots who doesn't pledge their loyalty to me right now will suffer a similar fate. Anyone who doesn't want in just stand up." Damien ordered.

There was silence for several seconds before eight of Jazzman's men stood up defiantly.

"Loyalty." Damien muttered as he shook his head.

All of his men opened fire on those who stood up, ripping them to shreds.

As the gunshots and screams died down Damien made another announcement. "Okay! You all work for me now! Go out and spread the word! Jazzman's turf is my turf! What he owned I own! Like that painting over there." He said, pointing to a painting of a forest by a lake, "I don't like it, Fireball if you will..."

"Sure thing boss." Fireball said in a raspy voice. He pressed a button on his flamethrower and pulled the trigger, sending a single ball of fire at the painting, destroying it.

"You see? What I don't like I destroy, so you better work damn hard to make sure I like you." Damien threatened. The remaining men all looked at them in terror before Damien yelled "Now get out and spread the word!"

They wisely followed his orders and left the building.

"Good job boys." Damien congratulated his men.

"Kinda bittersweet, Jazzman was last big boss in town aside from you, now we'll have to go back to our regular crap." Whined Tom-Tom.

A door to the side opened and a man wearing a black jumpsuit came out of what appeared to be the entrance to the basement. "You were right boss; Jazzman was the one who pulled off the hijacking of the weapons cache. It's all down there, all hundred boxes as well as a surplus. Looks like he was preparing for a war." The man reported. He was known simply as Douglas, Damien's eighth enforcer as well as his tech and weapons expert.

"Well I love a good gang war as much as the next guy, but I don't want Cinder getting on my back..."

"Oh don't worry Damien, I'm not on your back, not yet anyway." Said a familiar and seductive voice.

The group of trained killers looked at the beautiful, yet incredibly intimidating sight of Cinder Fall, flanked by Mercury and Emerald.

"What does she want?" asked Little Steve nervously.

"Calm down big guy, I'll handle her." Damien said as he grinned at Cinder. "Well if it isn't the new Fall Maiden! Bow down boys!" he said, doing a mock 'we are not worthy' pose.

"Spare me your sycophancy. We need to talk." Cinder said, getting to the point as fast as possible.

"Why now? You've been in town for the last few months and haven't graced us with your presence until now and the fact that you've been sending Robo-Legs and the pickpocket here to do business so far makes me wonder why you're out and about." Damien pointed out.

"Some things are just that important. Tell your men to go outside and wait." She said.

The enforcers all looked to their employer and he nodded. They walked around Cinder and left the building. "Mercury, Emerald, go outside and wait with them." Cinder ordered. The two teenagers exited the building without hesitation.

Cinder used her Maiden powers to bring over a table and two chairs from the side of the main hall and place them right in the center. She and Damien sat down and got to business.

"With Jazzman taken out we now have control over all of the major crime syndicates in Haven, hell even the small time ones are under our control." He reported.

"That is wonderful Damien, you have done well." Cinder said, trying her best not to praise him too much.

"So what's up with the seclusion? You rarely ever sent your kids to do direct business before Beacon." He questioned.

"I am the most wanted person in all of Remnant; I will have to lay low until the time is right." Cinder explained.

"Or until Salem tells you other wise." Damien stated.

Cinder clenched her fist and nodded. This man had caught Salem's attention when he managed to find out about her existence via a spy device on one of Cinder's former colleagues that had pulled off a hijacking of Dust in Haven. While Salem's failed disciple paid for the security breach with his life it did get her interested in the cunning man known as Damien Ante. He had made a deal with her, that if she helped him takeover all criminal operations in Haven then he would make sure her operations in the factories weren't noticed by authorities. Cinder despised the man for his callous and childish behavior but she agreed with her Master in the Damien was a necessary annoyance for now.

"Have you seen them?" Cinder asked.

"No, I've had my men keep their eyes open for the kids you described. I haven't seen hide nor hair of 'em, but I'll keep you updated." Damien said as he then remembered their find.

"Jazzman had the weapons cache and earlier today we liberated a warehouse filled with Dust containers. My men will have them delivered to your factories by midnight tonight thanks to the new manpower I have courtesy of all of Haven's crime bosses both dead and alive as well as my old buddy the late Roman Torchwick." He said.

"Good, the Grimm Knights need a test run." Cinder said, referring to the robot army that was still in production.

"How many Grimm Knights so far?" Damien asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Twelve thousand units here and another eight thousand in our plant in Vacuo." Cinder revealed.

Damien grinned, "It's coming isn't it? I know Salem has been playing a long game for a long time, but it's entering its final phases, isn't it?"

Cinder leaned in as she used her Maiden powers to grab one of the dead bodies, she held its head up and said "In two years the seventh millennium will be upon us. It will be then when my Master makes her grand strike, the political situation between the four kingdoms will be so unstable that they won't stand a chance against us. No one, not Ozpin, not the Atlas Military, and no Hunters will be able to stand in our way." Cinder said as she reduced the head to nothing but a charred skull with her flame powers.

"All of them will fall."

* * *

Outside in the empty street, an oddity for the middle of the day in a big city like Haven, Tom-Tom looked anxious, ready for Cinder to do anything. "I don't trust that lady. Or you two for that matter!" he said pointing to Emerald and Mercury.

"Well we don't trust you; at least we have that in common." Emerald shot at him. She looked to Merrick who was joining them from the building from across the street.

"Everything go according to plan?" he asked.

"Yes." Little Steve said simply. Merrick took notice of Emerald and Mercury.

"Hm, Cinder's here. That's unusual."

"The lady who killed the Champion of Sanctum, the one almost single handedly responsible for what happened over at Vale, the new Fall Maiden is right inside talking with our boss. Unusual doesn't describe the situation well enough." Tom-Tom cried.

"I agree with Tom-Tom, I don't like working with these people, it doesn't feel good." Little Steve agreed.

"Okay, seriously! Tom-Tom? Little Steve?! Fireball?! What the hell is up with you guys' names?! You sound like you belong on a freaking pirate ship." Mercury ranted.

"Says the kid with peg legs." Shot Douglas, getting a laugh out his fellow enforcers. Mercury growled and began to spew a barrage of vulgar insults at the middle aged man.

Emerald shook her head in embarrassment, and then she noticed Zhan approaching her.

"You are an illusionist, aren't you?" Zhan asked as he leaned against the brick wall of the building. Emerald's eyes shot open and she quickly asked

"How did you..."

"What happened at the Vytal Tournament with the Xiao Long girl, that was you, wasn't it?" he asked.

Emerald nodded, "It was a very good illusion, you show promise. I can see why Cinder picked you." Zhan said to her.

Just then the doors of the building opened and Cinder and Damien walked out before the fight between Mercury and Douglas could turn physical.

"Pleasure doing business with you Damien." Cinder lied.

"Anytime my Maiden, anytime." Damien said.

Cinder and her two students walked away down the street as Damien and his men watched as they departed.

Damien smirked and said "I tell you boys, she's terrifying and can probably incinerate me with just a flick of her finger, but she gives me a raging boner."

All of his men looked at him in disgust. "And they say we got issues." Trooper muttered.

* * *

Hours had gone by, the sun was now beginning to set. "How much further?" Nora whined as the journey continued along a road.

"Not long now, another few hours and we'll be there." Ashe assured her as they struggled on.

They could tell they were getting close to the city; there were more roads, a few highway bridges they had to go under, and about five or six train crossings. Haven was very close.

"Once we get there maybe we can ask Sun and his team for help." Ruby suggested to Jaune who was up in front with her as they had decided to share the burden of leadership.

"You think they will?" Jaune asked.

"Of course Sun will want to help us stop Cinder, he helped Blake, Penny and me take on Torchwick at the docks and he infiltrated the White Fang with Blake. He'd love to help us." Ruby assured her friend, wincing a bit at the mention of her robotic friend.

"I hope so; Sun goes to the Academy there so he probably knows the city better than Ashe does." Jaune said before the sound of a vehicle made him look up.

An Atlas Patrol Vehicle was approaching them. At first panic seized Jaune's mind but he quickly noticed a ditch behind some trees off to the side of the road. "Into the ditch!" Jaune ordered, to which everyone but Ashe obeyed.

"Wait, what's wrong? It's just Atlas soldiers." He pointed out.

"We don't want to risk being caught and sent back to Vale!" Ruby explained as she lay down, covering herself with a white tarp that Ren had gotten on the journey to hide them in the snow from any potential threats that they couldn't fight head on.

Ashe stood still as the large vehicle approached him. It stopped and a female Atlas soldier popped out of a door in the side. "Sir, have you seen any suspicious activity lately or hear any reports of Grimm?" she asked him.

"No Ma'am I haven't. Just a traveler on my way to Haven." He said, not exactly lying.

"Very well, may you have a safe journey." She wished him and with that she closed the door and the vehicle started off again.

Ashe waited until it was out of sight and said "They're gone."

The four teens lifted off the tarp and Nora exclaimed "Woohoo! That was a close one."

"I know, we'll have to be more careful. There are bound to be more patrols the closer we get to Haven." Ren said as he got up, brushing the snow off his clothes.

"What was that about?" Ashe asked as he helped Ruby get out of the ditch.

"My Uncle is kinda high up in Vale right now, after I... kinda snuck off he had General Ironwood's patrols keep a look out for us and I don't want to risk being caught and forced back home." She elaborated.

Ashe nodded understandingly as he helped Nora out. When he grabbed Jaune's hand to pull him out he felt something... familiar.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"You told me this morning that Pyrrha helped unlock your Aura, but that your Semblance was still unknown to you, I'm not an expert on those, but I... I felt something when I touched your hand, something familiar. I think I have a loose idea of what your Semblance is, it's may be same as mine." Ashe said as he helped Jaune out of the ditch and then grabbed Nora's hand.

"I thought you said you didn't have a Semblance." Ren reminded him.

"Everyone has a Semblance even if they don't know it. I don't have my family's Semblance, mine's different." Ashe explained.

"You have got to be kidding me! What is it?!" Jaune demanded as everyone's attention was on him and Ashe.

"Easy kid, I said it may be the same as mine. It's a Semblance that draws on raw emotions. If you want to protect someone you can shield them with your Aura, if you want to attack something you become stronger. It's something I had to learn about myself mostly." Ashe explained.

"That explains why a shield protected me from Cardin's punch and why I was able to take out that Ursa when the Grimm invaded!" Jaune said, before the excited look on his face deflated.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"If my Semblance is Emotion, then why couldn't I save Pyrrha?" he asked.

"It probably wasn't ready, or you were confused. At times when your emotions are conflicted that kind of Semblance will be confused or faulty, sorrow can diminish its power if allowed to rule your mind. You told me she kissed you before she shoved you into that locker, something so sudden can make your Semblance go out for a bit." Ashe explained.

"If I had been stronger... I could have gotten out of that locker and helped her, but she knew I couldn't help her the way she needed me to. I failed her." Jaune said as tears began to come out of his eyes again.

Ren put his hand on Jaune's shoulder and said "It was her choice. None of us could have stopped her. It's not your fault Jaune."

Ruby couldn't contain it anymore; she ran forward and hugged Jaune tight. "If it's your fault then it's my fault too! If I had been faster I could have saved her, I could have stopped Cinder! I failed her too Jaune." Ruby said as Jaune hugged the younger girl back.

Nora and Ren looked to each other. "We failed her too. We should have gone with you to the vault; maybe all three of us would have been able to prevent Cinder from obtaining the powers of the Fall Maiden, instead we went with everyone else to fight the Grimm." Ren lamented.

"Yeah." Was all Nora had to say.

Ashe now felt incredibly awkward, he had never met Pyrrha so he couldn't comment, but he knew that girl had to have been a wonderful person to inspire this much grief over her passing.

"You guys couldn't help it, you had an army of Grimm to fight. Let's get moving, we need to get to Haven." Jaune said simply as he wiped tears out of his eyes. Ruby nodded and did the same with her own tears.

They continued on, but Jaune spoke to Ashe. "Can you help me with my Semblance? Help me become stronger? Please, I don't want to lose anyone else." He pleaded.

Ashe looked at the boy, and saw even more of himself in the blond. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"...Uh, not completely." Jaune confessed. "I mean, you seem alright, but I don't know you well enough, despite what we've shared."

"Good, then you've got some sense in you. It'll be an honor to help you out." Ashe said with a nod as the group continued on through the seemingly never-ending fields of snow.

* * *

Yang opened her closet door and looked at the full length mirror on its inside.

She looked at her body, one most men lusted after like crazy, and sighed. It was now marred by the loss of her arm. Who could love someone like Yang now? Not Blake, not Weiss, and not Ruby.

She had known at least a week in advance about Ruby's mission, as her little sister had told her about it. What bothered Yang was that Ruby hadn't even asked if she wanted to come. The answer would have been 'no' of course but it still hurt Yang that her little sister had lost faith in her.

'That's bullshit! She wanted you to volunteer! She wanted you to snap out of it on your own.' A voice in the back of her head urged her. This voice was Yang's instinct, her consciousnesses, the one she had always listened to before, the one that told her to make stupid puns whenever she saw the opportunity, the one that told her to try and find her mom, the one that told her to go out into the woods with little Ruby in a wagon when she was a child.

Her conscious spoke to her again. 'Look at yourself. Look at what you've become. Is this really you?' it asked.

Yang closed her eyes, rubbed the stump where her arm used to be and said "Maybe it is."

* * *

In a small, dusty village in the kingdom of Vacuo people of both Faunus and human kind ran and screamed as an army of Grimm attacked them. Man, woman, and child were all targeted. The sex and age didn't matter to these beasts, but this was not a random attack, but one that had been ordered.

Beowolves led the charge followed by Death Stalkers, King Taijitus, and Creeps. People tried to fight, tried to flee, tried to shield their children but none of it was good enough.

As the massacre went on the Huntsmen and Huntresses who were supposed to be protecting the village battled the one who led the attack.

It both was and was not a Grimm, it was a Wolf Faunus, one who appeared to be half man and half Grimm, his eyes burned blood red, standing out from his snow white face, as he went about slaughtering the team that was assigned to protect the village. His head was covered by a green shroud that covered the horribly scarred back of his head that was given to him by the experiments that turned him into this.

One of the Huntsmen screamed out as the Grimm leader slashed him across the throat, ending his life. The Huntsman fell into the sand as his team cried out his name in horror. A Huntress ran forward, her blade aimed to disembowel the attacker, only for him to sidestep her and stab her in the back of the head.

"We can't fight this thing!" the remaining Huntsman said to the remaining Huntress, who was a Deer Faunus. "I know, come on we have to get back to the village and try to protect the survivors." The Huntsman said before the Grimm creature killed him with a stab in the back through the stomach and a slash across the spine.

"NO!" yelled the Deer Faunus as she ran away as fast as she could.

The Grimm-Faunus-Thing glared at her with pure hatred and yelled "Traitor!" and he pounced on her like a wolf on a sheep.

"You dare work with humankind? Those who enslaved and murdered us because we were different? You deserve to die with them!" he shouted.

"Slavery is over! Most prejudice against Faunus kind is over! Why are you doing thi..." she was cut off as his thin blade ran through her throat.

"Revenge my dear, revenge." He said as he withdrew his blade from her neck and the blade retraced back into a walking stick.

He listened in satisfaction as the screams of the villagers died down. They were all dead. The Creeps, the King Taijitus, and the Death Stalkers all departed back into the desert, but the Beowolves ran to the creature in a pack formation, stopped before him and they kneeled down before him like a pack would before an Alpha.

The creature took out a communicator and spoke to it. "It is done Mistress, the village is destroyed. No survivors just as you ordered." He said.

"Well done Commander Steppenwolffe, were the Hunters able to get a message out?" the voice of Salem asked.

"No Mistress, we stopped them before any such thing could happen. We will take greater precautions to make sure the factory goes unseen from now on." The Grimm Commander reported.

"Excellent. Return to the factory and make sure Dr. Cadmus is on schedule." Salem ordered.

"At once Mistress." Steppenwolffe said obediently.

Steppenwolffe put his communicator away and then crouched on all fours and took off, leading the pack behind him. This attack had happened because the Hunters had stumbled across the Vacuo factory where legions of Salem's Grimm Knight Robots were being created. Naturally Salem wanted to make sure no one would live to tell about it.

He was the second of the three, soon to be four, Grimm Commanders. The first was a Tiger Faunus known Shear Kaa who was on a mission to locate the Winter Maiden in Atlas. Shear Kaa, like Steppenwolffe had been a leader for the Faunus race in the last Faunus human war and both of them were long thought dead. In reality Salem had saved them both. They were the first two commanders of the Grimm, made so by the scientific experiments of Victor Giger. For years they had been hidden in deserts and forests and mountains, training to control the Grimm. The third Grimm Commander was not a Faunus, but a human girl known as Ziz who had been given the wings of a young Nevermore via fusing them to her shoulder blades and connecting them to her nervous system by Victor Giger. she had been put in command of all Grimm capable of flight. The three commanders had only surfaced recently under Salem's orders to protect her operations and spread more fear throughout Remnant.

There was a fourth Grimm Commander in training, a recently recruited girl named Fotia Drakos. She had been assigned to command the Wyverns, the most feared of all Grimm. Steppenwolffe almost pitied the fools she was to battle against. Almost.

* * *

Night had fallen on the city of Haven, the sun and the moon exchanged places in the beautiful twilight sky as the people of the city went about their lives, most of them taking no notice of its beauty.

On a hillside on the outskirts of the city, where only a few small homes resided, four teenagers and one man made it over the hill and looked out in wonder at the city.

"It's amazing!" said Nora in awe.

"Yep, gets me every time." Ashe agreed as he admired the city he had not been in for nine months.

"I've never seen a city so big before..." Ruby said, hiding her nervousness. If Cinder was here how could they possibly find her?

"Where do we even start?" Jaune asked to no one in particular.

"The criminal element. A city this huge will undoubtedly have a large criminal population and Cinder has a history of working with professional criminals." Ren reminded them.

"We'll have to ask Sun if he's interested." Ruby reminded them.

"I know where to look. There's a lot of bars in this town, that's where I'll ask around for the guy on top of the town for now. Whoever it is they're bound to be working for Cinder." Ashe said.

"You sure about that?" Ruby asked, while she did trust him to an extent, she wasn't ready to go along with whatever he said.

"I know you don't have much of a reason to trust me, but I know scumbags and when someone as powerful as this Fall lady comes around they'll be eager to be on her good side to keep their butts safe." Ashe told them.

"Then we find them and get them to tell us where Cinder is." Ruby said, beginning to beam with confidence to which Ashe nodded in agreement.

"Let's get going." Jaune said as he led the group into the city.

* * *

On the other side of Mistral the elderly Cat Faunus known as Claudandus dozed in his chair before he was woken up by the sound of his bedroom door opening. He opened his eyes and saw a rested Blake standing in his doorway.

"Ah, you're awake. Did you have a good sleep?" he asked. Blake shook her head, as her dreams were haunted by visions of Adam and Yang. "I see you now fully understand exactly what I knew would become of the White Fang. People like Adam do not want equality Blake, they want revenge. By the time I saw that darkness within him it was too late and he had enough followers to overthrow me and take over the White Fang. I remember you were among them." He reminded the younger Faunus.

"I now see what you meant and I know we were wrong... I just wanted to be treated as an equal so damn bad..." Blake said tears beginning to well in her eyes, regret filling her soul. She had been Adam's second in command, but she had convinced Adam to let Claudandus live and leave. She looked at her old master and said "Adam has gone crazy; he's working with someone monumentally powerful called Cinder Fall." Blake tried to explain.

"Yes, the new Fall Maiden. I suspected as much when I noticed an increase in the White Fangs brutal crimes and attacks. Adam wanted to commit acts of terrorism such as these but he never had the proper planning or equipment to do so, and this Cinder Fall is most likely behind his newfound power." Claudandus guessed.

"How do you know about...?"

"I still have friends in high places, such as your former Headmaster Ozpin, wherever he may be now." Claudandus revealed.

"Well that explains why he let me into Beacon so easily." Blake muttered.

"I only mentioned you in passing; I believe it was Ozpin who made the decision to let you in. He and I knew each other because I was once the founder and leader of the organization that was the biggest chance for Faunus equality in Remnant until Adam twisted into the terrorist cell it is now. I know about this new Fall Maiden and I know she had turned Adam and the White Fang into a tool for destruction. What the White Fang has become... it reminds me of an old story from before the shattering of the moon, would you like to hear it?" he asked.

Blake sat down on his couch and nodded to the old man. "There was once a powerful army led by an evil man, this man's sole purpose was to wipe out any race of people he declared undesirable. The symbol he chose for his army had once been a symbol of peace, but after he chose it it became a symbol feared and hated by all. After this man was defeated, his life taken from this world, the symbol remained as a sign of evil; it was forever tainted because of one man and those hundreds of thousands who blindly followed him. That is what Adam has done to the White Fang, and this Cinder Fall plans to take advantage of what he has done to it and use it for her own ends."

"She has powerful allies, someone who can manipulate one's vision; they tricked my friend into attacking someone she had already beaten." Blake elaborated.

"Ah yes, your team, RWBY. Prior to you leaving the White Fang you would have punched anyone who even suggested that you'd be friends with a human, and yet you are on a team with three humans, one of them a Schnee no less!" Claudandus said with pride.

"I have changed a lot, most of it thanks to them. I now know that both Humanity and Faunus can be good and bad, I know that we can both change. My friend Weiss, she once disliked Faunus but she looks to me as a friend and she no longer looks down upon the Faunus around her but sees them as people. We can all change Claudandus, for better or for worse like Adam has." Blake said.

"You loved him, I remember that, but change can kill love. He hurt you didn't he?" Claudandus asked.

Blake rubbed her stomach where Adam had stabbed her. "Yes, more mentally than physically, but yes. He abused me with insults and harsh words, with slaps to the face. It made me realize how right you were about him, about what we would become if we followed his path. No wonder so many left." Blake said sadly.

"And paid the price for it with their lives." Claudandus stated.

"What?" Blake asked, not understanding.

"In the last eight moths I have been getting reports of former members of the White Fang being murdered. Our old friend Tukson among them." He finished sadly, getting a horrified gasp out of Blake. Tukson had been her friend, a Puma-Faunus who loved books, often loaned her books and had a dream of running a book store. She remembered him warning her about Adam, how he had seen what the White Fang would become with Adam in charge so he left. His words were among the first to plant the seeds of doubt in her mind.

"The White Fang killed him, didn't they? Adam killed him..." Blake said.

"No, we do not believe it was the White Fang. A man in the store next to Tukson's claimed to see two young people going in, but never coming out. It was an hour after that when his body was found." Claudandus explained.

"Never came out... the illusionist! The same one who tricked Yang into attacking Mercury! Both he and Emerald were on Cinder's team. They have to be working for her!" Blake said.

Claudandus nodded and said "Most likely."

"Then you know how serious this is! You know every member of the White Fang prior to Adam's take over; they all trusted you, surely most of them told you where they'd go." Blake said.

"A few dozen, yes." The old cat confirmed.

"Then we can get in touch with them, get enough of them together and try to take the White Fang back." Blake said.

"That would be a terrible mistake Blake, their numbers are too great now. Adam's violent tendencies have attracted many a Faunus who feels wronged by mankind and they will fight for him and his cruel ways." Claudandus said.

"We have to do something! If someone doesn't stop Adam he could set Faunus' rights back hundreds of years! He will prove the racists right! And if we take him down we may be able to find Cinder and stop her." Blake tried to reason.

"Do you really think defeating Adam will hamper the Fall Maiden's agenda? She will have others to do her work. A great evil is rising Blake, and the fear of both humans and Faunus alike makes it stronger every day." Claudandus said as he looked out the window to the snowy, dark woods.

"Then you know what I'm talking about! We have to do something, anything, to stop Cinder before her plans come to fruition!" Blake argued.

Claudandus closed his eyes, grimaced and said "I was not speaking of Cinder. Yes, the new Fall Maiden and her followers are a threat, but they are nothing but insects compared to what I know is coming."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well to quote Mr. Popo, that's real freaking ominous. 
> 
> I'm taking a big guess with Jaune's Semblance, but I think it makes sense considering what an emotional guy he is. Also, Ruby did not hear the part about Jaune faking his transcripts. 
> 
> There was originally going to be a scene with Weiss in the chapter, but I decided to save it for the next time. Also here the whole CCT issue isn't happening as they were smart enough to have backup towers. 
> 
> Damien is made up of an insane combination of Jan Valentine from Hellsing and Big Boy from Dick Tracy and his dagger-bomb weapons are inspired by Riff Tamson's weapon from Star Wars The Clone Wars, I always loved that concept and wondered why they never brought it back. Damien's thugs were inspired by the Team Fortress 2 characters obviously, but I've toned down their over the top personas in the game to something far more suitable for this story. Little Steve's name is a reference to Little Shelby from the Crow comic and Tom-Tom is a reference to the only one of Eric and Shelly's murderers from the Crow comic that wasn't adapted into the movie. 
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated.


	3. The City of Haven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum

The city of Haven was not Mistral's capital, but it was its biggest city. Ten miles long and nine miles wide, this monstrosity of a city could be very intimidating for those who had lived in the country or any of the other solitary environments of Remnant for most of their lives. Some had even described it as hell bursting through the sidewalks and reaching to grab the sky.

Over five dozen skyscrapers towered over the smaller buildings, dwarfing everything, one or two of them even making Beacon Academy look diminutive in comparison. One of these in particular, the Seras Kalifa Building, had become a popular tourist attraction along with its usual business affairs as it stood at over three thousand feet, making it the tallest structure in all of Remnant.

Below these gigantic obelisks stood other buildings of various shapes and sizes and purposes; there were banks, movie theaters, entertainment centers, malls, recording studios, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, police stations, business buildings, book publishers, construction sites, iron works, science labs, factories, clubs, bars, stadiums, parks, schools, restaurants, and of course churches and other places of worship. But the biggest and most common sight in the city was statues. Many, many statues.

There were so many statues in Haven that it had been nicknamed the 'City of Stone', but the amount of angel statues had also garnered it the moniker of 'City of Angels'. These huge statues were seen as historical landmarks as one of the chief designers of the city had been adamant in their placement. These statues, be they of angels, gargoyles, famous Huntsmen or Huntresses, or even a general from a war long over, helped to paint a picture of the city's spirit in the minds of its visitors.

Many modes of transportation covered the city, be they car, train, boat, or airship. Highways and roads, for cars and buses that were the primary way of transportation for most, save for the ones who could not afford vehicles. Bridges and yards and long stretches of track covered the railways and monorails that served as ways for people without cars to get around the huge city, sadly though it was a common place to get mugged or attacked. There were also the airships, ways for people across the planet to get to and from the city and its ten or so airports, as well as a few abandoned ones. Boats were mainly for recreational purposes but they were still used by the fishermen who lived in the city as workplaces.

Many slums, caused by bad economic situations or the occasional Grimm attack, covered the city, home to the homeless, drug addicts, runaways, and criminals who did not wish to be found. There were also many legends in this city, such as Grimm mutations in the sewers or even a pack of hyper-intelligent Beowolves that hid in the slums and alleyways and killed and feasted upon the homeless and those who wandered too close to their territory. All the legends were just that of course, even if they were inspired by fact.

The city was but a mere shadow of what it once was, it had been meant to be a new place for one to start a life, be you human or Faunus, man or woman, young or old, this city was named from what it was supposed to be; a haven.

However, not everything goes according to plan. Like many cities it had attracted many criminals and murderers, with them came organized crime and police brutality, with them came assassins and protests and civil unrest. Gangs, mobs, racial tensions, thieves, homeless people, vigilantes, anything that could go wrong with a city had gone wrong.

And yet its people still loved it.

While there were many good people in Haven, who wanted to live good and peaceful lives in the city, no matter how hard it seemed, there were also many people who came to the city as a place to commit crimes that had a good chance of going unnoticed. A city as large as this was a haven for criminals. Both shared this city, both ruled it, both made this city what it was.

The group consisting of Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie, along with their friend, a guerrilla Huntsman known simply as Ashe had finally arrived at this metropolis for the sole purpose of finding Cinder Fall.

Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Ashe departed the monorail the group had entered the city in and looked around in amazement at the impressive feat of technology and architecture. There was not much snow in the city, partly because of the heat it generated, however there was still the occasional white heap or slick patch.

"This is amazing! No wonder Uncle Qrow always talked about this place so much!" Ruby said as her eyes sparkled in wonder.

"Ren, I think I'd like to live here someday." Nora said as calmly as she could, which was still rather cheerful.

"I don't think that would be wise Nora, considering the cities' crime rates I've read about. Although I do admit it is an impressive looking city." Ren agreed.

Jaune did not really care about the impressive looking city, as he had been here years ago; he cared about finding Cinder Fall.

They felt safer from being spotted by either law enforcement or those that could be under Cinder's employ as they had made sure their heads were covered with hoodies, Ren's face was covered by sunglasses, and their weapons were concealed within travel bags they had bought at a store nearby the train station outside the city.

"Alright, follow me; we'll have to be careful if you guys are sure you have to avoid being seen." Ashe said.

"Most definitely." Ren confirmed.

"I'd prefer not being caught." Nora agreed.

"Let's just go." Jaune said as the group walked down the metal staircase and onto a sidewalk.

"Okay, I'm gonna call Sun and ask him for help." Ruby said as she took out her scroll.

"Won't the Atlas Military or something like that be listening to our calls? I heard they monitor us and stuff like that." Jaune said, remembering an old conspiracy theory he once heard from Russel Thrush.

"If that were true Cinder and everyone who works for her would have been caught months ago." Ruby said pointed out.

"Should we stay to the ground or go atop the roofs? It would probably be faster if we jump, and in the dark we won't be noticed as easily." Ren suggested, Ashe nodded.

"Not a bad idea, it would be a good way to get by, plus given Haven Academy people are used to kids jumping across rooftops, you kids good at jumping?" Ashe asked.

"Everyone but me, I'll need some help getting across large gaps and streets." Jaune said.

"Don't worry me and Ren can carry you if we have to." Nora said.

"Okay, let's head to high ground." Ruby said.

"Into an alleyway, we can climb up a fire escape." Ashe said as he led the kids into the city.

Ruby looked up at the many buildings; the highest she had ever been was on General Ironwood's flagship when she fought Torchwick and his henchgirl Neo. She even saw a few airships hovering besides the skyscrapers, as if they were flies buzzing around a person. She had never really been afraid of heights, well except for when she was hanging off the flagship with Torchwick about to throw her off, so the sight of the huge buildings made her want to climb them, get to the top, and look out and see the whole of Remnant. She knew that it would be impossible to see the whole world from that height, but it would be the same wonderful feeling.

Ruby took out her scroll and looked up Sun's number and called him. 'Please still be here...' she muttered, hoping he did not return to Vacuo.

Soon a familiar voice answered the call, "Ruby! Where are you? I spoke to your dad the other day; he said you went out to stop that Cinder witch! Tell me you're not doing that on your own." Sun pleaded.

"No! Of course I'm not on my own, I've got Jaune, Nora, Ren and a new friend called Ashe with me!" Ruby assured him innocently.

"That's not exactly what I meant but it is better. Where are you anyway?" Sun asked.

"We're in Haven."

"WHAT?!"

Ruby flinched "We're in Haven..." she repeated.

"... Blake was not joking when she said you're a little nutty. What the heck are you doing in Haven?" Sun asked.

"Okay, hear me out. Remember Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald?" she asked.

"Of course I do, they're the ones responsible for what happened at Vale along with the White Fang." Sun answered grimly.

"Exactly, well before we found out how evil they are, they told us they came from Haven, so that's where we're looking." Ruby explained.

"You do realize they were probably lying, right?" Sun pointed out.

"Yeah, but so far it's the only lead we have, plus the criminal element in this city is so bad there will have to be rumors about where Cinder is if she's not here." Ruby said.

"Okay, where are you right now?" Sun asked.

Ruby looked around as Ashe led the group into an alleyway where a fire escape was. "We're heading to some rooftops on the city's east side... can you meet us at..." Ruby looked around for a building that would be easily accessible and noticeable enough. She looked and she saw a building that she thought was good enough a few blocks away, "Okay, meet us at this building that's like a normal long-sided one but it has a big cylinder thing coming out of it in the middle, like a tower." She said.

"I know where that is, wait for us, I'm bringing my team with me." He said.

"Okay then." Ruby said as she hung up and followed the others up the fire escape.

"Sun and his team will meet us over at that building." She said, pointing to the building's cylinder tower which was tall enough to see over the wall as they walked up the fire escape.

As they got to the top of the building and walked to the other side Ashe jumped across a small gap between that building and the next. "Come on, we'll start with the small gaps, sounds like Jaune could use some practice." Ashe said.

Jaune went first, easily landing on his feet and Ruby, Ren, and Nora followed. "Okay, when we get to the big gaps Jaune you need to think about making it over to the other side. Think about how much you need to get over there, imagine that your friends are in trouble and will be hurt if you don't make the jumps, imagine Pyrrha being on the other side, waiting for you." Ashe said, provoking shocked reactions from the four teens.

"What?!" cried Ruby.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Ren is disbelief.

"You're crazy, and trust me, I'm an expert in crazy!" cried Nora.

"It sounds like a mean thing to say, but Jaune's Semblance is emotion, that means if he is confident enough and wants something enough, he can get it. If he wants to make that jump badly enough, his emotions will kinda take over his body and he will make the jump. Trust me; it's how I was trained." Ashe justified.

They looked at the man, unsure, but Jaune got a determined look on his face. "I'll do it, if I look like I'm gonna fall though, please have Nora catch me." He said.

"You got it!" Nora promised. They jumped their way across multiple building mostly with ease, going unnoticed by most and those who did notice them assumed they were but students of Haven Academy.

Soon enough, however, they came to a gap created by a street. "Okay... I got this." Jaune muttered to himself, trying to feel desperate enough to make it over to the other side.

"I'll be there for you if you can't make it." Nora swore to her leader as she jumped across the large gap with the others.

Jaune looked at the gap, over a hundred feet. How could he make this? 'Your Semblance! You have to try to take advantage of it now that you know what it is.' He told himself. He got ready to jump, walked back and began running to gain momentum. He ran as fast as he could, he closed his eyes and imagined Ren, Nora, and Ruby in danger, imagined that they would be hurt if he didn't help them. He imagined Pyrrha, standing on the other side, waiting for him, smiling at him with that beautiful smile of hers and her wonderful green eyes.

He ran, he jumped.

' _You can do it. I'll always be with you.'_

'What the...?'

Jaune couldn't continue that thought as he crashed into the roof on his hands and knees and was greeted with Ruby and Nora's cheers and Ashe helping him up. "Way to go kid! You're better than you made yourself out to be." He praised.

"I... I did it..." Jaune said.

"On your first try too! I am so proud of you!" Ruby said as she high fived Jaune.

"Congratulations, Pyrrha would be proud." Ren said to his leader.

"Yeah... Pyrrha..." Jaune said. The others saw the distant look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking about Pyrrha." He admitted, getting looks of sympathy from the others.

"Come on, let's get to the building and wait for Sun." Ruby said. As they all followed her Jaune could only think of the voice he heard in his head.

'Pyrrha? Can you hear me?' he said in his mind.

No answer.

Jaune shook his head and continued on with the others.

* * *

Weiss sat across from her father at the Schnee family dinner table. In spite of the extravagantly made chicken dinner with various assorted vegetables, Weiss had to admit she had gotten used to the school food or the food of 'commoners' in her time at Beacon. She would have honestly preferred them to this, not that she would tell her father that.

"Ah, a marvelous meal! Weiss my dear how is your training coming along?" he asked.

"Fine father. Ms. Baur is an excellent teacher. My fencing has improved greatly thanks to her lessons. However we have yet to make progress on my Semblance." Weiss admitted to her father.

She was still rather embarrassed that a common part of her family's Semblance, the Glyphs, was seemingly still out of her reach. She could not summon the way her sister Winter could and at times that made her feel like a failure.

"Don't worry, your sister's day off is tomorrow, General Ironwood has commanded her to take a day off after all the hard work she has been doing, I know she can aid you with the summoning." Her father suggested.

This made Weiss feel a little better, as her sister was one of the most talented users of Glyphs and Summoning in Remnant and they had made some progress in their previous training session in Vale.

Thinking of those days made Weiss feel depressed, it had been months since she had seen or spoken to Ruby, that dense and wonderful leader of hers. She didn't even get to see her before she had awakened from her coma. She had heard that Ruby had gone off with what was left of Team JNPR to find Cinder Fall and avenge their friends, but Weiss hoped that Ruby didn't do anything stupid, no matter how impossible that was. Winter had implored Weiss to inform her if she received any contact from her friends, so they could have a way of finding them and bringing them in safely, but so far Ruby had not contacted her at all.

Weiss finished her dinner and excused herself from the table and retired to her room. She needed to make a call.

When she approached her luxurious room she took out her scroll and typed in Ruby's number, praying she would answer. She briefly wondered why she was just now doing this? It had been months since their forced separation and she hadn't made any real attempt to contact her partner. Maybe the guilt was just now getting to her? Maybe she was missing Ruby more than she'd like to admit? Why hadn't Ruby called for that matter? Was she angry that her partner hadn't called her to check in on her after her experience during the Fall? Did she not trust Weiss enough?

Whatever the case, the Schnee girl prayed Ruby would answer, and sure enough, she did.

"Weiss! Is it really you?!" the familiar excited voice cried out.

"Of course it's me you dolt! Why would someone else have my scroll?" Weiss asked, but she was happy to hear from her former leader again.

"Guys, it's Weiss!" Ruby said to the others. Ruby was so ecstatic to see her old teammate again, even if it was on a scroll screen.

"Why don't you just yell it out for the entire world to hear? Ruby are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby asked, a tad confused.

"Let's just say there's a list, a very long one, but I'm glad you're alright Ruby." Weiss stated.

"Thanks Weiss, I knew you cared way more then you let on." Ruby voiced cheerfully.

"Oh hush, are Jaune and the others with you?" the heiress asked.

"Yep." Ruby answered simply.

"Ruby, I say this to you as a friend, as a teammate with as much respect for you as I can muster... give up this insane mission to find Cinder." Weiss said.

"What? But... but Weiss..."

"We tried to stop them ourselves Ruby, and let's face reality; we failed every time. I've been thinking about the events leading up to the Vytal Festival and in retrospect it seems so obvious now; the breach, the White Fang's involvement, the Grimm attacks, the weird match-ups at the tournament, it was all her. She played us like we were chess pieces Ruby. She used us, all of us. We can't stop her, we are just children. Let General Ironwood handle it Ruby, please! As much as I hate to admit it I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Weiss admitted sadly.

Ruby and the others listened to Weiss speech, took in the logic. While Weiss' reasoning was sound and very much correct, it didn't stop a few facts. Jaune spoke up "I'm sorry Weiss, but we can't do that. Pyrrha and Penny are dead because of Cinder, we need to take her down, I don't care if I die in the process, as long as Cinder and her two cronies get what's coming to them I'll be happy, even in death. At least I'll be with Pyrrha."

Everyone looked to Jaune, not expecting such brave, or suicidal, words from the boy. His three fellow Hunters-in-training looked at him with concern, however Ashe nodded in a mixture of approval and understanding.

"Was that... Jaune?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Uh yeah." Ruby said.

"Put him on." Weiss demanded. Ruby handed the scroll to Jaune. Jaune looked at the girl he once had a crush on and regretted said crush to no end, the crush that had blinded him to Pyrrha's feelings for him.

For her part Weiss was amazed by the new addition to Jaune's face. "You grew a beard?" she asked in disbelief.

Jaune chucked and nodded, "Get rid of it, it makes you look like a vagabond." She said.

Jaune shook his head and said "I haven't been able to shave as often as I used to, plus it'll be a disguise for me I guess." He said as he rubbed the small collection of hair on his cheeks.

Weiss groaned and said "Whatever, listen Jaune... I wanted to say something to you I didn't have the courage to say before, even when I visited you in the hospital."

Now Jaune found these words very enticing. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." She answered simply.

There was a silence between the two.

"Sorry for what?" he asked, "Sorry for everything you idiot!" she scolded before she continued, "I'm sorry I always treated you so harshly, I'm sorry I always shot you down, and I'm sorry I left you in that tree all those months ago." Jaune remembered being held in a tree by Miló, being discovered by Weiss and then immediately left behind, only to be found and 'rescued' by Pyrrha soon afterwards. "If a Grimm had found you before Pyrrha had your blood would have been on my hands so as a Schnee I apologize." She said.

Jaune smiled and said "It may have been a harsh move, but honestly Ice Queen?" he said with a smirk, knowing she hated the nickname, "It was the best thing to ever happen to me. I got to be with Pyrrha, even if I didn't realize how special she was to me until it was too late. I owe you everything Weiss." He said, now wearing a sad smile.

Weiss looked away in shame, thinking 'If only we had been faster she might still be here, all of us may still be together.' "Put Ruby back on." She said to him.

"Sure thing." And with that he handed the scroll back to Ruby.

"Ruby, where are you?" she asked.

"In Haven, that's where they said they came from." Ruby answered.

"You'll most likely find nothing, but if you do call me. I will find a way to assist you by any means necessary. I promise I won't tell my sister or General Ironwood about this, but please do not get yourselves killed." Weiss pleaded with her former leader.

"Oh don't worry, it's not just the four of us, I called Sun and his team, they're on their way to meet us and we aren't even alone now, we got a new friend on the way, his name is Ashe." Ruby said as she pointed the scroll to Ashe, who gave Weiss a friendly wave.

"Who is he?" Weiss asked.

"He's a Huntsman, he said he'll help us if we help him find his sister later." Ruby explained, not being entirely truthful.

"Just promise me you will do your hardest not to do the Ruby thing." Weiss said.

"Ruby thing?"

"You know, like riding a rocket-locker up to a flagship, or wandering off with your dog in a Grimm infested area, or riding a Nevermore, or..."

"Okay Weiss! I get it, I'll try not to do anything too crazy. I promise we'll see each other in person again, and that us, Yang, and Blake will be one whole team again. By the way, why are you just now calling me?" The silver-eyed girl inquired.

Weiss sighed and answered, "Maybe I didn't want to risk my sister finding out I've spoken with you. Maybe I miss you and have become worried sick about you. Whatever the reason, I needed to hear your voice, alright?"

Ruby smiled at her and said "Thanks Weiss, it's great to hear from you. See you later."

"Goodbye and stay safe." Weiss said as she hung up. She shook her head and muttered "That girl will give me a heart attack."

She saw her weapon, the beautiful blade known as Myrtenaster which had been placed upon a mantel after her day's training had ended. She grabbed it off the mantel and then closed her eyes and concentrated.

A glowing white circle appeared on the floor. Weiss put every ounce of aura she had into it and a figure began to slowly fade in and out of existence.

"I will do it." She swore.

* * *

"Your friend seems a bit out of place amongst kids like you." Ashe commented.

"She was at first, but she gave into us after a while." Ruby joked.

"Think she'll keep her promise about not telling Ironwood?" Jaune asked.

"Of course she will! Weiss is a lot of things, but she won't stop us, and you heard her say she'd help us if we needed it." Ruby said before asking "Hey Jaune, you didn't really mean you don't care if you die right? I mean, that's not healthy."

Jaune looked at her and carefully answered, "I don't know."

"Here comes Sun." said Ren as the Monkey Faunus jumped his way effortlessly up the building and landed on the roof.

"Long time no see! You guys are doing pretty good for yourselves." Said Sun as Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage climbed their way up the tower.

"Maybe... wait up for us... next time?!" Scarlet cried.

"Can't help it that you guys are so slow." Sun teased.

As Sun's team took a minute to catch their breath and as Sun introduced the team to Ashe, Neptune noticed Jaune's new beard. "Okay, Jaune, buddy... I consider myself to be your friend, so do us a favor and shave the beard." He said.

"Again! What is it that people have against my beard?!" demanded Jaune.

"Well it does look a little weird on you." Sun admitted.

"And it's rather out of your character." Agreed Ren.

"And it's..." Ruby tried to say before Jaune relented.

"Okay, I get it; it doesn't look good on me! I'm keeping it until we don't need to disguise ourselves anymore okay?!" he snapped.

"Alright, no need to get all mad about it." Neptune said.

"...I think it looks good." Scarlet admitted.

"Okay, now that we're gone critiquing Jaune's facial hair, we should get down to business. Since you guys live in this town do you know who is currently on top of the proverbial food chain." Ashe said to Team SSSN.

The four teen boys looked at each other. "Damien Ante." Neptune said.

"Yeah, that dick, rumor has it he's been taking over every other gang in town and killing anyone who won't pledge loyalty to him." Sun added.

"Damien Ante, I heard about him the last few times I was here, looks like he's moved up in the world." Ashe said as he looked out to the city.

"Why do you want to know about this guy? Aren't you after Cinder Fall?" Sage asked.

"Cinder used to work with Roman Torchwick before he was turned into a snack for a Griffon, chances are she'll be working with someone else like Torchwick here too." Ruby explained.

"Torchwick's dead?" Sun asked to which Ruby nodded. "There goes a potential rematch." he joked, remembering the time he fought Torchwick on the docks with Blake.

That reminded him, "Oh and by the way Ruby, we were planning a little mission of our own." Sun said.

"What mission?" Ruby asked.

"Love monkey here wants us to go out and find Blake and probably take down the White Fang while we're at it." Sage told them.

"Strange minds think alike I suppose." Ren said.

"Well I think it's a great idea! You guys can go off and find Blake after you help us find Cinder!" Ruby said.

"No offense Ruby, but I think 'Let's hunt down Cinder Fall and bring her to justice' is just a way of saying 'suicide' with nine more words." Scarlet said, not impressed with Ruby's simplistic goal.

"Maybe, but we have to try. I think we've come closer to stopping her so far than the army has or even Professor Ozpin." She said, remembering her old Headmaster's vanishing. "I remember after I saw Pyrrha get..." Ruby couldn't continue. She couldn't bear to describe to Jaune and the others what she had seen on that tower.

"After Cinder killed her something weird happened. I felt a huge power overtake me; I remember hearing Cinder cry out like she was scared or confused. Whatever my eyes did it killed or paralyzed that dragon on top of the tower. Cinder wasn't there, so she might be afraid of me. Maybe if I see her again my eye thingy will happen again and we'll beat her." Ruby said hopefully.

"Sounds like a plan, and even if your eyes don't work the five of us may be enough to at least tire Cinder out enough that one of us can go in for a kill." Ashe suggested. While Jaune looked okay with the idea Ruby, Nora, and Ren didn't look so sure.

"That is highly unlikely, especially with her Maiden powers." Ren pointed out.

"But if you got a chance you should take it. Killing her might not be the right thing to do, but it may be the only way to stop her." Sun pointed out.

"Okay, so let's get down to business; we need to find this Damien Ante and you guys need to find something that'll lead you to Blake and the White Fang. Any ideas where we should start?" Jaune asked.

"I have one, big club down town called Haven's Hell, really popular with the scumbags of the city. Tons of 'em hang out there and rumor has it Damien Ante is a frequent customer." Neptune said.

"Then that's where we'll look, but first we could use a base, a place where we can hide and live until this is over." Said Ruby.

"There are some warehouses on the edge of town by the waterfront, most of 'em haven't been used in years. We go there to train sometimes when things get too intense for our teachers' liking." Scarlet said.

"Sounds good to me, let's check it out." Ashe said, and with that they made their way across the city.

It took them an hour to make it, occasionally with Scarlet helping Jaune across the bigger street gaps with his grappling hook on his pistol or Nora giving him a proper boost, but for the most part Jaune was able to make it on his own.

They came to the waterfront warehouses, a part of the docks that was rarely used anymore. "Over there!" Sun said, pointing to a large and long building that had once been used for storage but had fallen into disrepair. "That's where we go. Together we were able to fix it up a bit, put in a fridge, get the water, power, and plumbing working, a TV, the basics. Scarlet got shocked so many times." He continued as he jumped off the building they were on and onto the ground. Everyone followed Sun's example and made their way to the warehouse on foot.

Sun unlocked the heavy door and with some help from Sage and Ashe pushed it open and everyone walked inside. The warehouse looked about as big as one would expect, with the additions of a few old chairs and couches, a TV, and a kitchen area that Team SSSN had managed to create.

Ruby looked around and nodded in approval, "This'll do." She said, happy with it.

"It could use some cleaning, the kitchen could use some work it seems, and there are no beds, but it will have to do for now." Ren said.

Nora dropped her backpack as everyone else did and she "Finally! Thought I'd have to carry that forever."

"We can't stay for long right now, we need to get to this club and find this Damien Ante guy." Jaune said.

"Any idea how we can get close enough to him?" Ruby asked Team SSSN.

"His enforcers, the last two years he's been taking in punks off the street or mercenaries to do his dirty work and he's always on the look out for more." Sun said.

"Then I'll pose as a guy interested in a job." Ashe said as he put two gun holsters on either side of his belt, loading them with one gun each and also arming himself with an odd looking shotgun and an old sword. He had put his own backpack away and had made sure it was closed tight and that no one was interested in it.

"Then you can lure him out to a place where we can jump him and make him talk!" Nora said eagerly.

"Exactly and with us outnumbering him nine to one he won't have a choice." Sun said, grinning.

"Wait, what if he has one of his enforcers with him?" asked Ren.

"Unless he has more than a couple of them they still won't stand a chance against all of us." Jaune said as he took out Crocea Mors.

Ruby smiled, nodded, and said "We can do it."

"While you go inside I'll take a look around for any Faunus who seems like they're the type of person who'd hook up with or know anything about the White Fang." Sun added.

"Sounds like a good plan to me, now let's move out." Nora said as she led the way out of the building.

Ashe saw Jaune looking at his sword. "It looks like a good blade, it will do you good." Ashe said as he sheathed his sword.

"I know it will." Jaune said as the sword entered the shield's sheath mode. Ashe said no more about Jaune's sword; although he did think it was weird there were two emblems on it. One was two yellow arcs, like a double sunrise on the horizon and the other one that appeared to be recently added was a red arrow through a red circle.

* * *

Another hour later the group of nine arrived at a building that was across from a large structure filled with people. This was the club known as 'Haven's Hell'.

"Okay, Sun and I will go in and look around. If Damien's not there we'll at least try to find out about the White Fang, if he is there I'll lure him out to that alleyway" Ashe said pointing to an empty alley that was far enough away from the club so that a battle would not be noticed, "and you guys will ambush him once I get him in place."

"Good plan." Ruby said as she took out her beloved weapon, Crescent Rose.

Ashe looked at the weapon with wide eyes and said "That makes the stuff I got look pretty mundane."

Ashe and Sun got off the roof and made their way to the club while Ruby and the others made their way to the ambush position.

The two entered the loud club and Ashe had to admit while he didn't really care for clubs it was an impressive sight. Inside over two hundred people danced, drank, flirted, talked, or committed crimes that were too subtle to catch in a loud and crowded place. A rock band performed a song with a blonde woman in her twenties singing in the lead as people danced and cheered to the song.

"This is actually pretty freaking sweet." Sun said as he looked around at the flashing lights and the high up rafters that looked like very tempting swing and jump practice.

"I'll go to the bar and ask for Ante, you look around for anyone who could be connected to the White Fang." Ashe said, Sun nodded to the older man and went off further into the club while Ashe made his way to the bar.

Ashe sat on a barstool and whistled to the bartender who came over and asked a gruff "What'll ya have?"

"I'll have a shot of whisky and info on Damien Ante." Ashe said. The bartender looked at him.

"What are ya, a cop trying to make a name for himself? Have to warn ya kid, the water in the port is filled with guys like you... but you didn't hear it from me." The bartender warned.

Ashe smiled and said "That's okay, I'm looking for a job, heard he's the guy to go to for a man with my talents."

The bartender eyed him warily as he got Ashe the drink he ordered, the older man then hesitantly said "He's... in the back. Can't miss him, he's with a couple of his boys, uh... Tom-Tom and Lao I think." Ashe nodded the older man, took his shot glass and downed the whisky in one gulp. Ashe left the bartender a single lien and made his way into and vanished in the crowd.

Ashe went towards the back and got a glimpse of the target. He had seen the guy's picture on TV last time he was in town, a suspect in a murder case. Obviously didn't get convicted. He went back behind a wall so they would not see him and he made his way to an empty booth and saw Sun who was talking with another Faunus who had the features of a mouse or some kind of rodent. He saw Sun get up, look in his direction and shake his head, not connected to the White Fang.

Ashe waited, taking occasional and careful looks at Damien and noticed Damien's weapons included his bandoliers full of knives and a single gun. Despite the music Ashe was able to hear what they were saying, the most frequent was something about a shipment. It was about twenty minutes before Sun came and sat down. "Okay, I got a tip off on a location for the White Fang, old train yard on the outside of town." He said.

"Good, how'd you get it?" Ashe asked.

"A detective I worked with about six months ago taught me people will tell you stuff and not think much of it if you act like you're drunk. So I spotted this weasel-looking guy, and I think he literally had a weasel looking nose, I acted drunk, gave him some sob story about a human girl tricking me into going on a fake date, he gave me some info about the White Fang." Sun explained.

"Not bad kid, I got a good look at Ante, he's got two thugs with him; the guy with the sword looks like he could be trouble but the street punk looks easy enough." Ashe said.

"They'll still be outnumbered three to one, heck even more with my Semblance." Sun said.

"Good, wait a minute I think Damien's about to leave." Ashe said as he listened as closely as he could, which was hard because of the music, but he could still hear.

"9:30, Okay boys I'm gone. Gotta meet up with Trooper and the others and get the shipment delivered to the factory, see you tomorrow. Damien said.

"Night boss." Lao said simply as he took a sip from his drink.

"Yeah, night..." said the slurred voice of a drunken Tom-Tom.

Ashe and Sun waited for Damien to walk by them and after he was out of sight they made their way to the entrance of the building. As they exited they saw Damien walk down the sidewalk and away from the club. "Stay back, I'll talk to him, once we get in the alley you block it." Ashe whispered as he looked up and nodded to Ren who was watching them.

"Got it." Sun said as he slowed down.

Ashe quickened his pace as he followed the man. "Yo! You Damien Ante?" he asked. Ante stopped in his tracks and he yanked out a dagger.

"Who wants to know?" the crime boss asked.

"Name's Ashe, used to be a Huntsman, I quit because... well the thing is the Grimm, they just don't do it for me anymore, you know?" Ashe said to the man.

Damien turned around and looked at Ashe with smart, judging eyes that were somewhat clouded by alcohol. "I can respect that. I've killed a few dozen Grimm, kill one and they don't leave a body. Human and Faunus on the other hand..."

Ashe nodded, "You see Mr. Ante, I recently got my Huntsman licence stripped from me and I hear you're always on the lookout for men of my skills."

"I need to get somewhere, but if you can show me what you got I can have a more professional meeting tomorrow." Damien said.

"Then how about we take to one of these alleyways and let me show you what I'm capable of." Ashe said.

"Okay then." Damien said, he was a bit drunk and not thinking clearly but he was smart enough to be a little suspicious and he was not afraid that this stranger would try anything because Damien was capable of protecting himself from most threats.

Ashe led him into the chosen alleyway and noticed he didn't see any of the seven teenagers hiding atop the buildings. Good.

Once they got well enough into the alleyway Damien said "Okay Ashe, so what do you really want?" Damien asked as Ashe took out his strange shotgun.

"In a few words or less? A resurrection spell that works and a map to world peace, but that's just me." Ashe said as he pointed the gun at Damien. Damien shook his head and whipped out his own gun.

"You want to go? Okay by me." He said.

"I'll take some of the action." Said the voice of Sun who now blocked the only way into the alleyway holding his weapons Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in their combined bo-staff form.

"Two on one? I'll take those odds." Damien said, smirking.

"Then how about nine on one?" asked Jaune as he jumped down. Within seconds Damien was surrounded by Ruby, Ashe, the remains of Team JNPR, and all of Team SSSN.

Damien looked around, completely outnumbered and outgunned.

He chuckled and said "Fuck me, this just ain't my lucky night." He then looked around at the group that had surrounded him and noticed Ruby. The Crescent Rose, the Silver Eyes, the face and hair... this was the girl Cinder was looking for.

"You!" he cried as he pointed at her, "You're Ruby Rose! You're the one she's looking for!" he blurted out.

"Well, at least we know he's working for Cinder." Ren said as he aimed his StormFlowers at the criminal.

Jaune charged forward with Crocea Mors and the sheath's shield form and rammed Damien into a brick wall. "Where is she?!" he demanded to know.

"I'm not telling! Do whatever you want to me, whatever you can come up with in the next hour is nothing compared to what she can do to me in a minute." Damien said.

"Oh I don't know, Cinder's not Nora." Jaune said with a smirk as Nora grinned wickedly, clutching Magnhild to her chest. Damien saw said war hammer and got a little nervous.

"So you must be Jaune Arc, look a little different from the picture with that lame beard." Damien said. Jaune groaned and pressed forward with his shield, crushing Damien into the wall.

"Give her up Ante, and maybe we'll let you walk away." Ruby said.

"No we won't! This guy is one of the most wanted criminals in the city! If we get a confession out of him we'll be heroes." Neptune objected.

"And I wouldn't give Cinder up, I am way too smart to cross her." Damien added.

"Why?! She's a murderer!" yelled Jaune, his anger making him sloppy as Damien managed to push himself free, slide beside Jaune and get back into the middle of everyone.

"It's obvious you haven't enjoyed the experience of killing someone else so let me tell you a little something about murder, boy..." Damien said as he took out two of his daggers and prepared to fight, "it's fun, it's easy, and it's better than sex! Trust me, I've tried it with both genders!" he said.

"Well you're insane." Ashe muttered.

"You brought a bunch of knives to a gun-scythe-hammer-sword-shield-nunchuck-staff-trident-etc... fight, you really think you can win?" Ruby asked with her confident smile.

"Maybe not, but..." Damien said as he threw his daggers to the ground, grabbed the detonator and pushed the button, the resulting explosion knocked Ruby, Ashe, Sun, Jaune, and Neptune off their feet.

Damien jumped overhead and landed behind Nora, who tried to hit him with Magnhild, but he managed to duck. He tried to stab Nora with another Dagger only for Ren to open fire with the StormFlowers and force Damien to retreat.

Sage charged him with his sword and Damien met him head on with a dagger, which was a poor match-up since it only took one mighty swing with the large sword and Damien's dagger was only the hilt. "Oh come on!" cried Damien.

Sage smirked, but it vanished when Damien jumped over Sage and got on his back, holding another dagger to Sage's neck.

"Come another step closer and big boy here gets it!" Damien yelled. Scarlet aimed his flintlock at Damien's head and fired his grappling hook. It missed him by a few inches and became embedded into the brick wall behind him. Damien smirked and called "Ha! Missed!."

Now it was Scarlet's turn to smirk as Sun and Neptune jumped up, grabbed hold of the gun as well and all three pulled together, pulling out several bricks from the wall and hitting Damien in the back of the head. "Ow!" he cried as Sage threw him onto the pavement and put his blade against Damien's neck.

"Okay, I give. You kids are good." Damien relented. Ashe grabbed Damien and slammed him into the wall.

"Tell us where she is and I may consider letting you live." He yelled.

"Like I said, whatever you can do she can do much worse!" Damien said.

"Wait a minute." Said Ruby as she approached Ashe and Damien, "You said she was looking for us, why?" she demanded as she held up Crescent Rose's blade to him, trying her best to be intimidating.

"I don't know, maybe it's because you froze a freaking Wyvern! She also wants the Arc kid. Why, I don't really know but she wants you two alive and I intend to deliver." Damien said through clenched teeth.

Ashe glared and said "No you won't. You die here and now." Ruby and the others all looked at Ashe in disbelief.

"Are you nuts?! We can't just kill him!" Ruby objected, grabbing Ashes arm with a strong grip.

"We should turn him into the police and let them handle him." Ren agreed.

"I don't know, this guy's the one in charge of all the criminals in Haven, we take him out it could all topple over." Sun pointed out, unsure.

"If we let him go you know he'll report to Cinder! We have no choice but to kill him." Ashe said.

"No, let him tell her." Ruby said, glaring at Ashe.

"Why?" Ashe asked.

"Because it wasn't just Pyrrha who died that night, or Penny, but hundreds of other innocent people whether they were civilians or soldiers or students." Jaune said, getting everyone's attention. Jaune glared at Damien and began to yell "The line must be drawn there! Go and tell Cinder and whoever's working with that we are coming and that we will make them pay for what they have done! For all those people, for our friends, for Penny, for Ozpin, and for Pyrrha!" Jaune's rant ended and he began to pant, emotionally drained by the outburst.

They all looked at Jaune with a mixture of admiration and sympathy and then back to Damien. Ashe let him drop to the ground and he said "You heard the kid. Get going."

Damien looked to the alleyway's entrance and grinned. "No, you get going."

They all turned around to see Lao and a drunken Tom-Tom armed with a katana and gun respectively. "Boss, you just keep making mistakes when you get drunk." Lao said. Damien smirked, took out one of his daggers quick as a flash and tried to stab Ashe but Ashe managed to sidestep it as he fired back

Nora fired a grenade from Magnhild and that gave them enough cover to jump to the rooftops, with Jaune getting help from Scarlet, and make their getaway as Damien and his men fired at them.

"Should we go after 'em?" Tom-Tom asked.

"No, we get to the others and get those shipments to the factory. We gotta tell Cinder." Damien said, wondering how Cinder would react to this.

* * *

The group of nine Hunters kept running and jumping across rooftops until they were a block away and were sure they weren't being followed. "We had him, we could have done what the cops in this city have been trying to do for months or even years and we let him slip through. I know he wasn't who we were after but it still feels like a bad idea to let him go." Ashe said scornfully.

"We need someone to tell Cinder we're here. That way we'll have a way of finding her." Ruby said.

"Yeah, but at what cost? They'll be hunting us from now on Ruby and we don't even know where Cinder is." Ashe pointed out.

"Well, back at the club I heard them say something about a factory thanks to my enhanced hearing and they also mentioned a factory after he got away."

"How did you...?" Ren began to ask only for Sun to answer him.

"My ears might not be as good as a cat's or a rabbit's but they do the job." he said proudly.

"There are hundreds of factories in this city, where would we even start?" Ashe asked.

"We'll worry about that tomorrow; right now I think we should get back to the warehouse and rest up." Ruby suggested. They all agreed with her and made their way back to the warehouse.

Later as they arrived back at the safety of the warehouse Sun told everyone what he heard about the White Fang. "This is the only chance we got to find the sack of crap that hurt Blake and Yang, maybe if we find him we can find Blake and together we can take the White Fang down." Sun said.

"It's a possibility and those old train yards would make for a good hiding place." Neptune agreed.

"Then it's settled, we'll stay in Haven and try to find Cinder while you guys go and try to find Blake and stop the White Fang." Ruby said.

"Okay then, best of luck to you guys, you'll need it. Call us if you need help." Jaune said.

"Same to you." Neptune returned.

Before they left Sun felt like he had to talk to Ruby about his conversation with Yang the other night, he knew she wasn't thinking clearly so he felt bad about swearing at her.

"Ruby about Yang... I talked to her the other night." He began.

"You did?! Is she okay? Is she back on her feet?" Ruby asked hopefully as she hadn't called her sister in the month they had been on this mission, fearing Yang would tell their father or uncle where Ruby was.

"She's not doing so good. She's really bitter at both herself and Blake. She was... she was really mad at Blake for running off, she told me that if I found Blake to..." Sun didn't want to repeat what had been said, knowing it would break the younger girl's heart that the team she led had fallen apart so badly. "Well she said something pretty nasty about Blake." He said.

"And what did you say?" Ruby asked, her eyes noticeably betraying her emotions.

"I told her off, I called her because I wanted her help in finding Blake but she turned me down pretty harshly. I'm worried about her Ruby, I don't know Yang that well but Blake told me so much about her and the girl I talked to on my scroll wasn't anything like the girl I had met or what Blake had told me about. Do you really think she can recover from this?" Sun asked.

Ruby held back her tears and nodded, "She doesn't need her little sister worrying about her. She's always gotten out of stuff like this! When Uncle Qrow had to go away for a whole year, when we thought we'd be going to different academies, when..." she paused, "when our mom died. She's always gotten through it. I'm worried Sun, my team fell apart so easily during the battle... do you think we can ever go back to how it was?"

Sun sighed and said "I don't know, but if we try hard enough, if Yang does get better, if we find Blake, and if Weiss gets away from her snooty family then maybe Team RWBY will ride again. Don't lose hope kid because that means Cinder wins and I don't think you want that." Ruby smiled and shook her head.

"Good, see you around Ruby Rose." Sun said. Ruby used her Semblance and launched herself at Sun and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Bring Blake back." Ruby said to the Monkey Faunus.

"I'll tr... I will. I promise." Sun said, and with that he and his team left.

Team SSSN made their way back to Haven Academy, tomorrow they would launch their attack on the White Fang.

"So what are we gonna do to stop Cinder anyway? We only found out about these Maiden powers after everything went south, can we really beat her without killing her?" Nora asked. No one had a solid answer.

Ashe sighed and said "Even if we do kill Cinder it won't matter, I've seen things like this before and there's always someone else in charge, someone who plays everyone else like puppets or chess pieces, hell even Saul Jude, the drug lord who killed Mila, didn't leave his base of operations until he had no choice but to fight me head on. From what I've heard and what you guys told me Cinder's been out in the playing field way too much for her to be anything more than an agent."

The idea that Cinder was just another pawn in a grand game gave all four teenagers a feeling of dread. If someone as powerful as Cinder was just a follower, then who was the leader?

"I'll show you safe ways to get around the city in the morning and after that Jaune, your Semblance training begins." Ashe said.

The four teens all went to sleep with Ruby and Nora on the two couches, Jaune and Ren on the old recliner chairs while Ashe would sleep in a sleeping bag. As all the teens fell asleep Ashe went over to his backpack and opened it. He took out the case that Ren had gotten a glimpse of and opened it after he pressed his thumb on the scanner lock.

He looked at the object inside and said "Well my friend what are we to do? Do these kids really trust me? I don't know, nothing's simple anymore, my life hasn't been for twenty years." He muttered as he took hold of the two items her wore around his neck, the ring and the whistle.

Then Ashe's ears perked up, he could swear he heard something that sounded like a roar up above... probably just an airship.

* * *

Cinder Fall stood at the platform of a giant factory in Haven with Emerald, Dr. Victor Giger, a third doctor who acted as an assistant to both Giger and Sherizawa known as Yiro West, and the third Grimm Commander known as Ziz.

West was a young man in his mid-twenties with messy brown hair and tan skin who had been kicked out of several science academies for his questionable theories and practices. Salem had discovered him and had given him a position in her scientist ranks. He also served as a healer for Cinder and her team as he held the Semblance of healing.

Ziz had been a Huntress several years ago who was left for dead after a particularly hard battle with a flock of Nevermore and her team thought she had perished. She had been discovered by Salem like the others and given a new life as a Grimm Commander, since she was one of the few who survived Giger's experiments and operations. She had spiky brownish-red hair and a revealing shirt that showed off her midriff. She stood proud with the black wings of an adolescent Nevermore that had been grafted onto her body and made a part of her bone and muscle structure. Her skin, like the other Grimm Commanders, was bone white with the occasional black line as well as the blood red eyes. Her weapon, currently hitched on her back was a battle ax that doubled as a scattergun,

"Our new commander seems to have mastered flight with the Wyvern." West said as he jotted down notes. Up in the sky the new Grimm Commander, Fotia Drakos flew the only Wyvern Salem had sent them.

It was not going to be spotted by the citizens of Haven because there was another rider on the beast, Neo who used her illusion Semblance on the beast to hide it from the public eye.

"Eh, she's rough but she'll improve." Ziz said as the Wyvern descended. The beast landed in front of them and kneeled down as its two riders disembarked off its back. Neo looked a little nervous as she wasn't to sure about riding a creature as powerful as a Wyvern but she seemed to be steady.

Fotia Drakos pulled off her helmet and revealed her pale face with bright red eyes with a few black lines going down her eyelids to mark her eyes. She was a tall and muscular girl with short scarlet hair. She was dressed in a black and white armor suit that made her appear to be part of the Grimm and she was armed with her weapon that served as a hybrid of a spear, mace, and rifle. She had been trained well in the last four months since Mistress Salem had found her, taught vigorously in various martial arts and fighting styles, taught how to use her weapon, and most importantly she had bonded with and learned how to fly her partner, the Wyvern.

"Wyvern does marvels. It is too bad he must remain hidden from the people, he is such a wonderful sight to behold." She said as she affectionately rubbed the beast, which did not seem to take notice of the young woman's affection.

"For you maybe, he won't try to eat you." Emerald muttered as she nervously eyed the dragon.

"Calm yourself Emerald, Fotia has done well with the Wyvern. Soon you will be good enough to ride into battle with it." Cinder promised the newest Grimm Commander as Neo wandered off.

"That is wonderful news; all those who oppose Mistress Salem will fear us." Fotia said proudly.

"How has your chest been doing?" Dr. Giger asked, as she had been complaining about chest pains earlier.

"Better thanks to the medication you gave me, dear doctor." Fotia said.

"Eh, I had 'em too kid. They'll go away in a few months, its just part of the surgery that makes you a Grimm Commander." Said Ziz as she pointed to her chest where a noticeable scar marked her otherwise pale body.

Shield generators were around the platform were activated, creating a shield over the Wyvern and the platform they were on descended into the underground. "I see, thank you for the reassurance Miss Ziz. Goodnight everyone, it has been a long day and I must retire to my room." Fotia said as the platform came to a stop in a giant underground lair where several giant cages filled with Grimm were put.

Fotia carefully pressed a calming hand on the Wyvern's muzzle as Matilda, the head Grimm Keeper, led a dozen handlers in leading away the shield generators that imprisoned the dragon Grimm, leading it to a pen where it was to be placed, Giger followed them to make sure it was secured.

Fotia was about to follow them and make sure the Wyvern was calmed when Cinder spoke up, "Before you retire for the night Fotia I must warn you, tomorrow you are going to pledge your allegiance to Salem and prove your loyalty to her. You know what that entails."

Fotia stopped and nodded. It meant taking the life of a person. She was ready to do anything for Mistress Salem, after she had saved her from the terrible life she had lived prior to this, on a terrible rundown farm with cruel and abusive parents. She had witnessed some of the dark depths man could sink to. She was willing to do anything for Mistress Salem, just so they could rid the world of evil like her now dead parents that were slaughtered when some Ursa attacked their farm. That was when Salem discovered her, half-dead and consumed by anger at life Salem had given her life again and Fotia would repay the debt.

"I will do whatever is necessary Lady Cinder." Fotia said, and with that she followed the others into the large cavernous area.

"Kid's got some baggage, huh?" Ziz joked as she flew up.

"No more so than the rest of us." Cinder told the winged woman.

"I like the kid, her parents and my team both left us behind and both groups are already dead so we can't take sweet revenge on 'em." Ziz muttered, annoyed with the fact that her old team had been killed in a skirmish with terrorists some two years ago, preventing her from taking her revenge.

"You'll get to express your rage when the time is right." Cinder said to the Grimm Commander.

"Fn, whatever Maiden, later." Ziz said as she rocketed away, her speed amplified by her Semblance which was similar to Ruby's.

Cinder and Emerald exited the large underground area where the Grimm were contained via an elevator and when they arrived to their destination they were met by Mercury. "Ante's here and he has something he needs to tell you." Mercury reported.

"What could he want? He wasn't supposed to make the delivery in person so this must be important." Emerald said.

"I don't know what it is, he won't speak to me, only to you Cinder. He's got all the goods but he seems to be hiding something special." Mercury said.

"Very well, let us indulge him." Cinder said as she walked away and her students followed her.

* * *

In a large factory floor where workers unloaded the crates filled with weapons and Dust from Damien's trucks Damien and his eight men stood by and waited for Cinder.

"What does she want with these kids anyway?" asked Trooper.

"Don't know, don't really care. They got the jump on me. Drunk or not, that's just humiliating and I intend to get orders from Cinder right away." Damien said.

"I believe we have company." Zhan spoke up as he noticed they had a guest in their presence, one that Damien recognized.

Neo.

She looked at him with unsure eyes, twirling her umbrella in circles around her back. "Hey there Neo, the kids said you were with 'em but I haven't seen you around till now. My condolences on Torchwick's passing, he was a great asshole and a great thief." Damien said to the petite, silent girl.

Neo simply glared at Damien until Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury arrived.

"Damien, to what do we owe the displeasure?" Emerald asked.

"Cute." Damien growled at Emerald before returning his attention to the woman in charge. "Cinder, remember how earlier today you asked me if I had seen those kids?" he asked.

"They're in the city, aren't they?" Cinder asked, hiding her excitement as she thought, 'Finally, something to do that's worthy of my powers.'

"Ding, ding, ding! Give the girl a prize! They jumped me in alleyway a few hours ago, along with another team with come Monkey Faunus, a blue haired kid with a trident, some pirate looking brat, and a guy with a big sword." Damien said.

"Looks like they've hooked up with Team SSSN, makes sense since they're from here." Emerald stated.

"We'll pull up their files; do you know where they went?" Cinder asked.

"Nope, if they went to the academy with their buddies then we'll have to lay waste to the place, but they might try something a little less obvious." Damien said.

Cinder nodded and asked "Anything else?"

"Yeah, there was this other guy with 'em, called himself Ashe. Older than them, 'bout my age" Damien said.

"Was he a Huntsman?" Cinder asked again.

"Maybe, didn't have some crazy looking weapon like they usually do although he did have this odd looking gun I've never seen before." Damien added.

"I got a glimpse at his gun and I know what type it was." Lao said, "It was a special type of rapid-fire shotgun used by the Atlesian military for a brief period thirteen, fourteen years ago and few crates were reported stolen by a Guerrilla Hunters Unit."

"So whoever this Ashe guy is he's a guerrilla huntsman, you said he was your age, right?" Mercury asked and Ante nodded. "He must be good then, those guys don't tend to last long, a few years at the most before they either give in or get killed." Mercury finished. Cinder knew what he meant, most Guerrilla Hunters didn't last more than a few years; most of them either quit or were killed, but there were exceptions, as Salem had several agents who were from Guerrilla Hunting Schools.

"The kid's right, you know what they say; if something lasts that long there must be something there." Trooper agreed.

"Whoever this man is, he doesn't matter, what does matter however is capturing Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Tomorrow you will all report here, it will do you no good to start looking for them tonight but in the by tomorrow you will begin hunting them down." Cinder said.

Damien smirked and said "Cinder, it would be my honor, what about the others?"

"I leave that up to your, very disturbed, imagination." Cinder said as she allowed herself a small grin.

"Oh and one more thing, the Arc kid said to tell you that he's coming for you and that he will make you and everyone who works for you pay for what you did to the Nikos girl and the other poor fools at Beacon." Damien said, remembering Jaune's harsh words.

Cinder smiled as her eyes glowed a dark yellow and said "Let him come. He will try, he will fail, and he will be ours."

* * *

At the Atlas Military Headquarters James Ironwood was not having a good day.

He had been having headaches for hours, Winter had left earlier for a day off, there were various reports of Grimm and White Fang activity, rumors about Cinder Fall's whereabouts (all of them wrong), and various trivial things of no real importance that aggravated Ironwood to the point where he was ready to hand it off to the next person he saw.

There was a knock on his door, "Come in." he said. Ulysses Cy and Jackson Chamberlain entered his office and saluted him. "At ease men, what is it?" Ironwood asked, noticing the uneasy look on both their faces.

"Sir, about an hour ago we received a report from Vacuo. An entire village along with the team assigned to protect it has been killed." Cy reported grimly.

"What? What the hell happened?" Ironwood demanded.

"That's just it sir, we don't really know. It appears that it was a Grimm attack sir because there are signs of Beowolves, Death Stalkers, Creeps, but it doesn't make any sense sir. Different species of Grimm rarely attack together and there are no survivors at all, which is odd because they usually leave at least a few alive. It's out in the middle of nowhere sir, right in a desert." Chamberlain said, obviously disturbed as he had seen a few images of the attack site.

"Is it usual for Beowolves to be out in the desert?" Ironwood asked.

"No sir, there are a few packs but they usually work alone because the Vacuo Beowulf is a mostly solitary creature who sticks with its own kind." Chamberlain answered.

"Is it possible that this was an attack by someone else made to look like a Grimm attack?" Ironwood speculated.

"Possibly sir, the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the village showed signs of being stabbed and slashed by a blade and in places that Grimm wouldn't know to attack unless they were ancient enough to get that smart." Cy said.

"And I don't think Death Stalker tails or Beowulf claws grow to be as long and thin as a sword." Chamberlain added.

"Was the village in a place of strategic importance?" Ironwood asked.

"No sir, it was right in the middle of a desert, little over a hundred people lived in the town. We've gotten patrols going with Vacuo's desert patrol guard but it doesn't look like anything is out there." Cy reported.

Ironwood massaged his temples and said "Tell them to double the patrols in all populated areas in Vacuo; we can't have a repeat of this."

The two men looked to each other and Chamberlain said "The Vacuo desert patrol will be reluctant. They are suggesting moving the senior students out the academies and into the field to double the power of a village's Hunters..."

"No! I will not have the possibility of those kids' deaths on my conscience!" Ironwood burst out, slamming his robotic fist on his desk.

Ironwood took a moment to calm himself; he stood up and looked out his window. "Pyrrha Nikos died because of a mistake I made. Many people died because we couldn't see Cinder Fall for what she was until it was too damn late. Over three dozen students from other counties died in the Grimm attack. I will not allow more. Double the patrols." He ordered.

Cy nodded but Chamberlain wasn't so sure. "Sir, they are already wary of us because we placed patrols and bases in every county and every major island, this move has already sparked controversy so I think we should let the people in charge of Vacuo decide." He said.

Ironwood glared at the man and simply said "You are dismissed."

The two men left Ironwood's office and walked down the hall. "I'm getting worried about him, he isn't thinking clearly." Chamberlain said.

"After everything that's happened, Ozpin disappearing, all those killed in the last few months, Cinder Fall obtaining the Fall Maiden powers do you really think he'd be making rational decisions?" Cy asked.

Chamberlain sighed and answered with "No."

* * *

" _ **I'll always be with you." The voice said.**_

" _ **Pyrrha? Please, tell me if that's you!" Jaune yelled into the void.**_

" _ **For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." The voice said again, that wonderful and terrible saying that Pyrrha told him in the Emerald Forest.**_

" _ **I know it's you Pyrrha. I don't know what's going on. Maybe you're a ghost or I'm just going crazy or something but I know it's you!" Jaune called as he ran nowhere and everywhere at once.**_

" _ **Cities can be destroyed, land can be devastated, bodies can die, but our souls are forever. I love you Jaune and love is eternal, Love never dies." Her voice said.**_

" _ **Pyrrha! Please answer me! Please! I love you!" he yelled.**_

" _ **And I love you, my knight." She said to him.**_

" _ **Pyrrha, what should I do?! I want to find Cinder and make her pay but I don't want to give into hatred! I don't want to be like her or that criminal I fought today! What should I do?!" he called.**_

" _ **Trust your heart. Trust Ruby. Trust Ren. Trust Nora. Trust Ashe. Trust yourself. And trust me."**_

" _ **I want to hurt her Pyrrha. I want to kill her so damn bad like I did in my dreams months ago! I... I'm so sorry." He sobbed out.**_

" _ **Do not give into the darkness Jaune and you have nothing to be sorry for."**_

" _ **Yes I do. I went after Weiss instead of after you, I let Cardin blackmail me, I... I was so weak I just held you back. I didn't even notice the obvious until you grabbed my head and kissed me. I don't know how you could ever stand to be around me."**_

" _ **Because I saw something in you. Something wonderful. I saw someone who treated me for me, didn't shy away or try to use me to their own ends. You saw me as just another girl. It was then that I knew you were someone special and the more time we spent together the more certain I became that you were the one I wanted to spend my life with."**_

" _ **... I would have died for you. I was your leader, I was beginning to have feelings for you! I would have died a thousand times for you." Jaune cried.**_

" _ **I made my choice. If it was right or wrong I can not say, but it was destiny."**_

" _ **Destiny is bullshit Pyrrha. I spat destiny in the face. I faked my way into Beacon, I survived the Emerald Forest against all odds, I took out an Ursa when I should have died, I... I made it this far. Destiny would never have allowed that. You know, my parents love me but they were sure I wouldn't last a single semester at Beacon. There is no such thing as destiny Pyrrha."**_

_**Silence.** _

" _ **How do I know this is real? It's just a dream." he asked.**_

" _ **Turn around."**_

_**He did so.** _

_**He felt her hands on his, he felt her skin, saw her face, her wonderful eyes, her flowing red hair.** _

_**He felt her lips on his.** _

_**Not dreamed he felt them, actually felt them.** _

" _ **I'll always be with you."**_

Jaune woke up. The sun had risen.

* * *

The Schnee Mansion, which resided in the capital of Atlas of course, was receiving a visit from one of its former occupants, the eldest daughter known as Winter.

"Hello Father, Weiss." Winter greeted as she arrived.

"It is good to see you Winter, have you been doing well?" her father asked.

"I have indeed father, General Ironwood and the rest of us have been living through stressful situations but we manage just fine." Winter said.

"Ah excellent, I'm sorry I cannot stay, I have business to attend to and all but we shall speak when I return this afternoon since I will leave work early today." Her father said.

"It is alright father; I understand the company needs you." Winter said before she looked to Weiss and added, "I feel like I need to spend time with my sister anyway."

She approached her sibling and hugged her. "How have you been?" she asked.

"I have been recovering well, I still miss my friends and wish that everything could go back to normal, but I know I can't make it so." Weiss said.

Winter looked at her sister with a small smile and said "At least you understand that better than your teammates did." She said. She noticed Weiss' subtle scowl.

After their father had departed for work at the main building of the Schnee Dust Company Winter decided she needed to speak to her sister more personally now.

"Weiss, I know you have changed since you went to Beacon. We have all changed and I can tell that you want to help your friends." Winter said.

Weiss looked at her sister and said "Am I that obvious?"

Winter smiled and said "No, or father would have done something about it by now. How is summoning coming along?"

"Better. Last night I tried it... I felt something, I felt so close but I fell short. I could feel how close I was Winter. I need your help." Weiss said.

Winter said "I will give you the additional training you require but I need you to agree to something first."

Weiss was hesitant, but she trusted her sister. "What is it?" she asked.

"Help. You are the only member of Team RWBY or JNPR that we currently know the whereabouts of, aside from Yang Xiao Long who is still in seclusion. Both of your teams clashed with the forces of Cinder Fall regularly whether you knew it or not. You have an idea of how they move, how they operate, and maybe even how they think. Blake Belladonna is MIA, Pyrrha Nikos is gone, and Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie are all off on some foolish mission to stop Cinder by themselves. As of now you are our best bet. We need you to consult for us." Winter finished.

Weiss was a little stunned that her sister, her perfect, older sister was actually asking for help. She knew where Ruby and the remains of Team JNPR, were, but she knew she couldn't tell her sister that.

"Do we have an agreement?" Winter asked. Weiss looked up and nodded.

"I will do it for my team and for my friends." She said.

Winter and Weiss made their way to the large training room used by the Schnee family, it was decorated with exercise equipment, training blades, and things the Schnee family had used in the past to bring themselves to what they considered physical perfection.

Weiss and Winter stood in the center of the room as Weiss created the Glyph symbol on the floor below, pointing Myrtenaster at the symbol below her.

"Concentrate. Your form is perfect; channel your aura into it, as much of as you can." Winter ordered as Weiss followed her instructions.

"Remember, do not doubt yourself, that leads to defeat caused by you and you alone. Think about fallen enemies, ones you have vanquished. Think about them as they come to your aid, now servants who serve you with artificial life. Do not let emotions cloud your mind. They can be powerful and helpful, but they can also sabotage you. Concentrate, you control them, they do not control you." Winter said as Weiss channeled everything she had into the Glyph on the floor.

A figure began to appear, a large, tall, armored figure.

The one that gave Weiss the scar across her left eye.

The robotic knight that Weiss had destroyed over a year ago. Weiss had suspected that this thing was her summon after its hand appeared when she helped battle the Paladin Robot with Velvet.

It stood before them and then it bowed, like a knight to a queen.

"Excellent, sister. Now disperse it." Winter commanded.

Weiss concentrated again and the Knight faded out of existence and aura flew back into Weiss, giving her a rush of power.

Weiss looked to Winter and said "Thank you."

Winter hugged her little sister and said "I knew you could do it. You are ready. Tomorrow you will come with me and we will speak to General Ironwood. You will help us stop these terrorists."

* * *

Later that day, Ashe, Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora returned to the warehouse after hours of running around the city's roofs and alleyways and occasionally the small urban street or busy main road. They had been planning out pathways and routes to avoid being spotted and found some good hiding places along the way. Making their way across the massive city filled with statues was no easy task, made harder by the fact that they had to run and jump most of the time and they were understandably tired.

"Finally! So good to be back!" Nora said.

"Hold off on celebrating Nora, we still gotta get food." Ruby reminded her.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Nora whined.

"I'd rather we do it today, I prefer to have a stocked refrigerator opposed to an empty one and it will also be dark in a few hours so we should do it while the sun is out." Ren said.

Nora sighed and said "Can I get a candy bar? She asked.

"Yes." Ren said, smiling a bit.

"Yay!" Nora cheered.

"Aren't you guys tired?" Ashe asked.

"A bit, but I think we can handle a trip to a grocery store." Ruby said, smiling.

"Jaune and I will stay here. His Semblance training needs to begin." Ashe said.

Jaune nodded, "I'm ready." He said confidently.

"Jaune I won't lie to you, the emotion Semblance can take a lot out of you and it will require me to do and say things I don't want to do, but I promise you it will be worth it." Ashe said to the younger man.

Jaune looked down, took a deep breath and said "I'll do whatever it takes." He said.

"Good luck!" Nora called as she galloped out of the warehouse followed by Ruby and Ren.

Ren gave a calm wish for luck and Ruby simply smiled and waved. "You can do it Jaune!" she said, and with that Ashe and Jaune were left alone.

"Do you have anything that belonged to Pyrrha with you? Anything at all from her that you hold dear to you? A necklace or something" Ashe asked.

Jaune sighed. There was one thing.

He went to his backpack and took something out. Her circlet, the one Glynda had given him. The only thing left of her.

"Would you protect that thing with your life?" Ashe asked his student.

"It's the only thing they found of her. I'd demolish anyone who'd try to damage it." Jaune said, not liking where this was going.

"Place it on that table in the center." Ashe said and Jaune did so.

"There are seven main abilities of the Emotion Semblance; attack, defense, speed, jumping, endurance, strength, and finally the ultimate attack of this Semblance." Ashe said.

"What's the attack called?" Jaune asked.

"There is no name for it, I'll tell you about it later. Now since you've gotten speed and jumping down so far with how we've ran ourselves ragged today we'll focus on the first two." Ashe said, remaining a bit cryptic about what he was planning.

He pointed to Pyrrha's circlet and said "I will try to destroy her headpiece and you will stop me."

* * *

Ozpin was brought up in chains. He looked up with a glare at Salem, his enemy, the greatest threat there had ever been.

"Hello Ozpin, good to see you. Sorry I couldn't do this earlier but I had more important matters to attend, although I did want you to meet your roommate." Salem said as she gave a small, dark smile.

"How is he alive? I killed him myself." Ozpin said.

"Oh Ozpin, you never truly saw him die. You merely saw him fall, you have to make sure your enemy is dead and not just assume it." Salem retorted.

"Why? Why did you save Norvik?" Ozpin demanded.

"Because he avenged my children for me. He is a danger to all but myself and my children, so I keep him locked up for the protection of my other servants. Something you wouldn't know about." Salem said with her smile growing ever more sinister.

"What do you mean?" Ozpin asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Salem waved her arm and a screen appeared above and behind her throne, showing the ruins of Beacon Academy and the city of Vale with the dead Wyvern atop the tower.

"This was taken a few days ago; this is what has become of your precious Academy four months ago." Salem taunted.

"Four months?! I was out for..."

"A third of a year, yes. Oh and speaking of your Academy I know you will be saddened by the loss of several of your students, this one in particular." Salem said as one of her servants came forth with a shield that Ozpin recognized all too well.

The servant threw it to Ozpin's feet and the old wizard collapsed in shock and grief.

It was the ruined shield of Akouo.

"Pyrrha... no..." Ozpin whispered in horror.

"I am afraid the 'Invincible Girl' did not live up to her name. I had plans for her, but alas it was not to be. The moment you chose her as the new Fall Maiden you sealed her fate. You sent her to her death. She died a hero trying to stop my disciple Cinder Fall, the true Fall Maiden. She was a stupid girl who refused to run and wasted her life, but it was her destiny to do so. Her death as well as the death of so many others has inspired so much fear, distrust, grief, and anger that my children grow stronger everyday. There is nothing you can do to stop us, especially with the children you thought you could use a soldiers in a hidden war they never even knew existed until recently." Salem said to her rival.

She got off her throne and walked down to the fallen form of William Ozpin.

"We will stop you, they will stop you. Those children will defeat you, they will drive your darkness away and the light will prevail for Remnant." Ozpin swore.

Salem laughed and said "Ozpin you fool! These children of yours are scattered across Remnant, some do try to stop us, but their teams and friendships are broken and these children hide in their homes in fear and defeat and some run away to save themselves. The children who will stand and fight us will not be enough to defeat the darkness, nor will Qrow Branwen, who has taken up your position as Headmaster. Headmaster of what I'm not sure, but he will fail just as you failed. All of those children will either fall or become mine, I swear on it. The ones that only you saw power and potential in will become my servants, slaves to the darkness. You have failed them Ozpin just like you failed your team all those years ago! I will turn both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc into my children, my weapons, they will be mine Ozpin." She said as her blood red eyes glowed with satisfaction.

Ozpin looked up at her, his eyes were those of a broken and tired old man, but he spoke to her as if she was just another annoyance. "They won't. They'll never join you. You see, you made one mistake. You killed their friend, someone they loved. When your disciple killed Pyrrha Nikos she sealed your fate. I know Ruby and Jaune and their friends. They will rest at nothing until Cinder is defeated and once they find out about you they will hunt you down like the beast that you are and end you. Ruby will reunite her team and mend their relationships no matter what you have done to them. Jaune Arc will lead his team in a quest to avenge Pyrrha Nikos, because she loved him and I knew that towards the end he loved her as well. Love will stop you Salem, it will be your undoing."

Salem smiled and shook her head. "Oh Ozpin you pathetic old fool. The darkness will win in the end. Darkness gives us more power than the light ever could. You see, darkness gives us concealment of ourselves; our true faces, our hearts, and our desires. It gives us illusions and gives you dreams. Illusions fool you so easily and dreams grant you the imaginary idea that the light will vanquish the dark and all will live 'happily ever after.' Our greatest illusion however is day itself. Everyday is a new day because it is temporary. The night always pushes it away. Even when the light seemingly wins there will always be a shadow behind the light. The dark has already poisoned your society and culture; cruelty and prejudice have bled into what was to be justice and law, it sows seeds of doubt and contempt in love that continue to grow with each lover's quarrel. The dark is patient and its patience is eternal. Darkness is everywhere. It is all around us. The light you cling to creates shadows of darkness. That is why we will win and you will lose William Ozpin. Even if your child warriors do pose a threat to it they will fall into my hands, their souls are bright as stars, but even the brightest star casts a shadow. Even stars die out Ozpin." Salem said, smiling in triumph.

Ozpin's eyes were hidden by his hair and shadows, preventing Salem from seeing how utterly broken he was. Then he did something Salem did not expect.

He smiled.

"The darkness is not yours to command Salem and you overestimate it greatly. It may conceal you from the world, but it also conceals the world from you and conceals truths and secrets that you fear. It conceals threats from you that you are unaware of and some will be able to see through your illusions. While justice does indeed fail at times it works to uphold the law and protect the people no matter what race, lovers will forgive each other and kill these weeds of hate the darkness sows, patience can cause one to grow old and slow, and the darkness has two weaknesses that you have foolishly overlooked." Ozpin said with a calm and serene look on his face.

Salem grew furious, her nails digging into her clenched fist and her eyes now glowing with fury.

"And what are those two weaknesses, pray tell?" she asked.

"I will only tell you one for now. The first weakness is that a single small candle can hold the darkness back, the bigger the light the further the darkness is driven. I will tell you the other weakness some other time."

Ozpin was thrown against the wall as his body writhed in immense pain and agony; it was so overwhelming that he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Salem was panting with fury, so much power thrown into that Aura-Blast. She calmed herself and looked at her guards and servants who were now cowering before her. They had never seen their mistress so filled with wrath.

"Take him back to his cell." She ordered as she sat back down on her throne.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven city is made up of a abominable combination of New York City, Detroit, and Los Angeles with a bit of Hong Kong thrown in for good measure, also, points to you if you recognized what movie the intelligent Beowolves legend was inspired by. 
> 
> No Blake or Yang in this chapter and there won't be any Yang in the next chapter because I felt her scenes would get too angsty and repetitive, but she'll be in Chapter 5 a lot. There was also going to be a big fight between Team SSSN and the White Fang here, but I decided to save it for next chapter. The first scene of Ashe training Jaune was also going to be in this chapter but I decided not to make this chapter too long and save it for next time as well and finally the speeches about light and dark were inspired by Matthew Stover's novelization of Revenge of the Sith.
> 
>  
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you


	4. The Lonely Ones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum. Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you!

"No! We are not using her circlet for this! I don't care what it takes! You are not..." Jaune was interrupted by Ashe rushing forward towards the table.

Jaune jumped in front of him and blocked him, grabbing Ashe's hands and holding them to prevent him from going any further.

"What is wrong with you?!" Jaune demanded.

"It's like I said Jaune; it's the emotional reactions that empower you, but you have to control them. Protect that headpiece Jaune, don't let me near it!" Ashe commanded as he wrestled himself free and ran back.

"You need to control your emotions and they will give you power." Ashe said as he approached a crate and smashed his fist into it, bursting the metal box open. "If you want to protect that circlet Jaune then protect it! Protect it as if it were Pyrrha!" he yelled.

Jaune looked at his 'mentor' in confusion and anger. What was he playing at? Would this really make him stronger?

Ashe rushed him again and Jaune blocked him, this time jumping up and kicking Ashe in the gut, knocking him back. "Good, but you need to create a shield with your aura, that is the way to protect with the emotion Semblance." Ashe said.

"Why don't you create a shield as an example?" Jaune asked.

"Because I have nothing to protect right now." Ashe said, it was then that Jaune noticed Ashe's ring and whistle that were usually around his neck were missing.

Ashe rushed forward again and Jaune launched himself at Ashe, but Ashe was easily able to wrestle control from Jaune and throw him into one of the couches, knocking it over in the process.

Jaune looked up and his blood ran cold as he saw Ashe holding the circlet in his hands. "Not enough." Ashe said. Jaune took a deep breath and then he jumped up and charged forward, using his body to knock Ashe over and pin him to the ground, forcing Ashe to drop the circlet.

"You're going too far!" Jaune yelled.

"If you think this is too far, then you haven't seen anything yet!" Ashe said as he forced Jaune to turn over, reversing the positions.

"You have fear, anger, rage, and hatred but you can't let them use you! You have to use them! If you give into them you will start on a dark path and you will regret it forever!" Ashe said. Jaune glared at his teacher and managed to wrestle his hand free and sock Ashe in the cheek, knocking him back.

"Is this really going to work? It looks like you're just trying to piss me off!" Jaune yelled.

"Well this is emotion; emotions can grant you strength if you know how to use them properly but if you let them take control of your mind you will do terrible things that you can never truly be redeemed for." Ashe said.

"What have you lived through Ashe? I know about Mila and how you lost her to that Saul... drug lord guy, but what made you like this? You said your parents died, is that what made you like this?" Jaune demanded to know.

"Several points of my life have turned me into what I am today Jaune. The first is the death of my parents and the destruction of my family, the second is the Grimm Pit I fell into with several dozen others when I was training to be a Guerrilla Huntsman, the third is what happened between me and Mila and how she was taken from me because I wasn't good enough to save her. I failed her Jaune, just like you failed Pyrrha!" Ashe yelled.

Jaune eyes snapped wide open.

"We're both failures Jaune! Neither of us were good enough for the Academies and you had to fake your way in! Do your friends even know about that? If they don't then why did you tell me? Face it Jaune, you got lucky! Your luck just ran out that's all. You could have saved Pyrrha, just like I could have saved Mila, but we both failed! When Mila needed me I was nothing but a weakling who got his ass handed to him by thugs and when Pyrrha needed you you were nothing but a lovable goofball pretending to be a hero! She knew you didn't stand a chance against Cinder Fall, so she shoved you into the locker and saved your sorry ass and she marched off to commit suicide because she believed that she stood a chance against Cinder. Face it Jaune, Pyrrha died because you weren't good enough! Because she wasn't good enough!" Ashe yelled.

There was a solid five seconds of silence between the two before...

"ARGH!" Ashe cried out as a mighty attack from Jaune had slammed him into the wall.

"Too far Ashe. Too. Freaking. Far." Jaune said, glaring at the older man.

Ashe ran forward to battle, but Jaune was able to dodge every punch he threw, remembering the training and the things Pyrrha had taught him on that balcony all those months ago. He saw Ashe's moves coming; he saw the punches and kicks before they happened.

He saw his opening.

He struck Ashe in the chest, knocking him down to the ground. He jumped on top of Ashe, pinning him to the ground, and began to assault him with a barrage of punches.

He stopped after twenty-two hits, breathing hard. Ashe, his face bruised and his nose bleeding, smiled reluctantly and said "Well done. You've gotten the attack part down. You controlled your anger and if you hadn't you would have killed me. Now let's continue with that shield and attack stuff shall we?" Ashe asked, grinning a little.

Jaune had a brief second to be confused until Ashe shoved him off him and jumped up and kicked Jaune in the side. "Think about your pain Jaune, think about those who hurt you, those who took Pyrrha away from you; calmly consider what you will do to them when you get the chance to battle them. Will you act like a dark angel come to reap sinners or will you be a man of justice, determined to make Cinder suffer for what she has done. Think about Cinder Fall, think about Pyrrha, think about how helpless you were to save her. When I need to fight a battle that looks impossible I think of my father, I think of Saul Jude, I think of the Grimm in that pit, I think of how I failed to save Mila and it all becomes so easy. I make my move and my enemies never stand a chance and neither will yours." Ashe said as Jaune got up.

Ashe made his way to Pyrrha's circlet and said "Stop me Jaune; protect this headpiece as if it were her! Imagine me about to end her, here she is lying beaten and broken and you are the only one who can save her Jaune! Save her! Fight as hard as you fucking can and force me to yield!" Ashe yelled.

Jaune rushed forward.

He thought of Emerald. He thought of Mercury. He thought of Pyrrha locking him up and sending him away. He thought of Cinder Fall. He thought of himself and how he had failed to notice Pyrrha's feelings for him or how he failed to save her.

And it all became so easy.

Ashe lifted up his boot-clad foot and looked like he was about to stomp on the headpiece when Jaune ran as fast as he could, aided by his Semblance, dove down, and used his arm to block the boot.

A shield of aura appeared over his arm and the circlet, stopping Ashe's boot in its place.

Ashe smiled before Jaune used the aura shield to knock him over onto the ground. Jaune got up and ran over to Ashe, pinning him down with his foot.

"Well done. I yield." Ashe said as he grinned at Jaune with pride.

Jaune helped Ashe get up and asked "Was all of that really necessary?"

"I'm afraid so. Your Semblance works best when your emotions try to take control but you are certain that you control them." Ashe explained. Jaune picked up the circlet and made sure that it wasn't damaged, which it thankfully wasn't.

"I'm sorry." Ashe said. Jaune looked at the older man who had just forced Jaune to think about terrible things and had said such horrible things to Jaune.

"The emotion Semblance is a hard one to live with, emotions usually help or hamper other Semblances, but the emotion Semblance is the one where they are everything. To achieve power with it we must think about things we'd rather not think about, imagine things we dare not hope for or hope never come to pass. I've never trained anyone before and I honestly don't know if I'm doing it right. I had to teach myself with the help of some dusty old books and I don't know if I'm even good at it. We can only try our best." Ashe said.

Jaune sighed and said "If that's what it takes I'll do it. I may not like it, but I will do whatever it takes to get stronger and protect my friends." Jaune said, he couldn't bear to lose Ruby or Nora or Ren or any one of his sisters or...

He couldn't lose anyone like he lost Pyrrha.

"Apology accepted, you were only trying to help me." Jaune said, hiding the small amount of spite he now had for Ashe. Ashe may have been trying to help, but threatening to harm Pyrrha's circlet, training or not, was too far.

Ashe smiled and said "That's enough Semblance training for today. Let us try some sword training." He said as he took out his blade.

"I'm good enough with my sword." Jaune said as he got Crocea Mors.

"You'll have to be better than good to fight these people." Ashe said.

* * *

Across town in another warehouse Damien Ante walked in to see over five hundred people who now worked for him. They had been parts of different mobs and syndicates, all of them were now under his power. Men and women, human and Faunus alike watched as Ante and his eight enforcers arrived.

"You're probably all wondering why I called you here today. Simple! I got a class assignment and/or friendly competition for all of y'all!" Damien said, he gestured to Lao who activated a scroll and the device projected holograms of Ruby and Jaune.

"These two kids are Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, they arrived in town the other night and a good partner of mine wants them brought before her ASAP! They're also accompanied by..." Damien continued as the scroll showed pictures of "Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Sun Wukong, Scarlet David, Neptune Vasilias, and Sage Ayana. Thing is; we don't really care about the rest of these brats, but they got the drop on me last night so I want 'em punished for it. Kill the rest of 'em but Rose and Arc are to be brought to me alive by whatever means necessary!"

He looked out to them and grinned a bit "The rest of these brats are up for grabs. If you kill the rest of these kids you get five thousand lien each, bring me Rose and Arc you get enough money for an early retirement; two million lien each! Oh and if you see someone else with them, this asshole called Ashe with blackish-gray hair and some black trench coat, bring him to me and you get a bonus of twenty-five thousand lien! The hunt begins now people, get going."

The thugs flooded out of the warehouse, scattering around, all of them wanting a piece of that bounty.

As soon as they were all gone Trooper asked "You really think one of those people will catch 'em?"

"Hell no! They're just street punks and cannon fodder. They will, however, make getting around town and finding Cinder all the harder, the more pressure we put on those kids the more likely they are to make a mistake." Damien explained.

He then grinned wickedly and said "And the more mistakes they make, the easier we'll catch 'em."

* * *

Fotia Drakos stood at attention in the main hall of the factory that Cinder had turned into a throne room of sorts. In front of this throne was a floor that retracted and revealed a pit that served as a gladiatorial arena.

She was not the only one there as there were also a dozen of the Grimm Knight robots that were ready to be shown off to Mistress Salem to prove they were ready for combat. They stood tall and firm against the wall, waiting for their time, black all over with white markings, a white head with a glowing red visor, the weapons they concealed... Fotia hoped she would perform her task as good as the mechanical knights would. She had already proven herself in terms of physical and mental strength as well as her control over the Wyvern. This, however, was the ultimate test of loyalty. She had to take someone's life and swear her life to Salem.

She was ready to do anything for Salem, but she had never actually killed anyone.

She looked above and saw Cinder, surrounded by Emerald, Mercury, Neo, Dr. Giger, Dr. Sherizawa, Dr. West, and Ziz, all waiting for their mistress to arrive.

"Miss Ziz!" Fotia called, getting her fellow Grimm Commander's attention.

"Yeah kid, what is it?" Ziz asked.

"Do you think I will be able to please Mistress Salem?" she asked.

A small smirk grew on Ziz's face and she said "Kid, you'll do fine."

"As long as you do what Master Salem asks of you, you will be one of us and a hero of the future." Cinder added, giving the young girl a look filled with promises.

Suddenly a large black vortex appeared in front of the throne, forcing everyone to step back. A figure stepped out of the portal, one that was tall and elegant but terrible and powerful.

Salem appeared, wrapped in a blackish-red cloak, with hair whiter than snow, face pale as bone with the dark red veins marking her otherwise pure face which was also marked by the small black diamond shape atop her forehead. Her eyes were the color of fresh, scarlet blood as they struck one with overwhelming and conflicting feelings of both terror and comfort.

She looked at all of them, sensing the fear from Mercury, Emerald, and Neo as they had never seen her in person before.

"Holy..." muttered Mercury, but he shut himself up before he could finish his sentence.

Salem's eyes darted over and looked at the three young people and all three noticeably drew back. "Do not fear me children, Cinder has told me how well you have served us and for that I am grateful. You three are among friends here." The Mistress of Grimm assured them with a kind, motherly voice before her attention turned to the others.

"Cinder, my prized disciple, it is good to see you again." Salem said as she held her hand out. Cinder took her Master's hand and kissed with love and respect.

"It is wonderful to see you as well my Master. Everything is going just as you predicted." Cinder said.

"Excellent. Doctors, how go our projects, both technological and biological?" Cinder inquired.

"Our Grimm Knights are ready for a demonstration now; we shall show them to you after Commander Drakos has pledged herself to you." Dr. Sherizawa said.

"Wonderful, and Dr. Giger, how goes the Chimera?" Salem asked.

"As well as it can, its aggressive behavior has become a bit of a problem as it has killed thirty-three of our assistants." Giger revealed, "There was that incident two hours ago." West reminded the older man, "Oh right. So it has killed thirty-four."

Salem shook her head and said "Let us put that thought aside for now and move our attention to something more important; Fotia my child, are you ready?"

Fotia took a deep, calming breath and nodded, drawing out her weapon. "I am ready to do whatever you want Mistress." Fotia said confidently.

"Bring him out." Cinder called to some guards. The guards brought forth a man bound by rope and his mouth taped shut. The guards threw him into the pit and he fell with a muffled scream and landed with a thud.

The man looked up, his eyes wild and panicked as he saw Fotia approaching him with her weapon in its mace-form.

"Kill this man my child, mark yourself with his blood and swear your life to me." Salem said, enjoying the fear radiating off of this man.

"What has he done?" Fotia asked.

"Nothing, for all you know, but he could be a murderer, a rapist, a thug, another one of the things wrong with this world. He could be one of the reasons this world must be cleansed by the powers of Grimm." Cinder said.

Fotia approached the man, but she felt hesitation welling all around inside her.

Salem sensed this and spoke. "The point of this test is not just your loyalty, but to prove that you are willing to whatever it takes to conquer Remnant in my name. Take his life and we will be your family, the one that you always deserved."

Fotia shuddered.

A family.

One that wouldn't beat her or insult her.

One that would love her.

A real family.

The man whimpered, begging through a gagged mouth to be spared.

Fotia could taste his fear thanks to the essence of Grimm within her. And it tasted good.

Fotia went to work, bashing the man's head in over and over again with the mace.

She knew deep down that it would all be worth it. The world would pay for the injustices it allowed to go unpunished; she would help make it happen with her new family.

His body finally stopped moving and twitching. Blood pooled around the arena, spreading around to Fotia's feet.

Fotia knelt down and pressed her left hand against his bloody face, covering her palm with blood. She stood up and used her blood soaked fingers to mark herself down her cheeks. She then took out a dagger from her belt and sliced her right palm with the blade, letting herself bleed as well. She lifted both of her bloody hands up and began to recite an oath of loyalty.

"I, Fotia Drakos, swear on my lifeblood and the lifeblood of this man that I will forever serve Salem, the Mistress of Grimm and future Master of Remnant. I swear to all the gods of the four kingdoms; Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo that as long as I draw breath and live I will be your humble servant. I will do whatever you ask of me. I am yours, my master." Fotia swore.

Cinder used her Maiden power of wind to lift Fotia up to level ground and in front of everyone else. Fotia bowed to her new Master but Salem held her hand "Rise child." Salem ordered.

Fotia did as she was told and was enveloped in a hug by the Mistress of Grimm. "You are now a part of my family, my child, my dragon rider, my daughter."

Fotia returned the woman's embrace, the one who had given her a new and better life, one who she would view as her true mother.

"Thank you Mistress." Fotia said, holding back tears of joy, not wanting to appear weak.

Ziz slapped Fotia across the back and said "You're one of us kiddo! Grimm Co number four."

"Thank you Ziz... uh... should I consider you my sister now?" Fotia asked innocently.

"I don't see why not." The older woman said with a grin.

"Now, Dr. Sherizawa your presentation can begin. Show me what my new Knights are capable of." Salem said to the stoic man. He nodded and gestured to some guards.

A group of twenty-four people were marched into the room and thrown into the pit by the guards. These people were of varying ages, races, male and female, human and Faunus.

"These twenty-four people have been accepted for this presentation because they have shown themselves to be capable of defending themselves from attackers, even if those attackers are simply low-level law enforcement officers. For this reason I have determined that they will be the perfect demonstration of the Grimm Knight's abilities. The Knights' have an unfair advantage true, but this only a small demonstration of what they are capable of." Sherizawa said.

"W-what's goin' on? Who are you people? Who is that woman?" asked a scared Faunus teenager.

"None of that matters now my friend. Your contribution is appreciated." Sherizawa said.

The Grimm Knights went to work.

The two dozen people didn't stand a chance.

The first Knight went and in a span of four seconds the first two people were blasted in the stomach and fell to the ground dead. The second Knight attacked next, buzz-saw blades coming out of its arm, two more people fell with simple slashes across their bodies. The third Knight made its attack with mighty punches to the torso, rupturing two more of the chosen victims' organs. The fourth Knight rushed forward, grabbed two people by the neck and slammed them overhead, its arms stretching out and slammed them into the ground behind it, snapping their necks.

It went on and on like this, each Knight murdering two people and each time none of the victims were given any mercy.

In a span of one small minute they were all dead.

Salem applauded the mechanical murderers. "You have done very well Dr. Sherizawa, I think they are ready for their first assignment." She said, she turned her head to look at Ziz. "Speaking of which... Ziz, I want you to take your flocks and a platoon of Grimm Knights and work with Steppenwolffe to attack a military base on the north-east side of Vacuo. There is some precious intelligence there about the whereabouts of the current Winter Maiden, we will need her if my plans are to come to fruition." She finished.

Ziz nodded "Your wish is my command, no survivors as usual, right?"

"Of course." Salem confirmed.

"May I go with them Mistress?" Fotia asked, feeling eager to prove herself.

"No my child, we are not yet ready to reveal you to the world. You, Cinder, and I are the only ones here who can fully control a Wyvern, we cannot give away that surprise just yet." Salem said, getting an obedient and understanding nod from Fotia.

"You may leave us and go about your business. Ziz, Dr. Sherizawa, prepare for the mission." Salem ordered them.

Salem's followers all obeyed her instructions with Ziz leaving to prepare for her mission to Vacuo and Sherizawa to prepare a platoon of the Grimm Knights. Emerald, Mercury, Neo, and Fotia left to go about their daily routines and Giger and West went back to the labs but Cinder stayed with her master.

"Rose and Arc and their friends have been spotted within the city and they know about my presence. Ante was the one who told them after they ambushed him, he has already started a citywide search for them and I have told him to bring Rose and the Arc boy to us alive." Cinder said.

"Good, the sooner they are in our possession the better. Make sure that fool Ante doesn't harm them, they must remain intact for my plans to work." Salem said.

"I will make sure they are unharmed and if they are not I will personally punish Ante for it." Cinder said with an evil smirk.

"I must take my leave of you now Cinder; there are other matters to attend to." Salem said as she opened up another portal to her palace. "How has your guest been?" Cinder asked before Salem departed.

Salem paused and left her apprentice with only one word to describe Ozpin. "Difficult."

* * *

Ozpin woke up yet again to the sight of the damp cell. "I think waking up in this cell will get very tiring very fast." Ozpin muttered.

"You've only been here for a couple of days; at least you got to enjoy a nice restful coma-induced slumber in the infirmary before you came down. Trust me Ozpin, the chains, the cell? Those are easy. It is what goes on inside your mind that is torture." Norvik said from across the small room.

Ozpin couldn't help but agree with the older man. His mind had been plagued by thoughts of Pyrrha Nikos, of Ruby Rose, or Jaune Arc, or the legend of the Four Maidens. Thoughts about going back to the past and trying to prevent the disaster that he had allowed to transpire, thoughts of stopping Cinder Fall and ending her insane ambitions, thoughts about giving Pyrrha the Fall Maiden powers earlier, thoughts about bringing guards to protect the vault, thoughts of doing anything to stop what had happened.

But Ozpin knew it hopeless, regret and denial and hope would not fix what had happened.

This was just another one of his many mistakes, one that he would regret forever, but for now he needed to focus.

He needed to find a way to escape. He just needed to wait for the right opportunity and time.

* * *

Ruby led the way home as Nora followed her, cheerfully humming while she munched on her candy bar and Ren pushed a cart filled with groceries, most of which were bought to appease Nora's legendary appetite.

Ruby had been somewhat distant the entire trip to the store and she looked up the emotion Semblance on her scroll, it was a rare Semblance and it was apparently a taxing one on the body and the mind and it required training that could damage one's mind, it required bringing up old memories, imagining terrible things to make one more powerful.

She hadn't told Ren and Nora this because she didn't want them to worry about their friend. She just hoped Ashe knew what he was doing, but all the same she would have to confront him about it.

They approached the warehouse and Ruby unlocked the door with the key Sun had given her and Nora opened it up for Ren to push the cart inside.

Ruby was greeted by the sight of Jaune sleeping on one of the couches and Ashe resting on one of the chairs looking at a small photograph in his hand before he noticed them enter. "Hey guys, training's finished for today." Ashe said, looking a bit exhausted and battered.

Ruby looked at Jaune who was completely out of it and it caused her to feel a bit nervous. "Is Jaune okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, this Semblance is pretty tiring; it can take a lot out of a person. I remember the first real big training session I did by myself; passed out around noon and woke up around nine o'clock at night." Ashe said nostalgically.

"Will he be all right?" Ren asked as he wheeled the grocery cart over to the fridge as Nora flopped down on another chair.

"Yeah, he'll wake up in the morning. We've managed to get the attack and defend pretty much down. Jaune's stronger than I thought he was, gave me the best damn punch I've had in the last few years." Ashe chuckled.

Ren nodded as he began putting the groceries in their proper place. "Jaune may appear to be weak at first, but he is very capable of handling himself and his strategies are quite well thought out. He can be a bit of a..." Ren struggled for the proper word. "Goofball?" Nora suggested. "That is one way of describing it but when you really need him he will be there for you." Ren said.

Ruby flinched a bit, remembering Pyrrha had died because she didn't want Jaune to be there.

"Um... Ashe, may I speak with you alone... uh, outside?" Ruby asked.

"Sure thing." Ashe said, grabbing his trench coat on to keep him warm from the chilly air.

The teenage girl and the man walked out of the warehouse and onto the empty dockside as twilight began to fall.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Ashe asked.

"This training, I looked it up and it looks pretty dangerous! I don't want Jaune to get hurt, body wise or feelings wise." Ruby said.

"How do you feel about Jaune? What is he to you?" Ashe asked.

Ruby raised her eyebrow before she answered "He's my friend... he's like the dorky big brother I never had. He was the first real friend I made when I came to Beacon."

"Hmm. Ruby, I won't lie to you, the training for the emotion Semblance is very taxing on your body, your mind, and your aura. It requires you to think about things you'd rather not think about. Want things you know you can never have. Those out of reach desires can fuel us and we can turn them into something more besides shattered dreams, motivation and power to do more." Ashe said to the girl.

"Did you use Pyrrha to motivate Jaune?" Ruby demanded.

"Yes."

"You have no right to do that! You never knew her like we did! You..."

"Ruby, look at this picture." Ashe said as he took out the small photograph he was holding and gave it to her.

Ruby looked at the photo and saw a younger Ashe with his arms around a pretty woman with blue eyes and black hair. In this picture Ashe looked happier than Ruby had ever seen him in the short time she knew him and his yellow eyes were more vibrant opposed to the tired look he wore now.

"This is Mila, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes. I look at that picture everyday Ruby. To remind me of what I have lost and what awaits for me when I die. I have wanted to commit suicide several times in my life Ruby but I've never had the guts because of the old legends that say people who kill themselves go to hell where I know Mila isn't. I look for other ways of death. I take down criminals, gangs, hordes of Grimm... Nothing has killed me yet, given me a hell of a lot of scars though. Each time it hasn't killed me because I think of Mila and Saul Jude, the man who took her from me. I think of my mother who was killed by my father, I think of my big sister killing my father and then leaving me behind going out into the world to become a hero. If Jaune wants to get stronger, if he wants to take down Cinder and avenge Pyrrha then he will need this training, no matter how harsh it is." Ashe told her.

Ruby looked at him, sympathetic now that she had learned what had become of his family.

"What happened to your family? Why did your dad...?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ashe said quickly.

Ruby nodded, she knew this must be a dark and painful subject for Ashe and she knew that it was wrong to pry but her curiosity got the better of her and she said "Well, maybe if you tell me you'll feel a little better."

Ashe sighed, he knew Ruby wouldn't stop prodding until she got her way so he decided to oblige her with the dark tale.

"I don't really know what happened. One night I was in bed, I heard an argument; I heard mom, dad, and my sister screaming at one another. Then I heard the screams get louder and then it gets quiet for a while. Then I hear dad screaming. My sister grabs me and gets me out of bed, she tells me dad killed mom, she takes me and hides me in a closet and tells me to stay put. I stay in that closet for an hour, trying my best to stay silent through my tears, even though I can hear my father and sister battle. Eventually my sister opens the door and tells me it's all over. We bury our parents, my sister leaves and tells me to go find a new home somewhere in the valley we lived in. She says she's going off to be a hero and she won't be able to look after me. She tells me someday she'll return. She never did." Ashe finished.

Ruby's eyes were widened at the dark and depressing story, she was quietly thanking Oum that her family had not fallen apart that badly. Ruby handed the picture back to Ashe and Ashe spoke to her again.

"Ruby, I've been wondering something; how did a girl as young as you get into Beacon?" Ashe asked.

"Well... I was just at the right place at the right time I guess. I foiled a robbery led by a guy called Roman Torchwick, almost stopped him from getting away, got scolded by Glynda Goodwitch herself but then Professor Ozpin came in with... cookies of all things, he noticed my silver eyes, talked to me a bit, then he offered me a place at Beacon. I honestly couldn't believe it, I felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world..." Ruby said, laughing at the events of that night that seemed so long ago.

"But now I have to wonder if Ozpin planned on making me into a Maiden like he did with Pyrrha. Uncle Qrow told me about my silver eyes and it made me wonder if Professor Ozpin planned on using my eyes to his advantage for something. I don't know where Professor Ozpin is right now or if he's even alive, but I know deep down he was a good man... I just want to know what he was doing or if... if he could have stopped any of this from happening." Ruby said, getting it all off her chest.

"He was just one man Ruby, the fate of the world can't fall onto his shoulders alone." Ashe said, he then looked at Ruby and said "Ruby, why did you want to become a Huntress?" he asked.

Ruby looked at Ashe and answered him honestly.

"Because of my parents mostly. My mom and dad would always tell us bedtime stories about how they and Uncle Qrow and Yang's mom Raven would fight bad guys and kick butt and save innocent people from Grimm. Now that I think about it I think they probably left out a lot of parts." Ruby said, giggling a bit.

"But the thing that made me know I wanted to be a Huntress, like really know, was the day my mom died. Dad was away with Uncle Qrow to the mainland and the town we lived close to was being attacked by a huge horde of Grimm, she took us to our neighbors, had them lock the doors, and she went out and fought, even though it seemed impossible. She saved the town, she saved everyone, but at the cost of her own life. That's when I knew, even though I was only a little girl that I wanted to be a Huntress. I knew I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to save and help people like my mom did." Ruby said, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"Heroes. Mila once said to me 'Ask a writer for a tale of heroes and adventure they'll give you a tale of tragedy, violence, and loss, and yet in those tales the heroes will never truly die.'" Ashe said.

Ruby nodded but she didn't quite understand what he meant. "When I wanted to become a Huntress I thought it would be just that, heroics and adventure but in the months since Ozpin got me into Beacon I got a team, wonderful friends and then my team fell apart and two of my friends died and my sister's arm got cut off. Mila was right Ashe, heroes and tragedy kinda go together." She finished.

Ashe sighed and said "It's sad. You guys are just kids, lost kids with sad but determined eyes reaching for the impossible. If we are all just stories in the end then people like me and Mila, Jaune and Pyrrha, your mom and dad? We're written to be damn tragedies."

Ruby looked up into the sky as the first stars began to appear in the sky, knowing that Ashe's words were true.

"And yet... despite how bittersweet these stories are..." Ashe continued, "it's up to the people who read or are told these stories how bitter or how sweet they are. A lot of stories are sad Ruby, they are miserable if we let them but there will always be a light at the end. My mom used to say 'every cloud has a silver lining even when it rains.' I think that means that no matter how bad things seem or how hopeless the world looks there is good in it and it is worth fighting for. We have to keep moving forward like you do."

"Like I do?" Ruby said, confused.

"Yeah, look at you! You lost two of your friends, your team split up, your sister lost her hand, and yet here you are out to stop the villain and save the world with your friends. I bet that wherever she is your mom is damn proud of you." Ashe said.

Ruby grinned, she wiped the tears from her face and she said "Thank you Ashe."

"Anytime. Seriously, I think I just need to have a heart to heart with Ren and Nora and I'll be your team's psychiatrist." Ashe joked.

Ruby chuckled and nodded. "Just go easy on Jaune okay" she asked.

"Not gonna be easy. Tomorrow we're going to go for endurance. It won't be easy but with any luck Jaune's Semblance will be worth it." Ashe said.

"Ashe, how long has it been since you had a real home?" Ruby asked.

"I haven't had what you'd call a home since Mila died." Ashe answered.

Ruby smiled and said "When this is all over you can come to live at Patch Island, it's a great place to live." Ruby said.

"I know, I've been there a couple of times." Ashe said, "Then come with us and live there, you won't have to be so lonely anymore." Ruby said.

Ashe looked at her and smiled "What makes you think I'm lonely?" he asked.

"Call it not being stupid." Ruby said with a smirk. He had opened up way too easily for her.

The two went inside as night fell.

* * *

As dusk had fallen on the city of Haven, work was being done on its outskirts. One of the many abandoned areas of the town was its old train yards because most trains still in service were of the main line and they were passenger trains, monorails, or they were freight trains owned by the military or private companies so that left most of the branch lines either torn up or left to rot.

One such branch line led to an old yard for freight with a warehouse that served as a shed. All of it had long since been abandoned and the only ones who bothered to come there were people that did not want to be found.

People such as members of the White Fang.

About fifty odd members all told were stationed here, ready to take on any robbery or operation that Adam Taurus needed them to perform.

Outside the perimeter of the yard a dog Faunus by the name of Murph walked his patrol beat calmly, humming an old song to himself.

He was so used to the quiet isolation of the yard, since it was out of the way of most areas, that he didn't bother listening and brushing off the sounds of rustling bushes as just a raccoon or other wildlife.

That is until a grappling hook wrapped around his ankles and pulled him into a bush.

Murph was held down to the ground by the Members of Team SSSN and his mouth kept shut via Sage's sword against it.

"Okay doggy boy, how many members of the White Fang are here?" Sun asked.

"Fifty-three, counting me." Murph said, not wanting to get himself killed by refusing to answer.

"Do you know who the leader of the White Fang is?" Neptune asked with his trident pointed at Murph's chest.

"Some guy called Adam... they don't really tell me much, I'm at the bottom of the food chain so to speak." Murph said nervously.

"Who's in control here?" Sun asked.

"Jenner! The Rhino Faunus okay! Just don't hurt me." Murph begged.

"Thanks for your cooperation." Sun said and with one punch Murph was knocked out.

"Okay, fifty-some guys. This will be a little tricky but we can pull it off." Sun assured his team.

"Don't look now lads but we got company." Scarlet warned the others as two more Faunus, one a buffalo and the other a squirrel began to approach the large bush they were hiding in.

"Yo Murph! Where'd ya go? Our duty's over, time to switch places with Calico and her girls." Said the buffalo Faunus as he got closer to the bush.

Sun held his hand up to his team, signaling them to wait until the two walked by. He made a hand signal to Neptune and the blue haired boy nodded, knowing what to do.

As they walked past the bush the squirrel Faunus stopped and his tail twitched and sprung up. "I smell something Bog, something not from around here..." he said to Bog, his partner.

Bog looked around the dark woods and said "I don't see, smell, or hear anything..." Then his partner cried out as Neptune zapped him with his trident and Sun jumped up into a tree so fast that he went unnoticed.

Bog looked around and saw his partner lying down on the ground knocked out. Bog reached for his radio to call for help when Sun jumped him, landing a powerful kick to the head, knocking him out instantly.

"Okay, three down and fifty to go." Sun said as his team got out of the bush.

"If they're as easy as these chumps it'll be a breeze." Neptune said confidently.

At the main compound of the White Fang base the captain of the Haven White Fang, Jenner, a large man with a sturdy horn growing out of his nose, stood at attention looking out into the woods.

"I don't feel good about this sir, Bog and his team should have been back by now." Said Calico, a Cat Faunus who was the other patrol leader.

"If they don't appear in three minutes go out there with back up and look for 'em." Jenner ordered.

"Wait a minute, I smell something..." Calico muttered as she took out her sword. Jenner looked ahead and saw Sun come out of the forest armed with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in the combine Bo-Staff form.

"Hold it there boy!" Jenner yelled as several White Fang guards aimed their guns at Sun.

"What? Can't a fellow Faunus be interested in joining the White Fang?" Sun asked with a cocky smile.

"We know who you are Sun Wukong! You've been a pain in our backsides for a while and our superiors have made it clear that any friend of the traitor Blake Belladonna is an enemy." Jenner said as more guards came out of the warehouse armed with guns and swords, surrounding Sun.

"Okay, jig's up. At least you're smarter than the average White Fang thug. Let's get to work boys!" Sun yelled.

And with that several blasts of electricity shot out of the forest and hit several thugs in the head, taking them out.

Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet all ran out in attack formation with Neptune and Scarlet using their guns to blast down the thugs while Sage swung his sword's back end to knock guards out. By this point twelve of the guards were taken out, including the ones they had beaten in the forest.

Sun smirked as several guards rushed towards him. He knocked one down with a mighty punch and then spin-kicked another guard into an oncoming thug. He then disconnected Jingu and Ruyi and they transformed into their nunchaku-shotgun forms and Sun began to swing them around expertly, blasting down more thugs.

Jenner roared out in anger as he took out his weapon, a giant battle ax, and charged at Sun. Sun ducked from the swing of the ax that would have taken his head off and then he jumped up and kicked Jenner in the face and chest.

Jenner growled in anger as he managed to grab Sun's arm and twist him over, slamming him into the ground. Sun rolled to avoid the ax slamming into his back and then he jumped up and combined Jingu and Ruyi into their Bo-Staff form once again. "Let's get this over with horn-boy." Sun mocked, ready to fight.

Sage swung his sword down, slicing guns in half and rendering the guards helpless and he swung his blade down and sent them flying. A guard with a large sword rushed him and tried to slash Sage up the chest but Sage easily dodged it. He slashed his own blade forward and met his enemy head on as the two blades clashed. Sage soon got tired of it and he held his sword back, seemingly giving his opponent the chance to kill him. The thug rushed forward with the blade ready to kill only for Sage to sidestep him and then bash the guard in the back of the head with the sword hilt. He then picked up his defeated opponent and threw him into a squad of oncoming guards.

"Sage, toss me up!" Neptune yelled as he ran towards Sage, blasting a few more Faunus down. Sage nodded and knelt down, holding his sword up firmly. Neptune jumped up and landed on the flat side of Sage's sword and said "Over there!" as he pointed to a dozen guards who were preparing to charge Sun. Sage used as much strength as he could to throw his teammate up into the air.

Neptune used his gun to blast three more guards down before he began to fall into the crowd of guards and he transformed his weapon into its Guandao form and slammed it into the ground and used it like a dance pole as he spun around and kicked all of the guards in the heads and torsos taking them out.

Neptune then ran forward and used his Guandao to bash another guard in the knees, making him fall to the ground in pain only for Neptune to make it worse by jumping on his face, which took him out, and then launching himself at another guard as his weapon turned back into gun-mode and blasted another guard in the face.

Scarlet blasted down guards with his gun and occasionally used the grappling hook from afar to stop them from getting too close. A guard began to fire on Scarlet with a shotgun but Scarlet was able to dodge the blasts, run forward, grab the guard, slam him into the ground and stomp on his forehead, knocking him out. Scarlet heard footsteps coming up from behind him so he whirled around, took out his cutlass just in time to block the attack of Calico.

"Good hearing, usually no one can hear me when I sneak up on them." She admitted as she tried to slash him again only for Scarlet to parry and block her again.

"Thanks.' He said as he took out his gun and used the grappling feature to fly up to the roof of the giant shed.

Calico crouched down and jumped up and made it to the roof, her eyes glaring at him like a cat would at a mouse. She ran at him and slashed downward with her sword but he blocked it, it was now his turn as he pressed his cutlass forward and hit her own blade three times before she swung her sword back and nearly caught him across the cheek.

"Whoa!" Scarlet cried as he fell on his back. Calico took her chance and plunged her sword down to end him but Scarlet managed to block again. He used his legs to sweep kick her down and knock her off the roof but she managed to grab hold of his leg and pull him with her and they both fell to the ground but Scarlet luckily managed to land on top of her and pin her down.

Neptune and Sage had managed to take out the last of the guards so the only thing left was Sun's fight with Jenner.

Jenner continued to swing and miss with his giant ax. He swung downwards and got his ax stuck in the ground giving Sun his opportunity to take him out. Sun used his Bo-Staff to hit Jenner's knees, elbows, wrists, and ankles; all of those hits weakened Jenner enough for Sun to climb up Jenner's back and stomp on his head and bash his skull with the bottom of the Bo-Staff.

Jenner roared in fury as he tossed his head from side to side, shaking Sun off. Sun landed in front of Jenner who screamed out as he charged Sun with his horn pointed right at him. Sun held his ground, smirking. He was right in front of an old boxcar, it was a bit ancient and rusty but Sun knew it would be enough to stop Jenner.

Sun stood his ground until Jenner was mere inches away and he jumped up and over Jenner. It was too late and Jenner couldn't stop himself and he slammed into the boxcar. Sun ran up to Jenner's back as the large Faunus was struggling to free himself and Sun whammed him in the back of the skull with the Bo-Staff form of his weapon, finally knocking Jenner out.

"I'll go back and get the guards in the forest." Sage said, "And I'll get some rope and chains from the base." Neptune said.

Their plan was to defeat the White Fang, tie them up, and then call the cops and have them all arrested so they couldn't cause any more trouble. No doubt there were more White Fang agents in the city, but this was a huge win.

Calico looked at Sun as Scarlet forced her up. "What do you want?" she spat.

"Who's in charge of the White Fang?" Sun demanded.

"Why would I tell you?" Calico asked, glaring at him.

"Because when you get taken to jail you'll be tried as a terrorist, so help us out and we'll tell the cops to go easy on you." Sun reasoned.

Calico glared at him again and still said nothing. "Come on! Do you really think working for the White Fang was the right thing to do? They're setting Faunus rights back not moving them forward! People like you don't want equality, you just want to be feared." Sun said with obvious disgust in his voice."

"What would you know? You're a Faunus, yes, but you have never lived the life most of us have." Calico said bitterly.

"Wrong, when I was a kid I got bullied and chased all the time because of my tail, but you know what? I didn't hold grudges because that meant I'd be no better than the people who persecuted me. What the White Fang has been doing the last few years? All its doing is proving the worst parts of humanity right about us. Do you really want to prove them right?" Sun asked

Calico looked Sun right in the eyes. She sighed and said "I just wanted to be treated like a normal person... and yet I know you're right. Our leader is Adam Taurus. He took over the Fang a few years ago and he's made us a force to be reckoned with even if we are running with Cinder Fall, that witch has gotten us all under orders to lay low until she says otherwise and we are only to look for new recruits."

"Was Adam Taurus the asshole who led the White Fang's attack on Beacon a few months ago?" Sun asked.

"Yes. I've heard rumors that he even saw the traitor Blake Belladonna and punished her for abandoning us." Calico confirmed.

"Where is he?" Scarlet asked.

"Cinder has him in the country, towards the Circle Sea." Calico said, referring to the sea in the middle of Mistral.

"Where specifically?" Sun asked.

"I don't know, I'm not that high up." The Cat Faunus confessed.

Sun and Scarlet looked at each other, and then back to Calico. "Okay, thanks for your cooperation." Sun said, before he knocked her out with a hit from the Bo-Staff.

"One of the thugs got the computers and destroyed them so we couldn't get any info out of 'em." Neptune said as he came out with ropes and change to bind the terrorists.

"Well at least we have some idea of where this Adam guy is." Scarlet said.

"Yeah, 'some' being the key word there. The Circle Sea is a big body of water and he could be anywhere around it." Sun pointed out.

"Too late to back out now." Said Sage as he appeared dragging Murph and the squirrel Faunus.

"Right, okay let's get 'em all tied up and we'll get started." Sun said and with that they set to work.

About an hour later a dozen police vehicles arrived on the scene, finding all of the White Fang members bound and gagged. Calico had a note on her that said 'Go easy on this one.'

Miles outside of Haven, Team SSSN walked through the cold woods, determined to take down the White Fang, while their leader was determined to help the girl he loved.

* * *

Qrow and Glynda Goodwitch stood in Qrow's office as Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and Professor Peter Port as well as a scientist who worked for the Atlas military named Dr. Linda Tremain entered the room with several guards flanking them. Oobleck and Tremain were both covered with an odd black substance from the experiment, which was an autopsy on the Grimm Wyvern on top of the tower. Ironwood attended the meeting via a communications screen, he looked rather tired but interested in what the doctors had to offer.

"Well Barty don't keep us in suspense, what did you find?" Qrow asked.

Oobleck raised an eyebrow and said "First of all; never call me 'Barty' again. And honestly? I don't know where to start, it's all so overwhelming, this is the first chance in a long time to study the physiology of a Grimm such as this. I don't even know if we performed an autopsy or a biopsy."

"What do you mean not sure?" Ironwood asked.

"Dr. Oobleck means that we don't know if the Wyvern was dead or alive. We have no idea if Ruby Rose killed it or froze it as it just stopped." Dr. Tremain explained.

"Well since you cut it open it's probably dead now." Qrow observed.

"Good thing, I wonder if Miss Rose would ever be interested in going on a hunt with me, my taxidermist could use the experience with Grimm." Port said cheerfully, earning him looks from everyone in the room.

"Did you make any discoveries?" Ironwood asked.

"None that we didn't already know from previous experiments on Grimm. They are very hard to study because of their tendency to disintegrate when they are eliminated, but thanks to tranquilizers and the sort we have made minimal progress with them in the past but nothing to this level. We have found the basics of all previously known Grimm anatomy, bizarre and misshaped facsimiles of what we know to be standard anatomy of most creatures; hearts, lungs, stomachs, etc.. but instead of feasting on food the Grimm consume negative emotions of people such as anger, fear, and the like." Oobleck elaborated.

"We were, however, able to discover the reason it was able to spawn other Grimm. It appears that it has both the genetic and Dust makeup of different Grimm species inside of it. We'll need further studies to determine more." Tremain added.

Ironwood considered this. "Very well, I want you two to write up a report for me and have it sent to me by tomorrow night. I'll send more experts in Grimm over there, maybe they can figure out what happened to the damn thing." he said.

The two doctors nodded and they exited with Professor Port and their guards.

"So James, have you found anything leading to Fall or to Ozpin yet?" Glynda asked.

"No, nothing. We've heard over a hundred rumors about both but nothing concrete." Ironwood said.

"And how about those patrols?" Qrow shot.

"Our patrols and occupations are to keep the people of Remnant safe! There was a Grimm attack on a village in Vacuo the other day, none were left alive! Tragedies like that is what I am trying to stop Qrow." Ironwood snapped.

"Well the councils don't approve and neither do I. I know the Atlesian Council leaves everything up to you Jimmy, but don't let it go to your head." Qrow warned.

Ironwood scowled at the man before he switched off.

"Why do you antagonize him so?" Glynda asked.

"At this point it's a game we play." Qrow chuckled as he took out his flask and drank from it.

Glynda shook her head as he took his drink and she asked "Any word about Miss Rose or what's left of Team JNPR?"

Qrow shook his head and said "No, I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."

Glynda sighed sadly and exited the office.

Qrow walked over to his window and opened it, allowing a raven to fly in.

"Hey sis." he said to the bird as it transformed into a human form.

"Hello Qrow." said his sister, Raven Branwen, the former wife of Taiyang Xiao Long and mother of Yang Xiao Long.

"What is it Qrow? I need to get back to looking for Ozpin." she demanded.

Ever since Ozpin's disappearance Qrow had taken up his duties as Headmaster of Beacon's forces and taken control over the various agents and spies that worked for Ozpin, both he and his sister were among them.

"Oz can wait for now. I suspect Salem has him." he told her.

"What?! Then why aren't we looking for Salem's..."

"Because if she's stayed hidden for this long we won't find her now. Besides, I have a more important mission for you." Qrow said.

"What is it?" Raven asked.

Qrow opened a drawer in his desk and took out a steel box.

"You need to take this to Patch Island and give it to Yang." Qrow ordered.

"The hell I will! I'm not going back Qrow, I left that life behind. I know what happened to Yang, I feel bad about it but..."

"Shut up and listen to me. You are going to take this to her and you two are going to fight it out." Qrow said.

"Are you drunk?" Raven asked.

"Not nearly enough." Qrow joked as he opened up the case revealing a yellow robotic hand with Yang's weapon that had been cut off with her right hand; the Ember Celica.

"I thought it'd be a good replacement. She always loved those gauntlets." Qrow said with an amused smirk.

"Why don't you give it to her?" Raven demanded to know.

"Because it would mean more coming from you. If Yang sees you again, confronts you I mean, it might just snap her out of her depression. She'll be mad as hell and you two will fight, and win or lose at least Yang will be Yang again. She'll get up and go out there to help Ruby." Qrow explained.

Raven was silent as she looked at the robotic hand.

"Please sis. Do this for your daughter." Qrow pleaded.

"You'll fight me if I refuse won't you?" Raven guessed.

"You know it." Qrow muttered as he gestured to his scythe.

Raven sighed and said "For you Yang." as she grabbed the case.

* * *

_**Ashe looked up at the light shining down on him, rescuers!** _

_**More members of the Guerrilla Hunter Operation he was a part of had arrived to save them and get them out of the pit.** _

_**"Get away from the walls and run towards one another! Get in a circle and stay put, we're coming down for you!" yelled a captain as Hunters fired on the Grimm.** _

_**Ashe got up and began to make his way to where a few other survivors were gathered. Just then a young Death Stalker jumped out and attempted to stab Ashe with its stinger only for Ashe's gun to take the hit. "I got it Ashe!" called a friend of Ashe, a guy called Kion who blasted the juvenile Death Stalker away.** _

_**"We gotta go! Tarantula Widows are coming!" Kion said. Ashe looked behind and saw three or four huge spider-Grimm slowly approaching them, clicking their thick teeth together, ready to eat.** _

" _ **Let's go!" Kion yelled as he ran past Ashe. "Come on Ashe! We're gonna make it..." Kion tripped and landed in some mud.**_

_**Ashe ran forward to help Kion up. "Get up man we gotta..." Ashe stopped when he saw that Kion's face had been ripped off by a Blood Lust that was hiding in the mud.** _

_**"Son of a bitch!" Ashe screamed in horror as he ripped Kion's gun out of his dead hands and blasted the Grimm apart.** _

_**Ashe ran forward to where the small group of survivors had gathered. The ropes hadn't been thrown down yet and the Hunters above were shooting down as many Grimm as they could.** _

_**Ashe saw how little survivors there were, only seven of the forty-two that had fallen in were still alive.** _

_**Ashe looked behind and saw Kion's body being picked up by the Tarantula Widows. "I'm sorry." Ashe said in regret as he saw his friend's body taken.** _

" _ **Get us out of here! NOW!" a woman next to Ashe screamed to the hunters above. "We're trying! It's not safe enough to throw down the ropes yet!" called the captain.**_

_**The woman was about to retort when a Creep jumped on her and slammed her to the ground as it bit into her neck. The survivors screamed as Creeps, Beowolves, Blood Lusts, Tarantula Widows, Death Stalkers, young Taijitus and Boarbatusks all began to approach to feed off of the remaining Hunters.** _

_**Ashe let out a scream and remembered something that he had long forgotten.** _

_**Something his mother had taught him to defend himself with in the most dire circumstances.** _

_**He let out a yell of "Haakskeekah!"** _

**_..._ **

" _ **Mommy...?"**_

" _ **Yes Ashe?"**_

" _ **What's that rock thing in the temple room?"**_

" _ **It's an old prophecy from before anyone in Remnant was born, it was told after the moon broke up into pieces."**_

" _ **What does it say?"**_

" _ **It says; They will return, the legends of old, and when they do the fate of the world they'll hold.**_

_**We thought them simple children's tales of the past, but now we know they will save us from the Grimm's grasp.** _

_**Many hardships and trials they will face, but in the end they will save the human and Faunus race.** _

_**Their friendships must never be broken or sever, for we know that love is forever.** _

_**And though the darkness' reach is far, in the end love will ignite the stars."** _

" _ **What does it mean Mommy?"**_

" _ **I don't really know, a lot of people have tried to guess what it means but I don't think we'll ever understand it, but maybe someday we will."**_

Ashe woke up again; grateful he hadn't screamed that time and woke his young companions up.

He remembered what happened after the pit, waking up in the infirmary and being told what happened, that after he had yelled out that ancient word all the Grimm were vaporized in a shock-wave of aura. He and three others were the only ones who survived that pit, and even then two of those three had quit the operation and returned to civilian life.

He had somehow managed to hold on Kion's gun and it was the one he used to this day.

Ashe laid his head back down, remembering the 'Haakskeekah', a powerful Aura attack his mother had taught him. His sister had always been his father's preferred child and the one who was most likely to uphold the family's duty.

His mother had taught him this spell to protect himself if anything overwhelmingly bad were to happen, an attack to drive away enemies. Despite its power it took up a lot of Aura and could put you to sleep for a few hours so as a result of that Ashe rarely used it.

He wondered why he had dreamed about that prophecy; he hadn't even thought about it in years and had honestly forgotten he had ever heard it. Knowing the dreams he had it meant it would probably slither its way back into his life sooner or later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I frigging hate this site's editing system! Why do they bunch all of the words together like that?! I..... URGH! I had to pace this chapter out TWICE because I accidentally hit preview instead of post! ARGH! Screw it man! Damn it! Took me two hours all told.
> 
> Anyway... I wanted to show kind of an emotional manipulation with Salem since her narrations start out sound kind but twists into something malevolent so I wanted to have her act like that to Fotia, make Fotia think that Salem is someone she can love and trust. 
> 
> Ashe is not a healthy man. He has seen terrible things that have scarred his mind; he has lost so much that he can't really hold on to anything living anymore. He's considered committing suicide many times he's so unhappy with his life. But maybe Ruby and the gang can help him with that... If youwant to get a grasp on his character I think this piece of music will give you the feel I'm going for with him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPLQ4qUdrC4
> 
> I am changing my plans because this chapter was meant to be huge but I decided to split off into two chapters. Chapters will from now on be however long I feel they should be because I want people to be interested but the lack of feedback I get makes me doubt I'm doing a good job and makes me wonder if this story is any good. So next time we'll have a shorter chapter and catch up with Blake, Weiss, and a certain redhead... 
> 
> Once again your feedback is appreciated. Till next time.


	5. Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you!

The sun rose over Mistral and the door of Claudandus' cabin opened.

Blake stood in the sunlight ready to embark on her journey again. She knew her mission would be difficult, some would even say it was impossible and a suicide mission; she was going to find Adam and assassinate him.

She had decided that if Adam was gone someone else would take control of the Fang and maybe it could take steps to recover. Blake knew just openly attacking the White Fang would be a stupid mistake and it would be hard to track him down given how the Fang had been hiding since the attack on Beacon. She was always the most stealthy member of any team she was on, so a small and subtle slice across his throat with the Gambol Shroud in the night was the best way to solve this problem.

"Blake, don't go." Said the wise old voice of Claudandus. "Stay until you are fully rested and then you should go back to Vale and explain what happened to your teammates. From what you have told me of them I am sure they will forgive you." She had spent most of yesterday telling Claudandus about her time in Beacon and about her friends and how she came to be in his care.

"Ruby probably will, but after all that's happened I'm not so sure about Yang and Weiss." Blake said doubtfully.

"You're going to try and kill Adam aren't you?" Claudandus asked. Blake sighed and said "Yes."

Claudandus shook his head and said to the young Faunus "I believe that is a poor decision Blake."

Blake breathed in. "Maybe, but it's mine to make." She said.

"I have heard rumors of a White Fang operations base not too far from here, about twenty some miles and some distance west of the village. Maybe there you will discover his whereabouts. Good luck Blake." Claudandus said.

Blake turned around, looked at her old mentor with sad yellow eyes. She walked back to him and hugged him one last time.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done." "You have nothing to be sorry for Blake. This is a journey you must take and you alone will decide how it ends."

Blake parted from the old man and walked away into the white forest. Claudandus sighed and said "We have lost our innocence Blake, as the humans have lost theirs."

He went back into the cabin, unaware of two far off pairs of eyes watching them.

* * *

Adam sat on an old wooden chair, looking over a table covered with maps and battle plans as well as positions of White Fang bases and troops. Cinder had decided to lay low in Haven City and she didn't want her partners to be too far away so she ordered Adam and his finest troops to stay hidden at the base of the mountain near Mistral's Circle Sea. While they were a few hundred miles away from Cinder's location they could get there easily thanks to the airships she had supplied them.

White Fang bases were scattered all over Remnant; most were in Mistral and Vacuo and there were a few dozen or so platoons left in Vale to cause trouble for the resistance against the Grimm, but there were only a scant few in Atlas due to the heavy military presence.

Adam hadn't had a good night; over half of the White Fang forces in Haven had been taken down and captured by what they were told was Team SSSN. Adam grimaced, remembering reading about the leader of said team, Sun Wukong. He had heard he was friends with Blake, possibly even a lover. If this boy's relationship with Blake was as intimate as the reports suggested then he would have to punish him to make an example to Blake.

Adam growled at the mere thought of his former lover Blake. She had abandoned him because she was too weak, too scared, not willing to do what needed to be done.

Adam pitied Faunus like Blake. They thought equality was enough, that those miserable human saying 'sorry' was enough to wash away the sins of the past.

It wasn't.

They needed to be punished.

Nothing could ever make up for what the human race had done to the Faunus. Adam had lost his family, so many friends because of the racists out there and Blake had too. Why was she so willing to forgive them?

She had joined up with them, befriended them, and became a Huntress of all things!

She needed to be punished too.

Stabbing her in the gut wasn't enough, cutting off her friend's arm wasn't enough... maybe killing this monkey would. Maybe if he killed someone she had romantic feelings for she would understand the pain she had caused him.

Some had called him a hypocrite; preaching against humans, saying how they could never be trusted and needed to be punished and yet they were working with humans to further their goals!

It was true that they had to work with humans such as Cinder Fall and it made Adam sick to his stomach. Working with her and her cronies like Emerald, Mercury, and especially the late Roman Torchwick... oh how Adam wished he had been there to witness Torchwick's death.

Adam knew that it made him appear hypocritical and he didn't like it any more than his followers did, but working for Cinder was a necessary humiliation for now. The moment he didn't need her help anymore he wouldn't hesitate to stick his blade through Cinder's chest and end her.

In the end the White Fang would prevail and all who stood against them, be they human or Faunus, would be killed without pity or mercy.

"Sir! Our scouts have news I think you'll be very interested in." said the voice of the grizzly bear Faunus Lieutenant known as Hui who appeared in the doorway to Adam's quarters.

"What is it?" Adam asked. "Our scouts have found him sir, they've found Claudandus and he wasn't alone." Hui reported.

"Someone else was with him? Who?" Adam asked. "Someone you are very familiar with sir, it's the traitor." Hui revealed.

Adam got up and exited the room and ran to the communications room.

"Report!" Adam commanded when he got to the medium sized room that served as the hub for all communications for the scattered White Fang. Several Faunus communications officers looked up to him, noticing the edge in his voice. "It's Jake and Selena sir, they've spotted Blake Belladonna and they have overheard her say she intends to assassinate you." The lead communications officer said.

"Put them on." Adam ordered.

Two new voices were heard over the radio. "Adam, sir! We've found him. He was hiding in a cabin in the woods all this time! Can you believe it?" asked the voice of Jake, a mouse Faunus.

"All too easily, it makes sense the old fool would try to live out his life like that. What of Blake?" Adam asked. "She just left, apparently she's been staying with him the past couple of days." Said Selena, a raccoon Faunus

"She always did look up to him. She was even the one who convinced me to let him go. Where is she going?" Adam asked again.

"The old guy just told her about one of our nearby bases, the one we're staying at sir. She plans to find you and assassinate you. We're in range to intercept and we have the element of surprise. Permission to take her out?" asked Selena.

"No. Let her go." Adam ordered, getting weird looks from everyone else.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked.

"Oh yes." Adam confirmed.

"But why?" Hui asked.

Adam smirked and said "Because... if Blake honestly thinks she can take me on alone after our last encounter then I welcome it. She will try to kill me and she will fail. Contact your base and have them be on their guard, I want her captured and brought to me alive. Reports say that Team SSSN has left Haven City, since Blake's new lover is their leader they're probably coming after me too. Once we have all of them together I will force Blake to watch us murder her friends one by one. Only then will she understand the pain she inflicted on me when she left. Only then will she realize the consequences of her betrayal. When all of her beloved friends are dead, I will grant her the mercy of death. This is the way of the White Fang!" Adam ranted.

There was silence from everyone else in the room as well as the two scouts, everyone had grown to both fear and respect Adam but at times like this it was mostly fear.

"And what of Claudandus?" asked Selena.

Adam thought it over for a minute and said "Once Blake is far enough away, attack. Bring him to me and burn his home to the ground. He is a figure of the past and I am the way of the future. The new must vanquish the old after all."

* * *

It had not been easy to convince their father to allow this. He had been adamant in forbidding Weiss to so much as go a mile away from the mansion, but after hours of arguments Willow Schnee had relented and had agreed to let Weiss consult for the Atlas Military.

Weiss sat besides Winter on the airship that was taking them to the Headquarters of the Atlas Military, feeling a bit nervous around the soldiers. It had been months since she had been around any real action; the closest she had gotten to it was her training sessions.

She had to admit; she missed the feeling of being in danger be it from the Grimm or the White Fang.

Ruby's influence was toxic.

Weiss had in her lap a case that contained her rapier the Myrtenaster. She knew she would most likely not need it, but she brought it anyway to help her appear professional and capable among the likes of the military.

Winter could sense her sister's anxiety and spoke to her. "Relax. Nothing will happen. I will speak to General Ironwood about it first; he's been under a lot of stress lately. He will be willing to take any and all help he can get, even if it is from a child."

"I hope so. Have you made any progress in finding Cinder?" Weiss asked. "Nothing. All we have to show for all our looking is rumors and false sightings. The most consistent of these is Haven, but they've seen her everywhere; Vacuo, Mistral swamps and mountains, obscure villages, old temples, the ruins of Beacon..." Winter elaborated.

Weiss bit her tongue so she wouldn't say anything about Ruby being in Haven so decided to speak about the last rumor. "Ruby's uncle is indeed a drunkard, but even he'd notice if she was in Vale." Weiss said. "I know, but Cinder is talented at hiding. Qrow was there when the previous Fall Maiden, Amber, was attacked. It was his intervention that prevented the assailant, who we now know was Cinder Fall, from fully getting the Maiden's powers." Winter explained.

This information made Weiss a little upset. As in very upset.

"What?! Then why didn't he recognize her at the tournament? And if she had gotten the powers then and there hundreds of people would still be alive!" Weiss pointed out.

Winter sighed, knowing her younger sister had a point. Qrow's intervention and saving of Amber did indeed bring about Cinder's bloody revenge at the Vytal Festival. Hundreds of innocent civilians, students, soldiers, and two girls Weiss was acquainted with had been killed because of it.

All the damage because of Qrow's intervention made Winter wonder if maybe it would have been better if he didn't stop her.

"Qrow says her face, as well as the faces of her accomplices, were hidden and blurred by an illusionist. We now know that Emerald Sustrai was most likely responsible for this as well as the illusion that made us believe your teammate Yang had viciously attacked Mercury." Winter explained.

"Too little, too late." Weiss said bitterly.

There was a silence between the two before Weiss added "Next time I see that Qrow I will, and pardon my language but I need to use one of Yang's phrases, kick his butt."

Winter stifled a small laugh before she added "I'll hold him for you."

Soon enough the airship arrived to the landing platform of the Atlesian Military Headquarters. The ship's ramp descended and the two sisters walked out of the ship, greeted by Chamberlain.

"Hello Winter, how was your... is that your sister?" Chamberlain asked as he noticed the younger Schnee girl.

"Yes Jackson, how perceptive of you. Is General Ironwood seeing anyone at the moment?" Winter asked. "Not to my knowledge." Chamberlain answered.

"Then take me to him. I have come up with an idea that may help us apprehend Cinder Fall." Winter said as she marched down the landing pad, followed by Weiss, Chamberlain, and several guards.

"And that would be..." Chamberlain prodded.

"Of the ones who have had experience with Cinder Fall and her accomplices, my sister is the only one available to us. I admit that it may be a stretch but she knows how they operate. Desperate times call for desperate measures Jackson." Winter said.

Jackson couldn't really argue with the woman, he knew that they would need every advantage over Cinder Fall they could get.

Weiss looked around at the impressive base. A large five story building served as the main building and it was surrounded by six or seven other buildings that all served different purposes such as a technology department, a finance department, living quarters, and other such things and all of the buildings were marked by Atlas' emblem.

Weiss could see many squads of soldiers marching around to patrol the area, airships taking off or landing on the platforms, people in armor or plain business suits going about their business, seemingly oblivious to anything around them except for their own tasks. Weiss was surprised to even see the occasional person her age walking around.

Winter led her sister to the main building where the doors automatically opened for her. "Greetings Specialist Schnee." Said a thirty-something woman in a suit. "Hello Amelia." Winter said as she walked past the woman.

Amelia saw Weiss and asked "Umm... Specialist Schnee, isn't that your sister?"

"Everyone's very good at that observation." Winter said dryly. "She's had experience with Cinder Fall, that's enough for me." Chamberlain said to the woman as she stayed behind.

Winter, Weiss, and Chamberlain made their way to General Ironwood's office, occasionally saluted by guards who did not question Weiss' presence. Weiss noticed security cameras everywhere and there were way more guards than she had expected there to be, but she understood the need for security.

They soon arrived at the office door and Winter knocked on it. "Enter." Said Ironwood's voice from inside. Winter opened the door and she saw Ironwood speaking with Ulysses Cy.

"Welcome back Specialist Schnee, how was your day... that's your sister." Ironwood stated. "Amazing, even you have fallen victim to the 'that's your sister' plague of stating the obvious that seems to have claimed everyone else." Winter said snarkily.

"What is she doing here?" Ironwood asked as calmly as he could, hiding his slight irritation.

"I'm sure you can recall General that my sister and her team have had numerous encounters with the forces of the priority target Cinder Fall. After Fall showed her true colors she made a mistake, these children are familiar enough with how she operates and moves that we can use them to find her and maybe even predict her next move." Winter explained.

Ironwood sighed and said "She is but one of them. The whereabouts of Rose and Belladonna are still unknown and Xiao Long is still on Patch Island. What makes you think your sister can make that much of a difference?"

"Because she is a Schnee sir and for good or ill we have been making a difference in Remnant for centuries. She may be just a teenage girl sir, but I believe that she is the best chance we have in finding Cinder Fall." Winter said.

Ironwood looked at Weiss and said "Miss Schnee, would you kindly wait outside? Your sister and I must talk this over."

Weiss nodded and exited the room, allowing the adults to be left alone.

Weiss sat in a chair a few meters away from the door; she noticed that Ironwood's room must have been soundproofed since she could hear nothing coming from inside. She wondered if General Ironwood would go for it, he desperately wanted to stop Cinder Fall, that much was obvious, but was he desperate enough to accept help from a teenage girl?

She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't hear footsteps approaching her.

Weiss soon realized that someone was standing over her and looking at her. She looked up and gasped at what, or more accurately who, she saw.

"Salutations!" said the cheery voice of a somehow alive Penny Polendina.

Weiss jumped up in surprise. "Penny?!" she exclaimed in shock.

Penny's eyes noticeably were dampened by confusion. "Oh... I am sorry, have we met before? I do not recognize you..." she said.

"It's me; Weiss! Weiss Schnee!" "Oh! You must be related to Specialist Schnee! I like her; she is very kind to me." Penny said.

"How are you here?! Did they rebuild you?" Weiss asked.

"What?! R-r-rebuild me?! I... I don't know what you mean..." Penny said, sounding rather nervous before she let out a hiccup.

"We all saw you get torn apart by Pyrrha at the tournament! Cinder tricked us all, she knew what would happen! How are you back?!" Weiss demanded.

"I... I don't fully understand what you are talking about." Penny admitted, not hiccuping that time.

"Wait a minute... do you remember Ruby?" Weiss asked hopefully.

"I am afraid I have no knowledge of this Ruby person." Penny said, again, not hiccuping.

"She called you her friend and just like that you were practically following her around like a lost puppy!" Weiss said, trying to get her to remember.

"That doesn't sound like something I would do." Penny denied. She did hiccup that time.

"Penny, we found out you weren't a real girl after what happened at the tournament, that you were a robot created by the Atlas Military. Please tell me this is true!" Weiss pleaded as she reached for her scroll, ready to call Ruby and tell her.

"It... is..." Penny was about to say more before... "She went down here! Come on!" said the voice of a guard.

"Oh no! I must go; it was nice to meet you Weiss!" Penny said before she ran off into another hallway.

Before Weiss could say another word a small squad of guards ran past her. "You! Did you see a girl about your age go by here? Red hair, pink bow, green eyes?" a Lieutenant in blue armor asked.

Weiss shook her head.

"Very well, come on team we have to find her and get her back to the lab." Said the man in blue armor as he led his team down the hallway.

Weiss didn't fully understand what was going on, but she was determined to find out.

Just then the door to Ironwood's office opened up. "Weiss, you may enter." Winter said.

* * *

Jaune stood in the center of the warehouse, surrounded by Ruby, Ren, and Nora; all of whom were ready to attack. Ashe stood on one of the rafters above, overlooking all of them.

"I know you're probably more interested in the Ultimate Attack of the emotion Semblance..." Ashe began before Jaune interrupted him.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that, I know you think it's too early to show me how to do it but can you at least tell me what it is?" the blonde asked.

Ashe shook his head but answered Jaune anyway "The Ultimate Attack is a dangerous one for both you and your enemy. It can drain your aura as well as your Semblance and leave you exhausted for a few days. The attack requires you to put your hands on your opponent's head and think about your pain. You think about everything bad that's ever happened to you, every time you were bullied, every humiliating incident you ever suffered through, every one you've ever lost, channel all that pain into them. It is a powerful move but one that is also very risky. Depending on how bad your life has been you can just stun your enemy, or you could put them into a coma, or you could outright kill them." He finished explaining.

Jaune looked up, now more mortified than curious.

"What happens if it's reversed? Like you think of happy things and good memories instead?" Ruby asked.

Ashe considered it and thought back to the times when he was studying the Semblance himself.

"I've read that it can be done that way. It can be used to resurface old memories, to rekindle friendships and love, to make them see the error of their ways. Honestly I've never seen it done before and I don't know if it even can be done, this Semblance is rare and those who have it tend to have crappy lives." Ashe said.

"Well that's encouraging." Jaune muttered.

Ashe chuckled and said "Okay, today we're going to be testing out your endurance! We're going to be going up against some tough customers kid and you'll need to be able to withstand some heavy stuff."

"Well because of my huge Aura reserves I have a better healing factor than most, let's get on with it." Jaune said confidently.

"Okay. Ruby, Nora, Ren, and I will all try to attack you. You are going to create an Aura shield and try to withstand everything we throw at you okay? Once your shield breaks we'll be coming in hard and fast so get ready, use your Aura to withstand our attacks, your body can hold off our physical blows but you'll need your Semblance to protect you from weaponry. Ready?" Ashe asked

"Wait, weaponry? I thought we were just..." before Jaune could finish that sentence Ashe yelled out "Now!"

Jaune knelt down and used his Semblance to create a shield of Aura to protect himself from Ruby attacking with Crescent Rose's blade, Nora was attempting to break his shield with some mighty hits with Manghild aided by her electric Semblance, and Ren was simply blasting away with his StormFlowers.

Jaune looked up and saw Ashe looking down on them, smiling at bit before he jumped down.

"Very good. You need to imagine that we are minions of Cinder, that we are all that stand between you and justice for Pyrrha. No matter what we throw at you you can't give in!" Ashe said firmly, not noticing the looks from Ruby, Nora, and Ren.

"I know the drill by now, imagining that I'm about to defeat Cinder, will this really work?!" Jaune asked.

"Similar ways of training worked for me." Ashe said as he drew out his sword.

Jaune would be lying if he said he was okay with how things were going.

"Nora and Ruby I want you two to hit Jaune with your Semblances. We need to test how much his Aura shield can take." Ashe said.

"You got it." Nora said, hiding the hesitance in her voice rather well. She ran towards Jaune's shield and began to punch it with electric powered fists, creating spider-web cracks in the shield of Aura.

Ruby aided her by using her Semblance to strafe Jaune's shield with Crescent Rose's sharp blade, adding to the stress on Jaune's Aura. It went on and on like this for about three minutes but Jaune was able to keep his shield up.

"Good! Keep it up! Jaune, you can do it, you can hold them back! Just a little more..." Ashe encouraged as he began to approach the shield with his sword.

Jaune concentrated, channeling additional Aura to the areas where Nora and Ruby were doing damage, enforcing the shield as much as he could.

He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice Ashe was now right in front of him.

"You have to pay attention to your surroundings!" Ashe yelled as he gave a mighty, Aura and Semblance powered swing of his sword and shattered Jaune's Aura shield.

Jaune cried out in surprise as he staggered back and landed on his butt.

Ashe looked down at his student as he put away his blade. Ruby and Nora stopped what they were doing to hear what Ashe would say.

"Very good, your shield could use some practice but you seem to have it down pretty good and it can endure a hell of a lot of punishment. Now let's test your physical endurance!" Ashe said as he kicked Jaune in the stomach.

Jaune let out a yelp of surprise, but it hadn't really hurt him at all, he had just been surprised by how out of nowhere it was than anything.

Ruby ran forward and got between Jaune and Ashe. "Stop it!" she yelled.

Ashe sighed and said "Ruby, I told you this wouldn't be easy. It's harsh, I admit that, but he will need to know how much he can take if he..."

"Wants to avenge Pyrrha? That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?" Jaune asked.

Ashe nodded as Jaune glared at him.

"This isn't just about Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, "This is about all those people that are dead because of Cinder! All those people killed by the Grimm and the White Fang, and Ruby's friend Penny. I won't lie; I want to avenge Pyrrha, I want justice for what happened to her more than anything! She was my best friend, she saw me for something other than a goofy idiot trying and failing to be hero, and in the end I loved her as much as she loved me... but that won't bring her back, nothing can. I can't bring her back but I can sure as hell make Cinder pay for what she's done. Just stop throwing Pyrrha in my face Ashe. You never knew her so you have no right to abuse her memory like that." Jaune finished.

Ashe was silent.

"Great. Now I feel like a real dick." He admitted.

"Only feel like one?" Ren said sarcastically.

Ashe chuckled bitterly as he saw Jaune make his way to the main entrance. "Where are you going?" Ashe asked as he saw Jaune grab Crocea Mors.

"Out, after this I need to take a walk." Jaune said as the shield transformed into its sheath form and he put the blade away as he made his way to the door.

"Jaune... I'm sorry." Ashe admitted.

Jaune did not respond, he simply walked out the door.

Ashe stood, feeling ashamed of himself, feeling terrible that he had forced Jaune to think about such things. He had been so used to forcing himself to consider the 'what could have been' and the things that could come to pass should he fail that he never took Jaune's feelings into account.

Ruby glared at Ashe before she went after Jaune, pulling her hood over her head so she wouldn't be recognized. She transformed Crescent Rose into its concealed form and slung it across her back as she ran after Jaune.

Ashe looked at Ren and Nora, both of whom glared at him.

"How about we just go out and cool down. I'll try and look for the factory Cinder's hiding in. I think I should just stay out of Jaune's way for a bit." He said as he grabbed his weapons and his robe.

"I think that would be the best thing to do right now." Ren agreed.

"Jerk." Nora muttered as she stuck her tongue out at Ashe.

Ashe sighed and left the warehouse. He looked up and saw Jaune and Ruby running across the rooftops so he decided it would be better to just walk. "I can't do anything right." Ashe muttered as he walked into the city alone.

On the roofs Ruby ran to keep up with Jaune as he jumped across the rooftops with ease.

"Jaune! Wait, slow down! Can't believe I'm saying that to you of all people..." she muttered as she caught up with him.

Jaune had stopped on a catwalk in front of an old billboard as Ruby walked across it.

Ruby put a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder and said "I know Ashe can be a jerk, but he wants to help you."

Jaune didn't answer, his hood hiding his face.

"Ruby... how did Pyrrha die?" Jaune asked.

Ruby's eyes widened and she said "Jaune... I don't think..."

"Tell me Ruby. Please. I deserve to know why there was no body to bury." Jaune said calmly.

Ruby sighed and forced herself to think back to that horrible night.

"Weiss used her Glyphs to send me up the tower but by the time I got there it was too late. Pyrrha was on her knees and Cinder was aiming her arrow at her. She fired and I watched... I saw it as it went through her chest and out her back. I saw a red glow on her chest and I... I was so horrified by what I saw I couldn't even move... I heard Pyrrha gasp out... she sounded like she was in so much pain" by this point tears were flowing openly from Ruby's eyes and Jaune's fist was clenched so tight his palm had started to bleed "Cinder walked up to her, touched her circlet and there was a flash. She turned Pyrrha into golden... stardust I guess." Ruby finished.

Jaune began to weep openly. He now knew why there was no body. He knew that Cinder Fall was so sadistic and merciless that she wouldn't even give Pyrrha's loved ones a proper chance to say goodbye.

He let out a roar and punched the billboard so hard his fist exploded through it and Aura surged through the metal and wood and the board collapsed and fell into the alleyway behind it.

Jaune fell to his knees and let out an ear-piercing scream of anger. Ruby knelt down and hugged her friend to her. "Let it all out Jaune. Let it all..." Ruby couldn't continue as she began to weep too.

They sat in each other's arms for a good half-hour, crying it out and Jaune could have sworn that he heard a third voice crying with them, one with as much regret and self-loathing as they felt right now.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah Jaune?"

"I'm going to make her pay. Will you help me?" Jaune asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" Ruby said with a sad smile.

"Ruby, I always wanted to be a big brother but mom said she'd never give birth again after eight kids so ever since I met you you've felt like the little sister I never had." Jaune said.

"And you're like the dorky big brother I never had." Ruby said, repeating what she had told Ashe last night.

"Ruby, Ashe is right. We need to be better, harder, tougher if we're gonna take Cinder down. Ashe may be a jerk but he means well. He wants to help us and honestly I think we're the closest thing he's had to friends in a long time." Jaune said.

Ruby nodded "But that doesn't give him the right to use your feelings for Pyrrha..." "Ruby, I failed Pyrrha so much. I chased after Weiss when I should have been chasing after her, I unintentionally hurt her so much, and if I hadn't been distracted Cinder would never have gotten the Maiden powers to begin with." Jaune said.

"Jaune, Cinder would have crushed you. She would have crushed any of us, Maiden powers or not. Pyrrha was the only one who stood a chance against her, even if it was a slim one." Ruby said.

Jaune nodded and looked out to the massive city. Ruby looked up to the Seras Kalifa building and said "Want to go up there?" "Me? I don't do too good with heights, remember?" Jaune reminded Ruby.

Ruby laughed as she remembered the first time she saw Jaune, he was just the nervous and nameless kid who threw up on the bullhead to Beacon.

"Let's go up there Jaune, we'll be on top of the world for a change instead of being crushed by it." Ruby said as she helped Jaune up. Jaune nodded, he may not have liked heights, but he'd climb it to cheer his friend up.

* * *

Damien got out of his car and walked to the four figures that awaited him outside of the factory; Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Dr. West.

"Have you made any progress on the hunt for the Rose girl and the Arc boy?" Cinder asked with an impatient look in her eye.

"Nothing, a few rumors but nothing that would lead to 'em. Word says that Team SSSN split town and took out a bulk of the White Fang forces that were hiding in the outskirts. I know you're probably broken up about that." Damien reported.

"It does deprive me of some manpower, but it is not that big of a loss." Cinder said, "Your men have begun searching the city, correct?" she asked.

"Yeah, about a day ago and so far nothing. Although I think it makes it harder for the kids to get around the city and that will make it easier to catch 'em when they're out in the open." Damien said.

West nodded in agreement, "That is a reasonable strategy, but it may take some time." He said.

"Damien, I want those two captured and brought to me as soon as possible. Take your enforcers and Dr. West here, take the airships I have supplied you and use them to search for the children by air. You will spot them soon enough." Cinder assured him.

"Lady Cinder I must protest! I have work to do! Dr. Giger..." West objected before Cinder stopped him with a gentle, yet intimidating finger to his lips.

"The good doctors can do without you for the day. I need you to go with Ante and make sure that Rose and Arc are unharmed and kept alive, your healing Semblance is perfect for this mission." Cinder said to the man.

West decided not to argue with the Fall Maiden, least he entice her wrath, so he simply nodded.

"Very good. Ante, Dr. West here will be joining you. Say hello to your tenth enforcer." Cinder said.

West walked up to Damien and shook his hand. "If it makes you feel any better take comfort in the fact that I will enjoy this no more than you will." West said.

"Oh, I think this is gonna be fun..." Damien said with a twisted smirk as he got back in his car and West got into the passenger seat.

As the car drove off Emerald spoke to Cinder. "Why does Mistress Salem want those two anyway? I mean, Ruby's silver eyes can't be that important can they? And what about Arc? He has never struck me as a threat to us... like at all." She said.

"I have looked into the legend of the Silver-Eyed warriors since we arrived here and if even half of it is true then my Master is right to want Ruby Rose under our control. As for Arc... the Arc family once produced many a great hero for Vale, there was even a statue of Jaune's great-grandfather in Beacon's courtyard. I don't fully know why my master wants him, but I assume it will be the same as Fotia, Ziz, Ruby, and the others; to turn a figure of the light into a figure of the dark and considering how attached he must have been to Pyrrha Nikos, it will be quite easy for him to fall to the darkness." Cinder said as her yellow eyes began to glow.

* * *

Back at the Atlas Military HQ, Weiss and Winter finally stepped out of General Ironwood's office after an hour of him questioning Weiss and grilling her for answers to questions that were meant to test her, to see if she was ready to be a consultant for the Atlas Military. He had decided she was worthy and that they could use the help from someone somewhat familiar with Cinder's tactics.

Weiss had been somewhat distracted during the session due to her encounter with Penny beforehand but she had managed to pass Ironwood's questions easily enough. However her distracted behavior had not gone unnoticed by Winter.

"Weiss, what's wrong? You've been rather distant ever since the General's session began." Winter said.

"Winter, before you took me inside I saw Penny. I demand to know what is going on." Weiss said firmly.

"I...I don't know what you are..." Winter tried to say before Weiss stopped her. "She told me she knew you! She said you were 'nice to her' so I know you know what I'm talking about! So spill it!" Weiss demanded of her older sister in a tone she had never taken with Winter before.

Winter was speechless for a bit before she shook her head, gave Weiss a defeated look and said "There's no fooling you. We keep telling her not to stray too far from the lab but she's too curious. Very well, come with me."

Winter led her sister further into the Headquarters, deciding that her sibling had a right to know the truth about Penny.

* * *

In the factory's training room Fotia Drakos' legs were currently curled around a chin up bar as she pulled herself up.

"Fifty-seven... fifty-eight...fifty-nine..." Fotia said to herself as her legs lifted her upper body up. She would have done normal chin-ups but in addition to her chest pains she was also suffering through slight back pains. Dr. Giger and Ziz had assured her that these pains were merely a side-effect of the Grimm essence transfer process.

She had seen a scar on her back in the mirror, slightly below her neck but it was mostly hidden by a tattoo that marked her, similar to the one Lady Cinder wore. Fotia assumed the tattoos were a mark of rank as she had also seen similar markings on Ziz and Steppenwolffe so she didn't ask what they were.

As she continued with her knee pull-ups she heard the voice of Cinder's illusionist.

"Hey Fotia, how've you been?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, hello Emerald. I have been fine today, what brings you here?" Fotia asked as she hung upside down.

"Nothing, just wandering around the base, looking for something to do. Nothing much to do until Ante finds Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc." Emerald explained.

"Jaune... Arc? Ruby Rose... those names sound familiar, I think Lady Cinder mentioned them before." Fotia said as she jumped down from the bar.

"She did. Mistress Salem needs them for her plans apparently." Emerald explained. "Then why are they not here?" Fotia asked innocently.

"Because they're our enemies Drakos, they're trying to stop us and they don't know how stupid that is." Emerald explained. Fotia may have been around Emerald's age but she was like a child when it came to understanding certain things.

"Oh... well when they are brought here we'll have to teach them a lesson, won't we?" Fotia said.

Before Emerald could reply they were interrupted by... "Yes, we will." Said Mercury as he entered the training room with his usual smirk.

"How does it feel to be among the best?" Mercury asked. "Oh it feels wonderful! I am so happy that Mistress Salem gave me a second chance at life as she and Lady Cinder did with you." Fotia said, remembering what she had heard the duo's own past.

"Mercury, what are you doing down here?" Emerald asked with an annoyed look.

"Looking for the cute mute, haven't seen her since last night." Mercury said.

"Come to think of it neither have I..." Emerald said as she realized the absence of their silent ally.

"Oh, Neopolitan? She's up there." Fotia said, gesturing up above.

Emerald and Mercury looked up and sure enough Neo was standing on a catwalk above, twirling her umbrella around.

"We really oughta put a bell on her." Mercury remarked.

"She isn't mute however." Fotia said as she walked over to some heavy lifts and began to slowly lift them up.

"What do you mean she isn't mute? She never talks!" Emerald pointed out.

"She talks to me. I think Neo only talks to people she trusts, like myself and her late friend Roman Torchwick. She speaks of him quite often; I don't think she merely worked for him, I think he was a genuine friend to her like you are to me." Fotia said.

Emerald looked away, looking uncomfortable, while Mercury tried not to laugh.

* * *

_**Yang stood proud and silent, feeling both of her hands ready to fight. She felt her right hand there, could feel her fingers flex, her hand turn into a fist.** _

_**Across from her in a snowy forest stood a woman clad in red and black and a steely mask with red markings, drawing out her crimson sword as she stood in a battle ready stance.** _

" _ **You left me. You left dad. Why didn't you help me at Beacon?! Where were you?! If you had helped us my friends would still be here! It's your fault I lost my arm!" Yang yelled as she saw her arm begin to fade away.**_

_**Her mother did not respond to her.** _

" _ **Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Yang demanded.**_

_**Raven remained silent.** _

" _ **Talk to me damn you!" Yang yelled.**_

_**Still silence.** _

" _ **Nothing to say? Just want to stay quiet and run away like always? Typical!"**_

" _ **The only one to blame for your situation is the White Fang and yourself. Not Blake, not me, not anyone else. Just you and he." Said Raven.**_

_**Yang felt a sharp pain in her arm, she fell over as she cried out in pain and she saw a golden metal bursting out of her stump.** _

Yang's eyes snapped open and her body shot up and she fell out of the bed, dragging her blankets down with her as she landed with a 'thud' on the floor.

Yang groaned in annoyance and frustration as she used her remaining arm to grab the nightstand and pull herself up.

She felt the comforting feeling of Zwei licking her shins, trying to cheer her up. Yang gave the dog one of her now rare smiles and she sat herself back down on the floor and let her pet jump up into her lap. Zwei leaned up against Yang's torso and licked her face. Yang giggled as she lovingly pet the dog.

"I wish I could be like you Zwei, just so happy no matter what."

As Yang allowed the dog to lick her she thought about her dream. It had not been the first time she had dreamed about her missing mother Raven Branwen. She had been having dreams about her mother since she abandoned her but lately the dreams had been more confrontational.

She remembered the first of these dreams, after the breach, after the figure she knew to be her mother had saved her from Torchwick's henchgirl but this made her wonder why she hadn't helped out at the Vytal Festival? If her mother had been bothered to help Pyrrha might still be alive, Team RWBY might still be together, Cinder might have been defeated, everything would have been fine if her mother had bothered to lift a damn finger and help out...

Zwei whined a bit, shaking Yang out of her thoughts. Yang smiled and pet her dog and said "You're right Zwei. Everyone was right. This isn't me. I gotta snap out of it!"

She let Zwei get off of her and she got up and walked over to her closet and opened a case she hadn't opened in months. The case contained the left Ember Ceilia.

"I may be armless, but I'm not harmless." Yang joked to herself as she put on her remaining Gauntlet, ignoring the doubt that was trying to creep into her mind. She would not allow her isolation to rule over her anymore.

* * *

Ashe wandered through one of Haven's many slums, trying to think of a way he could make up for what he had been doing to Jaune.

"Stupid kids, they got me going soft. Why is it that every single time I let someone into my life they get to me like this? Everyone makes me second guess myself and then some big bad asshole rips 'em away." Ashe muttered to himself as he walked on.

He remembered Mila; that wonderful girl with those shining sapphire eyes, raven hair, wonderful singing voice, her intelligence and her dry sense of humor, beautiful body and...

Ashe stopped himself. He couldn't reflect on the past like that. Thinking about her clouded his Semblance and in a place like a slum letting your guard down could cost you.

He walked up a metal staircase to a pedestrian bridge that hung over the road, seemingly pointless due to the lack of vehicles. Ashe made his way to the top of the bridge and looked out to the slums.

He took his mother's whistle and sighed, remembering his dream about the prophecy. He wondered why he had dreamed about it, since he hadn't even thought about it in years and had forgotten it.

It made him recall a few more old prophecies such as:

_'What was sundered and undone_

_Shall behold the two warriors made one_

_By Guardian hand or else by none_

_The wound will be closed and love will shine as the sun.'_

He laughed bitterly to himself and said "Prophets, what do they know? If they were so smart they would have seen a hell of a lot of stuff coming and know how to stop it... and why do those old prophecies always have to rhyme? They sound like children's tales."

In the end that's all they were, mere stories. Hundreds of prophecies had been foretold and most all have them failed to come true and the few that did were minor and unimportant at best. He also recalled something from years ago, a word... no, a name... a name that his parents had mentioned when they thought he wasn't listening; 'Salem'.

He blew into his mother's whistle and a small but loud enough peep was heard as it echoed throughout the slums.

He looked out into the city and said "You're out there somewhere sis... I hope you aren't doing anything crazy or stupid."

He walked along the bridge until he decided to disembark it and he walked down a new staircase and walked into another part of the slums. As he continued on his way on level ground he heard the revving of a motorcycle engine.

Ashe turned around just in time to see a man on a motorcycle speeding towards him with a baseball bat, ready to hit Ashe in the head.

Ashe quickly ducked down just as the man was about to hit him; he then grabbed the man on the cycle and pulled him off, slamming him into the ground. "Bad idea." Ashe said to the downed man as he took up the bat and slammed it down on the man's head.

Ashe looked up and saw eight other street punks approaching him. "That looks like him boys! Just like the big guy described him, take him down and we'll be livin' the high life!" said their leader.

"Let's not make a mess in the street." Ashe said before he ran into an alleyway. "After him!" the punk leader yelled as the gang chased after Ashe.

They ran into the alleyway that Ashe had ran into only to find it empty.

"The hell did he go?" asked one of the thugs. "Be careful, if the rumors are true than this is one tricky asshole." The leader said.

"Then they're true!" said the voice of Ashe.

Before another word could be said the leader and two other thugs were left alone after a series of gunshots had decimated the five others. Ashe had jumped up on top of a lamp post and had stayed hidden until the right moment, using his pistols to take out a majority of the threat. Ashe jumped down with a grin on his face and he said "Come and get it!"

The bigger of the two thugs charged at Ashe only to be floored by a mighty punch and finished off with a gun shot to the chest.

The other thug took out a dagger and yelled as he charged Ashe. Ashe sighed and took out his sword and ended the thug with a simple slash across the waist.

The leader of the gang was now the only one left and he was shaking like a leaf. "D-don't come any closer man!" he said as he took out his gun and aimed it at Ashe.

Ashe calmly began to move towards the leader so the scared criminal fired his weapon twice and Ashe dodged it both times. Ashe ran forwards and jumped up, kicking the leader in the chest and knocking him to the pavement.

"Oh man... don't hurt me! I..." the leader tried to say as Ashe grabbed him and slammed him into the wall.

"Who sent you?!" Ashe demanded, "You mentioned a 'big guy', who is he?! Tell me and you get to walk away."

"D-D-Damien Ante! He said you and some kids got the drop on him a couple nights ago so he wants payback! He put a twenty-five thousand lien bounty on your head!" the leader confessed.

"What about the kids? What did Ante say about them? Tell me!" Ashe ordered.

"Okay... the kids called Nora and Ren and some local team are dead or alive, he don't care either way... with five thousand each for them, but the real big catch was the kids called Ruby and uh... Arc or something like that, yeah, two million each for those two and he wants them alive!" the gang leader fessed up.

"Oh crap, I gotta warn them... Thanks for the help; your reward is that I don't kill you." Ashe said, before he knocked the leader out with his fist.

Ashe dropped the leader and ran out of the alleyway and took out his scroll and dialed up Ren. The kids had all given Ashe their scroll numbers for the sake of safety and staying in touch if they were to get separated.

"Hello?" said the voice of Ren.

"Ren! Are you and Nora still at the warehouse? Do you know where Ruby and Jaune are?"

"Ashe, calm down, Nora and I decided to go out and look for the factory, we're inside one of the abandoned ones right now and there's nothing here but rats." Ren said, "And ghosts!" Nora chimed in, "Nora there are no ghosts. Now Ashe, tell me what's wrong" Ren said.

"I just found out that Ante put a bounty out on all of us; twenty-five grand for me, five grand for you two and Sun's team dead or alive, and two million for Ruby and Jaune each! They want those two Ren and they want them alive, Cinder's behind this, she has to be!" Ashe cried.

"Alright, we're leaving now and going back to the warehouse, call Ruby and Jaune and have them get back there." Ren said, staying as calm as he could.

"I will, see you later Ren." Ashe said, then he hung up and dialed Jaune's number.

"Come on kid, come on, pick up the freaking scroll!"

No answer.

"Damn it!" Ashe muttered, of all the times for him to rub someone the wrong way...

Ashe saw the dead thug's motorcycle now lying in the road. Ashe hauled it up and said "Been a while since I rode one of these, hope I can still do it."

He got on it and started it up.

* * *

Ruby and Jaune rode in the elevator to the top of the Seras Kalifa building. They stood in silence and the only other person in the small elevator was the operator.

"I gotta admit, it's unusual for folks as young as you to come without parents. Hell, I usually only get four or five people a week who want to go to the top. You two..." the older man asked before Jaune stopped him. "No, we're not in a relationship. I'm her brother." He lied.

Ruby nodded as she heard Jaune's scroll start to ring. Jaune took out the scroll and saw who it was. "It's Ashe; I'm not in the mood to talk to him right now." Jaune said as he let the scroll ring.

Soon they came to the top floor of the building and the old operator said "Careful now, people can easily get vertigo, even those who claim they ain't afraid of heights."

Jaune stood away from the edge hesitantly, not wanting to live up to Yang's old nickname for him, but Ruby went ahead to look over the edge.

Ruby grabbed the safety railing firmly and looked over the edge and her jaw dropped at the view. Everything was below her and she was on top of the world. She could see everything from up here; buildings, cars, trains, airships, people, everything!

A view like this put things into perspective a bit for Ruby. If everyone were to die a view like this would still be possible, the world wasn't just ground and water and air, people were what made it what it was. All of those wars that had been fought years ago and the battles she faced now? Win or lose Remnant itself would still stand. Battle weren't fought to literally save the world, merely to save the people and societies that resided in the world.

Ruby knew that she would have to be one of those who fought for the people, to stop monsters like Cinder and the Grimm and save others be they human or Faunus.

She let out a loud cry of excitement that echoed high above the city.

"Jaune, you have to see this! It's amazing!" she beckoned.

"No way!" Jaune said with a laugh, but even he was tempted to take a look at the massive city from this high.

Ruby looked back out, with her silver eyes sparkling and she said "I'm gonna save each and every one of you down there. Cinder, I know you're out there and if you're afraid of me... good. Be afraid, because we're going to take you down."

* * *

Not too far away, a thousand feet (give or take) below, an airship hovered over the city looking for a few specific targets.

"Ante, we've been flying through the city like this for the last hour, I doubt we'll find them like this." West said to the crime lord. West, Damien, and Lao sat in one row of seats while Trooper, Tom-Tom, and Little Steve sat across from them. Merrick and Fireball sat on the floor looking out the open doors trying to spot any of their targets while Douglas and Zhan operated the ship.

Ante sighed in annoyance and said "Lao, explain the plan to this know-nothing who pretends to know-it-all."

Lao nodded and spoke to the scientist. "With all our thugs and street punks searching for them down there it will force them to use the roofs to get around the city, which is why we're searching for them like this."

"But we've had no luck so far! They could be underground for all we know!"

Just then Merrick shouted out "I spotted something, I can't tell from here but I think we got something."

"What is it?" Damien asked the marksman.

"Let me adjust the scope, I see something on top of the Seras Kalifa... I... oh... it's her! I see the Rose girl! Wait a minute, the Arc kid's up there too!" Merrick said as he saw them in his cross hairs.

Damien grinned evilly and said "Okay, Douglas! Take us down to that landing platform! Lao, take Trooper and Tom-Tom inside and cut them off when they try to run. The rest of us will go back up and try to get 'em up top. Okay, let's make the Fall Maiden proud boys!"

* * *

Weiss stood next to Winter in an elevator as it descended down to the hidden depths of the Atlas Military Headquarters. The two were silent and the only sound was the grinding gears of the elevator as it was lowered down.

It soon stopped and the doors split open and Winter stepped out, signaling Weiss to follow her. Weiss looked around at the dimly lit, curved tunnel that seemed to be leading to a vault of some kind.

"Winter, what is this place?" Weiss asked.

"Sister, there have been hundreds of wars before you or I were born and there will be hundreds more after both of us are dead. Sometimes to win wars the people in charge must do things they are not proud of, things that they will regret, things that are meant to be hidden. This vault was once the birthplace of great weapons but for the last five years it has been used as the lab of Dr. Joseph Polendina ,a genius in the field of robotics." Winter explained.

"This man created Penny?" Weiss guessed. "Correct." Winter confirmed as they arrived at a heavy door. Winter typed a code on a keypad and then she leaned down and let a security device scan her eye.

"Identity Confirmed As: Winter Schnee. Access Granted." Said an artificial voice. The door opened by sliding up and Weiss followed her sister inside to a large, gray workshop.

"Joseph! It's me." Winter called. An old, rather portly man with a wild mane and beard of snow-white hair and tanned skin appeared from behind a table littered with spare parts.

"Ah Miss Schnee, I knew I'd get a visit from you or the General after the guards brought back Penny... wait a minute, I know her... what is she doing here?" the old man asked as he noticed Weiss.

"This is my sister..." "I know who she is; I saw her and her old team in the first Penny's memories." The old man said as Weiss' eyes widened.

"The first one? So this isn't the..." "No, Penny mentioned to me that she met you during her expedition upstairs. The Penny you encountered today is Penny 2, or just Penny as I call her." Joseph said.

"I spoke to her; she didn't remember me or Ruby! Why doesn't she remember anything?" Weiss asked.

"Heh... Ruby, the original spoke of her quite often... but to answer your question; I couldn't risk the old memories damaging her. I dare not ask myself the question of what a robot, especially one as alive and human as Penny, would do if it could remember its own death so I did not restore her original memory chip." Joseph elaborated.

"She has a right to know her past! Can't you just edit out the last day of her life or something like that?" Weiss asked.

"Its not that easy Weiss, it could be done but the new Penny would have two sets of memories and that could damage her mind." Winter explained.

Weiss was silent for a moment before she asked "May I see her?"

"Of course, she's in shut down mode, right over there." Joseph said as he pointed Weiss to Penny's direction.

As Weiss walked towards Penny the older Schnee noticed an angry and distressed look in the old man's eye.

"What's wrong?" Winter asked.

"It's Ironwood, while you were gone Ironwood came up with a plan to try and stop that Cinder Fall woman. He wants Penny to go into the city that Fall has been spotted in the most, Haven, and use Penny to lure her out, make her wonder how Penny came back, get them to capture Penny and then, once she's close enough to that witch..." the old man couldn't continue but Winter understood what he was about to say.

Ironwood wanted to turn Penny into a suicide bomber.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this one as it will take a while for the next chapter to be released since Chapters 6 and 7 together are two parts. I don't want to have chapter 6 be out alone for too long as I think it will be too obvious what will happen in chapter 7 so the two will be released fairly close to one another. It's main purpose was to be a calm before the storm, reintroduce Penny, and get the characters isolated.
> 
> And yes, that certain redhead was Penny who is back... sort of... and Adam is up to no good and neither is Cinder or Damien. And Ironwood seems to have something bad in store for Penny.
> 
> Fotia is a tool for evil basically but she is 100% fooled into thinking that she is among the good guys and that the world at large is evil because of how she was treated growing up. As for Neo's speaking ability I like to think that she can speak (as evidenced by her gasp in 'Heroes and Monsters') but she only talks to people she feels comfortable with and only does it when she feels it's the right time.
> 
> The scene where Ruby and Jaune talk about and mourn Pyrrha has been in my head ever since 'End of the Beginning'. I have accepted the fact that Pyrrha is gone and is most likely never coming back in the show (although I think that there is still some hope) but I'm not happy about it. I think it was an insulting way to kill off the character, insulting to her fans, and just wrong. It was the first time a character's death has ever made me angry and made me physically sick to the point where I couldn't eat for over a week after it. And I am not a guy who gets mad when a character he loves is killed off; I loved Newt in Aliens and I was okay with her dying in Alien 3 despite most people hating that move and my favorite episode of Transformers Beast Wars is 'Code of Hero' aka the one where my favorite character dies. So this was the first time a character's death ever felt wrong to me, plus I felt like it overshadowed everything else in the last few episodes and made me not care. I am still going to watch Volume 4 and beyond of course but my enthusiasm for the show has dwindled somewhat. I won't quit the show... unless Lancaster happens (which won't be happening in this fic as they are strictly platonic). I don't really care if Monty planned it that way I still think it was a huge misstep. We loved and respected Monty (still do) but he also loved and respected us (hence Torchwick and Velvet bigger roles than originally intended) so if the reaction to her death continues the way it is (lukewarm to negative) they might just pull a Spock, Sherlock Holmes, Optimus Prime on us. Or maybe even an Exorcist 3 where Pyrrha is okay but is now forced to be evil like Damien Karras was in that movie. Also I hated it due to Terminator 2 being one of my favorite movies and the whole 'there is no destiny except what we make for ourselves' moral of that movie.
> 
> Sorry about that. My life hasn't been awesome lately; my sister is out of control and nearly killed herself, I was sick with a terrible cold for two weeks, and worst of all my beloved cat Esther, one that I had for fourteen years, died on my birthday, so I think Pyrrha's death was just too far and added to my depression and like I said in the first chapter; fan fiction has become therapy for me and I needed to get that rant about Pyrrha's death off my chest.
> 
> So once again; read, review, and tell me what you liked and what I can improve.


	6. A Matter of Family Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Sorry this took so long, but it will be worth it by chapter 7 which is almost complete. Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Seriously tell me if the story is good or not, I want to know what you guys think because I worked really hard on this chapter and it took a LOT out of me.

Weiss entered a room that was Penny's designated living quarters and walked towards what could only be described as an operating table/bed hybrid. On the table was what appeared to be a teenage girl with orange hair, seemingly asleep.

Weiss saw Penny, or Penny 2, as she stepped closer and put her hand on the artificial girl's face, which felt very real to Weiss. "Her skin must be made out of some special material..." the Schnee heiress muttered to herself.

Penny lay on the table, totally unaware of anything around her, looking like a character out of some fairy tale...

'One that's probably real somehow.' Weiss thought to herself, with all that had been happening in the last few months Weiss wouldn't have been surprised if Penny sprung awake, grew machine guns out of her fingers, and started to do a jig, which she thankfully didn't.

Weiss took out her scroll and thought to herself 'Why am I doing this? A year ago the thought wouldn't have even entered my mind... I know I'll get in trouble for this but I have to tell her.'

She brought up Ruby's scroll number and made the connection, but she turned down the volume so Winter and Dr. Polendina would not hear her as they conversed on the other side of the lab and she looked around to make sure there were no security cameras in the room.

It took unusually long for an answer, which made Weiss suspect that the scroll wouldn't function properly down in the lab, but the bubbly voice of Ruby eventually answered the call. "Weiss? Sorry, I'm in a high place right now..." Ruby said as Weiss could see the cheerful silver-eyed girl on her scroll.

"Are you still in Haven?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, we know that Cinder's here for sure. Oh man Weiss you'll never guess where I am right now!" Ruby said giddily.

"Knowing you, probably on top of the Seras Kalifa." Weiss snarked.

"... Are you psychic now?" Ruby asked innocently as she turned her own scroll around to show the view from atop the skyscraper.

"I was joking! Oh never mind, it's not important right now. Ruby, Winter has brought me to Atlas' Military HQ in Atlas City, and you'll never believe who I found."

"Who?" Ruby asked, sounding curious.

"It's Penny, I..." "WHAT?!" screamed Ruby at the top of her lungs, thankfully not heard by Winter and Polendina thanks to the scroll's low volume but it was enough to make Weiss pull her head away from the scroll.

"Ruby! Be quiet!" Weiss scolded with a whisper, "I'm in a top secret place right now and I don't think General Ironwood will appreciate me calling you from here, which I'm surprised I can even do."

"Let me see her! Please Weiss! I need to know that she made it out..." Weiss saw Jaune in the background asking a question she couldn't hear and Ruby responded to him with "Penny's alive Jaune! Weiss is with her! Weiss please let me see..."

"Don't worry Ruby, I'll show her." Weiss said as she pointed her scroll's camera at the robotic girl that was in stasis.

"It is her..." Ruby's voice said, now bristling with joy, sounding like she was on the verge of crying. Weiss pointed the scroll at herself and saw how utterly happy Ruby was, and now Weiss had to break her heart with the bad news.

"Ruby... I... she doesn't remember us Ruby." Weiss revealed.

"What?" Ruby asked as her face turned from one of happiness to one of shock.

"This isn't the same Penny, Ruby. She sounds like her, acts like her, moves like her, but it isn't her. It's a second version, a Penny 2.0 and they didn't restore her memories." Weiss confessed, her heart aching as she saw the hope and joy in Ruby's eyes vanish.

"W-why didn't they restore her old memories?" Ruby asked.

"Dr. Polendina said he didn't want to risk hurting her. He didn't want her to remember her own death, I'm sure you can understand that." Weiss said, trying to get Ruby to see beyond emotions, which was a difficult task to be sure.

"I... I guess so... can you at least wake her up?" Ruby asked.

"It doesn't work like that Ruby, I don't even know how to! You know I can't even call you; I could be in serious trouble for showing her to you or for even having a scroll in the complex. Once this is all over I'm sure you can get to know her again." Weiss promised, she was about to continue before she heard Winter's voice.

"Weiss? Are you alright?"

"Oh no! Sorry Ruby, I need to go, Winter will be furious if she knows I called you. Talk to you later, bye." Weiss frantically whispered as she cut the call short and hid her scroll back in her combat skirt's pocket.

Winter appeared in the room's doorway, sighing in relief at the sight of her sister.

"I see you've found her. I know you are probably annoyed with me hiding this from you, but General Ironwood demanded her new existence be kept a secret." Winter explained.

"I understand that part and while I am a little annoyed with you for hiding this, I'm just happy you came clean." Weiss said.

"Come on, now that you've seen her we should probably leave. I don't think the General would be too happy to know I showed you this without his permission." Winter said as she gestured her sister to follow her.

Weiss followed her sister back to the entrance of the labs where Dr. Polendina stood. "We must take our leave now doctor, it was good to see you and rest assured I will speak to General Ironwood about the issue." Winter said vaguely, not wanting Weiss to know about what Ironwood had planned for the robot girl.

"Thank you Specialist Schnee, if you'll be able to make him second-guess his plans I will forever be in your debt." Joseph said.

This made Weiss curious, but she decided not to say anything, yet.

They left the lab and the heavy metal door descended back down, sealing off the lab.

As the Schnee sisters walked back to the elevator Weiss spoke to her sister. "I would like to tell Ruby about this as soon as I can."

"You don't even know where she is, and even if you do know how to get in touch with her I don't think it would be wise to tell her, from what little I know of the girl she would not handle the situation very well." Winter said firmly, but the way Weiss asked the question had gained Winter's interest. "Do you know how to contact your former leader?" she asked.

"What? No, no, of course not! If I did I would have told you by now." Weiss lied.

Winter nodded as she stepped into the elevator and remarked "Good."

Weiss got in the lift as well; ready to go over the various reports about Cinder's whereabouts and try to keep her secrets from Winter.

* * *

Ruby and Jaune walked around the top of the Seras Kalifa building, leaving the old operator behind in the elevator. Jaune took one look down and instantly felt nauseous, but managed to hold it in.

Ruby giggled at Jaune's goofy sick face before her scroll rang. She took it out and was surprised to see who was calling. "Is it Ashe?" asked Jaune, still not in the mood for a conversation with the man.

"No, it's Weiss. Wonder if she's okay." Ruby said as she answered the scroll. Weiss hadn't called until the other night, and while that did lift Ruby's spirits up a bit it made her sad about the lack of effort from either Blake or Yang. Her father had called several times but Ruby hadn't answered, knowing he would try to stop her. "Weiss? Sorry, I'm in a high place right now..." Ruby said she looked at the girl in white on the scroll.

"Are you still in Haven?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, we know that Cinder's here for sure. Oh man Weiss you'll never guess where I am right now!" Ruby said giddily as Jaune shook his head.

"Knowing you, probably on top of the Seras Kalifa." Weiss said sarcastically.

Jaune could barely stop himself from laughing as Ruby asked "... Are you psychic now?" and she turned her scroll around to show Weiss the view from atop the skyscraper.

"I was joking! Oh never mind, it's not important right now. Ruby, Winter has brought me to Atlas' Military HQ in Atlas City, and you'll never believe who I found." Weiss said cryptically.

Ruby looked to Jaune, who just shrugged; Ruby looked back to the scroll and asked "Who?"

"It's Penny, I..." "WHAT?!" screamed Ruby so loud that Jaune had to cover his ears, Ruby's scream had distracted him from processing what his former crush had said.

"Ruby! Be quiet!" Weiss snapped quietly, "I'm in a top secret place right now and I don't think General Ironwood will appreciate me calling you from here, which I'm surprised I can even do."

"Let me see her! Please Weiss! I need to know that she made it out..." Ruby began to say before Jaune spoke up.

"Ruby, what's going on? Who did she find?" he asked.

Ruby looked at the blonde with excited eyes and she cried out "Penny's alive Jaune! Weiss is with her!"

"What?! How is that... well she is a robot..." Jaune considered as Ruby went back to talking with her friend. "Weiss please let me see..."

"Don't worry Ruby, I'll show her." Ruby watched, a cheer fit to burst from her lips as Weiss showed her Penny, lying unconscious on a floating table.

"It is her..." Ruby said, with her voice struggling to contain another shout and her eyes on the verge of crying happy tears. Weiss brought the scroll back around at herself and she looked sad, as if she had to say something but she couldn't spit it out.

"Ruby... I... she doesn't remember us Ruby."

"What?" Ruby asked as her smiled dropped in an instant.

"This isn't the same Penny, Ruby. She sounds like her, acts like her, moves like her, but it isn't her. It's a second version, a Penny 2.0 and they didn't restore her memories." Weiss said.

Jaune couldn't believe it; Ruby's friend was back but couldn't remember her? He saw Ruby's eyes darken.

"W-why didn't they restore her old memories?" Ruby asked.

"Dr. Polendina said he didn't want to risk hurting her. He didn't want her to remember her own death, I'm sure you can understand that." Weiss explained, making Ruby wondered who exactly this Dr. Polendina was besides Penny's creator.

Jaune sighed, it made sense but he knew Ruby wouldn't like it as she was much more of an emotional person and didn't really think things through most of the time.

"I... I guess so... can you at least wake her up?" Ruby asked, trying to contain herself.

"It doesn't work like that Ruby, I don't even know how to! You know I can't even call you; I could be in serious trouble for showing her to you or for even having a scroll in the complex. Once this is all over I'm sure you can get to know her again." Weiss vowed before another voice was heard. "Oh no! Sorry Ruby, I need to go. Winter will be furious if she knows I called you, talk to you soon, bye."

Ruby watched as the feed died. She put the scroll back into her pocket and she sat down against a wall, covering her face with her hood and hands.

Jaune didn't really know what to do, he guessed the closest thing to this would be amnesia but he never knew anyone that had suffered it. He watched Ruby, saw that she wasn't even crying, she just sat there not moving or making a sound.

"I'm sorry Ruby, I know she meant a lot to you..."

"It's okay Jaune. I've already cried for her... I... I just want things to go back to normal!" Ruby said as she choked back her tears.

"Oh Ruby... you have no idea how much I want all this to end. I just wake up in Team JNPR's dorm room and find out this has all been a terrible dream and everything is okay... but it won't happen. It's a crappy thing, but that's reality. Reality sucks big time Ruby... but we can't give up. We may not be able to bring Pyrrha or the original Penny back but we can honor them by not letting them die pointless deaths." Jaune said.

Ruby looked up at the blonde boy and smiled "Jaune, I need to be honest with you; you will probably be the best leader out of our generation, despite how dopey you can be." She said.

Jaune decided that it was time to come clean to Ruby about a secret only Pyrrha, Cardin, and Ashe knew.

"Ruby, I faked my way into Beacon."

Ruby was silent, her eyes widening in shock. "W-what?" she asked quietly.

"I wanted to be a hero so bad, I wanted to be like my ancestors! I didn't want to be some helpless kid who has to be saved every time a Grimm attack happens. I made up the transcripts, I got watermarks using connections my dad had, I even stole the Crocea Mors."

Ruby said nothing and her silence was torturing Jaune.

"I'm a fraud Ruby. I didn't deserve to be a student in Beacon, I didn't deserve Pyrrha, or Ren, or Nora, or you or... Ozpin must have known and he let me in anyway, that crazy old man. Maybe if I hadn't gotten in Pyrrha may still be here, maybe some other guy would have been smart enough to notice how she felt and maybe some other guy could have stopped her from fighting Cinder. I'm a failure Ruby." He finished as he looked out to the city before him.

"I don't care if you faked your way in." Ruby said, making Jaune turn around and look at her.

"If you weren't worthy of being with us then you never would have gotten past Ozpin period! Yeah, he may have been using us, but I don't care. All of that is in the past Jaune. And I never, never want to hear you call yourself a failure again." Ruby scolded.

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Because other people; people like Cardin can call you a failure, but you can never think that you are one. If you say that about yourself then you've already lost and I know for a fact that you are NOT a failure! You cared about Pyrrha so much that you're out here, so far from home, trying to avenge her! You've hit walls like Cardin and how you used to lack a Semblance but you always got over them, you always overcame them! Everyone fails at something Jaune, we can't win at everything, but if you let those failures get to your head. If you don't try again then you really are a failure. You're not a failure Jaune. I know it, your family knows it, Ren and Nora know it, Ashe knows it, and Pyrrha knew it with all her heart. You saw her for her, not some idol or celebrity but for who she was, that's why she loved you Jaune! So please Jaune, don't call yourself a failure." Ruby pleaded.

Jaune smiled and offered her his hand, helping her up. He hugged her and said "You really are the little sister I never had."

"Aw! Ain't this sweet!" said a familiar voice.

Jaune and Ruby both looked to see an airship rising up alongside the building and inside of the ship was Damien Ante and six of his enforcers.

"Hey there kids, remember me? Well of course you do! Hey, how 'bout you do Uncle Damien a favor and get into the ship without a fight, hmm? We got free candy!" Damien joked as he, Little Steve, Fireball, Zhan, and Merrick all aimed their weapons at them.

"Run for it!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed Jaune and used her Semblance to rocket around the building's top.

"They always want to do it the hard way." Little Steve said with a smirk.

"And it's always more fun that way." Damien said as he gestured to Douglas to fly them over.

Ruby and Jaune got back to the elevator, startling the old man with their sudden appearance. "What the?!" he cried out before Ruby pushed him into the elevator.

"Get us down now!" Ruby cried.

The ship flew over them and hovered directly in front of them, now flying like a wasp looking for a place to nest.

"Come on kids, just give up now and we won't have to mess you up that badly!" said Damien as Merrick aimed at Jaune.

"Nothing personal kid." The sniper muttered as he fired a tranquilizer dart from his rifle.

Jaune whipped out Crocea Mors and transformed the sheath into shield form, stopping the dart and knocking it to the ground.

The attendant pushed the button and the door shut and the elevator began to descend down to the lower levels, even if it only took them to the two-hundred and seventy-fifth floor out of the building's total three hundred floors. Naturally the elevators couldn't go all the way up so there were different bottoms and tops of elevator shafts along the tall building.

Ruby took out Crescent Rose and loaded a clip into it. "Think we can fight our way out?" she asked Jaune.

"Let's hope so..." Jaune said before Ruby's scroll rang.

Ruby took it out and said "It's Ashe, we'll need some help."

Jaune nodded and looked to the old attendant and he decided to stop the elevator at the nearest floor. "We'll be okay, get out and call security." He said, to which the old man just nodded, still in shock, as he ran out. Jaune closed the door and the elevator started up again as Ruby answered her scroll.

"Ashe, we..."

"Ruby! Thank Oum, are you two okay? Where are you?" Ashe asked.

"We're near the top of the Seras Kalifa building, Ashe we need some help..." Ruby said before Ashe stopped her.

"Yeah I know, I got jumped by a gang in the slums, I got the boss to talk and he told me that Ante put up a bounty on all of us!"

"Yeah, we noticed." Jaune said.

"Oh Oum, you guys are being chased aren't you?" Ashe guessed.

"Yeah, but we got Ante himself and some bad looking guys, whoever they are they're not street thugs." Jaune said.

"Probably his enforcers. Okay hold on, I'm on my way to the building now. If you guys manage to get out before I get there then head to the nearest slum, when we were out exploring the city the other day I saw a construction site that's supposed to be the start of some big urban renewal project that got put on hold until spring. I think we can regroup there." Ashe said.

"Got it, I know the one you're talking about Ashe. We'll try to get out ourselves, don't want to attract too much attention after all." Ruby reminded him.

"Hey, Jaune?" Ashe said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I was being such an asshole to you earlier." Ashe said.

Jaune said nothing, but he let Ashe continue.

"I've been torturing myself over Mila's death for five years, I see something of myself in you kid and I should've realized that your feelings for Pyrrha are more than just motive to get stronger. I'm sorry." Ashe said.

"We'll talk about it later okay? This is the worst possible time for a heart to heart! Right now we gotta..." Jaune said before the door opened and the two teens were greeted by the sight of Lao, Trooper, and Tom-Tom.

"Hey there cutie." Tom-Tom mockingly greeted as he eyed Ruby.

For his troubles he received the shield of Crocea Mors to his face, knocking him across the hall and into the wall.

Jaune forced his way out, his sword slamming into Lao's katana which easily blocked his blow. "Good form." Lao admitted as he relented, drawing his sword away and twirling around out to the hall.

Jaune and Ruby both got out with their weapons ready.

"I'll take on the swordsman, you take on the soldier." Jaune said.

"Got it." Ruby agreed as she spun Crescent Rose, ready to battle.

"What about me?!" cried Tom-Tom as he tried to get up, only to be put back down with a kick to the head courtesy of Ruby. "Ah! Again with the head!" the unlucky enforcer yelled out.

Lao and Jaune swung their swords to one another, the two blades clashed so hard that sparks flew. Lao tried to lunge at Jaune only for the blonde Huntsman-in-training to sidestep him and spin around, trying to slash Lao across the chest with the Crocea Mors but the enforcer managed to parry it. "Not bad. While you could use some improvement I was led to believe you weren't a threat." Lao admitted as he pressed his katana forward while Jaune held his place.

"I've gotten better in the last seven months." Jaune snarled.

Trooper opened fire on Ruby but the girl managed to deflect all the bullets with the spinning blade of Crescent Rose. Ruby used her Semblance to rush forward and use the handle of the sniper-scythe to bash the trained killer in the knees, elbows, and head.

Trooper cried out as he fell against the floor. He looked up at the teenage girl and smirked. "And here I thought this would be a waste of time." He muttered as he saw Tom-Tom sneaking up on Ruby, going unnoticed by Jaune as he was too busy fighting Lao.

"Glad to prove you wrong." Ruby said, before she twirled around in the blink of an eye and smashed Tom-Tom into a wall once again.

Ruby used her Semblance to rocket herself down a hall to a door that led to an emergency exit staircase. Several people were gathered around, watching the fight as it went on but most were taking cover in the rooms that the hall connected to.

Ruby aimed Crescent Rose's gun down the hallway and yelled "Jaune, get down!"

Jaune turned his head as he parried a swing from Lao and he ducked down. Lao was confused until the wall exploding behind him knocked him off his guard and Jaune was able to whack him to the ground with his shield; however Jaune didn't notice Lao slapping him on his back.

Jaune ran towards Ruby, bashing a recovering Tom-Tom in the face with his shield yet again. Trooper took aim for Jaune's legs but a shot from Crescent Rose blasted the wall he was laying next to, forcing him to cover his face from the debris.

Jaune made it to Ruby and kicked the stairway door open. "Come on!" he said to Ruby, who nodded as she fired off three more shots, and then she ran after Jaune.

Lao got up and saw that his two companions were getting back up. "I swear to Oum, if those kids hit me in the face again I don't care what that witch says, I am so gonna hurt 'em back!" Tom-Tom said angrily.

"Just be grateful they didn't hit you in the groin." Trooper said as Lao walked past them.

"Come on, we need to tire them out." Lao said as he took out a small orb.

Ruby and Jaune ran down the winding staircase, going as fast as they could without tripping. It would take a while to get to the bottom of this staircase as it covered another twenty-two floors. "You think Cinder's behind this?" Jaune asked as they rounded a bend.

"I'd bet every lien I have on it." Ruby said as bullets began raining down on them.

"Behind me!" Jaune cried as he used the shield to protect both of them from the gunfire.

Up above Trooper and Tom-Tom blasted away with their weapons, trying to keep the duo pinned down. Lao pushed a button on the orb he carried and tossed it over the edge.

The orb landed behind Jaune and Ruby, but Ruby luckily saw it as it landed and recognized it as a small explosive.

"Go!" she yelled as she jumped on Jaune's back, forcing the two teens to fall over the railing, just as the orb exploded.

Jaune acted quickly and placed the shield underneath them just before they landed at the staircase's base with a mighty crash.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Never do that again!" Jaune cried.

Ruby giggled and responded with "Whatever you say."

Jaune held the shield up as gunfire began to rain down on them again.

"Move!" Jaune yelled as they both ran to the door, the shield protecting them from bullets all the way.

The three enforcers quickly ran to the base of the stairs to find the door shut. "They got a head start on us, I'm starting to like these kids." Trooper admitted.

Tom-Tom shook his head as Lao went to open the door, only for said door to explode out of its frame and smash into the three mercenaries.

Jaune and Ruby stood on the other side of the door, feeling somewhat victorious even though they knew their pursuers wouldn't be kept down for long.

Jaune ran down the hallway to an elevator door and used Crocea Mors to pry the doors open, only to find no elevator waiting for them. Jaune looked down and saw that the elevator shaft was much longer than the last one, going down at least fifty stories.

"Ruby, can you..." "Use Crescent Rose to get us down? You bet." She said as she pushed a button and two small stepping plates came out of the side of the pole. Ruby swung the scythe into the elevator, stabbing it into the wall. She got on one of the steps and gestured for Jaune to get on the other.

"When did you add these?" Jaune asked before he jumped over.

"Before we left Patch, didn't want to hang on to just the pole again if I ever fell from something really high up. Always be prepared and all that." Ruby explained.

With their combined weight the scythe began to slide down the shaft, cutting metal apart as it did so.

The three enforcers made their way to the elevator shaft to see the teens about twenty floors below them already. Lao took out two Sais and jumped into the wall, stabbing the small blades into it. "Come on!" he ordered.

Trooper took out a small grappling hook from his belt and fired it into the top of the shaft. "Grab on." He ordered Tom-Tom, who reluctantly wrapped his arms around the older man's waist.

As Ruby and Jaune slid down the shaft, the scraping of metal hurting their ears all the way down, Jaune saw the trio coming down the shaft with Lao jumping from wall to wall.

"Don't those guys ever give up?!" Jaune cried as he held up the shield while Tom-Tom opened fire with a revolver.

Soon enough they came to the elevator which sat idle at the base of the shaft. Jaune kicked the emergency panel open and Ruby jumped down into the elevator. Jaune stepped to the side, protecting himself with the shield as Ruby opened fire on the three enforcers.

One of her shots hit Trooper's grappling line and both he and Tom-Tom fell down. Trooper grabbed the elevator cable but Tom-Tom was forced to grab onto one of the door ledges.

Jaune jumped down and said "Good job, what floor are we on?"

Ruby looked at the panel on the elevator and saw that they were on the one-hundred and eighty-third floor, meaning they had just slid down seventy floors in only a few minutes.

"We're almost halfway down. I think we might have to jump out of the building." She said as they ran out of the elevator.

"No way!" Jaune objected before a voice yelled out "Stop!"

Jaune and Ruby turned to see a group of five security guards all aiming their guns at them.

"Wait a minute; we're not the ones..." Ruby tried to say before the guards yelled at her to shut up.

"Well... we did tear up the place a bit." Jaune admitted.

"It was in self-defense!" cried Ruby as the guards kept their guns aimed at them.

"We got reports of three adult men and two teenagers fighting in the hallways and staircases, what's going on?" demanded the captain.

"Well, it's..." Ruby began to say before a bullet ripped through a guard's shoulder.

"Get down!" yelled the captain. All the guards, Ruby and Jaune all ducked down as Lao, Tom-Tom, and Trooper all fired on the guards.

"Jaune we have to get out of here, the longer we stay the more innocent people will get hurt." Ruby said.

Jaune nodded and said "Okay, we jump. You think you can pull it off again?"

"Of course I can!" she said confidently as she looked up to a window. "First we need to distract those guys, and I know how to do it." She added.

She jumped up and spun Crescent Rose around, once again deflecting all the bullets back at them. Lao took out another orb and threw it at Ruby and the orb landed in front of her.

"Oh no you don't!" Jaune yelled as he kicked the orb, flinging back at Lao.

Lao's eyes widened, he jumped back and yelled "Get down!" before the orb exploded in the narrow hallway.

"Now!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed Jaune. The two ran towards the window with Crescent Rose's blaster pointed at the floor.

The two smashed through the window and fell a few hundred feet before Ruby pulled the trigger and the blast rocketed them up a bit before they fell back down, repeating what she had pulled off at the Battle of Beacon.

Jaune screamed out in exhilaration as they fell down to the streets below, propelled up every now and then by a blast.

Lao, Trooper, and Tom-Tom all ran to the shattered window and watched as the two teens escaped. The guards were either unconscious or dead so no one attempted to stop the three.

"Oh this is just embarrassing." Tom-Tom muttered as Damien's airship flew by the window.

"To be fair we are holding back." Trooper defended.

Damien opened the door and glared at them. "They're just kids! How did they outsmart trained killers like you?! Get in!" Damien commanded and the three jumped back into the ship.

Lao grinned as he sat down "It was not a total loss, before they slipped down a staircase I managed to get a bug on the Arc boy, we can track them and listen to them."

Damien smirked and said "That's why I like you more than the others Lao."

* * *

Reese Chloris flew in the air, temporarily separated from her hoverboard. She always liked to do this, jump up in the air high off the ground for a few seconds, giving her the impression that she was flying.

But alas, she couldn't fly, her feet landed back on her hoverboard and she flew down to the ramp on the roof of a building. She flew over to the other side of the roof and went up the old rusty water tower that was placed on the roof. She landed on the top of the tower, stomped on the end of her hoverboard and it flew up into her arms.

Reese had been born and raised in Haven, so she didn't have to go far from the Academy to see her mom and dad. She was one of the people of this city that knew what a mess it was, but loved it regardless. Reese may have been the youngest member of Team ABRN but she was the smartest, even though she didn't show it that often, but intelligence just happens when your mother is one of the highest rated doctors in the city. Reese was worried about her home town, many people were unhappy with the military presence that Atlas had put there and the occupation was constantly being harassed by protests from the locals which often led them to being held up and unable to do anything.

She looked up to the sky, seeing the clouds getting grey and dark. "Looks like rain." She muttered to herself, glad she brought her purple hoodie. It was nearing the last weeks of winter so rain was to be expected and Reese didn't mind it, she was just glad most of the snow had missed the city.

Then the skater noticed something else in the sky. "What the hell?!" she cried as she saw a familiar looking red scythe with two figures holding on to it for dear life falling from the sky.

Reese watched as the scythe got closer, occasionally going up via a blast from the scythe's gun portion and as they got closer Reese recognized them as Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc.

"What are they doing here?" she asked herself as she watched them land of a rooftop a few hundred meters away.

Reese got on her hoverboard and flew over to them, seeing that they both looked worn out and that Jaune was on his knees and currently in the process of vomiting.

"Ruby, we are never doing that again and I mean it this time!" he cried after he finished puking.

"Sorry Jaune but at least we got away from Ante for now." Ruby said.

"Ante?!" Reese cried out as she landed on the rooftop next to them, which was slightly higher up. Now Reese's curiosity was piqued, if these two were running from Damien Ante then something big was going on.

Ruby turned around and saw the skater of Team ABRN. "Oh hey, uh...Reese, right?" Ruby said, recognizing the girl Blake had fought in the first round of the Vytal Tournament.

"Did I hear you right? You said you got away from Ante, as in Damien Ante?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's after us. We gotta get going Ruby, let's go!" Jaune said as he used his Semblance to jump to the next rooftop.

Ruby looked at Reese and said "Nice to see you, we have to go before they come after us again, don't want you to get hurt in the crossfire."

"Wait, I'd like to know what's going..."

Just then a series of gunfire strafed the roof from far above. Reese and Ruby looked up to see the airship coming towards them.

"Gotta go! See you later!" Ruby said as she sped off with her Semblance.

Reese decided it would be better not to take any chances so she used her hoverboard to get into the small alleyway between the two buildings as the ship flew by.

Reese got out her scroll, she may not have known Ruby or Jaune very well but she couldn't let them get hurt. She dialed up her leader who answered after a few rings.. "Arslan? You won't believe what I just saw!"

* * *

With the aid of her Semblance Ruby rushed forward and grabbed Jaune by the arm, catching him by surprise as they rocketed away.

"Not again!" Jaune cried as he felt Ruby drag him over rooftops and jump over streets.

They soon came to a stop to let Ruby catch her breath. "Oh man... I'm getting tired." She muttered as she tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

"I'll call Ashe and tell him we made it out." Jaune said as he took out his scroll and called his mentor.

"Ashe, we're okay, we're tired as heck but we made it out of the building and we're heading towards the construction site." Jaune said as he kept watch for Damien's ship

"Good, that's closer anyway and I'm not too good on this bike!" Ashe said over the sounds of a motorcycle's engine.

"Bike? Where did you get a bike from?" Jaune asked.

"From one of those thugs that jumped me earlier. Trust me; he won't be using it anymore." Ashe assured Jaune.

Jaune sighed, deciding it was better not to ask what Ashe meant by that. "Call Ren and Nora and have them meet us at the construction site. Maybe together we can defeat these guys and force Ante to tell us where Cinder is." Jaune suggested.

"That sounds like a losing fight kid, what does Ruby think?" Ashe asked.

Jaune looked to Ruby who nodded. "If we get Ante to talk it'll lead us right to Cinder." She said.

Jaune wasn't so convinced his idea was a good one as he saw how tired Ruby was; the chase in the building and Weiss' revelation about Penny as well as Jaune admitting the truth about his transcripts left the girl in red pretty drained.

"You sure? You look..."

"I'm fine Jaune! We can do this!" Ruby said, trying to hide how exhausted she really was.

"Okay I'll call 'em, you know where it is right?" Ashe asked.

"Yeah we're only four blocks from it; I can see it from here. We'll be able to hold out until you get there, just hurry!" Jaune said.

"I'll get there as fast as I can, just don't get yourselves killed. I've got enough guilt to live with, I don't need your deaths on my conscience." Ashe said.

"You said they want us alive, I don't think they can afford to kill us." Jaune pointed out.

"If Cinder wants you alive then whatever she's got planned will probably be worse than death!" Ashe said.

"Fair point." Jaune admitted.

"Jaune, remember yesterday when you hit me so hard you sent me flying?" Ashe asked. "Yeah." Jaune said with a nod.

"Jaune, I've been hit a lot of times in my life, I mean a lot of times. The point is that I know when someone is holding back. Don't hold back anymore Jaune, if you do these people will kill you!" Ashe said.

"I'll do my best." Jaune said as he hung up. He watched as Ruby got ready to go.

"Let's get to the site, if Damien wants us he'll be in for the fight of his life." She said with a smirk. Jaune nodded and the two ran off towards the construction site, unaware that the bug Lao had placed on Jaune had heard everything.

On the airship Damien laughed as he listened in, "Oh I don't doubt it kid! Douglas, call up the gang, send forty-five guys in all to that site over there! If they're gonna try to fight us we'll teach 'em the meaning of a 'last stand!'" he said as he began laughing manically.

As Ruby and Jaune jumped across the roofs Ruby saw Jaune was typing something on his scroll. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"A backup plan is case this fails." Jaune said as he began to type in some four letter words.

* * *

Ren sat in one of the reclining chairs at the warehouse, trying his best to relax and just hope that Ashe, Jaune, and Ruby could handle the situation by themselves, no matter how much he knew they couldn't.

He looked over to see Nora going through Ashe's bag.

"Nora! I don't think Ashe would like you going through his belongings." Ren scolded.

Nora looked up and pouted. "Aw, come on Ren! He was a total jerk-wad to Jaune! This guy is so weird Ren; I mean why does he have an old train conductor's cap?" Nora asked as she took out the hat.

"He mentioned he worked on a train, maybe it's a memento." Ren speculated.

"And this case, there's no lock on it." Nora said as she took out the small steel case that Ren had spotted on the morning Ashe had decided to join them. Ren couldn't explain why, but when Nora lifted up the case he felt uneasy.

"I think that thing is very important to Ashe." Ren said as he got up and approached his friend. "It has a lock, but not a normal one. It's a print-lock, it will only open for his finger or thumb prints." He explained.

"What could be in here that's so dang important?" Nora wondered out loud.

"I don't think we should be messing with this case, I think it will only bring Ashe's foul mood upon us." Ren said as he took the case from Nora. As he grabbed it he could feel something from within the case; a strong aura, but not one of a human or a Faunus...

Suddenly Ren's scroll rang out. Ren quickly placed the case back in Ashe's backpack and answered his scroll.

"Ashe, are you..."

"Ren, we need backup! You know that construction site near the Seras Kalifa building, the one on the borders of a slum we passed through yesterday?" Ashe asked.

"Yes, I recall it. Why?"

"Ruby and Jaune are on the run with Ante and his enforcers on their tails. They're going to try and make it to the site and with our help we may be able to defeat Ante and force some answers out of him. I know it's risky, but both Ruby and Jaune think we can pull it off. I'm on my way there now, so you two better be getting here soon if we have a chance of pulling this off!" Ashe said.

Ren sighed and said "We're coming, try to keep them alive until we get there."

"I will, see you soon." Ashe said as he hung up.

Ren saw Nora lift Magnhild over her shoulder. "Let's get to work." She said with a cheerful and confident grin.

"I know this won't end well, but we must try." Ren said as he grabbed the StormFlowers, before he went to the door he took one last look at Ashe's bag, wondering what it was he had sensed.

The partners opened and closed the door and jumped onto the rooftops, rushing into the city to save their friends, the only family they had had in years.

* * *

Ashe pulled on the gas lever as hard as he could. The bike swerved through cars and pedestrians, managing to avoid hitting anyone and thankfully not hitting any objects too badly. His skills on a motorcycle had gotten very rusty in the last nine years.

"Watch it asshole!" yelled a man in his car.

"This is getting me nowhere!" Ashe groaned as he drove the motorcycle through the heavy and very aggravating traffic of Haven. He knew that it would take way too long to get to the slums like this so he decided he needed to leave the bike.

He saw an alleyway and grinned. "Roof jumping here I come." He muttered and he drove into the alley and propped the bike against the brick wall.

"Free bike." He called out to anyone who'd listen before he jumped up to the roof. He looked out and he could see the towering skeleton of an unfinished building in the distance, about two miles away, statues constantly marking the way.

"Man what I'd give for Ruby's Semblance right now." He muttered as he turned around to see an angel statue on top of the building he was on, about four times his size. 'Statues...' Ashe thought as an idea hatched in his head. He grabbed on to the statue's leg and began to climb up.

He got on top of the statue's head and he jumped across the street to the next building. "City of Angels, never thought I'd love those eyesores so much." Ashe muttered as he jumped on to another one, slowly but surely making his way to the unfinished tower.

* * *

West grabbed hold of a railing on the airship's ceiling as the ship swerved to miss a building.

"What is wrong with your pilot?! Is he aiming for those buildings?!" West cried.

"Of course not! But it would make a nice crash..." Damien joked.

"Boss I got the gang moving out, they'll be there quick as they can." Douglas called from the cockpit.

"Good, now keep your eyes on those brats! If they get away Cinder will do all kinds of nasty shit to us, and check your ammo! Remember, she'll do even worse if they get killed so make sure your guns are packing tranquilizers only!" Damien said to his enforcers as Merrick, Trooper, and Little Steve all loaded up their guns with tranquilizer darts.

"I'm going to call Lady Cinder, we overheard them talking to that Ashe man and he'll be bringing backup." West said as he took out a scroll.

"No way, we can pull this off. We'll capture those two brats and you'll keep 'em alive with your Semblance, I'll take care of Ashe and the other two don't matter. We don't need Cinder making a scene." Ante said.

West glared at Ante. "I think Lady Cinder should be the judge of that." He said.

Damien sighed and said "Okay doc, I'll call her and tell her to get there with the transport ship, we don't got enough room in this ship to hold 'em anyway."

Inside the factory Cinder stood on a catwalk watching as more Grimm Knights walked towards Sherizawa and his assistants for inspection. She had to admit that they were a magnificent sight and she looked forward to leading them into battle.

She felt her scroll vibrate and she removed it from her pocket and saw who the caller was. "Ugh." She muttered as she answered it. "Damien, have you spotted them?" she asked.

"Better than that, my Maiden, we're on their tails as we speak! We got a bug on 'em right now and we know they're heading towards a construction site at the edge of one of the slums. I'm sending you the coordinates so get ready to get here as quick as you can, our ship can't hold 'em and I know you got a ship that can. Your doc here thinks we'll damage the kids too much but I think we can hold back." Damien said.

Cinder considered West's logic and knew it was sound. She wouldn't trust Ante to return a library book, let alone capture Rose and Arc and bring them back alive. While she would find the sight of her master destroying Ante wonderful she knew Salem would be very disappointed and unsatisfied if the two were killed. Cinder knew better than to tempt her master's wrath.

She spoke into her scroll "And what of the police?"

"Oh please! I've got them wrapped around my finger; I've already told 'em to stay clear of this." Damien clarified.

"Very good Damien, we'll be there. Is the rest of their team with them?"

"Not yet but they're comin'! I look forward to taking that Ashe asshole down myself." Ante said, seeming all too excited at the prospect.

"Understood Damien, we will be there." Cinder said. She hung up and dialed up Emerald. Her prized student answered after the first ring. "Yes Cinder?" Emerald asked.

"Emerald, do you know where Mercury and Neo are?"

"Yeah, they're in the gym. Mercury's trying to get a better look at Fotia and Neo's being Neo." Emerald said.

"Collect them and get them to the hangar," Cinder ordered, "Damien will need our help once he captures Rose and Arc, and I intend to collect. Their friends will interfere and I think we might need to give them support."

"Understood, I'll get them." Emerald said.

Cinder put away her scroll and looked back down to Sherizawa. "Doctor, can you lend me a squad of Grimm Knights? I'll make this their first official field test." she called.

Sherizawa nodded, "I'll be happy to oblige Lady Cinder." he said, he then directed four of the new Grimm Knights to follow Cinder.

As Cinder led the robots away her thoughts drifted to the man who was apparently helping her enemies. Ashe. 'No, it couldn't be him.' Cinder thought to herself but she shook that thought away and she walked out of the main foundry. She had put her past behind her, she hadn't even thought about him in years.

* * *

Yang and her father sat across from one another at the dinner table. The two ate in silence but Taiyang was beaming with happiness that his daughter had finally decided not to stay locked up in her room all day anymore.

"Any word about Ruby?" Yang asked as she took a bite out of her meal.

"No, I keep asking Qrow but that's like asking a Grimm what happiness is." Taiyang answered, feeling terrible that he still didn't know where his youngest daughter was.

"Uncle Qrow is a good Huntsman and uncle but you have to admit dad, he's a bit of a dick." Yang said, trying not to laugh.

"Don't I know it! I remember the first time your mom and I... oh, sorry I..." he said, he always hated when his memories brought up his first love up out of nowhere.

"It's okay dad. You don't have to try to forget mom for my sake. What were you about to say?" Yang asked.

"The first date your mother and I ever went on was during our third year at Beacon. I remember before we left for the restaurant Qrow pulled me aside and said" Taiyang began doing his best, and very accurate, Qrow impression, "If you ever hurt her not even Ozpin will be able to find your body."

The father and daughter began laughing at the idea of Taiyang being able to hurt Raven, seeing as how she was possibly the best fighter on Team STRQ. Something that even when Yang was young and didn't understand why her birth-mother had left Taiyang and Summer had never bothered to hide during the bedtime stories.

Yang saw her father stop laughing as he shook his head and gave her a sad smile. "After all these years Yang I still feel like I'm the world's worst dad." He said.

"Don't say that! You were always there for us! You gave up your career to raise us until Ruby went to Signal!" Yang objected.

"Yeah and it took you two nearly being killed by Beowolves and saved by Qrow to get me to do that. Summer's death hit me so hard I forgot how my little girls' were going to be affected by it too. Under my watch Ruby ran off with her friends to do Oum knows what and I didn't even notice until she was gone. My little girl is out there trying to save the world, and if Qrow knows where she is he's not talking." He said sadly, feeling so helpless and useless.

Yang hated seeing her father like this, he had been beating himself up ever since the aftermath of Beacon's fall. Yang knew where her sister was and she knew her dad would freak out if she told him she knew all along but she had to say something to her dad.

"Dad, I think Ruby and the others went to Haven." Yang said.

Her father's head snapped up from his dinner and looked at her. "What?" he asked, his voice hushed and shocked.

"Back when we were in Beacon and we thought that Cinder was just another student, she told us she was from Haven in Mistral. Ruby told me that's where she was going and she asked me not to tell you." Yang confessed.

Taiyang shot up out of his chair, his hands gripping the edge of the table. It was the angriest Yang had ever seen him.

"You knew this entire time?! Why didn't you..."

"Because I was feeling so sorry for myself I didn't even care, but I do now. I'm only telling you dad because I don't want you to blame yourself. It's her choice dad and I didn't tell you because I'm her big sister, I'm supposed to keep secrets for her!" Yang said.

Taiyang sighed and said "You certainly are my daughter. Do you think Qrow knows as well?"

"It's Uncle Qrow dad, I love him to death but I won't deny that he's a jerk. If he thinks Ruby going out to stop Cinder is the best course of action then he won't stop her." Yang explained.

"Too true." Taiyang muttered.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"If that's Uncle Qrow then I'm pretty sure this is all written out or something." Yang said as her father made his way to the front door.

"And if it is him he better have some answers for..." Taiyang began to say as he opened the door, only to come face to face with his ex-wife, Raven Branwen, standing in front on the door with her mask drawn up and a metal case in her hand.

"R-raven?!" he said in shock.

"Hello Taiyang." She greeted.

As soon as Yang heard her father speak she jumped out of her seat and ran to the front hall and saw a woman whose face looked almost exactly like her own, albeit older, with jet black hair and crimson eyes.

"Hello Yang." Her mother said as her eyes moved to her daughter's stump.

"What do you want?" Yang asked coldly, trying to keep herself from snapping and punching her birth-mother right in the face.

"Qrow sent me; he told me you were stuck in a pit of depression and self-pity. As the new leader of Ozpin's forces he ordered me to come here and snap you out of it and give you something." Raven explained.

"Where is Qrow?" Taiyang asked.

"Not far, he's coming on an airship with a doctor that owes him." Raven said.

"What's the doctor for?" Yang asked.

"To attach this to you." Raven said as she opened the case, revealing the bright yellow robotic prosthetic lower arm with the hand inserted into the right Ember Ceilia.

"W-h-w-how?! What?!" Yang stuttered out.

"Qrow's new position gives him a lot of power and the ability to pull many strings. He told me the clean up crews found your gauntlet in the rubble and he had an arm built to replace the one that was taken from you." Raven elaborated.

"Why didn't he bring it here sooner? Why did he make you bring it?" Taiyang asked.

"I never understood my brother Taiyang, so you shouldn't bother to try." Raven told him as she gave Yang the case.

It was heavier than she expected it to be. Yang looked at the robotic arm and admired it; it was a thing of beauty. Black metal made up the hand and the fingers, as if her fingerless gloves were now complete, and yellow covered the rest of it. She felt like she could just slip it on and everything would go back to normal. It was perfect.

Yang looked at her mother with a mixture of confusion, spite, love, regret, and just a little bit of forgiveness.

"Raven, I don't know how I can ever thank you for this." Taiyang said in amazement. After all these years she could still leave him speechless with her actions.

"You don't have to thank me, love." Raven said sadly.

Taiyang sighed and said "You lost the right to call me that when you left."

"I know, but I want you to know that no matter what I never stopped loving you." Raven said, her eyes betraying her sadness.

Yang now felt incredibly awkward standing between the two former lovers as they all stood in silence before the sound of an airship made them all look up.

A small airship landed down in front of the house. The door slid open to reveal Qrow Branwen and a bearded man who held several medical bags, along with two women and a Faunus man who were the attending nurses.

"Well, one big happy family I see." Qrow said sarcastically as he approached them.

Taiyang walked up to Qrow and greeted him with a fist to the cheek.

"Ow! Okay, some thank you." Qrow said in disbelief.

"Why didn't you give it to her sooner?! What was the point of making Raven bring it?" Taiyang demanded.

"To get Yang out of her depression. I figured maybe a confrontation with her mother would snap her out of it, a fight would get her back into the fight." Qrow said.

"And did you know Ruby is in Haven?" Taiyang asked.

"Well that cat's out of the bag." Qrow muttered as he chuckled.

"Yes, well if the unconfined joy of this happy family reunion is over, I'd like to get started on Miss Xiao Long's surgery." Said the doctor.

"Who are you?" Taiyang asked the older man.

"Dr. Gerard Kimball of Atlas, nice to meet you Mr. Xiao Long." The doctor said as he offered his hand out to shake which Taiyang accepted.

"Are you taking me to a hospital?" Yang asked.

"No, we can do it here if that is alright, if you'll allow it my staff can set up an operating room." Kimball said.

"Yang, is it okay with you?" Taiyang asked.

"Of course, they can do it in my room." She said, eager to get her replacement arm on.

"Very well, take my nurses to it and they'll begin and I'll prep you for surgery afterwards. Miss Xiao Long, you'll need to be asleep for this as the biofusion process it quite painful and it will require advanced circuitry to be fused to your nervous system as well as your bone and muscle structure. I'd also recommend at least a few days of rest." Kimball said.

"Uhh are we sure this is safe?" Yang asked, no longer sure about this decision.

"Trust me Miss, I've performed this kind of surgery in swamps and deserts, I think I can pull it off in a nice house." The doctor said with an assuring smile.

Yang nodded and led the medical team into the house, leaving her parents, uncle, and doctor outside in the chilly air.

"So how do you know this man Qrow?" Taiyang asked.

"Qrow saved my life about eight years ago. I was assigned to perform surgery on a leading figure in the White Fang, long before they were the racial terrorists they are now. One of the old anti-Faunus organizations tried to assassinate him and after they failed to end his life they tried to take me out before I could perform the surgery, but Qrow saved me. I have been in his debt ever since." The doctor explained.

"Be honest with me doctor; can you give my daughter this arm?" Taiyang asked hopefully.

"Of course I can Mr. Xiao Long, I do things like this at least twice a week." The doctor promised.

The medical team came back down and went to the airship to get the rest of the equipment as Yang reappeared in the doorway. "Come on doc, let's go." She said.

"Very well. Nurse Gila, please get the anesthesia." He called to one of his nurses.

Taiyang looked at his daughter and said "Honey, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

Yang smiled and she looked at her father with soft eyes and she said "I want my arm back dad. I want to go out there and help my friends. I want this dad, I'll be fine." She used her remaining hand to grasp one of his. The doctor nodded to Taiyang and he followed Yang inside.

The nurses soon followed inside, leaving the three old teammates alone, with the exception of the airship's pilot who was content to stay in his cockpit.

"So Taiyang, how have you been?" Raven asked.

Taiyang looked at his first wife, speechless.

"I haven't seen you in nearly sixteen years, you left me and our daughter alone, you never came back, you never gave an explanation, not even a damn note. And somehow, thanks to Summer and my daughters I've been good. I lost so much and yet won even more. Life gives and takes what it wants. You left me, Summer was taken from me, but I through it all I had my daughters. I would have given up on life if it wasn't for them." He said.

Raven sighed and said "I attended your wedding."

Taiyang looked at her. He remembered the day he married Summer Rose, as it was one of the happiest days of his life. He and Summer stood at a cliff-side on Patch Island that Summer loved so much, where she was now buried. He was dressed in a simple tuxedo and Summer in a beautiful white and red bridal gown, wed by a local holy man, and the wedding attended by Qrow, a toddler Yang, and several of their old friends.

Qrow could sense this conversation would get very personal so he decided to retreat into the house.

"How did you..." Taiyang began to ask.

"I watched from afar." She said, not lying as she had been in her avian form during the ceremony, a form she had never told her husband about.

"You didn't have to stay hidden." Taiyang said before Raven stopped him.

"Yes I did, not only would you have been furious but Summer would have been as well. Despite her kind personality Taiyang you know as well as I do she could make the most hardened warlord run screaming with minimal effort." Raven pointed out.

"She really could." Taiyang agreed as he thought about his second love.

"What led to you two getting together?" Raven asked.

"It was after you left. Summer decided to take up a home on the island, she felt bad for me. She was one of the kindest people alive so naturally she wanted to look after her old teammate and his little girl. Months went by, one thing led to another and I asked her to marry me and she accepted." Taiyang said, remembering those months he spent with Summer and little Yang.

Taiyang looked at his first love and the curiosity was too much. He had to ask "Did you attend her funeral too?"

"Of course I did. She was my friend, at times my best friend. I shed my tears for her just as you, Qrow, our daughter, and Ruby did. I remember the day you buried her on that cliff side, I saw how utterly broken you were by her death. I wanted to go to you and comfort you so badly... it hurt me to see you and our daughter in such pain." Raven confessed.

There was silence between the two again.

"Why did you leave?" Taiyang asked.

"Taiyang, you would have been happy with a peaceful life, I would not. I need to run, to fight, to be a hero in the shadows. Had I stayed I would have taken mission after mission, leaving you to raise Yang and I knew that one night you'd get the news of my demise. I didn't want you or Yang to suffer that heartache, or the repeated heartache of me being gone for months at a time. I decided it would be better to break your heart and get it over with than to prolong your suffering." She said.

Taiyang laughed bitterly and said "I had my heart broken alright, but I've had constant heartache for years. You left us, I lost Summer, nearly lost Yang and Ruby several times... Yang's in surgery as we speak and Ruby's out trying to save the world from that insane bitch Cinder. I'm all too used to the feeling of heartache."

The two former lovers didn't continue their conversation. They just stood there in the cold.

* * *

Weiss sat in Winter's office going over reports of possible Cinder Fall sightings. She sighed as she was getting very annoyed by how often it was simply just a woman with black hair or one with yellow eyes. Sightings ranged everywhere from Mistral swamps to Atlas mountain villages to populated cities in Vale to obscure towns deep in the Vacuo countryside.

"This is getting us nowhere. Sifting through all these rumors and blurry photos is just a waste of our time." She complained to her sister who sat at her desk, looking over reports about the Grimm attack that happened before her day off; the photos of the dead Hunters, ruined buildings, and bodies torn apart by Grimm were sadly not the most disturbing images Winter had seen in her military career.

Weiss' complaint had torn Winter's attention away from the gruesome pictures and to her sister. "Our spies have yet to come up with anything. Most of those that managed to infiltrate the White Fang are often killed after only a few weeks on their mission and those who enter all the major cities haven't found anything and some have simply disappeared. These terrorists have gotten very good at spotting our agents, unfortunately." Winter explained. Weiss nodded understandingly, it made sense that any spies that tried to infiltrate Cinder's organization would be eliminated without any chance to leak out information.

Winter's attention was stolen by a flashing light on her desk. Winter pushed a button and a holographic screen with General Ironwood on it was projected into the air. "Specialist Schnee, I would like to see you and your sister in my office right away." He said.

"Is something wrong?" Winter asked.

"Just get up here, we need to talk." Ironwood said simply.

Winter got up and beckoned her sister to follow, but Weiss was now afraid that her call to Ruby had been discovered.

In a few minutes they entered General Ironwood's office where the half-robotic man sat in his chair waiting for them, but he wasn't alone as the holographic screen in front of his desk showed Glynda Goodwitch.

"Ah, hello Specialist Schnee and Consultant Schnee, I have something you would like to see." Ironwood greeted.

"Hello Weiss, it's good to see you." Glynda said to her student.

"Same to you Professor." Weiss said, happy to see her former teacher, "How goes your efforts in Vale?" she asked.

"Slowly, but we are making progress." Glynda said. Ironwood nodded and looked at the sisters.

"There are two reasons I called you both down here; first of all, there is the matter of your unapproved visit to the vault." Ironwood said, eyeing Winter with a disapproving look.

"I'm sorry sir, but given the circumstances and my sister's past relationship with the subject down there, I felt she deserved to know the truth. Also the subject got out again and Weiss saw her, so she understandably wanted some answers." Winter explained.

Ironwood nodded, "Understandable. I see no harm in it overall; just notify me before any future visits. Now, this was spotted on the news mere minutes ago, take a seat." He said.

The Schnee siblings sat down in front of the General's desk as he brought up another hologram of what seemed to be a news report. The General pushed a button and the video began to play.

"This is Lisa Lavender with a special report. There have been reports of a battle in Haven's Seras Kalifa Building. Twenty minutes ago fighting was reported in the upper halls of the iconic tower, including gunshots, explosives, and swordplay." Said the newswoman as grainy footage popped up. "Security cameras have captured footage of what appears to be three men battling two young Hunters, one male and one female, in the halls and elevator shafts of the Sera Kalifa Building. Our counterpart in Haven has sent us this amateur footage captured via scroll, so please excuse the quality." She said as a thin video popped up.

Weiss, Winter, and Glynda couldn't believe their eyes. There was the familiar sight of Crescent Rose, falling through the air with two teenagers hanging on to it for dear life.

"The two people on the weapon, seen here, have not been identified but rumors speculate that they could be Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, both of whom were reported missing a month ago." Lisa Lavender said.

Weiss face-palmed, outwardly she was annoyed but inside she was furious. 'How?! How did they manage to get in trouble this badly and this quickly?! I just got off the scroll with them!' she thought angrily.

"Glynda, Weiss, I think you both know who that weapon belongs to." Ironwood said.

"Indeed I do." Glynda confirmed.

"Can you find out what's going on?" Winter asked.

"I wish I could, we have very few agents in Haven because of the heavy protests against our presence and the few we do have are facing opposition every step of the way." Ironwood explained.

Weiss groaned and said "If I ever see her again I am going to make her pay for making me worry so much."

* * *

A train ran across the Mistral countryside, its wheels sailing across the rails gracefully.

In one of the passenger coaches Team SSSN sat in their compartment, trying to entertain themselves until they arrived at their destination.

"So how do you like being on a real train Scarlet?" Sage asked, as the redhead had never been on a proper train before.

"It's alright. I like how fast it goes, but I prefer boats I guess." Scarlet said.

Sun was looking out the window, trying to plan out their next move. The train would take them to Arnia, a town near Mistral's Circle Sea and there they would begin their hunt for the White Fang. Sun watched as the countryside, occasionally marred by small villages or swamps zoomed by. His thoughts wandered to Blake, about what he would say when they next met.

Neptune was simply looking up things on his scroll to keep himself busy, but something made his eyes widen.

"Uh, guys... you might want to see this." He said as he held up his scroll, showing the news footage of Ruby and Jaune on the Crescent Rose.

His three teammates all looked at the footage, all of them in a shocked silence that was soon broken by Sun who simply said "Oh you got to be freaking kidding me."

* * *

Back in Cadia, a city in Vale, Jaune's oldest sister Bianca reclined on her couch, relaxing after a long meeting of negotiating an illustration deal with an author who wanted some art to go with his book. Bianca's rest was interrupted by her scroll ringing.

She took out her scroll and saw the caller I.D. was that that of her younger sister Shani. She answered the scroll and said "Hi Shani..." "Bianca! I'm texting you a link to a news video, you have to watch it!" her sister said.

"Whoa, calm down! What's wrong?" Bianca asked.

"It's Jaune; at least I'm pretty sure it's Jaune." Shani said frantically.

Bianca knew this couldn't be good, she had been the only one of Jaune's seven sisters who he had told about his mission to Haven so if he was on the news it couldn't be good.

She saw Shani's text and pressed on the link. She watched the video and her heart was in her throat as she saw the blurry figure of her beloved little brother hanging on to his friend's gun-scythe.

"Jaune, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" she muttered to herself.

 

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Things get real. The big finale to the first act, all action, don't miss it
> 
> The scene with Taiyang and Raven was hard to get right because we don't know much about either of them persona wise, so I hope you liked it.
> 
> Dr. Gerard Kimball is a reference to the great Harrison Ford movie 'The Fugitive', which features a 'one-armed man' in an evil role. The name is a combination of the movie's two main characters.
> 
> Why did I make Reese the daughter of a doctor? I thought it would be a nice bit of character. Also Team ABRN will enter the fight, I used Reese to to introduce them because I think we can all agree she's the one that caught our eyes the most.


	7. A Matter of Family Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Seriously tell me if the story is good or not, I want to know what you guys think because I worked really hard on this chapter and it took a LOT out of me.

Ruby and Jaune finally arrived at the empty construction site, feeling tired but triumphant. Various construction vehicles were scattered about the yard, a few half-empty Dust containers were left to rot in the cold by the careless workers. It was flanked on nearly all sides by half-demolished buildings that were covered with scaffolding and clumsily strewn about steel girders. The only way in for most people would be the front which connected to the main street, which was still flanked on both the right and the left by old buildings. Jaune quickly placed his scroll on a crate near the entrance, in case they didn't make it Ren and the others would know his plan.

"You ready Ruby? I can see their ship, they're coming." Jaune said as he drew out his sword and walked back to Ruby. He had sent a text message to Ren telling him about the scroll, just in case this failed.

"You bet. We can take them until Ashe and the others get here." She said as she flipped Crescent Rose into its main battle mode.

Jaune looked up into the sky as the airship flew into view and hovered over the construction site.

"Attention brats! Give it up and we don't have to tear up the town too badly! I know nice kids like you don't care for collateral damage, but we'd be happy to give some out for free!" Damien called through the ship's speaker.

Jaune held up his sword as Ruby aimed the Crescent Rose at the ship's engine.

"Bring it on!" Ruby yelled as she fired her weapon.

A bullet from the scythe-rifle tore through the engines, creating a small explosion rocked the ship and it began to fall as Douglas struggled to keep it in the air. "Son of a bitch!" he cried.

Lao, Tom-Tom, and Merrick all jumped out in time and landed on the roof of one of the old buildings that had not yet been torn down. Steel girders and bits of scaffolding had been placed on the roof so the three had cover if they needed it. "Take 'em out!" Tom-Tom yelled as his mallet transformed into its gun mode and he began to fire at Ruby.

Ruby easily dodged the blasts and she fired back at him, the blasts bursting the bricks off of the old building and forcing the thug to draw back. Lao grimaced, he considered this pathetic mission beneath him and yet these kids were proving way more difficult than he imagined.

Merrick opened fire on them, trying to hit them with the drugged darts but Jaune and Ruby managed to knock the darts away with their weapons.

Damien and West held onto the same handle as the ship began to land with a harsh fall into the ground and the still going engine forced the ship to collide with an old crane.

"Out there now! Take those kids down!" Damien yelled as his enforcers ran out, followed by their leader. West, however stayed put because he felt like he was going to be violently sick and Douglas had injured his arm in the crash.

Little Steve hoisted up his minigun and laughed "Run little ones, run!" as he opened fire. Ruby grabbed Jaune and the two ducked behind an excavator to shield themselves from the massive man's attack.

"We can't take him as long as he has that gun, we'll be torn apart." Jaune said as he felt the vehicle shake and buckle from the impact of the darts. Ruby nodded as she glanced over the machine and saw the huge man keep a continuous stream of fire on them, but she also saw Trooper, Zhan, and Fireball all going around them. Jaune used the shield of Crocea Mors to protect himself and Ruby from a barrage of fire from the three men on top of the building.

"Got a plan Ruby?" he asked.

"They're coming around to us. I'll take out the big guy and the soldier, okay? You just keep yourself alive and take out the bald one and the flamethrower." She said.

"How do I take on a flamethrower?" Jaune asked.

"With that." Ruby said, gesturing to a small device Jaune was kneeling next to. Jaune saw that it was a fire extinguisher, he grinned and nodded.

"Think we can pull this off?" he asked.

"We'll try, until Nora, Ren, and Ashe get here we're pretty much screwed but I think we can hold our own." Ruby said.

Jaune nodded again and said "Okay let's go!"

Ruby used her Semblance to rocket out from behind the excavator and smash into Trooper, sending him flying into a pile of equipment crates while using the scythe to slash his primary gun in two.

Ruby ran forward to battle Little Steve while Fireball charged at Jaune.

Fireball let out a muffled laugh as he used his flamethrower to try and corral Jaune as the blonde used his shield to protect him from both the fire and the gunshots from above. Jaune sidestepped a burst of flame but his sleeve had caught fire. "Ah!" Jaune cried before his aura bounced the fire off of his arm, which gave Jaune just enough time to dodge a blast of fire from the flamethrower as well as trying to keep himself away from the fire of the three enforcers above.

"Watch it Fireball! We need him alive!" Damien yelled.

Fireball was about to respond when Jaune grabbed the fire extinguisher and smashed the mercenary across the face with it, knocking him to the ground.

"Ah! Little asshole!" Fireball rasped out as he grabbed Jaune's leg and pulled him to the ground as well. Jaune grabbed the extinguisher as Fireball regained control of his flamethrower.

They both fired at once and the flame was put out by the foam. "Ah crap!" cried Fireball as the foam jammed up his weapon. Jaune got back up before Fireball could and used the extinguisher to bash his opponent in the head, knocking him out.

Jaune brought up his shield again as Tom-Tom, Merrick, and Lao all opened fire on him again. "This is getting really old!" Jaune yelled.

"Agreed, so do us a favor and surrender!" Lao called as he tossed another orb explosive at Jaune.

Jaune ran to get out of the blast radius but his retreat caused his leg to get grazed by one of Merrick's shots but luckily none of the tranquilizer drugs got into him. "Damn! Nearly had him! This kid's good." Merrick said as he reloaded.

Ruby spun Crescent Rose around, deflecting almost all of Little Steve's shots and the few she didn't manage to stop simply zipped past her.

"Come here, little girl!" the giant enforcer shouted as he stopped firing his gun and tried to use it as a melee weapon and nearly smashed Ruby into the ground with it. He growled as he tried to sweep Ruby down with it but the girl in red and black easily jumped on top of the huge gun as he did so. She ran up the weapon and kicked Little Steve in the face.

"UGH!" he cried as Ruby jumped over him and grabbed his arms from behind. Despite her enemy's massive body Ruby used him like a puppet and spun him around and forced him to aim up. She then kicked him in his arm forcing his fingers to flex and he started firing upon Tom-Tom, Lao, and Merrick which gave Jaune some relief.

"Get off me!" Little Steve yelled as he struggled.

"Alright!" Ruby said cheekily as she jumped up into the air. Ruby landed on a platform that was held in the air by one of the cranes. She took her chance and began to fire upon the remaining enforcers. She took out some scaffolding above Lao and the others, causing it to collapse and fall on them. "Gotcha!" she cheered, but then Ruby noticed someone was missing, Zhan had vanished.

Just then a bullet zipping by her head caused Ruby to turn around and see Zhan standing on one of the steel girders. "That was a warning shot." He said as he took aim again.

"Bring it!" Ruby called.

Zhan nodded and said "If you insist." He fired again and Ruby stopped the bullets with a simple swing of her blade. Ruby saw the bullets fall to the platform and noticed that the bullets were glowing.

"What kind of bullets are these?" she asked.

"The aura draining kind, gets rid of that pesky healing factor." The illusionist said as he aimed again, not at Ruby but at the cable that was holding her up. He wasn't trying to shoot Ruby, just distract her so he could shoot down the platform, despite his murderous lifestyle he disliked fighting those younger than him.

Ruby cried out as she fell with the platform, she landed with a heavy thud and rolled off the platform to see it had fallen on Little Steve.

"Okay, we're doing good so far... guys where are you?" she asked to herself, she turned to see Jaune fighting Damien. "You can do it Jaune." She said quietly.

Jaune swung the Crocea Mors around, nearly slashing Ante across the chest. "Come on!" he yelled at the crime lord who was trying to shoot the young Huntsman but every shot was blocked by the shield or dodged.

Damien smirked and got an idea; he knew how get under Jaune's skin.

"You know Arc, I looked up that Nikos girl you're so broken up about and boy was she fine! Too bad Cinder killed her, I would have..."

He was interrupted by Jaune screaming in anger and slashing at him with Crocea Mors. Damien held up his right arm to protect himself and Jaune slashed him across his bicep.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!" Damien yelled in pain as blood began to flow out. As his aura quickly began healing the cut Jaune kicked Damien in the chest, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to drop the gun. Jaune pinned Damien down with his foot, mentally thanking Ashe for this tactic.

"Touched a nerve, did I?" Damien joked.

"Where is Cinder? Tell me now!" Jaune demanded as Ruby walked over to them.

"Oh she's on her way right now! If you think you can take her on you're stupider than Tom-Tom." Damien said.

Up above Tom-Tom sighed and asked "Am I just everyone's punching bag today?" as he and the other two struggled to get out of the rubble.

"We have help coming right now." Jaune said as Ruby reloaded Crescent Rose, ready for another fight.

"So do I!" Damien yelled as the sound of cars pulling up could be heard. Ruby and Jaune turned to see ten or eleven cars blocking the main entrance point of the construction site and about forty-five thugs all pouring out. These were not trained fighters, they were minor street punks who had little to no training and very little in the way of aura. They were what cold military strategists would refer to as 'cannon fodder'.

"What took you idiots so long?" Damien asked as he jumped back on his feet.

"I really wish the others could hurry up and get here!" Jaune called, hoping for Ashe or Nora or Ren to swing in with a big dramatic rescue, but no one came.

"We're on our own for now Jaune. I trust you." Ruby said.

Jaune nodded, "And I trust you."

One of the cars, occupied by only the driver, rocketed towards them. Jaune and Ruby held their ground as it got closer and closer. Damien's eyes widened and he yelled "No! Stop! Cinder will have my ass if they're killed!"

Ruby aimed Crescent Rose at the car's tires and fired. The heavy sniper bullet tore through the tire like it was paper and the air inside the tire propelled it up into the air, sending it flying into the excavator Ruby and Jaune had hid behind. There was a mighty crash followed by a fiery explosion.

Ruby's eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had just done. She had taken the life of another person. Not some Grimm or robot, but a person. One whose life she had just taken away. She had beaten people up before, maybe she injured Torchwick's thugs but this was so different. Ruby's legs began to shake as bullets began flying at her, only to be stopped by Jaune's shield.

"Ruby! Snap out of it!" he yelled. Ruby shook her head and nodded, she began to twirl her beloved weapon around to deflect the bullets. Jaune looked down and saw Damien's gun; he ran forward and grabbed it, his shield up the whole time to protect himself. He began to fire at the thugs, aiming for their legs to take them down, their meager aura would heal them, but not enough for them to get up and fight again.

"Jaune! Don't! We can't..." Ruby began to say before she felt a sharp sting in her shoulder. "Ah!" she cried out in pain, getting Jaune's attention as he smacked a thug down with his shield.

Jaune's blood ran cold as he saw one of the tranquilizer darts had hit Ruby. He looked up and saw Merrick, who was now free from the rubble, aiming to shoot Ruby again. He wondered if Ruby's aura would simply render the tranquilizer null and void but he knew that they were probably using a type of drug that could get past aura's effects.

"No!" he yelled as he used the hilt of his sword to knock a thug out. He ran to Ruby and shielded her from the next shot, he looked to her to make sure she was all right as she pulled the dart out.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I...I killed someone Jaune..." she said, her voice sounding weak.

"He was trying to hurt us Ruby, it was self-defense! You're not a bad..." he began to say as Ruby smashed the non-scythe end of Crescent Rose into a trio of charging thugs.

"I know Jaune... guess we'll talk about it later!" she cried as she hit another thug down.

Jaune nodded as he used his shield to cover them from some bullet fire. "Are you feeling drugged?" he asked.

"Not yet, feeling a little weaker though." Ruby admitted as she used her blade to slice their attackers' guns in half.

"Keep it up! We'll make it through this Ruby, I promise." He swore as he blocked an attack from a thug with a sword.

As Ruby blocked attacks and hit enemies with the blunt side of Crescent Rose and Jaune fought the thugs off with Crocea Mors, they were too busy to notice Damien had gotten a rocket launcher from one of the thugs' cars. He aimed at them and then he noticed an old, nearly empty Dust container behind them. The blast wouldn't kill them; just do enough to disorientate them.

"End of the line, brats!" Damien yelled as he pulled the trigger and the rocket flew towards them and hit the Dust.

The resulting explosion sent both teens flying to opposite ends of the construction site.

"Take 'em down and take 'em alive!" Damien yelled to his men as they ran forward.

Ruby got up first, feeling dizzy and tired enough to fall asleep then and there but she forced herself to get up. She couldn't let them win. She looked over and saw Jaune who was on his knees and fighting the oncoming thugs, using his blade to keep them away, aiming at their legs.

"Jaune..." she muttered.

"Come here!" yelled the voice of a thug.

Ruby looked up and saw a middle aged man looking down at her. "Get away!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed Crescent Rose, which was currently in its scythe form.

She swung her crimson weapon upwards and stabbed it into the man's side. The thug screamed out in pain, blood coming out of his mouth as he did so. Ruby's eyes widened in horror and regret as she realized she had killed again! She had killed two men in the span of less than two minutes.

The thug looked down at her with his dying eyes, mouthing something Ruby couldn't understand. Ruby withdrew Crescent Rose's blade from his body and the man fell to the ground, dead.

Ruby couldn't get up; she was too shocked, horrified, disgusted and angry with herself for what she had done. She looked up to see about eight other thugs all looking to her, now hesitant to attack.

Ruby felt sick to her stomach. Emotions and horrible thoughts surged through her mind as her body began to shake uncontrollably and tears streamed from her silver eyes which were beginning to glow dimly. She vomited up the contents of her stomach, feeling the burning taste of half digested food at the back of her throat.

The thugs all continued to watch her, stunned at what had transpired as their fallen comrade's blood began to pool around them.

Ruby looked up and saw that they were still just looking at her. "S-s-stay away from me... don't come any closer! P-please! I don't want to hurt anyone." she pleaded, not noticing someone sneaking up on her.

Ruby cried out in pain as she felt a dart stabbing her in the neck. She collapsed to the ground, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"RUBY! NO!" she heard Jaune scream. Ruby's closing eyes looked up and saw that it was Trooper who had taken her out.

"You fought well. I'm sorry you had to become a killer like me." Trooper said with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

Ruby didn't respond. She closed her eyes and let the blackness of sleep take her.

Jaune ran over and shoved Trooper down as he got in front of Ruby. He looked around and knew his chances weren't good. 'Ruby's down, we've only managed to take out six of these guys, all I have to fight with is a sword, a gun, a shield, my bare fists and legs and my Semblance and the others are nowhere in sight! I really wish those protests weren't bothering the military right now!' he thought, knowing he was outnumbered, outgunned, and out of luck.

Damien stepped forward, grinning like the cat that just ate the canary. "Give it up kid! Your friends aren't comin' and I don't see a way in hell your scrawny ass can beat all of us!" he said as Fireball and Little Steve got back up, both of them looking pissed.

Jaune knew he didn't have a chance... but he had to try.

He thought and he concentrated deeply and focused all his aura into what Ashe had taught him about the emotion Semblance. Jaune knew he had to fight so he thought about the people he loved and cared about. He thought about Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Ren, Nora, his mom, his dad, and his sisters, Ozpin, Goodwitch, Sun, Neptune and Ashe.

He thought about Cinder.

He thought about Pyrrha.

And it all became so easy.

' _You can do it Jaune. I'll always be with you my love. Save our friend, I know you can do it. Just please don't give in to your hate. And don't forget; I love you.'_

He looked at Ante and growled.

"I'll never give up. I'll take you all on!" Jaune yelled as his blue eyes began to glow brilliantly.

"Get him!" Damien yelled.

The thugs charged and Jaune fought them with every ounce of aura and strength.

He jabbed his sword forward, hitting a thug in the neck with a killing blow. Jaune swung his sword which resulted in another thug dropping dead due to a mighty cut across the stomach that his aura couldn't heal fast enough.

A group of thugs all aimed their tranquilizer guns at him and fired but Jaune created an aura shield to deflect them all.

Jaune kept the shield up as gunfire from above and from around him kept blitzing his aura, but he had to stay strong, he had to protect Ruby.

He remembered what Ashe had told him earlier that day, the thing that led to their spat. 'Pay attention to your surroundings'.

Jaune looked up and saw three thugs charging him; one with a gun, one with a sword, and the other with a club. He dropped the shield and charged the three.

He took out Damien's gun and fired the remaining three bullets inside it, killing the first one.

"Come on!" Jaune yelled as the swordsman attacked. The swordsman swung his blade, aiming to hit Jaune in the chest, but Jaune ducked it and swung his sword up, cutting off the swordsman's right hand.

"My hand!" the swordsman screamed in pain, he was silenced by Jaune's shield bashing him in the face.

The third thug tried to bash Jaune over the head with his club but Jaune easily stopped it with his shield. Jaune then stabbed the thug in the hip and used an aura-charged kick to send him flying.

Jaune felt bad about what he was doing. He didn't want to be a killer but he had to defend Ruby and himself. He did this with no hatred or rage, just with the desire to protect his friend. 'Forgive me.' he thought to himself, hoping Pyrrha could hear him.

He glared at the remaining thugs and his aura surged through him.

'They're already dead. They died the moment they started working with Cinder.' He thought as he readied himself for another battle.

"Who else wants some?!" he yelled.

Jaune felt a horrible pain in the back of his shoulder. One of Zhan's aura draining bullets had gotten him.

He fell to his knees and felt more pain as tranquilizer darts hit him. One in his arm and two in his chest.

Jaune was now on his hands and knees, breathing hard and fighting with everything he had to stay awake as blood ran down his shoulder, the bullet's ability stopping his aura from healing him.

Jaune felt himself being pulled up and he was brought face to face with Damien Ante.

"Sweet dreams, you little bastard." Damien said as he knocked Jaune out with a punch to the face.

Damien dropped the unconscious Jaune to the ground and called "Doc! Get over here!"

West ran over and checked Jaune's pulse. "He's alive but he will need some medical attention for this bullet." West said.

"Relax, I hit him in a non-fatal area. He will live." Zhan assured the doctor.

West wanted to argue with the assassin but just nodded and went over to check Ruby. "She's okay as well, just out of it. Now all we have to do is wait until Lady Cinder gets here." He said.

"Sounds good to me doc. Get their weapons! I think Cinder will enjoy a couple of trophies." Damien said. Trooper picked up Crescent Rose and Zhan took Crocea Mors, admiring the weapon. "It is a good sword, these children fought well." The illusionist said. Trooper could only nod in agreement.

Damien's scroll vibrated so he took it out, looked at the text he received, and grinned. "That was a text from Cinder! Her ETA is five minutes, all we got to do is make sure these kids stay down and we'll reap the rewards!" he yelled to his men.

"NO!" yelled a voice from above.

They all looked up to one of the old buildings and saw Ashe. Ashe stood above them as thunder clashed and lighting lit up the sky.

"Oh hey there Ashe, shame on you for showing up late!" Damien mocked.

Ashe growled and yelled "Let them go!" as he jumped down from the building, landing on his feet like a cat.

"Make me! How about a rematch?" Damien asked.

"You and me Ante! None of our weapons, just a flat out brawl and your thugs don't interfere." Ashe demanded.

"Gladly. You heard him boys, this is between me and him, so back off. We got a score to settle." Damien said as he grinned.

The two men charged one another and collided. Ashe was knocked to the pavement as Damien landed on top of him and flipped over, but Ashe quickly recovered and jumped back up on his feet, his Semblance fueling him like a steroid. He landed a sucker punch across Damien's mouth which caused the crime lord to spit out blood.

Ashe jumped towards Damien but the crime lord caught him and the two fell to the ground again with Ashe kicking Damien in the stomach and sending him several meters away.

Both men got up but Ashe was faster and managed to grab a thin lead pipe on the ground and smashed Damien in the shoulder with it.

"Weak!" yelled Damien as he took out one of his daggers and slashed Ashe across the cheek. No reason he couldn't break the deal now that Ashe had already.

"Look who's talking!" Ashe yelled as he grabbed Damien's arm and twisted the crime lord around, giving Ashe the chance to land a wild punch into Damien's upper back. Damien roared out in anger as he swung a clumsy right hook punch which was made weaker by Jaune's earlier attack.

"Waste of skin and bones!" Ashe yelled as he dodged the punch, following it up by grabbing Damien by the head and smashing him into a bulldozer.

Damien growled in frustration as he slashed Ashe across the shoulder with his dagger but Ashe used this as leverage to grab Damien's arm and pull him close so he could bash his forehead into Damien's. He then punched Damien in the chest with an aura-charged punch that sent him flying into a wall.

Damien managed to recover and strike back by slashing Ashe across the hip. Ashe seethed in pain but kept himself steady, the pain was enough, however, to distract him from Damien's next move which was a kick to the stomach.

Ashe cried out in pain but he was able to grab Damien's leg and deliver a painful punch to the kneecap.

Damien screamed out in agony as his arms shot out and he wrapped his hands around Ashe's neck. He forced Ashe to the ground and kicked him in the face. Ashe tried to get up but Damien jumped on his back and tried to strangle him again.

Ashe yelled out in anger and managed to punch Damien in the face so hard it forced Damien to let go and fall off Ashe. Ashe kicked Damien in the back, forcing him to the ground. Damien grabbed his extra gun but Ashe grabbed his arm so he couldn't shoot him.

Ashe lifted with all his might and flipped Damien over his head, following it up with a kick to Damien's chest as he fell headfirst.

Ashe looked to Damien's thugs as they watched the fight. Trooper, Little Steve, Fireball, and Zhan all stood guard over the unconscious forms of Ruby and Jaune. Lao, Tom-Tom, and Merrick had all gotten down and now stood with the rest of Damien's gang, looking ready to fight.

"Let them go." Ashe demanded before a punch from a not out-of-it Damien stopped him from doing anything to enforce his will. Ashe turned around and drew his head back as Damien aimed his short blade at Ashe's mouth. Damien lurched forward and grabbed Ashe by the head and smashed his face into a crate.

Ashe elbowed Damien in the chest hard but the crime lord withstood it. Ashe did it again and he managed to wrestle himself free although he did receive a slash on his left shoulder in the process.

Ashe twirled around and tried to grab Damien only to be stopped by a punch to his wounded shoulder. Damien grabbed a piece of wood and shattered it over Ashe's head.

Ashe cried out in pain as Damien grabbed him and flipped him over, smashing him into a pile of crates. Ashe tried to get up but Damien kept him down with a kick to the face.

Ashe moaned in pain and spat out blood as he struggled to get up.

"You lose Ashe!" Damien said as he stood over the defeated Guerrilla Huntsman. "Too bad, I actually kinda like your style but there are two kinds of people in this world; victors and victims! And Ashe, buddy... you sure as hell are a victim." Damien said as he took out one of his dagger bombs.

"Victims, aren't we all?" Ashe muttered with a bitter smile.

"Not me." Damien said as he aimed to finish Ashe off.

Suddenly all of the thugs' cars began to explode, getting everyone's attention.

"The fuck?!" cried Damien, before a mighty hit from Magnhild sent him flying into his thugs, he survived the hit but at a cost of most of his aura.

Ashe looked up to see Nora. "Come on!" she cried as she grabbed his hand. Nora pulled Ashe to cover as Ren gave them covering fire with the StormFlowers.

Nora got Ashe behind the safety of a giant crane and looked him over.

"Oh you're hit up pretty bad Ashe... we saw some of your fight and I gotta say you were pretty awesome." Nora praised as Ren jumped down with them.

"There are still about thirty-some thugs out there, some are injured but they can still shoot." Ren reported.

"What about Ruby and Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Out cold, hit with tranquilizers. Cinder wants 'em alive, remember?" Ashe said.

Ren and Nora nodded, "What are we gonna do?" Nora asked.

"We fight." Ren said.

"How?! I'm all for a crazy awesome battle Ren, but even I know this is hopeless!" Nora pointed out.

"We have to try!" Ren said, raising his voice.

"Come on out! We have you surrounded!" yelled Troopers voice. Ren glanced over the side to see they were indeed surrounded by armed thugs. He could also see that Damien's enforcers were taking Ruby and Jaune to the downed ship, most likely to keep them alive during a shootout.

"What do we do?" Nora asked as she readied Magnhild for a fight.

"We fight." Ren said again.

Just then one of the thugs appeared around the bend and pointed his gun at them. "Hands up!" he yelled. Ashe whipped out one of his pistols and shot the thug dead center in the head, killing him instantly.

"You killed him!" cried Nora.

"I'm aware of that." Ashe said as he got ready to jump up and start fighting.

Ren grabbed Ashe and said "We can't fight them all, we need help."

"Ask and you shall receive!" said a female voice.

Everyone looked up to see a group of four teenagers looking over them from one of the rooftops. Arslan Altan, Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, and Nadir Shiko all stood with their weapons drawn and in battle ready stances.

"Who the hell are you?!" Damien demanded.

"We're Team ABRN; nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to kicking your collective butts." Arslan said as fireballs grew in her hands. Reese's hoverboard split apart into two pistols and Nadir held out his assault rifle.

"Scatter!" yelled Trooper as Team ABRN opened fire. The team jumped down and continued to fight their way to Ren, Nora, and Ashe with Arslan punching anyone in her way along with throwing fireballs, Reese and Nadir blasting thugs, and Bolin hitting them with his staff.

Fireball yelled out as he sent a barrage of fire their way but Reese laid flat on her back on the ground and blasted the pyromaniac in the legs, taking him out of the fight.

They finally made it to cover and Arslan spoke as quick as she could.

"Arslan, we fought together at the Battle of Beacon." She said as she shook Ren's hand.

"I remember, how did you find us?" Ren asked as he took a chance and began firing on the thugs.

"I saw Ruby and Jaune running away from Ante, decided we needed to know what was up." Reese explained.

"Good thing too, we could really use the help!" Ashe said as he peeked out from behind the crane and shot a thug through the kneecaps enough times to drain his aura and end him.

"No! Fuck you!" yelled the thug's partner as he tried to shoot at Ashe only for Ashe to shoot him twice in the chest, killing him quickly.

"No more Mr. Nice Guy." Ashe muttered as rage began to power his aura. He didn't have much left but he was going to use what he had to demolish these thugs.

"Who is this guy?!" Arslan said, somewhat horrified by how casually he killed the thugs.

"Ashe, something of a friend of ours. He's on our side so right now that's good enough." Ren said.

"Okay, we gotta save Ruby and Jaune, anyone got a plan?" asked Nora as she fired a grenade from Magnhild.

"You kids take on Ante and his enforcers, get Ruby and Jaune back before Cinder gets here, which will be in two and a half minutes. I'll take on the mooks." Ashe said.

"Cinder? Did he say Cinder? As in Cinder Fall?" asked Reese, now sounding afraid.

"Don't be crazy! You'll be killed!" Bolin shouted.

Ashe gave the younger man a bitter smile and said "I'm not that lucky. Now go!"

The six teenagers ran out and began fighting their way through an army of street punks while Ashe went to work killing them.

"Take some of them down, make it easier for him!" Arslan commanded her team. Reese and Nadir nodded and they used their guns to blast away some of the thugs, and due to their weapons not being lethal on people they didn't kill them, but simply knocked them out cold. For her part, Arslan used her dagger's rope dart function to tie a thug's legs together and trip him up. The thug tried to grab his gun on the ground but Ashe finished him off with a kick to the neck. Ashe looked up and saw five thugs in front of him, all trying to shoot him. He used his aura shield and waited for them to reload, then he whipped out his rapid-fire shotgun and blasted all five away.

"Why don't you just fucking die?!" Damien yelled as he threw one of his dagger bombs at Ashe, who dodged it but Damien still detonated it. Ashe was sent flying through the air and he landed roughly on his side in front of a thug who he quickly blasted in the legs and stomach. He then jumped up and blasted away another thug, his aura and Semblance driving him all the way.

Damien decided he wasn't going to bother with another fight with Ashe right now so he ran back to the ship.

Ren, Nora, Arslan, Bolin, Reese, and Nadir all rushed to get to the downed airship only to find it guarded by Zhan, Little Steve, Trooper, Merrick, Tom-Tom, and Lao. Fireball had made it back to the ship. He sat near Ruby and Jaune guarding the two captives despite his injury along with Douglas and Dr. West who was healing Jaune's bullet wound.

"You want your friends back? You'll have to go through us first." Zhan said.

"Fine by me." Nora said with a smirk as she charged Little Steve. She smashed him in the chest with her war hammer sending him flying into one of the unfinished building's support beams, which caused several girders to begin falling.

Little Steve got up and smiled "I think I like this girl." He said as he began firing his minigun at her. Nora smiled in return as she fired a grenade at him and it was hit by his minigun but the impact sent him down. Nora rushed forward and began a series of electrified punches on the massive man, slowly but surely wearing him down. He tried to catch her, but Nora was just too fast.

Arslan ran towards Trooper with her fists set alight, she punched at his head but he easily dodged it. Trooper fired his rifle multiple times in a sweeping motion at her but Arslan was nimble enough to weave between the bullets. His clip soon emptied but he easily reloaded as he dodged her attacks. He opened fire on the mocha skinned girl but Arslan used her fireballs to heat up the bullets and reduce them to molten slag, allowing her to dodge them easily.

Trooper grimaced at this; like Lao and Zhan he felt fighting these kids was beneath him. There was also the issue that he didn't really want to do this but he had no choice, less he invoke the wrath of Cinder.

She slammed her fist into Trooper's face, knocking him to the ground. Trooper tried to get up but Arslan used her rope attached to her dagger to tie his legs together. She jumped on top of him and used her enhanced strength to smash his face into the pavement and take him out of the fight. He managed to roll away and used his hands to propel himself up only for Arslan to take him out with a kick to the head.

Bolin charged Merrick with his Bo-Staff in a jabbing form. Merrick fired off three shots but Bolin managed to evade all of them. Bolin swung his staff in a sweeping blow only for Merrick to lean back and dodge it. Merrick aimed his rifle at Bolin's face again but Bolin slammed it away with his staff. Merrick pushed a button on his gun and then he tossed it up in the air as the barrel of the gun retraced like a telescope and a machete replaced it. He wasn't a very talented melee fighter but he knew he was enough to stand a chance against someone not even half his age.

"Come on then!" he beckoned. He slammed his machete down but Bolin blocked it with his staff. The Marksman tried to slash Bolin across the legs but Bolin jumped up, he swung at Bolin's head but he ducked down. Merrick growled as he tried to slam the teen across the back with the blade but Bolin blocked it, grabbed the gun and pulled Merrick close, finishing him off with his staff slamming on the sniper's forehead.

Ashe charged another thug with a gun and jump-kicked him, he then grabbed his head and twisted it, snapping the thug's neck. Ashe attacked the next thug and hit him with a weapon he had kept hidden, a switchblade, and used it to slash the thug across the chest and throat. Ashe put the switchblade in his mouth as he grabbed the thug before he could drop dead and used him as a meat shield to block bullets from the other thugs. Ashe opened fire from behind the dead body and took out four more henchmen.

Ashe dropped his human shield just as another thug rushed him. Ashe grabbed him and threw him into a part of the scaffolding that had taken a lot of hits in the battles before. A steel girder sat on top of the scaffolding and all the shaking forced it to fall off. The unlucky thug looked up and screamed as the girder fell on him and it crushed his body with a sickening 'crunch'. Ashe closed his eyes and winced as blood and gore splattered around the area.

Two more thugs began to charge Ashe, which made him grin in amusement. He spat out his switchblade and asked "How stupid are you guys?" He slashed one across the throat with the blade, killing him quickly. Ashe was about to fight the other thug before seven more thugs on the other side of the site began opening fire on Ashe's position. Ashe quickly ducked down behind a vehicle to avoid the bullets, but the thug wasn't so fortunate. Ashe reloaded his guns and laughed, "This has been quite a day!"

Nadir transformed his gun to its sword mode and held it up as Lao swung his katana, ready to fight. "Throw down your sword and surrender boy." Lao said.

"I'd rather die." Nadir quipped, exaggerating greatly.

"Fine by me." Lao said as he plunged his blade at Nadir who just barely blocked it. Lao swung his sword again and again, each time Nadir guarded against the attacks but knew he wasn't any good at fighting a trained professional like this. Lao attacked again, Nadir guarded just barley avoiding a nasty slash across the chest. Lao grinned as he struck again.

Reese got on her hoverboard and flew at and over Tom-Tom who used his mallet to smash her board in half. "You're so lucky it can reattach!" Reese yelled as she transformed the two halves into their gun modes. She began firing on the enforcer and he tried to take cover behind the bulldozer only for Reese to hit him in the back.

Reese grinned as she reattached her guns back to their hoverboard form and ran over to the downed Tom-Tom. "Not the face! Not in the face, please! Anywhere but the face!" he begged.

"Okay." Said Reese innocently. She then used her hoverboard to smash Tom-Tom in the groin.

"Why does today hate me?" Tom-Tom asked with a high-pitched voice. Reese looked over and saw that Nadir wasn't doing too good. Lao had managed to score a hit on Nadir's shoulder and her pink-haired teammate was fighting back wildly. Reese saw that Arslan and Bolin had started to take down some of the remaining injured thugs so they didn't notice.

Reese grabbed the weakened Tom-Tom and hoisted him onto her hoverboard. She flew over and tossed Tom-Tom into Lao before the swordsman could land a killing blow into Nadir's chest. "Thanks Reese." Nadir said as he got up.

"Anytime my..." Reese began to say before a thug who had gotten to a scaffolding began to fire at them. "Come on!" Reese said, grabbing Nadir and pulling him to cover.

Meanwhile the seven thugs stopped firing their guns at Ashe to reload; Ashe took a look out and saw how close they had gotten to him. Ashe made his move; he jumped up over the vehicle and landed in front of one of the thugs, pulled him close and fired three rounds into the man's chest.

The thug next to them was so close that he was able to point his gun only a few inches away from Ashe's face. He pulled the trigger but nothing happened. The thug's gun was jammed. Ashe laughed as he kicked the thug down and blasted his head apart with the shotgun.

Ashe blasted another thug down with his shotgun before he decided to give his sword a workout. He unsheathed the blade and slashed a charging thug across the waist, spilling his guts. Ashe ran forward and decapitated another thug, but Ashe knew this rampage would soon end as he was feeling more tired than he had in years.

The remaining thug threw down his gun and took out a sword as he approached Ashe. Ashe grinned sinisterly and rushed forward; in a flash he had sliced the thug's arm off with his Semblance charged speed. The swordsman screamed in pain before Ashe ended him with a blade through the chest.

"You're all gonna die!" Ashe screamed in fury. He looked up and saw the gunner who had pinned down Nadir and Reese. "No you don't." Ashe muttered as he took out his shotgun and blasted the thug in the side. The gunner screamed as he fell off the girder and to his death.

Ren fired his twin guns at Zhan who fired back with the aura draining bullets but the two warriors managed to dodge each others' blasts. Ren cried out in pain as one of the bullets grazed his upper-arm, taking some of his aura with it.

Ren took cover behind a stack of crates and slammed the StormFlowers into their combined form that resembled a bow and blasted Zhan in the arm, landing several hits. "Ah! Damn it!" yelled Zhan in pain. Ren took advantage of his victory and rushed forward, using the sharp end of one of the StormFlowers to slash the illusionist across the chest, only for his enemy to dissipate, revealing it be an illusion.

"No..." muttered Ren as he felt a gun at the back of his head.

"Yes." Zhan said as he prepared to fire.

"NO!" screamed the voice of Nora.

Zhan glanced to his right only to see Magnhild as it slammed into him. "Ah!" screamed Zhan for real this time as Ren swung around and slashed the illusionist across the chest and kicked him in the gut knocking him down.

"Word of warning: never try to hurt Ren while I'm around." Nora said as she picked Zhan up and slammed an electrified fist into his face, taking him out.

"Thanks Nora, did you take out the big guy?" Ren asked.

"You bet." Nora said cheerfully, as Little Steve screaming "I am in such pain!" could be heard in the background.

"Now let's get Ruby and Jaune out of that ship and get out of here." Nora said.

"I think we might have another problem." Ren said as he pointed up to the sky. Nora looked up and saw a medium sized ship approaching the site.

Ashe grabbed another henchman and snapped his neck, taking advantage of every bit of strength he had left. Ashe couldn't keep this up, his aura was running low. They needed to end this soon.

He used his shotgun to blast away three more henchmen but a dark feeling, an aura very familiar to him made him stop and turn to see a ship arriving.

As the ship began to land Ashe looked around at the carnage he had caused, all this death and destruction because of him. When Mila died Ashe's soul was hardened, he didn't mind killing those who were against him. Ashe didn't see himself as a hero, just as another shadow of Remnant that made it such a dark world. He hadn't let the hate control him, but he still felt like a monster.

A group of four robotic, black versions of the Atlesian Knights flew out of the ship and began to open fire on the six teenage Hunters-in-training. Bolin cried out as a blast hit him in the back but Arslan jumped in front of her friend before he could get hit anymore and kept the laser blasts at bay with her fireballs which caused the blasts to explode before they could reach them. Reese and Nadir ran over to them and grabbed the injured Bolin. "Fall back!" Arslan ordered.

"What are those things?!" Nadir cried.

"Not friendly, now move!" Arslan commanded.

Team ABRN retreated to the front of the construction site, given cover by Nora, Ren, and Ashe. The ship landed and three more teenagers came out, Damien grinned at them and said "About damn time!"

"Mercury! Emerald! And...uh...other girl..." Nora said as she looked as Neo.

"Nice to see you guys, now do us a favor and drop dead!" Mercury said as he ran forward and jumped up, a gun blast coming out of his mechanical leg, but Nora knocked it away with her war-hammer. Nora used one of her grenades to launch herself at Mercury and she appeared right in front of him, flooring him with a punch to the face.

"This is for Yang!" she yelled as she slammed Magnhild down on his robotic leg, crushing it almost flat, his aura did nothing to stop her in time. Mercury screamed out in pain and Emerald attacked Nora and forced her back, firing her guns at the redhead. "There, now it's broken for real!" Nora said cheekily as she ran back to Ren and Ashe as Ren gave her covering fire, but Ashe was too distracted as he looked up and saw a woman clad in red standing on the ship's ramp, one with glowing amber eyes.

"No... it can't be..." he whispered in horror.

"It's her!" Nora yelled as Cinder came down.

"You actually managed to do all this damage and cause us this much trouble. Congratulations." Cinder said as she raised her hands up.

Ashe felt something powerful spread all around the site. Spent bullets and bits of debris began lifting up in the air and turning into sharp pieces of ice.

"You are all fine warriors, I must admit, but you are in the way." Cinder said.

She began to send the sharp, frozen objects at the kids. Ren, Nora, and Ashe ran for it with Team ABRN blasting away at the icy projectiles trying to give their allies more time.

"Load Rose and Arc into my ship, get what's left of your men in as well. We will handle these pests." Cinder said to Damien as she continued to launch her frozen weapons with mighty gusts of wind. Damien nodded as West, Douglas, and the rest of the enforcers got up and moved to load Jaune and Ruby. Damien looked up and saw a few security cameras around. He'd have to pull a few small strings and make sure that footage never made it to anyone, but he knew it may come in handy for his own personal needs.

"Knights, surround them! Don't let them escape!" Emerald called to the Grimm Knights as she helped up the injured Mercury.

The Knights obeyed her command and took flight. They came down and surrounded Team ABRN, aiming their guns at them. Reese and Nadir readied their own guns while Arslan lit up the palms of her hands with fireballs.

Ashe, Ren, and Nora tried to take cover from the icy debris only for Cinder's winds to blow their cover away. "Get to your friends, I'll stop Cinder!" Ashe yelled.

"Don't be an idiot! Your aura is depleted, you can't possibly take her." Ren said, trying to reason with the older man.

"Who said anything about fighting her?" Ashe asked as he grabbed his mother's whistle, held it up to his mouth, and blew into it.

A loud, shrill series of peeps echoed throughout the slums.

Cinder's eyes dimmed and widened in shock. Her hand spread open and the frozen projectiles fell to the ground and shattered.

"No... it can't be..." she said as she looked at Ashe. She held her hands up and yelled "STOP!"

Everyone paused; some too scared to defy Cinder. They all watched as Cinder and Ashe approached one another until they were mere inches away from each other.

"Ashe... you've grown so much..." Cinder said, her eyes the softest they had been in a long time.

"Cinder... I didn't want to believe..." Ashe said, his eyes softening as well, but they looked sad.

"Uhhh, Ren; what's going on?" Nora whispered.

"I don't know..." Ren said, totally confused, but he feared he knew the answer to her question.

Emerald and Mercury looked at each other, both clueless as to what was going on. Even Neo was watching with interest.

What happened next shocked everyone: Cinder and Ashe hugged each other.

They held that pose for half a minute before Ashe grinned and said "I'm finally taller than you."

"Oh shut up." Cinder said, a smirk on her lips.

Damien looked to Mercury and Emerald who both shrugged, so he decided to ask the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Excuse me, but what the fuck is this?!" he yelled.

"Not gonna lie, we're just as lost as you." Nora called.

Ashe turned to face the two young people he had begun to consider friends and said "Remember how I was coming to Haven to find my sister?" he asked.

Ren's eyes widened and he whispered "No..."

"Cinder is my sister." Ashe revealed.

"WHAT?!" Nora screamed in confusion, hurt, and anger.

"What a twist." Mercury quipped, earning him an annoyed look from Emerald and Neo. "Sorry, couldn't resist." He said weakly.

Ashe and Cinder looked at one another, noticing how much they had changed.

"You've aged quite a bit." Cinder said.

"You've barely aged at all! You were fifteen when you left; you should be thirty-five but you look like you're only eighteen or nineteen!" Ashe cried.

"My Master did something to my genetic makeup to prevent me from physically aging." Cinder said.

"Your master?" Ashe asked in confusion.

"Yes, the one who will purge this world of all its weaknesses, the one who controls the Grimm." Cinder said.

"...Salem." Ashe guessed, remembering that name their parents would only speak in whispers.

Cinder nodded as she said "She offered me so much little brother; she helped me gain these powers." Cinder said as a gust of wind and fire wrapped around her arm. "She helped me make our family's Semblance stronger than our parents ever could." She added.

"Salem's behind all this, isn't she?" Ashe asked.

"Yes. After that night she gave me a purpose and a new life. I was no longer just the pretty but powerful future guardian of the Aura Crystal; I was the future Autumn Maiden. She saw me and how unhappy I was with my destiny so she helped me transform it." Cinder said.

"You... you weren't happy with the life we had? Mom and dad loved us! Dad taught you almost everything he knew! Mom showered you with love! Wasn't that good enough?!" Ashe cried.

"No! I wasn't going to be some pretty face that guarded an old religious bauble that most don't even know existed! I wanted to be more, I was destined to be so much more and Salem helped me achieve that destiny!" Cinder retorted.

"There is no such thing as destiny Cinder!" Ashe said angrily.

"I beg to differ, little Ashe. She helped me become the Fall Maiden, she gave me powers most can't even begin to comprehend. Destiny is oh so real! I am no longer Cinder Kasai, I am Cinder Fall!" Cinder said, glaring at him.

The two siblings looked at one another and Cinder said "You kept mom's whistle after all these years?"

"She loved it. She would always blow into it whenever you and dad left to train. When I left our home that day I took what I could, including this." Ashe said as he showed her his sword.

"Our father's sword..." Cinder said. She looked around at the carnage and death around her and she realized that Ashe had killed nearly all of these men.

"You have a darkness in you, little brother." She said.

"Yes. I feel anger, hate, and rage but I don't want it to define me, and yet I keep letting it out like this. You have no idea how much of it I have." Ashe said.

"You shouldn't hide it, it can give you power." Cinder said with her eyes glowing once again.

"I know, and I hate that power. Look around at these men Cinder. Men who probably had families, they had lives and I took them away without hesitation. We're both monsters Cinder. I've heard about what you've done, you're responsible for so many deaths... I... my life has been so hard." He said, tears forming in his eyes.

Cinder grabbed his hands comfortingly, made her brother look her in the eyes and said "Show me. I remember that our mother taught you the memory sharing spell while father and I were away. Show me what you have suffered through." She begged him.

"I haven't used it in over a decade, but I remember how to do it." Ashe said as he put his right hand on Cinder's forehead and muttered a word no one could hear.

Cinder cried out as she got flashes of a lonely little Ashe living with a kindly old woman from their home valley, training with a sword and guarding over something that shone brightly. She saw him walk far, all over Remnant. She saw him join up with Guerrilla Hunters and suffer through horrible training. She saw the pit of Grimm that slaughtered so many but she didn't see how Ashe had escaped that hell. She saw Ashe's trauma, the many scars he received over the years, the lonely nights in the woods. She saw a rather beautiful blue-eyed girl with raven hair running a book store in a village in Mistral that suffered through many Grimm attacks. She saw her brother taking up the mantle of the village's protector, she saw a love blossom between he and the girl. She saw a dark man... a drug lord... someone familiar. She saw the girl stabbed in the heart, dying in Ashe's arms. She saw her little brother lose control and battle the drug lord with such blind fury and throw him off a cliff to a horde of Grimm. She saw Ashe wander the world yet again with something... the Aura Crystal.

Cinder tore herself away from Ashe before she could see anything else. "Oh Ashe, how you have suffered." She said as tears formed in her own eyes.

Ashe nodded solemnly as he hid something from Cinder, he had gotten a glimpse at her memories as well. Not a good look since it seemed that Cinder had been trained to withstand memory probes but he had looked enough to see something resembling a factory and a figure who he assumed was Salem.

"You... you still have it, don't you?" Cinder said, getting Ashe's attention. Ashe was filled with dread as he realized he had shown her that he still had the Aura Crystal.

"Ashe, my beloved little brother, join me and give the crystal to me." Cinder offered.

Ashe looked at his older sister, not saying anything but everyone could tell he was conflicted.

"Why do you want it? You just said it was nothing more than a religious bauble." Ashe pointed out.

"After I joined her my master told me just how important the Aura Crystal was! She told me how our family and those before us squandered its power and left it to gather dust." Cinder said.

"Did Salem try to get her hands on it?" Ashe asked.

"Yes, but her agents found nothing in the ruins of our home. I always assumed you took it and threw in into a lake or something but now I know you have had it this entire time! If you give it to me, I will be able to do such amazing things..." Cinder said, her amber eyes glowing with anticipation and a small smile on her lips.

Ashe turned around and sighed. He looked to Nora and Ren who were looking at him with looks of worry and anger.

"Just tell me where the crystal is, and together we can do wonders." Cinder said.

There was silence yet again as thunder roared. Rain began to pour lightly.

"Think he'll do it?" Damien asked Emerald. "I don't really know..." Emerald said, feeling very unsure about what was transpiring before her.

Cinder was getting annoyed by her brother's silence and she called "Think of it Ashe! Think of all we can do with the crystal! The magnificent power it could grant us! The things we could discover! If we work together we may even find a way to reverse death itself! Don't you see? It's the chance of a lifetime!"

Ren saw that tears were now falling from Ashe's eyes, his eyes were that of a man trying so hard not to break.

"We can find a way to grant immortality and resurrect the innocents killed in this conflict! We can bring back your love and you can have a life again! You can be with her and have a family!"

Ashe sobbed and said "You have no idea how much I'd like that big sis. To kiss Mila and wake her from death and live happily ever after in a castle just like in a fairy tale... but this isn't a fairy tale Cinder. This is reality. I can't give into those desires because I know it's wrong. I'm not a good man despite how badly I want to be, look at all these people I have killed for proof of that, but I won't give in. I know about what you did at Beacon, the deaths you're responsible for... you killed someone my friend loved... I can't let you take it."

"You are friends with these children? I think that will change now that they know who you really are." Cinder said.

Ashe nodded and said "Maybe, but I won't abandon them. I'll fight with them every step of the way."

Silence reigned again as the rain began to come down harder.

Cinder grabbed her brother with her Maiden powers, spun him around and screamed "YOU MUST LET ME HAVE IT!"

Ashe looked her in the eye. His sister was gone; all that was left was Cinder Fall.

"Cinder... you're insane. I have to stop you." He said.

"Stop me? Brother, don't be an idiot! Your aura is down, you are exhausted, and I can do so much with my powers! You don't stand a chance against me. Now take me to the crystal and I may consider letting Rose and Arc go for the time being." She said.

Ashe considered her offer and knew she wouldn't hold it. He remembered the pit, he remembered how he got out. A spell his mother taught him when Cinder and their father were away.

He had no choice but to use it on his sister that he had finally been reunited with after two decades. He didn't have much aura left but with some luck he would have enough to pull this off.

"What do you say?" Cinder asked.

"Haakskeekah." Ashe answered.

"What?" Cinder gasped.

Cinder was sent flying into the skeleton of a building with a powerful blast of aura.

Ashe began to float in midair as his yellow eyes became violet.

He swung around and shot out his hand to the Grimm Knights who were all aiming their weapons at him. "Take him down!" yelled Emerald.

"Haakskeekah!" Ashe screamed and another blast of aura smashed into the four robots as Team ABRN ducked down. They watched as a purple light surged through the mechanical warriors and they exploded.

"What the hell is this?!" Damien screamed as he tried to shoot Ashe with his gun.

Ashe glared at Damien with a smirk and glowing purple eyes. "All your nightmares rolled into one! Haakskeekah!" he cried out, sending another aura blast at the building, causing scaffolding and girders to fall on Cinder's ship. He knew he couldn't beat Cinder in a fight, even if he had been at full strength, but he had to try.

"Ren, Nora! Fight back, get Ruby and Jaune out!" Ashe yelled.

"Not a chance in hell!" yelled Damien as he, his recovering enforcers, and Emerald all began to open fire on the teens, forcing them to stay away.

An explosion rocked the site as Cinder flew out of the unfinished building, held up by streams of flame; her eyes were glowing with fury and frustration. "You idiot! I offered you immortality! I offered you a place among us! I don't know how you learned the Haakskeekah but you will pay for this arrogance with your life!" she yelled as she summoned up flaming Dust and sent it flying at Ashe.

Ashe tried to summon up an aura shield but the Haakskeekah just took up too much of his aura so he couldn't repel that blast and he was forced down to the ground.

He got up and yelled "Haakskeekah!" again but Cinder withstood it with her flaming Dust and her Maiden powers as she floated in the air.

Cinder created her bow and arrow out of the Dust and aimed at Ashe. She pulled back the string and let go.

Ashe used his emotion Semblance to act quickly and grabbed the arrow with his arm. Cinder grimaced as she made a motion with her fingers, causing the arrow to explode.

Ashe fell to the ground, writing in pain as his arm began to bleed badly.

Cinder used the wind powers to grab Ashe and bring him to her. She took hold of his neck and squeezed it tight.

"You know little brother; 'Haakskeekah' is a very poor choice of last words, and yet it is far from being the worst mistake you've made in the last few minutes." She said as she tightened her grip.

"How about this; I'm glad you changed your last name, you bitch." Ashe snarled.

"That's better." Cinder said as she used her Maiden powers to throw Ashe down to one of the vehicles. Ashe crashed and screamed out in pain as his body collided with the metal, his eyes going back to their natural color.

Cinder dropped to the ground and began to approach her brother.

"Stop her!" yelled Arslan as she began to throw fireballs at Cinder, aided by Reese and Nadir who opened fire on the Fall Maiden. Cinder sighed in annoyance, she turned all their attacks into ice with a simple gesture and sent them right back at Team ABRN, forcing them to scatter.

Cinder made it to Ashe and said "Before I end this Ashe, I want to confess a sin; you remember the night our parents died? I lied to you. I was the one who killed mother."

Ashe's eyes widened in horror and everyone watched the scene play out, all except Nora who loaded up Magnhild with another round of grenades.

"And now..." Cinder said as she reconstructed the bow and arrow out of thin air, "I'm going to finish what I started twenty years ago."

Ashe closed his eyes. 'Jaune, Ruby, Mila, mom... dad... I'm sorry. I failed all of you.' He thought. He opened his eyes and looked to see something he didn't expect. Cinder was hesitating.

"Get away from him!" yelled Nora.

Cinder turned her head just in time for Magnhild to smash into her and send her flying. "That's for Ashe!" Nora yelled as she ran at Cinder with her fists glowing with electricity. Cinder tried to get up but was put right back down with two painfully charged punches from Nora "That's for Ruby! That's for Jaune!" the redhead screamed as she punched with all her might.

Cinder was forced down to the ground as Nora kicked her in the stomach. "That's for everyone who died because of you!" she cried as she lifted up her war-hammer and sent the Fall Maiden flying again. "That's for Team JNPR!"

Cinder collided with some scaffolding and she fell with a groan of pain. How was it possible that this child had taken her so easily?! How?!

Was her reunion with Ashe doing something to her?

Cinder looked up and saw Nora, her eyes filled with furious tears, about to fire a grenade.

"And this is for Pyrrha, you monster!"

Before Nora could strike Emerald ran over and got in front of her. "No!" the mocha skinned girl yelled.

Nora fired the grenade and the explosion blew away an illusion of both Cinder and Emerald.

Nora looked over as she saw Emerald and Neo getting a battered Cinder to the ship as it began to take off with the unconscious Ruby and Jaune, Damien, his enforcers, a few remaining thugs, and Mercury already on board. "No! You aren't getting away!" she yelled as she tried to shoot them down.

A turret came out of the ship's top and tried to fire on Nora only for Ren to grab her and get her out of the way.

"So long kids!" laughed Damien as the ship took off into the stormy sky.

Nora and Ren watched helplessly as the airship left taking Ruby and Jaune with it.

Ren turned to see Ashe on the muddy ground as rain poured on him.

"What just happened?" asked Arslan as she and her battered team came out from their cover.

"They got Jaune and Ruby. Cinder has them... oh Oum... not again!" Nora said as she began to cry.

Ren walked over to Ashe and grabbed him, slamming him into one of the vehicles.

"Explain now or I shoot you." Ren ordered. Ashe looked at Ren with eyes of a man who was trying not to break, the eyes of a man who was so tired he could die.

"Ren, don't." Nora said calmly.

"He lied to us Nora; it's his fault Ruby and Jaune have been captured, it's his fault!" Ren cried, losing his calm personality as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"It's not his fault. He tried to save them Ren; he tried to fight Cinder despite how tired he was. Please Ren; don't force me to be the voice of reason, I'm no good at it." Nora pleaded as she hugged Ren from behind.

"I'm sorry." Ashe said.

Team ABRN watched as Ren let Ashe go. Ashe fell to the ground, unconscious.

"We need to get him to a doctor; all of us could use one after this." Arslan said, trying to take charge.

"My mom's one. We can go to my house." Reese said.

"Then let's go." Ren said as he helped Ashe up and Nora helped him carry Ashe to Team ABRN.

Just then a ringing sound was heard.

"Someone's scroll." Said Bolin, everyone looked at their own but the ringing wasn't coming from any of theirs.

Ren looked to a crate by the entrance and saw Jaune and Pyrrha's scroll, somehow unharmed. He ran over to it and answered it.

"Hello?" he asked, recognizing the caller's voice as Bianca's "Ren! Thank goodness, where's Jaune?"

Ren sighed and said "I'm sorry Bianca. They got him." Ren said. He walked away and began to explain what had occurred as the rest of the group left the construction site with him, all before police or the Atlas soldiers could even get within a block of the place.

* * *

Cinder sat in the ship, her powerful aura healing the wounds she had sustained. She watched as West attended to Mercury and the other injured survivors of the battle. Cinder clenched her fist as she looked at the unconscious Ruby and Jaune. "It will all be worth it." she muttered to herself.

"Cinder, was that guy really your brother?" Emerald asked.

Cinder simply nodded.

* * *

Blake entered the small room at the Inn she had decided to stay at for the night. She had made it to the village where Claudandus had told her the White Fang were near, but she decided to rest herself and look for them tomorrow at full strength.

She sat down on the bed and took out her scroll, seeing texts from Sun, who never gave up trying to reach her.

"'I'm so sorry Sun, but I have to do this alone so no one else I care about can get hurt like Yang did." she said to herself, going back to sleep and hoping she didn't dream of Adam or Yang again.

* * *

Dr. Kimball walked down the staircase of Taiyang's home and saw Yang's father, mother, and uncle all waiting in the living room. Zwei was cuddling up to Taiyang who looked up and saw the doctor.

"Is Yang..."

"She's fine Mr. Xiao Long and the surgery was a complete success. She'll need a check up every six months to keep the prosthetic healthy and well kept but she will make a full recovery." Kimball assured him.

"Oh thank you doctor." Taiyang said.

"You could thank me, I'm the one who brought him here." Qrow said.

Taiyang chuckled and said "I guess I do owe you, thank you Qrow."

"No problem, she's my niece after all." Qrow said.

"What will happen now?" Raven asked.

"Well Yang will probably go out there, try to find her friends and get the team back together. Then maybe they'll have a chance of taking Cinder Fall down." Qrow said.

"What about Ruby? We don't even know what's been going down in Haven." Taiyang pointed out.

"Actually I do have a loose clue. After I went inside to let you and sis have at it I got a message from Goodwitch, tells me Ruby and the Arc kid have been spotted in Haven, fighting some thugs inside the Seras Kalifa of all places. We don't know what happened, they jumped out the window of the one-hundred-and-thirty-eighth floor and got away, but Atlas' boys are facing so much pressure to leave the city that they weren't able to follow." Qrow said.

"We have to go and help them! I..."

"No dad." said the voice of Yang.

The four adults turned to see Yang on the staircase and one of the nurses failing to stop her. "Ruby can handle this, she may act like a little kid but she's the more mature out of the two of us... kinda. Weiss is with her dad, so I need to find Blake." she said.

"Your Faunus friend Sun has already gone off to find her, he and his team left Haven about a day ago." Qrow said.

"Good, I'll call them and meet up with them, I know you can help me out with that Uncle Qrow." she said.

"Indeed I can." Qrow confirmed.

Yang held out her new, robotic arm and flexed it. The fingers moved so naturally that you couldn't tell they were mechanical. "Thanks doc, I really owe you for this." Yang said to the bearded man.

"It's what I do. This arm is stronger than your original and your gauntlet will function the same as it always had, but I advise you rest before you try to do anything drastic." he said.

Yang looked at her mother and approached her.

"Yang, I'm so sorry for every..."

Raven was silenced by a metal fist to the face.

Everyone watched in awe as Yang grabbed her downed mother and hoisted her up.

"You left me, you left dad, you didn't help us at Beacon..." Yang said as she punched her birth-mother for each thing, taking out all of her pent up emotions. "I lost my arm, my partner, my sister!" Yang could no longer continue, she broke down crying. "Why?!" Yang screamed as she hugged her birth-mother.

Tears welled up in Raven's crimson eyes as she hugged her daughter for the first time in years.

Taiyang couldn't keep himself back. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter and the woman he once loved.

As Yang continued crying Qrow sighed and muttered "Nice scene. Get some rest kiddo, I'll take the doctor and his staff back to Atlas and tomorrow we'll get you to your friend."

"Don't you need to sleep?" Taiyang asked as the nurses began removing the surgical equipment from the house.

"I don't sleep much anymore Taiyang. See you around." Qrow said as he left the house.

Soon the small, reunited family was left alone. Daughter, father, and mother.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... lot happened in this chapter, huh? Bad guys won for the time being. Since this is a big chapter there will be a huge notes section!
> 
> What did you think about the twist with Ashe and Cinder? I'm afraid I made it too obvious or I didn't set it up enough and people will say it came out of nowhere. I mean; Ashe, Cinder, it was a bit obvious. If you don't like Ashe than you tell me why and if you don't then you're in luck since he'll be comatose for the next few chapters.
> 
> Ashe is not a good man, despite how hard he tries to be. Violence will always call him back and he will answer its call. And yes, he did kill thirty one people in this chapter, so he's in a morally dark area as far as I'm concerned. I wanted to show Cinder's range of emotions here; show some softness in her and show us what she's like when she mad, which we haven't really seen in the show properly as so far she's been pretty much in control, the only time she seems to show emotion other than serenity is when Ruby's eyes activate in V3's finale.
> 
> There's a big contrast between Jaune and Ashe: Jaune killed in self-defense and Ashe just went on a rampage. I hoped you liked Jaune in this chapter, as I wanted to give him a true, epic badass moment.
> 
> Ruby's breakdown will be an important development for her in this story as she has never really killed anyone, seeing as how she doesn't really see the Grimm as living beings, but she had accidentally killed two people and she never wanted to do that.
> 
> Zhan's aura draining bullets are why Jazzman's aura didn't heal him back in chapter 2.
> 
> There was supposed to be a Yang vs. Raven fight at the end, but I decided a more emotional confrontation was more appropriate.
> 
> The word Haakskeekah actually comes from an early version of the great fantasy film 'The Dark Crystal' where the villains of the film, the Skeksis, spoke in a weird alien language with no subtitles and in one scene they debate who will lead them they were to shout out 'Haakskeekah!' but the final version was changed so they all spoke English and they yelled 'Trial by Stone!' instead, but I like the crazy early version so I decided to reference it.
> 
> Hope you liked this one; spent a week on it and hours on it and wore myself out with it so I hope my efforts are appreciated.


	8. The Pieces Come Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you!

Jaune's eyes snapped open and he shot up from his bed. His bare body was drenched in sweat. He wiped some of the perspiration from his brow and looked down to see the beautiful, naked woman lying next to him.

"Jaune, love, are you alright?" asked Pyrrha Nikos-Arc.

Jaune smiled at his wife, relieved that it was only a horrible dream.

"J-just a nightmare, that's all. I dreamed that Cinder killed you in the Battle of Beacon and that Nora, Ren, Ruby, and I went to Haven to find Cinder and make her pay for it with the help of this asshole called Ashe." He said as he lay back down, cuddling into his wife's bountiful chest, planting a kiss on the skin above her heart.

"I'm here Jaune, I'll never leave you. It was just a bad dream, that's all." Pyrrha said as she held him to her and rubbed his back and played with his messy yellow hair.

"I dreamed I had this emotion Semblance and this Ashe guy was trying to train me. Like I said he was an asshole, constantly throwing your death in my face to help me get stronger. But I felt sorry for the guy; I dreamed that this guy lost his love too." Jaune said as he reached up and cupped her cheek.

"Things like that can happen Jaune; it can make people bitter and angry." Pyrrha said as she kissed his forehead.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he asked.

"You treated me like a normal person, that's what." She said as she grabbed him and flipped him around.

Jaune looked up to see the perfect body of Pyrrha sitting on top of him, a kind but teasing smile under those gorgeous emerald eyes. Despite giving birth to two children Pyrrha's body was still in prime conditions thanks to her exercise regime, her muscles were still on display although her belly was a bit smoother now, and her breasts somewhat enlarged by the milk she had fed their children with when they were infants.

Speaking of their children Jaune could hear his two little girls running around in the hall outside. Jaune mentally thanked Yang for the idea to soundproof the room from the inside, but make it so it was possible to hear what was going on outside.

"As much as I'd love to have at it again, I think we'd better get started." Jaune said as Pyrrha began to get off of him.

"I'll take care of them while you make breakfast?" Pyrrha asked.

"You bet." Jaune asked as he leaned up and kissed her.

Jaune soon got dressed and left the room to see his eldest daughter, a seven year old with crimson hair and sapphire eyes named Erika, playing with her younger sister, a five year old girl with blonde hair and jade eyes named Etoile. Both girls were still in their pajamas and seemed to be pretending to fight.

"Now what are you two doing?" he asked playfully.

"Morning daddy, we just playing Hunters! I'm Aunt Ruby and Erika's the Grimm!" Etoile said, waving around a plastic sword that in the little girl's mind was Crescent Rose.

"Rawr!" yelled Erika as she tried to pounce on the younger girl, only to be caught by Jaune.

"Now you know Aunt Ruby would never fight Grimm before breakfast, now come on and lets get changed." Said Pyrrha as she came out of the bedroom fully clothed.

**Jaune watched as Pyrrha lead their daughters down the hall and he went downstairs to begin making their morning meal. He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened.**

**"Jaune, wake up. You need to get up, as terrible as it is to believe none of this is real." Said a phantom of Pyrrha with a small, glowing hole in her chest.**

**"No, this isn't happening, I'm just dreaming again." Jaune said as he tried to move but found that he couldn't.**

**"I'm sorry my love, you don't know how badly I want to be with you, to have children with you, but this isn't real. This is a nightmare." The phantom Pyrrha said with sorrowful eyes.**

_**"Leave here." Said a demonic voice.** _

_**Jaune turned his head to see his wife, skin white as bones with blood red eyes glaring at her phantom doppelganger.** _

_**"No, you leave! You will not hurt him!" the phantom Pyrrha yelled.** _

_**"I won't hurt him too badly." The demonic, Grimm looking Pyrrha said as she grinned, stepping aside to let their daughters run in, screaming in pain.** _

_**"Erika! Etoile! What's wrong?!" he cried.** _

_**"Daddy help me!" cried Etoile as bony structures began to pierce through her skin and her eyes began to glow red.** _

_**"It burns! I'm scared!" screamed Erika as a black sludge began to ooze out of her mouth.** _

_**"No! NO!" Jaune screamed as his daughters' hands began to turn into claws and sharp, jagged teeth appeared in their mouths.** _

_**Jaune collapsed in shock and horror as his daughters' painful transformation into creatures of Grimm was complete. They growled and snarled at their father as the Grimm-Pyrrha walked in front of him, a black diamond on her forehead and snow white hair washing away the scarlet locks.** _

_**"You will be mine, Arc."** _

_**"NEVER!" the phantom Pyrrha yelled as she stepped in front of Jaune.** _

_**Jaune let out a scream of terror as the Grimm Pyrrha attempted to slash away the phantom Pyrrha, but failed to do so. The phantom stood before Jaune as a guardian angel, ready to fight.** _

_**"I'm part of you Jaune! Forever! I love you!" the phantom yelled.** _

_**"I love you too!" Jaune screamed as a white light claimed him.** _

Jaune's eyes snapped open again, only to find himself strapped down to a table.

"Looks like the kid's up." Said Trooper as he began wheeling Jaune's table off of Cinder's ship and into a hangar.

"This kid is something else; normally they're out for hours when you hit 'em with that much tranquilizer." Douglas said as he watched the Jaune struggle. "What were you dreaming about? Looked like you were havin' one helluva night terror." Douglas asked. Jaune ignored the enforcer's question and looked around.

"Where am I?!" Jaune demanded, trying to sound tough.

"Your new home for the time being." Said the voice of Emerald. Jaune looked up and saw Cinder's follower standing before him as West attended to Mercury's damaged leg in the background.

"Hom... Ruby! Where's Ruby?!" Jaune demanded as he struggled more.

"Calm down kid, she's over there." Trooper said, pointing to the out cold Ruby, also strapped to a table, guarded by Lao and Merrick.

"I have to admit, I thought you kids would be easy to fight. You proved me wrong." Trooper said with admiration.

"Shove it! Let us go now!" Jaune demanded.

"Sorry kid, ain't happening!" said Damien Ante, his wounds now healed thanks to his aura "We went through some crazy shit to get our hands on you, fought your buddy Ashe and those other two and some other group of brats, watched Cinder throw down some major aura, and I even gave you a trim so you wouldn't be too pissed."

It was only then Jaune noticed a slight stinging sensation on his cheeks, realizing that Ante had shaved his small beard off.

"Okay, this is getting really weird!" Jaune cried.

"If a shave makes you nervous then you won't like what comes next." Said the sinister voice that Jaune recognized all too well.

He looked ahead and saw Cinder Fall walking towards him with a face that concealed the emotions that were currently going through her head right now.

"Ashe and your friends fought well, but they failed in the end. My brother tried so hard to stop me, but I took care of him." Cinder said.

"Your brother?" Jaune said, very confused.

"Why, Ashe of course. It seems he's taken a liking to you and your friends." Cinder said, a smile beginning to grow as she saw the look of shock and devastation on Jaune's face.

"No. You're lying! You have to be!" Jaune screamed.

"I assure you that I am not. Did he mention that he was looking for his sister?" Cinder asked.

Jaune stopped struggling as he realized Cinder wasn't lying. Ashe had deceived them the entire time.

"I guess he failed to mention who I was. He's not dead, not yet anyway, so don't worry about him. He and your teammates go away." Cinder told him as she got closer.

"Thank Oum." Muttered Jaune.

"You know Arc; I must thank you, had it not been for you I may never have gotten my new powers." Cinder said as her eyes began glow.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"Why, you were distracted by your friend's screams and that gave me the perfect opportunity to strike and kill the previous Fall Maiden. Thanks to your failure I have ascended to a greater level of power. Even though your stupid friend Nikos tried her best to stop me, in the end I defeated her." Cinder said, noticing Jaune was shaking with rage. She could feel his aura pulsing, it was so pure, so filled with the need to avenge. She wanted to see just how far she could push him.

Emerald saw this and she began to look between the two. She didn't like where this was going.

"Do you know what she asked me before I ended her sad little life?" Cinder asked as Jaune began to bite down on his lip so hard it began to bleed. Cinder saw this and decided she wanted to push him a little more. She felt what was left of his Aura was burning with anger.

"She asked me if I believe in destiny and I told her that I did. Then I freed her from her pathetic excuse of a life. I did her a favor really, saved her from her delusions that she could have a normal life, that she could be happy with a failure like you. I do believe it was her destiny to die at my hands; she didn't even live up to her name and get a pyrrhic victory, just a stupid and senseless sacrifice that meant nothing in the long run. She may have been a champion, but champions always fall. All she needed was for me to give her a little push."

Jaune let out a scream of rage and grief and used every ounce of Aura, which was glowing brightly as his eyes shone a brilliant sapphire, and body strength he had left and burst through the leather straps that held him down. He jumped off the table and smashed his fist into Cinder's jaw, sending her flying across the hangar bay floor.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Oh shit." Said the normally mild-mannered West, whose attention had been drawn away from Mercury to watch the events unfold, Mercury's jaw had dropped, Emerald was speechless, Ante and his enforcers were still as statues, and Neo had covered her eyes.

Cinder got back up, her aura healing her instantly, and used her Maiden powers to float back over to Jaune who was now almost entirely drained of his Aura from his rage-fueled attack. He cried out as Cinder used the power of wind to grab him and lift him up, squeezing his throat tightly. No wonder her master wanted Arc, his aura was very powerful. "

That actually hurt." Cinder admitted as she clenched her fist, choking Jaune even more.

"Good! You're dead Cinder! You died the moment you touched Pyrrha!" Jaune spat out as he struggled to breathe.

"I could crush your skull like the bug you are right now, boy! But that's what you want, to get it over with and you think you'll be happy in the afterlife, but I guarantee that you'd be disappointed. I will not grant you the mercy of death as my master has plans for you and I intend to deliver, so go to sleep." She ordered as Jaune slipped once again into unconsciousness.

"Use steel clamps this time." Cinder ordered as she used her powers to float Jaune back to the table.

"I don't believe it, that kid actually hurt you. Think he's interested in a job?" Damien asked.

Cinder glared at the crime lord before she shook her head in annoyance. "Bind him; make sure he doesn't get out again. Emerald see to it that Rose and Arc are placed in their cells. West I want you to get Mercury to Sherizawa and get that leg fixed. I must go speak to my master."

"Lady Cinder, I assume your mission to capture our enemies was successful?" asked a voice. Everyone looked to see Fotia Drakos entering the hangar through a side door. "I heard screaming and I..." Fotia stopped as she noticed Ante and his enforcers were all starring at her.

"Oh, hello! Who are you?" Fotia asked.

"They are our allies Fotia, Damien Ante and his enforcers and yes, we were quite successful in capturing Rose and Arc. Damien, this is Fotia Drakos, our newest Grimm Commander." Cinder introduced.

"Well, that explains the skin and eyes." Damien murmured.

"Fotia, Master Salem told me earlier that she wanted to speak with you as well after I returned. Once I have finished talking to her you will take your chance." Cinder said.

"Oh! Very well, I will accompany you." Fotia said as she walked out of the room.

Cinder turned back to them and watched as Emerald led some workers to the cell-block with the bound Ruby and Jaune in tow. West helped Mercury up and led him out of the room and to the infirmary. She also noticed that Neo had vanished but that was typical.

Damien looked at Cinder with a smirk on his face while the enforcers still seemed shaken up by Fotia.

"Did you see her? Eyes and hair were blood red!" Merrick said.

"Her skin, it was white as a ghost..." whispered Douglas

"I've heard about 'em but I never saw a Grimm Commander until now." Trooper added.

Damien approached Cinder and asked "Was that who I think it was?"

"She is Fotia Drakos, just another innocent spurned by this cruel world, one we will mould into our weapon. Who she was is not important but who she will be is. I thank you for your aid Damien and rest assured that you will be compensated for your losses. Good night." Cinder said as she followed Fotia out of the hangar.

"Right, I'll take care of any security recordings from the site. Make sure they never see the light of day." Damien said, but this gave Cinder an idea.

"No, bring the recordings to me. I may have a use for them." She said as a plan began to form in her head.

Ante nodded and said "Right. Come on boys, let's get out of here." And with that he led his men out of the hangar door.

* * *

 

Cinder soon caught up with Fotia as she walked to the throne room. Fotia's curiosity was getting the best of her and she couldn't help but ask "Were those two that Emerald was taking away our enemies?"

"Indeed; Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. It's only a matter of time until Mistress Salem teaches them the error of their ways and they become part of our family as well." Cinder said.

"Oh good, they don't look too bad. Maybe they're just blind to how badly the world needs us. Maybe life was kinder to them than it was to me." Fotia said, as she remembered her old life.

Cinder smiled a bit. "Life has been almost a cruel to them as it was to you, but they are under the delusion that the world as it is is worth fighting for. We will show them how wrong they are." She said as they approached the throne room.

Cinder left Fotia outside the throne room and stepped inside. She walked into the center and knelt down as a hologram of Salem appeared before her.

"Good evening Cinder, I trust the mission to capture Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc went according to plan... but something unexpected happened." Salem said, sensing a tension within Cinder.

Cinder looked uneasy but her fears were calmed by her master's soothing voice. "Come now my disciple, what happened?" Salem asked, her voice giving away some curiosity.

"We captured Rose and Arc as planned. Rose accidentally killed two of Ante's men and Arc killed at least four." Cinder reported.

"Excellent, then they have already taken their first steps." Salem said with a small smile.

"But... someone tried to stop us; my brother." Cinder revealed.

"Ashe? Hm, we never did find out what happened to him or the crystal." Salem said.

"That's the other thing; he allowed me to look into his memories and I saw that he is in possession of the Aura Crystal." Cinder said.

"What? The Crystal is in Haven?" Salem asked, her interest piqued.

"I don't know. He has allied himself with the children and he knows the Haakskeekah." Cinder said.

Salem's eyes did not widened but she did look a bit intrigued. "Ah, even in death your mother finds ways to spite me. Have Ante keep the bounty on him, if he has the Crystal it's more than likely he never told the children about it so if we are to get the Crystal we'll have to force your brother to give it to us. Have Rose and Arc imprisoned for the time being, soon the children's real training will begin and they shall become mine." Salem said.

"If I may be so bold Master, why did you want the Arc boy? Reports say that seven months ago he couldn't even hold his sword correctly, while his skills have undoubtedly improved since, he even managed to harm me mere moments ago and his Aura is incredibly powerful, he still seems like an unimportant pawn." Cinder observed.

"Cinder, even the most unimportant of pawns have their part to play in the game and the Arc boy is not unimportant. Tell Dr. Giger I want him to make Arc the fifth Grimm Commander after a little reconditioning and mental torment." Salem said, allowing a smirk on her lips.

"What? I thought that madman Norvik was your choice for the next..."

"Norvik is but a dog put back on his leash. He will be useful in the future as I do have plans for him, but the boy is more important. The Arc bloodline once produced a great many Huntsman and Huntress, their fire has dimmed greatly but if left alone that child could reignite the flame, your actions against the Nikos girl have seen to that." Salem said.

"Ugh, the more I hear that stupid girl's name the more I regret..." Cinder began to say before Salem stopped her.

"What's done is done, but if we turn Arc to the darkness, make him one of us then it will create even more fear and chaos, a member of one of Remnant's great families leading a slaughter of the innocents, maybe even getting him to kill his own family. Turning that promising young Huntsman to an instrument of our will would be a horror to the eyes of all those who seek faith in the Hunters, it will drive the world mad with fear. If we can't turn him, however, I have an alternative plan." Salem said, her eyes glowing again before Cinder spoke up.

"But we already have..."

"It's always smart to have a contingency plan. If Arc doesn't work out we'll always have her."

"We cannot turn Arc. I felt his aura, it was so powerful and pure and while there is anger within him he's the type of 'hero' that keeps it up until the end. There is no way he will willingly turn against his friends and family." Cinder said, doubting any chance they had at turning Jaune to their cause.

"I have a way around that Cinder, now then..." Salem said as she considered the news of the Aura Crystal. "I would like you to get the crystal from your brother, if he has been its guardian for two decades then he may know what it is capable of or he could be ignorant of its power but if he does understand it then he could use it against us and that would be very... irritating. So make sure it becomes ours." Salem ordered.

Cinder nodded, but then she remembered the man she saw in Ashe's mind. "Master, there was something else... when Ashe showed me his memories I saw a woman he loved die. I saw her murderer and I recognized him, he was Saul Jude." Cinder said.

"Saul Jude? Now that is interesting. It looks like a new player is about to enter the field. You are dismissed my Fall Maiden, send in the girl." Salem ordered.

"As you wish." Cinder said with a bow.

The Fall Maiden walked to the door and opened it. "She will see you now." She told Fotia.

The girl with crimson hair and eyes walked into the makeshift throne room as Cinder left. She approached the hologram of Salem and bowed down.

"Mistress Salem." She said humbly.

"Rise my child, I have a gift for you." Salem said.

"Oh! How kind of you Mistress! What is it?" Fotia asked, looking a little excited as she rose up.

Salem waved her hand and a red sword and shield appeared in the room in front of Fotia. "This is a blade I had forged for you out of Red Dust. It has been named Lepida Tou Aimatos, the Blood Blade. Use it well my child, for with it you will slay all those who stand in our way." Salem said.

"It is beautiful. I shall resume my sword training with right away; this is a much better blade. What of the shield?" Fotia asked.

"The shield, Akouo, once belonged to Pyrrha Nikos, a girl who tried to prevent Cinder from obtaining the powers of the Fall Maiden. She paid the price for her interference with her life, Cinder brought me this shield as a trophy but I now give it to you. Our enemies will be overcome with grief when they see you, my new champion bearing the shield of their fallen one. Take it with pride and strength my dragon rider." Salem said to the teenager.

Fotia bowed and said "I will do as you command my Mistress."

"Very good, you are dismissed." Salem said. Fotia bowed once more as the hologram deactivated and exited the room to see Cinder standing in the hallway.

"Ah, what gifts she has given you Fotia, use them well." Cinder said.

"Oh I will Lady Cinder! Anyone who opposes us shall fall to my new blade and shield. They will make wonderful additions to my arsenal." Fotia said optimistically as she walked away down the hall.

Cinder went back into the throne room, sat down on her throne, and her thoughts traveled to Ashe. "Try to get in my way again little brother and I will kill you." She swore.

Elsewhere in the factory Fotia cheerfully walked towards her room only for someone to grab her shoulder from behind.

"Oh, hello again Neo! My goodness, you gave me quite a scare!" Fotia said to the multicolored girl.

Neo nodded, made an apologetic gesture and then leaned in.

"Don't trust them." She whispered to Fotia

"Who? Who shouldn't I trust Neo?" Fotia asked.

Neo said nothing. She just walked away.

Fotia decided not to pursue the silent girl, knowing that Neo only spoke when she wanted to and trying to force her would only result in a fight that Fotia knew she didn't want. She decided it would be best to just go to her room and ponder who Neo had warned her about.

* * *

 

At Salem's palace the Mistress of Grimm brought up another line of communication. She remembered the power of the Aura Crystal was not completely necessary for her plans but it would accelerate them quite a bit. If Ashe was in the way she needed someone to get him out of the game.

Soon a hologram of a tall, dark man wearing a hood was projected into the air. "Mistress Salem, to what do I owe the pleasure?" a deep voice asked.

"Does the name Ashe Kasai mean anything to you Saul?" Salem asked.

The man pulled off his hood to reveal a scarred face that wore a sinister grin. The face of a drug lord thought to be dead for five years; Saul Jude.

"It does indeed Mistress. An old sin, a score left unsettled, an embarrassing failure, and a lust for revenge." Saul said as his mechanical hand transformed into a sharp hook.

"In that case I have a new assignment for you." Salem said, she couldn't wait to see how this played out. At the very least it would be an entertaining fight.

* * *

 

Ren and Nora sat on a couch the belonged to Dr. Maia Chloris, a woman in her mid-forties who was one of the most beloved and respected doctors in all of Haven, known for her charity efforts and her inexpensive treatments for the less fortunate of the city. Her minty hair was longer and more well kept than her daughter's messy locks and she wore an average long-sleeved shirt as she attended to the injured and just barley conscious Ashe who lay on another couch.

"Well it's a good thing you got him to me when you did, his aura is almost entirely depleted. If left unattended his arm could have bled out." Dr. Chloris said as she used her healing Semblance to stop Ashe's arm from bleeding.

"Thanks for doing this mom, the last hour has been really crazy." Reese said, now with her hood off, revealing her wild hair.

"Yeah, I really owe you one doc." Ashe said weakly.

"No problem, I'd do it for anyone. Now, are you sure the woman you fought was Cinder Fall?" Dr. Chloris asked.

"A hundred percent positive Dr. Chloris, we saw her before and tonight she was more powerful than we've ever seen her." Nora said.

"Tell me about it. After everything that went down at Vale and what we saw tonight I'm not ashamed to say it: that lady scares me more than all the Grimm in the world." Bolin said, getting nods of agreement from Nadir and Reese.

"We should report this to the cops." Nadir suggested.

"Are you kidding? Damien Ante has his fingers wrapped around the cops. Any bit of info they get out of us they'll tell Ante and he'll come after us." Arslan pointed out.

"Wait a minute, we told 'em what team we are! They'll find out Reese is on it and they'll come here and..." Nadir said before Reese stopped him.

"Relax dude, mom made plans to deal with the scum of this town years ago. All the 'official' reports on our house like my Transcripts and mom's taxes have false info, only the people mom works with directly know where we really live and mom only trusts cops who are on the up and up. We're fine here, trust me." Reese assured her teammate.

"Well that's a relief. What about the Atlas military? They'd be a big help." Ren suggested.

"Not a good plan, the people of this city are so against Atlas right now that if Ironwood brought his fleet here there'd be riots all over town and the body count would start rising, there's already tension between the people and what little agents Atlas has here now and the robots shooting civilians at Vale don't exactly help matters." Arslan said.

"Alright, so for now we're on our own. Now Ashe I think we need to talk about certain things." Ren said, eyeing Ashe with mistrust and suspicion.

"I don't blame you Ren; I kept the truth from you. The real reason I was coming here was to find Cinder and try to talk some sense into her and if I failed to do that I decided I'd have to take her out, but that was before I felt how powerful she was." Ashe explained as he hissed in pain.

"What about Ruby and Jaune? They could be anywhere by now." Nora pointed out.

"No, when I shared my memories with Cinder it was a two way street. Her mind had been trained to resist memory probes but I got a glimpse at a place that's probably the factory we're looking for." Ashe said.

"What's to stop them from leaving now that they've got Ruby and Jaune?" Arslan asked.

"Cinder knows I have the Aura Crystal and she knows I'm friends with Jaune and Ruby. She and her master want the crystal so chances are they may use them as bait to trap me and force me to hand over the crystal." Ashe said, noticing the amazed look Dr. Chloris was now giving him.

"Did you say the Aura Crystal?" she asked after she picked up her jaw.

"You know what it is mom?" Reese asked.

"I read about it years ago when I was a schoolgirl, in an old book about Remnant's myths and legends. For years I thought it was just that, a myth. But after the Four Maidens turned out to be real I guess anything is possible." The woman said as she closed a cut on Ashe's cheek.

"Doc, there's always some truth in old legends. The Aura Crystal is real as you and me, and I have been carrying it around for two thirds of my life." Ashe said as he closed his eyes, trying to think about their next move.

"What is the Aura Crystal anyway? I've never even heard of it until tonight." Nora said.

"The legend goes that before Remnant was Remnant there was a great war, a war so terrible that it shattered the moon, but the fallout of it was that humanity was nearly wiped out and the world torn apart with most continents being swallowed up by the oceans. That is supposedly why our world is called Remnant; we are what remains of a world long gone." Dr. Chloris explained.

Ashe nodded and continued the tale for her. "And after the moon shattered, Dust fell upon the world and over the course of the next century things took shape. The Faunus, The Grimm, Aura, Semblances, Dust, etc... but the legends say that at the heart of these events was a mighty and unimaginably powerful Aura, or at least mighty source of Aura that can never be depleted. It was bound to and encased in a mighty combination of every form of Dust known that hardened into a crystal. The Aura was imprisoned but its power could never fall into the wrong hands so two powerful warriors took up the charge to guard the crystal. Soon enough two of them fell in love and had a family. Word about the crystal and its power got out naturally and wars were fought to control it. The two warriors protected it with their lives and they went out together, leaving this world in each other's arms. The duty of guarding the crystal was passed down to friends that they trusted and then to their children and so on. If a family was slaughtered the crystal fell under the protection of a new family of guardians. I think it had been in my family for the last five generations, but even I don't know what it really is or how it works."

"Wait, you've looked after that thing for twenty years and you don't even know how it works?" Arslan asked, incredulously.

"I don't make the rules, I just work here." Ashe joked as he shook his head.

"You must have some understanding of it after all this time." Ren pointed out.

"Uh... a little but not much. I've tried to meditate with it like my mom did when I was a child but it's never really worked. All I've gotten from the thing is bad dreams." Ashe said.

"If you're not even sure it works then why not just give it to Cinder? Or we could  use it as a trap to take her out." Reese suggested.

"No, that is absolutely out of the question. I may not know how it works but Cinder might be able to figure it out with her master's help and if they get their hands on the crystal it could be the end of everything for all I know. And while I may be able to fight Cinder better if I was a full power I know she'd still kick my ass in the end." Ashe said as he seethed in pain.

"Okay, so scratch that plan." Said Nadir.

"Who is Cinder's master anyway?" asked Ren.

"I think her name is Salem, other than that the only thing I know about Cinder's master is that my parents would only talk about her when they thought I wasn't around. I remember that they sounded scared whenever they talked about her so whoever she is she's bad news." Ashe said, receiving nods from the others.

"There's still one thing I don't get." Bolin announced to which Arslan responded with "Only one?" which Bolin ignored and continued.

"What does Cinder Fall want with Jaune and Ruby? I mean Ruby seems like someone Cinder would want dead after Ruby did something to that dragon Grimm and Jaune ain't exactly the top of the class so why not just kill them?" he asked.

"Good question and one I'm very interested in finding out the answer to." Ashe said.

"So what do we do?" Nora asked.

"Go back to the warehouse and get the Crystal, it's in a steel case in my backpack. I'll stay here until I'm healed up and then we get as much of your friends as we can and go in guns blazing and get Jaune and Ruby back." Ashe said.

"Yeah, and get everyone killed in the process." Arslan said disapprovingly.

"Excuse me, but I think I'll have to take you to my operating room and perform a procedure on you Ashe, you have some internal bleeding and you'll need to be asleep in order for me to properly heal you." Dr. Chloris said as she felt his torso, sensing the wounds inside.

"Okay. Wait, why do you have your own operating room?" Ashe asked.

"Sometimes I have things that can't wait for an ambulance." She answered cryptically.

Ashe nodded and looked back to Ren and Nora, the former was still looking at him with suspicion while the latter looked at him with concern. "Nora, take care of these while I'm out okay?" Ashe asked as he removed the two necklaces around his neck, one that held the whistle and the other held the ring. He handed them to Nora

"I'll keep them safe." Nora promised as she looked at the ring. It was a beautiful gold engagement ring with a small sapphire atop it, and engraved into the blue gem was a small but noticeable emblem of a crystal inside a flame.

"What about this factory you saw in Cinder's memories? That will be the place to look for Ruby and Jaune." Ren said, wanting to know where his friends had been taken.

"I saw a big place, like really big. It had about seven tall smoke stacks, barley any windows, surrounded by a tall fence, heavily guarded... looks really old." Ashe said as he struggled to remember the details of what he saw.

"I know the place. It used to be owned by the Schnee Dust Company but got shut down about fifteen years ago after a dozen Faunus workers were killed in an accident due to poor safety conditions. Even back then the Mistal council couldn't ignore the hazards of the letting it go unchecked." Dr. Chloris said.

"Yeah, 'bout four years ago some company bought it and set up shop. Trucks and airships go in and leave but it ain't open to the public, think the company's name is CraftTech or something like that." Reese said.

"Then tomorrow Ren and I will go out there and scout the place out." Arslan decided.

"We could tell Headmaster Argo." Suggested Bolin.

"No way, he'll make us go back to Vale and probably throw Ashe into prison since he's a Guerrilla Hunter and all." Nora objected.

"Considering how many guys he killed tonight that may not be the worst idea." Arslan said as she scowled at the man.

"Look; Arslan, right? The horrible things I do I often do without choice, and in the name of peace and freedom." Ashe said to her, doing nothing to make Arslan reconsider her comment.

"Oh, so yelling 'you're all gonna die' is something a man of peace and freedom would say." she said, glaring at him.

"Enough of that now, come on Mr. Ashe let's get you a sedative so I can get to work." Dr. Chloris instructed.

"Gotta warn you Doc, I have some bad dreams so you might have to strap me down." He said.

"Oh trust me, I've put up with things like that before." Chloris said as she led Ashe away, leaving the six teenagers alone.

"We'll go back to the warehouse and get the crystal I guess." Nora said.

"Not a chance, you guys are exhausted, let us go get it for you. If we're in this mess together now we have to work together." Arslan said as she offered her hand.

Nora and Ren decided that it would be better if they had more allies in this fight and Team ABRN had proved themselves worthy by coming to their rescue.

"Thank you." Ren said as he accepted Arslan's hand and shook it.

Upstairs, in Maia Chloris' home-based operating room she prepared the anesthesia as Ashe stripped off his shirt. Maia eyed his body, noting all the various scars of varying shapes and sizes. There were three claw marks on his chest that were undoubtedly caused by a clash with a Beowulf, what appeared to be bullet wounds and laser burns, stab wounds, scratches, bite marks from a young Ursa, his back was covered by what appeared to be whip marks and old bruises. A few spots were bleeding from his recent battle and a few old wounds had reopened from the attacks on his body.

Ashe noticed her stares and sighed. "You're the first woman in five years to see me like this." He said.

"I'm used to seeing men topless Ashe, but not with scars like this. Not even experienced Hunters have them this badly, though I should have expected it. I mean you are a Guerrilla Huntsman after all and people in your profession lead very dangerous lives." She said as he lay down on the operating table.

"You don't know the half of it. Life keeps trying to break me. I ain't broke yet." Ashe said as she put the breathing mask on him.

He soon fell asleep and Maia Chloris began generating her Aura to the tips of her hands as she used her Semblance to heal her newest patient. She kept it us as his most recent wounds closed up, but she knew there was nothing she could do for his old wounds. She watched as his head lazily moved from side to side.

Back downstairs, Ren and Nora decided that they deserved a rest after the battle so they would stay at Reese's house and told Team ABRN where the warehouse was and where to find the case. The two teenagers were soon left alone in the Chloris' living room alone.

"Ren?"

"Yes Nora?"

"What are we going to do about Ashe?"

"I don't know. I don't think we should fully trust him but I think he's on our side for the time being." Ren said.

"He lied to us Ren, but I think he wants to help us. Try to look at him from a different point of view. If you look at him angrily all you'll see is hate and fear and I know you're better than Ren. You have to look with better eyes than that." Nora said, getting an amazed look from the green-clad warrior.

"Nora, you can still surprise me after all this time." He said.

There was silence before Nora spoke up again "I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what might happen to Ruby and Jaune, I'm afraid we'll lose them just like we lost Pyrrha and our families... Ren I'm..." she became choked up by tears.

Ren pulled her to him and hugged her comfortingly. "I'm here Nora." He said.

"I'm afraid I'll lose you too and then I'll be all alone." She cried as she buried her head into his shoulder.

"I'll never leave you Nora as long as you never leave me." He said as he moved her head up and gently wiped tears from her eyes.

"You're stuck with me for life. Boop." She said as her nose touched his.

"Boop." Ren said in return with a small smile.

* * *

 

The next morning the sun rose over the island of Patch. Inside her room, still smelling of medical equipment a bit, Yang woke up, still not used to the feeling of her new arm. She stretched out and heard the whirring of mechanical instruments inside her new limb. She got out of bed and leaned down to pet Zwei with her flesh hand.

"I'm back Zwei." She muttered happily.

She looked over to her nightstand and saw her scroll. She remembered that night Sun had called her, the terrible things she said about Blake. Things she hoped Blake would never know about.

She grabbed her scroll and dialed Sun's number.

In a few minutes she heard the voice of a tired sounding Sun answer the scroll.

"Yeah? Please tell me this is Blake or Ruby." Sun said.

"Hi Sun." she greeted, hoping he wasn't still mad at her over their fight.

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Sun, just hear me out okay? I was being a total bitch when we spoke a few days ago." She admitted.

"Understatement. What's this about?" the monkey Faunus asked.

"My Uncle Qrow got me a new arm and I'm beginning to understand how pathetic I was. I'm trying to get over it and I want to help you find Blake and get our team back together." She said.

"Yang... what you said about Blake..." Sun tried to say before Yang stopped him.

"I was out of line. I wasn't thinking right, I let my depression and bitterness get the better of me. I love Blake and I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm sorry Sun, sorry for how I treated you and Blake. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself and I didn't try to understand what she's going through. I want to help her Sun." Yang said.

"What about Ruby?" Sun asked.

"She's in Haven, but I think she and the others will be okay." Yang said.

"She and Jaune jumped off a freaking skyscraper, I think they might need some help." Sun said.

"They what?!" Yang cried.

"Neptune saw it on the news the other day. We met up with them back in Haven before we left, we know Cinder is in Haven and they've teamed up with a guy called Ashe to find her while me and my team try to find Blake." Sun explained.

"Okay, well Ruby is crazy enough to do something like that. I'll call 'em before we leave." Yang said.

"We leave?" Sun repeated.

"Sun, I want to join up with you and help Blake." Yang said.

"You sure you want to do that?" Sun asked.

"I'm sure. Sun, please tell me where you are. I need to make up for the things I said. I want to help my friend and get my team back together." She pleaded.

"Okay. We're in Arnia in Mistral. We managed to find out that the guy who hurt you and Blake is named Adam and he's the leader of the White Fang. We know he's hiding out near the Circle Sea so that's where we're going to look. If you want to help us, come on." He said, sounding a bit happier.

"Thanks Sun and I'm sorry for how I acted that night." Yang said.

"It's okay Yang, I'd probably be as bitter as you were if I lost my arm. Neptune said that everyone has their own way of dealing with loss and that you just dealt with it in your way. When can we expect you?" he asked.

"Probably this afternoon, Uncle Qrow is going to take me to you on an airship." Yang said.

"I thought your uncle took over after Ozpin disappeared." Sun pointed out.

Yang laughed and said "Even when he has responsibilities as big as that he still finds free time."

"Okay, I'll tell Neptune and the others we have a new partner in all this. Yang, I'm sorry for what I said too. I didn't take in how bad off you were and I just wanted to find Blake so bad..." Sun said before Yang stopped him.

"It's okay Sun, I think we both said things we regret. I'll see you soon, Arnia right?" she asked.

"Yup." Sun answered.

"Okay, see you later." Yang said as she hung up her scroll. "Okay Ruby, tell me you're alright." She muttered as she dialed Ruby's number. It didn't even ring.

"Come on Rubes, don't do this to me." Yang muttered as she dialed again.

Still nothing.

Yang shook her head and decided she would worry about Ruby later. 'She probably just turned her scroll off, that's all.' Yang thought to herself as she decided to get dressed.

Soon enough Yang came down stairs, dressed in her Huntress outfit; the yellow crop top mostly covered by a brown vest, her black bike shorts which were surrounded by her brown belt with the white back skit. It had been months since she wore her Huntress outfit and she had to admit it felt good to wear it again.

She saw her father sitting on the couch, looking worried. "You okay dad?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Taiyang lied; his worries about Ruby's safety had prevented him from getting any sleep.

"I called Sun, told me he's in a town called Arnia so that's where I'll meet him." Yang said.

"Okay, good. Yang uh... Qrow got some news about Ruby last night..."

"She jumped out of a skyscraper, right?" Yang said.

"How did you..."

"Sun told me." Yang answered.

"Okay, anyway we don't know what happened. Word so far is that she and the Arc kid were being chased by some dangerous criminals working for a guy called Damien Ante. The cops in Haven found a construction site pretty torn up with bodies of thugs all over the place, but they didn't find any sign of Ruby or the Arc kid." Taiyang said.

"Ruby will be okay dad; she's way tougher and smarter than she acts." Yang said confidently. She then noticed their 'guest' was missing. "Where's mo... Raven?" Yang asked.

"Outside, we talked a long time last night, caught up. Is your arm feeling okay?" Taiyang asked.

Yang walked over to a table and used her mechanical arm to lift it up with very little effort. "Oh, I'm 'Yanging' in there." She joked with a grin.

Taiyang chuckled in response as the sound of an airship approaching interrupted the two.

Yang and her dad walked outside to see the airship from last night landing in front of the house with Raven standing before it.

The door on the ship opened up and Qrow stepped out "Grab your things and call your friends kid. We gotta get moving, they want me back in Vale." Qrow said.

Yang nodded "I already called Sun, he's in Arnia." She said as she headed back inside to pack her things and weapons.

"Good, that shouldn't take long to get to." Qrow said as he looked to his sister and brother-in-law.

"Any news about Ruby?" Taiyang asked hopefully.

"No. Nothing, even the security footage from the CCTV has gone missing. No doubt about it, something is going on in Haven." Qrow said.

"Then we should go there and find out what." Raven said.

"I can't, they need me at Vale, you however sis, need a new mission and being my eyes and ears in Haven is it." Qrow said.

Raven nodded, "Very well Qrow, I'll go. What if I find Ruby?" she asked.

"Help her out as much as you can, even if you have to show yourself to her. I want you to confirm that Cinder is there, if she is then I can get the Vale council to work with Atlas and we can convince the Mistral council to let us move in and take the bitch down." Qrow said.

"Good idea, should I go?" Taiyang asked.

"Yang and Raven need to do these things alone Taiyang, but if you're interested we could use a helping hand in Vale to fight off the Grimm. I know Goodwitch would be happy to have you." Qrow said.

Taiyang nodded and said "Let me lock up and prepare Zwei. I need to get my things."

As Taiyang walked back inside Raven turned to her brother. "How will I find these kids?" she asked.

"You have your ways." Qrow said simply.

"What about Ozpin?" Raven asked.

"If Salem does have him we won't find him for now. That witch had been hiding for centuries and no one has been able to find her unless she came to them. I don't think looking for Ozpin will change that now." Qrow said.

Raven nodded, understanding the logic, but she asked one last question. "And if I find Cinder Fall?"

Qrow shook his head as he answered "Take her out by any means necessary. We can worry about the Maiden powers later but the sooner Cinder is dead the better. Just find Ruby and make sure she's okay." Raven nodded.

A few minutes later Yang and her father exited the house with Zwei following them and approached the other two members of the family.

"You coming with us?" Yang asked Raven.

"No, I'm afraid I have a new assignment. I'm going to Haven to look for Ruby and make sure she's alright." Raven said.

"We're dropping you off right? How else are you going to get there?" Yang asked.

"I have ways. Goodbye Yang, till we meet again." Raven said as she hugged her daughter.

"I just hope next time we can meet under some normal circumstances for once." Yang said as she hugged her mother back.

Qrow, Yang, and Zwei got onto the ship as Taiyang and Raven said their goodbyes.

"I will find Ruby Taiyang, I will make sure she returns safely to you." Raven promised.

"Thank you. These girls are my whole world." Taiyang said sadly.

"I was telling the truth last nigh, I never stopped loving you." Raven said.

"I know. No matter how hard I tried I could never really get over you either. Summer helped me so much with that but I lost her. I loved both of you so much..." he said before Raven shushed him.

"Do not dwell on the past Taiyang, you must look to the future." She said.

He nodded and wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes. He got on to the ship and the door slid closed.

Raven watched as the airship took off and began to head east. She then walked into the woods and transformed into her animal form and took flight to Haven.

* * *

 

Winter entered General Ironwood's office, seeing the man looking rather tired, but she knew what he had been going through and was not surprised by his drowsy appearance.

"General." She said as she stood at attention.

"At ease Specialist Schnee, I understand you needed to speak to me about something?" Ironwood said.

Winter nodded "Yesterday, when I showed Weiss the vault I spoke to Joseph sir, he told me you had formulated a plan while I was away regarding Penny and the target..." she began before Ironwood stopped her.

"I see. As brilliant as Polendina is he doesn't have the spine to do what's right." Ironwood said with annoyance evident in his voice.

"What's right? Sir, I see nothing right about turning that girl into a kamikaze. Your plan may not even work; Cinder Fall is nothing if not smart, everything she has executed so far is proof of that. If we send Penny there with a payload inside of her Cinder's followers will discover it before she can even get within a hundred meters of Cinder. Not to mention the moral implications of what your idea would bring about." Winter said, her disapproval for the operation clear.

"Moral? I'll tell you what's not morally right Schnee; letting that madwoman run around unchecked while the people of Remnant suffer and die because we're not doing enough!" he barked as he slammed his metal fist on his desk.

"Sir, if this gets out to the public it would be a public relations nightmare. The councils of Mistral and Vacuo are already wary of us as is and this might prove them right!" Winter argued.

"They'll never find out. The main reason I'm doing this is because the council of Mistral won't allow us proper access to Haven. Besides Penny Polendina is, for intents and purposes, not a real person." Ironwood said, shocking Winter with his words.

"You had a different point of view some months ago." Winter pointed out.

"That was before the fall of Beacon. Before the Knights, my Knights, turned on me and nearly killed me! Penny could be turned just as easily as they were and with the power the first one had it is a miracle she was never turned against us." Ironwood said, his desperation now obvious.

Winter shook her head and tried to argue. "She has Aura, she has a personality, she talks like a child with..."

"Stop. Just stop Winter. Her Aura is synthetic, her personality is heavily based on the child Polendina lost years ago, and while she may act like a real child she is not. She's just a machine. A puppet for us to use however we please and I will use her however I wish. I will do anything necessary to stop Cinder Fall and her master!" he blurted out.

"Master?" Winter asked, her eyes wide with shock.

Ironwood was silent before he said "I shouldn't have said that. Yes, Cinder Fall is a disciple of something else Winter, something so powerful and evil that I dread the mere mention of its name. We have to stop it Winter. We have to do the right thing, and sometimes the right thing doesn't make sense but it will turn out for the best. I admit I was attached to the first Penny, but that Penny is dead because of Cinder Fall. I will make her pay for it and everyone of my soldiers that died because of her and if you try to stop me I will have you removed from this military." He threatened.

Winter was silent before she sighed and nodded. "Very well General, I will press the issue no further. Can you at least tell me about Ruby Rose? It would lift a great deal of stress off of Weiss' shoulders."

"I can do that. Our agents in Haven found nothing. There were reports of a terrible battle in a construction site and over thirty dead bodies were found there by the time the local authorities arrived but no sign of Ruby Rose or her companions. Any DNA left behind had been washed away by the rain and if there were any security recordings they've either been taken or they have been withheld from us but don't worry, I've ordered our best agent in Haven to look into it." Ironwood said.

Winter nodded, "Very well, thank you General. I will tell Dr. Polendina that your decision is final. What are the specifics of Penny's mission?"

"She is to be dropped off in Haven with the goal of fining Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, crime lord Damien Ante who we suspect is working for Fall, or even Cinder herself. She is to either follow them or allow herself to be captured and then once she is within killing distance of Cinder, a bomb that will be able to sense the power of the Fall Maiden will go off, hopefully killing our target for good. We'll sort through the rubble and ask questions later but right now all I care about is finding Fall and ending her. Penny shall be shipped out to Mistral the day after tomorrow. You are dismissed." Ironwood said.

Winter saluted him and left the room. Winter was no idiot, she knew this was serious and wondered why Ironwood had chosen this course of action, even if he was desperate enough. They had upgraded Penny significantly from the first with a built-in hacking device as well as upgraded swords and scanners that will predict if a Semblance is a threat, that way they wouldn't have a repeat of the incident with Pyrrha Nikos. After all they had went through to prevent this Penny from suffering the same fate as the previous one why would he just sacrifice her like that?

As Winter got into an elevator and was relieved to see she would be alone. She smashed her fist into the elevator's wall and snarled, in a very unprofessional manner.

This was wrong.

She soon arrived back at her office where Weiss sat, typing away at a computer. Winter had decided her sister needed to write down any information she knew about Cinder and her accomplices; their moves, their weaknesses, their personalities, anything.

"This would be so much easier if Velvet were here. I wonder if she ever took pictures of..." Weiss muttered before she noticed Winter's return.

"Oh, hello Winter. How was your meeting with General Ironwood?" she asked.

"Not very well, sadly." Said Winter as she sat down at her desk. She saw the look of concern Weiss was giving her. Winter decided she needed to come clean and make her younger sister face the terrible reality of the situation.

"The General and I talked about Penny. He has a plan for her and it is one that I do not approve of but he is going along with it no matter how much I or Dr. Polendina protest it." She said.

"What? What is he planning?" Weiss asked as she put the laptop aside.

"He has decided to use Penny to take out Cinder Fall. The most consistent rumor about her location is Haven City and because of the protests against our presence in Mistral as well as the Mistral council's distrust of General Ironwood, he has decided that a stealth attack against Cinder Fall is the best option. The plan is to get Penny into the city, have her either find or be found by Cinder Fall's agents and entice their curiosity as to how she is back and why she is in the city. Ironwood plans to put a bomb into Penny that will scan Aura for the power of the Fall Maiden and once it is detected the bomb will go off and hopefully kill Cinder Fall in the blast." Winter finished.

To say Weiss was shocked was an understatement. How? How could anyone not see how wrong this was? Especially a man of General Ironwood's standing?

Weiss got up and looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "We have to stop this! We can't let this happen!" she cried.

"I don't like it anymore than you do Weiss but..."

"But nothing! This is wrong! It will prove all those accusations against the Atlesian Military correct! If the government of Mistral discovers any of this it will be seen as an act of terrorism! What if the bomb goes off in a populated area or what if there's a glitch?! Innocent people may be killed because of this Winter, we can't allow it to happen!" Weiss said.

"There's nothing we can do Weiss. There are possibilities of it going wrong, but with everything stopping us from getting to do a proper investigation of the city it may be our best option." Winter said.

"Then let us make a new option!" Weiss said.

Winter raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

Weiss moaned. It was now or never. She had to come clean. "When we were in the vault yesterday I called Ruby and showed Penny to her."

"What?" Winter said calmly.

"I'm surprised I could even do it from down there and considering the fact that Ruby was on top of the Seras Kalifa building at the time it's even odder. I told her about Penny's situation and she was devastated Winter, I can't let Ruby suffer through losing a friend again, not if I can help it." Weiss said bravely.

"You knew they were in Haven the entire time? You were in contact with them?" Winter asked, completely shocked at her sister's revelation.

"Yes. They have confirmed that Cinder is in the city and they are working with a Huntsman named Ashe. I have no idea how they got into so much trouble the other day however." Weiss admitted.

"I found out a little about what happened in Haven; there was a battle at a construction site with over thirty dead men, but no evidence that Ruby or your friends participated in the fight. Have you tried to contact them since last night?" Winter asked.

"I tried but I got no answer, they may have turned their scrolls off to lay low." Weiss guessed.

"Try calling them now." Winter said.

"You're not mad?" Weiss asked.

"Somewhat disappointed that you hid this from me but right now I'm interested in anything that might provide me an alternative method of finding Cinder Fall. Any concrete proof that she is in the city will be enough for me, as it will give us the ability to legally search the city for her." Winter explained.

Weiss nodded as she called Ruby's number, but got no answer. "Ugh, of all the times to... I'll try Jaune." She said as she typed in Jaune's number, or Pyrrha's since his scroll was once property of their dead friend.

This time it was answered but not by who Weiss expected.

"Hi Weiss, it's Nora." Said the normally energetic girl.

"Nora? Why are you answering Jaune's scroll?" Weiss asked.

"Weiss, are you alone?" Nora asked, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

"My sister is with me, but I think we can trust her to keep this secret." Weiss said as she eyed her sister who nodded, giving implication that she would remain quiet for the time being.

"Weiss... we got screwed up pretty bad last night." Nora admitted.

"What happened?" Winter asked calmly.

"Cinder's here in the city, we got our butts handed to us. She took Ruby and Jaune. She got them..." Nora said sadly.

Weiss felt her heart skip a beat.

Was Ruby... no!

"No! She can't be dead! She just can't!" Weiss cried, tears threatening to form.

"I don't think she's dead. From what Ashe told us Cinder wants them alive, for what, we don't know but it can't be good." Nora said.

"Where are you?" Weiss asked, fear welling up in her gut.

"Remember Team ABRN? Well they're helping us out now." Nora said.

"What about Sun, Neptune, and their teammates?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, they went to find Blake." Nora said.

"Okay, what about this Ashe fellow?" Weiss inquired.

"Uh... you see, funny thing about that..." Nora said, she took a deep breath and continued "He's Cinder's brother and he's the guardian of a legendary relic called the Aura Crystal. He tried to stop Cinder from taking Ruby and Jaune but he got his butt kicked and turns out that Reese's mom is a doctor and Ashe has been out all night and day so her mom could heal his wounds, and we can't go to the police because this crime boss called Damien Ante is working for Cinder and he has a lot of guys in the police and he might have us killed and we also need to keep this Aura Crystal thingy away from Cinder because it may give her more power and may end with everyone not on her side being totally screwed."

There was complete silence from both Winter and Weiss before the elder sister broke it with "What the hell is my life?"

Weiss shook her head in disbelief as she continued talking "Are you sure Ashe is Cinder's brother?"

"Positive, she even hugged him! Called him little brother and everything! Also Ashe thought that his dad killed their mom but it turns out that it was Cinder who killed both their parents. She even offered him a chance to join her but he did some crazy magic stuff to that sent her flying but only seemed to tire him out in the long run." Nora said.

Winter moaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm getting such a headache from this nonsense." She muttered.

"Do you have any proof? The only way we can help you out it if you have proof that you fought Cinder, only then will the council of Mistral legally allow the Atlas Military to enter Haven and take Cinder down." Weiss said.

"We didn't exactly have the time to take pictures of her, what about the security cameras? We fought at this big construction site so there should be something." asked Nora.

"General Ironwood says that all footage from the site of the battle has vanished or it is being withheld from us. So we still have no proof that Cinder is in Haven, besides she could have left by now." Winter said, feeling hopeless.

"Ashe says she'll stay here so she can try to get her hands on the Aura Crystal." Said Nora.

"What is the Aura Crystal anyway?" Weiss asked.

"It's this big relic thing that Ashe has been guarding for most of his life even though he doesn't know much about it. He says that Cinder and he master want it so they can do some really bad stuff with it so we shouldn't mess with it." Nora said.

"He knows about Cinder's master?" cried Winter.

"Uh, yeah, says it somebody called Salem.." Nora said as Weiss gave Winter a weird look.

"I only found out about Cinder's master today when General Ironwood let it slip out. He didn't even give me a name; he just called her an 'it' or a 'something'." Winter said, becoming more and more disturbed by the events unfolding.

"Look, I know that Atlas can't help out here, but could you at least send Weiss? We need all the help we can get and Arslan and the others are really hesitant to drag any of the teams from the academy into this." Nora said.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Weiss asked.

"Arslan doesn't want to drag any teams from Haven Academy into this." Nora said.

"That's it." Weiss said as a smile graced her lips, "That's it! I have an idea, Winter, I need to make some calls. I think I have an idea to save Penny and to help out at Haven."

"Wait, I thought Penny was destroyed." Nora said.

"Nora, just try to find out if Ruby is okay and call me if there are any new developments, when I call you next I'll give you the details of my idea but right now my sister and I need to plan things out." Weiss said.

She hung up and looked to her sister.

"What has gotten into you? Before you went to Beacon you would have never acted like this." Winter said.

"I know and I like it. I realized who I used to be wasn't a good person; I was stuck-up, prejudiced, and brash but my team changed me. They made me into a better person and I intend to help them by whatever means necessary. Don't try to stop me Winter, please! You know as much as I do that the official and legal way will take too long and the longer we wait the worse things will get. We need to save Penny and get her out of here and we need to help Ruby and the others at Haven. Trust me on this Winter, you know I'm right." Weiss pleaded.

Winter sighed and considered her options. "I should tell General Ironwood about all of this, wait for a legal investigation to begin, and take you home... and yet I think that this is the right thing to do." Winter said.

Weiss was amazed that her sister was actually going along with it.

"Are you sure Winter? You're not going to..."

"Weiss, sometimes the right thing to do doesn't make any sense and yet we must do it." Winter said, remembering what Ironwood had told her earlier.

Weiss smiled and said "Alright, I'll need to get in touch with a team at Atlas Academy and call up a friend of mine called Velvet Scarlatina and her team..."

* * *

 

Nora put the scroll back down and sighed. Whatever Weiss' plan was Nora hoped it would work because they needed help and fast. Dr. Chloris had pulled some strings so Team ABRN would be able to be out of school today, as being one of the most respected doctors in the city granted you some leeway over certain things. She was not home as she needed to go to Haven's St. Montgomery Hospital to make her rounds and perform a few surgeries.

"Who were you talking to?" asked the voice of Nadir who walked into the guest room Dr. Chloris had given Nora and Ren.

"Weiss, she and her sister know about our situation now and they're gonna try to help us. How exactly I don't really know but we can only hope right now. Any word from Ren or your friends?" she asked.

Ren, Arslan, and Bolin had gone to scout out the factory that Ashe had described, try to see if there was any proof of Cinder's presence there or any sign of Ruby or Jaune.

"Nope. What did Weiss say?" Nadir asked.

"She told me she has a plan to help us out but she'll explain in later when she's figured out the details. She also said something about saving Penny." Nora said.

"Penny? The robot girl that your teammate got tricked into destroying? It makes sense that Atlas would try to rebuild her but why would Weiss need to save her?" he asked.

"I don't know, I'm getting pretty tired of being left in the dark." Nora said.

"Speaking of dark, your friend Ashe is still out of it but given the beating he got from Cinder and the one you say he took from Ante that's not a surprise." Nadir said.

Nora shook her head, "I don't know about that guy, he acts like a great guy one minute and a total jerk the next. He kept the truth from us the entire time but he tried so hard to save Jaune and Ruby and almost got killed by Cinder but... I just don't know."

"He seems like a guy who's been through a lot. I don't think we should judge him right away, 'cause I think after everything that's happened in the last few months we need to give him a chance and he seemed to come pretty clean last night." Nadir pointed out.

"Only when he had no choice." Nora pointed out as she looked at Jaune's scroll. "So weird..." she muttered.

"What is?" Nadir asked.

"Why did Jaune leave his scroll behind? Unless... he did it on purpose." Nora said, realization dawning on her. She looked at the scroll's recent activity page and saw a document had been made shortly before Jaune and Ruby made their last stand. Nora quickly opened it up and read it.

'Guys this is Jaune, I think this idea of mine could go good or bad and one of the many things I've learned since I joined Beacon: always have a backup plan. If me and Ruby get caught then I hope you guys can find my scroll. I don't know where they'll take us but I know you guys are smart enough to find us. I need you to get the teams that helped us out: CFVY, SSSN, ABRN, NDGO, FNKI, BRNZ, even CRDL, just get anyone and everyone you can. If we get caught we'll try to get out but I trust you guys enough if can't escape. Thanks guys - Jaune.'

Nora perked up a bit and said "That's my fearless leader. I think I have some additional details for Weiss' plan when she calls me back."

* * *

 

**_ Ashe looked on in horror at the dead bodies of his parents. His mother lay dead, the life choked out of her, her yellow eyes dull and empty. His father beaten and burned from a battle with Cinder, his form utterly demolished by his sister's power. _ **

**_ Cinder stood over them and looked back to Ashe with a sadistic, yet serene look on her face. _ **

**_ "Come little brother, I will free you from this horrible world. We will all die, we all deserve to die. Life is this way, it murders beauty and happiness and no one is safe from it. Come with me Ashe, into the calm and quiet of death. It is your destiny." Cinder said as her amber yes shone like a lighthouse beacon.  _ **

**_ Ashe tried to run but found that he couldn't even move. He looked behind him to see the dead forms or Ruby and Jaune, standing behind them was the ghostly form of Pyrrha Nikos, who glared at him with a mixture of sorrow and hate.  _ **

**_ "You failed them. You are a liar and a monster and you tried to make Jaune as miserable and lonely as you! You will burn for it!" the ghostly girl yelled.  _ **

**_ Ashe could not respond as a horrible pain erupted from his stomach. He screamed out in pain as he looked down to see a bloody hook impaling him. He turned his head to see a face he remembered all too well.  _ **

**_ "Still trying to play the hero Ashe? Pathetic." Said Saul Jude.  _ **

**_ Ashe looked up to the sky and saw thousands of birds but only of three types: Doves, Crows, and Sparrows. All of the winged creatures were swooping down to him. _ **

* * *

 

Reese watched over Ashe, to make sure he didn't hurt himself when he woke up. Reese was a little weirded out by the fact that Ashe had been asleep for so long, but the combination of the fights he engaged in and the sleeping gas must have done a number on him. Just then the skater girl heard something.

"Doves to Elysium..." Ashe whispered, getting her attention.

Reese raised her eyebrow, wondering what he was on about.

"Crows to Purgatory..." Ashe said as he began to shake. Reese held him down, stopping his body from shaking but listened as he kept talking.

"Sparrows to Hell. The sparrows are flying." He said.

And quickly he stopped shaking, the nightmare he was suffering seemingly over.

"Mom's psychiatrist friends would have a field day with you." Reese muttered to herself.

They had gotten the case that contained the Aura Crystal back last night and the members of Team ABRN were interested in opening it but Ren wouldn't let them. His reason for denying them was sound, they didn't fully understand the relic and trying to open it might end badly. The case now sat under the bed Ashe slept in and while Reese was curious she didn't want to temp fate, so she simply left the relic alone.

* * *

 

On the other side of the city Ren and the two remaining members of Team ABRN sat on top of an old, tall building that was a block away from the factory that Ashe had described to them. It was far enough away so the guards couldn't see them and even if they were spotted they had plenty of time to get away.

"Well if I were a terrorist trying to take over the world that place looks like the ideal base." Bolin remarked as he looked at the huge complex.

Ren looked through some binoculars Reese had lent him to get a better look at the factory. "You were telling the truth; guards are heavily armed and the gates surrounding the factory appear that they may be electrified. However there's no telling if Ruby and Jaune are inside, we need to find a way to get in and confirm it." He said.

"If my memory serves me right CraftTech is an applied science and technology corporation that deals with unusual experiments and products. Rumor even has it that they developed a prototype for the Atlesian Knights way back when but got rejected for being too offensive for the type of job Atlas wanted the bots for. I don't really know much about them and I can't find anything online since CraftTech tends to keep quiet on whatever they're doing." Arslan said.

Ren nodded as he looked through the binoculars, hoping to get a glimpse of Emerald or Mercury or one of Ante's thugs or even Cinder herself. Anything that could prove that Cinder was in the city but there was nothing happening on the outside. To the unsuspecting eye it was just an average factory under an unusual amount of security.

"Any way we could get inside?" Ren asked.

"Not a chance; they don't give out tours or anything. The only sure fire way to get in is to brake in and I'd suggest we not do that since they have the legal right to shoot all trespassers on sight." The leader of Team ABRN explained.

"This city's getting more charming by the minute." Ren said sarcastically as he put the binoculars down.

"What do we do now?" asked Bolin.

"We go back to Reese's house and report what little we've found out. Maybe we could call Weiss and have her find a map of the factory from the old Schnee company records." Ren said, trying to figure out what to do.

"Not a bad idea, but CraftTech are bound to have made some renovations since they bought the place." Arslan pointed out.

"We have to try and right now we have two options: try our best to help our friends or give up and let the officials handle this and let it spiral out of control. If Ozpin couldn't stop this from happening in the first place what makes you think Mistral's government will do any better at stopping it now?" Ren asked.

Arslan shook her head and admitted "Good point."

It took them half an hour to get back to the Chloris home and when they did Nora was waiting for them impatiently.

"What did you see?" she asked Ren as he entered the door. "Nothing except for armed guards and the visible exterior security measures." Ren said.

"Well luckily I made some progress while you were gone. I found something on Jaune's scroll; a backup plan!" Nora proudly announced.

"A backup plan? Didn't think he was that smart." Arslan admitted.

"Trust us; Jaune is very competent when it comes to tactics. It was no accident his scroll was left behind." Ren said as Nora handed him the scroll with the message already open.

Ren read it and looked up at Nora. "Well we already got one team down and we know how to get in touch with Sun, but how in the world are we going to get in contact with the rest of these teams?" Ren asked.

"That's where part two of 'what happened while you guys were gone' come into play! You see Weiss called us while you were gone and she has an idea to help us out!" Nora said, back to her normally bubbly self.

"Good, what is the plan?" Ren asked.

"No idea, she didn't say." Nora said.

Arslan and Bolin eyed Nora weirdly.

"Okay, well at least we have a way to get the schematics." Ren muttered.

* * *

In a jungle in the upper north-west of Vacuo, five hundred troops made up of both local Vacuo soldiers and Atlas Military Troops guarded a large military complex that served as the main base of operations for the join Atlas-Vacuo alliance. While Vacuo's council were a bit suspicious of Atlas they were far more willing to trust the powerful country as opposed to Mistral who had become down right paranoid of Atlas.

A small group of soldiers stood on a perimeter wall, observing a herd of Goliaths as they lumbered by half a mile away.

"Think they'll come here?" asked a young soldier.

"Na, those things tend not to attack unless attacked first and they only go after people if there's a massive panic." Said a sergeant.

"Yo Sarge! We got movement in the fields!" said soldier who was acting as a look out. The platoon all looked out to the fields of tall grass and sure enough it appeared that several things were moving, as evidenced by the trails of split apart grass.

"A pack, probably Beowolves but it could also be Creeps..." the sergeant muttered as the ground began shaking.

"Oh crap! Sarge, look!" cried the look out. The sergeant looked up and saw the horrible sight of the Goliaths rampaging towards them.

"Raise the alarm!" the sergeant yelled. The young soldier ran to small console on the wall and pressed in an activation code and sirens started to wail.

"Take out the rockets! We gotta slow those beasts down!" the sergeant yelled before a Beowulf jumped up the wall and slashed him across the face. The soldiers turned to fire on the creature before an entire pack of Beowolves jumped onto the wall and began to tear them apart.

Steppenwolffe hopped off the back of one of the creatures and stabbed a guard in the stomach and twisted it in deep.

"Rise up! Rise up beasts of Grimm and attack!" the bone-white Faunus yelled as he slashed another guard down.

Goliaths burst through the walls, followed by Beowolves, Creeps, Boarbatusks, Death Stalkers, King Taijitus, Tarantula Widows, and Ursai all followed them in, attacking and mauling anyone in sight.

At the command center of the complex the Atlesian Commander watched in terror as the creatures of Grimm slaughtered the soldiers under his command. "Get the Paladins out there, now! Call for backup!" he yelled to a communications officer who typed furiously at a console.

"Sir, we're being jammed! We can't call for help!" the officer cried. 

"What?! How?! We have the most advanced communications system in Remnant! How are we being jammed?" the commander demanded.

"Sir, incoming ships and they're not alone! Flocks of Grimm are following them!" cried another officer.

"Open fire and shoot them down!" ordered the commander as he continued to observe the battle outside.

Up above the ships doors opened as they avoided Anti-Aircraft cannons. Ziz jumped down with her wings folded back as the Grimm Knights flew out after her, followed by the hundreds of Nevermore and Griffons.

"Grimm Knights, mow those pathetic excuses for cannon fodder down!" Ziz ordered as her wings spread out and she rocketed down with her battle ax-shotgun out.

The flying beasts swooped down and began to claw apart and devour the unfortunate soldiers.

Ziz grinned as she made sure her Grimm understood what to do; make sure there were no traces of the Atlesian soldiers left but to leave the Vacuo troops to rot. She landed on top of the roof of a building and slammed her ax into the back of a soldier and threw him into the air so a Nevermore could swallow him whole.

Ziz laughed sadistically as she began to blast soldiers away with the shotgun mode of her weapon, blasting limbs off and blasting stomachs open and splattering the area with gore.

She looked over as the Paladins opened fire on the Goliaths and was surprised to see that they were actually doing some damage, as the giant Grimm were falling to the blasts of heavy lasers and rockets.. "Must have upgraded their arsenal. Knights! Take out the Paladins!" she ordered.

The Knights silently obeyed and they charged at the large robot and opened fire with small but powerful rockets. Before the Paladin could stop fighting the Goliaths and turn to repel its attackers the rockets did their damage and tore apart the left side of the robot.

The Grimm Knights began to open fire on all the surrounding soldiers, both organic and Atlesian Knights.

"What are those things?!" cried a soldier who tried to take cover behind a wrecked Paladin.

"They look like Atlesian Knights, but not made by our..." said an Atlesian soldier before a series of lasers tore through his torso.

Steppenwolffe used his thin sword to slash the flesh and blood soldiers down while using a laser pistol to take down the Atlesain Knights. He shot one down, than another and one by one the Knights weren't just blasted down, they violently exploded. "Nothing left behind." The Grimm Commander muttered to himself.

Steppenwolffe looked up and saw Ziz as she brutally took Faunus soldiers from Vacuo apart with a gleeful look on her face. She looked down to her fellow Commander and called "Ready to get this done?"

"Just get inside." He called bacl as the Grimm around him were shot down by Atlas and Vacuo soldiers who began to surround him, with some help from two Paladins.

"Stand down or we will kill you!" yelled a Lieutenant.

"Oh please." Steppenwolffe muttered as he held his hand up and let out an unearthly howl.

"What the...?" asked the Lieutenant in confusion before a Creep slammed into her. A Goliath slammed into the Paladins, using it tusks to impale them and swing them into other nearby Paladins, creating a great explosion that sent shrapnel flying into soldiers, Knights, and Grimm alike as the Goliaths stomped forward, crushing all in their path.

Steppenwolffe grinned as he set to work, leading his pack of Beowolves forward to slaughter all in their way.

In the main building Ziz smashed her way in with a "Knock, knock assholes!" as she blasted the Faunus soldiers of Vacuo down.

A large Atlesian man with thick armor rushed her and while her blasts did slow him down a bit he still came at her.

"Okay then..." Ziz muttered as she got the ax ready. She allowed him to get close to her with Dust-powered Gauntlets similar to the Ember Ceilia but Ziz stopped him in his place with a powerful strike, slamming her ax into his stomach.

"Charging? Not the best of ideas." She said as she tore out her heavy weapon and finished him off with a mighty slam to the head.

"Come on in boys! It's all you can eat!" she yelled as Griffons began to land on the platform outside and follow her in.

She lead the group of Grimm into the building, allowing her winged beasts to tear apart soldiers at their leisure while she did whatever she wanted.

Soon enough she was only one covered bridge away from the main control room and from her objective; intelligence on the whereabouts of the current Winter Maiden.

She smiled as she watched a few remaining soldiers blast away her Griffons, she had to admit they were putting up a good fight.

She made a gesture to the Griffons to pull back and then made a gesture with her head. She may have been put in command of all flying Grimm, but she had power other types as well. The scant few remaining soldiers ran forward with their rifles aimed at her, ready to kill.

"Stand down now!" yelled an Atlesian Captain.

"Come at me." Ziz said with a cocky smirk as she held up her ax.

"Get her!" yelled the captain. The group of soldiers ran towards her, only to be obliterated by a Goliath crashing through the bridge and killing all but a few of the soldiers.

Ziz smirked again as she flew over the now destroyed bridge with her Griffons and set to work on the remaining guards. As her beasts devoured the Atlesian Guards the sole Vacuo guard, a woman no older than twenty-one, began to pray.

"Oh honey..." Ziz said as she slammed her ax into the girl's chest. The girl cried out as blood began to pour from her mouth and Ziz leaned in "No one up there is listening and if they are they don't care." She said as the girl's eyes dimmed. Ziz licked the blood away from the dying woman's mouth with a sadistic feeling of ecstasy.

Ziz took out a grenade and threw it at the main door that led to the control room. The door was taken out with a mighty explosion and Ziz ran it, blasting a technician in the back and dropping him dead over his computer console.

The Atlesian Commander took out his weapon, a laser cannon and opened fire on Ziz. Ziz expertly dodged the blasts and jumped over to a computer and blasted her shotgun at him just before he could fire again and the backlash from the two blasts colliding caused the cannon to explode, killing the Commander.

Ziz admired her handiwork as the Griffons devoured the command crew. "Okay, time to get to work." She said as she plugged in a flash-drive into the main computer bank. She turned to see Steppenwolffe coming in, covered in blood from his fallen enemies.

"Good job. They've surrendered and I've had the Grimm Knights begin rounding them up. The only ones bothering us now are the Atlesian Knights and they..." He said as he put in a shut down code for the robots, "are no longer a problem."

"Why did we even have to do this? We already have someone in Ironwood's inner circle, why didn't he just give us the info?" Ziz asked.

"Because our spy needs to remain hidden and we need to create rifts between Atlas and the rest of the kingdoms, speaking of which; we should probably get to work on the survivors as soon as we get the info." Steppenwolffe said as the drive downloaded the data.

"There's the cleanup." Ziz said as the ships landed and a group of people disguised as Atlesian soldiers marched out, beginning to collect the deactivated Atlesian Knights. Soon enough the download was complete. "Okay, time for some good ole bangs." Ziz said as she opened up a pouch on her belt, revealing a few explosive orbs and plastic explosives. Ziz quickly got to work setting up the explosives as Steppenwolffe made his way to the main courtyard where the Grimm Knights had rounded up the remaining soldiers.

"Okay, listen up! We have the area completely surrounded by Grimm so those of you who obey us will merely be taken prisoner, but we need to separate you all, so those of you from Vacuo to the left and those of you that hail from Atlas to the right!" Steppenwolffe ordered.

Those who remained slowly obeyed as they separated into two groups. There were those among the survivors who watched in confusion and grief as the 'cleanup crew' dragged the bodies of those from Atlas and those from Vacuo into two separate piles, giving some of the more intelligent or savvy soldiers feelings of dread, they knew they wouldn't survive this.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Steppenwolffe said with a slight, sinister grin as the control room exploded after Ziz flew out of it.

"Kill them!" Steppenwolffe yelled.

The Atlas soldiers screamed in horror as the Grimm descended upon, eating them alive. The Vacuo soldiers fared no better as the Grimm Knights opened fire, blasting them down.

The Atlesians that were dead that were being gathered up in a pile, fed to other Grimm, leaving no trace of the Atlesian soldiers, making it appear that only those from Vacuo had been killed. It would appear that the Atlesains had simply disappeared and the Vacuo soldiers were killed by a betrayal. Paladins and Knights were being taken to be repurposed and used for parts for Salem's robotic army.

After the Grimm had finished eating the unfortunate troops the two Commanders dispersed them and the creatures scattered, leaving only Steppenwolffe's pack and Ziz's flocks. "Okay, we got the info and we've made sure that the Atlesians get to be lunch, let the cleanup crew handle the rest of it." Ziz said. Steppenwolffe nodded in agreement and turned to the captain of the cleanup crew.

"How long until you finish up?"

"An hour and a half and it will be two hours before the nearest Vacuo Base sends over a team to investigate why these guys are no longer responding." The captain answered.

"Fine. Ziz, get the info to Mistress Salem, I'll get back to Cadmus." Steppewolffe said as he mounted a Beowulf.

"You got it Wolffe." Ziz said as she got onto her ship with some of the Grimm Knights. The ship took off and Ziz's flocks flew after it. Steppenwolffe departed into the jungle as the cleanup crew went about their work.

* * *

 

Far away, deep in the cold and snowy mountains of Atlas a small temple was surrounded by the mountains and covered with frost and snow.

A large, bearded man with tanned skin stood guard outside armed with a large sword. The cold did not bother him, as after the last ten years he had grown used to it. He stood strong against the wind of the mountains, as he had done nearly every day for the past decade. He looked to his right and saw the group of Atlesian Knights that had been sent to them by General Ironwood two months ago. Kaifin was grateful for the aid he had been given but he didn't know if they would be enough to stop Salem's forces.

"Kaifin, come inside. I don't think you need to stand guard any longer." Said the gentle voice of a twenty-seven year old woman with platinum blonde hair, she was Elsa Vorst, the Winter Maiden.

Her guardian and teammate, Kaifin nodded as he came inside the temple and a glowing shield closed them inside.

"Why do you worry so much? If this madwoman Cinder Fall tries anything you and I are more prepared than anything to handle her." Elsa said as she created a dagger of ice with her powers of the cold.

"I know, it's just that I'm afraid Elsa. Amber is dead and all the power she had is now within that murderess." He said.

"I know. She was my friend and the thought of what this foolish woman will try to do fills me with dread." Elsa admitted.

The two walked to an area that served as a living room of sorts where they sat in silence for some time before Kaifin asked Elsa "Do you ever regret saying yes to this life?" he asked.

Elsa looked at him and sighed. "There are times when I want to go back in time and smack my younger self for being so foolish. Do you regret coming with me and staying with me?" she asked.

"No. I'd never be with anyone but you. I don't care that we can never have children Elsa, as long as I'm with you I will be content with my share." He said.

Elsa hugged him and planted a kiss on his lips. "That's all I ever wanted to hear my guardian." She said.

The Maiden and her guardian sat with one another, finding bliss in each other's company, unaware of the forces conspiring against them.

* * *

Blake jumped from tree branch to tree branch, staying as silent as she could. She had begun scouting out the base of the White Fang near the village she was in and had used mud and leaves to disguise her body and her scent from any guards. She took out her binoculars and looked some few hundred meters to the north-east and she saw a large complex comprised of dozens of tents. She watched as patrol guards walked the perimeter, armed with laser rifles.

"There you are." She muttered to herself.

She made sure none of the spotters had seen her and she jumped from tree to tree, each time making sure she went unnoticed.

Eventually she made it the compound and jumped down and landed as quietly as she could behind one of the outer tents. She had taken off her shoes so her feet would make as little noise as possible as she stealthily sneaked past a guard who was walking by.

She had done a headcount of everyone she had seen so far and there wasn't a lot of targets; twenty guards, three lieutenants, sixteen foot soldiers, two medics, and one commander that she hadn't seen yet. If she played her cards right she could discover Adam's location with relative ease and sneak out without the hostile Faunus ever knowing she had been there.

The voices of two guards tore her from her thoughts as she heard the converse with one another.

"You sure we'll be alright out here with so many of us gone?" said one guard who seemed to be a mongoose Faunus.

"We're fine, if the traitor comes around here we'll use those ears of hers for targeting practice." Said another guard, who had goat horns, with a laugh.

'I might just punch him out for the hell of it.' Blake thought to herself before the two guards continued.

"Yeah, but did the spies really need to take ten guys to guard the prisoner? He's just an old cat." Said the mongoose guard.

"He's tricky and Taurus wants him brought in and to keep it quiet." Said the goat.

Blake wondered who the two were talking about before...

"What do you think he'll do with Claudandus?" asked the mongoose.

"Probably make an example of him." The goat said.

A chill went down Blake's spine. 'No... they couldn't have! Adam wouldn't... yes he would.' She thought as she held back the urge to jump the two and demand to know where Adam was.

"Quiet you two." Ordered an intimidating voice that Blake recognized. The two guards turned to see the commander that Blake hadn't seen, a thin and somewhat muscular Faunus wearing a sleeveless shirt to allow his wings to hang free. He was Alessandro Kane, a Flying Fox Faunus who Blake remembered, as some years ago she and Kane had been among Adam's most prominent followers.

"We need to be quiet, the louder we are the more we risk discovery. Keep your guard up, Belladonna could be right behind us." Kane said as he gestured over to the spot where Blake had been just a moment ago. Blake had jumped back onto and was clinging to one of the trees, concealed by her disguise.

"Keep your mouths shut and your eyes and ears open." Kane said as he walked away.

Blake climbed around the tree and up to a strong branch and then jumped to another tree.

Plans to attack the camp began forming in Blake's head, she needed to get back to the village and get ready for tomorrow. She needed to hurry.

* * *

 

Weiss sat in the flight simulator, the virtual world around her soaring by as she piloted the fake ship through imaginary obstacles. She avoided hitting a rock formation and used the

Weiss' plan was relatively simple: Get Team CFVY and Team FNKI to agree to help, work with them to save Penny and hijack her and fight off any guards before Ironwood could send her off to Haven, take a small civilian airship (preferably one that had weapons) that wasn't owned by any Atlas company and escape from the kingdom, go to Haven and help Ren and Nora save Ruby, Jaune, and take down Cinder.

Okay so it wasn't that simple as it would require both teams going along with it and fighting off a legion of highly trained Atlas soldiers, getting away from Atlas while most likely being pursued by the military, trying to get Penny to cooperate the entire time, disarming the bomb, and there was the complications of Nora's alterations to the plan.

Weiss had told Nora and Ren about her plan and they had informed her of Jaune's backup plan and Weiss had to admit it was a decent one, but she had to wonder why CRDL was on the list. She could get to Shade Academy and get teams NDGO and BRNZ easily and Cardin was rich enough to handle his team's own transportation to Haven. The only detail left was a get the plans for the factory in Haven, which would be easy enough.

She continued to fly through the virtual world, since they needed a pilot to get them to Haven Weiss decided to take up the burden. So far she was doing pretty good but training to fly and actually flying was usually separate things, especially when you had to engage in a battle.

She had already contacted Velvet, who had listened to the plan and agreed to try and talk the rest of her team into helping out. Winter had agreed to help out, but when it came time for the plan to be execute Winter wouldn't be directly involved as she needed to keep her career but Winter had gotten in touch with Haven Academy and had been able to speak with Team FNKI, or at least two of its members as Flynt and Neon were the only two available, apparently their teammates parents had pulled them out of the Academy, fearing that their children would be turned into soldiers under the command of the Atlas Military.

Weiss wondered how bad the Atlas' public image had become if its own citizens had grown paranoid of it.

Weiss watched she guided her 'ship' into a designated landing zone and the world around her dispersed into a small black chamber with a seat for a pilot and control console in front.

"Final Score: 92 out of 100. An excellent rating." Said a female computer voice.

"Ninety-two, that's good but I can do better." Weiss muttered to herself as she unstrapped herself from the seat. Weiss looked up as the door to the flight simulation room opened to reveal Winter.

"Weiss, your friends have arrived, although I must admit the Faunus girl is a bit..."

"I think Neon can have a certain effect on people." Weiss said with a small smile as she got up and walked out of the room.

The Schnee sisters walked side by side as they talked. "Have you obtained the ship?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, I made sure it has enough seating for all those your friends want you to get as well as the weapons to fight off any ships that attack you or any airborne Grimm." Winter said.

"Good." Weiss said with a nod.

"Weiss, are you sure about this? I have taken part in many a risky operation before and this may be one of the most dangerous. Not to mention getting in touch with all these team may take time." Winter said.

"If we don't do something not only will Penny be killed but my friends will suffer. I have to do this Winter, if you have a better idea that can get this done faster I'm very happy to hear it." Weiss said as they walked to Winter's office.

Winter said "Only that you need to get proof of Cinder Fall's presence in Haven, only then will the Mistral Council agree to let us enter the city with enough power to apprehend her."

Weiss shook her head, "Cinder's too careful for that. The only way to know for sure is to capture one of her accomplices such as Mercury or Emerald and even then Emerald's Semblance will make her difficult and they might be too afraid of Cinder to turn against her."

"It seems that we have quite the conundrum. For now all we can do is hope your plan works in the long run and that we are doing the right thing." Winter said quietly.

"However this goes it will be better than having Penny blow up in a populated city." Weiss said.

They soon arrived at Winter's office where Flynt Coal and Neon Katt were waiting for them.

"I don't think I'm that under-dressed." Neon said, not sounding a bit embarrassed by how much skin she showed.

"Neon, we're in Atlas Military HQ, add to the fact that you're a Faunus I think you should have worn some more clothes." Her leader told her as the Schnee sisters entered the room.

"Hello Flynt, Neon." Weiss greeted.

"What's up Schnee?" Flynt asked casually as Neon gave a bubbly "Hi!"

"Now, I think you want an explanation for why I dragged you out of the academy." Weiss said.

"Not really, most of the teachers got sent off to fight Grimm so we've been putting up with substitutes for the last few months. Your sister says you got an idea to stop that Cinder bitch? I'm all for it." Flynt said.

"Count me in too! Just fill us in on the details." Neon added.

"Thank you both, it means a lot to me." Weiss said.

"No prob, anything to get back at the scumbags who caused the crazy mess the world is in now." Flynt said.

"Okay, here's my plan..." Weiss said before her scroll ringing interrupted her. She looked at the caller I.D. and saw that it was Velvet. "Hold on, I need to take this."

She answered the scroll and the rabbit Faunus spoke to her, "Weiss, I talked to my team. They want in."

Weiss grinned "Excellent, are they with you?"

"Yes, let me turn on the speaker." Velvet said as the voice of Coco Adel spoke up. "Hey there Schnee, Velv here says you got a plan to take down Cinder Fall and her cronies, lay it on us."

"My sister can have you brought to us." Weiss said

"I can talk with Qrow Branwen, if anyone can help us pull this off he can, maybe and can get you here without raising any eyebrows." Winter said.

"I've already got that covered; my idea to get them here is that Coco and Yatsuhashi have experience with Emerald and Mercury so they can help me out with consulting for the military." Weiss said.

"Sounds good to me, I want a shot at those two." Coco said.

"Agreed." Muttered Yatsuhashi.

"Well then you'll love my plan, so everyone pay attention because with the help of both Team CFVY and Flynt and Neon we can pull this off..." and Weiss began to tell her new team her plan.

* * *

 

In the cells of Salem's palace Ozpin sat alone. Norvik had been taken out of the cell half an hour ago for a meeting with Salem. What Salem wanted with that madman right now Ozpin hadn't the faintest idea, but he knew it couldn't be good.

Guilt tore at him from the inside; Pyrrha was gone and so many were dead, his students, the ones that trusted him with their safety, were now scattered across Remnant trying to do what was right, to correct his miserable failures.

'This could have easily been avoided. We should have guarded Amber more, we should have looked into the incident between Yang and Mercury, we should have stopped the fight between Pyrrha and Penny, we... I should have done more. I should have beaten Cinder, I should have saved my students. I failed them.' Ozpin thought to himself as he sat alone in his misery.

The cell door opened and the guards brought Norvik back in, secured him to his cot and left the room.

Norvik began to snicker like an immature teenager, getting on Ozpin's nerves. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, Mistress has a new plan for me. Do you know about my first kill?" Norvik asked.

"Yes, it was Team RA..."

"No! It wasn't a team of Hunters, it was a civilian woman, a waitress." Norvik revealed, getting Ozpin's full attention. "I worked as a janitor at the Schnee Dust Company and I had a really bad day. I went to a tavern to drown my sorrows and this nice, pretty waitress took pity on me. Something inside me snapped that day. I needed to vent my fury, my anger at mankind. I left the tavern but I waited outside in an alleyway until closing time. I watched as she walked out, alone. I grabbed her, pulled her into the alley and slit her throat wide open. I watched in both horror and wonder as her wonderful, warm blood cascaded down her body. The look of fear and sadness in her eyes... I made sure my blade was destroyed and there was no evidence to connect me to the crime. I began to feel something, guilt. A week later I went to confess my sins to a holy man but the look of terror and disgust on his face when I finished speaking... I knew he would have me arrested so I killed him. I cut off his head with a large bowie knife I had bought. I always wanted cut off a head as the idea of decapitation fascinated me so much Ozpin. I had read that a decapitated head can continue to see and in some cases even control facial expressions, for approximately twenty seconds after it has been severed from the body. So sure enough the priest's head was gawking. So I held it up so it could see its body. The face it made..." Norvik stopped as he burst into an erratic series of laughs.

"Oh that face. I must admit it puts a smile on my own every time I think about it. I still hear from them every now and then, they're still screaming."

Ozpin glared at the older man with as much hatred as he could muster.

"I know that look Ozpin. You hate me, don't you?"

"There's no point in denying it."

"Heh, you'll loathe me even more when you hear what my Semblance is. Did they ever figure it out?"

"No." Ozpin informed him.

"Oh, that's good! I would hate it if this surprise was spoiled. My own special little gift is the power to absorb souls." Norvik revealed.

There was a solid minute of pure silence.

"What?" Ozpin asked in a hushed, horrified whisper.

Norvik let out a demented laugh. "Yes! That face of yours! The horror! The shock! I had to wait for forty years but it was worth it to see that look on your face! That's right Ozpin, they're all inside of me! They give me strength, I'm feeding off of them, they're mine!"

"Y-you're not a man, you're a monster in human form!" Ozpin shouted.

"A weak and predictable insult, I expected better from you." Norvik mocked, laughing again. He recovered himself and continued, "Now, about Mistress' plan... oh yes! She has captured a student of yours, a boy by the name of... Arc, I believe?"

"Jaune!" cried Ozpin in horror.

"Yes, that's it. You see, since he is of the Arc Bloodline she plans to make him into a Commander of the Grimm, something she has promised me for years. Lady Cinder doubts this boy will turn, even with the... uh... trials he may be put through, but Mistress is wise. She knows my body is too old and weak to carry on my work but Jaune's body is young and strong..."

"No! You can't do that! It's wrong!" Ozpin yelled.

"What's wrong is that my work has gone unfinished for so long. She will place my soul into the boy's body and I have the power to control it. I will begin my work anew, but the main thing is your failure Ozpin. Because of your failure Jaune Arc will be forced to watch as I turn him into a tool for the Mistress of Grimm! He will watch as I rip, cut, and mutilate the innocent! I will make him watch as his friends and family die again and again and on and on! He will be inside with me! With  **us**!  **He will never get away! HIS PAIN WON'T END! THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT OZPIN!** " Norvik screamed, his voice now echoing with the addition the voices of his victims.

Ozpin could say nothing, only sit and contemplate his failure and could only pray that Jaune would overcome whatever Salem would do to him.

'Jaune... Pyrrha... forgive me.'

 

* * *

 

Ruby woke up. She tried to move but she couldn't.

She looked down behind her to see that her arms and legs were bound to some kind of wheelchair with strong metal clamps around her wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. "What the... where am I..."

It all came flooding back to Ruby. "I... I'm a murderer." She said as she remembered how she had taken two lives away. She remembered a sharp pain in her neck and Jaune...wait...

"Jaune!" she cried as she looked around, quickly spotting an out cold Jaune in a wheelchair similar to hers. "Jaune! Wake up! They got us Jaune! We have to get out!" Ruby called. She tried to move the wheelchair but it was locked down. She tried to use her Semblance to rocket out but she couldn't get her Aura up, these retrains were draining her Aura to keep her weak.

While she felt guilty about the lives she had claimed she knew that she couldn't worry about that right now. She'd ask Uncle Qrow about it later; no doubt he had claimed his fair share of kills so maybe he had advice for how to deal with it.

"Jaune, come on! We need to..." Ruby stopped as Jaune began to stir. She could now see that there were tears on his face, he had been crying in his sleep.

"R-Ruby? Are you okay?" he asked with a weak voice.

"No Jaune, I'm pretty far from okay. Where are we?" Ruby asked.

"In Cinder's base. She got us Ruby. Why didn't we just keep running?" Jaune asked miserably.

"We took a chance Jaune, we have to find a way out." Ruby said as she continued to struggle.

"There is no way out." said the familiar voice of Cinder Fall.

Ruby looked up and saw the current Fall Maiden, sitting on a throne, flanked by two Grimm Knights.

"YOU!" Ruby screamed. Her eyes began to glow a dull silver with fury.

"None of that." Cinder said as she got up and sent Ruby flying with a mighty gust of wind. A Grimm Knight flew over and aimed its gun at Jaune's head.

"I'm not allowed to kill you, but you'd be surprised what you can live through. We have contingencies for Arc, so he is expendable but you are not Ruby. So another outburst like that and Jaune dies." Cinder said as she used the wind powers to set a battered Ruby in the proper place. Ruby seethed in fury, breathing hard as her eyes returned to normal as she tried to control herself.

Cinder got up and approached the two teenagers, looking very pleased with herself.

"Now Ruby, since you've been out of it since last night I shall catch you up: you have murdered two men and Jaune killed four trying to protect you. Your friend Ashe is my little brother who has been guarding a powerful relic known as the Aura Crystal, he and your friends managed to survive our battle so don't worry about them. The reason I brought you here is because my master has use of you both." Cinder finished.

Ruby was too stunned to speak. Jaune killed people to protect her? Ashe was Cinder's brother?! Cinder had a master?!

"Who is your master?" Jaune demanded.

"Oh you'll find out. She is very eager to meet you both. The newest hero of the Arcs and the newest silver-eyed warrior, both of you will be our warriors, you will belong to us." Cinder said, her smile looking very satisfied.

"If you think we'd ever join you then you're more delusional than I thought." Jaune shouted.

"Y-yeah! I'd sooner superglue myself to the front of a bullet train than help you!" Ruby agreed.

"You may feel that way now, but if we were to work with each other we can do wonders. Ashe has been keeping the Aura Crystal from my master for far too long, help us get it and we may even find away to bring back those you love. Think about it: Pyrrha will come back to you Jaune, and I think you'd like to have your mother back, Ruby." Cinder said.

"No! Its not worth it! If you brought them back they'd be some twisted fakes, not the real things!" Ruby yelled.

"If Ashe is your brother why don't you just trade us for the crystal?" Jaune asked.

"Because Ashe is no fool, he doesn't know the true power of the crystal but he knows it won't end well for him if he gives it to us, but then again he did seem very desperate to save you. He fought both myself and Damien Ante, slaughtered thirty of Ante's men but he lost in the end. I think I broke him when I revealed the truth about our parent's fates." Cinder said, loving the fearful look on Ruby's face.

"H-he said your dad killed your mom and then..."

"No Ruby, I strangled my mother to death, told Ashe my father did it and then I killed my father." Cinder explained.

"Why didn't you just kill Ashe then and there?" Jaune asked.

"I... I'm not a monster." Cinder said.

"All evidence to the contrary." Jaune snapped.

"At the time I saw no harm in letting my brother go, but now that has come back to haunt me. He will try to save you and when he does I will end him, but only after I have claimed the crystal." Cinder said.

"You are a monster Cinder, you're the kind of monster people like us slaughter!" Ruby yelled.

"Oh? And no cruel words for Ozpin? That man sent Pyrrha to her death when he chose her to be the Fall Maiden, he was ready to force her into a life of loneliness and burden but I stopped him. Maybe if he had some guards, maybe if he had just a little bit of common sense things would be what you call normal but he didn't. Ozpin had plans for you children, you were nothing but pawns in his pathetic game against my master. Ruby, did you ever wonder why you were let into Beacon two years early? I'll tell you why: he needed someone with your power, your eyes. You were nothing but his pawn." Cinder said.

Ruby said nothing in return.

"No, it can't be true!" Jaune cried.

"Believe what you wish Arc. Now I think it is time that you met my master face to face..." Cinder said as she stepped off the throne.

A hologram activated and the tall, elegant, oppressive form of Salem appeared.

She looked down on Jaune and Ruby who looked at her with wide eyes or fear. "Hello children, we have much to discuss..."

"W-what are you?" Ruby asked quietly.

"I am Salem, the Mistress of Grimm, but in time you will come to call me Mistress."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's chapter eight down and act two started. This one ended up being way longer than intended. Originally Yang was going to meet up with Team SSSN in this chapter, a scene between Emerald and Mercury, the reveal of the Chimera, and Blake was going to fight the White Fang's forces, but I decided to save those scenes for the next chapter so Weiss and co. wouldn't take it up entirely. I'm not really sure about this chapter, it feels kinda all over the place and I keep thinking I'm missing something but I don't know what. The next chapter will be a two parter, but not as important or as exhausting to write as the last one. I hope.
> 
> And yes, Salem is evil enough to give Pyrrha's shield to her new minion. I want to make Salem the ultimate evil that you want to see suffer. And I hope I made Norvik creepy enough.
> 
> Tell me what you thought of Jaune punching Cinder because I really wanted that scene to work. Or the twist that Saul Jude is alive? Bet you didn't see that one coming.
> 
> The opening nightmare scene was heavily inspired by the horror/drama 'Jacob's Ladder' where halfway through the movie it begins screwing with your mind big time with peaceful dream scenes.
> 
> Yes, the Winter Maiden's name is a reference to Frozen, sorry but I couldn't resist. Also my theory about the Maidens is that they can't have children, they need to remain virgins to be eligible to be Maidens.
> 
> Kane's name is a reference to two people: Alessandro is a reference to actor Alessandro Juliani (aka L in Death Note) who did the voice of a bat transformer called Nightscream in Transformers Beast Machines. The Kane part is a reference to Bob Kane, the creator of Batman.
> 
> And now that it's been a month since Pyrrha's death I'm still of the opinion that her death was an incredible blunder, an embarrassing mistake, and a huge misstep that should be undone the moment they get the chance. I think the term 'Stuffed in the Fridge' is overused but I think it applies here, and I don't want to sound like an SJW, but I honestly think that Pyrrha's death was fucking stupid and may be the first nail in the coffin for RWBY if they're not careful. I say this not as a fan of Pyrrha, an Arkos shipper, or as a fan of RWBY, but as a writer who recognizes a bad move when he sees one... most of the time.
> 
> I was fine with the darker tone of the last four episodes of volume 3, but I think Pyrrha's death was a misstep too far. To bring up a comparison most people say that the reason Doctor Who began to decline in popularity in the 80's was because of the 6th Doctor. The 6th Doctor was very different from the other doctors because he was an over-the-top, violent, egocentric madman who constantly belittled everyone around him and often resorted to extreme violence to get the job done. I think people would have been more accepting of him if he wasn't dressed like a damn clown, seriously look up '6th Doctor Coat' and you'll understand why people refused to take Doctor Who seriously anymore until it got revived in 2005. The coat is Pyrrha's death. It's the step too far that drives people away and gets unintended negative reactions out of them. Plus killing off a beloved character like Pyrrha is always a risky move that rarely ever works out. It creates a schism between fans and creators and more often than not causes the fans to lose faith in the creators.
> 
> If the writers don't listen to the criticism of Pyrrha's death, I have to be reminded of something SFDebris said about the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. Say what you will about George Lucas but when fans told him they didn't like Jar-Jar Binks he listened and toned the character down but when fans told the writers of Star Trek Voyager that they didn't like Neelix the writers got rid of the one thing most people liked about Neelix. Hell even George Lucas admitted that killing off Darth Maul was a mistake so he brought him back in The Clone Wars animated series. So let's just hope and pray that they see Pyrrha's death as a bad move and fix the damage before it's too late.
> 
> Also Destiny is bullshit, that's another reason why I hated the death.
> 
> Wow, sorry about that. I just really hated how they handled Pyrrha in the end.
> 
> As always; read, leave a kudos, and tell me what you liked and how I can improve.


	9. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Sorry about my rant on Pyrrha's death in the last chapter, it was really unprofessional but I needed to vent my frustrations. I just really let it get to me, it just really made me angry and I hope they undo it but if they don't there will probably be a decent fanfic out there that does. Half of you agree with me and the other half think I'm overreacting, but I think that should prove how controversial her death is in the long run. Bottom line is; if they brought her back, I would never question them again.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you!

Ruby considered herself a brave person, or at least braver than most people her age anyway. The fact that she was here now was proof of that. But the person that stood in front of them, this... thing, struck fear in her soul. While it was just a hologram of someone else Ruby still felt a sense of dread, fearing that any moment now the holographic Salem would turn flesh and blood and kill them.

Jaune felt the same way, he thought Cinder was as bad as it could get but this was much worse. He felt fear and rage boil inside of him, fear because of the disturbingly Grimm appearance of this woman and rage because he knew she was responsible for everything he and his friends had suffered through in the past seven months.

Salem looked down at them and gave a smile that could almost pass for gentle if it weren't for the blood red eyes that gave off a sinister aura.

"Do not fear me, I am here to help." She said.

"The only way you can help us is if you kill Cinder and then let us go." Jaune hissed.

Salem glanced at the blonde and gave him a much more genuine smile. "My, my... maybe the Arc family hasn't changed as much as I thought." She said.

"What do you know of my family?" Jaune asked.

"Plenty, I have had some... unpleasant history with the Arc bloodline. They were always excellent Hunters, talented in the ways of waging war on my children." She said.

"Your children?" Ruby asked.

"Why, the Grimm, of course." Salem answered. "I am not the first Mistress of Grimm, just the most recent. I have held my title for nearly three centuries and the millennia worth of planning, mapped out long before I was even born, is finally coming to fruition." She finished.

"What plan?" Ruby asked again, her voice shaking a bit.

"Why, the birth of the new world. The old one was a miserable failure and Remnant is no better, our world, the Grimm world, will be the perfect world." Salem said.

"Like heck it will! A world of fear and hatred is all the Grimm can bring, and they'll starve to death once they've killed all the people. A world like yours is doomed to failure." Jaune said.

"Ah, you have a point, but we have plans. We do not wish to drive human and Faunus to extinction, just the Hunters." Salem said.

"Good luck! Because there will always be Huntsmen and Huntresses! No matter what people like us will stand up to people like you!" Ruby yelled.

Salem chuckled, "Oh I like her. She's just as Ozpin said she was."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Professor Ozpin?! Where is he?! What have you done with him?!" she screamed.

"No worries, I just threw him in my dungeons so he can get reacquainted with an old friend. He is confidant that you will stop me and maybe he is right... but if you had proper training, if you saw the world like we see it." Salem said as she gestured to Cinder.

"The world as you see it? The world you see is dark, cold, and empty! That is a world I want nothing to do with!" Jaune said. "Yeah!" agreed Ruby.

Salem looked at Ruby and Jaune with sympathy. "Oh, poor unfortunate children, so young and yet you are forced to live the lives of warriors. I am told you have recently taken your first human lives." She said.

Ruby felt the horrible feeling of regret and shame spread though her again. The feeling of utter disgust that came naturally with the knowledge that you had taken a life from this world, and Ruby had claimed two.

Jaune also felt guilt, he had only killed in self-defense and he didn't go crazy or enjoy it but he still felt bad. What if those men had families? Families that would suffer because of his actions? He remembered the dream he had where he killed Cinder and he saw the vision of Pyrrha telling him 'don't', had he failed Pyrrha? Had he become a cold blooded murderer just to avenge her? Was his failure as a Huntsman, an Arc, and a hero now complete?

Salem spoke up again, "If it is any consolation I am sorry about the death of your friend."

That got the attention of both teenagers, they looked up to her in disbelief.

"Pyrrha Nikos was not to die that night, I had plans for her. It was her own belief in destiny that doomed her. Cinder could not stop her without taking her life so for that I apologize. She was the rarest flower that ever dared to bloom and I am sorry to say life often picks the most beautiful flowers first. That if often their destiny." Salem finished.

Ruby and Jaune looked at the woman with shock. Her words did not feel hollow or carry a feeling of deceit. She looked genuinely sorry.

"I don't believe in destiny." Jaune said simply.

Salem smirked and said "You will. Pyrrha did not make that choice, Ozpin forced her to. He did the cruelest thing he possibly could and left her with no choice but to fight the true Fall Maiden. With that act Ozpin robbed Pyrrha of a choice and therefore robbing her life of any significance or meaning... well significance as a martyr maybe, which in the end will have no meaning and I am truly sorry about her fate. I had plans for her but destiny took her away."

The two teenagers were silent for a moment as tears began to fall down Jaune's face.

"What do you want with us?" Ruby asked, breaking the silence.

"Why, to recruit you. We are not here to cause harm, I simply want to make my children complete." Salem said.

"Complete?" Jaune asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered why the Grimm have no aura? Why they seem to be the sole creatures of Remnant that lack it?" Cinder asked.

"They're the Grimm, that's why. They're the monsters that need to be killed to protect people. Plain and simple." Ruby said.

Salem shook her head, "Oh Ruby, how I miss that simplistic view of the world. No, it is because they are incomplete. They attack those strong with aura, humans and Faunus, to try and obtain it. They are attracted to the feelings of hate and fear because those negative emotions are when the aura feels best to them. They are incomplete and I intend to make them whole."

Salem's words made Ruby consider the Grimm. What if they were just animals who wanted to be whole? What if she was no better than them because of the blood she now had on her hands. Jaune on the other hand wasn't buying it.

"You'll never pull it off. The Grimm will all die and you along with them." Jaune said defiantly.

"Maybe, maybe not. It is true that one day I will die as our bodies can't last forever but my Grimm will never cease to be. Kill me and there will be another Mistress of the Grimm. That is the way of things." Salem said.

"Maybe it's time for a new way." Jaune said.

"My thoughts exactly. Tomorrow you will begin your training." Salem said.

"Training?" Ruby asked with an uneasy voice.

Cinder smiled and said "Training done right, the type of training those fools at Beacon could never give you. Training for what we will make you. Knights, take them back to their cells, they will need more than a night's rest."

Before Ruby or Jaune could say another word they felt sleep take them, courtesy of tranquilizers the Grimm Knights had.

As the two wheelchairs were unlocked and taken out of the room Cinder turned to her master.

"I shall train the girl; she is our priority as I understand it." She said as Salem nodded, "The others can teach the boy and prepare him for what Giger has in store."

"I have sent Saul Jude to you, he will most likely arrive the day after tomorrow so let him handle your brother. Teach Ruby Rose all that you can without giving her enough knowledge to escape. If Jaune doesn't give in to our 'lessons' than I will be forced to give Norvik a new home." Salem said.

Her hologram deactivated and Cinder took her seat on the throne again.

She was looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

Another, much smaller factory stood some twenty miles away. It was still active to a degree but not legally, as it owned by Damien Ante. Inside the factory Dust containers were stacked up and weapons were being loaded and tested for battle as Ante also served as a weapons supplier for Salem's army.

He stood in his office, with two guards standing outside, as he talked on his phone to a representative of the Schnee Dust Company, which had not been doing to well in Haven, many people saw them as slave drivers, discriminatory, and immoral weapons dealers and felt that the Schnee family had been responsible for uncountable deaths over the years either directly or due to the weapons that they had created or the weapons that got out to the street.

"You see Mr. Meredith, I can't get to old man Schnee or any of the members of the board, but I can get to a local man like you. I don't see any negative repercussions from us working together. You give us a small cut, a mere five percent of the Dust, and simply say you made a deal with CraftTech and in return I make sure the gangs stop targeting all of the Schnee buildings or people who work for you and that your superiors are none the wiser to our transactions. Seems like a good deal to me." Damien said.

The voice of a nervous man who had clearly lived a privileged life responded to Ante. "I don't know Mr. Ante, while it is undeniable that our company has done some questionable things in the past I don't think this will work out for us in the grand scheme of things. I have to consider not only my own interests but the interests of Mr. Schnee and my fellow employees." The man said.

Damien laughed and shook his head. "I don't know Meredith. Maybe I'm just not making myself clear. The people of Mistral don't like or trust Atlas and the people of Haven, my town, don't want an Atlas company like the Schnee's here. I got the connections, the business savvy, and the muscle to wipe every trace of the Schnee Dust Company from this city so fast that you may as well never set foot here. Trust me, if you don't want in I can only say this: look out your window."

Damien waited patiently as Meredith was silent for a few moments before. "I see your gunman."

"Yeah, Merrick is really looking forward to having a good, proper hit. So what do you say? In or out?" Damien asked.

"I'm in." Meredith answered.

"Okay, I tell him to step down. Smart choice Meredith, I look forward to working with you in the future." Damien said, smirking the entire time as he hung up.

Damien looked to his computer and opened up the document that contained the security footage of the battle at the construction site. "Don't know why you want this Cinder, but then again I don't get you most of the time." He muttered.

He got up and decided it was time to get to Cinder's base and deliver the tapes to her, the sooner the better. All of a sudden he heard a quiet squeaking sound and almost instantly felt a gun being jabbed into the back of his head.

"Don't move or I blow your sick ass to hell. Call for help or try to fight I'll shoot your head off." Said a whispery voice.

"Shit, okay who are you? Someone I pissed off? Because if you are, forgive me if I don't remember you, it is a long list." Damien joked as he held his hands up.

"Since you're dead anyway I might as well tell you; I'm Agent 501." The assailant that had dropped from the air vent said.

"Ah, one of Ironwood's boys he put here. I was told one of you would try to make a move on me, just didn't know when or where." Damien said.

He wasn't wrong. Agent 501 was one of Atlas' top soldiers, assigned to infiltrate Haven and find proof of Cinder Fall's presence and the best way to do that was to force the current reigning crime lord of the city to talk. Only a select few people knew about his mission; General Ironwood, Cy, Chamberlain, and the Atlas Council so Ante knowing about it was very unnerving.

"How did you know?" 501 demanded.

"I have my ways. I work alone so if you..."

"I know you work for Cinder Fall, I need proof so if you give in now maybe you'll only get fifty years." 501 said.

"I don't work for that bitch, she's insane and she'd fuck up my arrangements. I don't know anything about her or where she is." Damien lied.

"I can tell your lying. I got it out of one of your thugs that you were working with her, but he didn't know where she was or if she was in town." The agent said.

"Who was it? I'll have to take care of him later." Damien asked with annoyance.

"Sorry, I already beat you to it. Wasn't satisfied with his answer to one of my questions." The agent said threateningly.

"You want to kill me? Go ahead. If I rat out Cinder I'll be worse than dead." Damien said as he turned around and saw that the agent was a pale man in his mid-thirties with short brown hair, armed with a silencer gun. Damien pressed the palm of his left hand against the barrel of the gun and said "Do it 501, you got me point blank."

501 glared at the crime lord and muttered "One less problem the people of this city will have to put up with."

He fired the small but powerful gun, blowing Ante's left hand off. Before Ante could scream, 501 covered his mouth and slammed his head into the wall. He wasn't dead but the type of Dust ammo he had used left wounds open and kept them bleeding. Ante's aura wouldn't be able to heal this much blood loss.

"Nothing personal Ante, you just sided with the wrong people."

"As did you." Said another voice, seemingly from nowhere.

501 turned around and saw Zhan standing in front of him with his heavy caliber bullet aimed right at his head.

"You don't have to do this, your boss is dead. Drop the gun and walk away." 501 said calmly.

"I don't think so." Zhan said.

He pulled the trigger and 501 dodged the bullet. He charged at Zhan and both men fell onto Ante's desk, wrestling for control.

"You fight well; too bad you had to work for Atlas." Zhan said as he kneed 501 in the hip. 501 tried to pull out his combat knife only for Zhan to kick him in the chest and send him stumbling across the room and into the door.

501 was about to recover and get back to fighting when a massive hand smashed through the door and grabbed him by the neck. He and the door were pulled through the door frame and slammed to the ground.

501 looked up to see Little Steve, Trooper, Lao, Tom-Tom, and Fireball, all with their weapons trained on him.

"Go ahead, make a move. I got my ass kicked yesterday so I am looking for a place to vent my anger." Tom-Tom said as he put his finger on his weapon's trigger.

Trooper reached for his cyanide pill, he couldn't let them know about his mission, but when he reached for it he couldn't find it.

"Looking for this?" Zhan asked from inside the office, holding up the small capsule.

"Ha! Coward's way out! Not so tough after all are you?" Tom-Tom mocked.

"Your ass is ours buddy." Trooper said as he pointed his rifle at 501's head.

"No it ain't! Not yet." Said the voice of an alive Damien Ante.

Everyone turned to see Damien inside of the office with his left hand completely intact.

"H-how did you... your illusionist." 501 said, wondering how he had missed the obvious. It was odd, when the blood splattered on his face it felt real enough.

"Nope! Wrong-o! Zhan here has nothing to do with my speedy recovery. That's for us to know and you to never find our. Right now your ass is grass and we are the mower!" Ante said as he gestured to Tom-Tom.

Tom-Tom transformed his weapon back to its mallet form and he used it to hit 501 on the head, knocking him out.

"What do we do with him? Kill him now?" Fireball asked, sounding eager.

"No, we need to get the security recordings to Cinder so let's give her a little bonus. We'll take him to the factory and find out how much Ironwood really knows about the situation here. Cinder will decide what to do with him and we'll be in for one hell of a show." Damien said as he flexed his left fingers.

* * *

Yang looked out the airship's window, watching as the swamp below went by. She had never been to Mistral before but it seemed pleasant, except for the occasional swamp and the volcanoes to the east.

"We're nearing the village now, ETA is four minutes." Called Qrow's pilot, a man who worked for the Vale council called Ross.

"You heard him kiddo, better call your friends." Qrow said to his niece. Yang nodded, she took out her scroll and dialed Sun.

"Yo Sunny boy, we're almost to Arnia." She announced.

"Good, we're on the outskirts of the town so try to land in one of these fields, there's no airfield out here since this place is a bit out of the way." Sun said.

"Okay, Sun says to land in one of the fields, its winter so the farmers won't really care." Yang called to Ross who nodded.

"Okay Yang, you sure you want to do this?" Taiyang asked his eldest child.

Yang nodded her head firmly, "Dad, I need to find my friend. Once we get Blake I promise I'll convince the others that we need head over to Haven to help Ruby and the gang out. I'll be fine dad, if we run into any White Fang punks I'll make 'em run screaming." She said with a grin while she clenched her steel fist.

Taiyang nodded and said "Okay, I just wanted to make sure." Yang appreciated her father's concern for her safety, after all she had been through she understood why he was being so protective.

"Be careful out there kid, the White Fang have been laying low since Beacon but their numbers have gotten higher. Don't get in over your head." Qrow said.

"I'll follow your advice when you start following it." Yang said to her uncle as the ship made its final approach. Qrow laughed and hugged her. "Just don't get your other arm cut off; Kimball may not be so generous with the bill next time." Qrow joked.

Yang laughed as she knelt down and pet Zwei. "Wish you could come with us but we're gonna be going through some dangerous stuff... which you are used to by now, but anyway we need to be more quiet than usual and no offense boy but you aren't exactly a quiet dog." She said as her pet whined.

"We're here." Ross said as the ship began to descent on an empty field filled with melting snow. Yang looked out the window and saw Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage all approaching the field from a dirt road. Yang opened the door and waved to them.

"Hey guys! I'm back and better than ever!" she called.

"Hey Yang! Nice to see you back on your feet!" Neptune said as she got out of the ship, which was still four feet from the ground. "Thanks goggles, it's good to be back." Yang said as she gave Neptune as fist bump with her mechanical appendage, which hurt Neptune's own fist.

"Ow! Uh, nice new arm. It's an Atlesian design, right?" Neptune asked as he shook out his now aching hand.

"Duh, some doctor owed my Uncle Qrow for saving his life a few years ago so viola! New and improved arm." She said as she showed it off.

"Nice! How does it handle in a fight?" Sun asked.

"Not sure yet, but once we run into some White Fang punks we can take my righty out for a test drive." Yang said.

"Be careful Yang, we're heading back to Vale! Call me everyday and let me know how things go!" Taiyang said, earning him a sharp nudge in the ribs from Qrow.

"Dad!" Yang scolded.

"Just be safe Yang. You four take care of her or else!" Taiyang called to Team SSSN.

"We probably won't need to sir, more likely she'll need to take care of us." Neptune said with no shame whatsoever.

"Or try to hold her back if half of what I know of her is true." Sage remarked.

"It is! Good luck with finding your friend!" Qrow called as the ship began to rise up again. "I love you honey!" Taiyang called as Qrow shut the door.

Yang and Team SSSN watched as the ship flew up and followed the sun towards Vale.

"Okay, so did I miss anything while I was gone?" Yang asked.

"Plenty, but I think we'll fill you in on the way." Sun said as he began walking down the road.

"So what have you got on Blake or the Fang?" Yang asked.

"Nothing on Blake, sadly. Wherever she is, she's staying hidden, but I think you and I know her well enough that she's most likely trying to find some White Fang bases. She could never really give in or rest when she needed to." Sun said.

"Tell me about it." Yang muttered, remembering that time she had to confront Blake outright and tell her about the time she had almost gotten herself and Ruby killed by Grimm because of her obsession with finding her mother.

"While we were in town we heard rumors about a White Fang base near the mountains, not too far from here. Some place call Uisco." Said Scarlet.

"If we keep going we'll make it there by tomorrow morning." Sage added.

"I don't mind walking all night; I need it, after all my Hand-icap has kept me down for so long." Yang joked, receiving groans from Sun and Sage but some laughs from Neptune and Scarlet.

"In all seriousness we need to find out where this Adam guy is, once we take him down the White Fang may fall apart." Sage said.

"I don't know, they got a lot of members and a lot of them are convinced that humanity needs to be taken down a peg. It's gonna take something really big in order to convince those guys to give up." Sun pointed out.

"I think I have an idea." Yang said, getting the boys' attention.

"What is it?" Neptune asked, curiously.

"That bastard Adam cut my hand off because of my friendship with Blake. He knew guys, he freaking knew about Blake's teammates so there's a good chance he knows about your relationship with her, Sun." Yang warned.

"Let him try to take me on. I'll make him pay and I'll make it slow." Sun said angrily.

"Get in line, I call first dibs. Anyway he hurt me because I was friends with Blake. He hates the friendships Blake has made since she left the White Fang because they are proof that he's wrong, that the whole White Fang way of life is wrong. I say we prove to all of those assholes that they were wrong, that there can be equality between humans and Faunus." Yang said.

"There's been a lot of race crimes and injustice against Faunus Yang, trust me I suffered through some of it myself back in Vacuo, and even though most of it is over and most of us are seen as equal a lot of Faunus refuse to forgive humanity for what happened in the past. But if we can prove that people like Adam are no better than the humans who mistreated them." Sun said.

"If they've followed this Adam guy this long do you really think they'll see reason?" Sage asked.

"That Calico girl we fought back in Haven seemed alright, maybe there will be White Fang members like her. Ones who just want to be treated as equal and they've been fooled into thinking that joining with the White Fang is the best way to obtain it." Scarlet said.

Yang nodded and said "Then we'll just have to prove them wrong." The group walked along the chilly countryside of Mistral, knowing full well of the danger ahead and Yang and Sun couldn't wait to take it head on.

* * *

Taiyang watched as the fields of Mistral vanished into the distance as they flew over dense forests. He had watched his daughter, getting every glimpse of her he could until she was totally out of sight.

"Relax Tai, she'll be fine." Qrow assured him.

"I hope so. I... I just don't want Yang to be hurt again. I don't think I could forgive myself if she..."

"Hey, my sister knows she'll be fine, I know she'll be fine, so you should too. She's not a little girl anymore; she's not that kid I had to save from the Grimm. She's grown up Taiyang, and whether you like it or not you have to accept that fact." Qrow said.

Taiyang let out a bemused laugh and said "You know, for a drunk you're pretty smart."

"Who's to say being a drunk doesn't make you smart?" Qrow snarked as his scroll began to ring. He took it out and looked at the I.D. "Schnee? What does she want?" he muttered to himself.

"Is it that Weiss girl?" Taiyang asked.

"No, her sister, doesn't care for me at all so I wonder why she's calling me." Qrow said as he answered the call. "Hello Specialist Schnee, what can I do for you?" Qrow asked with his cocky tone of voice. Taiyang observed that his brother-in-law was silent for a moment before yelling out "HE WHAT?!"

* * *

Winter drew her head away from the scroll, taken aback by Qrow's outburst. She knew Branwen didn't really approve of General Ironwood's tactics and would most likely not be pleased with the truth about Penny but she didn't expect an outburst like this. She had already gotten the plans for the supposed facility that had been turned into Cinder's base of operations, which was easy enough but Weiss had said she wouldn't sent it to Nora and Ren out of fear that they would run in and get themselves killed.

"As insane as it sounds Branwen it's true, Ironwood has decided to turn the rebuilt Penny Polendina into a suicide bomber, hoping that it will kill Cinder Fall." Winter said.

"I know Jimmy's head ain't exactly the clearest it's ever been right now but this is royally fucked up! Does the Atlas council even know about this?" he asked.

"No, they've put their full trust in Ironwood for all military and security operation concerning Atlas as well as its relationship with the other three kingdoms. General Ironwood has total control and it seems he may have let it go to his head."

"May have?! No, may have gone to his head means he's only thinking about pulling this extremely stupid stunt, you're telling me he's going to do it regardless of how bad it could go?!" Qrow cried.

"I tried to talk him out of it this morning to no avail. He has become obsessed with protecting the world to the point where I doubt he can even tell the difference between protecting Atlas and damning it. He is determined to land a severe blow against Cinder and her master and will not listen to reason." Winter said.

There was silence for a bit before Qrow said "So you know about Salem."

"Yes, he let is slip out during our meeting." Winter said, mentally debating whether she should tell Qrow about Ruby's situation.

"I can be there in a few hours..." Qrow said.

"Where are you right now?" Winter asked.

"Leaving Mistral, I got Taiyang with me; we were dropping off my niece Yang, who got herself a new arm and now she's off to find the Belladonna girl." Qrow explained.

"Okay, listen, Weiss has formulated a plan to stop Ironwood and help your other niece Ruby Rose, but she needs help. There is a team in Vale, CFVY consisting of Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi and she needs you to collect them and bring them here." Winter said.

"Why? What's your little sister got planned?" Qrow asked.

Winter sighed, she didn't totally trust Branwen but right now she needed someone with enough intelligence, power, and guts to go up against General Ironwood and tell him what he had in mind for Penny was wrong. And sadly Qrow was one of the few people she knew could pull it off.

"She plans to ambush Penny's escort with the help of Team CFVY and two others she has recruited. If necessary they will fight their way to an airship I have purchased that, while armed, is not owned by the Atlesian Military. They will take off and hopefully succeed in escaping from Atlas and make their way to Haven where they will join up with your niece and her friends." She explained.

"Sounds good to me, what do you want me to do?" Qrow asked.

"I need you to help me distract Ironwood. I can't do it alone Branwen but you have his respect, as much as he hates to admit it. This entire thing may be unnecessary if you can talk the General out of this." Winter said.

"I don't know Ice Queen, I've seen Jimmy desperate before, this isn't desperation, this is something else. The James Ironwood I know would never even try to pull this crap, let alone think about it. I'll be there by tomorrow morning with the kids. Just give me time." Qrow said.

"Thank you." Winter said with a sigh of relief.

She ended the call and looked back at Weiss who had explained the situation to Flynt and Neon who were now fully on board with the dangerous mission.

"I'm in, I don't know robo-girl that well but machine or not this ain't right." Flynt said.

"I'm with you too, but do you really think we can pull this off? What if Ruby's uncle..." Neon said before Winter interrupted her.

"Qrow has agreed to help us. I have informed him of the situation and he finds General Ironwood's behavior very suspicious. He will arrive tomorrow morning with Team CFVY and will try to reason with General Ironwood." The older Schnee said.

"Winter, you have tried reasoning with the General and you are one of the top military specialists, not just in Atlas but in all of Remnant. If you couldn't persuade Ironwood to abandon this course of action I doubt a drunken rapscallion like Ruby's uncle could." Weiss said doubtfully.

"I think the General trusts Branwen more than either of us know. They were both in on the Maiden conspiracy so they must have some trust between each other." Winter pointed out.

Flynt and Neon nodded in agreement but Weiss wasn't so sure. "What about Team CFVY?" she asked.

"He will bring them here, if Qrow cannot stop the General it will be up to all of you to get Penny out of here and get to Haven." Winter said.

"Very well, but what abut Yang? And why didn't you tell him about Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"First of all; Yang is doing fine, she has a new mechanical arm and is with Team SSSN looking for your other teammate Blake. Now as for Ruby I did not tell him because I think something like that needs to be said in person, besides if he knew about Ruby's current situation he wouldn't come to aid us. What of your plan? Do you have a way to contact the students of Shade Academy?" Winter asked.

"Yeah, I became friends with Nebula, Team NDGO's leader; I even got her number on my scroll. I can call her and tell her about this and if I can convince her to help us out maybe she can get Team BRNZ to join in too." Neon said.

"Excellent, so all we need is to convince them to go along with it and pick them up once we're out of Atlas." Weiss said, seeing her plan coming together rather well.

"What about those CRDL guys?" Flynt asked.

"Oh please, I honestly don't know why Jaune would want them of all people to help us out. Their leader, Cardin Winchester, was a horrible bully to Jaune." Weiss said.

"Maybe Cardin apologized and made amends." Flynt suggested.

"Possibly, but its unlikely." Weiss said to herself as her mind went back to her plan. Right now she couldn't ponder the current relationship between Jaune and Cardin, she needed to make sure her plan would work. Mentally however she was overcome with joy that Yang was now back on her feet. Maybe this wasn't so hopeless after all...

* * *

Mercury sat on a chair, content with just lazing about as he watched Fotia utterly demolish some training robots with her new weapons.

Mercury grimaced in pain slightly, while Dr. Sherizawa and Dr. West had mended his leg it still hurt. He thought about Nora and how he would repay her next time they met as he watched the attractive redhead Grimm Commander slice the robots apart, trying to get a good look at her shapely...

"You doing okay?" asked the voice of Emerald. Mercury turned his head to see his partner entering the training room, looking well rested.

"I'm fine, the docs told me to just take it easy for a few days and my leg will be fine. My legs may be made of strong-ass metal but because they're biofused to my thighs but it still hurt like hell and I cannot wait to make that Valkyrie bitch suffer for it." Mercury said.

"You'll get your chance soon enough, Cinder says it won't be long until her brother and the others make a move against us." Emerald said as she sat down next to him.

"I still can't believe that guy was Cinder's brother. I mean she never even mentioned him like at all." Mercury said.

"She never talks about her life, it's none of our business. But you are right, it was pretty shocking." Emerald admitted.

"Why did you want to know how I was doing anyway? I thought you didn't care about me." Mercury asked his partner.

"Like it or not Black, we're partners. The last time I felt any positive emotion towards you was when I first met you, saw how horrible your life had been and for the first time in a while I thought 'Wow, glad I don't live their lives' but that was before what a prick you were." Emerald said.

Mercury snickered and shook his head and looked to his illusionist cohort. "Admit it, you felt sorry for me."

"I did, but you lost my sympathy within two weeks after you tried to..."

"Hey! I keep telling you it was a mistake! I didn't mean to..."

"Let's stop talking about it!" Emerald said, blushing a bit.

They went back to watching the newest Grimm Commander as she trained with her newest weapons.

Fotia moved with precision and grace as she cut the robots down or blocked their attacks with her sword and her shield. She moved quickly, parrying her sword and using her shield to block two blows at once.

She twirled around and decapitated both robots expertly. As one metal body fell Fotia jumped on top of it and launched herself into the air and stabbed her sword through the torso of another robot and she used the shield on her back to cover herself from the stun blasts of the other robots.

Fotia stayed down, using Akouo and her body armor to protect her from the blasts. She took out her other, unnamed weapon and transformed it into its rifle form. She flung Akouo into the air, grabbed it, and threw it in front of her to block the stun blasts.

She quickly fired the rifle, managing to blast away the legs of some of the training robots. She ran forward as her weapon transformed into spear mode and she impaled the robot in the head. She whipped out the Lepida Tou Aimatos again and slashed another one's head clean off.

This left only one remaining. Fotia looked on, she was sweating a bit but knew she could defeat this robot without much trouble. She watched as a long, sharp blade came out of its wrist and it stood in a battle stance.

Fotia breathed in and out. The pains in her chest and back were gone, except for the occasional phantom pain that still lingered, but it didn't bother her. She smiled as she gently placed Akouo and her three-mode weapon down, she held her blade up quickly loaded a small Dust load into its hilt. The sword began to glow blood red, living up to its name and Fotia charge forward.

She clashed blades with the robot once, twice, three ties before she sliced its hand off, severing the sword from it. With two more quick and powerful strikes the robot's head was severed and its torso was cut clean off the waist. Fotia watched in satisfaction as the metal body, now in several pieces, fell to the ground with a few loud clangs. She returned her sword to it sheath and she picked up her other two weapons, but she laid her original three-form one to the side as she spoke out to a computer.

"Computer, please send in the engineers to repair these training robots and have them send in more, I still need to train with my blade and shield."

"Affirmative Commander Drakos." Said the monotone voice.

Fotia turned, expecting to see Emerald and Mercury, but saw that they had left.

'Oh well.' She thought. She began practicing sword poses and stances, trying to be as good as she could. She didn't know why but all of this just came naturally to her, as if it was pure instinct.

Then Fotia heard something, something that was barely even a whisper. Fotia's head snapped up and she looked around, expecting to see Neo somewhere but saw no one. She was completely alone in the training room.

She heard the whisper again, hearing something that ended with an 'eee' sound. She didn't know why but she felt something, as if someone else was in the room with her.

"Emerald? You aren't using your illusions to play a trick on me are you?"

No response.

"Neo? Are you there?"

Still nothing.

Fotia shook her head, "I must have trained too hard, one or two more sessions and I'll take a rest." She said to herself as the engineers arrived with a new batch of training robots.

* * *

Cinder stood calmly as the main door to the factory opened up, Cinder had been having a good day so far; Arc and Rose were out of it and tomorrow their real training would begin, Giger had assured her that the Chimera was ready to be shown to Salem and not five minutes ago Damien Ante had called her and said that he was bringing a little something extra with the security recordings.

Cinder didn't mind a little surprise, and if Ante tried anything she would gladly incinerate him to a charred skeleton in a matter of seconds, but she doubted he would. However she had called Emerald and Mercury down just to be safe.

Ante's car drove in followed by a large van that usually contained Ante's enforcers and the big, heavy doors closed behind them. Ante, Zhan, and Douglas got out of the car and Ante smiled at Cinder.

"Oh boy, you are gonna love this!" he said as the van's rear doors opened up, allowing Little Steve to toss out Agent 501 who was now bound by strong cables and his mouth sealed with duct-tape. His body was badly bruised but he was still conscious, his eyes glaring at his captors and filled with hatred.

"This man wares the emblem of Atlas on his uniform, who is he?" Cinder demanded.

Damien grinned, "This sack of crap calls himself Agent 501, one of Atlas' top men. Apparently Jimmy Ironwood is curious about what we got going here in Haven." He answered as Tom-Tom ripped the duct-tape off of the Atlesian man's mouth.

"Hm, excellent work Damien, we were told this might happen soon. So tell me agent, what is your mission here?" Cinder asked as she used the powers of the Fall Maiden to lift the man up.

"I don't answer to you." 501 spat out.

"Wrong answer. Damien, if you would be so kind..." Cinder said as she let the bound man down.

"My pleasure." Ante said as he took out his non-exploding dagger and walked towards 501.

"Now let's get the point..." Damien joked as he poked 501 in the forehead with the sharp blade.

Cinder looked as Mercury and Emerald arrived. "What's going on?" Mercury asked.

"Damien and his men have captured a spy from Ironwood, he has refused to speak so Damien may interrogate him anyway he sees fit." Cinder said as Damien slowly sliced his blade across 501's cheek, creating a shallow cut that was not lethal but let enough blood out to be sure.

"Hear that agent? Anyway I want! Tom-Tom, knees." Damien ordered.

501 watched in growing horror as Tom-Tom used his mallet and smashed him in his kneecaps.

501 held back a scream of absolute pain, using every bit of training he had went through. Remembering every technique to withstand pain he knew.

"From what I have observed you are here to find Cinder. Are you an assassin or a scout? Answer!" Damien yelled as he made another cut on 501's cheek.

"Do your worst, I won't speak." The agent said firmly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Fireball!" Damien yelled.

The burned man activated his flame thrower on a low setting, aiming at 501.

"How about we have ourselves a barbecue?" Damien announced.

"No, we cannot kill him until we know for sure what his mission is." Cinder said firmly, her glare enforcing her will.

"Okay then, I know these guys, they're pretty resistant to physical pain unless... something scares them." Trooper said.

"Well we're pretty damn scary all things considered." Tom-Tom said.

"We are, you're not." Lao said while he rolled his eyes.

"Fear... you think fear will work, Trooper?" Cinder asked the enforcer.

He nodded, "Pain won't do it alone, we need something to scare him."

Cinder looked at the wounded agent and allowed a small smile on her lips.

"I think I have a solution to this problem." She took out her scroll and called someone, "Dr. Giger, you told me earlier your Chimera was ready, I think we have the perfect test subject for it." She said as she reveled in the agent's growing fear.

"Chimera? What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"I don't know myself 501, but one thing's for sure, you ain't gonna like it." Damien said as he gestured to Trooper. Trooper nodded and bashed 501 in the back of the head.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Atlas Military Headquarters, James Ironwood sat at his desk, looking over reports from Glynda Goodwitch about the reconstruction of Vale. Things had been going well so far, with little to no civilians in the city most Grimm were going back to the woods that surrounded the town. Glynda and her fellow teachers led a few students in slaughtering the Grimm and driving them away from the city, allowing for Glynda and clean up and constructions crews to go about repairing the damage. According to Glynda's report if they kept this pace up Vale might be up and running again in two months, if they were lucky and kept up their efforts.

Ironwood had asked Glynda where Qrow was, but she answered him by simply telling him that Yang Xiao Long needed him. Ironwood wished Branwen and his niece the best, he had lost half of his body once, including his hand and he wouldn't wish a similar pain on anyone, especially a girl as young and as promising as Yang.

His attention was taken away from Qrow and his niece with a knock on the door.

"Enter." Ironwood said, the door opened and the solemn and somewhat nervous looking Chamberlain and Cy entered the room. Ironwood had been around long enough to tell by the looks on their faces something was wrong.

"What has happened now?" he asked without any hesitance at all.

"Sir, our base in upper Vacuo has been attacked but..." Chamberlain began before he looked like he was going to be sick.

"There are some complications sir." Cy said.

Ironwood glared at his the two men. "What sort of complications?" he asked.

"Sir, none of our troops were there, they were gone but all of the Vacuo troops have been found dead, utterly slaughtered." Cy reported as gently as he could.

"What do you mean our troops are gone?" Ironwood asked angrily.

"They just vanished. Several hours ago Vacuo command lost contact with our join operations base. They sent a scout team to investigate but the scouts only found their fellow soldiers shot or mauled to death and no sign of our soldiers and any Atlesian Knight still there had been destroyed sir." Cy continued.

"There were signs of a Grimm attack, Grimm of all kinds, even Goliaths of all things." Chamberlain added.

"A Grimm attack? Our soldiers must have been devoured." Ironwood said mournfully.

"Sir, that's just it. There were no bodies of any Atlas soldiers left behind, all of our operatives in that base left nothing behind, Grimm don't discriminate between one human and the next, you know that." Chamberlain pointed out as Cy handed the report to Ironwood.

"Yes, the only way to explain the Grimm eating our soldiers and not the Vacuo troops is if something was controlling the Grimm." Cy suggested.

There was a clam, tense silence between the three men as Ironwood looked at the report and the photos of the massacre.

"Could it be Cinder Fall?" Chamberlain asked.

"I doubt it, she wouldn't be making a move this brutal this quickly, she's more about subtlety and manipulation. This is simply not her style but I'll have our newest consultant take a look at it just to be sure." Ironwood said.

The two other men nodded, "Uh, sir, speaking of the Schnee girl... Specialist Schnee spoke to me sir; she has strong reservations about what you have decided to do with Penny Polendina and quite frankly sir as do I." Chamberlain admitted.

"While it may be a hard thing to do and one that I might lose sleep over, it may be the best chance we have at taking out Cinder Fall." Cy argued.

"Agreed." Ironwood muttered as he looked at the photos of the devastated Vacuo base. A young woman with a terrible wound in her chest, soldiers mauled to death or shot execution style.

This made him sick and angry.

Sick of the sight of death and angry that he had failed to do anything about it.

Ironwood got an idea.

"Penny Polendina's mission will begin tomorrow instead, the sooner we take Fall down the better." He said.

His two underlings glanced at each other and Chamberlain sighed and said "Very well. Sir, the situation in Vacuo isn't good; a member of the Vacuo council has even made the wild accusation that our troops turned on them."

"Ridiculous." Ironwood snorted.

"That's what the other council members said sir, but the people of Vacuo are beginning to lose patience with our presence there. Tensions between the kingdoms is getting worse." Chamberlain said, hoping the General would try to do something.

"If things go south we can always use the old underground bases that were used during the Faunus revolution, we still have access to them and the government of Vacuo wouldn't suspect us hiding underground." Ironwood decided.

"Sir, why..."

"Because Chamberlain, we WILL protect the people of Remnant, whether they like it or not!" Ironwood barked.

Chamberlain looked at his leader, a man he had trusted with his life on several occasions and now saw just how utterly broken he had been by the fall of Beacon.

"Very well sir, the matter is dropped." He relented.

"Good. Now, what of Agent 501? Has he reported in yet?" Ironwood asked.

"Only this morning sir, he said he will infiltrate Damien Ante's base of operations and see what he knows. He will contact us tomorrow and report his findings." Cy said.

"Very good, 501 is a strong, smart man. If Cinder is there he will find her." Ironwood said confidently.

* * *

501 was woken up by water dropping on his face. He weakly opened his eyes and saw Zhan pouring a cup of water on him to wake him up, but what was really surprising was that he was able to move, he was no longer bound by the thick cables.

He tried to get up, his left kneecap was still broken but he put most of his weight on his right leg and leaned against the wall. He looked around and saw that he was in some kind of pit, surrounded by a force-field, but what really surprised him was a fully loaded Atlesian rifle lying on the ground.

He looked around at the people watching him; Cinder Fall and her two accomplices, Ante and his enforcers, several darker versions of Atlesian Knights, and several men who appeared to be scientists.

"Where the hell am I?" 501 demanded as he grabbed the rifle.

"You are in my throne room, Agent 501, or more specifically the arena. Consider yourself lucky, you are about to serve a wonderful purpose." Cinder said as she gestured to her throne.

501's eyes widened in horror at what, or rather who he was seeing; Salem, the greatest threat to all life in Remnant was sitting upon the seat and looking down at him with judging eyes.

"Tell me, Agent Jacob Pryce, what is your mission here?" Salem asked with a pleasant voice.

While Pryce was a bit unnerved by the fact that they knew his real name he didn't react right away. If Salem herself was here then he could try to take her out.

"It was to find Cinder Fall, prove she was here, and if possible to assassinate her, but now that the Mistress of Grimm herself is here..." he said as he reached for a small compartment on his belt, but found that his explosives had been removed.

"Looking for these?" Lao called as he held up the pack of explosives.

"Good luck trying to get out!" Damien mocked.

"Son of a bitch." Muttered Pryce as he looked for a way out, maybe he could shoot something to deactivate the force-field or...

"Now, Mistress, if you will divert your attention to the ceiling..." said Dr. Giger, sounding very excited. Everyone looked above and saw a large crate with a door on one side suspended in the air by a small gantry crane. "Lower it down." Giger said to West, who was manning the controls.

The crate was lowered down to the ground gently, despite the sounds of the machine some could hear a rough, raspy breathing coming from inside the cage.

"Mistress Salem, Lady Cinder, everyone else, I give to you... the Grimm Chimera!" Giger announced proudly as West pushed another button.

The door of the cage slid upwards and something horrible stepped out.

It was like nothing anyone in the room had ever seen; a sick, twisted, mishmash of different Grimm-body types and there was something so wrong about it that some of those present turned away.

It was eight and a half feet long from head to tail, seven feet from head to rear, and about four feet high as it slowly crawled out of the cage on all fours. Its rear legs were that of a Creep with sharp razor-claws from some other creature, its forelegs belonged to a Beowulf, its tail was that of a Death Stalker, its body was a mixture of an Ursa and other creatures that weren't even Grimm, but what was the most disturbing sight was without a doubt the fact that the head resembled that of a deformed human, with razor sharp teeth with two pincers that came from a type of Grimm Ant known as the Colonist. Its eyes were the usual pure blood red that was associated with the creatures of Grimm and its human-looking head was covered by the bony faceplate, and bone-spikes were jutting out of its back. It crawled out of the cage and snarled at Agent 501, sensing his fear.

"My god..." Pryce said quietly as it came out to the light.

Up above the reactions were varied; Emerald, Tom-Tom. and Little Steve were utterly horrified by the abomination they were looking at while Zhan, Douglas, Lao, Trooper, Mercury, Fireball, Merrick, and Lao looked on with a bit of fear but were too fascinated by what they were seeing to turn away, and Damien and Cinder looked on, eager awaiting what was undeniably going to happen.

What happened next shocked everyone except Giger and West who had worked on the Chimera for the past two years so they were not surprised when it stood up on its hind legs like, becoming a biped instead of a quadruped. It stood tall, showing a thin, but strong looking body that stood at a full height of eight feet tall.

Cinder's eyes were wide with surprise; she honestly hadn't expected it to do that. She looked up at her master who was grinning with satisfaction.

Pryce aimed his gun at the Chimera, certain he was going to die, but he would try to fight this monster.

"General Ironwood will know if I'm killed! I'm supposed to contact him everyday; if I go silent he'll enter the city and find you." Pryce yelled as the Chimera dug its claws into the dirt and kicked back like a bull about to charge.

"We already have that covered; we were told you were coming so we have a plan to make sure your death goes unnoticed." Cinder said, enjoying the feeling of hopelessness emanating from the spy.

Pryce began to realize he would die in this put and his death may never even go noticed. He'd never get to see his family again, never go home. The least he could do was put up one last fight.

The Chimera let out a terrifying roar and it charged at the Atlesian man with all its weight. Pryce screamed as he opened a barrage of fire on the Grimm-abomination, and while it did slow the beast down a bit it still slammed him into the wall, stabbing its claws into his chest.

Agent 501 let out a scream of pain as the Chimera tore its sharp claws out of his chest. 501 used his strength to smash his rifle against the beast's disturbing face, but it used it pincers to grab the gun. It took the weapon and tore it apart, as if it had done so before.

Pryce took advantage of its temporary distraction and quickly crawled away as quickly as he could only for the Chimera to run over to him and stomp on his back. Pryce screamed out in pain as the Chimera used one arm to slash him across the back and the other to stab the claws into his back. It removed its leg from him and then grabbed him with its Beowulf arm and threw him into the chains attached to the cage.

The agent fell to the ground, bleeding bad as he tried to crawl away again but was stopped by the creature. It took him by the arm and hoisted him off the ground and slammed its hand into the Pryce's body, punching through the rib cage.

Jacob Pryce screamed out in pain as blood flew out of his mouth. The Chimera tossed the broken man into the cage and jumped in after him. The cage began to shake violently as Pryce screamed in pain and terror, ending with a loud, long, high pitched scream as he died.

West shut the door behind the creature and Giger looked around to see everyone's reaction. They ranged from utterly shocked, to impressed if a bit disturbed, to outright delight.

Salem applauded the display, "Well done doctor, your Chimera is most impressive. What are its limitations?" she asked.

"It can run about forty miles an hour on all fours, half of that on its hind-legs and it has astonishing jumping capabilities and the ability to use its claws to scale the walls like an insect, we have determined that its jaws can apply over forty pounds of pressure to a bite, and its strength, as you have just witnessed, is remarkable. Although I think we should wait a while, as it is still a bit uncontrollable and very hostile so it could use some more obedience training." Giger admitted.

"I am none the less intrigued, you have made quite a magnificent creature Victor, it shall do wonders for me." Salem said.

Giger bowed humbly and gestured to West who began operating the gantry again, lifting the once again sealed crate back up.

Salem turned her attention to Cinder. "Now then, Cinder I want you to be on the lookout, our spy in General Ironwood's inner circle has told me that the rebuilt Penny has been loaded with a bomb that will sense your power. Ante, I want you and your gangs to look out for her and make sure she goes off early, in a very public, very crowded place." Salem said casually.

"You got it, the life-sized doll, we gotcha. Tomorrow Haven will hear a nice big bang." Damien said obediently.

"Good, our agent will leak out the details of Penny's mission to the Mistral council, this will be seen as an act of terrorism on Atlas' part. Soon they'll be too busy fighting each other to notice us." Salem said, looking very pleased with how life was treating her right now.

"Things are going according to plan, just as you said they would. What of the attack on the Vacuo base?" Cinder inquired.

"A resounding victory, Ziz has already transmitted the location of the Winter Maiden and because of the lack of Atlesian bodies soon the people of Vacuo will be just as untrusting of Atlas as Mistral is. Vale is in chaos so for the moment they are not a threat but if they recover sooner than expected have the White Fang launch an attack on the capital, but only if Vale recovers too quickly, after all we need not rush." Salem said.

"When will we take the Winter Maiden?" Cinder asked.

"Soon, you and Kaa will strike and bring her to me; soon I shall claim what is rightfully mine." Salem said as she opened up a portal to her palace. She stopped and looked to the Cinder's thief. "Emerald, look up videos of Pyrrha Nikos, tomorrow you are going to torment Jaune Arc with a phantom vision of her so it needs to be perfect."

Emerald nodded, "Yes Mistress, what shall I do to him?"

"Break him with words. Regret and sorrow can do more damage in an hour than a dagger can do in a day." Salem said with a smirk.

"What of Ruby Rose? Her eyes could be a problem." Cinder pointed out.

"Make sure her aura is weak enough; keep the Arc boy under threat of execution if she does not do what you wish. Tread carefully my Maiden, the silver eyes are not to be taken lightly." Salem warned as she departed.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the throne room, Neo watched from the shadows.

Half an hour later Damien and his men had departed, Mercury and Emerald had gone back to their business, and the doctors had returned to tending to the Chimera and the Grimm Knights, Cinder sat on her throne, watching the security recordings.

She watched the fight between Ashe and Damien, watched as Ashe slaughtered Damien's thugs without any hesitation. There was darkness within him, she sensed it. As much as she wanted to deny it, she did love her brother. She was no monster, no more than Ozpin was or any Hunter who had made sacrifices for the greater good.

"You care for these children Ashe, that weakness has cost you greatly. You will join me... or I will have to end you." She said to herself, refusing to shed the tears in her eyes.

* * *

Qrow, Taiyang, and Zwei departed from the airship, greeted by Glynda, Dr. Oobleck, and Professor Port.

"Hello Qrow, did it go well? Is Yang...?"

"She's back on her feet Goodwitch, she's in Mistral with Team SSSN trying to find Belladonna." Qrow said.

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "What makes them think Blake Belladonna is in Mistral?" she asked.

"That's where most of the White Fang scurried off to after Beacon fell, the girl has history with them and a grudge to boot. I know her type, she'll go and try to fight them." Qrow said as he walked back to the large building that served as a base of operations for the defense and rebuilding operations of Vale.

"What about Ruby? She and Jaune Arc were spotted in Haven and James is not able to do anything about it because of the opposition from the Mistral council and the locals of the city." Glynda said.

"We've already got it covered, besides once Yang finds Blake she promises they'll head over to Haven and try to find out what's going on." Taiyang said to the Huntress.

"Speaking of our students, Team CFVY arrived a few hours ago, we thought they had returned to help but they want to speak with you, Qrow." Port said.

"I thought as much, I think we all need to have a talk in my office, Oobleck go get the kids." Qrow said.

Oobleck nodded and left the group, running ahead of them, not before he nodded to Zwei in acknowledgement.

"What's this all about?" Glynda asked.

"Ironwood, he's about to do something really damn stupid and Winter Schnee and her sister wants us to help them stop it." Taiyang said.

Glynda's eyes widened, looking confused. "What has happened?" she asked.

"We can't talk out in the open, wait until we get into my office." Qrow said quickly, making sure the Atlas soldiers brought in to safeguard the city weren't listening.

Glynda and Port glanced at each other, unsure about the situation at hand.

In one of the few vacant rooms at the base Team CFVY sat on the cots that served as beds.

"Hope we won't have to stay here long, I don't think this thing can hold me." Yatsuhashi said as he inspected the minuscule bed.

"Relax big Y; I don't think it'll take long for Branwen to get here. Big Schnee called him and filled him in, remember? He'll be back soon enough." Coco assured her large teammate as she relaxed on a cot.

"I hope so; the thought of General Ironwood actually going through with that plan... it's just..." Velvet couldn't finish. She had been unfortunate enough to witness Penny's death once, the fact that she had been reborn, only to be sent unwittingly off to her death was very sickening.

"Calm down Velv, she'll be fine. Ironwood won't ship her out until the day after tomorrow so we got plenty of time." Coco said.

"There is still the matter of the plan, we're taking a big risk on this and if Weiss' plan fails we could be in a lot of trouble." Fox pointed out.

"Hey, I know, okay? All we gotta do is fight, grab the girl, get to a ship, and fly away as fast as we can. All in all; it doesn't sound too hard to me." Coco said confidently.

"Uh Coco I think you're forgetting about Atlas' army, which we will be right in the center of, but also the Atlesian Knights." Velvet said, remembering how they had fought of the robots when they were turned during the fall of Beacon.

"Hey, we managed to take care of the clankers pretty good last time, didn't we? We'll probably handle the Knights while Schnee and those other two handle the troopers." Coco said, not at all worried about the situation.

"It may not be that simple Coco, there is still the issue of out-flying the Atlesian air-force and making it to Haven safely, and trying to help Ruby and Team JNPR... oh... I'm sorry." Fox said to Velvet, who nodded sadly to her dark-skinned companion.

"It's okay Fox, I've shed my tears for Pyrrha, that's part of the reason I wanted to do this so badly." Velvet said. She had become good friends with Teams RWBY and JNPR after Jaune had gotten Cardin to stop bullying her... well Jaune's words and one look at Yatsuhashi, as her large friend had been glaring at Cardin and his team the entire time Jaune told them to back off

Jaune's act of kindness had caused the second year team to become friends with the first-years, although it was mostly just Velvet but the rest of the team had good enough relations with their younger peers. The rabbit Faunus had good relationships with the younger students; she had become good friends with Blake, both sharing the traits of animals convinced them to have a bond with one another, her friendship with Weiss was because she no longer wanted to be part of her family's legacy of racism, with Jaune because of his standing up to Cardin, with Ruby because she found the younger girl's personality very adorable, and with Pyrrha because she felt Pyrrha could help her out since Velvet's Semblance was mimicry, but soon became good friends with her, finding that they enjoyed the same things. She had been devastated when Glynda was forced to reveal to the students about the death of Pyrrha and the disappearance of Professor Ozpin. She had sought comfort in Yatsuhashi's arms and had even attended Pyrrha's funeral with the rest of her team, despite how terrible of an experience it was for her.

"Hell, I didn't know the girl that well, but she seemed like a good person to me. Feel sorry about that Jaune guy too, you see how broken up he was at her funeral? Last time I saw someone that broken up was my uncle after my aunt died." Coco said.

"I think, towards the end their relationship became a bit more... well I don't really know, I mean it's really none of my business but Pyrrha was..." Velvet said as she began stuttering.

"We could all see that she had feelings for Jaune, it is obvious that he began to reciprocate them before she was killed but she was taken away before they could enter an official relationship. I am glad I am not so oblivious as he is." Yatsuhashi said.

Coco and Fox looked at their large teammate, then to Velvet, and finally to each other. Coco burst out laughing and Fox snickered. Velvet blushed wildly as Yatsuhashi looked on in confusion. "What is so amusing?" he asked, clueless.

When Weiss had called them it was a very lucky break; Coco and Velvet lived in the same town in Vale, a middle sized place known as Tuvan and it was easy to get their male partners there for a long visit. They had been secretly going into the surrounding forests and slaughtering all the Grimm they could, anything to help out with the resistance against the Grimm and Cinder's plots. While they wouldn't be winning medals anytime soon they were at least cutting the Grimm population down at bit.

A knock at the door stole the team's attention.

"Come on in." Coco said, the door then opened to reveal their former, and hopefully would-be-again, teacher Dr. Oobleck.

"Hello doctor." Said Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Fox simply nodded, but Coco went up and shook his hand.

"How's life been in Vale fighting off those Grimm chumps everyday?" she asked.

"It has been about as good as one could expect, given the circumstances, it is good to see all of you again." Oobleck said with a small smile. "Mr. Branwen has returned and is expecting you; he wishes to speak to all of you, as well as Professors Goodwitch and Port, as well as myself, so let's not keep him waiting."

The Team quickly got up and followed the caffeinated man out of the room and down the hallway.

They soon arrived to Qrow's office and they found Taiyang and Qrow talking to Glynda while Professor Port stood to the side, preferring not to ask questions until the time was right, while Glynda was demanding to know what was General Ironwood was up to.

"You have to tell us Qrow. If James is about to do something dangerous then you must tell us what. Maybe he'll listen to me, outside of Ozpin I'm the one he trusts most." The blonde teacher argued.

"You're not wrong Glynda, but from what Schnee told me Ironwood refuses to listen to reason." Qrow said.

"We're up a raging river without any oars Glynda, its best to take Specialist Schnee's plan into consideration." Taiyang said.

"Ahem, Team CFVY as you requested, Qrow." Oobleck announced to the other four Hunters.

"Hello Miss Adel, Miss Scarlatina, Mr Alistair, and Mr. Daichi, it is good to see all of you again." Glynda said politely, trying to appear professional in front of her students.

The four teenagers all greeted their other teachers and looked to Qrow.

"I remember you kids from the tournament. If I had paid just a little more attention I would have been able to figure out that Sustrai and Black were part of the team that attacked the previous Fall Maiden. Heh, maybe if I had noticed them a bit more I could have prevented this whole damn mess." Qrow said bitterly as he took a drink from his flask.

The four members of Team CFVY exchanged glances with each other before looking back to the new head of Beacon.

"So I assume Schnee called you and informed you of the situation and the plan to deal with it?" Qrow asked.

"Yes sir, well Weiss did anyway." Coco reported.

"Plan? What is going on?" Glynda demanded.

"Yes, I am quite curious as to what is going on as well." Said Oobleck.

"Fill us in already." Port chimed in.

Qrow sighed and said "Remember Penny Polendina of Atlas? Girl who turned out to be a robot in case you somehow forgot that. Anyway Ironwood had her rebuilt shortly after the fall of Beacon by her creator Dr. Joseph Polendina. She only came online two months ago, and aside from the original memory chip, she's pretty much the same girl just with new weapons and abilities. Earlier today Specialist Winter Schnee informed me that Ironwood has become so desperate to stop Cinder Fall that he has decided to put a bomb inside of her and send her to the city where Fall has been spotted the most, Haven." Qrow said, watching the shocked and horrified looks on the faces of the three teachers.

"Has he lost all common sense?!" Glynda cried.

"Seems that way." Taiyang muttered.

"This is very bad, if word of this gets out or if something goes wrong and the council of Mistral discover Atlas is responsible for a bombing it could lead to war between the two kingdoms, we must try to reason with Ironwood before he does something we will all regret." Oobleck said, his glasses hiding his worried eyes.

"Winter has tried to talk him out of it, so has Dr. Polendina and even one of Ironwood's right hand men tried to get him to see how stupid a move this was but he ain't opening his eyes to see the light on this one." Qrow said bitterly.

"Very well, what is the plan?" Glynda asked.

"The plan is for me to take these kids to Atlas with me and get them to Weiss Schnee and the other kids she's recruited into this little crusade of hers, Winter and I will distract Ironwood while the kids hijack Penny, get the bomb out of her, and then make a break for it and get the hell out of Atlas and head to Haven." Qrow said.

"Haven? Why go to Haven?" Port asked, curious.

"Because of Ruby, we have to help save her!" Velvet said.

"Save her?! What do you mean by that?" Taiyang asked.

Velvet looked at Taiyang and gasped, "Oh! I didn't recognize you for a minute, your Ruby and Yang's dad... oh dear." She muttered.

"What are you...?" Qrow began to ask before...

Taiyang grabbed Qrow and flung him into the wall. "What's going on Qrow?! What's happening to my daughter?!" Taiyang demanded, his eyes glowing similar to how Yang's would before Glynda used her powers to lift the enraged father off of Qrow.

"Taiyang, I know this is a stressful time for you but you must remain calm." She said to him firmly.

"You don't have children! You don't know what it's like!" Taiyang yelled.

"Don't you dare say that to me! Of course I know what it feels like!" Glynda yelled back, sounding hurt and angry at Taiyang's words. "I have taught thousands of students since I first became a teacher and I dare not count how many of them lay dead now by the hands of the Grimm or the scum of this world. Each one of them I wonder if I taught them well enough, if I could have helped them, if I could have done something more... I should have talked Ozpin out of choosing Pyrrha for the new Fall Maiden, convinced him to give Amber more recovery time but he wouldn't listen. In my eyes I am just as much to blame for her death as Cinder or Ozpin are." She finished.

Everyone was silent, no one had suspected such an emotional outburst, even Port and Oobleck, who had known Glynda for years had never seen her so shaken up.

She took a deep breath and straightened herself up. "I am sorry. Qrow, answer Taiyang." She said.

Qrow smirked and said "Ever the school teacher, huh Goodwitch? Truth is I don't know what the hell happened to Ruby any more than you do. Girl, Velvet is it? Maybe you can fill us in on some details Winter decided to leave out." Qrow said.

Velvet was incredibly uncomfortable, but her team had her back.

"Back off man, we just know what Little Miss Schnee told us." Coco snapped defensively.

Just then, as if on cue, Qrow's scroll rang. He took it out of his pocket and smirked when he saw who it was. "Well I'll be damned." He muttered as he answered it, putting it on speaker.

"Qrow, its Winter, I need you to get here as soon as possible, Ironwood has..."

"Before you tell me anything about Ironwood Ice Queen, can you please tell me what happened to my nice, what Team CFVY here knows and I don't?" He asked angrily.

"Oh god... Qrow listen, I felt that it..." Winter tried to say before...

"I don't give a damn what you felt! Tell me what has happened to my niece now!" Qrow demanded.

"Please, just tell me if my little girl is in danger or not." Taiyang begged.

"... from what we have been told, Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc were taken prisoner by Cinder Fall last night." Winter said.

Taiyang collapsed to the ground, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "No, no, no, no, no, NO!" he screamed.

Velvet ran to the man and tried to comfort him but he pushed her away. He began muttering to himself "Summer, I'm so, so sorry... I couldn't protect our little girls... please forgive me..."

"From what we understand they are still alive, just being held prisoner." Winter said loudly to get everyone's attention.

"That doesn't make sense, why would Cinder want Ruby alive after what happened on top of the tower? Why would she want Jaune of all people?" Fox asked.

Qrow and Glynda looked at one another and they both nodded.

"It may be shocking to you, but Cinder is not the mastermind of her crimes, she works for someone much, much worse. An evil that has been here since Remnant was born from the shattering of the moon, the Mistress of Grimm, or to be specific Salem." Glynda said, getting shocked reactions out of Team CFVY, Taiyang, Oobleck, and Port.

"Wait a minute, I don't understand... the silver-eyed warriors are supposed to be the ultimate defense against the Grimm, why is she keeping Ruby alive?" Taiyang asked, now fearing what these psychopaths had in store for his youngest daughter.

"I don't know but whatever they've got planned it's not good." said Qrow.

"And what of Jaune Arc?" Port asked, concerned for his students' safety.

"The Arc bloodline has produced a lot of legendary heroes throughout the centuries, maybe Salem is hoping to turn him around to her side. The Mistresses of Grimm have done that several times in the past." Qrow speculated.

"Ha! Good luck with that, I know the boy can be a bit... goofy at times but he will not give in to whatever these evildoers have in store for him, neither will Miss Rose for that matter." Port said.

"I don't understand, Pyrrha was so much more powerful than Jaune. Why didn't Cinder..." Fox began to ask before Velvet stopped him.

"Wait... Jaune is at a very difficult stage in his life, he is grieving someone he cared for dearly, maybe even loved... oh god!" she cried in horror.

Everyone's eyes widened, they knew what the Faunus girl meant. Salem may not have been able to get her hands on Pyrrha, but she could use Jaune's feelings for Pyrrha to drive him insane, and drive him to the darkness.

"We have to get to Haven as soon as possible and stop them, Atlas may not be able to get in but they'll have no problem with a few Hunters." Glynda said as she gripped her wand.

"Listen, I need help here and soon! Chamberlain has just informed me that Penny's mission has been rescheduled to tomorrow. If you don't hurry and get here soon Qrow it will be too late, I can't distract Ironwood on my own, I need help for this to work and Weiss needs help if she is going to rescue Penny." Winter said over the phone.

"Okay, okay, okay, a plan is formulating in my drunk mind..." Qrow said as he thought as hard as he could about the insane crisis they were going through.

"Listen up; I'll leave right away with the kids and help you and your sister our, even if we save Ruby she'll kill me for not taking a chance to save her friend. After the rescue mission is pulled off I'll escape back to Vale and get you four." he said, gesturing to Taiyang and the three teachers

"No, my students need me. I will not abandon them." Glynda said firmly.

"But you can't abandon Vale either Goodwitch, you need to make plans. While we're gone I want you three to pick your replacements, those among the staff or the Vale Guard that are capable of upholding your duties here. Glynda's in charge until I get back and once I'm back we're shipping off for Haven and try to put an end to this insanity once and for all." Qrow said.

"Sounds good to me, I'll inform Weiss of the updated plan, but we needs some help, can you arrange for Team CRDL to join you before you depart for Haven?" Winter asked.

"Of course we can." Glynda said.

"Very well, I must be off now. Thanks to all of you for this, you will help me prevent Atlas making a monumental mistake." Winter said gratefully before she cut the call.

Qrow looked at the eight other people in his office.

"Any other questions?" he asked.

"Qrow, promise me two things; that you will do your best to see all of these children unharmed, and that you will go easy on James when you fight him." Glynda said.

"Fight him... oh hell, who am I kidding? It's been a long time coming anyway." Qrow said with a smirk.

"What about me?" Taiyang asked.

"You stay here, you're what they call 'emotionally compromised' Tai old buddy. Besides, Raven will be in Haven by midnight, I think she'll be able to do something against Cinder." Qrow said, noticing Glynda's eyes widening.

"Raven?! She's... I am not going to ask right now, I think it can wait until later." she said with a stressed out sigh.

"This is getting stranger and stranger." Yatsuhashi said, getting nods of agreement from his teammates.

Qrow grabbed Reaper and said "Okay kids, go get your stuff and meet me at the landing platforms, we're shipping out ASAP." he said with a smirk.

Twenty minutes later, Glynda, Taiyang, Oobleck, and Port watched as Qrow's airship took off for Atlas, with Team CFVY trying to get some rest inside.

"Think the can pull it off?" Port asked.

"We can only hope. And try not to calculate the odds." Oobleck said.

Glynda turned to Taiyang and said "Okay, now please tell me what has been going on in your family." she said.

Taiyang sighed and said "Come on, you'll want to be sitting down for it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be longer, but I decided that I had written enough for a full chapter so the last third of this chapter will be combined with chapter 10 so it will all be one, big epic chapter that will be long as hell and hopefully leave you wanting more. Be patient as Chapter 10 may not be out until late next week, maybe even next Monday, but I'll try to get it out as soon as I can while making it as good as I can.
> 
> I hoped you liked Glynda in this chapter, as I was surprised by how engaging she was to wright for.
> 
> I feel bad about 501 (and yes his number is a reference to Star Wars), because I created him just so he could get killed by the Chimera and hint about the traitor working with Ironwood. Makes me a bit of a hypocrite, huh?
> 
> Cinder doesn't want to kill Ashe, as I wanted to make her more than the vague villain we've gotten so far in the show. She loved her brother and now she may have to kill him. Even evil has something it loves.
> 
> I hope you guys are okay with me tightening Team CFVY's relationship to the core cast, as I wanted their to be a better reason for their involvement that just revenge, also it seems to be a common thing in fanfics that Velvet became good friends with the main eight after one of them got Cardin to back off.
> 
> Trivia: Giger's name is a reference to two things: Victor is a reference to Victor Frankenstein and Giger is a homage to the late H.R. Giger aka the guy who designed the Aliens in the Alien Franchise.
> 
> The Chimera is a big hodgepodge of a ton of Stan Winston movie monsters: the raptors from Jurassic Park, the Kathoga from The Relic, Pumkinhead from... well Pumpkinhead, and the Aliens from the Alien movies, as well as many of the Grimm we've seen so far, hoped you liked it.
> 
> Anyway; next time it's the big breakout and escape from Atlas chapter so get ready for a lot of action and a lot of running. Thank you to all my reviewers and followers and everyone who reads this story. Leave your thoughts, what you liked and what you didn't and tell me how I can improve.


	10. The Storm Rages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> This is officially the longest chapter I've ever written. I mean it's so long but I wanted to leave you guys with a big, epic chapter so I hope you enjoyed it because I am very tired after writing and editing this beast of a chapter.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts, seriously, you guys keep me going!

Ren woke up to the sight of Nora cuddled into him, snoring rather loudly. He smiled and nudged her in the shoulders as he got up. "Nora, it's time to get up." He said.

"Don't wanna." She said drowsily.

"Pancakes." Was all Ren had to say to get her out of bed.

She looked around and saw no pancakes. Nora looked to her best friend and said "You lied to me."

Ren chuckled and said "The kitchen has the ingredients to make some, I'll ask Dr. Chloris if it's okay." He said as he got dressed. "While I'm making breakfast go check on Ashe, see if he's woken up yet." He added as he walked out the door.

Nora waited until Dr. Chloris gave Ren the go-ahead to make the pancakes and then she made her way to the room where Ashe was being kept. She opened the door and saw Bolin asleep in a chair, as he had been the one assigned to keep watch over Ashe for the night and had fallen asleep while doing so.

"Morning Bolin." Nora greeted, waking him up.

"Huh? O-oh... morning Nora." He said with a yawn. "Please don't tell the others I fell asleep, Reese will never let me hear the end of it."

"My lips are sealed, I'll take over for now. Go on and wake up the rest of your team." She said. He nodded and left the room as Nora sat down, watching the still asleep Ashe.

She looked at Ashe's stuff; his scroll and the case that she knew contained the powerful relic known as the Aura Crystal. Her curiosity about what it was, what it looked like, and if it could help them out was getting the better of her. It would be so easy to just take Ashe's hand and use it to bypass the scanner and open the case. However she knew she couldn't do it, as it may have dangerous consequences and Nora didn't want anymore of that than there already was.

She looked at Ashe's scroll and thought to herself 'Maybe he has some info about it there?'

She picked up his scroll and began looking through it, but found nothing related to the crystal but she did find something that caught her eye; an audio file labeled 'Mila's song' was on Ashe's scroll.

Now Nora was very curious, she knew Ashe's lover Mila had been killed but she had never known about a song that was either sung by her or about her. She was about to open the file up when all of a sudden a voice said "What do you think you're doing?"

Nora turned to see Ashe, awake and annoyed with her going through his scroll.

"Oh! Morning Ashe! Well you were sound asleep and I... I was getting really curious about that crystal thingy so I tried to look in your scroll to see if there was any info on it but I found this audio file..." Nora began before Ashe stopped her.

"You have no right to invade my privacy like that. I'll tell you more about the crystal today, hell I'll even show it to you, just don't open that song." Ashe said.

Nora looked at the scroll and then back to Ashe. "Why?" she asked.

"Because she made that song for me the night before it all went to hell. She gave it to me for my morning patrol around the village. She told me there was an important message on it and that I needed to listen to it but... that was the last day of her life." Ashe said.

Nora sat down on the bed next to Ashe and gently asked "What happened?"

"That morning as I walked through the woods I stumbled upon Saul Jude's thugs. Jude had been targeting the village for weeks, trying to use it as a front for his drug smuggling operation but me and some of the villagers had managed to keep them away for a bit but we didn't do enough to drive them totally away. I saw that his thugs had captured the holy man of the village, a friend of mine called Deno, he was who my robe belonged to. He had tried to convince Jude to leave the town in peace but Jude, the sadistic bastard he was, decided to have Deno executed for his 'audacity'. I was too late to stop them. They killed him and I couldn't save him. It was then that I declared war on Jude, I returned to the village, left my scroll behind, and attacked Jude's fortress with everything I had. I managed to take out half of his men until they took me down.

Jude was pissed and he wanted to make an example of me. He and his men took over the town and forced the villagers to watch my punishment. They hung me up but made sure I wouldn't die that easily, they whipped me, cut me, and beat me, trying hard to break me. Mila tried to stop them, using a machete I had taught her to use to fight them. She stabbed Jude in the shoulder, it distracted him enough for Nora to free me but it cost her. Jude stabbed her in the heart and killed her. She died in my arms and I... I lost it. I fought him... I cut off his right hand and our battle had attracted a horde of Grimm. I threw him off a cliff to the beasts and they took him. You can guess what happened after that." Ashe finished.

Nora looked at the man with sympathy and she grasped his hand. "You never listened to her song, did you?" she asked.

Ashe nodded in confirmation. "I've wanted to listen to it so bad for half a decade now but I could never bring myself to listen to it. I'm afraid to know what her message was because I know whatever she wanted to say will never come to pass. Listening to it now would only make my pain worse." Ashe said.

Nora shook her head and said "I want to tell you a little about Magnhild." She said.

"Your war-hammer? What about it?" Ashe asked.

"It's not really an original idea; it was based off my mom's weapon. She used one a lot like my own. You see, she was a Huntress that quit the life for a bit to have a family in her home town but one day the Grimm attacked. My dad died getting me to safety but my mom died taking out most of the Grimm. In my eyes they both died heroes. After that I met Ren and we've been inseparable ever since." Nora said.

"You based Magnhild off of your mother's weapon, didn't you?" Ashe asked.

"Yes. I did it as a way to honor the dead, to honor my parents who gave their lives so that I could live." Nora said, being unusually serious. "A guy of the rescue team even found what was left of her hammer, the Torden, and gave it to me. Years later I used what was left of it to make Magnhild, in a way my parents will always be with me." Nora said as she held back her tears.

"So Ashe, you should listen to the song, don't ignore it. Listen to it and hear what Mila had to say because if you don't you'll always feel empty. Pyrrha didn't really show Jaune how she felt until it was too late so don't follow her example. Honor the one you loved and listen to that song." Nora finished.

Nora got off the bed and said "Well, I smell those pancakes! You want some?" she asked, her demeanor making a complete 180.

Ashe shook his head and smiled "I'm not hungry, maybe later."

"More for me then!" Nora said as she left the room.

Ashe looked at the scroll and sighed. "Damn it." He muttered, knowing full well that Nora was right. He took up the scroll and opened up the audio file and for the first time in years he heard the voice of the woman he loved.

" _Hey Ashe! I made a new song for you while you were out the other day and I... uh... oh god... listen Ashe, I need to tell you something, something really important. I'll tell you after the song okay, just... just listen."_

Ashe smiled, tears forming in his eyes as he heard her gentle and loving voice. He heard her guitar begin to play and she began to sing.

" _This looks familiar, vaguely familiar._

_Almost unreal yet, it's too soon to feel yet._

_Close to my soul, and yet so far away._

_I'm going to go back there someday._

 

_Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls._

_Is that a song there? And do I belong there?_

_I've never been there, but I know the way._

_I'm going to go back there someday._

 

_Come and go with me, it's more fun to share._

_We'll both be completley at home in midair._

_We're flying not walking on featherless wings._

_We can hold on to love like invisible strings._

 

_There's no a word yet for old friends who've just met._

_Part heaven, part space, or have I found my place?_

_You can just visit but I plan to stay._

_I'm going to go back there someday._

 

_I'm going to go back there someday."_

Tears now fell freely from Ashe's eyes. Her voice was still as beautiful as he remembered it. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine she was right in front of him, tried to imagine he could still have a happy life with her... but then she made her announcement.

" _Ashe... I'm... I'm pregnant."_

Ashe dropped his scroll and placed his face in his hands. He began to shake as he sobbed uncontrollably. He now knew the horrible truth; Mila was pregnant when she died. He didn't just lose the woman he loved that night, but their unborn child as well.

He tore his face away from his hands and looked at the case that contained the crystal.

"No more." He said as he got up off the bed. He walked over to the case. "I've failed everyone but I won't give up... alright you stupid crystal, you are going to help me save those kids." He said as he opened up the case.

Ashe walked down to the Chloris' living room with the steel case in hand. He looked to see the six teenagers and one adult sitting around the room in various positions, all of them enjoying the pancakes Ren had made.

"I must say Ren you're very talented at this, are you sure you're a Huntsman and not a chef?" Maia Chloris asked.

Ren chuckled and said "I'm fairly certain of my choices, when I was young I would often help my mother with the cooking so that's why I'm so good at it." Ren said as he humbly accepted the praise.

"Well good morning sleepy head." Said Reese as she noticed Ashe walking down the staircase, causing everyone to look at him.

"Are you alright? You were out of it for over twenty-four hours, which is an unusually long time." Dr. Chloris pointed out.

"I'm fine doc, it's just the huge aura drainage and the emotional shit I went through took a lot out of me. Any word on Jaune and Ruby?" Ashe asked.

"None, we scouted out the factory you described and we managed to work out something with Weiss." Ren said.

"Okay, what exactly?" Ashe questioned.

Ren took the next five minutes to explain the situation with Penny in Atlas, Weiss' plan, Weiss getting the schematics of the factory, and how they would receive some much needed back up by tomorrow night.

"Well it looks like Ironwood turned out to be just as bad as the people of Mistral think he is." Dr. Chloris said, shaking her head.

"Something's not right; the Ironwood we saw didn't act like that." Nadir pointed out.

"What happened at Beacon was a big shock and loss for him, things like that can change people." Arslan said.

"Well whatever's going on it'll take more than seven teenagers and a robot to even our odds." Ashe said as he put the case down on the table.

"That's not all, Weiss will also get Teams NDGO, BRNZ, and CRDL to help us, and Weiss updated me this morning, she said that Ruby's uncle will bring Professors Goodwitch and Port, Dr. Oobleck, and Ruby's father after they pull off the rescue mission and Yang has gotten a new mechanical arm and has joined up with Team SSSN and once they find Blake they'll head back here so add up all their numbers with us and the schematics of the facility that Weiss has and we may have a chance to do this after all." Ren said.

Ashe considered it. "Sounds like we still don't have much of a chance, but then again..." Ashe said as he opened up the case, "...maybe all we need is a little something out of myths and legends."

He flipped the case fully open, revealing a large crystal that was two feet long and half a foot wide, its color constantly shifting from one to another, everyone in the room could now feel its power.

"I... is that..." Dr. Chloris asked.

"Yeah, this is the Aura Crystal." Ashe said.

The group was silent for several minutes, all of them just looking at the crystal.

"What now?" asked Reese.

Everyone looked to Ashe for an answer.

Ashe sighed and said "I guess I'll try to do what my mom did and meditate with it."

"I thought you said that never went over well." Arslan reminded him.

"It never has, but I have to try. Maybe it can show me a way to beat Cinder or give us the power to save Ruby and Jaune. The legends say that in times of great crisis the crystal would help out, light the dark so to speak. Maybe it can help us out." Ashe said as he pushed a button on one side of the case.

A small dome encircled the crystal and it began floating in midair.

Ashe held his hand out. "You guys might want to stand back, sometimes this thing acts up a little." He warned them and they wisely followed his advice.

Ashe placed his hand over the crystal and a visible mist of violet aura came out of his palm and touched the tip of the crystal and he began to chant as he looked right into the crystal's light.

"So Sil Ung Zok Tek Na Ekt Ayuk Ok Shod Var Cru Eer Lach Mal!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

"Oh come on! I need you! You might not like me being your guardian but..." Ashe was cut off as a brilliant purple beam of light shot out of the crystal and into his eye.

Ashe let out a scream of surprise and pain as visions began to flood his mind; visions of life and death, love and hatred, wars and peace, he saw good and evil battle, with hundreds of soldiers colliding with thousands of Grimm.

He saw someone he never expected to see again; his mother, looking at him with sad, but proud eyes.

"Mom?! Wha..." he was cut off by another flash of pain as he witnessed Cinder strangling the life out of their mother.

Ashe screamed out in horror as he was forced to watch his mother's death, all the while his sister cried, showing a horrified reluctance on her face.

Ashe closed his eyes. "No more! Stop it!" he yelled.

And just like that, the visions ended.

Ashe opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back and being held down by Team ABRN while Ren and Nora watched.

"Wait, wait! I think he's coming out of." Arslan said as Ashe stopped struggling.

"What the hell happened?" Ashe asked.

"You tell us man! You just started freaking out, acting like you were having a seizure." Bolin said.

"And you said something about your mom." Nora added.

Ashe shook his head as they let him sit up. He looked up to see Dr. Chloris ran into the room with a needle.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

"Yeah mom, I don't think he'll need the sedative anymore." Reese said.

"I just need a stiff drink." Ashe muttered.

"What did you see?" Ren asked.

"What I saw? I saw terrible things. I saw how my mother really died... I saw Cinder choke her to death." He said, looking away from the shocked and sympathetic looks everyone was giving him.

"Why did it show you that?" Arslan asked.

"Good question." Ashe admitted as he looked to the crystal, still floating.

"Why did you show me that?" he demanded, but he got no answer. No beam came out this time. "Come on, you may deem me unworthy but I need help, these kids need help, the world needs help!" he yelled at the crystal.

Still nothing.

Ren, Nora, Team ABRN, and Dr. Chloris all looked at each other, unsure what to make of what happened or Ashe.

"God damn son of a bitch, what is it you want from me? What do you want?! I'm far from perfect but I have done everything I can do! I've watched over you for twenty years so you owe me for that!" he shouted.

Ren placed his hand on Ashe's shoulder and said "Ashe, it may be a powerful relic but it's just an inanimate object. Yelling at it won't accomplish anything."

"When I was a kid my mother would meditate with the crystal and talk to it and she said that in her mind it spoke back. Why won't it talk to me?" Ashe asked.

"I don't know, but right now it's not doing us any good to just yell at it." Ren said.

Ashe sighed and said "You're right Ren. This damn thing has done nothing for me, all its done is annoy me. I've never been able to stay in one place because of this stupid thing. Now I'm wondering if I should have thrown it into a volcano years ago. Maybe then I..." Ashe stopped himself, "Too late to wonder 'what could have been' now. I can't do it, this damn thing won't help us. My failure is complete." He said.

"What about Mila? She must have proof you can do good." Nora pointed out.

"Who's Mila?" Arslan asked.

"She was Ashe's fiancé, she was killed five years ago by some drug lord guy called Saul Jude" Nora said.

"She was... special. She made me realize that I didn't have to run, that I could have a family... but that all changed with that bastard Jude, may he rot in hell. She was taken from me and I knew I was pretty much I could never really have a peaceful life." Ashe said.

Nora found the courage to ask Ashe something; "Did you listen to her song?"

Ashe simply nodded. "I did. It was beautiful but it's just more proof how bad I've messed up. I listened to her message; she was going to tell me she was pregnant."

This was followed up by a silence.

"Oh... oh Ashe I'm so sorry." Nora said, trying not to cry for her friend.

"It's not your fault Nora. I should have listened to it long ago. At least I got to hear her voice again." He said quietly as he shut down the case, gently putting the crystal back in its proper place.

"What now?" Nadir asked.

"I have no idea, maybe I'll try again later but right now I just... I just want to be alone for a bit." Ashe said.

Dr. Chloris grabbed Ashe's hand and said "Come on, I think you could use a drink."

She led him out of the room, leaving the six teenagers alone.

"So what do we do? I mean we can't just sit here and wait for Weiss to come right?" said Bolin.

Nora and Ren looked at each other. They honestly didn't know.

* * *

Jaune was forced awake by a painful jolt of electricity running through his body. He yelped out in surprise and pain, his vision clearing up quickly. He looked around the room he was in, a dark room with no real distinguishing features. His hands were bound together by binders but his legs were free so he managed to push himself up, all the while feeling something around his neck, a shock collar most likely, since that's where the pain that woke him up originated from.

"Where am I?" he asked out loud, but he received no answer.

He looked around at the bare room, trying to find an exit, but found nothing. This wasn't his cell, nor was it the throne room, so he was utterly clueless as to where he was right now. "Whatever you're up to Cinder it won't work! My friends will find us and get us out of here..." Jaune said as he tried to see anyway of escape in the darkness.

"You will not leave here Jaune. You deserve this." Said a voice that Jaune knew all too well. It was the voice of his partner, the voice of the Invincible Girl, the voice of the girl who loved him.

He turned and saw Pyrrha Nikos, glowing with an arrow in her chest, glaring at him with intense hatred. "Hello again, Jaune." She said, her usually bright and loving green eyes now dull and filled with loathing.

"No, this isn't real! This is just..." Jaune couldn't continue his sentence as another shock from the collar on his neck zapped him painfully.

"Oh I assure you Jaune, this is real. This is your hell, it is what you deserve." She said as she walked closer to him, hatred emanating off of her.

"Pyrrha... I'm..." Jaune was cut off by a powerful punch to his face. A punch that reminded him of the times of the balcony when Pyrrha got a little too touch and accidentally hit him too hard.

"What? You're sorry? Sorry won't make up for how you hurt me Jaune. It will never make up for how you let me die!" Pyrrha screamed as she punched him again as the collar shocked him at the same time, giving him horrible pain.

"Pyrrha, please stop! I loved you... I didn't realize it until it was too late but I..."

"SHUT UP!" Pyrrha screamed as she kicked him in the gut, knocking him down.

"You didn't love me, you never loved me! You were pining after Weiss Schnee! Little Miss Rich and powerful! You left me with heartache for months you little idiot." Pyrrha said as she kicked him in the chin.

"This isn't right... the Pyrrha I know would never say these things." Jaune said as blood dripped out of his nose and mouth.

"Death can change a person, Jaune. You didn't love me you pathetic failure! You let me go off to my death alone! Why Jaune?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?!" she screamed as the electricity coursed through his body yet again.

"I wanted to save you... I wanted to fly up to the tower and stop Cinder and save you so bad! I would have died for you, gladly taken that arrow for you. Please Pyrrha, this isn't you!" Jaune begged, sobbing miserably.

"No Jaune, this is the real me. The Pyrrha Nikos you knew always did what was expected of her, but no more! You left me alone to go after Weiss and now you have forgotten me so you and Ruby can be together." Pyrrha said as she kicked him again.

"NO! Ruby's like my sister and Weiss was nothing but a stupid schoolboy crush! Please Pyrrha remember our time together! Remember that afternoon; it was just the two of us out in the courtyard, sitting together, your hand on mine! I..." Jaune was silenced by another kick to the gut.

"Lies! All lies!" Pyrrha screamed as she grabbed him and slammed him into the wall.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha; saw how she looked, moved, and sounded exactly the same but this couldn't be Pyrrha. Pyrrha would never do or say these terrible things no matter what.

"Stop this, this isn't you. I can feel pain so we're not dead and if we're not dead there's still a chance to save you." He said.

He watched as she ran at him again and punched him. As he thought; whoever this pretender was she moved, looked, sounded, and even fought like Pyrrha, but this wasn't Pyrrha. Pyrrha didn't have any hatred like this in her. She was an angel and this was a demon.

"There is no way to save me Jaune, I'm dead and it's all your fault!" she screamed.

"Is it?" Jaune snapped back as he struggled to get back up. "You kissed me and then you did the worst thing anyone has ever done. I'd expect it from my parents, my sisters, from Ren, from Nora, or Ruby, anyone but you. You tossed me into that locker and sent me away! You denied me the one thing I've always wanted! To be a hero! You took that away from me and then you ran off and got yourself killed because of that destiny bullshit! You denied yourself a life Pyrrha! You denied you or me any happiness! You made me into the thing I never wanted to be, the thing everyone thought I would be; the loser stuck in the tree while his friends fought for their lives! You denied me my chance to matter Pyrrha! To be more than just the lovable loser, you denied me the chance to be a hero! We could have had a happily ever after Pyrrha but you had to run off because you couldn't just run to fight another day, you had to make a pointless, stupid sacrifice that did nothing but hurt your friends and family!" he screamed, getting every ounce of rage, bitterness, frustration, and hurt feelings that he had kept pent up for months now.

"You left me Pyrrha!" he screamed.

Pyrrha now looked rather unsure of herself.

"I... what? I..."

"You're not Pyrrha." Jaune said in disgust as he walked towards her, his Semblance and Aura powering him all the way, ignoring the pain from the shock collar.

"Stop! I am the real Pyrrha and you are going to suffer for what you..." she began to say before Jaune screamed at her.

"Don't you dare speak to me about suffering! I don't know what the hell you are, but you are NOT Pyrrha Nikos and you don't deserve to ware her face! If you are the real Pyrrha Nikos then you'd remember that day in the courtyard, how happy you looked. The bittersweet joy of it all! It was then that I realized I loved you!" Jaune said as tears fell from his eyes. "Pyrrha loved me, I was so blind then but I see it now. You are not Pyrrha."

"Stay back... keep away from me..." 'Pyrrha' said nervously as she began to step backwards.

"If you really are Pyrrha, then what did you tell me in the Emerald Forest? What did you say to me when you unlocked my Aura? Answer me now!" Jaune screamed.

"I... what the hell is this?! What are you?!" 'Pyrrha' cried as Jaune got closer, ignoring all the pain he was receiving from the shock collar, which was getting worse every second. Ashe was right, using anger did make you stronger.

"I am Jaune Arc, the youngest in a family of ten; seven sisters, one mother, one father. I am the wielder of the Crocea Mors and I was a student of Beacon Academy, leader of Team JNPR, and partner and best friend to Pyrrha Nikos. I knew Pyrrha better than anyone and you are NOT PYRRHA!" Jaune screamed as he got closer.

Jaune heard a voice in his head, the voice of the girl he loved.

' _Fight Jaune! Fight them! Don't let them win, my love! I would never say these terrible things to you... I'm so sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I was so foolish to go up there alone, I'm so sorry I denied you a chance to be a hero! I love you so much! Please forgive me! I'm sorry I believed in destiny. I'll always be with you Jaune and I'll always love you.'_

Jaune didn't know what to make of the voice he had been hearing in his head, but he couldn't question it right now. He ran forward, channeled as much of his Aura as he could into his hands and with his Semblance fueling his attack; he smashed his combined fists into the fake Pyrrha, shattering it.

He watched as the illusion crumbled away, revealing Emerald Sustrai standing several feet behind it, so that explained why it had been able to hurt him.

From his point of view he had just been forced to destroy something that looked, moved, and sounded exactly like Pyrrha.

He knew that he didn't really hit the real Pyrrha, but the pain he felt, the overwhelming sadness was just too much. He looked at Emerald who simply stared back at him, wondering what would happen next.

Jaune collapsed to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably as he smashed his combined fists into the ground until they began to bleed. He screamed out in anger, without any coherent words. It was just his rage and his misery.

The shock collar activated again, zapping Jaune painfully, causing him to scream out in agony and writhe on the floor, crying the whole time.

He was so distracted by his own pain and overwhelming sorrow that he didn't notice a door to the side opening and another familiar figure stepped out and approached him. "Okay, you're actually not that bad. This was fun, but we gotta end it for now. Lights out, Arc."

Jaune was mercifully knocked unconscious by a hard kick to the head from a metal foot.

As he slipped back into the darkness of sleep he could hear Pyrrha's voice again, sounding sadder than ever.

' _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Jaune.'_

* * *

Emerald watched as Jaune Arc slipped away into a terrible sleep once again. Emerald had stayed up for most of the night watching videos of Pyrrha Nikos' performances at various tournaments and of her fights at Sanctum and Beacon. She had studied Pyrrha well enough to get the moves down as well as her body language and had stood slightly behind the fake Pyrrha to land hits on Jaune but he had managed to see through it.

Emerald didn't really know how to feel about what she had just done.

She remembered walking around the fairgrounds at the Vytal Festival and seeing just how happy Pyrrha was around Jaune, at the time it made her sick to her stomach, as her life had not been a kind one but now she wondered; did she really hate Team RWBY and Team JNPR because of their happiness or did she hate them because she was jealous?

"I'm beginning to see what Salem wants with this little prick, he's way tougher than we thought." Mercury admitted as he wiped Jaune's blood off his boot.

He looked up and saw Emerald shaking a bit.

"You okay? Don't tell me you're wussing out on us." Mercury said to his partner.

Emerald shook her head, "No! No... it's just... I thought my illusion of Nikos was good enough, how did he see through it?"

"He knew her pretty well. Maybe it was the things you said, Nikos may have been a good fighter but I doubt she ever insulted her pals, how pathetic was she in the end?" Mercury said with a smarmy laugh.

Emerald nodded, "That's it. He just knew Pyrrha better than we did. Apparently they were a bit more... close than we thought." She said.

Mercury nodded to the mocha skinned illusionist and said "Well he's out of it for now and I don't think Cinder will be too happy that this didn't last nearly as long as she thought it would."

"I think she'll be pleased." Emerald said, getting Mercury to look at her. "We nearly broke him Merc, he must have had that rage pent up for a while now, that rant about how Nikos sent him away? All he needs is a few more prods and he'll break for good."

"We'll have to use different tactics; he won't fall for your fake Nikos again." Mercury pointed out.

"I think Ante and his men could help us out with that. Maybe even a session with Cinder could drive him over the edge." Emerald said as she went over to the door. "Guards, get him back to his cell." She ordered.

Two guards came into the room and dragged Jaune away by his cuffed hands, leaving a small trail of blood on the floor. Mercury and Emerald watched as they turned a corner and left their sight.

"I... I need to use the restroom." Emerald said to Mercury. The gray-haired boy watched as his partner ran off down the hall.

"Weakling." He muttered.

Emerald ran into a restroom and looked into the mirror.

"What am I doing? What have I become? Is this really the path to a perfect world? Torturing and murdering people? What... what is my life?" she asked herself.

She had no answers.

She walked out of the bathroom, trying to look calm only for her to see Fotia walking down the hallway towards her.

"Emerald, I heard screaming! Was it Arc? Has he learned the error of his ways?" Fotia asked.

Emerald looked away and simply said "No."

"Well then, I guess he'll have to undergo more punishment until he sees the light." Fotia said as if it were nothing.

"Just drop it, okay?" Emerald snapped.

Fotia looked a little hurt by her outburst. "Emerald, are you alrig..."

"Shut up!" Emerald yelled as she walked away.

Fotia watched as Emerald departed and then she looked to the room where Jaune's 'training' had taken place. She saw the blood on the floor and wondered why this Jaune Arc was being so foolish as to resist them? She hoped Lady Cinder would have better luck training the girl known as Ruby Rose.

"What is it about these two? What makes them so special?" Fotia wondered to herself.

* * *

Ruby's eyes lazily opened up, taking in her surroundings. The throne room again. She jolted up and took up a defensive position, trying to see if anyone was around her. She could feel her Aura was unusually weak, whatever Cinder and her thugs were doing to her it was keeping her pacified so she couldn't fight back.

Just then the lights in the room snapped on, temporarily blinding Ruby with the sudden light. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness and she saw Crescent Rose on the floor in front of her in its storage mode. "This can't be good..." Ruby murmured as she grabbed her weapon and transformed it into its rifle form.

"Your training begins now." Said the voice of Cinder Fall. Ruby looked up to the throne to see Cinder in front of it with twin swords out, ready to fight.

"Come on then Ruby Rose, our last few encounters haven't really given us the opportunity to have a proper fight, let's correct that shall we?" Cinder said with her eyes glowing.

Ruby aimed her weapon at the witch who ruined so many lives. "Let's!" she cried as she opened fire.

Cinder created gusts of wind to blow away the Dust bullets and then she ran at Ruby with her blades ready to kill. Ruby screamed out as she fired at Cinder as the Fall Maiden charged at her, her power radiating off her body.

Cinder jumped up and sent out a stream of flaming Dust at Ruby. Ruby rolled out of the way as the Dust exploded against the ground, she recovered as Cinder rushed her and Ruby quickly changed Crescent Rose into its scythe mode and blocked the swords.

"Good reflexes, but you're letting your emotions control you." Cinder said.

"Shut up!" Ruby screamed her eyes began to glow and her Aura surged up, she swung her scythe and managed to force Cinder back. Ruby swung her blade down and Cinder was forced to sidestep it to avoid getting her arm cut off. She made a move to hit Ruby in the head with the hilt of her sword but Ruby charged into her with her Semblance.

Both women were on the floor but for the moment Ruby had the upper hand. Ruby jumped up and slammed Crescent Rose down, aiming for Cinder's head but her enemy quickly pulled her head to the left and avoided what could have been a gory fate.

"Excellent, maybe you do have a taste for blood after all." Cinder said.

Ruby stopped, "What?" she asked before Cinder jabbed her arm forward and a powerful blast of wind threw Ruby into the wall.

Ruby struggled to get free as Cinder held her grip on Ruby. "Yes, you've claimed the lives of two men already and now you want to kill me. Don't deny it Ruby, you want to see me dead." Cinder said.

"Yes I do and I wouldn't mind your blood on my hands! You're not a person; you're just a monster like the Grimm!" Ruby spat. Cinder glared at Ruby and used the wind to slam Ruby into the ceiling and then to the floor.

Ruby moaned in pain as she got up, only for an explosion of fiery Dust to send her flying across the floor to the center of the large room.

"You're oh so wrong Ruby; I'm not like the Grimm. For one thing; I won't die as easily as they do." Cinder said from the throne as she pulled her bow out of thin air and aimed five glowing Dust arrows at Ruby.

Ruby's eyes widened as she got up, legs aching as she did so. Cinder let go of the string and the arrows flew at Ruby.

Ruby stood her ground and quickly used Crescent Rose to slice the arrows apart; she would not die here and she would not die to Cinder. She would avenge Pyrrha and Penny and everyone who was now dead because of Cinder. She didn't care if she had to do it alone, she'd stop Cinder no matter what.

Ruby glared as Cinder jumped off the throne and pulled the swords out of nowhere once again. "Come now Ruby; let's see what you've really got."

"If you want it... you've got it!" Ruby yelled as she opened up a small compartment on the side of Crescent Rose and took out a new round of Dust ammo. She quickly loaded it into Crescent Rose's gun as Cinder charged at her, the wind and fire surrounding her made the Fall Maiden appear to be some kind of demon.

Ruby quickly shot off Crescent Rose five times and as she expected Cinder burned all of the blasts away but something happened that Cinder did not expect, when the rounds were burned they burst into clouds of dust that temporarily blinded her.

"What is this?" Cinder hissed as she used the wind to blow the dust away, only to find Ruby nowhere in sight.

"We call is a distraction. What? Aren't you familiar with basic combat strategies?" Ruby's voice mocked from somewhere in the room.

Cinder growled in frustration, the girl was better than she thought.

"Come out Ruby, let us talk." Cinder said as she began concentrating, trying to focus on finding Ruby.

"There's nothing to talk about, you're evil and I'm good. Good always comes out on top in the end." Ruby said.

Cinder laughed, "Only in fairy tales child, and I think you are too old for fairy tales."

"I don't know about that Cinder, fairy tales are usually way more interesting than the boring mature stuff. I mean, weren't the Four Maidens supposed to be just a fairy tale?" Ruby shot back.

Cinder chuckled to herself and said "Okay, I'll give you that one, but the world is not what you think it is Ruby, there is more in it than just good and evil and to believe otherwise would be foolish. Take my follower Emerald for example; she was orphaned after a Grimm attack, alone and uncared for she was forced to steal to survive and when she was caught she was usually brutally beaten and left to starve in the streets. Eventually her illusion Semblance helped her greatly but it wasn't until I found her that her true potential awoke. Can you really blame her for joining me after life was so cruel to her? I helped her and I can do it for you as well Ruby, for both you and Jaune. I was forced to kill Pyrrha; she left me no choice Ruby!"

"Shut up!" Ruby yelled, accidentally giving herself away. Cinder now knew where Ruby was hiding, up in the rafters, but decided not to strike just yet.

"It was their fault Ruby! Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch, and your Uncle Qrow! They gave her no choice! They made her think she had no choice; they wanted to force the life of the Fall Maiden upon her and turn her into a pawn for their power! Just like you!" Cinder yelled.

"Shut up... stop talking. I'm not listening to you." Ruby said, sounding like she was on the verge of crying.

Cinder smirked and continued, "That's right Ruby Rose, cry. Try to run and hide from your future! You'll be like me soon enough Ruby! Just like me!"

"STOP IT!" Ruby screamed.

"Come on out now." Cinder said as she used the power of the wind to rip the rafter Ruby was on out of the ceiling and onto the ground. Ruby cried out in surprise as she fell with it, but she quickly recovered and used her Semblance to rush past Cinder with Crescent Rose's blade out.

Cinder cried out in pain as a large, thin, bloody cut appeared on her arm and her sleeve sliced in half. Had it not been for her powerful Aura the cut would have been devastating and if Ruby had been a few inches closer Cinder's arm would have been sliced off.

Cinder reached out and used the wind to begin ripping panels out of the wall and rafters and pieces of metal off of the ceiling. "I think you need a new lesson Ruby; humility!" Cinder cried as she threw all the debris she could at the younger girl.

Ruby used her Semblance to dodge and it worked for the first ten seconds but she was soon knocked off her feet by a bit of metal. Cinder smirked in triumph as she grabbed Ruby and hoisted her into the air again and bombarded her with what was left of the debris.

Ruby was now beaten and even bleeding a bit, her breathing was ragged as Cinder approached her.

"It's obvious your useless drunk of an uncle didn't tell you much about your true power, because if he did you could have beaten me, but as you are now you don't stand a chance but with a few more training sessions you'll begin to see it our way. You'll be one of us Ruby, just give in." Cinder said.

"Never." Ruby said quietly.

"We'll see about that. You're friend Jaune is still expendable so if you continue to prove difficult I will just have to punish him for your failure to learn." Cinder said, smiling pleasantly.

Ruby glared at her enemy and said "If you harm him I'll..."

"You'll what? Kill me? You were shaking in panic when you accidentally killed two street scum, do you really think you have what it takes to kill me? You don't have it in you Ruby, you never will! You can't save your friends from me, you couldn't help Penny, you couldn't help Pyrrha, you can't even help yourself! So what makes you think you can help Jaune?" Cinder asked as Ruby closed her eyes to try and stop her tears. "Maybe I should kill him, after all we do have someone else to take his place should he die and maybe he would be happier, he'll be together in death with his beloved Pyrrha, both reunited by the fact that you couldn't do a damn thing to save them." Cinder finished.

Ruby's eyes snapped open and a brilliant silver light, taking the form of wings shone out of her eyes.

"Yes, this is more like it." Cinder whispered to herself as she let Ruby down. This was the extraordinary power she had felt atop Ozpin's tower. This was the incredible aura that froze a Wyvern; this was the power of the silver eyed warrior.

Ruby's eyes glowed brilliantly as she glared at Cinder. "I'm going to stop you, you will never hurt someone I care about again." She said.

"Try and stop me." Cinder said with a smirk.

Ruby used her Semblance to rocket towards Cinder, the silver light shining with her all the way.

Cinder summoned up every bit of power she had from her original powers as well as her new gifts of the Fall Maiden and she threw all of it at Ruby. Fire and wind hit Ruby but she forced her way through it, a brilliant shield of silver aura protecting her.

Now Cinder was getting worried, she was using everything she had and Ruby wasn't stopping. This was... more than she expected.

"Fall!" Cinder yelled.

Ruby reached forward and grabbed Cinder by the neck. "No, that's your name and it's exactly what you're gonna do!" Ruby yelled.

"No!" Cinder screamed as she grabbed Ruby by the head and poured out a large amount of her aura to overwhelm Ruby's senses, sending her into unconsciousness.

Cinder stumbled back, sweating profusely and feeling exhausted. Despite everything Ruby had almost defeated her which was disconcerting to say the least. She had studied the silver eyed warriors since Salem ordered her here and she was expecting something grand but this is just overwhelming. Cinder was now looking forward to not only training Ruby, but seeing just how strong her own powers could be.

Cinder picked up Crescent Rose and put it back in a small case near her throne which contained Crocea Mors and what was left of Milo. She took out her scroll and spoke into it, "Security, our training session is done for today, please come and collect Ruby Rose and return her to her cell, and bring a cleanup crew, I'm afraid we made quite the mess."

Cinder took a seat on her throne and mopped her face, trying to pretend that the battle hadn't taken that big of a toll on her. She looked to the out cold form or Ruby and smiled. "Very good Ruby, you'll be one of us yet."

* * *

Joseph Polendina stood in front of General Ironwood, trying his best to be strong.

"General, for the last time I beg you to reconsider this reckless plan. Not only is it a foolish waste of the resources we used for Penny but if word of it gets out to the council of either Atlas or Mistral than you could be in serious danger and face charges of terrorism." The older man said to Ironwood.

"If that should happen I will face the consequences, if we succeed in killing Cinder Fall no jury would dare convict me." Ironwood said.

"General, are you blinded by your delusions of power? Do you not see the arrogance in this course of action?" Polendina asked.

"The only arrogance I see, dear doctor, is the arrogance of an old man who thinks he can tell me what to do." Ironwood scolded.

"I do not think I can order you about, I merely want you to see the folly in this course of action." Polendina said.

"I know this may have negative repercussions but I think if we succeed it will all be worth it in the long run." Ironwood said. He eyed the older man who seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Why do you care? Not only would you help us in eliminating a great threat to the world but it would make you a hero. The man who created the weapon to kill Cinder Fall, that's what you will be."

"Penny is not a weapon! She is my daughter." Polendina cried.

Ironwood shook his head, "Let us get something straight doctor: Penny was not born, she was built. Legally she is property of the Atlas military; we gave you the funds and the equipment to make her, we gave her everything she has so she is ours to do with as we please and if you attempt to stop us I will have you permanently removed from this facility. Besides, you can just make another one."

Polendina was now furious. Penny was property?! And they said Atlas was a civilized kingdom.

"She is not a little trinket that can be replaced if broken! She is my daughter!" he cried.

"No, she is your creation; an experiment that was successful and one that has been duplicated very well. We all have a purpose Joseph; mine is to protect the world, yours is to create for us, and Penny's purpose will be whatever I choose it to be." Ironwood said coldly.

"I'll go somewhere else, I'll..." Polendina began before Ironwood stopped him.

"Where would you go? For years you tried to create a robotic duplicate of your dead daughter, you were turned down by every major robotics company in Remnant until we found you. Your obsession with Penny is dangerous Joseph but I saw past that. I gave you the opportunity to make her and now you are in my debt and I intend for it to be repaid." Ironwood finished.

Polendina sighed, knowing Ironwood had some legitimate points. Years ago his wife had died after giving birth to their child, an adorable little girl named Penny. He had promised his wife before she died that he would always protect their daughter... but Penny was killed in a Grimm attack at the age of fifteen and Joseph was overwrought with grief, so he dedicated the rest of his life to 'resurrecting' Penny via robotics, creating a robotic duplicate of his little girl. For years he looked for anyone to help him but no one would even consider it. All hope seemed lost until he was contacted by the Atlas military to help them develop the Atlesian Knights.

When Ironwood became head of the military ten years ago Polendina approached him with the proposition to create Penny, to create new robotic bodies for people who's own organic forms could no longer go on. The idea intrigued Ironwood, who was already half machine, and agreed to fund the Penny project. It took several years to get right, several horribly flawed prototypes but they finally got it right. A robotic Penny that looked, sounded, and acted almost exactly like his daughter. It was a resounding success.

But Ironwood wanted to make changed. Weapons were added, the swords controlled by the incredibly thin wires from Penny's back, to be used as deadly tools for combating Grimm as well as other foes. While Polendina didn't want Penny to be exposed to a world of violence but he had no say in the matter.

And now it appears as if he never would again.

"What is your decision Joseph? Will you try to stand in our way or will you help us?" Ironwood asked darkly.

"I will do it. I will not let anyone else try to work Penny's interior mechanisms. In my eyes she is my daughter." Joseph said as he turned around.

Mentally Ironwood was feeling very unnerved. This wasn't like him, he wouldn't do this. Why was he having no second thoughts? Why was he even considering this? These questions were small ones, ones that barely registered with his mind for the most part but there was a certain feeling of regret within him on a subconscious level but something else spoke to him, the need to protect his world at all cost. That was a greater need than anything.

"Very good. I'll have the bomb delivered to you in two hours. I am not a cruel man so I want you to spend what time you have left with your daughter. You are dismissed Dr. Polendina." Ironwood said.

Joseph walked to the door as it opened to reveal Jackson Chamberlain who gave the doctor a questioning look. Polendina shook his head and Chamberlain sighed.

"Jackson, has Agent 501 called in yet?" Ironwood asked as Joseph left the room.

Chamberlain nodded, "Yes sir, he said there is no sign of Cinder yet but he will keep us updated."

Joseph walked down the hallway and took something out of his pocket; the first Penny's memory chip. He had kept it for her sake, but what Weiss told him had gotten him thinking. Penny did deserve to know the truth, she deserved to remember.

He was fully on board with the younger Schnee's plan, but he decided that he would throw in a little something bonus. He'd restore Penny's memory, risk be damned.

As he got into the elevator and took out his scroll and called Winter.

* * *

Qrow sat in the cockpit of the airship with Ross, watching as Atlas City came into view.

"Nearly there, you got the coordinates to her house?" Qrow asked his pilot.

Ross nodded, "You bet I do boss, we'll be there soon."

Qrow got out of his seat and walked to the bay of the ship where Team CFVY slept. They had been awake for most of the night, finding it difficult to rest in a moving airship but soon enough they were all claimed by sleep.

Yatsuhashi slept on the long seat with Velvet lying down on her back, her head in his lap with her long ears twitching a bit. Qrow had to admit the sight was rather cute. Coco and Fox sat across from their friends, both asleep and leaning on one another.

Qrow took out Reaper and banged it on the ceiling, waking the four teens up. "Rise and shine kids! Dawn of a new day and all that crap." He said as the team jolted up.

"Couldn't you have waited until we landed?" Coco asked as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes and Fox stretched his arms out.

"Yeah, but there's no fun in that." Qrow said cheekily.

"I see where Yang gets some of it now." Velvet said to her large partner, who simply nodded in agreement. She looked out of the window and saw the beautiful and advanced capital city of Atlas.

Atlas was much more clean and tidy than Haven was and much larger than Vale. People, mostly humans as Velvet noted, walked about their day, seemingly without a care in the world, totally oblivious to the chaos of the outside world. A few dozen human guards walked about their patrols while Atlesian Knights covered the city, as if these walking suits of armor could do any better than something that could think and feel.

Coco noticed her friend looking down at the city and spoke up. "Don't get too impressed Velv! I've been here before, just a bunch of snooty, stuck-up jackasses who think their..."

"I get the idea Coco, if things go according to plan we won't even be here that long." Velvet said, she had no desire to enter Atlas, as while there were a few Faunus among its 'high society' there was still a lot of prejudice against the Faunus in Atlas. Most of the world had moved on and it was not uncommon for there to be mixed relationships between humans and Faunus in Vacuo, Vale, or Mistral, but in Atlas the very idea of love between the two species may as well be outlawed.

They soon flew over the main part of the city and in the distance the Atlas Military HQ could be seen with several large airships flying over it.

"Think we can pull it off?" Fox asked.

"When we run they'll most likely send fighters after us, maybe a bullhead with a tractor beam on it, but I doubt they'll send one of those things after us." Coco said in regard to the warship.

"What if they do?" Velvet asked.

"Then we fight and run at the same time I guess." Coco said, content to improvise along the way.

"Hold on kids, we're at her house." Qrow announced as the ship began to descend.

Velvet looked out the window again and saw a woman who could pass for an older version of Weiss waiting for them in front of a medium sized stone house with a well kept lawn.

The ship landed on a large stone driveway path and Qrow slid the door open.

"Hey there Ice Queen!" he greeted as he disembarked from the ship.

"Greetings Branwen, you've made excellent time." Winter praised as she politely shook his hand.

"Yeah well, I've gotten used to being all over the place. The last twenty-four hours I've been to three of the four kingdoms." Qrow said with a smirk as Team CFVY exited the ship.

"Hey, I'm Coco, leader of Team CFVY, these are my mates: Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi." she introduced as modestly as she could.

"I am aware of all of you. Weiss has told me that with your help we will be able to pull this mission off. I looked up several of your battles and you strike me as very capable of aiding us." Winter said as she nodded to the team.

"Where is Weiss?" asked Velvet.

"Inside resting, she was up rather late last night looking over the details of the plan and trying to create contingencies should something go wrong." Winter answered as she led them inside.

"Are you coming Mr. Ross?" asked Velvet to their pilot he shook his head.

"No, Qrow told me to leave for Vale. Says he's got another mode of transport." The pilot said.

Velvet looked to Yatsuhashi, who simply shrugged before they followed the others inside the house as the airship lifted off back into the sky.

The inside was just as nice as the outside, shiny marble floors and white stone walls made the house look like it was out of the past.

They arrived to the living room where Flynt and Neon sat on the couch; Flynt was reading a book while Neon bobbed her head to the music she was listening to on her headphones. Flynt looked up and grinned, "Hey there guys! Been a while." He said as he got off the couch and walked over to greet them.

During the Vytal Festival Team CFVY and FNKI had become good friends with one another as both Flynt and Coco shared a similar cool and laid back personality and Velvet was intrigued by someone like Neon Katt, who was simply way too energetic for a Faunus who lived in Atlas of all places.

Flynt walked over to them and slapped Coco a hi-five. "How you doing Coal?" Coco asked.

"Not bad Adel, could really use my other two mates here but right now I think we can settle for you." Flynt said jokingly.

"We do our best, man." Coco said.

Neon looked up, just now noticing the new arrivals. She took off her headphones and said "Hey guys!" She then back-flipped over the couch and landed perfectly on her feet and she darted over to Velvet.

"Velvet, it's been too long! How're things?" Neon asked with her tail waving energetically.

"I've been okay I guess, all though in the grand scheme of things I guess things are pretty no-so-good." Velvet said.

Neon looked to Yatsuhashi and she got a sly look on her face. "Hey there tall, muscular, and quiet! Things been treating you good?" she asked.

Yatsuhashi simply nodded. Neon smirked and looked to Velvet. "So have you two..."

"Please stop." Velvet said, trying to hide her blush.

Qrow and Winter walked off to the kitchen to speak in private.

"Any more updates?" Qrow asked.

"None to my knowledge, Dr. Polendina has told me he will make a last ditch effort to try and talk the General out of it." Winter said.

"Oh brother, if it didn't work before why would it work now?" Qrow asked.

"We have to try; if he fails to talk sense into Ironwood then we'll have no choice but to go ahead with the plan. Are you prepared to battle the General if need be?" Winter asked.

"You bet." Qrow said with a smirk.

Just then her scroll began to ring "That's probably him now, let's hope he managed to make some progress." Winter said as she answered the phone.

"Good morning everyone." Said Weiss as she entered the room living room, dressed in her usual outfit with Myrtenaster attached to her belt.

"Hey there Schnee." Coco greeted.

"It's so good to see you again Weiss." Velvet said as Weiss approached them and shook Velvet's hand.

"It is good to see all of you again as well. I'm glad you agreed to help me." Weiss said gratefully.

"Hey, things were getting boring just killing some Grimm and sitting on our butts while the world went crazy." Coco said with a grin.

Weiss smiled and nodded in agreement, "I know how it feels, I got tired of the dreary life of an heiress rather quickly once I returned home."

"Yeah, giant mansion, being waited on hand and foot, can do practically anything you want, and no life threatening situations; who'd want that?" Fox said sarcastically.

"Don't start with me." Weiss jokingly warned.

"Okay, so we got what? Four hours until show time, right?" asked Coco.

Weiss nodded, "We've prepared for most of the security measures and our main escape plan. Which one of you is the best gunner?"

"That would be me. I may use blades but I'm pretty good with a gun." Fox said.

"Okay, so Fox will be our main defense from attacking airships once we're in the air." Weiss said.

"What about Penny? She'll be a bit confused, won't she? What if she resists?" Velvet asked.

"She'll be okay. Penny's really trusting and Dr. Polendina is working with us on this, so while the guards take her to her ship so when we ambush them she won't interfere, but we've come up with an idea to transport her if she hesitates; despite the fact that she's a robot she's apparently light in weight so one of us can carry her." Weiss said, looking to Yatsuhashi who nodded.

"I'll do it, but you'll need to give me some covering fire." He said.

"No problem, we'll keep you covered all the way." Velvet assured him, gesturing to her camera.

"What about the guards, what kind of security we looking at?" Coco asked.

"Hold that thought, I just got word from Dr. Polendina." Interrupted Winter as she and Qrow reentered the room.

"Let me guess, no luck?" Weiss said.

"Got it in one, kid. Ironwood is hell bent on this idea, so there's no backing out of it. If we want to stop him from doing something incredibly stupid then we're gonna have to go with your plan." Qrow said, he scanned the seven teenagers and said "If any of you want to back down, now would be the time."

No one said anything.

"Nope, we're in." Coco said, with her teammates all agreeing.

"We ain't backing down." Flynt added as Neon nodded.

"Thank you, now Winter, do you have sufficient knowledge of the security measures?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, Jackson Chamberlain has volunteered to be the one to escort Penny to her ship. You will need to get down to the vault before he gets there and once he arrives you'll need to defeat him and his guards. You will also need to take out the security cameras that were installed the other day, General Ironwood has become increasingly annoyed by Penny wandering around the base so he had security measures put up so Penny wouldn't be able to get out as easily." Winter said.

Weiss nodded, "Neon can take those out for us, but we'll need a way to shut them down so Ironwood doesn't notice our presence in the vault."

"I can upload a program that will temporarily shut all security cameras in the main building down for thirty seconds. If you can be fast enough..." Winter began before Neon cut her off.

"Oh don't worry about it! Thirty seconds is more than enough time for me to knock out the cameras." The cat Faunus said cheerfully.

"Right, so after we take out this Chamberlain guy and go back up the elevator we're gonna have to make a break for it." Flynt said.

Winter nodded, "It may take a few minutes but soon enough they'll catch on and every guard on duty, be they organic or mechanical, will be after you."

"Let's just hope it'll mostly be the Knights so we won't have to hold back." Coco stated.

"Yeah, but we're gonna be hounded all the way so where will the ship be and who's gonna fly it?" Flynt asked.

"I have arranged for the ship to be parked at the edge of the complex near the landing pads so it will not attract attention." Winter explained as she looked to Weiss.

"And I will be our pilot." Weiss said.

Team CFVY and half of Team FNKI all looked at Weiss.

"Any reason you didn't want to tell us that before now?" Flynt questioned.

"I've been training with a flight simulator, I've gotten good enough at it but once we're off the ground I will need all of you to help keep the pursuing craft off our backs." Weiss said.

"Hm... small chance of success, certainty of getting shot down... what're we waiting for?" Coco asked cockily.

"Okay, but what about General Ironwood himself?" Velvet asked.

"Ice Queen and me will take care of ole Jimmy; make sure he doesn't get in your way. We'll distract him while you kids get away; if he catches on I'll fight him and make my getaway after you kids get out of town." Qrow said.

"How?" Weiss asked.

"That's right, Ross said you told him to leave, how do you plan on escaping from the general?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"I've got a way." Qrow said, winking.

"Okay then, what about the bomb?" asked Velvet.

"Simple, Dr. Polendina will take it out for us. He has agreed to put it in so he'll easily be able to take it out once you get there." Winter said.

"What about you? If General Ironwood finds out you aided us you'll be arrested for treason against..." Weiss tried to say before Winter stopped her.

"I'll be fine, if Ironwood does find out I assisted you I'm more than prepared to spend a few weeks in prison. I'd gladly sacrifice my reputation in order to stop Atlas from making this horrible mistake." Winter said confidently.

Weiss nodded, feeling proud of her older sister.

Qrow smiled and said "Maybe you're not the cold bitch I thought you were. You're all right."

Winter looked at him with annoyed eyes and said "And you need to work on what you think is your 'charm' before you pass for tolerable in my book, Branwen."

Qrow shook his head as Weiss turned to her comrades. "Okay, we have four hours until the mission begins, I suggest we all prepare." She said, to which the six other teenagers all agreed.

The young Hunters-in-training all left to the backyard to get some last minute practice done while Qrow and Winter talked some more.

"Really, how are you going to escape from Atlas?" Winter asked.

Qrow smirked again and said "Sorry Ice Queen but a good magician never reveals his secrets, a good card player never plays his ace right away, and I don't give away my surprises. What about you? Ironwood will be beyond pissed if he finds out."

"I'll be fine. I am willing to do whatever it takes to stop this." Winter promised.

* * *

At the White Fang camp in Mistral, Alessandro Kane watched from a dead treetop as his soldiers moved about with their routines. While he was annoyed that Adam had assigned him to this useless outpost in the middle of nowhere he still had a great amount of respect for Adam and at least it had allowed them to find the original founder of the White Fang, Claudandus.

Kane felt the chilly late winter air blow through his hair, luckily they were in a part of Mistral that didn't get much snow and wasn't affected by the cold as bad as other places so it gave them plenty of foliage to hide amongst.

He looked to the north-east and saw something move. His eyes squinted to get a better look at what was moving and he saw something dart between the tents. While he only got a brief glimpse of it he had seen it well enough that his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. It was the traitor Blake Belladonna, stealthily infiltrating the camp.

"That arrogant bitch..." Kane muttered as he jumped off the tree and opened up his wings. He glided down to the ground and landed in front of a few guards.

"Quiet, we have an intruder among us and I think that it's Belladonna. I knew Blake once and I know she'll be looking for info on Adam, get the others and surround the main tent, that's where she'll go." He whispered to them. They all silently nodded as they loaded up their rifles with Dust cartridges.

"Make sure you don't kill her, Taurus wants her alive so we'll keep her alive, so long as she doesn't annoy me too much." Kane said as he took out his own gun.

Inside one of the main tent a guard sat at the computer, unaware of the silent intruder behind him. Blake bashed him on the head with the hilt of the Gambol Shroud, knocking him out.

'One down, forty-one to go.' She thought to herself as she pushed him out of the seat. Usually she'd have waited for nightfall but she needed to get this over with, plus maybe the security wouldn't be as tight during the day. Thankfully the guard was still logged in so Blake went to work looking up the contact information. She was that the last few recent transmissions had come from a large White Fang base near the Mistral Mountain Range but it was also near a village by the Mistral Circle Sea. She knew that there were only a few villages near that location so her options were limited, she could find Adam and make him pay. Blake looked up the base on the White Fang's network and saw that it was, for the time being, the command center for Adam.

"I got you." She muttered to herself as she quickly memorized the location specifics.

"No, we got you." Said a voice.

Before Blake could respond she heard the clicking of guns from outside the tent and felt the presence of someone else inside with her.

"Hello Blake, it's been a while." Said the Alessandro Kane as he aimed his gun at her.

"Alessandro, please don't." she said as she raised her arms up, one still holding Gambol Shroud.

"Why shouldn't I? You betrayed us." He said.

"We all betrayed Claudandus and I didn't realize that until it was too late. We betrayed what the White Fang was supposed to be, what are you now Kane? Nothing but a terrorist thug, not the freedom fighter you think you are." Blake said.

"Shut up Belladonna, Taurus wants you alive so I intend to make sure he gets you that way, he has plans for you."

"What plans?" Blake asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Kane said.

Blake quickly created a Shadow using her Semblance and used the Fire Dust to charge it up and she jumped. Kane fired wildly and the bullet hit the charged up shadow and the whole left side of the tent was engulfed by flames.

The guards outside the tent turned away or ducked down the shield themselves from the blast. One guard looked up and asked "What the hell happen..." only for Blake to land on top of his head, her full bodyweight knocking him out. She rolled down and quickly used the pistol mode of Gambol Shroud to blast another thug down. She got up on her feet just in time to block a slash from a soldier armed with a sword with Gambol Shroud quickly turning into its katana form.

"Stand down and I won't have to hurt any of you." Blake demanded.

"Fat chance!" the swordsman yelled as he pushed forward.

Blake quickly forced his back and rushed past him, using her blade to slice his armor off and she quickly put him down with a shot to the back from the pistol mode. More guards ran towards her and she made quick work of them with a series of quick, painful strikes from a sheathed Gambol Shroud.

She looked to make her escape only for a blast to hit her in the right shoulder. Blake cried out in pain and quickly made a stone Shadow to give her some cover. She pulled out a small home-made explosive that was made up of several house hold cleaning supplies that when combined and exposed to fire could created a small but powerful explosion.

She tossed the orb out to them as they blasted away her stone cover and the blast sent he thugs flying for cover, knocking a few of them out. Blake turned to run but saw another swordsman, a lieutenant this time, lunging at her.

She quickly used her Semblance to distract the new attacker and she quickly struck his sword. The lieutenant quickly forced her back and slashed her across the shoulder, causing Blake to cry out in pain. Her shoulder was bleeding a bit but thankfully her Aura was dealing with most of the pain.

She needed to wrap this up, she couldn't beat all of them but she could outrun them. She quickly used the still sheathed Gambol Shroud to smash the lieutenant in the head, the impact knocking him out.

She quickly turned around and transformed her weapon into its Kusaigama form and rushed forward, quickly wrapping the chained blade around the feet of an unlucky medic who was attending to one of the guards Blake had knocked out and she dragged him with her into a tent and she took him out with a swift, aura-infused punch.

She loaded up a small cartridge of dust, ready to make a run for it and get out of here.

She used the katana form of the Gambol Shroud to slice the tend open and she ran out, to battle the six White Fang troops who opened fire on her. She managed to only take a few hits from the lasers the White Fang soldiers were blasting as her as she quickly created another stone clone of herself to shield her. She was taking damage so she needed to end this fast. Blake slammed down the Gambol Shroud and a powerful violet shockwave sent the soldiers down on their backs. She quickly looked to her left as she felt another laser graze her hip. She performed the shockwave attack again, blowing away another five guards.

She began to run out of the camp only to be jumped by another guard, the horned one from the other day who made that stupid crack about her ears. She enjoyed smashing Gambol Shroud's hilt into his forehead. Blake continued to run for the woods but a loud blast to catch her attention.

"You're not going anywhere, traitor." Kane said, now armed with his personal weapon, a long gun with a very thin and deadly bayonet blade attached to it.

"Kane, why are you even working with Adam anymore? He's working with humans now! I thought you of all people would draw the line there." Blake said as she prepared to fight.

"Oh, I don't like working with that Cinder bitch anymore than Adam does, but he assures me that an alliance with her is necessary burden for the time being. Adam will reward me greatly for turning you in, Blake!" Kane cried as he opened fire on Blake.

Blake easily dodged his blasts and used Gambol Shroud's Kusaigama form to send its blade at him but he easily knocked it away with his bayonet.

"Adam doesn't want equality anymore Kane, he just wants revenge! All he'll do is spread pain, suffering, and hatred! Everyone will suffer because of his lust for vengeance Kane, Faunus and human alike. Do you really want to be a part of that?" Blake asked as she tried to shoot him with the gun form of her weapon.

"Trust me Belladonna, the only Faunus that will suffer are those who try and get in our way like you! Faunus under the idiotic delusion that the two species can co-exist. It's time you learned about the true power of the White Fang's wrath." He said as he fired at her again.

Blake dodged the blast but she knew she couldn't fight Kane for much longer. She took her chance and shot him again, managing to score a hit in his leg. "Ah!" he cried. He glared at her and began to charge with his arms spread out. He kicked himself up and he flew up into the air.

Blake decided she wasn't going to fight a flying enemy so she decided to run for it, occasionally taking shots at Kane as he soared after her. He landed on the ground and threw his rifle like a spear, the bayonet caught Blake's clothes and pinned her to a tree.

"No!" Blake cried as she grabbed the rifle and tore it out of the tree bark, freeing her.

She twirled the rifle around and tried to shoot Kane down but he quickly evaded the shot.

"I'm not letting you walk out of this Blake!" Kane yelled as he took cover behind a tree.

"Too bad." Blake said as she turned to retreat, only to be greeted a small stab in her gut. She was face to face with one of the foot soldiers, who had webbed hands with a venomous stinger on what passed for his thumb. A damn platypus Faunus.

"No..." Blake moaned as she began to slip into unconsciousness.

Kane came out from behind the tree and made his way over to them. "Good work soldier, how did you do that?" he asked.

"Venom stinger, don't worry sir it's not lethal, she'll be out of it for a few hours and in pain for about a day afterwards but she'll live." The soldier said as he put a glove over his hand.

"Excellent." Kane said as more guards approached. "Secure her and keep her under guard, I don't want her getting away. Get to work on putting out that fire, we don't need to attract any unwanted attention." Kane began to order his underlings about.

Adam was going to reward him for this.

* * *

Yang looked up the long stretch of road that she and Team SSSN were walking down. Originally Team SSSN were planning to so the Circle Sea since that's where they were told Adam was hiding, but the train had been diverted to go closer to the mountains behind the sea so they would need to take the train that went through a large tunnel in the mountains.

"How much further to the next village?" she asked Neptune.

The blue-haired boy took out his scroll and looked up the map feature. "Uh... says here we still got about fifteen miles left, so about two or two and a half more hours of walking left." He said.

"Ugh! I vote break." Yang said.

"I second the notion." Scarlet agreed as he sat down on a rock by the road, quickly joined by Sage.

Neptune sat down as well, lying against a tree as Yang walked ahead of the team and said "I'm gonna try to take a look over that hill over there, ya know, to see if there's anything in our way." She said.

The boys nodded, "Mind if I come with?" Sun asked.

Yang shook her head, "Sure, I could use the company." She said as she walked over the grass to the large hill, followed by the monkey Faunus.

They looked out to the Mistral countryside, seeing nothing for miles except forests and swamps with mountains in the distance with what was left of the snow covering the landscape.

"We still got a long way to go." Sun said.

Yang simply nodded in response.

"Yang, I want to talk to you about what you said yesterday morning... when you called me you said that you loved Blake. I want to know if you meant..." Sun began before Yang stopped him.

"Hey now banana lover, I don't see how that's any of your business!" she said.

"It isn't, but I care about Blake, I love her and obviously you do too or you wouldn't be out here trying to find her. I want to know if you love her just as a friend and as her partner or if your feelings for her are like my own. I don't care either way; I just want to know if I can count on you to help me find her no matter what." Sun said, his voice serious.

Yang took a deep breath. "At first it was just weird that she ended up being my partner, you know? We were like total opposites, but then again it was a thing, opposites: Jaune the lovable looser and Pyrrha the invincible girl, my happy little energetic sister Ruby and stuck up Weiss, stoic Ren and out-of-control Nora, and finally the quiet Blake and loud as hell me. I think fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it has a sense of humor. It was weird at first, having to live with someone you barely know and who is so different from you, but then again you're more like me than you are Blake. So maybe she's got a thing for people like us... or?"

Sun laughed to himself, "She found her way into both our lives I guess." He said as he sat down and Yang followed his example and continued.

"Yeah, killed an Ursa that was trying to sneak up on me and she stood up for you when Weiss accused you of being a criminal. It was kind of a shock to find out she was a Faunus, I didn't have anything against it, it was just weird that she was able to keep it a secret from us for so long."

"All she needed was a bow, I'm not so lucky." Sun said as his tail shook around.

Yang laughed and carried on "I think it was before the dance, that's when some feelings began to develop for her. I saw how obsessed she was with finding Torchwick and I decided I needed to tell her something really personal about myself in order to get her to snap out of it."

"What did you tell her?" Sun asked.

Yang told Sun the story about her search for her mother that nearly got both her and Ruby killed when they were younger.

Sun looked at her with sympathy in his eyes. "Yang... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Me and my mom are square now, kinda. Anyway, me telling her that story got her out of it and she went to the dance with you... but she shared one with me first. I think.. I think that's when I began to have... feelings for her. Then Mercury happened, that little asshole faked breaking his leg or Emerald used some illusion thing on me... I don't know what happened but... Blake almost didn't believe me when I said I was innocent. Ruby and Weiss did but Blake needed convincing, she wanted to know that I was sure that Mercury tried to attack me. I told her I was and she believed me, knowing what I know now I think she was hesitant to believe me because of that Adam guy, maybe he started out good and accidentally hurt someone and then he... just started to like causing pain because he liked it and she didn't want me to end up like him." Yang said.

"If it makes you feel any better, when I thought you broke Mercury's leg I didn't think you did it on purpose, I thought you were just high on adrenaline or something like that." Sun said.

"Eh, it's okay." Yang said acceptingly. Sun looked at her and said

"Let's get something really awkward out of the here okay? I don't care if you love her like I do so I hope you don't hate me because..."

"Wait a minute! I don't hate you at all; I am not the jealous type dude! I don't care who she ends up with as long as she's happy, besides I swing both ways." Yang said with a sly grin.

Sun simply smiled as he laid back in the grass and snow on the hill.

A couple of hours later the five teen arrived to a medium-sized village known as Uisco as the sun began to set. Neptune and Scarlet noticed some men talking and could help but eavesdrop when they heard the word 'fighting'.

"You hear the fighting in the forest?" asked an overweight man.

"You bet I did, think it was those White Fang creeps?" asked his friend.

"You read my mind, next time an Atlas patrol comes though we report it, I don't want those sacks of crap trying to take our town over."

Neptune and Scarlet exchanged glances before they ran to catch up with Yang and Sun.

"We just overheard a couple of guys talking about the White Fang, maybe we got a lead." Neptune said.

"They also said they heard fighting earlier today, you think it could be Blake?" Scarlet asked.

"Maybe, but we should ask around first, try to find out for sure if it is the Fang." Sun said.

"And if they are here, it gives me a chance to test out my new arm." Yang said with a smirk as she clenched her steel fist.

They made their way to the Inn where they were greeted by the keeper.

"Ah, new tenants, are you looking for a room?" the old man asked.

"Maybe, right now we're on a mission." Yang said.

"Mission? I thought the Academies stopped sending kids as young as you on missions after what happened in Vale." The old man stated.

"Call it a mission of our own; we want to know if there are any White Fang scumbags around here." Sun said.

"They've been spotted in the woods but they keep their distance from the town... honestly you're not even the first ones to ask about them." The old man said.

"Who else has asked about them?" Sage questioned.

"A girl, a Faunus girl about your age, came in here night before last."

"Oh thank Oum." Muttered Sun.

"Please sir, was this girl pale with yellow eyes and long black hair with cat ears?" Yang asked hopefully.

"W-why yes. She's not in trouble is she?"

"We don't know, there was talk in the village about fighting in the woods." Neptune said.

"She... she told me that she was going to take care of some business in the forest but I had on idea she'd try to fight those criminals. Who is she really?" the old man asked.

"She's my friend and my partner sir and right now I think she needs our help now more than ever." Yang said as she looked to Team SSSN.

"She said people might come looking for her but she warned me they might be the unsavory type and you lot look okay to me, what's going on?" the innkeeper asked.

"We'll let you know later, right now we got a cat to save." Yang said as she and Team SSSN ran out of the inn.

* * *

Cinder sat in a chair and watched Jaune's 'training session' on the screen in front of her. Even she had to admit his fortitude and will was admirable, the way he saw through the illusion after only a few minutes was impressive, but the fact that he was able to resist the pain from the shock collar was amazing.

'Master was right, he does have potential.' Cinder thought to herself.

She watched as he shattered away the fake Pyrrha and she paused the video and watched as he used what appeared to be a Semblance. "That's odd." She muttered, she thought that Arc had not yet activated his Semblance and here he was using it.

"This is unexpected, but not unwelcome." Cinder said to herself. Arc's session had been very taxing on his body, his aura, and he was weak right now, vulnerable but the Semblance gave him power and Cinder couldn't have that.

"I think I know what Jude can do once he gets here." Cinder said, maybe Jude would be able to get some real information out of the boy. Cinder then brought up the recording of Ruby's session and she watched it several times and was impressed by just how powerful Ruby was. Cinder also took notice of her own powers and how it had taken a great deal of effort to subdue Ruby. She looked at the cut on her arm, still healing and was almost gone, but it was proof that Ruby was indeed a powerful Huntress.

Cinder shut off the screen and got up. She decided she would have a chat with her student once she woke up.

* * *

Weiss looked around to her comrades; Flynt was making sure his trumpet was ready as Neon loaded up Dust vials in her nunchacku-glowsticks, she noticed Weiss was looking at her and she gave the Schnee a confident thumbs up. Weiss smiled back as she looked to Team CFVY. Coco was loading up her purse with Dust cartridges, making sure she had enough spare ammo for the coming battle, as she knew they'd need it. Fox was adjusting his blades to his arms and it was at this moment that Weiss couldn't help but wonder if the scars on Fox's arms were the result of early inexperience with his chosen weapons. Yatsuhashi was didn't need to check his own weapon, as his greatsword could be pulled out at anytime to help his teammates. Velvet was checking her camera and selecting which moves and weapons she would mimic; Ruby, Sun, Yang, Weiss, Yatsuhashi, Coco, Blake, Penny, and Jaune were her chosen targets, with the help of her camera she could perfectly copy her friend's moves and create light-copies of their weapons.

Weiss could see each and every one of them was ready and they weren't backing down, and she couldn't help but mentally thank Oum for the friends she had made ever since she came to Beacon, after all she was doing this for the girl she considered to be her best friend.

Up ahead in Winter's private ship Winter and Qrow readied themselves. "I'll upload the virus once you give the signal that you're in the vault, remember you'll only have thirty seconds to take out the cameras so be quick about it." Winter said.

"We got it covered." Neon said as she spun one end of her nunchaku around.

"I hope so, I just received a text from Dr. Polendina, the bomb has been placed inside of Penny but once you destroy the cameras he'll be able to get it out quite easily. He has told me he has already made the preparations to restore Penny's memory." Winter revealed.

"He has?" Weiss asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, he says it is risky, but it will help you in the long run, as the act of compiling the memories, taking out the new ones and restoring the old ones will put Penny into a stasis mode for a while, it should make your job of carrying her much easier." Winter said to Yatsuhashi, who simply nodded.

"What if Ironwood puts two and two together and finds out you've been helping us?" Coco asked.

"If and when a fight between the General and Mr. Branwen here, I will pretend to help the General and allow myself to be taken out early in the fight, to convince the General that I had little to do with the raid." Winter explained.

"It's a risk, but we're gonna have to take it." Qrow said as he piloted the ship towards the Atlas Military HQ.

"We're almost here, if any of you kids want to walk out, here's the last chance." Qrow said. No one said anything. "Okay good, let's get this thing over with." He said as he landed the ship down. Winter looked to Weiss and gestured over to the edge of the landing platforms and Weiss saw their medium sized ship, long with a bubble turret in the rear above the three engines, a long area in the middle for passengers with one sliding door for an entrance, and topped off with the cockpit which had guns beneath it. Weiss nodded to her sister, understanding what she had to do.

Winter opened the ship's ramp and led the group towards the main building. Amelia still stood at the door and did a double take when she saw how many young Hunters-in-training were behind her.

"Pardon my intrusion Specialist Schnee, but are you starting a private class?" she asked.

Winter gave the woman a smile and said "No, Miss Adel and Mr. Daichi both fought Cinder's known accomplices Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black so I decided we could use as much familiarity with the enemy as possible and they refused to come unless Miss Scarlatina and Mr. Alistair were allowed to come as well." Winter elaborated.

Amelia nodded, satisfied, but then she saw Qrow.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Branwen, we were not aware that you were coming! Should I tell General Ironwood that you have arrived?" she asked.

"No, I want to surprise Jimmy, don't spoil it." Qrow said with a wink.

They walked out of the main entry hall and came to the split up point. "Good luck and stay safe." Winter said as she hugged her sister.

"Same to you." Weiss said as she hugged her older sibling back.

"We'll make sure she stays unhurt, just do your part." Coco said to Winter.

"I intend to, remember Chamberlain will be the one you'll have to fight to get past the elevators but go easy on him, he's a friend after all." Winter said as she and Qrow made their way to and elevator.

"We'll try not to rough him too bad." Coco said as Weiss led them down the hallway that led to the vault elevator.

As the elevator ascended to the third floor Qrow took out Reaper and made sure it was ready. "I'll talk to him first, don't want to make too bad of a scene." He said before he took a swig from his flask for good luck.

"We're lucky you're such a drunk, fighting Ironwood will probably be seen as you finally succumbing to a long overdue alcoholic breakdown." Winter said dryly.

Qrow eyed her and then bust out laughing. "You're okay Schnee." He said.

Down in the elevator that lead to the vault Weiss and her group made the final preparations. Weiss took out her scroll and prepared to send the text that would let Winter know they were ready for her to black out the cameras.

"Did they really feel it was necessary to lock Penny up all the way down here?" Velvet asked as she closed up her camera.

"I guess they did, this was technically where she was born, so to speak." Weiss answered as the elevator stopped and the door opened up.

The seven teenagers quickly made their way to the heavy steel door and Weiss knocked on it so Polendina could let them in. The door slowly began to open up and Weiss sent the text to Winter.

Up on the top floor Winter received the text and quickly went to work, she was already logged in to the military's security network so it was a simple matter of pressing a button and the small, simple virus was uploaded to the network.

In the main security room the technicians had just spotted Weiss and her rescue team but they were soon baffled as the security cameras went black. "What the hell happened?" cried one of the lead engineers.

"I don't know, all of the cameras in the main building went offline." Said one of her underlings.

"Get them back! What about the other parts of the complex?" the lead engineer asked.

"No, oddly enough they're still on." Another technician reported.

"Whatever's going on it can't be good, call General Ironwood at once! Also, tell him about those kids that went down to the vault, I think he'll want to know about that."

Down in the vault the door finished opening and Neon said "Tell me where the cameras are now!"

"Two there, two there, one there, one above us, and two in the back." Dr. Polendina said and with that the speedy cat Faunus went to work, propelled by her rainbow Semblance as she went around, taking out the cameras as quick as she could with her nunchaku while Fox destroyed the cameras in the entry hall with his blades.

"Where's Penny?" Weiss asked.

"Here I am!" said Penny who somehow managed to get behind the team after they entered, startling them all.

"Ah! Penny! Don't do that!" Weiss cried, clutching her chest.

"Oh, hello Weiss Schnee, who are these other people?" Penny asked.

"Right now, we're your best friends in the world." Coco said as Fox got back into the room.

"Friends? You consider me a friend? But I don't even know your names." Penny pointed out.

"Coco, that's Fox, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Flynt, and Neon. You clear?" Coco asked.

"Not really, but more friends is always a good thing." Penny said cheerfully.

"They are indeed Penny." Said Dr. Polendina as he grabbed her arm and led her over to one of the work tables. "Lie down Penny, I need to make a few last-minute adjustments before you leave."

"Okay father, are they going to accompany me to Haven?" Penny asked. While she knew some details of her mission: going to Haven, finding someone called Cinder, she had no idea at all about the bomb inside of her.

"Yes. I need you to deactivate for a few minutes Penny, it's okay, they all know." Dr. Polendina said.

Penny looked around at the new arrivals, trying to get a glimpse at Neon as she sped around finishing off the cameras.

"They know I'm not a real girl?"

"Yes." Weiss confirmed.

"And you don't care?" Penny asked, sounding amazed.

"Hey, you act like a person, or at least try to, and you have a personality so that makes you good enough in my book." Velvet said.

If Penny could produce tears they would have been happy tears.

"I like these new friends." Was all she said before she was put into stasis.

Dr. Polendina wasted no time and quickly opened up a compartment in Penny's stomach revealing two small, but powerful bombs.

"Whoa, I may not be a weapons expert but those look like two bad bombs." Flynt observed as Polendina nodded.

"Correct young man, they are the first of their kind to see use, they're aura detecting bombs loaded with highly volatile Dust, but should the bombs be hit by any sort of projectile that's powerful enough they'll go off early." Polendina said as he gently removed the two explosives.

Coco grabbed them and said "State of the art 'bang-bangs'? We'll take 'em with us, considering the crazy crap we'll have to face we'll probably need 'em." as she placed them in her purse.

"The fact that General Ironwood placed not one but two bombs inside of her is all the proof we need to say he's gone off the deep end." Fox said.

"Sadly we can't convince him of that, I've tried." Polendina said as he walked over to Penny's head. He parted her hair and took out a small scalpel and pressed it gently into the back of her head, prying open a small hatch.

He grabbed some tweezers and pulled out a small microchip. "Miss Schnee, please hand me that memory chip on my desk."

Weiss quickly grabbed it and gave it to him. "Is this...?"

"The first Penny's memory chip? Yes." Polendina confirmed as he replaced the new chip with the old one. He gently loaded it in, made sure it was properly connected to Penny's robotic mind and then sealed it off.

"There, it will take fifteen to twenty-five minutes for her original memories to register and for her newer ones to be deleted, but I must warn you there is the threat of some of her more recent memories lingering behind so she may be a bit confused." Polendina said.

"What about when Pyrrha accidentally tore her apart? I thought you said that it would damage her mind to remember that." Weiss pointed out.

"I took your advice and simply removed that part so hopefully Penny will remember everything up until her battle with the Nikos girl." The doctor said as Yatsuhashi picked Penny up.

"Okay, let's get a move on! The sooner we're out of this place the better." Coco said as she went to the door, only for the door to open and reveal Jackson Chamberlain, joined by twenty 300 model Atlesian Knights.

* * *

Meanwhile in Ironwood's office, the General sighed in relief as the security cameras for the main building came back online but he immediately became suspicious when the lead engineer mentioned Weiss Schnee and six other young Hunters heading down to the vault.

Ironwood lost his train of thought when he heard a voice of a guard outside.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't go in there without clear..." the guard was silenced as he was smashed through the door by Qrow.

"Hey there, Jimmy. Got some free time?" Qrow asked.

"What the hell are you doing Qrow?!" Ironwood cried as Qrow walked into his office.

"Funny you asking me that considering what you're trying to do with the robot girl." Qrow said with a glare as his hand clenched around Reaper.

Ironwood sighed and said "So you know."

"I had to tell him sir, I know you two have had your differences in the past but I thought your plan was such a reckless and dangerous move that I had to do something to stop you. I figured that he could get you to see reason but I had no idea he'd react this strongly," Winter said as she got between them, her sword out, acting as if she would get in front of Ironwood should Qrow attack.

"And what of your sister? My technicians said that just before the cameras went down she and six others were going to the vault. I want an explanation now!" Ironwood demanded as he took out his revolver.

"Weiss wanted a chance to say a final goodbye to Penny, the others have been recruited by my sister to help her collect data on our enemies." Winter lied.

"Forget about the kids, Jimmy. You've got one minute to give me a good explanation for this bat-shit crazy plan of yours and why it won't be the biggest case of 'coming back to bite you in the ass' in the history of existence. If you can I'll walk away, if you can't I'm kicking your half-metal ass to Vale and back." Qrow threatened as he transformed Reaper into its sword form.

"I don't have to explain myself to you Branwen. I... ugh!" Ironwood cried out.

Qrow and Winter looked to each other in confusion as Ironwood clutched his head and groaned in pain. Qrow noticed Ironwood's mechanical hand was twitching.

"Oh shit." Qrow muttered.

"What's wrong?" Winter asked.

"I've seen this before. Ironwood is being..." Qrow couldn't finish as Ironwood fired at him and he was forced to duck.

"You will not meddle in my affairs Branwen, leave now." Ironwood ordered.

Qrow gave off his usual cocky smirk as he held Reaper up and said "Make me, Jimmy."

"If you insist." Ironwood said as his flesh hand took his revolver and his robotic one transformed into a large, sharp blade. "As you can see Qrow I've had some updates."

"I like it, now we can have a fair fight!" Qrow said as he charged.

Two blades clashed, but not Ironwood's and Qrow's. Instead Winter had blocked Qrow from fully engaging Ironwood.

"What's the matter with you?!" Qrow yelled.

"We can't just attack him!" Winter said, playing the part of the still loyal agent.

Qrow winked at her and said "He's out of control; he needs to be stopped before he gets innocent people killed!" He surged forward and parried with Winter who tried to slash Qrow across the chest but he easily evaded it.

"I thought you were going to talk to him!" Winter reminded him.

"Actions speak louder than words." Qrow said before he used his strength and speed to smash into Winter and knock her into the wall as he held his sword to Ironwood who blocked it with his arm-blade.

"Snap out of it Jimmy! I know you're an asshole but you aren't that big of an asshole! Fight it!" Qrow cried as he quickly turned around to parry an attack from Winter, keeping up the charade that she was still on Ironwood's side.

Ironwood took his chance and landed a hit on Qrow's arm.

Qrow cried out in pain before he flipped over Winter and landed behind her.

"Let's take this outside." He said as he activated Reaper's gun mode and blasted Ironwood's window open. He darted past them and jumped out the window.

"Crazy, drunken fool. Should we call security?" Winter asked.

"No, we shall deal with him personally Specialist Schnee. We will discuss you actions later but right now we must stop Branwen, if he escapes he'll ruin everything." Ironwood said.

Winter saw Ironwood's face twitch, seeing what Qrow had saw. She couldn't help but wonder what Qrow was going to say.

She created a Glyph around them. "Hold on General." She said as she launched them out the shattered window and into the courtyard below. She landed perfectly with little problem but Ironwood landed roughly, his cyborg body creating a spider-web crack in the pavement as he landed on his feet.

Qrow stood in front of them and said "Well let's go, we ain't got all day."

* * *

Chamberlain was completely confused at the sight of Weiss, Flynt, Neon, and Team CFVY in the vault.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Flynt, make some noise." Weiss instructed.

"You got it Schnee!" Flynt said as he created the Killer Quartet and blasted the Knights with four powerful sound-waves, damaging their audio receptors. The Knights were off balance but they could still fight as they opened fire on the teens with their wrist mounted blasters

"Get behind me!" Velvet cried as she got in front of Penny and Dr. Polendina. Everyone gathered around Velvet and she used her camera to create larger versions of Akouo and Crocea Mors' shield which absorbed the blasts for them, protecting them but not the lab as laser bolts went everywhere.

"Fox, go for the legs!" Coco said, Fox nodded and quickly jumped over and landed crouched down and he slammed into the Knights, using his blades to sever their legs and then stab them in the torso. He managed to take six of them down before they managed to shoot him in the side.

"Velv, lower the shield!" Coco ordered. The rabbit Faunus did so and Coco opened fire with her minigun, which still had the bombs protected inside. She mowed down the Knights, aided by Flynt who blasted them up with the sound-waves and Yatsuhashi who tossed his greatsword at the Knights, decapitating two of them.

Weiss created a black Glyph, she launched herself into the air and landed behind Chamberlain as she held her rapier to his back.

"Stand down." She ordered.

"Miss Schnee do you realize what you're getting yourself into?" Chamberlain asked as he tossed down his gun.

"I'm stopping General Ironwood from making a mistake that could lead to Atlas' ruin! If you had any sense in you you'd help us!" Weiss said.

Chamberlain nodded and said "Sad thing is I agree with you."

"What?" Weiss asked.

"I won't try to stop you, I know what Ironwood is doing is wrong and will cost us greatly if the truth ever gets out. I can't do much to help but I won't get in the way." Chamberlain said.

Weiss lowered Myrtenaster and said "Thank you."

Coco and Velvet ran to Fox. "Come on buddy, get back up, we can't have you hurt." Coco said.

"I'm okay, little banged up but I'm fine, my aura will take care of it." Fox said as he got back on his feet.

"We should probably make ourselves scarce, don't want anymore unwanted interventions." Flynt said as he left the room.

Yatsuhashi nodded as strapped his sword to his back and grabbed Penny.

"Take care of her, please." Polendina pleaded.

"No harm will come to her under our watch, I promise you that." Yatsuhashi swore.

"Don't worry doc, we'll get her back to you without a hair or even a bolt cut." Coco said as she made sure her minigun was ready for another bout.

"Thank you, thank you all." Polendina said as he took a last look at Penny and kissed her forehead. "Go out there and help save the world Penny."

Chamberlain walked up to Yatsuhashi and said "Hit me."

"Why?" the large teenager asked.

"Because it needs to look like I put up a fight, you're the biggest so knock me out." Chamberlain explained.

"Coco." Was all Yatsuhashi said.

"Coco? I..." Chamberlain was knocked out with one smack from Coco's purse.

"Nice guy." Coco quipped as she and her team followed Weiss, Flynt, and Neon out of the lab.

Dr. Polendina watched as his daughter and her friends ran off, all he could do now was pray he would see them again.

Weiss and the others got into the elevator and it began to ascend to the first floor.

"I'll run ahead and prep the ship and get it ready, Coco and Flynt I need you two to be in charge of making sure everyone else makes it." Weiss said.

"You got it." Coco said.

"Can do." Flynt added before he looked to the team, "Okay, Neon and Fox, you two to make sure Yatsuhashi and Penny don't get hit."

Fox and Neon nodded and they went to Yatsuhashi who was carrying Penny.

"Me, Velv, and Flynt will be the main targets since we'll be the ones making a lot of noise, literally in Flynt's case." Coco joked.

"We'll help you guys out if things get crazy." Neon said.

"Thing's are already pretty crazy." Velvet pointed out.

"... well crazier." Neon corrected.

The elevator reached its destination and once they got out they were confronted by three human Atlas guards.

"Hey! You're not..." a guard said before he was silenced via Neon's nunchaku. Neon made short work of the three guards as Flynt ran forward and used his trumpet to shatter a window open.

"Get moving Schnee!" he said. Weiss nodded and quickly created a black Glyph and she launched herself out of the window. She landed on her feet some twenty meters away and she repeated the action. She jumped across the complex like this several times to get to the ship faster.

Inside the building Yatsuhashi had already jumped out with Penny, followed by Neon, Fox, and Velvet.

"Stop right there!" yelled another guard who was running at Coco and Flynt with nine other human guards.

"I'll handle them." Coco said and she transformed her handbag into its minigun form and opened fire on the guards, forcing them to take cover behind pillars and in doorways. Flynt jumped out and Coco quickly followed him. "Get moving!" she yelled to the others

"Halt!" yelled another human guard, but he was quickly knocked out with a mighty punch from Yatsuhashi.

"Well we're in trouble." Velvet muttered as guards surrounded them.

"What's going on over there?" Neon asked. Everyone looked across the courtyard to see Qrow fighting General Ironwood and Winter.

"Well that can't be good." Fox said in annoyance as he held up his arms, ready to fight. "Orders?" he said to Coco.

"Fight as hard as you can and don't go down unless I say you can go down." Coco said as she smashed her purse into a guard.

The battle began.

Qrow slammed his sword into Ironwood's blade, the angle of the clash and the friction created sparks as the two blades slid against one another.

"Give it up Qrow! You can't possibly win this!" Ironwood yelled.

"Don't have to beat you Jim, just have to keep you busy for long enough!" Qrow said before he jumped up and landed a mighty kick on Ironwood's face. Qrow exchanged glances with Winter and she nodded, they needed her to get out of the fight while convincing Ironwood she was on his side.

Winter and Qrow's blades smashed into one another, creating a powerful shower of sparks from the impact.

"Ready Ice Queen?" Qrow asked as he parried and blocked.

"As I'll ever be." Winter answered as she slashed and thrust her sword forward.

"Yes! Specialist Schnee! Do it!" Ironwood cheered as he got up. He then turned and saw Team CFVY and half of Team FNKI battling his troops, taking them down with middling difficulty.

He could see Yatsuhashi carrying Penny forward through the carnage and now it became clear to him. Qrow's insane attack on him was nothing more than a distraction so these brats could take the robot.

Ironwood turned to see Qrow transforming Reaper into its scythe form and then he went to work on Winter, hitting her in both of her hands, forcing her to drop her weapon. He smashed her with the backside of Reaper in the head and knocked her to the ground.

"Nice fight Ice Queen." Qrow said, he turned around only to get a metal fist to his face. Qrow was sent sprawling on his back on the ground, he looked up and saw Ironwood standing above him with his revolver pointed right at Qrow's head.

"You thought this would work?! You think you and those kids can stop me?! I knew you were a drunk Qrow, but I never took you for a total idiot!" Ironwood ranted.

"Not my plan." Qrow said. He quickly rolled and avoided Ironwood's shot. He jumped up and slammed Reaper into Ironwood, pinning him against a wall.

"Snap out of it Ironwood! Jimmy... James, listen to me; you are better than this, no matter how many stupid cracks I've made about you. I saw your twitching, I've seen it before! Someone is messing with your mind and using you but I know you can fight it. Come on Ironwood, you are smarter, stronger, and better than whoever is doing this to you." Qrow said.

Ironwood's face began twitching and a look of horror and helplessness spread on his face. "I... no... you're wrong... Qrow, help me! Stop me before it's too..." Ironwood shut up and his face hardened. "No!" he yelled as he slammed his legs into Qrow's torso. Qrow fell to the ground as Ironwood got a shot of his revolver off, hitting Qrow in the leg.

"Son of a bitch!" Qrow screamed in pain as Ironwood aimed his revolver at Qrow's head.

"You have gotten in my way Branwen and now you're going pay for it." Ironwood said.

"No!" cried Winter, she grabbed her sword, jumped up and slammed into the General before he could pull the trigger.

She quickly grabbed Qrow's hand and helped him up. "You alright?" she asked.

"I've had worse shots; this is like the sixth or seventh time I've gotten shot in this leg to be honest." Qrow joked.

"You traitor! Why are you working with him?!" Ironwood yelled as he got up.

"To stop you from making a mistake that everyone will regret." Winter said firmly as she held her ground.

Ironwood saw that Atlesian Knights were arriving, flying down and surrounding Qrow.

"Specialist Schnee is a traitor to the Kingdom of Atlas, take her and Branwen down!" Ironwood ordered the Knights.

Qrow quickly sliced apart a Knight that lunged for Winter while she decapitated a Knight that was aiming for him.

"I have a way out but not for both of us, what are you gonna do?" Qrow asked as he spun Reaper around, deflecting the laser blasts.

"I'll be fine, they can throw me in prison but they cannot execute me. I am doing what is right Qrow, I will find comfort in that." Winter said as she cut a Knight's arms off.

Ironwood gritted his teeth, all the while his head was pounding as it felt like there was a battle inside his mind as well.

* * *

Weiss climbed into the pilot's seat of the airship and started it up. "Come on, let's make this snappy." She muttered as she checked to make sure the engines were firing properly. "Okay, main engines are go, emergency boosters are low but I think we can handle that, guns are good..." she said as the ships engines revved up and she began to lift up in the air.

Across the courtyard Velvet made a facsimile of Crescent Rose and smashed it into a duo of Atlesian Knights, then she spun it around to deflect the laser blasts from the oncoming guards before Flynt blew them away with his trumpet. Velvet nodded to him in appreciation as she created a copy of Penny's swords and she sent them flying at more Knights, cutting them apart like paper. Her ears detected a Knight attempting to sneak up behind her so she quickly exchanged her copy of Penny's swords for one of Yang's gauntlet and she smashed her hologram covered fist through the robot's head.

Neon raced all over and around them, her rainbow trailing behind her as she punched, kicked, and hit the Knights and guards with her nunchaku-glowsticks, chanting "Never miss a beat!" the whole time as she did so. She jumped up and smashed her roller-skated foot onto a guard's head and she hopped to another one and took him out while she tripped another guard with her tail.

Fox was moving as swiftly as he could with his blades making deadly cuts across the Atlesian Knights. He was trying not to engage with any flesh and blood guards as he didn't want any deaths on his conscience and the blades were very deadly, the damage it was doing to the Knights was proof of that, along with the scars on his body. He sliced a Knight in half while he decapitated another. He saw a human guard attempting to sneak up on Coco so he ran forward and smashed the guard in the back with an Aura infused punch.

Coco noticed this and smiled, "Nice work Fox." She said with a grin, she winked too, but he couldn't see that behind her glasses.

Coco smashed her purse into a Knight, smashing through its torso and then she smashed it into a trio of organic guards who were trying to rush her. "Rushing, yeah, that'll work." Coco snarked as she rolled her eyes. Laser blasts began to rain down upon them from the sky as flying Atlesian Knights opened fire on them. "Ha! Death from above, death from below!" Coco yelled as she began shooting down the Knights. Metal bodies fell from the sky thanks to Coco, taking down a big problem for the team.

Flynt gave Coco cover fire as he and his Killer Quartet, using the sound-waves from the trumpet to blow any ground based guards away. "Schnee better hurry up, we're keeping 'em off of us for now but I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!" he said to Coco as he slammed his fist into a guard's face.

"There she is!" Yatsuhashi cried as the ship came towards them.

Inside the cockpit Weiss could see that reinforcements were arriving to attack the rescue team with three Paladins among them.

"Oh no you don't." Weiss muttered under her breath as she grabbed the main gun trigger. She pulled it and the mighty laser blast hit one of the Paladins and sent the guards around it flying. Weiss landed the ship as she continued to fire at the Paladins, taking out another one as the rest of the team got it.

Neon and Fox quickly jumped in as Yatsuhashi stormed after them. He placed Penny in a chair and strapped her in. "We are leaving now!" he called to the remaining three who had yet to get in.

Coco backed up as she fired at the guards, watching in astonishment as Weiss blew up the remaining Paladin. "Nice light show!" she said.

She noticed a new group of airborne Atlesian Knights dive bombing her, she quickly began shooting at them but one landed in front of her tried to blast her but Velvet quickly saved her leader by stabbing a photo-copy of Myrtenaster into the Knight's face.

"Thanks for the save Velv." Coco said as they hopped into the ship after Flynt.

"Get us out of here, Schnee!" Flynt cried.

"Gladly." Weiss called as the ship's shields took the hits from the lasers.

"What about Winter and Qrow?" Velvet asked.

Weiss had been too busy with the ship and the Paladins to notice Qrow and Winter's battle.

"Oh no." Weiss whispered to herself. She flew the ship towards Qrow and Winter still battled Ironwood and the Knights.

Winter saw this and yelled "No! Weiss get out while you can! We will be alright." Winter promised.

Weiss didn't know what to do. She wanted to help her sister but the ship began to shake from the laser fire hitting the shields. Fox had manned the turret and was returning fire but it wasn't enough to drive the army away.

"Go!" Winter ordered.

Weiss held back tears and she controlled the ship to ascend to the sky.

"No!" Ironwood yelled as he took out a radio, "Bring out the Eagles! Have them stop that ship before it can get too far but instruct them to only use their guns, no missiles!" he yelled to the crew inside main control room. The Atlesian Eagles were a newly developed battle airship piloted exclusively by Atlseian Knights, while they had not been in many battle they were more than capable of catching there insurrectionists.

Winter slammed her sword into Ironwood's blade. "General, if Qrow is right then we are all in danger! Don't you see, you are playing us right into the enemy's hands?!" Winter cried.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ironwood yelled as he clashed his blade against Winter's. He bashed his forehead against hers and then he kicked her in the gut.

Winter rolled out of the way before he could stab her. She jumped up and landed besides Qrow. "You need to get out of here." She said.

"I don't like leaving someone behind!" Qrow said.

"Too bad, I swear to you I will be fine. Now go and pull off your magical escape!" Winter ordered.

"You know what Schnee, you're not such a cold bitch after all." Qrow said cockily before he began running towards Ironwood, putting Reaper away.

"And you're not such a drunken idiot after all." Winter shot back with a smirk.

"What is he doing?" Ironwood wondered to himself as he saw Qrow take a few hits from the lasers but he was barely flinching.

Ironwood tried to fire at Qrow but Qrow simply jumped over him and made his way behind one of the nearby buildings.

"After him!" Ironwood ordered as a squad of guards gave chase. He turned around to see Winter who was now surrounded by three dozen guards.

"I surrender." She said calmly.

Ironwood glared at her and said with a glare "I'll have you court martialed for this."

"I will face any trial with a clear mind sir. What I have done, I did because you gave me no choice." Winter said with a cold stare.

Ironwood clenched his metal fist as the squad that had chased Qrow returned.

"Branwen has escaped sir!" the squad captain reported.

"What?!" How could he possibly...? Damn it!" Ironwood yelled.

Winter smiled to herself. Maybe Qrow did pull a magic trick after all. She looked up into the sky and thought her mind was playing tricks on her when she saw a crow flying away.

Ironwood held his revolver to Winter's head, his hand subtly shaking. "Where did he go?!" he yelled.

"I don't know, he said he had an escape plan for himself but he never told me." Winter said.

"Where is your sister and her little friends going? Penny Polendina is property of the Atlas Military and we cannot allow those idiotic..."

"I won't tell you. Torture me if you want but I won't tell you anything, sir." Winter spat.

"Throw her in the stockade." Ironwood ordered a female lieutenant who saluted him.

"Right away, General Sir! Come on traitor." The Lieutenant said as she forced Winter along.

Ironwood watched as the Atlas Eagles soared over head after Weiss. One way or another, the younger Schnee wouldn't get far.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Headquarters a voice spoke to Salem.

"Mistress, there have been some complications with the Penny Polendina plan..."

"What sort of complications?" Salem asked.

"It was the Schnee girl; she and six other Hunters-in-training hijacked her from us and flew off. You might like to know that Qrow Branwen was with them."

"Branwen. I should have known he'd stick his nose where it doesn't belong. Have the young ones gotten away?" Salem inquired.

"Ironwood has sent Eagle Fighters after them but I doubt they'll do the job. Winter Schnee was an accomplice and we have her in custody, should I have Ironwood execute her?"

"No, do something too drastic and people will lose faith in Ironwood, the few who know about Penny's mission were told it was for the greater good but Ironwood killing someone will raise too many eyebrows, even among the Atlas council, so keep her alive for the time being." Salem instructed.

* * *

Weiss wiped a tear from her eye as Atlas went by them far below.

"Weiss, I'm sorry about your sister." Velvet said, trying to comfort her friend.

Weiss nodded somberly as she piloted the ship ahead to the sea.

In the main passenger area Coco looked to Penny and asked "How much longer is she supposed to be out of it?"

Flynt took out his scroll and looked at the clock. "Doc said it takes about fifteen to twenty-five minutes, it's only been nineteen." He said.

"What do you think she'll be like? Will she remember both sets of memories or just the original set?" Velvet asked.

"The doctor said she'd mostly remember the original, but some stuff from the newer set might linger." Flynt reminded Velvet.

"Heads up, we got company!" Fox cried from the turret. He could see that behind them the group of seven fighters were flying after them.

"How many?" Coco asked.

"About seven, I'll try to blast them down." Fox said as he turned the turret around and began firing.

The Eagles began opening fire with searing lasers, getting a direct hit on the rear of the ship as well as several spots on both sides.

Weiss cried out as the ship shook and bucked. "Oh no..." she muttered as she swerved the ship down to avoid any more blasts. This gave Fox the perfect opportunity to fire and his shot hit one of the Eagles dead center underneath, blowing it up.

"Whoa! I hope that guy had a parachute." Neon said.

"I don't think we have to worry about fatalities, I don't think they're being flown by anyone alive." Velvet said as she held up her camera to a window and zoomed in on one of the fighters, seeing an Atlesian Knight at the controls.

"Oh, well that's a relief." Neon said.

"Might wanna get back, kitty cat." Coco said as she walked up, she looked to Velvet and said "Yo Velv, it's time for a double barrage." Coco said.

"This high up?! Coco are you mad?!" Velvet cried.

"A little, one of those Knights got me." Coco said, revealing a place on her arm where a laser had badly grazed her.

"You going to be okay?" Velvet asked as her camera created a double of Coco's minigun.

"I'm fine; aura's taking care of it. Everybody strap yourself in!" Coco shouted.

"Do what she says, we tried this on a pack of Grimm back in our first year." Yatsuhashi said as he fastened his seat-belt. Flynt and Neon wisely took his advice.

"Weiss! I don't wanna risk getting sucked out to pull this trick off, lower us down!" Coco called.

"What are you trying to do?" Weiss asked as she began lowering the ship as fast as she could.

"Even our odds." Coco said.

Soon they were low enough, about they were forty feet above the ocean all told, Coco and Velvet slid open the door and used their miniguns to shoot the Eagles that were getting too close for comfort. They both managed to hit one, Coco had blasted through the cockpit and hit the Knight piloting the craft while Velvet shot apart a control console, so two ships went down. This act was enough to get the remaining four Knights to pull back.

"You should have a clear shot Fox!" Coco called to her partner as she closed the door.

Inside the turret Fox concentrated on the farthest Eagle and fired, hitting it directly in the cockpit, resulting in a huge explosion.

"Chalk another one up for me." He said as he kept firing at the ships to keep them at bay.

Weiss sped up as the ship approached a large, rocky island with several Nevermore visibly flying around, keeping guard over the land mass.

Weiss had an idea, an insane idea but one that could really help them out. She knew it was risky but she asked herself one question: 'What would Ruby do?' she thought.

Weiss sighed and said "Everyone hang on! We're taking a little detour."

Velvet quickly strapped herself into the seat nest to Yatsuhashi as Coco held on to a railing on the wall.

"What are you...?" Coco tried to say before Fox interrupted her.

"Why are we flying towards that Grimm infested island?" he asked.

"Are you insane?!" Velvet cried.

"My easy going nature is being very tested right now." Coco said.

"Relax everyone; I know what I'm doing..." Weiss said before she muttered "I hope."

Just then the ship began to shake and buckle violently with a mighty crash.

"What happened?!" cried Neon.

"Those fighters hit one of our engines! We have to get rid of them now!" Weiss cried.

"Whatever you're gonna do Schnee you better do it fast!" Flynt shouted.

"Right, Coco! Get one of those bombs ready!" Weiss said.

Coco nodded, beginning to understand what Weiss was going for.

"Ruby if I die doing this I will come back and haunt you." Weiss muttered as she dove the ship down to a long canyon on the island where many of the Nevermore were nesting. The loud ships zooming through their nesting sights naturally disturbed the winged Grimm so they began to attack, crashing into the ships, but the craft remained steady with the Eagles opening fire and blasting the larger Nevermore away, attracting the avian Grimm to the Atlesian ships.

"Okay listen up! Here's my idea; Coco, open the door and toss the bomb, Fox you track that bomb and blast it. The resulting explosion should take care of most, if not all, of those fighters!" Weiss said as she avoided hitting a Nevermore

"That's pretty crazy Schnee, but sometimes crazy works, so let's hope this is one of those times!" Coco said as she went to the door. She opened the door only for a young Nevermore to lunge at her.

Coco drew back to reactivate her minigun, but the young Grimm was quickly killed with a stab to the chest from Yatsuhashi's greatsword. As it disintegrated Coco grinned at her massive comrade, "Thanks Big Y." she said as she tossed the bomb out. "Shoot it, Fox!" she yelled.

Fox swung the turret around and carefully tracked the explosive device as it crashed into the rocks below. He pulled the trigger and after a mere second a mighty ball of fire and Dust exploded through the canyon, disintegrated most of the Grimm and two of the remaining Eagles.

Weiss let out an uncharacteristic cheer of exhilaration as she outran the fiery blast as the ship rose up above a cliff.

"Don't celebrate yet, we still got one more ship on our tails." Fox said.

"Let me take care of it." Weiss said as she preformed a U-Turn to face the last Eagle, but not before taking one more hit to the engine. Weiss pulled the trigger on the primary guns and a small series of powerful lasers blasts smashed into the Eagle and the hostile ship burst into flames. Weiss quickly rose the ship up so the burning wreckage would not crash into their ship as it hurtled into the cliff behind them.

"Nice work Schnee! Now get us out of here before those Nevermore recover." Flynt called from his seat.

Weiss nodded and she quickly maneuvered the ship and departed from the island as fast as they could as Fox blasted away any Nevermore that attempted to follow them.

"We doing okay Weiss? We took a beating back there, I want to know if we can make it." Coco asked.

Weiss looked at a readout on one of the diagnostic screens and did not like what she saw. She sighed and said "We can't make it to Shade but I'm pretty sure we can make it to Haven with what we have now." Weiss said.

"Okay, so what are we gonna do about NDGO and BRNZ?" asked Velvet.

"I can call Professor Goodwitch and ask her to have them transported to Beacon; I know she has the ability to do that." Weiss said as she flew the ship to the east, rerouting their flight path to go to Mistral.

"Sounds good to me, now what about..." Coco was cut off by the voice of Penny.

"What's happening? What's going on? Where am I?" she asked.

Weiss, Coco, and Velvet all looked back to see Penny struggling to undo her seat-belt.

"Are you alright?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Oh! Uh... I think so, you're that rabbit Faunus girl's teammate, right?" Penny asked awkwardly. Yatsuhashi nodded as Coco and Velvet came back to see her.

"Penny, what do you remember?" Velvet asked.

"I remember talking to Ciel about my fight with Pyrrha... but at the same time I remember talking to my father... I don't really understand it. Where are we?" Penny asked.

"We're on a ship going to Haven." Velvet answered.

"Haven? Aren't we supposed to be in Vale at the Vytal Festival?" Penny asked.

The five teens in the passenger area looked at each other.

"Should we tell her?" Neon asked.

"I'm not really sure." Coco admitted as Weiss entered the passenger area with the ship now on autopilot.

"Hello Weiss! Where is Ruby and the rest of your team?" Penny asked.

"Penny, listen to me; Ruby is in big trouble and she needs our help." Weiss said as she knelt down in front of the robot girl.

"Are we going to help her?" Penny asked.

"You bet." Coco answered.

"Good, I will do anything I can to help her." Penny said before she began remembering her earlier questions. "What happened? Why am I... I seem to be remembering two different memories at once but one of them is fading." She said, feeling confused.

"Penny, everyone knows the truth about you, we know you're a robot." Weiss said.

Penny's eyes widened and she looked around. "Aren't any of you disturbed?" she asked.

"We were all a little freaked out when we found out, but hey you seem to be an okay kid to me." Flynt said.

"We already went over this, but yeah, we're okay with you being a robot." Neon said.

Neon's words made Penny concentrate on her weaker, fading memories. "I think I remember that, you guys telling me you knew I wasn't a real girl but you would be my friends regardless... was my memory damaged?" Penny asked.

"Somewhat, you did fight Pyrrha but it was all a big trick by someone very dangerous Penny, a woman called Cinder Fall. Pyrrha accidentally used her Semblance and tore you apart in front of everyone watching the tournament. Your father rebuilt you but didn't restore your memories until today because he was afraid remembering your own death would hurt you but he found a way around that. We came to rescue you to stop General Ironwood from doing something very bad with you and we managed to pull it off and save you." Weiss explained.

Penny just stared at her for a solid minute without saying anything.

"Uh, is she okay?" Neon asked.

"Maybe all this information was too much for her, I know it would be for me." Velvet said before Penny snapped to attention once more.

"I think I understand it, but it's a lot to take in. Is Pyrrha all right? I hope she doesn't blame herself for what happened to me." Penny said.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Penny, after you were demolished the Grimm and the White Fang attacked Beacon, a lot of people died and Pyrrha was killed by Cinder." Weiss said.

"Oh. I... I'm so sorry." Penny said sadly.

"Penny, we need your help; Cinder's in Haven and she has captured Ruby and Jaune. From what we know she won't kill them but Ren and Nora need our help to rescue them. Will you help us?" Weiss asked.

Penny looked at the Schnee heiress and said "Of course I will. Ruby is my best friend! Of course I will help you!"

Weiss smiled, "Thank you, she'll be happy to see you again, I told her that you had been rebuilt but that your memories were gone. She'll be overjoyed to see you back to normal."

"I will do anything I can to help Ruby, I promise." Penny said.

"Okay, so we're all nice and happy but I think we should get to Haven before Atlas can send anymore of those airships after us." Coco said.

Weiss nodded in agreement, "Explain the rest to Penny while get back to flying the ship. I'll need to call Professor Goodwitch and Ren." She said as she walked back to the cockpit.

She took out her scroll as she got back into the pilot's seat and called Glynda, who quickly answered.

"Miss Schnee, has everything gone to plan?" Glynda asked hopefully.

"Our part of the plan went as we expected Professor but we're not sure about my sister or Ruby's uncle." Weiss said.

"What happened?" Glynda asked.

Weiss explained the situation as well as she could to her teacher, telling her that they had successfully rescued Penny but she did not know about Qrow or her sister, explaining the fight she saw between them and General Ironwood.

"I see, I have known Qrow for years, he always finds a way out of these messes and I am confident your sister will be alright, she is a highly respected figure in her field of work and James could not do anything to her without risking his business with your family's company or his own reputation." Glynda said.

"I hope so Professor. We're heading to Haven right now, our ship took a bit of a beating and I don't think we can make it to Vacuo. Can you find a way to get Team NDGO and Team BRNZ?" Weiss asked, remembering that earlier today they had agreed to join them.

"Of course, the headmaster at Shade was a friend to Ozpin, she will be more than willing to lend a hand." Glynda assured the young Huntress.

"Thank you Professor, we'll be in Haven by tomorrow so wish us luck." Weiss said.

"Good luck Miss Schnee and I hope you and your team will have a safe journey." Glynda said.

"Don't worry about that Professor, if anything the worst of it is over for now." Weiss said as she flew the ship towards the east as the sun set behind them.

* * *

Fotia stood in front of her Grimm partner, the Wyvern. It growled at her slightly but Fotia had come to see it as a form of affection, or as close to the act as a Grimm could get. She rubbed its muzzle and it closed its eyes and let out what Fotia considered a purr.

"You're not so bad, are you?" she said gently as she lovingly pet the large beast in front of her.

She was doing this to try and get her mind off what had been going on around the factory recently. Ever since the two new arrivals had come her comrades had been acting a little odd; Cinder had been acting distant and Emerald was behaving as if she was nervous, their encounter earlier was proof of that, sadly Mercury was the only one acting like his usual self.

Neo was a bit of an enigma, always had been and most likely always will be, but Fotia was still confused as to what she meant when she said 'don't trust them'.

Who did she mean? Was she referring to the newcomers or could she be insinuating that Lady Cinder and Mistress Salem were not to be trusted? That was unbelievable! After all they had done for her she would trust them with her life.

But Neo apparently trusted Fotia enough to speak to her, something she noticeably did not do with the others so what did it mean?

Fotia had no answers and she hated it. She never liked to left in the dark, her old family had lied to her about so many things such as how she would always be a useless brat who would never amount to anything.

Fotia smirked inwardly and though 'I showed them.'

Her thoughts wandered to the newcomers; Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. They had began their training today and they apparently had been rather difficult to deal with as Mercury had told her that the Jaune fellow had forced Mercury and Emerald to get physically violent with him because he resisted so much. She had heard his screams and she had seen the blood on the floor, so obviously he had put some sort of fight and judging by Emerald's nervous appearance after the session he must have done something to them. She had asked if she could help with their training but Cinder forbid it, said that she was not experienced enough to take part in it.

Why would this Jaune Arc resist? Could he not see how horrible the world was? How badly it needed Mistress Salem to purify it?

Ruby Rose was also a problem, she had overheard some of the guards talking about the training session between Ruby and Lady Cinder and she had even felt it earlier, a mighty clash of Aura, unlike anything she had ever felt before. The guards said the battle had torn up the throne room and it would take a few days for it to be presentable again so obviously this Ruby Rose was a threat if she could stand against Lady Cinder like that.

Just then Wyvern growled and lifted its head up, looking at something behind Fotia. The dragon rider turned around and saw nothing there; until she looked down and saw a card lying on the ground.

She made a gesture to calm the Wyvern down and then she walked over and picked the card up. It was the keycard for one of the prison cells with a small sticky-note on it that read 'Open this door and you will find an answer.'

Fotia was not very curious. She looked around but saw no one else in the underground cavern, save for a few Grimm Knights who stood guard.

She was very tempted to just give this keycard to Lady Cinder, but the recent happenings had made Fotia suspicious. Neo's warning, the odd training sessions she was not allowed to witness, and that strange voice she had heard earlier in the training room.

Something was going on and Fotia needed to find out what. She decided she would use this card to find this 'answer'.

* * *

Ruby sat alone in the dark cell she was being kept in. It had been about five hours since the grueling battle between her and Cinder and she had only been awake for two hours. Her body was still sore from the fight and she could feel how drained her Aura was.

She had already looked around the cell and found no way to get out from the inside and the binders she was kept in kept her aura down. Ruby was wondering how she had managed to even put up that big of a fight. Maybe the sight of Cinder had just sent her into a blind rage and this time Cinder wasn't threatening Jaune to protect herself from Ruby's eyes.

Ruby now began to think about her eyes. If these eyes really did hold some legendary power then why couldn't she do anything right with it?

Why couldn't she save Pyrrha? Why couldn't she defend herself? Why couldn't she defeat Cinder earlier today? The entire time she and the others were on their journey to Haven they had run into Grimm over a dozen times and not once did her eyes do anything to them.

It didn't really make any sense, but than again why should it? Nothing really made sense anymore. Uncle Qrow had once told her the older you got the more simple things would become confused. She now knew how right her uncle was.

Ruby was ripped away from her thoughts when the large metal door of her cell opened up, revealing Cinder Fall.

"Hello Ruby, did you have a nice rest?" Cinder asked as she and several Grimm Knights walked in.

"What do you want?" Ruby snapped.

"Temper, temper, why are you so hostile? I have helped you so much today; you now have a great taste of your true power. While you may not understand it completely you will soon be able to have a greater control over it." Cinder said.

"I don't care about this stupid power because so far it hasn't done anything for me." Ruby said bitterly.

"You soon will Ruby; it will help you greatly once you see the truth. I just wanted to show you a little something." Cinder said as she gestured to one of the Grimm Knights. It's visor lit up and a hologram was projected onto the wall.

"What is this?" asked Ruby.

"Your first kills, first of many." Cinder said as the hologram showed the battle at the construction site.

"No! Please don't make me..." Ruby began to say before one of the Grimm Knights grabbed her head and used its fingers to hold her eyes open and another grabbed her arms and held them in place.

"You must face reality Ruby, you have murdered two men and you must accept it." Cinder said as the hologram showed Ruby blasting the tire of the vehicle that was charging at her. Ruby watched in dread, knowing what was happening as the vehicle was sent into the air and collided with one of the construction machines, erupting in a fiery explosion.

"Zoom in." Cinder ordered the Grimm Knight. Ruby was forced to watch as the hologram zoomed in on the burning car, making her see the burning corpse of the driver.

Ruby tried to shut her eyes but the Grimm Knight kept them open. Ruby watched, her eyes beginning to give off a weak silver light as tears formed in her eyes.

Cinder watched in satisfaction as the hologram went on to Ruby's second kill. Ruby watched in horror as she saw the whole thing yet again, she watched as she slammed Crescent Rose's blade into the man's torso, sending a small torrent of blood flying followed by the blood pouring from the two puncture wounds Ruby had caused.

Ruby's eyes began to glow brighter as she began to cry in horror and self-loathing. "That's right Ruby, you're a killer. Embrace it! It is who you really are." Cinder said

"No! I won't kill anyone ever again! It's the worst thing anyone could ever do!" Ruby cried as the hologram began to show Jaune's last stand as he fought off the charging thugs, killing several of them just to protect her.

"Jaune killed several more men to defend you and he is being quite the annoyance right now. He won't give in to our... techniques. He is stronger than I thought he'd be." Cinder said.

"What did you do to him?!" Ruby demanded as the recording rewound back, forcing her to watch the murders again.

"I did nothing, Emerald and Mercury, however, drove a dagger into his heart and mind with a little vision of Pyrrha." Cinder said enjoying Ruby's scream of anger and frustration as the Knights held her down.

"You monster! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Ruby began to scream.

"Didn't you just say you would never kill anyone ever again? Make up your mind." Cinder mocked as Ruby began to cry.

"Oh Ruby, don't be so dramatic. The first victim I ever claimed was my own mother and yet I'm able to function rather well, don't you think?" Cinder asked.

Ruby glared at the older woman, but said nothing.

"I can see that you need some time to yourself." Cinder said as she left the cell. The Grimm Knights released Ruby and followed their master out of the small room. "Think it over Ruby, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ruby was left alone in the dimly lit cell and all she could do was cry and hope that she could make it out of this.

* * *

Back at the White Fang camp near the village of Uisco the recovering guards were walking the perimeter, making sure no one else tried to attack the camp, as they were still on edge after Blake's attack.

Inside the main tent Kane spoke to Adam over the radio. "What do you want me to do with her? Are you sure about keeping her alive?" Kane asked.

"Positive, tomorrow I will send an airship to you to have your platoon and your prize brought to me. Do not kill her Kane, I want her to suffer for what she did and if you do anything to her before you get here I will punish you." Adam threatened darkly.

"Understood Adam, when can we expect the airship?" Kane asked.

"Tomorrow morning, I will send you more guards to keep watch over her. Don't underestimate her Kane, she is very crafty and intelligent, one wrong move could lead you to disaster if you aren't careful." Adam warned.

"Don't I know it; she really did a number on us." Kane said as he looked to Blake who was bound and gagged in the corner with cables over her body and tape across her mouth.

"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow Kane, rest assured you will be handsomely rewarded for this." Adam said as he cut off the communications line.

Kane sighed and glared at Blake. "If he had a shred of common sense he'd have me kill you right now. People like Adam, they're always thinking about revenge and never about reason. But he has gotten results and you cannot deny that, the White Fang are more feared than ever before Blake, you could have been a part of that."

"Don't try to talk sense to the traitor sir, it's no use." Said the Platypus Faunus who was also in the tent, as Kane wanted to give him a promotion for taking Blake down.

"Ah, old times. I remember when you and I were the leading supporters of Adam, how we saw what he could really do, what he could accomplish if it wasn't for that old fool Claudandus." Kane said nostalgically. He noticed Blake's worried look and said "Oh don't worry, the old fool isn't dead yet, I don't know how you know we captured him but it doesn't really matter. Tomorrow you and Adam will be reunited once again and he can have his revenge. It doesn't really matter to me."

Blake could do or say nothing. She just glared at the winged man with her piercing yellow eyes.

At the edge of the camp's perimeter two guards walked silently through the dark forest. "Still hurts, did she really have to shoot us? Couldn't she have just sneaked in and left?" whined one of the guards.

"Quit complaining, we caught a traitor like her so Taurus will take us off this dead-end base and put us in a place of some importance." His partner said.

"I think Kane will be taking most of the credit..." the first guard tried to say before a grappling hook wrapped around his legs and pulled him into the bush with a yelp of surprise.

"Oh on, not again..." muttered the other guard before a few blasts from Neptune's gun finished him off.

The first unlucky guard was dragged into the woods to see Scarlet, Neptune, Sage, Sun, and a very pissed off Yang waiting for him.

"Try to call for help and you'll be in a world of hurt." Yang threatened.

The guard nodded meekly as Sun knelt down. "How many of you are there?"

"Forty-two." The guard answered.

"Is Blake Belladonna here?" Yang demanded showing her deadly looking metal fist.

"Yes, yes, we captured her a couple hours ago after she attacked our camp."

"Why is this always so easy?" Sage asked as he kicked the guard in the head, knocking him out.

"Okay, Sun you go up the trees, sneak in while we rush in and take 'em out, you try to find Blake and make sure she's okay. Guys, leave the bulk of these thugs to me, mommy needs to express some wrath." Yang said as her eyes glowed red.

"Gladly." Sun said as he began to climb up the tree.

"Guys? Report in!" called the voice of another guard who was approaching them.

"Think he'll see the body of the other guard?" Neptune asked before his question was answered the guard crying out in surprise.

"Yeah." Sage said as he drew out his sword.

Yang grinned as she ran out of the bushes and smashed her fist into the third guard, sending him flying through the woods and into the camp. The White Fang soldiers all looked up as the guard smashed into a tree and Yang, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage all ran out of the forest.

Yang pounded her metal fist into her hand and asked "Okay, so who's next?"

"Get them!" yelled a soldier and with that the forces of the White Fang charged the four teens.

"Don't they ever learn?" Yang muttered as she launched herself forward into the thugs, smashing through them effortlessly, powered by her anger that had been pent up for months.

A large soldier managed to rush her and pin her to the ground, he quickly began to smash his fist in her face but she just grinned at him. "Thanks for the power up." She said as she used her Semblance to power her kick that shattered his groin. As he fell back down Yang flipped up, grabbed hi, and threw him into the soldier Neptune was fighting. Yang then activated the shotguns of her gauntlets and opened fire on the thugs, letting out a cheer as she did so with a fiery look in her eyes.

Kane ran out of his tent with his bayonet rifle and saw Yang demolishing his men as Neptune helped her out, blasting away any guard who tried to sneak up on her while Scarlet and Sage were battling the swordsmen and winning thanks to their superior training.

"Damn it!" Kane muttered as he took aim with his rifle and began firing at Neptune who quickly transformed his gun into a trident and deflected the blasts as he spun the weapon around, knocking down one of the medics as he did so.

Kane was about to rush forward before something whacked him in the back of the head and then smashed into his knees from the side, blowing him down to the ground. Kane tried to get up but he was pinned down by Sun who was pointing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in their combined Bo-Staff form at him.

"Where is Blake?" Sun demanded with a furious look in his eyes.

"I'll never talk." Kane hissed.

Sun jabbed the staff down on Kane's abdomen, hard. "Where is she?!" he yelled.

"Nearby..." Kane said as he saw one of the lieutenants sneaking up behind Sun with a sharp dagger ready to stab Sun. "... but you'll never see her again." Kane finished with a smirk.

Sun didn't react as the lieutenant was sent flying with a hit from Neptune's trident. "Got your back, bro." Neptune said.

"Thanks man, now you were saying?" Sun said to Kane, who growled at him. Kane gave up and gestured to the main tent. Sun repaid the winged Faunus with a mighty blow to the head.

"I'll get Blake, go back and help the others!" Sun said to Neptune, who nodded and ran back to fight alongside Yang who was kicked a guy in the chest to launch herself up in the air and she began shooting down more soldiers who were trying to fire on Sage and Scarlet.

Kane was quickly woken up by the Platypus Faunus who had also left the tent to join the battle. "Sir, wake up! We can't beat them, we need to retreat!" the guard said.

"No! Go back to the tent and finish off Belladonna, they're here to rescue her and we can't let them!" Kane said as he struggled to get up.

"But Taurus said..."

"I don't give a damn about Taurus! We are not letting them get what they came for!" Kane yelled as he leaned against a post. The guard nodded and ran after Sun.

Yang mercilessly beat the thugs, punching one in the chest so hard he flipped over but Yang grabbed his leg and used him as a melee weapon and began whacking other guards with his body.

Sage and Scarlet finished their battles, knocking out the White Fang swordsmen. Scarlet fired off his grappling hook and grabbed a sword wielder who was trying to stab Yang in the back and yanked him forward to them, so Sage could finish the soldier off with a punch to the head.

"Nice work Sage." Scarlet said as he watched Yang unleash her fury.

"You too." Sage said as he stood still, watching Yang take the White Fang punks apart gleefully.

"Should we help?" Scarlet asked.

"Nah, she's got this." Sage replied.

"No, I mean should we hold her back? Even the White Fang doesn't deserve this." Scarlet said as he avoided being hit by an unlucky White Fang member who had been sent flying with a punch from Yang.

"You really want to get in the way of a powerhouse like her?" Sage asked as he gestured to Yang who was still kicking ass, literally in one case.

"Now that you mention it, let's just sit back and help out whenever she needs it." Scarlet agreed as a bloody tooth landed in front of him.

Elsewhere in the base camp, Sun burst in through the tent's flaps and saw Blake, struggling to get free.

"Blake!" he cried.

Blake looked up and let out a muffled cry of surprise as Sun rushed to her. "Blake! Oh thank god you're alright." He said as he hugged her.

He looked to the corner and saw Gambol Shroud. He grabbed it and unsheathed it and carefully cut the cables, freeing her. Blake ripped the duct tape off her mouth and then she hugged Sun.

"How? How did you find me?" she asked.

"Hey, I never give up on a friend, especially you." Sun said as he gently kissed her on the lips and she returned the favor.

"What's going on?" Blake asked as they parted, with him returning Gambol Shroud to her.

"We're here to rescue you, Yang and my team." Sun answered.

"Yang?! Is she...?"

"Yang's back on her feet and she's got herself a new arm and right now I kinda feel sorry for the assholes she using it on." Sun said with a grin as he took Blake's hand.

"Stop right there and don't freaking move!" yelled the Platypus guard as he aimed a laser rifle at them.

"Oh please." Sun said in annoyance.

Blake smiled as she took Gambol Shroud and used its full power as she slammed it down and created the purple shockwave attack which sent the Platypus Faunus flying into the forest, bashing him against a tall pine tree.

"I have missed you so much." Sun said.

"And I've missed all of you, are Ruby and Weiss here?" Blake asked as they walked out of the tent.

"No, we gotta talk about that..." Sun began as they saw Yang finish off the White Fang forces.

There was only one unlucky soldier left who was now shaking like a leaf and bracing himself for injury.

"If you surrender now I will make note of your cooperation on the report!" he cried as Yang walked up to him.

Yang smiled, leaned in and whispered "Boo."

The soldier fainted.

Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet began to applaud her. "You are officially the most badass person in Remnant." Neptune said.

"You're damn right I am, and never forget it!" Yang said.

"Yang?" asked Blake's gentle voice.

Yang turned around to see Blake and Sun. Yang looked like she was getting mad, she quickly walked towards the cat Faunus but not to attack her, catching her in a crushing hug. "Never leave me like that again!" she cried as she hugged Blake to her.

Blake was shocked, "You're not mad? You don't hate me?" she asked, astounded.

"I could never hate you, not when I came to my senses. I don't blame you for what happened to me Blake, it was that son of a bitch Adam! You couldn't stop him and I rushed right into it without thinking, so please don't blame yourself." Yang begged as she kissed Blake's forehead.

Sun smiled at the sight, happy that the two best friends were reunited.

"You're not mad?"

"I'm a little mad that you ran off and left us like that, but I forgive you. It's pointless to hold grudges." Yang said as she glanced to Sun and smiled.

The two partners parted from the hug and Blake grasped Yang's hand. "I like your new arm." She said.

"Wait till you hear how I got it." Yang said with a grin.

"Okay, we need to get the cops from the village up here and take these chumps into custody." Sun said as he gestured around to the knocked-out White Fang thugs.

"We need to get to the White Fang Headquarters and stop Adam, I know how we can get there!" Blake said, making everyone look at her.

"Blake, right now we got more important things to worry about. We can take care of that prick later but something's going down in Haven." Sun said.

"But we have the best opportunity to take him out! A ship from the White Fang will be coming here tomorrow expecting to pick me up and take me to Adam, we can use that to our advantage, sneak into their main base, and stop Adam once and for all!" Blake cried.

Yang and Sun looked to their comrades, who looked unsure.

"Let's worry about that later, we can decide tomorrow what we'll do. Right now we need to make sure these idiots don't go anywhere." Sun said. Everyone nodded in agreement and they set to work

Yang looked to Blake and said "It's good to have you back, partner."

Blake smiled as a tear of happiness ran down her cheek. "It' good to be back."

Above in the trees Kane watched as his men were rounded up by Team SSSN, Blake, and Yang.

'Damn it! Taurus will have my head for this!' he thought. He didn't have a radio or a way of contacting Adam to warn him about Blake's plan so he decided the best course of action was to fly to the nearest White Fang base and call Adam from there.

Kane took off from the top of the tree, soaring away into the night sky.

* * *

Ashe sat in his room, more than a little drunk, looking at the steel case on the floor in front of him. Bitterness, regret, and misery were the only emotions he felt right now.

He had failed Ruby and Jaune, he had carried so much hatred against his father for years after being fooled into thinking that he had killed his mother, Cinder had wiped the floor with him, and now he had learned that Mila was pregnant when she died to save him.

He was beginning to understand just how hard he had hit rock bottom.

He looked at the case and sighed. Despite everything he couldn't really give up no matter how much he wanted to. There was a part of him that wanted to just slit his wrists and get it over with but there was a part of him that wanted to go to that factory with everything he had and just kill everything in sight. He was lost for the time being and he didn't know what to do.

He slipped off the bed and crashed onto his knees in front of the case and he placed his hand on it. He pressed his finger on the scanner and opened it up and he grabbed the relic.

"Come on, don't abandon us. I know we haven't really proved ourselves worthy and I've been a pretty pathetic excuse for a guardian in your... well you don't have any eyes but you have aura so you have to be a little sentient so... oh this is so stupid." Ashe muttered as he took his hand away from the crystal.

He had stayed in his room for hours, preferring to be alone after the incident but he could hear well enough to know that Ren and Nora had left to go scout out the factory a bit more, mostly so Nora could get out of the house. Ashe shook his head, ignoring the pain pounding in it.

"Damn booze Chloris gave me, tasted like friggin' battery acid." He muttered, but a small glow got his attention. He looked down and saw the crystal was shining, pulsing with light.

"Oh man... okay, listen to me for a second okay... oh Oum I'm talking to a crystal and I honestly think it'll answer me. That's it, I've broke. I have gone bye-bye..." he said to himself... "And now I'm talking to myself, well that's spectacular."

He looked at the crystal and he pondered on what to do. Would it help him this time? Or would it simply show him more visions of his painful past?

He remembered something his father once told him: "The only time you fail is when you stop trying, so try again."

Ashe grabbed the crystal and said "Please, help me out here. At least tell me what Cinder's trying to..."

Ashe was cut off by another powerful beam of light shooting into his eyes. He fell on his back and he began to scream again as visions of something... horrible began to fill his mind.

Within a minute the door burst open and Team ABRN ran into the room and saw Ashe on the floor holding the glowing crystal.

"Oh not this shit again!" moaned Arslan as she, Nadir, and Bolin ran forward to hold Ashe down, but as soon as they got to him he stopped moving ad he sat up, his eyes closed.

Team ABRN looked to one another, unsure of what to do. "Ashe? You okay?" Reese asked quietly.

Ashe's head jerked around to look at them and his eyes opened up but Team ABRN was shocked by the sight of his eyes looking like they did when he preformed the Haakskeekah, he spoke to them.

" **I dream of a rose, a blade of frost, a black cat, and hair of gold. I dream of two warriors bound by love and a flower in a storm. I dream of an old wizard and a dark witch. I dream of the maiden of flame. Death be not proud, though some have called ye mighty and dreadful, thou art not so. Die not poor death, nor canst thou kill me. One short sleep past, we wake eternally and death shall be no more. Death shall die."** Ashe said with a voice that was not his own.

Team ABRN were now utterly either confused or creeped out by what was happening in front of them as Ashe got up and said one last thing in this voice; **"There will be another."**

He dropped the crystal, he fell on his hands and knees and his eyes returned to normal.

"Okay, I am officially freaked out." Nadir said.

Ashe moaned in pain, "Please tell me what I just saw was the result of an alcohol induced dream." He said.

"Nope, I think you were tripping around with that crystal again man, you were talking in a voice that wasn't your own." Reese said.

"Ugh, mom would do that every once in a while. Would really scare when I was a kid... wonder how she put up with it." Ashe muttered as Arslan and Bolin helped him to the bed.

"You were saying some weird things, you said you dreamed about a rose and a snow sword or something like that and two warrior loves and... then you started reciting some poem about death." Arslan said as he sat down.

"Poem about death? That's weird." Ashe said.

"Yeah, nowadays weirdness has gotten pretty common." Reese pointed out.

"Oh, and you said something else that stood out, you said that there would be another. Do you have any idea what you or whatever was talking through you meant by that?" Arslan asked.

"There will be another? I... wait... I think I do." Ashe said.

"Well what does it mean?" Arslan demanded.

"When I was touching the crystal I kept hearing one word repeated to me over and over again... the whole time while I was forced to relive the memories I have of Mila. I... I think I know what it means; I think the crystal just helped me out by showing me what will happen if we don't stop Cinder and her master." Ashe said with a look of dread on his face.

"And that is...?" Arslan began for him.

"Something bad, really bad." Ashe said as he got back up and put the crystal back within its case. "I need to leave; I'm going back to the warehouse."

"No you're not! You can't leave now!" Reese said as she blocked the door.

"Reese, I've got to communicate with this crystal and doing that might be dangerous. I studied some of the ancient books about it and apparently sometimes those who try to communicate with it go crazy so I don't want to hurt any of you if this stupid thing drives me mad. I'll be okay on my own, but just in case I want to be alone tonight if something goes wrong. Tell Nora and Ren where I am once they get back and tell them to come back to the warehouse tomorrow, by then I may know more about what's happening and maybe even how to stop it." Ashe said.

Reese sighed, shook her head, and got out of his way.

"Thank you." Ashe said as he exited the room and walked down the stairs.

"You really think this will work?" Arslan asked as she followed him.

"No." Ashe answered as he collected his weapons which had been stored in a closet.

"Then why do it?" she cried.

"Because I've failed at everything so far, one more failure won't make it any worse." Ashe said as he made his way to the door.

"Good luck." Bolin wished him.

"Thanks, I'll need all the luck I can get." Ashe said as he opened the door, "Thank you for everything, if you guys hadn't shown up when you did me, Ren, and Nora would probably be dead by now. Thank your mom for me Reese, tell her I'll repay her someday."

"She doesn't like that. She helps people out regardless if they can pay her or not." The skater said.

Ash smiled and said "Maybe the world's not as dark as I thought it was." And with that he left the house and made his way into the city.

* * *

Across town Ren and Nora sat on the old building that Ren and half of Team ABRN had been on yesterday, watching the factory in the darkness, trying to see anything. Nora kicked her legs up as she sat on the edge of the building, feeling very bored. Weiss had called and told them she was on her way but wouldn't be there until tomorrow morning, but Ren had given her the coordinates to a space behind the warehouse where she could land her ship and they could rendezvous tomorrow morning.

Nora looked up and said "Ren, let's just go back, nothing's going to happen."

Ren nodded, looking defeated. "I just wish we had something to go on." He said. They couldn't get too close to the building because they didn't want to risk getting spotted, as the guards would most likely either shoot on sight or report them to Cinder.

Ren got up and said "You're right Nora, let's just go..." before he could finish his sentence Nora's scroll rang.

"Hello?" Nora said as she answered it. She was silent for a total of twenty-five seconds before she went "Okay, that sounds weird but I guess it's par for the course at the point."

"What is it?" Ren asked.

"It's Reese, she says Ashe tried to meditate or communicate or whatever with that crystal thingy again and he started talking in a weird voice so it apparently it was talking through him. He took the crystal, his stuff, and went back to the warehouse." Nora said.

"Why?" Ren asked as calmly as he could.

"Apparently he saw something really bad when the crystal communicated with him and he wanted to be alone and he said we should go back to the warehouse tomorrow to see what he's found out." Nora said.

Ren moaned and said "This has gotten beyond strange Nora, put Reese on speaker."

Nora did so, allowing Ren to talk to her.

"Reese, what exactly did Ashe say?" he asked.

"I don't know man, but I think he's is keeping something else from us. He said that 'there will be another' while he was possessed and I think he knows what the crystal or whatever meant by that." Reese reported.

Ren shook his head. "Let's just get back to Reese's house. I am not in the mood to confront Ashe, let him do whatever he wants tonight." He said.

"Are you sure about that?" Nora asked.

"Yes, I think we should leave Ashe alone for the time being. He doesn't really understand this crystal but we know even less. We'll check in on him tomorrow but tonight I think we should just get some rest. Once Weiss and the others get here tomorrow we'll go to the warehouse and find out what he's up to." Ren said as he led Nora away as they began jumping from roof to roof.

* * *

_**Jaune looked above to see the beautiful, but sad face of Pyrrha Nikos as she cradled his head in her lap.** _

" _ **I'm sorry Jaune, I'm so sorry I hurt you." She said.**_

" _ **Pyrrha... is this another illusion?" he asked.**_

" _ **No, you're dreaming again. Your dreams are the best way for me to contact you." Pyrrha said.**_

" _ **Are you Pyrrha's spirit? Are you a ghost?" Jaune asked.**_

" _ **No Jaune, I'm not a ghost... I think when I kissed you, right before I went to fight Cinder, I... somehow did something to you. I think I somehow unintentionally left a piece of my spirit and aura within you." Pyrrha said.**_

_**Jaune nodded and just laid there, just now noticing they were in the courtyard outside of Beacon's cafeteria.** _

" _ **Why are we here?" Jaune asked.**_

" _ **Because this place... the day we were here, alone... it was one of the happiest moments of my life, no matter how brief it was." Pyrrha said quietly.**_

" _ **But it was the last day." Jaune pointed out bitterly.**_

_**Pyrrha held back a sob, "I know, but in this one moment you made me so happy. I'm sorry I hurt you Jaune."** _

" _ **Why Pyrrha? Why did you go up there alone? Why didn't you just run with me? Why couldn't you let me come with you?! Why?!" Jaune demanded, tears now falling from his eyes.**_

" _ **I couldn't just walk away and let her win! I had to do something, can't you see that?!" Pyrrha argued.**_

" _ **She won anyway! You left me Pyrrha, you abandoned you partner, your team, your family, your friends so you could fight Cinder and for what?! To die a pointless death." Jaune said angrily.**_

" _ **It was my destiny." Pyrrha said weakly.**_

" _ **No. No it freaking wasn't. You were meant to be so much more Pyrrha, you were not supposed to be some martyr that convinced Ruby and the rest of us to go out and be heroes. If you think that's true then... then..." Jaune couldn't continue as he began to cry.**_

_**Pyrrha grabbed him and held him to her, whispering "I'm so sorry." To him the whole time as he hugged her back.** _

" _ **Jaune, my death needed to happen. If I hadn't died Ruby's power may never have been awakened." She said.**_

" _ **Bullshit!" Jaune snapped, making Pyrrha's eyes widen in surprise.**_

" _ **Ruby's eye thing would have happened regardless, it would shown its head sooner or later. Please Pyrrha, don't say things like that. You were not put on this world just so you could die in a stupid sacrifice. When we were in this courtyard you asked me what I thought of destiny and I didn't really have an answer, all I said was 'it depends on how you look at it'. But now I have a better answer, destiny is whatever you choose it to be, there is no destiny or fate except what we make for ourselves. You were just convinced it meant doing something that you felt you had to, that your fate was set in stone but I can tell you right here and now that nothing is set in stone until it is chiseled in. Your fate was not predetermined Pyrrha, life and everyone in it had just expected so much of you that you felt you had no choice but to go fight Cinder. You could have escaped what you had been deluded into thinking was a fate you could never get away from, there were a thousand different ways it could have gone. I would have gone with you Pyrrha, I would have died for you." He said**_

" _ **That's why I pushed you into that locker and sent you away Jaune, I didn't want you to die because of me."**_

" _ **I would have. Because, even though it took me months to get it through my thick skull... I..."**_

" _ **Jaune, you were the obstacle between me and my destiny. I... I was always told I destined for greatness so I figured that my destiny was to die fighting Cinder... but I never expected you, I never expected to fall in love, I was so tempted to just run with you but I needed to buy time, do something to stop her and when I heard you talk about Ruby's powers I felt that was my destiny, to awaken Ruby's true potential." Pyrrha said.**_

" _ **Screw that. If you say it like that you're saying that you were nothing but a key to open a door and I refuse to believe that Pyrrha. You were so much more than that to everyone." Jaune said.**_

_**They were silent for a while, they just sat in each other's arms before Pyrrha said "I did my best to talk to you when that fake version of me, I heard you when you began to fight back, I realized how angry you were at me for leaving you. I now know how much I hurt you, my love. I won't ask for your forgiveness because I know I don't truly deserve it."** _

" _ **You already have it. I was hurt, really hurt when you shoved me into the locker. I felt... I felt betrayed that you, the first person to ever really think I could become more than a pathetic loser would just lock me away and deny me the chance to matter... but I forgive you Pyrrha." Jaune said as he hugged her tight.**_

_**Pyrrha sobbed as she buried her head in Jaune's neck, thanking him.** _

" _ **Can you forgive me?" he asked.**_

" _ **Forgive you for what?" Pyrrha asked, confused.**_

" _ **I'm just as responsible for your death as Cinder is. If I had called Goodwitch when I had the chance instead of calling Weiss maybe she and Ironwood and Qrow could have saved you. I don't know how but maybe they'd have gotten there faster than Ruby. Maybe they could have saved you but instead I just threw my scroll to the ground and shattered it. I'm no better than..."**_

" _ **Stop right now. Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened to me Jaune! It was my choice and as poorly made as it was... I don't... it's not your fault!" Pyrrha cried as she hugged him tighter.**_

" _ **It feels like it. I feel so guilty Pyrrha, guilt over your death, guilt for going after Weiss, guilt for... guilt for not being good enough." He said.**_

" _ **You were always better than good enough to me." Pyrrha said.**_

_**Jaune looked around the dream version of the courtyard and said "It's nice that you chose this place for us, because I think this is when and where I finally figured it out."** _

" _ **Figured what out?" Pyrrha asked.**_

" _ **It took a rejection from Weiss, that dance I shared with you, and everything you did for me to help me realize it, but it was here. When it was just the two of us in this courtyard as the sun set that I knew that I loved you." He said.**_

" _ **I fell for you once you treated me like I was just another person. I was miserable at Sanctum, most of the other students were either too intimidated by my fame or that tried to use me to get popular. I was scared that my life at Beacon would be a repeat of my experience at Sanctum after Weiss tried to get on my good side then I met you, you saw me as more than just 'the invincible girl' or a way to get popular. You saw me for who I really was, not for my public image. In you, I found my first true friend in a long time, and through you I made friends with Ren and Nora, with Ruby and her team with... with so many others. It was after I unlocked your aura that I began to have feelings for you and when you stood up to Cardin I realized that I love you but I didn't make a move because I didn't want to risk our friendship or endanger your chances with Weiss." Pyrrha confessed.**_

" _ **I had no chance with Weiss, I see that now. I just wish I would have been smarter than I was. I was so blind that I..." Jaune began to say before Pyrrha stopped him with a finger to his lips.**_

" _ **Hush, don't ruin it." She said as she leaned into him.**_

_**They sat like this for what left like hours, just sat together in each others' arms.** _

" _ **I never want to wake up." Jaune said.**_

" _ **I know, I wish this could last forever." Pyrrha said as she nestled into him.**_

" _ **I used to believe in forever, but I know it's too good to be true." Jaune said sadly before he added "I love you."**_

_**"I love you too." Pyrrha said before Jaune began to fade.** _

" _ **No! Not now!" Pyrrha cried as Jaune began to wake up.**_

Jaune opened his eyes weakly, desperately wanting to keep them closed so he could keep dreaming. He heard a very familiar voice whispering to him, the hand grabbing him felt familiar.

In the dark room he saw someone else with him but once his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was utterly shocked by who he saw.

It was someone who looked exactly like Pyrrha, but her skin was incredibly pale, white as snow and her eyes were now blood red. In the dimly lit room he thought his eyes were playing a trick on him but he soon saw that her appearance was not a trick of the light.

"No... not again." Jaune moaned, knowing it was another illusion Emerald had created.

"Um... hello there? Are you awake?" the fake Pyrrha asked, her voice a perfect match for the real thing.

Jaune weakly hauled himself up and said "Don't. I'm not falling for it this time."

"I'm sorry...? I don't understand, fall for what?" asked the fake Pyrrha.

"Listen Emerald, I'm..." Jaune began as he grabbed the fake Pyrrha's arm, only to feel that it wasn't an illusion. This Pyrrha was flesh and blood. She was real.

Jaune was now totally awake and paying attention, sitting up as he grabbed Pyrrha's hand and squeezed it tight. He could feel the aura within her, it was Pyrrha's but it felt darker, it felt vaguely like a Grimm somehow, but it was just so close to being Pyrrha's.

"I'm sorry but could you please let go? That is rather..."

"You're real..." Jaune said, amazed.

"Well of course I'm real! You mentioned Emerald, did you think I was one of her illusions? You're Jaune Arc, correct?" Pyrrha's pale body asked.

"Y-y-you don't remember me?" Jaune asked, feeling worried now.

"I only know what Lady Cinder has told me of you."

"W-what?" Jaune asked, now feeling scared.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself. Hello again, my name is Fotia Drakos."

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... surprised? Some of you probably already guessed it, but I hope I made it vague enough. Listen to this song as that describes the relationship between Jaune and Pyrrha/Fotia in this fic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2FNByoRGjY
> 
> Please tell me what you thought about the two scenes with Jaune and Pyrrha, as they were really hard for me to write and I literally cried as I wrote the two scenes down, something I have never done before.
> 
> Pyrrha's spirit knows what Jaune knows because she's been listening, not much else to do inside of Jaune.
> 
> The song 'I'm Going to Go Back There Someday' is from the Muppet Movie and is rightfully owned by Disney and Jim Henson Productions. I wanted to use it because I realized just how much of an effect it had on me before I began writing this story.
> 
> The poem Ashe recites when he is possessed by the crystal is Sonnet X, or Death be Not Proud by John Donne.
> 
> And before you ask, yes Platypuses do have venom stingers on their claws. Did Perry the Platypus ever do that?
> 
> Early on in development I had Ciel Soleil among Penny's rescue team but I quickly dropped her for several reasons, one being we don't know much about her or what her weapon is and two I didn't want to overload the cast.
> 
> Jackson Chamberlain's name is taken from two civil war heroes: Jackson is from Stonewall Jackson who fought for the confederacy and was accidentally shot by his own men, he died later due to pneumonia and he never even got to see his baby girl. (Man, even the notes of this story are depressing) And Chamberlain comes from Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain who led the 20th Maine at the infamous battle of Gettysburg, as seen in the movie Gettysburg (which I highly recommend).
> 
> Here are the voices of some of my OC's in my head:
> 
> Ashe: Matt Lanter (Anakin in The Clone Wars animated series)  
> Damien: Jason Saldana (Tucker in Red vs. Blue)  
> Giger: Udo Kier (Professor Pericles in Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporate, Dragonetti in the first Blade movie)  
> Ziz: Maryke Hendrikse (Revy in Black Lagoon)  
> Steppenwolffe: Pete Postlethwaite (Roland in The Lost World Jurassic Park)  
> Saul Jude: Tony Todd (Candyman, Dreadwing in Transformers Prime)  
> Zhan: Jean Reno (Leon the Professional)  
> Kane: Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester from Supernatural)  
> Claudandus: John Hurt (The War Doctor, Kane in Alien)  
> Mila: Olivia Olsen (Marceline from Adventure Time)  
> Norvik: Robert Englund (Freddy Kruger)  
> West: Dee Bradley Baker (More specifically Tarlock from Legend of Korra, dude has way too many voices)  
> Chamberlain: David Kaye (Animated Optimus Voice)
> 
> Oh and Happy Easter.


	11. Dark Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Shameless promotion time, I highly recommend these two RWBY stories, they are fantastic:
> 
> 4 Years at Beacon by smstanton: One of the best, most adorable Arkos fics I've ever read but it also has a great dramatic story about both Jaune and Pyrrha's lives.
> 
> Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117: A dark, mysterious fic that has only two chapters so far but I cannot wait to see where it goes. However it is on FF.Net, not here.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.

Jaune's eyes had now adjusted to the dark, barely lit room and he could see better, and what he saw was both amazing and horrifying. This girl who called herself Fotia Drakos looked and sounded exactly like Pyrrha. The only differences were her hair being shorter, her eyes being a bright shade of red, and her skin being incredibly pale. But Jaune could tell, he could feel that this was Pyrrha.

He grabbed her and hugged her body to his. "Oh Pyrrha, what has that evil witch done to you?" he cried.

All of a sudden he was forced off of her and pushed into the wall. Pyrrha, or Fotia as she called herself, glared down at him and said "What did you call me? Pyrrha? I am aware that you were once partners with Pyrrha Nikos but I am not her, Arc, and whom were you calling an evil witch?"

Jaune got up and said "Cinder Fall, or her master Salem. I don't really care anymore. At this point all I want is to have you back to normal and see everyone working for Salem dead."

He was sent to the ground with a powerful slap to the face from Fotia. "Watch your tongue! You have no right to speak of Lady Cinder that way and I should punish you here and now for even thinking that way about Mistress Salem!" Fotia cried.

"Pyrrha, please, listen to me! They have done something to you, don't you remember anything? What your life was like before?" Jaune begged.

"I remember what my life was all too well. The beatings, the harsh words, the nights I was forced to sleep on the floor cold and hungry! They saved me from that life and I intend to repay them for their kindness." Fotia said as Jaune got back up.

"No, no! That's wrong! You are not Fotia Drakos, you are Pyrrha Nikos! You were not abused as a child; your parents loved you with all their hearts! I met them! They were devastated! Cinder killed you, I don't know how you're alive but..." Jaune began before another hit from Fotia knocked him onto the bed.

"Lies! They said you were delusional, but I had no idea it was this bad. You do need our help." Fotia said.

"Your help?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, our help to see the light, to see the truth. This world is terrible and cruel, it needs to be punished, it needs to be cleansed and Mistress Salem is the best way to achieve that." Fotia said without a shred of doubt in her mind.

Jaune began to realize just how bad the situation was now. Pyrrha wasn't dead after all, but she might as well be with this new 'Fotia Drakos' persona.

"Cleansed? Pyrrha, the only ones that need to be punished are people like Cinder! You have to try and remember who you really are! Please! Remember the Emerald Forest..." Jaune began before Fotia stopped him.

"I have never been there and I refuse to listen to your nonsensical blabbering anymore, this was a waste of my time." Fotia said as she made her way to the door.

"Pyrrha, wait!" Jaune pleaded before Fotia turned on him.

"Stop calling me that you..." she was interrupted by the door opening to reveal Cinder and several Grimm Knights.

"Fotia! What do you think you are doing in here?!" the Fall Maiden demanded.

Fotia quickly dropped to her knees and said "I am sorry Lady Cinder! I was curious about our guests and I found a keycard to Arc's room so I..."

"Enough, leave us. I will speak to you in a few minutes. Right now Jaune and I need to talk." Cinder said firmly.

Fotia nodded, she got up and quickly walked out of the cell as Jaune glared at Cinder. Once Fotia was gone Jaune yelled out "What did you do to her you bitch?!" as he charged at Cinder.

Cinder rolled her eyes and quickly used her wind powers to slam Jaune into the wall and hold him there.

"I brought her here, I did not disintegrate her as Ruby probably told you I did, I merely teleported her. I was ordered to bring the 'Invincible Girl' to my master so she could be transformed into a living weapon for us to use however we see fit." Cinder said as she got closer to Jaune.

"What did you do to her?! Why does she look like that?! Why doesn't she remember anything?!" Jaune yelled frantically.

"Did you honestly think I was stupid enough to just kill her? That I would be so foolish as to kill someone as powerful and with as much potential as her?" Cinder asked. Jaune did not respond, he simply glared back at her. "Oh no, we are too smart to do something as idiotic as that. Now to answer your questions; do you think she'd turn against the world so willingly? No, you see, unlike the others under our employ Pyrrha had no hatred of the world at large; we needed to... persuade her a bit. A little bit of brainwashing and mind rape make all the difference." Cinder said smugly as she enjoyed the devastated look on Jaune's face.

"She... she didn't even recognize me..." he said.

"Oh Jaune, don't be too sad, after all it's only a matter of time before you join her." Cinder said.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"You and she are contingency plans for one another. My master has conceived a wonderful idea; take a promising and beloved young Hunter and transform them into what they and the world at large hate the most: a Grimm. You see; she came up with a way to organize the Grimm, to make them less chaotic. Grimm Commanders; all we needed was a few decades worth of experiments and a few dozen failed attempts before we got it right. We injected the essence of the Grimm into a person's body, but we needed a person who was powerful enough and filled with enough anger and hatred to be worthy of surviving the process. The first two were commanders from the last Faunus war, thought to be dead but my master's agents saved them and brought them to her, where they were kept hidden for years. The third was a Huntress named Ziz from Vacuo who was left for dead by her team, her hatred has kept her going for quite a while. Your beloved Pyrrha is the fourth thanks to our mind alteration and she will control the Wyverns, and you my boy, will be the fifth." Cinder said with a look of pure enjoyment on her face.

"Never." Jaune hissed as harshly as he could.

Cinder tightened her fist, choking the life out of him.

"Now Jaune, you are but a backup should something go wrong with Fotia. We have a way to deal with you should you not cooperate but I want you to think about it: The Invincible Girl and the heir of the Arc Bloodline, together, leading an army of Grimm! The fear, chaos, and hate it will breed! It will be wonderful." Cinder said, but she noticed Jaune's cold glare remained. "Okay Arc, I'll make you a deal; if you join us I will have Fotia's mind altered again. She will remember she is Pyrrha Nikos and all that entails, but I will make her realize the truth about Ozpin and his inner-circle; how they planned to turn her into a weapon. I'll make it so she remembers you but she will remain loyal to us. Think about it Arc, you can be together with her again, partners again. Only this time you'll be leading the Grimm instead of killing them. Your friends and your family will be protected and unharmed so long as you do what we say. It's a win-win for both of us; we get you and Pyrrha as Grimm Commanders and you get to be with the girl you love again."

She pulled him off the wall and brought him close to her face with her wind and she asked "What do you say Jaune?"

Jaune spat directly into Cinder's eye and calmly said "Fuck you."

Cinder sighed in annoyance before she slammed Jaune into the ceiling, then into the wall, then into the opposite wall, and finally into the floor, knocking him unconscious. She watched as blood seeped from his bruises and reopened wounds and as she walked out of the cell she muttered "Fully deserved."

Jaune didn't dream with Pyrrha again.

Deep inside of Jaune's mind she curled up into a ball, repulsed and terrified by what Cinder had done to her. On one hand she was a little excited because if her body was still around then that meant there was a chance of being whole again and coming back, however unlikely it was. But on the other she was scared of what Cinder had done to her, she had heard Jaune's conversation with Cinder and while she wanted to go and comfort him, and seek comfort for herself, she was utterly shocked by what had become of her physical form. She was disgusted and feared what Cinder could have done to her in the four months since the fall of Beacon.

* * *

Fotia sat in the damaged throne room with Emerald, Mercury, Neo, and the recently returned Ziz who tried to comfort the younger Grimm Commander.

"Relax kid, that little asshole was just trying to mess with you. People do that all the time, lie to you to get you on their side. At least you were smart enough to see through his little trick." Ziz said proudly.

"Thank you my sister, but he looked so sure! He was convinced that I am Pyrrha Nikos! But that's ridiculous! Lady Cinder killed her, so how could I be anyone else?" Fotia asked.

"You can't be. Trust us Fotia, he's nothing but a pathetic little liar who's so whiny over the loss of his partner that he'll do anything to bring her back, even say that someone who looks like her is her." Mercury said as Emerald nodded in agreement.

"Why did you even go in there?" Ziz asked.

"I found a keycard to his cell, one with a note that read 'open this door and you will find an answer'. I honestly don't know..." Fotia said before Cinder's voice stopped her.

"Don't know what, dear Fotia?" asked Cinder as she arrived.

Emerald, Mercury, and Neo drew back a bit but Ziz stood her ground.

"I... don't know what to make of it all, Lady Cinder. It's all so confusing." Fotia said, deciding it would be best if she did not mention the whispery voice she heard earlier.

Cinder seemed to calm down a bit before she asked "And who do you think gave you this note?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, not even the slightest. I threw the note away because I figured I wouldn't need it." Fotia said.

Cinder moaned mentally but tried not to let her frustration show, she knew she needed to keep 'Fotia' deluded for as long as possible and getting mad would only make the newest Grimm Commander question things.

"And why are you confused Fotia? Why did you feel the need to go to that cell and see who was inside?" Cinder inquired.

"Well... things have been odd ever since Rose and Arc arrived; you've been acting distant and so have Emerald and Mercury and Neo... well Neo is Neo." Fotia admitted.

Cinder looked to her three underlings; Mercury looked suspicious, Emerald looked nervous, and Neo looked as if everything was normal.

"I see. Understand Fotia, we need to make sure Rose and Arc see the light of Mistress Salem, make sure that they see that their ways will only lead them to ruin. We need to convince them that we are the way of the future, no matter how hard that task may be. Our Mistress had ordered us to make them see the light, and I plan on satisfying her. She has plans for both of them and she will be very disappointed if we do not manage to convince them of our point of view. Sooner or later Arc will accept that his partner is truly gone and then he will be one of us." Cinder said.

"What about the Rose girl?" Ziz asked.

"She will be difficult, she may take a while but sooner or later we will break her. Everyone has their breaking point. Fotia, you may retire for the night." Cinder finished.

Fotia nodded, she got up and respectfully bowed to the Fall Maiden, then she departed for her room.

Cinder turned back to her underlings and said "Who gave her that keycard?! We came dangerously close to disaster tonight; Arc has a Semblance when he's not supposed to have it yet, who knows what it could do? If this happens again she could realize who she really is."

"Don't look at me, I just got back." Ziz commented.

"And I wouldn't want her getting back with Arc! That loser may be stronger than we thought but I got no respect for him. You know me boss, I wouldn't dare." Mercury said honestly as he eyed Emerald. "But someone here might."

"What are you insinuating?" Emerald demanded as she pulled out her weapons.

"I'm just sayin', you looked pretty shaken up after our little session with Arc today. Do you pity him? Do you feel sorry for him, master thief?" Mercury prodded.

"Shut up, Black! You have no idea what you're talking about! I would never betray our cause for those worms." Emerald said as she was getting very tempted to cut or shoot Mercury's arms off to even him out.

"Enough. Mercury does have a point Emerald, when I watched the recording of your session with Arc I noticed you looked unsettled, you looked like you regretted what you had done." Cinder said as she approached the illusionist.

"No! I was only weirded out that he saw through my illusion! Please Cinder! I swear to god I would never betray you after all you have done for me! You saved me from a life starving on the streets, I am loyal to you, I promise!" Emerald said as she got on her knees.

Cinder touched Emerald's head and rubbed it. "I believe you; I know you are loyal to me, my thief. What about you Neo, after all you seem to be very friendly with Drakos." Cinder said to the silent girl.

Neo shook her head, honesty in her eyes.

"We need to know more about Nikos, is there anyway we could open up her old memories and look through them so we can get the illusions right?" Emerald asked.

"No, not without risking the true Nikos breaking free, we can't have that. It's a miracle it has lasted this long with no sign of deteriorating so I would rather not risk having her true self get out." Cinder said.

"Then what are we gonna do? Emerald's tricks won't cut it anymore, so what?" Mercury asked, annoying the angry look Emerald was giving him.

"Zhan, Damien's enforcer is much more advanced with illusions than Emerald, he can even have them affect the physical world around them. If harsh words and pain won't break Arc then maybe all we need is something a bit more... intimate." Cinder said wickedly.

As the group dismissed Cinder grabbed Mercury by the shoulder and whispered to him "Keep an eye on Emerald, if she shows the slightest bit of pity or remorse I want to know about it."

"You got it." Mercury said with a cocky grin.

As Cinder was left alone in the throne room she thought to herself, maybe she could work this little mishap to her advantage. After all, Arc would do anything to get Nikos back and he clearly has some guilt issues... yes, his feelings for Pyrrha would be his undoing.

* * *

On the edge of the city a raven landed on top of an angel statue. Once it was sure it was not being observed it transformed into a human.

Raven looked around and said "Alright, let's begin the search."

She jumped off the statue and transformed back into her avian form and flew into the massive city to search for Ruby. As she flew overhead a legion of different sounds and smells filled her senses. She had familiarized herself with Ruby's scent and aura signature, but in a city this huge it would take time to find her.

She decided to fall back on a tried and true method of investigation; find the person who claims to be in charge and then find out who is really in command. Raven knew enough about Haven's recent criminal activities to know who was the reigning crime lord; Damien Ante.

She flew over the gigantic city and into the dark night.

* * *

It had taken Ashe longer than usual to get back to the warehouse as the events of today had taken a toll on him. He had taken a break and stood on a bridge over a train yard to watch the engines go by. He had always loved trains, even when he was a toddler, but now that he was an adult there was something about them that he could relate to; they were always wondering around with no real home. Going north, south, east, west, and everywhere in between, with nowhere to really call home like him. It was probably why he had tried to start a life as a train guard about eight years ago but all that did was push him right back into the life of a Guerrilla Huntsman. He had sat on the bridge for an hour watching the trains go by, listening to their sad horns and whistles, sounds that would vanish into the distance and leave a mark on certain people's hearts, whatever the age or race. Those trains and their sad sounds were lost forever between towns and cities, not knowing or caring where they had been or where they would go. So it was with all trains ever.

He didn't know why, but trains made him sentimental.

Maybe it was because he hadn't really had a place to call home for such a long period of time. The last place he thought of as 'home' was in the village of Sarin, where Mila lived. His home was with her but it was taken away. He had walked all over Remnant and no matter what he was always put off by people who wanted to travel. Some people wanted to go out and see the world because they were tired of home. People like Ashe traveled too much and all they wanted was a place to call home.

Ashe shook his head as he unlocked the door to the warehouse and quickly locked it behind him. He went to the center and placed the case down on the floor and opened it up, revealing the Aura Crystal.

He activated the anti-gravity shield in the case, but he made its rang shorter but taller and the crystal rose up seven feet in the air.

Ashe knew what the crystal had shown him, it was what Cinder and Salem planned to do. Something so horrible it made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe his sister was willing to take part in this, the big sister who would always play with him when they were young, who even in her teenage 'rebellious' phase would always give him a reassuring smile and affectionately rub his hair. He remembered how she would spar with him, even after their father forbade it.

It was so hard to believe that his big sister had become... this.

He knew that by the end of this he would be dead and he would have to try to take his sister with him.

He got on his knees, looked up to the crystal and spoke to it.

"Oh mighty Aura Crystal, relic of Remnant's past! I speak to you not only as your guardian, but as your servant and your weapon. Remnant is in danger and it needs your help more than ever, if you refuse to give it millions will suffer. I beg of you to speak to me, to give me a sign of what I must do to prevent the Mistress of Grimm's plans from coming to fruition. If you can help me with this task I know of another who can be your guardian. Once this is over I will pass you on to someone else, someone far more worthy than I, but please, help me."

For a total of five seconds all was silent.

Then a beam of purple light shot out of the crystal once again and into Ashe's eyes, but this time it didn't hurt. He did not scream. It felt different, it didn't feel painful, it felt soothing.

Ashe looked around and saw a blank white void with nothing in it.

"Is this what mom had to put up with?" he asked himself.

"Yes." Answered a voice out of nowhere.

Ashe jerked around to see a rather pretty woman in her mid-thirties standing before him. She had violet eyes, jet black hair, and a gentle and loving face.

"Mom?" he asked calmly.

"No, we are not Ember Kasai, for our avatar we merely chose a form we felt you would be comfortable with talking to." The figure of his mother said, which explained why his mother's eyes were now purple instead of their original yellow.

"'We'?" Ashe asked.

"Yes, we are the inner-being of the Aura Crystal. We have existed since Remnant came into being after the original world was laid to waste by the war." The avatar said.

"What are you, really?" Ashe asked.

The avatar rolled its eyes and said "We are a mighty source of aura, empowered by the souls of all those killed in the war, the collective aura was gathered up and placed with this crystal but we also have bits of the aura of our former guardians, all those who protected us and fell still reside here."

"So my mom is still in here somewhere?" Ashe asked.

The avatar nodded and said "Affirmative, but not the real Ember, just an imprint, a shadow."

"Okay, now can you please give me some advice on what to do and how I can find a way to help stop Cinder?" Ashe asked.

"We have been quite aware of what has been going on outside so we felt it appropriate to speak with you. We know of Salem's plans because of our age, we have been around for three and a half thousand years and the Mistresses of Grimm have tried to get their hands on us for nearly as long. We must never fall into the hands of the Mistress of Grimm, she has been playing this game for a long time but it is at an end, if she gets her hands on us or the remaining three Maidens the world will fall into darkness, it will fulfill what she thinks is its destiny." The avatar said.

"And what is Remnant's destiny?" Ashe questioned.

"Destiny? That is not for us to know." The avatar replied simply.

"Okay, so can you please tell me what to do? I need to know how to save Jaune and Ruby and I also need to know how to stop Cinder from pulling her master's plan off. I mean if we can't stop it a lot of innocent people will die and I will not allow that to happen." Ashe said.

The avatar eyed Ashe and said "We are conflicted, we do not completely trust you."

Ashe groaned in frustration and said "Don't completely trust me?! Why the hell not?!"

"Because we know you still love Cinder."

"Of course I do, she's my sister! Don't worry, I won't join her and I'll try to take her out if I can." Ashe assured.

"No you will not, while your emotions give you power they also betray you. You still love your sister and that love will be your downfall. She will kill you and take the crystal because you aren't good enough. She will win if you let her." The avatar said.

Ashe sighed and answered with "Listen, I can't kill her. I can fight her but she's my sister, I love her and no matter what I can't bring myself to end her. Let somebody else do it, okay?"

"That is the likely outcome. We already know a great battle is in the near future, you and many of Ruby Rose's friends and allies will align together to attack Cinder's factory. We know that you will fight for your young friends but you will not face Cinder. We sense you have something else to talk to us, about your time as the guardian." The avatar said.

"Yes, I do. I plan on rescuing Jaune Arc from the factory and once we're out of there I want him to become the new guardian of the Aura Crystal. He's a good kid, he's got a lot of potential, and I know he won't give into the darker urges of violence like I have." Ashe said.

"Can you be sure? We know little about Jaune Arc, but we do know that he is in danger. If Cinder wanted him alive then Salem must have plans for him. Arc could face the same temptations that Cinder gave into." The avatar pointed out.

"No, he won't! He's stronger then that, he won't give in. He's kind of a dope but I know he can guard you better than I can. He's better than me. Give him a chance, but I will make sure he hasn't given into any of Salem's tricks, I promise, okay?" Ashe said.

"We remain unconvinced, if Salem gets her hands on us it will happen again."

Ashe knew what the avatar was speaking of, he had seen it in the last vision the crystal had given him. The voice that possessed him said 'there will be another' and the mere idea of _that_ happening again...

All of a sudden Ashe felt a massive power come out of nowhere, the avatar itself looked surprised by the immense power.

"Is that you?" Ashe asked.

"No, it is someone else." Said the avatar as a figure emerged from the empty void.

An average sized man with tanned skin and dark hair, wearing dark clothes but he wore a friendly smile and had an aura of wisdom and trustworthiness about him. "Hi." The figure said.

"Uh... hi." Ashe greeted, unsure as he watched the avatar bow down before the stranger.

"My lord, to what do we owe the pleasure?" the avatar asked.

"I've been meaning to talk with this guy, figured now would be the time to do it since he's already mentally within you." The stranger said.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Ashe asked as calmly as he could.

"He is the creator." Answered the avatar.

It took a few seconds for Ashe's mind to fully process what was going on. Then it hit him.

"Oh my god." He said.

"Yeah." The stranger said modestly.

The avatar dispersed to give Ashe and the new arrival privacy, but Ashe fell to his knees, overwhelmed by what was going on.

"Please don't start groveling and doing the stupid 'I'm not worthy' thing. If there's one thing that gets on my nerves its people who have no confidence." The stranger said as he sat down next to Ashe.

Ashe looked at the deity and said "Wait a minute, if you're who I think you are then you have the power to help us out!"

"Oh boy, listen, this story isn't mine. I'm just a cameo, so to speak." The stranger said.

"Listen, I want to make a deal, you supernatural things are always making deals to take souls and crap like that so I want to make a deal, okay? I will give you my life if you get Jaune and Ruby away from Cinder and to someplace safe. Trust me, they are worth it." Ashe said as the new arrival simply laughed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but no. You and the others will have to save Ruby and Jaune yourselves. I won't interfere."

Ashe moaned as he smashed his fist into his head in annoyance. He got another idea.

"Okay, well what about Pyrrha Nikos?! Come on, my life for hers. Take me to the land of the dead and bring her back to life. If anyone deserves a second chance she does. Kill me, let me be with Mila again, bring Pyrrha back and then she and Jaune can be the guardians of the stupid crystal and have a happy ending, okay?! Just do it! Bring her back!" Ashe demanded.

The man sighed sadly and said "Not a day goes by that a prayer like yours is not heard; as we speak a mother offers her life for her sick child, a Hunter for their village, a captain for his soldiers, but I am sorry, there will be no trade or bargain. What is, is what must be."

"Destiny?" Ashe asked.

"No, well... that's one word for it. I used to like the concept of destiny but after a while I realized that destiny is nothing but a poor justification of death. It is at best a coincidence and at worst a lie." The stranger said.

"A lot of people would disagree with that." Ashe pointed out.

"And they are free to." The man said as he got up, which Ashe did as well.

"So if Pyrrha's gone for good and you won't help me save those kids what am I supposed to do?" Ashe asked.

"Just do your best, no one can ask anything more of you. Work with the others, fight as hard as you can, do the best you can, and try to win. Good luck and remember the power of the crystal, it will help you out when you need it most." The man said as he vanished.

Ashe was now left alone in the white void. He looked around, expecting the avatar for the crystal to return, but it did not.

"Hello? How do I get out of here?" Ashe called.

Just then another figure appeared; he looked to be in his early sixties but was somewhat muscular. Ashe could tell this was the avatar in a different form because of the purple eyes.

"You will leave this place once we are done talking; right now we need to go over what we know of Salem's machinations with you." The avatar said.

Ashe nodded and sat back down. While he knew the basics of it and the general purpose of what Salem was trying to do a little more info couldn't hurt.

Oh how wrong he was.

* * *

Blake watched as the village's police vans departed from the forest, containing forty-one members of the White Fang. She had noticed that Kane had gotten away and that worried her, as it could mean that any chance they had of taking down Adam was gone, but a part of her knew there was still a chance. She watched as Yang and Neptune soaked up the praise from the town's chief of police.

"Oh it was nothing sheriff, just another job well done for us." Neptune said as modestly as he could.

"And I needed to get some rage out of my system, might have overdone it a bit." Yang admitted as she shook the sheriff's hand.

"Nonsense, these punks deserved it, especially after their attacks on Vale." The middle-aged man said thankfully.

"No prob, we're just here to help a friend." Yang said as she nodded to Blake who stood next to Sun.

The sheriff nodded and said "I'll be going back to town, the next Atlas patrol is supposed to be here tomorrow night so I'll hand them over to the Atlesians; Atlas is better equipped to deal with them anyway. If you kids need help let me know." He went back to his car and followed the prisoner vans back to town.

Yang turned to Blake and Team SSSN and said "Okay, what are we gonna do now?"

Sun considered this and looked to his fellow Faunus. "Blake, you said something about knowing how to get to Adam, what is it?" He asked.

"When they had me tied up I listened in on Kane talking to Adam." Blake began.

"Who's Kane?" Scarlet interrupted.

"The Flying Fox Faunus, he was the commander here. Anyway, Adam said he was sending a ship to come get me and bring me to him. They said it will be here by tomorrow morning and even though Kane did get any I don't think he'll have anyway of warning Adam before then. We can ambush the White Fang operatives and take the ship. I know where the main White Fang base is, I saw its location before they captured me." Blake elaborated.

Team SSSN looked to one another and Yang just stared at her partner.

"You mean we've got a way of taking that son of a bitch down?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded, "All we have to do is sneak in, find Adam, kill him, and then escape with no one else even knowing we were there if we're careful enough. That was my plan." She said.

Team SSSN looked to one another again. "What about Ruby?" asked Neptune.

"Is something wrong?" Blake asked, sounding worried about her team leader.

Sun shrugged, "We don't really know. We helped her, what's left of Team JNPR, and some guy called Ashe determine that Cinder is in Haven and then we left to find you." He said.

"Cinder's in Haven?!" cried Blake.

"Seems that way, a couple days ago we saw Ruby and Jaune on the news, apparently Damien Ante, a crime lord, was trying to catch them. We suspect that Ante is working for Cinder, but we have no idea if Ruby and Jaune are okay." Sage said.

"So we have two options for tomorrow when that ship gets here: either we hijack it and go to take out Adam or we go to Haven to find out what's going on and help Ruby out. Which one are we gonna do?" Neptune asked.

"We help Rubes out, of course." Yang stated.

"We don't fully understand the situation, for all we know Ruby could be fine, but we know where Adam is and he may not stay there for long. We have a chance to take him down and throw the White Fang into chaos, which will be a heavy blow to our enemies." Blake pointed out.

"But since that Kane guy got away we'll have lost the element of surprise, the ship might not even come." Scarlet pointed out.

"I don't think so; I beat him pretty bad so even if he is flying right now he won't be doing it very well." Sun said.

"Blake has a point, taking the White Fang's leader out will take them out of the game for a bit, Cinder has relied on them several times in the past and if we remove them from the playing field it might be a big victory for us." Sage said.

"But I've been calling Ruby and I haven't gotten one answer, not one! Either she lost her scroll or she's in danger. I say we should go to Haven." Yang said.

"What about Jaune, Ren, and Nora? Have they answered?" Blake asked.

"I don't exactly have their numbers..." Yang admitted.

"Well I'm with Yang, the White Fang have been quiet for months so we can take care of them later, but right now we need to find out what's going on in Haven." Neptune said.

"Blake, what do you want to do?" Sun asked.

Blake looked at the blonde and asked "What do you think?"

"Me? I do what you do... but I think both choices have their good points and there bad. I mean if we go to take out Adam we'd be outnumbered like a hundred to one and we'd probably not make it out, but we could also take out a big threat. One the other hand if we go to help Ruby we'd make sure she was alright and help her take down Cinder, but we'd lose our chance to do some major damage to the Fang. I'll do what you do." Sun said.

Blake smiled and said "Thank you Sun." Blake considered her options for a few moments and then she gave made her choice. "I think you're right... we need to help Ruby and since we don't know what's going on it means she could be in over her head, she's my leader and my friend. Adam can wait."

Yang smiled and said "Thank you."

"What about the White Fang?" Scarlet asked.

Blake sighed and thought about it. "Later. Right now my team is more important than my past. We can take Adam down later but for now... my friends... my family need my help." Blake said.

Yang rushed forward and hugged Blake. "Thank you! Trust me, later we'll hunt that Adam douche down and I'll shove my new hand up his ass and turn him into a hand-puppet, but right now I'm just happy that you want to get back together." Yang said.

"Do you really think RWBY can get back together?" Blake asked.

"Of course! Weiss will be a little grumpy that you ran off but you know Ruby, she's not one to stay mad." Yang said.

"Okay so once that ship gets here we kick their asses, hand 'em over to the cops, take the ship, and make our way to Haven and meet up with them at the warehouse and hopefully we can all work together and take that Cinder bitch down. Everyone happy with that?" Sun asked.

"You know I am." Neptune said.

"Doesn't really matter to me." Sage said neutrally.

"Sounds good." Scarlet said cheerfully.

"Okay then, we'll camp here tonight and wake up early. I'll go back into town and get the cops again so they can arrest the flight crew. Sage, you good to fly?" Sun asked.

"I think I can pull it off, I've gotten better thanks to the simulations and my lessons from Professor Wright." Sage said.

"Do I even want to know?" Blake asked.

"A few weeks before I met you we were on a mission and Sage had to fly the airship, didn't turn out so good." Sun explained, vaguely to save Sage from embarrassment.

"Seemed like such a good idea at the time." Sage muttered.

"Well let's get some rest, the earlier we wake up the better a chance we'll have of taking that ship." Neptune said.

It was decided that Team SSSN would sleep in one of the remaining tents while Blake and Yang would sleep in another.

As Blake settled in for the night on a cot she asked "So what's the story about your new hand?"

Yang smirked as she pulled a blanket over her body and said "I'll tell you tomorrow, trust me, it'll get you up faster than a cup of coffee with a side of tuna."

Blake smiled and said "Thank you Yang, for everything."

"Hey, you're my partner Blake. I'd do anything for you." Yang said.

Soon enough they all went to sleep.

* * *

Within the factory, Victor Giger stood alone in his main laboratory; a massive, long room covered with various exhibits of past, failed experiments on the Grimm. The remains of failed Grimm Commanders filled jars that lined the shelves. To the right of the room a large, six feet thick steel door kept the Chimera locked away in its concrete chamber. At the top of the lab was the area where the Grimm Commanders were created and given their abilities. The Grimm Commanders were quite difficult to get right, it had taken over twenty attempts before Shear Kaa, the original Grimm Commander, was a success as all others before him had died in the process.

Kaa was a tiger Faunus who had been a general in the last Faunus war. He was thought to have been killed in the final battle but he and another commander officer, Steppenwolffe, had survived long enough for Salem's forces to find them. They had been frozen in cryotubes for a decade until aura healed their wounds with the aid of medical technology.

When they awoke they pledged themselves to Cinder so they could exact their revenge on humanity for the injustices Faunus-kind had been forced to live with, even if it meant working with humans.

They were not the first to be subjected to Giger's attempts to create a being that could command the Grimm. Salem's other subjects were used as trial and error until it appeared that they were getting to a success. Eventually Shear Kaa underwent the surgery that injected the essence of the Grimm into his aura and his body, transforming him into the first Grimm Commander.

Steppenwolffe had been less fortunate, as the surgery had gone wrong and the Grimm essence had done something to him. To this day Giger could not really describe what had happened, but it had mutilated the back of the wolf Faunus, forcing him to wear a cloak for the rest of his life to hide his scars.

After that Mistress Salem had instructed him to make a flying Grimm Commander, one that could lead the winged creatures of Grimm into battle. At first he had experimented on Faunus that shared traits with bats or flying squirrels, but none of them survived the process. But one day he had the idea to take the wings of a Grimm and graft them on to a person who could survive. This was where Ziz came into play, she had been found by the Grimm and taken to Salem, as was often the case as many of Salem's agents were found by the Grimm who would sense that hatred and anger within them and then bring them to Salem, who would judge them accordingly to see if they were worthy of being her warriors and Ziz fit the bill just perfectly.

It had taken a while to graft the wings of a juvenile Nevermore onto her shoulder blades correctly, as it was quite a painful procedure and the anesthetic had not been enough to dull the pain, as she had woken up screaming in pain several times and each time she had to be held down. Eventually it was a success and Ziz was able to successfully fly.

The most recent Grimm Commander was Pyrrha Nikos, or Fotia Drakos as she was now known. It had been a simple matter of healing the wounds Lady Cinder had inflicted on the girl, which while the arrow to the sternum was indeed a devastating blow to the girl's body it was nothing for the healers and medics who worked for Mistress Salem. After she was delivered to him with the wounds tended to by Mistress Salem's healers he made her into the newest Grimm Commander within a few days with the help of Shear Kaa's Semblance of mind manipulation. Kaa's Semblance had been paramount in the experiment as it had completely buried the memories of her life before and had even managed to suppress her Semblance of Polarity thanks to the mental manipulation. But Kaa's Semblance had opened up future opportunities for them, as they could now turn whomever they wanted into Grimm Commanders; however Kaa was now in Atlas, waiting for Salem's orders to move against the Winter Maiden so he could not help Giger out with the Arc boy. Nikos was now completely fooled into thinking she was Fotia Drakos, a girl who had been raised on an abusive farm in Mistral who believed her fighting skills came from her own past of self-defense against her abusers and the Grimm that would attack the farm. The Grimm essence within her was that of a Wyvern, bestowed upon her by Mistress Salem so that she could control the dragon Grimm/ The injuries Lady Cinder had given Nikos had proved to be a problem, as she needed pain killers and medication to deal with the arrow wounds in her chest and heel, even though they had gone away by this point but after all that the illusion was kept up and she had no idea of who she truly was.

Giger himself had but a mere passing interest in the Grimm Commanders; they were more or less Mistress Salem's concept and he was but the worker paid to construct the building.

His true passion lay within the Chimera.

The Chimera was not the idea that had gotten Salem's attention so many years ago, it was an old idea that he had when he was a student studying Grimm at a Vale science academy; his proposition was to find a way to find a way to train the Grimm, to turn man's greatest enemy into an asset. For that kind of thinking he was thrown out, but Salem had taken note of him and he had been in her employ for the past thirty years.

The Chimera had been a more recent idea; he had been inspired to create the creature about ten years ago when he had a dream, or a nightmare depending on how one looked at it.

In the dream he had seen many types of Grimm, but all of them in one being that possessed the collective traits of all the creatures of Grimm. From then on he had worked himself to exhaustion coming up with the right combinations, the types that would be perfect for his beast, and he had even decided to add a bit of human to it so it would posses Aura, to give it a healing factor that it would otherwise lack.

He looked at the monitor that showed the Chimera pacing about in its chamber, seemingly restless. Giger laid his hand on the screen and was a bit unnerved as the Chimera approached the camera and licked it, as if it was aware he was looking at it.

Giger drew back, disturbed by what had just happened. He remembered those old stories about mad scientists who created abominations only for the monsters to turn on their creators and brutally kill them.

He pushed a button on the console and a large slab of meat was dropped into the chamber. The Chimera ran away from the camera and began to devour the food that pacified it, but Giger was still left curious about the Chimera.

Despite creating it he was not entirely sure about the Chimera. While he was certain it was no smarter than the average Grimm, the combined Grimm that had been used to create it may have amped up its intelligence as he was not sure of the individual Grimm's age or their experience but in all honesty the Chimera seemed to act on pure Grimm instinct but there was the possibility that it would gain knowledge as it went on.

He would have to keep an eye on it.

* * *

_**Ruby looked down and saw the dead body of the thug she had accidentally murdered. He was on flat on his back, still mouthing a word out with no sound coming from his mouth, instead blood gurgled out of his mouth.** _

" _ **No, no, no! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kill you!" she cried as she fell to her knees. The thug reached up and grabbed her by the throat and quickly pulled her down. Ruby could now hear what he was saying to her.**_

" _ **Murderer."**_

" _ **No!" Ruby cried as she pulled herself free. She fell backwards and began to push herself away as fast as she could only to bump into something. She looked up and saw Pyrrha, standing above her with the arrow sticking out of her chest.**_

" _ **Failure." She said.**_

" _ **Pyrrha! I... I'm sorry I couldn't..." Ruby tried to say before a golden flash surged through Pyrrha's body.**_

" _ **Couldn't what? Save me? You failed. Some hero you are." Pyrrha said as she disintegrated into the golden dust yet again and scattered into the darkness around them.**_

" _ **No! Pyrrha! I'm so sorry I couldn't save you! I'm sorry I failed I..."**_

" _ **Ruby?" asked the shaky voice of Penny.**_

_**Ruby whipped around and saw the torn apart Penny, looking up at her with cold, unmoving eyes.** _

" _ **Penny! No, please stop it!" cried Ruby as Penny kept staring at her.**_

" _ **Why couldn't you save me? Didn't you care? Why weren't you fast enough? Why didn't you save me?" Penny asked as she began to crumble apart into scrap metal.**_

" _ **No! Penny I'm sorry I wasn't good enough! Please don't..." Ruby tried to say before Penny looked back at her.**_

" _ **Why didn't your silver eyes shine when I died? Did you not care about me? Was I not good enough?" Penny asked as her face began to rust and rot.**_

" _ **I don't know! I don't understand my powers; I don't know why they didn't activate or whatever but I do care about you, I promise I do care about you Penny! Please forgive me! I..." Ruby said as her robotic friend fell apart, leaving behind nothing recognizable but a frozen face.**_

_**Ruby held the face of her friend and wept. She had no idea why the power of her eyes did not awaken when Penny died and did when Pyrrha was killed.** _

_**She didn't know anything.** _

" _ **Ruby... help me..." said the voice of her sister. Ruby turned around again and screamed out in horror as she saw Yang lying on the ground with blood pouring out of her arm.**_

" _ **No..." Ruby whispered quietly.**_

" _ **Ruby, don't blame yourself... it was my fault." Yang said weakly as she closed her eyes.**_

" _ **Yang! Don't leave me please! You can't die on me sis!" Ruby begged.**_

" _ **I'm sorry I'm ditching you like this Rubes... I wasn't strong enough." Yang said as she shut her eyes.**_

" _ **It's my fault." Said the voice of Blake. Ruby looked behind her to see Blake, lying on her side.**_

" _ **Blake!" Ruby cried as she jolted over to her she grabbed Blake's hand and she could feel that it was stiff and cold.**_

" _ **Blake! Blake please wake up!" cried Ruby, she got no response. She looked into the cat Faunus' eyes, almost closed. Her eyes did not move at all, they just looked at Ruby.**_

" _ **No, no more! Wake up! This has to be a dream, wake up!" she said as she smashed her fists against her head.**_

_**Ruby felt a chill go down her spin and she shivered as she opened her eyes and saw a frozen statue of Weiss. "Ruby, I'm so cold..." the statue said as it began to crack.** _

" _ **No, wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!" Ruby screamed at herself as the statue shattered into shards of ice.**_

" _ **No!" Ruby screamed as she tried to keep the statue together but it simply fell apart.**_

" _ **Stop it! Please!" Ruby cried, fearing what else she would be forced to see next.**_

" _ **Ruby..." said another voice. Jaune's voice.**_

_**Ruby turned around yet again and her eyes could not get any wider at what she saw. She saw Ren and Nora dead on the ground, their hands intertwined as it looked like they died as one. She saw her Uncle Qrow impaled on his weapon the Reaper. Professor Goodwitch lay on the ground, covered with bruises, seemingly trampled to death by something. She could see many of her friends: Team CFVY, Team SSSN, Dr. Oobleck, Professor Port, Zwei, and even Ashe were all dead.** _

_**But Jaune was still alive.** _

_**Crocea Mors was stabbed into the ground and Jaune was leaning on it like a cane, he had multiple arrows sticking out of him, with four in his left leg, two in the right, seven sticking out of his back, nine in his chest and stomach, three sticking out of his right arm, five in his left arm, and one sticking out of his right shoulder.** _

" _ **Jaune!" Ruby screamed as she ran over to him. She grabbed him by his upper arms and tried to pull out some of the arrows. It was then she noticed that Jaune was not bleeding, his body was slowly burning.**_

" _ **Why didn't you save us Ruby?" Jaune asked.**_

" _ **Jaune, I'm sorry I can't..."**_

" _ **You were supposed to be the best Huntress ever, you have the power of legends within you. Why don't you use it? Why didn't you save us?" he asked as the burns spread, his body beginning to glow.**_

" _ **I... I..." Ruby tried to say before another arrow flew out of Jaune's chest, eliciting a scream of pain from him.**_

_**Ruby cried out in surprise as Jaune turned into the golden, burning dust just like Pyrrha, revealing Cinder standing behind him with a sinister grin on her face.** _

" _ **You!" Ruby screamed in anger. She tackled Cinder to the ground, wrapping her hands around Cinder's throat. "Why?! Why are you doing this to us?!" Ruby screamed as she slammed Cinder's head into the ground.**_

_**Cinder answered with nothing but a demented, insane laugh.** _

_**Ruby looked up and saw Salem sitting atop a throne and watching Ruby's attack on Cinder.** _

_**She smiled, nodded in approval and said "Good."** _

_**Ruby looked back down and saw that Cinder was dead. She jolted up and looked around as she could now see that Emerald, Mercury, Neo, Ante and his enforcers were all dead, with trails of their blood pointing to her.** _

_**"Kill for me Ruby, do not deny what you truly are: a killer." Salem said.** _

" _ **No! I'm not... I'm not... I won't be like you! I won't kill for you!" Ruby yelled as she turned away only for the dark landscape around her to be wiped away by a brilliant flash of light.**_

_**Ruby shielded her eyes and once the light died down she looked up. Her jaw dropped at the sight of her mother, standing tall, covered with her white hood, and giving Ruby one of her kind, motherly smiles.** _

" _ **Mom?" Ruby asked as her mother approached her.**_

" _ **Don't give up Ruby, if you do then they will win." Summer Rose said as she hugged Ruby to her.**_

" _ **I just want to go home mom, I wish none of this had never happened."**_

" _ **Everyone wishes that at one point of another in their lives, sometimes things get bad, they get so dark you begin to think that the sun can never rise again but I promise you Ruby things will get better. There will be a light at the end of the darkness." Summer said to her daughter as she rubbed her back.**_

" _ **I've failed mom, two of my friends died and more of my friends are suffering all because I wasn't good enough. What should I do?" Ruby asked as she cried.**_

" _ **Do what you always do Ruby, keep going on regardless of how dark things may seem. A lot of things depend on you Ruby, but you will not do it alone, you will always have your friends and your family with you, my little Ruby." Summer said as Ruby began to wake up.**_

Ruby woke up in her cell, feeling how weak her aura was thanks to the binders Cinder had placed on her that kept the aura to a low level. She didn't really remember what had happened towards the end of her 'training session' but whatever had occurred had Cinder scared, even if she would deny it.

Ruby began to think about Cinder, her newest 'teacher'. If she wanted her aura to be kept down then obviously Cinder was weary of Ruby's silver eyes and the powers they granted her. Ruby did not understand these powers of hers at all, but if training with Cinder was what she needed to do to get a better understanding of them then so be it.

She was not going to let Cinder or Salem win. She would fight them every step of the way.

Her thoughts strayed to the men she had killed. She regretted taking their lives and she would likely regret it for the rest of her own life, but she would not let her guilt control her. She had killed but only in self defense not out of anger or hate. While it wasn't the right thing to do, she couldn't let that hang over her head. All she could do was pray for forgiveness and fight on.

She couldn't give up. Her friends, her family, and the world needed her.

She wasn't going to stop trying.

* * *

The sun had been up for over an hour by the time Ren was awakened by his scroll ringing. He looked to the nightstand next to the bed Dr. Chloris had given Nora and him and grabbed it and saw that the caller was Weiss Schnee.

"Nora, it's Weiss..." Ren began before he noticed Nora was already out of the room. Ren could hear her singing down the hall, meaning she most likely in the shower. Ren answered the phone as he got out of bed. "Hello Weiss, are you in town yet?"

"Not exactly Ren, we had to stop at the fueling station a few hundred miles away last night to rest up but we're on our way again, we should be to Haven in an hour." Weiss said.

"Good, you still have to coordinates to the warehouse?" Ren asked.

"Of course I do." Weiss answered quickly.

"We'll meet you there, but I have to warn you, Ashe has been acting a bit odd." Ren said.

"Yes, this Ashe fellow... Ren are you sure we can trust him? If he really is Cinder's brother then we should..." Weiss began before Ren stopped her.

"Look, I am suspicious of Ashe as well but he seems to have good intentions. He has had a very hard life Weiss and he has recently learned that Cinder herself is responsible for a part of it." Ren said.

"Care to elaborate?" Weiss asked.

"When he confronted Cinder she revealed that she was the one responsible for the death of their mother, after she had fooled Ashe into thinking that his father was the culprit. I think it is safe to say that Ashe will not join her any time soon." Ren said.

"Oh right, I think Nora mentioned that to me when I called her a couple days ago." Weiss remembered. While she did feel some sympathy for this Ashe person she was not convinced he wasn't a threat.

"Add to that his recent attempts to 'communicate' with the Aura Crystal and the sad truth he recently uncovered about his past the other day..." Ren began before Weiss stopped him.

"What could have been worse than finding out your sister is responsible for the death of your family?" Weiss asked.

"Finding out your lover was pregnant when she died to save you." Ren answered.

Weiss was silent for a few seconds before she said "Oh. Oh my..."

"I know, life has not exactly dealt him the best hand. Last night while Nora and I were scouting out the factory Ashe apparently 'talked' to the crystal again. He left afterwards, telling Arslan and the others that he needed to do meditate with the crystal alone at the warehouse." Ren said.

"Is this crystal dangerous?" Weiss asked.

"I don't really know, it shone a beam of light into Ashe's eyes when he tried to communicate with it, he appeared to be in pain for a moment but then acted as if he was alright, but I do not think he would have left for the warehouse unless he was sure the crystal could harm others. Really I am not sure about anything." Ren admitted.

"What about Ruby and Jaune? Do you know anything? Penny has been very worried and frankly so have I." Weiss said.

"We don't know anything. From what we know so far Cinder has not left the factory or sent Jaune and Ruby away because she may plan to use them as bait to get her hands on the Aura Crystal which we know would not be a good thing. How has your rescue team been holding up?" Ren asked.

"We've been as good as we can. Their aura has healed them up and they're rested. See you soon Ren." Weiss said.

"I look forward to it." Ren said before he hung up.

Ren got dressed and walked out into the hallway to see Nora coming out of the bathroom and Arslan taking her place.

"Morning Renny!" Nora greeted cheerfully. If there was one thing that Ren had always loved about Nora it was her outlandish ability to be happy, or at least act that way, even in the most insane and dire of circumstances.

"Good morning Nora, once everyone here is ready we should head for the warehouse, Weiss will be there in an hour or so and I think we need to introduce them to Ashe personally instead of them meeting him. I also think we should see if he has made any progress with the crystal, who knows what could have happened during the night." Ren said as he began to walk down stairs.

As he got to the bottom step his scroll began ringing again. He looked at the caller I.D. to see it was Jaune's oldest sister Bianca. It wasn't really surprising as Bianca had called twice since the night of Jaune and Ruby's capture, asking for updates on the situation, hoping to give good news to her parents.

"Hello Bianca, I'm sorry but we still haven't..." Ren began before Bianca stopped him.

"Ren, we're in Haven." She said.

"What? Who is we?" Ren asked.

"Myself, Shani, Sienna, Violet, and Indigo. Olivia and Azure stayed home to keep mom and dad busy." She answered.

"Okay, where are you?"

"At a hotel, we just got here, where are you?" Bianca asked.

"Wait a minute, why are you here?" Ren asked, feeling very confused. He looked up the staircase and noticed that Nora was paying attention to him.

"We've come to help you rescue Jaune." Bianca stated.

"Bianca, you are an artist, Shani is a florist, Sienna is a pilot, and Indigo is a musician. Violet is the only one of you capable of helping us because she is a police officer." Ren said calmly, trying to get the eldest Arc child to see reason.

"Look Ren, we decided to come to help save our little brother, he needs us!" Bianca argued.

"He does not need you getting hurt to save him, besides we have help coming as we speak and while I am grateful that you want to help I think we..." Ren tried to say.

"Listen Ren, we came all the way over here to help, we are not going to leave just because you tell us to. Now where are you?" Bianca asked.

Ren looked to Nora who was now right next to him so she could hear the whole conversation. Nora nodded optimistically and said "We need all the help we can get."

Ren sighed and said "Okay listen, I'll text you the location of a warehouse we'll be going to and meet up with some friends, there we can have a proper talk about this, okay?"

"Sounds good to me, we'll see you there." Bianca said.

Ren texted the location of the warehouse to her and then he looked to Nora. "This entire ordeal gets stranger by the day." He said.

"I know, it's pretty exciting." Nora said as cheerfully as she could.

Ren gave his best friend a smile and said "I suppose it is."

"Yo! When we goin' to check up on Ashe?" asked Reese from behind them. The two turned to see Reese in her outfit, ready to go.

"We'll leave for the warehouse soon Reese, right now we should just prepare ourselves. We honestly don't know what we'll find when we get there. We know next to nothing about the Aura Crystal and the way Ashe has been acting should have on our guard." Ren said.

"I don't really trust the guy a hundred percent but I think he'll try his best. I mean he seems like a guy who just got royally screwed." Reese said.

Ren nodded. It seemed like life was doing its best to screw everyone over recently.

* * *

Bianca looked at the text Ren had sent her, including the location of the warehouse they were to meet at along with a message that said 'Don't go in until we get there.' She didn't know why he felt he needed to add that but she didn't question it right now.

"Okay, Ren told me where to go, looks like it's way over on the edge of town but I think it won't be a problem." Bianca said to her younger sisters. Violet nodded as she loaded up her standard issue pistol with a Dust cartridge, Sienna looked to her and gave her a thumbs up as she finished making the arrangements for the location of her airship, which was what they had come to Haven in. Despite what Ren had said the Arc sisters were no strangers to fighting as they had all taken self-defense classes

Shani nodded, "As long as they got a way to get Jaune back I don't care how far we have to go." she said.

"Right, I mean if they got help coming along then we got a better chance of actually pulling this off." said Indigo.

Sienna spoke up and asked "Girls... what will we do if Jaune is dead?"

There was a brief silence before Bianca answered with "He won't be. You know Jauney, too stubborn to give up on anything. He went to Beacon, he became a team leader despite all the odds being against him."

"I still can't believe you made us pay for that bet." Violet muttered. When Jaune had left most of the Arc sisters, as much as they loved him, didn't believe that Jaune would make it. Bianca however did and she bet them all a hundred lien each that he could last more than a month. She of course won.

"If he's made it this far he won't give up, no matter what that Cinder woman tried to do to him. I have faith that he'll be okay, you all should too." Bianca said.

"Can we please not bet on it this time?" Shani asked as she made he way to the door.

Bianca laughed as she followed her sister out the door, but all the same she silently prayed that Jaune and his friend would be okay.

'We're coming for you bro.' she thought as she and her sisters left their hotel room and made their way downstairs.

* * *

In the upper countryside of Mistral an airship belonging to the White Fang hovered above a large forest, slowly flying to a White Fang base within the woods. A dozen White Fang operative sat inside the ship as it approached the site; one captain, one pilot, and ten troopers.

"Begin hailing them, tell them were nearly there." said the captain of the unit.

"Yes sir. Come in Uisco Base, this is ship V19, here to pick up your prisoner. Come in, over." said a communications officer into the radio.

"Roger that V19, come on down, we'll be happy to let you take the traitor off our hands, over." said a muffled voice.

The captain of the unit nodded as they got closer to the site of the base. When the base came into view they were met with the strange sight of no one there. There was no activity whatsoever.

"What's going on? Where are they?" asked a female soldier.

"Set us down, we'll investigate." said the captain.

"Are you sure that's wise sir?" asked the pilot.

"We can handle whatever is going on, set us down." the captain repeated.

The ship landed in an empty area next to the base and a group of nine soldiers disembarked from the ship.

"Get 'em on the radio." the captain said to the communications officer as he followed his troops.

The officer nodded and spoke into the radio again, "Uisco Base, we have arrived but we do not see you, is something wrong?"

"Yeah, you could say that." the voice from the radio said.

"What..." the officer said before he was knocked out with a swift blow to the head.

Blake appeared out of the shadows behind him and then she whispered into her scroll "Now."

The pilot of the ship sat in the cockpit and he had noticed the communications officer's sudden silence.

"Gables? Is something..." he was interrupted by a loud 'thud' on his windshield. He looked back and saw Sun Wukong.

"Hey, how's it going'?" Sun asked cheekily.

The pilot reached for both his weapon and his radio when he felt a weapon being pointed at the back of his head. "Stand down." Blake ordered.

The pilot looked in the reflection of the window to see the traitor standing behind him, Gambol Shroud in its gun mode. He raised his hands up and surrendered.

Outside the White Fang soldiers were looking around the base camp for any signs of their comrades. "Nothing, looks like there was a fight though." said one of the troopers.

"I think we should leave, maybe Belladonna had help." said the female soldier from earlier.

The captain nodded and said "You're right, we need to contact Taurus and ask what our next step should be."

"You're next step should be surrendering." said a woman's voice.

Before the White Fang captain knew what was going on, six of his soldiers were shot down by Yang, Neptune, and Scarlet.

The captain looked to see another one of his men engaged in a very one-sided sword fight with Sage, who quickly dispatched his opponent.

The captain pulled out his rifle and was about to fire when Blake came out of nowhere and sliced in half with the katana form of the Gambol Shroud.

"Belladonna!" the captain cried as he realized he and his two still conscious troops were surrounded by the local law enforcement.

"Drop your weapons and surrender, you White Fang creeps are not walking out of this." said the sheriff.

"Just give it up, I promise no harm will come to you." Blake said to the captain who just laughed as he pulled off his mask, revealing he had the ears of a dog.

"Do you? What do you know, traitor? You're convinced that we can all live in some laughable fantasy world where we all get along. Well do you know how roadkill will sometimes includes cats? How when you see dead animals on the roads you never see dogs? You see raccoons, possums, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, birds, and cats. That's because cats think they're so damn smart, they think they're better than everybody so no one gives a damn when a cat gets killed by a car, but when dogs die? People care. That's what you are Belladonna, you're a little bitch of a cat who thinks she's better than everyone else! You'll be some dead corpse on the side of the road one day and no one will give a shit about you!" the captain yelled.

Blake glared at the canine Faunus before she gave her response.

A physical response that left the captain unconscious with his blood on Blake's fist.

"You okay Blake?" Yang asked as she put a comforting hand on her partners shoulder.

Blake gave her a look and gave the blonde a small smile "I think I know why you like punching people so much, that actually felt good." she admitted.

Yang grinned as the sheriff and his deputies began rounding up the members of the White Gang, reading the few that were still awake their rights.

"Okay Sage, get into the cockpit and get ready to get us out of here." Sun said as he approached Blake and Yang.

"You got it boss." Sage said as he jogged over to the ship.

Blake took the captain's radio from his pocket and said "I have an idea." she began "If we keep check on all of the White Fang's radio frequencies we'll have a way to fight them."

She ran after Sage and got into the ship and checked the communications officer's equipment and found a list of the White Fang's radio frequencies, a list to be used in case the comms officer was injured in battle. Blake memorized them and wrote a few of them down just to be safe, she then returned to the outside as the police put the captain inside of one of the prisoner vans.

"Sheriff, give some of these radios and this list to the Atlas patrol when they come through here tonight. It will give them an advnatage over the White Fang forces." Blake said as the man took it from her.

"Will do Miss Belladonna, our village sure owes you kids a lot for taking these punks down." he said.

"We take these guys on so often we should start charging for it." Neptune joked.

"Let's get moving, the sooner we get to Haven the better." Sun said as he made his way to the ship.

A few moments later the sheriff waved goodbye as the airship rose up and made its way to the southern end of Mistral.

Sage sat in the pilots seat controlling the ship easily, happy that those lessons paid off, while the rest of Team SSSN along with Blake and Yang sat in the back.

"So you think we'll see your mom in Haven?" Blake asked. She had been amazed by the story Yang had told her of her mother returning out of the blue to give her a new mechanical hand. How she had gotten over her years of pent up anger against her mother for abandoning her with the help of a simple punch and a hug.

"Maybe, she tends to work in mysterious ways so even though I know she's in Haven looking for Ruby I wouldn't be surprised if we never got a glimpse of her." Yang said.

"I hope we do, I'd like to meet her." Blake said.

"Don't do anything harsh Blake, I mean I despite our differences we're all on the same side here." Sun reminded her.

"I won't, I'll tell her that... I know what it's like to run away and leave the people you love behind, thinking it will be better for them. I'll tell her it's not." Blake said as she held Sun's hand and smiled at Yang.

"So you never running off again? No more stray kitty cat?" Yang teased.

"My days of being a stray are over. I know where my home is, it's where ever my friends are." Blake said as she extended her other hand to Yang who accepted it without hesitation.

For the first time since the last day of the Vytal Festival Blake felt truly happy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally the next chapter was going to be about Blake, Yang, and Team SSSN going ahead and fighting the White Fang and Adam but I decided to save that for a later part of the story as right now I want to get to the big battle scene at the factory. I also felt that it would be more in Blake and Yang's characters to forego revenge on Adam and help Ruby and I didn't want to rush it, I decided Blake and the White Fang's story could not be done in one chapter and it needed more development so it will be done after the big battle scene in a few chapters.
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be pretty big but as with Chapter 9 I decided it was long enough to be a chapter as is and that after how huge the last chapter got I couldn't make a simple one like this that big so I decided to split it up so I won't make the chapters too long, also so I can keep interest in the story up.
> 
> I've also changed the way the dreams scenes are presented, I removed the underlines so they could be easier to read.
> 
> Look up CSLucaris' art of the Arc sisters, as those fantastic pictures are how I picture the Arc sisters until we see them in canon.
> 
> Now let me get one last rant about Pyrrha's death out of the way, last one I promise; Why wasn't Jaune the one to die?! Seriously, while it still would have been a case of Stuffed in the Fridge I don't think it would have bothered me as much. In fact, it would have been perfect! The boy who wanted to be a hero dying to save the girl who didn't want to be a hero anymore, his death not only would have shut up fans that don't like him, but it would have made more sense and given both Ruby and Pyrrha motivation to fight Cinder, plus Ruby and Jaune have a pretty developed friendship while I can't recall a single scene where Ruby and Pyrrha interacted with one another! Plus Joan of Arc died by fire, and Achilles, who Pyrrha is based on, was known for his rage and in the end all Pyrrha had in common with Achilles was the heel thing. Such a pathetic waste.
> 
> I know what you're thinking: 'Oh why are you going on about this again? You've brought Pyrrha back in your fic, so why are you even complaining?' Well I complain because I care. I've been a fan of Rooster Teeth since 2010 and a fan of RWBY since the Red Trailer, this has been the first thing they've ever done to just make me facepalm with how badly done it was, moan in disappointment at what a stupid mistake it was.
> 
> The sad thing about it is that Monty's tragic death is being used by some fans to shield the show from criticism, saying that we have no right to be angry at how bad of an idea Pyrrha's death was in the end and I say nuts to that. Let them know if you thought Pyrrha's death was a mistake, tell them how unsatisfied you are. Seriously, Rooster Teeth is probably the only internet site to remain popular for over five years and never decay and I want that to go on and Pyrrha's death is the first true mistake they've made. And before you say it's disrespectful to Monty I can only say this: Gene Roddenberry was a visionary for creating Star Trek and yet the moment he kicked the bucket the writers of TNG threw the much hated Wesley Crusher overboard to appease the fans and no one complained.
> 
> Sorry, it's just the more I think about the decision to kill off Pyrrha the more disgusted I am with it.
> 
> Anyway, expect the next update either Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks for all the support and reviews, comments and kudos; they mean a lot to me and they keep me going. Tell me if you what you liked and what you didn't and all that.


	12. Convergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> I highly recommend these two RWBY stories, they are fantastic:
> 
> 4 Years of Beacon by smstanton: One of the best, most adorable Arkos fics I've ever read but it also has a great dramatic story about both Jaune and Pyrrha's lives.
> 
> Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117: A dark, mysterious fic that has only three chapters so far but I cannot wait to see where it goes.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.

Ruby had been awake for several hours and had eaten the meager breakfast the guards have given her when the door to her cell opened. She looked up from her bed to see a squad of Grimm Knights led by Mercury.

"Hey there Rose, Cinder wants to have a talk with you. Fair warning: I think you won't like today's training session." He taunted as the Knights led Ruby out of the cell.

As they walked down the halls Ruby began to make observations of the factory. She made note of its layout, just in case she and Jaune had the chance to escape. She took note of the guards, most of which were the Grimm Knights but she did see about eight or nine organic guards. Good, that way she wouldn't have to hold back that much if most of the guards were robotic. Of course she still needed a chance to break out and with her aura being kept to a low level that would be rather difficult.

She needed to try and remember everything she had learned during her time at Beacon, everything her friends and teachers had taught her. She would need everything if she was to fight Cinder.

She looked up to Mercury who led the small group and said "You know what Mercury? I actually felt sorry for you when I thought Yang broke your leg, but I won't feel sorry for you when she finds you and tears it off."

Mercury stopped and turned around to face her. "You friend Valkyrie already smashed my leg after we captured you and I intend to pay her back. Cinder thinks your friends will actually be stupid enough to try and save you if they find our where we are and personally I hope they are smart enough to find us but stupid enough to try and fight us, because I want to make that hammer bitch scream." Mercury said angrily.

"You hurt Nora and you'll have to answer to Ren and vice versa. Trust me; you don't want to get on their bad sides." Ruby said with a smirk.

Mercury eyed her, "You're awfully cocky for someone in your position... but at least your tougher than Arc." He said, giving off his own smirk.

Ruby glared and asked "What did you do to him?"

"Let's just say I never thought I'd enjoy seeing a dude breakdown crying as much as I did yesterday. Though I was annoyed I had to clean his blood off my boot." Mercury said, hoping to get a reaction out of Ruby.

But outside of a glare he got none.

"What's wrong Rose? Worried about your buddy? Don't worry, you'll see him soon enough, Cinder has something special in store for you two." Mercury promised as he walked ahead.

Soon enough they came to the entrance of the throne room and Ruby watched as the doors opened up to reveal the still damaged room. She could hear Cinder saying something to Salem about making an arrangement with Ante and one of his enforcers. Ruby now noticed that the room's 'pit' was now opened up, but what disturbed Ruby is that there was some blood staining the floor of the pit

"What happened there?" she asked.

"Oh, we had a spy problem and found a very creative way to take care of it." Said Cinder who stood on the steps the led to the throne where a hologram of Salem sat.

"Good morning Ruby, I know you probably did not sleep well, but I hope the rest of your stay here will be more satisfactory." Salem said with a pleasant voice.

Ruby said nothing; she merely glared at the Grimm woman.

"So you're Ruby Rose. You look bigger in person." Said a woman's voice from above. Ruby looked up to see Ziz on the catwalk, and was amazed by her wings. Ziz jumped off and glided down to the ground in front of Ruby.

"So your the kid who did all this damage. Nice." Ziz said.

"What are you?" Ruby asked, put off by not only Ziz's wings but her Grimm-esque appearance.

"I'm Ziz and I am what you call a Grimm Commander." Ziz said.

"Yes, you see Ruby my Grimm are too wild and chaotic for most of our operations, so I decided we needed to have something to control them. Ziz is just one of four others, although there is a fifth in the making." Salem explained.

Ziz noticed Ruby looking at her wings.

"Like 'em? I'm not a Faunus if that's what you're thinking. The doc over there grafted these babies on to me. Hurt like hell but boy, are they worth it." Ziz said with a grin as Ruby took notice of someone else in the room, Dr. Giger.

Before Ruby could respond Mercury grabbed her by the hood and tossed her into the pit. Ruby luckily managed to land on her feet.

"Cheap trick!" she yelled up.

"Don't worry, all part of the plan." Mercury said as more Grimm Knights entered the room, surrounding two other people. Jaune was herded into the throne room by Emerald who was keeping her guns pointed at his back the entire time.

Jaune looked to Cinder, glaring at her but when he saw Ziz his jaw dropped.

"Like what you see blondie?" Ziz joked as her wings stretched out. Jaune looked at Ziz's skin and her Grimm attributes and he remembered something, dreams from months ago. The dreams he had where he brutally killed Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder, the people who had slowly over the course of the three dreams became more and more like the Grimm.

"W-what...?" Jaune tried to ask before Emerald kicked him into the pit. Jaune fell roughly but luckily Ruby caught him, saving him from a bad landing.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried as she hugged him.

"Ruby!" Jaune said, relieved to see that his friend was alright, but Ruby looked at Jaune's bruised and beaten body and gasped. Even though his aura had healed the wounds there was still signs of his beating from the other day.

"What did they do to you?" she asked.

"Whatever they wanted. I'd be lying if I said I was okay Ruby, but I'm hanging in there. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Not really, but I won't let them beat me, Jaune did you see that woman?! They said she can control..."

"Control the Grimm? Yeah, she's not the first one I've met. Ruby, last night I saw another Grimm Commander, it's..." Jaune began to say before Cinder grabbed him with her wind powers and lifted him up, cutting him off.

"Now, now Jaune, that is our secret to tell." Cinder said.

"Let him go!" Ruby demanded, her aura was weakened but she knew she had to fight Cinder.

"Very well." Cinder said as she dropped Jaune back to the ground. Ruby ran to Jaune to make sure he was okay as he coughed and gasped for air.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry I got you into this." She said.

"Don't be Ruby, this is my fault. If I hadn't come up with the stupid idea to stand and fight we wouldn't be here... Ruby, Pyrrha's alive!" Jaune cried out. Ruby's eyes widened in amazement and disbelief.

"What? No Jaune, is has to be a trick! They're using your feelings for Pyrrha to..." Ruby began before Jaune stopped her.

"No! I felt her Ruby! She was no illusion, she was flesh and blood! I could even feel her aura! But they did something to her; they brainwashed her and made her like that woman up there!" Jaune cried as he pointed to Ziz.

Ruby was now totally horrified by what Jaune had just told her. She looked up to see that Cinder had an annoyed look on her face.

"We have a chance to save her this time!" Jaune cried desperately.

Cinder rolled her eyes and looked to Salem, who gave an approving nod. Cinder looked to Emerald and Mercury and gestured to her trophy case; her two followers nodded and made their way to the case as Cinder jumped down into the pit as she summoned her twin swords. "Now you've done it. That was our surprise and you've ruined." She said in a not very serious manner.

Ruby got up and glared at Cinder. "What did you do to her?!" she screamed as her eyes began to weakly glow. Jaune gasped as he saw Ruby's eyes light up, wondering what was going to happen.

"I just defeated her and transported her to my master so Pyrrha could be healed. Afterwards we made her into our weapon, but she will never know that." Cinder said as Emerald and Mercury appeared over the put holding Crescent Rose and Crocea Mors respectively.

"You want us to fight you." Ruby stated.

"That's right, my student. This time the challenge will be to keep your friend unharmed while I battle both of you." Cinder said as Emerald and Mercury threw the weapons down to Ruby and Jaune.

Ruby glared at Cinder and said "You kept my aura drained all night. Why?"

"Look around the room, we don't want you to wreck it again." Cinder said.

"No, that's an excuse. You're afraid." Ruby said with a silver glare.

There was a silence in the room.

"Did she just...?" Emerald asked.

"Oh yeah." Mercury confirmed with a shake of his head.

"This is going to hurt." Murmured Giger.

"Ooo, I like this kid." Ziz muttered quietly. If anything Ruby's fortitude was to be admired.

Above them all Salem watched, a small smile on her snow white face.

"You think I am afraid?" Cinder asked, failing to hide her rage. Her eyes began to glow furiously and flames engulfed her swords.

"You're afraid of me Cinder. I don't remember everything that happened in here yesterday, but judging by all the damage I did it was enough to get you scared. You better be scared." Ruby said as Jaune handed her Crescent Rose.

Cinder sighed and the flames died down as she shook her head. "Oh Ruby, poor naive Ruby and Jaune. You lived though your meandering, ordinary little lives day by day and you fell asleep to dream ordinary, carefree dreams in peaceful, undisturbed nights. Until I brought nightmares to your worlds. Do you deny this?" Cinder asked.

"Our lives were anything but ordinary, we had nightmares before we ever met you, but you did make our dreams worse than ever. You will pay for it." Jaune said as he unsheathed Crocea Mors. Ruby readied Crescent Rose for a fight, she didn't know what Cinder would try this time but she needed to be prepared.

"The world as it is right now is hell, and we intend to make it heaven." Cinder said.

"No you don't. The world can be a dark and terrible place sometimes but it is worth fighting for! The world isn't hell, but you want to make it that way!" Ruby cried.

"Ruby, you do not know the whole truth. What of you Jaune? You rebuked me last night but hear me now: I was forced to take Pyrrha from you because of Ozpin and his associates. They took away any choice she had and filled her head with the idea that her destiny was to die for some great purpose. Join me and you can have your revenge! Life is a terrible thing Arc! Filled with war, death, famine, and disease but we can change it for the better; we can make it so people do not have to die in stupid, pointless ways for a cause they are not even sure they believe in." Cinder said as Jaune remained silent.

Ruby looked to her friend who had closed his eyes and was breathing softly. Jaune looked at Cinder and said "Do you really believe half of what comes out of your mouth?" he asked.

"I can see that neither of you are convinced of our intentions, why? Consider the White Fang, they became what they are now because of how the world treated the Faunus race. It is true that the slavery of Faunus-kind is over, for the most part anyway, but why do you think the White Fang became what it is now? Racism and prejudice still reigns supreme, Faunus still suffer and are treated lower than dirt simply because of their animal features. The White Fang have allied themselves with us because we are the best chance of a perfect world! An equal world where no one should suffer!" Cinder said.

"For someone who wants to make a world where there is no suffering, you sure do cause a lot of it." Ruby pointed out as she carefully gripped Crescent Rose.

"Very well, consider my student Mercury. Do you know why he has artificial legs? His father was an assassin named Marcus Black, who tried to retire and live in the countryside of Vale with his son, but his alcoholism would often lead to Mercury being abused and beaten." Cinder said. Ruby looked up to see that Mercury looked embarrassed, angry, and a bit sad; he clearly did not like to be reminded of his past. "One day Mercury ran off into the forest to escape a beating only for his misery and anger to attract a Beowulf which attacked him and mauled his legs. His father saved him, but decided not to take his son to the nearest village to see a doctor, but instead he sawed off his own son's legs and replaced them with crude mechanical limbs. When he woke up Mercury was sent into a blind fit of rage and he murdered his father. That was when Emerald and I found him; we took him in as one of our own. He is part of our family and you both could be a part of it as well." Cinder finished.

"I'm happy with the family I have right now." Ruby said.

"Ditto." Jaune added.

"Really Jaune? Are you sure you don't want to accept your destiny and go through with the operation willingly?" Cinder asked.

"What operation?" Ruby asked as she looked to Jaune who simply glared at Cinder.

"Last night she told me that I was going to be the next Grimm Commander, and I assume you'll make me do it whether I want to or not." Jaune guessed.

Cinder nodded and said "That's correct, but if you just swallow your pride, cast away your foolish hesitations you can be with Pyrrha again. You can be her mate and together you two can produce the first, natural human-Grimm hybrid."

Ruby and Jaune both looked at Cinder, not expecting her to say something that crazy. Even Giger looked a bit surprised by the idea. "You are crazy, and by the way, I still don't believe in destiny." Jaune said.

"And why don't you?" Salem asked, getting everyone's attention.

"What destiny is depends on how you look at it, and I say there is no destiny except what we make for ourselves." Jaune finished.

Cinder looked up to Salem who simply nodded, as if giving permission for something. Cinder looked back to the two teenagers and said "Well, I tried."

She created a small explosion that forced Ruby and Jaune to look away, only for Cinder send Jaune flying with a mighty strike of her aura-infused fist. Cinder tried to strike Ruby with her blades but Ruby easily parried the blow with the blade of Crescent Rose.

"Your reflexes are still impressive despite how we kept you drained." Cinder admitted as she struck three more time, trying to weaken Ruby down but girl clad in red and black managed to block each one.

"I was trained by the best." Ruby said as she spun Crescent Rose around and hit Cinder in the side with the back side of the weapon. Cinder grunted in pain as she spun around and blasted the ground Ruby was standing on with a small bit of Dust.

Ruby fell to the ground and quickly rolled to avoid being stomped on by Cinder's foot. Ruby jumped up and spun Crescent Rose around as Cinder began sending wave after wave of flaming Dust, but the spinning Scythe deflected it, even as the blasts sent her scraping backwards.

Jaune got up and ran behind Ruby. "Keep her busy." He whispered to her.

"Not that easy." Ruby said as she kept spinning her weapon around. Jaune knelt down and used his emotion Semblance to launch himself in the air and towards Cinder.

Cinder managed to spot him in time and she quickly ceased her barrage of Dust on Ruby and recreated her swords out of thin air just in the nick of time to block Jaune's downwards slash.

"Good! Your anger is source of power, use it!" Cinder barked at him as Ruby began to run forward.

"I plan on it, but I won't let it control me." Jaune said, remembering Ashe's lessons as he swung at Cinder to meet her slash as Ruby opened fire on Cinder.

Cinder quickly used her powers to catch the shot but in doing so she allowed Jaune the chance to smash his shield into her and knock her down. Cinder quickly flipped up before Ruby could hit her with Crescent Rose's blade.

Cinder was a bit off put by what could have been a lethal attack; apparently she had pushed the right buttons last night as Ruby was now going for a fatal strike. If they wanted to get serious then so be it. She summoned up her power over the wind and grabbed both of them and sent them both flying into the other end of the pit.

Ruby got up and let out barrage of shots from Crescent Rose but Cinder blocked them all effortlessly. Cinder then pulled out her bow and arrow, aimed, a let go. In the blink of an eye Ruby saw that Jaune had been hit with the arrow, just like in her dream.

"No!" Ruby screamed before she saw that Cinder had only hit the shoulder of his hoodie, pinning him to the wall.

"Don't worry Ruby, I am very careful with my arrows." Cinder said as she fired another one at Ruby, which was cut in half by a swing of Ruby's blade.

Ruby let out a scream of anger as her eyes began to glow once again. She would not let anything from her dream from last night come to pass.

Without warning her aura surged up and she rocketed towards Cinder, who now had a look of worry on her face. Ruby managed to score a few hits with the blunt side of Crescent Rose before Cinder regained herself and struck back as she recreated her swords. She parried and blocked Ruby's blows but noticed that Jaune had freed himself from the wall.

Cinder smirked and she jumped away from Ruby, propelled by a blast of fire. She landed in the center of the pit and used her wind to grab a panel off of the wall and twist the edge enough so it had enough room to fit a neck; she had to drop it however as both Ruby and Jaune attacked her at once. Cinder kneeled down and she created a small dome made of wind and covered it with flames. Ruby and Jaune were both sent flying into the wall as Cinder seemingly detonated the dome, creating a shockwave that hit them both.

Cinder now stood proud and silent as she used the wind to grab the panel once again and sent it at Jaune, now pinning him to the wall with the metal panel.

"Consider my kindness Jaune, had I hit you any harder the panel would have decapitated you." She said.

"Heads up!" yelled Ruby as she jumped behind Cinder and swung Crescent Rose. Her warning was enough for Cinder who ducked down to avoid the swipe of the blade.

Cinder whipped around and met another strike from Ruby with her one of her swords. "That could have been a killing blow, eager aren't we?" Cinder taunted.

"I killed those men, but it was an accident. I feel bad, but I won't let my guilt control me because right now you need to be stopped." Ruby said as her eyes continued to glow. "And if I have to kill you to stop you then I will regret it, but I will do what I have to."

"Very good, you're finally coming to terms with it. Acceptance is the first step on the road to discovering who you really are." Cinder said.

"I already know who I am, I'm Ruby Rose, Huntress in training, daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose, and I will be the one to stop you." Ruby said with a smile on her face.

Cinder glared at Ruby, and then she gave the girl a smile of her own as she used the wind to grab Ruby and slam her into the wall, forcing her to drop Crescent Rose.

"I doubt that you will Ruby. If the great Pyrrha Nikos couldn't stop me, if the 'Invincible Girl' fell like everyone else who has ever tried to stop me, what hope do you possibly have?" Cinder asked.

"I have my friends." Ruby said with a smirk.

"Your friends are not here." Cinder pointed out.

"They're always with me in spirit, that's something you can't take from me." Ruby said as she briefly glanced over to Jaune who was struggling to get loose.

Cinder looked up to her master who simply nodded in approval. Cinder grinned at Ruby as she grabbed the girl by the neck and slammed her into the ground. Cinder stepped on Ruby's chest to keep her from getting away as she created a dagger out of the burning Dust.

"Maybe we should just get your eyes out of the way right here and now." Cinder said as she kneeled down and prepared to stab Ruby. Ruby cried out in horror and struggled to get free, she managed to get a look at Salem who seemed unconcerned but then she heard something.

"NO!" Jaune screamed. Despite how weak he was feeling Jaune used all of his strength to rip the panel off and free himself. Jaune ran forward, his Semblance causing his aura to glow around his body.

Up above Emerald, Mercury, Giger and Ziz all watched in amazement as Jaune rushed towards Cinder while Salem observed the skirmish and muttered "As I thought, well done Cinder."

Cinder discarded her dagger and leaped off of Ruby and created one of swords and met the blade of Crocea Mors eagerly. "I cannot believe you fell for that!" she said as she kicked Jaune in the stomach. Jaune withstood the attack and swung his sword at her but she met the attack and the clash of the two blades created a small shower of sparks. Jaune realized that Cinder had no intention of gouging Ruby's eyes out, it was just a way to provoke a reaction out of him.

Cinder pressed her sword forward and quickly delivered a powerful punch to his face knocking him down. Cinder held up her sword as she set it ablaze and she prepared to strike when Ruby screamed out as the silver light shone out of her eyes again, taking the form of the silver wings.

Emerald, Mercury, and Ziz all shielded their eyes from the intense light and Ziz was even forced to cover herself with her wings as she began to feel weak from the light. Jaune's jaw dropped at the sight and Cinder had turned around and prepared to repeat what she had done the other day as Ruby approached her.

On the throne the hologram of Salem watched in rapt attention. "Yes, this is it. This is the child's power. Magnificent." She muttered.

Ruby ran towards Cinder and said "I told you that you were never going to hurt anyone i care about again. Didn't you listen?"

Cinder screamed out as she poured every ounce of strength she had, both from her natural powers and the power of the Fall Maiden. Ruby stood her ground for ten brief seconds before Cinder overwhelmed her, made all the easier by Ruby's weakened aura.

"Another lesson learned." Cinder muttered as Ruby's eyes closed.

"Cinder look out!" Emerald cried.

Cinder turned around just in time to block Jaune's attack. Had Emerald not warned her she would have taken a nasty blow.

"We're slow learners, just ask Goodwitch." Jaune snarled.

"Then allow me to improve your education as well." Cinder said as she used another aura-infused fist to smash Jaune's face, sending him down to the floor, unconscious.

Cinder turned around, a thin layer of sweat covering her skin as she bowed to Salem.

"Well done my disciple, you may rise." Salem said and Cinder did so. "Dr. Giger, I want you to prepare for the operation. I want Jaune to be a Grimm Commander by tonight." She ordered.

"Understood Mistress." Giger said with his head bowed.

"Master, were you able to identify his Semblance?" Cinder asked as a ramp extended down to the pit.

"Indeed I was, it is the emotion Semblance, which explains a few things such as why he was able to see through Emerald's illusions and why his strength grows under emotional circumstances. While this is common for most Semblances the emotion one is significantly powerful." Salem said as she looked to Cinder and continued. "Allow Ante and his illusionist to toy with the child's mind but after that I want you to let them meet with Saul Jude."

"Jude? He hasn't arrived yet." Cinder said.

"He has informed me he will be there shortly; they know your brother so Jude wants to speak with them. After that allow Jaune Arc to rest and gather his strength, he will need it for the surgery. Oh, and Victor, only give him enough pain killers to keep him alive and only have your healers do what is necessary, I want Arc to suffer." Salem said.

Giger was taken aback by Salem's command. "Why?" he asked.

"I have history with the Arcs... I want one to suffer for what happened to me all those years ago." Salem said. Cinder noticed the angry look on her master's face and she glanced to her master's hand to see it clenched so tightly into a fist that she could swear she saw blood.

"Understood, with his aura charged up he should be able to survive the process." Giger said obediently.

Ziz was a little put off by what Salem had just ordered, she remembered waking up during the surgery on accident, the burning feeling of the Grimm essence being injected into her. Ziz was cruel, but she was no sadist, at least she killed people quickly.

Emerald looked rather shaken by the idea, something Mercury took note of.

Cinder did not seem to mind the idea as the door opened and guards entered the room. "Take Ruby Rose back to her cell and return Jaune Arc to the training room he was in yesterday. Ante and his men will be here soon enough." She said as the guards quickly followed her orders.

While Jaune had been out of it, something inside of him had heard the orders...

* * *

Fotia stood in her room, going through her morning exercise routine. Stretches, striking the punching bag, chin-ups, but today she was slower than usual, not sluggish per say, but still not as good as she normally was.

Last night's events with Jaune Arc had her a bit on edge. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something about Arc that made her... nervous?

She didn't really know why. Okay, she could not deny that he was rather handsome but the way he acted, how utterly convinced he was that she was the late Pyrrha Nikos was disturbing to say the least.

She looked at herself in the mirror, wondering if she really did look like Pyrrha Nikos. She would have to look into it.

All of a sudden she heard the whispery voice again, this time it sounded like it was saying "Help."

"Hello? Who is there?!" Fotia called to the near emptiness of her quarters. No answer. "Please, if this is some kind of trick I will not get mad, I just want to know who is making that voice." Fotia said.

"Help me." Was all she heard in return, but Fotia noticed that the voice sounded like her own.

Fotia had had enough of this. She grabbed her combat gear and quickly left the room.

As she walked down the hall Neo watched with an interested look on her face.

* * *

Weiss piloted the airship over the unsightly slums of Haven and towards the waterfront.

"Are you sure these are the coordinates they gave you?" Coco asked from the passenger area.

"I'm pretty sure, Ren it's by the water and that they'd be there so help me keep a look out for it." Weiss said.

Coco nodded and walked over to the turret section where Fox was still sitting. "Yo Foxy, you see it?" she asked.

"I can see the waterfront and several warehouses but I do not see any sign of Ren or the others." Fox reported as he looked through the crosshairs

Weiss nodded as she reached into her pocket and took out her scroll. "Velvet, take my scroll and call Ren, tell him we're here but we need a sign that we're in the right place." She said as the rabbit Faunus accepted the scroll from her.

Velvet found Ren on Weiss' contacts list and called him and he soon answered.

"Hello Weiss, are you here yet?" Ren's voice asked.

"Hey Ren, it's Velvet, listen we're flying over the waterfront area of Haven now but we don't see you, can you give us a sign or something?" she asked.

"Sure, just look for an explosion." Ren answered.

"Explosion? What do you...?" Velvet tried to ask before she heard an explosion a few hundred meters away in the sky. Everyone looked to the left to see a small explosion caused by Magnhild's grenade launcher.

"That'll do." Weiss said as she flew the ship towards the area where the blast had come from. Soon enough they hovered over the warehouse and saw Ren, Nora, and Team ABRN all looking up and waving to them.

Coco slid the door of the ship open as it descended and called "Hey Valkyrie, Lie! Long time no see!" She was startled by Penny poking her head out and looking down.

"We are a bit high up, are we going to jump?" Penny asked.

"From this height we could, but I think it'd be better if we just waited to land." Coco said to the robotic girl.

"That sounds like the smarter idea." Penny admitted as she sat back down, not seeing Flynt elbowing Neon for giggling at Penny's naïveté. The ship landed down on the lot behind the warehouse with a lite thud and Coco hopped out of the ship and stretched.

"So good being on solid ground again." She said as the others followed her out.

"Hey there, Adel right?" Arslan asked as she shook Coco's hand.

"Got it in one, Arslan right? I remember fighting with you at the battle of Beacon, how's life been treating you?" Coco asked.

"Well we got involved in this mess for one thing." Arslan said dryly.

Penny looked to Ren and Nora who were both giving her odd looks. "Salutations Ren and Nora, it is nice to properly meet you." Penny said, offering her hand out.

Ren decided to be polite and not hesitate; he accepted her hand but was surprised by her strong grip.

"I am sorry about Pyrrha, the others have told me about what happened to Pyrrha. I am so sorry." Penny said.

Nora smiled and said "It's okay, we don't blame you. I mean you gave her a really good fight and I think that afterwards she would have been happy to be your friend. You know about the whole Cinder tricking her into ripping you apart thing, right?"

"I have been informed of that and I am eager to pay her back... Cinder that is." Penny clarified.

"We figured." Ren deadpanned.

"Hi guys!" called Velvet as she got off the ship.

"Velv!" Nora cheered as she ran over and grabbed the Faunus girl in a powerful hug. "It is so good to see you!"

"You too... can you please let me go... I need to breathe!" Velvet gasped out.

"Oops! Sorry about that, keep forgetting how fragile you can be." Nora said as she released Velvet.

"It takes some getting used to." Yatsuhashi said as he nodded to Ren.

"It is nice to see you again." Weiss said as she disembarked from the ship.

"Hello Weiss, we are very grateful you came." Ren said as he shook her hand.

"My best friend is in trouble, of course I came. Plus, I couldn't let General Ironwood turn Penny into a bomb so we needed somewhere to go." Weiss said as she braced herself for a hug from Nora.

"Oh Weiss! With all of you here we can all work together and save Ruby and Jaune!" the powerful girl cheered as she embraced the heiress as Flynt and Neon came out of the ship.

"I'd feel much more confident if we had heard from Ruby's uncle." Weiss admitted as Nora released her.

"Yeah, you think Branwen is alright?" Flynt asked.

"I have no idea and Professor Goodwitch told me she doesn't either, but I suspect we'll know in time. Ren, Nora, do either you know the current whereabouts of Sun, Neptune and the rest of their team?" Weiss asked.

"No, they left to find Blake, we haven't heard from them since." Ren said.

"Well, I have had some loose contact. Qrow told me that Yang has gotten a new arm and has joined up with Team SSSN to find Blake. I haven't had time to call her personally because of the hectic situations we've been facing in the last twenty-four hours." Weiss admitted.

"Well call her now, I mean you might as well since you're finally off that ship." Nora said.

Weiss nodded, "Very well... I can't believe Nora of all people had to spell that out for me." She muttered as she took out her scroll, briefly looking up to see Reese and Neon, who had become friends during the Vytal Festival.

"Nice to know I'll be fighting with the rainbow cat." Reese said as she fist-bumped her friend.

"Well I like the fact that I'll be fighting with the skater girl from Haven." Neon said as he tail waved around enthusiastically.

Weiss looked around as her scroll rang and noticed an absence. "Where is that Ashe fellow?" she asked.

"I think he's inside the building, we just got here so we haven't gone inside." Bolin said.

Before Weiss could respond she head Yang's voice from her scroll "Weiss!"

"Yang! ... Blake?!" Weiss cried as she looked at her scroll and saw Yang, Blake, Sun, Neptune, and Scarlet looking back at her.

"Hi Weiss." Blake said shyly.

"What... you've already found her?" Weiss asked.

"Wait, how did you know we were trying to find her?" Yang asked.

"Your uncle." Weiss revealed.

"Okay, someone please tell me what is going on." Sun said.

"Long story." Weiss said.

"Really long story!" Nora said as she popped her head over Weiss' shoulder.

"Nora?!" both Yang and Blake cried.

"And Ren." Nora added as she pulled Ren up over Weiss's other soldier.

"Are you in Haven?" Neptune asked.

"Yes we are, you see there have been some... developments." Weiss said.

"Such as...?" Blake asked.

Weiss pointed her scroll over to show Penny, Team CFVY, Team ABRN, and half of Team FNKI.

"Is... is that Penny?" Yang asked in amazement.

"Yes, and you will not believe what we had to go through to get her." Weiss said.

"Are you guys at the warehouse?" Sun asked.

"Yes we are." Ren confirmed.

"What about Ruby? She's with you, right?" Yang asked hopefully.

Weiss looked at both Nora and Ren. Deciding to take it upon herself to tell her teammates the truth about their leader's situation "No, Cinder has captured her and Jaune as well."

"WHAT?!" both Yang, Blake, and the visible members of Team SSSN screamed.

"We believe that they are still alive, after all Cinder went through a lot of trouble to catch them alive so I doubt they are dead." Ren said, trying to calm his friends down.

"What makes you think that?!" cried Sun.

"They put out a two million lien bounty on their heads with specific directions to keep them alive." Ren explained.

"So they're okay?" Blake asked hopefully.

"We don't know but I doubt Cinder would go through all that trouble to keep them alive only to kill them herself." Ren said.

"Plus we still don't know why she wants Jaune." Nora added.

"Yeah, why would she want Jaune?" Neptune asked.

"We can find that out once we get there. We're on our way to Haven right now and we'll be there in a few hours." Yang said.

Weiss nodded, "We'll be waiting for you and tell you what we've been up to in the last few days." Weiss said.

"Wait till you hear our story." Yang said trying to cheer herself up, but the worry for her little sister was obvious.

"I'll be happy to see you both." Weiss said, putting on a smile.

"Yeah, all we have to do is rescue Ruby and the gang will be back together." Yang said, giving off a weak smile.

Blake could see how nervous Yang was so she decided to end the call here. "We'll be there soon, goodbye Weiss." She said.

Weiss merely nodded and ended the call. She looked up and saw that Penny had taken notice of the awkward conversation.

"Is something wrong? I know Ruby's in danger but why did Yang and Team SSSN have to find Blake? Was she lost?" Penny asked.

"No Penny, remember when we first met and Blake ran off? She did it again and this time Yang found her." Weiss said.

"Oh. Why did she run away again?" Penny asked.

"I don't really know, maybe it was guilt. I think she blames herself for what happened to Yang." Weiss guessed.

"What happened to Yang?" Penny asked.

"We really got to start filling her in on everything." Flynt muttered to Neon who nodded in agreement.

"Apparently someone from Blake's past wanted revenge on her and cut off Yang's arm." Weiss said somberly.

"Oh. The situation looks grim." Penny stated.

"Speaking of which, we should probably go inside and see if Ashe is okay." Nora said.

"Who is this Ashe guy anyway? Schnee mentioned him but we really know zip about him." Coco pointed out.

"Yeah, if we're going to be working with this guy to save the day I'd prefer to know more about him." Flynt agreed.

Ren and Nora looked to Weiss and the former said "You didn't tell them?"

"I'd prefer it if he told them himself, plus I still haven't met him in person." Weiss said.

"Tell us what?" asked Yatsuhashi.

"Yeah, what's going on?" asked Neon.

"Okay, no point in hiding now." Weiss sighed as she turned to face the fellow members of the rescue team. "Ashe is Cinder's brother."

"What." Asked Coco.

"You gotta be kidding me." Fox deadpanned.

"That is rather disconcerting." Yatsuhashi voiced.

"Oh hell no." moaned Flynt.

"Why are we working with him?!" cried Neon.

"Wait, if he's been helping them and they know that he's related to Cinder then there must be a good reason as to why we're allied with him." Velvet pointed out, trying to stay open-minded about the newest revelation.

"Has he done anything wrong?" Penny asked, innocently. "I mean, even if he is related to Cinder we can't blame him for her actions."

Everyone was silent for a moment when Coco said "Point to robo-girl."

"Oh, did I win something?" Penny asked.

"They didn't let you out a whole lot over at Atlas, did they?" Coco observed.

"I had to let myself out for the most part." Penny said.

Coco grinned and said "That's my kind of thinking."

"Back to Ashe..." Weiss said to get everyone's attention back on track, "I think we can trust him not to join up with his sister."

"And why's that?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Because he found out Cinder was the one who murdered him mom, then blamed it on their dad, then she killed him too, and then she left Ashe all alone at the age of ten." Reese explained.

Penny and the members of her rescue team were silent before Flynt said "The more I hear about Cinder Fall the easier the idea of killing her is."

"Amen to that." Coco agreed.

"So you guys want to meet Ashe?" Nora asked.

"If we are going to be going up against an army with him at our side I'd like to meet him." Weiss said.

"As would I." Yatsuhashi said.

"Then let's go on inside." Nora said as she opened up the doors to the warehouse.

The large group was about to follow Nora inside when a voice called "Hey Ren!" Most of the group turned to see four women in their twenties and one in her early thirties approaching them. "Could you have picked a worse place to meet up at?" Bianca called as she led her sisters to the group.

"Blame Sun, he allowed us to use this warehouse." Ren justified.

"Still, couldn't we have met in a subway or a park or something?" Sienna asked.

"We had to meet up with some friends." Ren said as he gestured over to Weiss, Penny, Team CFVY, Flynt and Neon.

"Hello!" Penny greeted.

"I remember you, Weiss, right?" Bianca asked as she offered her hand out to the Schnee heiress.

"Indeed, I remember all of you as well." Weiss said politely as she accepted Bianca's hand.

"Wait a minute, isn't that the girl who turned out to be a robot?" Shani asked as she pointed to Penny.

"Listen, we've got some explaining to do..." Ren said. Both Ren and Weiss began explaining to the five Arc sisters what had been going on with Penny and introducing them to the teams until Nora came out of the warehouse.

"Um... guys! I think you should all get inside! I think something's wrong!" she called.

Ren and Weiss looked to each other. "Let's continue this inside shall we?" Weiss asked, to which everyone agreed. The group entered Team SSSN's warehouse and Ren and Team ABRN were caught off guard by the sight of the Aura Crystal still suspended in the air in the middle of the room by the case's shields and Ashe nowhere in sight while Penny, her rescuers, and the Arc sisters were all amazed by the large crystal just floating in the air.

"Where's Ashe?" Bolin asked.

"I don't know! I just came in and found the crystal like this." Nora elaborated.

Coco looked around and saw the metal staircase that led to the catwalks above. "Velvet, Fox, go up there and look around. Maybe you can see this Ashe guy from up there." She ordered. Fox and Velvet nodded and began climbing up the steps to the walkways above.

"What is that thing?" Indigo asked as she stared at the crystal with wonder.

"That is the Aura Crystal, a legendary relic that Ashe has been guarding for the past two decades." Ren exposited.

"So who is this Ashe person? You mentioned him when you first told me Jaune had been captured but you didn't say much about him." Bianca said.

"Oh, he is..." Penny began before Neon quickly placed her hand over Penny's mouth.

"Penny, I think we should break it to them slowly." The redhead Faunus advised.

"Oh, good idea." Penny agreed.

Up above Fox and Velvet both looked around the warehouse and saw no sign of Ashe, just the people they knew were in the building. Fox noticed another staircase the led up to the next level of catwalks. "I'll go up there and look around." Fox said.

"Right." Velvet said as she watched Fox walk away. Velvet turned around only to come face to upside-down face with Ashe who was hanging down from the catwalk above her.

"Frith and Inle!" Velvet cried out in surprise.

"Whoa! Sorry to startle you." Ashe apologized as he saw Fox come running back.

"You're Ashe I assume?" Fox asked. Everyone below had noticed Velvet's yelp and was now looking up to see the scene playing out.

"Yeah, hold on, let's continue this right-side up." Ashe said as his feet released themselves from the catwalk bars and he dropped down in front of the two on his hands, afterwards he flipped over and landed on his feet, acting like an acrobat. "Sorry about that, couldn't sleep on so I decided maybe resting on something cold and metal would help." Ashe explained.

"Why would that work?" Velvet asked as she tilted her head

"Sometimes it helps me, don't know why." Ashe said as he took notice of Ren, Nora, and Team ABRN. "Hey guys, see you've brought company."

"Good morning Ashe, or good afternoon as the case may be." Ren said.

"What? What time is it?" Ashe asked.

"About seventeen past noon." Penny said, as she had a clock internally built in.

"Wow, that... session with the crystal must have worn me out more than I thought." Ashe said.

"Speaking of which Ashe, did you find out half of what the freaky crap you were spouting out last night meant?" Arslan asked.

Ashe's face suddenly hardened as he remembered what he had learned last night. "Yeah, I did." He said quietly as he began walking towards the stairs, followed by Velvet and Fox.

Velvet introduced herself to Ashe and began naming all of the new arrivals for him. Ashe noticed that Penny was looking right at the Aura Crystal, even reaching out to touch it until Ashe said "Don't touch that, it's dangerous."

Penny looked up at him and said "I'm sorry sir, but my sensors are going berserk, there is an immense power coming from this crystal."

"Yeah, it's powerful alright. So you're that robot girl rebuilt. Neat." Ashe said.

"You think I'm neat?" Penny asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean why wouldn't I think that?" Ashe asked before he noticed Shani giving him a weird look.

"What?" he asked her.

"Sorry, you just look familiar." Shani said before Ren cut in.

"So what did you learn?" Ren asked as Ashe and half of Team CFVY got to ground level.

"Well... do they all know about my, uh, relations to... her?" Ashe asked hesitantly.

"We know, and trust me Ashe, I know what it's like to regret something a relative has done." Weiss said as she walked up to him.

"You're Weiss Schnee. Ruby told me a lot about you and the rest of her team, and if you went up against General Ironwood to rescue Penny over there," Ashe said as he nodded to Penny, "then maybe I was wrong. When I got a glimpse of you on Ruby's scroll I said you seemed out of place with her, now I think you fit right in."

Weiss smiled and said "Thank you Ashe, I do not know much about you but from what Nora and Ren have told me I think we can trust you for the time being."

"If I am not mistaken the Arc sisters still are unaware of what's up with Ashe." Penny said, making Ashe look at the five blonde women.

"You're Jaune's sisters?" he asked.

"Only five of seven, the other two had to stay home." Shani said.

"Nice to meet you, you're brother's a good kid, strong too." Ashe said as she sat down in one of the chairs.

"Yes, Ashe has helped Jaune out immensely, even helping him discover his Semblance." Ren said.

"He did?!" Weiss, Velvet, and the Arc sisters all cried out.

"Yeah, I felt that it was the same as mine, so I helped him out with it. It's the emotion Semblance and I needed to get some strong reactions out of him. He punches really hard." Ashe muttered as he rubbed his jaw.

"You must be a talented Huntsman in order to do that." Yatsuhashi said, trying to get a proper feel for Ashe's character.

"Not really a Huntsman big guy, I'm what they call a Guerrilla Hunter." Ashe said.

"Oh this just gets better and better." Flynt groaned.

"You're technically a criminal." Violet pointed out.

"What are you gonna do, arrest me?" Ashe joked.

"I am a police officer." Violet said with a small smirk.

"Oh." Ashe said before Violet cracked a playful grin at him.

"Relax, I won't cuff you for the time being. Right now our little brother and his friend are in danger; we got a plan to do something about it?" Violet asked.

"I think the fact that we are working with an illegal Huntsman is a bit disturbing." Penny said.

"Relax Penny, some rules are meant to be broken, after all we broke a ton of rules to get you here." Coco pointed out.

Penny nodded and said "Should I give you my point from earlier?"

Coco snickered at Penny's childlike mind before she looked at Ashe and sized him up. "Listen; right now I couldn't care less about the legality or moral implications of being an official Hunter or not, or the fact that without training from an official academy it's vigilantism but if you kill the Grimm you're okay by me and if you're fighting Cinder Fall and her cronies then I'll be happy to fight alongside you. That witch messed Beacon up and took a friend away from us, we can't let her win this, so can we trust you to help us stop her?" Coco asked, going into full-on take-charge leader mode.

Ashe smiled and said "You have my word I will help you fight my sister to the bitter end."

"Your sister?!" cried the five Arc Women.

"Oh... I forgot they didn't know." Ashe muttered before Bianca slammed him into the wall. "Ow! What is it with Arcs and throwing me into the wall?!" Ashe cried as he saw that Bianca had grabbed Violet's gun and was now pointing it at Ashe.

"Do you have any idea what your bitch of a sister has done?! The lives she taken, the emotional scarring she's caused?! Why shouldn't I blow your head off right now?!" Bianca screamed angrily as her sisters grabbed her and tried to talk sense into her.

"Stop it!" Shani cried.

"We need to hear the whole story!" Indigo added.

"Drop my gun now sis!" Violet ordered.

"I thought you were the smart one!" Sienna said.

Ashe glared at the eldest Arc child as Velvet used her camera to create a copy of Akouo in front of him to protect him, just in case.

"Why are you working with him if he's related to Cinder Fall?! She has made so many people suffer and hurt my little brother; maybe we should hurt her brother! An eye for an eye!" Bianca said.

"Sounds good to me." Ashe muttered.

"Calm down! My grandma once said the big flaw with the 'eye for an eye' thing is that in the end everyone ends up blind." Flynt said as Weiss stepped forward.

"Bianca, stop it now. You cannot blame Ashe for Cinder's actions anymore than I can blame my family for our reputation among the Faunus race." Weiss said as calmly as she could, trying to defuse the situation.

"Listen to her, Ashe is trying to stop Cinder just like we are." Bolin assured Bianca.

Bianca began to shake as she dropped the gun. "I... I'm so sorry! I just lost control for a minute there! Oh man..." she said nervously.

"No, go ahead and do it." Ashe said as he walked around Velvet's light-shield and picked up the gun. "Go ahead and do it, blow my brains out." He said as he forced the gun back into Bianca's hands.

"No, I wasn't thinking straight, I let my emotions get the better of me..." Bianca tried to say before Ashe stopped her.

"Do it, go ahead and kill me. You want to blame me for what my estranged sister has done, you want to take it out on me? Go ahead. Pull the trigger. My life in the past twenty years has been nothing but misery, maybe out of those twenty years a collective one of them has been pleasant, so go ahead and do it! Just get it over with so I can die!" Ashe yelled, tears pouring down his face.

Ashe saw the utterly horrified look on Bianca's face as she threw the gun away. He saw the look of fear and regret in her sapphire eyes and he quickly felt bad about how he just acted. He could feel the tension in the atmosphere and knew that he had probably killed any chance of these new arrivals trusting him.

"Oh god I am so sorry... I..." Ashe said as he looked around to see shocked and disgusted reactions from everyone else. "I'm sorry I... I've just been having a bad fucking week."

"You shouldn't swear." Penny said innocently.

"Sorry." Ashe said as he sat down and his tears continued to fall.

Velvet looked to Coco who nodded, with that the rabbit Faunus sat down next to Ashe and asked him "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's just... for twenty years I've been carrying that stupid crystal all over the world and for twenty years I hated my father for a murder he never committed. For twenty years I have brought pain and suffering to everyone who tried to get close to me; I was in a pit full of Grimm and it was only after most of my mates had been slaughtered that I remembered a way to fight back... I fell in love with someone who was so beautiful and wonderful, I was going to marry her and then she died to save me and I just now learned that she was pregnant with my child. I lost her because I wasn't good enough. I find out that my sister is a terrorist who is responsible for god knows how many deaths so I come out here to try and stop her but I run into these kids, and I foolishly let myself believe that I can help them and that they can help me. I fail to save two of them and I nearly get killed by my sister who I now know murdered both our parents in cold blood. I finally manage to communicate with the crystal and it has only showed me horrible things. And finally here I am breaking down in front of a bunch of kids, women and a robot! Life has been trying so damn hard to break me... and it finally did it." Ashe finished as he began to quietly weep.

Velvet wrapped her arms around the older man and pulled him to her.

Bianca looked rather guilty, she felt terrible for pushing Ashe to this. She felt like she had touched a nerve she really shouldn't have.

Ren and Nora both kneeled down in front of Ashe. "It'll be okay Ashe, we won't abandon you." Nora promised as they grasped his hands.

"Thanks guys. My intentions are good, even though I am not a good man." Ashe said sadly.

"Don't say that, I don't think you're a bad person Ashe, I think you're just sad. You've obviously been carrying around some emotional weight for a long time; you were bound to just break down sooner or later. I remember when I was young and I got picked on for being a Faunus, but I had my friends and family to help me. I think you just need someone to help you." Velvet said kindly.

Ashe smiled at her and said "I owe you a lot for this Velvet." He got up and looked to everyone, most of them had calmed down but some such as Arslan and Yatsuhashi looked wary of him.

"Sorry about that, it was out of line and I... I just needed to get that off my chest." Ashe said.

"Well I for one accept your apologies." Weiss said.

"Hey, I'd probably go nuts to if I had to live through what you did." Coco said as Fox nodded in agreement.

"Ashe, right now we need to get down to business so I think we should reiterate Arslan's question from earlier: did you find anything out when you communicated with the crystal?" Ren asked.

Ashe stopped and remembered what the crystal had shown him, the terrible things Salem had planned. "You better believe I did. It showed me what Salem is trying to do." Ashe said, his voice filled with dread.

"Who's Salem?" Shani asked, still trying to remember where she had seen Ashe before.

"She is Cinder's master, the true mastermind behind everything." Weiss answered.

"Right, and if we don't stop her everyone will suffer." Ashe said.

"Care to elaborate on that?" Yatsuhashi prodded.

"Do you guys know what the 'Shattering' is?" Ashe asked.

"Yes, it is when a lower section of the moon was destroyed; most facts surrounding it are lost to time however." Penny said.

"Correct, the Shattering was the end of the old world and the beginning of ours. It created the Dust and the Grimm, and the fallout from it created the Faunus and the world around us. The damage to the moon caused the tides of the ocean to go berserk and devastate half the planet, creating our world to rise from the rubble to create Remnant... but that was just a small part of the moon." Ashe said.

"I don't think I like where this is going." Neon said nervously.

"Salem intends on kicking off another Shattering!" Ashe cried, making everyone's eyes go wide. Ashe took out his scroll and pulled up an image, "It will be the end of our world..." he said as he held up his scroll and held it up for all to see, showing a picture of a horde of Grimm. "... and the beginning of theirs."

Everyone was silent as they soaked up the apocalyptic implications of what Ashe was telling them.

"Well, we knew going in this would get bad." Coco said as she took off her sunglasses.

"Yeah, but not end of the world bad." Fox voiced.

Flynt considered all of this and then thought of something "You mean to tell me that those insane freaks are trying to create a world for the Grimm? I think they're forgetting one little thing: without humans and Faunus around the Grimm will die out, right? I mean no hate and fear means starvation for those things." He said.

"That's a pretty legitimate point." Arslan said, beginning to question Ashe's conclusions.

"Salem may have a way to get around that, I think she wants to complete the Grimm." Ashe said.

"Complete the Grimm?" Bolin repeated.

"Yeah, they're the only living things on this planet without aura and I think Salem wants to resolve that issue." Ashe said.

"We're going to need more help." Penny stated.

"Call Goodwitch, we're gonna need her sooner than we thought." Coco said to Weiss.

"I'm still holding out on Qrow, he told me before we left for the military base that he'd call me once he got back to Vale." Weiss said.

"Schnee, we have to consider the possibility that Qrow has either been captured by Ironwood or killed." Flynt said.

"Right, and with how Atlas has been acting lately I doubt Qrow's status will be public info." Neon added.

"Fine, if we don't here from him within an hour I will call Professor Goodwitch and tell her what we've learned." Weiss agreed.

Ashe sat back down in one of the chairs and said "Sadly, this was only one of the strange things I learned last night."

"What were the others?" Velvet asked as she, Penny, Reese and Yatsuhashi sat on the couch across from him while Bolin took a seat on the floor and Neon in the other recliner.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Weird thing is I kept having this dream about sparrows flying in the sky, circling around me and someone else." Ashe said.

"Sparrows? I think you had a dream about sparrows when you were at my house. While you were sleeping you said 'something-something, crows to purgatory and sparrows to hell.' Do you have any idea what those dreams mean?" Reese asked.

Ashe looked down. "Not really." He lied.

Weiss, Ren, Nora, Coco, Fox, Arslan, Nadir, and the Arc sisters all gathered around a table to discuss their next course of action.

"Okay, so you have the schematics for the factory, right?" Nora asked.

"Of course I do." Weiss said as she took out her scroll and brought up the layout for the factory.

"Know anything about CraftTech?" Arslan asked.

"Not really, they submitted a few designs to my family's company but they were never accepted and I know they are a private technology development corporation but that's the extent of my knowledge." Weiss admitted.

"Well from what we know they own the building and who knows how they could have changed it." Arslan said as she looked over Weiss scroll.

"Coco, what about that bomb you have left? We could use that to our advantage." Fox suggested.

"A BOMB?! You brought a bomb here?! Is it the very same one you were supposed to stop from getting to this city?!" Nadir cried as he, Arslan, and the Arc sisters stepped back.

Coco was silent for a bit before she said "Yeah pinky, it is. I thought we'd be going up against some bad customers and given what we know now I think I had the right idea to bring it along, plus from what I can tell this factory is in a pretty remote area of town and maybe we can do something to lessen the impact of the blast like lightening the amount of Dust inside."

"You kids are gonna have to tell us what went down in Atlas." Indigo muttered.

"Right now I'm just happy we have something to use against them. If my guess is correct Professor Goodwitch will be here tomorrow, correct?" Ren asked, to which Weiss and Coco both nodded.

"Good! Then tomorrow night we go up to that factory, blow the doors down, kick Cinder's butt, get Ruby and Jaune out of there and ta-da! We've saved the day." Nora said.

"I wish it was that easy Nora, okay let's start brainstorming ideas for our plan of attack." Ren said.

Everyone began trying to come up with their own ideas for how they should attack the factory. And soon afterwards Ren and Weiss both agreed that they needed professionals as soon as possible.

* * *

Jaune was awakened by the gentle, sensual feeling of fingers tracing across his face.

"Wh... what?" he said weakly as he opened his eyes. He could feel his hands were bound together and they were tied to the ceiling as he hung down. He tried to turn his head as he saw a brief glimpse of red hair.

"Pyrrha?" he asked.

"Yes Jaune?" said the girl he loved as she appeared in front of him.

Jaune glared at her, knowing this had to be another illusion. "Don't try to trick me Emerald, I won't fall for the same trick twice." He said.

"I am real Jaune, I promise you." 'Pyrrha' said as she cupped his cheeks and leaned in, pressing her lips against his. Jaune did not return the kiss, he could physically feel it this time, could feel that it was not someone else but somehow he could tell this was fake.

"If you're the real Pyrrha how many times did you hit me with a spear the day you met me?" he asked.

"What?" the illusion of Pyrrha asked in confusion.

' _Very good Jaune, you have it.'_ The encouraging voice of Pyrrha said from within.

"What did you say to me when you unlocked my aura?" Jaune demanded.

Pyrrha looked to be saddened by his words before she gasped out in pain. Jaune cried out is surprise as he saw a black arrow sticking out of the fake Pyrrha's chest.

She tried to scream out in pain as a flash of light surged through her body and she was reduced to a pile of glowing yellow dust. Tears formed in Jaune's eyes as he realized this illusion was recreating Pyrrha's would-be death and forcing him to witness it.

"Stop it! I won't look!" Jaune cried before a punch to the gut forced his eyes open.

"Oh, we insist!" said the voice of Damien Ante. Jaune was forced to watch the recreation of Pyrrha's disintegration. He knew she wasn't dead for real but it looked so real and horrible.

"Okay Zhan, try as we might he won't fall for a mind fuck again." Ante said as Zhan and the other enforces, along with Dr. West, appeared as all the room's lights turned on.

"I told Fall that we needed more knowledge of the Nikos girl if this was going to work, the Sustrai girl was correct when she said it wouldn't work." Zhan said as he took out a cigarette.

"You know the old saying; 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'. Guess he ain't that stupid." Douglas said as he held up a wrench and gently smacked it in his hand.

"You stupid jerks... you really think Cinder's gonna let you live?" Jaune asked defiantly.

"Probably, if we behave." Ante joked as he took out a non-exploding dagger. Ante pulled off Jaune's hoodie to reveal his wiry muscles and lightly toned body. "And behaving means following her orders and her orders are to inflict pain!" Ante finished as he carefully dragged his blade across Jaune's back.

Jaune screamed out in pain, which intensified as Tom-Tom smashed his mallet into Jaune's ribs. Jaune cried out, tears rolling down his cheeks as a mighty punch from Little Steve struck him across the face.

' _No, no, no! Leave him alone! Stop it!'_ cried Pyrrha from within Jaune's body, going unheard by the criminals around them.

"Remember to not injure him too badly; he still needs his strength for tonight after all." West reminded them as he watched from the side. Damien nodded and looked back to Jaune, getting an idea for how to get a reaction out of him.

"Too bad about your girlfriend, I mean, all Grimm'ed up and shit... and yet I'll still fuck her if Salem lets me!" Ante mocked as he began laughing sadistically. Jaune screamed out in anger and struggled to break free as Douglas slammed his wrench against Jaune's back.

"Kid, there's one thing you have to know about this world: there are victors like me, and there are victims like you, but there are occasionally those in-between; like Nikos. You see she was a victor for most of her life but now all she is is another victim. And if I play my cards right she'll be my victim!" Damien said as he stabbed Jaune in the leg.

Jaune screamed out, why were they doing this?

No reason.

It was just cruelty.

Within Jaune all Pyrrha could do was blame herself for what was happening to the boy she loved.

Zhan sighed in disgust and walked out of the room. Trooper took notice of this and followed him, feeling no desire to beat Jaune like the others were doing. Trooper did his best to ignore Jaune's screams and the sounds of the beatings, despite his line of work Trooper was not a fan of torture.

He closed the door behind him in a vain attempt to drown out Jaune's cries.

He saw Zhan leaned against the wall, breathing out the smoke from the cigarette. "Would you like one?" the illusionist asked.

"You know I don't smoke. My grandpa died because of those things. They'll kill you, you know that, right?" Trooper asked.

"We are shot at on a regular basis and yet you think these little sticks of tobacco will kill me?" Zhan asked.

Trooper chuckled and said "Good point."

"It is ironic that the death of your grandfather drove you away from smoking, as it was the death of my grandmother that encouraged my smoking." Zhan said.

"How so?" Trooper asked.

"You see, my grandmother's Semblance was premonition. She could see what would happen before it happened, and sadly that included the deaths of the people she loved. On her death bed she told me that I would die by being shot in the heart. She did not tell me when or where, all she told me was how." Zhan said as he took another puff.

"So you decided 'screw my health, I know how I'm dying'?" Trooper asked.

Zhan smiled and nodded. "Why aren't you in there helping out with the boy's... 'lesson'?" he asked.

"You've known me for over four years man, you should know I'm not into torture or hurting someone as young as him." Trooper said, wincing as he heard Jaune yell out a high-pitched scream.

"I can respect that." Zhan said.

"I'll need a sleeping pill tonight; I won't sleep easy after this." Trooper admitted. Zhan could only nod in agreement.

"Do you consider me your friend?" Zhan asked.

Trooper considered it. "I suppose, I mean you tend to stay alone but I consider you a comrade and besides Lao and maybe Merrick you're the only guy I'd consider trustworthy around here."

"Good enough for me." Zhan replied.

After twenty minutes of torture, which included a game of Vacuo Roulette on Jaune's foot with an empty gun courtesy of Merrick, constant hits from Tom-Tom's mallet and Little Steve's meaty fists, thin and stinging cuts from Damien and Lao, being slammed with Douglas' wrench, and some choking from Fireball, West had had enough of the session and ordered Ante and the rest of his men out.

"If you've killed him Mistress Salem will have our heads, while I wouldn't mind seeing all of you dead I would rather stay alive." West said as he ushered them all out.

"All right doc, don't get your knickers in a twist! See you later kid and if the pain stops we'll be back to give you some more!" Damien called and he exited the room with a sick laugh. "And don't worry about your partner! She's the fuck of the decade so I promise I won't let that body go to waste!" he added.

Jaune glared up and called "Ante! When I get out of here... I'm gonna stab you with one of your own knives."

Damien looked back at Jaune and laughed as he walked away. West set to work healing Jaune's new wounds and closing the cuts up, aided by Jaune's plentiful aura. Despite his cold nature West had to do his best to ignore Jaune's moans of pain.

In the hallway Ante and his enforcers all began walking down the hallway. "Hope Cinder will be proud of us." Damien said as he led the way.

"Better be, I hate coming to this spooky-ass place." Tom-Tom muttered.

"And I hate being around her." Added Little Steve.

"Relax boys, as long as we cooperate she won't have us..." Damien began before someone stepped in front of him. "Hey there Neo, nice to see you." He said to the multi-colored girl.

Neo nodded and held up her scroll with a text that read "If you are done with Arc, Cinder wants you lot in the main hangar. We have a new guest."

Damien nodded and said "Lead the way."

A few minutes later the group of nine arrived in the main hangar where Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Sherizawa, and Ziz were all looking at the new arrival. A tall man with dark brown skin and pitch black hair, he stood about six feet and five inches with dark brown eyes, his face was badly scarred and his right hand appeared to be made of metal.

This man was Saul Jude and Cinder had been explaining to him what was happening to Jaune until...

"What up bitches?" Damien said to announce his arrival, causing everyone to look to him. He enjoyed the annoyed looks on Sherizawa and Emerald's faces.

"Hello Damien, how was your session with Jaune?" Cinder asked.

"Good for us, horrible for him." Damien said as looked to the new guy.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. Ante; I am Saul Jude, a fellow servant of Mistress Salem and I am here on business." Jude said.

"Whatever you need I can help you get it, Jude." Damien said.

"I believe you have had experience with the man known as Ashe." Jude said.

"Hell yeah I have, nearly had that prick before some kids saved his sorry ass." Damien said.

"Ah yes, I was once in a similar situation. You see, I was once a powerful drug lord in Vacuo but I decided to branch out into Mistral... until I came upon the village that Ashe was protecting. It was perfect for my plans but Ashe just wouldn't give in until one day my men killed the town's holy man, which forced Ashe's hand and well... one thing led to another and I had his life in my hand." Jude said as he clenched his hand into a fist.

"Do tell us what happened, Saul." Cinder said with an interested voice.

"His lover came to his rescue and stabbed me in the shoulder with a machete. She got him free but I killed his little harlot, I just stood and watch as she died in his arms. After that Ashe lost it, he cut my arm off," Jude said as he flexed his mechanical right arm, "forced me into the forest and threw me off a cliff to a horde of Grimm that mutilated me half to death... until they took me to Mistress Salem that is." Jude said.

"And from then on he became one of her servants, although I would never have guessed that my brother was responsible for your situation." Cinder said.

"I know, destiny does work in odd ways." Jude agreed.

"So what? You want to get to the brats because of their friendship with Ashe?" Damien guessed.

"Hmm, and here I was led to believe that you were a obnoxious, sadistic fool, but I find that you are an obnoxious, sadistic man to be respected. I can still see some of the boy's blood on you, so clearly you are a man after my own heart." Jude said to Damien.

Damien smirked and said "I like this guy."

"Tell me Cinder, what of Ruby Rose?" Jude asked.

"In her cell, shall I let her see Jaune?" Cinder asked.

"Oh yes, I need to speak with both of them so I might as well do it all at once." Jude said with a sinister look in his eye.

Cinder nodded and called a guard over before she said "Jude, before you have your meeting with them we need to discuss a few things."

"Hey Jude, you plan on killing Ashe, right?" asked Ante.

"Not just that, but yes I will kill him in the end." Jude confirmed.

"Give him a few stabs for me, that guy is an asshole." Damien said with a grin, which Jude returned.

"Don't I know it."

As the door of the hangar closed no one noticed a black bird hiding among the rafters.

* * *

Winter sat on the cold metal bed in her cell, wearing only the prison uniform the guards had granted her, all items on her person had been confiscated and she could feel the presence of two guards outside the small room she had been imprisoned in.

Ironwood had interrogated her the night before but she had told him nothing, if he knew Weiss and the others had left for Haven he might do something drastic to apprehend them, something that could start a war with Mistral and cause the other two kingdoms to turn on them. Winter was not the only one arrested yesterday, as Dr. Polendina had also been taken into custody for being an accomplice to Penny's rescue.

Several thoughts plagued Winter's mind; had Qrow escaped and if so could he make it back to Vale? Was Weiss alright? Was General Ironwood really being controlled by some sinister force? And if Qrow was correct could she free the General from it?

All of a sudden a voice over the intercom spoke to her. "Stand Schnee, you have a visitor."

Winter sighed and stood up as the shield in front of her door deactivated and the door slid upwards, revealing Jackson Chamberlain, several guards, and her father.

"So I find you here, daughter." Willow Schnee said with disappointment evident in his voice.

"Hello father." Winter greeted stoically.

"I am most unsatisfied with your behavior. Maybe I should have seen an incident like this coming from Weiss, after all she is young and naive and her time with those brats at Beacon has obviously poisoned her mind... but I never expected an arrogant move like this from you." Mr. Schnee said as he rubbed him temples in annoyance.

"Arrogant? The only arrogance I see on display is that of the Atlas Military, father. Do you even know what Ironwood was planning on doing?" Winter asked.

"We have explained the situation to him." Chamberlain said.

"And I do not see why you acted the way you did. The thing called Penny Polendina was nothing but a robot, even the lowly Faunus are more human than she is." Her father said, earning a look of shock from Winter.

"Father, how can you say that?! I know you have had prejudice against all non-humans, but I never expected you to be so blunt." Winter said.

"And I never expected you to become a traitor to our kingdom." Her father shot back.

"I am not a traitor! I was stopping Ironwood from doing something that would ruin Atlas! Had he succeeded with getting Penny Polendina to Haven with those bombs in her it would have been a disaster! I suspect there is a true traitor among us father, someone working for the dark forces that we should all be allied against and had the General got his way I have no doubt in my mind that the truth would have made its way to Mistral's council and they would have retaliated!" Winter cried.

Her father simply looked at while shaking his head. Chamberlain, however, looked conflicted and a bit worried.

"We will find Weiss; it is only a matter of time." Willow Schnee said.

"Father, Jackson, please! Qrow told me that Ironwood is being controlled by someone, whoever it is cannot be to far away." Winter said.

"Qrow Branwen is a drunken lunatic who should never have been trusted to begin with. Did it ever cross your mind that he was lying to you? That he was trying to turn you against Ironwood?" the elder Schnee asked.

Winter said nothing in reply.

"I will take my leave of you daughter, I will be in attendance at your trial, which they have told me will be in a week from now." Her father said as he left the room.

Winter sat down and blinked away some rare tears. She expected this from her fellow officers, but not from her own father. Chamberlain sat down next to her and said "I'm sorry. If you're wondering about Dr. Polendina, do not fear, he's telling us nothing. He wants us to know as little as possible about Penny for the moment."

"Good, the less Ironwood knows the better." Winter said.

"Winter, do you really think Ironwood is being controlled?" Chamberlain asked.

"Yes, I do. Qrow may be a drunk but I saw the look of terror on his face when he realized what has happened to General Ironwood." Winter said.

Chamberlain said nothing; he merely nodded before he left the cell, which closed up behind him.

Winter was left alone in the claustrophobic cell. All she could do now was hope that her sister would succeed in her mission.

* * *

Ruby yelped out in surprise as the Grimm Knights tossed her into the room. Ruby bolted up and shook her fists at the robots as they marched away.

"R-r-ruby..." called Jaune weak voice. Ruby turned around and saw Jaune, beaten and bloodied up as West healed his new wounds, even going so far as to use his Semblance to aid Jaune's aura in healing the broken ribs.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried. Despite how weak she felt Ruby used what little energy she had to rocket over to Jaune and slap West away from him. "Jaune! What did you do to him?!" Ruby demanded as she grabbed West by the collar.

"Believe me Miss Rose; I had nothing to do with this! I merely watched it happen and right now I am trying to heal Arc." West assured her.

Ruby glared at him, not believing him until Jaune weakly said "Ruby... he's helping the pain, let him go."

Ruby released the man and he set back to work healing the stab wound on Jaune's leg. Ruby held Jaune's head in her lap and asked "Who did this to you?"

"Ante and his thugs..." Jaune uttered as tears welled up in his eyes. He looked up Ruby and said "Ruby... it hurts." And with that Jaune began to sob, even as Ruby held his hand tightly and whispered comforting words to him as tears of her own began running down her face. From within Jaune all Pyrrha could do was listen as she heard the words Ruby was saying and the pained noises Jaune was making. She wanted to hug her friends so badly and comfort them, but she could do nothing.

"I'll get you out of here Jaune; I promise you'll be okay." Ruby said.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep girl, tonight his life will changed forever." West said as the wound on Jaune's leg closed.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked, her voice cold as it could be.

"They're going to make me into a Grimm Commander, aren't they?" Jaune asked.

West nodded in confirmation, "You need to be fully healed for tonight so you won't need those aura drainers on you, believe me it will be a painful process." He said.

"Why did they beat him like this if they need him at full strength?" Ruby questioned.

"A broken spirit leaves little resistance." West answered.

"We have to get out of here." Ruby said as she tried to think of a way to escape. She could tell that they hadn't broken Jaune yet, as she could still see a bit of his will to go on and fight was still in his eyes, but she couldn't let him be turned into one of those Grimm things

West snorted and said "Good luck with that, there is no way for you to get out of here. It will take a miracle."

Ruby smiled and replied "Miracles aren't as impossible as you may think."

"You don't know how true that is." Said a new voice as a tall, dark man entered the room. Ruby and Jaune looked up to the large, imposing man followed by several Grimm Knights.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked.

"You may not know my face, but you do know my name. I think Ashe might have mentioned me." The man said.

"Ashe? What does he have to do with you?" Ruby asked as West continued to heal Jaune's beaten torso.

"A lot, he's the reason I'm here, he did this to me." The man said as his hand transformed into a sharp hook.

"Saul Jude." Jaune said, remembering the man who took Ashe's lover away from him.

"And here I was told you were slow on the uptake, Arc. So how is it that two kids such as yourselves came to be here? How did you meet Ashe?" Jude asked as he sat down in a nearby chair.

"Answer our question first; how are you alive?" Ruby asked.

"Well, after Ashe threw me to the Grimm they had their fun for a few minutes until they just stopped. They began dragging me through the forest and I passed out. I woke up some days later in an infirmary; half mutilated and healed to a certain degree. You see, the Grimm sensed what I am told is my potential to serve Salem; they sensed a darkness within me that could be used as a weapon for her. I had forgotten some of what had happened and I couldn't fully remember Ashe at the time, but soon enough my memory came back but by that point I was already a servant to the Mistress of Grimm. She had half of my body refitted with cybernetic upgrades, so I'm half machine just like the Atlas General." Jude explained.

"So now that Cinder knows Ashe is here she and Salem brought you in to take care of him." Ruby guessed.

"You certainly are bright children." The dark man said with a smirk before he asked "Now, answer my earlier question."

Ruby sighed and said "We came here to take Cinder down; we met Ashe along the way. He told us he wanted to come to Haven to find his sister but he wanted to help us first, he told us a few things about his past, like how you killed his fiancée." Ruby said with a glare.

"Never got over that, did he? Good. That was just the beginning of my wrath; soon he will suffer for it physically." Jude said with an evil smile.

"You won't beat him... you're nothing but a pawn of Salem... you drug dealing..." Jaune began to say before Jude stopped him with a raised voice.

"Quiet down boy, I doubt you know the first thing about me to properly judge me, besides I haven't been in the drug business since Ashe threw me off that cliff. I doubt you even know the first thing about drugs anyway."

"What's so great about them?" Ruby asked.

Jude looked to Ruby with a smile and said "Oh they are wonderful little things Ruby Rose. Drugs take you up, a 'high' as they call it. The feelings certain drugs bestow upon you make you feel more alive than ever before, heightens your senses and your perception of the world around you as it slows the universe down in your mind. If done correctly with the proper dosage drugs take you so close between life and death so you can taunt death itself as you come down. Drugs are the things that make you aware of just how thin the boundaries between life and death are."

"You're insane." Ruby stated.

"From your young, dogmatic point of view I am, but from others points of view I am a visionary, or at least I was until Ashe ruined me." Jude said, grimacing a bit before he recovered. "Would you like to know why I am what I am now?" he asked.

"I don't care." Ruby said

"Well, since you have nothing else to do I'll tell you anyway. You see, when I was a boy I loved rivers. There was something so calming about the way the waters flowed, something so... relaxing and wonderful about the sight of freely flowing water with the occasional fish swimming along without a care. But one night there was a terrible storm, a storm that brought down the heaviest rain I've never seen since. The next day I disobeyed my parents' orders and I walked down to the river half a mile from our home, as I loved to see rivers overflowing after a storm... but something happened, I slipped on the wet grass and fell into the river. I have no idea how long I was carried down the river until a man nearby saw me and jumped into save me. I... I began to black out and that's when my life changed forever. That's when I saw it" Saul said.

"Saw what?" Ruby asked, now curious as to where he was going with this story.

"Hell." He answered, causing Ruby's eyes to widen and now both Jaune and West were paying attention to Jaune's story.

"I saw hell, child, I saw the horrible, empty void that is but at the same time it is a terrible place filled with everything one could fear. I saw burning fire and freezing ice, chains and whips, blood and tears, I saw it all... and I liked it." Jude finished, shocking Ruby.

"How?! How could anyone like hell?!" Ruby demanded.

"That was when I was truly born Ruby, my life up at that point was a stillbirth but it was when I saw hell that I knew who I really was, who I was meant to be. When the doctors revived me I was a changed person. I knew what my destiny was." Jude finished.

"Destiny, always destiny... what do you think your destiny is anyway?" Jaune asked.

Jude looked down to Jaune and said "To taunt death until it catches me, I know I will die someday and return to hell and my pain will be... exquisite. Now that you have asked me two additional questions I will ask you two in return. Did you know that Ashe is Cinder's brother?"

Jaune simply glared at him while Ruby said "Yes, I know but I still don't believe it."

"Oh, is that right?" Jude asked as the visor of one of the Grimm Knights lit up and a hologram was projected onto the wall. Ruby and Jaune looked up to see the security recording of battle at the construction site. It showed Ashe and Cinder standing right in front of each other and then embracing.

"It's... it can't be true. It has to be a trick." Ruby said, trying to deny what she was seeing.

"Oh it's no trick, my girl. Fast forward a bit." Jude commanded the Knight and it did so, showing the battle between Ashe and Cinder. Ruby and Jaune were both amazed by the purple energy radiating off of Ashe as he destroyed the Grimm Knights.

"What is that? What's happening to him?" Ruby asked.

"From what Cinder has told me, it is the power one gets from knowing a spell called the 'Haakskeekah', I remember when he used it on me five years ago, and he also has power because he is the guardian of the Aura Crystal." Jude answered.

Ruby and Jaune both looked at one another, totally confused.

"My other question was going to be if Ashe ever told you about the crystal, but the looks on your faces tell me that you're just now hearing about it." Jude observed before he added "And now let me ask you one more question."

He grabbed Ruby by the neck with his metal hand and slammed her against the wall. Jaune struggled to get up but West held him down as he carried on healing his struggling patient.

"What is going on with the boy's Semblance? Cinder wants to know how he has become more powerful than before." Jude demanded.

Ruby glared at him and said "I won't answer that."

"I will. Ashe helped me discover my Semblance, with my friends and his help I've become much stronger than before. Tell Cinder I won't stop until I have Pyrrha back." Jaune said.

Jude dropped Ruby and looked to Jaune. "So, Ashe has helped train you... he, of all people, became a mentor?! Oh this is delicious!" he said.

"Our friends will stop you." Jaune said as he stood up. "If Ashe fought Cinder that means he won't join her. He and our friends will come to save us and when they do he'll kill you."

Jude sighed and said "Oh Arc, the things I could do to you if permitted. Judging by how hard Ashe fought to save you he cares for both of you and I would love to take away someone else he cares about, but if I did that Salem would destroy me."

"I thought you wanted to go to hell." Jaune reminded him.

Saul gave Jaune a smile and said "In due time, boy. Is he healed up enough?"

"His aura should do the rest; there will be no permanent damage." West said.

"Good, Cinder wants them back in their cells." Jude said to the Knights.

With that the Grimm Knights took Jaune and Ruby and led them out of the room and back to the cellblock. As they were marched off Ruby whispered to Jaune "I think we do have a way to save Pyrrha."

"How?" Jaune asked in a low voice.

"I can't say, we don't know if these Knights are recording us, but just remember what Ashe taught you, the UA." Ruby said with a wink.

"UA?" Jaune questioned.

"Just think Jaune, I know you can do it." Ruby said as they were forced down separate hallways.

As Jude and West departed from the room they did not notice two small eyes observing them from the air vent. Inside the shaft a raven watched them.

* * *

'This is going to be complicated.' Thought Raven.

She had found Ante relatively easily and had followed him and his enforcers to the factory in her avian form the entire time. She had decided to sneak into the large facility in said form so she wouldn't be noticed. After years of experience sneaking around and getting in and out of places was easy, even with her winged self's the lack of arms.

While inside the factory she had gotten a glimpse of Ziz and even someone who had seen and done many things like Raven had knew the sight of a human-Grimm hybrid was... unsettling to say the least. And they planned on turning the Arc boy into one. If it came to that she would grant him and quick, dignified death to spare him the pain.

She had gotten into the ventilation system easily enough and had discovered Jaune and Ruby and had witnessed their meeting with Saul Jude but she had also spotted a prime target; Cinder Fall. This created quite the predicament. She knew nothing about the Grimm Knights but they appeared to be similar enough to the Atlesian Knights, which she had plenty of experience fighting but she decided that for now she needed to slink away and contact Qrow. Even with all her strength she couldn't defeat all of Salem's agents that were currently in this building and save Ruby and Jaune.

'Best to get out now and get Qrow here, together we can pull this off.' She thought.

She left the building easily enough, her animal self going unnoticed the entire time, and she flew away into the city. She kept flying until she judged she was a safe enough distance away from the factory and on this rooftop she would go unnoticed.

She transformed back into her human form and pulled out her scroll. She called Qrow, but no answer. "Come on Qrow, please tell me you aren't passed out drunk again." She muttered as she dialed again, but her call still went unheeded.

Raven wished she had Taiyang or Yang's numbers right now, or even that of Glynda Goodwitch. Then her thoughts strayed to Ruby's companions Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, as well as the man she had seen in the hologram known as Ashe, who was apparently Cinder Fall's brother.

It may be a stretch but any enemy of Cinder's was an ally right now. She'd try to call Qrow later, but for now she needed to get some form of support if she was to save Ruby and Jaune and take out Cinder Fall. She transformed yet again and flew off into the sky.

* * *

Glynda massaged her temples in annoyance as the holograms of the Vale council dissipated. Apparently the inevitable fight between Qrow and Ironwood had ended with Penny's rescue team and Qrow's escapes while Winter had been detained. Ironwood and the Atlas council had put out a call for Qrow's arrest and the council of Vale had agreed.

Glynda had tried to explain the situation to them but they refused to listen, saying that Branwen was a terrorist and a disturbance to the delicate balance of the peace between the kingdoms.

It took everything Glynda had not to tell them about Ironwood's plans right then and there, she did not reveal them because she knew that they wouldn't believe her. Ironwood was a man who had earned the trust of the councils of both Atlas and Vale, while Qrow was just a school teacher with a history of drunkenness who happened to be a loyal agent for Ozpin, who the Vale council had lost all faith in since the fall of Beacon.

The council had seen Ozpin as the primary reason for the tragedies at the Vytal Festival; blaming Ozpin for the deaths of Penny, Pyrrha, all the soldiers and civilians, not to mention the former Fall Maiden Amber. They had taken note to point out the lack of security for Amber, stating that just locking her away in a vault with barely any medical attention and no guards whatsoever had been an idiotic mistake on Ozpin's part and they looked very justified when Glynda had admitted to suggesting the very same things to Ozpin.

Regardless, if Ozpin was alive and could be rescued the council of Vale intended to make him face the consequences for his decisions.

Despite Glynda and Ironwood's objections the councils of the four kingdoms had agreed to tell the world of the legend of the Four Maidens, as they figured the more people knew about them the less chance Cinder Fall had of hiding. Oh how wrong they were.

But what really got on Glynda's nerves was an accusation one of the council members had made a few minutes ago, said councilman had gotten annoyed with Glynda bringing up Ozpin in the meetings so said councilman had the gall to accuse Ozpin of working with Cinder. He brought such points as the lack of security or healthcare for Amber, the fact that Emerald's illusions managed to fool everyone so easily, the lack of security in general, the fact that Cinder somehow knew where Amber was being kept, the headmaster's mysterious disappearance, the security cameras going out after Cinder murdered Amber, to this man everything pointed to Ozpin being a traitor. To make matters worse the head of the council saw the man's points as legitimate and promised to give a full, unbiased investigation at a later date but for now Glynda's orders were to arrest Qrow on sight and to report anything she knew about Weiss Schnee, Team CFVY, half of Team FNKI's whereabouts. Glynda hat noticed they seemed to be in the dark about Penny, apparently the Vale council had not been told the entire story.

Things were not all that bad, however. Teams BRNZ, which consisted of Brawnz Ni, Roy Stallion, Nolan Porfirio, and May Zedong, and NDGO which consisted of Nebula Violette, Dew Gayle, Gwen Darcy, and Octavia Ember had all arrived early in the morning around four o'clock. They had agreed to join Weiss Schnee in the journey to Haven to help fight Cinder's forces but the fallout from Weiss' escape meant Glynda needed to get them herself, which was an easy task considering Glynda's good standing with Luna, the Headmistress of Shade Academy.

Despite some initial reports saying otherwise the two teams from Shade did partake in the battle of Beacon; Team BRNZ were forced to fight in the air after Roy Stallion got carried off by a Nevermore so his team left to save him while Team NDGO were not inside the stadium at the time of the attack, but they did protect the civilians and made sure the bullheads got away safely.

They were not the only students Glynda and her fellow teachers would be taking with them to Haven, as Team CRDL had arrived early the other day. Apparently Cardin had visited Jaune in the hospital after the fall of Beacon and had made amends for his actions earlier in the year and promised to make it up to Jaune, which Jaune now needed now more than ever.

The three teams were currently off with Professor Port in the academy, clearing the Grimm away, which was an easy enough task all things considered, the hard part was keeping Grimm out of the school after a sweep more seemed to pour in, but it would keep them busy until it was time to leave.

Right now Glynda was worried, she feared for Qrow's life right now, as she had not received word from him at all so she had no idea if he was dead or alive. Somehow Glynda knew he'd be alright, as he had been on much more dangerous missions for Ozpin in the past. Problem was if Qrow arrived the Atlesian soldiers deployed to protect them would arrest him so she needed to keep him out of sight, but Qrow was smart enough to have foreseen such an event.

She kept glancing at the window, expecting to see him any moment now as he had a bit of a habit of popping up out of nowhere on the window sill. A knock at the door forced her to look up and say "Enter."

Taiyang entered the room and said "Glynda, any word from Qrow yet?"

"None, but the council have made their decision, they'll be siding with Ironwood and enforcing the warrant for Qrow's arrest." Glynda answered somberly.

"Things must have gotten crazy." Taiyang muttered.

"You know Qrow, when he foregoes subtlety he sets it on fire and throws it out the window." Glynda said with a small smile.

"I got a call from Yang, they found Blake and rescued her from the White Fang, right now they're heading over to Haven to join up with Weiss and the others." Taiyang said.

"Is Blake alright?" Glynda asked.

"From what I could tell she seemed to be unhurt, but given what they've told me about her history she might be happy to be back with her partner so maybe a little bit of happiness is all the girl needs. They know about what happened to Ruby and the Arc kid, so we should start off to Haven by tonight if we're to stop Yang from devastating half the city trying to save her little sister." Taiyang said, remembering the time Yang once got suspended from school after she broke the arm of a bully who was picking on Ruby.

"Agreed, if we do not hear from Qrow by ten tonight we should start off without him." Glynda said. She looked to Taiyang who noticed the distressed look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Glynda told him of the council had turned against Ozpin and now suspected him of high treason for what happened at the Vytal Festival.

"That's insane! They've known Ozpin for years! He's been the headmaster of Beacon for nearly three decades, why would he turn against any of the kingdoms?" Taiyang asked.

"He never would, but after what happened they're eager to use anything as a scapegoat, that includes Ozpin." Glynda said bitterly.

"Well... I've gotta admit it's not totally out of the realm of possibility, I mean some of the easiest ways to explain what that witch pulled off is that someone on the inside was helping her but I know if it's true that it sure as hell wasn't Ozpin." Taiyang said.

"Thank you Taiyang, now if only we can convince the council of that fact." Glynda said before her scroll rang. Glynda took it out and saw Weiss on the caller ID. "Wonderful, they're in Haven now most likely, let us hope they have good news."

She answered the scroll and saw Weiss' face pop up. "Hello Professor."

"Hello Weiss, I trust you've arrived in Haven."

"We have Professor and we've met up with Ren and Nora, along with Team ABRN." Weiss said.

"That is good to hear, have you heard anything from Qrow?" Glynda asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. Listen, some new information has come to our attention; Ruby and the others have been working with a man named Ashe Kasai, who has a relation to Cinder, but he seems to be on our side, although he does have some... mental issues, though given what I know of his past I cannot blame him." Weiss said.

"You're working with someone related to Cinder? Why?" asked Taiyang, seeming a bit annoyed.

"Well, he's her brother for one thing and he wants to stop her just as much as we do. From what Ren and Nora have told me he nearly got himself killed trying to stop Cinder from taking Ruby and Jaune a few nights ago. While I don't think he's of the best mental state I think we can trust him not to turn on us, given what he has learned of Cinder." Weiss said.

"And what has this Ashe learned of Cinder?" Glynda asked.

"That she murdered their mother and blamed it on their father." Weiss answered.

"Oh. Well, Weiss, stay where you are, we shall be there tomorrow morning, just do not make any moves against Cinder until we arrive." Glynda said.

"Ugh, Yang is on her way right now and I can't tell you how hard it will be trying to stop her from going on a crusade to save Ruby." Weiss said.

"Hey, I raised Yang, you don't need to tell me how much she loves her little sister." Taiyang said.

Weiss nodded and then said "Professor, have you heard anything about my sister?"

"Yes I have; she's okay Weiss, she has been placed in the Altas Military stockade, but she will be fine until her trial next week." Glynda said.

"I hope we can help her." Weiss muttered.

"We will Miss Schnee, now is there anything else?" Glynda asked.

"Yes, five of Jaune's sisters have arrived to help us and they are determined not to leave us. One of them got into a confrontation with Ashe but I think it'll be okay. And there is something very important but I think I should tell you in person, trust me you'll want to hear it for yourself." Weiss said.

"Okay Weiss, we will be there in the morning. Just stay hidden and stay safe. Good luck." Glynda said, taking in the idea of the Arc sisters riding into battle and finding it most amusing.

"I look forward to seeing you in person again Professor, goodbye." Weiss said as she ended the call.

"Wonder what's so important that she can tell us over a scroll?" Taiyang said.

Glynda sighed and said "We're leaving tonight Taiyang, with or without Qrow. I just hope he's still alive."

* * *

Alessandro Kane was led into the command room of a White Fang base by the squad of guards who had found him near the perimeter. As the guards came to a halt and the commander of the base, a porcupine Faunus turned to see him. "Commander Kane? When Captain Carlyle reported a discovery of our own in the forest I did not expect it to be you." The commander said.

"Contact Taurus, we need to call him and alert him to the situation." Kane said.

"We were told something had gone wrong, but not what." The commander said.

"Just call Taurus now." Kane snapped. The commander looked to a communications officer and nodded, giving permission to make the call.

Soon enough a large screen activated and Adam Taurus appeared, despite half of his face being hidden by his mask one could tell he wasn't just angry. He was furious.

"Kane, would you mind explaining to me why we have received no word from either your base or the airship we sent to retrieve you?" Adam demanded with his voice on the edge of yelling.

"Sir, it was the traitor's partner, Yang Xiao Long, she and another team attacked our base camp and wiped the floor with us, I was the only one to escape." Kane said, expecting to be faced with a death sentence from Taurus.

"Yang Xiao Long?! How the hell is that possible? I cut her arm off, how is she active again?" Adam demanded.

"I noticed that her arm was mechanical so she obviously got a new one... and I think the team with them was Team SSSN." Kane added, noticing Adam's frustration was growing.

"Why didn't you warn us?" asked Taurus, his teeth gritting.

"I had no way, I left my scroll behind and I could not risk going back and getting captured. I had to come here to report what happened." Kane admitted.

"What do you think happened to the airship and its crew?" Adam asked.

"Probably the same thing that happened to my troops, taken into custody by the village's police force. Belladonna and her companions have most likely taken the ship and I overheard them say they plan to attack you." Kane said.

"I am already aware of Blake's intentions to kill me, let her and her little friends come. I will take them all on. As for you Kane, I think you need to be punished." Adam said as he made a gesture.

"Wait, Adam I..." Kane tried to say before several stingers from the porcupine commander were shot into his back.

"Adam! You have an advantage!" cried Kane as he kneeled down, small streams of blood going down his back.

"I know Alessandro; I won't have you killed because your wings are a valuable asset. As punishment for your failure I demote you." Adam said harshly.

Kane glared at Adam, but looked away, knowing he was lucky to face this without being killed.

"However, you are correct, I still have a way to lure her here wherever she is right now. I know she cares for old Claudandus. If she is coming here, she'll be in for a show." Adam said darkly. He returned his attention to Kane and said "I'll arrange for a ship to bring you here. If you fail me again, you know what to expect."

* * *

Adam cut the transmission and sighed; He unsheathed his sword and yelled in fury as he stabbed it into the wall.

"I'm going to make that that blonde bitch pay, this time I'll take more than just her arm." Adam growled.

"Calm yourself, sir." Said the deep and commanding voice of Razor, leader of the White Fang elite guard. Razor was a large warthog Faunus who had been one of Claudandus' followers and bodyguards, but he had not been loyal to any one Faunus per say, he was only loyal to the White Fang itself, regardless of its policies or methods.

"Put all our forces on high alert, make sure our they are on look out for that ship, if V19 is spotted I it captured immediately and all aboard brought to me." Adam said. Hui, the White Fang lieutenant, bowed his head obediently.

"I will make it so, sir." He said before he left the room.

"Is there anyway to track the ship?" Razor asked.

"No, its one of our older ones." Adam said as he pulled his crimson blade out of the wall.

"What do you plan to do to Claudandus once you've captured Blake Belladonna?" Razor inquired.

Adam glanced at the older man and said "I intend to force her watch as I take his life, and follow it up with killing all of her friends, and she will have no one to blame for it but herself."

* * *

Yang's fingers nervously fidgeted, as she was filled with worry about her little sister and she felt like the trip to Haven was taking forever. She had urged Sage to make the ship go faster and he obliged but it still wasn't enough to calm the blonde brawler's nerves.

Blake put a calming hand on Yang's remaining flesh arm and squeezed, Yang looked up and met Blake's eyes, they did not need to speak as the look in Blake's eyes was enough. Yang nodded and looked down, her foot tapping against the floor.

Sun had noticed this, he felt sorry for his fellow blonde so he looked ahead and called "Sage, how much longer till we get to Haven?"

"A few minutes, I can see it now." Sage called back from the pilot's seat.

"Take us directly to the warehouse; we're going to need to find out what's been going on as soon as possible." Neptune said.

"I should have gone with her." Yang said, getting the others attention. "I should have snapped out of it sooner, I should have went with them, maybe I could have saved them."

"Yang, we don't know everything that happened in Haven. With any luck Weiss and the others will have an update once we get there. Trust your sister Yang, I know her well enough to know that if she tried hard enough she can get out herself." Blake said.

"Yeah, Ruby's a bright girl who's tougher than anyone else her age, for all we know the moment we get to the warehouse she and Jaune will be there, heroes of the hour." Neptune said encouragingly.

Yang forced a smile and said "You're right, but with all we know about Cinder we're probably going to have to go save Ruby and give it all we got to pull it off."

"Hey, we've been doing okay so far; if we fight hard enough we'll come out of this on top." Sun said.

"We fought as hard as we could at Beacon and look how that turned out." Yang pointed out bitterly. Blake flinched, remembering that terrible night when everything went so wrong. Sun sighed and shook his head.

"Yang, if... listen, we might not be able to do this and I doubt we'll all come out of it okay, but I promise you that you will save your sister, you'll get her back and I'll be there to say 'I told you so.'" Sun said with a smile.

Yang returned the smile and said "I hope you're right Sun."

Blake looked at Sun with loving eyes and mouthed a thank you to him.

They soon arrived at the city and flew over the metropolis, blending in among the bullheads, Dust ships, and airships that flew about the city. Even in her distressed state Yang took a brief moment to admire the massive city.

"Uncle Qrow told me it was big but I didn't think it was this big." She said.

"Yeah, I felt the exact same way when I first came here." Sun said.

"I was here once, years ago for a Faunus equality rally, city's changed a bit since then but not much, still enormous, but I always wanted to take a look at their libraries." Blake said.

"Once this mess is all over I'll show you around the biggest one they've got." Sun said smoothly.

"You've never even been inside the Haven pubic library." Scarlet pointed out.

"Shut up, Scarlet." Sun muttered as he elbowed the redhead in the stomach. Which got a small, barley heard giggle out of Blake.

Within ten minutes they arrived to the waterfront and at the very welcoming sight of the warehouse that Team SSSN had made a home away from home. Sage could see that the best spot for a landing zone was already taken up by Weiss' ship.

"Where we gonna land this thing?" Sage asked.

"Put it on the roof of that building over there." Sun said, pointing to an old brick structure down the road from the warehouse. Sage nodded and flew the ship down and gently landed it on the old building, which held it easily. The door opened up and the six teens poured out.

"So good to be back." Neptune said as he looked up to the sunny sky, pleased with the unusually warm weather for late winter.

Sun looked over to the warehouse as he saw Weiss, Ren, Nora, Team CFVY, Ashe, Arslan, Flynt, Neon, several of the Arc sisters, and Penny all come out to greet them.

Blake perked up a bit and waved to them. "Hey Weiss." She said.

Weiss looked up and smiled "Hello Blake, Yang, it is very good to see all of you in person again." She said, though Blake knew the Schnee heiress well enough to tell she needed to talk about something.

Yang cracked a grin, happy to see her teammate again, "Hey Ice Queen!" she called before she jumped off the building and landed on her feet. She ran over and picked up Weiss in a hug.

"Yes Yang, I have missed you too! Your arm is overdoing it a little!" Weiss gasped out.

"Oops! Sorry, this baby doesn't know it's own strength." Yang said as she released Weiss, who collected herself and admired Yang's new limb.

"It appears very well made, I've seen a few like it back it Atlas." Weiss said.

"Nice new arm, top heavy." Neon said, knowing she would probably lose an arm wrestling match with Yang instantly.

"Yeah, it looks Atlesian in design, some guy called Kimball usually puts 'em on." Flynt confirmed.

"That's who did this puppy, Uncle Qrow had it made and he had Kimball attach it." Yang said as she looked to others. "Nice to see you all, at least it won't be just a few of us."

"Hey, we aren't getting left out of something this big." Coco said with a smirk.

"How big and how bad has the situation become?" Blake asked as she and Team SSSN jumped down as well.

"Try spiraling out of control and crashing then exploding. That will begin to describe it." Ashe said.

Yang and Blake both looked to stranger. "You're Ashe, right?" Yang guessed.

"Yes I am, nice to meet you both, Ruby told me a lot about you." He said as he offered his hand to them. Blake took it, wanting to open up to him, since Sun had told her he was a trustworthy man.

"If you are going to help us save our friends then I'm glad to have you." Blake said as she accepted the hand, but she noticed the looks the others had, a bit of an awkward silence.

"Should we go ahead and tell them now?" Ashe asked.

"Might as well get it over with I suppose. Yang, Blake, guys, don't overreact but Ashe is Cinder's brother." Weiss said, getting shocked reactions from Team SSSN, Yang, and Blake.

"What?! Why is he...?" Blake tried to say before Yang shot forward and grabbed Ashe with her steel hand, picking him up almost effortlessly. She said nothing in return, as too many thoughts were going through her head as her eyes turned blood red.

"Calm down, he's on our side! Would we really keep him around and let him walk around freely if he wasn't on our side?" Weiss asked, getting Yang to see the obvious.

"Why are you working with us if that bitch is your sister?" Yang seethed.

"Trust me; I want to take her down almost as much as you guys do. She might be my sister but that doesn't mean I'll work for her. I know what she's done, even more than what you know." Ashe said.

"What else has she done?" Yang asked.

"Murdered our family for one thing." Ashe said, his voice dripping with bitterness with no hint of deceit on his face.

That was enough to convince Yang that Ashe was on the up and up so she let him down. "Sorry." She said.

"It's okay; this is only the second time I've been attacked by a blonde woman today." Ashe said as he gestured to Bianca who looked away, feeling rather embarrassed, but it did earn a smirk from Yang.

Blake walked forward towards Velvet. "Hello Velvet, it's good to see you again and nice to know you're here." she said.

"It's good to see you too Blake, how've you been holding up?" Velvet asked.

"Better now that I'm... back where I belong." the cat Faunus answered. 

"That's good to know, a lot of us have showed up to help out here Blake, we're going to need everything and everyone we can get if we're going to save Ruby and Jaune." Velvet said.

Blake nodded and looked to the Arc sisters. "Who are they anyway?" she asked

"We're Jaune's sisters, a few of us anyway. Bianca found out about this soon after it happened so she had the bright idea to come here and help out. I'm Indigo, that's Violet, and this is Bianca." The musical Arc sister said.

"Can we really trust you?" Blake asked Ashe, looking at him judgmentally.

"You can, I don't know what I'd have to do to prove I'm on your side, but I promise you I won't join Cinder or her master." Ashe said.

"Master?" Scarlet repeated.

"Yeah, listen we should probably finish this conversation inside." Ashe said as he walked back to the warehouse.

Yang looked to Penny and said "Hey there Penny, looks like the truth is out." Yang said as she slapped the robot girl across the back, not even moving her an inch. "It was a big shock for everyone when we found out that you're a robot."

"Ruby never told you?" Penny asked, curiously.

"Nope, if Ruby was asked to keep a secret she kept it. For the most part." Yang said.

"That is good to know, but it makes we want to go rescue Ruby even more." Penny said sadly.

"I know the feeling Penny, speaking of which do you know where their keeping her and Jaune?" Yang asked.

"We do, they're in a factory about ten miles from here. Attacking right now is out of the question until Professor Goodwitch arrives with help tomorrow." Weiss said.

"Dad told me they'd be coming here too, so I guess we do it together." Yang said.

"Is there any better way to do it?" Blake asked, remembering that things tended not to turn out so good when they split up.

"Yeah, as soon as we can... but maybe we don't need them, I mean we've got enough power from the looks of it so we could just go over there and kick their asses and save..." Yang said before Weiss stopped her.

"Yang, stop it. We need to think about this before we actually do it, remember the last time you rushed in without thinking you lost your arm, so please just think about this!" Weiss scolded.

There was an awkward silence.

"Uh... okay, everybody inside, let's give them some space." Coco said as she began ushering everyone inside. Sun looked back at the three members of Team RWBY, noticing the saddened looks on all their faces.

As soon as they were alone Weiss broke the dreadful quiet by saying "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I..."

"No, you're right Weiss. I always rush headlong into things, shoot first ask questions later and that... cost me." Yang said as she looked at her metallic arm.

Weiss looked to Blake who looked rather guilty. "Why did you run off again?" she asked, finally getting a burning question she had out.

Blake looked up at her white clad teammate and said "I... I needed to run. I couldn't stay around and risk someone else I care about getting hurt too. I was afraid that Adam would track me down and if you or Ruby or Sun were with me he'd... he take them from me, just because I left him. I was afraid you'd all blame me for what happened to..."

"You should know better than that! Didn't our time together at Beacon mean anything? We may have started out shaky but I thought we had learned to trust one another." Weiss said sternly.

Blake looked down and said "You're right. I was just so afraid that the people I love were hurt because of something I did, because of my past. I could bear for anyone else to get hurt."

"We can take care of ourselves Blake, especially now that we have a greater understanding of what we're up against. We cannot do it alone, none of us can, but together we have a chance." Weiss said as she placed her hand out.

Yang smiled "All those months ago when we first met I would've thought I had to be dreaming if you ever said something profound, inspirational, and mushy like that... but you're right." She said as she placed her new hand atop Weiss'.

They both looked to Blake who closed her eyes, thinking hard. "From now on, I promise I won't run away. If my past comes back to haunt me I won't let it ruin my future. Divided we fall but together we'll stand." Blake said as she placed her hand on top of Yang's.

"All we need is our leader and team RWBY will be back in business." Yang said with a cheerful smile.

"The sooner the better." Weiss said as they began to go back inside when a voice spoke up from behind them.

"Hello Yang, I did not expect to meet you again so soon."

The three girls turned around to see Raven standing behind them, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Who...?" Began Weiss before Yang answered her.

"Mom?!" she cried as Raven approached them.

"I am just as surprised to see you, I thought it would take much longer for you to find your Faunus friend." Raven said as she kept her mask on.

"That's your mother?!" both Blake and Weiss cried in shock.

"Yep, that's her." Yang confirmed with a small, but noticeable, grin.

"It is fortunate for me that I was able to smell your scent." Raven said.

"Okay, so I haven't showered in a couple of days, no big deal." Yang joked, getting an annoyed look from Weiss.

"No, it is quite easy for me to pick up the scent of someone from my bloodline, that is how I found you so easily, and it is fortunate that I did so because I have seen Ruby and the Arc boy." Raven said.

"You did?!" cried all the girls.

"Is Ruby alright?!" Yang demanded.

"How did you see them?" asked Weiss.

"What about Jaune?" Blake added.

"From what I saw Ruby is fine, if a little weakened by her captors. I wish I could say the same for Arc, as it does not look good for him." Raven said grimly.

"What are they doing to Jaune?" Weiss asked, her concern obvious.

"I can tell that there are others within the building, and I think I am correct in assuming Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and the rest of your companions are inside, along with Cinder's brother Ashe." Raven said.

The three members of Team RWBY all glanced at each other in confusion. "How do you know about Ashe?" asked Blake.

Raven simply answered "I think it would be best if I told you all at once. They all deserve to hear what I have discovered."

Yang and Weiss nodded in agreement but Blake just looked at Raven with an unsure look, something the older woman noticed.

"Let me guess Blake Belladonna, you are wondering why I abandoned Yang at such a young age, correct?" Raven guessed.

Blake nodded and said "I am curious, but I will not judge you for it. I know what it is like to run away from the people you love."

Raven looked at the cat Faunus, her expression hidden by her mask. "I think I understand why Yang was so eager to find you." She said as she walked by the three girls.

Yang looked to Blake and said "I think she likes you."

The four entered the warehouse where Flynt, Neon, and Team CFVY were telling Team SSSN, ABRN, Ashe, the Arc Sisters, and Penny herself how they pulled off their daring rescue mission to save Penny.

"And then Weiss swooped in and started blasting away Paladins!" Neon said excitedly.

"Wish we had that ship at Beacon." Sun muttered, remembering the dangerous irritation that was the hijacked war machines.

"And then a swarm of those Knights came swooping down, but I took 'em out pretty easily but one tried to sneak up from the ground level but Velv here" Coco said as she playfully flicked one of Velvet's ears, "took care of it by ramming a copy of Schnee's rapier into its head!"

"That is one of the most metal things I have ever heard." Neptune said in hushed awe.

"Oh it was nothing, really." Velvet said with a blush.

"You stabbed a robot in the face to save your friend, that's something." Ashe said with a smile.

"Okay, so then Weiss' sister was fighting Ironwood and she did the whole 'go on without me!' thing, and Weiss was all like 'I'm not leaving you behind!' and then her sister said 'Go!' so we did." Neon said energetically.

"Neon, calm down because I think you won't be able to handle the part with the island." Flynt said jokingly.

"And all of this happened while Yatsuhashi carried me?" Penny asked.

"Correct." The large teen said.

"And I thought I was strong." Penny said in awe, getting a laugh out of Sun and Neptune.

"Nice to see you're all enjoying yourselves, but we got even more company." Yang announced as she made their presence known.

"Who's the masked lady?" Flynt asked as Sun's eyes widened.

"Is that who I think it is?" he asked, remembering Yang's description of her mother she told him on their journey.

"I am indeed Yang's mother, young man." Raven confirmed.

"Well ain't this one day turning out to be one surprise after another." Coco said.

"Tell me about it, it feels like we're all converging here, today, for some big, grand purpose... or it could be the biggest series of coincidences in the history of Remnant." Nadir speculated.

"I am aware all of you are here to help stop Cinder Fall and her allies while saving Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, I have been assigned to aid you in your cause by my brother Qrow." Raven said.

"Well, do you know something we don't?" Fox asked.

Raven nodded, "Indeed I do, I have been inside the enemy base..."

"You were inside the CraftTech factory?" Arslan asked.

"I have and I did not like what I witnessed inside." Raven said, nodding to the leader of Team ABRN.

"Is Ruby alright?" Penny asked worriedly.

"What about our brother?" Shani cried.

"How did you get in without being noticed?" Bolin inquired.

"Don't keep us in suspense mystery mom." Coco said.

"Calm down." Raven said with a raised voice, silencing them all. "To answer your questions: from what I could see Ruby is fine, if a little weakened and drained of Aura. I am sorry to say that Jaune Arc's life is in great danger."

"What is happening to my little brother?!" all of the Arc sisters yelled out at once.

"What are they doing to him?" begged Velvet, fearing for her friend's life.

"Yeah, you gotta tell us! He's our leader; we can't afford to lose another friend!" Nora said with tears brimming in her eyes.

"When I infiltrated the factory I saw something that left me speechless: a human-Grimm hybrid." Raven said, stunning everyone.

"Ashe, it's like you said... a way to complete the Grimm!" Reese cried.

"Oh shit." Muttered Indigo.

"This can't be happening!" cried Neon.

"Wait, you know about this?" Scarlet asked, confused.

"Not really, we just know what Salem wants." Ashe said.

"How the hell do you know about Salem?" Raven demanded as she yanked off her mask and glared at Ashe.

Neon looked at Raven and whispered to Flynt "Wow, she looks like if Yang had Ruby's colors."

"I am the guardian of the Aura Crystal, a really powerful relic from days of old and all that crap so I know one or two things. I've also managed to piece together that Salem wants to destroy our world and replace with one dominated by the Grimm." Ashe said.

"Who is Salem?" Blake asked, feeling left in the dark.

"The queen bitch behind all of this apparently. Cinder's just some puppet dancing for her master." Arslan elaborated.

"Okay, so this is bad... but what does this have to do with Jaune?" Sun asked.

"I overheard one of the men call these hybrids 'Grimm Commanders' and I heard them say they plan to turn Jaune into one, tonight." Raven said.

The fall out from this revelation was a stunned, horrified silence.

Ashe's face hardened as he ran over to his backpack, took out his shotgun, and began loading it. "What the hell are we waiting for? Let's get over there and save them." He said.

"Now you're talking my language!" Sun said.

"We're ready to kick some ass." Coco said as her team all nodded.

"We're with you." Ren said as Nora cracked a wide grin.

"I am combat ready!" cheered Penny.

"Wait a minute! How about a little common sense here?! We don't really know what we're going against, we need more backup before we should attempt any kind of attack or rescue mission." Weiss said.

"We saved Penny, now we're gonna save Ruby and Arc." Coco said firmly.

"We had inside help to save Penny! We had Winter and Qrow with us and a detailed plan, we cannot go rushing in gun blazing and expect to win." Weiss cried.

"She's right guys. As much as I hate to say it we can't save Ruby and Jaune just yet, no matter how much we want to." Yang said sadly.

"But you heard your mom; they're going to experiment on Jaune tonight! We can't just sit by and let that happen!" Neptune said.

"He's right, we need to do something. Too many people I've cared about have died because I wasn't good enough to save them, I won't let that happen again." Ashe said.

"Even with me alongside you I do not think we can successfully attack them, if we do it now with the numbers and weapons we have we will be slaughtered. We would fight valiantly but we would be butchered valiantly. There is no point in dying heroically if it means nothing in the end." Raven said, noticing the saddened looks from Ren and Nora, she quickly realized that she had unintentionally struck the nerve that was the death of Pyrrha Nikos.

"She's right. We can't save them right now; all we will do is get ourselves killed." Ren said.

"B-b-but Jaune and Ruby..." Nora tried to say before Ren stopped her.

"I care for them too Nora, but we can't help them at the moment. All we can do is hope that Jaune will be alright." Ren said as tears began to well in his eyes. Nora burst out crying as she slammed herself into her best friend and hugged him tightly. Neither of them could stand the idea of losing both Jaune and Pyrrha.

"So that's it? We just let Jaune be turned into some twisted freak for Cinder and Salem? We can't do that!" Velvet yelled.

"She's right, but I don't really see a way we can help him right now." Sage said.

"But we have to do something! He's our brother and your friend!" Bianca cried.

Raven looked to the Arc women and said "Do not worry, once Goodwitch and the others get here we will launch an attack on the factory. I promise you that if we cannot save him, that if he has been transformed into a Grimm hybrid... I will give him a merciful death."

Everyone was shocked at Raven's words.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Flynt cried, he may not have known Jaune but there had to be a better solution than just mercy killing him.

"Mom are you nuts?!" Yang yelled furiously.

"We won't let you." Blake said defiantly.

"We'll find another way." Weiss said.

"You're crazy." Velvet hissed.

"If you lay one hand on him you'll pay for it!" Nora screamed.

"Listen to her, I'm the only one who can hold her back and I'm tempted to let her do whatever she pleases to you." Ren said with a dark scowl.

Out of all of these reactions, Bianca's was the strongest. "You are not going to hurt my baby brother!" she screamed as she ran forward with a fist ready to knock Raven down. However the seasoned Huntress caught Bianca's fist and twisted it down.

"Oh please, did you honestly think you can hurt me?" Raven asked, before she felt a gentle sensation of a blade being held to her throat.

"Maybe she can't, but I can." Said Ashe, who had somehow gotten behind Raven and now had his sword at her neck.

"I know that you are all attached to the boy, but should it come to it I promise to make his death quick, easy, and painless." Raven said calmly.

"Lady, you just listed off three things I know for damn sure death isn't." Ashe growled.

"Why do you care, Ashe Kasai? What is this boy to you?" Raven asked.

"He's my friend. These kids are the first real friends I've had in five years and I won't let you or anyone else harm them." Ashe said.

"Even if anyone includes Saul Jude?" Raven asked.

Ashe lowered his sword, his mouth dropping an inch in shock, but as he dropped his guard Raven grabbed his hand and flipped him over, slamming him on the ground and pointing her sword at his throat. She noticed this got reactions out of the kids; Coco, Reese, Neptune, Nadir, and Violet all aimed their guns at her while Scarlet, Sage, Yatsuhashi, and even Penny all pulled out their swords, with Penny's pulling back, ready to strike. Velvet created a copy of Crescent Rose as Flynt pulled his trumpet to his lips and Neon whirled her nunchaku around. Arslan lit up her palms while Sun and Bolin both got their Bo-Staffs ready to go.

Raven looked at the large group, all ready to fight her if they had to.

"It appears I'm outnumbered and outgunned." She said as she drew her sword back.

"And shit out of luck." Yang said as she aimed Ember Celia at Raven.

"Yang, stand down." Raven said.

"Not until we get an explanation for what the hell is going on!" Yang demanded as her eyes turned red.

Ashe got up and said "You want to know what's going on? I'll tell you what's going on, kid: Salem, the Mistress of Grimm is trying to jumpstart the apocalypse in two years and the more power she gets the easier it'll be for her to do that so we have to try and stop her. If we don't do something it'll be the biggest shitstorm in the history of the universe, she'll give the Grimm aura and make them complete. So everyone, I cannot stress that enough, EVERYONE will die if she's not stopped. Cinder and the others are just pawns and as far as Salem cares Jaune and Ruby are just enemy pawns about to become hers against their will. With Cinder she already has the power of one Fall Maiden and for all we know Ruby could be her next choice for a maiden. I know Ruby would never join her but this bitch has her ways of seducing people to evil. Now, as for who I am, I am Ashe and I have been having a real weird fucking week and I am at the end of my patience for this bullshit and I desperately want to save the two of the kids who gave me another chance to be a good person again, but right now I want to know how your mother knows about Saul Jude!"

He rushed into Raven, slammed her into the wall, pulled out his gun and held it to her face. "Tell me how you know about me and him right now or I'll shoot you in the fucking head!" he yelled, noticing that Yang and some of the others were now aiming their weapons at him, but some of them seemed perfectly okay with his methods for dealing with Raven.

"Back off man!" Yang ordered. She may not have liked what Raven was saying at all but she wasn't going to let Ashe hurt her mother.

"Yang, wait, you don't know what's going on with..." Reese tried to say before Velvet quickly made her way over to Ashe and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Ashe, calm down. Now." The rabbit Faunus said calmly.

Ashe sighed as he let Raven loose and put his gun away.

"I saw a man calling himself Saul Jude in the factory tonight, ordered to come here by Salem to help defeat you and claim this 'Aura Crystal'. I overheard his insane story about seeing hell as a child and why he became a drug lord, but he also told Ruby and Jaune about his survival. Apparently the Grimm you threw him to dragged him to Salem and she made him one of her servants." Raven said.

Ashe sighed and said "Both my sister and the man who murdered my pregnant fiancée are working for the Mistress of Grimm. What are the freaking odds?"

"Uhhh... wait, what's going on again?" Scarlet asked.

Weiss hitched Myrtenaster, took out her scroll and said "We can spell it out for you later, right now I need to call Professor Goodwitch."

"Good idea, the sooner we get the help, the sooner we can save them." Blake said. She looked at Ashe who was now wandering outside. With all she had found out about this man in the short time she had known him she couldn't help but pity him.

"Ashe, are you going to be okay?" Velvet called.

Ashe glanced back at her and said "I don't know. I just need to be alone right now." With the he walked out of the building.

Penny walked up next to Velvet and said "I think you what you said earlier was right, because I think letting him be alone is the worst mistake he can make right now."

Coco smiled at the robotic girl and said "For someone non-human, that was a pretty human thing to say."

"Oh, thank you." Penny said cheerfully as Nora and Ren followed Ashe out of the building.

"Where are you guys going?" Arslan asked.

"Penny's right, no one should be alone when they're hurting." Nora said as she and Ren followed Ashe, hand in hand. Penny walked after them as Velvet turned to her team and made a hand signal. Yatsuhashi nodded and walked after them and they exited the building as well.

Weiss sighed in relief as Glynda answered her call "Professor, listen; the situation is worse than we thought..."

* * *

Glynda ended her call with Weiss and clenched her fists. She knew they could wait around no longer, if they were going to save Ruby and Jaune they needed to act right now. During the call she had briefly spoken with Raven and ordered her to return to the factory to keep watch on Jaune and Ruby, if anything else happened they needed to know about it as quickly as they could.

She took up her scroll and called Oobleck. "Bartholomew, it is time. We need to leave as soon as possible, have Port get the students ready. I will make sure the ship is prepared." Glynda said.

"Understood Professor Goodwitch, any reason for the rush?" the green haired man asked.

"I will explain the situation once we leave, let's just say that it is worse than we realized." Glynda said.

"Right, I will retrieve them and make sure they are prepared." Oobleck said before he cut the call.

Glynda heard the door being opened, without her permission. She stood up, expecting to see one of the Atlas soldiers but was surprised to see none other than Qrow Branwen, looking worse for ware. "Hey there Goodwitch, sorry to keep you in suspense for so long but I had a hell of a time getting here." he said as he gently closed the door behind him.

Glynda helped him into a chair and asked "What happened?"

"Ironwood shot me, fighting him took a lot out of me. I was right though, it was a long time coming." Qrow said as he took out his flask, which Glynda quickly grabbed away from him. "Oh come on! Booze is like nature's pain killer." he whined

"I can't even begin to list off what's wrong with that statement... listen Qrow is appears that the situation in Haven has escalated quite badly. I just got off the scroll with Weiss Schnee and she has told me that your sister discovered what Salem plans to do with Jaune Arc, turn him into a human-Grimm hybrid that can control Grimm." Glynda said.

"What?! You gotta be shitting me." Qrow said in disbelief.

"From what I could tell they were not exaggerating but apparently it is true, as she claimed to see another Grimm Commander. Your sister still needs to work on her behavior, as she said she would mercy kill the boy if he was twisted into a hybrid, which sparked a rather emotional confrontation with Arc's sisters, many of the students, and a man known as Ashe Kasai who is not only the guardian of a powerful relic but is also Cinder's brother who is trying to stop her."

Qrow just stared at Glynda until he finally said "Sis, you sure do have a talent for making things complicated. Keep the flask, I am going to need a gallon jug of whisky to deal with this bullshit."

"Qrow, we have to leave right now. I've already got Oobleck and Port preparing the students Weiss has selected to help us but I still need to call Ross and have him prepare the ship." Glynda said.

"Right, I'll go to the ship and wait for you." Qrow said as he made his way to the door.

"Qrow! If an Atlas soldier sees you they will try to try to arrest you! Maybe even shoot you!" Glynda objected.

"I know that much, trust me when I say I got a way around it." Qrow said as he walked out of the office and into the deserted hallway.

Glynda sighed, knowing it was impossible to stop Qrow without causing a scene so she gave up and called Ross and ordered him to get the ship ready for departure. After she ended the call she picked up her wand and walked out of the office.

She made a stop by the small room they had assigned Taiyang and said "Qrow's here and we're leaving right away."

"Good, the sooner I get my daughter back the better." Taiyang said as he put on his old weapon; a pair of gauntlets similar to Yang's but they had razor sharp claws coming out of the fists and small flame throwers on the palms.

Zwei perked up and barked happily as he followed his owner out of the room and into the hallway. "Where's Qrow?" Taiyang asked.

"Getting to the ship and trying to go unnoticed. Don't ask me how." Glynda muttered as she walked on.

Soon enough they came to the main entrance of the building that served as their base of operations and Glynda walked off to speak with an Atlesian commander. "Commander Creed." she said, getting his attention. The man turned around and respectfully saluted her.

"Yes sir, Professor Goodwitch. Do you need me to do anything?" he asked.

"I have received a distress call from a village about thirty miles away, I am taking Mr. Xiao Long, Dr. Oobleck, Professor Port, and the newly arrived students with me to respond. I leave you and the other teachers in command until I return, remember if you see Qrow Branwen arrest him on sight." Glynda said.

"I know my orders sir, good luck." Creed said professionally.

"And to you." Glynda said as she rejoined Taiyang and Zwei.

"You think these guys will be okay while we're gone?" Taiyang whispered.

"We will not be gone for long, they can handle any Grimm that comes here." Glynda said confidently.

They soon arrived at the landing platforms where Oobleck, Port, Teams CRDL, BRNZ, and NDGO all awaited them. Glynda could see unsure looks on some of their faces, but for the most part they still acted like teenagers; Dove Bronzewing had utterly failed at trying a pickup line on Gwen Darcy, May Zedong was engaged in a conversation with Octavia Ember and Russel Thrush, Brawnz and Nebula were discussing their experiences as team leaders, while most of the others just looked eager to leave.

"There you are." Port said as Glynda and Taiyang arrived.

"Listen, if any of you do not wish to join us in this mission then you are free to stay. I do not blame you if you wish to part ways here and now, as the situation in Haven has become rather dire." Glynda said.

None of the young Hunters said anything until Cardin spoke up "Can we leave now? I'd like to help save the day as soon as possible."

Glynda allowed herself a small smile, happy with how Winchester had changed for the better. While the rest of his team had reservations about this operation Cardin was completely on board for it. Ever since that day in Forever Fall Cardin had felt guilty for his actions, but it wasn't until he heard about Pyrrha's death that he could find it within him to apologize to Jaune. Cardin apparently saw this mission as a way to redeem himself for his old sins. The rest of his team were only coming along because he bribed them.

"Then let us waste no more time, on we go!" Port said enthusiastically as he slid the ship's door open to reveal Qrow Branwen.

"Wait a minute, Branwen?! How did you...?" Port began before the dusty man stopped him.

"That would be telling Pete ole buddy, let's just get out of here before the tin soldiers see me." Qrow said, getting a nod from Glynda.

"So, Professor Goodwitch, how bad is it really?" Nebula asked, not backing down but clearly concerned for her team's safety.

"Right now swiftness of action is paramount, I will fully explain the situation on the way." Glynda promised as Team NDGO got into the ship.

Glynda and Taiyang looked into the horizon as the sun began to set.

"Now or never Taiyang." Glynda said as Taiyang turned around.

"Let's go." he said.

Zwei jumped into the ship and hopped into May's lap. "Whoa! Hey there little guy." May said as she scratched Zwei's ears, which he eagerly leaned into.

"He does that, if he bothers you I can..." Taiyang said before May shook her head.

"It's okay Mr. Xiao Long, I have a few dogs at home, I know what they're like." May said.

"Why are we taking a dog with us?" Brawnz asked doubtfully.

"This particular dog can come in handy Mr. Ni, I have learned from personal experience." Oobleck assured Brawnz as he sat down between Glynda and Port.

"Great, so if we get surrounded I guess the mutt will bail us out." Roy joked.

"Eh, stranger things have happened." Port commented.

"Okay, everyone strapped in?" Ross called from the cockpit.

"Affirmative!" Taiyang yelled up.

"Good, lifting off now." Ross said as the ship ascended into the air. The ship hovered upwards until it was at the proper altitude and then it flew to the east towards Mistral.

"So Professor Goodwitch, care to tell us what the new developments in Haven are?" Dr. Oobleck asked.

Glynda nodded and said "I'll tell you... but I doubt you'll like any of it."

"Try us." Cardin said.

And with that Glynda began to tell them what was going on.

* * *

In the dark, grimy cell Ozpin kicked a rat against the wall, breaking the little creature's neck. Ozpin shuddered in disgust at the dead corpse of the rodent. He looked up at Norvik who grinned at him. The two had been silent ever since Norvik revealed Salem's plans for he and Jaune, but sadly it did not last long.

"I've always been fascinated with people's fear of rodents. Grown adults will panic at the sight of a rodent even if it's just a harmless field mouse. I remember something I once read about rats in a book about the first Faunus revolution. You see; the Faunus had trained the rats to track down human bases so they could ambush them, but when one of the Faunus platoons was captured a particularly sadistic human lieutenant decided to punish the rebels. He tied down the captain of the Faunus group and created a thin, long cut on the stomach of the Faunus and forced the rat down into the wound. The rat struggled its way through the body, through the organs and blood, going towards that terrible, relentless beating sound of the heart and finally... crunch. Years later I... recreated the story with a young Huntsman in training... I still hear his screams every now and then." Norvik said, looking satisfied with his sick, twisted story.

Ozpin did his best to tune out what the madman was telling him to no avail. Being locked in this room with this insane killer was hell. He could feel his aura gaining strength but he could not strike yet; he needed to wait for the right moment.

* * *

Fotia finished off another set of training robots with a brutal series of slices and swings of her sword. She wiped the sweat off her brow and took time to catch her breath. The robots had been placed on a much higher setting so they were a bigger challenge this time. Fotia walked over to a bench and sat down, taking a drink out of a water bottle.

She went to grab her scroll from the bench to call a cleanup crew but then she noticed that her scroll was in a different location then where she left it. She titled her head curiously before she gently picked up her scroll and found that it was currently on a video about Pyrrha Nikos.

Fotia's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the Mistrali girl, noticing the obvious similarities between the late champion of Sanctum and herself. She looked around, trying to see if anyone else was in the room with her. "Hello?" she asked, getting no answer.

She looked at the scroll and the odd coincidence of the late Pyrrha Nikos looking exactly like her was simply too obvious to ignore. Her thoughts strayed to Jaune Arc and their encounter last night, remembering his wild claims that she was Pyrrha.

"No, this is impossible." Fotia said, she began to sweat once again and her arms were shaking as she pressed play and the video began. The video consisted of one of the final fights Pyrrha had during her time at Sanctum Academy. Fotia watched in shock and fear as she saw that Pyrrha Nikos moved and fought in almost the exact same way that she did. She noticed Pyrrha's moves, her punches and kicks, the way she wielded Milo and Akouo, it all felt so familiar. Even the Semblance of polarity seemed so natural to her, even though Fotia hadn't activated her Semblance yet.

The video cut to an interview with Pyrrha, speaking in a polite, albeit somewhat awkward way. Fotia's eyes got wider as she noticed Pyrrha's voice sounded exactly like her own.

"No. No, this is a trick, it has to be." Fotia said as she exited the video. She stood up and walked to the restroom. She looked into the mirror and saw that her facial structure and body shape was exactly like Pyrrha's, the only difference was the skin color, eye color, and the different hair style.

"No, no, no! This is nothing but a trick. I am not Pyrrha Nikos, I am Fotia Drakos, I am Fotia Drakos." She repeated to herself as a mantra. It was impossible, she could remember her life before Mistress Salem took her in, she remembered it all in very specific detail what her life was prior to her transformation into a Grimm Commander.

"I am Fotia Drakos, I am not Nikos..." she said.

"Remember..." said the voice she had been hearing. Fotia jumped in shock as she looked around the small restroom.

"No, I'm ignoring this..." she said.

"Remember... help me." The voice said.

Fotia cried out in panic as she ran out of the restroom and collided with a familiar face, Neo, sending both of them crashing to the floor.

"Oh! Neo, Neo I need help! I am hearing a voice in my head; I think I'm losing my mind!" Fotia said as she grabbed Neo by the shoulders.

Neo nodded as she gently pulled herself free of Fotia's grip and then she grabbed Fotia's shoulders, leaned in a few centimeters away from Fotia's ear and said "I cannot help you, you must choose. Trust them and try to remember who you are."

"What?" Fotia asked.

Neo didn't respond, she just gave her a mischievous smile and then she got up and began walking away, leaving Fotia sitting on the floor.

Fotia sat on the floor, trying to think about what was happening to her.

"Let me out..." the voice said again.

"Fotia?" asked a voice. Fotia's head jerked up and saw Emerald entering the training room, looking down at her with a concerned face. "Are you alright?" Emerald asked.

"I... I don' know." Fotia answered with a sad sigh. Emerald's eyes looked down on the dragon rider suspiciously. Cinder needed to know about this.

* * *

Elsewhere in the factory Jaune looked up as the door to his cell opened, revealing Mercury and several Grimm Knights. "Showtime, Arc." He said with a sick grin.

Jaune got up and surrendered himself, not putting up a fight as the Grimm Knights grabbed him and led him out of the cell. They walked down the hallway, Jaune was silent the entire time, which disappointed Mercury as he was hoping for Jaune to break down begging for mercy or help, but Jaune just remained silent.

They soon arrived at Giger's lab, the door opened up and Jaune saw Giger and nearly a dozen assistants dressed in medical garbs. "Welcome to the end of your old life and the beginning of your new one." Giger said as the Knights forced Jaune deeper into the lab.

Jaune was stripped of his hoodie, leaving him topless and he was forced onto the operating table to be strapped down. He looked to see Mercury who was still smirking at Jaune's situation.

"Welcome to the team." Mercury said before he left the lab.

Jaune looked up as a leather strap was tied across his head to hold him in place. Giger looked at Jaune as he put his black gloves over his hands and asked "Did I tell you that this will not hurt?"

Jaune did not dignify the doctor's question with a response.

"Good, because I would be lying. Prepare the anesthesia, a small dose, use the needles." Giger ordered the assistants.

Jaune felt the needles stabbing into his arms, being injected with sleep drugs.

As Jaune's vision dimmed he heard Pyrrha's voice.

" _They will not twist you into an abomination my love, I won't let them."_

Darkness took Jaune as he fell asleep, but he felt Pyrrha's comforting presence around him.

" _By my shoulder, protect thee."_

* * *

Salem had gotten word that Jaune's first operation would begin soon and she eagerly waited for word of Giger's progress. If Jaune survived the operation and still resisted her, then she would have give Norvik a new body.

She had taken a stroll out of her palace into the wasteland that surrounded it and she watched as the creatures of Grimm gathered around her. Beowolves, Goliaths, Boarbatusks, Creeps, Nevermore, Death Stalkers, Griffons, King Taijitus, Tarantula Widows, and many other types of Grimm bowed before her as she walked among them.

She reached out and loving stroked the muzzle of a Beowulf and began to speak to the creatures around her.

"Oh yes, yes my children. Soon it will all be mine. The power will flow through me, surge through my veins and I will make you whole. I will give you the aura that you have been denied. Yes, oh yes and then the entire population of the world will worship me... oh my children, it is so close. A mere two years and I will finally achieve my destiny. At long last I will be a Goddess among mortals."

**To Be Continued...**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this is so long. I don't know how but every chapter ends up being huge, and keep in mind that this and the last chapter were supposed to be one and the same. I'm not really happy with one or two scenes, but I did my best given how huge this chapter turned out to be.
> 
> At this point in the story, it's a contest to see which character I can make suffer the most: Jaune, Pyrrha, or Ashe.
> 
> Concerning Ruby's dream in the last chapter, I am not entirely sure what it really was. It could have been Summer Rose giving a message to her daughter from beyond the grave, it could have been an Avatar-State thing for the silver-eyed people, it could have been just a dream. It's up to how you decide to view it.
> 
> I decided to give a reason as to why Team BRNZ and Team NDGO just vanished during the battle of Beacon, since we see Roy get snatched up by a Nevermore I think we can assume his team went to rescue him, but no idea about NDGO.
> 
> The Vale Council has lost all faith in Ozpin and they're not exactly wrong to do so, I mean the only way Cinder got away with her plans is because of Ozpin's poor choices. We all know that Ozpin isn't a traitor (though if he turns out to be one in the show I'll be really surprised) but he will have to face the consequences for his poor decisions.
> 
> Jaune's dreams about the Grimm-People occurred back in my previous RWBY fic 'I Never Even Told You', I decided to expand on what Jaune's dreams meant, seeing as how dreams have ended up playing a big role in this story.
> 
> The scene with Ashe and Bianca... yeah, this is pretty much proof of how unhealthy Ashe is. The revelation of Mila's pregnancy was his breaking point, he's kind of lost it now but he'll try to do the right thing in the future. Trivia; the scene was originally going to be between Ashe and Cardin, but I figured that there's no way Glynda, Port, and Oobleck would just let that scene happen.
> 
> Velvet's cry of 'Frith and Inle!" is a reference to my favorite novel of all time, Watership Down. In the book the rabbits refer to the sun and the moon respectively as Frith and Inle.
> 
> Norvik's tangent about rat torture is inspired by a horrible thing I read about the Vietnam War, so do not blame my imagination for that, it's just the mess that was Nam.
> 
> After the next chapter... get ready. Thanks for everything faithful readers, feedback would be nice.


	13. Prelude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> 4 Years of Beacon by smstanton: One of the best, most adorable Arkos fics I've ever read but it also has a great dramatic story about both Jaune and Pyrrha's lives.
> 
> Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117: A dark, mysterious fic that has only three chapters so far but I cannot wait to see where it goes.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.

 

There was a feeling of dread in the air inside of the factory's makeshift throne room. Salem stood in front of the throne, glaring down at Giger who was shaking in fear. Around the room Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Neo, Ziz, Sherizawa, West, and Jude were all waiting in anticipation for what the Mistress of Grimm would do as she remained silent but her normally serene face betrayed her furious emotions.

"What do you mean his body just rejected it?" Salem asked with her voice on edge.

"I... I don't know, it's never happened before. Usually there is some violent, even gory, reaction from the physical body of the subject when Grimm essence mixes with the aura but this was calm, it was just purged from his body as if there was a light warding off the dark. While most of it was rejected, some of it managed to take hold, it was not very much but he should still be able to control Grimm like the others... to be quite honest Mistress I am at a loss for words." Giger said, stumped as to what was happening.

"Arc has a surplus of aura, but even with that much inside of him he shouldn't have been able to withstand your operation, he should be like Ziz and the others." Sherizawa said, more fascinated by the event than anything.

"And yet he is not, any theories as to why that is?" Salem inquired.

"Maybe it has something to do with his Semblance?" West speculated.

"No, Arc was out of it and he looked like he was throwing in the towel when I took him to the lab." Mercury said.

"Dr. Giger, would you describe Arc's surgery as unusual?" Cinder asked.

"Yes, it was calm for someone on such a low concentration of sleeping drugs, he should have woken up with the small doses we gave him. The aura, that feeling and power of that aura was astounding! It was almost like two combined aura signatures in one body." Giger said.

"Two auras in one body... hmm." Cinder muttered as she looked to Emerald, remembering what the thief had reported about Fotia acting odd. She looked back up to her master and spoke up. "Master, I believe I have an idea. Arc has discovered the truth about Fotia Drakos so maybe that has given him determination, a strong will that we have yet to break."

"Not a bad theory, but it would not account for two aura signatures." West pointed out.

Cinder nodded to the doctor and said "I do not know what to make of that, but I do however have another point to bring up. Emerald, if you would."

Emerald walked to the center and spoke up. "Earlier tonight I saw Fotia acting strange, when I approached her she seemed very worried. I don't know what was up with her but it might have something to do with her encounter with Arc."

Salem considered this and said "You are wise to report this to me, Emerald. I expect that he tried to convince her of her true identity."

"He attempted and failed miserably." Cinder said.

"Did he? If she is acting odd then maybe she has considered what he told her." Salem said.

"Neo, did you retrieve Fotia's scroll?" Cinder asked.

Neo nodded and pulled Fotia's scroll out of her pocket. After Fotia had retired for the night Cinder ordered Neo to sneak into her room and take her scroll to see if she had looked up Pyrrha Nikos. Neo handed the scroll to the Fall Maiden who quickly looked into the search history.

"Just as I suspected, the page history shows she visited a video about herself." Cinder said as she glared at the device in her hand. She looked to Neo and asked "You are closer to Fotia than most of us, have you noticed her acting odd?"

Neo nodded in confirmation as she lifted her hand up to her head and made a screw motion at it.

"So she suspects, that much is obvious. I mean she could be having a full blown identity crisis for all we know." Emerald said.

"Indeed... I think I have a way to resolve this." Salem said as a small smile graced her lips. "Give them their swords and let them duel, a fight to the death."

This got varied reactions; Cinder, Giger, and Sherizawa looked intrigued, Emerald and Neo looked shocked, Mercury just smirked while Ziz seemed to be neutral to the idea.

"While I think it would be an entertaining fight, we should consider the outcome of it. What would the consequences be?" Cinder asked.

"There could be many outcomes; he could kill her and the act of doing so would break his will and his mind or it could drive him to darkness. She could kill him and become convinced that she is Fotia Drakos or she could realize who she really is and the action of murdering him could break her into a hollow shell for us to use as we please. Anything could happen, but it will be a way to test both of them." Salem said.

"Very well, when do you want this duel to happen?" Cinder asked.

"Tonight, we must give both of them a chance to prepare but we cannot give either of them enough time to think it over. Come nightfall one will stand and one shall fall and whichever one stands shall be our weapon, one way or another." Salem said firmly.

"What if, by some miracle, Arc is victorious?" Cinder asked.

"As I said, being forced to kill her will break him and it will be up to us to fix him, any way we see fit." Salem said as she opened up a portal to take her back to the palace. "I will allow my guest to observe this fight with us; he deserves to see how events unfold. Alert Steppenwolffe and fly him over here, he helped train Fotia so he should bare witness to it as well."

"What do you think will be the outcome?" Cinder asked.

Salem stopped and said "It makes no difference to me, no matter how this one duel concludes I will be victorious at the end of all things."

Above them in the rafters Raven hopped across the platforms observing them in her bird form. She had already listened in on the baffled reports of Jaune's miraculous rejection of the Grimm essence, even though they said some part had managed to take hold, this hopefully meant she would not have to kill him and invoke the rage of the others.

She paid attention to the Grimm Knights, seeing that while they were similar to the Atlesian Knights their armor was much thicker and they appeared to be well organized. She couldn't judge them by just watching, she needed to know their combat prowess and she didn't see a way to observe that just yet.

For the moment all she needed to know was that the Arc boy still had hope of making it out of here. Now she just needed to check on Ruby. She went into an open airshaft and made her way down the small vent until she came to the area where they had been keeping Ruby. She saw the girl, amusingly, was hanging from the bars of the vent shaft trying to pull it down.

"Oh come on! I'm beginning to wish Weiss was right about gaining weight from all those cookies!" Ruby moaned. She looked up and saw the bird looking down at her. "A bird? How'd you get in there?" she asked.

Raven, unfortunately, could not communicate with humans while in her avian form as it lacked the ability of speech, so she merely cawed as quietly as she could.

"Uhh... okay, this is weird." Ruby said as she sat back down on her bed, seemingly giving up on escaping via the air ducts. "I don't know why I keep trying to open that stupid vent, I guess it's just something to keep me busy." She said as she glanced back up at Raven.

"If you're one of those messenger birds would you mind going to get help?" Ruby joked. Raven cawed down and hopped out of Ruby's sight. Raven had to admit that she liked Ruby, she was very much like Summer.

Raven decided she would take a look at the Arc boy to see just how much the Grimm essence had changed him and then she would observe the Grimm Knights and the scientists in this base to see what they were up to. The more intelligence she had on this place the more of a chance they had of succeeding.

* * *

Jaune woke up with a vile taste in his mouth and a burning sensation in his body. He gasped out in pain as he held his stomach and moaned. "Oh..." he moaned as he propped himself up, looking around the darkened cell that served as his room for the time being.

"What... what happened?" he said as he looked at his hands, seeing that while the skin was rather pale it wasn't not milk white like Fotia or Ziz's skin was. He could feel the sweat on his skin and his hair was wringing wet.

"Pyrrha? Please tell me you're there." He whispered as quietly as he could while he tried to wipe away his perspiration..

" _I'm here, Jaune. Don't worry, they haven't twisted you into one of those things, not fully anyway. You have some Grimm essence within you but it is very minor compared to what they have done to me."_ Said the compassionate voice of Pyrrha. Jaune smiled, he knew the voice was in his head and for all he knew it was nothing more than his own mind creating an illusion of his partner to calm his grieving mind, but he didn't care. He just wanted Pyrrha back.

" _They tried to inject Grimm essence into your body and your aura, but I was able to use both of our auras to purge most of it from you. I don't know if it has changed your physical appearance or not."_ Pyrrha told him.

"Thank you, I knew I could depend on you." Jaune said, smiling for the first time in days. He grimaced in pain as he could still feel a slight pain; he was still hurting from the beatings he was subjected to yesterday but his aura was healing him up nicely.

"Pyrrha, what are we going to do?" he whispered, hoping no one was listening in on him.

" _I was thinking about what Ruby told you before she was taken away. I think we should remember what Ashe told you about that 'ultimate attack'."_ Pyrrha said.

"No, I don't even know if I can pull it off, but if I can do it I... I can't use it on your body, Ashe said the ultimate attack can kill someone and no matter what I won't hurt you." He said.

" _Jaune, there may never be a way for me to come back. I love you and I am overjoyed that you... return the feeling."_ She said, sounding genuinely happy, which got a smile out of Jaune. _"But... I am not worth it. Now that you've withstood that horrible surgery we don't know what will happen, maybe they'll kill you."_

"No, you're worth it Pyrrha. If I could I would have taken that arrow for you, and I know you'd have a way better chance of saving me than I have of helping you. Listen... there's a part of me that wants to go on and fight but there's a part of me that just wants to give up and die..." Jaune said.

" _No! Don't you dare say that!"_ Pyrrha scolded angrily.

"Pyrrha I..."

" _Jaune, the reason I fell in love with you was because you never gave up, no matter what. You entered Beacon and survived the Emerald Forest against all odds, you stood up to Cardin Winchester and later you stopped him from bullying Velvet, you tried to court Weiss..."_ Pyrrha could feel the bitterness and regret from within, _"despite her rejections, and you were willing to support my decision and guard me in the vault even though you had no idea what was going on. You still care for me even after I denied you a chance to be a hero and you came all this way to avenge me and you withstood everything Cinder has done to you, and yet you still fought on, so please don't give up. I love you Jaune."_

"I love you too, Pyrrha. I'm just sorry I was stupid and didn't realize it until it was too late. I even asked you for advice on Weiss and even then I was so damn stupid I... I'm so sorry I hurt you like that, but you didn't let me finish; despite how much a part of me wants to I won't give up for you, for the others." He said.

" _I'm proud of you, Jaune. As long as you do your best and keep moving forward I know you will always be the Jaune Arc I love."_ Pyrrha said lovingly.

Jaune began thinking about the ultimate attack, but then he remembered what Ruby had asked Ashe about reversing it.

"Pyrrha... I think I have a plan." He said, allowing himself a smile.

* * *

Up above in the air vent Raven could do nothing but pity Jaune. There he was talking to himself, or more accurately, talking to someone who was dead. Obviously the death of his partner had been preying upon his mind but take that and combine it with the isolation and the Grimm surgery it obviously had taken a toll on his mental state, but there was still hope for him. She could see that his skin was pale, but not white, and his eyes were no longer a bright blue but they were not blood red, they were a mixture of the two, a light violet. If they were lucky the top surgeons and scientists of Remnant could cure him and find a way to reverse whatever Salem's scientists had been doing.

As she made her way down the ventilation shafts of the complex she wondered how the young Hunters in training would respond to her news, though she knew Yang would be overjoyed to know that Ruby was relatively unharmed. However, she did dread the reactions to Jaune's current fate but she knew there was still a chance to save him.

She went about her mission to gather more info on the enemy base so she could make the proper adjustments to Weiss' layout of the facility, studying the Grimm Knights as she did so.

* * *

_**Ashe ran towards the sounds of the screams and the roars of Beowolves with his shotgun out and ready to fire. He had been in this forest a few hours and had encountered a few Grimm and had easily killed them but this was the first time he had heard someone else, even though he knew there was a village nearby he had not expected to run into someone else.** _

_**He ran into a clearing and saw a rather attractive woman about his age standing with a small pistol while several kids stood behind her. "Get back!" the woman yelled at the pack of five Beowolves that had cornered them.** _

_**Ashe watched as she fired at one of the Grimm but the beast easily sidestepped the shot. The woman looked nervous as she spoke to the children behind her. "Stay still and try not to be afraid okay, think happy thoughts..." she said as she kept her aim on the Grimm.** _

" _ **Hey assholes!" Ashe screamed, getting the Grimm's attention. Ashe fired his gun, blasting the head of a Beowulf away. "They always look when you yell." Ashe muttered as he drew out his sword and jumped into the chaos. With some well placed swings he sliced two more Beowolves down.**_

_**The largest Beowulf, an alpha most likely, jumped over Ashe and landed on a thick tree branch and roared to the one remaining Grimm to attack. The subordinate rushed at Ashe, roaring the entire time. Ashe whipped out his shotgun again and fired it twice, blasting both arms off. The Beowulf stopped as it howled in pain, but Ashe put it down with a blast to the head.** _

_**Ashe turned around to blast the alpha only for it to jump him first and slam into him, forcing him to drop his gun. Ashe cried out in pain as he could feel its claws stab into his shoulder, he looked forward as the Grimm beast looked him right in the eyes. It reared its head back, about to strike a killing blow only for its head to explode. Its body went limp and disintegrated as Ashe looked up to see the woman now holding his shotgun and panting.** _

" _ **Nice shot." He said as he got a better look at the woman; she was about his height with long black hair and sapphire eyes, she was somewhat thin but her face was gorgeous.**_

" _ **Are you alright sir?" she asked as she dropped his gun and went to help him up.**_

" _ **I'll be fine, my aura's far from being depleted so it'll take care of my wounds." He said as his aura went to work healing his body. "What were you and those kids doing out here? It's been a while since I've seen a forest this full of Grimm, so what's going on?" he asked.**_

" _ **The Huntsman assigned to protect our village was killed last week in a Death Stalker rampage and the Mistral council has yet to assign us a new one. These children were playing in the forest against the curfew rules the mayor established." The woman said, eyeing the children with disapproval.**_

" _ **And you ran after them without getting anyone else?" Ashe asked as he placed a hand over his wound and pressed down.**_

" _ **I... didn't exactly have time. Another child told me first and I told her to run and get help. I just kind of ran into it to save these kids. Wait, here comes Deno and the others. Oh, I'm Mila." She said.**_

" _ **I'm Ashe, nice to meet you."**_

* * *

Ashe was woken up by the sound of the doors of the warehouse opening up. He looked over the edge of the catwalk, which he was sleeping on again so his younger allies would have room to sleep. Team CFVY, Flynt and Neon had gone with Team ABRN to Reese's house so they could have a proper rest while Violet, Indigo, and Sienna had returned to the hotel the Arc sisters were staying at. Everyone else had elected to remain at the warehouse with Team SSSN, the three present members of Team RWBY, and Penny would sleep in the ships, while Ren, Nora, and the two remaining Arc sisters and Ashe slept in the warehouse.

Ashe rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he saw that Bianca, the Arc sister who had nearly shot him out of an emotional fit of rage, had woken up and was taking one his spare guns out of his backpack and was walking outside.

Ashe wondered what she was up to so he got up and walked down the stairs and quietly followed her outside. As he strolled out his thoughts wandered to his dream, the first time he had ever met Mila. He smiled as he remembered what followed that encounter. They were led back to the town by Deno, the holy man who's robe Ashe now wore, with the villagers praising both he and Mila for their heroics. He was tended to by a healer and spoke with the mayor of the town before he agreed to stay for as long as he could as he had been wandering the world for three years at that point ever since he returned to the life of hunting and left an attempt at a normal life behind with that train and he had been going wherever fate took him.

He could not stay at the town's inn because it had been destroyed in the Death Stalker rampage Mila had told him about but Mila agreed to allow him to stay at her home which also served as her book shop. He had to sleep on the couch, of course, but as time went on his relationship with Mila went from tenant to genuine friendship as she allowed him to spend his downtime reading the books, as his life prior had denied him a chance to ever get some proper reading done. His job as the village's residential Huntsman, he had lied to the mayor and told him that he was one of the many wandering Hunters in Remnant, was to patrol the village and to remain vigilant to keep any signs of Grimm or bandits away, to basically protect those who could not protect themselves, but in-between his patrols he would rest at Mila's home and chat with her when she wasn't working.

As time went on their relationship went further from friendship to romance. It had been one night when he had to defend a nearby farmer from some Boarbatusks but he had been overwhelmed and resorted to using the Haakskeekah to defeat them. The doctor in the village was unavailable so Mila and a young healer used their limited medical knowledge to help keep his wounds closed as his aura recovered and went to work.

He remembered waking up in her bed and seeing her sitting in a chair resting on her arms on the edge of the bed next to him, he had been touched by the sight of her watching over him. He had fallen back to sleep and was later woken up by her signing. He'd never forget the blush she had on her face when he announced that he was awake by saying "You have a beautiful singing voice." She had been blushing for two reasons: one was he had heard her sing, something she was rather shy about, the second was that he was topless and she couldn't help but stare at his body.

Soon afterwards they hit it off and entered into an official relationship and decided to make his stay at her home permanent even after the inn was rebuilt. After two months of sleeping on her couch they decided that she was comfortable with sharing her bed with her boyfriend.

After four months of knowing each other and three months of being romantically involved they made love and Ashe had never expected her to be so amorous. He once teased her by saying her sex drive would be the death of him. He would have greatly preferred that to how his life ended up.

He shook his head, smiling, as he walked out of the warehouse and was greeted with the sight of Bianca aiming his shotgun at a few old soda cans that she had stacked up on a crate. She fired and missed.

"Crap, let's try that again..." she muttered.

"You're holding it wrong." Ashe said, announcing his presence and startling her.

"Oh shit! Uh... morning Ashe." She said awkwardly.

"Morning yourself, it's six thirty. You've probably waken the others up by now with that blast. I said you're holding the gun wrong, you need to prop the butt of the gun against your shoulder, don't keep your finger on the trigger, you need to do it like this." He said as he took the firearm from her and showed her how to properly hold it.

"Okay, I can do that." Bianca said as he gave her the gun back. She held it properly this time, aimed and fired, nailing the can.

"Good, but if you're going to be fighting with us you'll need to be really careful and pick your targets, which will be moving ones." Ashe said.

"What the hell's going on out here?!" Sun yelled from the hijacked White Fang ship, with Neptune and Sage looking out to them was well. Ashe noticed Sun had his Bo-Staff out

"Bianca's just learning how to aim, go back to sleep guys." Ashe called.

"Gladly." Sage muttered as he went back into the ship with his teammates.

"I noticed you have a lot of guns in the backpack of yours, what the hell have you been up against?" Bianca asked.

"In twenty years I've probably killed over a thousand Grimm or more and I don't want to even think about how many people I've been forced to kill." Ashe said, his eyes darkening.

"If it's any consolation Ren and Nora told me about your past. I have lost the man I was engaged to years ago so I know how you feel." Bianca said, remembering the call she got from Tobias' parents to tell her about his death.

"I'm sorry, how'd you lose him?" Ashe asked.

"Tobias died in a car crash; I never really got over him." She said.

"There was a tradition in my family, when your significant other dies an unnatural death like murder or an accident or something like that, you make a promise that you will never fall in love with anyone else. It is a vow that is incredibly important, as it binds your souls together; promising that after they have left this world you will never stop loving them or replace them. I decided to make that vow after Mila was killed." He said.

"That's... at very sweet and romantic, yet at the same time rather depressing." Bianca observed.

"Jaune told me he made a similar vow with Pyrrha, that it's a tradition in your family. Did you ever try to have another relationship?" Ashe asked.

"I tried a few times but none of them ever really worked out. Maybe it was a subconscious guilt or something but it never felt right. I know how some people can recover from death of the ones they love but I guess you are I aren't those kind of people." Bianca said.

"No, we're not." Ashe said as he smiled at her.

"So you forgive me for the... incident yesterday?" she asked.

"Eh, wouldn't be the first time someone's held a gun to my head." Ashe said as he cracked a smile, which Bianca returned.

"Look at you two, all buddy-buddy now." Said the cheerful voice of Nora. The two adults turned around to see the ginger Huntress and Shani both watching them from the doorway of the warehouse.

"Yes, I think we've patched things up." Bianca said.

"You know what Ashe? I think I finally remember where I saw you before." Shani said.

"Where?" Ashe asked.

"Nora mentioned that you used to work as a guard on a train and then it came to me, eight years ago you were that train guard who fought off an entire back of Beowolves that attacked the train, when the conductor was killed you had the other guards lead the passengers to the front of the train while you held off the Grimm. I saw it on the news like eight years ago." Shani said.

"I remember that night, ruined a perfectly good job and life as a 'normal' person." Ashe said making air quotes.

"They said you were injured in the fight and needed to be rushed to a hospital, what happened?" Shani asked.

"There was a murder on the train but me and the other guards managed to apprehend the killer... but the fear and panic it created among the passengers attracted a pack of Beowolves, I don't know how many, thirty, maybe thirty-five. Anyway an entire pack was attacking the train. The conductor and the head guard were both killed but I decided to take charge. I grabbed my trusty old shotgun out from under my bunk and I began shooting them down, I had the others usher the passengers up ahead to the front of the train while I lured the Grimm to the rear and before you ask Nora I couldn't use the Haakskeekah because I was in a train and I didn't want to wreck the place too badly. It took a while but I beat them all, got some pretty nasty scars from it too." He said as he lifted up his shirt, showing them the three long scars on his chest.

"Oh crap..." said Shani.

"Cool." Nora stated with a smile.

"Do they hurt?" asked a new voice from behind them. The quartet looked over to see Blake.

"Morning Blake, what are you doing up so early?" Nora asked.

"I made it a priority to wake up early while I was on the run in Vale to avoid being spotted. So do they hurt Ashe?" Blake repeated.

"Every now and then when I get messed up or when I'm low on aura but they don't for the most part. How'd you sleep?" Ashe asked.

"I slept fine, it's easy to sleep now that I'm with good company again." The cat Faunus said.

"How long do you think it will take for Professor Goodwitch and the others to get here?" Nora asked.

"I think they'll be here soon enough, any sign of Yang's mother?" Blake asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Ashe said.

"I wish she'd hurry up and get here; I need to know if Jaune is okay." Bianca said.

"He's stronger than he realizes, I know he'll be okay." Ashe said reassuringly.

Blake glanced away, she honestly didn't know if Jaune would make it out of this. She honestly didn't think very much of his fighting prowess or combat skills but she did appreciate his kind personality and the way he treated everyone equally. It was terrible that good people like he and Ruby were victims of this terrible mess. None of them deserved to be caught up in it but they had no choice. Fate had assigned them these roles and whatever would be would be. She just hoped that in the end her friends would come back safe and unharmed, no matter how improbable it was.

"I remember how much he wanted to be a Huntsman when he was a little boy." Bianca said, "How he would look up videos of Hunters fighting Grimm no matter how much trouble he got into it with mom. He always wanted to be the hero no matter how much people told him he'd just be an ordinary guy who'd never matter in the long run, he'd always try." Bianca said.

Shani smiled sadly and said "I remember dad tried to give that cruddy old rifle/staff thing and the night before he went off to Beacon mom and dad caught him red handed with the Crocea Mors even though they weren't going to let him take it. They told me how he ranted on for like five minutes about how important it was for an Arc to wield that sword before they said they'd let him take it."

Ashe smiled at the thought and said "He never gives up, does he? Never backs down from anything?"

"Never." Said Nora, feeling proud of her team-leader.

"I was there when he was born; I can still remember holding him for the first time. I remember that horrified look on mom and dad's faces and the feeling of just pure heartbreak when the doctors said he probably wouldn't live through the week and yet... he did." Bianca said with a tear in her eye.

"Oh don't start that crap Bi! You're gonna make me cry too." Shani said playfully.

Ashe looked towards the early morning sky and quietly said "I promise I'll get him back, no matter what."

* * *

Qrow looked down the ship, seeing the kids sleeping soundly as the ship soared through the sky over the ocean. They had been going slow so as not to attract attention and it was getting on Qrow's nerves, they needed to get to Haven as soon as they could and this stealth crap was driving him nuts.

He thought about his beloved nieces, how they may be in danger and the faster he'd get there the sooner they'd be safe. He remembered back to Yang's birth and how he had been so worried over his sister giving birth and when he first saw baby Yang with a little tuft of blonde hair and innocent lilac eyes, it had been the first time his heart had melted in a long time. He could still remember that rough period for their weird little family when his sister decided to leave, not telling anyone why until he forced her to years later after Yang had wandered off into the forest with a little Ruby in tow to try and find her and even so she had made him swear not to tell Taiyang the truth about her departure.

He could still remember the sweet and somewhat awkward romance between his brother-in-law and their former team leader, with how kind and caring she was he knew she couldn't leave Taiyang alone and soon enough little Ruby was born and he remembered the insane waiting period in the hospital on Patch Island, the face that he was trying his damn best to come up with a good explanation, other than the official one, as to where babies come from to the toddler Yang as she sat on his lap in the waiting room. He remembered holding the newborn Ruby for the first time and his heart just being obliterated by those big ole' silver eyes. He had been filled with worry and concern at first because this meant she would have the same powers and, inevitably, the same responsibilities as her mother.

After Summer's death Qrow knew he needed to help Taiyang as much as he could, despite the missions he was put on, but he always made time for his nieces. He remembered one particular mission when he was wounded and bleeding badly as he hid in a large drainpipe, while enemy soldiers were hunting for him in the surrounding area. He had nearly given up but the thought of those kids kept him going, the thought of his family forced him to get up and fight. He lived because he loved those kids too much to die.

Right now they needed his help and he wasn't going to let that insane bitch Salem take Ruby from him.

"Can't sleep?" asked the hushed voice of Glynda Goodwitch. He looked to see her sitting towards the back and shook his head.

"In the last four days I've gotten thirteen hours of sleep, fourteen tops." Qrow said as he lay back in his seat, trying to rest.

"We'll be there in a few hours Qrow, don't worry." Glynda said, keeping up a mask of confidence.

"Can't help it, Glynda, they've been my life for nearly eighteen years now and I feel like their second father some of the time." He said.

"The way Ruby handles that weapon of hers I sometimes swear that she was your child and not Taiyang's." Glynda observed.

"Oh please, I just trained the little reaper, she's a hundred percent combo of Summer and Tai, trust me on that one. I remember when she decided what her weapon was going to be and Tai freaked the hell out... I remember him vowing that if she got so much as a cut he'd throttle me, and let's just say that Yang doesn't get her attitude wholly from Raven." Qrow said with a smirk.

"You trained her Qrow, it's no wonder she was the best scythe wielder and, just between you and me, probably the best weapons specialists we had in Beacon this year. I think it's safe to say that Ozpin was right about her." Glynda said, noticing the scowl on Qrow's face.

"And wrong about a lot of other things." He muttered.

"You know once Ozpin made a decision it was final, none of us could have talked him out of it, try as we might." Glynda admitted.

"I know, sometimes it felt like you were trying to force logic into his head." Qrow said with a smirk before he realized that he never really told Goodwitch about Ironwood nor had he asked about Schnee. Now that he felt like an asshole he decided he needed to rectify that.

"Goodwitch, any word about Schnee?" he asked.

"So you do care." Glynda said with a smirk of her own.

"I'm not a total dick, just tell me what they're doing with her." He said.

"They thrown her into the stockade for the time being with a trial scheduled for next week, but hopefully by then we can expose Cinder and find some way to convince the Atlas council of Winter's good intentions." She answered.

"Yeah... I don't think that'll be easy with an arrest warrant out for me in most of the civilized world." Qrow said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"We'll sort it all out, I mean once we get them to see how foolish James' plans for Penny were we can..." Glynda began before she noticed the look on Qrow's face, "...what's wrong?"

"See... might've forgotten a little something major and incredibly bad for us..." Qrow said.

"What? Qrow what haven't you told me?" Glynda demanded.

"Now listen, don't get mad..."

"I cannot promise that, Qrow, because whatever you are going to tell me will obviously invoke a reaction out of me and I cannot promise not to get mad if I don't know what you're going to say so just say it." Glynda said, scolding Qrow like he was a tardy student.

"Someone is controlling the cybernetic portion of Ironwood's brain and is using him." Qrow said.

Glynda was too stunned by this revelation to cry out in shock, but someone else did.

"What?!" cried Cardin Winchester, who had eavesdropping on the conversation. Naturally his outburst had woken some of the others up.

"Ugh... are we there yet?" Dew asked.

"No one, not even a nocturnal Faunus, was meant to be woken up this early." Complained Roy Stallion.

"Cardin? Cardin, dude, what's wrong?" asked Dove.

"We're still in the sky, what's going on?" questioned Gwen.

"What's all the commotion?" Oobleck asked as he looked up, seemingly used to waking up in such conditions.

Qrow and Glynda looked at each other for a few seconds before the professor's face turned into one of fury.

"What are you saying? Why didn't you tell me this back at Vale?!" she demanded to know.

"I thought you might hesitate to go, that's you'd rush on to Atlas and try to figure out what's going on with Jimmy and try to help him. Trust me Goodwitch, the only way to help him right now is to focus on stopping whatever's going down in Haven." Qrow tried to reason.

"Care to fill us in?" Brawnz asked, totally stumped.

"I gotta agree with the kid, what the hell did you wake us up for kid?" Taiyang asked Cardin.

"It appears that Mr. Winchester was listening in on a conversation between Qrow and I and I must admit if he did not cry out in shock I would have." Glynda said as she glared at Qrow.

"Why?" Nebula asked in complete confusion.

"Qrow said that General Ironwood is being controlled by someone." Cardin answered.

"WHAT?!" was the collective response to this.

"Listen, I know it sounds like just the paranoid ramblings of a drunken wash-up like me but Ironwood is being controlled, I saw his hand and face twitching, it's a side effect of someone hacking their way into a person with cybernetic implants and controlling their actions, saw it on a mission about two years ago." Qrow elaborated.

The ship was now silent aside from the sounds of the engine.

"Well, this just keeps getting more interesting by the minute." Muttered Nebula as she buried her head in her hands.

"Any theories as to who is behind this?" Oobleck queried.

"Just two: Salem or Cinder and most likely both." Qrow said.

"You really think this Salem is capable of that?" May asked.

"We know she is." Qrow confirmed to the young sniper.

Glynda sighed; at least they had taken this better than the truth about Salem, the Grimm hybrids, and what may happen to Jaune. She had told them all the other day after they left Vale and she could still remember the shocked reactions...

_10 Hours Ago_

_Everyone had shocked faces as Glynda finished revealing what she had been told._

" _Well... I suppose that after the Maidens anything is possible, even the fabled Mistress of Grimm." Port said as he covered his mouth with a shaking hand._

" _Okay, so let me get this straight: the crazy lady who royally wrecked us at Vale is only a second banana? There's somebody much, much worse?" Russel Thrush summarized._

" _Correct." Glynda confirmed._

" _Okay, just wanted to make sure." Russel said before he took out his backpack, smashed his head into it and screamed._

" _I'm with the dude with the bad haircut, this is all kinds of messed up." May chimed, getting a bark from Zwei in agreement._

" _And sadly it appears we have no choice but to press onwards to Haven and fight. We seem to be out of options for the moment unless we can negotiate with General Ironwood." Oobleck observed._

" _Not a good idea, Ironwood's out of it and I think Salem has someone working right next to him, trust me on this one Barty, we are on our own." Qrow said, not wanting to tell them about Ironwood's corrupted mind yet._

" _Can't we do something to convince the Atlas council of what's going on? We need to tell somebody high-up about this." Nebula said, getting words of agreement from some of the others._

" _I think that would most unwise. If Salem has managed to get one of her servants into, most likely, the upper hierarchy of the Atlas Military then I wouldn't be surprised if she had a spy on all of the councils." Glynda said._

" _What makes you think it's someone high up in the military? The traitor with Atlas could be a janitor for all we know." Sky Lark said._

" _Don't be an idiot." Cardin muttered in annoyance._

" _Too late." Snarked Gwen and Octavia at once._

_Glynda addressed them once again. "I have already informed you of Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose's capture and that Penny Polendina's rescue team, Team SSSN, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long have all arrived in Haven to join us in the fight against Cinder but there is more to it than that. A spy we have in Haven has..."_

" _My sister snuck into their factory and saw that Ruby's fine but Arc is going to be transformed into a human-Grimm hybrid tonight." Qrow said, far too bluntly for Glynda's taste._

_There was yet another stunned silence in response to this._

" _So this is why we needed to leave in such a hurry." Oobleck muttered._

_Glynda looked at the twelve teenagers, some looking unsure, even frightened. "If any of you do not wish to partake in this mission we shall drop you off at the first village we come to once we reach Mistral." She said._

_The three teams whispered amongst themselves before their leaders spoke up._

" _We're in, all the way." Brawnz said with determination._

" _It's risky, but if we pull it off we could save a lot of innocent people. We won't back down." Nebula agreed._

" _I... my team isn't really sure what to do but me personally? I was an asshole earlier this year... in hindsight I'm pretty ashamed of myself for how I acted. This is my chance for redemption, to make it up to Jauney for every dick move I pulled on him. I'm with you all the way." Cardin said, noticing the subtle proud look on Glynda's face._

" _Eh, why not?" muttered Dove._

" _Yeah, could be fun." Sky said._

" _No one's gonna call me a coward." Russel added._

Glynda shook her head as she was brought back to the present by a conversation between the four Huntsmen. Some of the students were drifting back off to sleep while some stayed awake to listen.

"Any idea who the mole could be? Ironwood has a pretty big staff, it could be anyone." Taiyang said.

"Until we start looking into it we must assume that everyone with the Atlas Military is hostile. It sounds paranoid, but paranoia does tend to pay off a times." Oobleck said.

"Tell that to Ozpin." Qrow snaked as he rolled his eyes, receiving glares from Glynda and the other adults.

"When did Ironwood come under their control and how did it happen? How do we even know the traitor is among them? They could be doing it from afar." Port suggested.

"To answer the first question, Pete, whatever's doing this to his mind would have been put into place months ago when he was operated on and upgraded after the battle of Beacon and they only let the top smart guys do that kind of work so one of them was either bribed or is a traitor as well. To answer your second question; no, for this kind of control to remain in effect and a tight grip placed over the victim the traitor would have to be close to Ironwood, someone near him everyday." Qrow said.

"This gives us a bit of a list of suspects, but we don't have time to go through it right now, if we're going to stand a chance of saving Miss Rose and Mr. Arc I suggest we should all try to get some more sleep." Oobleck suggested.

"Very well, now try and get some more rest. Mr. Ross, how long until we reach Haven?" Glynda asked.

"ETA is one hour and fifteen minutes." Their pilot called from the cockpit.

"Alright, you have over an hour to rest, take advantage of it." Port said to the young Hunters. While most of them were tired enough to fall right back asleep some of them were too unnerved what they had just been told, but soon enough sleep took them.

Glynda noticed that Port had fallen back to sleep quickly and it appeared that Qrow was drifting off as well. "Sorry Glynda but... I'm out." He said as he closed his eyes quickly began snoring.

"You've earned it, Branwen." Glynda whispered as she looked to Oolbeck and Taiyang who were still awake.

"Professor Goodwitch, do you really think we can come out of this victorious?" Oobleck asked.

Glynda didn't know how to properly answer his question.

* * *

Ironwood sighed as he listened to Commander Creed's report. Apparently Glynda Goodwitch along with two of her fellow teachers at Beacon, two teams from Shade Academy, one from Beacon, and Taiyang Xiao Long had all departed the base at Vale in ship under the guise of going to answer a distress call which had never been made. This was very... disappointing. He figured that if there was anyone in Vale he could trust it would be Glynda Goodwitch, but after Winter betrayed him he should have expected something like this.

He glanced up at Chamberlain who had been trying to find a way to track Penny but it appeared that Polendina had removed the tracking chip he had installed in her along with making sure there was no way to follow her.

He looked up as the door opened to reveal Ulysses Cy who was seemed to be a bit exhausted. Ironwood had assigned him with attempting to track the ship down after the Eagles were reported destroyed and Cy had attempted to find any sign of the fugitives for over twenty hours with no luck.

Ironwood didn't have to say anything to express the frustration with this situation.

"Anything at all?" he asked.

"I'm sorry sir, nothing whatsoever. For all we know they could be in anywhere; Cadia, Mistral City, Gola, hell they could have just went on to Haven for all I know." Cy said as he sat down.

"I doubt it. Maybe they went to the Mistral council, eager to start a war they think they're preventing." Ironwood said as his metal hand twitched, a small action that Chamberlain had noticed.

"Sir, are you alright? Your hand." Chamberlain said as he gestured to Ironwood's metal limb.

"What this? It's been happening every now and then, probably just a slight glitch in the nerve structure of the prosthetic. I'll have it checked out soon. Cy, any word from 501?"

"I looked up his daily report before I came here, sir. He says nothing at all. He says he continues to search the slums and the rich criminal element of the city but has nothing of note as of yet." Cy said.

Ironwood sighed and muttered "Typical. You're both dismissed; you may go about your duties."

The two men left the room but did not part ways.

"Cy, I need to speak with you in private." Chamberlain whispered as they walked down the hallway. They made their way to the elevator and once they were alone Chamberlain pushed the stop button so they could be left that way.

"Jackson, what's wrong?" Cy asked.

"I spoke to Specialist Schnee the other day and she's convinced that General Ironwood is being controlled by one of our enemies." Chamberlain said.

"That's absurd and is exactly what a traitor like her would say to buy herself time." Cy said doubtfully.

"I'm not so sure, I saw his hand twitching and I'm not convinced by the 'faulty nervous system' bit he tried to sell us." Chamberlain whispered.

"I think it's just a routine glitch, I mean it isn't the first time his body has acted up and they never really got the bugs completely out of the system." Cy pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but whenever his body acted up before Beacon he'd always have it checked out right away, but now he's just ignoring it." Chamberlain said, beginning to see how valid Winter's warning was.

"I admit that is rather odd, maybe he just has a lot on his mind? He's been though a lot of stress recently." Cy said.

"I know that, but it's this whole disaster with Penny Polendina, it... it just never sat right with me, Cy."

"I know, sometimes we have to go to dark places to keep the flame lit." Cy said as he pressed a button to open a door. "Right now all we need to do is follow orders, if Ironwood is ever removed from his power then we can question him."

Chamberlain nodded, seeing as how that was sadly the way most military operations seemed to go. Then a thought crossed Chamberlain's head; he didn't know what Cy had been doing when Penny's rescue had happened.

"Cy, I just realized that I never found out where you were during the breakout." He said.

Cy eyed his comrade before he explained "I was close to the main gate so I took command in shutting it down, sorry you had to get knocked out in the vault and miss the bulk of the action."

Chamberlain nodded, finding that answer acceptable. "Sorry, it's just that all this insanity with Schnee and Polendina and all... just has me a little paranoid." He apologized.

"It's okay, with everything that's been going on recently you need to be on your toes, after all these days you never know who you can trust." Cy said with a mocking grin. Chamberlain nodded with a smile and walked away, not noticing the irritated look on his comrade's face as he did so.

* * *

Ashe smiled as Yatsuhashi finished tell the group assembled in the warehouse the story of how he got a medium sized scar on his leg. After Nora had told the others about Ashe's various scars the younger Hunters prodded him until he agreed to repeat the tale of his fight with the pack of Beowolves on the train. After that Coco decided it was only fair that anyone with a scar of their own should share the story of how they got it. Team ABRN were the only ones absent, as they needed to return to Haven Academy for the time being so as not to arouse the suspicion of the headmaster. Penny stood in the corner, standing as still as a statue, but no one noticed her for the time being.

"Okay, you see this on my wrist?" Sage asked as he spoke up. Everyone squinted and they could just barely see a small scar.

"Yeah, what happened there?" Flynt asked.

"Okay, so it's last day before break at Haven Academy right? We're having this 'friendly' arm wrestling competition just for fun. I enter for Team SSSN and I make it into the semi-semi-finals, or whatever it's called, and I'm going up against this little guy, now I hadn't really been paying attention but I knew he had to be good if he made it this far. The match begins and this guy uses his Semblance, hidden strength I think, and he pulls me right over the table." Sage finished, getting some laughs out of the others.

"I can't forget that look on your face when Arslan beat him in the final round. You were outright enjoying his defeat." Sun said.

"Hey, sometimes I take things personally." Sage said with a shrug.

"Okay, okay, my turn." Fox said as he pulled up his left pant leg to reveal an old, round scar.

"Ouch, and I thought you were gonna say what was up with your arms, what happened there?" Neptune asked.

"It was back in beginner's school, about second or third grade." Fox began, briefly making nearly everyone in the warehouse nostalgic for the old simple days before they were given the choice of going to an advanced school for civilians or a combat academy where they would begin their training as Hunters.

"Okay, so I'm on the playground, right? Just walking along, minding my own business... when this girl starts showing off to her friends and does a cartwheel on a balance beam, but when she makes her grand jump off of it she crashes right into me and knocks me right onto the woodchips and one of 'em stabs me right in the kneecap!"

"Oh god!" cried Neptune.

"Whoa, did you end up in the hospital for that?" Yang asked.

"No, the school nurse was a trained aura healer so she was able to close it up before any major damage could set in. I was really disappointed I didn't get to go home early." Fox joked, eliciting laughs out of Coco, Velvet, Yang, Team SSSN, Flynt, and Neon.

"Seriously? They didn't send you home after that? Now I'm glad I was homeschooled." Ashe said.

"Ugh, that story still makes me cringe every time." Velvet said.

"Why?" Yang asked.

"It's like how you get all squirmy when you think about someone slitting your throat or your wrists or when you think about someone trying to attack your eyes, you just shudder at it, you know? I guess since I have some rabbit in me I just get all nervous about not being able to run." Velvet explained.

"Wow, you're wise beyond your 'ears!" Yang joked, getting groans out of everyone but Ashe who laughed.

"Wait, you found that funny?" Weiss asked, dumbstruck.

"Yeah, but I've learned to take any laugh when I can get it, after a while a bad pun starts sounding really funny." Ashe justified.

"Okay, so speaking of going for the eyes what about your scar, Weiss?" asked Nora, getting a look from Weiss.

"Uh, Weiss doesn't really like to talk about that, Ruby had to order her to tell us." Blake said before Weiss raised her hands up.

"No, it's okay, I'll tell them." Weiss said, getting shocked reactions from her teammates. "What? I've decided to be a bit more open." She added before she turned to address the small crowd. "As it turns out the story of how I got my scar is also how my father agreed to let me enroll at Beacon. You see, the Atlas Military was looking for a replacement for the Atlesian Knight 100 model and my father assumed that naturally the Atlesian Knight 200 would be the successor but someone approached General Ironwood with an alternative model call the Atlas Armor. My father was furious that the General would consider doing business with someone else and at that time I was practically demanding to go to Beacon. Eventually my father managed to make an arrangement with the rival company and with General Ironwood; I would battle against the Atlas Armor while the Atlesian Knight 200 would fight one of Atlas' top soldiers. If I would win I would be allowed to go to Beacon and if the Atlesian Knight won as well General Ironwood would choose my family's company over the competitions."

"So you obviously won." Yatsuhashi stated.

"Yes, but at a cost." Weiss said as she rubbed the pale scar over her eye. "I defeated the armor, but I received this scar as a reminder of what my victory meant."

"If it's any consolation it's not really that noticeable." Neon said.

"Thank you, at first I tried to cover it up with makeup but after a while I decided to ware it to show the world that I was not pampered little princess." Weiss said.

"I think it worked just fine." Flynt said with a smile.

Weiss smiled back but it soon turned into a troubled frown. "What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"I just now remembered who developed the Atlas Armor, a man named Tomo Sherizawa, one of the head scientists for CraftTech." Weiss said.

"What?!" cried Yang.

"That doesn't make sense, why would CraftTech, a company working for Salem, try to supply Atlas with robotic soldiers?" Scarlet asked.

"Remember how the Knights turned on us? Maybe that was always supposed to happen but not with the Knights, with the Atlas Armor. Cinder somehow found a way to take control of the Knights but I think we can all guess that if the Armor was used it would have turned on us much quicker, as it would have been under their control the entire time." Weiss explained.

"This is all coming together now." Ashe muttered as he stood up.

"So the deeper we dig into this, the more it's obvious that this Salem witch has her hands in pretty much everything." Coco said.

Ashe nodded as he took out two pictures from his coat pocket and looked at them with a sad sigh.

"What's the other picture of? I know one is of you and Mila, but what's the other one?" Nora asked.

"This other one was taken when I was about nine years old, it's of my family." Ashe said sadly as he turned the photo around so they could all see it. The photo contained a much younger Ashe in the arms of his mother who looked, surreally, like a kind and gentle version of Cinder with the only difference being in hair style and seemed to be a bit taller. Behind them was a bearded man with a hard face but there seemed to be an air of strength and experience about him, the look in his eyes was one of pride. Finally, leaning against her mother, was a fourteen year old Cinder Fall. Cinder's hair was done up in a ponytail and she had a smirk on her face that wasn't the sinister and self-assured smirk one would expect from her, but a young and cocky, looking like she was ready to take on the world.

"I can't believe that girl is Cinder." Blake muttered.

"Hey, even Adam must have been a cute kid at some point." Yang said slyly, getting a glare in return from her partner.

"Your mom looks just like Cinder." Muttered Bianca as she looked at the photo.

"I used to look at this picture to remind me that my sister was still out there and that if I found her we could be a family again, but I guess that's all kaput now. Now it's just another reminder of how much I've lost." Ashe said sadly.

"I'm sorry Ashe, it must be hard having your own sister turn out to be evil." Yang said, secretly dreading the possibility of Ruby being turned to evil under Salem's control.

Ashe could see this and he said "Don't worry Yang, we'll get her back, I promise. Tomorrow morning you guys will be together again."

Yang smiled and nodded.

"Hey Ashe, I've been wondering about those Guerrilla Hunter schools..." began Blake.

"If you want me to turn them in I'm sorry to say 'no way in hell'. Even if I knew where they were now I wouldn't turn my back on 'em. They helped me out a lot." Ashe said.

"Did they help you with your Semblance?" Ren inquired.

"Hell no, I only found out about my Semblance after the pit." Ashe said, making some of the group shudder. He had told them about his traumatizing event in the pit full of Grimm and most of them were flat out terrified of the mere idea of being stuck in a situation like that.

"Then who helped you train?" asked Velvet.

"For the most part I was self-trained. I found some old books and read up about it to gain knowledge about it and I was forced to use trial and error with it on whatever I went up against; Grimm, thieves, gangs, bandits, really I took on anything, not just the Grimm. I did meet with one man who had my Semblance; he did help me out a bit but not much as he was kinda old and withered." Ashe said.

"So your fighting with your Semblance is self-taught and the rest of it comes from the Guerrilla school?" Ren said.

"Yeah, they don't teach you as much as Beacon or Haven, but it's enough to get you by." Ashe said.

"Obviously." Violet stated.

"How much did they..." Blake began when a loud crashing sound interrupted her. Everyone turned around to see Penny on the floor with Ashe's scroll in her hand.

"Penny!" most of them cried. They ran over to her and Yang and Yatsuhashi helped the robot girl up.

"What happened?" asked Velvet.

"No idea, looks like she fainted. Can robots faint?" asked Shani.

"They probably can when they have a soul and emotions." Ashe said as he reclaimed his scroll from Penny's hand. He looked at what Penny had been watching and muttered "Oh crap."

"What is it?" asked Coco.

"Penny asked me if she could use my scroll to look something up, something she needed to see... I didn't see any harm in it." Ashe said before he turned his scroll around to show them that Penny had been watching a video of her fight with Pyrrha.

"Oh god, Dr. Polendina said that if she recalled her own death it may damage her mind!" Weiss cried.

"Man we could use him here right about now." Flynt muttered as he helped Yang and Yatsuhashi get Penny onto the couch.

"What's going to happen?" Neon asked.

"I don't really know, I've never met anybody who died and came back to life before, let alone someone like... oh lord, this is confusing." Weiss moaned as they sat Penny onto the couch, sitting her up right. Penny didn't respond to anything that was going on, she just stared forward as if she was sleeping with her eyes open.

""Uh... what now?" Neptune asked.

"I don't really know, I guess we just wait until she comes out of it." Weiss said.

"How long will that take?" Sienna asked.

"No idea." Weiss admitted.

"Ashe, could we use that Aura Crystal thing? It's a crystal of aura, right? So maybe it has some healing abilities." Velvet suggested.

Ashe sighed and said "I don't think that'll work Velvet, the according to the legends and the books I read back at home the crystal does have some healing abilities but only in the most dire of times, like a last minute resuscitation. It tends only to help out when a person is on the verge of death, but I've read that it can make one stronger if used correctly and help replenish aura, but I don't think it'll work on Penny."

"Well what are we going to do? We can't just stand around like a bunch of..." Sun began to say before a cry from Penny cut him off.

Penny was crying out, almost screaming as her body began to shake as if she was having a seizure.

"Oh crap, what now?!" cried Neptune.

"Hold her down!" Coco ordered. Yang, Yatsuhashi, Sage, Sun, Ashe, and Flynt all did so as they grabbed Penny and held her down as hard as they could, struggling to keep her steady as she let out a series of incomprehensible babbles and half-words.

"Stronger than she looks!" Ashe cried as she lifted up the arm he was holding onto, which managed to lift him off the ground.

Yang grabbed Penny's face and said "Penny! Penny, calm down! Now!"

Penny's shaking calmed slightly as she looked directly at Yang. "I... I... I... I..."

"Penny, look at me and listen to me. You're okay, you're safe, you're among friends, and no one will hurt you. Calm down, just relax, think about your dad, think about Ruby and just relax." Yang said as calmly as she could.

Penny stopped shaking and after the others released her she sat back down, looking at her hands. Yang kneeled down to look Penny in the eye as she gently took hold of Penny's hands. "You okay?" she asked.

"Not really." Penny said quietly.

"Why did you look up that video? Why did you want to watch it?" Yang asked, sounding calm the entire time she spoke so as not to upset Penny.

"I... I deserve to see it. I had to see it. I had to know what Cinder did to me, what she tricked Pyrrha into doing." Penny said as Yang held Penny's hands tightly. "I knew most of you would be suspicious, but Ashe is trusting and he has issues of his own so I knew he would have no reservations about lending me his scroll. I'm sorry for tricking you."

"It's okay." Ashe said quietly.

Penny looked at Yang directly, and then she scanned everyone else. "I'm a puppet. That's all I am. Atlas was going to use me as some experiment and Ironwood was going to use me to get to Cinder. Cinder used me to hurt Pyrrha and create panic that would start the Grimm attack. That's all I am, a puppet pretending to be real. I'm just... tangled in strings... I don't even know what I really am anymore."

Yang grabbed Penny's face again and said "I know what you are. You are Penny Polendina, my little sister's friend who happens to be a robot. Just because you're not flesh and blood doesn't make you any less of a real person than any of us. Look at me, look at my arm, its metal just like you. Does that make me any less of a person?"

Penny looked at Yang's metal limb and stared at it, her thoughts masked by the clouded look on her face.

Blake spoke up next. "For years people used to say that just because the Faunus were a little different, just because we had one trait of an animal that we weren't real people, that we were sub-species... but now most people have gotten over their prejudice, times changed. Just because of Sun or Neon's tails or mine and Velvet's ears it doesn't makes us any less normal. We're all people Penny, and you are too."

Penny looked around at the people that surrounded her. "What will happen after this? Atlas will want me back, they see me as their property." She said.

"If Ironwood comes for you we'll stand by you. He won't take you away from us without a fight." Yang said with a grin.

"We're with you Pen, through thick and thin." Coco said.

Penny looked down to her hands again, flexing her fingers a bit. "I want to be real." She said.

Weiss sighed and gestured for Yang to move. Yang nodded and let the Schnee heiress take her place. Weiss used her hand to lift Penny's chin up and made Penny look her right in the eyes.

"You're real to Ruby, so you're real to me." Weiss said.

Penny's face looked like it was about to burst out crying if it could. Penny launched herself forward and crashed into Weiss, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, thank you." Penny said over and over again.

"Yes, Penny... I'm happy you're happy but you're hugging me rather tightly!" Weiss gasped out.

"Don't care." Penny muttered, which got a laugh out of the group surrounding them.

"So, you're going to be okay? Your mind ain't breaking down on us or something like that?" Flynt asked.

"No, I'm okay, thanks to all of you." Penny said cheerfully.

"Well, I seem to have walked in on a heartwarming moment." Said the sarcastic voice of Raven, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Mom? How did you get in here? The doors didn't open." Yang pointed out.

"I've learned how to sneak in and out of places much more fortified than this." Raven said as she approached the group.

"What did you find out?" Shani asked.

"Is Jaune okay?" Bianca prodded.

"That is... complicated. I'm honestly not sure." Raven answered.

"What?" was the response from most of those present.

"It appears that something helped Jaune during the operation; something helped him to purge a majority of the Grimm essence from his body, but not all of it as a small portion was able to take hold. His physical appearance has changed somewhat with pale skin and violet eyes, but there is still hope for him." Raven said.

"Oh thank Oum." Muttered Bianca.

"I don't care if he's a little whiter with some purple eyes, I just want him back." Indigo said.

Ashe glared at Raven and said "There's more, isn't there?"

Everyone looked to Raven who nodded. "I'm afraid there is. I think the operation may have damaged his mind as when I saw him in his cell he was talking to something that wasn't there and he called it 'Pyrrha'. I think you all know what that means."

Everyone was silent for a minute as it sank in. Jaune may have been driven insane and was now delusional, talking to someone who was dead. Nora grabbed Ren and hugged him "Ren, what are we gonna do?" she asked.

"I... I don't know." Ren admitted as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Poor Jaune." Velvet said with teary eyes.

"I don't even know him that well, but we gotta help him out. If we get him out tonight there's still hope, right? I mean we got therapists for a reason, he'll come out okay... right?" Sun said

No one could really answer him, except for Blake who simply said "Let's just hope we can."

"There's more. Salem has ordered him to engage in a sword fight to the death with another Grimm Commander named Fotia Drakos, tonight. Apparently she is having issues of her own and Salem wants to kill two birds with one stone. Whoever wins will be her tool, her Grimm Commander." Raven said darkly.

"Fucking great!" Ashe yelled as he kicked a support beam in frustration.

"So there are more Grimm Commanders?" asked Blake.

Raven nodded, "At least three: Drakos, the one I have already seen, and another called Steppenwolffe, but there may be more."

"We have to get there before that duel happens; if Jaune loses he's done for." Coco said.

"Well you're in luck, because before I came in I sensed that my brother is nearby, he should be arriving any moment now." Raven said.

"Finally." Weiss said as she managed to pry Penny off of her body.

"What about Ruby?" asked Yang.

"I saw your sister, she is fine and isn't giving up... and I have to say that close up she looks like a miniature version of Summer." Raven said, allowing herself a small smile.

"You saw her up close? Did you talk to her?" Yang inquired.

"No, I have a way of going unnoticed, a way I do not care to reveal." Raven said, noticing the curious looks from the teens.

Before anyone could say anything else the sound of an airship hovering overhead got everyone's attention. "They're here." Stated Yatsuhashi. Most of the group made for the door with Yang pushing it open to reveal a third airship setting down in front of the warehouse.

"We're gonna have to find a better place to park." Neon said as the ship finished landing and the door slid open to reveal Qrow Branwen and Glynda Goodwitch.

"We come in peace!" Qrow joked as he hopped of the ship and held his arms wide open as Yang ran into him.

"Uncle Qrow! What took you so damn long?!" she asked as she pounced on him.

"Blame Ironwood, took me a hell of a lot longer to back to Vale after he shot me." Qrow said as he hugged his niece back.

"Hello there, Raven." Glynda said, sounding a bit hesitant.

"Hello Glynda, been a while." Raven said dryly.

Glynda said no more to the female Branwen and looked to Blake. "It is good to see that you are okay Miss Belladonna, I'm glad that once this is all done we can officially take you off the MIA list." She said.

"Professor Goodwitch, I know you're probably disappointed in me, I ran away when I didn't know what else to do and I abandoned my duty as a Huntress, but..." Blake said before Glynda stopped her.

"While you did abandon both your friends and your duty you had your own, personal reasons for doing so. I do not know what your life was like prior to enrolling at Beacon and therefore I will not judge you. I do admit your choice is a disappointing one but you have redeemed yourself by choosing to come here and help your friends. There is nothing to punish you for in my eyes." Glynda said as Dr. Oobleck, Professor Port, and the three other teams disembarked from the airship.

Blake smiled and said "Thank you, Professor."

"There's my girl!" Taiyang said as he hugged Yang.

"Hey dad, nice of you to join us." Yang said as she hugged her father, with Zwei running her circles around them, yipping happily.

Taiyang smiled as he hugged her back, then he took notice of Blake. "Is that her?" he asked.

"Gee dad, the girl with cat ears who looks exactly like the girl in the pictures I showed you. I don't know, maybe it's her long lost twin." Yang snarked as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't get smart with me." Taiyang said as he approached the cat Faunus. "So you're Blake. I've heard a lot about you, from the looks of it and from Yang did to get you back you must be worth it." He said

"Thank you Mr. Xiao Long, Yang has told me a lot about you as well, and I can only hope that I am worth her troubles." Blake said with a smile.

"Hey, she agreed to be operated on in her own room, you have to be worth it." Taiyang assured her. Then he noticed his ex-wife.

"Hello Taiyang, nice to see your gauntlets again." Raven said.

"Yeah, the gold knuckles could use a work out." He said with a small grin.

Blake and Yang looked to each other, both sensing that there was still tension between Yang's parents.

Meanwhile Sun approached Octavia Ember and said "Hey, remember me? We fought in the..." he began before the redhead stopped him.

"Yes, I remember you. I don't think I could forget a kick to the face like that." Octavia said.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sun apologized.

"Don't be, it was a good fight. Besides it didn't hurt that much." She said.

"Oh please 'tavi, you were whining for the rest of the day." Gwen teased, earning a glare from her partner.

As this happened Team BRNZ approached Ren and Nora with its leader offering his hand out and saying "Hey, nice to see you again."

Ren accepted the hand and shook it. "It is good to see you again, but I wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Tell me about it, feels like we're trying to prevent the end of the world." Nolan said.

"We're basically are." Nora said, getting wide eyes from the team.

"We'll explain later, it's just good to know you agreed to help us." Ren said.

"After the fight you gave us? We're happy to be here." Branwz said before his face turned serious. "I never got a chance to say this but I'm sorry about Pyrrha. She was a damn good fighter and she didn't deserve what happened to her."

"Few people do." Ren said sadly.

May put her hand on Ren's shoulder and said "Hey, cheer up man. With all of us here we'll get your leader back and take that witch down before midnight."

As the groups mingled with one another Glynda, Port, and Oobleck approached Ashe. "So... I take it you guys know about me." He said.

"My colleagues only know what I have told them and I only know what Weiss has told me. She told me that you are Cinder's brother and that we can trust you as long as Cinder is our enemy." Glynda said.

"She's right, all I want to do for the moment is help get Ruby and Jaune out of that factory, kill someone I thought I killed years ago, and stop my sister before she makes some more stupid and dangerous mistakes." Ashe said.

"Well we have two things in common, young man but I can tell that there is more to you than meets the eye; the way you carry yourself matches a similar body language to that of someone what has been under Guerrilla training and your attire seems most odd, something to do with your past, I assume?" Port said.

Ashe eyed Port and grinned, "Okay, I didn't expect you to be that observant."

"For the moment we will not bother with the moral or legal debate over the profession of being an unofficial Hunter, but for the moment I believe we can trust you, as you have had ample opportunities to turn these teenagers and this 'Aura Crystal' over to Cinder and Salem and yet you have not. It could be that you are waiting for the right moment to strike but it highly unlikely. If you were going to betray them you would have done it by now because at the moment any potential future betrayal you could make would be a foolish move as with all of us here we could destroy you with little to no effort. So after taking most of the probabilities into account I think we can trust you for the time being, but we will still be watching you." Oobleck said, getting a weirded out look from Ashe.

"He always like that?" Ashe asked.

"Oh yes." Port confirmed.

"Has Raven brought any news of Jaune's status?" Glynda asked.

"Yeah and it's... mixed. Somehow his aura, or something inside of him, managed to purge most of the Grimm essence from his body but he still has some within him. Raven also told us that he may be mentally damaged as she saw him talking to an imaginary Pyrrha Nikos." Ashe said, getting shocked and saddened looks from the three teachers.

"What are they doing to him?" Port asked quietly.

"Every dirty trick in the book from the sound of it and that's not all, Raven told us that Salem is going to force Jaune to fight another Grimm Commander named Drakos to the death tonight. I don't even want to think about what'll happen if that comes to pass." Ashe said.

"Agreed. Raven, did you fulfill your mission?" Glynda asked.

"Of course I did, I updated Schnee's schematics as best I could. So are going to plan this out or what?" Raven asked.

"Yes we are. Ashe, is anyone else coming?" Glynda asked.

"Yeah, Team ABRN had to go to the academy and when the day's out they'll be coming with Dr. Maia Chloris in tow, she's agreed to be the medic for the assault. Also Coco brought one of the bombs Ironwood had placed inside of Penny, could you lighten the Dust payload? I think I have an idea." Ashe said.

Glynda nodded, she looked over to Taiyang and Qrow. "Alright, get over here you two. We need to finish planning this out as soon as we can" she said.

* * *

Fotia giggled as the warm breath of the Wyvern washed over her. "Thank you, I like it when you do that." She said to the beast as it gently rubbed its muzzle against her.

Ziz and Emerald observed from the side, both impressed by how Fotia had this ability to charm the gigantic Grimm.

"None of my fliers are ever that loving." Ziz muttered.

"I didn't think Grimm could have any kind of positive emotions." Emerald said.

"Because all they know is hate and fear, I want Wyvern to see the world better than that." Fotia said as she pet her dragon.

"Not really sure what the point of that is, I mean all it will do is attack and destroy." Emerald pointed out.

"Hey, give me points for doing something different." Fotia said with a small smile.

"You okay kid? That fight begins in six hours; you still got time for some last minute training." Ziz said, sounding concerned for her fellow Commander.

Fotia sighed and said "Yes, I know. I just wanted to spend some time with the Wyvern, just in case."

"In case of what? In case that Arc kid beats you? Please! I've seen the kid, I doubt he could handle a shot of whisky, let alone you." Ziz said with a smirk as she patted Fotia on the back.

"Thank you, it truly means a lot to me. I... I just want to make sure. If Mistress Salem says I must fight to the death I will accept my fate either way." The younger commander said.

"Don't be like that, you're gonna mop the floor with him. Once you kill him Salem will never doubt you again." Ziz said, which got Fotia's attention.

"Doubt me? Why would Mistress Salem doubt me?" she asked.

"I told her how you were acting the other day, we found out you were looking at a video of Pyrrha Nikos. Are you curious? Do you believe Arc?" Emerald asked.

"No! No, he's a pathetic, delusional fool. I honestly don't know how my scroll got to that video. I can assure Mistress Salem that I am completely loyal to her." Fotia swore.

"If that's so, how about one last chat with Arc?" Emerald asked.

"Why?" Fotia asked, confused.

"Cinder thinks that since Arc is convinced that you're Nikos you should be the one to tell him about the duel. The sight of who he thinks is his partner telling him that he'll fight her to the death will make him desperate, it'll break him and he won't stand a chance against you." Emerald explained, following Cinder's orders.

Fotia considered this. "I suppose it may give me a slight winning edge... very well."

"Then let's go see him." Emerald said as she led the group away. Before she left the underground cavern Fotia saw a squad of guards and technicians walking down to the lower levels.

"Are they still working on that ship?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, they got it ready so if we ever need to make a quick getaway we'll have one." Ziz said.

Fotia nodded, she knew that underneath the cavern was a giant man-made river that led into the cave system under Haven which led straight into the sea. A giant ship large enough to fit the Wyvern inside sat underneath them. She knew it was odd that they needed it, but it was nice to know that Mistress Salem had a backup plan.

As they made their way to the cell block Fotia spoke to Ziz.

"Do you really think I can win this duel?" she asked.

"I know you can. Just picture this guy is one of your family members, those assholes who abused you when they should have cared for you. That always works for me; when I'm going up against a tough opponent I just think about my team, the ones who left me for dead. It's really fucking easy then." Ziz muttered.

"You once told me that you found out your team died a bit after Mistress Salem found you, what happened to them?" Fotia asked.

Ziz snorted and said "They're nothing to me now because I can't have my revenge on them. I... I cared about them, they were the first thing I could call a family in years and they left me behind."

"Who were they?" Fotia asked.

"We were Team BLTZ. Our leader and my partner was Jack Boulder and I gotta admit I had a crush on him... until he left me. Then there was Lana Goldenrod, the typical nice girl who was a bit of a ditz, and of course ole Tom Burner, the put upon, reliable Burner, the type of guy who'd do anything for you. Doesn't matter now anyway, they're all dead." Ziz said.

"How did they die?" Fotia asked.

"All I know is they were killed by a ton of Grimm in the middle of nowhere, I just wish I could've been there." Ziz said.

"Maybe you should look at the report of their deaths, I mean things like that are supposed to be put on display in the records for public knowledge, correct? With our computers you could look at the reports." Fotia said.

"Yeah, but I never really bothered to look at the report." Ziz admitted.

"Maybe you should, it may give you closure." Fotia said as they arrived at the cellblock.

"You'll need someone to make sure he doesn't try anything, it okay if I go in?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, of course." Fotia said as Ziz leaned up against the wall.

"Good luck, kid." Ziz said as the two younger women entered Jaune's cellblock.

Emerald opened the thick steel door to Jaune's cell but kept the laser grid up so he and Fotia couldn't physically touch, if Arc tried anything he'd get a painful sting from it.

Jaune looked up as the door opened, revealing Fotia and Emerald. "Hello again, Arc." Fotia said with an emotionless voice.

"Pyrrha, Emerald," Jaune said, spitting out the illusionists name with venom, "what do you want?"

"We have come to inform you that tonight you and I will engage in a sword duel. Whoever loses will die and whoever wins shall gain Mistress Salem's favor." Fotia said.

"She can take her favor and choke on it. Pyrrha, don't you see? This is what that monster wants, to turn us against each other!" Jaune said.

"I keep telling you, Arc, that I am Fotia Drakos and yet you keep insisting that I am your dead partner, it is rather pathetic." Fotia said, secretly not liking what she was saying to him.

"They've done something to you and they tried to do it to me. They tried turning me into a Grimm Commander! Look at me!" Jaune cried as he stepped into the light, showing his unnaturally pale skin and his violet eyes, a mixture of his natural blue ones and the red eyes of a Grimm.

"What happened to you?" Fotia asked, actually shocked at his appearance.

"They tried to make me like you, I don't how I resisted it but I'm not what Salem wants me to be. Pyrrha, why do you think they're making you fight me? It's to break either one of us. You have to try and remember who you really are." Jaune said desperately, lying a bit so as not to tell Emerald about the small part of Pyrrha he had inside of him.

Emerald shook her head; secretly she couldn't help but pity Arc. His life was hell and tonight it was either going to end or get much worse.

Fotia looked Jaune straight in the eye, seeing no sign of deceit or lying. He was convinced he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry, Arc. I don't know you at all... and I don't even know myself anymore. I thought I did but the events of the last few days have... made me confused." She said.

"There's hope, you are not Fotia Drakos, you are Pyrrha Nikos. You aren't just some Grimm Commander for that witch's plans, you're my partner, my best friend, you're... I love you." Jaune said, hoping to awaken something, anything of Pyrrha that had to be within her somewhere.

Fotia sighed and said "You truly are a sad man, Jaune Arc, an you have my pity. I will see you tonight, may the best warrior win." And with that she walked away.

"Pyrrha! No! Don't just leave me! You have to remember!" Jaune screamed.

Emerald gave Jaune one last sympathetic look before she followed Fotia out of the cellblock.

Jaune sat down and buried his face in his hands.

' _You can win, Jaune. If we try hard enough we can both survive this.'_ Pyrrha's soothing voice told him.

"How? If I'm to fight you there's no way I can win." He said.

' _You won't be alone, I will help you. You will win and we will be together, I promise.'_

As Fotia walked out of the cellblock she stopped and clutched at her chest, feeling a phantom pain. "Are you okay?" Emerald asked.

"Yes, blasted chest pains again. I'm going to get in some last minute sword training." Fotia said as she walked away. She didn't really know what to make of Arc, but she was confident that she would win and gain Mistress Salem's favor and Arc would be nothing more than an odd memory in a few weeks.

Ziz departed on her own, her mind plagued by what Fotia had suggested about her team's fate.

* * *

Ruby glared at Cinder as the door opened up and the laser grid deactivated once again, allowing the Fall Maiden to enter.

"What's happened to Jaune? Is he okay?!" Ruby yelled.

"Hello to you too, Ruby. Don't worry I'll tell you about Jaune in due time but for now I trust you'll be happy to know that there will be no training session today." Cinder said.

Ruby allowed herself a smile. "What? Afraid I'll beat you this time?"

Cinder smiled back and said "No, I just decided you deserved a rest. We have something very special planned for tonight."

"What?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise. While we cannot have our usual physical training I have decided to teach you about the legend of the Silver Eyed people. What have you been told?" Cinder asked.

"Not much really." Ruby admitted, "My Uncle Qrow told me that certain people were born with silver eyes, people destined for greatness and that the Grimm were afraid of these warriors. I honestly don't know if I believe it."

"Believe it Ruby, it is true. Silver eyes are a representation of aura at its truest and purest form, channeled into the eyes of those destined to be great warriors. Silver eyes are a light in the dark, a beacon of hope. Their aura is so pure and great that the Grimm fear the mere glance of those eyes." Cinder said.

Ruby looked a Cinder doubtfully. "I've killed over a hundred Grimm since I became a Huntress-in-training and the Grimm were never afraid of my eyes before that night on the tower. The dragon thing wasn't even afraid I just froze it and none of the Grimm I've seen since have been afraid of me either. It doesn't add up." She said.

"You see Ruby, one version of the legend says that the power of the silver eyes can only be awoken by a great sadness. When you saw me 'kill' Pyrrha your grief was so overwhelming that the power within you was activated." Cinder explained.

"But why didn't my eyes shine when you tricked Pyrrha into killing Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe it's because you hoped she could be rebuilt... or maybe it's because she's just a robot. I mean, she wasn't real." Cinder said.

Ruby glared at her and snarled out "She was real to me."

"How precious, you thought that machine was a person." Cinder mocked.

"What happened to you Cinder? If you're Ashe's sister I want to know how you became what you are now." Ruby demanded.

"Hmm, why not? It would be a rather interesting story. I was born into the Kasai family, the guardians of the Aura Crystal, a powerful relic from the dawn of Remnant's existence. We had it within our family for little over a few decades when I was born and five years later my little brother, Ashe came to be. I was the stronger of the two children so father chose me to be the main guardian while Ashe would be the oracle. You see the crystal requires two guardians; one to fight for it and one to communicate with it spiritually. I was meant to be the former and Ashe was to be the latter, and as a result of that I had to train under my father, which was... not the best experience. For years my parents filled my head with the idea that I was destined to guard that relic and nothing more but I wanted more Ruby, I knew I was destined for so much more. But for fifteen years I lived out my dreary little life with my parents and my brother until on a rainy day, when my father and I were out training, she came to me." Cinder said and Ruby knew who she was referring to.

"Salem." Ruby stated.

"Correct, she told me about my potential for greatness, she told me the tale of the Four Maidens and how I was destined not to be Cinder Kasai the guardian of the Aura Crystal, but Cinder Fall the Fall Maiden. She showed me her awesome power, her complete and total control of the Grimm, she showed me what I could be if I transformed my destiny... and then my father intervened. He attacked Salem and drove her away. He was angry with me but he was more scared. He got in contact with Ozpin, who came to see us. I think he knew some of what happened afterwards but not all of it. Salem spoke to me, through whispers in my mind and through my dreams and I knew what I wanted. I no longer wanted to be the guardian of the crystal, I wanted power." Cinder said.

"And joining with Salem was the best way to get that power?" Ruby asked.

"It's worked out so far." Cinder said.

"What happened the night you killed your family?" Ruby asked.

"That night... that night my mother discovered via meditation with the crystal that had been in contact with Salem. My parents were furious... we yelled and screamed at each other while Ashe lay in bed. Father went to contact Ozpin and left me with mother. I could hear Salem's voice in my head, pushing me to do it, to kill my own mother and I did. I strangled the life out of her and watched as her eyes dulled over. Later I killed our father and I let Ashe go, leaving both he and the crystal behind for a better life." Cinder finished.

"Was it worth it?" Ruby asked.

"It will be in the end." Cinder answered.

"Why didn't you take the crystal with you?" Ruby inquired.

"At the time Salem had told me it was nothing more than a meaningless relic of an era long dead, but she has recently told me the truth. The crystal is not necessary for our plans but it will speed things along. Ashe is the only thing that stands in our way."

"Why didn't you kill Ashe? After all, you murdered your mother and father; your little brother wouldn't have made that much of a difference." Ruby pointed out.

Cinder hesitated before she answered "At the time I saw no harm in letting him live, I... I honestly couldn't bring myself to do it, but I will soon make up for that failure if Ashe tries to stop us."

"He will stop you; my friends will never let you get away with this. Now I want to know what happened to Jaune." Ruby demanded.

"He's, despite all odds, not fully transformed into a hybrid. While he has taken on some Grimm traits he is still mostly human." Cinder answered, noticing the relieved look on Ruby's face.

"I must take my leave of you now, in a few hours Mercury and Emerald will come and escort you to the throne room. Tonight Jaune's destiny will be decided." Cinder said as she walked out.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.

As the door began to close Cinder simply smiled and said "You'll see."

* * *

It was about half past four and inside of the ship from Vale Ashe sat with the surviving members of Team STRQ and the three teachers from Beacon, finishing up the plan of attack. Team ABRN had returned from the academy with Dr. Chloris and they were relieved to see how much backup they had gotten. Everyone else was currently inside of the warehouse as the seven Hunters devised the plan.

"You sure we can pull this off?" Ashe asked.

"I've done crazier. Much crazier, so trust me when I say we have a pretty good chance of coming out of this okay." Qrow said.

"We may lose a few, I don't know if I'm ready to lead these students into a battle like this." Port said doubtfully.

"What choice do we have? The police are controlled by Ante, the Atlas military are not only looking for Qrow, Weiss, and anyone involved with the breakout but will probably take Penny right back to Ironwood. I know the Headmaster of Haven, he will not see eye to eye with us on this, he will want to get Atlas and the police involved no matter how dangerous either may be in the end. We are on our own." Glynda said.

"What are we gonna tell those kids?" Ashe asked.

"Tell them the truth." Raven said, getting everyone to look at her. "Tell them that they may die, but they will die as heroes, they will die for a noble cause."

"Many people have died for 'noble causes', Raven. In the end noble causes usually aren't worth it." Taiyang said.

"This is. If we do this we will not only save your daughter but strike a severe blow to Salem's plans. We need to go through with it." Raven said to her former husband.

"She's right. As insane as this entire mess is we are the only hope those two have and we need to leave soon if Mr. Arc is to have any chance of surviving." Oobleck agreed.

Ashe nodded, "Okay, let's fill everyone in on the plan and get this shit over with."

"Ashe, I feel like you have not been entirely truthful with us." Glynda said.

"What makes you say that?" Ashe asked.

Glynda gave him a smirk and said "I have been a teacher for twenty years. I am able to tell when someone is hiding something."

Ashe smiled to her and said "The crystal told me a lot of stuff that I've been hiding. It told me how our world truly began, why Salem wants Jaune, it told me... a lot."

"Why does the Mistress of Grimm want Mr. Arc?" Port asked.

"I'll tell you once I tell the others. All those kids in there deserve to know what's really going on." Ashe said.

"Fair enough. Is everyone satisfied with our strategy?" Glynda asked, to which everyone answered with a nod. "Very well then, let's tell the students everything."

Inside the warehouse Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ren, and Nora stood side by side, waiting for the adults to exit the ship.

"What's taking them so long?" whined Nora.

"The plan they're trying to make may decided the fate of Ruby, Jaune, and even this entire city. They'll need time." Ren said.

"They've taken enough time, if they're not out of there in half an hour I say we take those ships and save 'em ourselves." Yang said.

"Yang, remember what we said about rushing into things?" Weiss scolded.

Yang sighed and said "Yeah, sorry."

Blake, however, was not paying attention to her friends, as her curiosity was being taken up by the presence of Team CRDL. She had tried to stay away from them, but she had to wonder why they were here. From what she knew Jaune and Cardin were not on good terms nor did Ruby like him. Add to that Winchester's history of bullying Faunus and Blake just had to wonder why he was there? What really got her attention was the sight of Cardin talking to Velvet and the amazed look on Velvet's face just tore it; she needed to find out what was up with him.

She walked over to where Team CRDL sat as their leader stood to talk with the rabbit Faunus. As she got closer she saw Velvet take Cardin's hand and say "Apology accepted."

"Just like that? After everything I did to you?" Cardin asked.

"You said sorry, while your bullying did hurt, it's in the past. I'm not one to hold grudges." Velvet said kindly.

"Thank you." Cardin said quietly.

"What's going on here?" Blake asked, announcing her presence and causing Velvet and Team CRDL to look at her.

"Hello Blake, Cardin was just apologizing for how he treated me last year." Velvet explained.

"H-he is?" Blake asked, astounded.

"Yeah. I was a real piece of shit, that's why I'm here, Belladonna, I want to help save Jauney and make up for what I put him through." Cardin explained.

Blake nodded, impressed that someone like Cardin wanted to redeem himself for past sins and satisfied with the answer. She looked to the other members of his team.

"Don't look at us, he made us come." Dove said.

"Yeah, we aren't really into this hero crap, I mean I'm pretty sure everyone but me will die." Russel said as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back.

"Don't start that crap again." Cardin muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What does he mean by that?" Velvet asked as she checked her camera, as she had been taking pictures of everyone's weapons to arm herself for the coming battle.

"Russel said he made a deal with some guy claiming to be a wizard that'd he'd outlive his entire team." Cardin explained.

"Well... that's morbid." Velvet muttered.

"Hey, I don't regret it." Russel said.

"Be careful what you wish for, because you may get it and you will regret it." Blake warned him.

Russel raised an eyebrow and asked "What do you mean by that?"

Before Blake could answer him the doors opened and the seven adults entered the warehouse. "Okay, find a place to stand or sit and pay attention, we have a plan to brief you all on and something to tell you." Glynda announced.

Soon enough Glynda, Port, Oobleck, Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, and Ashe stood in Team SSSN's living area in front of the TV as Raven plugged her scroll into it. The present members of Teams RWBY, JNPR sat on the couch and chairs before them, while Zwei sat on Yang's lap, with Penny, Teams CFVY, SSSN, CRDL, ABRN, BRNZ, NDGO, half of Team FNKI, Dr. Chloris, the five Arc sisters, and Ross either standing or sitting where ever they pleased, even up on the catwalks.

"Okay, so let's begin. Just in case any of you are still in the dark; I'm Ashe and I am Cinder's brother." Ashe introduced, getting some weirded out looks from the newer arrivals. "Okay, so it's history lesson time. Now, you see, at the beginning of time there was magic, but it was persecuted by those who believed in strict religions. These zealots went so far to purge anyone who had unusual powers that they broke their own codes and went from persecution to murder. Because of this those gifted with magic were forced to shun their abilities or go into hiding. As the years went on magic was forced to stay hidden as technology grew and the logical way of thinking replaced religion but if magic was discovered everything the world knew would be thrown into question so it stayed hidden. So fast forward a thousand years, give or take a few centuries, something woke up, something bad. That something was pure evil, it was darkness, it was the source of all Grimm."

Everyone was now paying attention to Ashe, trying to see where he was going with this story.

"So those few thousand or so who could still use magic were forced to reveal themselves to the world, only to face persecution once again. Soon enough a war between magic and technology broke out, this war was a good enough distraction for the darkness so it secretly manipulated those on both sides and the end result was an incredibly powerful nuclear missile being launched at the moon. The moon was shattered and the result of this catastrophe was half over the world's continents were swallowed by the sea because of the tides the moon controlled and what was left standing was moved around by earthquakes and shaped beyond recognition. By all rights the entire human race should have been wiped out and replaced by whatever the darkness deemed fit to rule the world... but life found a way." Ashe said, noticing some of his little 'class' now had wide eyes.

"We survived, we fought, we worked together to live. From the fallout of the shattering of the moon came the Dust and with that Aura, something most people thought to be nothing more than a myth. Some of the Dust and aura combined and created this, the Aura Crystal." Ashe said as he opened up the case and revealed the powerful relic.

"Wow." Muttered Nolan.

"It's beautiful." Dew whispered to Nebula.

"I'm getting a bad feeling from that thing." Sky said.

"I have just found something out, something that I kept from the ones here who know me." Ashe said as he gestured to Nora, Ren, Teams CFVY and ABRN.

"What?" asked Blake.

"The crystal isn't just aura and Dust; it is the collective aura of all those people who died in the Shattering. Roughly five billion people." Ashe answered.

No one spoke up, everyone remained silent after that.

"So yeah, if Salem gets her hands on this we're screwed. It's not a vital part of her plan but she'd be pretty much unstoppable if it falls under her control. Anyway, after the Shattering the Grimm appeared, created by the darkness to rule over the world but they needed a queen, like some insects do. The darkness chose a young woman named Yuri who survived the Shattering, one overcome by anger and hatred, so the darkness took her and transformed her into the first Mistress of Grimm. Faunus were also created by the fallout of the Shattering but the crystal wasn't exactly clear on what created them... anyway the years go on, the Grimm hunt the humans and the Faunus because the darkness declares them the enemy, that's why Grimm leave animals alone. Time goes on the profession of Hunting comes into play and Huntsmen and Huntresses band together to fight the Grimm. So fast forward about a millennium later, during which the story of the Four Maidens occur and the Mistress of Grimm is killed by the combined power of the four Maidens who use their power to destroy her, but it didn't end there obviously. The Mistress of Grimm passed on her powers to her apprentice, Christina, but the Four Maidens were dying as well, all the power they used to kill Yuri took its toll on their bodies so they were forced to pass on their powers to four Huntresses who survived the war against the Grimm. Over time things that were seen as real like the Mistress of Grimm and the Maidens turned into myths and legends, just simple fairy tails." Ashe said, taking a deep breath before he took a sip of water from a bottle.

"And now we know it's all true." Yang said.

"Yep, it's true, all of it." Qrow confirmed as Glynda nodded.

"Well... that's rather a bit much to take in." Port said.

"It's... not impossible, given what we've been putting up with." Blake admitted.

"How did you find all of this out?" Gwen asked Ashe.

"The crystal told me." Ashe answered.

"The... crystal told you." Gwen repeated.

"Yeah."

The girls of Team NDGO looked to each other before Nebula asked "Is it talking now?"

"No, it only talks to me... damn, I do sound crazy. Look, I'm not making this shit up, I'm kinda sad that I lack the talent to make it up, but it's the truth." Ashe said.

"One thing I still don't get..." Shani began.

"Only one thing?" Coco deadpanned.

"Well... what does Salem want with Jaune?" Shani asked.

"I'm getting to that. You see, the last time the Mistress of Grimm faced death was about three hundred years ago, just before the first Faunus revolution, the Four Maidens and a group of extremely talented Hunters fought the Mistress of Grimm and won, the Hunters were led by a man named Luc Arc, your ancestor. You see, your ancestor was friends with the Winter Maiden at the time, a powerful girl named Salem." Ashe said.

"What?!" was the response from most people in the room.

Glynda nodded and took over for Ashe as he rested his throat. "It is true, Salem was once one of the Maidens, but the fact that she'd one day have to give up her power never set right with her. When she and the other three went to fight Christina they were not told that they would most likely perish. They were victorious in their sacrifice, but Salem refused to die. Her anger and bitterness at the people such as Luc Arc, people she had trusted, the people that gave her these powers and forced her into that battle kept her alive long enough for the darkness of the Grimm to transform her into the third and current Mistress of Grimm. She did not act right away, instead she hid in the deepest parts of Remnants until she made her self known a century later to the heads of the four Kingdoms. We have been engaged in a secret war with her ever since." She finished.

"And knowing is half the battle." Qrow joked.

The crowd of people remained silent as they absorbed these revelations in.

"Okay, so now that we know the history and what really happened and all that... what are we going to do to save vomit boy and my little sister?" Yang asked with a confident look on her face.

"Quite right, Yang, we need to get to the plan, but we should let Ashe finish first." Glynda said as she nodded to Ashe.

"Okay, so let's wrap this up so we can go be big damn heroes. My family is only the most recent guardians of the Aura Crystal, what tends to happen is some nut, usually not even associated with the Grimm, tries to get their hands of the crystal and sometimes it's quite the impasse, both sides end up being wiped out and an ally of the guardians' must take up the mantle. My family just happened to be in line and a few generations later Cinder gets seduced to evil by the Mistress of Grimm, who's making her move and soon. The game she's been playing is coming to an end and another Shattering will occur if we don't stop her." Ashe said.

"And like you said yesterday; if we don't stop her everyone will die." Weiss finished.

"Correct. Okay Qrow, spell out the plan for 'em." Ashe said as Qrow took the stage.

"Okay, here's the plan: me and the others up here are going to walk right up to the door and start killing guards." Qrow said, rather bluntly.

"Wait, killing them? That's pretty extreme, isn't it?" asked Neon.

"Miss Katt, we're not talking about widows and orphans here, these people are hardened criminals and terrorists, the dregs of society. If we're going to win this we must be as quick and as brutal as we can be, but we will not take pleasure in it." Port explained.

"Right, leave the blood shedding up to the grownups, kids, you can take your first lives whenever you want." Qrow said, grinning a bit as he heard the sounds of Glynda, Taiyang, and Oobleck all facepalming. "Anyway, we're going to plant the bomb that Ironwood wanted to use with Penny in front of the factory's main gate, it has a smaller payload thanks to Glynda but we'll still have to get clear when it goes boom." Qrow said as he held up the bomb.

"You got a timer on it?" Flynt asked.

"Nope, one of you needs to shoot it. You up there, sniper girl!" Qrow said, pointing the only female of Team BRNZ.

"May." She said with an annoyed voice.

"Whatever, you're going to keep your eye on this thing and once we get clear you shoot it and BOOM! They'll know we're there for sure. Then me, Raven, and Ashe will lead a group of you into the factory to rescue Ruby and Jaune while Glynda leads everyone else outside to battle the bulk of their forces, most of which are robotic. Chances are me and Raven will have to battle Cinder to keep her busy so we're going to need some volunteers for this mission." Qrow finished.

"Team RWBY is in." said Weiss as she and the rest of the team stood up.

"As are we." Ren said as he and Nora stood as well.

"Already knew that, who else wants in?" Qrow asked.

"Me." Said Penny bravely, "Ruby is my best friend and I will be there for her."

"Count Team CFVY in too." Coco said as she and her team stood up.

"We're not letting you go in without us." Velvet added.

"What she said." Fox said while Yatsuhashi simply nodded.

"Okay, that's about enough, but we could use one more, who else wants in?" Qrow asked.

Sun stood up but before he could speak Cardin said "Me. I'll go in."

"You? Why you?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Redemption. I need to make up for what a bastard I was to Arc, I told him that I'd help him if he needed help taking these assholes and I intend to make good on that promise." Cardin said.

"You've got to be freaking crazy! Cardin, man, I know you feel bad about Arc but that doesn't mean you should go in and get yourself killed." Russel said.

"Okay then, I'll just stay out and get killed with you... oh right, you're the one who wants to outlive his team." Cardin shot back at Russel, who shrank back.

Blake and Sun looked to each other with the latter giving the former an inquisitive look, one she knew was asking if she was okay with him staying with the others outside. Blake nodded with a smile and he returned it.

"I have serious doubts about this, there are way too many things that could go wrong, some of these kids may die." Dr. Chloris said. Ashe sighed, he knew this point was going to be brought up eventually.

"Listen up!" Ashe yelled, getting everyone's attention. "If you're afraid of dying you shouldn't be in this line of work. We need to do this, if we don't Jaune will die and god knows what will happen to Ruby. We have to fight, we owe Salem one. If we fight her now not only will we mess up her plans but you can all get even."

"What are you talking about?" asked Octavia.

"Am I correct in assuming that each and everyone of you has lost someone you loved to the Grimm before?" Ashe asked.

No one could say no. Everyone present had lost at least one person to the Grimm; Reese lost her father and with that Dr. Chloris her husband, Ren and Nora had both lost their parents, Dew had lost her little sister years ago in an attack, Fox's grandfather, etc...

Everyone had lost someone because of the Grimm.

"That's what I thought. This is your chance to pay Salem back, she's in control of the Grimm so this is your time to get even and make her pay. Hell... everything in my life can be drawn back to her: she twisted Cinder into what she is now and made her kill my parents, I once fell into a pit of Grimm and was once of the few to come out, you see this gun I have? I took it from my friend's dead body after a Grimm ripped his face off. I... I do owe her one good thing, the love of my life. If it hadn't been for some Grimm I wouldn't have met her, but it turns out the man who took her away from me isn't dead because Salem saved him. I intend to make her pay for that. It's true we may die doing this, hell if the reaper comes for me I'll ask him 'what the hell took you so long?' It's okay to be afraid, but you need to face those fears." Ashe said.

"Easier said than done." Brawnz muttered.

"If you don't want to help us stop this then the only thing I can tell you is to go home, gather up your loved ones and run far away, run to the end of Remnant and hope that you can live a full life before Salem gets to you. She'll kill you without even knowing you existed if she gets powerful enough and she doesn't give a damn about a single person that's dead because of her and her monsters. The truth is we're all going to die, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe fifty or sixty years from now. Maybe you'll die old and frail surrounded by your children and grandchildren. Maybe you'll die in an epic last stand in which you take a thousand Grimm with you before you leave this world. We will all die someday; the only thing that matters is how you do it. How will you die? Fighting for what's right? Running away? Saving the ones you love? Begging for mercy? I don't care for begging, everything I've ever had has been taken away from me because of Salem and the Grimm; my parents, my friends, my... my sister... so I say fuck her. I'm going to fight, alone if I have to. Who will fight with me?" Ashe asked.

"I will." Said Ren.

"And me." Nora said as she lifted up Magnhild.

"This is the beginning of the end for Salem, don't want to miss that." Yang said.

"We're going to survive this and we will win." Weiss said as she gripped Mrytenaster.

"I'm not running from this." Blake added as she whipped out Gambol Shroud.

"We're going to kick their asses." Sun said cockily.

"Damn right we are, Sunny boy." Coco agreed.

"I am combat ready." Said Penny.

"We're in." said Arslan as her team readied their weapons.

"Anything for our brother." Bianca said as her sisters all stood up.

"I don't think Neon and I will just sit here while you guys fight for your lives." Flynt said as he placed his hat on top of his head.

"For our families." Nebula said for Team NDGO.

"Let's go for it!" cheered Brawnz.

"I know what we're doing tonight." Cardin chimed in.

Glynda smiled at the younger people before her and said "I am proud of each and every one of you. Not all of you are my students, but in my opinion you are all worthy of being official Hunters today."

"Without a doubt." Port agreed.

"Indeed." Said Oobleck, hiding proud eyes behind his glasses.

"Okay, since Miss Sienna Arc is a pilot she will pilot the White Fang ship liberated by Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long, and Team SSSN, while Ross operated the ship we came in. Miss Schnee would you fly the ship you used to escape Atlas?" Glynda asked.

"Of course." Weiss said.

"Good, we shall land our ships behind some of the slum buildings for cover and once Ruby and Jaune are rescued we shall make our escape and go to Haven Academy, the headmaster cannot deny us aid at that point. Sienna, would you be so kind as to keep the White Fang ship in the air to give our ground forces some covering fire?" Glynda asked.

"It would be my pleasure. Shani, Indigo, you two are my gunners." Sienna said.

"Right." Shani said with a nod.

"What about the cops or the Atlas forces that are in the city? If the battle gets crazy enough it'll draw attention and they might try to arrest Qrow or anyone who helped out in the raid on the Military HQ." Ross pointed out.

"Let 'em come, by that point they'll be more worried about Cinder and her cronies to worry about us, plus if the cops spot the battle I don't think they'll be able to cover it up, no matter how much this Damien punk tried to bribe 'em." Qrow said.

"What are we waiting for? The longer we take the more danger Jaune is in, so let's move it!" Ashe yelled.

Everyone began exiting the warehouse and boarding the three ships. Before he left Ashe opened the case with the Aura Crystal and placed his hand on the relic. "I might need this." He muttered as he chanted out a spell that he had read about when he was studying under his mother. "Su Sol Zah Tih lm Ac Nol Yod Utt Amaj Va Sen!" as he said those words he felt a tremendous power surge through him.

* * *

Ozpin could feel his aura getting stronger, he needed just a little more time. He could break these bonds now if he wanted to, but he needed to conserve energy if he was to escape. One more day and he could break out. He looked across the cell to his inhuman roommate who leaned against the wall, asleep.

It was tempting to walk across the room and wrap his hands around the older man's throat and squeeze. It wouldn't be that hard to do and he would have no guilt if he did murder Norvik, he'd be totally justified, but he couldn't do it yet, not if he wanted to avoid Salem's wrath for the time being.

He knew that if he ever returned to Vale his career would be over, he may even be forced to spend the rest of his life in a cell like this for his miserable failures, for the deaths that happened because he didn't do enough. He remembered Amber, a kind and gentle girl who was talented, graceful, and powerful... she was dead because of him. Glynda and Ironwood had both pressed for more guards but he refused, saying the less people who knew of her the better. He was to be her guard, the only one she needed, and he had failed spectacularly.

Now Amber was dead because of him.

Just then he heard a voice from within the room.

 _"William, kill him, free us."_ said a voice that came from Norvik's body but was the voice of someone Ozpin dearly loved.

"Rouge?" he asked.

 _Not just her Will, I'm in this hellhole with her."_ said the voice of Zachery Shimmer from within Norvik.

"How is this possible?" Ozpin asked.

 _"Remember when you heard my voice coming from this monster? We have all been within him for years, when he killed us he did something to us all. His Semblance is to absorb aura, aura is a reflection of our soul William."_ Rouge's voice said.

"So he has been keeping a part of his victims' souls within him."

 _"Correct, you can only free us if you kill him, once his body is dead our aura will be free."_ Zachery said.

"I wish I could end him right now, but I cannot. I must wait until the time is right before I can act. I am so, so sorry my friends." Ozpin said mournfully.

 _"You will have to act soon, William. Time is running out for all of us..."_ said the fading voice of Rouge.

"I know." Ozpin said as the doors began to open. Several guards stepped in and the leader said "Mistress Salem wants you both to attend tonight's entertainment." as another guard woke Norvik up.

"Entertainment? What does that witch have planned?" Ozpin asked.

"You will see." the guard said as he undid Ozpin's wall chains and forced Ozpin to swallow a small, bitter tasting pill. "She has commanded that you be kept silent, this pill will disable your vocal cords for a half-hour, more than enough time."

Ozpin tried to ask what was happening but he found that the pill worked quick and he couldn't speak.

"Silence suits you, Ozpin." Norvik taunted. Ozpin glared back, having no way to retort.

They soon arrived at Salem's open throne room and the Mistress of Grimm smiled down at them. "Wonderful to see you both, tonight's entertainment will be a once in a lifetime event: Jaune Arc vs. Fotia Drakos, but you may know her as Pyrrha Nikos." she announced.

Ozpin's eyes widened in horror and confusion, which was a very amusing sight to Salem.

"Oh Ozpin, you idiot! Do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to allow her to die? If Cinder did kill her I would have severely punished her, maybe even crippled her, but I have her in my hands now. She doesn't even know who she really is or what her life was really like, she is now my tool for destruction and tonight she will either force Jaune Arc to kill her, in which case I will twist him to be my servant, or she will kill him to prove her everlasting loyalty to me. However tonight's duel ends I will win." Salem said as her eyes shone blood red. She stepped off her throne and opened up a portal to the factory. "Come, let's not keep them waiting."

* * *

Fotia sat on her bed, contemplating her predicament. She knew Arc could not be that talented of a fighter, not after every thing Emerald and Mercury had told her about him. This was going to be an easy task, one last test to prove her loyalty to Mistress Salem. After tonight everything would be normal and she would go on to achieve greatness.

So why did this feel so wrong? Why was she hesitating? Why was there this strange urge to go to the cellblocks, free Arc and Rose, and just run as fast they can away from this place? Why was she feeling so nervous?

She grasped Lepida Tou Aimatos, the Blood Blade, and her fingers tensed around its hilt. This sword felt... wrong somehow.

"Stop. Run. Kill her." Said the mysterious voice. Fotia groaned in frustration, she had had enough of this phantom voice that was plaguing her.

"Enough!" yelled Fotia, "I demand to know who you are and why you torment me!"

"Look in the mirror and you will have your answer." The voice said.

Fotia sighed and turned to face the mirror behind her sink and her heart skipped a beat when she saw someone identical to herself standing behind her in the reflection; Pyrrha Nikos.

"Let me out, give me back my body." The phantasm said.

"No! You aren't real! This is all an illusion... I... I'm going mad!"

"Not yet, I am your true self, I am who you really are. Let me out and we shall be one once again and we can free Jaune and Ruby." Pyrrha's mirror-self said.

"No! I am going to kill Arc tonight and you will vanish like the ghost that you are!" Fotia said.

"If you harm Jaune... if you take him from this world I will destroy us. At least I will be with him in the afterlife." The vision of Pyrrha said sadly.

"Why do you care? Arc is a pathetic fool. Even if this is real I fail to see how he could be worth so much." Fotia said.

"Jaune is worth more than Salem and all her followers put together. You'll learn that." Pyrrha said as her voice began fading away.

Fotia stood in silence, wondering what was going on. Was she really Nikos? Was she losing her mind? Had Arc done something to her? No, she had heard the voice before her encounter with Arc. What was happening to her?

Just then the door to her room opened to reveal Steppenwolffe and a melancholy looking Ziz. "Hey kid, you alright? Sounded like you were having a screaming contest with yourself." The latter said.

"No, I'm fine. Hello Steppenwolffe, it is good to see you in person again." Fotia said as she respectfully bowed to the Faunus who helped train her months ago. He had arrived two hours ago and his Beowulf pack were with Ziz's flock of Griffons in the tunnels below.

He bowed back "I'm proud of you Drakos, you truly are one of us." He said, despite his hatred of humanity he did not count Fotia or Ziz as humans, seeing as now they were hybrids like him, but he did work with humans such as Cinder without voicing any grievances as he did not want to entice Mistress Salem's wrath.

She nodded and said "Let's get going. I have a Huntsman to kill."

On the other side of the factory Jaune stood up as the door to his cell opened again, for the final time. Ante and some of his enforcers stood outside, ready to escort him to the throne room.

"It's showtime!" Ante said.

Jaune glared at the crime lord. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Too bad, kid, 'cause I'm gonna record you getting slaughtered by your girlfriend, maybe your cries for help will be good enough last words." Damien said.

Jaune just sighed in annoyance as the criminals escorted him out of the cell. He could feel Pyrrha's presence within him; they now had a plan to restore her.

One way or another, this would end tonight.

**To Be Continued...**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Now I can begin work on the next three chapters, the ones I've wanted to write for over a month. Not really sure about this chapter, I just wanted to get it over with so I could move on to the big three part battle, but I think some scenes of this chapter work while others don't. It merely exists to get us from one point to another while explaining some things, so I wouldn't call it filler but it feels a bit lacking. It does give us a better look at Ashe and Mila and a big explanation for Remnant's past and what's up with Salem, so there's that.
> 
> Some notes here, originally there was going to be a scene where Raven interrogated and killed a guard working at the factory, but I didn't want her to know the truth about Pyrrha.
> 
> If I didn't make it clear enough Pyrrha's aura inside of Jaune managed to keep most of the Grimm essence out of him, but not all of it, as his appearance had changed a bit and he may be able to control Grimm.
> 
> On a personal note, Fox's playground story is based on something that happened to me back in the second or third grade. And I honestly don't remember if I got sent home or not.
> 
> Cardin's promise to help Jaune occurred in my previous RWBY fic, 'I Never Even Told You'.
> 
> Next chapter: Jaune vs. Fotia. Who will win?


	14. A Duel of Fates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> I highly recommend these two RWBY stories, they are fantastic:
> 
> 4 Years of Beacon by smstanton: One of the best, most adorable Arkos fics I've ever read but it also has a great dramatic story about both Jaune and Pyrrha's lives.
> 
> Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117: A dark, mysterious fic that has only three chapters so far but I cannot wait to see where it goes.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.

Fotia walked down the hallway towards the throne room with Steppenwolffe and Ziz following her. She shook the Blood Blade in her grip and looked at the helmet of her armor, with these in her possession she didn't need to worry, Arc would be dead soon enough and hopefully the phantasm of Nikos would go with him. She sheathed her sword and made sure Akouo was properly adjusted before she glanced at Ziz and noticed the distant look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just took your advice and looked up what happened to my old team. Not really what I was hoping for." Ziz admitted.

"Closure is rarely ever what you hoped for." Steppenwolffe said, as even after all these years he still felt bitter about how the Faunus revolution turned out and that most Faunus had chosen a the weaker way of submission to the humans, living under a delusional banner of equality. He hoped that in time Mistress Salem would allow him to work side by side with the White Fang, as he was very impressed with how they operated.

"Hopefully this duel will give me some satisfying closure." Fotia said optimistically as they arrived at the throne room door. It opened up and the three Grimm hybrids walked in to the room where Cinder, Dr. Giger, Dr. Sherizawa, and Dr. West awaited them along with Salem who sat upon the throne while Norvik stood free of his straightjacket with Ozpin held in place by Grimm Knights.

Fotia walked in front of Salem and bowed down. "I am prepared to fight for you, Mistress Salem. I will destroy my enemy for your glory." She said confidently.

"I know you will, my dear Fotia." Salem said with a kind smile. From nearby Ozpin tried to speak but couldn't make a sound, he wanted so desperately to cry out to Pyrrha and tell her who she was, but he was utterly helpless.

Fotia did notice him, however. "Who is that?" she asked.

"This is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, William Ozpin. I have decided to force him to endure one last failure, his greatest. You see, my dear Fotia, Ozpin allowed Arc into his academy despite how weak he was, he thought the Arc and Nikos would be the perfect team. Now we will show him just how great his failure truly is." Salem said as several Grimm Knights took their place in front of Ozpin

Fotia nodded and said "I will do it."

Just then the doors opened once again and Ruby was brought in, flanked by Emerald, Mercury, Neo, and a squad of Grimm Knights. Her mouth was gagged and her aura had been drained for most of the night so she was in so shape to fight right away.

"I guess that is Ruby Rose." Fotia said.

"Correct, she has been quite the trouble maker." Cinder said as Ruby looked at them, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of Fotia. She gave out a muffled cry of surprise through her gag and tried to run to her, only to be held down by the Grimm Knights.

"Hello Ruby, are you ready for tonight's entertainment?" Cinder asked with a smug grin.

"Even if she is, she's shit outta luck 'cause I forgot the popcorn!" joked Ante as and his eight enforcers marched Jaune into the room. Cinder sighed in annoyance and repressed the urge to kill Ante, as they still needed him for the time being, but he had done his job; Arc was here unharmed, apparently without a struggle by the looks of it and with his chest and shoulder armor returned.

Ruby tried to speak again, somewhat startled by Jaune's physical appearance. Jaune noticed her look and gave her a bittersweet smile. "I know Ruby, these thugs showed me what I look like now. I hope Yang won't be jealous." He joked, referring to his now violet eyes.

Ruby, despite the tears she was trying not to shed, managed to give her first friend from Beacon a genuine smile.

"Oh brother, let's just get on with this." Mercury said.

"Quite right, Mercury. Cinder, give Mr. Arc his sword." Salem instructed.

Cinder nodded and walked over to her trophy case and took out the Crocea Mors and one other thing, a newly repaired Milo. "Like it, Arc? I decided not to let one of my trophies remain damaged so I had it repaired. You should be grateful for that." Cinder said as she tossed him the Crocea Mors which Jaune caught easily.

"So we gonna do this here and now?" he asked.

"Not here specifically, down in the pit." Cinder said as West took out a remote and pressed a button, opening up the floor and revealing the pit with a ramp came out of an opening and led down to it. Ruby didn't fully know what was going to happen, but from the way both Jaune and the Grimm-Pyrrha were holding their swords she could tell it wasn't anything good.

"I can see that Ruby is confused, so let us clarify the situation for her; I have decided that since Jaune has somehow withstood the hybridization and he persists in trying to convince our friend Fotia here that she is the late Pyrrha Nikos, they shall fight to the death. If Fotia succeeds she shall officially have my love and trust, but if Arc wins he shall be allowed to live, but he will undergo a little... change, not only will he become a Grimm hybrid for good but he will have a new soul placed within him, that of my old friend, Norvik the Hunter." Salem said as she gestured to the old man.

"Why hello children, nice to finally meet you face to face, Ozpin has told me so much about you." Norvik said as he gestured to Ozpin as the Grimm Knights parted to reveal the gray-haired man.

"Professor!" cried Ruby through the gag. She was totally horrified by what was going on before her, she wished her eyes would come to her rescue right about now but nothing happened at all. She looked to Ozpin, looking worse for wear, who seemed to have accepted his defeat. She then looked to Pyrrha who was brainwashed into thinking she was someone else... but they still had a chance. Jaune could do it. This time they could save Pyrrha.

"Ozpin! We thought you were..." Jaune began before Salem stopped him.

"Oh no, I wouldn't allow Cinder to kill Ozpin, that is a pleasure I'll save for myself and only when I have achieved my destiny, but right now he's here to watch this duel, to watch how significant his failure truly is." Salem explained. She smirked inwardly, knowing that no matter what the outcome of this fight she would win; Ozpin would be forced to watch as his students kill each other and she would get a young, promising Hunter-in-training would be a tool for her whims.

"Fotia, Jaune, take your places. At the far end, if you would, Arc." Salem ordered.

Jaune and Fotia walked down the ramp into the pit, Jaune glanced at Fotia and said "Don't worry, I promise both of us will make it out of here."

"I know I will, you'll be taken out of here in a body bag." Fotia said as placed her helmet over her head, her red eyes shining through the eye-slots.

The ramp retracted as Salem, Mercury, Emerald, Neo, Norvik, Ozpin, and Salem stood before it while Ante (who was recording the fight with his scroll) and his enforcers stood to the left of them with Ziz, Steppenwolffe, and Jude stood to the right and finally at the end of the room, behind Jaune Ruby was held in place by some Grimm Knights and was accompanied by Giger, Sherizawa, and West. Nearly everyone who was under Salem's employ looked excited, ready to see some bloodshed except for Emerald and Trooper, both of whom had looks of guilt on their faces, Ziz appeared to be conflicted, West, Little Steve, Lao, Merrick, and Sherizawa seemed neutral, and Zhan kept his true feelings hidden inside.

Jaune stood to the far end of the pit and looked right at Fotia as he held Crocea Mors in both hands and respectfully bowed to his opponent. The way he and Pyrrha would bow to each other before they trained on the balcony.

Fotia was taken aback by this at first, but found it rather honorable of him to bow to his adversary so she returned the bow, having some newfound respect for the blonde.

Salem observed the two and gave them both a small smile before she said "Go."

The two teenagers both unsheathed their swords, with Jaune's sheath transforming into a shield. Fotia hooked Akouo on a brace on her arm and used both hands to hold the sword up into a battle-ready pose. Jaune lifted his sword up from its drooping position and pointed it at her.

"I will save you, Pyrrha." He said.

"Stop calling me that." Fotia said as she pointed the blade at his throat before she returned to her beginning position, holding the sword up firmly with both hands.

"It is who you are." Jaune said as he walked towards her as he copied her form, he remembered the lessons his teachers at Vale had taught him, the skills he had learned from Ashe, but most importantly he remembered all the things Pyrrha had taught him, all the knowledge he received from her. He relaxed his body and kept his balance as he held the sword out. "I won't fail you again."

The two pointed their blades at one another, Fotia glaring at Jaune through her helmet. 'Need to get that thing off of her.' He thought to himself. He could not hear Pyrrha inside of his head at the moment as she was too busy giving him every thing she could for additional power and strength.

Fotia shook her blade towards herself in a 'bring it on' motion. Jaune held Crocea Mors sideways, making the light reflect off it. Fotia's glare intensified as she swung her sword around, showing off her skills. After a solid five seconds of impressive swings and slashes at the air she stopped and looked to Jaune for a reaction, only to see that he was now only a mere five feet away from her. He lifted his blade out, sliding it along Fotia's.

He gave her a smile and then spun around, showing off his own moves, which were not as impressive as hers as they were much more simplistic. He would have been dreading this, after all this was supposed to be the mighty Pyrrha Nikos twisted into a tool for evil and not holding back, but luckily he had part of Pyrrha's aura within himself, that gave him a slight edge or at the very least a slim chance.

Fotia cried out as she struck forward with a powerful blow which Jaune parried, she struck again towards his hand but he brought the sword back and blocked her again. He twirled around, aiming to hit her hip but she struck back and the two swords clashed head on. Jaune pulled back and lunged at her but she sidestepped it, which she followed up by trying to slash him across the side but he managed to stop with his shield.

Jaune used this to turn around and try to strike her but, as he predicted, she effortlessly blocked it with a fast parry. She held up the Blood Blade with one hand as she thrusted forward which he smacked away with a swipe of his shield. He slashed at her and hit her shield dead on. Jaune gave her a sad smile, which confused her.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.

"Just thinking about all our spars back at Beacon, how you'd always tell me to do my best no matter how many times you beat me, partner." He said.

Fotia snarled as she began surging against him with a relentless series of strikes and slashes. Why did he persist in this? She couldn't be Nikos, she just couldn't! She could remember the farmland she grew up in, she remembered her whore of a mother, her drunkard father... the beatings, the cold nights in the barn with the animals as storms raged outside, the days she'd go without food... wait, if that was true then how was her body in such prime condition? It would take longer than a few months to be in the shape she was in... it'd take years...

A look of doubt crossed her face and Jaune saw this. "Remember! Please!" he cried as he slammed his shield into her sword. She simply growled in response and struck his shield with her sword. Jaune swung his blade at her head but she ducked with a perfectly timed lean backwards. She struck upwards and the two blades clashed once more, she slid her sword up and nearly cut him across the face, forcing his to retreat.

He saw that Fotia moved a lot like Pyrrha did but it was sloppy, unrefined, inexperienced. He secretly hoped that the Pyrrha within was giving it everything she had to stop her body from killing him. In reality Fotia had little of Pyrrha's skills as she had been trained by the forces of Salem for only a few months and what little of Pyrrha's skill set she did have came from physical memory, not mental. 

'Pyrrha, you still there?' he asked mentally. 

 _'Can't talk right now, Jaune. I'm trying to concentrate on keeping up your aura.'_  Pyrrha said to him 

Fotia smirked and took advantage of his distraction and she lunged forward, repeating her earlier move and striking at him over and over again with so end in sight. He blocked, parried, struck back, and clashed with her as she pounded him relentlessly with her crimson sword. He backed into the wall and saw the look in her eyes as she prepared to strike a killing blow. He dodged it and used him Semblance to jump behind her and he slammed his sword into her shoulder armor.

She cried out in surprise as she turned around and their swords clashed yet again as Jaune launched into a series of seven strikes, pushing her back. She grimaced beneath her helmet as she watched him stop his barrage.

"Come on! Give me your best shot!" he demanded.

She lunged her sword at his head but he blocked it, she then tried to stab him in the legs but the point of his sword met hers as they clashed close to the ground. He jumped forwards, startling her a bit before he wildly swung his sword around, trying to force her back but she did not back down as she struck his sword mid-swing and smashed him in the face with Akouo.

Jaune cried out as he was forced to back up once again, trying his best to block Fotia's blows as she surged forward for a third time. He ignored the pain in his face as his aura began healing him up and he forced himself to fight on, both of their blades meeting in a frenzied series of strikes and clashes. She jumped up and swung her sword towards his face, aiming for his eyes but he leaned back as the blade sailed by a mere centimeter from his nose.

She continued pressing forward until she decided to fight a little dirty. She swung her body around and tried to slash him across the back, only for him to hoist the Crocea Mors over his head and down his back to successfully block the attack. She grunted in frustration and swung around again, this time she aimed she his neck but he managed to block her once more.

"I must admit, Arc, you are a worthy opponent... much better than they led me to believe." Fotia said as she pressed her sword forward, but he held it in place.

"I owe most of it to you." Jaune said before he lurched forward and the two began trading blows, the metal blades crashing against one another without reprieve until they both made moves that completely missed each other, this gave Jaune the opportunity to make a rather unorthodox move; he ran past Fotia, got behind her and leaned back, lunging his sword upwards as he did so but she easily met the strike as she swiftly turned around. Jaune jumped up and struck the Blood Blades with his shield but she met his blow by spinning around and hitting his shield with her own.

She made a stabbing lunge, aiming for his chest but he quickly moved his torso so the blade went under his armpit and he quickly moved so she could not sever his arm. He struck back and leaned in, grabbing the helmet, only for her to bring her head forwards and smash it against his.

"Ah!" he cried as he galloped backwards, he could feel his blood running down his forehead and out of his nose, but his vision was still good enough to see Fotia running at him with her sword ready to impale his body.

He quickly sidestepped it but had to repeat the action as she lunged at him again. Soon he was weaving through the sword as it tried to stab him. "Why did you try to take off my helmet? Want a clean shot at my head?" Fotia asked.

Jaune swiped his sword sideways, catching the Blood Blade and forcing her back a bit as they engaged in a small series of strikes and parries. "No, I want to see your face. The face of my partner, my best friend, the face of the girl I love!" he yelled as he stopped fighting.

Everyone watched as Jaune threw his shield down, but kept a steady grip on his sword. "What is he doing?" Ziz whispered to Steppenwolffe.

"Something both incredibly brave and stupid." The wolf Faunus said to her.

Salem watched; this was like many fights she had seen in her long lifetime but she knew it was only the beginning, things would soon escalate. Cinder looked down to the fight, surprised by how well Arc was holding up. By all rights he should be dead by now; maybe their intel wasn't as accurate as she thought.

Fotia approached Jaune, lowering both her blade and her head. "Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, hopefully.

Fotia looked up at him with glaring red eyes. "You are an idiot." She said as she smashed her fist into his head, knocking him to the ground.

Ruby cried out a muffled "NO!" in horror as Fotia raised her sword up to end the fight, but Jaune managed to block it. The two pressed against one another, staying in place as the two blades struggled to move even an inch.

"Your precious Pyrrha Nikos is dead, accept it Arc." Cinder called from above. Jaune roared out in anger as his Semblance activated, the bright shield of aura surprised Fotia and she backed away as Jaune ran past her.

Jaune looked up at Cinder and yelled "I know she's still in there! I can save her and if I can't I'll avenge her!"

"Your duel is with me, Arc!" Fotia called, ready for the duel to resume.

Jaune looked back at her and sighed. "So it is." He said, and with that he rushed forward unexpectedly fast. He jumped up and kicked her in the helmet, surprising most in the room. He landed as ducked down as Fotia swung her sword, aiming to cut him in half, he retaliated by slashing upwards and pressing her sword back. Fotia yelled out as she struck back with a downwards slash but he dodged it and spun around, aiming use the sword to damage her helmet but she quickly parried it. The two held each other's blades, pressing against each other until Fotia pressed forwards and nearly knocked Jaune down. She brought her sword up high in the air behind her head and brought it down with a mighty swing that scored a hit across Jaune's chest armor, knocking him down.

"Yeah!" cheered Mercury from above.

"Kill him now!" yelled Ante.

Fotia went to finish Jaune off but he kicked both of his legs upwards, powered by his Semblance the kick was stronger than Fotia had anticipated and she went flying backwards onto her rear. She quickly got up just in time as Jaune came flying at her. She ducked down as Jaune stomped on her back and jumped off of her, landing behind her. Fotia recovered, jumped up, and swung her sword around trying to decapitate Jaune but she missed.

The two swords met once again in a powerful clash, the two looking right at each other.

"Give up." Fotia ordered.

"No, you won't send me away, not again." Jaune said as he pressed forward and knocked her back.

Fotia backflipped twice to gain distance and she struck upwards to meet Jaune's slash. She ducked down and ran around him to try and stab him through the back but he twirled around and met her strike. Fotia jumped over him and tried to strike him again but he parried her blow once more.

They entered a fourth round of trading strikes and parries, both of them pounding their blades against each other. Fotia had the upper hand as she was out to kill Jaune while Jaune wanted to do as little harm to her as possible. Fotia kept striking with powerful blows while Jaune blocked and parried; only occasionally getting in a small offensive strike as she backed him up against the wall.

"Your sad delusion has cost you greatly, Arc. Even if I am Pyrrha Nikos I don't see how I, or anyone else for that matter, could possibly fall in love with a pathetic, weak, foolish little pawn like you!" Fotia yelled as she smashed him into the wall.

Jaune looked up at her tears in his eyes. "Do it." He said.

Fotia brought her sword up and prepared to kill him... but she found she couldn't do it.

'You will not harm him.' The voice of Pyrrha Nikos said to her. The Pyrrha within was using everything she had to stop her body for this brief moment. It had been a huge strain just to speak to Fotia, this was Pyrrha using every ounce of strength her spirit had to keep her body from killing the one she loved.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Fotia screamed as she tried to move.

Up above everyone was confused.

"What's going on? What's happening to her?" Emerald asked.

"I honestly don't know." Cinder confessed before she looked up to Salem, who didn't even glance at her apprentice. She just watched the battle before her.

Jaune looked up and could see that Fotia was struggling to move.

" _Take her, my knight, strike now!"_ the voice of Pyrrha said in his head.

Jaune yelled loudly as he struck out with the Crocea Mora and slashed Fotia across the helmet.

Fotia cried out in surprise as she stumbled back, half of her helmet shattered and on the ground with specks of blood. Fotia covered her face with her hand as she walked backwards to get away from Jaune. She removed her hand from her face as her aura began healing her.

She looked up to Jaune as she swung her sword back and forth to keep him at bay. He simply tossed the Crocea Mors from one hand to the other then back again.

"You'll be okay, Pyrrha, I know you will." He said.

Fotia screamed out in anger as she ripped what was left of her helmet off her head. "Look at me, Arc! I may look like Nikos but we are different entities, I am going to do something she never could: kill you!" Fotia yelled as she twirled her sword around in her hand. Her rage was keeping anything of her true self away.

Jaune sighed and said "You won't kill me, I won't kill you, all three of us are going to walk out of here and go home; you, me, and Ruby. I don't care if I die, but I'll get you out of here no matter what!"

Fotia ran forward and struck Crocea Mors with the Blood Blade so hard it went flying out of Jaune's hands.

"Oh boy." Jaune managed to mutter before Akouo whacked him across the head and sent him down to the floor. Fotia tried to strike him but he rolled out of the way, screamed up to his feet and ran over to retrieve his sword. He brought it up to block another attack from Fotia and managed to kick her once again, allowing him time to distance himself from her.

The two combatants faced one another, eyeing each other warily, not knowing how much longer either one could go on. Fotia struck forwards twice but Jaune parried her both times, looking a bit tired as he did so.

"I'll tell you this one last time: give up." Fotia demanded.

"Never. I'll die before I give up. You didn't give up so neither will I." Jaune said.

Fotia screamed out in anger as she jumped forwards, swinging her sword wildly. Jaune ran backwards to avoid being cut apart and once Fotia landed he swiped at her only to be blocked. The two began exchanging blows yet again, both of them giving it their all. Fotia knocked Jaune into the wall again with a kick to the gut. Jaune parried a blow that would have ended the duel and used his free hand to grab her by the arm, pull her close and slapped her across the face. Fotia cried out in pain as she ducked to avoid another hit, which gave her the opportunity to use the hilt of her sword to bash Jaune in the back as he tried to get up, causing him to stumble sideways.

The two returned to trading blows yet again, the blades slashing relentlessly together countless times, faster than anyone in the room, bar Salem, could count. The metal swords clashed dozens of times as they fought all over the pit, both of them moving so fast that it seemed like they were dancing.

They had only scored a few minor hits on each other, thin and non-lethal scratches that did no harm except for painful stings. They constantly switched between offense and defense, attacking and blocking, back and forth, up and down the pit. It was a stalemate.

"This is perfect, two warriors locked in an epic duel forever, just the way it should be." Jude said, satisfaction dripping from his voice.

"It cannot last forever; soon one of them will lose." Cinder told him.

"This is turning out better than I hoped!" Ante said as his scroll continued recording.

Thirty seconds passed, during that small time period the two swords clashed a total of ninety-four times. Jaune and Fotia locked eyes as they circled each other, sweat covering their bodies, mixing in with the blood.

"This is a fight I've been wanting, but I did not think it'd come from you." Fotia said.

"Hey, you trained me." Jaune said with a smile.

Fotia just glared at him and she charged, she began spinning around with her sword out, trying to strike Jaune however she could even as he kept blocking her. Jaune swung around and met her next blow, causing the two swords to crash against one another. The two were practically shoulder to shoulder now, but not for long as Fotia jumped away and swung at Jaune's head, only managing to cut off a lock of his messy hair.

Jaune slashed, scoring a hit on Fotia's body armor, but she retaliated with a might blow to his shoulder armor, managing to knock it off and wound his shoulder. "AH!" Jaune cried in pain as he grabbed his shoulder.

Fotia smirked, trying to hide the horrible of regret she was feeling inside. She turned her back to Arc and looked up to Salem, who nodded in approval, but made a gesture to the boy behind the youngest Grimm Commander.

Fotia quickly turned around and blocked two of Jaune's strikes. She reached forward, grabbed his arm and twisted it, forcing him to scream out in pain. She used her strength to spin him around by his arm and then she smashed an aura powered punch directly into his face, sending him back onto the floor.

She tried to slam her sword down on him to end the duel but he quickly rolled away and jumped up. She slashed forward, trying to hit him across the chest but he was too well guarded there. She glanced down at his legs and smirked. She swung her sword low, aiming to sever the legs at the knees but he jumped up just it time and delivered a powerful kick to her face, sending her on the floor.

Jaune retreated and reclaimed his shield, just in time as Fotia had recovered and was currently rushing towards him in blind rage as she began swinging her sword at him, but now that he had recovered his shield he could just hold her off until he needed to make his next move... or so he thought, Fotia jumped up and thrusted her sword downwards and struck a powerful blow on the shield forcing Jaune to drop it so he could block her next attack.

Fotia backed away and twirled her sword around; creating a deadly spinning fan that could easily kill anyone close enough to it. She looked at Jaune and said "Come, choose your destiny."

Jaune glared at her and ran forward; delivering a powerful and lighting fast series of strikes she was barely able to block "I. Don't. Believe. In. DESTINY!" he yelled as he jabbed his hand forward, grabbed hers and squeezed hard, forcing her to drop the Blood Blade.

He now wielded both swords; he looked down at her and could see fear in her eyes. He hated it.

"Catch it." Jaune said as he tossed the Blood Blade to the other side of the pit.

"W-w-what?" she asked, confused.

"You have the Semblance of polarity, use it to grab the sword." He said.

"You're insane!" Fotia shouted.

"You have her within you, I know who you really are! You can be saved!" Jaune cried as Fotia got up.

"You know nothing of me, Arc." Fotia spat before she rushed him with her shield as her sole weapon. She collided into Jaune and knocked him back a bit, but he jumped up, spinning in the air like a tornado and slammed his sword into Akouo, knocking it off her arm brace and sending her back down on the ground.

"Use your Semblance, now!" Jaune ordered as he held up Crocea Mors.

"I can't!" Fotia cried, now fearing for her life.

"Yes you can!" Jaune shouted as he swung his sword down.

Everyone was amazed by this. Ruby was scared out of her mind, Cinder's eyes were as wide as they could go, Ante's grin turned into a dropped jaw, and even Salem was a little shocked.

Fotia cried out in horror and closed her eyes; she reached out and felt something strange flow through her body, a power that felt both alien and familiar to her. Something flew into her hand and the powerful clang of sword smashing into sword was heard.

Fotia opened her eyes and gasped as she saw the Blood Blade had been brought back to her by the newfound power... a Semblance.

"W-what is this?" Fotia asked.

Jaune smiled as he backed down. He hadn't even gotten close to killing her, he never would. Pyrrha's plan to reactivate her Semblance was to disarm her body, get the sword away from Fotia, and make her think he was going to kill her, but he would have stopped in time had the Semblance not activated. 'Good plan, Pyr.' He said mentally.

" _Thank you, Jaune."_ His own little piece of Pyrrha told him as her body got up.

"What the hell is this, Arc? What are you doing to me?!" she demanded.

"It's not me, it's you. The real you. Not Fotia Drakos, but Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune said with a loving smile and look in his eye.

"STOP IT!" Fotia screamed as she ran forward and smashed into Jaune, once again knocking him into the wall. Jaune managed to slump down to the left as Fotia stabbed the Blood Blade into the wall, as she had been trying to stab him in the head.

Jaune forced himself up and he parried a few strikes from Pyrrha before he began swinging his sword around his body to keep her back. Fotia glared at him and began to mimic his actions. The two slowly made their way to the center of the pit, swords dangerously swinging until...

The two ceased this action and they both brought their swords forward, the two blades clashed against one another at the perfect angle with the perfect amount of force and friction, creating a dazzling shower of sparks.

They engaged in a series of parries once again, striking each other a total of five times before they pressed their respective blades towards one another.

Jaune knew he couldn't keep this up much longer, but it wasn't time to make his finishing move, one that would restore Pyrrha and bring her back. He leaned in and said "It's almost done; soon we'll be together again."

Fotia roared in frustration as she slashed at him only to be easily blocked. They held their respective swords against each other.

"You don't give up, do you Arc?" Fotia stated.

Jaune glanced up at Ruby and smiled. "To quote one of my best friends: nope!"

Fotia didn't respond, instead she had another question as she noticed something odd about his shield.

"Your shield, why does it have two emblems on it?" she asked.

"The two yellow arcs represent me and the red circle with an arrow in it is for you." Jaune answered as they struck each other once again.

"You would... bare the emblem of a fallen partner?" Fotia asked as she kept hew sword up.

"To remember her, to honor her, to tell the world of her... and to let everyone know that I love her." Jaune said as he allowed the question to distract him and Fotia took advantage of that.

She knocked him down to his knees with Akouo and she swung her blade down only for him to parry it. He swung Crocea Mors to drive her back, but to no avail as she rushed forward and tried to slash him across the torso but he quickly sprung up to avoid being hit. She slashed again, this time scoring a hit on his forearm.

"No you don't!" Jaune yelled as he slashed her across her chest armor, striking it so hard that it was torn off.

Fotia cried out in pain as she managed to score a hit on Jaune's thigh. Jaune grunted as he swung his sword to meet her next attack, the two blades clashing yet again. Fotia did not relent, she kicked Jaune in the chest, sending him on his back but he quickly recovered and jumped back up, returning the favor by punching her in the face.

Fotia was unphased by the blow, however, as she grabbed Arc's free hand with hers and twisted it so that Crocea Mors was turned sideways, allowing her to parry the old sword. She gave him a sorrowful look as she began to press forward, planning to decapitate him with his own sword.

Jaune yelled out in defiance as his eyes began to glow a powerful, brilliant sapphire and he forced Fotia off of him. Despite his Grimm transformation his eyes would still shine their natural color when his Semblance activated. He jumped over and landed on the other side of the pit. He held his sword with both hands and looked to Fotia as she prepared to attack. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, he had to weaken her enough so he could make his move to save her but she was too good, he could feel a small cut on his neck from her attempt to behead him so she meant business.

"I hope I'm not making this too easy." Jaune said between pants.

"This is... much more difficult than I thought it would be." Fotia admitted before she rushed him. She swung the Blood Blade twice trying to slash him but with her third swing he managed to parry her sword and force it to the ground so he could knee her in the stomach. She got up and slashed upwards, managing to cut him across the cheek.

She rushed him and he sidestepped her, he rushed her but she dodged his swing. She began to swing her blade at him as he evaded every strike she made at him until she hit him in his chest armor and sent him flying into the wall as well as making him lose his grip on Crocea Mors.

"Finish him, now." Cinder ordered.

Fotia rushed Jaune and slashed at him but he easily ducked her swings until he managed to jump down, grab Crocea Mors, and block another attack.

"Fotia, his Semblance is emotion; use that to your advantage!" Cinder called.

The youngest Grimm hybrid nodded and quickly struck back at Jaune. "How does it feel, Arc? How does it feel to be such a monumental failure? You couldn't save Nikos, you couldn't save Ruby, you can't save yourself, you won't save anyone from Mistress Salem!" she scolded as she let loose a barrage of swings, strikes, slashes at Jaune.

"I know you're not in control, Pyrrha, but you can be again! Fight it! I know you're in there somewhere!" Jaune yelled.

"Even if she is here I'd sooner die than be with you!" Fotia screamed. She actually regretted saying that, she didn't mean it. Despite everything she actually liked Arc a little. He was handsome and he seemed to be a good person, he was just hung up on the idea that she was Nikos.

Was she Nikos?

No... no that would be insane, laughable, stupid... but why was she finding the idea more and more plausible?

Why couldn't she remember her old life that well? The farm... the details were becoming vague and blurry... she couldn't remember her parents names... she... what was happening to her?

She shook her head and saw that Arc had not made a move. He looked hurt, shattered by the words that had came out of her mouth.

"I know that's not true, it's these people, Pyrrha. You have to see how wrong you are, how terrible these people are... how that thing" he said as he pointed to Salem, "needs to be stopped."

"No, this world is a horrible place that allows millions to suffer without point. Mistress Salem will perfect this world! Make it a paradise!" Fotia said as she ran at Jaune.

Jaune held his ground until she was in arm's reach and then he struck out bare hand, palming her in the face. He used her temporary disorientation to strike at the Blood Blade, attempting to disarm her only to be grabbed by the arm and flung into the wall. He leaned to the right to avoid getting slashed down the chest and then he said "A paradise?! These people will make the world into a horrible, dark place where anyone who doesn't give into them will suffer and die, that's no paradise. This world isn't perfect, I know that, but it is worth fighting for!"

"Y... you're... GAH!" Fotia screamed as she rushed forward and struck Jaune again. "You're an idiot, Arc! If Nikos fell in love with you... if I fell in love with you then I deserve to die!" she said.

Jaune screamed out in anger as he struck at Fotia seven times until his sweat accidentally made his lose his grip on his sword and then Fotia made her move. She stabbed the Blood Blade into the ground, grabbed his head, and smashed it into her knee. She pulled his hair to hoist him up so she could punch him repeatedly. Soon Jaune's eyes were darkened and blood flowed from his nose and lips.

"Anything else to say?" she asked.

"Yeah... I hope you fought Cinder just as hard as you fought me." Jaune said.

Fotia picked him up and tossed him to the far side of the pit, she used her Semblance to tear off a metal panel from the wall, she hauled it down and pinned Jaune to the ground with it. She looked to the Crocea Mors and held out her hand, bringing it to her with her Semblance.

Ruby screamed out through her gag, her eyes glowing silver in horror, sorrow, and anger. Salem was forcing Pyrrha and Jaune to kill each other... why? She... this was all her fault! If she had been fast enough back at Beacon she could have saved Pyrrha and her friends could have been together like they were supposed to be and... everything was gone now.

She wasn't good enough.

She looked up at Salem and all she could feel was hatred. Salem evidently felt this radiating off of Ruby as she looked right at the young Huntress and grinned before her attention returned to the fight.

"Emerald told me that this sword is an heirloom of the Arc bloodline, it's only fitting that this should be what kills you." Fotia said. She aimed the blade of the Arcs at Jaune and used her Semblance to launch it at him. As she did so she was a little disturbed by how natural her Semblance seemed to be.

Jaune saw the sword coming right at him.

"Not beating me this time." He muttered as he used his Semblance to create a shield. The Crocea Mors stopped in midair and sloped downwards, stabbing into the metal wall panel. Jaune kicked the panel off of his lower body and yanked the sword out. "We're not done, I can do this all day." He said with a cocky grin as he looked right at Fotia, who had a shocked look on her face.

"Okay, he's way better than I thought he was." Emerald admitted.

"Tell me about it..." Mercury said, sounding disappointed.

"Oh, this is the best time I've had in years! Oh how wonderful!" Norvik cheered.

Cinder remained silent, she thought that the girl would kill Arc for sure but now... now she was beginning to see what her master wanted with Arc.

Fotia couldn't believe it... Arc just wouldn't die! She had to stop him... she needed to stop him... why? Why... why?

Fotia let out a crazed scream as she charged forward with the Blood Blade, ready to kill but Jaune held his sword up and stood his ground.

"I'll be the one to save you this time, Pyrrha." He said.

The two swords clashed yet again.

The next minutes was a bit of a blur all told, the two teenagers were moving so fast and so brutally that no one save for Salem and maybe Merrick, who had been trained for years to keep his eyes on fast moving targets, could keep track of the fight. Salem herself had counted a grand total of one hundred and seventy-three clashes.

The two young warriors stopped fighting, both of there were utterly exhausted from the fight, sweating up a storm as well as being battered, bloodied, and bruised.

"So I guess a break is out of the question." Jaune said between pants.

Fotia actually laughed at that, a small and bitter giggle before she said "Arc, no matter how this ends I want you to know... you are a good warrior and a worthy adversary. Let's finish it now."

"Fine by me." Jaune said.

They rushed at each other for one final bout.

The swords struck each other twice before she attempted to take out his legs again, only to fail once more. They parried each other thrice before Jaune swung for her head but she easily dodged it as he knew she would. Fotia slashed at him again but he blocked it and followed it up with a high sweeping kick which she also dodged, their swords met one more time before Jaune smashed her in the face with a rage fueled punch that sent her sprawling on the floor.

Fotia got up and used her new powers over metallic objects and she sent bits of torn up wall panels flying dangerously fast at Jaune but he slashed all the airborne shrapnel down. He rushed at her and she quickly held up her sword again and the two blades met and created another shower of sparks

The two stood mere inches from each other.

Fotia sighed and said "We're face to face, my lovely foe."

"See, I knew you're still there." Jaune said with a goofy smile. Fotia sighed and she answered his comment with an elbow to the nose. Jaune drew his head back as blood poured out anew and then brought his head forward, bashing it against Fotia's. Fotia drew back and held the Blood Blade in a blocking stance as Jaune struck at her once more. She swung at his stomach but he jumped backwards to avoid an evisceration.

Fotia looked up to the enforcers and she got an idea. She reached out and pulled down Fireball's flamethrower, Trooper's small grappling hook, four of Lao's explosive orbs, and one of Ante's daggers.

"Hey!" yelled Fireball.

"What the hell is she doing?!" cried Trooper.

"Aw shit, I'm actually starting to feel bad for this kid." Lao said.

"It can't get any better than this! If I sell this I'll make a fuckin' boatload of lien!" Ante said, not caring that one of his daggers had been taken.

Fotia let all but the flamethrower fall to the ground and she activated the fiery weapon and spun it around to create a flaming whirlpool in midair. She sent it flying at Jaune who easily dodged the spinning flame.

She then sent three of the four explosives at Jaune. Jaune avoided the first one but the second one knocked him out of the air and onto the ground rolling. As he tried to get up the third one went off and smashed him into the wall. "Okay, me and these walls are very well acquainted by now." He joked as he got up, only to see the fourth explosive roll in front of him.

"Crap." He muttered got away from the explosive before it knocked him down on his rear. He jumped back up as Fotia charged once more and he met her head on, their swords clashed twice before they both threw powerful punches that met partway and the recoil sent them both crashing onto their backs.

Fotia grabbed Damien's dagger and threw it at Jaune, but she only scored a small scratch on his cheek before the dagger exploded on impact with the wall.

They charged on another again but Jaune launched his right leg forward and kicked her onto the ground, but she grabbed his left leg and pulled him down with her. She lurched forward and landed on top of him and began assaulting him with a series a punches on the chest, stomach, and face before he grabbed her hair yanked her back, forcing her off of him.

Both recovered and got up, ready to go at it with their swords. They preformed their now familiar dueling tactics but this time their blades only met seventeen times before Fotia used her Semblance to bring down one of the lights above. Glass shattered onto the floor and Jaune was temporarily distracted as he was forced to shield his eyes from bright light exploding, which allowed Fotia to use the final weapon she had stolen from the enforcers, she used Trooper's grappling hook to bind Jaune's legs together. Jaune tripped back but he quickly used his family's sword to cut himself free only to look up and see Fotia about to end him.

' _NO!'_ screamed the voice of Pyrrha from within Jaune. Jaune swung Crocea Mors up, but it wasn't just his own aura and strength powering the swing, but Pyrrha's too. They were giving everything they had to save each other.

The two blades clashed.

The Blood Blade shattered.

"What?!" Fotia, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Giger, Ziz, and Steppenwolffe all cried out at once.

Salem was honestly surprised. This had turned out to be most entertaining.

Ante's enforcers were silent with shock while their employer made idiotic squeals of excitement.

Ruby felt relieved, Jaune had won against all odds. She felt so happy for him but began to worry for Pyrrha.

Jaune sheathed his sword and let loose a series of four punches to Fotia's body before he grabbed her and flipped her over his head, slamming her to the ground.

The entire room went silent. It had taken all of his strength, and despite all odds he had managed to defeat her. He felt like he was going to fall unconscious right then and there he was so tired but he knew he needed to keep moving, he needed to bring Pyrrha back.

Salem stood up and said "Well done, Jaune Arc. Finish her."

Jaune glared at the Mistress of Grimm and said "Go fuck yourself."

Cinder's eyes burned with anger as she yelled "How dare you speak to her like that, you pathetic..."

"No Cinder, I want to see what he does next." Salem said calmly.

Jaune walked to Fotia and knelt down to her.

"I'm so sorry, I had no choice." He said sadly.

"Go ahead, finish me off. I don't deserve to live." Fotia said miserably as tears began to stream out of her eyes. "I'm a failure."

"Don't say that. Other people can call you a failure but you can't call yourself one. Everyone fails at something but it's only when you let your failures get to your head that you truly become a failure." Jaune said as he grabbed Fotia's hand and looked up to Ruby with a smile, which she returned despite the gag.

"I can help you." He said to her.

"How?" she asked.

"I can show you who you really are." He said.

"I don't even know who or what I am anymore so how can you?" Fotia asked.

"Because I love you." Jaune said.

Fotia looked at him and saw no lie in his eyes, all she saw was love.

"Enough of this. Fotia, you can redeem yourself for this failure if you kill him now." Salem said patiently.

Fotia licked her lips, tasting coppery blood. She needed to make her choice, now or never. She looked from Salem to Jaune, and then back to Salem to give her answer.

"No. Arc, show me who I really am." She said.

"About time." Jaune said as he grabbed her head and his eyes began to glow blue once again.

A powerful feeling surged through Foita's head and something happened.

She remembered.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." Jaune said as his aura surged into her, the fragment of Pyrrha within him returning to her body.

Fotia remembered two loving, wonderful parents known as Hera and Zeus Nikos who did their best to raise her despite their duty as Hunters. She remembered how she was praised for being talented and special at the age of five, remembering that at the age of seven she was allowed to wield a spear for the first time and how proud her parents looked. She could remember the training sessions she went through, how she spent four years perfecting her skills and her body under some of the best trainers Remnant had to offer, she remembered tournaments and contests she was entered into, the victories, the medals and trophies she won how after a while she stopped enjoying her fame.

"Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." Jaune continued as he kept pouring his aura into her.

Fotia remember how other kids wouldn't want to play with her, saying that she was too good and would win at everything. She remembered the friends she had before her fame had strayed away from her, deciding it would be best if they parted ways.

She remembered getting a spear and a shield, Milo and Akouo. She remembered going to Sanctum Academy, hoping to have a happy school life with new friends and new adventures... but no one wanted to be with her. They were all intimidated by her and those who wanted to be her friends wanted to use her fame for their own personal gains. She went through those four years at Sanctum alone, winning spar after spar, tournament after tournament until she earned the nickname the invincible girl and how hollow those victories felt.

"Infinite in distance and unbound by death." Jaune said as he gave her everything he had, a brilliant light of bluish white mixed with crimson and bronze began to shine off of their bodies.

Fotia remembered enrolling in Beacon Academy, hoping to the gods that she'd find friends, someone who'd see her for her... and at first she thought that wouldn't happen but someone came along that touched her soul and made her world new.

Jaune Arc, a goofy, handsome blonde who didn't even know who she was until Weiss mentioned that cereal she was the mascot of. She remembered meeting with him in the Emerald Forest after she helped him land safely, she remembered unlocking his Aura and... she could remember everything now.

She remembered Ren, stoic, kind, patient Ren. She could remember Nora, energetic, over the top, lovable Nora...

Together they were Team JNPR.

She remembered Jaune's infatuation with Weiss and how she could barely contain her own feelings for the blonde, how she wanted so badly to tell him but feared rejection...

She remembered seeing him stand up to Cardin Winchester for her, training with him on the balcony, seeing him kill that Death Stalker, him wearing a dress in public to apologize to her, their dance...

She remembered the vault, the Fall Maiden... Amber.

She remembered that afternoon in the courtyard and their discussion about destiny. She remembered how their hands touched and how she ran.

She remembered her fight with Penny...

"I release your soul..." Jaune cried.

She remembered tearing Penny apart, running to the vault with Ozpin and a very confused Jaune. She remembered the botched transfer.

She remembered the imposing sight of Cinder with the powers of the Maiden.

She remembered running and... she was forced to make a choice, a choice she now regretted more than anything.

She remembered that kiss.

She remembered betraying him by shoving him in that locker and sending him away.

She remembered the fight.

The arrow in her chest.

"... and by my shoulder..."

She remembered who she really was now.

She was not Fotia Drakos, she was Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Sanctum, daughter of Zeus and Hera Nikos, The Invincible Girl, partner of Jaune Arc, and Huntress-in-training.

"... protect thee." Jaune finished.

Everyone remained silent, trying to figure out what had just happened, but Ruby knew. Ashe had told them that if the Ultimate Attack of the emotion Semblance was reversed it could restore memories; it was a way to rekindle love and friendship. Ruby was beaming with happiness now, happy that her friend was back.

The girl in the pit looked up to the boy.

"Pyrrha?"

"Jaune!" she cried as she lurched forward and hugged him tightly.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cheered as he hugged her back, pressing their worn out, bloodied, sweaty bodies together. They both cried tears of joy as the duo of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos were finally reunited.

"I thought... I thought..." Pyrrha said as she began to remember what Jaune had been through in her absence, the fragment of her soul within Jaune had been returned and with that her knowledge of his experiences during those four months.

Jaune shushed her and he grabbed her sweaty hair and pressed her head against his, their lips uniting in a powerful, passionate kiss which she eagerly returned. They ignored everything around them, right now all they cared about was each other.

Up above Ante had stopped recording, while muttering "Total fuckin' cop out." He went ignored by nearly everyone while his enforcers just stood, utterly dumbfounded by what they had just seen. Jude felt disappointed, as he too had expected to see one of them die but he did enjoy the battle. Neo just had a big smile on her face, but she kept it hidden with an illusion. Mercury wasn't pleased as he had been hoping to see Jaune die but he did notice the conflicted look on Emerald's face. Emerald didn't know what to think, by all accounts she was shocked but at the same time she felt relived that both of them were still alive and she also felt jealous for some reason.

Giger was awestruck, by all accounts it should be impossible to break the mind control they had placed over Nikos, but then again that wasn't exactly his area of expertise. West was just lost and didn't know what to make of the sight in front of him. Sherizawa remained stoic but even he was a bit surprised by what had transpired.

Ziz gave a neutral face but she was secretly happy for the younger girl while Steppenwolffe growled in anger at the sight.

Cinder was utterly baffled. How? How did Arc win? How?! It should have been impossible, how did he defeat a champion like Nikos? How?! She glared down at the two as they continued to kiss and hug, with Jaune whispering comforting words to his partner. Cinder looked up to Salem, wanting permission to end this nonsense.

Salem shook her head, "No, let them have this. I am not completely without mercy." The Mistress of Grimm said quietly.

Down in the pit the two teenagers sat, holding each other.

"I'm so proud of you, Jaune... you saved me." Pyrrha said.

"Pyrrha... I love you."

Pyrrha smiled as tears of happiness came out of her eyes. "I love you too." she said as she hugged him tighter.

Norvik didn't like this, he looked to Salem and whispered "I want my new body, what will you do to him?"

"We shall see." Salem said before she noticed that Ozpin was silently smiling. He looked up to her and made a gesture that beckoned her to come closer. She used her powers to lift him up, making him float in midair and brought him close as she used her powers to cancel out the drug that kept him silent.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.

"Do you remember what I told you all those days ago? About the weaknesses of the darkness?" the old headmaster asked.

"I do." Salem confirmed.

"I think I'll tell you the other weakness now. The second weakness of the darkness is love. Love is more powerful than anything, it can heal wounds both physical and emotional, it can save lives, and it is a brighter, much more powerful light than any thing else. Love can ignite stars." He said as he looked down on the two young warriors.

Just then most of the people in the throne room could hear an explosion from the outside.

"What was that?" Mercury asked.

"I'll check with the exterior guard." Cinder said as she took out her scroll and spoke into it. "Lancaster, report." No answer. "Lancaster? Something's wrong." Cinder said.

"I'll check it out." Sherizawa said as he and several Grimm Knights departed from the throne room.

Cinder nodded and pressed a few buttons on her scroll, signaling all guards to be on alert and for Grimm Knights to report to the front of the factory.

Ozpin looked at Salem with a small smile and said "Are you distressed Salem? I am surprised."

Salem sighed as she placed Ozpin back on the floor and said "Right then." She jabbed her hand out and used her powers to rip Jaune away from Pyrrha and up into the air.

"No!" Pyrrha screamed, but before she could do anything, Ziz flew down and restrained her.

"Sorry about this kid." the winged woman said as she held the tired out girl back.

"No, no! Let me go!" Pyrrha yelled as she struggled.

"Now Pyrrha, my dear, have you learned nothing from your time here?" Cinder asked, "The world needs this to happen, we need to purge the world of a impurities, we need to get make this world a place safe from all things cruel and wicked, dark and terrible and we alone can cleanse it. We can kill all those who deserve to die."

"No! I'll never believe those lies again! For months you've poisoned my mind by telling me the world is a dark, cruel place but now I realize the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you! You are the ones who deserve to die!" Pyrrha screamed as she tried to get out of Ziz's grip.

"You insolent little..." Cinder began as her amber eyes started to glow.

"No, we shall punish her another way." Salem said as she looked to Jaune. Her blood red eyes began to glow as well as a dark beam of pure black aura shot out at Jaune.

Jaune screamed in pain as he began writhing in midair, trying to get free.

"No! Stop it! Let him go! Please!" Pyrrha begged.

"Salem, stop it! Take me!" Ozpin cried, only to be ignored.

Ruby cried out through her gag, trying desperately to break free as the Grimm Knights held her down. Her eyes began to glow again.

Salem stopped blasting Jaune with her dark aura and said "Well Arc, now do you believe in destiny?"

Jaune glared up at her as his his body shook weakly.

"No, but do you want to know what I do believe in?" he asked.

"Do tell." Salem encouraged.

"I believe that you, and the people you surround yourself with are what's wrong with the world. You're nothing but death, disease, injustice, inhumanity, torture, anger, hate, racism, greed, rape, murder, pain, cruelty, infidelity, ugliness and corruption made flesh! I believe you monsters are every possible thing horrible, evil and dark incarnate! That's what I believe in, YOU BITCH!" Jaune spat out in a furious scream, his throat straining to get his point across.

Silence fell again, everyone was shocked that boy who was supposed to be a weak, cowardly, failure would dare say that to the all powerful Mistress of Grimm.

Salem smiled gently and said "You're tired, Jaune. It is time for you to go. You're ours now."

"Mine, to be specific. We're going to share a body, Jaune... and we will do such things together." Norvik said, a crazed grin spreading across his face.

"No! Please don't! I'll do anything you want just let him go!" Pyrrha begged.

"No Pyrrha! I'm not worth it!" Jaune cried.

"Enough! Destiny is calling for you Jaune, heed its call." Salem said darkly as she looked to Ruby, as the young girl's eyes began to glow a bright silver as she struggled as hard as she could to free herself from the Knights' grips

Just then a massive explosion could be heard as the factory began to shake.

"What the hell was that?" cried Tom-Tom.

"Get ready boys, looks like things are just starting!" Ante said.

Cinder took out her scroll and answered a call from Sherizawa. "I hate to state the obvious but we're under attack, get everyone you can out front now." the doctor said.

Cinder nodded and looked to Salem.

"My friends, it seems that some ignorant fools have launched an attack on us, we cannot allow this to go unabated. Prepare for war and prepare the ship, we'll have to abandon this factory." Salem said.

Just then Cinder's scroll rang again, the caller ID showing the name Lancaster, the head of the living guards.

Cinder answered the scroll and said "Lancaster, what is going on out there? Who is attacking us?"

"Take a guess, sis." said the voice of Ashe.

"Ashe." Cinder hissed.

"Correct, now let Ruby and Jaune go and maybe we'll only kick your ass a little bit, oh and tell Saul Jude to come out here so I can shove my shotgun up his ass and then down his throat. " Ashe demanded.

Cinder began shaking furiously as she cut off Ashe. She heard the sound of muffled laughter and saw that it was coming from Ruby.

"What's so damn funny?" Mercury asked.

"Take off the gag so she can answer." Cinder said.

West did so and once he did Ruby looked Cinder dead in the eye and said "You're screwed."

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Pyrrha is back for real! We can only hope this happens in the show proper. Okay, this chapter was originally going to be much longer but I decided to cut this segment off because I didn't want it to be overshadowed, so it is now it's own chapter.
> 
> Tell me if you liked the fight because I worked really hard on it, like most of an entire day trying to get it as good as I could. It was heavily inspired by a lot of the lightsaber duels in Star Wars with the Anakin vs. Obi-Wan fight from Revenge of the Sith and various duels from The Clone Wars animated series being the main inspiration, hell even the title of this chapter is a reference to the track 'Duel of the Fates' from Episode I.
> 
> If it wasn't clear Jaune's plan was to get Fotia's helmet off and weaken her enough so he could use the reversed Ultimate Attack on her.
> 
> Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I put everything I got into it, please leave a comment.


	15. RWBY Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, comment, leave a kudos and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

The three ships flew in the air over Haven towards the factory. The first ship was the craft that Winter had purchased, it was piloted by Weiss and the passenger area contained Blake, Yang, Ren, Nora, Team SSSN, Team CFVY, Penny, Taiyang, Raven, Qrow, and Ashe along with Zwei. The ship from Vale was still piloted by Ross and it had Glynda, Oobleck, Port, Bianca, Violet, Flynt, Neon, Teams CRDL, ABRN, BRNZ, NDGO, and Dr. Chloris who had supplied all three ships with advanced medical combat equipment as she knew they'd need it. The third ship, V19 from the White Fang was piloted by Sienna and its guns were operated by Shani and Indigo.

"So, everyone here is aware of the danger right? No matter how hard we fight a lot of us will get hurt and maybe even a few of us will die." Qrow said as he looked at the kids around him, seeing Neptune looking nervous as he transformed his trident into gun-mode. Yang could see the effect's these words had on her friend and glared at her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow, you sure know how to darken the mood." Yang said.

"He's right Yang, we're going to have to fight as hard as we can to win this." Blake said as she loaded up Gambol Shroud with a few different Dust clips.

"I have gone up against much worst odds in the past." Raven said as she glanced to Taiyang.

"Tell me about it; I know that in the long run it doesn't compare but do you remember that Kraken we went up against off the coast of Vacuo?" Taiyang asked, as he remembered one of Team STRQ's last missions before graduation was to kill a giant Kraken Grimm that was terrorizing a town on the southern coast of Vacuo.

Raven smirked behind her mask and said "I remember having to jump into its mouth to save you."

"Whoa, I remember that story; you three took on the tentacles and mouth while Summer attacked the head." Yang said, remembering the old bedtime stories Taiyang and Summer would tell their children.

"I'm pretty sure they kept leaving out how Summer punched her way through one of the beast's eyes and then smashed her way through the skull." Qrow said nostalgically.

"Why didn't you ever tell us that part?" Yang asked.

"You know Summer, she didn't want the stories to get too violent." Taiyang said.

"Never stopped me." Qrow stated dryly.

Velvet smiled a bit as she checked her camera, she had a full catalogue of weapons to copy: Nebula's crossbow, Cardin's mace, Crescent Rose, Gambol Shroud, Ember Celia, Myrtenaster, Coco's purse, Yatsuhashi's greatsword, Penny's swords, Ruyi and Jingu Bang, Ashe's shotgun, the StormFlowers, Magnhild, Neon's nunchaku-glowsticks, and Milo and Akouo. She was practically a walking powerhouse with this camera. She looked to Yatsuhashi who gave her a small smile and a nod. Velvet returned it, but she couldn't help but feel nervous and it showed.

Coco nudged her friend and said "Hey, relax Velv, we'll be fine."

"We're going right into the fire; we may even have to face off against this Salem." The rabbit Faunus said.

"I highly doubt that, Salem is powerful but she never engages in a fight, she's more of a chess master controlling the pawns than anything." Raven said.

"And she's got a surplus of those, obviously." Sun said.

"When we go in Raven and me will worry about Cinder Fall, you just worry about finding Ruby and Arc and getting the hell out." Qrow said.

The kids nodded, knowing their rolls well enough. "You sure it was a good idea to let that Cardin guy on the rescue team?" Sun asked.

"He was a bad person in the past but I think he wants to make up for it, I think we can count on him until we make it out of there." Velvet said.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Blake added as she glanced to Yang and smiled.

"Okay, but if he acts like a prick let me know, I'll teach him some manners." Sun said with a smirk.

"Will do, but only if you let me give you a hand." Yang said.

"The factory is in sight now; we'll be there in one minute." Weiss called from the cockpit.

Ashe nodded and spoke into the radio; "Okay, everyone get ready! Sienna, don't land with us, you just keep circling up high and if any ships come out of that factory start blasting them down."

"You got it." Sienna said.

Inside of the Vale ship Glynda watched as the students prepared for battle; loading up guns and hilts with Dust, getting their swords prepared, talking quietly amongst themselves, some were even looking at each other as if it would the last night of their lives.

Maia Chloris approached Glynda and asked "Are you sure there's no other way?"

"If there was an alternate way I'd take it but for now this will have to do, I don't like sending these children into battle anymore than you do but we're out of options and out of time." Glynda told the distressed mother.

Maia looked to Reese who was whispering something to May. She hated this entire situation, it would be a disaster and it would be a miracle of only a few of these kids died but she couldn't stop them, the fate of innocent people was in their hands.

"Things look grim, dear doctor, but rest assured we will do our best to make sure these fine young warriors make it out alive." Port said proudly as he loaded up his blunderbuss/ax hybrid.

"Indeed, it will be difficult as we will be outnumbered and outmatched but we must try, if Cinder Fall and the rest of these criminals get away with their plans billions of innocent lives will suffer and we shan't allow that to happen." Oobleck said as he expanded his thermos into its expanded form and made sure the bomb was safely inside his otherwise empty backpack.

"This isn't gonna be easy, but we got no other choice if Ironwood's being controlled and the cops are under Ante's power. I'm ready to take a risk for my brother." Violet said as she loaded up her pistol/taser weapons.

"I just hope I only have to kill those robot things." Bianca muttered as she checked the rifle Ashe had given to her.

"No, sis, you're doing it wrong, let me show you." Violet said as she took the rifle away from her elder sister and began to show her how to properly use it.

"We're here; I'm setting us down now so you can make the first approach." Ross said from the cockpit as the ship began to land. Only the teachers and Violet would disembark the ship and would be joined by Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, and Ashe to make the first attack on the front gate of the factory while the ships would land at a safe distance so the guards could not open fire on them while they were idle.

Glynda stood up and addressed the students, "You know your parts and I know you will play them well. Do not make any moves towards the factory until the bomb detonates, speaking of which, Miss Zedong, are you ready?"

May nodded as she adjusted the scope of her sniper rifle. "I'll hit it dead on, just plant it down and run, I'll make it go boom real nice." She said.

"Excellent, good luck everyone, do your best and I know you'll make it." Glynda said.

"Yes Professor Goodwitch." All the students said, ready for action.

Out the outside of the factory a small security outpost building connected to the complex via platform walkways observed the ships fly towards them.

"Should we call Lady Cinder and report this to her?" asked one of the security guards.

"No, they're busy with the duel, send Burke and his men out to deal with these intruders." Lancaster said as he walked out of the room to get a better look from outside.

The Vale ship hovered a few feet above the ground as Port pulled the door open and stepped aside for Glynda to lead the way. Glynda turned to see the other airship hovering ten meters away as the stolen White Fang ship began making passes overhead with cannons ready.

Ashe jumped out of the ship first, followed by the remaining members of Team STRQ. "Okay, just hang back until the bomb goes off, I promise we'll be okay!" Taiyang said to Yang as he hugged her.

"Just don't get your butt kicked too badly, dad." Yang said as she hugged him back.

"We'll watch his back, just like old times." Qrow said as he took out Reaper.

"We will all be fine; I'm more worried about you." Raven said as she made some adjustments to her sword's scabbard.

"She won't be rushing into danger alone this time." Blake said as she tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud.

"Right, you'll rush into danger together." Raven said with a smile behind her mask.

"That's the basic idea." Ren said dryly, knowing full well that while they had a good chance of succeeding tonight they had an equal chance of defeat. It could go either way.

"Just stick to the plan and you'll be fine." Ashe said as he walked ahead of the group towards Glynda. "You ready for this?" he asked, wondering if he was ready for it. He remembered his fight with Cinder at the construction site, how she could have killed him but she hesitated. Maybe there was still hope for his sister...

"I've been in more fights in the past few months than I care to count, be it with the Grimm or with these people. I'm ready to put an end to it." She said as she gripped her wand tightly.

"Amen to that Goodwitch." Qrow said after he took a swig from his flask and jogged up to the front of the group.

"Here come some guards, armed with laser rifles by the looks of it." Violet said as a group of ten human guards in gray armor approached them.

"Robots?" Qrow asked his sister, who shook her head. "Okay, let's get to it."

"Halt! State your business now or we will apprehend you." The leader of the guards, Burke, said.

"Heh, listen buddy, we know who's in there. We know that it's Cinder Fall and her cronies, so drop the act and make this easy on yourselves, okay?" Qrow said.

The guards responded by aiming their guns at the eight trespassers. Ashe and Raven quickly unsheathed their swords as Taiyang aimed his gauntlet at a guard's head while Oobleck activated the flame on his thermos and Port and Violet both aimed their guns at the guards.

"Gentlemen, this display of weaponry is unnecessary. I think that you know how badly things will turn out for you if you continue working for these people." Glynda said calmly.

"Shut up, we're arresting you here and now; I think Lady Cinder will be most pleased to deal with you personally." Burke said.

Qrow and Glynda looked at each other. Glynda sighed and nodded her head as Qrow smirked. "Right." He said as he whipped out Reaper in its scythe form and sliced it at the lead guard.

Burke fell to the ground, his helmet covered face sliding off his head with blood spilling down in a smooth, thin sheet.

Before any of the other guards could react the group of eight sprung into action; Glynda used her telekinesis to send two guards flying, Violet shot one in the knee, Ashe slashed one guard across the chest and blasted one of the retreating guards in the back, Taiyang knocked one guard out with a mighty punch to the stomach, aided by the metal gauntlet he was wearing.

Oobleck jumped into the air and landed behind a guard and used his extended thermos to sweep him down by attacking the back of his legs which he followed up by bashing the guard in the head with the blunt kanabo part of his weapon. Port blasted one guard in the gut with the mighty blunderbuss half of his weapon and then quickly slammed the ax portion into the final guard.

As the brief skirmish came to an end Taiyang noticed his ex-wife was now absent. "Where's Raven?" he asked.

"She probably went ahead to make sure the alarms don't go off. Now let's cause some trouble." Qrow said as he walked on.

"I like this guy's style." Ashe whispered to Glynda as they followed the male Branwen.

"You'll get annoyed with him sooner or later." Glynda said, allowing herself a smile.

At the main entrance to the factory the captain of the guards, Lancaster, rushed into the main exterior control room, wondering why the alarms hadn't been raised. To say he was annoyed with his lookout staff was an understatement, he was flat out hoping that Cinder would make examples of them. He opened the door that led to their room and began to shout "What the hell are you idiots doing? Are you blind? We're under attack and we..." he was stopped by the sight of nearly everyone in the exterior security room was dead, the only one alive was a masked woman dressed in red and black and armed with a large, deadly sword.

"I..." he tried to say but was too terrified by the sight of the massacre.

"Run little man." Raven said as she pointed her sword at him and Lancaster wisely did as she instructed. "Pathetic." She muttered as she plugged her scroll into a computer and uploaded a virus, one that would disable the alarms and the security cameras.

"This will give us a little advantage." She said as she grabbed her scroll and used her sword to open up a swirling black portal.

Outside the room Lancaster ran out to a platform and could see the small army that was gathering on the edge of the factory's perimeter, the fences destroyed by their weapons. An underling ran up to him and asked "What do we do sir?"

Lancaster assessed the situation and made a decision, "Have all our available men get out there and fight and get some airships up now. I'll call Lady Cinder and ask her permission to use the Grimm Knights, she'll be annoyed but I think she'll understand." He said.

The guard nodded and ran off to tell the others. Lancaster took out his scroll to call Cinder and just as he was about to push the button to make the connection Raven appeared from behind him and with one quick swing of her sword she decapitated him. As his headless corpse fell to the ground she swiped the scroll out of his hands and examined it. "Hmm, interesting." She muttered as she opened another portal.

On the edge of the factory's perimeter the large group all gathered around ready for the bomb to go off. May had gotten on top of a parked car and was using the scope of her sniper rifle to keep track of Oobleck who was frantically fighting guards. Once he placed the bomb they would retreat and May would take her shot.

"Man I hope I don't mess this up." May muttered.

"Relax May, you'll do fine, you're one of the top three snipers at Shade Academy." Brawnz encouraged, hoping to make her more confident.

"Why didn't we bring number one?" asked Roy, who got a slap from both Brawnz and Nolan as an answer.

"Just keep your eye on the target and you'll do fine, kid." Ross said as he loaded up a small rifle.

"You're helping us out?" Fox asked the pilot.

"Sure, it's probably fate of world battle; you kids need all the help you can get. It's been about seven years since I was in a battle directly, but I'm still quick enough." Ross said as he looked towards the battle before them.

Fox nodded and looked to Coco, "Velvet was right, we're going right into the furnace, but I'll have your back."

Coco smirked and gave him a slap on the butt "And I've got yours."

Velvet giggled at her friends antics before she looked up to Yatsuhashi. "I know you got my back, but do you know who has yours?" she asked.

"You do of course and I wouldn't have anyone else." The large teen said, which made Velvet blush.

Penny looked at the factory, Ruby was in there and she needed help. Penny would help her best friend with some of the upgrades her new body had. She looked at her arm and smiled inwardly, she hadn't told the others about one particular upgrade, a trump card she would enjoy playing... hopefully on Cinder herself.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang watched the battle unfold and the blonde of the group was amazed by how well her dad was fighting, she had seen him fight before but never like this. She saw him slash a guard across the chest then blast two down with rapid blasts of the flamethrowers on his palms. He kicked a guard down then jumped on his chest to launch himself forward to another guard and let out a burst of flame that engulfed the thug in fire. Then he used the claws on his gauntlets to slash a guard's throat open and followed it up with a stab to the stomach, killing the guard quickly so he wouldn't suffer.

"Never seen dad get that brutal." Yang commented.

"Ruby's in there plus he's probably letting out a lot of pent up anger." Blake said.

"Heh, like father like daughter I guess." Yang said with a smile.

Blake returned the smile until she felt someone grab her shoulder. She turned to see Sun with Neptune standing behind him.

"So... Blake I uh..."

"Go on!" Neptune prodded as he took a few steps back, he gave a meaningful look to Weiss and the white haired girl nodded in understanding.

"Yang, let's give them some alone time." She said. Yang nodded and stepped away from her partner to allow the two Faunus their moment.

"Sun, I promise you I'll be okay; I have my team with me. I need to do this Sun, I have to make things right." Blake said.

"I know. I just want you to know Blake that I... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I really care about you so just be careful." Sun said, trying to ignore the sounds of battle in the background.

"I will be. I'd be devastated if something happened to you too, so promise me you'll be okay." She said.

"I can't, got those three nerds to take care of and they're... they're... oh screw it." Sun said as he grabbed Blake by the shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. Blake's eyes widened at first but she eased into it and returned the kiss. This kiss with Sun felt better than any kiss she had shared with Adam, it was hungry and passionate but it was gentle and loving, not rough and forceful like Adam had been. It felt... right.

Yang and Weiss looked on smiling, "Go get him, kitty cat." Yang said.

The three remaining members of Team SSSN watched as their leader finally made his relationship with the girl he cared so much about official.

"Finally." Muttered Sage.

"Think long do you it'll last?" Scarlet asked.

"Oh, until they die." Neptune answered.

"No, I meant the kiss. They're a bit... too into it." Scarlet said.

"Eh, they have to breathe sometime." Neptune said.

Blake and Sun parted lips and gazed into each other's eyes. "Wow." Was all Sun could say.

Blake blushed as she smiled at him "We'll make it through this together, I promise." She said.

"Speaking of which I promised Yang I'd get a 'told you so' when you guys come out of that factory with Ruby, make sure I get that." He said.

Blake nodded and said "We'll all make it out of there, just don't get yourselves killed out here."

"Not easy, I mean Neptune and Scarlet need constant attention..." he began, making Blake fail to repress a giggle.

Ren and Nora observed the couple's interaction and Nora sighed dreamily. "They're perfect for each other." She said.

"I suppose they are..." Ren said, sounding distracted and distant.

"Renny? What's wrong? Well beside pretty much everything that's been going on recently and what we're about to do and..." Nora said before Ren placed a finger on her lips to silence her.

Ren sighed and said "Nora, I... I don't want us to end up like Jaune and Pyrrha, I have to come clean; we've known each other for nearly a decade and I... in case something happens to either of us I want you to know that..."

The green clad ninja was silenced as his best friend jumped into him and captured his lips in a very eager kiss. Ren's eyes were wide as they could go as Nora pulled away from him, smiling.

"I've always wanted to do that. Boop." She said as she touched his nose and Ren simply smiled in return.

Weiss observed this with wide eyes; she personally couldn't believe that Nora and Ren had gotten together before she could find any real significant other. Yang apparently sensed this and gave the heiress a playful pat on the back.

"Cheer up Snow Angel, you'll find love one day." She teased. Weiss simply responded with a huff.

Weiss looked towards the fight and noticed some airships were lifting up, ready to attack. She was worried at first but when Sienna's ship began to attack she felt relived. Sienna wasn't a fighter pilot but she apparently had more than enough experience dealing with winged Grimm so that gave the three Arc sisters above a bit of a chance. The ship's cannons began firing and a small, somewhat sloppy dogfight began.

Meanwhile, Ashe was in the fray of the fight, surrounded by guards. His shotgun was empty for the moment and was now using both of his pistols to try and blast them down but these guards were good at dodging. He managed to hit one or two of them before a very muscular guard charged Ashe and managed to knock Ashe to the ground but he was saved as a mighty blast from Port's gun blasted the brutish guard away.

"Get up! We'll take them together." Port said as he ran into the skirmish and quickly helped Ashe up, deflecting a few laser blasts with his ax, following it by slamming the powerful blade into a guard's stomach.

"Thanks, you're a way better fighter than I thought you'd be." Ashe said as he blasted a guard down. He decided to ditch the firearms for the time being and he took out his sword and swung it outwards, cutting a guard's arm off.

"And you're a good fighter for a Guerrilla Huntsman." Port admitted as he punched a guard down and followed it up by slamming the ax down on him.

"I try." Ashe said as he stabbed his sword backwards and impaled a guard who was trying to sneak up on them and finished him off with a slash across the chest.

"Ha-ha! Bully!" Port laughed as he blasted a guard away.

All of a sudden a rain of lasers began firing on them. "Behind me!" Ashe yelled as he used his Semblance and aura to create a shield. He glanced to where the blasts were coming from and saw about six guards all with laser rifles blasting away at them.

"The others are busy; can your gun take those punks out from here?" Ashe asked.

"This is meant for close range fighting not..." Port began to say before he silenced himself and looked at the guards. It was then Ashe noticed the guards had stopped firing. He looked to see Raven standing above the six guards, all of them dead.

"I trust you are both alright?" Raven said.

"We're fine, my dear, you just helped out of a minor spot of trouble." Port said.

Raven nodded to her former teacher as she handed Lancaster's scroll to Ashe. "I took this from the lead guard's body, I saw that he was about to call your sister." She said.

Ashe nodded and asked "The alarms and all that crap taken care of?"

"Yes, I have deactivated the alarms and security cameras within the factory. I don't know why the robots haven't been sent out yet." Raven said as she sliced a charging guard down.

"Maybe they're hoping to defeat us without using the heavy artillery. They probably assume these Grimm Knights are still a surprise." Port speculated.

"I doubt it; I've already destroyed a few of them." Ashe said as he reloaded his shotgun.

"My guess is they want to remain as hidden as possible, but once the bomb goes off we'll have to face the Knights." Raven said.

"Well at least the kids won't have to hold back." Ashe said as he jumped into fighting a guard armed with a sword.

Up ahead Taiyang and Glynda fought side by side with Taiyang punching and blasting guards with his gauntlets and Glynda lifting up objects and debris and bringing them down on the enemy troops. They were making a big show of themselves to attract the bulk of the guards to them while Oobleck, Qrow, and Violet made a run to plant the bomb.

"Been a while since I've had to fight this hard!" Taiyang said as he used his gauntlet's claws to stab a guard in the stomach.

"I haven't battled humans like this in a long time, last time was when I was stranded on that ravager island for two weeks." Glynda said as she grabbed a guard by the head, smashed his face into her knee and then used her wand to create a powerful energy ball that blasted said guard and several of his cohorts away.

"Yeah, remember hearing about that, didn't you get a medal for bringing those guys in?" Taiyang asked as he set a guard on fire.

"Yes, I did." Glynda confirmed as Ashe, Raven, and Port joined them.

"This is the best fight I've had since the Vytal disaster." Port said as he cleaved a guard in the shoulder.

"No much of an improvement, Peter." Glynda said as she lifted up a parked car and slammed it into a group of guards.

"Is the bomb in place yet?" Raven asked as she deflected a blast aimed for Taiyang.

"I don't think it is." Taiyang said before they were bathed in a bright light.

Hovering over them was one of the three airships; the other two were still engaged in fighting V19 but the crew of this ship had decided to engage the ground based attackers. It opened fire on them but Glynda quickly created cover with the debris around them.

"Glynda, toss me up to that ship." Taiyang said. Glynda nodded and used her telekinesis to grab hold of the fellow blonde and she launched him into the air. Taiyang soared through the sky and when he began coming down he aimed his legs at the cockpit of the ship. He landed on the windshield and broke through the glass with a powerful kick. He heard the pained screams of the pilot, who now had glass embedded in his torso, and he knew he needed to put the man out of his misery so he quickly blasted the pilot with the flamethrower. Taiyang pulled his lower body out of the cockpit and he leaned in and grabbed the controls to yank the ship away from the group. He got out and used his flamethrowers to incinerate the controls and then he jumped down.

Glynda moved to catch him with her Semblance but Raven stopped her. "Let me." The maverick Huntress said. She crouched down, jumped high into the air, and caught her ex-husband.

They landed on the ground perfectly with Taiyang in Raven's arms as the ship spun out of control and crashed off to the side.

"Do you think they heard that?" Port asked.

"Oh no doubt, they probably know we're here now." Ashe said as he blasted another guard down.

Raven let Taiyang out of her arms and he smiled at her. "You always did catch me." He said.

"I only regret ever letting you down." She said.

Taiyang sighed and said "Raven... I..."

"Kiss and make up later you too, I think Qrow and the others need our help." Glynda said. The couple glared at the teacher, with Taiyang about to object to her statement before Ashe cut them off, he could see that up ahead at the main door Qrow, Oobleck, and Violet were cornered by two dozen guards.

"Toss me up like you did with Taiyang, I'll jump right into those assholes and help Qrow and the others fight 'em off." He said.

"Are you sure? Coming down is much harder than it looks." Glynda warned.

"Just do it, we gotta get that bomb ready." Ashe said.

"Okay, just don't blame me if you break your legs." Glynda said.

"I'll be FIIIINNEE!" Ashe cried as Glynda quickly threw him in the sky and towards the cornered trio before he could prepare himself.

Glynda gave her companions a sly glance and said "I did warn him."

"Let's give the man a hand." Port said as he rushed towards the site with the other three following him.

At the main door Qrow spun Reaper around as fast a he could, deflecting lasers and bullets. He glanced at Oobleck's backpack and got nervous when one of the blasts grazed it.

"Keep that bomb safe, Barty! If they hit that sucker we're fucked." Qrow said.

"First off, quit calling me Barty. Second: don't worry; I've made sure this pack could withstand more than these guards are capable of hitting it with so it should be fine." Oobleck said as he blasted a guard down with his thermos' flame feature.

"Yeah, it'll be fine but what about us?!" Violet cried. She had been in a few firefights before, only natural in a cop's line of work, but this was more than she had ever seen.

"That I cannot guarantee." Oobleck stated.

"You really know how to woo the ladies, Oobleck." Qrow said sarcastically with a sly smirk on his face.

"HEADS UP!" screamed Ashe as he came down from the sky.

"What the...?!" cried a guard before Ashe landed on top of head, feet first. Ashe whipped out his pistols and began blasting guards down. He had decided not to start using the Haakskeekah just yet, as it would take up too much of his aura and he wanted to conserve it for the much more important fights he'd no doubt be in tonight.

Qrow smirked and said "About time you decided to chip in." He quickly spun around and began slicing guards apart with lighting fast speed and brutality. Violet was amazed at how fast Qrow moved with the Reaper, she could barley even see the blade of the scythe move with the naked eye before the guards fell to the ground dead.

"Alright, now that they're taken care of..." Oobleck said as he quickly placed the bomb in front of the giant steel door.

"Excellent work, Barty." Port said as he blasted a guard down.

"Thank you, Peter." Oobleck said as he made sure the bomb was prepared.

"How come he gets to call you that?" Qrow asked as he cut another guard down.

"Because I like him." Oobleck said.

"Well that just hurts my feelings." Qrow joked as he kicked a guard in the stomach, making him double over in pain only for Qrow to finish him off by stabbing Reaper through his torso. He looked to see Ashe finishing off a few more guards while some of the smarter guards began to simply run for it.

"Is the bomb ready, Bartholomew?" Glynda asked.

"Affirmative! We should probably get to a safe distance so Miss Zedong can do her part." Oobleck said as he began to run ahead of the group.

Glynda looked around at the dead guards, their blood on the ground. She sighed and whispered "I can tell that many of you were truly not evil at heart, may your souls find peace in the afterlife." She ran after the others, regretting the loss of life and the lives that would no doubt be taken later on this night, but she found comfort in the fact that if they were successful countless lives would be saved by their actions tonight.

At the end of the perimeter May kept an eye on the battle.

"They've set up the bomb, they did it!" she announced.

"Yes!" cheered Neon.

"Okay Schnee, so how far do they have to be to be safe from a shockwave?" Flynt asked.

"Uh... I don't really know, the bomb we set off on the island had a massive blast and I don't really know how much smaller this one will be since Professor Goodwitch emptied some of the payload but we should wait until their closer to us until you shoot it, May." Weiss advised.

"Gotcha." May said as she kept her eye on the bomb.

Once the eight adults were close enough Qrow began yelling "What are you waiting for, kid?! Shoot it! Shoot it now!"

May took a deep breath as she focused as hard as she could; she had the bomb dead bang in her crosshairs.

"You can do it, May." Encouraged Brawnz.

"We know you can." Added Roy.

"Take the shot." Said Nolan.

May put her finger on the trigger and muttered one word: "Bang."

She pulled the trigger.

Everyone shielded their eyes as a massive explosion of fire and Dust, rocketing up into the sky, creating a huge blast that one tenth of Haven City could see.

"Well, if we didn't have their attention before we do now." Qrow said with a wide smirk.

"Way to go May!" cheered Brawnz as the sniper jumped off the car.

"Yeah, I made that shot! Yes!" she cheered, feeling very happy with herself.

"Don't start celebrating just yet, this is just the beginning." Raven said.

Ashe took out the scroll Raven had given him and quickly brought up Cinder's number. "Okay, this thing has Cinder's number on it so let's see if she's home." He said.

"Boy would our faces be red if this was the wrong factory." Blake deadpanned.

A familiar voice soon came from the scroll; "Lancaster, what is going on out there? Who is attacking us?"

Ashe grinned to the others and said "Take a guess, sis."

"Ashe." Cinder hissed.

"I'd give real money to see the look on her face right now." Yang whispered to her teammates, getting many agreeing nods.

"Correct, now let Ruby and Jaune go and maybe we'll only kick your ass a little bit, oh and tell Saul Jude to come out here so I can shove my shotgun up his ass and then down his throat." Ashe said, but she cut off the call. Ashe grinned and said "Hung up on me, ain't that just the way."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in there!" Yang said as she pounded her gauntlets together.

"She's right, okay everyone who's goin' in come on! Glynda, Taiyang, get these kids ready 'cause I think they'll be sending out some of their bigger guns like those Grimm hybrids." Qrow said.

"Just get my daughter out of there." Taiyang said.

"And my brother." Bianca added. Ashe approached her, grabbed her hand, and looked into her eyes

"I promise you, I'll get your brother out of there and back to you." Ashe said.

Bianca nodded and said "Thank you, Ashe."

"Okay, let's get in there before the rest guards can recover or figure out what's going on, let's go kick some ass." Qrow said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Coco said with a smirk as she led her team towards the factory.

Blake took one last look at Sun and gave him a small smile which he returned.

"Go get 'em Cardin." Sky said to his leader.

Qrow and Ashe ran ahead with Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Penny, Cardin, and Team CFVY following them, but Raven lingered behind. She looked to her former husband and walked towards him.

"Taiyang I just wanted to tell you that no matter how tonight ends; there are times when I regret the choice I made and time I don't, but no matter what I have always loved you and our daughter." She said. Taiyang looked at her and shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if you had stayed... but I'm happy you made your choice. Because you left me I married Summer, and even though she's gone I have Ruby... and despite how harsh I've been to you I want you to know that no matter how hard I tried I couldn't really forget my feelings for you. I guess I never stopped loving you either." He said.

Raven took off her mask and their eyes met. Despite how long it had been she still looked just as beautiful as the day he first asked her out. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Taiyang was too shocked by this action to properly react; he didn't even return the kiss.

"Make this fight a good one." Raven said as she began running after the rest of the rescue team.

Qrow and the others had been watching, and Yang had wide eyes at what had just transpired between her parents.

"Is Yang okay?" Penny asked.

"She's fine, just a little shocked to see her parents kissing like that." Blake explained.

"Why? Don't parents do that?" Penny questioned.

"Penny... we'll explain later." Weiss said with a repressed smile, but she couldn't help but poke fun at Yang. "Looks like your parents have rediscovered their love..."

"Oh shut up Weiss." Yang said.

"What was that about?" Qrow asked his sister.

"I... I just felt like I needed to do that." Raven said as she put her mask back on.

Qrow simply nodded and shrugged, then signaled for the kids to follow him into the factory. Behind them Glynda, Taiyang, Port, and Oobleck led the remaining students, two Arc sisters, and one dog into battle. Zwei looked up at his owner and rubbed up against his leg.

"Thanks buddy." Taiyang said to his pet.

"Taiyang, what will happen between you two once this is over?" Glynda asked.

"I honestly don't know." He said as he put his confused emotions behind him so he could focus on the coming battle.

* * *

Inside of the throne room Cinder glared at Ruby with as much hatred as she could muster. "Enjoy it while you can, Ruby. I'll make sure my brother and whoever else has come to your rescue suffers for this idiotic stunt. West, get to the main computer terminals and begin transferring all on-site data to the next safe point." She said.

"At once, my Lady." West said before he quickly ran out of the room.

"Cinder, begin transferring the Grimm to the ship, as well as the Grimm Knights that are not yet online. The less they know about what we've been doing here the better. Most of the Grimm Knights that are operational will have to help with the transportation of the Grimm and the Knights, but I think the ones left for battle will be more than enough for Ashe and these troublemakers." Salem instructed. Cinder nodded as she used her wind powers to lift Fireball's flamethrower out of the pit and returned it to him.

"What about the kid, what do we do with her?" Ziz asked as she held the struggling Pyrrha in place.

"Victor, I want you to take her to your lab and place her inside of a cryotube, we can turn her back into Fotia later." Salem said to Giger.

"No! No you can't!" Jaune screamed as he struggled to free himself from Salem's power.

"Oh, but I can, Jaune." Salem said as she used her powers to slam Jaune into the floor of the pit. She looked up to the Grimm Knights behind Ruby and made a gesture. The Knights shoved Ruby into the pit with Jaune. Ruby landed on her front but she pressed herself up to glare at Salem.

"You won't get away with this Salem, I'm a little surprised that Ashe Kasai is responsible for this attack but if he's causing those explosions I'd say he might have a chance of taking your minions on." Ozpin said.

Salem sighed and said "Oh William, you truly know how to try my patience."

"I know." Ozpin said with a smile. He suddenly unleashed his aura and ripped the cuffs apart. He grabbed one of the human guards, ripped the rifle out of his hands, threw the guard away and Ozpin quickly began shooting down the Grimm Knights in the room before Cinder blasted him with a powerful ball of Dust and fire, smashing him into the wall. Ozpin got up and managed to land several punches on Cinder before she smashed a mighty fist into his chin, making him spit out blood as he fell to the ground.

"What did you think you'd accomplish with that?" Cinder asked as she used her powers of the wind to squeeze Ozpin's throat, preventing air from flowing into his lungs so the man couldn't answer.

"Place him into the pit, after Pyrrha is frozen you three shall join her." Salem said as Cinder tossed Ozpin into the arena with Jaune and Ruby. Ziz tightened her grip on Pyrrha and flew up to the floor level and shoved her into the waiting arms of the Grimm Knights. Pyrrha struggled as hard as she could but the mechanical soldiers were too strong and she was too tired out from the battle that ended mere moments ago.

"Jaune! Save yourselves, I'll be alright!" she cried as the Knights began leading her out.

"Pyrrha! NO!" Jaune cried as he ran forward to the wall and attempted to climb up.

"Jaune, don't! It's too dangerous!" Ruby cried. Cinder smirked down at them as she quickly ran to a console and pressed a button and panels slid out of the floor, sealing the three inside.

"No!" Pyrrha yelled as she fought to get out, but to no avail as Giger and the Knights led her out of the room. Cinder watched as Pyrrha was led away, but she had learned not to underestimate the girl so she looked to her two students.

"Emerald, Mercury, go with him and make sure she doesn't escape." She ordered.

"Won't you need us out front?" Mercury asked, annoyed that he was basically getting reduced to prisoner escort.

"We got it covered, kid." Lao said as he unsheathed his katana.

"Yes, we must act quickly if we are to salvage this." Salem said as her eyes scanned the room. "Ziz, Steppenwolffe, Jude, Ante, all of you; get out there and go to war. Do not hesitate to kill." she ordered.

"We will not, my mistress." Steppenwolffe said, saluting her.

"Mind if I tag along with Nikos? If Ashe and whoever's with him get inside here they'll probably be heading for these two kids," Ante said as he gestured to the closed pit, the sound of Jaune banging on the wall coming from inside, "so if they find out about Nikos being alive they'll come for her. Plus if we gotta take Ozpin and those two brats with us you'll need more than those robots and these two kids to escort them."

"Sadly he isn't wrong." Emerald admitted.

"You have a legitimate point, you may join them. You there," Cinder said as she pointed at one of the human guards, "you and the rest of your men will stay here and make sure these prisoners do not escape."

The guard saluted her, "I will not fail you, Lady Cinder."

"So many people have promised that and so few have made good on it." Cinder said.

"Uhhh... where did the old man go?" Emerald asked aloud, making everyone realize that Norvik was gone.

"Oh great, the senile serial killer is on the loose." Muttered Ziz.

"Shall I track him down and recapture him, Mistress?" Steppenwolffe asked.

"No, let him go for now. He is but a minor annoyance right now and we have far more pressing matters to deal with. Cinder, you know what to do." Salem said as she opened a portal and took her leave.

Cinder assessed the situation before her and knew she had to act quickly if they were going to make it out of this.

"Alright; Jude, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, Neo, enforcers, with me, we shall deal with these idiots together." Cinder said as she led them out of the room. With that everyone left the room save for the guards who stayed to make sure Ruby, Jaune, and Ozpin didn't escape.

"Better call those keepers and tell them to unleash our Grimm, we're going to need them." Steppenwolffe said.

"Right." Cinder said as she took out her scroll and called up the underground tunnels where the Grimm were kept. "Hello, Keeper Matilda we need you to..."

"Lady Cinder, did Commander Drakos lose the fight?" the woman asked, sounding rather nervous.

"In a way, she's not dead but why do you want to know?" Cinder questioned as she stopped walking, allowing the others to get ahead of her.

"It's the Wyvern, Lady Cinder! A few minutes ago it went mad, it was roaring and trying to break out of its pen but we have managed to sedate it." The head keeper said.

"Good... that is rather odd, maybe she has a bond with the beast. Matilda, begin transferring all the Grimm into the ship, including the Wyvern, we're under attack and must abandon this factory. Unleash the Griffons and Beowolves, we will need them for the battle." Cinder ordered, feeling lucky that the tunnels had been soundproofed so the outside world could not hear the Grimm's roars; it gave them a slight advantage over their attackers.

"Right away, my Lady." The keeper said before the call ended.

Cinder soon caught up with the other warriors as they made their way. "Your Grimm will be up here shortly, you can lead them into battle however you wish." She said to the remaining Grimm hybrids.

"Excellent." Steppenwolffe said as he drew out his sword.

"How many do you think are out there?" Trooper asked.

"I have no idea, but we'll destroy them no matter their numbers." Cinder said as Grimm Knights began to join them in their march towards the front door. The factory had a total of twelve thousand Grimm Knights completed but only seven thousand were online and most of those Knights would be relegated to other duties such as transporting the Grimm or escorting Pyrrha, but they still had over two thousand of the robots to assist them in the battle.

Cinder smirked to herself. 'This will be easy.' She thought. The Grimm Knights were not yet fully ready to battle Hunters, as their victims so far had been mere street trash, but their numbers would overwhelm the attacks.

As they walked on to war none of them noticed one of their number had vanished.

* * *

Meanwhile Qrow ran ahead of the rest of the main team as they made their way towards the blown open factory. The flames were scattered about and most of the bodies had been vaporized in the blast but all the same Qrow could smell death in the air and he'd occasionally see a charred body part. A part of him felt bad that he had to lead these kids into a battle this bloody, but it needed to be done.

Up ahead a few human guards as well as a dozen Grimm Knights began to storm out of the factory. "Head up everyone we got some company!" Ashe yelled as he took out his shotgun.

"Yatsu, toss me." Fox said.

Yatsuhashi nodded, he grabbed his teammate and tossed him toward the Grimm Knights. Fox landed in the middle of the robots and quickly went to work using his blades to slice the robots apart, cutting them off from their legs and severing their arms.

"Let's give him a hand!" Yang said as she pointed her robotic one towards the Knights and began to shoot them down.

"If that's a joke..." Blake muttered as she opened fire with the Gambol Shroud with Ashe aiding them by blasting his shotgun.

Coco and Cardin ran towards the human guards and began to attack with their melee weapons. Cardin used his mace to smash guards down, taking one in the chest, two in the stomach and one in the side while Coco moved with a stylish grace as she bashed guards down with her heavy purse. She jumped up and landed in the middle of four guards and then jumped again and spun around, smashing all of them with her purse.

She turned to see one guard rushing her as he tried to blast her. Coco shook her head and smashed every blast shot at her away with her purse until the guard was close enough and then she whammed him with a mighty uppercut with her bag.

"Oh... Mama..." the guard muttered as he lay sprawled in pain on the concrete.

"Sorry, I'm not your mama." Coco said as she knocked him out with a kick to the head.

Cardin whistled, admiring Coco's handiwork. "Got to admit Adel, you're pretty badass for a fashionista."

"You're not too bad yourself, freshman. Besides, a girl's got to have a hobby." Coco returned with a smirk.

"Which is the hobby? Fashion or hunting?" Cardin asked.

"That's for me to know and the world to find out." Coco said proudly.

"Let Glynda and the others handle these chumps, right now saving those two is our top priority." Qrow said as he walked into the smoking entryway of the factory.

"I must inform you that attacking us was a very unwise move, one that you will pay for dearly." Said the voice of Dr. Sherizawa as he stepped out of the smoke, several Grimm Knights and human guards flanking him.

"Dr. Toma Sherizawa." Weiss hissed as she held up her rapier, everyone noticed the edge Weiss had in her voice so they knew this man meant business.

"Weiss Schnee, the little pampered brat that destroyed my Atlas Armor. How's the scar?" The scientist mocked, allowing himself a cocky, taunting grin to spread across his features.

"It's doing fine, but I think it's time I returned the favor." Weiss said as she created a glyph.

"If you want a fight I shall be happy to oblige. I've wanted to use this for a while now." He said as one of the guards handed him a small metal box. Sherizawa pushed a button on the side of the box and it transformed into a mesh of metal as it enveloped his body in a metal battle suit.

"Uh, Weiss, did you know about that?" Yang asked.

"Of course I didn't!" Weiss cried.

"Do you like it? I call it the Dark Armor, a new and improved, and much more subtle, version of the suit you destroyed. It's not robotic; it is a suit that responds to the wearer's commands, all made possible my employers. Now, shall we battle?" Sherizawa asked as gun came out from under his wrist.

"We do not have time for this bullshit. Haakskeekah!" Ashe yelled.

Sherizawa dropped his stoicism and cried out in surprise as he was sent flying several meters onto his back and pinned down by Weiss who used her glyph to jump up and land on his chest. Qrow, Raven, Cardin, Yang, Blake, Coco, and Yatsuhashi finished off the Knights and the guards.

"Well that was a disappointing field test." Sherizawa muttered as Weiss held her blade to his face.

"Where is Ruby? We know she's here so where is she?!" Weiss demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sherizawa hissed.

Weiss growled, but she soon got an idea. She looked to Yang and said "I think he knows where Ruby and Jaune are, make him talk."

The blonde brawler smiled and said "My pleasure." She walked over to them and grabbed Sherizawa with her robotic arm, squeezing his throat as hard as she could without killing him. "Tell me where my little sister is or I'll pop your head like a zit!" she threatened.

"You won't kill me, child." Sherizawa said.

"Maybe she will not, but we can do so with ease." Raven said as she gestured to Qrow and Ashe, who was walking towards Yang and the doctor.

Velvet's ears perked up and she said "Heads up, more of those robots are coming!"

Coco transformed her purse into the minigun form and Velvet copied her, the two women of Team CFVY began opening fire on the Grimm Knights, aided by Blake and Qrow.

Ashe glared at Sherizawa and said "That move I used on you, the Haakskeekah? Want me to try it at close range? It's been a while since I did that, blew a man's head up, I mean a total gore explosion, some of his brains landed in my hair and it took like an entire day to get the blood off of me. I wouldn't mind repeating the experience if you don't tell me where my sister has those kids."

Sherizawa now looked scared, an emotion he barely ever experienced anymore. "Very well, they're in the throne room but they could have been moved since I left."

"Thanks, doc." Yang said with a smirk as she smashed him into the floor followed up by Weiss stomping on his head.

"Weiss can you find the throne room on that schematic?" Yang asked.

"Of course I can." She answered.

"First thing's first, we have to ditch these robots!" Qrow shouted.

"Allow me." Weiss said as she held out Myrtenaster as she formed a glyph. She used one of the Dust crystals within her weapon to create a giant wall of ice, separating them from the main hallway. Laser blasts pounded against it but it managed to hold.

"Good job, Schnee." Coco said as she began reloading her minigun.

"Come on, the map says there's a way around them down there." Weiss said as she pointed to a corridor alcove.

"What about the others?" asked Penny.

"They can take care of themselves; they'll be able to hold off those robots, the sooner we get Ruby and Jaune out of here the sooner we'll leave." Blake said and with that the group ran down the other hallway, out of sight.

As they ran off the wall of ice continued to take blasts from the Grimm Knights until it was totally destroyed by a fire blast from Cinder. She looked down to see Sherizawa as he got up. She had noticed Neo's absences after Tom-Tom pointed it out, but she couldn't deal with the girl's antics right now, she'd punish her later.

"What happened?" she demanded as Sherizawa recovered.

"Your brother, the Schnee heiress, the robot girl, a group of others... they've made it inside of the factory and are currently going to rescue Rose and Arc, might want to do something about that." He suggested.

"Yes I do." Cinder said as she glanced to Jude. "Jude, you and I will go after them. You can have my brother, leave the children to me."

"It will be my pleasure." Jude said with a dark grin.

"There were two others, adults, one I recognized as Qrow Branwen but the other was a masked woman I did not know." The doctor added.

"Uh, Cinder, you might want to take a look outside." Trooper said. Cinder looked out through the smoke and debris and saw something she didn't expect at all.

Glynda Goodwitch stood with Taiyang Xiao Long, Bartholomew Oobleck, Peter Port, Teams SSSN, ABRN, NDGO, BRNZ, half of Team FNKI, most of Team CRDL, a man and two women whom Cinder didn't know, and a dog.

"Hello, Cinder Fall, I think it would be best if you just surrendered right here and now to spare yourself the humiliation of losing to us." Glynda said as the large group around her got into battle ready poses with Zwei even baring his teeth as if he was about to bite someone.

"I don't have time for this, destroy them!" Cinder ordered.

Ziz spread her wings and darted out of the factory opening, flying over the group. "You want a war? Fine by me!" she yelled as she rose up both of her hands. Glynda looked ahead to see Steppenwolffe charging them but he was not alone as a pack Beowolves were now running out of the factory.

"Open fire! Pour it on!" Glynda ordered. Port, Neptune, Scarlet, Sun, Reese, Nadir, Dove, May, Bianca, Violet, and Ross all fire on the Beowolves and the Grimm Knights that were charging them. Some fell but some charged on, avoiding the blasts. Steppenwolffe launched himself forward, his sword aiming for Glynda only for Taiyang to slam into him.

"Insolent fool!" Steppenwolffe snarled.

"Bring it on, big bad wolf." Taiyang beckoned as he activated his flamethrowers.

Glynda was about to run to help him fight the hybrid but her attention was stolen as the sounds of Griffons flying off of the factory's roof and towards Ziz.

"Get 'em boys!" Ziz ordered as she took out her weapon and began blasting at them. Glynda got rid of her shots, however, by creating small magic shields.

"Keep at it!" Glynda called to the students as Nebula, Neptune, Scarlet, and Reese all began to fire on the Griffons while Sun, Sage and Sky jumped up to use their long range melee weapons to cut the flying Grimm down with Sage cutting two in half following it up by decapitating another with Sky slicing the wings off of one Griffon, making land on the ground and roar in pain only to be finished off by a shot to the head from Scarlet's flintlock. Sun, however, was fighting very ferociously, jumping from Griffon to Griffon and blasting them with his weapons.

Glynda looked forward to see Sherizawa and the enforcers charging into battle. She knew this was going to be a long night.

Inside the factory entryway Cinder watch as the chaos escalated, standing aside so more guards and Grimm Knights could join in the battle.

"It appears the underlings have them under control, wouldn't you agree Jude?" she asked, only to see that Jude was gone.

"Typical." Cinder muttered as she walked away to engage the intruders in battle and allow the skirmish outside to resume without supervision. No matter what Cinder knew that this pathetic attempt at a rescue would fail and she would be victorious in the end.

* * *

Ruby watched as Jaune continued to bang on the walls of the sealed off pit with Crocea Mors, still demanding to be let out. "You idiots! You sons of bitches! Don't you know what you're allowing to happen?!" he screamed.

"Jaune, give it up. Those thugs aren't going to let us out." Ruby said.

Jaune looked at his friend and said "I have to try! I can't lose her, not again!" He continued to bang on the walls with his sword frantically trying to do something that would help him escape this pit.

"Jaune, I'm trying to think of something but I can't concentrate with you banging on the walls!" Ruby scolded. Jaune sighed and stopped his tantrums.

"Sorry Ruby... I..." tears began to fall out of his eyes, "I can't lose her... I don't think I..." he tried to say before he looked at Ozpin and glared. "This is all your fault!" he screamed.

"Jaune, you don't mean that." Ozpin said calmly.

"Yes I do! Ever since you took Pyrrha down into the vault our lives have been nothing but hell! Salem may have started this, but you didn't do anything to stop it! All you did was make it worse! They turned her into a hybrid, mind raped her, tortured me and Ruby, all because you couldn't do enough! You don't deserve to be the Headmaster of Beacon!" Jaune yelled.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried, shocked that Jaune, of all people, would say that to Ozpin.

"No Ruby, he has to answer for what he's allowed to happen." Jaune snapped.

"Do you really think that, Jaune? If it wasn't for me you'd never even know Pyrrha or Ren or Nora or even Ruby." Ozpin said as he got up. "All you'd be is ordinary Jaune Arc, a nobody. I let you into Beacon despite your faux transcripts, I was one of the few that saw the potential in you, the power you obviously have if your victory in that fight is anything to go by. Yes, I am to blame for some of your suffering, I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on the planet and what has happened to you and Pyrrha is proof of that. My failures have gotten my students hurt and twisted by Salem. I have good intentions, Jaune, but not the best way of achieving them. I am so sorry for everything that has happened to all of you."

Jaune glared at Ozpin and then he fell to his knees. Ruby ran over to him to see if he was alright, which he was despite how taxing the fight had been on his body.

"I'm sorry Professor Ozpin. I'm so, so sorry... you're right. I'd rather have had Pyrrha and my friends in my life and lost them then never have them at all... I'm sorry." Jaune said as he began to cry.

Ruby couldn't help herself and she hugged Jaune. "Jaune, you were awesome in that fight." She said, trying to make him feel better, but it did little to comfort him.

He returned the hug, gave her a sad, tired smile and said "Thanks Ruby, I learned from the best."

Ozpin sighed and said "It's alright; you do have a point, Jaune. I am not fit to command that academy anymore. My mistakes are too many and too egregious to ignore and I shall answer for my failures soon, but for now we must focus on getting out of here."

"How?" Ruby asked.

"Am I correct in assuming that they kept your aura drained?" Ozpin asked, to which Ruby nodded.

"I have been subtly building up my own aura reserves ever since I awoke in Salem's dungeons with Norvik; I made that foolhardy move so that I could be left behind here and so I could escape with you. I know an old technique that can transfer energy from one body to another, I can give both of you my energy." He said.

Ruby nodded, "Do it Professor." She said as she gave him a hand. Jaune looked to Ruby and decided this was the best course of action for now so he grabbed Ozpin's free hand.

Ozpin closed his eyes and murmured some words that neither teenager before him could understand and then they felt an immense power surge through them. They both fell backwards and cried out in shock as they felt their strength return to them.

Ozpin looked at the two young Hunters "Use... this energy wisely... it took a lot out of me." He said through ragged breaths, but his focus was soon taken off of them and put on the screaming coming from above the pit.

"No, no, I... AH!" screamed one of the guards. The sound of rifles firing could be heard as could horrified screams.

Jaune looked to Ruby and asked "Think its Ashe?"

"Could be; keep your grip on your sword just in case." Ruby said.

"In case of what? Whoever's up there has to be on our side." Jaune argued as he picked up Akouo, which had been left behind on the ground.

"Jaune, I don't..." Ruby began but she was interrupted by the floor above them opening up and a dead body of a guard falling next to Ruby. "Oh man!" Ruby cried as she stepped away from the corpse that was slashed apart.

She turned to see Jaune looking up and gawking at something, she looked up and she had to gasp at the identity of their rescuer who stood at the control panel.

Neo.

She stood before the pit, covered in the blood of the guards she had slaughtered with her estoc out and a slightly crazed look on her face, complete with a grin. She looked down at them and gave them a wink. Ruby and Jaune looked at each other, totally lost. Neo pressed another button and the ramp came out of the wall as she returned her estoc into her umbrella.

"Come on, don't you know a rescue when you see one?" she asked.

"How can we trust you?" Jaune asked.

"I killed all the guards, opened up the pit, and I was the one who sowed seeds of doubt in Pyrrha's mind to convince her everything was not what it seemed. I am betraying them to help you, so get out of that pit now before Mercury and Emerald return!" Neo said.

Jaune and Ruby glanced at each other and Ruby broke the silence by saying "Why not? It wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen today."

Jaune nodded and led the way up the ramp, followed by Ruby and Ozpin. Neo made her way to Cinder's trophy case and smashed it open with her umbrella.

"Rose, you're going to need this." She said as she tossed Crescent Rose to Ruby. Ruby caught her trusty weapon and grinned.

"Thank you." She said as she lovingly rubbed her weapon.

"Thank me once we're out of here." Neo said.

"If they find out you helped us they'll kill you." Jaune pointed out.

"Obviously, that's why I'm joining you." She said.

"Whoa, wait a minute; you think you can just buddy up with us after everything?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing I did to any of you was personal, I was acting under Roman's orders the entire time and I only worked for Cinder because I needed to be to act out Roman's final order." Neo said.

"Final order?" Ruby asked, confused. She had been there when Roman Torchwick was killed by a Griffon, to her knowledge he had given Neo no such order.

"Yes. When you knocked me off the flagship I was floating away but I could still see what was happening... I... I saw Roman, my best friend, eaten alive by a Grimm. He died because of Cinder, those Grimm attacked because of her plans so she is responsible for Roman's death." Neo said, tears threatening to swell.

Ruby sighed and said "Neo, right?" The multicolored girl nodded, "I'm sorry about Torchwick, I didn't want him to die. If I could I would have done something to save him but everything happened so fast that I was helpless."

Neo sighed and asked "What were his last words?"

Ruby didn't like this, but since Neo helped them she deserved to know what happened to Roman.

"He went on about how he was going to lie, cheat, steal, and survive... and then that Griffon ate him." Ruby said.

Tears began to steam from Neo's eyes so she turned away to hide them.

"Isn't that just our luck?" Neo said sadly as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Was he your... uh, boyfriend?" Ruby asked as Jaune collected Milo from the trophy case.

Neo laughed and said "No way, he wasn't by BF, or my brother, or my uncle, father, or second cousin twice removed. He was my best friend."

Ruby nodded and asked "So what was his last order?"

"I'll explain once we're out of here but right now we should probably go save Pyrrha." Neo said.

"Now you're talking my language." Jaune said as he handed Milo to Ozpin, who nodded in understanding.

"Come on, if we move quickly we can prevent them from freezing her." Neo said as she led the group out of the room.

Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into its scythe mode and grinned. "Time to be heroes again." She said.

"Again? I'd have to be one before." Jaune said as he walked after Neo, the only thing on his mind was saving Pyrrha.

Ruby was about to object, but knew he didn't want to talk about that. Despite what Jaune thought of himself Ruby knew he was a hero, how he helped Pyrrha turn back into her true self was proof of that. Ruby glanced to Ozpin who shook his head.

Ruby knew that sooner or later Jaune would realize how much he was truly worth.

* * *

Ashe rounded a corner with his pistols drawn but no one was coming. "We're cool, let's keep moving!" he said. The rescue team ran down the dimly lit hallways together, hoping to encounter little resistance. So far they had only run into a few guards and Grimm Knights and had dealt with them easily.

"You think Professor Goodwitch and the others can stand up to Cinder?" Velvet asked.

"I don't think we have to worry about her, that witch will most likely be after us." Qrow said.

"Good, I'm hoping to give her one right in the face." Yang said as she flexed her mechanical fist.

Ashe rounded a bend again and slammed to a halt, causing Weiss to bump into him before she could scold Yang.

They all looked ahead to see Cinder standing calmly in the large hallway.

"Hello, little brother." She said as her eyes glowed a piercing gold.

"Cinder..." Ashe said nervously. Everyone prepared their weapons and got ready to fight, they all knew that they had to deal with Cinder, no matter how fatal it could be.

"Wait!" Ashe cried, "Let me talk to her!"

"Are you serious?!" yelled Qrow.

"Ashe, I know she's your sister but you can't talk sense into her!" Velvet said.

"What is wrong with you?!" shouted Cardin.

"Don't be an idiot!" Weiss scolded.

"Just let us have this okay? Ceasefire?" Ashe called to Cinder who nodded in agreement.

Ashe ignored this however and walked towards his sister and felt somewhat vindicated when Cinder's eyes dimed down and she did not pull out any weapons.

"You're very brave to approach me like this." Cinder said.

"Well if you try anything I'm pretty sure these guys behind me will kick your ass." Ashe said.

"We can do it now if you want!" Yang called, only to get an annoyed smack from Weiss.

Qrow and Raven looked at each other, they knew this was an incredibly risky move, but Cinder seemed to be stable for now, but they both knew what to do; if Cinder did anything they'd spring into action. 'Hope this idiot knows what he's doing.' Thought Qrow. Raven however had a different thought; if Ashe made even one wrong move she'd end him.

Penny made her own plan to deal with Cinder as she careful held her arm up, which went unnoticed because everyone's attention was on Ashe and Cinder.

"Cinder, don't do this. Let Ruby and Jaune go and turn yourself in. I can't make any promises but if you help us stop Salem I think they'll have a least a little mercy." Ashe said.

"No Ashe, I cannot and will not turn against my master, she has given me everything, she gave me the means to gain my new powers. She has made me what I am." Cinder said.

"What you are? Do you understand what you are? You're a murderer, a terrorist, and a monster but I think you can redeem yourself if you help us fight Salem. You didn't kill me when we last fought, the only reason Nora wrecked you is because you hesitated. I know there's still good in you." Ashe said.

"I'm sorry Ashe, but you are wrong and your view of good and evil is pathetic, when you showed me your memories I thought your past had taught you that the world cannot be separated into two very narrow and dogmatic viewpoints. My master will make this world what it should be." Cinder said.

"That's insane and you know it. Please Cinder! You have to see how utterly crazy this is! You have to tell me that you're planning to betray her at the last minute; because if you're half as smart as you think you are you have to know that once Salem gets what she wants she'll destroy you. You're nothing but a weapon for her and she has done everything to make you blind to that; she's messing with your mind, she forced you to kill mom and dad and she made you do god knows how many horrible things. Don't be a mindless weapon for that witch, please! You're her weapon and she'll use you however she sees fit and eventually she'll decide that you're of no use to her and she'll cast you aside and that's if you're lucky." Ashe said.

"She will not simply cast me aside, my powers are far too great for her to ignore." Cinder argued.

"Not compared to what her power will be if her plans succeed, you'd be an insect against a dragon." Ashe pointed out. Cinder hung her head, secretly knowing that Ashe had a point; if she were to turn against her master now and help her brother they'd stand a chance against Salem but they'd have no chance if she waited until Salem accomplished her goals.

She sighed and said "I'm sorry, Ashe, but I cannot. She gave me everything."

"Wasn't I enough?! Weren't mom and dad enough?! Wasn't our family enough?" he asked, tears about to come out of his eyes.

"... No. I wanted more, I needed more. More than a life as the Aura Crystal's guardian could possibly give me. I wanted power and through Salem I gained that power and I will have more. You can be a part of that, Ashe. This is my final offer, join me or die like the rest of them." Cinder said.

Ashe closed his eyes and said "My sister truly is dead, isn't she?"

"No, but her brother is." Cinder said as she quickly created one of her swords. Ashe reached for his sword and took one stepped to the left, ready to fight his sister only for a large, powerful laser blast to slam into Cinder and send her into some sort of machine in the side of the hall. Ashe's eyes widened and he looked back to see Penny with her left arm transformed into some sort of laser cannon.

She had played her trump card.

"I think I enjoyed that more than I should have." Penny said with a small smile as her arm turned back to normal. Everyone looked at Penny in amazement, some with shock but it wasn't an unpleasant surprise all things considered.

"Penny, what happened to your arm?" Weiss asked, a little stunned.

"Upgrades." Penny said, her smile growing bigger.

"Got all kinda of tricks up your sleeve, don't ya?" Coco said, smirking as she gave Penny an affectionate rub on the head.

"Literally." Fox deadpanned.

Cinder rose up, powerful flames erupting out of her hands. "I'm going to tear you apart personally this time, you little puppet!" she spat.

"That's funny coming from Salem's puppet." Qrow said as he ran towards Cinder with Reaper in sword mode. Cinder quickly blocked the strike with her sword and kicked upwards, knocking Qrow back. She jumped back up and sent a torrent of flaming Dust at him but he sliced it in half with the sharp blade of Reaper.

"Get going, Qrow and I will take her." Raven ordered.

"Right, come on!" Blake said as she and the others made their way past the battle as Qrow kept them shielded from Cinder's attacks with the quick swings and spins of his weapon.

Ashe took one look back at Cinder but quickly looked away as Blake grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'm sorry Ashe but there's no hope for her." She said. Ashe knew that deep down they were right, there was no hope for his sister now.

"I guess there isn't." Ashe said as he ran off with them.

Raven loaded up a red Dust crystal into her scabbard and swung it down vertically, creating an arc of fire which Cinder quickly met with a fire blast of her own but this allowed Qrow to strike her with a kick to the chest.

Raven looked to Yang who lingered behind watching as her mother and uncle fought the Fall Maiden. Raven looked to her daughter as she met a strike of Cider's with her own.

"Go Yang, save your sister." Raven said as Qrow sent Cinder flying into the wall with a wild volley of strikes with the blunt side of his scythe.

"Good luck, mom." Yang said.

"Good luck yourself... I... I love you." Raven said.

Yang stared at her mother for a brief moment before Weiss called "Yang, come on!"

Yang sighed, despite what her mother had been doing she didn't really know if she could say those words to Raven. "Kick her ass, mom."

Raven had noticed Yang's hesitation and while it did hurt a bit she understood Yang's emotions would naturally be conflicted. "I will." She said.

As Yang ran after her friends Raven whipped around and ran towards Cinder with her scabbard ready to unleash another blast of Dust fire. She slammed it down to the ground and a wall of fire rushed at Cinder who quickly managed to gain control of the blast herself.

"Bad mistake." Cinder said as she sent the fire at Qrow.

"Shit." Qrow muttered as he began spinning Reaper as fast as he could which deflected the blast of flame away from him, as Cinder and Raven engaged in battle. The two black haired women slammed their blades into each other over and over before Qrow rushed back into the fray only for Cinder to crouch down and recreate her dome made of fire and wind which forced both Hunters away from her.

"Trying to hide? Didn't take you for a coward." Qrow mocked.

He soon regretted his words as Cinder detonated the dome and sent both Hunters flying into the wall. Cinder used her powers of wind to grab both of them by the throat and begin choking them.

"I have learned to love this little ability." Cinder said.

"Well I've got an ability that I love; fighting dirty!" Qrow yelled as he whipped out a small explosive out of his pocket and tossed it at Cinder. She quickly used the wind to catch it and contain the blast but in doing so released her adversaries. Raven changed crystals and sent a sharp blast of ice flying at Cinder only for the Fall Maiden to incinerate it as she created her bow and arrow and began unleashing a series of arrows on them but the two slashed them down.

"We're gonna be doing this all night." Qrow muttered.

"Do you truly believe you can last that long?" Cinder asked as she jumped away from more ice blasts from Raven's scabbard.

"Do you?" Raven returned as she dodged an arrow.

Cinder smirked and said "I don't believe, I know I can."

* * *

The large group of ten teenagers, one adult, and one robot ran down the hallways of the factory as the battle outside raged on and they tried to leave behind the Fall Maiden.

"Weiss, how much further to the throne room?" Coco asked.

Weiss looked at the updated layout on her scroll and answered "Not far, we should be there soon."

Yang glared at Ashe as they entered another large alcove in the factory. Her eyes had not turned red but deep down she was fuming. She approached Ashe and began to rant at him furiously. "You've got some nerve pulling an idiotic stunt like that!"

"I'm sorry but she's my sister, I had to try and talk to her." Ashe argued as the group came to a halt.

"After everything she has done it's foolish to think that a few words can change her ways." Yatsuhashi stated.

"You're right, I know but I..." Ashe tried to say before Yang slapped him with her organic hand.

"You what? You love her? Is that it? Even if she is your sister she's not worth it! Even if she did turn against Salem she'd still have to pay for everything she's done, every person she killed, every life she ruined!" Yang cried.

"Wouldn't you try as hard as you could to save Ruby if Salem turned her?" Ashe hissed.

"Don't you dare try to play that on me, you son of a..." Yang began before her partner stopped her.

"Yang calm down now." Blake said firmly as she placed a strong hand on Yang's shoulder. Yang glared at Ashe but she backed down. "I'm sorry about that; Yang's always been very emotional about..." Blake tried to say before Ashe stopped her.

"No, she's right. I... I wanted to believe that the big sister I loved so much was still in there, but I guess it was pointless to hope." He said.

Blake looked at him sympathetically before she said "The reason I ran away, the reason they needed to find me was because someone from my past, someone I used to love, hurt my best friend." She glanced at Yang as she said this. "Before I left him I wanted to believe so badly that he could change but after a while I saw that there was no way he'd ever overcome the hatred he had inside of him. A part of me still wants to think that he can stop being the monster he is now but I know that will never come to pass. Sometimes you have to let go of the people you care about for the greater good."

Ashe nodded and said "I guess you're right."

As they continued to walk down the hallways Velvet knew she had to say something to Ashe "Look, while Blake has a point, I don't think it can all boil down to that. If Cinder did hesitate to kill you like you said then there's still hope. When I was a child I used to think that there was no hope for Faunus equality because of how one boy treated me, a kid so cruel and prejudice towards Faunus that he even broke that old 'no hitting a girl' rule so he could punch me. Because of people like that it took years for me to fully open up to humans and once I did I knew I was wrong. When we were in my home town before we got roped into this mess we spent most of our time slaughtering Grimm but one day an Ursa got close to the village and nearly killed the guy, I hadn't even seen him in years. There was this dark urge in me to let the Ursa have him but I knew I'd be no better than him if I did that so I put my grudge aside and saved him. After that he got on his knees and thanked me for saving him and once he realized who I was he begged for my forgiveness. He had changed over the years and wanted to be forgiven for his past sins. So maybe you're on to something Ashe, maybe everyone can change if given the chance." She said.

Ashe sighed but said nothing.

"Velv, as nice as your speech is I think we can cross off any hope of Cinder Fall turning good." Fox said.

"Yeah, I mean I used to be an asshole but I wasn't a monster like Cinder." Cardin pointed out.

"Yeah, two different things, Velvet. People can stop being assholes but there's no way in hell someone can change when they've become what Cinder has." Yang said as she looked ahead and she saw someone come out of another hallway, someone she recognized all too well; Torchwick's little minion, the girl dressed in pink, brown, and white armed with an umbrella.

"YOU!" she shouted as her eyes flashed red and she launched forward like a rocket.

"Yang, wait!" cried Weiss but Yang ignored her teammate.

Neo held her arms up and shook her head before Yang slammed her into the wall. She lifted Neo up with her metal arm and said "Okay, tiny, I know you're more or less the quiet type but I think you should give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't..."

"YANG!" an all too familiar voice cried. Yang turned to look down the hallway to see her little sister and Jaune running towards her with Ozpin lagging behind.

"RUBY!" Yang cried as she dropped Neo opened her arms up as Ruby used her Semblance to rush at her big sister. "You're okay!" the blonde said as her little sister got closer and closer until Ruby jumped at her.

The two sisters fell to the ground as Ruby smashed into Yang and hugged her as tightly as she could. "I've missed you so much! How did you get here? Are you okay? What happened to your arm? Oh my god it's robotic!" Ruby said as she realized the changes her big sister had gone through.

"Yep, new and improved!" Yang said through teary eyes as she hugged her little sister to her. "I'm back for good, sis."

"I thought you'd never get over it! I thought... I thought you were..." Ruby tried to say before Yang silenced her with a grin.

"They couldn't keep you down so they can't keep me down either." Yang said before she added "You did good Rubes."

"Ruby!" cried the rest of the rescue team as they finally caught up with the elder sister.

"Weiss! Blake! Ren! Nora! Everyone!" Ruby cheered as she got back up. She saw Jaune come out of the hallway to meet up with everyone.

"Guys?!" cried Jaune.

"Jaune-Jaune!" cheered Nora as she launched herself at him, knocking him down.

"Hey! I'm happy to see you too, Nora, but don't just plow into me like that!" Jaune said, chuckling as he hugged his friend back.

Nora laughed as she noticed Jaune's beard was gone. "Wow, nice shave." She said.

"You can thank Ante for it." Jaune said with a smile.

"Blake, you came back!" Ruby said as the cat Faunus hugged her.

"I had to, Ruby. Sun and Yang said you were in trouble so I knew I had to help you, even if it meant losing the chance of tracking down the one who hurt Yang." Blake said with a big smile. Ruby nuzzled her head into Blake's chest and hugged her friend even tighter, amazed that Blake would abandon her own mission to come save her.

"I knew Sun would keep his promise."

"Sun's promise?" Blake asked.

"He said that he'd bring you back and he did!" Ruby said.

Blake remembered her own promise to Sun she had made and knew that now she had to keep it. She smiled and said "Yeah, he did."

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss shouted. Ruby lifted her head from Blake's chest to see her partner looking very annoyed and grumpy.

"Uh-oh." Ruby said.

Weiss grabbed Ruby's shirt, jerked her forward and said "Do you have any idea what I had to do to get here?! How much trouble I am in because I wanted to help you?!"

"Uhh... no." Ruby answered, innocently. "Ow!" she cried as Weiss bonked her on the head.

Weiss sighed and said "Just... never worry me like that again, you dolt!" And with that she pulled Ruby in and kissed her on the cheek Ruby's blush was as red as her hood.

"Woo! Way to go, Schnee!" Coco cheered.

"Oh shut up." The now blushing heiress snapped.

"She's a keeper, Ruby." Coco joked.

"I know she is." Ruby said before Yang grabbed both younger girls and hugged them to her, squeezing them both rather tightly.

"Come on Blake, group hug! Team RWBY is back!" Yang cheered as Blake joined in, wrapping her arms around her partner, managing to reach both Weiss and Ruby.

"And I hope it's never apart again." Blake added happily.

"Yang, sorry but your arm is a bit too... Penny!" Ruby shouted as she noticed her robotic friend.

"Salutations Ruby." Penny said with a warm smile.

"Y... you remember me?" Ruby asked as Yang released her.

"Thanks to Weiss I do, I don't know how, even without my original memories, I could ever forget my best friend." Penny said as he arms spread open. Ruby didn't even hesitate as she rushed into Penny and hugged the robot girl as hard as she could.

"I thought I lost you." Ruby whispered to her.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Penny said kindly as she returned the hug. "You should know that it was Weiss who broke me out of Atlas, she helped restore my memory... she saved me Ruby."

Ruby looked to Weiss and said "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Weiss smiled and said "I couldn't let my partner's friend die, could I?"

"Die?" Ruby asked.

"We'll explain later, right now more hugs." Penny demanded as she pulled Ruby back into one.

Meanwhile Ren walked over to get Nora off of Jaune and helped his leader up. "It's good to see you're alright, Jaune. I knew you'd make it." He said.

"Thanks Ren, nice to see you went with my plan." Jaune said as he gestured to the rescue team.

"Are you alright? You look like you've been through a lot." Ren said.

"I have, but I'll live." Jaune said as he saw the others looking at his changed appearance.

"So... you're part Grimm now." Blake said.

"Only a little, I think we can find a way to undo it." Jaune said with a small smile.

That was Velvet needed to know that her friend was still himself. She ran towards Jaune and hugged him. "Oh thank god you're both okay!" she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Nice to see you too, Velvet." Jaune said as he hugged his Faunus friend back.

Yang smiled at Jaune and said "Hey Vomit boy, nice eyes. Trying to copy me?"

"Wouldn't dare." Jaune answered as he smiled at her. Blake and Weiss returned the smile to him.

"I'm glad you're alright, you had us worried there." Weiss said.

"Sorry about that." Jaune said.

"Hey Jaune, Ruby." Said Ashe, making his presence known.

"Ashe... weird to see you again after what we found out from Cinder." Jaune said, noticing Ruby had pulled away from Penny and was now looking at the man as well.

"Look, kids... I'm sorry I lied to you, I wanted to stop my sister, hell that's why I was coming here in the first place, so when I met you kids and found out what you were doing I wanted to help you take her down. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you and I don't blame you if you hate me but I can only apologize and point out that we are literally in the middle on an enemy base with a war going on outside so can we discuss this later?" Ashe said.

"I... guess after everything that's happened and considering that you're here to help save us that I may forgive you." Jaune said with a bitter smile.

"I think I can forgive you, everyone deserves another chance." Ruby said to Ashe as she walked to him and hugged him. Ashe smiled and thanked the girl before her returned the hug.

Jaune looked to see Cardin and his smile grew. "So, you kept your word." He said.

Cardin returned the smile and said "Hey, honor of the Winchesters and all that. So we even now?"

"Not really, considering the weeks you blackmailed me... but it's a pretty good start." Jaune said as he offered his hand out, which Cardin quickly accepted and shook.

Neo tried to get up but soon went back down as Fox held his blades to her throat. "I would recommend staying down." He said and she simply nodded in response.

"It's okay, Fox. She's on our side." Jaune said.

"You sure about that?" Yang asked, doubtfully.

"Considering the guards she killed to free us I think we can assume she can be trusted until we get away from the factory." Ozpin said as he made his way out of the hallway, limping slightly.

"Professor Ozpin!" Velvet cried.

"You're here?! Oh wow, our odds are actually looking pretty good now!" Cardin said as the headmaster greeted his students.

Ashe smiled at the older man and said "Hey Ozpin."

"Hello Ashe, good lord, you've grown quite a bit."

"Twenty years can change a guy." Ashe agreed.

"You two know each other?" Ren asked.

"I met him once; he came to visit my family when my parents found out about Salem's interest in Cinder." Ashe elaborated.

Ozpin nodded and looked to Fox. "It's alright Mr. Alistair, let her up."

Fox looked to Neo and withdrew his blade. "If Ozpin says you can be trusted for the time being then you can rise." He said.

Neo nodded and picked herself up. "Well now that you're all one big happy family once again shall we get on with it?" she asked, shocking Yang with her ability to speak.

"She's right; we should probably get out of here." Yatsuhashi said. The group began to run in the opposite direction until Ruby and Jaune ran in front of them.

"We have to move but we can't leave yet! We have to get to the labs and save Pyrrha!" Jaune objected, making Ren and Nora look at each other. They had noticed Ozpin was using Milo in spear form as a new cane but chose not to point it out. Jaune began to run ahead, not listening to the others' cries of confusion. Ren and Nora ran forward, calling out to Jaune as everyone followed him.

"Wait! Listen Jaune, Yang's mother was able to sneak in here..." Ren began before Ruby interrupted him.

"Your mom was here?!" she cried as she ran ahead.

"We'll tell you all about it later." Yang promised her little sister.

"... and she told us that you were talking to a Pyrrha that wasn't there..."

"No, Ren! She's wrong! Jaune's right, Pyrrha's alive but we have to move now if we're going to save her!" Ruby cried. Everyone looked at the girl with wide eyes, not knowing if they were telling the truth or not.

"Are you sure about that?" Ashe asked.

"Yes I'm sure! They brainwashed her into thinking she was someone else called Fotia Drakos and they turned her into a Grimm hybrid..."

"WHAT?!" everyone screamed, skidding to a halt.

"It's true, but Jaune managed to beat her in a fight and win! Ashe, he used the ultimate attack on her in reverse and it worked! It brought her back but now Emerald and Mercury are taking her to a lab so they can freeze her and take her away! We have to save her now!" Ruby said desperately, using the best 'leader' voice she could.

"Raven said that Jaune was supposed to fight Drakos to the death, that's sick." Velvet said, furious at what these monsters had done to her friends.

"And judging by how banged up Arc seems to be it looks like he got his ass kicked." Coco observed as Jaune ran ahead, desperation on his face.

"Actually Jaune won." Ruby said.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Jaune beat P-money?!" Yang cried.

"Yeah, it was a pretty hard fight though, we should probably help Jaune before he goes off alone!" Ruby said, pointing out how far ahead Jaune was.

"What are we standing around talking for? Let's go save her!" Nora said as she began to run after her leader, her now officially together-together boyfriend tagging along.

"Don't have to tell us, we gotta get her back." Yang stated.

"Right, do you know where the lab is on that layout, Weiss?" Ren asked.

"I don't think so." Weiss said as she took out her scroll again.

"I can point it out to you." Neo said as she ran over to Weiss. She looked at the layout and pointed at a room. "There, that's Giger's lab, they took her there. If we hurry we can still stop her from being put into cryo-sleep."

"Good, let's hurry!" Velvet said.

"Are we sure we can do this? What if it's too late?" Cardin pointed out.

"We'll figure all that out later, if they've frozen her we can unfreeze her but now we gotta follow Arc and move!" Coco said.

Everyone began running ahead with Ozpin lagging behind until they caught up with Jaune, who was a bit confused as to where to go when he came to a cross section in the hallways.

"This is the way to go." Neo said. Before he could take off Ashe stopped him.

"Jaune, wait! You said they turned her into one of those Grimm hybrids, what makes you think she can be saved?" Ashe asked.

Silence reigned as Jaune glared at Ashe. He slowly approached the older man and asked "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that... maybe you can't save her. I now know that Cinder can't be saved and I want nothing more than for her to just change back to how she was but things aren't that simple, kid! I... I don't... I..." Ashe struggled to find the words. He looked at Blake and remembered what she had said a few minutes ago.

"Jaune, I have learned that sometimes... the people we love aren't worth the lives of others." Ashe finished.

Jaune answered Ashe by smashing his fist into Ashe's jaw so hard in sent him flying into the air and down on his back, shocking everyone.

Ashe looked up, wiping the blood off his mouth as he looked up to the glaring Jaune.

"They are to me!" Jaune yelled. "Everyone I care about is! I'd gladly die for each and every person I care about, including most of you!" he said to the small crowd around him. Some of them doubted that he really meant that but some like Ruby, Ren, and Nora knew he truly did. It was just the kind of person he was.

Jaune looked down to Ashe and continued, "I used that Ultimate Attack thing on her, I saved her, I brought the real Pyrrha back and I cannot let them take her away again! I'll do it myself if I have to but I won't let Pyrrha down again!"

Everyone watched as Ashe rose up and looked Jaune straight in the eye. He spat out blood and put his hands on Jaune's shoulders but the blonde Huntsman didn't flinch.

"Jaune... I'm so proud of you." Ashe said.

"...what?" Jaune asked.

"I see so much of myself in you, Jaune and yet you are a better person than I ever was or could ever hope to be, you never give up or back down no matter what is thrown at you. I know that I'll probably never get a happy ending of my own, but I'll make damn sure that you get yours. So I will help you save the one you love." Ashe said.

Jaune looked to his friends and asked "Well now that that's settled we can't waste anymore time. You guys coming?"

"My pleasure! Lock and load everybody, the mission has changed!" Coco said.

"What about Ozpin? He's in no shape to fight with us." Blake pointed out.

"I'll get him outside and to the ships then I'll join the others in the battle." Fox said.

"You won't make it alone, I'll go with you." Neo said.

"Whoa, not alone you won't, you living ice cream cone." Coco objected.

"Then I will accompany them." Penny said.

"Are you sure Penny?" Ruby asked.

Penny nodded, "You are all more than capable of saving Pyrrha, but I'm more useful out there in a big chaotic battle. I'll be fine as long as you come out of this okay." She said.

"I'll be fine, just stay safe." Ruby said.

"Yeah, don't want you goin' to pieces again!" Yang joked, only to get an annoyed groan from everyone except Ashe who just smirked.

The combined group made their way to a splitting hallway, one way leading to Giger's lab and the other towards the main entrance.

"This is where we part ways, good luck everyone." Ozpin said as Neo went ahead to be the smaller group's lookout.

"Nice to see you're alive, Ozpin. Try to keep it that way." Yang said as she, Ashe, Jaune, Blake, Ren, Nora and Cardin went down the hall first.

Fox looked to his teammates and felt a little nervous.

"Coco, Velv, Yatsu... stay safe." Fox said as he began to follow Neo down the hallway.

"We will, just watch that nice ass of yours." Coco teased.

"I'm more worried about your nice ass." Fox shot back with a smirk.

Coco's jaw dropped and Velvet giggled, even the usually stoic Yatsuhashi looked like he was going to laugh.

"I'll get back to you." Coco said before she and the rest of her team followed the rest down the hall. She looked at the smiling Velvet and whispered "Not a word."

Ruby looked at Penny and smiled. "See you at the ship, I guess?"

Penny returned the smile and said "I'll be waiting for you."

Ruby watched as Penny followed Neo, Ozpin, and Fox down the hallways and hoped that she'd be okay out there.

"Come on Ruby." Weiss said. Ruby nodded and the two girls ran after the rest of the rescue team.

"So you saved Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Yes and it wasn't easy I..." Weiss was cut off by Ruby speeding in front of her and placing a kiss on the Schnee heiress' cheek.

"I hope that's a good enough thank you." Ruby said, smiling as Weiss was now blushing.

"Uh... let's get moving, I should probably start explaining what you missed." Weiss said as the two caught up with the others.

Ruby's smile could barely leave her face right now, her team was back and they had a chance to save Pyrrha. She couldn't save her before, but now that they were together again they'd make up for that.

* * *

Pyrrha struggled as hard as she could but the grip of the Grimm Knights was too strong. If she was at full strength she could easily take them but that fight with Jaune and the emotional fallout of their reunion left her exhausted, and even if she could use her Semblance on them, the others inside of the room would simply blast her. She had been stripped out of her Grimm Commander armor and left in a gray tank-top and her black shorts so they could freeze her as well as to make it easier to hold her down.

She glared at Giger and his assistants as they prepared the cryotube, loading little compartments on its side with ice Dust powder, enough to freeze her but not enough to kill her.

Mercury, Emerald, and Damien watched as the scientists went about their work, transferring computer documents and loading up experiments into crates. Damien looked at the large metal door that led to the Chimera's chamber.

"So that's where you keep the big hodgepodge Grimm?" he asked.

Giger glanced at him and answered "Correct, Mr. Ante."

"I thought you'd be loading it up by now." Emerald said.

"When dealing with the Chimera we need extreme precaution and a battle going on outside tends to make our guards a little nervous and that kind of emotion gets the Chimera excited. Once the attackers are defeated we shall sedate it and transport it to the ship." Giger explained.

"If this thing is as dangerous as I think it is why do you keep it so close?" Damien asked.

"To keep an eye on it." Giger said, his voice was a bit on edge as he said this and Pyrrha noticed it and the senses given to her by the Grimm essence allowed her to sense the doctor's fear.

Damien nodded, not really understanding but he didn't have time to prod Giger for more information. He looked to Mercury and Emerald and said "Okay kids, go on back and get Arc, I think these guys will be ready to freeze Nikos soon enough, may as well get lover boy ready too."

"Why aren't you coming with us?" Mercury asked.

"Don't jinx it!" Emerald scolded.

"Because I got where I am today by being smart and I know Nikos isn't a weakling, so if she gets so much a slight upper hand we're screwed! Go get Arc." Damien ordered.

Emerald glared at the crime lord but Mercury just shrugged.

"Knights, with us." Emerald said to the group of twenty Grimm Knights inside of the room. The two teenagers departed, taking all but two of the robots in the lab with them, meaning that most of the guards in the giant laboratory were human.

Damien approached Pyrrha and stroked her chin.

"Well, now that you know who you really are allow me to properly introduce myself; I'm Damien Ante, and you're beautiful..." he began before Pyrrha interrupted him with a kick to the groin. "Ow! Bitch!" he cried, doing his best to ignore the snickers from the other humans in the room.

"What? Was it the line? God knows I've used it plenty of times." Damien said as he grinned at Pyrrha. "You got fight in you, I think I like you even more now."

"Wait until I'm at full strength, then you'll love me." Pyrrha growled.

All of a sudden a roar sounded off from behind the steel door of the Chimera's chamber, causing a few guards to aim their guns at it and one or two lab technicians to jump.

"Remain calm everyone, it cannot breach the door, we have tested its limits and it can hold the Chimera back." Giger assured his staff.

"You better be sure about that doc, I saw that thing in action once I wouldn't like to be around with it on the loose." Damien said.

"Mr. Ante, I created the Chimera. What you saw was merely an example of what it can do. The only way it could escape it if someone opens the door via my remote" Giger said as he gestured to a remote device strapped to his wrist, "or with the consoles above the chamber."

Ante looked up and sure enough there was a walkway above the Chimera's chamber that he hadn't noticed before. He wondered how one could get up there until he saw a ladder that led up to it as well as a series of rafters and catwalks.

"How much longer 'til we can put this bitch on ice?" he asked.

"About seven minutes for the tube to be properly prepared and three minutes for a safe freezing process, once she is done we can freeze the others quite easily." Giger answered.

Pyrrha glared at Giger and said "I know you're afraid!"

Giger looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're afraid of whatever abomination you have behind that door, I can tell that you're all afraid!" she said.

"My dear, if you had seen or even had a slight understanding of what I have made you'd be afraid too. You may have Grimm essence inside of you but that thing is a hybrid of human and Grimm as well, but there is no humanity in it, only the Grimm." Giger said.

"Then I can control it!" Pyrrha said.

"Go ahead and try." Giger invited as he went back to work on the cryotube.

Pyrrha looked towards the metal door and concentrated, trying to reach out to this creature with her senses. If she could control something like the Wyvern then she could control this Chimera.

But then she felt something; something worse and filled with more blind rage and blood lust than any Grimm she had ever encountered. She felt something so dark that the feeling of dread she got from it was matched by Cinder and exceeded only by Salem.

She could feel the Chimera within the chamber and Pyrrha understood why everyone else, even Ante, feared it. She couldn't help but be afraid too as she stopped trying to contact it.

* * *

As this was happening a man of the age twenty-four ran down the halls of the factory, trying to find some exit from this place so he could get out. He had only taken a job as a guard for this factory because it paid well and would be perfect for his silent loner nature as he was required to keep as quiet as possible.

When he had seen what was truly going on he knew he'd have to keep quiet or it would cost him his life. Even if he told somebody they couldn't protect him, no one could from these people. So he was stuck serving as a guard for this empire of terrorists, murderers, and god knows what else. He had seen the Grimm Knights and the hybrids, had seen what they had done to Pyrrha Nikos and others, but he knew he had to remain silent or he'd suffer the same fate.

Some would call that cold, but he didn't care. He just wanted to live and no way in hell was he going to do that by fighting a bunch of pissed off Hunters.

He had only been in the factory for a few days and didn't know the layout very well, all he knew was what little they allowed him to know. Cinder Fall and the other higher ups of this facility hired him because he was poor and desperate and than meant he could be easily placed under firm control.

"Come on, come on! There has to be an exit somewhere!" the man said to himself.

"I can show you a way out." Said a voice from behind him.

The man jumped and aimed his gun to the figure that had somehow snuck up on him.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Oh, just an old man who wants his freedom just as much as you." Said an old bearded man in ratty clothes. "I know a way out and we can make it together while everyone is distracted."

The guard lowered his gun and nodded, he was suspicious of course but this was just some weak old man who looked like he hadn't seen the sun in years.

"Okay, let's go." The guard said.

"Wait, take off your helmet and let this old soul see a friendly face." The old man beckoned.

The guard saw no harm in this so he took off his helmet to show an average, clean-shaven face.

"What is your name?" the old man inquired.

"Huan." He answered.

"Hmm, in an old tongue that word means 'fortunate'." The old man said.

"If I was fortunate I wouldn't be anywhere near this place." Huan joked as the old man got much closer than he would like.

"I suppose you are correct, you are not lucky." The old man said as he grabbed a pen out of his pocket and stabbed it into Haun's throat.

Huan tried to scream out but he couldn't; blood and ink poured down his throat, mixing together. He tried to call for help but he merely gurgled blood out of his mouth. He fell to his knees, his arms struggling to reach the pen.

"I know it is painful, but it will be over soon my boy. Look on the bright side; at least I showed you the way out." Norvik whispered to the dying man.

Norvik stooped down, yanked out the pen and slammed it into Haun's eye. Haun managed to give out a weak cry as he died.

"Oh thank you, Huan. It has been so long since I've done the thing I was born to do." Norvik said as he picked up Haun's gun. He didn't quite understand these advanced guns but he understood the basic concept so he tested it out on Huna's dead body, firing a blast into it.

"Oh, this will do nicely." Norvik said as he turned around and began walking down the hallway. He had felt Ozpin storing up aura while they were in the cell but he had not told Mistress Salem because he wanted to have this to himself, he wouldn't let the mistress have Ozpin.

Ozpin life was his to take.

"Come to me, William Ozpin. Join your team." Norvik said to himself.

* * *

What was left of the rescue team continued to run to Giger's lab. Ashe and Yang led the group as Weiss and Ren explained to Ruby and Jaune what they had missed.

"I don't care if he was controlled, I am going to punch General Ironwood the next time I see him!" Ruby said angrily.

"This is a heck of a lot to take in. I just hope my sisters will be okay out there." Jaune said.

"Considering the Violet managed to survive being part of the first attack I think your sisters have a good chance of making it out." Ren said.

"How much further to the lab?" asked Yatsuhashi.

Weiss looked at her scroll. "Not much further, all we have to do is take a right turn up ahead, go down that hall, go up the stairs, down the left hallway and we'll be there." She said.

"Sounds good, be ready to fight because they'll be bound to have some guards on her." Ashe said.

"Hey, one of the doors up ahead is opening." Said Yang.

A man that Ruby and Jaune recognized all too well stepped out of one the rooms in the hall and once he saw them his eyes went wide.

"West!" Jaune shouted.

"Oh dear..." West said. He turned to run back into the room he had just come out of only for Yatsuhashi's sword to stab through the door and prevent him from taking another step further.

"Nice throw, Big Y." Coco said to her large teammate as Ruby rocketed forward and grabbed West.

"Wait, please! I have nothing to give you, I healed your friend didn't I?" West begged as Ruby pinned him down as he tried to pull something out of his pocket.

"Only because Salem ordered you!" Ruby hissed.

"Whoa, down girl!" Yang said as she pulled her younger sister off of the doctor.

Ashe grabbed West and slammed him into the wall with Jaune, Weiss, Ren, Coco, and Cardin all pointing their weapons at him while Yatsuhashi yanked his sword out of the door.

"Okay, I recognize you from the construction site but I don't really know you, West." Ashe said.

"He's one of Salem's followers but he has a healing Semblance, before stuff started to go down Cinder had him transfer all the data stored in this place to another base so we couldn't get any of our hands on it." Jaune said.

"So that means he must have some info in his head." Coco stated with a sly grin.

"Uh... no! I won't betray Mistress Salem!" West cried as he reached for his pocket again, but Coco grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"That so? Ashe put him down." Coco said. Ashe glanced at her but did as she asked. Coco looked to Yatsuhashi and nodded.

West was sent flying down the hallway by a mighty punch from Yatsuhashi but was stopped by a wall.

"Nice one Yatsuhashi." Velvet said.

"Another perfect 10." Coco agreed.

"Remind me never to get on his bad side again." Cardin said to Jaune.

"Let's go see if you changed his mind."

West got up to see the group approaching him once again. He pushed himself up as he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"West!" call Emerald from down the hallway. West looked down to see Emerald, Mercury, and twenty Grimm Knights coming towards him. He got up and limped towards them.

"Some of the intruders got inside, Arc and Rose are loose! Stop them!" West cried.

As the rescue team ran towards them they could hear Emerald's voice.

"Is that who I think it is?" Blake asked.

"Oh yeah, get ready Yatsu because it's payback time." Coco said with a grin.

The group came around the corner and came face to face with Cinder's two underlings as West got behind them.

"Oh crap!" Mercury shouted as he saw how outnumbered they were.

"You!" Yang screamed as she pointed at Mercury as Emerald pulled out her weapons.

Ruby transformed Crescent Rose, Weiss held up Myrtenaster, Blake got ready with Gambol Shroud in its katana form, Ren aimed his StormFlowers, everyone was preparing to fight.

"So you got out. I assume you're trying to save Nikos." Emerald said.

"Correct, now stand down and you won't suffer." Jaune said.

"Much, there is gonna be a lot of suffering in your future but not that much." Coco added.

"You think you can take us on?! We got you out numbered nearly two to one! You're dead meat, assholes." Mercury said.

"Is that a fact? I don't think so. Guys, step down. Team RWBY's got this one." Ruby said as she stepped forward. Yang smirked and copied her little sister's actions, flexing her metallic arm as she did so and smiling darkly at Mercury.

Weiss stepped next to Ruby and created a Glyph below them as Blake stood next to Yang.

"You sure you want to handle this by yourselves?" Jaune asked.

Ruby looked at her friend and said "We're finally back together, I think we need to celebrate by kicking some butt."

Jaune, Ashe, Nora, and Coco smiled at that.

"You heard 'em, let them handle this, but make it quick!" Ashe said as he and the others took cover in the previous corridor.

"Right." Yang said as she glared at Mercury.

"Ready for round two, righty?" Mercury mocked.

"Oh yeah." Yang said as her eyes flashed red.

"Okay, Ice Flower will take on those robots, Yang will take on Mercury, that leaves Emerald for you." Ruby said to Blake.

"Sounds good to me, I've been dying to try this out in a fight." Weiss said as she knew she wanted to show off her new summoning ability.

"Bring it on." Emerald said.

"If you insist. Now!" Ruby cried as she wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist. Weiss created a series of Glyphs up the walls and she propelled herself up them with Ruby holding on as the Grimm Knights fired at them. Emerald began shooting at Blake who took cover behind a support beam while Mercury and Yang charged towards one another.

Yang's fist connected with Mercury's boot as he kicked up and both collided at once, knocking each other back a bit. Yang followed up with a series of punches, moving too fast to give Mercury to act and forcing him to bob and weave between the blows until he grabbed her head, used it a leverage to haul himself up, and kicked her in the stomach.

"Ah!" she cried out in pain.

"I like your new arm, Xiao Long, but you're just a copycat." Mercury said as he taped on his pant leg, creating a banging sound. Yang grimaced, those damn metal feet packed quite a punch, but so would her metal hand.

She jumped up and over him and managed to get off a shot from the Ember Celia right into his back, blowing him flat on his face but he jumped up before Yang could finish him off with a metal punch.

Meanwhile Weiss and Ruby landed on the ground as West retreated and hid behind a pillar. Ruby began blasting at the Grimm Knights with the Crescent Rose while Weiss summoned a white glyph with white swords spinning around it on the floor.

"Weiss, you're doing that now?" Ruby asked as she shot the head of a Grimm Knight clean off. "Have you..." she tried to say before she was forced to focus on fighting the Knights due to their number. She swung Crescent Rose into a Knight's torso. Ruby briefly had a flashback to the memory of the man she had killed but she knew this was not the time nor the place so she forced it out of her mind. She finished the Knight off by blasting its legs off and quickly shot the arms and legs off of another Grimm Knight, leaving it a twitching limbless husk on the floor.

"To answer you question Ruby; yes I have! Get ready to move out of the way!" Weiss cried as she leaned to the left to avoid being hit by a blast, pouring all of her energy into summoning the Atlas Armor Knight.

Ruby was surprised that Weiss had finally managed to pull the summoning off, but she knew that she needed to keep Weiss covered for the time being so she quickly began spinning Crescent Rose around to deflect to laser blasts the Grimm Knights were firing at them.

Emerald kept firing at Blake who was rushing at her, using her Semblance to leave fading shadows behind to distract Emerald, but it didn't work. Blake jumped up and slammed down Gambol Shroud but Emerald managed to parry with the sharp blades attached to her guns.

Blake leaned forward and backflipped over Emerald and she spun around trying to knock her legs out from behind but Emerald jumped up to avoid the attack. The mocha-skinned thief turned around and began blasting at Blake but the cat Faunus managed to create a stone clone of herself too absorb the blasts.

Blake took a brief moment to catch her breath as Emerald stopped firing but it was short-lived as Emerald jumped on top of the statue and began firing on her from above. Blake rolled out of the way and jumped back up and used her Semblance and a Dust crystal in her weapon to create a fire-charged shadow and sent it at Emerald. Emerald recognized this and quickly got out of the way as the shadow collided with the stone Blake and the two shadows exploded on impact.

Emerald landed on her back but she opened her eyes to see Blake walking towards her, blasting down two Grimm Knights that tried to stop her. The Knights bought Emerald enough time to recover and slam her blades against Blake's.

"You should've stayed on the run, Belladonna." Emerald said.

"I'm not running anymore, murderer." Blake said as she slammed her fist into Emerald's chin, knocking her backwards. "Do you remember a Faunus named Tukson?" she asked.

"Wha... yeah, Cinder and Taurus had us kill him to make an example to any White Fang deserters... oh boy." Emerald said as she realized what Blake was saying.

"He was my friend and you killed him, he will have justice." Blake said as she ran at Emerald.

Meanwhile Mercury kicked wildly at Yang, the blonde brawler kept dodging all of his attack, trying to find an opening. She saw none so she decided to make one herself. She jumped down on her back, lifted her legs up and held herself up with her arms and fired off the Ember Ceilia's shotguns, blasting herself upwards.

Mercury watched as she flew up into the air and came down, her metal fist ready to punch him out. Mercury jumped up, ready to meet her metal to metal once more. They did connect, but Yang reached out with her other left arm and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up close enough so she could headbutt him.

The two fell to the ground, both combatants jumping back up quickly. Mercury fired off some Dust rounds and controlled them to crash into her but she punched through them, though they did manage to slow her down. Mercury snarled and ran at her but Yang fired at him with her Gauntlets, only for the gray-haired fighter to jump up and at her, kicking her in the chest and knocking her flat on her back. He attempted to stomp on her but she quickly cuaght his leg and yanked him down with her.

As he was slammed on the ground Yang leaped up and slammed him in the stomach with her half metal elbow, making him cry out in pain. Mercury grabbed her metal fist and forced it at her face, but she opened it in time and quickly gained control.

"Nice try." she said as she grabbed him by the neck with her other arm and threw him into the wall.

Mercury recovered and used the guns in his boots to propel himself upwards. He landed behind Yang and knocked her down with a sweeping kick. He tried to stomp on her head but she caught it, but she struggled to keep it away from her face.

"Looks like I win this time." he said.

"Not on your life!" Yang cried as she let her organic arm let go of him and used the single gauntlet to blast his robotic leg.

"AH!" he cried out in pain, he fell backwards but Yang's robotic hand kept a grip on him. She jumped up, his leg still in hand she lifted him up over her head and slammed him onto the floor. She kept her grip on him as she began to twirl around, picking up momentum. Soon enough she released him and opened a barrage of Dust blasts from her gauntlets at him hitting her target multiple times, particularly in the legs.

Mercury crashed against the wall, moaning in pain. He glared up at a cocky Yang.

"Smile while you can..." he said as he aimed his foot at her. He tried to fire off his right boot only for it to explode on him. He screamed out in pain as his right foot was reduced to a smoking metal piece of scrap. One of her blasts had hit his boot directly in the firing mechanism and when he tried to shoot at her the backlash destroyed his foot.

"Looks like the shoe's on the other foot." Yang said as she grinned darkly at him.

"You stupid bitch... I'm gonna tear both your arms off and shove 'em..." he tried to say as he grabbed a pipe on the wall and pulled himself up but was stopped as a mighty punch from Yang's steel hand smashed his head into the wall, knocking him out.

Ruby kept spinning Crescent Rose around, occasionally stopping to slice a Grimm Knight apart, buying Weiss time until she was ready.

"Anytime now Weiss!" Ruby cried as she ducked a blade from a Grimm Knight trying to take her head off.

"Ruby, get behind me now! It's ready!" Weiss said. Ruby nodded and jumped behind Weiss.

Weiss' mind was clear of all emotions or distracting thoughts as the glyph in front of her glowed and a massive metal figure appeared from a bright burst of light. Out of the light was the Atlas Armor Knight, it's massive sword posed to strike. Ruby's silver eyes were as wide as they could go, her jaw dropped as the Armor stood before her like a magnificent divine warrior.

Weiss smirked as the Knight swung its sword down, demolishing four of the thirteen Grimm Knights left. They were cut to pieces by the strong slash, cut in half with their arms laying severed on the ground. A lone Grimm Knight flew up on the Armor's head and began blasting but the armor reached up with one free hand and crushed it, allowing it to fall into a crushed pile of metal on the floor.

The remaining eight Knights poured laser blasts onto the giant Armor, but it was no use. It rushed at the Knights and slammed its mighty sword down only for all but one of the robots to jump out of the way, the unfortunate one being cut in half vertically. It preformed a roundhouse kick, sending two more Grimm Knights flying into the wall where Ruby finished them off with some blasts from Crescent Rose.

Ruby drew back as two Grimm Knights charged at her. She fired at the closest one, blowing one of its arms clean off but it kept coming with it remaining arm wielding a deadly blade. It managed to score a hit on Ruby's arm but at the cost of its own life as Ruby eviscerated it down the chest. It fell to the ground, just barely operational as the other Grimm Knight attacked Ruby and tried to blast her. As Ruby jumped out of the way the second Kinght's blasts hit the first one, destroying it for her. Ruby aimed Crescent Rose and fired five times, blasting the robot's torso apart.

Weiss watched as the Armor Knight destroyed another Grimm Knight with a punch that smashed it apart and destroyed the penultimate one with a slash across the chest, causing everything above where the heart would be to slide off.

Weiss smiled until she noticed that one Grimm Knight was missing. She looked up and saw it hanging onto the wall, looking right at her. It jumped, blade out and ready to kill. Weiss used the ice Dust inside of Myrtenaster and sent a blast of ice at the murderous robot, freezing it as it fell. It fell to the ground, one arm cracking off as it did so. It slid on the ground until it was in front of Weiss. She held up her rapier and stabbed the Grimm Knight in the head, ending it.

Weiss looked up to see Ruby smiling at her. "That was pretty awesome, Weiss! You finally did it!" Ruby cheered.

"I've been waiting to use this in battle, it was worth it." Weiss said. She turned around to see the Armor Knight kneeling before her, bowing. Weiss nodded and dispersed the glyph and the Armor. "Rest, you have earned it." she said as she propped herself up on her blade.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes... that just took a lot out of me, I think I'll need more practice with it." Weiss said, clearly winded from how much aura the summoning took.

"Looks like everything's taken care of except Emerald." Ruby said as she watched the thief fight Blake.

Blake slashed Gambol Shroud on frantically, backing Emerald up to a pillar. She knew how to end this fight, but she'd need a brief break so she quickly created another stone shadow, which allowed Emerald the opportunity to strike back and unleash a barrage of Dust bullets on her. Blake loaded up a purple Dust crystal and jumped over the statue again, slamming the sword down to create a purple arc that slammed into Emerald and knocked her on her back.

Emerald opened her eyes to see Blake standing over her with Gambol Shroud pointed at her throat.

"Okay, I give." she said.

"Like you have a choice?" Blake said with a small smile as Ruby, Weiss and Yang joined her.

The four girls stood together, victorious.

"Well, I'd say this was a pretty good victory for Team RWBY, wouldn't you guys say so?" Ruby asked.

"Definitely." Weiss agreed.

"Without a doubt." said Blake, smiling.

"You bet." Yang added with a smirk.

"Nice work guys." Coco said as she and the others came out from the other hallway.

"You took them down hard, if it wasn't for everything he's done I'd feel a little bad for Mercury." Velvet said, cringing at the sight of Mercury's ruined leg.

"Don't, they deserve all of this and more." Jaune said.

Coco knelt down in front of Emerald and said "Hey there, remember me?"

Emerald glared at the leader of Team CFVY but everyone's attention was taken away from her when Ashe said "Wait a minute, where did West go?"

"And that's my cue!" cried the doctor as he jumped out from behind the support beam he had been hiding behind and threw a small device that was shaped like a hockey-puck at them.

"Shit! Look away!" Ashe cried before a blinding flash of light went off with a loud bang.

"Ah! My ears!" cried Velvet as she tried to recover from the attack, both sets of ears hurting from the bang

"What the heck was that?" asked Ruby as she kept her eyes shut

"A mini flash bang, I've used 'em a few times." Ashe said.

Yang growled furiously as she looked to see Emerald trying to get away. "Oh no you don't!" she snarled as she charged after the thief. She jumped up and slammed down on the girl with a kick, only for her to fade away, just another illusion.

"What the...?" she said in total confusion.

"Illusionist, remember?" Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"They're getting away!" Coco said as she saw Emerald and West retreat to the staircase.

"We have to go after them, if they get to the lab before we do we may lose Pyrrha!" Jaune cried.

"Right, come on!" Ruby said.

The group began to give chase after the two when a deep voice screamed "Ashe!"

Everyone turned to see a tall, dark man standing at the end of the hallway. A man Ashe recognized all too well.

"Saul Jude. By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way comes." Ashe said, his voice filled with hate and dread. Everyone else looked up, fearing what would happen next.

Jude smirked and added "And ring the bells, both loud and deep. Oum is not dead nor doth he sleep."

Ashe walked away from his younger friends and said "Guys, get Pyrrha and get out of here. I'll take care of him. Leave without me if you have to just get her and go!"

"Ashe, I know who this man is and what he's done to you. Good luck." Jaune said.

"Thanks, you too." Ashe said to his student.

"Be careful, Ashe... don't die on us." Ruby said.

"I'll try not to." Ashe said as he drew out his sword.

The teenagers watched as Ashe and Jude approached one another, both looking like they were going to enjoy this fight too much.

"Let's move." Jaune said. He led the team up the stairs, leaving the two old enemies to battle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for leaving you on yet another cliffhanger, but I have to. I'm even sorrier that the next chapter will take a while to write, like ten days at least so please be patient, plus I need breaks my some time off, trust me when I say Chapter 16 is going to be huge, maybe even the longest chapter of the story with a ton of stuff going on. So see you in about two weeks. Though I may split it into two halves so as to not keep you guys waiting. Also props to you if you recognized what movie the exchange Ashe and Jude have towards the end is from.
> 
> There was supposed to be more of the outside battle but I decided to save it for next time. Plus I felt I needed to focus more on Team RWBY's reunion and their battle with Mercury, also I wanted to save the action so I would still have ideas for battles next chapter.
> 
> Sorry the opening of this chapter is a little weak, the action isn't my best but I'm saving it for later... and I used a lot of my effort on the fight scene in the last chapter. Time frame of this chapter is a bit screwed up as well but the first scene in the throne room happens immediately after the end of last chapter while the first battle is happening simultaneously with most of the last chapter
> 
> Also is it true that Rooster Teeth is trying to make it so sponsors see episodes of their shows a week early?! That's a pretty shitty thing to do. Guys, I love you to death but recently you've been very hard to like, seriously what the hell is wrong with you?! I guess deciding to kill off Pyrrha isn't the only incredibly stupid move you've made. I mean, I've come to expect that from sites that have gone downhill like Channel Awesome but not you guys, come on, you're better than this.
> 
> Please leave a review, a kudos, and leave your thoughts, a part of me feels a bit down because of how low this story's review/fave/follow count is compared to other stories and I work really hard on this story so I want it to be good, sorry if I'm being whiny. I mean I put everything I have into this story, I try to make it as good as I can and feel like I fail at that since I don't get much coverage, so please give some feedback or at least tell me what you thought of the story. But I really shouldn't complain, I mean this has gotten way more attention than any story I've ever written so maybe I'm just being a prick.


	16. The Battle of Haven Part I: Vendettas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.
> 
> Now it's important to know that this chapter and the next three will all be happening at the same time. This is the beginning of a five part Battle of Haven, first up: Ashe and Ozpin.

Ashe glared at the man who had taken away his lover, the man who had taken his only shot at a good life away. He hated this man as much as he hated Salem. It had been five years since he had last seen this man and to be honest he needed to a way to vent out his anger. This was the best way imaginable.

Jude smiled darkly at Ashe as the two circled each other. Despite his initial memory loss after he had been revived by Salem's underlings he soon recalled what had happened to him and who had thrown him to the Grimm. Jude hated Ashe just as passionately, he had been waiting for this for a very long time.

"So, how exactly did she save you? I mean, not everyone can be ganged up by a Grimm horde and come out looking like you do." Ashe said as he kept his hand on his shotgun.

"Oh, trust me when I say I didn't make it out unharmed... in fact quite the opposite." Jude said as his hand transformed into the sharp hook. "I not fully human anymore."

"You never were. You were always a freak on the inside, Jude." Ashe snapped.

"Ashe... you have no idea how long I have yearned for this. I have wanted to crush your skull and gut you like a fish for the past five years. I have envisioned it nearly every night." Jude said.

"You would have the sickest wet dreams." Ashe joked.

Jude actually laughed and said "You know Ashe, the strange thing is I never even wanted it to go the way it did. I explicitly told my men not to harm any of the villagers, I did not want to risk damaging any potential business deals but when your priest friend... Dono?"

"His name was Deno." Ashe corrected.

"Yes him, anyway when he tried to approach the old estate where I had set up shop the guards on duty were drunk and not the brightest of individuals. I assure you I was going to punish them for killing your friend but... your little rampage forced my hand. I decided that since you had turned the village against me completely I needed to make an example out of you. If it any consolation I would have taken your life over that lovely Mila's any day." Jude said, grinning as he saw Ashe's eyes fill with hate.

"Don't you dare speak of her to me!" Ashe screamed.

"Oh I think I will. You see, if she had the right idea she would have let you take your punishment. If you had submitted to me you and she would have had a happily ever after... working for me of course. But I think either way I'd have... made her mine." Jude taunted.

Ashe fired off his shotgun and blasted Jude down.

"Oh! What? Raw nerve?" Jude joked as Ashe lifted Jude up by his shirt collar and slammed his fist into Jude's face.

"She would never be yours!" Ashe yelled as he began to punch Jude over and over again, getting nothing out of the former drug lord but demented laughs.

"Not willingly, no... but then again she couldn't deny me if I were to reduce her to a mind broken shell of a woman, nothing but my sex slave!" Jude said, knowing he was pushing Ashe further and further.

Ashe screamed out as he hauled Jude up to his legs and let out a furious barrage and punches and kicks. He cupped his hands together and slammed them down on Jude's head and followed it up with a mighty "Haakskeekah!"

Jude was sent flying backwards, crashing into the wall near Mercury's out cold form. Jude looked up and grinned. "Okay Ashe, my turn." He said as his arm transformed into a gun, similar to how Penny's did.

Ashe's eyes widened and he muttered "Oh shit."

Jude rapidly fired at Ashe twice. Ashe managed to avoid the first blast but the second scored a direct hit. He fell onto his back as Jude began running towards him, his metal fist glowing. Jude jumped up and came down fist first, aiming for Ashe's head but Ashe used the extra power that the Aura Crystal had given him to roll out of the way. Jude's fist slammed onto the ground, creating a spider web crack in the concrete. Ashe took advantage of how close Jude's head was to the ground and kicked his foot into Jude's face, making his stagger backwards.

Ashe jumped up and was about to open up another barrage of punches on Jude before he fired his Dust ammunition into Ashe, blowing the Guerrilla Hunter down. Jude transformed his hand back to its normal form as he strolled over to Ashe, whistling a little tune as he did so. He grabbed Ashe by the back of the neck and slammed him face first into an elevator door that Ashe had not noticed before. Ashe tried to shoot his enemy with the shotgun but Jude tore it out and Ashe's hands and tossed it into the elevator as it opened up.

"Let's take this fight elsewhere." Jude said as his arm transformed into a blade. Ashe took out his sword and the two went at it, their blades clashing a total of eleven times before Ashe managed to jump up and slammed his elbow into Jude's face. It did disorientate Jude but Ashe noticed that the man's head was a bit harder than a human's head should be.

Jude snarled as his arm turned back to normal. He jumped to the ground, held up by his hands and kicked Ashe in the chest like a horse. The kick sent Ashe into the elevator, flat on his back again.

Ashe groaned, despite the power he felt from it whatever the crystal had given him didn't seem to be doing much. Jude walked into the elevator as the doors closed. Ashe got up, crouching.

"Going down?" Jude quipped.

"No, but you are!" Ashe cried. He jumped as hard as he could, his Semblance powering him. He jumped out of the emergency exit hatch and onto the top of the elevator where he drew out his sword and slashed the cable, releasing the elevator.

"No!" Jude yelled as he fell with the elevator as Ashe held onto the dangling cable.

Ashe watched as the lift crashed to the bottom of the shaft, sending up a cloud of dust that shrouded Jude from Ashe's sight. When the dust cleared Ashe saw that Jude wasn't there, no body or anything. Ashe knew he was not nearly lucky enough for the fall to kill that sick bastard so he'd have to pursue.

He let go of the cable and used his coat as a parachute, falling down not gracefully at all. He landed roughly on top of the elevator, half expecting it to give out on him. He looked into the lift and sure enough Jude was gone with the door wide open. Ashe hopped down and reclaimed his shotgun. He reloaded his weapon and put it away, as he knew he'd have to take in the fact that he was likely facing two directions, both of which Jude could ambush him from.

He took out his pistols and held his arms out in both directions. "Okay Jude, left or right, which is it?" Ashe asked himself as he ran out into the hallways and fired off three rounds from each gun into the opposite ends of the hallway. After he did so he could see it was an idiotic waste of ammo as Jude wasn't in either direction.

"Okay Jude, you're not one to run and hide so which way did you go?" Ashe whispered to himself.

All of a sudden a painful force smashed into Ashe's head from behind. Ashe dropped his guns and fell to the ground, his head throbbing in pain as Saul Jude jumped down from the ceiling. He had been hiding above the ceiling tiles, next to the hall's pulley system waiting for Ashe to, predictably, become stumped.

"Left or right? Ashe, you lack imagination!" Jude said as he knelt down, rolled Ashe over and began assaulting him with swift but strong punches. Turned Ashe over again and got up as he grabbed Ashe's leg. He slammed one foot onto the small of Ashe's back to keep him pinned down as he pulled Ashe's leg, forcing Ashe to scream in pain as he could feel his bones being pulled.

Jude looked on with a serene smile as he stopped pulling Ashe's leg and instead began to spin around, pulling Ashe with him. Soon Ashe was hovering off the ground as Jude twirled like a tornado only to stop suddenly and release Ashe who flew into the wall and collided with it very painfully.

Ashe tried to pull out his sword or his gun but Jude grabbed him by the hair, pulled him over and slammed him into the wall on the other side of the hallway. Ashe moaned in pain as he forced his arms to push his torso up, he saw Jude was enjoying this.

"This is too easy Ashe, come on! Fight back!" Jude demanded as he kicked Ashe in the chin, knocking onto his other side.

"You want it, you got it!" Ashe yelled as he whipped out his switchblade and slammed it into Jude's leg, making the man cry out in pain. Ashe took his chance now and forced himself to stand up where he began a series of twelve punches to the torso as well as three kicks to the stomach and one strong fist to the face before he let out another "Haakskeekah!" that sent Jude flying down the hallway.

"That good enough for you, asshole?!" Ashe yelled as he grabbed the chain on the pulley system and yanked it down. He also made sure to recollect his pistols for later, as he knew he'd need them.

Jude laughed as he tried to get up. "Look at you go! That's more like it!" he said as he pulled the small knife out of his leg. Ashe decided to give him more and he used the chain as a whip, slamming it into Jude's back six times.

"I hope this hurts, I've been keeping this inside of me for half a decade!" Ashe yelled.

"It does hurt and I love it!" Jude yelled as got ready to make his move.

Ashe shook his head in disgust as he slammed the chains down once more only for Jude's hand to transform into hook mode and catch the chains. He jumped up and ran right into Ashe's face, headbutting him. Ashe cried out as he dropped the chains but Jude took full advantage of them and used the long chain to make a metal noose and wrapped it around Ashe's neck and kicked his legs out from behind the knees. He also made sure that Ashe's hands were incapacitated as he transformed his hand into a buzzsaw, sliced off a part of the chain and used it to bind Ashe's hands.

"Let's go Ashe." Jude said as he began dragging Ashe by the chains.

Ashe struggled as hard as he could to get out but it was useless.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked in a choked voice.

"Hang you up, just like last time. And just like last time I hope that someone you care about tries to save you so I can take them from you!" Jude said as he dragged Ashe down the hallway to a large underground chamber. He noticed the desperation on Ashe's face, how hard he was trying to get out.

"I hope it's that Arc boy, you do seem to be rather fond of him." Jude said, getting just the reaction he wanted.

"If you hurt any of them I'll send you straight down to hell!" Ashe screamed.

"Ashe, you know I've already been there... and I loved it." Jude said as he hauled Ashe up and tossed him into a stack of crates that had been left in the hallway. Jude pinned Ashe down with one hand and pressed his robotic one up to Ashe's face, the sharp hook delicately tracing around Ashe's features.

"You know Ashe; I think I get it now. The reason you care for Arc so much is because he is who you want to be while I am who you are afraid you truly are."

Ashe responded by spitting blood into Jude's face and hissing out a "Fuck you." He then felt the power of the crystal surging through him. "Better late than never." Ashe muttered as he used this new strength to rip through the chains that kept his hands together. He jumped up and spin-kicked Jude in the head, causing him to slam into the wall.

He grabbed Jude and slammed his knee into Jude's stomach. He tried to punch Jude in the face but Jude blocked it with his arm that was still flesh and bone. Ashe jumped back and then jumped up and slammed his fist into Jude's head. Jude ran forward a bit and turned to blast two shots at Ashe, neither of which hit.

Ashe ran after Jude and sucker-punched him, but Jude retaliated big time. He got behind Ashe as he did so he whammed his natural fist on Ashe's head, wrapped his robotic arm around Ashe's torso and jumped over Ashe, kneeing him in the head as he did so. He landed on his feet, grabbed Ashe's arm and pulled it away, kicking Ashe in the hip, dislocating Ashe's shoulder.

Ashe was in a lot of pain right now but his aura was doing its job and was healing him as much as it could. He knew he could keep this up for a long time and he didn't have a lot of time as it was.

Jude lunged for Ashe but the Guerrilla Huntsman met him and the two began wrestling for dominance. Ashe struggled to get his hand near Jude's face but Jude was stronger than he remembered, but then again five years had obviously changed both of them.

"You won't win this, Ashe." Jude snarled.

"I probably won't but I don't really care as long as those kids will make it out." Ashe snapped as he tried to grab Jude's face.

"They'll die with you!" Jude yelled as he managed to overpower Ashe and slam him onto the floor. Ashe rolled out of the way to avoid being stomped on by Jude's foot. Ashe took out one of his pistols as Jude's arm turned back into the Dust cannon.

Ashe got the first shot off, hitting Jude's robotic shoulder. The impact of the blast forced Jude to cry out in pain but he still fired his blast as Ashe. The powerful Dust blast hit Ashe dead on and sent him flying several meters down the hall and onto his back.

As Ashe got up he saw Jude was charging at him like a wild bull, blood lust in his eyes. He took out his shotgun but he couldn't aim it before Jude slammed into him and wrapped his arms around Ashe's torso, locking them together.

Jude ran down the hallway towards the door but Ashe had other plans. He slammed the butt of his shotgun into Jude's head and the force of the blow caused Jude just enough pain to lose his grip on Ashe who slammed one foot down on Jude's running feet, causing him to trip.

Ashe jumped clear and watched as Jude fell to the ground, skidding to a halt. He tried to get up but Ashe sent him flying with another blast of the Haakskeekah which slammed Jude into the door that ended the hallway. Ashe decided not to let up and blasted away at Jude with his shotgun until the clip was empty.

He waited for a few seconds to see if Jude would get up but he didn't. Ashe knew that this time he'd have to make sure that Jude would stay dead. Once he got close enough he could see that Jude's aura was healing him so he was still alive so Ashe decided he'd put Jude down here and now like the rabid dog he was. He reloaded his shotgun and was about to blow Jude's head off when he noticed something strange about Jude's scalp; a spot where he had been hit was torn and revealed metal under the skin.

"What the hell did they do to you?" Ashe asked aloud.

Suddenly Jude's robotic hand shot up and grabbed Ashe's throat. Jude's eyes snapped open and looked at Ashe with a hateful glare. He stood up, lifting Ashe off the floor as he squeezed his old enemy's throat.

"You did this to me! You threw me to those Grimm; this is how Mistress Salem saved me! I am going to take my revenge now!" Jude ranted.

Jude tossed Ashe through the door and he skidded on the floor until he crashed into a steel railing. Ashe opened his eyes to the sound of guns cocking and he saw about a dozen guards all aiming their rifles at him.

"Stand down! He's mine!" Jude roared at the guards who all obediently nodded and lowered their weapons, seemingly ignoring the presence of the two fighters to return to work.

Ashe got up and looked around to see a giant underground cavern, a platform on each side connected by a catwalk. Below dozens of Grimm Knights and human servants of Salem worked hard, transporting inactive Grimm Knights and caged, sedated Grimm. Jude's arm turned into a blade and he attempted to slam it into the guardian of the Aura Crystal but Ashe unsheathed his sword and blocked the strike.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Ashe asked as he backed up onto the catwalk, held up by some support beams from the ground bellow. He twirled the sword around in his hands to show he was ready for a duel.

Jude laughed as he struck again but Ashe easily parried it. Ashe went further on to the catwalk as Jude walked forward.

"Do you really think we can stay here? Even with Ante's influence over the police we won 't be able to cover this up." Jude said as he parried two of Ashe's strikes and pressed forward, forcing Ashe back.

"Well at the very least we've gotten on Salem's nerves." Ashe joked as he walked backwards, blocking strikes from Jude.

"Oh yes, I think she and Lady Cinder will be most pleased once I get you out of our way." Jude said as he spun around to gain momentum and blew a powerful strike into Ashe's sword, nearly making Ashe lose his grip.

Jude kicked up and scored a hit on Ashe's chest, knocking Ashe onto the railing. Ashe dropped himself down to avoid being struck by Jude's blade. Ashe decided to retreat to the other end of the bridge as Jude began to give chase.

"Running away? That's a rather cowardly thing to do." Jude said.

"Running? This is gaining an advantage." Ashe said as he made it to the other end, an elevator being the only near means an exit. Ashe created an aura shield with his semblance to protect himself from a Dust blast from Jude's cannon. Ashe took out his pistol again and tried to shoot at his enemy but the sound of the elevator doors opening grabbed his attention.

"Freeze!" yelled a human guard who had just stepped out of the elevator. Ashe whipped around and shot the man in the head. Another guard ran out of the elevator, looking rather baffled and confused before Ashe blasted him three times in the chest. Ashe jumped to avoid another blast from Jude and he retreated into the elevator to take cover behind a large container on a cart the guards were taking.

Jude stopped where he was, looking a bit nervous and Ashe saw this.

"Why is he hesitating?" Ashe muttered to himself before he noticed that the container was marked with the words 'WARNING! Hau Bakuhatsu: Extremely Dangerous. Highly Flammable.'

"Holy shit, I thought this crap was banned." Ashe said aloud. He remembered hearing about this stuff ten years ago when a Schnee Dust Ship carrying a ton of it malfunctioned and crashed, but the true devastation was what the Hau Bakuhatsu did: devastate five city blocks and kill over two hundred people. Naturally the councils of the four kingdoms agreed to ban it from being used so it was sealed up in secure sites. Ashe knew he shouldn't be surprised that Cinder had somehow gotten her hands on some. He looked to see Jude had taken advantage of his distraction to get closer.

"What are we to do? Even I'm not crazy enough to fight with that substance around." Jude said.

Ashe smirked and said. "Then let's take it out of the equation." He grabbed the cart and pushed it out of the elevator. Jude grinned and ran into the elevator, crashing into Ashe and pinning him against the wall.

"Let's continue this up stairs." Jude said as he pushed the button. Ashe and Jude began wrestling as the doors closed and the lift began to ascend up.

Jude kneed Ashe in the gut and smashed his metal hand onto Ashe's back, slamming Ashe down to the floor. Jude pressed both his arms on the two walls beside him to lift himself up and kick Ashe in the face five times before Ashe jumped up, grabbed Jude, and threw him to the other side. Ashe threw himself into Jude and began to savagely beat Jude, growling like a feral animal as he did so.

"You took her away from me, you son of a bitch! I'm gonna break your fucking neck, hang you up, and leave you for the birds and the bugs!" Ashe yelled as he slammed Jude to the floor, the fight making the elevator shake and buck. Ashe put every ounce of his fury into these strikes, his basic primal rage slammed into Jude without mercy.

As they reached the top of the shaft the doors opened just as Jude's arm began to glow again and smashed Ashe in the chest, throwing Ashe out of the elevator. The tired warrior could see that they were in an upper level of the factory's hangar.

Ashe whipped out both of his pistol and turned to face Jude who was coming out of the lift.

"Come now, Ashe, let's do this like men." Jude said as he took up a battle-ready stance

"Fuck that." Ashe said as he unloaded his pistols into Jude, blasting away without a care in the world until Jude fell to the floor.

"Stay dead, asshole." Ashe muttered.

"Stop right there!" yelled a voice. Ashe looked up to see four guards approaching him.

"Oh I am getting really tired of this shit!" Ashe cried as he took out his shotgun and began blasting the guards away.

Once he was done shooting down the guards he noticed some ships in the hangar bay that were preparing to take off and they were full on attack ships by the looks of them. He knew that most of the airships they had faced so far were just transport ships armed with guns but if real, proper attack ships got out Jaune's sisters in the White Fang ship could be in trouble.

Ashe saw them begin to lift off and slowly approach the open hangar bay door. He knew he had to stop them before they got out so he ran to a catwalk above and waited until the leader was in firing range and he had luckily gone unnoticed due to all the noise of the hangar.

Once the lead attack ship was close enough he took out a small explosive he had been keeping on hand just in case things got hectic and right now it was his only hope of stopping these ships from taking off.

He fired at the cockpit with his shotgun, blasting it open.

"What the hell?!" shouted the startled pilot.

"Catch." Ashe deadpanned as he pulled out the pin and tossed the grenade into the pilot's lap. Then he ran as fast as he could.

He could just barely hear the pilot's panicked cry of fear before he went up in a mighty explosion. This created a domino effect as the ship grounded to a halt and the ones behind it began crashing into it, creating a massive pile up that spread explosions all around the hangar.

Ashe looked down to the hangar floor, watching as engineers, flight crews, and pilots tried to outrun the explosions only to be swallowed up by fire. He honestly regretted what he had just done, but he knew it was for the greater good.

"Is this what a good man does, Ashe?" asked the voice of Saul Jude.

Ashe turned to see Jude appear through the flames that had engulfed the catwalk, the larger man seemingly just ignoring the fire. Ashe was completely and utterly stumped as to how Jude was still alive, he had emptied every round his pistols were carrying into the bastard and he seemed to be alright.

"Look at those men and women. You killed them all. Some hero you are." Jude said accusingly.

"I never claimed to be one." Ashe said.

Jude scoffed and said "I recall that you did all those years ago, you tried to be a hero but look where that got Mila."

Ashe screamed in anger as he aimed his shotgun for Jude's head and fired, but the former drug lord dodged the blast easily and smashed into Ashe and the two men fell onto the main platform that connected to the wall.

Ashe was utterly fed up with Jude. He currently wanted two things right now; for his young friends to make it out of here happy and to see Saul Jude dead. He was very determined to get what he wanted.

Ashe and Jude wrestled with each other and fire continued to engulf the hangar. Ashe tried to smash his fist into Jude's chest only for the madman to catch Ashe's arm and slam his free hand into Ashe's face, following it up with a kick to the stomach that knocked Ashe to the ground.

Ashe saw that Jude's arm had transformed back to its blade form and he was preparing to stab Ashe but the guardian quickly took out his sword and parried it. He got up and the two resumed their duel, walking up a flight of stairs and then onto another, very high catwalk that hung dangerously over the inferno.

"You brought this upon yourself Ash! You always have! If you had just waited a bit those guards would have been punished for murdering that holy man but you were too damn impatient, your attack on me forced my hand and in the end it cost you the one you loved. It's your own damn fault Ashe!" Jude yelled as she slammed his blade into Ashe's sword.

The catwalk they fought on shook as the fire beneath them rose up.

"You made me into what I am!" Jude yelled as he tried to slam his blade into Ashe's arm, aiming to sever it, but Ashe was too fast and Jude's blade instead hit the pole that held the small bridge up.

Ashe noticed how the catwalk shook from this and it gave him an idea.

"Hang on, asshole. We're goin' for a ride!" Ashe cried as he spun around with his sword out, slashing more poles in half. Jude's eyes widened as he could feel the bridge they were on get weaker, the lack of support causing it to slack.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jude demanded.

"Taking us both down. Haakskeekah!" Ashe screamed, the powerful blast of aura sent Jude to the other end of the catwalk, landing hard on his back but the impact of his crash made the bridge disconnect from the platform.

Ashe grinned as he slashed down some more of the poles, making the bridge slacken even more. Jude realized what Ashe was doing and transformed his robotic hand back into its natural form and grabbed on to the railings. Ashe noticed the uneasy look on Jude's face and couldn't help but enjoy it.

"I made you, you made me! You took everything away from me and made me into what I am! You took my Mila and our child!" Ashe ranted as he slashed another pole down.

"Your child? What are you on about?" Jude questioned.

"She was pregnant when you killed her!" Ashe screamed.

Then it happened; the catwalk gave in to their combined weight and the bridge fell down towards the spot where they had came in, polls being ripped out of the ceiling as it did so. Ashe grabbed on to the railings, hanging on for dear life as the catwalk swung over and slammed into the wall. Below him Jude let go and landed onto the floor but Ashe let go as well. He fell and landed roughly on his legs, the impact of the landing hurt like hell but he ignored the pain to keep fighting.

Jude transformed his arm back into cannon mode and said "If I had known she was with child I would have stabbed her in the gut instead of the heart!"

He tried to fire off his Dust cannon but Ashe plunged his sword forward and stabbed the cannon before it could go off, resulting in a painful backlash that knocked Ashe down and sent Jude into the wall.

Jude groaned in pain as he opened his eyes, only to see two legs in front of him. He looked up to see Ashe standing above him, shotgun ready to fire.

"It seems you are victorious." Jude said as he got up, glancing at his ruined Dust cannon arm.

"Yeah, time for you to go back to hell." Ashe said as he pulled the trigger but no shot came out. "Oh crap." He muttered as Jude smirked and rose up, his hand slowly turning into a hook once more.

"Looks like you're out of ammo, Ashe." Jude said with an evil smile.

"Well that's what swords are for." Ashe said as he threw down his gun, whipped out his sword and fueled his Semblance with pure rage to smash into Jude, ramming his blade right through the man's stomach.

Jude screamed out in pain as he felt the steel impale him, right now all he could feel was the pain from his stomach hammering through his body. Ashe slammed him into the wall, using the sword to pin him there.

Ashe released his sword and backed away to admire his handiwork. Jude's screams died down as his eyes glazed over, his breaths became shallow and brief, and his body stopped twitching.

Ashe pulled his sword out and sighed. This hadn't felt nearly as good or as triumphant as he thought it would have. He crouched down and looked into Jude's eyes, seeing no life in them. He was oh so tempted to reload his shotgun and blast Jude's head off to make sure he was dead but Ashe decided to let the fire finish his adversary off, right now he needed to get back to the Hau Bakuhatsu. Whatever Salem's other pawns were doing couldn't be good and he needed a way to stop them and lighting the relatively small batch of the extremely volatile explosive liquid up was a good way to cause one hell of a distraction. He went over to one of the guards he had blasted down earlier and began to take off the man's armor so he could disguise himself and go to work unnoticed.

He stepped into the elevator, now disguised as one of the guards, ready to give Salem one hell of a middle finger. The elevator door closed and the lift began to descend back down.

Jude's organic hand twitched and his eyes snapped wide open.

* * *

As Ashe and Jude had been fighting in the hangar another, much smaller confrontation had occurred.

Neo led the small group in the warren-like structure of the factory's smaller hallways.

"Why couldn't we just go out the way we came in?" Fox asked.

"Do you want to be spotted? I know a way out the side; we can surprise our enemy and get Ozpin to your ships unseen." Neo said as she strolled ahead.

Fox and Penny looked to each other, not entirely convinced of Neo's intentions but right now the best they could do was keep an eye on her and watch for anything suspicious.

"Where are all the guards?" Penny asked, curiously.

"Either running outside to join the battle or helping in transporting everything they can to the escape ship." Neo explained.

"Escape ship? Is there a way we can stop that?" Fox inquired, not wanting these terrorists to have even a remote chance of getting away.

"No, it's too massive and guarded by over a hundred Grimm Knights. Right now the best we can do is get out of here. I have no doubt Cinder will escape this but she will suffer an enormous set back, one that will force her to run and hide, maybe even upset Salem's plans enough to prevent whatever she has planned a few years from now." Neo said.

"She is right; Salem's plans will most certainly be upset by this battle. Hopefully enough for her to miss her deadline on the seventh millennium." Ozpin said.

"The seventh millennium?" Penny repeated.

"Yes, I don't want to clarify that right now as I don't think you'd be able to fully understand." Ozpin said.

Fox sighed and said "Right, but I'm just hoping we get the explanation to end all explanations when this is over. Seriously, I think I was able to follow the plot of a..."

Suddenly Penny cried out in shock as a man jumped out from behind a small, narrow passageway and wrapped his arm around her throat, while aiming a gun to her head.

Ozpin, Neo, and Fox all whipped around to see Norvik holding Penny hostage. Her arms were on his but she wasn't using her incredibly strong grip yet, she was waiting for the right moment.

"You." Ozpin hissed.

"Hello Ozpin." Norvik said as he pressed the gun to Penny's head.

"I was wondering where this creepy old bugger went to." Neo said as she prepared her umbrella for a fight.

"I simply needed a chance to get away and claim a life. Oh yes, William, I have killed once more. Yet another life you failed to save." Norvik taunted, his eyes wide with insanity and blood lust.

Fox was stumped, he had no idea what was going on anymore but it was obvious that this crazy old man was a threat but he wondered why Penny didn't just use her strength to take care of him but nonetheless he kept his blades ready for a fight.

"Let her go, this is between you and I." Ozpin said.

"I don't think so! You see; this is exactly why you are a failure Ozpin, no matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you fight, it will always come down to the same thing: innocent people, the people you care about die because you are a failure! This girl is nothing but another example of that fact!" Norvik ranted only for Penny's hands to crush the arm around her neck with an incredible grip.

"You have made a serious error." Penny said calmly as Norvik cried out in surprise.

"What in the name of...?!" Norvik tried to say before Penny grabbed his arm, lifted him over her head and slammed him to the ground, the gun sliding away from him for Ozpin to grab.

Norvik looked up to Penny as two of her swords came out of her back and gracefully came to her hands.

"I do not know who you are, but that was a bad mistake." She said.

"What the hell are you?" Norvik asked as he moaned in pain from her attack.

"I am Penny Polendina, which is all you need to know." She said with a playful smile on her face.

"Get up, Norvik. I am ending this right here, right now." Ozpin said.

Norvik laughed as he feebly stood up and slumped against the wall.

"Oh Ozpin, don't fool yourself. You failed to kill me forty-four years ago and that was after I ripped out your beloved's heart, boiled it, and ate it! Even if I die Ozpin you will forever be burdened by the..." Norvik stopped as his body began to shake and his eyes began to glow. "...w-w-what? What is this? What's happening to me?!" the old man asked.

Fox and Neo looked at each other, both shrugging in confusion. Even Penny looked creeped out by the motions the old man's body was making as his head began to shake rapidly from side to side.

Ozpin got a brief glimpse of Norvik's eyes and saw that they were no longer filled with that smug superiority, now they were filled with fear and confusion.

All of a sudden different voices began to emerge from Norvik's mouth, three of which Ozpin knew all too well.

" _Shoot him, Ozpin! Shoot! Kill him! Kill him now and free us! KILL HIM!"_ screamed the voices of all of Norvik's past victims, including Ozpin's dead teammates.

Ozpin aimed the gun at Norvik's chest, his hands shaking slightly.

Then he heard the voice of the girl he had loved so long ago speak to him. _"Free us William, kill him. Shoot him now. Please."_

Ozpin screamed as he pulled the trigger, unleashing seven rounds into Norvik's chest. A bright light erupted from Norvik's body and over four dozen streams of what could only be described as pure light, possibly even aura itself shot out of Norvik's body and through the ceiling.

Fox, Neo, Ozpin, and even Penny all shielded their eyes until the light died down until only one small orb of light remained. They looked to see a pretty blonde woman with a smooth body and hazel eyes emerge from the orb, causing the orb's light to weaken somewhat.

"Daisy..." Ozpin said.

" _Good job William, you made our team proud."_ She said as she faded away.

Another being stepped out of the orb, a strong young man with a cocky and proud grin.

"Zachery." Ozpin announced.

" _Hey Will, you kicked his ass good. See you on other side someday buddy."_ His old teammate said as he faded away as well.

The orb of light finally dissipated as one final figure appeared, the pretty, shy looking redhead teenage girl who smiled at Ozpin with adoration.

"Rouge..." Ozpin said, tears in his eyes.

" _You saved us from this monster William. Thank you."_ She said as she gracefully walked forward and planted a ghostly kiss on Ozpin's lips.

"Rogue... I...

The ghostly girl smiled and said _"I know, and I love you too. We will be together someday William. Goodbye."_ And with that, she faded away like the others.

The hallway was silent except for Norvik's grunts of pain until Fox asked "Can someone please tell me what just happened?"

"Y-you took them from me!" Norvik rasped out. "They were mine! You..."

"Shut up." Ozpin snarled as he aimed the gun at the madman's head.

"Yes... do it. Stop the pain, end me. You know you want to. Take your revenge and end my suffering!" Norvik cried.

Ozpin glared at the older man and lowered the rifle. "No. Killing you now would be the easy way out and you do not deserve it. What you do deserve is to die here, alone and suffering, a slow and painful death is the only thing a sick monster like you needs." Ozpin said.

He looked to the three young people behind him and said "Let's get out of here."

As they walked away Penny asked "Mr. Ozpin, who was that man?"

Ozpin sighed sadly and answered "A monster from my past, Penny, and now he will never hurt anyone ever again."

All of a sudden a mighty blast interrupted them.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?!" Fox asked.

"We'll probably know once we're out of here, come on!" Neo said.

As they vanished from sight Norvik began crawling away, leaving a trail of blood behind. He refused to die like this.

* * *

Back down in the underground cavern the elevator finally reached its destination. Ashe stepped out and saw that, thankfully, the Hau Bakuhatsu had been left alone since he and Jude had left.

"Okay, gotta work fast if I'm gonna pull this off." he muttered as he took out another grenade and set the timer on it. The grenades he used had several settings; normal and timed, the dual use came in handy very often. Ashe pushed the cart containing the explosive substance onto the catwalk, unnoticed by the Grimm Knights below.

He could see a squad of the robotic soldiers pushing what seemed to be some sort of rolling hanging rack, as inactive Grimm Knights hung from rows.

'Good, I'll take a few of those fuckers out with me.' he thought as he waited for them to pass out of sight. Once they were gone the used all his might to lift the very heavy container of the railings and dropped it to the ground below. The container burst open, spilling a brownish-black liquid all over the floor that pooled out.

Ashe took out a grenade and set it to timed and set it to go off in one minute. He tossed it over the side and quickly retreated back to the elevator, as he wanted to be as far away from that tunnel as possible when it went off. It wouldn't be as powerful of a blast as the infamous accident that got the liquid explosive banned but it would do just enough to blow Salem's operations up in her face.

As the elevator lifted up Ashe began to consider what he had just done, some of those minions down there, be they guards or workers could be innocent people who were being forced to do this. It weighed heavily on Ashe's conscious to the point where he even briefly considered going back and turning the bomb off but he knew he had to let it blow.

The few dozen or so people down there were an acceptable sacrifice for the billions of lives he could save if he let it go off and the untold amount of people that would be born in the future if Salem's plans failed.

"Good of the many and all that crap." Ashe muttered as the elevator came to a stop. By now he had thirty seconds to find an exit and with the hangar in chaos he'd probably be able to find an easy exit via the hangar bay doors if he could bypass the flames.

The doors opened and Ashe was face to face with Saul Jude once again.

"Hello Ashe." Jude said as his arm transformed into a small stub with a whip coming out of it.

"How are..." Ashe tried to say before Jude grabbed him with the whip and pulled him in.

"I am very stubborn, Ashe. I won't die unless you go out with me." Jude said as he tightened the whip around Ashe's throat.

"You won't have to wait long for that! I'm making this place go out with a bang." Ashe growled as he tried to free himself from the cable around his neck.

"What do you mean by that?" Jude inquired.

"The Hau Bakuhatsu, I spilled it and dropped a timed grenade on it... one that'll go off in twenty-three seconds!" Ashe said

Jude's face looked shocked at first but it soon twisted into a sadistic smile.

"That's perfect! Wonderful! This is how I want it to happen, both of us die together!" Jude said ecstatically, "We all go leave this world in one massive fiery explosion! I'm the only one who's going to get what he wants tonight!"

"Not on your life!" Ashe yelled as he slammed his elbow into Jude's stomach four times, making Jude loosen his grip on Ashe's neck, giving Ashe the advantage he needed to free himself. He sliced off the whip with his sword and slashed Jude across the torso.

Jude cried out in pain as he took out his scroll, his robotic hand turning into the hook as he did so.

"Seal off the tunnels to the ship!" Jude said as he blocked a strike from Ashe. "You've already found it? Seal if off anyway! Who cares what happens to them? Seal the tunnels segment by segment so the ship will not be damaged!" Jude yelled before Ashe cut his scroll in half and followed it up by stabbing Jude in the organic shoulder.

"Ah! Son of a bitch, Ashe... you're darker than I thought. First you incinerate all those pilots and now everyone down there? I knew you had it in ya!" Jude mocked as he used his hook to wrap around Ashe's sword and rip it from his hands. He launched himself at Ashe, wrapping his hands around Ashe's throat and squeezed tight.

"I'm nothing like you!" Ashe hissed. He had to find a way to get rid of Jude, he only had about fifteen seconds left!

"Yes you are! Admit it! Confess!" Jude demanded.

Ashe closed his eyes and said "Okay... I confess."

Jude lightened his grip to let Ashe speak. "I'm a horrible person, a murderer, an asshole... but that doesn't mean I can't try to do better!" Ashe said as he pulled out one of his pistols and blasted Jude in the gut, forcing him off.

"Gah!" Jude cried in pain as he fell backwards.

Ashe grabbed Jude and flung him into the elevator, the impact of the crash made the elevator shake downwards, exposing just a little bit of the cable that held it. Ashe aimed his pistol at the cable and said "Welcome back to hell, Jude."

"No, wait!" Jude cried as he got up.

Ashe pulled the trigger.

The elevator fell with Jude screaming all the way.

Ashe knew he now only had about three seconds to get out so he got his sword and ran towards the end of the platform which faced the still open hangar doors and he put every ounce of aura he had left into one big jump.

As Ashe made his jump the explosions went off.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Saving Pyrrha, expect it about Friday morning. Hopefully. Maybe.
> 
> In case you didn't notice the beginning notes the next three and a half chapters will be taking place all at the same time. So the explosions the begin at the end of this chapter won't really affect the events of those... promise.
> 
> I decided to cut chapter 16 into five parts to keep it simple, short, and so I can update more often. Also I guess my chapters are too long, so I decided to keep them shorter from now on... god help me do that.
> 
> May take a few days for the next bit as it will be difficult to write.


	17. The Battle of Haven Part II: Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

Jaune led the group down the hallway, chasing after Emerald and West who were still ahead of them and giving it everything they had to stay ahead too.

"If I'm reading these schematics right we're almost there." Weiss said. All they had to do was get down this incredibly long hallway, make a sharp turn, run down a short hall and then they'd be a Giger's lab. Jaune nodded, he recognized this place from the other day when Mercury marched him down here.

"What if those two get there first? They'll make it harder for us to get to Nikos." Cardin pointed out.

"I'll take care of that." Ruby said. She rocketed ahead with her Semblance, leaving behind a few rose petals.

"Ruby, wait!" Weiss cried but her leader wouldn't stop, she was too eager to save Pyrrha.

Emerald could her them and realized what Ruby was doing so she took advantage of this and spun around to blast Ruby in the chest. Ruby fell to the floor, the impact made worse by how fast she had been going. Emerald quickly turned back around and followed West as Yang, Blake, and Ren opened fire on her.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Yang called to the green-haired thief as she stopped to help her sister up.

Ruby pushed herself up with her arms as Jaune, Ren, Nora, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Cardin all ran ahead, trying to catch up while Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Velvet stopped to help Ruby.

"You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked as she took Ruby's hand and pulled her up.

"Yeah, a little banged up but nothing my aura can't fix." Ruby said confidently.

"Good." Weiss said before she smacked Ruby upside the head.

"Ow!" Ruby whined like a child.

"That was a foolish thing to do Ruby; they could have seriously hurt you." Weiss said as they started chasing after the others.

"I'm fine!" Ruby assured them.

"Are you sure? That fall looked pretty bad." Blake observed as she could see Ruby's aura healing her knees.

"I'm fine, guys! Geesh I've been able to take care of myself so far, I think I can handle a few Dust shots and a fall." Ruby said, reminding the other three members of Team RWBY just how much their leader must have been through on her journey and how much she deserved to be their leader.

"Just stop making us worry so much, okay?" Weiss said.

"I'll try but no promises." Ruby said with a wink. Weiss simply groaned, which made both Yang and Velvet laugh as they ran after the others.

Up ahead Emerald and West rounded the corner and saw the lab with its door wide open with some guards in front of it. "We got some of the intruders on our tails so shut the door once we're inside!" Emerald called to the guards.

Jaune and the others came around the corner.

"Stop them!" Jaune ordered.

Coco nodded and said "Mow 'em down!" as she began shooting at the retreating criminals with her minigun, aided by Ren blasting off the StormFlowers.

Emerald, West, and the guards made it inside as they began firing, their shots blitzing the areas around and behind them with Coco actually managing to blast one of the guards down as he got in. A large steel door slid down from above, sealing off the room with a thick thud.

"No! NO!" Jaune screamed as he ran into it, banging it with his sword.

"Everyone get back! I'll use my grenades on it!" Nora said as she began to load up Magnhild.

Inside the labs Ante looked to see Emerald, West, and one still active guard standing in front of the door as the other guards in the lab quickly surrounded the door.

"Okay, pickpocket, my amazing secret power of common sense is tellin' me that something went wrong." He said sarcastically as Giger looked up from preparing the cryotube, which was almost ready.

"No duh. Rose, Arc, and a bunch of their friends are here and man are they ticked off." Emerald said.

"You fools led them right to us!" Giger said to Emerald and West.

"Dr. Giger, I think Arc is smart enough to remember where he was taken to be operated on." West pointed out as explosions could be heard outside the door, urging the doctor to get away from it.

Pyrrha smiled within the grip of the Grimm Knights. Her friends had come for her and now all they needed to do was break down the door. She just hoped they could do it, she didn't want to become Fotia Drakos again. The mere thought of being forced to hurt her friends filled her with dread. She hated her body for everything it had done to Jaune not too long ago and she could remember the innocent man she had killed to pledge loyalty to Salem. She'd sooner die than hurt one of her friends again. She had tried to use her Semblance on the Knights but Giger had placed an aura draining binder on her hands, just like they had with Ruby. She was also worn out from the fight with Jaune so she couldn't do much physically to the Knights. The Knights...

She stopped and remembered the man Salem had made her kill, her mind flashbacked to the look of absolute fear and terror in his eyes. She felt horrible, she felt... like a monster. She felt like a Grimm.

Did she even deserve to be saved?

"Can they break that down?" Emerald asked Giger.

"No, we made that door just as thick as the one that holds the Chimera should it escape." Giger said.

Ante smirked and said "Is there a PA? I think I want to talk to those kids..."

Outside Nora moaned as the door seemed to be only a little damaged. Jaune growled in frustration, he needed to get in there to save Pyrrha. He couldn't fail her again.

"That's one thick door, how are gonna open it up?" Cardin asked as Velvet and Team RWBY came around the corner.

"What's up?" Yang asked.

"They made it inside and shut the door. Nora used her grenades to open it but they had little effect." Ren explained.

All of a sudden a familiar voice came from the intercom.

"Sorry kids, but you aren't even gonna dent a door that thick!" Ante said.

Jaune and Ruby both groaned, tired of dealing with this nutcase.

"Who's that?" Blake asked.

"Damien Ante, crime lord working for Salem and Cinder." Ren elaborated.

"Kinda crazy and twisted." Nora added.

"Not 'kinda' crazy and twisted, I am very crazy and twisted! Good luck getting through a door that hard. Now you make be asking 'how hard can a door be?' and I'll answer your question right now! It's nearly as hard as my dick is right now!" Ante said as he began cackling like a madman.

"I've only known this guy for less than a minute and I already want to kick his ass." Yang said.

"Get in line." Jaune said before he looked around. "Anyone have any ideas as to how we're gonna get inside?"

Everyone pondered for a minute before Ruby said "We'll freeze it."

Everyone looked at her. "We'll freeze it and then we'll smash our way through!" Ruby elaborated.

Coco smiled. "Rose, you're brilliant. Schnee, Belladonna, Winchester, you guys all have some ice Dust inside of your weapons, right?" she asked.

Cardin and Blake nodded while a smile grew across Weiss lips.

"I understand. Okay, I'll take the center of the door and freeze it with my glyphs while Blake and Cardin help out on the sides. Come on, we don't have a moment to lose!" Weiss said as she walked ahead and created a glyph, loading up Myrtenaster with an ice crystal while Blake and Cardin did the same with their respective weapons.

Despite how tired she was from summoning the Armor, Weiss poured what was left of her strength to freeze the door so she created a glyph on the door, tapped her rapier against a small area where one of Nora's grenades had managed to damage it and used that as a starting point as she channeling the ice into the steel, giving it everything she had to freeze it quickly. Blake and Cardin helped out as they placed their weapons on the sides of the door and began to pour ice onto it.

Meanwhile inside the labs one of Giger's assistants called "Dr. Giger, the cryotube is ready!"

Giger looked to the Grimm Knights and said "Put her in."

Pyrrha screamed as she struggled, trying as hard as she could to get out. "No! NO! You can't do this to me! I won't be Salem's pawn again! Never again!" she screamed as she desperately tried to free herself.

"My dear, we are all her pawns. We have accepted our destiny so why don't you?" Giger asked as West joined him.

"I believed in destiny once and all it gave me was pain and the knowledge that I had hurt the people I love. I will never believe in destiny again!" Pyrrha yelled.

"Too bad." Giger said as the Knights threw Pyrrha into the cryotube and strapped her inside. Pyrrha's screams of anger were drowned out by the thick glass of the tube, but Giger got a chill up his spin when he heard the Chimera growling from behind its door. Everything that was going on was making it excited.

"Get those Knights up here! They're trying to freeze the door, will that work?" Emerald asked.

Giger thought about it and decided that it may work to their enemies' advantage. He nodded and instructed the two remaining Grimm Knights to join Ante, Emerald, and the guards.

Back outside Weiss stopped pouring on the ice as she saw the door had been frozen, the small hole Nora had created allowed her to channel ice inside of the door, making the metal groan as it strained, the ice expanding within the door.

"Okay, ready to bust it down?" Cardin asked.

"Everyone, give everything you have and smash that door open. Once it is we'll need a cover so Blake load up a water crystal into Gambol Shroud and Cardin load up a fire one into your mace." Ruby said.

Blake nodded as she did so. "Steam will be a pretty good cover and they'll waste their ammunition trying to hit us." She said before she looked to Cardin and added "But we'll have to hit each other hard enough to make it thick."

"I'll do my best." Cardin said as he loaded up a fire crystal into his mace.

"Okay, everyone with guns start shooting!" Ruby ordered as she fired Crescent Rose at the frozen door, aided by Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, Coco, and Velvet who had used her camera to copy Ashe's shotgun. After ten seconds of shooting they could see that while they had done a lot of damage the door was still holding.

"Let's smash it open!" Yang yelled as she ran forward, her Semblance powering her with her hair shining and her eyes red as Nora chased after her with Magnhild with Yatsuhashi helping out with his greatsword and Jaune armed with the Crocea Mors. all three smashed into the door, smashing more bits of steel off but it still withstood them.

"We have to open it! We have to!" Jaune cried as he used his Semblance to power his attacks, obviously driven by rage and desperation.

"Keep at it! The door is weakening! We're almost through!" Yatsuhashi said.

"You think a few grenades will be able to blast it open now?" Nora asked.

Yatsuhashi considered it and nodded "I think so."

"Okay, everyone get back, I'll get it open this time!" Nora said as she began to unload some of the grenades from her war-hammer and place them within the deepest point they had managed to blast open so far.

"How many grenades have you got?" Yang asked.

"About twenty-two but I'm only using five." Nora said as everyone retreated down the hall, half of them on the left and half on the right.

"I hope this works Nora, because if it doesn't we could lose Pyrrha again." Jaune said anxiously.

"We won't lose her again, Jaune." Velvet promised as Nora joined them.

"Okay Ruby, shoot it!" Nora said as she covered her ears.

Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into its sniper mode and saw the small pile of grenades in her sights. She grinned as she took the shot, she hit a grenade dead on it caused a chain reaction; all of the grenades went off and the door exploded wide open in a burst of metal and flame. The pressure of the cold ice and the hot fire was too much so the door naturally didn't stand a chance.

"Now!" Blake said to Cardin across the hall. She sent an arc of water at him and he sent an arc of fire from his mace. The two elements collided and created a thick cloud of steam within the hallway as Dust fire began shooting into the hall. Everyone prepared their weapons and Velvet exchanged a copy of Ashe's gun for a copy of Nebula's crossbow.

Within the lab Emerald and Damien led the two Grimm Knights as well as the twenty-four human guards in blasting away into the empty hall, hoping to hit something in the steam.

Emerald noticed that they weren't hitting anything so she stopped shooting and she began to wonder what they were up to.

"Hold fire! Save your ammo, they're trying to trick us." Emerald said.

Ante nodded as he stopped firing the gun he was armed with. He looked into the fog and smirked.

"Okay kids, stop hiding. Come on out everybody, it's time to play!" he called.

Out from the fog a holographic copy of an arrow came flying out and slammed into the head of the Grimm Knight that had been standing right next to Ante.

"Holy shit!" Ante cried as he jumped back.

Yang ran out of the steamy mist and slammed her metal hand into a guard who had been holding a sword, the punch sent him flying and he crashed on the table next to Ante, who quickly grabbed the sword, just in case. He knew he had to get away from this fight before it got too crazy so he made his way to the ladder and climbed up to the platform above the Chimera's pen.

Yang grinned, her eyes shining red as she did so "Okay, who's in the mood for some hurt?"

One of the guards tried to shoot her but Ruby appeared in a flash of red and black and deflected the blast with the blade of Crescent Rose.

"Sis, I think he just volunteered." Ruby said.

Yang grabbed the unlucky guard, slammed him into the wall, and finished him off with a blast from her gauntlet.

"Attack!" yelled Jaune as he led the rest of the group inside.

The only Grimm Knight left opened fire and managed to score a hit on Velvet which only enticed her large partner's wrath. Yatsuhashi ran forward with his large sword held high and he slammed it down, cutting the Grimm Knight in half vertically.

"Are you alright?" he asked Velvet as she got up, her camera creating a copy of Ruyi and Jingu Bang in their combined form so she could slam it into a guard.

"I'm okay." She said as a she sidestepped one of Ante's daggers that had been thrown at her.

"Get away from it! They explode!" Nora cried as she remembered how Ante used his weapons at the construction site. Luckily she had acted quickly and the two got away before Ante could detonate the dagger.

Jaune slashed a guard's gun in half then slammed him down with his shield. He grimaced in pain as he felt a blast hitting his left upper leg and another graze his hips. It hurt like hell but he ignored the pain as he raced forward. He could see Pyrrha in the cryotube. They had already begun the freezing process and the redheaded amazon was banging on the glass as hard as she could to get out.

Jaune tried to get closer but a dagger landed right in front of him and it exploded, blowing him back. Jaune moaned in pain as he looked up to see Ante on the platform.

"You and me, Arc! Let's settle this!" the crazed crime lord demanded as he pointed his sword at Jaune.

Jaune looked to Pyrrha who looked right back at him. She nodded and mouthed something but he couldn't understand her. "Ren! Nora! Get Pyrrha out of that cryotube! I'll take care of Ante." Jaune said.

"Good luck." Ren said as he blasted down one of the lab assistants.

One of them tried to jump Ren with a taser but she was slammed away by Cardin's mace. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Be our guest." Ren invited.

Jaune climbed up the ladder and stood across from Ante, both of them ready to fight.

"I have to admit kid; you got guts. Too bad I'm gonna rip 'em out!" Damien said.

"Bring it on." Jaune said, looking forward to paying this asshole back for the torture session he had suffered through the other day. Jaune swung Corcea Mors but Ante blocked it and opened up with his own volley of wild swing and strikes that Jaune just barely blocked and dodged each time.

"Your girl might have failed to kill you, but I won't!" Ante said as he kicked Jaune in the stomach. Jaune recovered, spun around and struck at Ante, who blocked the attack but the force of it was enough to make him stumble back.

The swords met each other head on once more, both fighters leaned in.

"I'm gonna gut you like a fish and then make that freaky half Grimm bitch mine." Ante said.

One of Jaune's hands let go of the sword and slammed right into Ante's face. "Never talk about Pyrrha like that!" Jaune screamed as he thrusted the sword out, scoring a hit across Ante's cheek.

Ante felt the blood pour down his face as he snarled. "Arc, I'm gonna mount your head on the wall."

As the two went at it again Coco attacked Emerald with her bag, slamming the green haired girl in the stomach.

"I've been waiting for this." Coco said as she kicked the thief in the gut, making her jerk up.

Emerald fired both of her guns at Coco but the leader of Team CFVY dodged her blasts and got behind her. She smashed Emerald in the back of the head with her purse but as the thief fell to the floor she kicked Coco's legs out from under her.

"Ah!" Coco cried as she landed on her hands and knees, dropping her purse. Emerald bashed Coco across the face with her guns, making her roll over and cover her wounded face as she cried out in pain.

Coco could feel her aura healing her as Emerald got up. "Just like last time. I wonder how the hell Ozpin ever stayed in charge of Beacon when he kept picking such pathetic team leaders." Emerald mocked.

Coco surprised the thief back back-flipping back up and attacking her with a barrage of punches to her gut, chest, and face. Emerald tried to get away but Coco wasn't having it as the fashionista grabbed the thief's head and smashed it into her boot.

"Yo Emerald, a tip from a professional; showing off your body as if you were a damn belly dancer is a good way to attract the attention of boys and girls alike but it does jack all for defense." Coco said as she jumped up and kicked Emerald in the gut which knocked her into a table.

She reclaimed her purse and it turned into its minigun form as Emerald aimed her pistols at Coco. The two began firing on each other as Team RWBY, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi fought the bulk of the guards.

Yang and Blake worked together to take down guards with their firearms, helped out by Ruby and Weiss who were using their blades to cut the guards' armor down to make shooting them easier for their teammates.

Ruby swung Crescent Rose wildly at a guard's chest but she made sure to keep it far away from him so as not to really injure him, as Blake took care of that with a blast to the abdomen. Ruby mentally thanked Oum she had placed her swing correctly and didn't kill the guard.

"Nice job girls." Yang said as she grabbed a guard, tossed him into the air, and blasted him as he came down. She glanced up to see Jaune and Ante trade blows with their swords. "Hope he'll be okay."

"Jaune will be fine, if this mess has taught me anything it's that he's far more competent than I ever thought he'd be." Weiss said as she created some ice to freeze a guard to the wall.

Yang nodded and looked over to Yatsuhashi and Velvet who were taking down the guards armed with swords, who were no match for the former's giant blade as he sent a guard flying with one mighty hit.

Giger, West, and the assistants used rifles and pistols to keep Ren, Nora, and Cardin back but it was no use as they got closer and closer every second.

Giger glanced at Pyrrha whose movement had slowed down in the cold. Just a small total of one minutes and twenty-eight seconds and they'd have her. But then again it was unlikely they'd defeat these attackers, so regardless it Nikos was frozen they'd likely thaw her out.

"Keep them back! It's almost done!" Giger yelled to his underlings.

"Nora, up!" Ren ordered.

"Right!" the energetic redhead said as she launched herself into the air via a grenade. Nora landed behind them and sent West flying across the room with a swing of her hammer.

"Oh dear..." Giger said as Cardin smashed three of his assistants down quite easily.

Ren rushed forward and slammed Giger in the side with the blades of a StormFlower, smashing him into a control console. The green clad ninja grabbed Giger's shoulders and brought him face to face. "Let her out."

"Not on your life!" Giger hissed as he took out a scalpel from his pocket and slashed Ren across the chest.

"Ah!" Ren cried in pain.

Giger kicked Ren in the gut and was about to stab him in the chest when Nora smashed Magnhild into him, sending him flying into the wall.

"Nobody hurts my Renny!" she yelled furiously.

Giger simply moaned in response as he slumped to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked as she looked Ren over.

"I'm fine, my aura will take care of it. Right now we have to get her out of there." Ren said as Cardin made it over to the console.

"Okay, I've seen this tech before, my dad had a business meeting with a cryogenics company a few years back and I had to go with him. It's been a while but I think I remember the layout of these things." Cardin said as he began pressing buttons.

On the screen the words "Are you sure you would like to abort? Yes. No" came up.

Cardin pressed on yes and a loud beep sounded off from the cryotube as the locks on the hatches came undone and it slowly began to lift up, allowing an icy mist to seep out. Nora ran over to it once she was sure Ren was alright and she pried the tube open, nearly ripping the glass off as Pyrrha rose up.

"Pyrrha!" Nora cheered as the Invincible Girl leapt forward out of the tube and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Nora!" she said as Nora hauled her out of the freezing hibernation tube and spun the tired girl around in a strong hug.

"We got you back! We got you back! We can be Team JNPR again!" Nora cheered, happy tears coming out of her eyes.

"I know Nora, but can you please stop spinning? I'm rather dizzy." Pyrrha said, laughing a bit.

Nora stopped and said "Sorry, it's just really good to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Pyrrha said as Ren approached her and hugged her.

"I thought we lost you." He said, sounding like he was about to cry, something that shocked Pyrrha to her core as Ren never cried. Never!

"I'm okay, Ren. I'm not doing something as foolish as that ever again." Pyrrha said as she hugged him back.

Ren smiled and said "Good."

It was then that Pyrrha noticed her other rescuer was Cardin Winchester, of all people.

"Cardin? What are you doing here?" she asked, not angry or hostile, just confused.

"I'm making up for old sins, Nikos. Nice to see you're okay, now maybe things can get back to normal once we're out of here." He said.

Pyrrha smiled and nodded as she leaned against Nora for support. "I hope so... Jaune!" she said as she remembered Jaune was currently facing off against Ante.

She watched as Jaune slammed Crocea Mors into Ante's sword but the crime lord pressed back and kicked Jaune in the knee, forcing Jaune to fall but the young Huntsman fell back so he could avoid a slash across the chest. Jaune got back up just in time to parry a strike from Ante and then press forward to strike back, slamming his sword hard against Ante three times before Ante jumped over Jaune and landed behind him. Jaune spun around to block a move that would have impaled him.

Jaune struck twice and forced Ante to the consoles, he swung his sword aiming to slash Ante across the chest but the crime lord of Haven jumped up onto the computer banks and kicked Jaune in the face. He jumped down with sword ready to slam into Jaune's stomach but Jaune blocked him and forced Ante to the other side of the platform.

Damien threw down a dagger and detonated it, throwing Jaune onto the consoles. He lunged forward but Jaune slammed Crocea Mors into Ante's sword so hard he lost his grip and dropped it. Jaune followed it up with a kick to Ante's stomach, knocking him down.

Damien looked up to see a very angry Jaune standing above him with the Corcea Mors aimed for him. "It's over, Ante." Jaune said. Damien rolled over and attempted to push himself up on his hands and knees, taking out something as he did so.

Damien smirked and responded "Not yet."

He flung himself around and threw a dagger into the right side of Jaune's stomach. Jaune dropped his weapon and screamed out in pain as Ante got up.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and the other all cried.

Ante quickly smashed Jaune in the face three times before he took out another dagger and placed it at Jaune's throat while he used his other arm to twist the blade deeper into Jaune's lower torso, making him scream more.

"Give up now or he dies!" Ante demanded as Jaune grabbed Ante's left forearm which held him close.

Coco dropped her purse and allowed Emerald to aim her guns at her. Velvet deactivated her camera while Yatsuhashi sheathed his sword and even Cardin dropped his mace but Teams RWBY and JNPR wouldn't give up.

"You won't hurt him, Salem has plans for him!" Blake said.

"Old plans, he's expendable. Don't even try using that Semblance of yours, Nikos, get your ass back into that cryotube and if you don't you get to see the insides of Arc's throat and guts!" Ante threatened.

Pyrrha glared at him, but she appeared to be giving up. She could use her Semblance but the risk was too great. She couldn't lose Jaune now.

"We'll beat you Ante." Ruby said.

"Not freaking likely! I'm holding all the cards; I'm in charge here!" Damien said.

"Hey Ante, remember the other day I said I'd stab you with your own dagger?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, a hollow threat." Damien said.

"It wasn't, I keep my promises!" Jaune yelled as he grabbed Ante's arm that was around his throat and threw him over to the side with surprising sudden strength as his eyes began to glow blue again. Jaune ripped the dagger out of his body and slammed it down on Ante's left hand, pinning it to the console.

Ante screamed out in pain as he struggled to free himself, blood pouring out of the new hole in his hand.

Coco smirked as she kicked her leg backwards into Emerald's knee, making the mocha-skinned girl cry out in pain and stagger back which allowed Coco to spin around and being punching Emerald.

Velvet reactivated her camera and the holographic duplicate of Sun's staff reappeared in her arms and she used it to disarm several guards with some well placed and well timed hits. Cardin and Yatsuhashi reclaimed both of their weapons, with Cardin whacking his mace into West and Yatsuhashi slicing some guns apart.

"I'm gonna kill you for this, you little fucker!" Damien said as he managed to rip his hand away from the console, the dagger still embedded in his hand.

Jaune smirked and said "I don't think so. Shoot his hand!" He jumped down over the railing only to be caught by Nora who had jumped up to catch him.

"Nice thinking, fearless leader." She said.

"Honestly, not one of my better plans." Jaune admitted as he pressed his hand on his wound to keep pressure on the bleeding.

Yang aimed her gauntlet at Ante's hand and smirked. Ante braced himself as he reached out as Yang fired a round of Dust slammed head on into the dagger and Ante's arm exploded in a brilliant shower of fire and body parts.

Ante screamed out in pain, blood dripping from the socket where his arm used to be.

"Whoa! That's pretty nasty." Ruby said with a shudder as a finger landed near her.

"I agree, it's really gross." Weiss said as she looked away from the bleeding Ante.

"Looks like he's been..." Yang began before Blake stopped her.

"Yang, I swear to god if you say 'disarmed' I'm going to kick you in the head." The cat Faunus said irritably.

Yang remained silent in defeat, but she couldn't help but smirk as she slammed her fist into a lab assistant.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried as she and Ren made their way to him.

"Pyrrha are you AH!" Jaune cried as he felt pain surge through his body from the wound.

"Keep still and keep pressure on the wound, your aura will help but we'll need to get you to Dr. Chloris." Ren said as he grabbed a first-aid kit from the wall. He took out medical gauze as Pyrrha and Jaune were reunited once again.

"I was so afraid I'd lose you." He said to her as he leaned into a hug.

"I... I'm sorry." Pyrrha said as she kissed his forehead, she helped to pull up his hoodie which allowed Ren to wrap him up.

The eight guards and three lab assistants that were still conscious lowered their weapons as Team RWBY, Cardin, and most of Team CFVY were obviously victorious. Coco had Emerald as a prisoner, both of her guns had been knocked away and Coco firmly kept her hands behind her back while Team RWBY, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Nora, and Cardin kept their weapons aimed at the servants and minions of Salem.

Cardin grabbed Giger and made sure he wasn't going to put up a fight. "Nice lab you got here, doc. Half expected to see a fetus in a jar." He joked.

Giger glared at the leader of Team CRDL as he swiped the remote of his arm. "Something tells me this is important; don't want you messing with it." Cardin added as Ante screamed out in pain again.

Jaune smiled at that sound as he looked to Giger.

"We're taking you with us. You made us like this so you can find a way to reverse it." He said, gesturing to the Grimm attributes he and Pyrrha now had.

"What makes you think I'll do it?" Giger asked.

"You have no choice, you've lost everything. Salem will not win this night. Besides, if you don't help cure of us of our... condition, our friends he will persuade you to." Pyrrha said with a small, dark smile.

Giger glared at them as Jaune got a little curious, "One thing I don't get..."

"Only one?" Cardin snarked.

Jaune smiled back and continued, "Why were you guys so keen on making me submit to the Grimm surgery? I mean you could have just forced it on me."

"Because the four survivors we had at that point all went through it willingly. Kaa and Steppenwolffe wanted revenge on humans, Ziz wanted justice for being abandoned, Nikos thought she wanted to help purify the world. Those we forced to undergo the surgery rarely survived, and if they did it was... most unpleasant. I thought for a while the only reason you survived was because your will had been broken, but now I am not so sure." Giger admitted.

"Just call me determined." Jaune said as he leaned into Pyrrha, who smiled proudly at him.

Up above Ante roared in both anger and pain as he rose up, glaring down at everyone as he seethed with rage.

Ruby smirked. "How's payback feel, Ante? You deserve this! For everything you've done!" she yelled.

"Kid... when my arm grows back I am gonna fucking kill you!" Ante roared as a thin aura duplicate of his arm appeared out of its socket.

Everyone either widened their eyes or gasped in shock as Damien laughed weakly.

"That's right kids, my Semblance is regeneration! Trust me; I had to find this out the hard way!" Damien said.

"Oh you have got to be freaking kidding me." Jaune moaned.

"Arc, I am going to fucking kill you and make Nikos watch! Do you have any idea how long it takes to regrow an arm?! Even with my aura at full strength it'll take all damn night! That's it! You die, here and now!" Ante ranted as he fell onto the console and began pressing buttons.

Giger realized what Ante was doing and he frantically cried "No! Stop him before it's too late!"

"What...?" Cardin tried to say before a roar from behind the large metal door interrupted him.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Everything had happened so fast that she had forgotten the Chimera.

"No!" she yelled as she used her Semblance to grab Ante's bandoliers and yank him down from the platform, slamming him onto the floor, but it was too late.

The door came up and the Chimera dashed out, roaring.

"Get out of the way!" Pyrrha cried as her friends managed to avoid the beast as it smashed into one of the guards, killing him instantly with its body weight and slamming its claws into his chest. Its speed and weight flung its body across the room, smashing into the tables on the other side.

The Chimera roared as it rose up, it was free.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Cardin cried as he gripped his mace tightly.

"The Chimera! Ante, you idiot, you've killed us all!" Giger yelled as the Chimera slowly scanned the room, seizing up its prey.

Ante moaned as he crawled towards Team RWBY. "Okay, gotta admit this was insane, even by my standards." He said as the Chimera surveyed the room, glaring at everyone.

"Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby, any suggestions?" Weiss asked nervously as the Chimera eyed them.

"I've never even seen this thing before!" Ruby cried.

"Get together, it's a predator and predators hesitate to attack large groups." Pyrrha said as she Jaune, Ren, and Nora quickly gathered up with Team RWBY, their movement making the Chimera moved towards them but it backed down when Nora, Yang, and Ruby pointed their weapons at it.

On of the assistants tried to make for the door but she tripped over a piece of wood from a destroyed table, the sound of her fall made the Chimera jerk up and look towards her, growling as it did so. No one dared to make a move. Coco and Emerald stayed still, as did Velvet, Yatsuhashi, West and the guards.

Ante noticed the Chimera had been attracted to the noise of the assistant tripping, so maybe a louder noise would lure it away.

"Let's make some noise!" Ante said as he threw a dagger towards Giger and Cardin. It detonated and both were knocked back, this loud burst made the Chimera spring into action. It ran towards one of the recovering assistants and slashed him across the chest, digging in deep with its strong claws. The man died with a shocked, pained scream, dropping to the ground as he did so.

"Okay, hands up, who else thinks that's to disturbing to live?" Coco asked as she reclaimed her purse, transformed it into minigun mode and aimed it at the creature.

Yang, Blake, Ruby and Ren all aimed their firearms at it with Velvet creating a holographic copy of Milo and even Emerald and the remaining guard who had recovered their weapons were all aiming for the creature.

"Put it on the extinct species list!" Coco ordered as she began to fire her minigun. Everyone with a gun followed her example and began shooting at the beast as it ran around the lab, managing to avoid being blasted. A few shots did hit it, but unlike all the other Grimm the Chimera's wounds seemed to heal somehow.

Coco, Emerald, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, West and several of the guards all moved towards Teams RWBY and JNPR for safety as they blasted the creature which had already killed two of the unconscious guards by trampling over them with its claws and body weight. Giger simply hid along the computer consoles while Cardin jumped up on a large piece of equipment.

"Okay Emerald, any ideas on how to kill that thing?" Ruby asked.

"No way, I've only seen that thing in action once; I have no idea how to stop it!" Emerald admitted as she blasted away, but when she glanced at Jaune and Pyrrha she got an idea. "You two!" she cried, "I know Nikos can control the Grimm but I don't know about Arc, maybe you two can do something!"

One of the guards outside of the group tried to make a break for the door but the Chimera saw him and charged at him, grabbing him by the legs with its pincers crushing down hard. The guard screamed as his legs were torn off by the mouth-mounted claws. The Chimera laid the man down, it crawled above him and then it feasted.

Velvet covered her ears to try and block out the man's dying screams but it was no use. Ruby's eyes were wide as they could go as the guard's blood splattered on the walls.

"Shoot it!" cried West, cowering in fear. The Chimera lifted its head up and looked at the group; it then left its newest kill and began to stalk its way towards them.

Yatsuhashi held his sword forward. "Get ready." He said to the others as they reloaded their weapons.

"Pyrrha, can you control that thing?" Ruby asked.

"No, I tried once before you came to save me. That thing is more feral and savage than any Grimm in Remnant." Pyrrha said as her hand tightened its grip on Jaune's. She looked to Cardin and noticed he still had Giger's remote.

"Cardin has Giger's remote; it can open and close the Chimera's chamber. We need to find away to get it back into the chamber so we can seal it off." Pyrrha said.

"Okay, any ideas on how we do that? Maybe with one of Blake's shadows?" Velvet suggested.

"I know but it's worth a shot." Blake said.

"Screw that! Let's just shoot it!" said Ante as he stumbled back a bit, delirious from the pain of his lost arm that was slowly regenerating.

One of the dumber guards blindly followed Damien's advice and shot at the Chimera, only annoying it and making it roar at them. It looked directly at Ruby and then it stopped.

Ruby was confused at first until she realized that her silver eyes must have had an effect on it. She tried to think about Cinder and Salem, she tried to think about anything that made her eyes shine but nothing happened.

She saw into the Chimera's eyes and saw a mixture of black and red, constantly changing between the two colors.

Jaune saw this distraction and decided to take advantage of it. "Nora, blast it!" he ordered.

Nora nodded and fired a grenade at the beast but its Death Stalker tail slammed the explosive away and into a machine to the side of the room where it exploded. The blast caused the machine to burst as well and it spread to the row of machines and computers next to it, creating a domino effect of explosions.

The Chimera roared as it got closer to the group, undeterred by how much they shot at it.

"No way in hell this thing is a Grimm!" Yang cried as she shot at it.

"But it is my dear! It is the ultimate Grimm! The perfect killing machine!" Giger called, his voice sounding faded and overwhelmed by what he was witnessing.

The Chimera got ready to pounce only for a series of shots from above to hit it. It looked up to see a guard who had snuck onto the upper platform trying to kill it from the catwalks overhead.

The Chimera roared furiously as it began to ignore the main group. It used it sharp claws to crawl up the wall, moving like some horrific combination of a spider and a cat as it did so. It jumped over to the catwalks and pounced upon the guard.

Screams could be heard from above as blood began to rain down on them as fires from the machines spread across the room. West looked up to see the Chimera biting into the guard's head long enough to get his face drenched with blood.

"Shoot up!" Coco yelled as she and the others began blasting upwards.

"Why won't this thing just die like a normal Grimm?" Yang asked.

"It's obviously not normal." Said Weiss.

"It's not just a combination of Grimm; there are parts of humans and Faunus in there too. With them came aura, ergo a healing factor." West explained.

The Chimera roared in pain as Coco and Yang managed to score some hard hits on its underbelly. It leapt backwards and used it forelegs to grip the catwalks while its tail swung down and impaled a guard as it used the sharp claws on its hind legs to slash an assistant's neck open.

Most of the group screamed in horror as the Chimera jumped to the platform above its pen, the screaming guard still impaled. The Chimera slammed its tail down, freeing the man, before it finished him off by tearing off his head and crushing it in its powerful jaws.

"Now's our chance, run for it!" Emerald yelled as she, West, Ante, and several of the guard and assistants ran for the door. The young Hunters in training followed them, seeing no other way out.

"Should we take our chance with them?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"We don't have a choice, Cardin come on!" Velvet cried to Cardin who had gotten off of the machine and was now following them. Giger was also following after them, looking dazed and nervous as he did so.

Just then the Chimera jumped down from the platform behind one of the retreating guards and it snapped it pincers around his waist, effectively cutting him in half. The scream from the guard was deafening as the Chimera threw him down to the side and began to devour him.

Ante glared back at the young Hunters who could not follow as they were cut off by the Chimera's lower body.

"Around it, come on." Blake said.

"I don't think so!" Ante said as he whipped out one more dagger and expertly threw it into one of Giger's machines the stood between them and the Chimera. He quickly detonated it and the machine exploded, scorching the Chimera and sending the group retreating.

"So long assholes!" Damien called.

"What about Giger?" West asked as he wiped the blood off of his face.

"Fuck 'im." Was all Damien said in response.

"Ante, everything Salem can do to you will be nothing compared to what I will do to you if we make it out of this!" Emerald yelled as the servants of Salem retreated.

The Chimera roared in pain as it rolled around to put out the fire that had engulfed its lower body. The blast had created a wall of fire that prevented the young Hunters from using the direct route to escape while they could.

Blake's ears picked up a loud cracking sound so she looked up and could see that the fires had spread to the ceiling, engulfing the rafters and weakening them. A large piece of metal and wood collapsed and fell towards them.

"Scatter!" she yelled as she grabbed Ruby and Cardin who were directly under it. She managed to pull them out of the way just in time as the rafter fell on the spot where they had been standing.

"Whoa! Thanks Blake, we would've been dead for sure." Ruby said, rather startled by what just happened. Team JNPR, Yang, Weiss, and the three present members of Team CFVY backed away from the flaming debris as the Chimera recovered and roared. Blake, Ruby and Cardin walked backwards to get out of the Chimera's path but Giger, who had been standing behind them, stayed put as a look of realization spread across his face.

"It looks angry." Yang observed.

"Pyrrha, are sure you can't control it?" Weiss asked.

"I told you I tried! I could control a Wyvern and yet that thing... the hatred within it is too much." Pyrrha said as she grabbed one of the guns that been left behind so she'd have something to defend herself.

"Whoa, you can control a Wyvern?! Epic!" Nora said.

"Nora, now is not the time!" Ren said aimed the StormFlowers for the beast.

"Maybe if we do it together..." Jaune said.

"No Jaune! It's too dangerous! We don't even know if you can control Grimm." Pyrrha said.

"He can... oh he can." Said Giger as he walked calmly towards the Chimera, no longer looking like he was afraid of it. "I put the essence of an Alpha Grimm within each of the Grimm Commanders; hence their ability to control the Grimm. He will come to do it in time. You will never get rid of it, my children." He said, acting like he was possessed.

"What are you nuts?!" cried Nora.

"Get away from that thing!" yelled Weiss.

"It'll kill you!" Yang shouted.

"Come on!" Velvet beckoned.

Giger looked at them and then back to the Chimera. He stared right into its blood red eyes and it just stared right back.

"I dreamed of creating the most ferocious, deadly Grimm in the world and I have succeeded!" Giger shouted.

The Chimera pounced towards its creator.

Its pincers snapped on his throat, decapitating him as its body slammed into his.

Giger's severed head fell to the ground, eyes and mouth wide open. Everyone looked away in horror and disgust but Jaune and Pyrrha both got a quick glimpse of what appeared to be the head's eyes darting around and mouth moving.

Giger was now forever screaming, yet forever silent.

Velvet couldn't help but scream at the gruesome sight, which got the Chimera's attention as it ceased mutilating Giger's headless corpse. It looked at the larger group and began to stalk towards them. It took one look at the other group; Ruby, Blake, and Cardin, and looked away as soon as it saw Ruby. Instead it looked to the larger group and approached them, hissing as it moved.

"Alright ugly, you wanna go? Come on then." Coco said as she got her minigun ready.

Pyrrha sighed and reached out to the beast, trying to make a connection again.

"Pyrrha, are you sure about this?" Ren asked.

"No, but I have to try." She said as she attempted to mentally communicate to the beast.

It roared as her as she began to feel its primitive mind once more, feeling the rage and hatred inside. She could feel the darkness within it and it terrified her but she didn't give up.

Suddenly she felt another presence with her. She opened her eyes and looked to see Jaune was trying to control the creature as well.

"Jaune..."

"No, we can survive this only if we work together." Jaune said with a small smile.

Pyrrha returned the smiled and returned to focusing on the creature.

Jaune felt the darkness of the Grimm Chimera, the utterly, horrible evil that this creature embodied. He remembered his rant against Salem back in the throne room and realized that this beast was just like Salem; it was the embodiment of all terrible things in the world. He looked at Pyrrha who bravely tried to reach out to the creature.

She was his inspiration, like she always had been.

He pressed on, trying to control the creature as it roared at them. It looked like it was about to pounce but it just kept moving back and forth.

Coco didn't like this and looked to the others. "Get ready; if they can't control it we're gonna have to fight that thing to the death."

Everyone nodded and made sure their weapons were ready.

Velvet felt more scared and nervous than she ever had, but she felt a large hand rest upon her shoulder. She looked up to see Yatsuhashi who nodded to her and she nodded back.

As Jaune and Pyrrha tried to control the beast the other three watched on. Ruby watched as her older sister, her partner, and the rest of her friends stood off against the beast.

"We gotta do something." Cardin said.

Blake nodded and said "I'll try luring it away with a shadow."

"We don't even know if that'll work on that thing." Ruby said.

"Why wouldn't it? We have no other option Ruby." Blake said.

Ruby sighed in defeat, it did seem hopeless but then an idea popped up in her head.

"Wait, we test it first. Blake will use her Semblance to lure it away and if it doesn't work I'll just use mine to outrun it and lure it into the chamber and once I'm out Cardin can use the remote to trap it!" she said.

Blake and Cardin nodded. "That might work. Shall we?" Blake asked.

"Don't see any other options. Let's get that son of a bitch." Cardin said confidently as he strapped the remote to his arm. All of a sudden the sounds of explosions could be heard elsewhere in the factory.

"What was that?" Blake asked.

"Doesn't matter." Ruby said as they prepared to put her plan into action.

* * *

As this was happening something else transpired in the escape ship down below. Matilda, the head of the Grimm Keepers was overseeing the transportation of all the Grimm and they had finally gotten the Wyvern on board the ship. The ship, an old Atlesian Battle Cruiser that had been updated and refitted with contemporary technology and reinforced to contain the Grimm, even the Wyvern and the Chimera.

She watched as one of the last cages of Creeps was wheeled in by the Grimm Knights as she got a call on her scroll.

"Yes Callabreese, what is it?" she asked.

"Head Keeper, it's the Wyvern! It woke up!" her underling said.

"What?! How the hell is that possible?" she asked.

"I don't know, but it's waking up and it doesn't look happy. The electric Dust binders are keeping it pacified but we're afraid that it may kill itself if it continues to struggle, permission to tranquilize it again?" he asked.

"Granted, of course. Give it enough to put it into a damn coma for all I care, but just knock it out!" she barked.

"Yes, Head Keeper." He said obediently.

Matilda sighed and tried to calm her shaking hands. She had worked for Mistress Salem for years, but even so the Wyverns made her very nervous. What the hell could be happening to Drakos to make the Wyvern act like this?

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha both kept trying to control to Chimera or at least calm it down but it seemed to be useless as it just kept roaring and glaring at them.

"So is it gonna do anything or what?" Yang asked.

"Yang, don't you dare tempt fate!" Weiss scolded as she held her rapier up.

"Pyrrha, I don't think we're doing anything." Jaune said, wincing in pain from the fresh stab wound. He could feel his aura heal him but with all that had been happening it would take a while for it to fully heal up.

"It was worth a try." Pyrrha said as she looked into the creatures eyes and seeing nothing but rage and hatred. It looked right back at her then to Jaune and it could sense the fear coming from not just them but the ones around them.

It roared as it stood up on its hind legs, revealing its full height.

"Holy crap." Muttered Weiss in terror.

The Chimera roared with its tail whipping around behind it, its claws ready to attack and bore its teeth. Yatsuhashi shoved Jaune and Pyrrha behind him and swung his greatsword and managed to slash one of its claws off.

The Chimera roared in pain as it recoiled but Yatsuhashi did not let up and he slashed his giant blade up towards its face, cutting one of its pincers off.

The Chimera slashed its claws out and Yatsuhashi's blade clanged against them. The Chimera roared at the large teenager, ignoring the pain it felt as Yang shot at its ribcage, but it couldn't ignore the pain it felt from Gambol Shroud's Kusaigama form stabbing into its back.

It whipped around and glared at the cat Faunus who began to run away from it. It returned to running on all four legs to give chase.

"Blake don't!" Yang cried as she began to shoot at the Chimera, aided by Ren and Coco.

Blake dropped and rolled under a table and came out, dashing towards the exit. The Chimera pounced and smashed into her only for her body to flicker out of existence.

"Why that clever little cat." Weiss muttered as Yang let out a heavy sigh of relief. She looked to see Blake crouching under the table she had ducked under, waiting to make another move. Jaune looked to see Cardin standing near the chamber, waiting to spring the trap.

"Hey ugly!" yelled Ruby. The Chimera turned to look at the young girl and growled at her. "Come on, come get me!" she beckoned, but it didn't seem to take the bait. It looked at her and it did not move towards her.

"What are you, scared?! Come on!" Ruby called.

"Ruby what are you doing?!" Weiss yelled.

"I'm trying to get this sucker back into its pen!" Ruby said as she took a shot at it with Crescent Rose, hitting it in the shoulder area and that seemed to get it angry. It roared at her as its dark aura began healing its fresh wound.

It stalked towards Ruby slowly, but seemed hesitant.

"Ruby, whatever your ding it's not working!" Yang called.

"I have to keep trying!" Ruby shot back as she swiped at the beast with her weapon

"Ruby, I think it's afraid of your silver eyes! I don't think it'll follow you!" Jaune called.

Ruby groaned in frustration as she knew Jaune was right. She began to formulate a plan to corral the Chimera into the chamber, maybe if she used her Semblance she could force it towards it...

Just then Cardin's voice interrupted her train of thought. "I'll lure it in! Rose, use your speed to get me out of there!" he yelled.

Velvet realized what he was going to do, her eyes widened in shock, surprised that Cardin Winchester would ever do something so selfless and heroic.

"Cardin, no!" she called to him. Cardin looked to the rabbit Faunus and gave her an apologetic look as he grabbed a pistol from an unconscious guard. "Don't Cardin!" she yelled.

Cardin ignored her and shouter "Rose, get down!" Ruby dropped to the ground and Cardin shot at the Chimera, grazing its cheek. It roared in anger and bounded towards Cardin who ran towards the open chamber, mace in hand.

"Come on, motherfucker! Let's dance!" Cardin shouted as he ran into the chamber with the beast hot on his heels.

"Blake, come on!" Ruby cried. Blake nodded and ran towards the chamber with her leader, followed by everyone else.

"What the hell is he doing?!" cried Coco.

"Something I never thought Cardin Winchester would do." Weiss said sadly, realizing what he was doing.

Cardin ran far into the dark chamber with the Chimera right behind him. He whipped around and began to swing his mace at the creature to drive it away. He managed to get a good hit, slamming it across the face.

"Come on, come on! Is this it? I've literally seen a fifteen year old girl fight better than you!" Cardin shouted as the creature lunged forward. Cardin managed to get out of the way but not without injury as the Chimera scored a slash across his shoulder.

Cardin cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. The Chimera approached him and glared down. Cardin clenched his hand around his mace and said "Take your best shot!"

The Chimera roared and reared up to slam down on Cardin, only for a fire-charged shadow of Blake to slam into it and explode. The Chimera was knocked down on its side, screaming in pain.

Cardin saw Ruby appear in a flash of red. "Let's go!" she said as she helped him up. She put his bloodied arm around her shoulders and neck so she could support him and began to use her Semblance to run out of the chamber.

The Chimera roared in hatred and charged after them, going as fast as it could.

"Come on! You can make it!" Velvet called.

"Don't look back guys! Run as fast as you freaking can!" Jaune yelled.

Ruby grinned; she was only a few feet away from the exit. Cardin got ready to place his free hand on the remote to close the chamber behind them only for the Chimera to slam into him from behind, knocking them both down.

"Ah!" both Ruby and Cardin screamed as they fell.

"No!" Yang, Weiss, and Blake all cried.

Cardin felt extreme pain all over his body, his aura trying to heal him. He saw that his legs were both clawed up and could feel a bad injury on his back, how bad he couldn't tell but he could feel the blood pouring down so it probably wasn't good.

He looked up to see Ruby right under the heavy door, in between everyone else and the Chimera.

"Stay away from us!" Ruby yelled at the beast, which simply snarled in response. Ruby crawled backwards and felt someone grab her. She looked up to see Blake, Weiss, and Yang standing above her, ready to fight.

Cardin looked at the remote on his wrist. He knew what he had to do. He removed the remote and placed it on the floor as he took up his mace.

"Rose, get clear! Get out now!" he called to them, getting the beast's attention.

"No! Cardin, you can still make it!" Velvet cried, tears coming out.

"No! I can't! Velvet, Jaune! Tell my teammates and my folks I'm sorry... and I'm sorry for everything I did to both of you!" he called as Ruby reluctantly crawled away towards the others.

Cardin held up the remote and pushed the button.

"No!" Jaune and Velvet both screamed as the door slammed down, sealing both Cardin and the Chimera inside.

"Cardin! NO!" Jaune cried as he banged on the metal door with his sword.

Inside of the chamber the Chimera approached Cardin, growling and hissing all the way. Its red and black eyes looked right into his. Cardin used his mace to smash the remote, trapping both of them.

"Fuck you." Cardin said.

The Chimera charged towards him.

Ruby's jaw had dropped. Her plan failed and Cardin sacrificed himself to save them all. Everyone remained silent but from inside they could hear Cardin's screams of pain and horror, the sickening sounds of flesh ripping, bones snapping, and the roars of the Chimera.

Jaune pressed his head against the door, tears falling from his eyes. "I forgive you." He whispered.

Pyrrha grabbed Jaune, turned him around and hugged him to her. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." She said as Jaune returned the hug and pressed into her as hard as he could. He lost Cardin, but he reclaimed Pyrrha.

Velvet hugged Yatsuhashi, sobbing as she did so. She had been more than willing to give Cardin a chance to redeem himself for his past sins and he had done so, but at the cost of his life. Yatsuhashi said nothing, he simply hugged his partner and rubbed her back comfortingly. While he didn't really like Winchester and had been skeptical of his change of heart, he knew Winchester had died redeeming himself. In the end, Cardin had proved his worth.

Coco said nothing. She hid her sad eyes behind her sunglasses and walked over to a level on the wall marked "Sprinkler System. Pull for Fire Emergencies Only." She yanked down the lever and water began falling from above, putting out the fires.

Team RWBY stood silent as Ruby got up and hugged her sister, sobbing as she did so. She couldn't help but feel responsible for Cardin's death, after all it was her plan that failed and Cardin died because of it. Yang held her sister and whispered "It's okay Ruby, it's not your fault. It's okay."

Blake remained silent, not believing that someone like Cardin Winchester would do something like that. She glanced and Velvet and though 'If someone like Cardin can change if given the chance... maybe everyone can.'

Weiss stood silent and she hugged Ruby, trying to console her partner. While she never liked Cardin at all, she wouldn't have wished his fate upon anyone, save Cinder.

Nora hugged Ren, she now felt bad about all those times she wanted to break Cardin's legs and Ren just hugged her back.

Pyrrha looked Jaune in the eyes and said "I'm sorry, I'm not worth all this."

Jaune leaned in and said "Yes you are. It should've been me, not him."

Pyrrha hugged him tighter and said "Don't say that, Jaune."

"It's true. This is all my fault. My plan got us captured, I let Cinder get the Maiden's powers, I called Weiss instead of Glynda... all of this is my fault." he said miserably.

Before he could say another word Pyrrha kissed him as hard as she could. She looked him in the eyes as she drew back and said "None of this is your fault. The only ones to blame are Salem and her minions. Please don't put yourself down, Jaune. It hurts me when you do that." Her now red eyes briefly flashed green as they began to tear up so Jaune wiped them from her face.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Coco said solemnly.

Pyrrha nodded and said "I know a shortcut to one of the smaller entrances, but first we need to make sure that thing can never get out again. Destroy those computer banks, they're the only other way to open the chamber."

Nora nodded and fired a grenade towards the upper platform. It went off and the row of computer consoles exploded, destroying any easy way of releasing the Chimera again.

Coco sighed and said "Okay; me, Yatsu, and Yang will lead the way out. Ruby and Weiss will help Jaune and Pyrrha out while Pyrrha tells us where to go. Velvet, Blake, Ren, and Nora, you guys bring up the rear and watch our backs. Let's move people."

Pyrrha leaned against Ruby while Weiss supported Jaune. "By the staircase you came up, there's a small and narrow passage way that leads to one of the supplementary loading doors. We can get out through there." she said.

"Sounds good to me." Yang said. Just then there was a loud sound that could only be described as a boom. "Oh what now?" the blonde brawler moaned.

"Something tells me we'll find out soon. We have to move, now." Yatsuhashi said.

They left the labs behind, and with it a monster and a man who had redeemed himself.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Qrow and Raven vs. Cinder
> 
> Ante's Semblance of regeneration was foreshadowed back in chapter 9, the reason his hand grew back so quickly is because he used aura boosting drugs.
> 
> Originally I had Sun and Sky Lark on the rescue team as well and Sky would have been the one to get pulled up to the rafters and his blood would rain down on them, but I decided not to do that and assign that horrible fate to some unnamed guard.
> 
> So we have two characters dead so far, who else will bite the dust in the coming chapters?


	18. The Battle of Haven Part III: Siblings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

Raven slashed down the thin, deadly blades of ice that Cinder had thrown at her. There was no denying that the newest Fall Maiden had become quite talented with her powers since obtaining them. She sent a blast of fire at Cinder from her scabbard but the disciple of Salem caught hold of the fire and dispersed it into the air.

"You'll have to do better than that." Cinder said as she blocked an attack from Qrow. She threw a blast of fire and wind at Raven, forcing her to duck. Cinder summoned up another sword and used both of the dark blades to duel Qrow. She slammed both of them down but he managed to parry the two blades.

"You really think you can walk away from this? Face it girl, there is no version of this where you come out okay." Qrow said as he managed to land a kick on Cinder stomach. Cinder grunted in pain but she ignored it for the most part as she managed to get one of her swords under Reaper and with the other atop it she leaned in and slammed her head into Qrow's chest. As he staggered back she summoned up her glowing Dust and sent a barrage of it at him. While he managed to deflect some of it he could not dodge the small projectiles. They slammed into his legs, torso, arms, and face, blowing him down.

Cinder approached him as she summoned up the power of the wind, her eyes glowing as she gave a small smile. She lifted him up and slammed him into the wall five times until she heard the sound of a cracking bone.

"Oh my, is that a cracked rib? Maybe two. Shall I do the rest?" she asked as she lifted him up and created her bow and arrow. She pulled back the bow and let the arrow fly at Qrow, only for Raven to reenter the fight and cut the arrow into pieces with some quick swings of her sword. Qrow jumped free of Cinder's control and slammed his sword down on her but she managed to parry his attack with her bow. She slammed him in the side of the chest with the bow but he barely felt it as he slammed his fist into her face.

"That's for Amber, bitch!" he snarled as he slammed Reaper down on her bow, cutting it in half.

Cinder allowed her weapon to disintegrate and she jumped back, just barely avoiding another Dust blast from Raven which went flying into a wall, blasting it wide open and creating a hole into another hallway.

Cinder used her powers to bring up the debris from the blast and froze it, creating more deadly ice shards but she knew they wouldn't be enough so she encased them with Dust. She glared at them as she let loose her new barrage of attack, sending a powerful wind blast towards them, taking the deadly projectiles at them.

Qrow and Raven ran to get out of the way but did not avoid being hit. The shards went through their clothes, creating painful scratches and cuts. Raven used her blade while Qrow transformed Reaper into its scythe mode and they managed to deflect some of the shards thrown at them.

Qrow felt his aura begin to heal him as he recovered and saw that his sister's aura was doing the same. He looked to see Cinder standing in the newly created hole, eyes glowing.

"Let's take this elsewhere." Cinder said as she sent two fire blasts at them. Raven absorbed it with her scabbard while Qrow caught the flames with Reaper's scythe and sent it off to the side.

This had served as a good distraction as Cinder had already ran off.

"Well, we got her scared." Raven said.

"Or bored, we've been at this for five minutes already. Come on." Qrow said as he ran after her, his sister following.

"So you're taking this personally, I see." Raven observed as they gave chase.

"Yeah, Amber was a good kid, I was supposed to protect her and I fucked up big time. I'm gonna make this witch pay for it." Qrow said as they saw Cinder standing in front of an elevator, her bow and arrow out again.

She released her arrows, five of them in total, and the deadly spears soared towards them. Qrow used Reaper's gun mode to blast them down, detonating the Dust they were loaded up with, briefly creating a dust cloud but Cinder used that to her advantage and created several powerful spears of hardened Dust and sent them at the Branwen siblings.

Qrow managed to cut one in half with Reaper while Raven destroyed another with a fire blast from her scabbard but the final one went too fast and struck Raven in the mask.

"Raven!" Qrow cried as his sister fell to the ground.

Cinder smirked as she sent another beam of fire at Qrow, who was too worried about his sister to notice. The fire smashed into his arm, engulfing it in flames. Qrow screamed in pain as he began to put the fire out.

Cinder watched with an amused look on her face, but that soon vanished as Raven got up, throwing her ruined mask down and revealing her face that had a bit of blood on it. She quickly changed the Dust crystal in her scabbard to a water one and doused Qrow's arm.

"You alright?" she asked as her brother got up.

"Nothing a little payback won't cure." Qrow said as he got ready to fight.

Cinder glared at them and she aimed her arm behind her and blew the elevator doors open with a fire blast. She created a new series of ice shards with the debris and sent them flying at the two to allow herself a chance to escape. Qrow wouldn't have that and he managed to fire off Reaper's gun mode and hit Cinder in the shoulder.

Her loud grunt of pain was music to his ears.

Raven easily destroyed the ice shards to protect them as Cinder jumped into the elevator shaft and rocketed up using her fire powers.

"You okay? That Dust spear could've taken your head off." Qrow said.

"I'm fine, just need a new mask once this is over and done." Raven said as they walked towards the elevator.

"She'll be expecting us to follow her up, you know another way?" Qrow asked.

Raven nodded, "While I was here last night I familiarized myself with the basic layout. There's a staircase well down there." She said, pointing to the adjoining hallway.

"Let's go." Qrow said. The two Branwens ran down the hall together, side by side.

Qrow glanced at his sister as the bleeding on her head came to a stop courtesy of her aura. His curiosity got the best of him and he couldn't help but ask "So what's gonna happen between you and Tai once this night is done?"

Raven glared at her brother and said "I don't know. I don't think we could ever be together again after the pain I caused him."

"Whatever pain your leaving him did is nothing compared to the pain Summer's death brought upon him." Qrow said sadly. Raven looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow.

"How bad was it, honestly?" she inquired.

"I had to stop him from committing suicide." Qrow revealed.

"WHAT?!" Raven screamed as she came to a halt.

Qrow sighed, he knew he'd have to tell her this someday but now was most definitely the worst time to tell her. Sad thing is he wasn't even drunk so he had no excuse for letting it slip out. He hadn't been thinking at all about the words that left his mouth, as he was too focused on Cinder and what he'd to to her. He knew that facing Cinder meant they might never get a chance to properly tell his sister. Plus, she'd make it out but he didn't know if he was strong or smart enough to make it tonight.

He looked at his sister as she glared at him and said "After Summer died he got low, rock bottom. I stuck around Patch for a couple months after she died to keep an eye on him and the girls and one day while they were playing outside I walked in on him trying to slit his wrists. The ass kicking I gave him..." he stopped and let out a bitter laugh.

Raven was using every bit of restraint she had not to strangle her brother right now.

Qrow continued. "I asked him what the hell he was thinking, why he didn't take Yang and Ruby into consideration. He said he wanted me to be their legal guardian. Ain't that a joke? Me, a parent? Can you imagine what that'd be like?" he asked.

"A disaster." Raven deadpanned.

"Bingo, anyway I got him to see that killing himself was a pretty shitty thing to do, how devastated his girls would be, etc... I know you're going to demand to know why I never told you until now it's because I knew what your reaction would be; to go back, berate him, call him an idiotic coward for even considering suicide and then you'd probably do something really dramatic like kiss him and then run away leaving he and Yang heart broken again and confused and I wanted to avoid all of that shit, okay?" Qrow finished.

Raven sighed as she resumed walking down the hallways. "You really piss me off, Qrow." She said.

"Isn't that what brothers are supposed to do to their sisters?" he joked as he took a drink from his flask and poured some on his arm which was still healing up from the burns.

Raven smiled and said "I suppose it is. I don't know what will happen between Taiyang and I after this is over. Maybe we can be together again but I doubt it. The life he wants, it's not for me. I need to run free, I need to fight, I need to fly. I care for Taiyang and Yang deeply Qrow but I can't stay with them, surely you can understand that?"

"A little, but I was never the nomad you are... or maverick or whatever the hell it's called. I may go off on missions for months at a time but I always return. The thought of those two kids keeps me going, sis. I've lost count of how many time I nearly gave up only to keep goin' because the thought of those two crying over my death was something I'd never let happen." He said.

"Qrow, I think you'd make a better father than anyone gives you credit for." Raven said.

"I don't know, you have any idea how many women I've slept with over the last eighteen years? I may be a dad already and not even know it." Qrow joked as they came to the stairway entrance.

"Qrow, you're an ass and yet I still love you." Raven said.

"Well that's what sisters are supposed to do." Qrow said.

"Tell that to Cinder, I saw no love for her own brother in her eyes." Raven stated.

Qrow nodded, he didn't really know Ashe or could he claim to like him so far but he had to feel for the guy. He knew Cinder was bad news but anyone who had killed off their own family to get more power was obviously beyond redemption and couldn't be reasoned with. Fine by him, he wanted to kick her ass anyway.

As Raven opened the door she glanced at Qrow and asked "Shall we take flight?"

"It would be nice to fly together again." He said as he transformed into his avian form. Raven followed his example and the two Branwens flew up the staircase.

* * *

Cinder stood before the elevator shaft with a group of seven guards behind her. She found that the shaft led up to the now empty warehouse storage area of the factory and most of it had been cleared out. She had also been lucky enough to run into a squadron of guards who had not yet joined the fight. She looked at the shaft and knew her adversaries wouldn't come up.

"They won't be coming up that way; they'll probably find the staircase up ahead. Go cut them off." She ordered.

"Yes, Lady Cinder." The sergeant who commanded the squad said. He led his men down towards the adjoining platform of the large, empty warehouse portion of the factory. Cinder knew these pathetic excuses for soldiers wouldn't even last a second against the two professional Hunters. They were but mere cannon fodder in a grand conflict, barricades to wear down the enemy.

Her thoughts couldn't help but stray to her brother, the pleading look in his eyes, the desperation in his voice... after all she had done he still believed she could change.

Could she?

No, she banished there thought of it. The mere concept of betraying her master was laughable. Salem made her what she was, the Fall Maiden, one of the most powerful and dreadful beings in all of Remnant. Not just deadly but beautiful, she would be a queen in the new world.

True, she was a pawn for the moment while Salem was the queen, but what was the title of queen to someone who longed to be a goddess?

Cinder knew her time would come. No one would get in her way. Not even Ashe.

She looked at a scratch she had gotten during the battle and watched as it vanished with the aid of her aura. The way the scratch looked reminded her of something from her childhood. The day that Salem found her.

_An eleven year old Cinder Kasai ran through the forest after her little brother who stayed ahead of her, jumping over logs and little creeks. Their mother was not far behind, but had decided to stay behind to rest her tired legs as she had been worn out by trying keep up with her children._

" _Come on, Cindy! Keep up!" he called._

" _If you call me 'Cindy' one more time I'll call you Ashley for the rest of your life!" Cinder threatened._

_Ashe stopped and looked at his big sister, his eyes wide with dread. "You wouldn't... would you?" he asked._

_Cinder smirked and answered "Oh, I would, Ashley!"_

_Ashe sighed and said "Okay, I'll stop."_

_Cinder smiled and rubbed his hair, messing it up. "You're way too easy. What was it you wanted to show me?" she asked._

" _That old willow tree in the forest, I was walking around yesterday..."_

" _You know you're not supposed to walk around the woods alone! There could be Grimm out here!" Cinder scolded, giving him a disapproving look._

" _I wasn't alone! Mom and me were out here while you and dad were training in the fields. Not everyone can be the guardian who actually gets to do stuff." Ashe said with an annoyed huff._

_Cinder chuckled and said "I'm older than you, plus I'll always be the better fighter. That's why you'll be stuck with the boring mystic mumbo jumbo."_

" _I can fight too! Anyway, the willow tree got knocked down in the storm from a few nights ago; you gotta see it, there were branches and leaves everywhere!" Ashe said._

" _We're in a forest; of course there are branches and leaves everywhere." Cinder said, unimpressed._

" _Wait 'til you see it, mom said it wasn't the wind that took it down, lightning hit it!" he said._

" _Okay, that may be worth seeing." Cinder admitted as she followed her little brother deeper into the forest._

_They soon came upon the old willow tree and sure enough Cinder had to admit it was an impressive sight. The old tree had been hit in a vital area of its trunk, the wood was cracked wide open as if it had been hit with an explosive from the inside._

_Black burn marks scarred the otherwise pure insides of the tree. Cinder imagined it must have been set on fire when it happened but the rain had obviously doused it, still she could see little burn marks on the grass around her so it must have been one heck of a bolt. She was glade she and her brother were wearing shoes as jagged bits and pieces of tree lay all around the meadow._

_Cinder was too distracted by the light of the demolished tree to notice Ashe approaching a nearby log._

" _Cinder, come here! I think there's an animal inside of this log." He said._

" _Leave it be, it's probably a fox or something else that'll give you rabies." She warned him._

" _I don't think foxes meow." Ashe said as he crouched down._

" _Meow? What would a cat be doing out here?" Cinder asked._

" _No clue, hey Cinder you can do the fire thing, right? Give me some light; I can see the cats eyes but not its body." Ashe said._

_Cinder sighed and said "No, Ashe. I can't do the 'fire thing' yet. Dad says that's still a year away. I'll get the thing out."_

_She sat down next to Ashe and reached in. "Okay, okay, almost there... I can feel the little sucker... OW!" Cinder screamed as she yanked her hand out with a cat attached._

" _Let go of my arm you mangy fur-ball!" she demanded as she shook the cat off._

_The cat, one who appeared to be rather old with black, brown, and dark orange fur all mixed together in patches and blotches with yellow eyes, landed near Ashe and hissed at Cinder._

_Cinder hissed in pain as her aura quickly began healing her clawed up arm. "You stupid cat, I'm gonna..."_

" _Cinder, don't scare her! She's just an old cat. Let me handle her." Ashe said._

" _Okay, two questions: one, how do you know it's a girl? Two, what makes you think she won't be afraid of you?" Cinder asked._

" _Well for the first question mom told me how to tell the difference and for the second, I am nowhere near as scary as you." Ashe teased as he got down on his belly and made a comforting meow sound which got the cat's attention. The cat looked at him, its eyes relaxing a bit as it did so._

" _Hey there, what's a pretty girl like you doing all the way out here?" he asked._

" _Someone probably dumped her out here." Cinder said as he aura continued to heal up the claw marks._

" _I don't understand how people can do that... she looks like she's been in a fight." He said as he noticed some scars on her flank. "You think a Grimm did this to her?"_

" _No way, Grimm don't attack animals, remember?" Cinder said._

_Ashe nodded, pretending as if he did. He carefully and slowly reached out to the cat with his hand, not putting it in her face but only close enough so she could smell him._

" _Mom told me the best way to gain an animals' trust it to just let them smell you. Not if they show signs of being angry or anything... and the only reason she scratched you is because you grabbed her." Ashe said before Cinder could contradict him._

_The cat looked at Ashe judgingly, lowering her paw that she had raised up to smack, as it smelled his scent. It then leaned into his hand, as if demanding to be pet. Ashe smiled at Cinder and rubbed the side of the cat's jaw. "There you go, see? She's a good cat." Ashe said._

_Cinder approached the cat but it looked up at her and hissed._

" _Guess she doesn't like you." Ashe observed._

" _Good, I don't like her." Cinder said._

" _Can we take her home?" Ashe asked._

_Cinder sighed and said "What would mom and dad say about bringing some stray cat home? I don't think we should..." Cinder was cut off by a loud roar. Cinder looked up and saw a black shape moving through the trees and bushes, growling as it moved towards them._

" _Ashe, get behind me now." Cinder ordered as she took out a knife her father had given her._

_Ashe did not question her, the fear in his eyes obvious. He got up, ignoring the cat for now as he moved behind his elder sister._

" _It's a Grimm! Cinder what are we going to do?" Ashe asked as he hid behind her, shaking a bit._

" _We'll get moving back to mom. Don't be afraid, fear attracts them." Cinder said._

" _I can't help it! Have you ever killed a Grimm before?" he asked._

" _No, I've watched dad kill them before but I think can handle it." She said, but then doubt went across her mind. "But we should get ready to run for it just in case." She added._

_Ashe nodded as he got ready to run. He glanced at the cat who was now hissing at the dark shape that was getting closer._

_The Grimm appeared through the forest, revealing itself to be an Ursa. It roared at them as it bared its claws._

_Ashe was beyond terrified and Cinder would be lying if she said she wasn't scared either. It roared at them again, its red eyes staring right at them. Cinder guided Ashe to the ruined willow tree and she ordered him to climb up._

" _I'll follow you, just get up!" she said._

_Ashe obeyed his sister, trying not to sob as he did so, and climbed up the ruined tree. Luckily the branches were big and strong enough to both support the tree and keep him out of the Grimm's reach. The Ursa lurched forward but Cinder quickly slashed it across the face with her knife. It backed off a bit, hissing in pain._

_Ashe quickly called for their mother and hoped she heard him. While his mom wasn't the best fighter around she was more than capable of killing this lone Grimm._

_It swiped at her with its arm but she quickly stabbed it in the paw. It roared in pain as Cinder jumped up and slammed it in the face with her foot and pulled out her dagger to stab its muzzle._

_The Grimm launched itself at Cinder and headbutted her, knocking her into the tree. Cinder held her blade, she shaking hands ready to strike. The Grimm glared at her and looked like it was about to attack when it stopped. It looked right at her, staring at her eyes as if it was possessed. Its eyes suddenly turned white._

" _What the heck?" Cinder said in confusion as the Grimm suddenly stopped moving, as if it was frozen._

" _Cinder, let's make a break for it!" Ashe cried._

" _R-right, get down, we'll run home and never mention this to mom and..." she was interrupted by the Ursa recovering and growling at them._

" _Oh give me a break!" Cinder cried as she quickly climbed up the tree branches next to Ashe._

_The Ursa roared and clawed the down tree trunk, stabbing its claws into the wood as it growled at them._

" _You do realize it can probably climb up, right?!" Ashe said, more terrified than he had ever been in his young life._

" _I know. Don't worry, I promise we'll make it out of here." Cinder said as she hugged him to her._

_The Ursa began to climb up only for the cat to jump on its back and begin clawing its back up. The Ursa roared it pain as it fell off the ruined tree and onto its back. The cat jumped off and got back, ready to pounce on the Grimm again but the beast ignored the small animal, not seeing it as either a threat nor as prey. It looked back up to the sibling only for the cat to jump up and slash it across the face. It roared in pain as it covered its face as it glared at the cat, now angered. It slammed its arm into the cat and sent it flying into a tree._

" _No!" Ashe cried._

_The Ursa glared up at them and roared, it got up on its hind legs and got prepared to attack them only for a loud whistle to get its attention. It looked to the right and a flash of red, white, and black appeared out of nowhere as their mother, Ember Kasai, slashed its arm off with her weapon, a gunsen war blade that was loaded with Dust. Clad in a red and white kimono she glared at the creature, as if to ask who would dare to attack her children._

_She slashed sideways, cutting its belly open and quickly followed up by cutting the remaining arm off and then jumped up and sliced its head off. The Ursa fell as its body disintegrated._

_Ember collapsed her fan blade and put it away as she looked up to her children. "Are you okay?" she asked._

" _Yeah mom, we're okay." Cinder said._

" _Good, come down. Don't worry you're not in trouble, I'm just happy you're both safe." She said gently as she helped Ashe down._

_The young boy hugged her tight and nestled into his mother's chest, muttering "Thank you, thank you mom."_

_Cinder got down and looked up at her mother, worry obvious in her eyes. "I'm sorry mom; I didn't know what to do. I was..."_

" _It's okay Cinder, I'm not mad. From the glimpse I got at it you gave that thing quite the fight." Ember said proudly as she hugged her daughter. "I'm so proud of you; you protected your brother at the risk of your own life. That's what all big sisters should do."_

_Ashe ran over to the body of the cat and was shocked to see that it had been killed by the Grimm's strike. Ashe began to cry for the dead animal as Cinder explained what had happened._

Cinder sighed as she shook her head. Ashe had remained in a depressed state for over two weeks after that day, blaming himself for the cat's death. Their mother gave the cat a burial as thanks for helping her children and Ashe, despite only knowing the cat for a few minutes, visited the little grave site every so often.

It was hard to believe that sensitive, little Ashe could have turned into the dark, tortured warrior he was now, but that's just the way the world worked. She had discovered that the reason the Ursa's eyes had turned white was because it sensed her potential and had alerted Salem to her. Cinder couldn't help but appreciate that day a little bit more.

* * *

Qrow and Raven landed on the top level of the staircase and turned back into their human forms.

"Been a while since we've flown together, miss the old days." Qrow said.

"You can get nostalgic later; right now we have a Maiden to defeat." Raven said.

Qrow nodded and muttered "Right. I hope there's someway we can get her powers out of her and into someone less insane."

Raven opened the door and saw the hallway was filled with the seven guards. "Freeze!" the sergeant yelled as they all readied their weapons; rapier-guns. Similar to Weiss' but much less sophisticated and much cheaper with the sword tip opening for the gun barrel.

"Ladies first." Qrow said. Raven nodded and jumped towards the guards, unsheathing her blade and setting to work. She landed in front of one and thrusted her sword into his head, piercing his brain. He died with a wide-eyed and horrified look on his face at his brain died with the rest of his body soon to follow. Raven swung her sword wildly towards two more guards and decapitated both of them, splattering thin lines of blood on the walls.

Qrow smirked as he ran forward and slammed Reaper into a guard's chest, stabbing him the heart. He then twirled around, slicing one guard in half while another guard got eviscerated, the pain and shock killing him quickly.

The sergeant fired at Qrow but the expert Huntsman easily knocked the shot away and sliced the leader's arm off at the elbow. The man screamed in shock and horror but Qrow quickly blasted him in the chest with Reaper's gun function.

Qrow looked to Raven as she nodded. "Quick and brutal as always, you never change."

"Neither have you. Those two make what, seven decapitations tonight? What is it with you and removing the head?" he asked.

"Decapitation is a quick and painless way to kill a person... and I've only decapitated three tonight." She lied.

"I know bullshit when I hear it, but whatever. Now let's go take that bitch down." Qrow said.

They ran down the hallway to the main warehouse area of the factory only to find it devoid of anyone at all.

"Do you think she ran?" Raven asked.

"Possibly. The first time I faced her she ran and she ran off from us. Maybe she's a total coward."

Raven was about to respond when she heard the slightest noise from above them; the sound of an ambush. She changed the crystal in her scabbard to an earth one and yelled "Duck!" as she summoned up a wall of rock from the concrete floor to protect them from the raining daggers of hardened Dust from Cinder.

Cinder stood on a catwalk above them, slamming down her attacks again and again, wearing down Raven's shield.

"Alright, you wanna fight dirty? Two can play at that game!" Qrow said as he took out a small orb from his pocket. He jumped out from the shield and threw the orb at Cinder. She quickly destroyed it with a fire blast but it created a smokescreen.

"Really?" Cinder asked as she used her wind powers to blow the smoke away only to be thrown down as the catwalk she was on was destroyed by a fire blast from Raven's scabbard. Cinder flew up into the air and landed a dozen meters away from the Branwen siblings and quickly created little shields of aura to block the blasts Qrow was shooting at her.

Raven swung down her scabbard three times, creating three arcs of fire that rocketed towards Cinder.

The Fall Maiden smirked as she caught the first blast then spun around gracefully and caught the second with her remaining free hand and then she clapped her hands together around the third blast, combining all three. She held all three blasts up as one big fire ball and threw it at the Branwen siblings but Raven quickly absorbed it with her crimson sword.

"Well that was pointless!" yelled Qrow as he jumped up, ran along the walls and launched himself at Cinder, managing to get one good kick in the face as he jumped off of her, landed behind her and just barely caught her blades before they slashed into him. "Eager, aren't we?" he mocked.

"Ready to fail again, Branwen?" Cinder asked as her amber eyes glowed, the leaf-like shape of a Fall Maiden's eyes taking shape around them.

"What I'm ready to do is spank your ass like the spoiled brat you are." Qrow said as he kicked her in the stomach and slashed at her with Reaper's sharp blade but he missed as she ducked down.

She launched a Dust blast at him which knocked him back but she was forced to ignore him and parry a strike from Raven.

"Give up, Fall. As we said earlier you cannot possibly win this." Raven said.

"I disagree." Cinder said as she slammed Raven into the rafters with her wind powers. She turned around only to see Qrow mere feet away from her. He jumped up and sucker punched her in the face and unleashed a barrage of powerful punches and kicks on Cinder.

The Fall Maiden screamed in fury as she used her powers over the wind to lift Qrow in midair and squeeze his throat. "I've come to appreciate these powers very much but I've been saving this method of murder ever since I obtained these gifts." She said.

Qrow gasped as he felt air leave his lungs, drawn out as if it was being pulled by a magnet. He nudged his head down to look at Cinder who was smiling wickedly, a serene look of sadistic enjoyment on her features.

"Taking one's ability to breathe away is quite a cruel death, but I think it works just nicely." Cinder said.

Just then she was sent flying into the wall with a mighty hit from Raven's scabbard. Raven heard Qrow drop to the ground and whip out Reaper.

"Thanks for the save." He said.

"Just part of what I do." Raven said as Cinder got back up and began to throw a series of fireballs.

"I think we're getting on her nerves!" Qrow said as he began spinning Reaper around in scythe mode to catch and deflect the flames.

"You're the expert in that." Raven said as she blocked all the blows that came near her. She managed to either dodge or absorb all of the fireballs with her sword but then something bad happened.

Her hair got hit with one of the fireballs.

Her red eyes began to shine as she quickly changed the Dust crystal within her scabbard to a water one and quickly doused herself before it could reach her head. More fireballs came at her but she dodged them expertly.

"Oh boy, you're gonna regret that." Qrow muttered as Raven charged at Cinder.

Cinder smirked as she summoned up her sword only for Raven to quickly jump and land down in front of her, unsheathe her sword and slam it into Cinder's blades, cutting them off at the hilts.

Before Cinder could react Raven smashed her into the wall and began to repeatedly smash her face in with her fist, her metallic arm braces making the hits much more effective. Raven grabbed Cinder by the sides of the face and slammed her into her knee, disorientating her.

Cinder was now off balance and feeling out of it, not helped by Raven's next attack; a spin-kick to the head which sent her flying to the side.

"What...?" Cinder moaned as she tried to get up, only to get sent sailing across the storage area with a mighty, rage fueled punch from Raven.

"You messed with her hair. You shouldn't have done that." Qrow said, smirking.

Like mother, like daughter.

Cinder landed on her glass shoes and screamed in frustration as she created another dome of flame around her body to keep her attackers at bay.

"Looks like you got her on the ropes." Qrow said to his sister as they got ready to attack the dome.

"I'm not done with her yet." Raven hissed. It was personal now.

Inside of the dome Cinder was seething with rage. How were these two fools keeping up with her? How?! She needed to finish them off once and for all, but she needed more power.

More power...

She looked at the palm of her hand and grinned. She knew what to do now.

Qrow and Raven watched as Dust fragments began to appear outside of the fire and rise up, glowing with power as sharp ice encased them, wind whirling around powerfully.

"I think we made her mad." Qrow muttered as he got Reaper ready.

The flame dome vanished and Cinder rose up into the air, her eyes glowing with power. She looked down at them and grinned.

"Die." She said.

She came down hard, slamming into the ground and sending lifting up the concretes and waves of concrete like an earthquake. The two Branwens quickly jumped to avoid it but were bombarded with the projectiles. Their bodies were slammed into over and over again by shards of heated Dust combined with ice and wind making it all the more painful.

Qrow fell to the floor, bleeding as his aura began to heal him. Man his body was hurting, those things stung like a thousand different rapier wasps attacks. He looked to Raven who was in the same condition and couldn't help but notice one of the shards had stabbed her shoulder.

She yanked it out and threw it to the floor. "That was the most pain I've felt in a long time." She admitted to Cinder who now casually walked towards them.

"Good, you two will pay for your impudence and that was just the beginning." Cinder said as she took out her bow and arrows and aimed for the general area around them and let loose a grand total of ten arrows.

The two siblings quickly got out of the way as the arrows slammed into the ground where they previously had been and exploded.

Qrow was smashed into the wall by the force of the blast while Raven, who had been closer, was sent to the other side of the storage room.

Qrow got up to see Cinder standing before him, smirking down with smug superiority. Qrow swung Reaper at her but she leaned back, however he did cut open a part of her shirt. Cinder used the wind to pick Qrow up and toss him into a row of shelves, the force of the throw was so powerful that he dropped Reaper as his body plowed through them until he was in the corner of the room, covered with bruises and debris.

"Time to finish you off." Cinder said as she summoned up to incredibly powerful fireballs and sent them flying up at the rafters and catwalks above Qrow.

"No!" Raven screamed as the heavy wooden and metal debris fell down on her brother, crushing him and pinning him down.

Raven got up and held her sword forward as Cinder glanced at her. "I don't think your brother's dead yet, but I'll correct that once I'm done with you."

Raven screamed as she charged at Cinder.

_It was the day of graduation at Beacon Academy and yet here Qrow Branwen was, not inside preparing for the ceremony or celebrating with his friends, but here in the Emerald Forest, in bird form, going after his sister._

_Taiyang didn't really say what happened, all he said was that Raven took off into the Grimm infested forest and he couldn't stop her. Qrow knew his sister better than anyone did, even their mom, so he knew he had to be the one to find out what happened between the two lovers, as Taiyang was too nervous to really explain things and Summer was just as clueless as he was._

_He soon found his sister sitting stop a cliff by an old dead tree. He landed on the branch and cawed down to her, getting her attention._

_She looked up and glared. "Go away Qrow. I'm not in the mood."_

_Qrow flew down and transformed back into human form as he landed. "Nope, not taking that for an answer, sis. What happened between you two?" he asked._

_Raven glared up at her brother as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't want to talk about it." She said stubbornly._

" _Sis, come on, you have to tell me what's up. Graduation is in five hours and Team STRQ can't do it without you." He said. She said nothing._

_He smirked as he got an idea. "You want me to get Summer out here?" he asked._

_Raven looked up at him, glaring. "You're a prick. Fine, I'll tell you what happened; Taiyang asked me to marry him."_

_Qrow's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?! Taiyang Xiao Long asked you to marry him? Settle down and everything?" he asked in disbelief._

_Raven nodded in confirmation. "Yes, he got down on one knee, showed me the, rather beautiful, ring, and asked me to be with him."_

" _And did you give him an answer?" Qrow asked._

" _No. I ran, I ran away so fast I even risked him seeing me transform." Raven said._

_Qrow buried his face in his hands and groaned. Maybe he should go get Summer, she's way better at this shit than he ever could be._

" _Okay, why did you run? You were telling me not two weeks ago that Taiyang was too cowardly to ask you to commit to marriage. I thought you'd be happy that he proved you wrong." Qrow said._

" _I... Qrow I... I'm pregnant." She said suddenly._

_What?_

_"What?" he asked._

" _I'm pregnant with Taiyang's child; I even had a pregnancy test to confirm it." She said, not meeting his eyes._

" _How have we not noticed?" Qrow demanded as he sat down next to his sister, putting a comforting arm around her._

" _I got up earlier than the rest of you when I had morning sickness. I managed to keep quiet enough so the rest of you couldn't hear me." She explained._

_Qrow nodded. "Okay, I'm beginning to understand; you're afraid to tell him because now it'll look like he's only marrying you because he knocked you up."_

_Raven nodded again._

" _Okay, I have no real idea what to say. How do you really feel about Tai?" he asked._

_Raven glanced at him and said "Despite everything; his love of bad jokes and how much of a slacker he can be and don't even get me started on his occasionally cowardly tendencies I... I truly do care for him. I love him, Qrow."_

_They sat in silence for a while as Qrow hugged his sister to him. It had been a while since they had just sat in silence together. Enjoying the sounds of the forest and the birds that flew around and chirping._

" _Okay so what would your answer be if you weren't pregnant?" Qrow asked._

_Raven looked at him and said "I'd probably say yes."_

" _Then come back with me, tell him you'll answer him later, and after the graduation tell him yes or no." Qrow said._

_Raven sighed and said "What about the baby?"_

" _If you say yes, fuck him again sometime this week, and tell him you're pregnant later so he and everyone else will think the kid is legitimate." Qrow said, not really knowing if it was good advice or not._

_Raven looked at her brother and said "Sounds like another one of your idiotic plans... but it's better than breaking his heart." She leaned into him, hugging him tighter. "Qrow, despite everything, no matter how much we fight or get on each others' nerves I want you to know that I love you."_

_Qrow smiled as he pulled his sister closer. "I love you too, sis."_

_He stood up and said "Let's get back to Beacon."_

" _I'll stay here for a while. I need to think things over." Raven said._

" _Okay, don't be late sis. I'll tell Tai you're thinking it over but I won't mention your bun in the oven. Later." He said as he jumped up, transformed, and flew away._

The sound of a huge explosion jolted Qrow awake from his short sleep. He moaned in pain as the rubble and wreckage shifted above him, some of it even falling off. What happened... Raven! She was fighting Fall alone!

He quickly began to push the heavy debris off of his body, slowly but surely getting more and more freedom to move as he glimpsed at the fight between his sister and the Fall Maiden.

Their swords clashed together faster than he could keep track of, Raven's crimson blade slammed against Cinder's black and ember one, which appeared to the combined form of her two swords from earlier.

Both of the women had scratches on their bodies, small shimmers of aura healing them as they dueled. Cinder played dirty and slammed a small ball of fire into Raven's side, forcing her to stagger back which allowed Cinder to kick her in the head, knocking her down.

"So this is the feared Raven Branwen? People like you never live up to your reputations." Cinder said.

"I'm not done yet." Raven said as she sheathed her sword and began to wildly swing the scabbard at Cinder as the crystal cartridges changed at randomly, sending an intense barrage of fire, earth, water, ice, wind, electricity at Cinder, who was caught off guard by the tactic and got blitzed up by it.

She soared across the warehouse room, bombarded by every type of Dust Raven had inside her scabbard. She slammed into the wall and fell to her feet, crouching to catch her breath as Raven approached.

"Good enough for you?" Raven asked as she took out her sword again.

"Oh yes." Cinder said with a small smile as he eyes began to glow again. She knew Raven was powerful, and there was no power Cinder could not take away thanks to the Scarab Grimm within her.

She jumped up, creating the bow again along with three arrows, she let go and the trio of small spears sailed with lighting speed at Raven, shooting through her leg, shoulder, and hip.

"AH!" Raven cried in pain as she fell to her knee.

"NO!" Qrow screamed from the rubble as he struggled to get out.

Cinder glanced at him as he struggled to free himself. "I'll deal with you soon enough." She said as Raven tried to get up.

"You know what Cinder Fall? You and I aren't so different." Raven said weakly as she forced her wounded body to get up, her aura struggling to heal the injuries.

"What makes you think that?" Cinder asked, curiosity piqued.

"Because you'll end up like me one day; alone, and just like me you'll have no one to blame but yourself." Raven said bitterly as she held up her sword.

"Isn't that profound?" Cinder said as she recreated her sword and parried Raven's first strike, then slammed it into the red blade, knocking it out of Raven's hands.

Raven growled as she tried to land a punch on Cinder's face but the Fall Maiden easily caught it the fist with an open hand, ripping off the metallic glove and then capturing it again swiftly.

"Thank you, you just gave me what I wanted." Cinder said as her arm began to glow a dim red.

"What the hell?" Raven said before a black web covered her hand. Raven screamed in pain as she felt her aura and her power being sucked up by something pure evil. She screamed louder than she had in years as her body was violated and pillaged by the Grimm insect, her powers being taken from her and given to Cinder Fall.

"NO! Leave my sister alone!" Qrow screamed desperately as he failed to get free of the rubble, a heavy piece of metal pinning his legs down.

Cinder withdrew her hand from Raven's which was now marked by dark shadows of the Grimm's web.

She looked up to Cinder who grinned down at her as the light in her eyes surged with power and her body shook as she got used to this new power. Cinder slammed her glass shoe into Raven's face, blowing her down. "Now then..." she said as she made the sword again.

Suddenly she felt a Dust round blast into her shoulder. It was nothing but an annoying bee string thanks to her new, mighty powers but she glanced to see Qrow had freed himself and was now wielding Reaper again, ready to fight.

"Get away from her, you bitch!" he yelled.

"Very well." Cinder said as she sent an incredibly fast fireball at him. Qrow had no time to react before it slammed him across the room and into the wall. Before he could get up Cinder was right in front oh him, her sword ready to thrust into his chest.

"You know what Branwen? I suppose I should thank you for everything. If it hadn't been for your failure to save Amber I would have never gotten my powers. Now its true you did prevent me from getting the whole thing right away but because of your interference all those people at the Vytal Festival died, including that Nikos girl." She said, loving the pained, defeated look on his face. "You should have been able to recognize us at the festival even though our faces were blurred in our initial encounter, but I suppose that's what happens when one is as drunk as you are. Maybe if you had been sober none of this would have happened to begin with. Now your sister's power is mine and yours will be too and maybe I'll do the same to your precious little nieces. Time to say goodbye, Branwen." Cinder finished as she kicked Reaper out of the way and blasted him in the gut to keep him down.

Qrow shut his eyes and accepted his fate.

Cinder pulled back her sword and plunged it forward, but she did not hit her intended target.

Raven took the stab for him, the glowing black blade impaling her.

"What? How did you...?" Cinder asked, amazed.

"You're far too guilty of underestimating this family!" Raven said as she pulled out her sword and stabbed it through Cinder's leg. Cinder screamed in agony before Raven slammed her fist into the Fall Maiden's face, sending her flying on her back.

Raven fell to the ground but Qrow quickly recovered and caught his sister. "Raven! Come on sis, don't do this, stay with me!" he begged as he cradled her head.

"Qrow... tell Tai and Yang I love them... I love them so much and I can never make up for what I did... oh god!" Raven cried as she clutched her bleeding chest.

"No! You can't die! You can still patch things up with 'em! You can make it out of this, you're the toughest woman I've ever known! You can't do this to us!" Qrow begged, holding back tears for the first time in years.

Raven reached up and weakly cupped Qrow's face. "I'm sorry Qrow... I had to save you. Please take care of them for me... I'm sorry..."

"Why? Why did you do that for me?! WHY?!" Qrow yelled.

"Because I love you, little brother..." she said as her eyes dimmed.

Qrow's eyes forced tears away as Raven died in his arms. Despite everything that had happened over the years; the fights, her disappearance, her abandoning of Taiyang and Yang, her grim and dark outlook on life he knew that she was a good person.

Qrow remained silent, refusing to cry, as he held his sister in his arms. He wouldn't let Cinder have the pleasure of seeing him sob.

Cinder stood up as she pulled the sword out, her newly reinforced aura healing her very quickly. She looked at the sight of the man holding his dead sister to him and she couldn't help but feel... odd. Was it guilt? Regret? No, such things were beneath her.

Then she remembered that the two before her had been brother and sister and she couldn't help but picture herself holding Ashe's dead body for some reason.

Why? Why had the foolish woman sacrificed herself for him, but then she remembered what her mother had told her that day: 'I'm so proud of you; you protected your brother at the risk of your own life. That's what all big sisters should do.'

Qrow's head snapped up to look at her. "YOU!" he screamed as he gently laid Raven's body down and reclaimed Reaper as he transformed it into scythe form. "I'm going to break you." He said.

"You will try." Cinder said smugly, only for Qrow to appear right in front of her in a flash of white, gray, and black and his fist smashed into her face.

"No trying, I'm going to make you pay." He said.

"That's the last time you will lay a hand on me." Cinder said as she floated up into the air and with her newly empowered aura combined the Fall Maiden powers that were enhanced by Raven's she created a massive fireball and flung it at Qrow.

The scythe wielder ducked down and the mighty ball of flame went over him and smashed into the wall behind him, blowing it apart and exposing the room to the outside world.

Qrow jumped out of the way to avoid more of Cinder's arrows as she came after him. Her bow transformed into a sword and she slammed it down on him but he countered it with a mighty strike.

The two dueled further onto the roof the room was on and both of them could see the war zone around them as young hunters fought for their lives.

"It's over Qrow, you cannot win this." Cinder said.

"I don't have to, I only have to take you down with me!" he said.

The two slammed their weapons against each other, dueling on into the night.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The Siege
> 
> Sorry if this one feels a little rushed, I needed this to be a short chapter since I'm not too sure about my ability to write a fight scene between Cinder and Qrow (who we already know) and a character we know next to nothing about.
> 
> Yeah, first Cardin, now Raven. I knew when I began to plan the part of the story that if the good guys were to win this they'd need to lose some people.
> 
> I added Cinder's flashback to give her more depth, as one of my main issues with Volume 3 is that Cinder becomes such a laughable, over-powered Mary Sue with little to no personality. Maybe it's because of Pyrrha's (still very, very, very, very, very stupid) death but I think Volume 3 is very easy to rip apart for its flaws and Cinder is one of the biggest flaws for the reasons stated above. Although not as big of a flaw as Pyrrha's death, because let's be honest here: That was just fucking idiotic and inexcusable. Seriously fuck them for being stupid enough to do that.
> 
> Please leave a review, a comment, or a kudos if you please. Let me know if you like this story or not because there's this pathetic part of me that just feels really depressed because of how little attention this has gotten. I look at Resurgence, Darth Arc, Run, and a lot of other post-V3 stories and how many follows, faves, kudos, and reviews they have and I just wonder why do I even bother? My story is nothing compared to theirs and yet I try so hard to make this a good story. I have an audience without a doubt and I appreciate each and every one of you for your support but I can't help but get all Eeyore when I look at how small my story is to the others so please, give me some feedback.
> 
> I want to make a good story and I want people to enjoy it, sorry if I sound needy but... well anyway, thanks for reading.


	19. The Battle of Haven Part IV: War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

It was pure chaos outside the factory; the young Hunters-in-training along with professional Hunters and even a few civilians fought for their lives against Grimm Knights, human guards, Ante's enforcers, the two present Grimm Commanders, the creatures of Grimm, and one scientist in a robotic suit. Laser and Dust fire flew everywhere, joined by shrapnel from the demolished Grimm Knights as the students tore them apart. Even in a city like Haven something like this didn't go unnoticed, so a Haven Police Department patrol car that happened to be driving by naturally saw the frantic battle.

The two men inside of the car watched as Glynda Goodwitch tore the robots apart with her telekinesis and slammed their scattered body parts into Grimm, ripping the beasts apart while a woman with wings on her back flew around, blasting wildly.

"What should we do?" the younger cop asked, hand shaking as he gripped his gun.

"We're calling HQ, tell 'em to send those Atlesian assholes down here to help those guys and find out what's happening." His elder partner said as he grabbed the radio.

"Won't that start a riot?" the younger one pointed out, "I mean those protesters have been on their back pretty hard..."

"Then I'll tell the chief to get out the riot control gear, right now something tells me we should probably get help. It'll take a while but they'll come." The older cop stated.

"Sh-should we go out and help them?" the rookie asked.

"Hell no! Once we've called the chief and the commissioner we'll just sit back and watch the show." The older cop stated nonchalantly as he made his call.

* * *

Sun slammed his staff into a Griffon's forehead and fired off a shot, blowing the head apart. He then jumped up as he took his staff apart and turned Ruyi and Jingu Bang into their nunchaku forms as he began to swing them around, firing off Dust rounds into the Grimm and the robots that were attacking him and his team.

"Come get some!" he yelled as he created some clones with his Via Sun Semblance and sent them into the enemies around him. They smashed into the hostiles, killing them via exploding kamikaze style. One of the Grimm Knights got past them and almost grabbed Sun but the Faunus slammed Jingu Bang into the Knight's head and blasted it off.

Sun smirked as he kept up his moves, blasting down Grimm Knights but he had trouble with the Griffons, as they were harder to keep down. One charged into him and bit down on his tail.

"OW!" Sun cried as he combined his two weapons into bo-staff form again and impaled the Grimm's side with it. The Griffon fell as it disintegrated and Sun jumped up and slammed his weapon into the heads of five Grimm Knights who had been standing in a line.

"These are the things that are gonna take over the world? Yeah right!" Sun laughed as he jumped behind another Grimm Knight and grabbed its arm, using its wrist mounted blasts to shoot down Griffons and airborne Knights, making them fall to the ground, the Grimm Knights either breaking apart or getting back up to fight while the Griffons either turned to dust or struggled to get back up.

Sun admired his handiwork but his ears quickly picked up a Grimm Knight trying to sneak attack him so he turned around and used the robot he was holding to blast its torso apart. Sun smirked as he slammed his bo-staff through the Knight's torso and let it fall to the ground.

"Not so tough without the Paladins, are ya?" he said, mentally thanking the gods that they had no equivalent to the war machines that had caused them so much trouble at the battle of Beacon. He sent out some more Via Sun clones which slammed into Grimm Knights, creating explosions from the machines as they burst. Sun smiled as he slammed his staff into another Grimm but his cockiness distracted him from a Griffon which flew down into him from behind.

Sun managed to force his head to look back at the Griffon as it raised its head up and opened its beak, ready to bite Sun's head open before a familiar trident impaled its head. Sun grinned as the Griffon faded away to reveal Neptune standing behind hit.

"You okay?" Neptune asked as Sun got up.

"Outstanding, you?" Sun asked as he blasted down another Grimm Knight.

"I'm pretty good; I just hope we don't have to keep this up much longer!" Neptune said as he swung up his trident to eviscerate a Griffon that flew overhead, its body colliding with a Grimm Knight as it disintegrated.

"Nice one, just keep it up! With any luck we won't have to fight much longer!" Sun said as he used his bo-staff to pole-vault into a squad of charging Grimm Knights. Neptune shook his head and smiled as he transformed his trident into its blaster mode and turned around to blast down a Griffon.

"You want me? Come and get me!" he beckoned to the robots and Grimm as he ran, blasting them all the way. He was knocked down as a Griffon landed right in front of him. It roared at him, its beak wide open but Neptune jabbed his gun into the mouth and blasted, blowing the head off.

"Oh yeah!" he said as he laid on the ground, using his blaster to shoot out the legs of the Grimm Knights, taking them down and finishing them off with shots to the torso or head. He looked over to where Team NDGO were fighting Zhan and Merrick and saw that a Grimm Knight was attempting to sneak up on Octavia so he quickly shot it down. The redhead of Team NDGO heard this and gave Neptune a friendly wave, which he returned with a thumbs up.

Neptune heard the roar of a Griffon and looked up to see one dive bombing right for him. He quickly rolled out of the way so when the Griffon slammed into the ground the force of the crash killed it.

Neptune smiled as he got up, muttering "Ooo, nasty way to go." He quickly turned around and blasted another Griffon and then another. Then a Grimm Knight flew down, landing right in front of him. "Whoa!" Neptune cried as he dodged a punch that would have broken his ribs. He was forced to move quickly to dodge four more punches before he turned his weapon into its guandao form and impaled the robot and forced the blade upward, cutting its chest crudely in half.

"I am really glad these are robots." Neptune whispered to himself, not wanting to imagine how gory the sight of the dead bodies would be if they weren't mechanical as he slammed his guandao behind him to stab another Grimm Knight upwards, the blade's tip exiting through the head. Neptune quickly ripped out his weapon to behead a Griffon that was jumping at him from behind and then turned it back into trident form to pin a fallen Grimm Knight to the ground and finished it off by kicking its head away.

Not too far away Sage slammed him sword sideways to slash a group of Grimm Knights apart, cutting off arms, heads, torsos, and legs and he quickly finished them off by jabbing his sword downwards as they fell. He grunted in pain as a laser blast hit him square in the back, but he forced himself to ignore the pain and turned to see a group of six Grimm Knights charging at him.

"Yeah, like that'll work." Sage muttered. He began to spin around with his sword held out and once the group was close enough he let the sword go. The sword sailed through the air and decapitated all six Grimm Knights, their bodies flailed around as they fell to the ground, now nothing but spare parts. The sword kept flying through the air, cutting down Grimm Knights, guards, and Grimm until it slammed into the wall, impaling a Grimm Knight at it did so.

Sage ran forward to reclaim him weapon, punching and kicking down human guards as he did so, taking out seven or eight before he made it to the wall and ripped his sword out in time to cut a Beowulf in half.

He looked to see Griffons were strafing down, trying to hit his team or Glynda and the others. "Nope, none of that." He muttered as he ran towards a Griffon that was about to take off again after a blast from Flynt's trumpet disorientated it.

It began to fly up only for Sage to jump on its back. "This is completely insane." He muttered as the Grimm took off, struggling to fly with the extra weight. It roared as it spun around, trying to throw him off but Sage held on with his legs wrapped around the beast and one hand firmly grasping its fur.

"Why did I do this?!" he cried as he held his sword up to slash down a Griffon, then he swung it sideways to slice off the wing of another winged Grimm that was flying by, making it spin out of control and crash into the ground.

Sage yelped as the Griffon got right side up again, roaring like it was calling for help. "Just help me take out some of your buddies..." Sage said as he slashed off the limbs of a Griffon that flew by, "and I'll let you go."

"How 'bout no?" said a female voice. Sage turned to see Ziz flying after him, her ax out and ready to fight.

"Okay, what are you? I didn't think there were any bird-type Faunus." Sage pointed out.

"I'm no Faunus kid, I'm a lab freak. Now hold still while I vent my anger." She said menacingly as she slammed her wings down to accelerate. Sage swung his sword out as Ziz slammed her ax down, the two blades clashing hard.

Ziz swung again, trying to slash Sage across the back but he ducked down, forcing the Griffon to fly lower. Sage then jabbed his sword up but Ziz dodged it easily as she rolled around and swung her ax again but Sage easily parried it.

"Okay, time to put an end to this." Ziz said as she activated the ax's gun mode and shot the Grimm, killing it. "Sorry, but one more dead Grimm won't make a difference." She muttered as Sage fell, screaming.

Sage plummeted down to the ground, he didn't know what to do; his friends couldn't catch him, could they? All of a sudden his fall was halted as he landed on the back on a large Griffon. The Grimm roared at him but he quickly rolled off, using his sword to slash the beast open. He fell again but bounced off another Grimm and onto an airborne Grimm Knight. Sage held on for dear life as he swung the Grimm Knight around, forcing it to slam into a Griffon before Sage made a jump for it again with his sword out.

He kept falling, his sword cutting down Griffons or Knights, the constant impacts slowing him down before he finally slammed down his sword on one last Grimm Knight on the ground as he landed. The Grimm Knight fell apart, a large gash going down its body vertically; two halves of one body lay on the ground, sparking a bit.

Sage looked up to see how far he had fallen and said "I am never doing that again."

All of a sudden he heard a shot and a yelp from behind him. He turned to see a guard on the ground and Neptune with his gun out.

"That was pretty awesome, Sage." He complimented.

"You saw that?" Sage asked as he cut off the arm of a Grimm Knight which was finished off by Neptune shooting it.

"Yeah!" Neptune confirmed as he blasted down a flying Grimm Knight that attempted to carpet-bomb them.

"Good, because I am never doing anything as insane as that ever again." Sage said.

Nearby Scarlet parried a strike from a human guard, blocked another and then made his move to take the guard out by kicking him in the knee, forcing him down. Scarlet grinned as he knocked the guard out by slamming the hilt of his cutlass onto the guard's head.

He looked up and saw another two guards running towards him and he blasted them down with his flintlock, the heavy blasts didn't kill them due to the armor they were wearing but it was enough to knock them out.

He looked up to see some Griffons that were dodging blasts from the others. "Can't let my Grimm kill count stay down." Scarlet said as he shot twice at a Griffon, blowing both of its wings off. It crashed to the ground but did not die so he finished it off by stabbing his cutlass into its head. He aimed up again and shot another Griffon in the head, killing it instantly before he shot three times, blasting another one of the winged Grimm right through its body.

"Why is it that I'm only awesome when no one pays attention to me?" he asked, only to get his answer as three guards, all armed with swords, jumped towards him.

"We're paying attention to you, not very impressive." The first guard stared.

"Come on, then! We haven't got all night!" Scarlet said as he made a 'come and get it' gesture. The trio of guards ran at him and Scarlet met all of their swords. He kicked up, managing to hit one in the crotch and then in the gut before he parried a blow from another and then slashed one against the chest, not killing him due to the body armor. He kept blocking their strikes or tried to strike back but all three of them were too much.

He backed up near a street light that illuminated the parking lot where he managed to keep them at bay with a wild and frantic series of parries and strikes. He looked up and saw a Grimm Knight flying by and an idea flew into his head.

"Oh this is gonna be absolutely top." He muttered as he whipped out his flintlock with one hand while he kept the three guards at bay with his other. He fired the grappling hook function to impale the Knight's head and then he used as much strength as he could to yank it down, bringing it right at them.

"Okay lads, nice fight but it's gotten old!" Scarlet mocked as the Grimm Knight smashed into the three guards, knocking all of them down as the Knight crashed into the pole of the street light, bringing it crashing down on top of the three guards and pinning them to the ground.

Scarlet grinned in satisfaction as he spun around and blasted the head of a Grimm Knight off, getting Sun's attention.

"Nice work, Scarlet! You really kicked ass there!" Sun said as he spun his staff around to deflect laser fire from the Grimm Knights.

"Hold on, Sun!" Scarlet said as he used his flintlock to shoot some of the Knights down. This gave Sun the advantage he needed so he broke up Ruyi and Jingu and began swinging them around, firing off Dust rounds to finish off the Knights as Scarlet ran forward and sliced the hands off of one.

"We cool?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah we're cool, now let's keep goin'! We don't give up until Blake, Yang and the others come out of there with Ruby and Jaune!" Sun ordered as Sage and Neptune rejoined them. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine, but Sage brought some unwanted company!" Neptune exclaimed as Ziz landed a few meters away from them.

"Hello boys, looking for a good time?" she taunted as she stretched, showing off her body.

"My definition of a good time is kicking ass, so yeah, let's go!" Sun said confidently. Team SSSN got ready to fight as Ziz spread out her wings and held up her ax/gun hybrid.

Scarlet grinned as he fired his grappling hook and it wrapped around Ziz's feet. "Okay, this is what I'm gonna do..." he began to say before Ziz slammed her wings down and rocketed up into the sky, taking Scarlet with her.

The three remaining members of Team SSSN laughed as Sun said "What do you think he was gonna do?" in between laughs before he got serious. "Okay Sage, toss me up as hard as you can!"

Sage nodded and grabbed his leader and began to spin around before he tossed him up with all his strength, sending Sun flying into the night sky.

"Yeah!" Sun cheered as he landed on top of a Griffon and jumped off of it only to land on another one and so on, trying to catch up to Ziz and Scarlet.

Up ahead Ziz laughed as she looked down and saw the hopeless look in Scarlet's eyes. Too high to cut himself free and too scared of being dropped to try and climb up. "Like the view, kid? Enjoy it while you can!" she said.

All of a sudden Sun jumped off of a Griffon and landed on Ziz's back, wrapping his legs around her waist.

"The view is of you getting your ass kicked, so I will enjoy it!" Sun said as he began to slam his fist into her back, forcing her down.

Ziz growled angrily as she dived down, spinning around to try and throw Sun off but he held on while Scarlet flailed helplessly behind, screaming and babbling all the way as he used his cutlass to slash down some Knights and Griffons. As they got lower and lower to the ground Scarlet got more confident in his chances to free himself and once they were a mere nine feet off of the ground and sliced the grappling hook in half and landed safely on solid ground while Sun kept holding onto Ziz.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" Scarlet said in relief as Neptune and Sage caught up to them, leaving a trail of destroyed Grimm Knights in their wake.

"No time for a break man, we gotta help Sun!" Neptune said as they ran after Ziz.

Ziz growled in frustration as she dug her fingernails into Sun's legs and tried her best to pull him off but it was no use, Sun was staying on and had even wrapped his tail around her exposed midriff for extra grip. She really wanted to get rid of him but he was holding on way too tight but then she got an idea.

"Hey kid, want a crash course?" she taunted as she began flying towards a Grimm Knight that was blasting away at Violet and Bianca.

Before Sun could do anything Ziz flew upside down and he was slammed into the robot, losing his hold on Ziz as it happened. He fell to the ground and moaned in pain as Ziz landed on her feet, aiming her ax/gun at him.

"Nice try kid, but you're gonna have to do better than that." She said as she pulled the trigger.

Sun expected to feel the blast but it never came. He opened his eyes to see Sage had blocked it with his sword and was standing ready to fight.

"Bad mistake." Sage said to the Grimm Hybrid and Neptune and Scarlet caught up.

Sun smiled as he got back on his feet and held forth his staff. "Thanks guys, knew I could count on you." He said.

"Not bad for a bunch of dorks, huh?" Neptune asked as he aimed his gun at Ziz.

"Not bad at all." Sun said with a proud smile.

Ziz smirked and pointed out "Four on one? That's not very fair."

"I know, that's just the way we like it!" Sun shouted.

Ziz grinned as she jumped towards them and Team SSSN stood their ground, ready to fight back.

* * *

Taiyang ducked down to avoid getting his neck slit open by the Grimm Commander's blade as Steppenwolffe swung the thin blade towards him.

"Dodge and avoid, yes, isn't that always the way of you humans?" Steppenwolffe growled as he slammed down his blade only for Taiyang to block it with his gauntlet.

"Let's not bring race into this." He said as he jumped up and used his gauntlets' flamethrowers to try and blast the wolf Faunus. He tried this seven times only for Steppenwolffe to block him with well timed thrusts and jabs before he slammed his elbow into Taiyang's neck.

Taiyang cried out in pain as he jumped up and slammed his foot into Steppenwolffe's face, the Grimm Commander growled as he ducked away from more of Taiyang's blasts before he slammed the hilt of his sword into Tiayang's flame generator, creating a backlash that threw them both back.

Steppenwolffe was the first to recover as five of his Beowolves surrounded him. "Kill him!" he ordered, the canine Grimm obeyed and charged at the downed Huntsman. Taiyang used the one flamethrower that was still operational and incinerated two of the five beasts but the remaining three were too fast and managed to avoid getting roasted. One jumped up towards him and he slammed his gauntlet's claws into its head then smashed the other gauntlet into it, killing it.

He threw down the Grimm as it turned into dust only for two of the Beowolves to smash into him, pinning him down.

Taiyang activated his let gauntlet's flamethrower and engulfed the one on his left leg's in flames then he slammed his free Gauntlet into the Beowulf on the right only for the Grimm Commander to slam his sheathed sword into his chest.

Taiyang looked up as Steppenwolffe began to mercilessly beat him with the cane. "Think you can win, human? Don't delude yourself! Once this is over I will stand victorious!" he ranted as Taiyang kicked him in the gut.

"You bad guys always talk too damn much." Taiyang muttered as Steppenwolffe unsheathed the sword.

"Well, you'll never speak again." The wolf Faunus said as he got ready to finish off Taiyang, only for a small weight to jump into his side and bite down hard on his hip. "AH! What the devil?!" he yelled as he saw Zwei chomping down on him.

"Atta boy, Zwei!" Taiyang praised as he got up and slammed the claws of his gauntlet into another Beowulf.

Zwei yipped as he used the claws on his feet to climb up Steppenwolffe's torso as he struggled to stop the little dog and Zwei bit down on the green shroud around the Commander's head. This was the last straw for Steppenwolffe; he grabbed Zwei and ripped him off as the shroud was torn off, Zwei's jaw tightly holding it.

"Stupid mutt!" Steppenwolffe snarled as he began to tightly squeeze down on Zwei's neck.

Then he was blasted down to the ground by a powerful blast from Taiyang's gauntlet. "Don't touch my dog." The blonde Huntsman hissed as he made sure his family's pet was unhurt. "You okay?"

Zwei answered with a happy bark.

"Good..." Taiyang said as he looked up to see some Beowolves approaching them. "Looks like some of the pack is coming to help their alpha, can you take care of that?"

Zwei barked in response as Taiyang picked him up and launched him towards the charging pack of Grimm and the little dog plowed right through the torso of the leader. Zwei landed behind them and then jumped back onto the back on another one.

"Good dog." Taiyang muttered. He turned around just in time to catch Steppenwolffe's blade as the Grimm Commander tried to slam it down on him. Taiyang noticed the lack of the green shroud and the scars that it had concealed. "What the hell did they do to you?" he asked.

"They made me into a hybrid of Faunus and Grimm, they did this to me so I could take my revenge on you humans!" Steppenwolffe ranted.

"You can't judge an entire race based on the actions of a few people." Taiyang argued as he struggled to keep the blade away from his neck as the wolf Faunus tried to jab it forward.

"I have seen enough of the humans to know what they're like and now I'll show you how painful scars like this can be!" the Grimm Commander yelled as he tried to ram his sword into Taiyang's neck only for Taiyang to get out of the way and slam his heavy fists into his adversary's side.

"Trust me; I got plenty of pain already." Taiyang stated dryly as the two got ready to go at it again.

* * *

Two of Beacon's teachers faced off against Dr. Sherizawa and he had to admit that despite their physical appearances they were much bigger threats than he thought they'd be. Oobleck and Port stood, panting a bit as the fight temporarily halted. Oobleck was fast and his weapon's flamethrower feature was no laughing matter, plus his intelligence was highly revered in the scientific community so Sherizawa knew he had yet to really fight.

Then there was the fat, old one known as Peter Port; much faster and stronger than one would initially think if he was judged on his physical traits alone plus that blunderbuss of his was quite the weapon.

Secretly he was wondering if he could actually win this fight with the Armor Suit, after it had defeated by the Schnee brat.

"I think this is a waste of time, go and aid your pupils while I go about other business." Sherizawa said.

"Not a chance, if you are in fact Dr. Toma Sherizawa then you are without a doubt behind these robotic soldiers and..." Oobleck began as he used his thermos to set a Grimm Knight on fire, which sent it crashing into another and another, "probably have more efficient ways of controlling them if given the chance to retreat to your labs within your base. Therefore you cannot be allowed to leave."

"Right, can we get on with it? Let's knock this fellow out so I can get back to doing what I do best; slaughtering Grimm!" Port exclaimed as he randomly fired into the air, killing a Griffon with each shot.

"You're just as intelligent as your reputation would lead one to believe Dr. Oobleck. Very well then, let us fight." Sherizawa said as two blades came out of the wrists of his robotic suit.

"Excellent!" Port said as he leapt forward and slammed the ax of his weapon into the two blades as Sherizawa crossed them to parry the blow. He pressed his arms forward and moved quickly, landing a series of quick blows around Port's upper body before the teacher slammed the heavy butt of the blunderbuss into his leg, causing him to stumble over and allow Oobleck to whack him upside the head with the thermos.

Sherizawa jumped away and activated the guns of the suit, then he began to blast away at the two teachers.

"Get behind me!" Port yelled as he slammed his Blunderbuss into the ground and a long metal shield appeared before the two men.

"It has been a while since you've used this feature." Oobleck stated.

"Good a time as any to use it, can you get over to him?" Port asked.

"Affirmative." Oobleck confirmed as he crouched down and then jumped up and used his long weapon to pole-vault over to Sherizawa, kicking him in the face and chest. Oobleck landed down on his feet and quickly followed up his initial attack with several strong jabs to Sherizawa's sides, hampered by the strong armor the scientist was wearing. Oobleck jumped up and slammed his thermos onto Sherizawa's head, blowing him down.

"Surrender yourself." Oobleck demanded.

"Not on your life." Sherizawa refused as he sweep-kicked Oobleck's legs out from under him. He jumped back up and saw that Port was fighting off a duo of Grimm Knights, but had noticed the situation with the two doctors.

"Hang in there, old friend." Port said as he blasted a hole through a Grimm Knight's torso and then slammed the ax blade into the neck of the other one, cutting off its head.

Sherizawa grimaced as he began to blast away at Port, but the older man was surprising fast as he dodged the shots and ran towards him, slamming the butt of his blunderbuss into his gut followed by a thick punch to the head.

Sherizawa tried to fight back but he felt something bar his arms down from behind. He turned his head over to see Oobleck standing right behind him, using his extended thermos to hold him in place.

"Knock him out so we can deal with him later." Oobleck suggested.

"I don't think so!" Sherizawa growled as he quickly pressed a button on his wrist. Port quickly turned around as over three dozen Grimm Knights surrounded them, as if heeding a call. "A built in distress signal, I try to be prepared." The doctor said as he wrestled himself free from Oobleck's hold and threw the green-haired man towards his partner.

"Shall we take them together?" Port inquired as he reloaded his weapon.

"I'd have no other way." Oobleck said as he slammed the kanabo part of his weapon into a Knight's chest and then withdrew it, spinning it around in his arms.

Sherizawa glared at them and then ordered the Knight to "Attack!"

* * *

Arslan slammed her fireball into a Grimm Knight's chest, setting it ablaze as she used her roped throwing dagger to send it flying into another Grimm Knight while Lao was busy trying to attack Nadir blocked the younger sword fighter blocked a strike meant for him.

"You rely way too much on defense, kid." Lao said as he slammed his foot down on Nadir's, then elbowed the young Huntsman in the gut and tried to stab him but Nadir blocked it with a wild swing.

Arslan could see that Reese and Bolin were holding their own against another enforcer and some Grimm Knights so she decided to aid her other teammate, but fist took care of the guard that was trying to sneak up on her with an elbow jab to the gut, another elbow jab to the neck, and then a spin kick to the head.

Nadir parried some more quick and hard strikes from Lao as he backed up, ducking a swing and the sidestepping a vertical chop only to knocked backwards by a kick to the gut from his enemy. As he stumbled back he tripped on a severed arm of a Grimm Knight and fell to the ground.

Lao held up his sword and swung it down, but missed as Nadir rolled away just in time and kicked upwards, scoring a hit on Lao's chin. Lao staggered back as Nadir managed to land a punch on his ribs, but the professional criminal would not allow that to go unpunished so he grabbed Nadir and shoved him down again and crouched down on top of him.

"Are you even trying, kid?" he asked as he swung his blade down, only for Nadir to block it.

"I'm trying! Trust me!" Nadir cried as he tried to force Lao's blade away from him.

Lao chuckled before a mighty fist smashed into his head, knocking him away. Nadir looked up to see his leader offering him a hand.

"You okay?" she asked as he accepted her help.

"I'm fine, what abou... look out!" he shouted as he transformed his sword into the assault rifle form and blasted away a quartet of Griffons that had landed behind them.

"Good catch, I didn't see or hear 'em." Arslan said as she used her dagger to grab a nearby Grimm Knight a rip its head off and bring it to her, creating a head on a piece of bandage to someone unfamiliar with what was happening.

"What about...?" Nadir began to ask before Arslan shoved him away, getting him away from Lao who had tried to slam his katana down on him. "...him?" Nadir finished as he transformed his weapon back into sword mode.

"Two on one?" I can deal with those odds just fine." Lao said as he threw down one of his explosives and jumped away. Arslan and Nadir ran for it but the blast sent them flying and landing roughly onto the pavement.

"I really hate that guy." Nadir muttered as Arslan got up.

"Not too fond of him myself." She agreed as she saw a shape moving towards them out of the corner of her eye. She quickly created a fireball and sent it at the attacker, Lao once again, but he jumped over it and landed in front of her.

He swung his katana but she pulled herself back to avoid getting gutted as Nadir jumped up and began to attack Lao who easily blocked his four blows before he snaked his way behind Nadir and managed to get a cut on his shoulder, causing Nadir to cry out in pain.

"Nadir!" Arslan called, she went to help him but then a wild barrage of laser fire got her attention. She looked up to see some flying Grimm Knights shooting at her. "I am not in the mood for this crap!" she shouted as she began throwing fireballs at them.

Nadir ducked a swing of the katana and slammed his fist into Lao's stomach. The enforcer grunted in pain as he slammed down the hilt of his sword on Nadir's shoulder, bruising it badly. Nadir moved out of the way as Lao swung his sword down again, only to strike the pavement but Nadir acted quickly and kicked Lao's hand, forcing him to drop the katana. Lao growled as he slammed both of his fists into Nadir's torso three times each before he jumped up and grabbed the pink-haired boy by the shoulders and slammed him to the ground.

"Game over kid!" Lao announced as he took out a gun.

"Not yet!" shouted Arslan as she used a Grimm Knight she had lassoed with her dagger and slammed it into Lao.

"Sorry you have to keep saving my butt over and over." Nadir said as he got up.

"I'm use to it." She teased as she picked up Lao's katana and used it to disembowel a Grimm Knight that tried to jump them from behind. Just then Lao jumped up and slam-kicked them both down as he reclaimed his sword.

"No one touches this blade but me!" he yelled as he kicked Nadir back down as he tried to get up and stomped down on Arslan's chest, holding up the katana. "I'm going to beat you like a dog." He snarled as he got ready to stab her, only for Nadir to shoot him down with his assault rifle.

Arslan smiled at her teammate as she jumped back up. "Let's just call ourselves even on the butt saving." She said as she blasted down a Griffon with a fireball and used her dagger to catch a flying Grimm Knight and slam it into another Griffon, creating an explosion of robotic parts and ashes of the Grimm.

Nadir began to shoot down the enemies in the sky with her before he heard an angered grunt from behind. He turned to see Lao get back up and glare at them.

As Lao got back up and got ready to fight again, his fellow enforcer Tom-Tom was not holding up much better against the other two members of Team ABRN.

He slammed his mallet down on Reese's mover board, throwing her up into the air as he spun around to block a blow from Bolin's bo-staff.

"I feel like I'm being double teamed here!" he whined as he blocked a punch from the warrior, only to get utterly smashed by a kick from the landing Reese.

"Right, only we're both taking you on at the same time!" Reese said as she quickly broke her hoverboard apart and shot down the nearby Grimm Knights.

"Yo robot things, little help here?!" Tom-Tom called as he transformed his mallet into gun mode. Luckily for him the Knights were already making their way to the duo, blasting away at them. Bolin began deflecting Tom-Tom blast by spinning his bo-staff around as quickly as he could while Reese recombined her blasters into hoverboard form to use it as a shield to protect them from the blasts of the Grimm Knights.

Bolin could a see a Griffon landing next to Tom-Tom and roaring at them, he couldn't help but chuckle at the freaked out look the enforcer had on his face, but got worried when he saw the Grimm wasn't attacking the street punk. The Grimm could apparently differentiate between friend and foe. That wasn't good for them. He glanced down and saw the shredded remains of a Grimm Knight Reese had blasted apart earlier was laying right in front of him.

"Crap. Reese, I gotta do something kinda crazy." He said.

"Whatever you're gonna do just do it!" the skater girl cried as she tried to withstand the barrage of laser-fire from the robots. Bolin nodded and used his leg to drag the piece of machinery towards him and then kicked it at Tom-Tom's face. The enforcer took it hard and fell down as Bolin used his staff to launch himself towards the Griffon. He landed on its back and jabbed his staff's blade to stab it and jumped backwards to haul it up, forcing the Griffon to stand on its hind legs.

"Reese, get out of the way!" he called.

Reese saw what he was doing and grinned as she jumped out of the Grimm Knight's line of fire and let them blast the Grimm to pieces, they quickly stopped shooting as Bolin got out of the way, giving Reese the perfect opportunity to blast them down, aided by Bolin slashing a couple apart with the blades of his staff.

"So much for the big bad robots, cannot believe we considered these things a threat." Reese said with a confident smirk.

Before Bolin could answer he ducked down to avoid a hit from Tom-Tom's mallet. He retaliated by slamming his staff into Tom-Tom's side four times before he was slammed down to the ground with a mighty blow to his shoulder. Tom-Tom slammed down the mallet on Bolin's side to keep him down as Reese took her hoverboard apart and tried to shoot him but he smacked them out of her hands.

"I've had it with you brats!" he yelled. Reese snarled as she headbutted him, causing him to stumble back, allowing the skater to kick him in the gut and then flip-kick him down.

"You hurt my teammates you get hurt back!" she yelled as she ran over to her guns and transformed them back into hoverboard move faster. Tom-Tom got up and shot at her, yelling in frustration as he kept missing her. She used her hoverboard to run up and wall and then she launched herself downwards towards him. She smashed into him with a hoverboard to the head, knocking him out cold

"Ooo mama..." he moaned as he fell unconscious.

"Nice job Reese!" Bolin said as he knocked out a guard.

"Thanks." She said as she shot down a Griffon that flew overhead.

"How much longer do you think we can keep this up?" Bolin asked as he slashed open a Griffon's underbelly as it tried to grab him.

"We gotta keep it up for as long as we can. You think those guys can make it out of there?" she asked as she reconnected her guns to hoverboard form then used it to slam off the head of a Grimm Knight, then she finished it off by blasting its torso after she disconnected her weapon again.

"Let's hope so, otherwise Goodwitch and the others won't want to retreat until it's too late and by then we'll be royally screwed." Bolin said as he deflected a hit meant for Reese.

* * *

Team NDGO, in the mean time, had decided to split up; Dew had joined Professor Goodwitch, the present half of Team FNKI, most of Team CRDL, Bianca, Violet, and Ross in taking on a bulk of the Grimm and the Knights while the rest of her team battled two other enforcers.

Zhan fired his revolver at Octavia and Gwen, both of whom dodged the aura draining bullets as fast as they could. He had been fighting them for a bit now and had assessed their skills in combat and had judged them to be capable fighters and credible threats but ones that he could take care of with some effort. The girls, in the meantime, had judged his fighting style and knew that in order to get a fair fight they'd need to get rid of his firearm.

"Take out that gun!" Octavia said as she began swinging her Dust-charged Kris dagger, sending five red waves of Dust energy at the illusionist. Zhan jumped over the first, sidestepped the next two, ducked the fourth, and leaned over to avoid the fifth.

"You'll have to do better than that, ladies." He said as he fired at them, only for his gun to explode on his and send him down to the ground.

"Ugh! What the hell?!" he cried as his aura began healing his wounded hand. He looked over to his destroyed revolver to see one of Gwen's throwing knives had been lodged into his gun-barrel, so that barrage of Dust waves was but a distraction.

"Clever, but not good enough to deal with me." He said to them as he got up.

"Think you can take us on without your pop-gun? I don't think so!" Gwen shouted as Octavia ran forward and tried to strike Zhan with her large dagger but he avoided it and the next three swings before she managed to throw him into a wall with a slam of an Aura wave.

He tried to get up but was kept from going anywhere as one of Gwen's throwing knives slammed into the left arm sleeve of his suit.

"Did we say you could get up?" Gwen asked as she began throwing more of her knives at him. Zhan was slammed into the wall again as knives pinned him down by his sleeves of his arms and legs as well as the sides of his suit.

"You're lucky I'm good at this, one wrong throw you'd be a target dummy!" the knife thrower said. The girls' confidence vanished with Zhan as he faded away.

"Oh no." Octavia muttered.

"Forgot this guy was supposed to be an illusionist." Gwen muttered, remembering what Ren and the others had told them about the enforcers. Octavia was about to say something when a fist came out of nowhere and slammed into Gwen's neck, knocking her down and then was thrown to the ground by another fist to the chest as Zhan reappeared out of an illusion.

"Like I said, you'll have to do better than that." He said as he took out another weapon, a large balisong knife and swung it at Octavia but she parried it twice before he kicked her in the stomach and onto her back, then he ducked a blade that Gwen had flung at him and quickly responded by jump-kicking her in the gut. He landed on his hands and used his legs to kick both girls again.

Gwen was down for now but Octavia wouldn't give up. She slammed another Dust wave at him but he jumped over it and slammed his fists into her upper-body a total of five times before he took her down with a roundhouse kick.

"You children are in way over your heads." He said as he took out his knife. Octavia struggled to get up, but then he noticed a smirk on her face. He quickly created another illusion of himself as he jumped out of the way and turned to see his fake double getting stabbed in the head by one of Gwen's throwing knives.

It faded away, with Gwen's knife clattering to the ground.

"Drat!" Gwen muttered as Octavia got up, looking tired out. They had been at this for a bit now and Zhan could tell that the redhead was tiring faster than her teammates.

"I do not like fighting young people such as you two, I consider it beneath me. Shall we end this quickly? I promise only to wound you, not kill you." He said.

"Yeah, and Cinder Fall's a holy woman." Octavia snapped sarcastically as she sent another Dust wave at him, but he easily evaded it once more, only to be hit in the upper arm by one of Gwen's throwing knives.

He grunted in pain as he ran towards them and dropped, sliding on the ground as he slid into Gwen and knocked her down, following it up with a hard and fast series of elbow jabs to her gut. He felt something slash him across his back and he rolled around to avoid getting cut again by Octavia as she moved towards him. She slashed at his face, managing to make a small cut on his cheek.

"Well done, I must admit I've been relying on my illusions too much as of late, this is a good chance to get back into the thrill of a proper fight." Zhan said as he jumped up and slashed at Octavia with his balisong, cutting her across the hip, but only making it a small cut.

He grunted again as another one of Gwen's knives grazed his shoulder. He turned around and quickly leaned to the left to avoid getting a fist to the face courtesy of Gwen, who seemed to be clutching her stomach. He stepped back as the two girls regrouped and got ready to face him again.

"Hmm, if anything the way this fight goes should be interesting." Zhan said as the two girls charged him.

Nearby, the leader of Team NDGO faced off against the marksman of the enforcers, his gun-barrel had once again been replaced by a machete which he slammed down on her sword. Nebula jabbed at his arm but he sidestepped it and then ducked her swing, giving him the chance to kick her shin. He smirked and charged her as she got up but she saw him and managed to catch both his hands before his blade could reach her. She flung herself backwards, taking him with her and slamming him down on his back.

Nebula quickly got up and stabbed down on him but he got out of the way and met her next strike with a parry.

"Not bad, girlie. Nothin' personal about any of this, just business." Merrick said as he got behind her and slammed his foot into the small of her back.

Nebula back-flipped to get away from him as she transformed her sword into its crossbow form and opened fire on him, making him flee for cover. He grabbed a Grimm Knight and used it as a shield until Nebula was forced to reload. He ran forward with the ruined Knight and smashed it into her, knocking her crossbow out of her hands. He threw down the destroyed robot as she fell down. He aimed his machete for her but she rolled out of the way, reclaimed her weapon and turned it back into a sword just in time to duck a slash from Merrick.

She blocked his next strike, dodged the next one and managed to punch him in the face. He groaned in annoyance as he tried to plunge his blade into her but she sidestepped it and tried to punch him again but missed. He charged at her, jumped up and slammed his sword down but she got out of his way and kicked him in the chest.

Their blades clashed together again, creating a small, almost unnoticeable shower of sparks. Nebula backed up a bit as she tightened her grip on her sword, she made her move and charged Merrick. He dodged her first swing, then grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back, making her cry out in pain. He kicked her in the back again and sent her to the ground, but she turned her weapon back into a crossbow and fired twice at him.

Merrick managed to knock the first arrow away but the second one got him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain as he ripped it out of his shoulder, blood and glowing aura marking the wound. "Okay girl, now you're just pissing me off." He hissed.

They resumed dueling, their swords clashing a dozen times before Nebula skull-bashed him, grabbed his right arm, went under his armpit, and then flipped over him, tossing him down.

He screamed out in anger as he got up and slammed his sword into Nebula's so hard her own blade was knocked out of her hand. He held up his gun-blade and got ready to plunge it into her but she got out of the way and he stabbed it into the ground.

Merrick struggled to rip his weapon out of the pavement but as he tried to do so Nebula made her move and slammed her limbs into him seven times before he struck back and wrapped his hands around her neck.

"I may not be the best hand-to-hand fighter, but getting my ass kicked by a teenage girl is just bloody insulting!" he snarled as he strangled her. Nebula tried to hit him off of her but he was stronger than she was physically. She glanced over and saw her sword was within reach so she quickly grabbed it and stabbed Merrick in the shoulder, forcing him to let go of her which allowed Nebula to kick him off.

Nebula got up as Merrick pressed down on his renewed wound.

"Okay, I tried playing nice." He muttered as he transformed his weapon back into its sniper rifle form.

"Just try and hit me." Nebula dared as she began running, him shooting after her wildly and accidentally hitting Grimm Knights and guards, including one that tried to attack Brawnz Ni.

* * *

Team BRNZ fought off Grimm Knights and their leader smirked as one of the Knights was randomly killed by a stray bullet. He mentally thanked whoever fired that shot as he clawed a Beowulf apart then plunged his claw-gauntlet into the lower torso of a Grimm Knight, punched it in three more times before he pulled out and slammed the thing to the ground, finishing it off with a stomp to the head.

"This was a bad idea!" yelled Nolan as he slammed his thin electric prod into a Grimm Knight's torso, just barely avoiding getting his head stabbed open by the blade on its arm.

"I know, but we gotta keep these guys busy!" Brawnz said as he slammed his claws into another Knight, dodging a shot from Douglas' gun.

"Oh man, no doubt about it guys, we're the underdogs." Nolan said as he jabbed his prod into the mouth of a Beowulf and threw it towards Roy who sliced its head off with his saws.

"I hate being the underdog! Underdogs suck! It never turns out for 'em like the movies say it will!" Roy whined as he used his saws to cut the arms of a Grimm Knight off and then kicked towards May who finished it off with a killing shot.

May nodded as she noticed how far they were from Goodwitch's main group and how badly they had been separated and saw that Little Steve and Douglas were approaching them.

"Oh crap! The big guy with the huge gun is coming at us and he doesn't look friendly!" May cried as Little Steve finished reloading his giant minigun. She tried to fire at him but the Grimm Knights seemed to be aware of her intentions as they took her shots.

"Run for it!" Brawnz ordered as team BRNZ ran for it, dodging the gun shots from Little Steve and Douglas. They kept running; taking down some Grimm and Knights as they retreated with May occasionally taking a shot to keep them off their tails, but the gunfire kept coming.

"I don't like working for these people, but damn if this isn't one hell of a fight!" Douglas said as he dodged one of May's shots.

"Agreed." Little Steve said as his barrage of Dust bullets shot a car apart. "Let us go after them, we cannot let them recover." Douglas nodded to his larger partner as they and some Grimm Knights followed the team from Shade, which was currently taking cover behind a row of three cars.

"Okay, why did you say yes to joining this little crusade again? This was a horrible idea!" Roy shouted as he slammed his saws into an injured Grimm Knight that was crawling on the ground.

"To make a difference, anyway they've stopped shooting at us, so be thankful for that." Brawnz said. May was not convinced and looked under the car to see the legs of their enemies approaching.

"Yeah, but not for long." She said as she looked up to the car window and she got an idea. "Can any of you drive yet?"

Roy and Nolan both looked to Brawnz who looked nervous. "I... don't exactly have a license yet..."

"Who cares?! They can give you a ticket later; right now I think we'll have a better chance inside one of these cars." May said.

"Okay, you got any idea on how we're gonna start the car?" Branwz asked the sole female member of his team. May smirked and pulled out a pocket knife.

"Always come prepared." She quipped as Little Steve, Douglas, and the Grimm Knights opened fire on the first car in the row.

"That's our girl, now get moving before they get to us!" said Nolan as he used his prod to break open the window of the front seat. May climbed in and jabbed her small knife into the keyhole of the car and started it up, opening the door as she did so.

"Okay, they're getting closer, May, so I want you to start shooting. Roy, Nolan, you two get in the back seat and get ready to do some damage!" Brawnz said as he unlocked the car, allowing the other two to get in.

"Get moving!" May cried as she smashed the side window open and shot at their enemies, her blast zipping through the windows of two more cars and out at the two enforcers who quickly dodged her blast.

"Damn! Helluva shot." Muttered Douglas as the car they were in sped out of its parking place and swerved around.

"Hang on, I don't know if this plan will work or not." Branwz muttered as he forced the car towards the enforcers and the robotic soldiers.

"Blast 'em!" Douglas ordered, Little Steve and the Grimm Knights obeyed, shooting away at the car.

"Duck!" May cried. All four members of the team ducked down as the blasts ripped through the windshield. Brawnz hoped he knew what he was doing as he controlled the car towards where the shots were coming from and managed to plow into a few Grimm Knights, running them over and crushing them with the car.

"This is absolutely insane!" shouted Roy as he opened the door he was next to and used his saws to slice a Grimm Knight off its feet.

"A hundred percent agreed." Nolan said as he slammed his prod into a Grimm Knight's head.

Just then the car bounced violently as it spun to a halt.

"What happened?" asked Roy.

"I think they shot out one of the rear tires." Branwz said as he got back up with May, only for a Grimm Knight to grab his neck and try to pull him out.

"Brawnz!" cried May in surprise as she held out her rifle and fired, blowing the Knight's head clean off.

"Whoa, that was awesome." Roy muttered.

"Thanks, you okay boss?" May asked as Brawnz recovered from the attack.

"I think so, man that was crazy. I owe you one." He muttered as he took control of the car again.

"Wait, can we drive without one tire?" Roy questioned.

"Of course, it'll just be a whole lot bumpier." Brawnz said as he floored it and the car sped towards Little Steve, Douglas, and the Knights, ramming down Grimm Knights and Beowolves as they went.

"Shoot 'em!" Douglas commanded as a Grimm Knight next to him fell to the ground after a nasty headshot from May. Little Steve nodded and let out a scream as he began shooting at the car, blowing out both the front of the car and the front tires.

"Oh man! Get ready to jump for it!" Brawnz said as he kept moving the car towards the two enforcers.

"What the heck are you doing?!" yelled Nolan.

"Something totally freaking nuts." Brawnz muttered as Douglas and the Grimm Knights got out of the way but Little Steve stood his ground.

"L.S., get the hell out of the way!" Douglas yelled, but the large man didn't budge as he held up his giant gun.

Branwz waited until he was a mere ten feet away from the enforcer before he yelled "Jump now!"

All four members of Team BRNZ jumped out of the car before it could crash into Little Steven, only for the large hired gun to slam his weapon down on the hood of the car and send it flipping over him. The car landed upside down with a crash as its former occupants got up and got ready to fight.

"Nice job, big guy!" Douglas praised as he walked up to the large man, who simply nodded in response.

"Okay, that did not go how I was hoping it to." Brawnz admitted.

"Nothing's gonna be going how you hoped it would. Where you kids from, anyway?" Douglas asked.

"Shade Academy." May answered as she held up her rifle.

"Vacuo, huh? Well let me show you how we do things here in Mistral." Douglas said as he held out his wrench in one hand and his gun in the other. He fired at May who quickly shot back, their bullets colliding and falling to the ground.

Everyone looked down at the two ruined bits of ammo, astounded.

"Well how about that? Never happened to me before." Douglas said.

"Me neither." May agreed. Everyone looked at each other and then sprung into action.

May blasted down a Grimm Knight as she blocked Douglas' strike with his wrench and she stomped her foot down on his as she whacked him in the face with the butt of her gun and then shot down a Grimm Knight that flew overhead.

Roy sliced apart some Grimm Knights and kicked up a severed leg to use as a melee weapon as he smashed it into the hungry maw of a Beowulf, which he finished off by slicing its neck open.

Brawnz and Nolan worked together to attack the biggest threat, both figuratively and literally, they faced at the moment; Little Steven who laughed as they charged him.

"You won't be laughing after this!" Brawnz yelled as he slammed his claws into Little Steve's gut, only to be thrown back off. "What the...?"

"My Semblance is shielded-skin, I forget its name but it makes my hide very thick." Little Steve said as he slammed his minigun down on Branwz.

"Hang on!" cried Nolan as he got behind Little Steve, jumped on his back and began whacking the large criminal with his prod. "You like that? Shocking, ain't it?" he joked as Little Steve struggled to get him off, which gave the injured Brawnz the chance to get back up and take down some Grimm Knights before he went back to fighting Little Steve.

All of a sudden the sound of a massive explosion got their attention. They all looked to see the open hangar was totally ablaze with more explosions bursting inside.

"Uhh... I guess at the very least the rescue team is doing damage." May muttered as she blocked a hit from Douglas, kicked him in the knee and then jumped onto his head to launch herself on a Grimm Knight, shoot it from above, and finally jump off and shoot down another Grimm Knight.

* * *

Up above the three Arc sisters inside of the hijacked White Fang ship were luckily holding up against the ten transport ships that were able to get into the air before the hangar blew.

"What do you think did that?" Indigo asked from her turret seat as she blasted a Griffon into nothing.

"Don't know, don't care! All I know is that's bad for them and good for us!" Sienna called from the cockpit as she swerved the ship down to avoid being rammed into. "Crazy sons of... Shani! Keep those idiots off us!" she yelled.

"I'm working on it! I'm not exactly good with guns!" Shani called from her gunner seat as she swerved around to blast down as Griffon that tried to ram into them. She had never wanted to get into a fight, even though she had been a few before, hence the self-defense classes she had taken, but she had never even remotely expected something like this.

She managed to graze a transport ship's side but did little damage. "Come on!" she yelled in frustration as she shot again, this time she managed to hit the fuel cells and ship went up in a ball of fire.

"Yes! One down and... some to go. I need some better shots! Haven't you ever been in a combat thing like this before?" she called to Sienna.

"Uh... with Grimm? Yeah. Other ships? No way!" Sienna cried as she swerved out of the way of a laser, allowing it to blow up a Griffon.

Indigo ignored her sisters and concentrated on taking down the ships that were attacking them. One got right on behind them and blasted the rear of the ship.

"You want some? Come and get it!" Indigo muttered as she blasted the ship's gun off but seemed to only entice the pilots to try and ram into them.

"Heads up, we got bad guys trying to hit from behind!" she shouted and Sienna flew the ship up to avoid being hit.

"What's with these guys? Why are they so eager to die?" Shani asked as she blasted down a trio of Griffons that were trying to attack Taiyang.

"If you were working for this Salem witch would you want to fail her?" Sienna inquired as she dodged a missile, which ended up slamming into one of the nearby empty buildings.

"That guy's still after us, I'm trying to hit him but he's good at swerving out of the way, you got any ideas Sienna?" Indigo asked from the rear.

"A few..." Sienna said quietly as another ship flew towards them from the front, firing at them but the shields were holding for now. "We're going to drop, hang on!" she cried as she waited for the ship in front of them to get closer.

Once it was close enough she slammed the ship's controls down and their ship dropped a bit as the ship in front of them accidentally fired on the ship that was behind them, destroying it.

"Way to go sis, you really took care of 'em!" called Shani.

"Thanks, I'm starting to get the hang of this." Sienna muttered to herself. Her confidence soon diminished as a small series of laser blasts slammed into their side.

"Damn it, what was that?!" she demanded.

"Hostile on our... uh, three, I guess." Shani said. Sienna rolled her eyes and swerved the ship around just in time to avoid being hit by a missile which exploded against another derelict building nearby.

Indigo looked around at the remaining enemy ships. While she was just an amateur musician she had seen enough movies to know about a situation like this. "Okay, there's only about seven, maybe eight, left. Hold on, I got one's engine right in my sights..." she muttered as she charged up the gun for a few seconds and then let the blast go. The result was one of the ships' engine blowing up and the ship spiraling down into the factory roof with a crash. "Got him, okay I think we're doing..." she began before a laser blast hit the windshield of her turret, "Yow! Uh, same, we're doing the same." She finished, knowing what tended to happen when one gets cocky.

Sienna looked to her right and said "Shani, we got about a dozen or more Grimm Knights coming out of the factory and going towards Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck, help 'em out!"

"You got it." Shani said as she swerved her gun around and opened fire on the flying robots, blasting fifteen of them apart and making their remains rain down to the battlefield below.

"Sienna, we got like five missiles coming right at us!" Indigo shouted from the rear.

"Blast them down!" the pilot of the Arc sisters called.

Indigo focused on the five missiles that were flying after them and silently prayed that she could hit them. She pulled the trigger of her gun and hit one of them and the resulting explosion managed to destroy another. She allowed a third missile to get dangerously close before she shot it, the blast making the ship buckle a bit.

"Watch it Indigo!" Shani called.

"I'm doing my best!" she shouted as she blew another one up, but the fifth missile rocketed towards them. "No you don't." she muttered as she fired, only for a Griffon to fly by and inadvertently take the hit as the missile flew past its fading remains.

Indigo screamed in panic and struggled to get out of her seat, only to glance back and notice that the missile had been stopped in midair.

"Oh thank you! I guess miracles do happen." She said as she quickly blasted away the missile.

* * *

Down below Glynda smiled as the Arc sister kept flying, happy that she had been able to help them. She saw two of the enemy ships swoop down towards her and the nine others that fought alongside her and she knew that they were coming for a bombing run.

"None of that." She muttered as she pointed her wand at them and used her telekinesis to slam them into each other and then, with some strained effort, slam them into the side of the factory, destroying both of the flying vessels.

She breathed in to recover from the strain that put on her aura, Grimm, people, and the robotic soldiers were one thing but vehicles were different matters all together.

"Professor, behind you!" cried Dew. Before Glynda could react she felt robotic arms wrap around her torso and aim a charged up wrist-blaster to her head.

"Surrender now and she'll live!" said the voice of the remaining enforcer, Trooper. She knew Fireball was still in play but it would seem that he vanished, leaving the disgraced military officer as her main concern for the moment.

"Oh please." Glynda moaned as she jabbed up her wand, stabbing the Grimm Knight in the face. She used her strength to wrestle herself free, used her telekinesis to tear the robot to scrap metal, and then she sent those torn up parts flying into Beowolves and other Grimm Knights, ripping them to shreds. She glared at Trooper who looked taken aback by how quickly the situation had turned around. "Bad mistake." She said.

He brought up his gun and fired at her but she used her telekinesis to catch all of the bullets and slam them into the ground instead of her body.

Trooper grimaced and fired at Violet, but Glynda stopped that bullet as well.

"You cannot win this, surrender while you still can." Glynda offered.

"I wish I could, but trust me; it's not an option." Trooper said as he swung his rifle at her but Glynda easily ducked it and used her powers to grab hold of him and sent him flying into the stone steps of the factory. If he had gone up against any of these students around her he would have stood a chance but against her? He had an ice-cube's chance in the desert. Glynda watched as Trooper tried to get up but she lifted up several destroyed Grimm Knights and slammed them down on him, trapping him.

She turned to see a dozen more Grimm Knights surrounding Dove and Sky so she quickly used her telekinesis, directed by her wand, to rip them all apart, with heads and torsos falling to the ground.

Both of the boys made grateful gestures as Sky slammed his halberd into a Beowulf's chest, and then ripped it out to slam its head off. "We are not to be messed with!" he cheered, only to get blasted down by a Grimm Knight.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" asked Dove as he blasted the offending Grimm Knight down and then stabbed his sword into another Beowulf as Glynda walked towards them, obliterating a few Grimm Knights as she did so.

"Keep it up; hopefully we won't have to do this much longer." She told them.

Sky moaned as he got up, but shook his head in confusion as he looked towards the north of the complex. "Uh... am I imagining things or is that that Penny thing?" he asked, pointing to what he saw.

Glynda and Dove looked and the one they saw was indeed Penny, her swords spiraling around her, ripping Grimm Knights and Grimm to shreds with a polite smile on her face.

"These combat droids were well programmed in basic fighting styles, but do not stand much of a chance." She said cheerfully.

Glynda used her Semblance to power her jump as she made her way over to Penny, leaving the two teenage boys behind.

"You think Cardin's okay?" Sky asked as he slammed his halberd into a Beowulf's back.

"As long as he doesn't try anything heroically stupid like Nikos did he'll be fine." Dove said as he shot a guard in the leg.

Glynda landed near Penny and was surprised to see that Fox was with her, slicing Grimm Knights down with his blades.

"Penny, Fox, where are the others?" she asked.

"Professor Goodwitch uh... trust me when I say the situation is way more complicated than we thought and I think you might want to get ready for a shock." Fox said as he gestured over to the side of the building.

Glynda's eyes widened in amazement as her friend, companion, and mentor William Ozpin appeared alongside a petite multicolored girl with an umbrella.

"Ozpin!" she cried as she ran towards him.

"Glynda, it's so good to see you." Ozpin said as she hugged him.

"I thought we'd lost you for good." She said.

"There were times when I thought I'd never see you again either, old friend." Ozpin said as he returned the hug. Glynda pulled away and began to voice the various questions in her head.

"Where are the others? Have you been here the whole time? Who is...?" she began before Ozpin stopped her.

"No, I haven't. Salem brought me here tonight. From what Fox has told me Qrow and Raven are facing off against Cinder Fall but I know for a fact that Teams RWBY and CFVY, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Cardin Winchester, and Ashe Kasai have gone off to save Pyrrha, who is still alive." Ozpin said.

"What?!" Glynda shouted.

"It's true, apparently. Cinder Fall and her cronies brainwashed her into thinking she was someone called Fotia Drakos and then turned her into one of those Grimm hybrids." Fox said.

"But that Arc boy saved her with some weird, rather unexpected technique while Salem forced them to fight to the death and then she had Pyrrha taken away but I betrayed them and freed Ruby, Jaune, and Ozpin and then we ran into your little rescue team, split up and here we are." Neo said.

Glynda looked at the smaller woman and responded with "I was going to ask about you, but if you helped us and betrayed Cinder that's all I need to know for the time being. Can you help us fight?"

"Sure can." Neo said.

"You Fox, and Penny will need to help us battle these robots and Grimm. Ozpin, we have two ships over there along with a doctor, can you make it?" Glynda asked.

"I don't think I can." He answered.

"Alright, Violet!" Glynda called, getting the attention of the Arc sister.

"Yeah?" she asked as she ran over to them, blasting a guard or two down along the way.

"The situation has changed, Ozpin can explain it but right now we need you to get him to the ships." Glynda ordered.

"Right, is my brother okay?" she asked.

"He's fine, go!" Glynda ordered as she brought a Griffon down from the sky and into a Beowulf.

Violet nodded as she helped the older man across the battlefield, with three more students taking her place.

"I was not ready for today." She murmured to Ozpin.

"I don't think any of us were." Ozpin agreed with a tired smile.

Glynda turned to see over two dozen Grimm surrounding her, growling and snarling in fury as they got ready to attack her, her anger attracting them. Glynda was known for not letting her anger get the better of her but right now she was furious. The knowledge of what truly happened to Pyrrha Nikos, what they had done to her, what they tried to force her to do made Glynda angrier than she had been in years.

She jabbed out her wand and the creatures of Grimm were torn apart in one mighty blast of power, disintegrating into black dust. She looked up and saw Grimm Knights flying overhead, trying to shoot at Neon, Flynt, Russel, and Dew so she used her telekinesis to grab them out of the sky and rip them apart to transform them into weapons for her to use. She slammed down the shredded parts of the Grimm Knights into other robots and Grimm, killing over fifty of them in one go. She reached up and managed to grab hold of two ships, an incredibly difficult feat to be sure but she slammed them into one another, destroying them both. She was not going to let any of these students get hurt as long as she could help it.

Neo gaped at the power Glynda had and whispered "Note to self: do not get in her way." With that in mind Neo set to work and began taking down Grimm Knights, Grimm and slaughtering human guards, something she knew the other teenagers wouldn't be willing to do.

She slammed her blade into a guard's gut and shielded herself from the blast of a Grimm Knight with her umbrella. 'Heh, this hero thing is all touch and go.' She thought to herself.

Penny controlled her swords downwards, slashing and slicing Grimm Knights to pieces but sometimes she'd have to do it again if they kept going. The strings coming out her back spread out far so her blades would reach a more effective range, cutting down Grimm and Knights alike, leaving vaporizing Grimm bodies and smoking metal in her wake.

"This is too much fun." She said as she sliced four blades down horizontally on a Grimm Knight, cutting it into five little metallic pieces. "No wonder Ruby wanted to be a Huntress!" she cheered as she stabbed her swords upwards, cutting down over a dozen Griffons in the process.

Dove looked on and muttered "Oh great, the robot girl's making us look bad... again." He shot a Beowulf's arm off and finished it by stabbing it in the chest, but then saw another Beowulf was sneaking up on Penny. "Behind you!" he called to her.

Her eyes widened and her arm transformed back into its cannon form as she whipped around and killed the Grimm with one powerful shot. She turned to face Dove and gave him a smile.

"Thank you for the warning." She said as she pointed her cannon at him and fired. Dove cried out in panic as he realized that Penny had killed a Griffon that had landed behind him.

"Oh... thanks." He said. Dove turned to see Sky finishing off another Griffon and said to his partner "Dude, I hope things can go back to normal after all this."

"Man, normal has been dead and buried for a while now." Sky laughed.

Bianca blasted down a Grimm Knight, unloading about ten rounds into the robot to take it out. "This is madness." She whispered to herself, she had been prepared to face anything to help save Jaune, but this was just crazy.

She shot another Grimm Knight in the head, which she was getting unnervingly good at and it seemed to be the fastest way to take them down. All of a sudden she felt a rough arm grab her.

"Ah!" she cried as she tore herself free and whipped around to see a human guard.

"Drop the gun!" he ordered.

Just then he fell to the ground after a shot to the side from Ross' gun.

"You okay?" the middle aged pilot asked he as he shot up a Beowulf.

"Yeah, but was wasn't prepared for anything like this! I knew it would be bad but this pretty much exceeds my expectations!" she said as she fired at a Grimm Knight, but failed to bring it down.

"I used to be in the Vale Defense Corps, trust me when I say this is up there with the craziest." Ross told her as he unloaded his gun into a small group of Beowolves.

"I'm not really trained for combat, I'm an artist!" she told him.

Ross glanced at her and said "Well if anything you can get some inspiration for paintings of war!" he joked.

Bianca cracked a small smile as she looked over to see Fox eviscerating a Knight, then slashing a Beowulf down the back.

"Hey, Fox right?" she called. Fox looked up to her and nodded as he decapitated a Grimm Knight. "Is my brother okay? Where is he?" she asked.

"Still inside with the others! Things got complicated so me and Penny had to come out with Professor Ozpin." Fox explained.

"Wait a minute, you kids found Ozpin?" Ross asked, bewildered.

"In a way, your other sister down here is taking him to the ships to have Dr. Chloris look him over." Fox continued.

"What about Jaune and the others? Why are they still in there?" Bianca asked.

"They went deeper into the factory to rescue someone else, trust me when I say I expect the biggest dump of explanations in the history of Remnant tomorrow, but right now just fight!" Fox cried as he slammed his right blade into the shoulder of a Grimm Knight.

He spun around, ducking to avoid being hit by the blade of a Grimm Knight as he sliced the robot in half then jumped over the Knight as it fell to slam both of his blades down on another Grimm Knight, creating a V-shaped slash down to its waist and he sweep kicked a guard that tried to rush him and he quickly followed it up by back-slashing a young Beowulf.

He looked over to see the only remaining enforcer, Fireball fighting Flynt Coal. The trumpeter blasted away at the pyromaniac as he tried to incinerate the young Huntsman but Flynt loaded up a water Dust crystal into the slots of his trumpet and created a Kill Quartet.

Fireball seemed to be a bit confused by the new multiple targets and muttered "Frag it, burn 'em all."

He swept sideways with his flamethrower, managing to incinerate one of the clones before the other three Flynts blasted him away with multiple trumpets pounding at him with powerful sound waves.

Fireball moaned as he tried to get up only to receive a kick to the face from the real Flynt while the two remaining clones blasted away some Beowolves and Grimm Knights.

Fireball snarled in anger as he tried to blast Flynt with a stream of fire but Flynt blew his trumpet at the nozzle of the flamethrower and the water crystal inside of trumpet doused the flames and clogged up the tubes fore the flames could fully emerge.

Fireball roared in anger as he swung wildly with his weapon, only for Flynt to expertly sidestep him and get behind him to begin wailing on him with quick punches and a kick to the rear. Fireball flipped himself back up and growled as he managed to land a hit on Flynt with his blunt flamethrower, knocking him down.

"I'm not going to go down so easily, kid." He snarled as he swung his flamethrower again, but Flynt easily jumped over it.

"Wanna bet?" Flynt asked as he loaded up an energy crystal into his trumpet and quickly turned up the power with a small dial. Fireball roared as he loaded up a fire Dust crystal into his flamethrower, reigniting it and blowing out a powerful blast of fire.

Flynt quickly rolled out of the way and held up his trumpet as Fireball fired at him again, only for a powerful gust of wind to lift the fire away from Flynt and up towards a Griffon which was burned alive. Flynt glanced to see the wild wind had been from Dew who waved to him as she used her spear to impale a Grimm Knight. Flynt returned the wave then blew into his trumpet as hard as he could, sending Fireball flying into the torn open entrance of the factory where he smashed into a group of newly arriving guards.

Fireball glanced up from his new place on top of knocked out guards and looked at Flynt, moaning from the reeling pain in his ears as he fell unconscious.

Flynt smiled and said "Now that's the way it's done." He heard someone trying to sneak up on him; his experience with sound based weapons gave him exceptional hearing abilities so he quickly smashed his fist into the face of a guard and blew him into a Grimm Knight with his trumpet.

"This is way better than just sitting around the academy doing nothing." He said before he blasted away a squadron of Grimm Knights with another powerful blast of his trumpet.

He looked over to see his partner taking down Grimm Knights with her glowstick-nunchaku, freezing the robots with the ice crystal loaded up inside and then smashing them apart with blunt hits from her weapons or kicks from her roller skates.

"Keep it up, Neon! We're doing great!" he called.

Neon gave him a cheerful holler in response as she skated around wildly, a rainbow trailing behind her as she slammed a Beowulf down with a punch.

"Never miss a beat, never miss a beat..." she chanted to herself as she jumped up, smashing her roller skates into a Grimm Knight's head. "Whoo!" she cheered as she jumped over it and grabbed its legs with her tail, dragging it behind her and using its body to trip over other enemies.

She eventually let it go, letting it clatter to the ground in a scraped up pile of parts as she sped along, slamming glowing nunchaku into the other Knights, freezing a few along the way, which made it easier for Bianca and Ross to shoot them apart.

Neon grabbed a human guard and slammed him into her knee and then slapped him hard enough to blow him down when she noticed the final member of Team CRDL, Russel Thrush, fighting off some Grimm Knights on his own and getting ganged up on.

Russel stabbed his knives into the robots over and over again to do damage as his weapons were not effective enough to take them out in one hit. He was about to slam his dagger into a Knight's forehead when he got hit in the side three times by a Knight's wrist mounted blaster.

"Uh..." he moaned as the four Grimm Knights stood above him and aimed their guns at him, ready to kill. "Oh crap." He muttered.

Before they could end him Neon arrived, jumping up and slamming into the side of a Grimm Knight feet first, her roller blades cutting into it and the wheels grinding up its inner-workings.

She landed on one leg and spun around, her tail catching another Grimm Knight and tripping it over, making it fall so Russel could stab it. A Grimm Knight tried to shoot her but she easily ducked down and smashed it in the face with her nunchaku, freezing its head which she destroyed with a powerful kick, the ice making it easier to shatter.

Russel got up and slammed one dagger into the head of a Grimm Knight while he stabbed the other one into a Knight's torso repeatedly. "Thanks for the assist... uh monkey?" he asked.

Neon glared at him and said "I'm a cat."

"Well it's just that your tail made me..."

"Well you're wrong, plus my name is Neon. You shouldn't call a Faunus by whatever animal trait they happen to share." She said as she jump-kicked a guard down.

"Okay, sorry... thanks for saving my ass." Russel relented as he smashed both daggers into the gut of a Beowulf.

"Apology accepted!" Neon said happily as she sent a Knight flying with a mighty spin-slam of her nunchucks.

As the battle raged on Violet finally got Ozpin to the landing zone where Dr. Chloris greeted them, helping Ozpin down to the floor of the Vale ship.

"Looks like things are getting hectic out there, I hope my daughter and her friends will be alright." The doctor said as she began looking Ozpin over for any obvious physical wounds.

"I think they'll be okay, I got a feeling we won't have to stay much longer." Violet said as she reloaded her pistol.

"I hope you're right, Officer. Okay, you seem to be in good shape, a little banged up and dented but that's to be expected after being in the care of those people." Dr. Chloris said as she injected Ozpin with a mild painkiller. Aboard the ships she had stored proper combat medical equipment in case of emergencies such as painkillers, adrenaline, bandages all infused with aura to keep them stronger and to bond with the wounded better.

"Thank you for the medication, Dr. Chloris. I really needed it." Ozpin said as he got back up.

"Where are you going? You're in no condition to help fight." She said as she yanked him back down.

Ozpin sighed and said "The other ship has guns on it that can be operated from the cockpit. My piloting skills are a bit rusty but I have to do something."

"What you need to do is rest, if they wanted to keep you alive and in their control then we need to keep you safe." Violet said before a shot rang out.

Violet whipped out her pistol and fired at a trio of guards who had snuck up on them, only for the closest of the guards to fire first and hit her right in the shoulder.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!" Violet screamed as she fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding shoulder, trying to keep pressure on the wound.

"You're all under arrest in the name of the Mistress of Grimm, you're not getting away Ozpin." The lead guard barked.

"I think I will be." Ozpin said as he quickly transformed Milo into rifle mode and shot the guard in the chest three times, killing him. Dr. Chloris pulled out a gun that Ross had lent her and shot it at the other guard but intentionally missed, but made a good enough distraction for Ozpin to shoot said guard dead.

The third and final guard tried to run but Violet took her revenge and used her uninjured arm to aim her gun and fire, shooting the man in the back four times.

"Gha! Hurts like a rapier wasp sting..." Violet muttered as Ozpin and Chloris helped her up and placed her down on a row of seats.

"It should, that shot was fired at relatively close range so it'll be a little challenging to deal with, brace your self this may hurt." Dr. Chloris said as she applied a gel to Violet's shoulder wound.

"AH!" she cried as she struggled in their holds.

"It hurts, I know, but this will make the wound close up faster." Dr. Chloris said. She looked up to Ozpin and asked "What do you plan to do?"

"Make a difference in this fight; try to make up for the countless mistakes I have made in the past. I'll stay with you until I'm certain no more guards are coming back here, then I'll take the other ship and try to give them some more air support." Ozpin elaborated. He glanced out of the open door and towards the factory, seeing the explosions in the sky.

Back at the battle field Dew Gayl created another swirling vortex of air that sent Grimm, robots, and human guards all flying about the battle field. She swung her spear around to whack down Grimm Knight that tried to charge her and even managed to impale one in the face before one Knight finally rammed into her.

She fell to the ground and rolled out of the way to avoid getting shot and launcher herself towards the Knight. She wrapped her legs around its waist and got her spear behind its head but was forced to let go when its blade scratched her hip.

She jumped off and used the power of wind to send in flying into the sky where it crashed into another Grimm Knight that was flying above. She jumped onto the back of a Beowulf and slammed her spear into its head. She hopped off and slammed the pole of her spear into a guard's gut then kicked him down and sent another guard flying into the wall of the factory.

"If nothing else this will be a good fight." She said.

Just then she heard a screaming sound coming from above followed by a tremendous explosion. She looked up to see Ashe jumping out of the open hangar to just as a fire burst out after him.

"Ohhhh shhiiitt!" he cried as he fell.

Dew gasped and quickly created a cyclone and made it as tell as she could as she ran towards the spot where Ashe was falling. Ashe was caught by the small tornado. Dew lowered the tornado down, spinning Ashe gently in circles as he fell to the ground.

"Oh man... thanks a lot..."

"Dew." She announced.

"Dew, I really owe you for that. Ah..." Ashe muttered as he clutched his stomach, listening as the explosions within the building kept going. He was a little dizzy from the fall but quickly collected himself.

"Why did you jump?" Dew asked.

"I'm curious about the answer to that myself." Glynda said as she arrived, blowing a Griffon apart as she made herself known.

"You see those explosions in the hangar? All me, I had to stop some fighter ships from taking off but the explosions currently happening are my fault I..." he was cut off by the sound of a giant explosion erupting out of the open hangar, blowing the roof above it apart.

Glynda watched the mighty burst of flame and asked "What did you do?'

"You know that banned explosive stuff called Hau Bakuhatsu?" Ashe inquired.

"No... you didn't!" Glynda said, looking angry.

"Relax, it was only a small container's worth. Sure it might spread to other explosives and they could have had more elsewhere in the factory... oh crap." Ashe moaned, realizing how stupid his plan was. If the explosions spread they could hit other explosives that would send the fires out of control.

"Nevermind that, what about the children, I assume they're still inside?" Glynda asked.

"You'd be correct. They went to rescue Pyrrha and get out on their own." Ashe said.

"Wait, Pyrrha?! Isn't she dead?" Dew pointed out.

"Miss Gayl, I will be happy to hear the explanation myself but for now we need to get to work. I want you two to start helping out the others and tell them to group up, we need to be together if we are to make our surge against our enemies." Glynda instructed.

Dew nodded "I'll start rounding people up."

"Me too." Said the voice of Taiyang who appeared dragging an unconscious Steppenwolffe behind him with Zwei trotting happily alongside.

"Good work, Taiyang. It is good to see you still have it in you." Glynda said.

"No problem, this guy was a good fighter but I took care of him." Taiyang said as he threw Steppenwolffe into a group of charging guards, knocking them all down. He looked at Ashe and asked "What are you doing out here? Where's Qrow, Raven, and the kids? Where's Ruby and Yang?!"

"Slow down man, they're okay. Trust me, it's gonna take a lot more than a few days in this place to keep a little spitfire like Ruby down." Ashe said.

Taiyang grinned and said "Ain't that the truth. Why aren't they out here with you?"

"Got separated, they went to save Pyrrha, who's alive by the way, while I went to take care of Saul Jude." Ashe finished.

"And I assume Jude is no more?" Glynda guessed.

"Right now he's down below with the bulk of that explosion; if he's alive he's in a helluva lot of pain." Ashe said.

"Good, I'm happy that you were able to get closure." she said comfortingly.

"It doesn't really feel like closure, I kept having these dreams about him and... sparrows. Thought those crazy nightmares would factor into something but I guess not." Ashe said, getting a weirded out look from the Huntress.

"Very well, now would you mind performing a Haakskeekah?" Glynda inquired.

"Not at all, you got an idea?"

"Of course." Glynda confirmed as Taiyang and Dew went off to help the others. She gathered up her strength and held out her arms with her wand point outwards. Goodwitch began to spin around in place as her Semblance reached out, pulling Grimm Knights, Beowolves, and Griffons towards her.

Sky and Dove both stopped to pay attention as they watched the amazing sight of beasts and robots being squished together in the air.

"Ashe, destroy them!" Glynda ordered.

"Haakskeekah!" Ashe screamed as he aimed his arms upwards, his eyes glowing violet as a powerful burst of energy ripped into the creations of Grimm and ripped them all apart, vaporizing the Grimm while the parts of the Knights began to rain down upon them.

"Nice plan." He said as he took a moment to catch his breath.

"Thank you." Glynda returned as moved out of the way so he could shoot a Knight that tried to attack her from behind.

* * *

Inside of the factory, slightly before Ashe's explosions went off, Emerald, Damien, West, and what was left of the guards and lab assistants all made their way back to the hallway where Mercury had been left behind.

"Is he still alive?" asked one of the guards as Emerald and West checked up on him.

"He still has a pulse, the loss of his leg in addition to the beating he got will take him out of any fights for a while but he'll make it." West said.

Emerald felt a little relieved at that, as much as she disliked Mercury she didn't want him to die. She looked up at Ante and approached him.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

His answer was a fist to the face.

"You freaking idiot! You let that monster loose and it's killing our allies! Sure it may kill Rose, Arc, and those other Hunters but if that thing gets out of this factory who knows what damage it could do?!" Emerald shouted furiously as Damien got up, wiping some blood away from his nose.

He snarled as he took out one of his daggers. "You wanna fight? Huh?! I may only have one arm for the time being but I'm still good enough to take you down, bitch!"

"Enough!" screamed West, his unexpected cry was loud enough to make everyone focus on him. "Let us not dwell on the past. I agree that what Ante did was idiotic and I hope he is punished for it but for now we need to get to the escape ship. You two, help Black up and carry him." He said to two assistants who both went to help Mercury up and carry him.

"I'm not going to the ship; I'm going out there to find Cinder." Emerald said.

"What for?" asked Ante.

"She'll need to know that we failed to stop them, she'll be furious but she needs to know." Emerald said as she reloaded her weapons. "I'll post guards by that side entrance, because if Nikos, Arc, Rose, and their buddies do make it out of that lab they'll have some opposition. You get Mercury and this idiot to the ship; we'll be leaving within the hour."

"What about Giger? If he's been killed..." West began before Emerald stopped him.

"If he's dead then Damien here will pay for it and if so then Salem will probably have you take over as the head of Grimm experiments, plus you have all his data sent offsite so don't worry about it." Emerald assured West.

"Good thinking, Emerald. Good luck out there." West said

"Thanks, you too." She returned as she made her way to the small passageway beside the staircase.

Ante glared at her as she departed and flipped the bird at her while her back was turned.

West took charge of the group and led them down into the factory to one of the passageways down to the sub-levels. He out his scroll and called up the emergency ship. "Keeper Matilda, things went horribly wrong in the labs." He said

"What exactly went wrong? Talk to me Dr. West! The Wyvern's been acting up and I need to know what's going on with Drakos." The head keeper demanded.

"Drakos is gone and Nikos is back." West revealed.

"Oh damn." Was all she said.

"If the Wyvern's acting up the bond between them could have been stronger than we though, who'd have guessed that she'd actually make the Grimm get attached to her? Keep it tranquilized, speaking of which our good friend Damien Ante let the Chimera out." West said grumpily.

"Oh gods..." she whispered, sounding terrified.

"I know. Send up some of your guards armed with heavy dosage tranquilizers, enough to put a Goliath in a coma for all I care. I have no idea if it's after us but have them meet us halfway, we'll be taking the right tunnel." He said.

"Understood, I'll send them up to meet you. Keeper Matilda out." She finished as she ended the call.

West gestured to two guards and ordered them to "Go up ahead, make sure we have no more surprises."

West and his group made their way quietly through the factory, except for the occasionally moan from Mercury. The two guards reported nothing out of the ordinary and then they were taken by surprise when the entire building felt the vibrations from the explosions as they started.

"What the hell was that?" Ante asked.

West looked around and muttered "I don't know and quite frankly I don't care at the moment, right now all I care about is getting to that ship and getting out of here."

"No arguments there." Ante agreed as he followed West.

"Dr. West, we found someone! I think you should get up here!" called one of the guards from up ahead.

West did not question it and ran forwards to a corridor where the two guards had found a trail of blood leading to none other than Norvik the Hunter, who lay on the ground, trying to crawl away.

"Ante, everyone, get up here it's safe for the time being!" West called as he knelt down. He grabbed Norvik and turned him around to see the gunshot wounds. "By the spires of..." West muttered as Norvik reached up.

"I-I-I am n-n-n-not dead yet-t..." he rasped. "H-help me or s-s-he will punish you..." he added, glaring scornfully at West who knew all to well he wasn't wrong.

"You two" West said to another guard and one of the last assistants, "get him up and carry him with you. Mistress Salem wouldn't be pleased if he died on our watch."

Damien walked on, hiding the fear that was clouding his mind, secretly he was a bit worried; Salem was not exactly the forgiving type and she would no doubt be furious about how badly the situation had gotten out of hand. He knew a punishment would be in his future, he just didn't know how fatal it would be.

They continued on deeper into the factory, now joined by a mortally wounded murderer as the explosions got worse.

Down in the Chimera's chamber it looked up to the ceiling at the walls of its pen shook from the blasts. It looked down at the shredded and torn apart body of Cardin and chomped down on his torso, tearing off some flesh and taking a few ribs with it, chewing the meat and bones slowly.

Just then a burst of fire erupted through the concrete floor. The Chimera backed away from the heat as another blast burst through the floor, sending bits of stone about the chamber.

They had trapped it, locked it up like they always wanted but it would have it no more. It would be free once again.

It waited until the hole in the floor took two more bursts of fire, the explosions pounding away at the floor made it weaker. Once it judged its chances to be in its favor it made its move. Despite how savage it was the Chimera was rather smart for a Grimm, as it had, in fact, inherited much knowledge from the Grimm that contributed to its being but when it was in a frenzied moment it gave into that carnal desire of the hunt.

It pounced into the hole and smashed through landing in a blazing inferno where dead bodies of guards laid strewn about, all killed by the fire. It jumped forward out of the room before fire could completely engulf it and dashed down the hallway.

As it turned a corner a human ran into it. The wretched man was barely able to get a scream out before the Chimera gored him. The Chimera looked up from its newest kill and could sense fear all around it, so much fear was downright intoxicating but it could specifically sense the fear coming from below.

It made its way to a metal door and easily tore it open to reveal a stairwell. It climbed over the railing and began to make its way to the lower levels of the factory.

* * *

Coco, Yang, and Yatsuhashi led the rest of the rescue team down the small hallway that Pyrrha had instructed them to go down. They had already left the large hall and seen that Mercury was gone, be it from getting back up or someone taking him they didn't know and didn't really care. The explosions were escalating all around them and they knew they had to get out.

"Straight down this passage way and we're home free." Pyrrha said.

"Hope you're right P-money, once we're out we can get you and Jaune to our ship and then we can help fight off the rest of these jerk-wads, then hopefully it'll be victory." Yang said, trying to cheer the others up as she knew Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby, and Velvet would need it.

"So Pyrrha... you were able to control a Wyvern?" Nora asked. Pyrrha nodded. "Sweet! What was it like?"

Pyrrha sighed, noticing Ruby's curious looks so she decided they deserved an answer. "At first it was odd. My entire body was engulfed in pain, from what Cinder did to me I guess, and they needed to begin training as soon as they could and working with the Wyvern was part of that. I trained for over two months to establish a bond with it and... I'd be lying if I said I won't miss it."

"What? You bonded with a Grimm?! A Wyvern no less?! How is that even remotely possible?" Weiss demanded, getting sounds of agreement from the others.

"I simply felt its inner being, I could feel its rage and fear and at the time that's all that I had before I, or Fotia Drakos, became more and more confident in my abilities. The fact that they put the essence of an Alpha Wyvern within me made it easy for me to control it but I had to gain its trust on my own. Soon the Wyvern trusted me and... it's still down there." Pyrrha finished as she looked down.

"Wait, you mean there's a Wyvern here? Why don't they unleash it and use it to crush us?" Blake inquired.

"I have no idea, maybe they don't want to attract too much attention, after all Neo always had to ride with me and use her illusions to keep us hidden from public eye. Speaking of which what about Neo? She was the one who helped me realize that something was wrong with me." Pyrrha said.

"She helped us escape and she went with Fox and Penny to get Ozpin out." Ruby said.

"Penny?! She's alive?" Pyrrha asked, amazed.

"Yeah, they rebuilt her and Ironwood tried to use her as a suicide bomber to kill Cinder but we stopped him and got her out, at the cost of my sister going to prison." Weiss said sadly, worried about Winter.

"You should know that Penny is fully aware of what happened, it was a shock to say the least but she doesn't blame you for what happened to her." Ren said to Pyrrha.

"She doesn't? That's good..." Pyrrha said as she glanced at Jaune, his aura glowing at it healed his wounds. She looked back down and thought about the Wyvern. "I hope the Wyvern... oh, never mind."

Ruby glanced at the taller girl and was about to ask what she was originally going to say before Coco let out a cheer "There's the door up ahead! We're home free ladies and gents."

"Not yet, we still have to get away from this place in the ships." Yatsuhashi stated as they got closer.

"Don't be such a downer Big Y, all we have to do is help kick a little ass and then we're out of here." Coco said as Yang ran ahead to the door.

Yang stood at the entrance and made a motion for everyone to come forward. "We're at the side, I think we can walk on out into the battle field and help turn the tide a bit." she stated.

"You think dad's okay out there?" Ruby asked.

"Rubes, no question he's kicking butt outside." Yang said with a smile as they all got to the door.

"Anyone out there?" Blake asked as she got Gambol Shroud ready.

"One way to find out." Coco said as she gestured to Yatsuhashi who nodded and slammed the door open, only to find themselves surrounded by three dozen guards and Grimm Knights.

"You're not going anywhere. Commander Emerald warned us you'd be coming, good thing too, don't want the Mistress' prizes getting away." a captain said as he aimed his gun at them.

Yang and Coco quickly aimed their weapons at them, ready for a battle.

"Think we can take 'em?" Nora asked Ren.

"This hallway is too narrow for us to go out at once, Coco, Yang, and Yatsuhashi are up there alone." Ren said as an explosion sounded off behind them. Velvet turned around and saw a large burst of fire come up from the floor down the hallway.

"Oh great." she muttered as she got her camera ready.

"You're not getting away with those prisoners, surrender immediately." the captain ordered.

"Not on your life, dickhead." Yang snapped as she got the Ember Celia ready.

"Men, fire!" the captain ordered before his head violently exploded. The guards all looked up to see a winged figure flying down at them and shooting them, killing several more guards before they could retaliate. The winged figure landed down in a crouching position, her wings acting like a shroud as she jumped up and kicked a guard in the face. Yang jumped into action and slammed a guard in the face with her metal hand and kicked another one in the groin while Coco blasted away the Grimm Knights, aided by Nora launching a grenade out to escalate the chaos.

Ruby and Weiss led Pyrrha and Jaune out, with Pyrrha gaping in awe at the identity of their rescuer: Ziz.

The winged woman blasted three more guards down before more help arrived in the form of Team SSSN, who had been chasing Ziz but naturally decided helping out their friends was more important as Neptune and Scarlet blasted down more guards while Sun launched himself to help Blake fight off some guards with melee weapons.

"Nice to see you're okay!" she said as he tripped a guard armed with a stun-stick.

"You too, the explosions from inside that place had me worried." Sun admitted as Blake shot a guard in the legs

"The explosions were the least of our problems." Blake stated.

"Wait a minute, where's Winchester?" Sun asked, noticing Cardin's absence.

Blake sighed sadly and revealed "He's gone, he died to save us."

Sun was stopped dead in his tracks, stunned. "What?"

Soon all the Grimm Knights that had tried to stop them were destroyed while the guards were either knocked out or dead. One guards struggled to get up, a shot from Ren had taken out his foot and he looked up to see Ziz standing over him, her weapon pointed at his chest.

"Traitor!" he rasped.

"So what?" the Grimm Hybrid asked as she killed him with a shot to the chest. She turned to see the fifteen teenagers, some looking confused while others stood ready for a fight.

"Go on kids, get the hell out of here while you can." she barked.

"Is this for real?" Scarlet asked.

"I'm being nice, don't pass up that rarity." Ziz deadpanned.

Jaune and Ruby looked at each other and then to Pyrrha who looked amazed.

"Why?" Pyrrha demanded, "Why are you helping us?"

Ziz gave her a small, bitter smile and said "Because I like you kid, I lied to you about a lot of things but I wasn't lying about that. Now move that nice ass of yours and get out of here, get that happiness you deserve."

Pyrrha's mouth hung open as Ruby tugged on her arm. "Come on Pyrrha, we gotta go!" the younger girl cried.

Pyrrha nodded and took one last look at Ziz. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid." the Grimm Hybrid said to the younger girl who once looked up to her as a sister.

Team SSSN eyed her suspiciously before they joined up with Teams RWBY, JNPR, and most of Team CFVY in running back out to the battlefield.

Ziz sighed and whispered "Thanks kid."

"Why did you do that?" asked a voice. Ziz looked up to see Trooper, now free of the wreckage and had apparenly been watching the entire scene in secret. "Why did you help them out? If Salem finds out she'll destroy you."

Ziz aimed her gun at him and inquired "You gonna snitch, soldier boy?"

"Nope. Frankly I want those kids to win." he admitted.

Ziz lowered her weapon and smirked. "Me too."

"So why did you do it?" the enforcer asked again.

"Because she helped me discover something about myself earlier today. I no longer hate my team, I got something else to hate now." Ziz stated, mentally picturing the new object of her hatred.

* * *

As the fifteen teenagers ran out onto the battlefield, most of them blasting, slashing, or hitting enemies along the way, Sun looked to Ruby and smiled "Nice to see you're okay!"

"Thanks Sun, and it's nice to see you kept your promise." Ruby returned.

"Well, I'd have to live with the guilt of letting you and Blake down and I couldn't have that." Sun said modestly as he glanced to Yang, remembering he had something to say. "Hey Yang, I told you so!"

Yang grinned as she smashed her fist and knee into a guard, "Yeah you did Sunny, and you were right." she said as she grinned at her little sister.

* * *

Glynda turned to see the rescue team, plus Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Team SSSN making their way into the battle.

"Oh thank you." she whispered, thanking whatever god happened to be listening. She felt relieved to see them all, Pyrrha included, safe and alive but her heart sunk with two realizations: the Jaune and Pyrrha did indeed have the essence of Grimm within them, that much was obvious by their physical appearances, and that Cardin Winchester was absent from the group.

"Oh god, no." she muttered, horrified that a student did indeed die. She heard a scream from above and looked up to see a blast of fire soar off the roof of the building and the sound of an angry, familiar voice. 'Qrow and Raven are up there with Cinder.' she thought.

She called over to the teenagers, "Over here! Come on!"

Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and most of Team CFVY made their way to her, taking down Grimm and Knights along the way.

"Professor Goodwitch! It's so good to see you!" Ruby cheered.

"And it's good to see all of you are okay as well, especially you Mr. Arc, Miss Rose, and Miss Nikos. You have no idea how happy I am to see all of you again, what of Mr. Winchester?" she asked.

Velvet sighed and said "Cardin didn't make it, he died to save us."

Glynda sighed as well and answered "I see, once this is over we will come back and reclaim his body. He will be given a proper burial."

"Sounds good to me." Jaune said sadly as Penny, Fox, Ashe, and Bianca came over.

"You guys made it!" Fox said as he hugged Coco.

"This is probably the happiest I've ever seen you, white-eyes." Coco teased as she hugged her partner back.

"Ruby!" Penny cheered as she crashed into her friend.

"Whoa! Penny, too tight!" Ruby gasped as she was lifted away from Pyrrha and squeezed like a toy.

"Jaune!" cried Bianca as she collided into her little brother, catching him in a hug.

"Bianca! Are you okay?" Jaune asked, as he had been worried about his sisters' well being since he discovered they were taking part in the attack as well.

"Am I okay? Are YOU?! Do you have any idea how worried we've been?! Now, are you okay? You looked really bloodied and... oh, your eyes are..." she said before Jaune interrupted her.

"Bianca, I'm okay! I'm sore as heck and tired out but I'll be fine." he said as Pyrrha took hold of his hand. "I guess introductions are in order; Pyrrha this is my oldest sister, Bianca. Bi, this is..."

"Pyrrha, nice to see you're alive, my little bro was heartbroken over you." the eldest Arc child said as she smiled at Pyrrha.

"Jaune told me about his sisters, I've always wanted to meet you but I wish it could have been under better circumstances" Pyrrha said as she leaned into Jaune.

"Hey there, I'm Ashe, something of a friend of Jaune's." Ashe introduced.

"I know who you are, I... it's complicated but I remember how you trained Jaune. I don't know how but I..." Pyrrha was cut off by the sound of an explosion as another one of the enemy ships exploded overhead.

"We can theorize later, right now we need to get ready to leave. Ross!" Glynda yelled.

"Yes Professor?" the pilot called as he shot a Grimm Knight in the chest.

"Get to the ship and bring it over here! Make sure these children get on, we need to leave!" Glynda commanded.

Ross saluted her and made a run for the landing zone, avoiding Grimm and robots all the way.

Ashe grinned at the happy reunion of his younger friends, but was ripped away from his thoughts as a laser blast scored a direct hit on his back. "AH!" he cried as he fell to his knees. He forced him self to ignore the pain and jump up and slice down a Knight with his sword.

"Are you okay?!" Velvet asked.

Ashe flashed her a smile and said "Get ready for the fight of your lives, kids! Because we're in for one hell of a fuckin' party!"

"Ashe, you take care of Jude?" Jaune asked as Ruby and Weiss gave he and Pyrrha covered.

Ashe hid his dissatisfaction with their final confrontation as well as the pain that coursed through his body and simply answered "He's extra crispy."

* * *

Towards the end of the battlefield Team BRNZ were in trouble, Roy and Nolan were both shot down by the wrist mounted blasters of the Grimm Knights.

"Guys!" cried May before Douglas slammed his wrench into her shoulder so hard she was forced to let go of her rifle and she was sent down to the ground with them by a kick to the upper back from the weapons expert.

"Game's over, kid." he said.

"We won't give up!" Brawnz proclaimed, only to be silenced by a mighty punch to the gut from Little Steve.

"Too bad." the massive man said as he lifted up his giant gun once more.

"Ah well, wonder if we'll get paid a little extra for these four." Douglas said before he cried out in pain as something slammed into him from behind. He fell to the ground as Zwei began biting his shoulder hard enough to make him scream.

"Huh?!" Little Steve cried before a metal gauntlet slammed into the back of his head, powered by the anger of Taiyang Xiao Long.

"Scumbags." Taiyang muttered as he quickly melted down the Knights with his flamethrowers. "You kids alright?" he asked as he kicked the big enforcer in the gut.

"I am, but I don't know about Nolan and Roy." May said as she checked their pulses, relieved to feel that they were still alive.

"May, you and me will help them to the center..." Brawnz began before Taiyang stopped him.

"No, you get your friends to the ship, we may be getting ready to leave soon." the Huntsman said.

Brawnz and May looked to each other and then nodded. May knelt down and rubbed Zwei's head "Thanks for the save." she said.

"Yeah, I guess you did come in handy after all." Brawnz admitted as he picked up Roy.

Elsewhere Octavia and Gwen kept fighting Zhan who had proved himself to be one of the best hand-to-hand fighters they had encountered, as he had been able to block their physical attacks every time they tried to land a punch, jab, or kick. He jumped away from another Dust wave before he spoke to them "Ladies, it has been a good fight but from the madness around us I can see I need to end this fight now."

Then he vanished into thin air.

"Back to back." Gwen said to the redhead as the got together.

"How can we tell he's coming?" Octavia questioned.

"We can't, we'll just have to..." Gwen began before she was cut off by a scream from her partner. Octavia fell to the ground with a blood stain on her shoulder-blade as Zhan's knife was pulled out by the man himself who backhanded Gwen.

"I truly am sorry, I cannot apologize enough for my actions here. I do not enjoy this but I must..." he began to say before a gust of wind pulled him away and into the waiting fists of Nebula Violette and Dew Gayl. "Ugh!" he cried as he was thrown into a heap on the ground with Merrick, who had been defeated by the other two members of NDGO.

"Is she okay?!" Dew cried as they ran to Octavia, who was crying in pain.

"She needs medical attention, we gotta get her to Reese's mom now!" Nebula said.

"I'll take her." Gwen said as she lifted the youngest member of their team up

"Me too, Nebula the others need our help. Fight for us, okay?" Dew said as they put Octavia's arms around their shoulders to support her.

"I will." Nebula promised as she held up her crossbow, "Just get Octavia to the ship, we can't lose her."

"Right." the other two girls said as they ran off, carefully so as not to upset the redhead's wounds even worse.

Meanwhile Arslan was forced to keep fighting the large Beowolves that kept attacking the group as Nadir blocked another strike from Lao. Reese and Bolin fought off the Grimm Knights that harassed them, trying to get closer to the other half of their team.

Lao struck and swung his katana furiously. "I will not be defeated by a bunch of teenagers!" he screamed as he swung his sword down as hard and as fast as he could, striking against Nadir so many times that the pink-haired Huntsman couldn't even keep track of his enemy's movements until he felt a horrible, searing pain as his hand was cut off the wrist.

"AHH! OH GODS!" he screamed as he fell down, his aura glowing brightly to stop the blood loss.

"NADIR!" screamed Arslan, who incinerated the Beowolves quickly and rushed to help her friend.

"Sayonara, brat." Lao snarled at Nadir as he got ready to finish him off, only for Arslan's dagger to stab into his ribs."Ugh!" he cried as Arslan pulled him forward and slammed her fiery fist into his face.

"You hurt my teammate, you suffer for it!" Arslan barked as she tossed the enforcer to Reese who slammed him down with her hoverboard while Bolin slammed down on his back with his staff. All of these attacks combined took Lao out of the fight

Arslan ran over to Nadir and grabbed him up. "Nadir, come on buddy answer me, you gotta be okay." she pleaded as he moaned in agony.

"Is he okay?" Reese asked worriedly.

"No, his hand's been cut off. Bolin I want you to get him to Reese's mom on the double before he passes out, go now!" Arslan ordered.

Bolin nodded and placed his wounded comrade on his back as three members of Team NDGO came up.

"One of yours got hit bad too?" Dew asked.

"Yeah, I'm taking him to the doc, what happened to her?" Bolin asked.

"The illusionist, but we took care of him." Gwen answered as they ran side by side to the ship.

Reese looked up to her leader and asked "Arslan, what are we gonna do?"

Arslan sighed and answered the younger girl with "We go out and we fight."

Up above the three airborne Arc sisters only had three ships left to deal with but V19 had taken a lot of damage, scrapes and dents riddled the ship as it flew in the airspace around the complex, dodging some more blasts. Shani kept firing on the enemy vessels but couldn't help but be worried by the noises the engines were making, loud whirring sounds with a faint rumbling commotion.

"Sienna, how we doing? I'm getting kind of nervous!" she called.

"Not good, one, maybe two more hits and we're done for. I'm getting the escape pod ready." Sienna said as she typed on the control panels on the dashboard, making a small door near the rear of the ship open up.

Just the ship shook wildly out of control and began to drop slightly.

"We've been hit! Right under my gun, there's a fire right under my turret!" Indigo shouted as she abandoned her position.

"Shani, Indigo! Get into the pod, we're dumping the ship!" Sienna ordered as another laser blast hit their left side. She quickly pushed down on some of the buttons on the control panels, she wasn't really familiar with this type of ship but she knew how to set an autopilot.

Shani got out of her turret seat and into the main part of the ship as Indigo dashed into the small, five person escape pod. Shani followed her in and looked to see Sienna rushing forward.

"Get in!" the pilot yelled as she pushed her older sister inside.

Sienna shut the hatch and quickly pressed some buttons on the side of the pod's interior and with a 'thom' and a 'whoosh' they fell out of the ship and crashed into the pavement towards the end of the battle field, the White Fang ship being totaled by enemy missiles.

Sienna pushed open the hatch and looked up to see the flaming remains of their ship falling to the ground. She climbed out and dropped to the ground.

"Come on, we need to get to safety before the Grimm pick us off." she said as she helped her sisters out of the crashed pod.

"Where will we go?" Indigo asked as Sienna helped her down.

"Back to the two main ships, duh." the older one answered as Shani began to climb out.

Up ahead the wreckage of V19 fell to the ground nearby where Flynt, Neon, Russel, Sky, Dove, and Neo all fought together, destroying Grimm Knights and Grimm alike.

Flynt's hearing picked up the falling wreckage before anyone else could and he yelled "Scatter!"

He ran out of the way and the others followed his example, but one of the Grimm Knights managed to grab hold of Dove.

"Hey, wait a minute! It's got me, wait up!" Dove called as he tried to wrestle himself free from the robot's hold but it was too late. The destroyed ship crashed and the resulting explosion sent Dove and the Knight flying.

"Dove!" cried Russel and Sky as they ran towards his injured form. Dove lay on the ground, unconscious and bleeding, his aura glowing as it began to heal his wounds.

"Oh dude, come on! Be okay!" Sky pleaded as he grabbed his partner and shook him. Russel quickly felt for a pulse and checked his breathing.

"Is he dead?" Flynt asked, Neon looking worried while Neo finished off the Grimm Knight that had grabbed Dove.

"No, no he's got a pulse and his breathing is a little slow but he's still alive." Russel said.

Flynt and Neon glanced at each other and then back to the main battle where the remaining Grimm Knights were being drawn to.

"Take your friend and get him to the doc, the three of us will help out the others." Flynt ordered.

"No way, I'm going with you. Sky, take care of Dove." Russel said.

"You got it, man." Sky obeyed as he hoisted up his partner's body and began to run for the landing zone.

"You sure your mates will be okay?" Neo asked as she twirled her umbrella around.

"They'll be fine, I'm the one stupid enough to want to help you guys fight." Russel bemoaned as they began to run to the battle.

"I don't think that's being stupid, that's called doing the right thing." Flynt said as Neon rushed ahead on her roller skates.

* * *

Ruby sliced down a Beowulf with the blade of Crescent Rose and blasted another one away as Weiss froze a group of five Grimm Knights and allowed Yang to blast them apart with a bunch of shots from her Gauntlets while Blake slammed Gambol Shroud down to send a Griffon crashing into the wall of the factory.

Jaune slashed down a Grimm Knight while Pyrrha shot a Beowulf to death with the gun she had taken, the two working back to back. Jaune had seen his sister's ship blow but Ren had luckily spotted the escape pod, assuring Jaune and Bianca that their sisters were okay. Jaune smiled to Pyrrha who shot down a guard trying to grab Jaune while he cut the legs off a Griffon that tried to seize her. Ren blasted Grimm Knights into nothing but scrap metal while Nora sent the robots flying with simple swings of her hammer.

Just then Nora cried out in pain as something hit her in the leg. Ren cried out to her and looked up.

"So you made it out." announced a familiar voice. The Teams looked up to see Emerald on one of the steps leading up to the factory entrance, aiming her guns at Nora, ready to finish her off. "I won't let you leave here without a fight! If any of you think you're getting out of here alive then you're..." she was cut off by Velvet slamming a giant light-copy of Yatsuhashi's sword into the thief, knocking her down.

"I'm getting really tired of these people threatening my friends." Velvet said with a mischievous smile. Yatsuhashi smiled back as he sent a guard flying with one punch.

Coco grinned as she aimed up her minigun and began shooting down Griffons and Grimm Knights. "Payback time, assholes! That's for Winchester! So's this!" the fashionista yelled as she fired wildly up, while Fox cut down anyone who tried to stop her.

Sun spun his staff around, taking down guards like a pro and slamming the blunt ends of his weapon into the bodies of robots and Grimm. "Sage! Get to the Weiss' ship! You can get it over here to make our getaway easier!" Sun called to his teammate.

"You sure? I've never flow that kind of ship before!" Sage pointed out as he decapitated a Grimm Knight.

"I trust you, man! Go now!" Sun shouted as he slammed his combined weapons into a Beowulf's leg and then smashed it in the fact with a roundhouse kick.

Sage nodded and whispered to himself "Okay, I can do this." as he ran off towards the landing zone.

Scarlet shot a Grimm Knight in the head with his flintlock and then sliced it off with his cutlass before he stabbed backwards to gut a Beowulf that tried to attack him from behind while Neptune shot down a guard who was trying to get away.

"We're winning! We're actually winning!" Neptune said as he transformed his weapon back into trident mode and slammed it into the torso of a Grimm Knight.

"We're all combat ready!" exclaimed Penny as she sliced apart six Griffons.

Glynda tore Knights asunder, Ashe destroyed Grimm with the Haakskeekah, and Bianca shot at whatever she could.

Ruby smiled happily as her friends all worked together, as she knew that the only way they'd survive this mess. She cut down another Beowulf and was about to shoot a Grimm Knight when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned to see her father approaching with Zwei, Nebula, Arslan, and Reese all running towards them while Flynt, Neon, Russel, and Neo approached from the left.

"Dad!" she shouted as her father and pet ran towards her.

"Ruby!" Taiyang cried as he rushed forward to grab Ruby in a powerful hug that was almost as tight as one of Penny's. Zwei happily barked as he circled his two of his three owners, who were reunited after over a month of separation. "I was so worried I'd never see you again." the father said as he held back happy tears.

"I'm sorry dad, but I couldn't just sit around while these monsters ran loose... I'm sorry I hurt you." Ruby said as she hugged her father back.

Yang grinned at the sight. "Told you she'd be okay, dad. One big happy family again... well except for a couple absent members." she stated.

"Where are Qrow and Raven anyway?" Taiyang asked.

"Still fighting Cinder Fall, atop the factory I believe." Glynda answered.

"Where are all the others?" Velvet asked Nebula.

"They're either injured or helping the injured to the ships." she said as she noticed Arslan, Reese, Russel, Flynt, and Neon all gawking at something, or rather someone.

"How the heck is this possible?" Reese asked as she pointed at Pyrrha, getting everyone's attention.

Jaune sighed and laughed at the same time, but answered "It's a long story, no time to tell it now."

"Quite right, Mr. Arc." said the voice of Oobleck who appeared with Port, destroying Grimm Knights expertly. Oobleck smashed his thermos into the head of a Grimm Knight, then tripped another down so Port could destroy it with a swing of his ax.

"This is how we did it in my day!" Port cheered as he slammed a Knight in half, blasted away a Beowulf, and then knocked out a guard with a single kick.

Glynda was going to ask where Sherizawa was, but noticed the doctor was limping away, his robotic suit heavily damaged. He was not the only servant of Salem to be retreating back to the factory; Merrick and Zhan helped the injured Lao and Tom-Tom back respectively while Little Steve carried the old cold Douglas back as well.

Sherizawa glared at them and pressed a button on his arm and all of the Grimm Knights ceased attacking. He looked to Ziz and the newly recovered Steppenwolffe who both nodded and reached out their hands, stopping the Grimm from making anymore attacks. Trooper likewise led the enforcers who were still able to fight.

* * *

During the temporary ceasefire above something else was transpiring down below. West and two guards led the way as the survivors from the lab made their way out of a freight elevator and into one of the main tunnels to be greeted by a squadron of guards.

"Dr. West, do you need help with your wounded?" asked the squadron's leader, Lieutenant Kaller.

"No Kaller, we do not. Just keep those guns ready for anything, if the Chimera get out we'll have to throw everything we have at the beast to sedate it." West said as he walked side by side with the man.

"Don't worry sir, my men and I have been given the proper weapons needed to deal with it." Kaller said as he checked his rifle, just to be sure. He looked at Norvik and Mercury and had to ask. "What happened to them?"

"Don't know, the Mistress can sort it out later. The battle up there seems to be going against our favor, I knew those Grimm Knights wouldn't be up to the challenge of killing Hunters. Some street trash is easy to dispose of, but trained Hunters? Completely different story." West said, more to himself than anyone else. "And Commander Black was injured by the Xiao Long girl... I'm happy not to be in his place."

Ante hissed in pain as his arm slowly regrew, bone, mussel, and skin regenerating piece by piece. He didn't know what was worse: the wait for the regeneration process or the fear of what Salem would do.

Just then a scream came from one of the small supplementary hallways.

"Oh shit, please tell me those explosions are what they're screaming about." Ante said.

"No one down there but some workers who were going to get some more equipment, probably them but I got no idea as to what's got them screaming." Kaller said as he made a gesture to his men.

The guards quickly checked their aim and made sure they were loaded and ready to fire as a figure appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Keep the door open! Please! Keep it open and shut it behind me! Oh Oum above it's coming! This is not a drill! HELP!" the hapless worker screamed as he ran for all he was worth.

West and Ante's eyes widened in shock and horror as the Chimera appeared behind the worker, crawling on the ceiling and moving as fast as a train.

"I'm closing the door, fuck that guy." Ante said as he slammed his fist down on the door panel, shutting the door on the worker.

The worker screamed as he ran into the door, begging them to open it until the Chimera slammed into him from above, killing him instantly.

"Will that door hold?" asked one of Kaller's men.

"Not a chance in hell." Kaller answered as he gestured to West, who nodded.

"Come on, we need to get out of the way before..."

Too late. The Chimera smashed the door open and slammed into one of the lab assistants, crushing him into the wall and biting down with a heavy crunch.

"Shoot it!" yelled West as Kaller and his men unloaded every round of tranquilizer they had in their gun, stabbing thin needles into the beast again and again.

The Chimera roared in pain as the small weapons penetrated its skin, injecting highly effective doses of tranquilizers that had proved incredibly effective against them. The Chimera let out an ear-piercing scream as it began to lope towards them, moving slower as they kept shooting it.

"Don't let up men! It's almost down!" Kaller yelled as he reloaded his gun.

By this point the Chimera literally had needles sticking out of it, making resemble some macabre pincushion. It roared in pain as it slumped to the ground, the drugs killing off its energy. It finally fell unconscious before the group of unsettled servants to the Mistress of Grimm.

"It's out, finally." Kaller said.

"Keep an eye on it, I'll take them on down to the ship and send up a cage for the beast's transportation. If it so much as moves too quickly or opens an eye shoot it again." West commanded.

"Why don't we just kill it?" asked one of the guards.

"Because Mistress Salem wants this creature under her control and we are in no position to question her or deny her what she wants." West said. He led Ante and the others away, leaving Kaller and his men behind to keep the beast sedated.

Norvik's head turned to look at the Chimera's body and he whispered one word: "Magnificent."

* * *

Glynda and Ashe surveyed the situation and knew that the enemy was regrouping but other than that things seemed to be in their favor, she could see their enemies were hesitant to attack, looking just as tired as they were. Naturally the younger warriors took advantage of this time to talk amongst themselves until the fighting started up again.

"Nice to see you again, Professor Port, Dr. Oobleck." Ruby greeted.

"And it is most pleasant to see you, Mr. Arc, and Miss Nikos safe and sound, though I am confused as to how the latter is here." Oobleck said in return.

Sun and Blake hugged, happy to see that they were both alright while Neo approached Pyrrha and said "Good to see you're back to your true self, my friend."

Pyrrha smiled at the multicolored girl and said "I'm in your debt for helping me see that something was wrong, Neo. I hope that I can call myself your friend when this is all over."

Neo nodded, "I'd like that."

It was then that Russel noticed Cardin's absence. "Hey, Scarlatina, where's Cardin?" he demanded.

Velvet looked to her teammates, not knowing how to break it to Cardin's partner. "Russel... I'm so sorry." she said finally.

"What... oh shit. No, no way he's gone!" Russel said.

Velvet hung her head and confessed "He died a hero, I'm so, so sorry."

Yatsuhashi spoke up as well "He died with honor, he was truly a good Huntsman in the end."

Russel said nothing in return, he just gripped his knives.

Just then Glynda received a communication on her scroll, which was in comlink mode. "Ross here, I got all the injured aboard our ship along with their teammates and four of the Arc sisters, if you need anyone else to get on this ship I'll fly by and get 'em, I'm arming the guns now."

"Good, be quick now. Mr. Wukong has already sent Mr. Ayana to prepare the other ship..."

"I know, he's not alone. Ozpin insisted on boarding that ship with him. That's not all, the radar shows some ships coming our way, Atlesian by the looks of 'em, it's a good bet the Atlas forces stationed here are on their way, not to mention at least a dozen cop cars have surrounded the outer perimeter of the complex. I'll call 'em up on the open radio frequencies to fill them in on the basics and not to blast us down." Ross reported.

Glynda shook her head and repressed a smile, "Fine, come on and get ready to fire the guns if need be. If the Atlas forces have finally decided to chip in we can leave these criminals to them once Qrow and Raven get off the roof. Tell Sage and Ozpin to keep their shields up and land near us so we can pull out quickly when we're ready to leave." She ended the call and looked around to the remaining students and said "The Atlas forces in the city are coming to our aid and the first of our own ships will be coming to pick some of you up, it will be taking you to Haven Academy where we will meet up but some of us must stay behind to fight them off."

Reese and Arslan looked to each other and knew they couldn't stay behind, as the former didn't want to make her mother more worried than she already was and Arslan was too worried about Nadir to stay and fight. Nebula was likewise worried for her teammates, Neon was bushed and couldn't fight much longer, Flynt didn't know how much he had left in him, and Russel was too concerned with how he would break the news of Cardin's death to the others.

"Very well then, they're in no shape to fight, best to take our leave while they cannot stop us." Port agreed. Then he was shot in the back four times. Port fell to the ground, giving out a pained grunt as everyone looked to see Emerald had gotten back up, aiming her guns at them.

"As I was saying: none of you are leaving here!" she barked as Sherizawa, Steppenwolffe, Zhan, Merrick, Little Steve, the awakened Fireball, as well as Ziz and Trooper who briefly gave them reluctant looks all got ready to fight. Emerald looked at Neo and hissed "I should have known it was you! You were the one who gave her hints as to who she really was! Cinder will reward me for punishing you, traitor!"

Neo glared back and said "I'd rather be a traitor that what all of you are now."

Everyone got ready to fight, as Glynda spoke up. "Emerald Sustrai! There is no need for further conflict, both our sides are tired and exhausted, no more fighting is necessary. You cannot win this night."

"Wanna bet?" Fireball growled.

"Hey, don't know if you've noticed but we got some big time air support coming." Sun said, pointing to the Atlas airships on the horizon.

Emerald mentally cursed, where was Cinder when you needed her?

Ruby quickly whispered "Neo, get ready to get Jaune and Pyrrha out of here."

"What? Why?" asked Pyrrha.

"Let's face it; neither of you are in any position to fight at the moment." Ren agreed.

"They're right Pyrrha, we need to get ready to run. All of us do." Jaune said. Pyrrha sighed and nodded, as much as she hated running she knew it was the only way to survive. And deep down she knew she should have ran that night at Beacon, just ran off with Jaune and let Cinder do what she pleased.

The two ships rose up and made their approach.

"Stop those ships!" Emerald yelled. Little Steven and Merrick both opened fire on the two ships, but their shields easily held. From inside the cockpits both Sage and Ross grimaced.

"You wanna get me mad? Okay then." Sage said as he quickly pulled the triggers on the ship's front weapons. Heavy lasers zapped the upper levels of the building, destroying entire rooms and raining debris down, making the attackers stop firing.

Ross set the Vale ship down while Bolin and May opened up the doors. "Come on, let's go!" Bolin yelled as the rest of his team, Flynt, Neon, and Nebula rushed on board while Oobleck and Russel helped Port get on with Glynda, Taiyang, Ashe, Bianca, Nora, Blake, Sun, and the others all gave them cover.

"Zwei, go with them!" Yang ordered. The dog whined but Yang reinforced her demand by adding "Now!" The dog relented and ran into the ship while the ship Winter had purchased landed a small distance away, guns ready to fire.

"You do realize that getting away will not be so easy, don't you?" asked Zhan.

"It won't be easy for you to stop us either." Weiss said with a smile as she slammed Martynaster down on the ground and created an ice shield tall enough to cover anyone up to Yatsuhashi's height and long enough to cover them.

"Weiss, you sure your aura is up for this?" Ruby asked, remembering how tired her partner looked after she dispelled the Armor.

"I can handle it Ruby... wait a minute, your uncle's up there!" the Schnee heiress cried, pointing up at the roof of the factory. Ruby, Yang, Taiyang and the others all saw Qrow and Cinder fighting for all they were worth but even from down below they could tell Qrow looked exhausted.

"Cinder." growled Pyrrha.

"Leave her, however badly you can hurt her will probably be nothing compared to the punishment Salem will have in store for her if we just get away." Jaune said as he squeezed her arm comfortingly.

Pyrrha sighed and said "I want to see her get a little damage before we get on to the ship."

"I know that's a bad idea and yet I can't disagree with you." Jaune sighed.

Taiyang watched his friend and brother-in-law fight the madwoman behind this mess and realized something; Raven wasn't there.

"Where's Raven?" he asked.

Glynda's eyes widened as realized he was right, the female Branwen was nowhere to be seen. Yang looked up, dread filling her mind. "Mom?"

Up above Qrow slammed Reaper into Cinder but her aura had created a shield around her. In addition to the powers of the Fall Maiden and the auras of both Raven and Amber she was probably the biggest threat he had ever gone up against and was just barely able to prevent himself from getting killed by her. Despite how powerful she was now the final blows Raven had dealt her were still causing her pain. Raven's sword had pierced her bone, going right through. The aura had healed the wounds but it was still reeling with pain, this gave her a disadvantage which was why Qrow was still able to face her.

He jumped over a fire blast and landed right beside Cinder, only for her to grab him by the neck and slam her fist into his gut three times, blowing him back. She gave him a brief moment to recover before she struck again, slamming her fist into him four more times, causing some spit to fly from his mouth.

"It is useless to try and stop me. Ozpin couldn't defeat me, my brother couldn't defeat me, your sister couldn't defeat me, so what possible chance do you have?" she asked.

Qrow growled out "None what-so-fucking-ever, but that doesn't mean I won't try!" he screamed as he slashed Reaper down on her, scoring a gash across the chest.

"Ah!" she cried before her aura empowered aura healed her. She screamed in frustration as she blasted Qrow off the roof with a fireball. Qrow fell to the ground with his weapon but was caught by Glynda as the Vale ship lifted off and flew away, the Atlas ships surrounding the building with weapons armed and ready to shoot.

Cinder looked around at the situation, it really was hopeless. From what she could tell this entire evening had been nothing but one big disaster after another, the only plus being the new power from Raven Branwen, the escape plan, and the chance that Nikos was... her thoughts were derailed when she saw Nikos, Arc, and Neo all running towards the ship with Ozpin there to help them aboard.

"No... you won't get away Pyrrha, not alive, anyway." she said as she took out her bow.

Down below Glynda set Qrow down, his family instantly gathering around him.

"Uncle Qrow are you okay?!" Ruby asked frantically.

"Where's Raven?!" shouted Taiyang.

"What happened up there?" begged Yang as Blake, Weiss, and the others all fought off the Grimm, the Knights, and the servants of Salem as they all attacked once more.

"R-raven's... she... stop her!" Qrow yelled as he pointed up. Taiyang, Team RWBY, Ren, Nora, and Glynda all looked up to see Cinder aiming her bow and arrow at Pyrrha.

"Oh no! PYRRHA!" screamed Ruby as he realized who Cinder was aiming for.

Time seemed to slow down for a select few people.

Cinder pulled back the string of her bow, her arm was reeling with power from her newest acquisition. "This time you'll truly be dead." Cinder whispered as she set the arrow on fire and let go.

The arrow flew through the air, the rod burning up due to the fire, leaving only the tip of hardened Dust that went sailing for Pyrrha.

Jaune had heard Ruby's scream and looked back to see the arrow flying at his partner. Without any hesitation he pushed her out of the way, knocking her to the ground as he took her place.

The arrow tore through his chest.

He gasped in pain as he stopped dead in his tracks, Pyrrha looked up and her eyes widened with horror as she realized what had happened, she was so shocked she couldn't even scream.

Jaune looked down to her. "So this is what being a hero feels like." he said quietly before he fell.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Cinder vs. Team RWBY, Qrow, Ashe, and someone else...
> 
> Will Jaune make it? Will Cinder get what's coming to her? What will happen with the Chimera? Maybe you'll find out next time.
> 
> I'm sorry, I'm a jerk for leaving you with another cliffhanger, especially one this big, but what can you do? Well... bring me the head of Miles Luna and we'll call it even.
> 
> For those of you who are confused about the continuity of events, allow me to explain: The first three chapters and most of this one all happen simultaneously and after Dew's fight scene it resumes happening in a chronological order.
> 
> Also please point out any spelling or grammar errors you spot as I went through and got some but I don't think I caught all of them, I was too tired and too eager to get this chapter out.
> 
> Leave a review or a comment and tell me what you thought of this chapter since I'm not really sure what I think about the first half, I had some MAJOR completion anxiety with it, especially Team NDGO's scene and the Arc sisters' dogfight for some odd reason, but I wanted this chapter to give all of the other characters not involved in the rescue get a spotlight scene and I think I did a reasonably okay job. Also tell me what you thought of Ziz's little turn for the better. This was an exhausting chapter to work on, four straight days of almost nonstop work, hours spent on it and I'm not even sure I'm happy with it so leave your thoughts.
> 
> Originally I had Ashe land on top of the Arc sisters' ship and help them out, but I decided to have Dew do something. Also keep in mind that all four chapters of the Battle of Haven so far were meant to be one whole chapter, glad I decided to dump that idea thanks to a good friend's advice. Also Russel was supposed to get separated from his team and was forced to work with BRNZ, but I dropped the idea.
> 
> Poor Nadir, maybe Yang can give him a hand... eh? Eh? *slap* Okay, that was bad.
> 
> Next chapter will probably be up Sunday night if I work hard enough, and chapter 21 will be up sometime next week as I'll be having a friend co-write the chapter to make it more effective.
> 
> Please tell me if you liked the chapter leave a review a fave, or a follow but if your on AO3 leave a kudos or a comment. Please give me some feedback, you guys keep me going and make me determined to continue this story. Or if you're on the RWBY reddit try and give this fic a mention, I need the promotion but I don't know why I'm being so needy as this story has gotten more attention than all of my other stories.


	20. The Battle Of Haven Part V: Love Never Dies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.
> 
> Now important announcement: Let's all give a big thank you to smstanton, writer of the fantastic '4 Years of Beacon' story, who helped co-write this chapter. I couldn't have done it without his help. You're awesome man.

Jaune fell forward to the ground as Pyrrha threw herself forward and caught him.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Pyrrha screamed as the shock began to subside. She held him gently and looked at the wound in his chest. Miraculously it was in the same spot where Cinder's arrow had pieced her chest months ago, the heat had cauterized the wounds but that didn't mean it wasn't any less devastating to Jaune's body. The arrow had burned down to nothing more than the head, turning into a sharp and deadly bullet that had gone right through Jaune's body and now lay on the ground, covered in his blood.

"Come on Jaune, stay with me, please!" she begged, tears streaming down her face.

"NO!" screamed Ruby as she, the rest of her team, Ren, Nora, Velvet, and Bianca all ran towards the two.

Cinder observed the scene with a small, serene smile on her face. She created a large ball of fire in the palm of her hand and said "Don't worry; you won't have to suffer any more." She threw the fireball at the two, its power was increased by her newly enhanced abilities, but before it could get to them Neo jumped in front of it and shielded them with her umbrella.

Neo glared up at Cinder with hatred and resentment and Cinder returned the look. So Neo was the traitor all along. She briefly glanced down to Emerald and regretted ever suspecting the thief of treachery. She looked around at the Atlas ships that now surrounded the factory and smiled. Well, subtlety had had its day. No point in hiding anymore.

Ruby and her friends made it to Jaune and Pyrrha, surrounding them.

"Is he dead?!" Nora asked frantically.

"No... no he's still breathing and has a pulse... Jaune why?!" Pyrrha shouted.

Jaune looked at her faintly and made an obvious attempt to speak but all that came out was a hissing sound at first before he finally managed to say "I... coul..."

Pyrrha opened her mouth but couldn't form a sentence. He couldn't? Couldn't what? Let her die again? Oh no no no no no...

"NO! No you... YOU STAY WITH ME!" Pyrrha screamed as Bianca held back a sob.

"It'll be okay Jaune, everything will be okay... you're going to make it, we have to get him onto the ship! It has some medical stuff." The eldest Arc sister said desperately.

It was no secret to any of them; Jaune was dying. His breathing came in troubled, painful gasps, blood continually spat out of his mouth as his aura, feebly trying to heal his body, dimmed. Despite all this the wounded knight was determined to share his dying thoughts.

"Too... weak... before... Worthless..."

"Don't talk like that! We're glad to have you as our friend!" objected Velvet.

"We don't care how strong or how weak you are! You're Jaune Arc, that's all we need!" cried Nora through tears.

"Don't do this, you can make it!" said Ren.

"Don't you dare die on us, Arc!" ordered Weiss.

Jaune closed his eyes, it was only with a shake and a desperate plea from his partner that he reopened them, though he was quickly fading.

"Jaune, please hang on! I know you're strong enough to survive this!" Ruby said.

"No..." he weakly said before he raised his arm, previously hanging limp in the air. Nobody could speak as he slowly brought it to Pyrrha's chest, over her heart and touched it briefly.

He gave them a weak smile, then he closed his eyes and his body went utterly limp again.

"Please Jaune, don't do this! We need you!" Pyrrha screamed.

Ruby heard a voice over a megaphone then an explosion. She turned to see the person she hated more than anything: Cinder Fall.

She had jumped down off the roof and landed gracefully in front of Ashe, Qrow, Glynda, and the others. She looked around at them as the remaining warriors got ready for the fight of their lives.

Just then a voice from one of the ships above made itself known. "This is Captain Samson of the Atlesian Military. Cinder Fall, in the name of the Four Kingdoms, their citizens, and all the Academies you are under arrest for your crimes. Stand down now or we will be forced to use lethal weapons on you."

Cinder looked up to them as her eyes began to glow white with light-brown leaf shapes around them.

"Try it." She said as she created another fireball and threw it at one of the ships, which exploded violently. Cinder used her powers to grab it and fling it over to one of the abandoned buildings, demolishing it in a bright explosion.

"Stop her!" yelled Glynda as she sent a blast of aura at the Fall Maiden which Cinder easily evaded. Cinder looked over to some police officers to the side, all of them aiming their guns at her.

Cinder grinned as she sent another blast of fire at the cops, it destroyed one of their vehicles and it went up into the air, the blast sending several officers flying.

"Kill the bitch!" yelled Sun as he used his weapons to fire at Cinder, aided by Coco, Neptune, Qrow, Scarlet, and Penny as they all began shooting at her.

The rest of the servants of Salem retreated into the building, not wanting to get anywhere near this battle.

"Nope, nuh-uh, no way! Let Cinder handle this one." Merrick said as he got safely inside the building, carrying the weapons of Lao and Tom-Tom, knowing full well the reactions from the two would annoy him for days if he left the mallet and sword behind.

"Normally I wound consider that cowardly, but in this case I find it very wise." Little Steve agreed as he carried Tom-Tom, Lao, and Douglas away.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Zhan chimed in as he put a cigarette in between his lips..

"You cowards, she needs us!" Emerald yelled.

"Kid, I think something major went down upstairs. Cinder's probably got this." Ziz reasoned.

"Yeah, let's just sit back and watch the madness." Trooper said as he leaned against a wall.

"Ziz and I cannot fight; we're no match for that silver-eyed child if her eyes begin to shine. We don't understand what effect it would have on our bodies." Steppenwolffe reasoned as he sat down.

Emerald glared at them and said "You people are scum."

"Okay, if it'll calm you down we might as well give the Maiden an edge." Fireball said as he took out some fire crystals from his flamethrower. "Cinder, heads up!" the man yelled, straining his voice to be heard as he launched the crystals towards her.

Cinder was busy creating shields of aura, fire, and ice to protect herself from the blasts, but she had heard Fireball's call. She whipped around and grabbed the crystals with her wind powers and detonated them, creating a massive shape of fire that she quickly took control of.

She sent it at the Hunters, forcing them to retreat or take cover.

"You want a fight? Come and fight me, I will destroy each and every one of you and make it slow and painful and I will savor it." Cinder said as she slammed down the massive blob of fire down, only for it to be held back by Glynda, who was straining to create a shield powerful enough to keep the fire back.

Ruby watched Cinder and began to clench her fists; her breathing began quick and unfocused. All she could do right now was think about how much she and her friends had suffered because of this witch. Pyrrah was taken from them, mind raped, and turned into a Grimm hybrid, Jaune suffered a similar fate and was now dying to save the one he loved, her team back together but not because she did it herself, but because she needed saving.

Her eyes began to glow.

Ren, Nora, and Yang all carried Jaune to the ship where Ozpin was getting the medical equipment ready with a blanket spread out on the floor for Jaune to lay on. Velvet tried to comfort Pyrrha but to no avail as the redheaded amazon was sobbing uncontrollably.

Weiss noticed what Ruby was doing and her eyes widened. "The silver eyes..." she said, remembering what little she had been told about the legendary power that Ruby apparently possessed.

Up ahead Ashe slid under Glynda's shield and screamed "Haakskeekah!" at his sister. Cinder looked down at the attack as it edged closer, surprised her brother had that much power in him. The attack hit her and sent her flying into the building while Glynda gained control of the fire and sent it flying at the downed Cinder.

Cinder watched as the fire flew at her but she simply reached out and absorbed it, the flames going into her body as if it were nothing but a summer breeze.

"Go ahead and try to kill me." Cinder said as she jumped out of the building. Ashe ran towards her and blasted at her with his shotgun but she easily destroyed the Dust bullet before it could get within an inch of her. Cinder jumped forward and slammed her fist into Ashe's gut and spin-kicked him.

She looked over as Yatsuhashi sent Fox flying into the air and the white-eyed Huntsmen came down on the Maiden with his blades aimed to slice her apart but she quickly grabbed him out of the air and brought him to her. She smiled a bit as she froze his blades and slammed him down onto the ground, shattering them.

"Fox!" yelled Coco. She quickly opened fire on Cinder, who was forced to protect herself, which left her open to an attack from Fox who jumped up and began a series of swift, powerful kicks on her upper-body until she grabbed one of his legs and threw him into the crowd.

"You think you can beat me? You think you can win this battle? You are dead wrong." Cinder stated as she created a circle of fire around herself, expanding it to drive the others back. "There are no heroes in the end, no last minute rescues, no daring escapes, no romantic kiss, no happily ever after. In the end the only things left will be the darkness, death, my master, and me."

Cinder looked up as a loud scream of anger and grief got her attention and a silver, red, and black blur rocketed towards her and a fist slammed right into her face, knocking her down. Cinder looked up from the ground to see Ruby Rose, Crescent Rose out and ready to battle, looking down at the Fall Maiden with silver eyes glowing like beacons.

"You are going to die." Ruby said.

"Wha...?" Cinder began but was forced to recreate her swords to block a mighty strike of Ruby's scythe. She jumped up and parried another strike, then another. Ruby's attacks were quick and deadly, not to mention furious.

Cinder was backed up further and further as Ruby kicked up and scored a hit on Cinder's stomach, knocking her back. Ruby jutted one hand outwards and a beam of powerful silver aura slammed into Cinder, who screamed in pain.

The Fall Maiden forced herself up and sent a fireball at Ruby, but she destroyed with a blast of aura. "You will never hurt anyone else I care about EVER AGAIN!" Ruby screamed, the shining of her eyes intensified and the remaining Grimm all fell to the ground, still as statues.

Cinder fought back and a thought entered her head; maybe she wouldn't make it out of this. Back at the entrance of the factory both Ziz and Steppenwolffe felt vindicated for not engaging the battle.

"Help her out!" Coco ordered as she, Sun, Neptune, and Scarlet all began shooting at Cinder to give Ruby an advantage.

Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Velvet all ran forward to rejoin the fight while Pyrrha stood outside, hyperventilating and staring at the battle. Jaune had already been placed in the ship while Ozpin tried to use his limited medical knowledge to suppress Jaune's wounds.

"Pyrrha, come on, into the ship!" Nora said as she grabbed her friend's hand.

"No." Pyrrha said calmly as she ripped herself away from Nora.

"No?! Come on! Ozpin can..."

"Nora, Cinder has taken so much from me. She has ruined my life and made me into this thing and now she has hurt Jaune. I am going to make her pay." Pyrrha said as her red eyes began to glow. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked up to the ship and saw Jaune struggling in pain as Neo and Ozpin held him down to inject him with a painkiller.

"Brace yourself Jaune, I have treated similar wounds before." Ozpin said as he began to apply aura-based healing medicine to Jaune's upper body as he twitched and writhed in pain. The Headmaster spoke more out of habit than anything else, Jaune was not reacting to his words but he hoped his spirit could understand his meaning, but most of all Ozpin needed his pupil to fight.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ren as he and Bianca approached her.

A black aura enveloped Pyrrha's hand as she lifted up the crushed remains of a Grimm Knight. "I am going to bury her." Pyrrha answered, "But I will need time, go help the others distract her."

Nora and Ren glanced at each other and then took the hand of their respective partner.

"You got it." Nora promised as she ran forward, dragging Ren with her.

Bianca looked at Pyrrha and nodded "Make it hurt." She said as she ran off to help the others.

Pyrrha glared at Cinder and whispered "I intend to."

Ozpin had been carefully listening to Pyrrha and told Sage to lock the ship down. Her polarity Semblance could take them up too if they weren't attached to solid ground. Neo looked at her distraught friend and could only hope that at the end of this mess would end with a happy ending for her.

Pyrrha watched as Cinder fought on and she began to think. She thought of Jaune and how much he had suffered because of her; the loneliness, the self-loathing, the guilt, the anger, the lust for vengeance, the pain, the hopelessness, the sorrow... All of this was because of her own foolish belief in destiny; all of this was because she was too damn scared to let anyone down, all of this because she loved him. She shoved him into that locker without a second thought and betrayed him, depriving him of a chance to make a difference. She went up to her death bravely, no, not bravely, stupidly. She had hurt her friends, her teammates, her family, and the boy she loved, all because she had believed in a flawed concept like destiny. Part of her didn't regret it because she had protected him but in the end she only led him to a more painful death.

She remembered what Jaune had told her in his dream: 'Destiny is whatever you choose it to be, there is no destiny or fate except what we make for ourselves.'

Pyrrha once thought she didn't have a choice in her destiny, but now she knew that she did. And she had chosen poorly.

She let out a scream much like Ruby's; one of pain, anger, sorrow, and regret as the ruined bodies of destroyed Grimm Knights began to rise in the air.

* * *

 

Down below Keeper Callabreese continued to inject the Wyvern with tranquilizers, not enough to kill it but enough to keep it sedated until Mistress Salem had need of it. Just then the beast let out a powerful roar, one that forced the keeper to cover his ears.

The roar was so loud that Velvet and Blake could hear thanks to their animal attributes, and could hear the roar of anger and sorrow.

Callabreese quickly injected another heavy dose of tranquilizers into the Wyvern's neck as it struggled to get free of its bonds. The sedative went into the beast's body and it fell back to sleep, giving out a sorrowful moan.

Callabreese stared at the unconscious form of the Grimm Dragon and could only wonder what the hell was going on.

* * *

 

Above the battle Captain Samson watched in amazement as Cinder Fall took on all those Hunters at once. Then he noticed many of the robotic soldiers, whatever they were, were rising up into the air and were being crushed together by an invisible force.

"Sir! Come here! You need to see this!" called Brody, one of the ship's crew.

"What is it?" Samson asked, not paying attention to him.

"Sir, I think I see Pyrrha Nikos down there." Brody announced.

That got his attention. Samson looked to where Brody had been looking and saw Pyrrha Nikos, black aura around her hands as she was lifting up the robots.

"Sir! We're being pulled down by something!" called the ship's pilot.

"Get us away from the site! Tell our ships and the cops to get away for now! Get General Ironwood on the line, we need backup now! Start recording the battle, the General and the councils will want to see this!" Samson shouted.

* * *

 

Ruby slammed the blunt end of Crescent Rose into Cinder's face and then blasted her in the chest as Weiss created an escalating patch of ice which Yang launched herself off on.

Yang jumped into the air and came down, her prosthetic fist slamming into Cinder's face before the Fall Maiden kicked her off. Cinder created her bow and arrow and let one arrow sail at Yang who easily caught it with her metal hand and broke it in half.

"Get it through your thick head; you're not walking away from this one." Yang spat as Blake ran forward. Cinder fired another arrow at Blake and managed to pierce the raven-haired girl in the chest, only for her to explode.

"Damn..." Cinder muttered as Blake slammed her blade down and a purple arc of energy slammed into her and knocked her away. Cinder got back up only for two copies of Sun Wukong to slam into her from both sides and disorientate her.

She moaned as Sun came up from behind and slammed three quick punches into her lower back before he combined Ruyi and Jingu Bang together into bo-staff form and placed it in front of Cinder's neck and held her against him.

"You're goin' down, bitch." He snarled as Yang and Blake ran forward. The partners opened up a series of furious punches on the Fall Maiden's torso and face before she let out a powerful blast of energy to knock them both back and then snapped Sun's staff apart so she could turn around and slam heated fists into his face and chest. He staggered back as Cinder got behind him, grabbed his tail and used it to lift him up and throw him into Blake.

"I have had enough of..." Cinder began before ice encased her lower legs. She looked over to see Weiss and Ruby, the former with a recently created ice glyph. She attacked the three offenders anyway with a blast of fire, only for said blast to be snuffed out by Glynda.

"Blitz her!" yelled Qrow as he, Ruby, Coco, Neptune, Scarlet, Blake, Ren, Nora, Bianca, Ashe, Yang, Sun, Penny, and Velvet via a copy of Coco's purse, all opened fire on the Maiden of Autumn.

Cinder's body took over three dozen hits before she quickly created a ball of fire to protect herself and to melt the ice that had hampered her walking. It was no easy task as Nora's grenades were rather difficult to deal with but Cinder pressed on and began to gather up energy for a shockwave attack when she noticed a familiar voice from outside her flaming shell.

"Cinder!" cried Emerald as she opened fire on Weiss and Ruby. Velvet quickly created a photo-copy of Akouo to protect them but Emerald jumped over it and kicked Weiss in the face before she brought the blades of her guns down on Ruby who parried the attack.

"Give up Emerald! It's over!" Ruby yelled as her eyes shone.

Emerald glanced up to see the ships keeping their distance, but also could see many of the defeated Grimm Knights riding up into the air and merging into a large floating pile. She looked down to see what was happening only for Ruby to punch her in the face and keep her back with a wild swing of Crescent Rose as Weiss got back up.

Emerald shook her head and dropped down to the ground as Cinder detonated her shell of fire, blasting everyone and knocking them down. Cinder stood still and proud as she looked at her recovering enemies.

"Cinder... stay down!" yelled Ashe as he sent out another powerful Haakskeekah that Cinder easily withstood, only to be tied up by Scarlet's grappling hook.

"Ugh!" she cried as she ripped it apart and burned, only for Neptune to land in front of her and land a hit with his trident as he struck her across the face. "Ah!" she snarled as she created a flame in her hand and swept it towards Neptune who easily jumped over it and kicked her in the head.

Neptune's weapon transformed into guandao mode and slammed into the ground as Neptune kicked her in the chest, knocking her back as Yatsuhashi swung his greatsword at her but she rolled away only to get kicked in the face by Velvet. Yatsuhashi swung his sword again at her but Cinder ducked as Velvet jumped up and grabbed the blunt side of the blade. She nodded to her large partner who nodded in return and brought the sword back, Velvet kicking Cinder in the face once more. Nora slammed Magnhild into Cinder's waist as Ren blasted her in the back with both StormFlowers, no one talked at all. They all concentrated on killing Cinder Fall, that was the endgame.

Cinder jumped up and let out a frustrated scream as she blasted Yatsuhashi in the armored shoulder, taking both members of Team CFVY down. Yatsuhashi cried out in pain as he struggled to get his burning armor off. Cinder slammed a heavy shape of hardened Dust into Nora, knocking her away, naturally forcing Ren to run after her.

"Yatsu, it'll be okay." Velvet promised as she finished getting the smoldering metal off his body. She looked up to see Cinder glaring at them with glowing eyes and flaming hands, only for her to be knocked away by a mighty swing of Coco's purse.

"Velv! Get Yatsu to the ship, you too Fox!" Coco ordered.

"No, I can still fight." Yatsuhashi argued.

"The hell you can, on the ship now!" Coco barked as she began shooting at Cinder with some help from Neptune

Fox and Velvet both helped Yatsuhashi up and began to help him to the ship. "Come on big guy, you know better than to argue with her." Fox said, but in reality he was worried about how Coco could hold up against Cinder. He looked to the ship's turret port and said "Besides, we won't be totally useless."

Nearby Ren ran towards Nora who was getting up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. All I need is another shot at..." Nora began before a laser blast grazer her hip "Ah!" she cried as Ren whipped around and blasted away a Grimm Knight. Sherizawa had ordered the remaining Grimm Knights to help Cinder in the fight and the two teenagers were the closest targets.

Ren slashed another Knight down with the blades of the StormFlowers as Nora smashed another two down. "Okay, let's hold these bucket-head's off." Nora sighed as she fired a grenade at one, blowing it up.

Coco helped them out a bit, shooting away three or four Knights before she joined Sun, Blake, Yang, Ashe, Glynda, Taiyang, Qrow, Penny, Neptune, and Bianca in attacking Cinder all at once.

As this had been happening Emerald had gotten back up to fight Ruby and Weiss again only for Scarlet to get in the way. Ruby watched as the older boy blocked, struck, and parried against Emerald as she tried to slash him with the sharp ends of her guns.

"Get going!" he called. Ruby nodded and she got up to go fight Cinder again when Weiss grabbed her combat skirt.

"Ruby... I'm going to try and create the Armor Knight again."

"Weiss, don't! It was too much the first time!" Ruby objected, her eyes dimming a bit.

"I'll be fine, I'll just be drained of aura for a while... help them fight her, you dolt!" Weiss yelled. Ruby nodded and looked to see Cinder had taken her father, Uncle Qrow, Ashe, Blake, Yang, and Penny down already and was slamming down her foot on Neptune as she used a shield of hardened Dust to deflect Bianca's shots.

Ruby ran towards Cinder, eyes glowing bright again, but stopped when she saw someone approach her. She saw Ashe going to Cinder, his sword out and ready to fight. Ruby didn't know what would happen, she knew that Ashe and Cinder were siblings but hadn't seen them fight before but then she noticed Penny getting up. She ran towards her robotic friend, a new idea forming in her head.

Cinder threw another ball of fire at Glynda who quickly created a shield to protect herself but the fire was more powerful than expected, forcing her shield to collapse. Glynda wouldn't give up so she forced herself back up only to receive an aura-filled punch to the face that took her out of the fight, the teacher fell to the ground as Cinder grabbed Sun and flipped him over, then threw him onto Neptune as she approached Glynda, ready to kill the blonde Huntress.

"Cinder!" Ashe yelled. Cinder looked at her brother who stood with his sword drawn out as Qrow, Taiyang, and the others recovered from her previous attacks.

"Ashe, I offered you a place among us and still you chose these children." Cinder hissed.

"Mom and Dad taught us that freedom is everyone's right, be they human or Faunus. If you have your way no one will be free, so I'd gladly choose these kids over you every time!" Ashe shouted as he ran towards her. Cinder created a Dust sword and parried Ashe's first strike as he slammed into her and punched her in the face.

"None of them will live, Ashe! I will kill them all." Cinder said.

"You'll have to kill me first!" Ashe yelled as he blocked a slash.

Cinder headbutted Ashe and then kicked him in the chest, wincing from the wound in her leg, then struck at him two times but he was just barely able to block them before Blake jumped up from behind with the blade of Gambol Shroud aiming to stab Cinder in the neck. Cinder whipped around and slashed upwards, clipping a small piece of Blake's cay ear off.

"AH!" screamed Blake as she fell, but Cinder used the wind to grab her and slammed her into Ashe.

Cinder held up her sword, ready to kill both Blake and Ashe in one stab but she was shot down with a powerful blow from Crescent Rose. Cinder screamed as she felt blood running down her leg and turned to see Ruby and Penny, both ready to fight.

"Cinder Fall, I am supposed to give you a chance to surrender, but I personally hope that you're too stupid to accept it." Penny said.

Cinder ignored Penny and looked at Ruby as she created a small, but powerful, ball of fire behind her back. "Ruby Rose, it seems I have taught you well." She said.

"You helped me know what my new powers can do, but don't expect a thank you." Ruby snapped as one of the Atlas ships got tired of doing nothing and fired some missiles at the factory, totaling a floor or two at the top.

Cinder glared at the ships before she looked back to Ruby and Penny as the latter's swords were drawn out and pulled back, ready to strike.

Cinder smirked and said "I won't kill you, but we do not need your little puppet friend." With that she flung the fireball at Penny.

"No!" Ruby yelled as she got in front of Penny and used her aura to take the blunt of the blast. The fire soon subsided to show a singed, but still up and ready to go Ruby in front of a stunned Penny.

"Damn you... are you too stubborn to quit or too stupid?" Cinder asked.

"Maybe a little bit of both. NOW!" Ruby yelled at Penny.

Penny stabbed her swords forward and intentionally missed Cinder, using the strings attached to the swords to tie Cinder up.

"What...?" Cinder cried as Penny directed her swords around to make Cinder move like a marionette.

"Now who's the puppet?" Penny asked with a small smile as she slammed her swords down around Cinder to keep her pinned down.

"Ruby! Are you alright?" Taiyang asked as he, Qrow, and Yang came back into play. Ruby nodded to her dad while she looked over to see Ren, Nora, and Coco were finishing off what was left of the Grimm Knights while some of the closer Atlas ships were being kept back by Trooper, Little Steve, and Merrick who were all shooting heavy artillery to keep them away.

"Got the bitch all nice and tied up, good work." Qrow said as he ruffled Ruby's hair, trying and failing to hide the sadness in his voice.

"Uncle Qrow, what's wrong?" Ruby asked, causing Yang and their father to remember Raven's absence.

"Where's mom?!" Yang demanded.

"Kid I..." Qrow began before he was cut off and knocked to the ground with the rest of them. Cinder had created another shockwave or fire and wind; she was not going to put up with this anymore. She lifted up Penny's swords, froze them and used the wind to lift them over the robotic girl and then stabbed down, pinning Penny's limbs to the ground and making her scream in pain, luckily she had only hit the lower or upper parts of the limbs, not the vital inner parts.

Cinder got up, and ignored the pain in her leg as she walked forward, forcing herself not to limp so as not to appear weak. "You little freak... you will die for this insolence!" Then Ruby slammed into her once again, slashing her across the unharmed leg with the sharp blade of Crescent Rose.

"Cinder, I already told you that you'd never hurt anyone I care about again. Are you deaf?" Ruby asked as she, Yang, Qrow, and Taiyang all attacked at once.

Ruby swung her scythe but Cinder ducked and had to jump away to avoid Qrow's attack as he slashed down at her. Cinder hit him with a roundhouse kick only for Yang to smash both her fists into the sides of Cinder's head with a clap attack, then kicked Cinder in the groin, blowing her into Taiyang who sucker-punched her and then tried to blast her with a flamethrower only for Cinder to repel it from her easily as she got away from another attack from Ruby.

"How does it feel Branwen? How does it feel to lose your sister?" Cinder demanded as she created the bow and arrows again and let them go. Ruby and Qrow sliced them down as Yang and Taiyang froze.

"What did she say?" Yang asked quietly, just barely evading an arrow Ruby had missed.

"Qrow... please tell me she's lying." Taiyang begged, as he sent a fire blast at Cinder, anger and sorrow filling his mind.

Qrow cut down another arrow before he looked to his brother-in-law and niece and sighed. "I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't good enough to save her." He admitted.

Yang's eyes turned red and her hair started to glow as she let out an unintelligible sound that was a mixture of a sob and a scream as she rocketed towards Cinder and smashed her fist right into the Fall Maiden's gut, and then one to the jaw followed up by a kick to the already hurting leg.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Yang screamed with pure rage as she missed hitting Cinder.

Cinder smirked as she jumped over Yang and smashed her fists rapidly into the girls back before she could turn around. Cinder jumped to avoid a slash from Crescent Rose and landed in front of Yang and smashed her in the face.

"Yes, that's right Xiao Long, I killed your mother." Yang tried to punch her again but Cinder easily caught the metal fist and used her might to crush it and burn it. "I'll take that as a 'thank you'."

Yang screamed in pain as he fell to her knees, clutching her new arm, it wasn't totally ruined but it'd definitely need fixing. Cinder ignored the pain as she kicked Yang between the shoulder blades, knocking her down.

"Maybe I should just purge this entire family." Cinder said as he eyes shone. She jumped up to avoid being shot by Ruby and Qrow. Taiyang stood and watched, too shocked to move, but he slowly regained control.

"You're not killing anyone else." Ruby snarled.

"Try and stop me." Cinder said as she ran towards them. She jumped up and landed behind them, Qrow jumped up a preformed a triple kick before Cinder managed to grab him, spin him around, smashed her burning fist into his back, blocked Ruby's attack with a fire blast, and finally smashed her head into Qrow's before she threw him into Ruby. "I am tired of you people..." Cinder said as she created another ball of fire only to get stabbed in the leg once again.

Cinder screamed in pain as a gauntlet covered fist slammed into her face. "Leave my family alone!" screamed Taiyang as he got his weapons ready, pulled a clawed gauntlet out of Cinder's upper thigh. He stabbed out both hands and activated the flamethrowers, trying to burn Cinder's face off but she was easily able to stop the flames and send them down to the ground.

"Pathetic." Cinder scolded as she grabbed Taiyang's arm, jumped over him and twisted it. A painful snapping sound could be heard from his arm as it broke, causing Taiyang to scream in pain. Cinder got in front of him and kicked him in the stomach, blowing him down as she began to charge up another fire blast.

"Please! Don't! I'll give myself up if you let my family live!" yelled a small voice. Cinder turned to see Ruby had gotten back up and had dropped her beloved weapon. Her eyes were shining on and off like a dying light as tears threatened to spill. Cinder smiled, now that she could easily kill Xiao Long with little effort she was now in a position to demand anything she wanted from Ruby

"Just let them go." Ruby pleaded, she didn't want anyone to die, hell not even Cinder after all she had done. Ruby hated killing and hated death, the two lives she had accidentally claimed would be the two mistakes that would likely haunt her for the rest of her life but right now all she wanted was to prevent anyone else from dying.

Cinder stared at Ruby and said one word: "No."

Just then Sun jumped on her from behind. "She said let 'em go!" the monkey Faunus yelled as he smashed both Ruyi and Jingu bang into her head.

"Get off of me!" Cinder screamed before she managed to grab Sun and smashed him into the ground. She kicked him in the gut and sent him crashing into Ruby, who had been charging at her, blowing them both down. Cinder looked up to see Neptune and Scarlet were helping the injured Penny up along with Velvet, who had disobeyed Coco's order to help her friends. She looked over to see Schnee doing something with a glyph but then noticed Emerald was weakly limping back to the entrance aided by Trooper.

"Maybe you're the only one I can trust, Emerald." Cinder muttered before she looked to their getaway ship. Better to take care of that little problem now before they could have a chance to escape. She threw a fireball at the ship but its shields easily defended it as the turret swung around and aimed at her. Cinder got ready for a fight when out of nowhere she was shot in the back. "AH!" she cried as she was blasted twice more by the charging Ashe.

"We're not done Cinder!" he yelled as he shot at her again, but this time she easily caught the Dust bullet with a blast of fire.

"No we're not, little brother." Cinder agreed as she ran forward with the Dust from her body forging a sword. They clashed into one another, one blade of Dust, the other of steel slammed into each other, sparks flying as Cinder kicked Ashe in the shin. "You can't comprehend it, can you Ashe? You have lost!" Cinder yelled.

"Not while I still live!" Ashe shouted as their swords slammed into each other again and again. They were both exhausted, sweaty, and yet they kept going at each other.

Cinder created a shield of Dust and held it up as Ashe unleashed a powerful volley of six strikes of his sword before he lunged forward, broke through the shield and cut her on the cheek. Cinder pressed forward and cut him across the abdomen as she punched him in the face and kicked him in the arm, forcing him to drop his sword.

"No!" cried Ashe as Cinder thrust her sword forward and rammed it through his shoulder. Ashe screamed in pain as Cinder yanked it put and slammed a small ball of fire into his chest, just enough to blow him down. He looked up at his sister and said one last time "Cinder, please don't do this." He didn't want to but it looked like he'd have to use the Ultimate Attack on her, question was could he do it?

"Goodbye, Ashe." She said as she created a powerful fireball and aimed it at his head.

Just then a powerful, giant foot kicked into her and she was sent flying to the other end of the lot.

Ashe looked up to see the giant Atlas Armor Knight with Weiss standing behind it.

"Don't just stand there! Get going!" Weiss scolded as the Armor Knight moved towards Cinder. Ashe looked at his sister and shook his head. There was no hope for her.

He forced himself up only to nearly fall back down, but was caught by Blake.

"Come on!" she said as she helped him get to the others.

"How's your ear?" Ashe asked weakly.

"Hurts like hell but I'll manage." The cat Faunus said as Ren, Nora, Coco, Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, Penny, Velvet, Glynda, and Bianca all stood back, watching the fight with the family of Ruby, Yang, Qrow, and Taiyang.

"Get to the ship..." Ashe said.

"Not yet, Pyrrha has a plan, just look up." Ren said. Ashe and Blake did so and they both gasped at the sight of a giant ball of metal scrap made from destroyed Grimm Knights.

"What does she plan to do?" Blake asked.

"She told me that once we're all clear we need to drive Cinder back then she'll smash that thing into her, hopefully taking her out for good." Velvet said.

"Sounds good, what about Weiss?" Blake asked as she glanced back at the fight between Cinder and the Armor Knight.

"Once she's clear we strike." Ruby said. She looked over to her sister and her father, both of whom had tears streaming down their faces due to the revelation of Raven's death. She wanted to say something but right now she couldn't think of anything to say other than "Yang, dad, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Rubes... at least... at least..." Yang couldn't finish as she began to cry. Blake realized what must have happened and hugged her partner while Ashe seethed in pain over the wound in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too." Taiyang said as he choked back tears and nursed his broken arm. Ruby took hold of her father's other arm and squeezed it comfortingly. She looked to Penny and smiled at the knowledge that her friend was okay and saw that Penny smiled back then she looked back to watch Cinder fight the Knight.

The Knight slammed its might blade down twice and Cinder rolled out of the way of the first and jumped over it the second swing. It swung its blade, aiming to decapitate her but she ducked down and spun away as it tried to slam the blade down on her again.

Cinder ran a short distance, and then stopped running to hold her ground as the Knight charged her. It slammed its sword down once more but this time Cinder jumped up and landed on its arm and ran up to its shoulder to launch herself in the air. She came down and slammed a powerful fire blast into the Knight's head, knocking the summon down on all fours as she jumped a distance away.

Weiss glared at Cinder who glanced back. "Come on; show me what your construct can do."

Weiss glared as she mentally instructed the Knight to charge at Cinder. The Knight obeyed and ran forward, the ground shaking a little under its power.

Cinder stood still as it came closer and closer, making Weiss wonder what she was doing but once the Armor was close enough she understood. Cinder slammed down her foot and created a massive blast of Dust, fire, wind, and even ice, blowing the Armor Knight down.

It fell to its hands and knees, weakened by the blast and Weiss could feel herself getting weaker as Cinder approached it. "Weak, pathetic child." She said as she slammed a glowing Dust sword into the Knight's head, destroying it.

Weiss gasped as the Armor Knight shattered like glass and faded away as Cinder stood victorious and whipped around with the bow and arrow aimed at Weiss.

"This fight is mine. You will all die." Cinder said as she pulled back the string. Weiss began to move but knew she was too weak to make it.

Cinder was about to let go when she could feel someone coming. She collapsed the bow and arrow and created a powerful hot fireball as Ruby Rose, eyes glowing brighter than ever, with Crescent Rose out and ready to slam into Cinder. Cinder waited until Ruby was a mere ten feet away before she threw the fireball at the teenage girl but Ruby began to rapidly spin her blade around and caught the fire with it then she jumped up and slammed the burning scythe down on Cinder's face.

Cinder clutched her face as she screamed in horrible, agonizing pain as Ruby landed in front of her with blood on the blade of Crescent Rose. A long, jagged scar, cauterized by the heat of the fire, ran down under Cinder's left eye, nose, over her lips and down her chin.

From the back everyone stood totally still in amazement.

"Holy shit." Muttered Sun.

"D-did she just...?" Velvet tried to ask.

"She did." Ren confirmed.

"Tai, I think it's safe to say we raised a couple of badasses." Qrow stated.

Cinder uncovered her face and looked at Ruby, feeling nothing but hatred.

"You little BITCH!" screamed Cinder as she flew forward and smashed a fist into Ruby's face. Ruby tried to fight back with Crescent Rose but Cinder kicked her down and took the beautiful, deadly weapon from her.

"You have insulted me, Ruby. Everything you do insults me, everything about you insults me, your very existence insults me!" Cinder ranted, exerting a considerable force on the hand-crafted weapon, which strained and flexed, but it could not last. Cinder tore Crescent Rose in half and threw it to the ground. She glared down at Ruby with her now horrifically scarred face and roared "You want to fight evil, Ruby? Well here I am! Try and kill me!" She created a massive fireball and prepared to slam it down on Ruby.

"No!" cried Weiss as she threw herself in front of her partner, but that didn't stop Cinder.

A Haakskeekah did. Cinder was blasted away from the two teenage girls as gunfire began to surround her.

"Come on you dolt! Let's go!" Weiss yelled as she helped Ruby up. Ruby nodded and used her Semblance to speed them up as they ran towards the others.

Cinder got up and saw that everyone with a gun was aiming them at her.

"Kill her." Glynda ordered.

Cinder ran for her life. Qrow, Ashe, Yang, Blake, Ren, Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, Coco, Velvet, and Bianca along with Fox from the ship's turret and Sage from the cockpit, all opened fire as Cinder ran for the entrance, blasting all around her while some shots managed to hit her as she ran for it.

"Come on!" Ziz called from the entrance as Nora began firing grenades at her. One landed a mere foot behind Cinder and went off, throwing the Fall Maiden into a wall close to the entrance.

"Get her inside!" Trooper yelled as he and Ziz jumped down to help her. They helped her up and saw just how injured she really was, if it wasn't for the power she had taken from Raven she'd be dead. They got into the entrance just as something got their attention.

"CINDER!" screamed the familiar voice of Pyrrha Nikos. Cinder looked up and saw the massive, shapeless form of two thousand Grimm Knights crushed together. She looked right at Pyrrha whose eyes glowed blood red, filled with pure hatred for the Fall Maiden. "Die." Pyrrha finished as she brought her hands down.

The smashed together forms of the thousands of Grimm Knights flew towards them. Trooper and Ziz both got out of the way as the Knights slammed into the building and into Cinder. Thousands of pounds of metal came upon the factory, some of the more not completely destroyed Knights even exploding on impact. The explosions from beneath the factory escalated and the building began to crumble, torn apart by the heavy metal barrage. Bits of shrapnel was sent flying into the surrounding buildings or onto the ground, dim glowing lights from the wreckage of the robots shone but soon died down, fires from explosions spread wildly, and the sound of metal crashing against metal reigned supreme.

Pyrrha watched as she finished bringing the Knights down on the building. She had taken her revenge on Cinder Fall and the horrible place she had been kept in for months. Now all there was to worry about was Jaune.

"Pyrrha, come on! We gotta get Jaune to a doctor now!" Nora cried as she took Pyrrha's hand. Pyrrha nodded and quickly followed them into the ship.

Everyone ran into the ship, with Ruby, Yang, Taiyang, Qrow, and Ashe all looked back at the devastated factory.

"Goodbye..." Taiyang whispered so quietly no one else could hear him.

'Mom, I'm so sorry. I love you.' Yang thought, keeping her emotions as pent up as she could for now.

'Stupid bitch... why did you have to save me?' Qrow muttered.

Ashe looked at the ruined building and turned away with a sad sigh.

Ruby said nothing; she just hopped onto the ship as Fox slammed the door shut behind her. She looked down on the floor and saw Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Bianca, Ashe, and Ozpin all gathered around the mortally wounded Jaune who was barely breathing.

From inside the cockpit Sage spoke on the radio to Samson. "Go for it! We're going to Haven Academy, don't let them get away." He said as the ship began to lift off.

"We hear you, good luck." Samson said as the ships began to descent upon the ruined building. The ship's engines blasted off, rocketing into the city.

Ozpin looked up at the fearful expression on Pyrrha's face, the pure fear at the thought that she may lose Jaune here and now. Bianca held his hand as Ozpin overlooked the wound; due to the heat of the arrow the wound was mostly cauterized save for some mild bleeding, but even so it was still quite a lot of blood. The tip had miraculously missed the heart and had only scratched the lung and the spine on the way in but had burst right through the bones and muscles of the front chest when it came out. Jaune's hoodie had been taken off so Ozpin would have a better chance of working, leaving Jaune shirtless on the floor of the ship as everyone gathered around him. Qrow, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Sun, Taiyang, Neptune, and Penny all sat on the seats of the side while Coco and Fox watched nervously from the entryway to the turret with Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Scarlet, and Neo all sat on the other side of the ship, watching the heart wrenching scene and Glynda standing near the entrance to the cockpit.

"Hang in there kid, you'll be okay, I know you can survive this." Ashe said, trying to comfort Jaune as he moaned in pain.

"The pulse is slowing; the pain and the blood loss are overwhelming him. We need to get to a healer right now." Ozpin said urgently.

"Hospital?" asked Sage from the cockpit.

"I see no other alternative." Glynda said with a nod as the ship kept flying through the giant city.

"Hold on Jaune, we'll make it, you'll be okay you can do it!" said Pyrrha through tears before she noticed a horrified look on Ozpin's face.

"His blood pressure is fading quickly and he cannot get enough oxygen, we need to do something now. Everyone who is not helping get clear now, we need space and speed for efficiency. Miss Valkyrie I need you to help me with this." Ozpin said as he took a pair of defibrillators.

"What? I..."

"Just do it!" yelled Pyrrha, startling her teammate. Nora looked hurt at first but recovered and nodded. She could see that Jaune wasn't even aware of what was going on, he seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness.

"Come on buddy, don't give up on us." Neptune said quietly, covering his eyes with his goggles to hide the tears. Nora used her Semblance to power up the defibrillators, charging them up all the way.

"Excellent, now hold on. We need to keep him conscious or he could die or at least almost die." Ozpin said before he slammed them. There was a short, soft buzzing sound followed by a 'thump' as Jaune's torso shot up a bit before it fell back down. "It's not working, I'll try again." The oldest man there voiced before he preformed it once more, but with the same result: Jaune's life was fading.

He coughed violently, blood spurting out of his mouth, the scratch against the lung causing blood to flow into his mouth.

"No! NO!" Pyrrha screamed as Ren held her back.

"Come on Jaune, stay with us, stay awake!" Bianca said as she lightly tapped Jaune's face to keep him awake. His eyes lazily glanced at her and he seemed to smile.

Jaune managed to open his dimming eyes and tried to speak, his sister evidently guessing what he was trying to say.

"We know it hurts Jaune just stay awake." Bianca said, wiping tears from her eyes.

He was not content yet.

"P-Py-Pyr-ha sa-fe...?" He rasped out before he started to cough. Bianca put a towel under his chin to soak up the blood

"That's right, kid, we got your girl back, she's right here, now stay awake or I'll kick your ass to keep you alive." Ashe said.

Jaune looked up to see his teammates and Ashe, tears staining all of their faces.

"I'm... gl-ad... I... di-d... on-e... thing... right." His breathing slowed even more. Pyrrha scooted closer to him.

"Jaune, please stay awake! If you fall asleep now you may never wake up again so please stay awake for us, for me!" She begged as Jaune's eyes dimmed as did the glow of the aura in his chest.

"Da-rk... ti-red..." his voice nearly a whisper. .

"No, NO!" Pyrrha began to scream as she grabbed Jaune and hoisted him up. "You can't die! YOU CAN'T!" she ranted hysterically.

"Let go of him!" yelled Bianca as Nora and Ren ripped Pyrrha away from Jaune and Bianca caught her brother and gently laid him down.

"Sage, how much further to the hospital?" Sun called as he hugged Blake to him.

"Only about ten minutes!" his teammate called.

"Make it three! Speed it up!" Sun barked.

Jaune clearly wanted to use whatever strength remained in his body to speak but his friends begged him to save it.

"Jaune, please don't talk." Ren pleaded as he and Nora released Pyrrha.

The Spartan couldn't stop herself from moving closer even if she was in full control herself, right now her emotions were taking over and her body was on auto-pilot. She got so close to Jaune that her face was less than an inch away from his.

He seemed to feel her breath on his skin and he found the strength to perform one last act he knew he had to do. It was weak and nobody could classify it as a kiss but it was obvious it was all the strength he had left in him. He lifted his head the little space he needed and nearly brought his lips to Pyrrha's. Her eyes widened a little but she returned the kiss, ignored the taste of his blood, and followed his lips back down as he no longer had the strength to keep his head raised, she continued the kiss for several seconds before she realized he wasn't kissing her back.

He shut his eyes, his breathing was slow and shallow, his eyes were glazing over, heartbeat and pulse nearly gone.

"No kid, you gotta live through this! I made a promise to your sister here that I'd get you back." Ashe said, not bothering to hide his own tears.

Jaune could only wheeze in pain before he coughed up some more blood. Pyrrha cried out in surprise and horror as Nora buried her face into Ren's chest. Taiyang continued nursing his broken arm but managed to quietly say some feeble attempts at comforting words to his daughters but knew it was useless. Ruby hugged Weiss like she was a teddy bear and Weiss, despite how utterly drained she was, hugged her partner back, crying her eyes out as Yang hugged them both to her, trying to quell their tears over the inevitable death of their friend as Qrow took a long, long drink from his flask.

Velvet hugged Yatsuhashi as tightly as she could and he hugged her back, not crying himself but sympathetic and saddened by what was happening before him. Coco took off her shades and wiped her tears away as Fox put a comforting hand on her shoulder, not just for her but for himself as well.

It was quiet for a minute as Ozpin, joined by Glynda, desperately tried to keep Jaune alive but it didn't look like they would make a difference.

"We can't allow him to die like this, not while we can help it." Glynda said trying to clean the blood out of Jaune's wound.

Pyrrha didn't know what to do. Her entire body was shaking and tears were pouring out her eyes, which had a dead, emotionless look to them as she stared at Jaune's barely moving body. She nearly collapsed but caught herself with her hands and she weakly whispered "Please don't leave us, Jaune... don't leave me. I love you..."

Bianca and Ashe looked at the miserable girl and then back to the dying boy. "Jaune, mom, dad, and the rest of our sisters are counting on you to come back! You have to fight it!" Bianca said.

Jaune's breathing slowed, his moans of pain got quieter, his body was very pale and was barely moving, his eyes were pale and unfocused. The situation seemed to have no hope.

Ozpin and Glynda looked at each other, defeat evident in Ozpin's eyes. "No, we still have a..." she began to say before Ozpin shook his head.

"Glynda, it's over. We can do no more." he said sadly.

"Wh-what are you saying?!" Bianca demanded as she suppressed a sob.

"I'm saying that Jaune won't last long enough to get him to a healer. The damage is simply too much. It's a miracle he held on as long as he did." Ozpin explained.

"There has to be a chance. There's always a chance." Blake voice quietly.

"I... I don't know if there is." Glynda stated.

"Sometimes there is no chance. Things just happen, things we can't stop no matter how hard we try. Death has always been one of those things." Qrow said darkly.

Pyrrha kept staring at Jaune as his breathing got slower, his body still. She couldn't take it anymore.

"NO! No, he wants to live so he will! He can do it! He has a strong heart, I know it! Come on Jaune! Please come back to us! Please!" she pleaded, sobbing hysterically, her facial expressions that of a broken and desperate soul as she lunged forward and began pressing on Jaune's chest.

"Pyrrha, don't..." Ruby said weakly behind sobs.

"He can make it! He can live!" Pyrrha ranted as Ren and Nora helpless watched the terrible scene in front of them. "Please come back to me Jaune! I don't want to lose you again! Don't die for me! PLEASE!" In her overwhelming grief her Semblance activated and the ship began to shudder.

"Stop her, she'll tear us apart!" Ozpin ordered.

Glynda nodded and gently pulled Pyrrha away from Jaune. "Pyrrha, I'm so, so sorry, but it's over. There's nothing we can do now." She said as she hugged the grieving girl to her, joined by Ren and Nora in an attempt to comfort Pyrrha.

Ashe screamed in anger as he smashed his fist into the wall.

"ENOUGH! Enough of pain, enough of sadness, enough of death! I'm not going to lose anyone else damn it! No more!" he yelled as he slapped Jaune in the face, forcing him awake and shocking everyone. "Damn you, you little shithead you are not going to die! You are going to survive this because just like her video said; you're stronger, smarter, and braver than you know and all that crap! You don't get to die yet! I promised I'd get you back safe and sound and I intend to keep that promise, so you are going to fucking live! I know what you've done top get this far! You've never backed down from anything no matter how hard it was so fight! You are going to live! Fight damn it! There are no alternatives!" He screamed as he shook Jaune violently, managing to wake him up and become desperate to stay conscious.

"Get away from him!" yelled Pyrrha as she ripped herself away from the holds of Glynda, Ren, and Nora and slammed into Ashe, knocking him down.

"I'm trying to save him! Pain let's you know you're alive so as long as he's alive we gotta chance!" Ashe yelled as he pushed the emotional wreck of a girl off of him.

Yatsuhashi let go of Velvet and got ready for some sort of physical confrontation with Ashe when Velvet got an idea. "Wait a minute Ashe; do you remember what happened earlier today with Penny? You said that the Aura Crystal had healing abilities that usually work in dire times and when someone is on the verge of death! The crystal can save Jaune!" the rabbit Faunus cried.

Everyone looked to her, amazed.

"You brilliant, beautiful bunny-girl, I could kiss you." Ashe muttered with a grin.

"There's a chance to save him?!" asked Pyrrha.

"Now there is." Glynda answered as she looked up to the cockpit, "Sage!"

"I hear ya! I'm turning us around and heading back to the warehouse now, three minutes tops! You sure he can last that long?" Sage called.

"Not really, but we can try to make him last that long. Ashe, are you sure the Aura Crystal will heal him?" Glynda asked.

"Only if he and Pyrrha agree to do something rather drastic, something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. I do not object to it as right now it's the best option we have." Ozpin said.

"What is it?" Ren inquired as Team RWBY got down on the floor with them to help tend to Jaune.

"You'll find out... Wait a minute; Chloris put some syringes with aura infused adrenaline in those medical kits, right?" Ashe asked. Glynda looked at him as if he were insane but looked to the medical kit and nodded.

"Yes, please tell me you aren't thinking of..." she began before Ashe cut her off.

"I am, if we inject his heart with adrenaline it may be enough to keep him going long enough to get him to the crystal, get it out now. Coco, you got some lipstick?" Ashe asked.

"Of course, why?" Coco asked as she quickly got out a tube of lipstick.

"I need it, Yatsu we'll need your strength for this to work, I'd ask Yang but her hand looks too damaged to pull it off." Ashe said.

"Pull what off?" Yang demanded.

"He wants to inject a dose of adrenaline directly into Jaune's heart to give him the strength to make it. It's an incredibly outdated and dangerous medical treatment that is only used as a dead last resort." Glynda elaborated. Everyone looked at Ashe as if he were insane for wanting to do this, nearly everyone knowing how risky of a move it was.

"Hell yeah it's risky but it worked on me once back in training, kept me alive just enough for them to get me to a professional healer. It's gonna hurt him like hell but it'll work if he's strong enough and I know for a fact that he is." Ashe said as he stared at Glynda.

"Not gonna lie, Goodwitch, that old stunt once kept me alive on a mission for Ozpin, we're outta options." Qrow voiced as he sat still, barely moving after the emotional overload of the loss of his sister.

Glynda sighed and quickly grabbed a syringe filled with a transparent liquid. Coco got down and uncovered the lipstick tube.

"Dot the heart right?" she asked as she marked the spot directly over his heart, right on the exact spot.

"Yeah, okay Yatsu you're gonna have to stab the needle right into Jaune's heart..." Ashe began to say before Pyrrha screamed out in protest. "Relax! We need to stab the needle through the breastplate bones to inject the heart, once it's in the adrenaline will spread through his body so that should be enough to keep him alive until we can pull this off." He assured her. This seemed to calm the Spartan down as Ashe looked to the other members of Team JNPR. "Ren and Nora please try to calm her down... Pyrrha, after I do this I need to talk to you about something important, Jaune's life could depend on it. Blake, Sun, you two get behind Jaune and get ready to hold him still."

"Why?" Sun asked as he and Blake got behind Jaune as Ozpin moved out of their way, only to find themselves joined by Bianca.

"Because when you're pumped up with adrenaline you go ballistic for a few minutes so the kid has to be held down." Qrow stated.

"Right, once he's calmed down Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Bianca, Velvet, hell everyone I need you all to talk to him and keep him awake while I speak to Pyrrha."

"His pulse is slowing, do it now!" Blake ordered as she could feel Jaune's heartbeat getting weaker.

"Okay, get ready 'cause this is gonna be scary. Yatsu get ready." Ashe instructed. Glynda handed the syringe to Yatsuhashi and the largest person in the ship gently took it and slowly placed it on the dot that labeled Jaune's heart for him.

"Stab it, right?" Yatsuhashi asked as he lifted it up, preparing to jab it in. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and everyone else were all on edge, fearing what would happen once the injection was preformed.

"Yeah, okay you got this... okay do it." Ashe ordered.

Yatsuhashi slammed the needle down into Jaune's chest and pressed down on the top with his thumb forcing the fluid into Jaune's heart.

Everyone winced as Jaune screamed and struggled to move as he tried to jolt up, only to be held down by Blake, Sun, and Bianca. His entire body shook wildly as if he was having a seizure, making deranged grunts and shouts of pain as he struggled in their grip. Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, Neptune, Velvet, all jumped back in shock, overwhelmingly disturbed at the sight of what was happening to their friend as he screamed in pain.

"Gods above..." muttered Taiyang as he winced, looking away from the gruesome sight.

Jaune was held back by the three as he struggled as hard as he could, crying out in pain. Ruby and Weiss decided to help out as they grabbed Jaune's legs to prevent him from kicking up as he grunted and cried out in pain. Pyrrha couldn't bare the sight of it but forced herself to watch as Ashe approached her.

"Okay Pyrrha, listen to me because how you answer my questions is going to be very important, you need to think about them." He said as he took hold of her shoulders, motioning to Ren and Nora to go help the others with Jaune.

"Okay, look at me and be a hundred percent honest and sure about how you will answer these questions." Ashe began.

"Dude, this is the worst possible time for asking her to clear her mind!" Neptune called from behind them.

"She has to try! Okay Pyrrha, do you truly love Jaune?" he asked.

Pyrrha looked him right in the eyes and said "Yes, with all my heart, of course I do!" There was no doubt within her eyes; there was only a desperate love and affection for the blonde.

"Good, okay, now are you willing to do anything for him? Are you willing to be with him forever until you both die?"

Pyrrha sighed and answered "Yes, I am. He has done so much for me, he was the first one in years to treat me like I was a normal person... I do want to be with him."

Ashe smiled and said "Good, that's good, now think about this one carefully: are you willing to die for him?"

Pyrrha didn't even hesitate to say "I already have and he has just proven he would do the same."

"Outstanding, now what are you willing to do to keep him alive?" Ashe inquired seriously.

"Anything." She answered firmly, not even a hint of hesitation or doubt in her words or facial expressions. She wanted to save Jaune no matter what.

Ashe looked at her, as if trying to get a better grip on her character, then grinned and said "Okay then now I'm sure this will work, but you have to promise something."

"Anything for him, what is it?" she demanded.

"That you will never stop loving him, no matter what; even when's he's the most oblivious dork in the world you have to love him deep down. I've only known him for a brief time but I know he'd do anything for you and now I'm positive you'd do the same, so you gotta promise me that you two will work out any issues you may have in the future no matter what. You have to do this for him, Pyrrha." Ashe said, his voice grave and dead serious.

Pyrrha eyed him but answered confidently as she ignored a sudden outburst from Nora. "I will never stop loving him after all he has done for me, it's my fault he's hurt right now, it's my fault he was in that terrible place to begin with. He has done so much for me the least I can do is love him. I promise that no matter what I will always be there for him."

"Okay, perfect. Now all we gotta do is get to the warehouse. Sage, how much longer?" he called.

"ETA is one minute! I can see the waterfront from here!" Sage answered.

"Just hurry!" Ashe said as Pyrrha returned to Jaune.

As Ashe and Pyrrha had conversed Ruby and the others had been talking to Jaune to try and calm him down.

"Jaune, Jaune, listen! It's me Ruby, remember? Just calm down, I promise you'll be okay." Ruby said as she reached up to grab his face and made him look at her. "Remember... uh, remember when we first met? After I blew up Weiss' Dust?"

He was still twitching rather violently but he answered "Y-y-yeah... I h-helped you up a-and then you re-remembered seeing me throw up on the bullhead. Y-y-you called me V-v-vomit boy s-so I c-c-alled you Crater F-face." He smiled a bit.

"That's right, and I said I liked your sword even though it was pretty old fashioned and that not many people appreciate the classics or something like that." She said as tears kept falling out, she tried to choke back a sob and failed miserably.

"That's right..." Jaune whispered.

"Don't speak too much; it'll put strain on your body but you can whisper is you put little energy into it." Blake said to him.

Weiss looked at her partner and friend and said "Jaune, remember all those times you tied to hit on me? I remember you introduced yourself to me as 'Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it' and you developed that stupid Snow Angel nickname for me."

"Yeah, m-man I was obnoxious." Jaune said darkly.

"Well... it really did get on my nerves a lot and I couldn't stand you most of the times but now I know just how desperate you were for companionship, I remember how you showed up outside our door with that instrument to ask me to the dance and I still shot you down and I..." Weiss stopped herself as Neptune spoke up.

"Okay Jaune, remember at the dance where you confronted me about not dancing with Weiss and I admitted I couldn't dance?"

"Yeah... w-weirded me out how a guy as co-ah-ol as you would be worried about something like t-that." Jaune stated, still occasionally crying out in pain.

"Okay, and you told me that I don't have to look cool all the time, and that you'd even appreciate if I were a little less cool." Neptune finished, ignoring a small smirk on Sun's face and the somewhat shocked look on Weiss'.

Now it was Ren's turn. "Jaune, remember before the dance when I was wearing only a towel and you wanted to ask me advice on how to ask Weiss out? That day you told me you considered me the brother you never had and I told you I felt similarly. I was lying because I didn't know what else to say but now I'm truly do feel like we are brothers, if it wasn't for Nora and the others I don't think I could handle losing you." The green-clad ninja said honestly as Nora squeezed his hand as tightly as she could, inadvertently hurting him a little.

"Th-thanks Ren... nice to know... if I don't make it..."

"You will!" yelled Nora.

"B-but if I don't, Ren, I want you and Nora to take care of each other, and don't name a son after me." Jaune said with a small, bitter smile.

Nora's tears didn't stop but she did smile at his little joke as she looked lovingly at Ren. "No promises about the last part." She said.

"Okay Jaune, just stay awake, are you okay?" Bianca asked.

"No, it really hurts; I don't think I've ever been in this much pain..." Jaune said before he moaned again.

"Hey little bro, come on I know you can make it. Remember how when you were little you wanted to be a hero so badly, how you'd run around and pretend to slay Grimm and... and... come on Jaune, you have to make it! I can't lose you!" his eldest sister cried as tears openly streamed down her face. She had already lost the love of her life years ago in an accident; she couldn't bear to lose her little brother. "Come on, don't give up Jaune. Remember the painting?"

"The o-one you made f-for you and Tobias...?" Jaune asked weakly.

"Yes, I never finished it because I realized that when Tobias died the day he was waiting for, the day he'd see our painting finished would never come so I locked it away and never finished it, but then that disaster at Vytal festival happened and you were so depressed over Pyrrha that I showed it to you and you told me neither Toby nor Pyrrha would want us to lock tomorrow away so after you left to avenge Pyrrha I finished the painting and I want to show it to you but only if you make it out of this!" Bianca said, now noticing Pyrrha had joined them.

Velvet smiled at her rediscovered friend and said "Jaune, Pyrrha's here, you want to talk to her?"

"Yeah..." Jaune whispered.

Velvet took hold of Pyrrha's hand and gave her a comforting squeeze. "You can do this." She whispered. Pyrrha nodded back and looked to Jaune. She knelt down and looked him right in the eyes.

"Jaune, why did you do that for me?" she asked.

"Push you out of the way?" he sounded quiet, the adrenaline buying him precious moments as she answered with a nod.

His voice got low so the act of speaking wouldn't hurt as much. "Well, mainly because I just got you back, no way was I gonna lose you again but... I think it's because I wanted to do what you did back at Beacon... how you shoved me in that locker so I wouldn't get killed by Cinder... you sacrificed yourself for me so I wouldn't die. I know you're angry, confused, you feel guilty, you feel useless because I had to save you... but that's how I felt when you sent me away... I wanted to make a difference in the world Pyr, and the biggest difference of all is getting you back safe and sound. If I die tonight at least I can die knowing what its like to be a hero."

Pyrrha sobbed as she got closer to him. "You were always a hero to me, ever since I unlocked your aura I knew you were worth so much more than anyone thought, I knew how great of a warrior you could be if you tried hard enough Jaune and you are a great hero, you never had to sacrifice yourself to prove that."

Jaune was about to speak when Sage shouted out "We're here! I just gotta land this thing..."

"No time." Ashe said as he pulled the door open.

"What the hell are you doing?!" cried Coco.

"Getting things ready, once you've landed get him inside so we can begin." Ashe said before he jumped out of the ship.

"Okay, I will lift Mr. Arc up, everyone else get just stand by in case we need to do something drastic." Glynda ordered.

"Like what?" questioned Scarlet.

"If Ashe's 'cure' doesn't work we may have to do something horrible." The teacher answered vaguely.

Ashe landed on the ground and rolled to make his rough landing a little easier on his battered body. He jumped back up and charged towards the warehouse and quickly opened the door.

'Gotta hurry, have to save him.' He thought as he raced inside towards the case where the Aura Crystal was kept. He opened the case and quickly took the crystal in his hands.

"Okay, listen up; for twenty damn years I've guarded you, for twenty years I wandered the world of Remnant not even knowing if you were really as powerful as mom told me you were but now that I know you are you are going to do something for me. You owe it to me for all these years of service and in return you get two new guardians. Just help me out one last time." He pleaded to the relic.

It began to glow as the voice of the crystal's avatar spoke to him. "You wish to end your bloodline's service to us?"

"Yes, and in return give you to two kids who can do a way better job of it than I ever could, but one of them is seriously hurt, he's dying and we need your power to save him." Ashe explained.

"We shall see... we are open to the possibilities, but someone wishes to speak to you, Ashe Kasai." the voice said as it faded.

"What? Who wants to...?" Ashe muttered, but he brushed the question away as he laid the Aura Crystal back down and activated the force field, levitating it up into the air again as Glynda entered, using her Semblance to carry Jaune with Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Teams RWBY, CFVY, and SSSN, Penny, Qrow, Taiyang, Neo, Ozpin, and Bianca all close behind.

"Gently lay him down, the Aura Crystal is open to helping us but these two" Ashe said as he gestured to Jaune and Pyrrha "are going to have to allow themselves to be 'scanned' so the crystal can judge them to be worthy."

"Worthy? Worthy?! What does that stupid rock mean by 'if they're worthy'?!" Nora demanded angrily.

"Because when I told you guys about the Crystal's healing powers I didn't tell you the whole thing; you see it can only heal you if you're a guardian or related to a guardian." Ashe elaborated.

"What?" was the reaction from most present, save for Ozpin who wasn't surprised at all.

"So what are we gonna do then?" Yang questioned.

"Simple, we switch places, I make these two the new guardians of the Crystal and I quit."

"That's insane, there has to be another way." Glynda objected, only for a light to get everyone's attention. Everyone in the building looked to see the Aura Crystal was beginning to glow brighter than most of them had ever seen, a magnificent light of every color imaginable, ever combination of any possible colors and even colors that none of them had ever seen before.

Then, out of nowhere a white shining light appeared beside the crystal and began to take human form, a form that Ashe and Ozpin recognized all too well and some of them mistook for someone else. Even Jaune looked up to try and see what was happening.

A woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties with long raven black hair, yellow eyes, and wearing a red and white kimono took physical form and looked almost exactly like Cinder, but her face was much kinder and her eyes softer and loving.

"Is it me or is that Cinder?" asked Neptune.

The woman looked at Neptune sadly. "No, I am not my daughter. Hello Ashe, it's been too long." The woman said with a proud and loving look in her eyes.

"Mom?" Ashe gasped, nearly falling over from shock. He had realized who it was the moment she appeared but it was just now sinking in. Ember smiled sadly and nodded. That was all Ashe needed, he ran into her and hugged her as tightly as he could, which she returned without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait, what the heck is going on?" Ruby asked.

"I... I have no freaking idea, mom, what the hell?" Ashe asked, totally stumped as he pulled away from his mom.

Ember's form chuckled and said "Language, young man, I know you're almost my age when I was killed but you should set an example for the younger people around you. Now, before you ask, no I am not the avatar taking another form, I am a fragment of my soul I left behind before Cinder killed me and the only reason I haven't spoken to you in all these years is because I am forbidden, when a guardian of the Aura Crystal is about to die or relinquishes their duty they are to leave a small piece of their soul behind within the crystal. The only reason I am here is because the crystal's collective aura wants to know if this is really what you want Ashe, they are letting us speak so you can be sure about your decision."

"Yes, it's what I want. I no longer want the burden of being a guardian, it was too much for me alone but these two kids, apart they're better than me but together... they're something amazing." Ashe said.

"Have you seen them in action together?" Ember asked, the look on Ashe's face answering her. "Very well then, but we know enough of Jaune Arc's plight to consider him, but what of the girl, the one who seems to be of the Grimm?"

Ashe looked to Pyrrha who stepped forward, constantly taking glances at Jaune.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos." She announced.

"I thought you had died, is that not why those four children came all this way? To avenge your death at the hands of my daughter Cinder?" Ember asked, visibly wincing when she mentioned Cinder. Ashe was a little confused as to how his mother knew this, but since she was in the crystal and he communicated with the crystal it was reasonable to assume that she knew everything he did about the situation.

"It was, but Cinder did not kill me, she transported me to Salem's palace where they healed me, brainwashed me into thinking I was someone named Fotia Drakos, then turned me into a Grimm Hybrid. My partner and best friend, the one I love, Jaune Arc saved me and restored my memories then he took an arrow from Cinder meant for me and is now dying, please save him." Pyrrha pleaded as she got on her knees.

Ruby looked at Jaune whose eyes were now closed but his breathing was barley recovering, his skin was pale to the point where it was nearly gray, and his body was still shaking like a leaf in a storm. 'Please hurry.' she thought.

Ember looked at Pyrrha with sympathy and said "The essence of the Grimm within you shall be an issue, but I think we can get past that. Hold still and clear your mind of all emotions."

Pyrrha was about to ask why when a beam of light shout out from the crystal and into her eyes. Pyrrha cried out in surprise but unlike the beams that entered Ashe this one didn't hurt so she took a deep breath and relaxed herself. The crystal read Pyrrha's mind, her memories, her own body; it saw her past, her personality, her talents, and her relationships with Jaune, Nora, Ren and the others. It saw what she had been through and what she had been forced to do since Cinder defeated her, it saw fights she had been through and her many victories. It saw that her personality was kind, loving, strong, compassionate, shy, nervous, a little lonely, a yearning for friendship and understanding, and the love she had for her friends.

The beam died down, which was a signal for Ember's form to place a hand on the crystal.

She nodded, looked at Pyrrha with a smile and announced "The crystal has read your being and it has deemed you, Pyrrha Nikos, to be worthy of being its new guardian."

Pyrrha nodded and said "I don't truly care about the crystal right now; I just want it to save Jaune."

Ember looked to Jaune and said "I think we may have a problem, he doesn't look like he can last much longer."

"Then heal him!" shouted Weiss.

"It just doesn't work that way..." Ember said.

"Well hurry up and judge him! Come on!" Sun barked.

Ember nodded, understanding the young group's stress as another beam of light shot out of the crystal and into Jaune but Ember's face looked worried as she took hold of the crystal. "He's fading, he is valiantly struggling to hold onto life but in his struggles his mind is clouded therefore the crystal cannot fully judge him."

"Oh give him a break!" Shouted Yang angrily.

"There has to be someway we can prove he's worthy ourselves." Blake stated.

Ember and Ashe looked to each other.

"Would the memory spell work? Like if eight of them took my right hand while my left connected to the crystal, all of their memories of him would flow in at once." Ashe suggested.

"Why only eight?" asked Velvet quickly.

"There are limits, but I do think it will work. Who shall be the eight?" Ember asked.

"The three other members of his team, of course." Ren said as he and Nora walked up besides Pyrrha, who smiled at them, grateful to have them once again.

"And us." Ruby said as she led her team forward. "We're his friends too, we can help."

"And me, I'm his sister and I was there when he was born for Oum's sake." Bianca added as she joined them.

"Very well, are you ready to do this, Ashe?" Ember asked.

"As I'll ever be. Goodwitch, this shouldn't take long but make sure nothing goes wrong with Jaune. Now let's do this shit." Ashe said as he placed his left hand on the crystal and reached out to the others with his right. Naturally Pyrrha's hand was the first to touch Ashe's, then Ruby's, Bianca's, and so forth. Soon all eight of them were holding Ashe's hand in a big bundle of fingers and hands..

"Okay, now just focus on your memories with Jaune, focus on the good times and even some of the bad ones as we need to be totally honest. Hang on this is gonna be trippy." Ashe finished before he muttered the words of the memory spell so quietly no one else could hear them.

**_Everyone began to focus their thoughts on their collective experiences with Jaune, the things they had done with him and for him as the things he had done for them and with them. They all felt weird as they could feel their memories going into Ashe and into the Aura Crystal, while it was strange it was not unpleasant, it was more of a feeling of numbness, a strange feeling that something was leaving their bodies and then returning._ **

**_They could all see flashes of Jaune and their experiences with him as bright, beautiful lights filled their collective vision._ **

**_It was odd to say the least to hear 8 thoughts all at once and yet retain your sense of self. None the less the crystal obviously has some conscious aspect to it. It was able to replicate the act of speaking more naturally to the 8 friends via Ember as a representative. Thus as it was as they opened their eyes as if from a daydream that they were standing around a gentle fire. Jaune's body, or maybe even his spirit, seemed to be floating in the middle of them all. He appeared asleep, it despite having a transparent aspect it was obvious the boy was dying and… yet somehow held on to life. Dark spots mired his body centering around the various wounds he had received that day most notably his chest._ **

**_'Yes, his life is in your hands literally I suggest we hurry.' Ember stated._ **

**_'Then hurry up and start!' Pyrrha implored._ **

**_Ember nodded her head as if amused, as this was taking no time at all in actuality but nonetheless appeared in front of Nora._ **

**_The passing of thoughts into the crystal for judgment happened at the speed of thought despite the conversational setting. Naturally that was somewhat difficult for Nora._ **

**_'Ms. Valkyrie organize your thoughts better or we will not be able to accept your memories'_ **

**_Nora frowned but tried again. It was hard for her to focus her thoughts given she struggled with that all her life. It took was a glance at her friends dying body to understand how serious the situation was._ **

**_'Jaune… is the bravest person I know. He was untrained yet he came to Beacon. He felt unqualified to be a leader, yet he did the best he could and put forth enough of an effort to try. He was the one who organized the attempt to avenge our school. He is a friend. He asked for nothing, except a chance in line to make a difference. You should give him a chance to do that.'_ **

**_The memories were deemed satisfactory that time as Ember seemed able to comprehend the thoughts and feelings. From there her focus seemed drawn to Ren._ **

**_Ren poured multiple thoughts into the crystal yet they were clear. He thought of their first encounter with a Deathstalker. That it was his quick study and decision making to allow them all to survive the encounter. He spoke of his selflessness to defend all life not just those who treat him well. He showed the Crystal the actions of Cardin and his acts of bullying against the smaller untrained man. That he saved this same man by risking himself in the process._ **

**_'You respect him, in short?' Ember asked simply._ **

**_'It goes beyond respect. I respect life and those who deserve it. Jaune has never asked for anything from us or demanded anything as our team leader. Instead he tried to earn our respect and friendship. I truly do see him as a brother now.'_ **

**_Ember nodded 'Very well.' She claimed and turned her attention to the next volunteer._ **

**_Embers thoughts seemed to run around Blake's mind in a way that she was unable to do with the previous two._ **

**_'For a cautious one, you seem to have a great deal of regret in you. You feel…. shame for something regarding this young man.'_ **

**_Blake previously might have shied away from the contact… but she had to address the speaker._ **

**_'I do regret my actions, or inactions, as the case may be.' She claimed_ **

**_'You feel your actions make up for your previous inaction?' Ember challenged._ **

**_'I… do. I have seen mistrust and prejudice across the world. Jaune at first… did not impress me. He could not fight, he could not study, he could do nothing correct as a Huntsman, so I dismissed him as one doomed to fail. Those were my thoughts.' She admitted._ **

**_'Yet here you stand?' Ember supplied._ **

**_'Those things… what I held against him. Can be taught… can be learned. Jaune had something that I could not see. It's something that if more people had, would result in a better world for all.' She claimed determined to see this through._ **

**_'And what is that girl?' The essence asked._ **

**_Blake smiled in her thought 'Heart. The ability to not just to know right from wrong, but to do right. I knew that Cardin was bullying and blackmailing him, although I don't know with what exactly. I could have gotten involved and maybe stopped it, I did not for reasons I supplied. Jaune's heart never changed. He still put himself on the line for others… include Faunus like myself. I remember when I first showed my ears to he and his team, he looked a little put off by them and at first I thought he was another bigot... but then he told me he saw me as being no different. He told me that he understood what it was like to hide who you truly are. A heart like his should be preserved. More people need to follow his example. The world needs him, it needs more like him for sure.' She said confidently._ **

**_The essence seemed to pull its focus out of Blake, and move on to Yang._ **

**_'His friends speak well of him… however I wonder if they will continue to speak so. Yet I can tell that you are not known for your words girl. Yet you would speak on his behalf?'_ **

**_Yang did not need to think about it at all. She was not insulted the essence obviously understood some of her character and how she was as a person; however that did not mean the fiery girl did not have something to say._ **

**_'Some people even think I know how to talk until I do.' Yang stated dryly, her mind falling back on trying to be comedic._ **

**_'Interesting you can try to joke even at a time of crisis. Tell me girl what does this man mean to you?'_ **

**_'Hope' Was Yang's answer._ **

**_'Hope? One boy represents Hope to you? Somebody you ever have a colorful nickname for?' Ember challenged_ **

**_Yang smiled 'Ember... nobody, save Pyrrha, ever appreciated Jaune or what he did for them until it was too late. He failed, all the time and nearly every day at everything. That is what people see of him. He would say he failed miserably, at least in his mind, during the Battle of Beacon previously. He would not deny that. But the thing is it did not stop him. When I… failed, when I lost my arm, I nearly gave up, I couldn't move, I couldn't fight, I couldn't help, I couldn't… I became dead weight. I … became depressed and was of no benefit to anybody. Even at his worst, Jaune was still able to pick others up and try to make them keep going. He has many good qualities, many I've never had and envy a bit. Nothing was ever supposed to get me down. Nothing ever did or could get me down… right up until I failed. To him, failure just meant he needed to try harder the next time. If I had followed his example my sister might not have been captured. We need him alive. That is what it comes down too. The world needs him alive.'_ **

**_'You should speak more often young Xiao Long, it may yet been a weapon in your arsenal.' Ember praised._ **

**_Yang smiled but felt the focus shift off of her to her teammate._ **

**_The essence of the crystal searched through Weiss briefly, before it seemed to run into difficulties._ **

**_'Weiss Schnee. You would speak for this man? You? You had not a single kind word to say about him for how long?" It demanded, remembering the memories of their interactions from the others._ **

**_Weiss almost smiled. 'Jaune… has flaws. He didn't take no for an answer, but I suppose his never give up attitude can sometimes be a bad thing.'_ **

**_'Yet you smile at the memories?" Ember asked._ **

**_'I do… I can tell you why. No it is not about how he helped Neptune talk to me or because it amused me to see him fail, it is… more personal than that.' The short be determined girl claimed._ **

**_'Oh? Do tell.' Ember stated amused._ **

**_'I owe Jaune a debt I can never repay.' Weiss stated simply._ **

**_That, the crystal did not expect, and it did not speak further allowing the Heiress a chance to elaborate._ **

**_'Jaune took my place. Regardless of how he had grown, it was my partner who was risking her life. I called her dunce… dolt… child… and worse words more than once. Yet it was she who was doing her duty as a huntress to the world. Jaune Arc; the helpless idiot was with her. Not me. Not her partner. He was risking his life for Remnant in my place willingly or not. He protected Ruby… for that I owe him a debt. He would deny that it exists… that does not mean I am grateful for his trying.' She claimed._ **

**_'Do you not think at all about your treatment of him at Beacon?' The voice challenged._ **

**_'I … did not lie to him… I might not have been kind. But I did not lie. In the end Jaune found somebody else as did I. It worked out in the end.' She answered._ **

**_'He earned your respect?' Ember queried._ **

**_'Yes… my only regret is making him work so hard for it.' Weiss answered._ **

**_Ember seemed satisfied by Weiss' thoughts, and moved down the line._ **

**_'You are the sister of this wounded man. I am unsure if your opinions are valid.' She stated._ **

**_'Why would my opinions be invalid?' Bianca demanded, glaring at the woman._ **

**_'He is your brother, you would do anything to save him. Including lie.' Ember claimed, knowing she had to be as thorough as possible for the crystal, whether she liked it or not but this needed to be challenged._ **

**_Bianca could see his challenge and accepted it without a second thought._ **

**_'My brother means much to me. I was there for his birth, I saw the little baby live despite the doctors saying he wouldn't survive the week, but you are wrong if you think I am doing this only to save his life. The world needs him. Without him… more loss of life will follow.'_ **

**_'Interesting… do tell.' Ember almost smiled._ **

**_'My brother… he always had big dreams. We played huntsman and Grimm when he was younger. It… is one of my most fond and … most regretful memories. I always regretted not convincing mom and dad to let him get an education in learning how to fight. He did not give up ever… even with everyone saying he couldn't do it or with Tobias' death. He might not be the best warrior now but even someone like me can tell he has the potential to be amongst the best. I encouraged him to go to Beacon despite not being trained and prepared. I helped him forge those enrollment documents, I knew what the consequences might be due to that; arrested and tried, or worse he'd die on a mission or hell maybe someone with a combat education got robbed of their future for all I know but I helped put my brother on this path. The time and effort of his friends and loved ones HAS to mean something. So he needs to live. To keep doing his best and ensuring he makes as big of an impact as possible.'_ **

**_'Bianca… does not that mean if he were to die, somebody better might take his place? Somebody prone to less mistakes?' Ember asked solemnly._ **

**_Bianca wanted to be angry… but instead replied with 'It takes somebody special to do inspire people in all they do. A mark of a leader is not just inspiring those as they live, but inspiring those as they might fall. Jaune makes others better period. We need him. It is that simple.'_ **

**_Ember smiled as if satisfied, and directed her attention to the youngest of those gathered._ **

**_'A young silver eyed girl. I never knew if I truly did believe the stories of silver eyed warriors and I see now I probably should have.' Ember stated simply._ **

**_'I would be happy to discuss them with you when my best friend isn't dying.' Ruby answered sternly._ **

**_Ember laughed 'You assume that discussing it isn't also doing the same thing. Time does not flow normally for you all now I would have assumed you could guess that.'_ **

**_Ruby just crossed her arms and huffed._ **

**_'Your memories seem conflicted girl. You do wish to save your friend do you not?' Ember asked._ **

**_'Of course I want to save him!' She responded._ **

**_'Then why not speak your mind?'_ **

**_'You cannot take the actions of a person and sum them up into simple conversation Ember. My feelings are stronger than the words available to me. They were always my partner's thing.'_ **

**_Weiss scoffed and might have even said 'dolt' at that juncture._ **

**_'None the less you must do your best or he will die. In trust the crystal might not be able to save him already.' Ember claimed._ **

**_'I said I would give my best. My best is to let you look through my mind. You cannot hear what Jaune means to me and why he should live. You must experience it.' Ruby claimed confidently._ **

**_'You would let me into your mind freely? You're a very trusting girl.' Ember smiled._ **

**_'My friend is dying. We all must make sacrifices.' She claimed sternly._ **

**_Ember grinned._ **

**_Ruby just stood still as Ember entered her consciousness and played through her various memories regarding Jaune Arc. Ember nearly recoiled at the images of the torture and manipulation they endured._ **

**_'He stayed true to himself, despite it all, he is still Jaune.' Ruby claimed confidently just letting the spirits of the crystal search through her mind._ **

**_'He was nice to you that first day huh?' Ember queried._ **

**_'No, he wasn't nice at all.' Ruby answered._ **

**_That was met with obvious confusion._ **

**_'Well don't be confused read my thoughts you know what I think.' Ruby stated amused._ **

**_Ember scowled, but reexamined the memory._ **

**_'If not nice he was what then?' The Aura Crystal still did not understand Ruby's meaning._ **

**_'Nice guys would struggle to work up the nerve. He did it because it was right. Not nice. You have to make that distinction. The nice thing to do is not always the right thing to do. That is why he has to live. He is more than just a nice guy to us all. A nice guy would not organize the search for Cinder, a nice guy would not have fought so hard to save Pyrrha, a nice guy wouldn't have blood on his hands because he wanted to protect me. A nice guy would not have done any of those things. Jaune is nice, but he is so much more than nice. He is an example of the way people should be. We need him... Mrs. Ashe's mom.'_ **

**_Ember almost seemed amused as she exited from Ruby's body and floated over towards Pyrrha._ **

**_'I feel like anything you tell me will be biased girl.' Ember stated sadly._ **

**_Pyrrha did not seem to care._ **

**_'Bias exists in this world, spirit. If it didn't and everybody would act as the boy I love did, we would not have a world torn apart by your own daughter. Salem would never have had the strength to attack Beacon. Your own bias towards your daughter could be swaying your thoughts. I would suggest not using semantics against me.'_ **

**_Despite sharing thoughts and minds everybody felt they had to look at the redheaded girl at that declaration._ **

**_'You pick an odd time to bring Cinder into the discussion Pyrrha. I do not believe discussing my daughter will help the one you love.' Ember said, sounding a little hurt and even a little regretful._ **

**_'That is where you are wrong; we all love Jaune. It might be for different reasons and to different degrees but to feel so strongly about somebody that I no longer feel love is powerful enough is how I feel for him. I am sure you already know my reasoning given that you are already in our minds. I want him healed Ember. Tell me what you need to hear to make that happen.'_ **

**_'I feel you would be better served doing as I ask and telling me your feelings.' Ember challenged._ **

**_'My feelings are greater than I can explain. You know our actions and my feelings, you were already in my mind when you deemed me worthy to be a guardian of the crystal.' Pyrrha put forth sure of herself._ **

**_Ember nearly smiled 'I accepted you as a fit. That does not mean you and he are a fit match for the crystal. The crystal has power, if evil took managed to possess it. It would be like having a entire legion of my daughter loose. You I have already accepted but am unsure about him.'_ **

**_Pyrrha smiled._ **

**_'We were not at Beacon long thanks to your daughter and the people she has on her side. But I learned something in the short time we were there.' She started._ **

**_'Yes? And that is?'_ **

**_'There is no price on happiness. I have always fought my battles, Cinder was the first person I was truly defeated by. I guess I was a bit outmatched against her but for me life was always one person at a time. One battle at a time. Jaune… he makes me more than that. We are stronger together than we could ever be apart. If you want to keep the crystal safe, you can do no better than both of us, together. That is the best I can do beyond what you already know.'_ **

**_Ember nearly smiled 'You have spirit to you girl… never lose it. Do you truly, truly love him?'_ **

**_Pyrrha answered 'Yes' without any hesitation whatsoever._ **

**_The Aura Crystal had judged Jaune to be worthy._ **

Time returned to normally as everybody was pulled back to their own bodies.

Pyrrha gasped and looked at Jaune unsure about the results of what they just experienced.

The Aura Crystal shone like a beacon as Ashe released the seven teenagers and one adult from his grip, some of them staggering back to recover from what they had just seen as well as the bright flashes.

Ashe and Pyrrha both looked to the Aura Crystal as its glowing light began to shimmer and shake as it spread outwards, creating beams of light that forced the others in the warehouse to shield their eyes.

Ashe looked to the manifestation of his mother's soul and asked "What going on?"

"I've never seen it but I did read about it, this is the Changing of the Guard, it has accepted Jaune." She said, smiling at the relived look on Pyrrha's face.

"So it'll heal him right?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Yes it will, we need all of you except for Pyrrha to get back, this will be... something she and Jaune will need to do together. Pyrrha, take Jaune in your arms and bring him before us." Ember said.

Pyrrha nodded and went over to collect Jaune, Glynda and Velvet helping her to pick him up.

As this happened Ember took time to speak to Ashe.

"Ashe, I want you to know that no matter what I am proud of you."

"Even after all I've done? The things I've been forced to do to survive, the lives I've taken, the damage I've caused..."

"Is nothing compared to the lives you have saved and the good you have done. I am so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed someone. I can remember when you tried meditating with the crystal after your love was taken from you, I tried so hard to speak but you couldn't hear me. It was torture to see you suffer like that." Ember said as she looked at her son sadly.

"It would have been nice to have you as some kind of spiritual guide. I... I was really lost mom, there were times I nearly took my own life." He said guiltily.

"And yet you are still here, you had the courage to keep going, that is why no matter what anyone says of you, you have been a worthy guardian." Ember said as she used her new physical form to hug her son for the first time in two decades and he eagerly returned it.

"We're ready." Announced Pyrrha, the mother and son looked to see the young champion carrying the dying Jaune in her arms, bridal style.

"Good, sit down, hold him to you." Ember said. Pyrrha obeyed and got on her knees, holding Jaune's torso close to hers as Ashe and Ember approached her.

"I have sensed what the crystal has sensed, and what I now know of my daughter fills me with regret and shame. I do not hate my daughter but I do hate what she has become and the things she has done in her arrogance, delusion, and lust for power. Hopefully this will make it right. Ashe can tell you the story later; we must act now if Jaune is to live." Ember said.

Pyrrha nodded and looked down to Jaune who was deathly pale and barely moving in her arms, his eyes dim and nearly lifeless.

"Hold him to you, feel the love you have for him and his love for you. Love and happiness are the things that keep us as warriors and as people going, without then we become motivated by hatred and lust for revenge and power. You must never give into any such thing. The Aura Crystal has deemed you both worthy for the love you possess for each other, your families and friends and the lives you wish to protect. Such good hearts are uncommon after the horrible events this world has suffered through but yet there will always be someone whose heart is worthy of being a savior." Ember said as she glanced at Ruby and the teams around her. "Now hold him close Pyrrha Nikos." she instructed.

Pyrrha did so, holding Jaune closer, both tightly but gently so as not to hurt him.

Ember reached out to Ashe and he nodded as he took her hand. Ember looked up to the Aura Crystal. "Kai." She said. Two more beams of light shot into Ashe and Ember's heads and their eyes became pure white.

They put their hands on Pyrrha and Jaune and began chanting in voices that were not their own, not just two voices but what sounded like thousands, possibly even millions of voices all quietly chanting some bizarre and alien language that no one, not even Ozpin, had ever heard before as Pyrrha and Jaune's bodies and eyes began to glow white as well.

"Eior echtolam ota hamarkaru. Malan torlucha kiademai. Larsokaw su marcilnova. Kyati myvaso hatisopacha. Tiha. Nogh tisiva iicheofla noflejo harinnoqu. Usha kai!" the mother and son chanted.

As they droned on Pyrrha held Jaune's head to hers and gently kissed him, only to feel him kissing her back. She opened her eyes to see his, shining blue and white as the incredibly bright light enveloped them. She began to cry tears of joy as she hugged him to her, feeling him wrap his arms around her body and hug her back.

A voice, belonging not only to Ashe and Ember, but to hundreds of other guardians long gone, spoke to them.

"Hold her to you, Jaune, for she is a part of you. Hold him to you, Pyrrha, for he is a part of you. You are now bound together until your deaths or until you surrender your guardianship. You are part of one another now, as are we all part of each other in some strange way. When you form a bond with someone it never truly dies, this is proof of that. Love has reunited you; do not take that for granted. All of you who have witnessed this union on this night must remember its lesson, that in the end, the light will prevail over the darkness, because love, the strongest light of all, will ignite the stars."

The light began to die down as Pyrrha still held Jaune to her, both of them looking at Ashe and Ember who stood up, possessed by the Aura Crystal with two beams still shooting into their heads.

Teams RWBY, SSSN, CFVY, Penny, Ren, Nora, Neo, Bianca, Qrow, Taiyang, Glynda, and Ozpin all stared at the sight in amazement, none of them dared to move or speak.

Ember and Ashe looked down at the two reunited partners.

"We now leave you with the Aura Crystal. May you be the ones to discover its purpose and have peaceful lives in the future." The voices said.

The beam going into Ember died down but Ashe's did not, instead it slowly retracted back into the crystal, taking something with it. Ashe moaned as he clutched his head he had given the crystal a small fragment of his soul, joining the ranks of guardians long dead.

Jaune looked down to see his body was healed and the spot where the arrow had hit him now sealed but marked by a scar but he quickly noticed something else... his skin color was back to normal. He looked to Pyrrha and saw that her skin color was no longer milky white, but the restored to its original color as were her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Jaune! You're skin and eyes!" Pyrrha exclaimed as Ren, Nora, Ruby and some of the others ran forward.

"Yours too..." Jaune said. Pyrrha gasped as Ashe spoke up.

"The prophecy came true...

_What was sundered and undone_

_Shall behold two warriors made one_

_By Guardian hand or else by none_

_The wound will be closed and love will shine like the sun!_

We did it, we really did it!" he said with a wide smile.

"We sure did!" Nora cheered as she grabbed Pyrrha and Jaune from behind and hugged them both as Ren joined in.

"I suppose this means Team JNPR is together again." He said.

"Is does." Pyrrha confirmed as she and Jaune leaned into their teammates hugs as Team RWBY joined in.

"I'm so happy you're both okay!" Ruby exclaimed as she dived into the hug, landing between Nora and Ren, managing to wrap her arms around the two partners, joined by her sister, Weiss, and Blake in the hug.

"Please, don't scare us like that again." Weiss said

Neo smiled happily for her friend getting what was without a doubt a happy ending to this mess.

Velvet took hold of Yatsuhashi's hand and squeezed it as she smiled at the sight and could only blush when he squeezed back. Coco put her arm around Fox's shoulders and pulled his close, happy that he didn't resist as she could see him smile at her.

Sun and Neptune walked forward with Sun putting a hand on Blake's shoulder, smiled, and said to Jaune and Pyrrha "Welcome back you guys."

"You really had us worried there." Neptune said.

"Sorry." Jaune and Pyrrha both said at once, before they realized it, they looked at each other and smiled.

"Oh please don't be one of those couples that finish each other's sentences." Yang joked.

"We'll try no to... are we a couple?" asked Jaune.

"I think that's rather obvious." Pyrrha stated as she kissed his cheek.

Jaune smiled and looked over to Velvet past the crowd around him, and called "Hey Velvet, is my backpack still here?"

Velvet nodded, looking over to Jaune's backpack she had spotted the other day. "Yeah." She said.

"I have something of Pyrrha's in there, could you please get it for me?" he asked.

Velvet smiled and said "It would be my pleasure." She made her way to the backpack as the rest of her team, Penny, Neo, Sage, and Scarlet all converged on the rest of the group to take part in the reunion as well while Ozpin, Glynda, Taiyang, and Qrow all watched, happy that the young Hunters got a happy resolution.

"So what happened to them? Did the crystal purge the Grimm essence from them?" asked Neo.

"No, I am afraid not. The essence within them is that of an alpha Grimm and it is too deeply rooted, they will most likely always have a part of the Grimm inside of their beings. We were however able to restore their original physical appearances." Ember elaborated.

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other. "Are you okay with that? I mean, we're still..."

Pyrrha interrupted Jaune and said "As long as we're back with our friends I don't care if I'm fully human or not anymore."

Ashe looked to his mother and noticed a sad smile on her face. "Mom?"

"Ashe, I love you." She said as she approached him.

"I love you too, what's...?"

"Tell Cinder I am sorry for what she has become. We will meet in another life, but not again in this one." She stated before she kissed him on the forehead. Ashe was confused by her actions until she dissolved into pieces of light, falling apart and fading away.

The group watched Ashe as he stood alone, his mother gone again. Ren, Nora, and Team RWBY released Jaune and Pyrrha from their grips, however the two warriors did not let each other go.

"Are you going to be alright?" Penny was the first to speak up.

Ashe gave the robotic girl a smile and answered "I'll be just fine."

"Are you sure? I mean technically you're out of a job." Sun pointed out.

"I got replaced by better people." Ashe said as he smiled at Pyrrha and the shirtless Jaune.

"Uh... guys, can I have my hoodie back?" Jaune asked, feeling cold with his muscles exposed.

"It's back on the ship..." Bianca said, crying.

"What's wrong?" Jaune questioned.

"Nothing, just happy I got my baby brother back for good." Bianca said before she looked to Ashe and added "And happy that he has friends who keep their promises."

Velvet approached Jaune and Pyrrha and held out Pyrrha's circlet. "Pyrrha, I believe this belongs to you." She announced as she handed it to the Spartan who gratefully accepted it. Jaune took it from her and gently placed it on her head before she leaned into his neck, smiling in bliss.

Ashe walked over to the table where he had left four precious things; his mother's whistle, the engagement ring he had proposed to Mila with, and the two photographs; one of his family from many years ago and the other of he and Mila in each other's arms.

He smiled as he tucked the pictures into his pocket and then placed the necklaces back where he belonged.

"Well, now that that little crisis is taken care of I believe that we should make our way to Haven Academy. The Atlas forces will have no doubt sent some men there and we should probably start explaining things." Glynda voiced, earning a nod from Qrow.

"Yeah, plus we should probably get there and explain that Jimmy's being controlled before Ironwood orders an arrest warrant on us all." Qrow said.

"Wonderful idea." Ozpin said.

Sage made his way towards the ship along with Qrow, Taiyang, and Ozpin.

"So what happens now?" Weiss asked.

"I believe that we are going to Haven Academy, explaining the situation to the Headmaster as well as the Atlesians, Qrow and I will most likely spend the night helping the law enforcement officers, both of Atlas and this city, search the wreckage of the factory. All of you on the other hand will have a well deserve rest at the Academy." Glynda said.

"Sounds good to me." Blake voiced, receiving many sounds of agreement in return.

"What about Neo?" Ruby asked.

Glynda eyed the girl and said "I think we can grant her amnesty for at least a few days until we get this mess all sorted out."

"Good, now let's get out of here." Coco said as she led her team back outside, with Neo and Scarlet following them.

Bianca watched as Ren helped Jaune stand while Nora helped Pyrrha, the two partners exhausted from the insane ordeal they had just undergone so they were too worn out to make it back to the ship on their own.

"Come on, Penny, let's go." Ruby said as her team and the robotic girl made their way to the exit.

"Let's get moving." Ashe said as he packed the Aura Crystal back into the case.

"Can you still handle that?" Bianca asked, not too sure about the Aura Crystal's smaller details.

"I think I can keep it until tomorrow, those two kids deserve a good night's sleep, they can worry about this old relic later." Ashe said as he and Bianca left the building, Sun and Neptune closing the doors as they left.

* * *

As Weiss' ship departed and the Alteisan Forces began to land and surround the complex Emerald, Trooper, Ziz, and Steppenwolffe helped the gravely wounded Cinder up, digging her out of the demolished Grimm Knights she had been crushed under.

"Holy shit, those kids fucked you up." Ziz stated as she eyed the horrific scar across Cinder's once perfect face, the blood, scratches, wounds, and bruises that riddled her body made it clear to even the simplest of individuals that the Fall Maiden was not in any shape to stand, let alone escape on her own. Cinder tried to answer but could not as she fell unconscious with a slight moan of pain.

Trooper looked up as dust and small bits of stone fell from the ceiling, the explosions were rocking the building and he knew it wouldn't last long at all. "Is there a fast way to this ship?" he asked Emerald, who nodded.

"Yeah, I know the quickest way to it. Let's go." Emerald said as she and Sherizawa left Cinder in the care of the Grimm Commanders as she ran ahead. Trooper led the Grimm Commanders, the wounded Fall Maiden, and his fellow enforcers, with Merrick collecting the weapons of his wounded comrades and Little Steve carrying the unconscious enforcers, with the few remaining guards trailing behind but the former Atlas soldier could hear that outside of the factory they were utterly surrounded and outnumbered.

"Surrender yourselves and we guarantee your survival as our prisoners, if you try to oppose us we will be forced to kill you." Called the voice of Samson via a voice amplifier on the ship..

"Crap, we isn't this a fine position to be in." Trooper muttered.

"Tell me about it, it's like being struck with a rock behind you, a madman with a gun in front of you, a fire to your left and a shear cliff-side drop on the right. All in all I'd say we're screwed." Ziz joked as they made their way into the factory, explosions still making the place shake every now and then.

They soon caught up with Emerald and the scientist who stood at the large doors of a freight elevator.

"Come, this is one of the many elevators we had built in case of an emergency just like this. It will be enough to hold us and it will get to the underground tunnels that will lead us to the ship." Sherizawa exposited as the group scrambled inside.

"You sure this thing is safe with all those explosions going off?" Zhan asked.

"Not entirely but we have little alternatives." Sherizawa stated as he closed the door and the lift began to descent to the tunnels, made faster by Emerald cutting power to the grips on the wall railings, now all that holding them up was the cable.

Emerald got out her scroll and called West, who quickly answered.

"Commander Emerald, it's good to hear from you, how goes the battle?" West asked.

"It went horribly, we lost." Emerald answered bluntly.

"What? What happened, who did we lose?" West inquired.

"Cinder is seriously injured and will need immediate medical attention so get ready to put that Semblance of yours to good use, three of the enforcers are out cold and injured, and we lost a ton of guards and Grimm but we're now making our way down to the tunnels." Emerald informed.

"Hopefully the right ones, the explosions began in the left tunnels and have escalated drastically. From what we've gathered Ashe Kasai was the cause of this, the flight crew was informed by Jude that he was using our small supply of Hau Bakuhatsu to ignite a devastating chain reaction. Luckily Jude warned the flight crew in time and they were able to seal off the left tunnel network segment by segment, sadly trapping most of our workers and guards down there, but we must make sure their sacrifice will not be in vain." West stated.

Emerald was a little shocked, Cinder's brother was willing to murder all of those people to beat them? Maybe Cinder was right about him having a dark side. "What about Jude?" she asked.

"I've no idea, his status is unknown but given he was in the hangar at the time he warned them and given how that and nearly everything in that area has been reduced to a burning wreck I think it is safe to assume he's gone. Hopefully taking that fool Ashe with him." West voiced angrily.

"Sorry to disappoint but he got away with the others." Emerald reported.

"Damn... well on the bright side we've managed to load up most of the inactive Grimm Knights, our Grimm cargo and we have recaptured the Chimera." West revealed.

"What? How?" Emerald demanded.

"From what I can gather it either escaped from the labs after killing those interlopers..." West began before the thief stopped him.

"Wrong, Rose, Arc, Nikos, and the others all got away; the only one who didn't make it out was Winchester and Cinder managed to get Arc with an arrow." Emerald said.

"Hmm... so I suppose if they escaped without Giger as a hostage then Dr. Giger must have met his demise at the teeth and claws of his own creation. Well we have it caged and heavily sedated so it won't be a threat for the foreseeable future. Ante has already gotten on the radio to his top lieutenants as well as all of the gang leaders in Haven, he's been instructing them to begin moving all vital operations and activities out of the city as quickly as possible and the rest shall lay low in the slums and underground." West said.

Emerald looked to the unconscious Cinder as she returned with "Good, at least Ante isn't a complete idiot. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually, we managed to find Norvik, half dead and currently dying. I'm somewhat surprised he isn't dead yet given his old age and the blood loss, but anyway if you get here as quickly as you can we can take off and get to safety before the Atlesians even realize we have abandoned the facility." West finished.

"We'll be there soon; we're only a few floors away from the tunnel level. How's Mercury doing?" she inquired.

"Currently on my to do list, right now he's still out of it and rather low on my priorities for the moment. Hurry, we only have a small amount of time before our window of opportunity has closed." West said as he ended the call.

Emerald put her scroll away and felt the elevator come to a halt on the bottom of the shaft, coming down roughly as the lift jolted. Emerald and Trooper got the door open and led the way down the tunnels with the rest following them.

"So... how exactly are we gonna explain this massive FUBAR to Salem and not die while doing it?" Trooper asked.

"Honestly? I say we blame it on Ante." Emerald stated simply.

"Not a bad idea but Salem will see through it without much effort and holy crap will she be pissed." Ziz groaned as she helped Cinder along.

"Indeed, this entire night has been one big disaster after another; Drakos' memory is restored and she has escaped, most of our workers, Grimm, and Knights have been destroyed, Giger is dead, most of us wounded, and Cinder in this condition, I doubt any of us will walk away from her wrath unscathed." Steppenwolffe said.

"At the very least the Arc boy will die, the arrow went right through him so he has little hope." Sherizawa said as he deactivated his Dark Armor suit, making it peel off of his body and converge on his back.

As they walked down the curved tunnel they could hear the explosions booming through the massive building and the sounds of the structures above collapsing.

"Really feel bad for anyone stuck up there." Merrick muttered as a noise sounded off from up ahead. One of the side doors burst open, a smoking figure stumbling out and collapsing face down with a hard groan of pain. Whoever it was must have just escaped from the inferno, as the smell of burning metal and even flesh was hanging in the air.

"A survivor?" Steppenwolffe asked.

"I'll check him out." Trooper said before he ran up. He grabbed the burned boy and turned it around, only to gasp and jump back. "Good god..." he whispered.

"What? What's wrong?" Emerald called as they caught up with him.

"It's Jude..." Trooper answered as the others looked down to see the agent, half burned with the flesh of his face peeled scorched off to reveal a charred metal skull mixed with faint traces of bone. His eyes, one mechanical, looked at the group in relief as he struggled to get up, disturbing some of them with the dried blood covering his organic-robotic body. The fake skin that had covered his cyborg half has been totally burned away by the flames, revealing what he had become underneath, the metal skull marked with scorches and dried blood.

"Oh my lord..." Zhan gasped, his mouth dropping open, allowing his cigarette to fall.

"What in the name of the Four Kingdoms..." Little Steve, struggling not to drop his three out cold companions.

"That's nasty, even considering what happened to me." Fireball stated, wincing as he remembered the accident that scarred his body.

"How the hell is he still alive?" Merrick pondered as Jude weakly looked up and coughed.

"He's not fully human, Mistress Salem wanted him to be one of the Grimm Hybrids once he proved himself worthy but the way she found him made things kinda complicated." Ziz answered.

"Let me guess, his body was so ruined that the only way was to turn him into a cyborg?" Trooper proposed.

"Correct, that's why he's not a Grimm Commander, Giger wasn't sure what the Grimm Essence would do inside of a partially mechanical body." Steppenwolffe continued.

"Get me out of here, I won't die yet." Jude rasped out.

"Sure thing. Zhan, get up here and help me!" Trooper ordered.

"Of course." The illusionist said as he helped the former soldier prop Jude up.

Emerald took the lead and muttered "Man, no wonder you wanted to kill that Ashe guy." She wondered how anyone could survive what Jude had been through before Salem had found him.

Soon enough they made it to the underground docking-bay, which housed the massive airship/submarine vessel that had been created from various parts of Atlas Attack Ship models and war submarines, crafted together by Sherizawa and his engineers.

"Are you sure that thing is safe? I mean I don't want to be deep underwater with a Wyvern and the Chimera, sedated or no." Merrick voiced

"You got any better suggestions?" Trooper barked.

Merrick said nothing in return, as he knew he didn't.

Kaller stood outside to greet them, waving them towards the ship. "Let's go, the main right tunnel network doors won't last much longer the way the explosions are escalating." He said before he noticed how badly wounded Cinder was. "Oh no... get her to West ASAP. Dr. Sherizawa, with Lady Cinder incapacitated you and the Grimm Commanders have control, what are your orders?"

"Once everyone already here is inside we open the bay and flood it, then we shall just sail out, activate the cloaking device, and finally lift off and fly to safety unseen." The engineer said as he followed Emerald into the craft, the others following.

"What about the others? Surely there are more survivors above." Little Steve pointed out.

"If they aren't dead they're dying, plus if they do get captured they now what awaits them if they talk." Steppenwolffe said coldly. The large man said nothing in return, he just handed his comrades to some medical attendants.

Soon enough everyone was inside of the ship, with West and a few other medics tending to Cinder right away, creating healing glyphs and pouring aura into her wounds to close them.

"This does not bode well, I'm afraid the scar across her face can be healed but it will take time." West announced as Sherizawa headed to the bridge.

"Seal off the ship and prepare to submerge, open the bay doors and flood this entire area." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Said the ship's supervisor as he began pressing buttons on the consoles around him.

The ships doors, windows, and air-vents were all sealed off as the cables holding them in the water detached and drew back into the ship, only to shoot out again into the walls to brace the ship for the rush of water that would soon come.

"Prepare to submerge, open the bay door in thirty seconds." The supervisor ordered an underling. He turned to see Sherizawa, Ziz, and Steppenwolffe entering the bridge of the ship. "Further orders?"

"Yeah, don't take us up in the sky until we're at least an hour away from Haven, the less resistance we face the better." Ziz commanded.

"Concurred, I shall contact Mistress Salem myself; she will doubtlessly want to hear about what has transpired." Sherizawa said as he left the bridge, making his way to the communications room.

Down the docking bay, at the end of the tunnel the heavy metal doors parted open and the water poured in dozens of gallons at once, utterly flooding the tunnel and would have crushed anyone unfortunate enough not to be inside the ship.

"Prepare to move the ship." Steppenwolffe ordered as he gripped a railing tightly.

Emerald had followed West and the medics to the med-bay where she saw Mercury laying on a bed, his bodily wounds being tended to by a female medic while Ante sat on a chair talking on his scroll as his right arm continued to grow back.

"I don't give a shit if it's an inconvenience! Just get those Dust containers out of town tonight, or you'll have to answer to me and my boys." Ante barked before he saw Cinder, Lao, Tom-Tom, and Douglas all being carried into the med-bay. "Call you back, just do it, spread the word for all the street punks to start laying low in the underground, if not they'll answer to me or the Atlas soldiers and right now I cannot tell which is worse!" he shouted before he cut the call off. "Okay, pickpocket, what we miss?"

Emerald sighed and said "As you can see three of your men were injured in the battle and we took heavy causalities regarding the Grimm and the Knights, we also believe that Giger is dead."

"And the brats?" Ante prodded as Trooper and Zhan helped the charred Jude onto a table. He tried to get a look at Cinder but the medics were crowding around her, blocking her from view.

"Escaped, with Nikos, but Arc took a nasty hit from one of Cinder's arrows, went right through him so I doubt he'll survive." She elaborated, shivering in disgust at the sight of the sick smirk on Damien's face.

"Too bad I wasn't the one to kill him."

Emerald said nothing as she looked over to see the dying Norvik, struggling to breathe as medics tended to him. "What happened?"

"He mentioned Ozpin, so I can assume Salem will not too happy with us." He stated.

"No duh. At least we're not dead yet." Emerald said as the ship's intercom came on.

"Brace for impact, we are now submerging. The impact of the water from Haven Bay will be rather hard so brace yourselves." The voice of the supervisor said over the intercom.

Emerald grabbed onto a table and the medics moved quickly to strap the injured to the beds before quickly grabbing onto something attached to the floor or the wall. The ship buckled and shook as the water collided into it, the cables holding it still as much as it could.

The water slammed into the tunnel, flooding the entire thing as the ship was now fully submerged. On the bridge Ziz and Steppenwolffe watched as the ship settled with the water around it, holding the tons of pressure back with ease.

"Detach cables and take us out." Steppenwolffe ordered the supervisor.

"Yes sir, detaching cables." The supervisor said as he pressed several buttons, releasing the ship from its hold on the walls. It sagged down into the water as the engines fired up and the massive vessel began moving out of the tunnel and into the sea. The water engines were separate from the jet engines which propelled the ship forward and upwards during flight, the only connection being a small energy conduit which was sealed off at the moment, and only used when it was time to transfer from mode to mode.

As the ship sailed beneath the sea and out towards the open ocean Sherizawa prepared himself for some sign of rage from his Mistress over the video-screen, but she showed none. On the way to the elevator Emerald had told him as much as she could about what had transpired in Giger's lab so he knew of Ante's foolish actions.

She sighed and said "So the injured are Cinder, Jude, Norvik, Mercury, Ante, and three of his enforcers with Giger and untold amounts of guards, workers, Grimm, Knights, and the like dead. Not to mention Neo betraying us, therefore allowing Ozpin, Rose, Nikos, and Arc to escape. This is most unsatisfying."

"I understand Mistress Salem, what do you wish me to tell the others?" Sherizawa inquired.

"Nothing other than to gather in the ship's assembly hall in half an hour, I need to address my subjects and survey the damage and, if necessary, deal out punishments. Do you have the bomb I asked you to make?" she asked.

"I believe so, it is most likely among my equipment transported here." He confirmed.

"Good, he needs to be... taught a lesson and if what you told me about Cinder is true it seems she needs to be taught as well. I shall have to air my grievances with them. Make sure she is healed enough to regain consciousness but leave the scar across her face, I wish to see it as I may need it to make an example. Dismissed." She finished.

Sherizawa bowed his head as he shut off the screen and took out his scroll. "Yes, Fontane? Go look among my equipment they managed to get aboard and look for the bomb Mistress Salem asked me to create, you know the one."

About twenty-four minutes later Cinder woke up, slightly groaning in pain as she could feel the scar across her face. The rest of her body had been significantly healed, bruises, cuts, and wounds from her battles healed up quickly but it was rather curious as to why the scar on her face, the most obvious of any wound, was left unattended..

"Cinder, are you okay?" Emerald asked. Cinder looked up to see her student in front of her, a concerned look on her face.

"Emerald I... what happened? The last thing I remember was Nikos..." Cinder said as looked over to the other injured.

"She used her Semblance to lift up those Knights and slammed them down on you. The reason those other idiots kept fighting us was to keep us distracted so she could make her move. We got hit pretty bad." Emerald admitted.

"Obviously, why didn't they heal this gash?" she asked.

"I was curious about that myself, apparently from what Sherizawa said Salem wants it to remain for the time being." The thief explained.

"We're on the ship, obliviously, so I can assume we have been defeated." Cinder speculated.

"We have. We lost Giger and a lot of Grimm Knights, plus a ton of workers, not to mention the wounded." Emerald said as she looked over to Mercury.

"What happened to him?" Cinder inquired.

"Xiao Long, man was she ticked. Ante's arm got blown off, three of the enforcers are down for the count, Jude was nearly burned alive, and we found Norvik but he probably won't make it. All in all we're in a pretty bad way." Emerald reported.

"I can see that. So Sherizawa has contacted my master?" Cinder asked, getting a nod of confirmation from the thief. "I see, this does not bode well." The Fall Maiden stated as she got up, clutching at her face.

"Don't expect me to stop you, Lady Cinder, from what I have been told Mistress Salem want you, your thief, Jude, and Norvik in the assembly hall shortly. I shall inform the Grimm Commanders that you have awoken so we can get this meeting over with." West said from the back as he tried to heal Norvik.

"What happened to..." Cinder began before she saw Jude rise up from the cot he had been placed on. "...you?" she finished.

"Your brother started those explosions and dropped me down an elevator shaft as the fires rose up. I will not let this go unpunished. I will destroy your brother like the insect he is. I must have another shot at him!" Jude ranted before Cinder used her powers to slam him into the wall.

"Enough with your pathetic obsession with my brother!" she shouted.

"I can't, no more than you can get over your obsession with those children." Jude shot back as he dropped to the floor.

"You don't exactly look shocked by his robotic half." Emerald said.

"I have known about that for some time, turning him into a cyborg was the only way to save his life after the Grimm brought him to us after nearly mauling him to death. The fact that it was my brother never came up until recently... my gods Jude he made you look pathetic." Cider mocked.

"He did not escape unscathed, I hope." Jude prodded.

"He is gravely injured, but will live for now." Cinder said as she looked over to the medics who were tending to Norvik. "Prepare to move him, if my master wants to see us all she shall see us. Emerald, go tell Sherizawa and the Grimm Commanders I have recovered for the time being." She ordered.

"What about your face?" Emerald asked.

"If my master ordered it to be left she will tell me why soon enough. Where are Ante and his thugs?" Cinder inquired as Emerald left.

"Already in the assembly hall, Ante's still getting the word about the evacuation to his men in the city; he shall depart for the city tomorrow on the shuttle so he can make sure things go smoothly." West elaborated.

Cinder nodded, "Just as planned. We shall take our leave, West. Come us to continue healing Norvik as best you can." She instructed.

"As you wish." West said obediently as the underling medics began to wheel the dying Norvik out of the room, trailing behind Cinder and Emerald who led the way.

West and Jude trailed behind as West spoke to the fellow servant of Salem. "Are you sure you don't want a pain killer? At least let me heal you, the pain must be unbearable."

"Oh trust me, Dr. West, pain is something I have come to appreciate over the years. It is something I shall live with until Ashe dies by my hands." Jude stated as he followed the others.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha leaned against each other as the ship sailed across the sky of Haven City. Jaune's hoodie had been returned to him to cover up his torso to keep him warm, even though it had noticeable blood stains and a hole where the arrow has torn through. Pyrrha also lightly gripped Milo and Akouo to her side, her weapons returned to their rightful owner. Nora and Ren sat next to them, happy that their team had been reunited once again against all odds. Next to them Team CFVY all of them totally beat while on the other end of Team JNPR was Team RWBY along with Taiyang leaning against the wall, with Penny, three members of Team SSSN, and Bianca across from them. Up ahead towards the front of the ship Qrow, Glynda, Ashe, and Ozpin talked amongst themselves about their situation.

"So what exactly are we gonna do when we get to the academy? Doubtlessly the Atlas boys will want some answers not to mention to arrest me, Schnee, CFVY, robo-girl, and the other two kids from Atlas. I don't think these kids can take another fight after the shit-storm they've been through tonight." Qrow stated.

Glynda nodded, "Agreed, I think the mere sight of Ozpin and our word about James being controlled will make them second guess themselves. At the very least the confirmation of Cinder's presence in Haven after going unnoticed for all this time will make them consider a truce, even if Ozpin has lost favor among the councils."

"I may be able to prove myself in the future, if given the chance, but for now regrouping with the others and explaining the situation to Jason." Ozpin said, briefly thinking about Jason Argo, the Headmaster of Haven Academy, an old friend who had chosen to respectfully decline any involvement with the Maidens or anything involving the government unless he had no other choice.

"Right, Jason will likely stand with us if they try to arrest the children or attack Qrow but given the battle their forces have knowledge of will at least give us until tomorrow and let the children have the rest they deserve." Glynda agreed.

"Rest I need, the academy is in sight so we can land soon." Sage called from the cockpit.

"Good, you see any Atlas soldiers?" Ashe asked.

"Not that I can see... wait, no, there's a small shuttle on the edge of the courtyard and a small crowd." The green-haired teenager reported as he piloted the ship towards the academy which stood among the city like a wide and misshapen monolith with several various buildings and towers atop the giant tower. Sure enough there was an Atlas shuttle on the landing platform near the courtyard with a crowd of young Hunters in training acting as spectators while Flynt and Neon stood behind several Haven professors as well as Oobleck, Brawnz, Nebula, May, Ross, and all five Arc sisters stood between them and several Atlas soldiers.

"Things don't look too good." Sage said as a voice came over the radio.

"Are you the other ship we were told was coming?" asked what had to be the air traffic control that worked for the academy.

"Yes, we've gotten away from the battle but we had to take a detour, do we have permission to land?" Sage inquired.

"You have the permission of Professor Argo, by the way, he wants an explanation for what's going on as the Atlas guys aren't telling him jack. Go ahead and land on platform five." The controller said.

"Will do." Sage said.

Qrow and Glynda looked at one another before Qrow said "This is gonna be a long night."

Ashe nodded and turned back to the others, "Okay kids, one last ordeal and you can all go to sleep."

"Ugh, what now?" Fox asked.

"There are some Atlas soldiers in the courtyard along with a few of your friends, looks like we got to get the Academy guys on our side if we're gonna get this thing straightened out." Ashe said as Sage began to land the ship and Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora retrieved their bags.

Glynda and Ozpin looked at each other. "Ozpin, if we have to fight to keep these children with us I will gladly do so." She said.

"I do not believe that we will have to fight, let words win this battle for once." Ozpin stated as the ship came closer and closer to the platform.

Qrow nodded as he gripped Reaper, "Sure, but if they so much as aim a gun at these kids I'm kicking the shit out of 'em."

Glynda sighed and said "In that case I shall disembark first."

The ship finally landed on the platform and Glynda pulled the door open, she looked out to see the Atlas soldiers and the others looking at her as she stepped out of the ship.

"Come on out." Glynda beckoned to the students. Ruby looked to her team and her father who nodded as he got up. Taiyang led his daughters out of the ship with their teammates following them, the worry on Weiss' face was evident as she knew full well she and the others involved with rescuing Penny could be arrested, not to mention what could happen to the robot girl herself.

Qrow followed the team out, his grip on Reaper tight and his face dark, if these soldiers made so much as a tried to shoot at his nieces he'd do something overtly drastic, he was in no mood to lose anyone else.

Team JNPR followed next, Jaune and Pyrrha continued to hold each other's hands, tightening. They know full well the reaction to her still being alive would be one of shock and many demands for questions, but they looked into each others eyes and knew that no matter what they would face in the not too distant future was nothing compared to what they had just left behind them. Whatever the men of Atlas tried to do to them they would face it together. Nora and Ren followed them, both ready to fight for their friends; they were not going to let them get hurt after saving them both after the insane mess they had just escaped from. Nora shook Magnhild a little and Ren nodded and he wrapped his fingers around the StormFlowers. They could hear the gasps of shock from the students of Haven, all of whom thought Pyrrha had been killed months ago and yet here she was, leaning against her partner.

Penny looked hesitant to disembark from the ship but felt Velvet's hand on her shoulder. Coco walked up alongside her and said "We got your back, Pen."

"Don't worry; we will not let them take you." Yatsuhashi said.

Penny smiled as she followed the others out of the ship, seeing the smile Ruby was giving her as she gestured for Penny to come on. As Team CFVY made their way out of the ship with Team SSSN following after them, Sun keeping his eyes on the Atlas soldiers, he looked to his team and nodded, making a gesture to get ready for a battle.

Bianca jumped out of the ship and held out her hand for Ozpin to grab onto, helping him onto solid ground. She looked to her brother and his partner and smiled, happy that her brother would be okay now. She noticed the serious look on Ozpin's face and looked ahead to the gathering of soldiers, students, and teachers.

The Lieutenant of the group of soldiers called to them "Professor Goodwitch, I am Lieutenant Ellis of the Atlas Military and given what I have heard over the radio from Captain Samson and the battle that went down out in the slums I'm being forced to question my orders."

"How so?" Glynda asked.

"Well first of all we have been told time and again our agent who was looking for Cinder Fall never found her in the city and even confirmed that Damien Ante wasn't working for her and yet Samson reports that several of Ante's top men were spotted taking part in the battle at that factory. Second; we were given explicit orders to arrest anyone involved with the theft of Penny Polendina, that includes Weiss Schnee, Qrow Branwen, two of the students over there, and one of the teams behind you but given what has been going on I think I'd prefer some answers from you before I do so. Also, I can see that Samson was not delusional when he was saying that Pyrrha Nikos was somehow back from the dead." The officer said as he eyed Pyrrha suspiciously.

"We indeed do have a lot to go over, but right now these children need to rest as they have been through so much tonight. I must warn you, however, that if you try to arrest any one of us we will resist, violently if necessary." Glynda said, her voice laced with a small hint of a threat.

"I'm sorry, Professor Goodwitch but I have my orders and I have orders to arrest Qrow Branwen, Weiss Schnee, Team CFVY, Flynt Coal, Neon Katt, and Penny Polendina if I can and right now all of them are within reach." The officer stated.

Blake got Gambol Shroud ready and could her ears easily picked up the sounds of the others getting ready for a fight.

Ozpin made his way through the group and revealed himself. "Excuse me lieutenant, but I believe that you need to be in full possession of the facts before you make any hasty decisions."

Ellis gaped and said "Ozpin?! What..."

He was cut off by Professor Argo rushing forward. He was a man in his early fifties but seemed to be much younger; his body was in excellent shape, hinting at the various missions and battles he had won over the course of the years. "William! We thought you dead, old friend." He said as he grabbed Ozpin's hand and shook it.

"Not yet, Jason. Now, I trust we have you on our side, given that you and several members of your staff were protecting Mr. Coal and Miss Katt." Ozpin surmised with a smile.

"Correct, I'm not going to let anyone be arrested on my school's grounds until I hear the whole story and from what Dr. Oobleck has told me it is a long story." Argo said.

"Indeed it is, but these children are tired and weary after a chaotic battle, so I would like for them to be given the opportunity to have a good night's rest before anything else happens, as it can wait. Trust us, we're not going anywhere for the time being." Ozpin said.

"I have several rooms not being used at the moment, I would be more than happy to help them." The headmaster said before Ellis spoke up.

"May I remind you that some of them are criminals? They are wanted escapees from Atlas for assault on military personnel, destruction of military property, and theft of military property which is standing right there!" Ellis barked as he gestured to Penny who hid behind Ruby.

"Hey! She is not military property!" Ruby snapped.

"Ruby..." Taiyang began before his daughter stopped him.

"No dad, I need to say this." Ruby said defiantly as she walked up to three adults. "Listen, we have been through heck and back tonight, my friends have nearly died to stop Cinder Fall and we're lucky to be alive and I am not going to let you take them." She said, her eyes subtly glowing. "So if you want to arrest Weiss, my uncle, or any of my friends, you'll have to go through me."

"And me." Blake said as she made her way forward. Yang even stepped forward, despite her damaged arm she was still willing to fight if need be.

"Us too." Sun said as he and his teammates stepped up, their weapons drawn, ignoring the sound of confusion from Argo as to the reappearance of some missing students.

"We're exhausted but we will not stand by and let you take them." Pyrrha said as she held Milo in spear form.

"Trust me man, it's not worth it." Ashe stated as he held out his sword.

"They have our support and I for one will not let you arrest any of them." Glynda agreed as gripped her wand.

"And you will have to deal with us as well." Oobleck declared from the back.

"I will stand by them and I know my staff will support that decision." Argo said firmly.

Ellis sighed as he looked at the smirk on Qrow's face, the fearful look on Penny's, the various looks of nervousness, determination, and preparation for another fight on the faces of Weiss and Team CFVY.

He looked at Ruby and said "Well Miss Rose, it seems that if I even try to take action against them I will have you and your little... family to answer to. Very well, we can sort it out later."

Nearly everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the soldiers lowered their weapons, a sign for the Hunters to lower theirs.

"Okay William, Glynda, now I think that my staff, these soldiers, and I would like to have an explanation for how Pyrrha Nikos and Penny Polendina are still alive as well as what Cinder Fall was doing in our city." Argo voiced.

"All in due time, as for now would you be so kind as to arrange some rooms for these students as well as updating us to the injured we brought you?" Ozpin asked kindly.

"Do not fear Headmaster." Oobleck said as he, the Arc sisters, and the other members of the combat team made their way forward. "I am happy to report all of the wounded are stable and alive. Port, Violet Arc, Miss Ember, Mr. Stallion and Mr. Porfirio are all injured but they have been stabilized thanks to Dr. Chloris and the medical team here. Mr. Shiko is undergoing treatment for his devastating injury now to lessen the blood loss and make it easier for a robotic appendage to be added at a later date but Mr. Bronzewing is still unconscious, possibly slipping into a coma. All in all we are out but not down." The green-haired teacher reported.

"Could be better, but it could be much worse." Ozpin stated as he and the rest of the group followed Argo and the other teachers of Haven into the school.

"What happened to Nadir?" Ren asked.

"A serious injury but one he will survive, you will know more in the morning, get rest while you can." Oobleck said quickly.

As Oobleck had been speaking to Ozpin the four Arc sisters quickly surrounded Jaune and smothered him with hugs and cries of "Are you okay?! What happened? How is Pyrrha back?!"

"Girls, calm down! Give him some room to breathe." Bianca said, laughing as Jaune tried to return the hugs to the best of his abilities.

"Hey, hey, I'm really happy to see you're all okay too... Violet why are you out here? Shouldn't you be resting." he asked.

"Always the concerned one, ain't ya Jaune? I'm fine, Chloris fixed me right up." Violet assured him.

"So you're a Grimm hybrid now? You don't look any different." Whispered Indigo.

"We took care of that." Pyrrha whispered back with a smile. Indigo nodded, happy that her brother was back.

"Nice to see you're okay little bro, but how exactly is she here?" Shani asked as she hugged Jaune to her.

"Shani, that's a story for tomorrow, trust us when we say we're too tired to tell it tonight." Nora said. Now that must have meant something if Nora of all people was tired out.

"You don't look so bad kiddo, I'm just happy you're okay." Sienna said, planting a kiss on her little brother's cheek.

Argo continued speaking with Ozpin and Glynda, nodding as he said "I'll do what I can for your students, I'm sure my own will be more than willing to donate some clothes and I believe that nearly all of our guest rooms are empty, plenty of room for you." Argo said as he gestured to a female teacher named Natalia Echo, a brunette woman armed with what appeared to be a gun/sound amplifier weapon, who nodded.

"Come with me to the guest dorms, I will have some of our students go back to the infirmary to inform Dr. Chloris and the others of your arrival, I must warm you though that some of the guest rooms can only take one or two people." She said.

"A room meant for two is fine with us." Jaune said as he smiled softly at Pyrrha. His sisters looked at each other and most of them resisted the urge to coo at their little brother's interactions with his partner.

"Can you take our dad to the infirmary? I think his arm was broken." Yang said.

Professor Echo nodded and said "Mr. Xiao Long, correct? Can you hold out until the students are all settled in?"

"Yeah, trust me when I say I have had way worse injuries in the past." The blonde Huntsman said with a bitter grin as he followed his daughters and their friends into the school.

Qrow looked back the soldiers, none of whom gave him any hint that they were okay with letting him go after his attack on Ironwood. He ran to catch up with Argo, Glynda, and Ozpin and said "Look, I think as soon as we get the kids settled in some of us need to go out there with the military to shift through the wreckage. No doubt those morons have already called Jimmy up and he'll be here sometime tomorrow so we better get ready to free him."

"Free him?" Argo repeated.

"We believe that James Ironwood has been placed under mind control by a traitor amongst his men, working for our enemies." Glynda revealed, getting a grunt of agreement from Ozpin, who had been informed about the situation on the way.

"Dear gods... this is a serious accusation but given tonight I'm not inclined to dismiss it. Do you have a plan to free him?" Argo asked.

"Yes, I've known James for years and though we have had our differences we both work for the same ends. I know him well enough to help him." Ozpin said confidently.

Qrow shook his head and said "I'm gonna need some coffee, 'cause it's gonna be one hell of a night."

"I don't expect either of us will be getting any sleep, Qrow. Do... you wish to go with me?" Glynda asked.

"Yes. I need to go back for the body." He said darkly.

"Body? Who died?" Argo inquired.

"We lost two good people, Jason. They may not have been the best people in the world, but in the end they truly proved their worth." Ozpin answered as they walked further into the school.

* * *

Cinder, Emerald, and the others soon arrived to the assembly hall of the ship, a massive room that was three floors big and served as the meeting place for the ship. Three floors surrounded it on all sides in a circle with little fire escape-like staircases as ways down. There was one large wall at the bottom of it with a small makeshift throne in front of it that was to serve as a chair for the commander of the vessel, and Cinder knew it would be her once her master was finished. Or would it? It depended on how her master would react to tonight's failures.

Ante, Trooper, Little Steve, Zhan, Merrick, and Fireball sat off to the side as Ante, whose arm had not regenerated down to the elbow, was still talking on his scroll to someone.

"No! Move the trains out tonight, use our leverage on the signalmen to switch off to the old branch lines, those aren't even used anymore. We can use those lines to transport both the Dust and the weapons to Sygars where we can store them. Just do it as fast as you can and get our men to their new bases, I want the cops and the Atlesians to think this city has been cleared out in forty-eight hours at the least." Ante barked at the man he was talking to.

He glanced up at Cinder and hung up. "Holy shit, you got fucked up royally. Didn't think Rose had it in her. They told me it was bad but, man, your face..."

Cinder gave him a glare that instantly shut him up.

Trooper and the other enforcers looked at Jude who stood still and silent, ignoring the stares the lesser crew members were giving him. He didn't care about his true physical appearance being revealed to them, all he could think about now was a how to make Ashe pay for this.

"Lady Cinder, are you sure you're in shape to deal with Mistress Salem?" Steppenwolffe asked from above where he stood with Ziz, who was sitting on the railings and sitting against a steal support beam.

"It would be better if we were to speak with her now..." Cinder began before one of the side doors opened to reveal Keeper Matilda, Lt. Kaller, and the caged Chimera. "Why have you brought that thing in here?" she demanded.

"Mistress Salem's orders, my Lady." Matilda answered respectfully as the Chimera lazily moved in its sleep.

Cinder nodded and looked to Norvik, who was staring at the Chimera with his hand lazily pointing towards it. This confused her at first but before she could think anymore about it Sherizawa entered the chamber.

"Now that all of the necessary individuals have arrived I think it's safe to say that Mistress Salem can address her subjects." He said as he pushed a button on his scroll.

A black portal opened up in front of the throne, making some of them jump back as the Mistress of Grimm gracefully exited the vortex, closing it behind her. She looked down at them all, her eyes unreadable but everyone feared her true reaction to this disastrous battle.

"Doctor, have you compiled what our servants managed to save yet or our losses for that matter?" Salem asked calmly.

"Indeed I have; all Grimm sent out into battle have been killed, the two thousand Grimm Knights sent out to ward off our enemies were all destroyed, and we are speculating at least thirty-one percent of our equipment was destroyed in the explosions caused by Ashe Kasai, as well as another thousand inactive Grimm Knights and several dozen more that were assisting in the transportation of Knights, Dust, Grimm, and equipment. As for the Grimm we have in captivity, they were mostly successfully transported to this ship, including the Wyvern and the Chimera, all in all Keeper Matilda has surmised a mere eight percent loss." Sherizawa reported.

Salem looked to the head Grimm Keeper who nodded in confirmation. Salem looked back to Sherizawa and asked "And what of our workers and guards?"

"We are reporting a sixty-two percent loss on those fronts; most of the guards were defeated in battle or killed in the explosions, which also claimed a high number of our workers but we have yet to make an official count." He added.

Salem glared down at her various servants. "So, if I recall what I was told earlier Victor Giger is dead, Norvik lays dying, Cinder, Mercury, Jude, Ante and three enforcers are injured, and Neo has betrayed us. Not to mention the loss of Nikos, Ozpin, Rose, and Arc. Tell me, did they at least have any casualties?"

"Yes Mistress." Trooper announced as he stood up. "From what we've gathered at least six or seven of them were injured, but we do not know how badly, but the injured does include Jaune Arc, who was shot with an arrowhead that went clean through, if my eyes didn't lie to me, so chances are he's not feeling too good right now. According to Emerald the one known as Cardin Winchester was killed by the Chimera..."

"And Raven Branwen is dead, by my hand." Cinder announced. "Quite literally, as I absorbed her powers before I ended her."

Everyone looked at her, shocked.

"So I guess that's why you were able to fight them all the way you did, no wonder you kept going." Ziz said.

Salem eyed Cinder and voiced "The Scarab drained her powers?"

"Yes, my master, she didn't stand a chance. I would have killed her brother but she intervened so that wouldn't happen and her death only enraged the drunken Qrow. He forced me outside where I fought the remnants of the attack group, mostly alone." She said as she glared at those around her, but gave Emerald a thankful look. "I nearly killed Ashe, broke the arm of Rose's father, destroyed Schnee's summon, and I have mortally wounded Arc, but..."

"But in the end you were defeated by Pyrrha Nikos and your face scarred by Ruby Rose. You have failed me, Cinder." Salem said, glaring down at her disciple.

Cinder sighed in defeat and gave in. "Yes, in the end I failed to stop them. I... I am willing to accept whatever punishment you see fit, master."

Salem gave her a small smile. "Very well."

She held out her arm and a powerful blast of black and white aura shot out and slammed into Cinder's head, blowing her down to her back, screaming in pain and clutching her face as small, thin clouds of smoke trailed off her head. Emerald ran to Cinder and knelt down as her teacher writhed in agony, the scar burning deeper into her face.

Emerald looked up to Salem and exclaimed "Why did you do that?!"

"Because, child, she has failed me and I cannot allow that to go unabated. The scar shall now be burned into her face by my powers; it shall only be lifted from her face when she has redeemed herself, no sooner." The Mistress of Grimm said, glaring down at Emerald who gave in and shyly backed down. Ziz and Steppenwolffe glanced at each other, not sure what to think of their comrade's punishment, even Ante looked horrified at what was happening to her.

Trooper tried to approach Cinder to help her up only for her to scream out for him to get away, which he complied, looking away from the thin jagged line burned across her face. Cinder calmed herself down, silencing her moans of pain as well as attempting to stop the tremors of agony that were raging through her body. She rose up to her hands and knees to bow down to her master, her body still trembling.

"Thank you for sparing my life, master. I will try to redeem myself for my failures in the future. I won't fail you again." She said as she forced herself to look Salem in the eyes. Their eyes met, ember to blood red, and Salem smiled.

"You will have a chance to redeem yourself in the future, sooner than you'd think. So now that Nikos is back on the side of our enemies we must consider something else; Matilda, what of the Wyvern?" she inquired.

"Now that I know what was going on with Drakos I think I understand what was happening with the beast; somehow, against all odds, it bonded with her. It felt her pain and anger during the battles; therefore it wanted to breakout and help her. I didn't know it was possible but a Grimm wanted to help somebody. Though I must admit it seems more possible when you consider the fact that she's a hybrid." Matilda reported.

Salem nodded, "I shall calm it down myself once it awakens. Damien, how goes the evacuation of your cargo, men, and operations?"

"Given how fast they have to act it's going pretty smoothly. Once my arm's grown back and my boys are healed up we'll head back to the city to speed things up." Damien said, not noticing a female assistant of Sherizawa's walking behind him.

"Good work, Damien, but Emerald has informed Sherizawa that you were the one who unleashed the Chimera, costing us not only several guards but Victor Giger as well, ripping away one of my best minds far too soon. This idiotic act will not go unpunished either." Salem hissed.

"What? No! Wait a minute... Mistress I..." Ante tried to say before the assistant stabbed a small needle into the base of his skull. "OW! What the fuck?! What the hell did you do to me?!" he demanded.

"Miss Fontane has injected you with a microscopic explosive device. If you do anything that idiotic or even remotely fail me in such a way again, Damien, I'll have it detonated." Salem said with a smirk.

Ante's eyes widened in terror as he looked to Sherizawa who simply nodded so he looked back to Salem. The horrible reality of his head exploding whenever he did anything to even slightly piss Salem off sunk in. "My Semblance..."

"Will only get you so far. I have encountered ones like it before in my life and they tend to have similar weaknesses such as massive aura drainage, the fact that the brain and the heart cannot be regenerated, and of course the fact that incineration will be a permanent kill switch for you. And be warned Damien Ante, if you try to have it removed I will know." Salem promised him

He nodded and asked "What do I have to do to get this thing removed?"

"Why, act competently, of course. I trust your men such as Trooper and Lao will be useful in running your operations should you disappoint me again." She said as Ante nodded, his body shaking in fear a little.

"I-I won't fail you again." He said nervously.

"See that you don't." Salem said dryly before West spoke up.

"Forgive my interruption Mistress, but Norvik is dying, he will not last much longer. If you're going to do anything with him now would be the time." He said as the old man began to desperately gasp for air.

Salem nodded and said "If he wants a new body he shall receive one." She stepped over to them and spoke to the dying old man. "Norvik, my faithful servant, would you like to get your new body now?"

He looked up at her and weakly nodded, his shaking hand gesturing over to the Chimera's cage as he whispered "Make me one of them..."

"Very well. Bring the Chimera's cage over here." Salem instructed Matilda.

"Wait, what? Mistress Salem what are you...?" Matilda tried to say before a glare from Salem silenced her. She and some other Keepers wheeled over the Chimera's cage to them as Salem's hands began to glow white.

"What is she...?" Fireball whispered to his cohorts before Cinder placed one hand inside of the cage upon the Chimera and the other atop Norvik's.

"You gotta be kidding me." Trooper said as Steppenwolffe and Ziz jumped down as two a light surged out of Norvik's body, through Salem's and into the Chimera, which jolted and shook as Salem removed her hand from it.

She took a moment to recover herself and then smiled as she said "Behold, the sixth Grimm Hybrid; Norvik the Chimera. A hybrid of different Grimm body parts spliced with human DNA merged with this man's dark soul."

The Chimera's red eyes opened up and it mouth curved into a smile as its four limbs lifted its body up.

And it talked.

"New body? Don't mind if I do." The beast said as it made an unnerving sound that was some disgusting and butchered attempt at a laugh. He stretched his body out in its quadruped form as he looked up to the other two hybrids in the room and said "Hello brother and sister."

Ziz got her ax-gun ready for a potential fight and muttered "Oh fuck no."

"That's just... wrong." Steppenwolffe said quietly.

"It will take him a while to for him to adjust and he will need some conditioning, but I do need to compensate for the Grimm Commander I have just lost in Nikos. Now Norvik, if you attempt to do harm to any of my servants without reason or my explicit permission you should know what fate awaits you." Salem threatened.

Norvik nodded his head and answered "I do, death or something worse."

"Indeed. What would you like to become of your previous body?" she inquired.

"I wish to consume it." Norvik said, getting disgusted reactions from nearly everyone present, but Salem just nodded.

"It will be so. Now Jude, it is thanks to you that we were able to recover what we could and it came a great cost to you. I shall have Sherizawa repair you body." She said before Jude stopped her.

"Only the mechanical parts, no more false skin, I feel that it is time for the world to see me as I truly am. My Mistress, I wish to accompany Ante and his men back to the city. I want one last shot at Ashe." Jude said from the ground as he bowed to her on his knees.

"Ashe has defeated you twice thus far, what makes you think you'd stand a chance a third time, and so soon after tonight?" she inquired.

"I... have a plan, Mistress, a plan that will give Ashe no choice but to surrender to me and allow me to take my revenge." Jude said evilly before Cinder spoke up.

"Master, ignore this fool. He failed to kill my brother five years ago and he failed to stop him from destroying the factory tonight. Do you not realize that your obsession with my brother is dangerous?" the Fall Maiden asked.

"No more dangerous than your obsession with power, Fall." Jude shot back.

Trooper shook his head and said his piece. "Okay bud, listen up; I don't know if you've been paying attention tonight but we just got our asses handed to us. Once our operations in Haven are out we're probably going far away from that place and not looking back. If your brain or motherboard or whatever you have in that head of yours isn't fried then is sure as hell needs examined, because he kicked your ass and blew the factory to hell, you really want to annoy him again?"

Jude glared at the former soldier and answered with "Ashe dropped me down an elevator shaft before it went up; he probably thinks I am dead which gives me the advantage of surprise."

Salem nodded and said "I approve of this plan, our defeat tonight cannot go without comeuppance, and one of our enemies must pay for it with their life. It is better that it'd be the guardian of the Aura Crystal. Sherizawa, repair Jude's weapons and do what you can to heal his robotic body. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"I plan to use twenty of Ante's men and take over a public building with little security. I will use those inside as hostages and demand that Ashe hand himself and the crystal over to me. I will murder him and present you with crystal as a gift, Mistress." Jude swore.

Salem smiled and said "This plan does not displease me, so you have my permission to proceed. Once you are ready I shall transport you to me as I will have some eyes watching the newsfeed of Haven for the next few days, therefore I will be watching you, Jude."

Jude nodded and said "Understood."

Cinder looked up to Salem and asked "And what of the traitorous Neoplitan?"

"Dead or alive, neither matters to me in the end." Salem answered as she opened another portal. Before departing she looked at Cinder and reminded her "Contact Taurus and the White Fang, have them move operations out of their current bases, as my informant within Atlas tells me they have gotten their hands on some radio frequencies that could be used against us. Do not fail me again; the power I helped you gain can be taken away quite easily." And with that she went through the portal and it closed behind her.

As Jude began to walk out of the room he was stopped by Cinder calling his name, making the cyborg look at her. "If you fail to kill my brother, which I know you will, I will be the one to end him." She said with a scowl.

Jude smiled darkly and nodded as he said "Fair enough."

Emerald looked at Cinder with concern as her mentor looked down, her index finger gently tracing the scar that marked her face.

"Cinder, are you alright?" she asked.

Cinder looked up at her, her golden eyes glowing as she answered "No."

* * *

Ruby yawned as she laid her body down on the bed in the room Team RWBY had been given, a standard size dorm room used for Hunters in training teams from other schools. No bunk beds but it would do. Weiss had already fallen asleep on the bed that lay horizontally across from her, the Schnee heiress had practically passed out due to aura exhaustion but Ruby knew her partner had earned this rest ten times over.

Yang sat on the bed across from them, fidgeting with her charred arm, which doubtlessly would need a repair from this Dr. Kimball her older sister had told her about. Ruby had been a little worried that Yang's arm being heavily damaged again would push the blonde brawler into another depression, but the cheerful and determined looks Yang gave her proved that would not be the case, but Ruby could tell something was wrong with her sister.

At the door Blake stood speaking with Sun whose teammates had already returned to their own room. Ruby smiled at the Faunus couple, happy that they were finally together. It had been obvious to her that they'd be a good couple for quite some time, maybe even since they had first seen Sun running away from the cops back in Vale. She looked down to Zwei who was cuddled up alongside her and gave him a scratch on the side of his cheek, which he eagerly leaned into.

Ren and Nora were sharing a two-bedroom room down the hall while Jaune and Pyrrha were sleeping in the same bed, neither one of them wanted to be apart from each other after the events of the night, while Goodwitch had opposed this at first Ashe had claimed that if separated too soon the Guardians of the Aura Crystal would endure subtle but distracting pains from within, so they needed to stay together for the night, so Glynda relented.

Team CFVY was in another room down the hall with Flynt and Neon sharing their room across from them with Penny while the Arc sisters were splitting rooms and other teams such as BRNZ, NDGO, and CRDL were scattered with some in their appointed rooms but others electing to stay in the infirmary to look after their injured teammates as had ABRN who had been torn between staying with Nadir or going back to their room to get some well deserved rest. Taiyang would spend the night in the infirmary while Qrow, Glynda, Oobleck, and Ozpin would work with the Atlas forces and the teachers of Haven Academy would spend the night trying to sort out the mess before General Ironwood or anyone else that could be a threat would show up.

"Hey, monkey-boy, split, will ya? Bed time." Qrow said as he pushed Sun out of the way.

"Hey...! Ugh, night Blake, see you in the morning." Sun said with a wink as he began to make his way down the halls, Blake bid him goodbye as Qrow entered the room.

"You girls settled in yet?" he asked as Ruby nodded.

"Yup, it's great to be on a real bed for the first time in days." Ruby said as she leaned her head back against the pillow.

"I know that feeling." Qrow said with a smirk.

Ruby looked up at Qrow and added "Hey Uncle Qrow, try and look for Crescent Rose when you go back, please?"

Qrow smiled and said "Sure thing, can't let a little problem like being snapped in half stop it, can we?" He then walked over to Yang and sat on her bed. "Hey Blondie, your hand okay?"

"Believe it or not it's been worse." Yang said sarcastically.

Qrow nodded and said "Yang, listen... when your mom died to save me she told me to tell you that despite everything, despite all those years apart, she always loved you and Taiyang."

"Don't. I... she was gone my whole life Uncle Qrow and just when I think I'm finally coming to terms with what she did and why she... she..." Yang couldn't continue.

"Yang, I'm not gonna tell you that you don't have any right to resent my sister for what she did, hell you and your dad have every right but you can't hold on to that grudge. My sister truly did love you, she loved our family, that's why she died for me. So please Yang, let it go. You said back at Patch that you forgave her but did you really forgive her?" Qrow inquired.

Yang didn't answer; she just looked down to the floor.

Blake looked to Ruby who was watching the scene as well, not knowing what to do.

"Uncle Qrow, the last time I saw mom alive I... I couldn't say 'I love you' back. How am I supposed to live with myself now?" Yang asked.

"She would have forgiven you, trust me when I say that she understood your emotions and why you didn't return the sentiment. At times she could be a hard person, someone with a dark, even nihilistic view of the world but other times she could be that big sister that always looked out for me the same way you look out for Ruby. She was proud of you, Yang, and I know that in the end, deep down, you loved her too." Qrow finished.

That was it.

Yang broke down crying into her uncle's arms. "I did! I did love her! Why?! Why didn't I tell her that when I had the chance?!" she cried.

Ruby quickly jumped out of her bed and hugged her big sister from the side with Blake joining in, trying to quell the blonde's sobs.

"Let it all out kid, I'll miss her too." Qrow said, refusing to let the girls see him cry as Ruby and Blake tried to smooth Yang with comforting words. It would take some time before Yang got over this one.

"Yang, I'm so, so sorry." Blake said sadly.

"Me too, sis. Hey, come on, your mom knew you loved her deep down, she had to." Ruby added.

"Did she? Or did she die not knowing it because I was still angry over her leaving? When am I ever gonna freaking learn?!" Yang sobbed.

Qrow waited until Yang fell asleep, crying all the way over the death of her mother. The day had taken a toll on all of them, but it seemed that their family had taken a good number of the hits. He watched as Ruby and Zwei got into Yang's bed to comfort her for the night while Blake settled into the bed Ruby had been in.

"Ruby, Yang needs to know that no matter what Raven did know that Yang loved her. Can I trust you and your friends to help her understand that?" he asked.

Ruby gave him a small smile and said "You bet we can."

Qrow returned the smile and shut off the light before he exited the room, shutting the door behind him. He decided that before he joined Glynda and the others he needed to get something off his chest. He found a restroom that was out of the way and totally empty. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the far end, only to slam his fist deep into the wall, shattering the tiles and creating a large hole, injuring his hand a little in the process.

"DAMN IT!" he shouted furiously.

Why? Why the hell did she do that for him? Why didn't she just run like anyone else would? She could have lived, she could have gotten back with Taiyang and her daughter and made up for her actions and...

And nothing.

His sister died to save him and there was nothing he could do about it. This wasn't like the Nikos girl where the body had been teleported; he felt her die in his arms. There was no coming back from that.

Maybe he should have died instead, and then she could have a shot at a real life, not the violent, bloody one she claimed to prefer. But then again could both of the girls suffer losing him?

Total fucking no-win scenario.

He fell down to the floor and did something he had not done in years: he cried. He had held it in because he didn't want Cinder to have the pleasure, then he had to hold back the tears because he didn't want Ruby, Yang or anyone else to see him like this.

Years ago, on a particularly dark day in their lives when their father died Raven had refused to cry saying that "Tears are for the weak."

He felt pretty weak right now.

* * *

Ashe sat down on the bed in the small room he had been given, looking at the two photos. He looked at the one of his family and traced his finger gently around the young Cinder.

"I'm sorry sis, I wish I could have done more for you, maybe then..." he stopped himself with a sigh as he put the photo on the nightstand and then took up the picture of he and Mila.

"Well Mila, for better or for worse it's done. The Aura Crystal will finally be out of my hands tomorrow and... and now that son of a bitch is dead for good. I... I hope that you're somewhere up there, waiting for me and I can only hope that they'll let a fuckup like me in. Well, now what? Should I take Ruby's offer and live on the island like everything's okay? Or do I just go on being some wandering warrior? Maybe I should be an official Huntsman, if they'll have me." He placed the picture on the nightstand with the other, then he took off the two items around his neck.

He placed the whistle down, smiling at it, now knowing that despite all the hard times his mom still loved him. He looked at the ring and said "What to do with you? Maybe... I think there's someone else in need of a ring like you."

He wasn't lying, as he and Mila had forgotten to mention one little fact to Jaune, Pyrrha, and the others, the ceremony they had preformed had one little catch; Jaune and Pyrrha were now technically married.

Oh well, they can figure their lives out later. Hopefully they can just go home and be with each other forever. That's what those kids deserved.

The multiple Haakskeekahs had taken quite the toll on his aura, luckily not a dangerous toll as the energy the Aura Crystal had given him had owerfed him up enough to make all of those aura blasts, but he still felt dead tired. 

He placed the ring down, turned off the light and gently hummed Mila's song to himself as he went to sleep before saying one last thing.

"We did it."

And for the first time in years, Ashe had a good dream.

* * *

Jaune lay on the bed Headmaster Argo had provided them, a wonderfully comfy queen-sized bed that had that odd feeling of being cool, yet cozy at the same time. Jaune had always liked that sensation and wondered if it had anything to do with how utterly worn out he was.

His clothes had been changed for light-gray shorts and a blue sleeveless shirt, which felt rather nice after being forced to wear the same clothes for days.

Jaune lifted up the shirt to look at his two new scars: one on the side where Ante had stabbed him and the other where Cinder's arrow tore through.

He was lucky, more than lucky really, his friends had saved him against all odds; he knew he could never find a way to repay them but at the same time he knew he wouldn't have to.

The sound of the bathroom door opening got his attention and he looked up to see Pyrrha clad in a brown t-shirt and black shorts, blushing a little bit as she approached him.

"Ready to go to sleep?" she asked.

"You bet. I feel like I could sleep for days." Jaune said with a smile.

"Me too, and I know we've all earned it." Pyrrha agreed as she walked around to the other side of the bed.

Jaune looked down as she laid back on the bed and said "Pyr... I... can we be together? Could we really work? I feel... I feel like I'm so..."

He was silenced by Pyrrha grabbing him and forcing him down with an incredibly passionate kiss, wrapping her legs around his waist and her hands caressing his head, her fingers massaging his scalp through his messy hair. Jaune was surprised at first but eagerly returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her midriff. The kiss continued for over a minute before they parted for air, they looked into each other's eyes and saw nothing but love for one another.

"I think we'll be okay." Pyrrha said with a smile.

They lay down next to each other with their legs intertwined, their arms hugging each other's bodies, and their faces just inches apart.

Pyrrha kissed Jaune one last time and said "I love you."

Jaune kissed her back and said "And I love you."

The two fell asleep with their bodies meshed together. They didn't know what the future would bring, but they knew that would never face it alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for the end: Can't Rain All The Time by Jane Siberry
> 
> Don't worry, we are most certainly not done. Another three or four chapters and then this part of the story will be over, and then I'll move on to the next story arc. Sorry if I scared you with that last cliffhanger.
> 
> Holy crap this was the longest chapter in the story.
> 
> Now important note: I have absolutely no idea how accurate any of the medical knowledge I used for Jaune's resuscitation is at all collected from limited knowledge and research, plus RWBY is fantasy so do not take this as legit medical guidelines, especially since the whole adrenaline shot bit was inspired by the 'Out of Gas' episode of Firefly and the scene from Pulp Fiction.
> 
> Okay, for Jason Argo, headmaster of Haven Academy, I think I named his something different in one of the earlier chapters but I cannot remember what it was nor can I find the name in the fic right now.
> 
> Sorry for the delay, blame Captain America Civil War and my little tradition of marathoning the Marvel CU movies before I go see the newest one and before you ask, yes it was awesome.
> 
> How about that letter from Shane Newville? Big freaking drama-bomb. Honestly, I kinda see a lot of good points and it doesn't at all feel like he's making it up. Apparently we were supposed to get JNPR vs. Raven, a bigger Blake and Yang vs. Adam fight, Ruby vs. Torchwick and Neo wasn't supposed to be on the airship, and we were supposed to get Pyrrha AND Jaune fighting Cinder, Pyrrha was still going to die but without that out of character sending Jaune away bit it may have been a little better but honestly it still would have been a very bad and insulting idea, stuffing her in the fridge for Jaune's development is a terrible idea, period. Plus I guess if it had been done the original way Jaune would have become a flat-out despised character instead of the love him or hate him one he is now. RT has really been acting up lately and as much as I love the first two Volumes of RWBY and all of RvB Pyrrha's death cost them a lot of my faith and this enforces it. Of course if they bring her back all will be forgiven but sadly it seems like they'll do whatever they please even if it's a bad idea.
> 
> I need all the feedback and encouragement I need so if you're reading this on fave, follow and leave a review and if you're on AO3 leave a kudos and a comment. Seriously, I need as much coverage as possible and every little bit helps me, lifts my spirit and keeps this story going.
> 
> And once again, big thanks to smstanton for helping me out, check out his fic 4 Years of Beacon if you're an Arkos shipper, it's an essential story to check out.


	21. Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

It was already after two in the morning when Qrow, Glynda, Oobleck, Ellis, Argo, and several members of Haven Academy's staff arrived at the ruins of the CraftTech factory. Atlas soldiers and police officers were scattered about the area, closing it off and looking for survivors of the battle.

"Funny that the cops are here, considering Ante was the reason they steered clear of this area until we started blowing shit up." Qrow stated as their shuttle landed.

"Well now that Ante is on the run I assume the commissioner of the police is taking charge, maybe now he or she will be in command since Ante is out of the city." Oobleck speculated as they got out of the ship.

The place was quite simply a mess; ruined Grimm Knights, unconscious guards, frozen Grimm, debris and wreckage was scattered about the complex, a few fires were even going.

"Headmaster Argo, Professor Goodwitch, Dr. Oobleck, Branwen, it's good to see you're all here. We'll need some help if we're to get inside of the factory." Samson said as he approached them.

"The rubble needs lifting?" Glynda inquired, which he confirmed with a nod. "I'll take care of it, just tell me where your crews are." She said.

Samson pointed her in the right direction and said "Okay, now can I get an explanation as to what's happening? Cinder Fall is in Haven after our agent confirms he hadn't seen so much as a hair of hers and that Ante was not in league with her and yet Ante's men were fighting alongside her, not to mention the fact that Pyrrha Nikos is still alive."

"Well, from what we've been able to gather your agent is either dead or imprisoned, not only that but if what Qrow Branwen says is true then we are all in grave danger." Argo began.

"What do you mean?" Samson questioned.

"Jimmy is being controlled by a traitor in his midst, don't know who it is but it's one of his most trusted suck-ups. Whoever the traitor is probably gave both Ironwood and you false 'all clear' messages. As for Nikos turns out Fall didn't kill her or Ozpin, just teleported them. Oz was kept a prisoner while Nikos was brainwashed and turned into a Grimm hybrid." Qrow said, rather bluntly.

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Samson.

"Why the hell didn't you mention that earlier?!" demanded Ellis.

"Because Miss Nikos is no longer a hybrid," lied Oobleck, knowing they would want to do unspeakable things to both Pyrrha and Jaune if they knew they were still hybrids, "She and Mr. Arc were both healed and cured by a powerful relic that our new ally Ashe Kasai was in possession of."

Samson sighed and muttered "This is going to be a nightmare to report."

Qrow walked away and made his way to the spot where they had fought Cinder, picking up the two halves of Crescent Rose, at first obscured by the debris of the wrecked Grimm Knights but he managed to easily spot it. "There you are, can't let the little hood go without you." He said before he walked back to the shuttle.

"What's that?" Ellis asked, gesturing to Crescent Rose.

"My niece's weapon, Cinder broke it in half after Ruby used it to slash her across the face." Qrow informed. Ellis was a little shocked at first, but considering the events of the night so far he quickly accepted it.

"Dr. Oobleck, are you sure Nikos is cured her... condition? And are you absolutely correct when you say 'Grimm hybrids'? The police did report a woman with the wings of a Nevermore and a man who led Beowolves, so am I correct in assuming there are more of these things?" Samson asked.

"Correct, two of them, Ziz and Steppenwolffe from what I have been told, were here but a third one if elsewhere. And you are correct when you think I am not telling you everything, because as of now we are not sure if we can trust anyone loyal to Ironwood." Oobleck said.

"If what you're saying is true then we need to get the General here so we can confront him about it, maybe even root out this traitor while doing so. For now I need you all to go about the facility and help in whatever way you can; clear wreckage, search for survivors, take prisoners, look for any potential information on our enemies' activities. Move out." Samson commanded.

As Argo, Oobleck, and the staff of Haven went about the complex Samson whispered to Ellis "Contact the General at once and get him here. I don't know what's going on anymore but if he is being controlled maybe these people can do something about it."

"What about the hybrid? I mean Rose and Arc were apparently captives here for a few days, what if they were transformed as well? What are we going to do about them or the Polendina robot, not to mention the ones who raided the headquarters?" Ellis pointed out.

"I think it's safe to assume that if we move against them we'll not only have their friends to answer to, but Goodwitch, Branwen, and the other professional Hunters as well. Contact headquarters now and send this" Samson said as he took out a flash drive, "to the General, I recorded some of the battle, as well as Nikos' attack on Fall. I think he'd be most interested in that."

Ellis saluted and said "Right away sir!" before he ran off to the ship as Qrow exited it and approached Samson.

"Have any of your men gotten to the roof yet?" he asked grimly.

"Not yet, looks too unstable but we will have our men rope down soon enough. Why?" Samson inquired.

"Someone's up there, somebody very important to me. I'll go myself. We had two fatalities, one on the roof and one in the labs, though given how burned up that part of the factory looks I doubt you'll find the poor kid's body." Qrow said as he walked forward.

"Are you sure you want to go up to the roof alone? I could easily have some..." Samson began before Qrow stopped him.

"No. I need to be alone." He said before he ran to the building as fast as his legs would allow and ran up the walls, jumping over the occasional fire or bit of debris stabbing out. He landed atop the roof and looked behind him to see the troops and police officers marching around, arresting the recovering guards, tasing any who tried to fight back.

Glynda used her powers to lift the rubble and debris away so the soldiers could pour into the building and scour it for any surviving guards or workers. Hell maybe Cinder was still there but it was doubtful, she didn't get to where she was today by being reckless so she had an escape plan without a doubt so she and Salem's other cronies were probably long gone by now.

He looked around the ruined top of the building, searching for the place where Raven's body had been left. He came to the warehouse room and entered through the blown open wall to see debris and some burning fires strewn about the massive room.

He looked over to see his sister's dead body, lying where he left it, cold and still.

He walked over to her and knelt down before his sister's body.

"Son of a bitch Raven why the hell didn't you save yourself?" he muttered as he sat down.

What was he to do? No doubt he'd have to take her to the others, get her to a morgue or something like that. Years ago when they had ran into each other he had jokingly asked her how she'd like her funeral but to his surprise she had answered him seriously, telling him she wanted to be cremated and for her ashes to be scattered on the cliff-side where Summer had been buried. At the time Qrow didn't know weather to believe her about that or not but maybe she was right. He wiped his tears and said "Damn it Raven, you know I hate to cry."

Yang... oh god, how was his niece going to handle this? She had just come out of her depression over the loss of her arm and things had looked hopeful, it looked like Raven and her daughter could really connect and mend the gap between them, hell maybe even the gap between Taiyang and Raven but now...

She was gone and three people were to blame: Raven herself for performing one of the most selfless things Qrow had ever seen her do. That bitch Cinder, who wanted more power, took it from Raven, and yet in the end she still got her ass kicked. The final one to blame was himself for not being good enough, or fast enough, or strong enough, or...

It should have been him.

He looked down to his sister's body and sighed. "Sis I... I'm so sorry. Say hi to Summer for me, okay? Tell her me, Ruby, Yang, and Tai all miss her like we'll miss you. We all love you, sis."

He carefully picked up his sister's body and walked away with her, unaware of a black bird observing them from the rafters above.

* * *

Down below and within the factory Glynda moved a large piece of metal aside so the troops could get further into the building.

"Man, what the hell happened to this place?" asked the Sergeant she had gone with, a man named Jungha.

"The Guerrilla Huntsman who allied himself with us claimed that they had a small container of Hau Bakuhatsu, so he used it to blow the factory." Glynda elaborated.

"A Guerrilla? Gods, this keeps getting more and more interesting. So what are you gonna do with this guy once this is over? Let him go?" Sergeant Jungha inquired.

Glynda considered the question and said "I honestly do not know but I do not intend to punish him nor allow him to be arrested. After all he has done, at great risk to his own life I might add; I think he deserves our gratitude."

"Hey, if he managed to mess these creeps up this badly I'll start a freaking fan club for him." A female solider joked.

A moan got their attention, making them stop.

"Scanner?" asked the Sergeant.

"It says we got two life-signs and a third one fading quickly up ahead and around the right corner." A corporal reported.

Sergeant Jungha walked ahead with several soldiers trailing behind him. He jumped around the corner and yelled "Freeze!"

A female guard and a male worked stood before an injured guard whose lower body had been crushed by some rubble. The guard and the worker both shot their hands up, the guard's weapon out of reach on the floor.

"On your knees!" Sergeant Jungha ordered as he kicked her gun away. The guard and the worker had no choice so they obliged and got to their knees as Glynda and the other soldiers came up before Jungha said "Go down the halls and begin looking for more survivors and Cinder Fall herself."

"You won't find her here, she and anyone of importance has already gotten away." The worker said.

"How?" Glynda asked.

"First my friend in the rubble, help him and I'll tell you what I can." The guard bargained.

The Sergeant looked to Glynda who nodded. "Okay then, Gage get up here!" he called to the medic who ran forward and created a healing glyph to begin tending to the injured guard.

"Where has Cinder gone?" Glynda asked.

"Escape ship, a vessel their engineers created that can transform between boat, sub, and airship, not to mention the cloaking tech it has installed. Chances are they're probably long gone and if they aren't I doubt you'll find them. Sorry but that's all you're getting out of me." The guard said.

"Why would you protect them? They left you to die." Glynda pointed out.

"I have no love for Cinder or any of the others but I know one thing about them that guarantees my silence; you people have limits, lines you won't cross. Cinder and her master? They have no rules or lines they won't cross. You can interrogate us, lock us up for years, but in the end I'd gladly take your punishment for us over anything the Mistress of Grimm would do. She will kill us if we say anything more." The guard said. Glynda could see a look of dread in the eyes of the guard. She looked over to see a similar, unsure expression on the face of the worker.

"Take them into custody. Do you have a prison ship coming?" the teacher asked the Sergeant, who nodded.

"It'll be here within seven minutes. Tseng, Brigs, and Orna, I want you to take these two outside with the others we've apprehended." He ordered.

"Yes sir." One of the three said as he led the two away with his comrades.

"You think they're telling the truth?" Jungha asked Glynda.

"They have no reason to lie to us other than to protect their own lives at this point. I do not disbelieve them when they say they do not want to entice the wrath of Cinder's master." Glynda stated.

"This... 'Mistress of Grimm' she spoke of?" Jungha asked.

"Correct. Now let's get back to work searching for more survivors." Glynda said as she led them deeper into the factory. While the opportunity to capture Cinder, any of her followers, or the Grimm Commanders they still had a chance to save the lives of those left behind, and maybe one of those souls could tell them something of use.

* * *

Far away in the headquarters of the Atlesian Military General Ironwood sat behind his desk with Chamberlain and Cy watching the recording of the battle that Samson had made. Ellis had sent it to them from the shuttle after he had been sure that Qrow and the others hadn't been watching him.

Ironwood grimaced, his fist clinched a bit as he voiced "This is insanity, how the hell did this happen?" While he was relieved that Ozpin and many of these students were alright, but it seemed to him that something major went down in Haven.

"I don't know, I'll try to contact Agent 501 and see what he has to say for himself." Cy said before he rushed out of the room.

"What about Nikos? How is it possible that she is still alive?" Chamberlain questioned. This was another huge revelation, not to mention one that was very confusing.

"I don't know sir, but if what they have told me is true than she was a Grimm hybrid before something happened. They made a stand against us when we tried to apprehend Weiss Schnee, Qrow Branwen, the others involved in the raid and they made it clear they will not allow us to take back Penny Polendina. We tried sir, but the odds were not in our favor." Ellis reported.

"It's alright soldier, we'll deal with them tomorrow. Ready the flagship, we're going to Haven." Ironwood said with a small sigh. This was just embarrassing; his own men being backed down by a teenage girl and her friends.

"Sir, there is still a great deal of protest against our presence here; I do not think the fleet..." Ellis began before Ironwood held up his hand.

"Not the fleet, just the flagship. We shall contact the mayor and the council of Mistral before we arrive to get clearance but given the recent developments and discoveries I do not think they will hinder us. I look forward to seeing Ozpin in person again, I'm happy he's alright. However I also look forward to the... punishments I will deal out to Branwen, the Schnee girl, her friends, and the robot. Make sure to keep an eye on Nikos, if she was turned into a human Grimm hybrid then we may be able to learn something from her. Just make sure Branwen and the others don't try to leave before we get there, use whatever force necessary." Ironwood said.

"Sir, one more thing... Branwen and Goodwitch both claim that your cybernetic implants are being overridden and are being used to control you by a traitor amongst your staff, do you think they're making this up to confuse us?" Ellis asked.

"Without a doubt, I swear to you I am in complete control of my own actions. You are dismissed." Ironwood said before he cut the transmission. He looked over to Chamberlain and said "Go prepare the flagship; I want it ready to launch in an hour."

"Yes sir, but I think you should contact the council, not just of Atlas but of Mistral as well. If we're to take our flagship over a heavily populated city such as Haven we will need express permission from the councils." Chamberlain said.

Ironwood's robotic hand twitched somewhat, an involuntary action that Chamberlain had not missed. "Jackson, contrary to Branwen's belief I am not a fool. I will get permission and thanks to Samson's review they will allow us to go to Haven easily. Who knows, maybe it was a good thing they hijacked Penny Polendina; in the end they did draw Cinder Fall out of hiding. All we have to do know is take care of the fallout." Ironwood stated.

Chamberlain saluted him and left the room. He looked to Cy who was talking on his scroll to somebody. "Okay, alright, goodbye. Love you." Cy, he looked to Chamberlain and said "Just checking on my wife, I already called Agent 501 but no answer."

"How is Gina?" Chamberlain asked, despite some differences Chamberlain and Cy were good friends outside of the workplace and knew each other's family's personally.

"Fine, as is my son. I don't know what could have happened to 501 but we'll get to the bottom of it soon enough. What are our orders?" Cy asked.

"To ready the flagship and only the flagship, General Ironwood is getting permission from the councils as we speak to go to Haven and after all that's gone down there I think it's safe to say we'll be there soon enough." Chamberlain stated.

"I hope so." Was all Cy could say in return.

* * *

Ante looked over to Jude, the sight of the man who was half flesh and bone and half robotic skeleton was still a sight he couldn't really get over, but right now that was the least of his concerns. He gently rubbed the base of his skull where the explosive device had been implanted, right now all he needed to worry about was making sure Jude's plan went right and to get his cargo and operations out of the city as quickly as possible. He rubbed his newly regrown arm, the aura it took up was tremendous but would be well worth it.

"Douglas, how far until we get to the city?" he yelled up.

"I estimate we'll make it to our base in about twenty minutes!" the newly awake Douglas called from the pilot's seat of the airship they had been given.

Ante nodded and looked back to see the rest of his men, getting some well earned rest after the hectic battle they had lost mere hours ago. Tom-Tom, Lao, and Douglas had all recovered nicely even if Lao needed some healing before he was ready to go.

Merrick lazily sat against the wall with his gun propped up next to him while Trooper, Little Steve, and Zhan all sat on the row of seats with Lao and Tom-Tom while Fireball was just curled up on the floor. Curious how the pyro could do that since his burns should be hurting him but Ante paid no mind to that.

He looked to Jude and asked "So what exactly do you plan on doing to Ashe?"

Jude's head turned towards him, the disturbing half and half head staring right into Ante's eyes with one side a dark scowl and the other side a mechanical skull. Presently he was examining his newly repaired arm, which had been given a new whip and the gun function now had settings on it so the pain it could dish out would now vary depending on the settings, a good way to lure an enemy in with a false sense of security if used correctly.

"I intend to finish it. If he does not die I will force him to kill me. Mark my words, Ante, one way or the other one of us will be dead by tonight." Jude said darkly.

Ante nodded and said "So how do you plan to lure him out? I mean, it won't be easy and Salem will probably want that crystal thing and Nikos to boot so you're probably have to do something pretty damn big in order to get his attention."

Jude looked back at him and attempted a smile.

"Oh no, Mr. Ante, I intend to do something both big and small. Just assure me you will give me over twenty-five of your best gang members, I have been going on this all wrong; I need to ware him down before I make my final strike. I will make him fight so many of your little thugs that by the time he and I battle he will have no chance against me. Then and only then I will end his miserable life." Jude revealed.

"Okay, but what do you plan to take hostage? Kids?" Damien inquired.

Jude smiled and said "Are there any abandoned subway tunnels in the city?"

"Yeah, one big one that leads to a bunch of smaller ones, why?" asked Damien.

"I need one that goes under a school, one where we can break in and make an easy escape." Jude stated before he noticed the doubtful look on Ante's face.

"What? A Huntsmen Academy?" he queried.

"No, one much smaller, one with less security, and one that's students are far... younger." Jude answered with a sinister grin.

Soon enough they made their arrival to Haven and to Ante's base. "Okay rise and shine boys, we got one hell of a busy day ahead of us." He said to his enforcers before he led them off the ship to be greeted by a crowd of thugs and underlings.

"Alright so I suppose the word's out that we're moving out and it's true. Transfer our data to drives, load up our Dust, weapons, anything and everything we can to ships, airships, trains, anything you can and get it out of town right now capisce? Okay, get moving, all of you. Zhan, Trooper, and Lao you guys will take on the operations to the northern part of town and make sure everything's on schedule. Douglas and Fireball you two will take on our more techno stuff to the east while Little Steve and Tom-Tom take on the cargo and Dust to the west and make sure it's loaded up. We've already got the gangs in the south taking care of our crap down there so Merrick you're staying here to safeguard me until I'm ready for another fight." Ante said, as he was still feeling exhausted from the heavy aura drainage. He looked over to Jude who was ignoring the shocked stares he was getting. "Oh, and I want somebody to get me the Fury Gang, Mr. Jude here has a job and they're the perfect candidates." He added.

They really were, the Fury Gang, a group of forty-two thugs and criminals that were the dominant force in the west side until Ante began to expand his territory but once he reached them they knew well enough to submit to him but Ante knew they were quite the force to be reckoned with.

Whatever Jude wanted to do with Ashe he knew it wouldn't be pleasant, and the Fury Gang was a group that knew all about the unpleasant side of this city's criminal element and reveled in it.

He watched as the men and women who worked for him scattered about the yard to go to their assigned jobs. Ante looked out to the giant city around him and sighed. "I'm gonna miss this place." He voiced.

* * *

_**Ashe opened his eyes and smiled as he felt a weight on his chest and the skin of another human being against his own bare flesh. He glanced down to see Mila sleeping peacefully, cuddled into his chest. He smiled as he brushed his hand through her raven black hair and hummed quietly to himself while his other hand rested on her rear.** _

_**On her finger was the engagement ring he had proposed to her with last night and after a full ten second period of silence and nodding she exploded into a cheering of the typical 'Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!' one would expect from a woman as in love as she was. Luckily it had been easier to acquire the ring than he initially thought as his friend Deno had managed to persuade the town's jeweler to give it Ashe relatively cheaply for all his Grimm hunting services to the town. He had it custom made so his family's emblem, the shape of the Aura Crystal inside of a flame was delicately carved into the sapphire that sat atop the gold ring and despite still being a bit expensive the happiness she felt was worth every lien he had paid.** _

_**Ashe stretched up a bit and groaned; one thing he'd never get use to was how... enthusiastic she was when they made love. Not that he was complaining as her wonderful naked form was always a welcomed sight, but good gods she drained his energy like nothing else could.** _

_**Mila's eyes fluttered open and with a yawn she managed to say "Morning lover boy."** _

" _ **Morning." He said in return as she examined her ring once more. "Like it?"**_

" _ **I love it." Mila answered with a smile. She began to crawl up his chest, planting kisses all the way until she made it to his head and let her body down to press against his. "Want to go one more time?"**_

" _ **I can go for ten more times, but I don't think we have time for it, it's half past eight." Ashe said, smiling a bit as her sapphire eyes jolted open and fully awake.**_

" _ **Eight-thirty?!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and looked to the clock, confirming his words. "Oh crap, the shop opens in half an hour!" she cried before she ran into the bathroom and turned the shower on. She looked back as Ashe pulled his boxers on and asked "Want to join me?"**_

" _ **No, I'll shower later; right now I gotta start my rounds." He said as he got up to get a shirt from the drawers.**_

" _ **You sure? Won't the Grimm smell you?" she asked as she placed her ring on the nightstand, covering herself with a towel.**_

" _ **Bring 'em on. Plus I once went two weeks in the wilds without a shower, I'll be fine." He assured her as he pulled on his trousers. He walked over to her and pulled her in for a kiss and said "See you in a few hours, love."**_

" _ **Don't be too long." She said with an alluring smile.**_

" _ **I won't be, love you." He said as he began to prepare his weapons.**_

_**A few minutes later he walked down the stairs from the loft to the book store and went out the front door, locking it behind him before he set off to the woods that surrounded the town of Otium.** _

_**The next few hours went as usual; kill a Beowulf here, an Ursa there, pretty normal all things considered. A little after noon he reentered to Otium and took a drink from his water bottle before heading into the church, a building that did not serve just one religion, but several depending on the villager's mixed heritages. He saw his friend, the holy man of the village; he was a kind man in his mid-forties with tanned skin and slightly graying brown hair.** _

" _ **Good afternoon Ashe, any Grimm in the woods today?" he asked.**_

" _ **A few but no more than usual, it's a good break from the crazy shit I've seen out there." Ashe said.**_

" _ **Language." Deno said with a joking wag of the finger.**_

" _ **Sorry preacher but I don't think a few of your sermons will take." Ashe joked as he sat down on the ground.**_

" _ **Then I'll have to preach more. Congratulations on your proposal going over so well by the way, the word has already spread." Deno said. That made sense, being that the town of Otium's population was only around six hundred.**_

" _ **Ah boy, and before you ask; no, we have not set a date for the wedding." Ashe said.**_

_**Deno chuckled good-naturedly and said "Well anyways, I am happy for both of you. It is obvious you both care for each other very much and I know you will make one another very happy."** _

_**Ashe smiled and nodded as he looked back up to Deno and noticed a somewhat troubled look on his face. "What's wrong?"** _

" _ **Some men came by the mayor's office today with a proposition... one I am very much opposed to. I may not be a seasoned as you are with the criminal element Ashe but I can tell a criminal when I see one." Deno said grimly.**_

" _ **Who were these men?" Ashe inquired.**_

" _ **One man and some... 'bodyguards' as he called them. The leader called himself Saul Jude."**_

_**Ashe nodded and asked "Well what exactly did this Saul Jude guy want?"** _

" _ **He wants to use the town to move his 'merchandise' or at the very least store it for him." Deno answered.**_

_**Ashe sighed and said "I'll look into the guy later, what did the mayor say?"** _

" _ **He told Jude he'd think on it. Jude has already taken up residence in that old mansion two miles south-east of the town." Deno stated.**_

" _ **Okay, I'll deal with it later, right now I need to go see the love of my life." Ashe said as he got up and walked away to the building on the other side of the village that served as both Mila's home and workplace.**_

_**He walked in just as Mila finished stocking a shelf and said "How's work been today?"** _

" _ **Slower than usual but that's fine by me. Kara came in earlier today to donate an old book and she saw the ring so naturally the housewives have already gossiping about us." Mila said as she walked over to him.**_

" _ **Well knowing how many of the younger ladies in town have tried to hit on me I guess we just broke a few hearts." Ashe joked.**_

" _ **Hey, their loss is my gain!" Mila joked back as she hugged him and leaned up to kiss him. He kissed her back and then made his way to the steps.**_

" _ **I'm gonna take that shower now, feel free to join me." Ashe teased as he made his way up the staircase to her loft.**_

_**Mila smiled and went over to the door, locked it, put up the 'On Break' sign and ran up stairs after him.** _

_**As he began undressing he saw Mila come in, swaying her hips seductively before she tripped over his shoes. He leapt forward to catch her and she crashed down on him.** _

" _ **Smooth move..." she muttered, embarrassed.**_

" _ **Hey, you're gorgeous even when you trip over something." Ashe said encouragingly as she got up. "Deno told me some guy called Saul Jude came into town today, wanting to move some quote on quote merchandise through town."**_

" _ **What kind of merchandise?" Mila inquired as she took off her shirt.**_

" _ **Dust, drugs, guns, who knows? If this guy tries anything I know I can handle it." Ashe said confidently as he turned the shower on.**_

" _ **You sure? Some people can be way worse than the Grimm, you know. At least the Grimm are just mindless animals, what's our excuse?" Mila said as she walked into the bathroom with him.**_

_**Ashe looked at her and smiled. "I promise you Mila, if this guy tires anything funny I'll scare him off. Now let's get cleaned up."** _

" _ **Gladly, hansom." She said as she got into the shower first.**_

_**Before Ashe could join her he heard a voice whisper "Doves to Heaven, Crows to Purgatory, Sparrows to Hell, and Ravens to..."** _

_**What the...?** _

Ashe opened his eyes and groaned in annoyance. What the hell was that?

He continued to lie on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he considered that voice and what it had whispered; doves, crows, sparrows, and ravens? Okay what new madness were his dreams telling him now? Was it something to do with Raven Branwen? He didn't exactly have warm feeling towards the recently deceased warrior but he did not wish to see her dead.

There was a slight feeling of guilt over her death like... like maybe...

He decided he'd deal with those nagging thoughts later and his thoughts strayed to Mila.

Mila...

He had failed her, he promised her he'd take care of Jude if he ever tried anything and yet...

And yet here he was, five years later. Mila was gone, so was Deno, all because he hadn't been good enough at the time.

Well at least Jude was, ironically, nothing but ashes now.

Maybe these kids and helping them was some divine being's way of allowing Ashe to redeem himself for his failure so long ago, maybe the soul of Mila was looking over him with a loving smile. For all he knew her spirit could have never left him and she was in the room right now.

He looked down to the floor at the case where the Aura Crystal was contained and then he looked his nightstand. He picked up the engagement ring and examined it.

"Mila... I think I know someone who needs this more than I do right now." He said to himself with a smile.

He thought about Mila's song 'I'm Going to Go Back There Someday' and thought 'Maybe I should go back to Otium someday.'

He felt his rugged face and knew he needed a shave, he also felt pretty ripe and knew that a shower sounded really damn good right about now so he got up and walked into the bathroom.

* * *

Pyrrha opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of the sleeping Jaune in front of her, steadily breathing in and out as he held her to his body. Pyrrha tightened her grip around his torso and snuggled into his chest, loving the feelings their close proximity made her feel; loved, safe, and warm.

She smiled, content and serene with him, thankful that she had him once again and this time their relationship would be more romantic, just as she wanted it to be, and extremely grateful that he was alive after he came incredibly close to death last night.

The redhead was somewhat thankful she had no dreams during her sleep, as any dreams would no doubt be nightmares of him dying and choking up blood. She knew that the things she had done and witnessed the other day would stay with her forever; the death, the chaos, almost losing Jaune, regaining her memory, she'd always remember it. All of it. Some of it she wanted to remember but some of it she'd rather forget but in the end it was okay, because she was back with her team, her friends, and Jaune.

Her thoughts strayed to her parents and she worried about the pain they must have endured when they thought she had died, worst of all it was a pain they still felt since they probably still believed she was dead. That was something she'd have to correct as soon as possible.

She felt a small, subtle change in Jaune's breathing and heard him moan out "Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?" she asked.

"A-are you there?"

"Of course I am! Can't you feel me?" she asked as she removed her hand from his shoulder and cupped his cheek. She could see and feel him subtly shudder under her grip and she could see a tear coming out from under his eyelid.

"Jaune, open your eyes. What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't want to open my eyes." He said miserably.

What was wrong with him? A nightmare perhaps? She didn't feel him shake or jerk about at all in the night so what could be the matter?

"Why not?" she inquired.

"I'm afraid." He answered simply.

"What are you afraid of?" she asked him gently.

"Pyrrha... I'm afraid that if I open my eyes I'll lose you. I'm terrified of opening my eyes and not seeing you again. I'm afraid that if I open my eyes you'll fade away because there's always the possibility that all this was just a dream and if I open my eyes I won't see you, but I'll be back in that horrible place, inside of that cell waiting for them to do who knows what to me..." he said as he began sobbing.

Tears began welling in Pyrrha's eyes, it was obvious how utterly traumatized he was from what Cinder and the others did to him or...

Or was he traumatized by losing her?

"I'm afraid that if I open my eyes I'll wake up in the middle of the woods with Ruby, Nora, and Ren and none of this was real! That we're still hopelessly trying to find Cinder and that I'll never get you back! That's what I'm afraid of Pyrrha!" he cried as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, sobbing uncontrollably as he held onto her for dear life, but gently as if he was afraid she'd fade away in his grasp.

Pyrrha cried a little as well as she hugged him, rubbing his back soothingly to try and calm him.

"Jaune, don't be afraid." She said as she grabbed his head and pulled him back to face her. She used her thumbs to wipe away his tears and she leaned him to kiss him. "I'm right here Jaune, and I promise I will never leave you like that again." She promised, remembering that horrible night.

"How do I know this is real and not just my mind desperate to get you back?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

"Do you feel my hands on your body?" she asked. He nodded. "That's real." She added as she took his head and laid it against her breasts. "Do you hear the beat of my heart? That's real." She said before she pulled his head back up and said "Please open your eyes Jaune."

Jaune did so, his eyes were clouded at first by tears and light but his vision soon cleared and he could see Pyrrha's beautiful face mere inches away from his own, her emerald eyes filled with love and a warm smile.

"We are real, no matter what may have happened to us in another time or another world we are here, together, and that is all that matters." She said.

"Pyrrha!" he cried as he launched himself forward and hugged her as tightly as he could. He pressed his lips onto her and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster, which she gladly returned.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry I hurt you like that, I promise I will never abandon you again, I promise that from now on whatever happens to us we will face it together." She swore as she kissed his back, rubbing his back to calm him.

"Pyrrha... hold me." Jaune pleaded. Pyrrha smiled, she kept one hand on his back while she moved the other to his head and held him tightly against her body.

They stayed in that position for an untold amount of time, just enjoying each other's company before Jaune asked "Can I see your scar?"

"Scar?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Where her arrow hit you." Jaune said.

Pyrrha nodded and pulled down the collar of her shirt to show that scar where Cinder's arrow had pierced her chest, right above her cleavage and to the right of her heart. Jaune looked at the wound, glanced up at Pyrrha, then leaned in and kissed it.

Pyrrha tried and failed to hold back a moan as he looked back up at and pulled his shirt up to show her where Cinder's arrow had torn through him. Pyrrha nodded before she leaned down and kissed his scar as well.

"Pyrrha, what are we going to do once everyone finds out we're... freaks? I mean they'll have to tell someone that we're hybrids." Jaune pointed out.

Pyrrha looked at him and said "Someone might want to experiment on us, it's true, but I don't plan on letting that happen. I am yours and I will protect you."

"And I belong to you and I will always protect you." Jaune promised in return.

"Not only that, but our friends will always stand with us, last night proved that. And I'm sure that our families will understand, my parents love me and they will not care how much I have changed and from your sisters' reactions last night it is safe to say that your family will love you no matter what." Pyrrha stated as she got up.

Jaune nodded as he got up from the bed as well and stretched with a mighty groan. "Oh man, that was the best sleep I've had in months." He said.

"To be honest, it was for me as well." Pyrrha agreed before their attention was stolen by a knock at the door. "Come in." she called. The door opened to reveal the other two members of team JNPR as well as Penny and Neo.

"Morning you two." Nora greeted as she jumped into the room.

"Morning yourself, you guys holding up okay?" Jaune asked.

"We're fine but we should be asking that question of you, after all that happened last night with Cinder and the crystal. Speaking of which I suppose you will take over guardian duties from Ashe today, correct?" Ren asked.

"I guess so; he said he'd watch over it last night while we got some rest. How are you guys holding up?" Jaune questioned.

"We're doing just fine now that we're all together. As in you and Pyrrha are FINALLY together-together and me and Renny are together-together too." Nora said cheerfully.

"Wait, you and Ren?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"Yep." Nora answered as she winked at Ren who smiled in return.

Pyrrha was happy for her two friends but their relationship soon faded from her mind when she noticed Penny staring at her.

"Penny... I hope there are no hard feelings between us after what... happened at the tournament." She said nervously.

Penny gave her a kind smile and said "It's okay Pyrrha, the reason I came to see you was because I wanted you to know I do not hold you responsible for what happened to me. It was an accident caused by Cinder's manipulation, she, her master, and their accomplices. So please do not blame yourself for what happened to me."

Pyrrha smiled and said "Thank you Penny, I would be honored if you considered me your friend."

"That would be nice, as my list of friends gets ever longer. You put up a wonderful fight by the way." Penny said with a smile.

Pyrrha thanked her and looked over to Neo. "So Neo, what are you going to do now? You could stay with us, you're welcome to it." Pyrrha said.

Neo looked at her and shook her head. "No, sorry Nikos but this whole Huntress gig just ain't for me. Won't lie though, it suits me better than working with terrorists but I think I'll just go back to what I was doing before Roman and me got mixed up with those creeps." The petite girl said.

"Being a thief?" Nora asked, only to receive a light elbow to the ribs from Ren.

"Yeah, robbing and messing with people that deserved it, that's what I was best at. I was good at it even before I met Roman." She said nostalgically.

"What about Torchwick? You said the reason you were helping us was his 'final order', so what was it?" Jaune asked.

Neo smirked and said "Well, to be honest Roman's last order was only part of it, I'll explain later to you guys and to Ruby and her lot as well. It's been nice being a good girl for once but I think I'll just split once this mess is all sorted out."

Pyrrha nodded and said "Well I just want you to know that no matter what, I am in your debt for helping me rediscover who I truly am. If it wasn't for you I don't think Jaune would be alive, I would have still been Fotia Drakos and killed him and he wouldn't have been able to free my true self. If you ever need us just call."

"Yeah, just don't do anything too illegal." Jaune said with a chuckle.

"What shall I do? Maybe something good, maybe something bad, maybe a bit of both, but in the end I'll be Neopolitan again." Neo said with a proud smirk on her face.

"Now then, I think we should go get Ruby and the others up as well, because I know that today is going to be a very busy day." Ren stated. The others agreed but first they let Jaune take the shower he was too tired to take last night. Once he was done they all left the room and made their way to go visit Team RWBY.

* * *

Yang opened her eyes and could feel the weight against her. She glanced down to see Ruby cuddled against her and she couldn't help but smile, her little sister was always so cute when she was asleep. Zwei was also sleeping with them at the foot of their bed, turning on his back.

Yang examined her once again crippled arm and flexed it a bit. It wasn't totally destroyed but it would need repairs without a doubt, Kimball did warn her to be careful with it, after all. Luckily the Ember Celica was undamaged save for some scorching that could easily be taken care of. She looked around the room to see Blake was still asleep as was Weiss, no surprise since summoning that armored knight twice in such a short amount of time must have taken a lot out of the heiress.

But there was someone else in the room Yang had not expected to see; Uncle Qrow sat on a chair, snoring lightly with the two halves of Crescent Rose propped up against the wall.

"Uncle Qrow?" she said, not loud enough wake everyone up, but loud enough to get Qrow's attention. Qrow opened one eye and attempted a smile.

"Morning kid, how'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Way better than I thought I would. Good to know you found Crescent Rose. That'll make Ruby happy." Yang said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well, after all the hard work she put into this baby I couldn't just let it go to waste. I've already called Kimball and he's agreed to come and fix up your arm for you." Qrow informed her.

Yang let out a relieved sigh. "Good, I don't want to keep his burned up one long." She said before her face got serious. "What about mom's body?"

Qrow shook his head and said "We got it back, it's in a morgue. Your dad and I decided to talk about funeral preparations later, once we're done with Ironwood."

"Ironwood's coming?" Yang asked as she moved a bit, unintentionally waking Ruby up.

"Yang? What time is it?" she asked before letting out a yawn.

"A little after nine in the morning, I gotta gift for you." Qrow said, announcing his presence. Ruby looked over to him and he gestured to the recovered Crescent Rose.

Ruby let out a cheer of happiness and ran towards Qrow and jumped on him, grabbing him in a powerful hug. "Thank you Uncle Qrow! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, her excited cheers waking up Blake and Weiss in the process.

"Ugh... way too early for this..." moaned Weiss as she leaned up.

"Actually we've slept pretty late by our standards." Blake said before she noticed Ruby hugging Qrow. "Hello there, when did you get back?" she asked.

"A few hours ago, so I've only gotten about four hours of sleep, boy once today is done I'm just gonna sleep for gods know how long." Qrow said as he pried Ruby off of his torso. Blake nodded but then noticed a somewhat troubled look on Ruby's face as she stared at Crescent Rose's blade.

"So Ironwood is coming?" Yang asked, getting everyone's attention. Qrow sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, Jimmy's coming. Ozpin's been formulating a plan to free him from the control he's under and I'm sure it'll work, but I'm more concerned about his men just shooting first and asking questions later." Qrow stated.

"If Ironwood is coming and if he is under Salem's control we may be in for another fight." Blake pointed out, noticing Ruby was still just staring at Crescent Rose.

"We'll be ready for one. I don't know if everyone will walk out of it okay but I'm pretty sure it'll work out in the end." Qrow assured them.

"What about Jaune and Pyrrha? If they find out what that doctor did to them they might want to have them experimented on." Weiss said, getting a strong reaction from Ruby, who snapped out of the light trance she was in.

"No! We just got them back, we can't lose them again! Not again!" she cried.

"Relax kid, we won't let them lay a finger on your buddies, none of them, not even Penny." Qrow said calmingly.

"Are you sure? By all rights Flynt, Neon, Team CFVY, you, and myself are all wanted criminals for rescuing Penny. Even if we prove Ironwood is being controlled their might be some consequences for what we did." Weiss said.

"What you did was the right thing!" Ruby objected.

"You're right Ruby, but some people won't see it that way." Blake voiced.

Yang looked at her uncle and asked "How long until they get here?"

He thought about it, looked at his scroll and said "Ah shit, half an hour."

"Then we better get ready." Yang voiced.

Blake looked at her leader and asked "Ruby, what's wrong?"

Ruby looked up at her and said "Oh! Uh... nothing, I'm okay just a little dazed is all..."

Weiss was a little weirded out by Ruby's reaction to the question, but then again she knew she could never claim to fully understand the younger girl, the others however could tell something was wrong with the youngest person in the room. Blake could sense that something was off, that look Ruby had on her face reminded her of some looks she had seen on the faces of other Faunus in the White Fang; faces that were reeling from the shock of killing someone.

Yang, being a big sister, could naturally tell something was wrong with her little sister. The look on her face changed, trying to assure them that all was right but the look in her eyes suggested other wise. It was a look of shame and guilt, one Yang was all too familiar with as she had seen it in hero own eyes through the reflection of a mirror during her depression.

Qrow took one look at Ruby and instantly knew what was wrong with his niece, but that didn't make it any less shocking to him.

The look on her face was that of someone who had killed.

"Ruby, what happened in that factory?" he asked.

Ruby looked at him, took a deep breath and answered "A lot of terrible things happened to Jaune but me... Cinder just fought me a few times, trained me. She wanted to test the powers these stupid eyes give me. It worked because I know she had to overwhelm me to win, I could tell she wore herself out to stop me... and..." Ruby stopped. She remembered the recordings Cinder had showed her of the murders she had unintentionally committed.

"Ruby, I can tell there something else bothering you. What happened?" Qrow asked gently.

Ruby looked down to her feet, not having the will to look her friends and family in the eyes as she knew she had to tell them.

"The reason Jaune and me got captured is because we decided to try and fight Ante and his henchmen off, knock them all out, then force Ante to tell us where Cinder was hiding. I wanted to go through with his plan even though he was having second thoughts but I... I just wanted to catch Cinder so bad..." Ruby said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Qrow, Yang, Weiss, and Blake all stayed respectfully silent and listened as Ruby recovered and continued. "But... Ante had a lot of street punks and thugs come to help him catch us and one... one of the cars charged at us so I used Crescent Rose to shoot out its tires and... the car went flying into this bulldozer or whatever it was and just." Ruby stopped as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed several times before she yelled out "It exploded and it killed the driver!"

She cried for a bit, but Weiss went forward and hugged her partner. "Oh Ruby, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. It was self-defense." She said to the younger girl who shook her head.

Qrow remained dreadfully silent as Yang and Blake just looked in disbelief at the girl.

"Th-that's not all..." Ruby said. The others looked at her, wondering what could possibly have happen after that, but Qrow could tell by the way she was looking at Crescent Rose's scythe it wasn't good.

"I got knocked down by a blast and this guy was charging at me... I didn't know what else to do so my body... just took over I guess. I slammed Crescent Rose into him and I killed him!" she said as she broke out into sobs again.

Yang couldn't stand seeing her little sister like this so she got up and darted over to her, hugging her along with Weiss.

"It's okay Ruby, you killed in self-defense. It wasn't your fault." Yang said soothingly.

"Yes it was! If I... if I..."

Weiss stopped her partner by placing her hand over the smaller girl's mouth and firmly said "No. Ruby, none of that was your fault; you may have taken two lives but only in self defense. Did you mean to kill them?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Then no one can blame you. Cinder and her followers are the only ones to blame. It is true those men did not deserve to die but it was all you could do to protect yourself." Weiss said as she hugged Ruby a little tighter.

Then it was Blake's turn, "When I was in the White Fang Adam was always pressuring me to kill whenever I needed to but I never did. Other, however, did. I consoled them, assured them it would be alright, I tried to convince not only them, but myself, that we were the good guys fighting the oppression all of Faunus-kind had been facing for centuries. Soon enough I realized no matter what killing was wrong and the only ones who are beyond redemption are the ones who feel no guilt. You obviously feel guilty over what you did, so to me that is proof of what I know to be true of you Ruby, you are a kind, pure, and simple soul. The fact that you feel guilt over this proves that you are a good person, that kind of person we cannot do without. We all care about you Ruby, and we will not let you face this guilt alone." She finished.

Ruby lurched forward and hugged Blake, dragging Yang and Weiss with her. Ruby cried it out as her three teammates hugged her comfortingly. Ruby still felt shame and regret over killing those men, guilt she knew she may never get over, but she knew she wouldn't be alone. She'd always have her friends.

Qrow smiled at the sight and said "I'll leave you girls to get dressed while I wake up your friends who were involved in Penny's rescue, we're all gonna have to face Ironwood together if we're gonna come out on top."

Ruby looked up at him and those big silver eyes just tore at his heartstrings.

"Ruby... I've killed a lot of people in my time, a lot of them in self-defense. Sometimes when you have blood on your hands because of something you did deliberately you can never really wash it off but you? The blood on your hands is because of an accident, you killed in self-defense but you didn't mean to. It'll wash off easily. I love you Ruby." He said.

Ruby smiled as she wiped some tears away from her eye and said "I love you too, Uncle Qrow."

Qrow smiled back at her and opened the door, then closed it behind him. When he turned around he saw Team JNPR, Penny, Neo, and Sun all standing outside the room.

"Everything okay in there?" Sun asked, he had just come down to see if Blake was okay, as he had been concerned about her ear injury.

"We heard crying, what's wrong?" Penny inquired.

"Just working out some emotional issues. Ruby came clean about accidentally killing a couple of Ante's thugs, but I think she'll be okay. Ironwood will be here soon so you kids better tell the kids involved in your rescue to get ready." Qrow said to Penny who noticeably looked worried. "Don't worry kid, we got you covered. They ain't taking you, hell I think Ruby would take down the entire flagship crew herself if Jimmy even tried." He assured her with a grin.

"Alright, but are you sure Ruby will be okay?" asked Jaune.

"She's got her team again, I know she will be." Qrow said to the younger man.

Jaune nodded and Pyrrha said "We'll wake the others up for you, do you have a plan to deal with General Ironwood? Or even a way to free him from their control?"

"Ozpin's been working on something, hopefully it'll be okay in the end." Qrow told them as a voice sounded off from down the hallway.

"Morning Jaune!" called Indigo as she and the other Arc sisters came down the hall.

"Morning girls, you all sleep well? Is your shoulder okay Violet?" Jaune asked.

Violet laughed and said "You got stabbed, nearly beaten to death, and an arrow shot through your torso and yet you think a bullet-wound to the shoulder is bad? Jaune, you got some weird priorities."

"But is it okay?" he asked.

Violet nodded with a smile.

"That's our Jaune, always worrying about someone else. But seriously are you okay?" Shani asked him.

"I'm fine, to be honest I slept better last night than I have in months." He said as he looked at Pyrrha and smiled.

"I think we'll leave it at that and leave the rest of you two lovers' night up to our imaginations." Indigo teased, which made both Jaune and Pyrrha blush wildly.

Bianca held back a snicker and said "Okay, so the General from Atlas is coming?"

Qrow nodded and said "Should be here pretty soon."

"Right, okay if you guys are going to wake up your friends we'll wake up Ashe." Bianca said.

"Fine by us, I believe his room is down the hall third on the left from the end." Ren informed them.

"Okay then, I'll get my team up, if Ironwood's soldiers try anything we'll be there to help out." Sun said before he dashed down the hallway.

Pyrrha, Jaune, and Nora went to wake Team CFVY up while Ren held Qrow back.

"Do you think we are in for a fight with the Atlas soldiers?" he inquired.

Qrow shook his head. "Can't say for sure, but just in case be ready. We'll be up in Argo's office when the time comes so once you're all ready head up there, the monkey Faunus probably knows that way. Tell that to Ruby, Yang and their team too, we'll need them up there." He said.

"I will tell them, I'll just wait out here." Penny said as Neo leaned against the wall.

Ren nodded and left to join his Teammates while Qrow walked down to the end of the hallway to go see Ozpin and Glynda. He knew that Ozpin could find a way to free Ironwood from Salem's control; he just hoped it wouldn't hurt the general in the process. Despite the fact that he and Ironwood could barely stand one another he didn't want to see the General hurt.

* * *

Bianca knocked on Ashe's door, but received no answer. "Hello, Ashe? It's Bianca, listen something is about to go down and I think you should be there for it." She called.

No answer came.

"Hold on, he might be asleep." Sienna said before she pounded on the door a little louder.

"Wait a minute; I think the door's unlocked." Violet said before she simply turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Why didn't we notice that earlier?" Indigo asked.

"Well none of you have police training." Violet joked as Bianca and Shani went inside, but saw that the room was empty.

"Maybe he already woke up." Shani suggested as Bianca looked at the bed to see the black trench coat was still there and the two photographs, the ring, and the whistle were still on the nightstand.

"I don't think so, his stuff is still here. I don't hear the shower running, check in the bathroom." Bianca said.

Shani nodded and knocked on the bathroom door, only to hear Ashe's voice call "Who is it?"

"It's Jaune's sisters, are you decent?" Shani inquired.

"Yeah, I'm just shaving, you can open the door." Ashe answered from inside.

Shani did so and once she did she liked what she saw.

Ashe was topless as he shaved his rugged face, she could see his muscled body covered with scars that hinted at a life of hard battles. His chest, abs, arms, all showed signs of what a physically powerful man he was even though his clothes made him appear to look quite average Shani couldn't speak for a brief moment but Ashe snapped her out of her trance by saying "You okay?"

Shani quickly nodded, "We'll wait out here for you!" she said before she closed the door. She turned to her sisters, blushing madly.

"Shani, what's wrong?" Sienna asked.

"Oh good gods, he's hot." Was all Shani could say.

"What? How hot we talking?" Indigo inquired mischievously, despite the fact that she wasn't into men she couldn't help but poke fun at how her older sister was acting.

"If's he's not a perfect ten I don't know what is." Shani said, ignoring the laugh from Violet.

"Oh boy, you're acting like a teenager again." Sienna deadpanned as she shook her head.

"You would be too if you saw what I did!" Shani shot back as Ashe, now fully clothed, exited the bathroom.

"Sorry, I needed a shave and a shower like you wouldn't believe. So is there any particular reason you women are in my room all at once?" Ashe asked, which got a snicker out of Indigo as she knew full well there really wasn't.

"Qrow says General Ironwood will be here soon, you probably want to be there in case something major happens." Bianca informed him.

Ashe nodded and said "Thanks for letting me know, did he tell you what they're gonna do?"

"No, I guess that's a need-to-know surprise for the time being." Violet stated.

"Sounds typical, I'll go down the hall and join up with the others, what will you be doing?" Ashe inquired.

"Get some breakfast for one thing." Sienna murmured.

Ashe chuckled and said "Enjoy it." He grabbed the case that contained the Aura Crystal, placed the photos in his coat pocket, and put the necklaces around his neck

As he made his way to the door Bianca said "Ashe, wait."

Ashe turned to face the five sisters only to be surprised by Bianca kissing him on the cheek.

"That's for keeping your promise and saving my brother's life." She said with a small blush, ignoring the gaping looks her sisters were giving her.

Ashe smiled in return and said "No payment necessary. He's a good kid, he'll be a better guardian of the crystal than I ever was, at least he'll have someone to share the burden with."

With that Ashe left the room and walked down the hall to join his young friends while four of the five Arc sisters stared at the eldest in disbelief.

"You lucky witch." Shani said grumpily.

Bianca laughed and said "Don't worry, I can guarantee you girls that one of can kiss him next time."

"As if." Snarked Indigo.

"Oh I wouldn't mind." Shani stated, which got a laugh out of the others.

"Me neither, he is kinda cute." Sienna agreed.

* * *

Qrow walked into Argo's office, walking in on a conversation between the Headmaster of Haven was having with Ozpin and Glynda.

"The kids are getting up, the ones we'll need will be up here soon enough. How much time until Jimmy gets here?" he asked.

"Not long, the flagship of the Atlesian Fleet was just spotted flying over the outskirts of the city. He has the blessings of not only the councils of Mistral and Atlas, but of the mayor and governor. So if we make a stand against him you better have a plan to free him, Ozpin." Argo said.

"I have a plan; I came up with it years ago after I learned such a thing was possible. I always knew there was the possibility that James could fall under enemy control, as did he. From what I can surmise the traitors in Atlas must have bypassed his safeguards during the surgery you told me about." Ozpin said to Qrow.

"It won't hurt him will it? Ironwood may be a jackass but I don't want to see him hurt." Qrow voiced.

"Neither do I, but from what Ozpin has told me there will be some pain but it will be enough to free Ironwood for a few precious moments, long enough for him to tell us who the traitor is, then the soldiers will know you were telling the truth and James has been under control the entire time. The traitor will be unmasked and we can hopefully help James recover what has been done to him." Glynda stated, out of all of them she was probably the most concerned about Ironwood's well-being. She didn't care for him in a romantic sense as some people thought but she did think of him as a friend.

Ozpin nodded and asked Headmaster Argo "Have you contacted Miss Nikos' parents?"

Argo nodded and answered "I sent an airship to their residence, I didn't tell them why they needed to come here but they have agreed to come. I estimate they'll be here this afternoon."

"Good, they deserve to know the truth about their daughter." Glynda said, knowing that a happy reunion was in the not too distant future.

"Oobleck going to be joining us?" Qrow asked.

"No, he only got to sleep about an hour ago. As odd as it may seem coffee can only carry him so far." Glynda stated.

Ozpin turned and looked out the window of Argo's office. "There's the ship now." He said. Everyone else turned to see the long, massive airship approaching the city, the nacelles housing the engines lightly firing off as it glided along the sky with three spines on each side to keep it balanced.

"They'll be sending a shuttle craft with Ironwood and some soldiers I suppose." Argo surmised.

"Not to mention Chamberlain and Cy, and those soldiers are probably armed for a fight and aim to arrest me, those kids, and Penny." Qrow added.

"Jason, please inform your students to return to their dorm rooms and remain inside and tell your staff to prepare for a battle, just in case." Glynda said.

Argo nodded, but looked to Glynda and asked "Do you really think it will come to a battle?"

"With James under the control of our enemies, it is not unlikely."

* * *

In a large lobby room Ashe sat on a chair as Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, SSSN, along with the present half of Team FNKI, Penny, and Neo.

Weiss had just gotten done telling Ruby the whole story of their daring rescue of Penny and what Ironwood, or by extension Salem, originally had in store for her. To say Ruby was angry was an understatement, she was flat out furious and wanted to ring someone's, namely Cinder or Salem, neck. That said she couldn't help but be proud of Weiss' crazy stunt with the bomb and the Nevermore on the isle.

"Did we really have to bring our weapons? If Professor Ozpin has a plan to free General Ironwood then why do we need to prepare for a battle?" Velvet asked.

"After everything we have faced in the past few days I wouldn't doubt another battle is possible, but I hope it doesn't come to that." Yatsuhashi agreed as he looked over to Ashe, Jaune, and Pyrrha.

"He's giving it to them now?" Fox voiced.

"I don't pretend to understand all this mumbo jumbo but I guess it's time for them to take charge of it." Coco said.

Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all sat down on a couch that was across from Ashe's chair, separated by a table.

Ashe smiled at the two teenagers the case and said "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, I present to both of you the Aura Crystal." He placed the case down and opened it, revealing the Aura Crystal within.

Jaune and Pyrrha both placed their hands on the case and nodded.

"We will try to honor the crystal and its legacy, as well as all of those who defended it previously." Pyrrha said modestly.

"I know you will." Ashe said pressed his finger on the print-lock of the case and slid his finger sideways, causing a small slip to come out. "I'm changing the lock to remove my clearance, so to speak, and replace it with yours."

He opened a small compartment inside of the case and carefully took out two more slips. "One for each of you." He said as he handed them over.

They nodded and pressed their fingers against the slips, allowing the two small pieces of tech to recognize them.

"Where did you get those things, anyway?" Nora asked.

"A security firm in Atlas, all I said was that I needed a print lock that would need changing in the future and they did it for me no questions asked." Ashe answered.

Jaune and Pyrrha placed the two slips upon the lock and they were both accepted by the case's security system.

"Okay, you two are now officially the new Guardians of the Aura Crystal. You guys are lucky to share it, I think the reason it wouldn't accept me for a long time was because I was alone and there are usually two guardians; one to handle the more physical aspects and one to handle the mystic stuff but it's not out of the question for you two to share those duties, it has happened before." Ashe informed them.

"That's good to know." Jaune said as Ruby looked out the window.

"There's an Atlas shuttle coming." She said as Penny approached her.

"Ruby, what will happen to me when this is all over? Even if the General is being controlled I don't know what they will do to me or my father once this ends." The robot girl said.

"Don't worry Penny, we got your back." Yang assured her.

"Hey, we got you this far, didn't we? I don't think any of us will let them take you after everything we've gone through together." Weiss said confidently.

Ruby nodded as she put a comforting hand on Penny's and said "We'll stand by you Penny, you're our friend and nothing will change that."

Penny smiled and hugged Ruby as the elevator in the lobby opened up to reveal Glynda.

"Children, please start heading up stairs. I will stay here to greet General Ironwood." She said.

Ruby nodded and led her team, Penny, Neon, Flynt, Sun, Neptune, and Neo into the elevator for the first load up.

"Are you sure Ozpin's plan will work?" Ashe asked as Teams JNPR and CFVY as well as Scarlet and Sage all got ready to go up as well.

Glynda nodded and said "I am sure it will work, I just hope he'll be alright."

"And what happens if it doesn't work? If they try to arrest us or retake Penny you know we'll all be fighting them, right?" Coco inquired.

Glynda sighed and said "I know it all too well."

Pyrrha let Jaune hold the case, they looked at each other and didn't need to speak as they both knew they could feel the power of the Aura Crystal now, the same strange sensation that had healed Jaune and restored their original physical appearances but more subtle and relaxed, more refined.

Neither of them could describe it, but the sensation made them feel hopeful for the future for some reason, it made them think that the days and challenges ahead would not be as dark as those behind them.

The elevator came back down and Ashe and the remaining Hunters-in-training all piled in as Glynda remained behind.

Glynda walked out the lobby's front door to meet Professor Echo and several other teachers of Haven Academy, as well as Samson and Ellis, as the Atlesian Shuttle landed.

The ramp descended and a total of twelve Atlesian Knights, six on each side, marched down the ramp and stood to attention as General Ironwood, Cy, Chamberlain, and about two dozen Atlas soldiers all disembarked from the ship. Ironwood looked down at Glynda and while his expression seemed soft for a brief second it quickly turned into a glare, something Glynda did not miss.

"James." she greeted.

"Goodwitch. I should be angry that you lied to me and did not tell me the full situation but given what I have been told about Cinder Fall you may have made the right choice." As he said this Glynda noticed his robotic hand shaking a bit.

"I am sorry for the deception James but it was necessary. I trust your men have filled you in on the details?" she asked.

"They have; Cinder Fall has been in the city the entire time contrary to our agent's reports..."

"An agent who has yet to respond to any of our communications since last night. Maybe he was a traitor." Cy chimed in.

"Yes... about Agent 501, sir... while we were interrogating the guards of Cinder Fall's factory several of them confirmed that an Atlas Agent known as 501 was fed to a Grimm abomination created by a scientist working with Fall known as Victor Giger, whose corpse was found in the rubble of his lab. This would explain why Agent 501 hasn't responded." Samson said grimly.

"What?!" Jackson cried.

"That... is most upsetting." Ironwood said grimly.

"Yes... quite." agreed Cy.

"What else have they told you?" Glynda asked.

"That Pyrrha Nikos is somehow alive AND was a Grimm hybrid, something I am most interested in... seeing for myself. Even if she was cured by what was only vaguely described as a relic used by a Guerrilla Huntsman, as Ellis informed me on the way here. Not to mention Penny Polendina has been here the entire time, along with the ones who stole her from us, all of whom I expect to be handed over to us for trial and for the robot to be returned to us. Not to mention I want Branwen in custody within the hour." Ironwood demanded harshly as they walked back into the lobby.

"I think you'll have to talk it out with some... people who will oppose you, James. Did they tell you about Ozpin?" Glynda inquired.

"They have, and while I am glad to hear he is alive I am more concerned with apprehending the criminals who raided our headquarters and the Grimm hybrid." Ironwood stated. Glynda nodded, knowing full well what was really happening and what unfortunately had to happen to James in order to free him.

"This way please." Glynda said as she led them into the elevator. "Stay here, keep an eye out for any... trouble." she whispered to Professor Echo, who nodded and signaled for her fellow Haven teachers to stay with her. Glynda, Ironwood, Chamberlain, Cy, two Atlesian Knights, and five soldiers all walked into the elevator and Glynda pushed the button to take them them up and with that the doors closed and the lift began to ascend.

The short ride up was quiet, save for a conversation between Goodwitch and Ironwood. "James, please do not start a fight. You don't need to resort to violence in order to get to the bottom of things."

"Oh but I do, Qrow made that perfectly clear when he assaulted me and turned one of my top specialists against me. Speaking of which maybe I shall postpone Specialist Schnee's trial so we can do this all at once. But you do have my word Glynda that if any of the children make a move against me and they were not involved with the robbery I will not arrest them, merely have them stunned. Men, Knights; set weapons to stun." Ironwood ordered.

They all followed his instructions as Glynda glared at him. 'The true James Ironwood is in there somewhere, you can fight this, I know you can.' she thought.

They soon arrived at Argo's office, which was a mere four floors above the school grounds. The doors opened to reveal Ozpin, Argo, Qrow, Penny, Neo, Ashe, Flynt, Neon, and Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY. One of the men had a surprised look on his face when he saw Jaune in the room, alive.

Glynda walked out first as Ironwood and his men poured out of the elevator. Ironwood eyes them all, but Ozpin caught his eye first.

"Hello Ozpin, it is good to see you alive and well. I must admit I was worried I'd never see you again." Ironwood confessed.

"It is good to see you as well James, even though I wish it could be under better circumstances." Ozpin agreed.

Ironwood nodded and said "Weiss Schnee, Team CFVY, Flynt Coat, Neon Katt, and _Qrow Branwen_..." he spat the last name, "you are all under arrest for treason, theft of military property, assault, destruction of military property, espionage, resisting arrest, spreading dissension, lies and slander, mutiny, and a myriad of other crimes against the Kingdom of Atlas and its military forces. Come quietly."

"The hell we will." Qrow snarled as he whipped Reaper out in sword mode.

The younger Huntsmen and Huntresses all got their weapons ready.

"Yeah, we helped save this city and stopped you from making a horrible mistake, you at least owe us that." Flynt said as he loaded a Dust vial into his trumpet. While Penny, who knew her weapons would be far too deadly in a confined space, got behind Ruby, ready to transform her slightly damaged arm.

"It is true you did help in nearly catching Cinder Fall, keyword being nearly, but that does not excuse what you did." Cy stated.

"What we did was stop you from playing right into Cinder's hands! She wanted you to use Penny as a bomb, she wanted to set it off in a public place so it could kill hundreds of people, then the fact that you sent her there would get out and a war would break out between Mistral and Atlas." Weiss said, ignoring the angry look on Ruby's face.

"So you claim but do you have any proof to back that up? I have been told that Miss Rose, Mr. Arc and... Miss Nikos were all inside of the factory, either against their will or brainwashed. Did any of you hear confirmation of their claims?" the General asked.

Ruby and Jaune remained silent as Ironwood looked to Pyrrha. "Not even you? You were controlled into being on their side, surely you knew of Cinder's plans?" he asked.

"No, they didn't tell me much and what they did was lies. I knew nothing of what they had planned for Penny." Pyrrha said truthfully.

"So, there we have it. I will take them all into custody and you as well Miss Nikos." he said, getting a furious reaction from Jaune.

"What? Why?!" he demanded.

"Because from what I have been told she was a Grimm hybrid, a humanoid who can control the Grimm from what I have been told, and if she was who is to say those effects won't linger? We will need to study her." Ironwood said.

Ruby looked to Ozpin who was remaining calm despite how tense the atmosphere in the air was.

"If you take her you'll have to take me, I was a hybrid too." Jaune confessed, knowing not to reveal that they still were hybrids.

"What?! I... I was not informed of that..." he said hesitantly. Ashe, Team SSSN, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ren, and Nora all got their weapons out, ready to go.

"James, stand down. These children are prepared to fight you in order for their friend's safety. After all that they have been through surely you can try to stop and look at the situation from out points of view." Ozpin said calmly.

"No Ozpin, let us deal with these malignancies, we shall get to the bottom of this on our own terms." Ironwood said.

"What did you just call us?" Velvet asked.

"Malignancies, not all of you are but two of you may be. If Nikos and Arc are indeed hybrids then they are a malignancy, a cancer, a disease that needs to be dealt with." he said rather bluntly.

"You do not mean that James." Glynda voiced.

"I do. Anyone who stands... against me will be... arrested." Ironwood stammered.

Argo and Ozpin glanced at each other.

"Oz, whatever you're gonna do to free him from the mind control now would be the perfect time to do it." Ashe said as he grasped his sword.

"Mind control? Do you honestly believe Qrow's laughable claims? I took precautions against such possibilities years ago." Ironwood said.

"Did you? We have reason to believe there is a traitor among your men and you might know who it is. We will help you, old friend." Ozpin promised Ironwood.

"How do you intend to help me?" Ironwood asked as the soldiers and the two Knights aimed their rifles up. Ironwood grabbed his pistol and this did not go unnoticed by the Hunters on the other side of the room as they all got ready for a fight when Ozpin held up his hands.

"James, do you remember when we first met?" he asked.

Ironwood looked at him strangely and answered "Y-yes i do... it was when you were a teacher at Beacon and I was a private in the military... we were assigned to overlook the security of the Vytal Fesitval together and..."

"James! Do you remember when we first met? The night we shared together?" Glynda asked.

Ironwood's eyes darted over to look at Glynda and said "I... yes. It was after I had been promoted to Lieutenant and Ozpin had became the Headmaster of Beacon and you had became a teacher... you were so... you're still so beautiful Glynda..." he said his body beginning to convulse and shake.

"Sir, what's going on?" Chamberlain asked as he signaled the troops to stand down.

Ozpin sighed, what was happening was the cure for certain types of mind control, more specifically one that could easily overcome the control of a person with cybernetic implants such as Ironwood but it depended on the bond of the controlled and the ones trying to free him, as well as the will of the one being controlled. Ozpin could tell by the tremors rocking Ironwood's body that he was fighting it. He looked to Qrow and nodded.

Qrow faced Ozpin and said "Jimmy, remember the first assignment we went on together? It was back before my Team had graduated and after you had been promoted to General, but way before you got to the place you are now. We were assigned to take out a horde of Grimm off the coast of an island that was smack dab in the middle of the oceans that separated Vale and Atlas. I'll be honest Jimbo, I thought you were a stuck-up prick who pretended he was better than everyone, but even I could tell you wanted to do some good. You came up with the plan to let us and the bulk of your forces take on the Grimm while you and some others rescued the civilians that were held up in the shelters. Once you got all the people out, with some help from Raven and Summer kicking ass you came right back into the fight. I was pinned down by some Beowolves and with my aura drained and no ammo it looked like I was screwed. Then you saved me. I... Summer had to thank you for that 'cause I was too full of myself to admit I was wrong about you. Thank you for saving me. I was wrong then Jimmy, so prove me wrong again, here and now." he beckoned.

Ironwood held his gun out as his body was still shaking madly.

"What's happening to the General?" asked a soldier.

"Side effects of fighting mind control. Come on James, you can do it, I know you can." Ozpin called.

"Fight it, James! Prove that you are better than them." Glynda encouraged.

"You can do it James." Qrow said before Ironwood fell to his knees, screaming in agony.

"What's happening?!" cried Velvet.

"The control must be a hell of a lot stronger than we thought!" Coco guessed as Ironwood began to lift the pistol up.

"I... am not... her tool! It was... AH!" Ironwood screamed as he fired his pistol at Ozpin, only for Argo to pull him out of the way.

Ironwood yelled out if fury as he screamed "NO!" He began to point the pistol at his head and cried out "Cy! It was him!"

He fired the pistol and it grazed it hit his implants, causing a burst of spark to fly out of his head as he fell to the ground.

"No!" Glynda, Qrow, and Ozpin all shouted as Ironwood fell to the ground.

"Oh god! Get the medics up here now! There's been an accident and we need to get him to a hospital now!" Argo cried into his intercom. Ruby and the others were all too shocked to move, the fact that Ironwood had shot himself so he wouldn't hurt them proved there was good in him.

Cy stood frozen in terror as everyone who was armed aimed their weapons at him while Glynda, Ozpin, and one of the soldiers with medical training quickly began to attend to the wounded Ironwood.

Qrow picked Cy up and slammed him into the wall.

"Why'd you do it? Huh? Why you son of a bitch?!" Qrow snarled as he transformed Reaper into scythe mode.

"Wait! We need him alive!" Chamberlain objected as Ashe and Yatsuhashi grabbed Qrow and held him back. They did need him alive, if he knew something about Cinder, or maybe even Salem, then they could use it to their advantage. Chamberlain looked Cy right in the eye and asked "Why did you do it Ulysses?"

"For my family... she approached me, I had no choice Jackson... I'm sorry." Cy said before he slammed his fist into Chamberlain's gut, threw him down, the blasted a window open.

"Stop him!" exclaimed Scarlet who fired his flintlock at Cy, who easily dodged and jumped out the window. He landed roughly on the ground and rolled to ease the fall. His knees were a little injured from the fall but that didn't matter. He had failed and he knew full well what the price of failure was. He looked over to the edge of the school grounds and ran for the sheer drop.

"I'll get him." Qrow said as he jumped out of the window as well.

Chamberlain got up as one of the soldiers spoke into the radio; "Colonel Cy is a traitor, repeat; Cy is a traitor. Ironwood was being controlled all along, Branwen was telling the truth. Get the shuttle up here, we need to get him to the ship's medbay now!" It made sense to do that, since the flagship had several doctors who were more than capable of saving Ironwood's life, as some of them had experience with cyborgs such as him.

Chamberlain nodded and said "Professor Goodwitch, throw me at him!"

Glynda looked at him as if he was made, but nodded. "I'm coming with you. Children, back away and give the General breathing room. Have the medics transfer him to the shuttle so it can take him to the ship." she ordered as she grabbed Chamberlain with her telekinesis and jumped out the window, going far as she took the military officer with her. She soared through the sky and began to come down close to where Cy was running, with Qrow not too far behind, so she did her best to aim right as she kicked downwards and scored a hit on the back of Cy's head as she rolled and landed safely on one knee while Chamberlain landed no so gracefully on his back.

Cy fell, the kick to the head caused a nose bleed as he tried to get up and make his way to the long drop over the edge, only for a Dust blast to hit the ground in front of him. He got up and looked back to see Qrow, Glynda, and Chamberlain all ready to fight him as more soldiers and Knights began to rush in from behind while the shuttle lifted off to reach Argo's office.

"What about your family? What do you mean you had no choice?" Chamberlain prodded as Qrow scoffed.

"All lies to make himself look a little better, face it bud; you're royally..."

"I know I am." Cy said as he backed up to the ledge. "But I am telling the truth when I say I had no choice. She same to me, _her_ , the Mistress of Grimm herself! She wanted me to keep Ironwood under control for her, to escalate the political hostilities between the Four Kingdom. At first I refused but then she... she said she would have my wife and son killed if I didn't comply! I had to do it... for my family. I lied to everyone about Agent 501, I told her he was in Haven, I told her about Penny, I told her everything she wanted me to, no matter how much it disgusted me."

Qrow and Glynda looked at each other before she said "The Atlas Military can protect your family, all it takes is a simple call and they'll be placed under heavy guard."

"No Goodwitch, it's too late. She watches me, she has eyes and ears on everyone who serves her. My family... oh gods I've killed them!" he cried as tears began to fall from his eyes. He stepped closer and closer to the ledge, to the five hundred foot drop that led down to the city streets.

"No Ulysses! We can help you!" Chamberlain shouted.

Cy looked at his friend and said "No, protect my family if you can, Jackson. I wasn't good enough. I am a traitor to my Kingdom and a failure of a husband and father. I deserve this."

He jumped backwards and plummeted to his death. Glynda tried to catch him but his body weight made him drop too fast and he was out of reach before she could save him.

Chamberlain stood still and silent as he waited to hear the impact of his friend's body hitting the ground, but it never came. They were too high up to hear it.

Qrow placed a hand on Chamberlain's shoulder and said "I'm sorry. Maybe he was an okay guy, the fact that he didn't want to... crap."

He walked away, no good at comforting someone he barely knew.

Glynda spoke up; "Colonel Chamberlain, I suggest you prepare to inform the councils of the truth, as well as getting some protection on Cy's family in Atlas. It will not be easy, but right now dealing with this is the best way to avenge him."

Chamberlain looked at her and said "Right... right. I better get... get to work. Just give me a moment to recover." He sat down on the ground and buried his face in his hands as the shuttle departed from the building and flew to the massive airship while the soldiers began heading below to recover Cy's body.

Qrow looked up to the sky and grimaced, he knew that somewhere Salem may have been set back by everything that had happened to her minions and operations, but she was laughing.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little weak, I think it took long to write because I've pretty much accomplished the main thing I set out to do with this story (bring Pyrrha back) so my motivation might have been a little lacking but I'm determined to keep this story going and to make it as good as it can be, even if it has a few weak chapters. Plus I think I'm just eager to go ahead and get to the bigger parts of the story, which I am much better at writing than the small parts.
> 
> Please tell me what you thought about the scene with Jaune and Pyrrha waking up, I wanted that to be as good as I could make it and honestly I feel as though it's the only good part of this chapter.
> 
> I think I named the village where Mila lived something different in an earlier chapter but I can't remember it nor can I find it.
> 
> So I bet everyone saw the reveal of the traitor being Cy coming from a mile away? Originally I planned him to be just another evil minion of Salem's but I wanted to add more depth to him so I had Salem strong-arm him into being her spy.
> 
> Next time: Jude's move is made, we catch up with Winter, Neo backstory time, and we'll be checking up on the others who took part in the battle. 
> 
> If you read this on fanfiction . net review, fave, and follow but if you're reading this on An Archive of Our Own leave a kudos and a comment. Thanks for all your feedback, it keeps me and this story going.


	22. Reactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

Qrow sighed in relief at the news from the Atlas flagship, the news being that while Ironwood would be out of it for a couple of days due to the head injury, plus the new cybernetic parts would have to be implanted but luckily they had parts on the ship, he was expected to make a full recovery within the week. It was a good thing they had stored up the necessary medical tech on the ship, Ironwood was nothing if not prepared. Qrow smirked and 'Say what you will about Ironwood but he tries his best to be prepared.'

From what Chamberlain had told them he was currently in surgery with the doctors aboard the ship and word so far made the situation look a little brighter. The only grave damage was to the implants and while there was some minor damage to the organic parts of his head he had been lucky with his aim, but what he had hit needed repairs as soon as possible and the device that had been controlling him had been found, slightly damaged by the shot so the surgeons could easily be remove it without risk to Ironwood's health.

"How are the kids taking it? It had to be pretty horrifying to see that." Chamberlain stated as he sat down in a chair next to Glynda in Argo's office.

"Sadly horrific sights such as that are becoming common things in their lives." Glynda stated as she used her powers to repair Argo's window.

"Thank you Glynda. Now the commissioner of the police force has informed me that they are trying to find Ante's forces but a majority of them have either left the city or are going underground. Some of the cops might still be on Ante's payroll but many of them who were too scared to make a move are no longer afraid due to the events of last night. Really we'll just have to wait and see how this turns out." Argo said as he looked over a report on his computer. Suddenly he had an unnerved look on his face but tried to hide it, but to no avail as they all saw it.

"Jason, what's wrong?" Ozpin asked.

"It appears that over two dozen of the guards and workers that were apprehended at the factory took their own lives before they could properly be interrogated." The Headmaster of Haven announced.

This was not exactly unexpected, given what Cy had done, but it was a bit odd.

"Why didn't they kill themselves back at the factory?" Chamberlain inquired.

"Apparently they hoped to get away, I suppose they would have killed themselves once they realized how cornered they were and waited for an opportunity once they were alone in their cells." Argo reported as he read the report.

"What did they kill themselves with?" Glynda questioned.

"Some hanged themselves, others cut off their air supply, some just talked their fellow captives who did not wish to die into killing them, or so the reports say." Argo said.

"I am not surprised; most of them would rather die than invoke the wrath of Cinder and her master. Despite the fact that they have lost the battle the war has yet to be won by either side. It could drag on for eons after we have all passed." Ozpin stated. He looked to Chamberlain and asked "What of Atlas?"

Glynda and Chamberlain glanced at each other and the colonel spoke up. "I have contacted the Atlas council and they have decided to drop all charge against all those involved in the raid, as well as release Winter Schnee until things are cleared up. They have decided since the General was under enemy control they may have been in the right to stop his plans for Penny. I also got them to send some guards over to Cy's home to protect his wife from any agents of this Grimm Mistress, as well as sending some to the Tzu Military Academy to guard his son. Hopefully they're safe and maybe they can give us some information on what happened." He said.

Qrow, Glynda, and Ozpin all seemed relieved at the news that the charges were dropped for the time being, something the teenage Hunters-in-training would be glad to hear. No doubt Weiss would be happy to know that her sister would be released from the stockade, something Qrow was pleased with as well as he had come to like the older Schnee daughter. Despite her high and mighty attitude she could have he knew she was a pretty good warrior, too bad she chose to be in the military instead of being a Huntress.

Glynda noticed a troubled look on the faces of Ozpin and Chamberlain. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"If is very unlikely that Cy, involuntary or not, was the only traitor to the military. It is more than probable that there are more spies and traitors within our organizations and Salem knows me well enough to know I would deduct that." Ozpin stated.

"And she knows that with the possibility of one traitor, there can always be more. When this gets out and word spreads about it, and it will, cause schisms, created distrust, fuel paranoia, all things she wants; all things that the Grimm can thrive upon." Glynda agreed.

"So either way, with or without Cy, she still has an edge over us." Chamberlain said with darkened face.

"Pretty much. Investigations on all staff members of the Atlas Military and academies?" Qrow asked.

Chamberlain nodded and said "Affirmative, not just Hunter Academies but military and civilian ones as well, so the council has demanded. They'll keep it quiet until next week, then they'll be prepared to begin a full investigation on all military personnel to see where their loyalties lie, then they can move on to the Hunter academies and the civilian schools, workplaces, and so forth. And of course invasion of privacy and widespread interrogation are things people are usually opposed to, which creates mistrust towards the council and the military. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

"Any traitors found will have to be kept under constant watch to prevent suicide, obviously." Glynda observed.

"Of course." Chamberlain stated as he looked to his scroll, expecting a call from Atlas about Cy's family.

"What of the Guerrilla Huntsman, Kasai? He's technically a criminal but after all he's done we can't punish him." Argo pointed out.

Ozpin and Glynda considered this for a bit before Glynda said "Earlier this morning while we were clearing out the wreckage of the CraftTech factory one of the Atlas Sergeants asked me that question and it has been on my mind ever since. It has never been done before but given the many physical and emotional trials Ashe has apparently faced in the past, not to mention the lives he has saved and the life he helped save last night, I have been considering the idea of making him an official Huntsman..."

"Not a bad idea. Plus now that's he no longer the Guardian of the Aura Crystal I guess he could use a purpose in life." Qrow stated, cutting her off.

"I'm not exactly opposed to it, even though it's damned unusual and Guerrillas lack a lot of training." Argo said with a chuckle.

"That was what I was going to say. He is far too reckless and lacks the proper education. It's quite frankly a miracle he's still alive. There's also the fact that he hasn't earned it, being a Hunter is a rite of passage and one he has yet to pass..." Glynda began as Qrow cut her off once again.

"Then why did you even bring it up?"

"Because I think that with some proper training he can be one. It would be unfair to make him one right away after all the students have faced together." Glynda said.

"But most of them have only been fighting Grimm for a year, maybe two. This guy's been doing it on his own with the bare minimum education for at least thirteen years. I say we should give him a chance.

Ozpin nodded, "I'd approve of it if Ashe had some proper training, which he could easily have with our aid. We will make him an offer to help him train to become an official Huntsman if he chooses to take us up on our offer." He said before he noticed a concerned look on Glynda's face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Glynda looked to Ozpin and said "We need to address something else, Professor. The Vale council has mostly turned against you in your absence."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow while Qrow shot up from his seat.

"What the hell do you mean they've turned on him? They're a bunch of stuck-up assholes but why in the name of Oum would they turn on Ozpin after all he's done for them in the past thirty plus years?" Qrow demanded.

Glynda shook her head and looked to Ozpin who nodded. "Please indulge us, tell us why the Vale council has lost faith in me."

"Very well." Glynda began. "They see the fall of Beacon and the disaster of the Vytal Festival as your fault. They pointed to the lack of security and healthcare for Amber as you allowing her to suffer, they think you told Cinder where she was, which was how she got in the vault so easily. The fact that you vanished and from what Jaune said the battle between the you and Cinder was short, so they think that could mean you allowed her to go unchallenged which led to Pyrrha's 'death'. The fact that her virus she uploaded killed the security cameras doesn't help wither. They blame you for deaths of so many civilians and soldiers, saying that your interference with Ironwood's tactics cost many people their lives. They said that you, with all your knowledge and experience, should have easily realized that Yang was innocent and that a trick was being played on us. The head of the council even pointed out how you ignored the advice of not only Ironwood, but me as well, when it came to certain matters. They said that if you were ever recovered that there was to be a full and 'unbiased' investigation and trail for you to see if these accusation were accurate or not, even though we all know they are stupidly crafted arguments that be shot down with any proper investigation." She finished.

Argo nodded "I will have your back on this old friend, as will most of the Headmasters of the Kingdoms. We all know you too well to know that the idea that you being a traitor would fall apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny." He said supportively.

"You know the kids and all of your agents will stick by you, Oz." Qrow said with a sly smirk.

Ozpin returned the smile as he got up and looked out the newly repaired window to the city.

"I am no traitor, you all know that, but they do have legitimate grievances. There was a foolish lack of security for Amber because I foolishly, egotistically, thought I alone was enough to guard her. I wanted to keep her as secret as possible and look where that got us. Before Neo rescued us inside of the factory Jaune had an outburst, blaming me for what happened to he, Ruby, and Pyrrha, saying that their lives have been hell since I took Pyrrha down to that vault and I cannot deny he has a point." Ozpin said.

"It was just an emotional outburst; a teenager under stress like Jaune was is bound to say things he doesn't mean." Glynda argued.

"True, but that doesn't mean the points against me do not have some legitimacy. It is true I forced Ironwood to cut down the security of the festival, which made it all the easier for the Grimm to invade and for Cinder to obtain the powers of the Fall Maiden. I did not know if the incident between Yang and Mercury Black was real or not, I suspected it, but letting Yang go without punishment would have made me seem foolish and showed favoritism. I had planned to go further into in once the night was over but look where that got me." Ozpin stated bitterly as Glynda got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We all make mistakes, William." She said.

"Nobody is perfect Glynda, but I have made far too many mistakes for someone of my position. For every mistake we make we are supposed to learn from them, get better... and I have only gotten worse. Every death, every life Salem and her disciples have claimed weighs down on my conscience. I think I can stay on in a consulting position but I severely doubt my ability to be the Headmaster of Beacon anymore." He announced.

"What?!" Glynda, Qrow, and Argo all exclaimed, even Chamberlain's eyes were wide.

"Oz, you can't be freaking serious!" Qrow objected.

"Oh I am, Qrow. Look at where my great leadership has gotten us; Ironwood a slave to Salem's whim and now he's on the operating table, the lives of Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and untold amounts of others scarred because of my shortcomings, many lives have been snuffed out by the Grimm and Salem's forces due to my constant failures... They're right. They are all right about me. I no longer deserve my position and maybe... maybe I never did. I shall hold my position for as long as they like but I shall forfeit it as soon as possible. Hopefully to you, Glynda."

Glynda was naturally speechless for a moment or tow until she finally snapped out of it.

"Me? Why me?" she asked.

"You are the obvious choice. It is true that you can make mistakes and overlook things that I may notice but you are a powerful, talented, and intelligent Huntress, a perfect candidate for my replacement and quite frankly the only one I'd trust with taking over for me." Ozpin confessed.

"Are you sure about that? What about...?" Glynda began before Ozpin cut her off.

"No, I trust you and you alone with my duties, that is why you were the only one of the staff to know about Amber. While I would be more than happy to consult for you, maybe even assist you in certain duties and situations I think it is safe to say the time for my retirement has come, perhaps it is long overdue. Perhaps we could even have equal power, share the load but to be honest I don't think I even deserve that." Ozpin said as he sat back down.

Chamberlain's scroll rang and he quickly answered it and walked over to a corner of the room as Qrow threw in his opinions.

"Sharing it wouldn't be too bad of an idea but we can't lose you, Oz. We need you, nobody knows Salem and her tactics better than you and you've lasted longer against her than most, that's probably why she kept you alive instead of just killing you when she had the chance." Qrow voiced.

"Salem... that witch sees this as a game of chess, a game of wits and strategy. She sees her followers and disciples as pawns and knights to be sacrificed and she does so without pity or remorse... and maybe I have unintentionally begun to see it the same way. I have overlooked the safety and well-being of my students and friends, of those who fight for me and I have sacrificed them as pieces of a game. I may have good intentions, I want to protect this world but in doing so Salem has corrupted me with compromise and deception. An old proverb says that 'victory is in a simple soul'... my soul is not simple, her long, grand game of the shadows has tainted my soul. I can help the battle against Salem when needed but no longer can I be the one to face off against her. I have made too many mistakes and failed too many times and have failed to learn from them. The fall of Beacon and what happened to Pyrrha, Jaune, Ruby, Amber... it is my great failure. My last failure. Giving up my power is the only thing I can do to set my wrongs right. It's not much and it is unfair that I am leaving my wrongs for others to correct but it is a start, and others can do so much more than I ever can." Ozpin finished.

Despite the fact that he was only in his sixties he felt so much older, so tired, so useless, so... so defeated.

"Ozpin..." Qrow began before Chamberlain interrupted him.

"Turns out Cy was telling the truth. Both his wife and son have been found dead." He announced.

Everyone else in the office looked at him, while Ozpin and Qrow were no particularly surprised by their deaths it was odd how quickly they happened. Glynda looked taken aback but Argo, who had the least experience with the Mistress of Grimm, was shocked.

"How did it happen? Weren't they at two different locations?" he asked.

"Correct. His wife was at home and his son was a second year student at the Tzu Military Academy. Both died around the same time, with Gina Cy found dead in her living room, no signs of forced entry or struggle, just a small entry wound on her neck, most likely a poisoned needle. His son, Stuart, was found dead a few hundred meters away from school grounds during break with his throat slit open." Chamberlain revealed gravely at he sat down. "He was my friend you know? His wife was a wonderful woman and his son... wanted to be a soldier that would make a difference. They were good people." Chamberlain said sadly.

"Colonel, will you be alright?" Argo inquired.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Just give me time to mourn. I will help you all do whatever is necessary to help take down this 'Salem' creature and I know General Ironwood will agree with me once he fully recovers." Chamberlain voiced.

Ozpin sighed and said "It is said when someone takes their own life to save the lives of others they might suffer in hell, but suffer righteously, yet Salem won't even allow Cy's soul that small comfort." He noticed Argo seemed to be deep in thought and asked "What's on your mind, Jason?"

"Do you really think Ironwood will stay in his position after everything that's happened?" Argo asked.

"Jimmy's nothing if not determined. You turn his robots against him he shoots them down for target practice. I have no doubt in my mind he'll be a little mopey over this but he'll just put better security programs for his techno-brains." Qrow said confidently.

"True, if anything this will teach James to trust us a bit more and will make him more determined to aid us against Salem." Glynda agreed.

Ozpin nodded and looked out the window, out to the city before him. It was safe for the time being. "Glynda, when do you think Miss. Nikos' parents will arrive?"

"The bullhead I sent to fetch them is top of the line, very fast so they should be here within a few hours." Argo stated.

"Good, the sooner they are reunited the better," Glynda said simply. She looked over to Chamberlain and asked "Will Specialist Schnee arrive here once she is released?"

"Possibly, but she will do as she pleases. Although I assume she and Dr. Polendina will both want to come here to check up on Weiss and Penny." Chamberlain said.

* * *

Winter looked up as her cell opened to reveal two guards and the warden of the Atlesian Military's stockade. She couldn't help but notice one of the guards was carrying her usual outfit and the other carried her sword.

"What is it? Do I have a visitor?" she asked impatiently. She had found that the worse thing about captivity other than the isolation and the self-doubt was the boredom, so she was secretly pleased that something out of nowhere was happening. She could also tell that if they had her clothes and weapon in hand then something must be transpiring.

"Specialist Winter Schnee; by the authority of the Atlas Council and Colonel Jackson Chamberlain you are hereby released from captivity." The warden revealed.

Winter shot up, her eyes betraying her surprise. "What? Why? What has happened?" she asked.

"From what was told to us a battle occurred in Haven last night, one where your accomplices in the raid and Cinder Fall were major participants of. It has also been revealed that you were telling the truth about a traitor and General Ironwood being under the control of a malevolent force. They have decided to release you and that you, your sister, Qrow Branwen, and the other young Hunters, acted rightly in order to stop General Ironwood's plans for Penny Polendina." The warden said professionally as one of the guards handed her clothes back to her.

"Allow me to dress myself, tell me more through the intercom." Winter said before they shut the door.

As Winter stripped her prison uniform off the intercom came on and began to explain what had happened to her. "From what we can gather your sister, her group, and Qrow teamed with Glynda Goodwitch, two other teachers from Beacon, and several teams from Vale and Vacuo as well as several parties in Haven city where Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc had been captured by Cinder Fall's forces. Together they attacked the base, a factory once owned by your family's company and now owned by something called CraftTech."

Winter began to don her clothes she knew the CraftTech company was in on it, just as Weiss and the other young Hunters in Haven had theorized.

"They discovered not only Ozpin but that Pyrrha Nikos was alive as well..."

What?! Well this was getting more interesting by the moment.

"... and that she and Jaune Arc had been turned into... Grimm hybrids..."

Well she was proven right yet again.

"...but apparently they've been cured by a Guerrilla Huntsman, of all things, with some mystical relic. In all seriousness it doesn't make much sense to me, but I trust you'll be pleased to know that your sister and the others are all safe, they only had two fatalities in the battle, miraculously."

Winter was saddened to know someone possibly half her age died in such a battle, but know the big thing to find out was the identity of the traitor.

"And there was an incident in Haven barely half an hour ago, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Brawnwen managed to help General Ironwood free from the control over him, but he had to shoot himself in his cybernetic implants in order to not harm anyone else."

Oh gods...

"But they have gotten him to the ship's surgical bay and we think he will be alright."

That was a relief; despite everything that had happened between Winter and Ironwood she held no grudge against him as she knew he wasn't in control of his actions.

She finished putting on her clothes and knocked on the door. "I'm ready to leave." She announced. The door opened and before she walked out Winter took one last look at her cell before departing.

The second guard got on one knee, held her sword out and said "You're blade, Specialist Schnee."

Winter gratefully accepted her sword back and said "Thank you. Now Warden, Now what of the traitor's identity?" she inquired.

"It turns out Colonel Cy had been strong-armed to betray us by our enemies." The warden revealed.

"Cy? I... didn't know what to expect but not a seasoned veteran such as him. Where is he now?" Winter asked.

"Dead. Jumped off a ledge due to fear for his family." The warden said as they walked out of the stockade. "I'm sorry for any discomfort Specialist Schnee, seems that you didn't belong here."

The news of Cy's death was somewhat saddening, even if he did betray them he was evidently strong-armed into it. She shook her thoughts about her now dead former comrade and answered with "It's quite alright warden, you were just doing your job. Has Dr. Polendina been released as well?"

"Oh yes, as we speak in fact."

Winter nodded and said "Good, now I have one last question; how fast can a ship get us to Haven?"

* * *

Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN, Neon, Flynt, and Penny, made their way down to the infirmary to visit the other young Hunters-In-Training, most of whom refused to leave their wounded teammates sides although Jaune and Pyrrha stopped by their room to put the Aura Crystal in a safe place. After Cy's death and General Ironwood was moved to the flagship Argo had decided there was no danger in letting his students out of their dorm rooms so decided to let the kids go about the school grounds with a day off, which was the cause of much celebration among the students of Haven Academy.

Ashe had gone to the library, he claimed it was to get some reading done, but in reality it was to get some more sleep in a peaceful place. There was just something about shelves of books that was relaxing to him. Maybe it was his memory of Mila. Neo had... gone walking about, to calm herself she claimed.

Anyhow the eighteen teenagers and one robot made their way to the infirmary; ignoring the occasional gasps and whispers of the students they passed by.

"It's her! She's alive!"

"That robot thing too."

"How did she come back from the dead?"

"Maybe she didn't die to begin with."

"Could be a clone."

"Don't be stupid!"

"I knew I saw her last night."

"Man, what the hell's been going on?"

These were just some of things they heard on their way. Pyrrha did her best to ignore the words, helped greatly by Jaune squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry Pyrrha, it'll be okay." Nora whispered to her. Ren nodded to her with a small smile and Pyrrha returned it. She blocked out the whispers and her thoughts strayed to her parents. She hoped to call them as soon as possible but Professor Goodwitch assured her it was being taken care of and they would be arriving in a few hours. Pyrrha hoped her parents would understand, they were always kind and wonderful people but she wondered if her parents could take her condition.

They entered the infirmary, a large cul-de-sac shaped room that had beds lined out all along the walls with various pieces of medical equipment and several nurses keeping watch over the sick and injured. The closest bed was where Professor Port was lying on his front while grumbling about his aura and the medical treatments taking too long to heal his injured back. Nearby Team NDGO was seated around their youngest member, Octavia who was on her front as well with a large aura patch on her bare back to heal the stab wound, but she seemed to be in good spirits as she was quietly talking to her teammates with a cheerful voice.

A few spaces up Dove was in his bed, asleep, or possibly still out cold from his near fatal injury the night before. His two remaining teammates, Russel and Sky sat by his bed talking to each other before they noticed the group of new arrivals and Blake, whose eyes could see little details better than most, noticed Russel glaring at them.

Team BRNZ was the next one, with Roy and Nolan sitting up in their beds, seemingly fully recovered from the injuries from the night before. Brawnz and May talked to them jokingly as May waved to the group.

Then there was Yang and Ruby's father Taiyang who was sitting up in bed with a cast around his arm. He looked to them and grinned widely and they grinned back.

In the back was Team ABRN with Arslan, Bolin, and Reese all seated around Nadir who had bandages wrapped around the stub where his hand used to be and it showed signs of being cauterized. Needless to say; the pink-haired boy was looking rather miserable as Dr. Chloris administered another pain killer.

A few other students were in the infirmary for sickness or injuries but they remained quiet or were asleep.

"Uh... hey everyone." Ruby said to announce their presence after the head nurse agreed to let them all in.

"Hi Ruby." Bolin said as Team ABRN looked up to see them.

"Nice of you to join us, must have been one heck of a fight with Cinder." Arslan said as she gave them a smile.

"Ugh, you have no idea." Weiss groaned.

"Nice to see you all made it out okay..." Nebula began before she stopped to glance at what was left of Team CRDL, "well almost all of you." She finished with a wince.

Sun looked down to Octavia and asked "Hey, you doing okay?"

"Let's just say I'd take a kick in the face over a knife in the back any day." The redhead said with a small smile.

"Dr. Chloris said she'd recover in a week but she needs to relax and not upset the wound while the aura does its job." Dew explained.

"Just get better, you hear? Your team needs you." Sun encouraged.

"I hear you." Octavia said with a nod.

Ruby and Yang both hugged their dad tightly. "Whoa girls! They just patched me up, don't break my arm again!" he joked as he used his unbroken arm to hug them back.

"Sorry dad, are you doing okay?" Yang asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty good with just a broken arm. Dr. Chloris said I'll be okay within the week if my aura keeps it up, the head nurse even said she'll let me out today." Taiyang informed them with a smile.

"That's great dad!" Ruby said as she kissed his cheek.

"What about you? You girls doing okay?" he asked.

"We're fine dad, we had a little... drama feels this morning but we're okay now." Yang said as she patted Ruby's shoulder.

Jaune and Velvet looked down sadly as they realized what she meant by that. Jaune himself couldn't help but fear over the fate of Cardin's body, given the Chimera and the explosions that had been tearing the factory apart.

Brawnz approached the group and placed his out for Pyrrha to take "Hey, nice to see you're okay after all, you too Jaune. You had us worried for a while." He said a Pyrrha accepted his hand and shook it.

"It is good to see you as well Brawnz, I trust you're all alright?" she said.

"Roy and me got a little shot up, but all things considered we got off easy." Nolan said as he stretched his arms out.

"Yeah, but it's a good thing you guys got out when you did, 'cause we probably weren't gonna last much longer." May said as she patted Pyrrha on the back.

"From the sounds of it we had the easy job." Coco joked as she sat down in a chair.

"Not too easy I hope." Port called from his bed

"If you call fighting some hybrid of different Grimm creatures easy while fire surrounded us easy, then I suppose it was rather easy." Blake deadpanned.

"I can't tell if that's a joke or not, Miss Belladonna, but by Oum it sounds like something I'd like to do!" Port cheered enthusiastically.

Blake couldn't help but give the portly teacher a small smile as Ruby and Yang went over to Nadir and Team ABRN. "Hey guys, Ren and Nora told me how you guys were coming to help me and Jaune after Ante captured us, so I owe you guys a lot." Ruby said as she gave both Reese and Bolin hi-fives.

"How could we resist? Reese said she saw you and Arc fall out from the Seras Kalifa so I thought we needed to know what was going on." Arslan said as she shook hands with Yang. "Hey... listen the guy who fixed up your arm can he... uh..."

"It's something to do with Nadir, isn't it? Oobleck seemed pretty hesitant to talk about what happened to him last night." Yang said.

"Yeah, Nadir got his hand cut off by one of Ante's thugs, the prick with a katana." Arslan informed them as Ruby's eyes got wide. The sisters looked over to see Nadir in his bed and he didn't bother looking up at them.

Yang and Ruby looked at each other before Dr. Chloris introduced herself to Ruby politely. "Hello there Ruby Rose, I'm Reese's mother Dr. Maia Chloris. I take it you are alright?" she asked Ruby.

"Yeah, I'm feeling okay... physically anyway, which is pretty amazing considering the kind of people who were holding me captive." Ruby said as Yang waited for the doctor to stop so they could talk to Nadir together.

"I should think so. How are Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos?" Dr. Chloris asked.

"Ask them yourself, they'd know more than we would." Yang said as patiently as she could. Dr. Chloris nodded and went to talk to the couple while Yang and Ruby walked over to Nadir's bed and the rest of their group spread out and began to chat with the others. Neon began talking to Reese and the siblings sat in the chairs that Arslan and Bolin had been sitting in.

"Hey Nadir, I'm... I'm really sorry about your hand." Ruby said gently.

Nadir glanced at her and said "It's not your fault, Ruby. I mean maybe it is your fault since if you hadn't gotten captured I..."

"Nadir!" Arslan scolded.

"Sorry I... I don't know what I'm gonna do without my hand." He said sadly.

Yang placed her damaged robotic hand on his shoulder and said "Hey, I know how you're feeling man, you feel; you feel angry and depressed, shocked and helpless, numb and disconnected. Those are the things I went through after I lost my arm and I... I let them control me. I saw my life as hopeless and bitter and... and because of that my little sister had to go out and fight the bad guys without me but after a while I... I realized that I couldn't let the loss of my arm beat me. So don't sweat it. A pretty good doctor gave me a new arm and I think he can do the same for you."

"Yeah but prosthetic arms like those are really expensive and you told us that the doctor did yours for free because he owed your uncle. My family isn't exactly rich enough." Nadir said somberly.

"Mine is." Weiss said as she pushed pass Bolin and approached the bed. "I can't guarantee it but I think my father will find out truth now that the battle is over and I can easily have him pay for a surgery."

Nadir looked at her with his eyes widening. "You'd do that for me?" he asked.

"Well yes, you helped us save our friends at the cost of your hand so helping you pay for a prosthetic is the least we can do." Weiss assured him.

Nadir gave her a sad smile as he looked to Arslan. "I... I don't know what to say. Thanks Weiss." He then held up the stump where his hand used to be and said "It's weird, you know? When I got over the shock and the pain on the ship I wanted to deny it, like it was just an illusion but I couldn't feel my hand or my fingers anymore. It's... it's weird, isn't it Yang?"

Yang nodded, "Yeah, though I was mostly passed out from shock and pain." She said, remembering the night she lost her arm. "The things I did wrong was let the pain take me over, let myself rot in depression and... well self-pity and allow myself to become more dependent on my dad."

"Hey, he can always depend on us." Bolin said quickly.

"But you can't let him rely on you too much, just the right amount before he gets a new hand. It'll be frustrating to do at first but it won't take long. So cheer up pinky, and don't make the same mistakes I did." Yang said as she shook Nadir's remaining hand.

Nadir smiled and said "Thanks Yang, thank you all... I don't know what I'd do without you."

"We're your team buddy, we'll always be here for you." Reese said kindly.

As Jaune and Pyrrha agreed to let Dr. Chloris give them a checkup after she got some more rest, as the woman had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the night, they looked over to see Velvet talking to Russel and Sky. The two glanced at each other and knew they had to talk to Cardin's team about what had happened in the labs sooner or later.

They approached the three and Jaune spoke up first. "So how is Dove?"

Velvet, Russel, and Sky all looked up to the two and Sky answered with "Chloris and the nurses said he's in a coma, but they don't think it'll last more than a week."

Jaune nodded, "That's good, I hope he'll be okay."

Russel glared angrily at the two, something that did not go unnoticed before he said "Scarlatina here has been telling us about how Cardin went out, how he lured that Chimera thing to save your collective asses."

Pyrrha sighed and said "We tried to save him, Ruby nearly got him out of the chamber but the Chimera pounced on them. He died to save us and..."

"And nothing. He got killed to save you." Russel said bitterly. He looked at Jaune and said "They said the part of the factory he was in was too damaged to look through right now and considering what happened he's either ashes or torn apart by that Grimm thing." He ranted angrily.

"I'm sorry Russel, but Cardin... I don't know. I guess he felt bad for how he treated people like me and Velvet in the past and he wanted to make up for it, in a way I never wanted. He didn't deserve to die, I guess in the end he was a good person, one I could have been a friend to had things gone differently." Jaune said sadly.

"Listen, before your girl here got herself killed for whatever Cardin was perfectly happy being like he used to be, just not around you or Long-ears here, but then he wanted to 'change', he wanted to be 'better'. So tell me this, Arc; what the hell use is changing for the better if all it did was get him killed?" Russel demanded. Jaune tried to answer but before could come up with something Russel noticed something about Pyrrha. "Hey... weren't you all pale and red-eyed last night? What happened?"

"Speaking of that how the heck are you even here?" Sky asked.

"They got a good point; I've been wondering how you were still alive ever since I got a glimpse of you last night from the ship." Dew agreed from behind them.

"Yeah, Neptune's been telling me that a freaking burning arrowhead tore through Jaune's chest and..." Neon began before Jaune raised his hands up.

"Okay, okay, I guess you all want to know what happened to us after your ship left, right?" he asked.

"Pretty much." Confirmed Nebula.

"Thrill us, man." Agreed Flynt.

"Well don't keep us in suspense." Beckoned May.

Everyone quieted down to listen to Jaune's story, even Dr. Chloris, Professor Port, the nurses, and even the other sick or injured students were all listening up.

"Well after I got hit I was pretty out of it so Ruby and everyone else will have to fill in the blanks, but I'll start. Okay, so after you guys got away Cinder tried to shoot Pyrrha with an arrow and I did the only thing I could do, push her out of the way and the arrowhead went right through my chest." Jaune said. He looked to Ruby who nodded and took over.

"So after we got Jaune onto Weiss' ship everyone started fighting Cinder, who was pretty much alone for some reason, although Emerald did help her out soon enough. Pyrrha came up the idea for all of us to distract Cinder while she used her polarity to lift up all the Grimm Knights you guys destroyed and use them to crush her."

"It was a tough fight, I lost my blades and Ruby's scythe got snapped in half." Fox stated.

"And when Cinder started to get all though Ruby zoomed right past us and up to her and started to pound her, so we all began to help Ruby out by ganging up on Cinder" Velvet said.

"You see, the reason Cinder was so powerful she apparently has this weird ability to steal other people's power or something like that, and she used it on my mom." Yang explained.

"What happened to your mom? We haven't seen her around." Arslan pointed out.

Yang sighed and said "My mom didn't make it, she died to save Uncle Qrow."

There was a small, sad silence before Neon said "Oh Yang, I'm so sorry."

"Indeed, I remember Raven when she was a student of mine and she grew into quite the ferocious warrior, it saddens me to know she died against Cinder Fall." Port voiced.

"It's okay guys, I... I gotta accept it sometime. It sucks, but I... I think I'll be okay." Yang said as she put her arm around Ruby.

Ruby nodded and continued the story, telling it in her typical excited and animated fashion with help from the others such as Scarlet describing his fight against Emerald, Coco, Nora, and Ren telling everyone about their fight with the remaining Grimm Knights.

"... and then Cinder destroyed Weiss' summon with a sword to its head, then she took out her bow and arrow to kill Weiss but I ran in with Crescent Rose, oh she tried to blast me with fire but I caught it with the blade and used it to slash Cinder across the face!" Ruby exclaimed.

"No way." Reese said in amazement.

"Of course we had to miss that." Muttered Nolan.

"Too epic." Neon said quietly.

"Pretty sweet, it's what that witch deserves." Flynt stated.

"I must say, impressive, if a little gruesome." Dr. Chloris said.

"And then I used my polarity to slam all of the Grimm Knight down on Cinder and the factory, then we escaped on Weiss' ship." Pyrrha finished.

"But how did you save Jaune?" asked Gwen.

"It was... tough, to say the least but we managed to keep him alive with the medical equipment Dr. Chloris provided us until we reached the warehouse and Ashe used the Aura Crystal to save him." Ren explained.

"Oh, like how he said it could heal people sometimes?" Flynt inquired.

"Yes and no, you see it healed him but only after it judged both he and Pyrrha of being worthy to be its new guardians." Blake stated, getting some shocked reactions.

"Wait, I am so confused. What's the Aura Crystal?" asked one of the sick students from Haven.

"We'll tell you later." Sage assured the student.

"So you two are saddled with the Aura Crystal now? What's gonna happen to Ashe?" asked Bolin.

"We don't know, we've asked him but he wants to rest before he makes any big choices." Velvet informed.

"Okay, now that we know how Cinder got her butt royally kicked and how Jaune survived, how is Pyrrha alive?" May asked.

"Yeah, that question has yet to be answered and wasn't Jaune supposed to be a Grimm hybrid?" asked Gwen, accidentally letting that info slip out for the nurses and the uninvolved students to hear.

"Wait, what?" questioned one student.

"The hell?! A Grimm hybrid?!" exclaimed another.

"Get him out of here!" demanded another one.

"Oh my lord..." whispered a nurse.

"Calm down people! Nothing to worry about, the Aura Crystal took care of it." Nora said, flashing a wink to Jaune and Pyrrha. They nodded, knowing the lie they told to the Atlas soldiers would have to be repeated.

"Yes, you see after Cinder defeated me at Beacon she shot an arrow she used her powers to teleport me to her master where I was brainwashed and turned into a Grimm hybrid and thought I was someone named Fotia Drakos. I remained under that delusion for four months until Jaune and Neo began to help me see otherwise. I... somehow had some of my consciousness into Jaune somehow before I was taken and after a long time I managed to communicate with Jaune and I helped him withstand the torture he went through. After the process of turning one into a hybrid only half worked thanks to my interference within his aura Cinder's master decided to make Jaune and I fight to the death but I helped Jaune keep up with my physical form while my true-self, buried deep within my mind, helped as well by holding her back and allow Jaune to use a power of his Semblance is reverse to help me regain my memory. When the crystal cured Jaune it cured me as well." Pyrrha lied, though she mentally wondered what would happen once the truth that they were still hybrids. She knew the horrible treatment that Faunus received so how would they be treated since they were technically part Grimm, the most feared and hated entities in all of Remnant. She looked to those who knew she and Jaune were still hybrids and could tell they would help keep it secret for as long as possible. Her thoughts once again went to her parents; how would they react once they learned what their daughter had become?

"Well... that's good. I'm happy that you both recovered from such an awful thing." Dr. Chloris said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, good job smashing Cinder and her cronies." Praised Nebula with a smirk.

"I hope she's in a coma." Chimed in Brawnz.

"Well done, to all of you, you make an old Huntsman like me proud to be of the same profession." Port said proudly.

Russel, however, was not so kind.

"I don't believe this. I don't freaking believe this!" he shouted. "These two were part Grimm! Cardin died to save these two freaks! What the hell makes you two so damned special? Why should Nikos die and come back? Huh? What the hell gave her a second chance?!" he ranted as he glared at Pyrrha and Jaune. "My friend, my partner died for you, where's he? Where is Cardin's miracle resurrection? Huh?! WHERE?!"

He ran at Jaune but Sun and Sage launched themselves forward and grabbed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sun barked.

"Are you insane?" yelled Sage.

"No, I'm the only one here who thinks these two are lying! I know liars when I see 'em and these two aren't telling us everything! I think they're still freaks, hybrids, whatever the hell they are. I say we take their heads and smash 'em in just to make sure!" Russel ranted.

"Russel!" yelled a voice the green-haired teenager was all too familiar with. He glanced over to see an angry Sky Lark, the dumb one of Team CRDL. The silver haired Huntsman-in-training glared at Russel and calmly said "Why don't you just shut the fuck up?"

Russel glared back at Sky before he relaxed his body, even though Sun and Sage still held him in place.

Sky sighed but continued, sounding uncharacteristically smart. "Listen, Cardin died not just to save those two, but Teams RWBY, CFVY, and JNPR. All of them, man. He died to make a difference, so straighten up and act like you're as smart as you think you are. Cardin died and it sucked but he died a hero. Oh I forgot! You're the one who wanted to outlive his entire team."

Russel sighed and said "Okay, okay I get it... I'm being an asshole."

"Big understatement." Muttered Penny, surprising everyone with just how snarky she sounded. She noticed the looks Ruby, Yang and their father were giving her so she said "I believe that was 'being a smart-butt'."

Ruby couldn't help but giggle while Yang nodded, "Close enough."

"Okay... okay I'm sorry it's just... he was my partner, my friend. It's not fair that these guys get special treatments and can survive what should be life ending wounds when Cardin didn't." Russel complained.

Velvet, while not at all happy with how Russel was acting, couldn't help but sympathize with him. She was about to say something when Yatsuhashi stopped her, shook his head, and stepped forward.

The large teenager then spoke up, loud enough for everyone to hear him; "I did not know Cardin Winchester very well and to be honest I didn't like him very much, but in the end he proved his worth. He died to save us, he died to keep a horrific beast locked away, he died a hero. When Ruby and the rest of Team JNPR thought Pyrrha dead they overcame their grief and worked together to honor her sacrifice and avenge her. Do not let Cardin's sacrifice, the one that proved just how good he truly was, go to waste. Respect and honor him, if you truly did value his friendship." He finished.

Velvet smiled as Fox nodded in approval. "Well said, Yatsu." Coco stated proudly.

Sun and Sage released Russel from their grips and the head nurse said "I think, Mr. Thrush, it would be best if you left for now."

Russel sighed and took her advice, leaving the infirmary past a crowd of over a dozen student teams of the academy who were eavesdropping in on the story and the near fight that had broken out.

Pyrrha looked at those students and could see their faces; looks of amazement, confusion, happiness, mistrust, fear, and some of disgust.

Looks she knew she and Jaune would have to get used to.

"Alright, all of you clear out and go about your own business. None of you are going to repeat a bloody word about Miss Nikos and Mr. Arc's... conditions. If any of you do you will have the Headmaster to answer to, understand? Now go!" the head nurse barked fiercely, making the students scatter.

Pyrrha sighed and said "I think it would be best if I left as well, you all need your rest and I... I need to think about something."

She walked out of the infirmary, with the rest of her team, Team RWBY, Velvet, Sun, and Penny all following her while the others remained behind.

The group of eleven soon arrived to a nice, empty space of a large balcony where they could relax. Pyrrha looked out over the balcony and said "Those looks... if they all find out we're still hybrids what will we face, Jaune? Possibly worse persecution than the Faunus."

"Don't think like that! People will understand, they're smart." Jaune said.

"I hate to disagree Jaune, but no they are not. Individuals can be smart, but a collective group tends to fall into frenzy." Weiss said.

"Not helping!" Jaune said before he stood next to Pyrrha and placed his hand on hers. "Don't worry Pyr, we'll be okay. I can't promise that... but if we try our hardest everything will be okay. Though one thing I can promise is that no matter what; you'll always have me."

"And me." Ren said as he put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

"Me three!" Nora cheered as she hugged Pyrrha from behind.

Pyrrha laughed and said "Nora, you're only supposed to say 'me three' after someone says 'me too'."

"Eh, who cares?" Nora said with a shrug as Team JNPR laughed.

"You'll always have us too." Ruby said as she gestured to her team.

"And mine, we decided last night that if the truth ever gets out we were not going to risk losing either of you again." Velvet added.

"Same with me and mine." Sun agreed.

"You can count on me, my friend." Penny said gently to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha smiled, she knew there would always be people like Russel, people who would hate and fear her for what had been done to her, but people like her friends and those students who looked at her with happy looks filled her with hope. Hope that maybe the future wasn't going to be the dark world Salem wanted it to be.

"Hello there, my freaky darlings." Said the voice of Neo. Everyone turned to see Neo balancing herself on the stone railing of the balcony, twirling her umbrella. "So by the dour expression Pyrrha had on her face I trust you had to spill the beans to the rest of your friends about your Grimm sides, eh?" the petite girl guessed.

"Yeah, they wanted some explanations and they deserved it. They took it well for the most part but one guy just freaked out on us." Ruby informed her.

"There will always be people like that prick I suppose. Now then, how about a little tale? Ruby and Jaune were awfully curious as to why exactly I helped you guys out." She said.

"Something about Torchwick's final orders." Jaune stated.

"Yeah, but in order to explain that I should probably go back to the beginning and explain what led to me and Roman joining forces. Do you any of you mind if I indulge myself?" she asked.

"Sure." Jaune said.

"I think I'd like to hear it as well." Blake agreed as she sat on a bench between Sun and Yang.

"Go ahead Neo." Ruby said as she sat down on the ground.

Neo nodded, took a seat on the railing and began.

"You see, my parents were tried and true asshole. Abusive as they come. Hit me nearly every time I talked which I guess is why I barely speak, though I have to admit you lot seem to bring out the words in me but I expect that to change once this is done with. Once I was twelve years old I got my aura unlocked by a kind old neighbor, who was an old and disgraced Huntsman who had retired... he's dead now of course. Anyway I soon discovered my Semblance was these illusions and disguises but I had trouble with them at first but I figured 'what the hell?' and ran off.

I got by on my own on the streets, stealing and running for a month or two before the cops caught me. My parents didn't give a damn so they threw me into juvenile detention center and that's where I met Roman." Neo said as she took a moment to give her throat rest, as she wasn't used to talking so much. She soon continued with "Now he and I became friends soon enough and he helped me out with my Semblance. You see; I kept creating illusions and disguises in the room we shared and we kept practicing until they were good enough to fool him, then we tried them out on the others, and soon enough the guards. See, after a few months there we planned our escape; we started a riot and then I used my Semblance to get us out unnoticed. After that we joined up with a gang in Vale and after a few months of waiting and earning the loyalty of the thugs we took it over. Things went pretty smoothly for us for about three years and then... she showed up."

"Cinder." Said Ruby.

"Got it in one. We had to join her; she'd kill us if we didn't. But all things said Roman never really trusted Cinder and before the Breach with the train he left me a message on my scroll. You see Cinder's plan was to get him captured on and placed on Ironwood's ship so we could tare crap up from above but Roman wasn't entirely convinced. So he told me just in case things went bad and he died doing Cinder's dirty work I was to play the message and follow his last orders. Would you like to listen to the message?" she asked.

"Sure." Ruby said.

"You've told us this much." Weiss voiced.

"Why not?" shrugged Sun.

"Okay then." Neo said as she took out her scroll and turned the volume up as loud as it could go before she turned the message on.

The voice of Roman Torchwick made itself know. "Hello Neo, if you're listening to this message then... I'm sorry. You were right, we should have said no to Cinder and just ran if she tried anything. Okay? But most of all... I'm sorry I'm gone. I know you depend on me, always let me do the talking for you but I... damn it. I love you Neo. Not in a romantic way since that'd be weird as hell but you're the best friend I've ever had. You're far better than an old thief like me deserves. So if you're listening to this then Cinder screwed us over and I'm dead.

Now I have one last job for you Neo, one last thing for us: screw Cinder and her master, screw 'em and mess their plans up to hell. Find out as much as you can and sabotage 'em. If they're gonna use us as tool and throw us aside then we'll be the tools that cause the backfire. I know you can do this Neo I... my life wasn't the best before I met you and when I met you in that courtyard, all alone and scared and surrounded by thugs and punks I just... oh damn it I'm no good at this. Just help take them down, screw them over, get as far away from the chaos as you can, and just have a good life. Find someone who will love you, for me okay? I love you Neo. Go rob 'em blind."

The recording ended and Neo wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.

"... Neo, I think that if he wasn't a criminal, me and Roman could have been friends." Ruby said with a smile.

Neo nodded as Pyrrha asked her "So what do you plan to do?"

Neo looked at the group and said "What I plan to do is survive. Not just for me, but for Roman. Maybe I will settle down with a guy or girl I love. Or maybe I'll just go back to being a master thief. Who knows? But one way or the other Neopolitan will be back in the world with no psychos like Cinder holding me back, and I guess I have you guys to thank for that in a way."

"Us?" Ren inquired.

"Pyrrha being there gave me the perfect opportunity to sabotage their plans and in doing so I gained the first friend I ever truly had since Roman and it... allowed me to do something good for once." Neo said.

"You're always welcome to stay." Pyrrha offered.

"No, this hero, Huntress thing ain't for me but... I guess you can always call if you ever need my help." Neo said with a mischievous smile.

"Trust us, we'll probably need help from everyone sometime in the future knowing that Salem is still out there." Velvet pointed out.

"So if we need you you'll come?" Ruby asked.

"It may take a while but I will be there if you need me." Neo promised as she looked out to the city, knowing that the men that once worked for her and Roman were now working for Damien and were probably scrambling for dear life.

"Thank you Neo, I owe you a lot." Pyrrha said before she hugged Neo.

"No you don't. I just did what was right for the first time." Neo said in return.

* * *

Trooper leaned back against the seat of the car as Zhan drove them back to Ante's base. It had taken most of the night and the morning but they had gotten their assigned sections of the northern parts of the city done. Every Dust, drug, and weapons smuggling operation in those areas were now shutting down and preparing to move out of the city or go underground, but it hadn't been easy as they had to take care of a few cops that had spotted them along the way. Now that Ante was ousted as Cinder's accomplice he could no longer keep control over the cops so they had to keep their guards up for any sign of police cars. While there were some operations left to help out Lao was taking care of them himself.

It had been one hell of a night and Trooper was tired, but he was used to that. After all, he had been in more than one long life threatening mission before and after he was expelled from military service.

"Trooper, what do you think Jude's plan will entail?" Zhan asked.

Trooper opened his eyes and lazily glanced at the illusionist and answered with "Don't know, but I don't think it'll work. I've seen guys like him before, you know? So obsessed with revenge they end up getting themselves killed."

"A tale as old as time, huh? Well I do not care how it goes, I'll just be glad when our interaction with Salem and her forces goes back to how it used to be; barely any." Zhan said as he rounded a bend.

"I hear that man. Ever since Ante got us involved with those freaks our jobs have gotten weird." Trooper stated as he closed his eyes.

"You can say that again. To be honest my friend... I did not enjoy fighting those children last night. I managed to injure a girl and it has be weighing on my conscience ever since." Zhan admitted as Ante's factory entered view.

"Quite frankly man, I hope those kids win. I mean do you really think Salem will let some thugs like us live if we serve her?" Trooper inquired.

"Only if we pledge our souls to her and even then we have more than a good chance of being killed by her enemies. Honestly I am not sure how much longer I can stay in Damien's service if he remains in Salem's." Zhan said.

Trooper looked at him and asked "You thinking of quitting?"

"Possibly, leave this city, go somewhere else, go back to be an assassin for hire. I would greatly prefer a job where I do not have to harm children." Zhan said as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the factory, which had about a dozen cars scattered around it.

"I hear you man, but at least we're nearing the end of it. Salem will probably have us lay low in Vacuo for a year or two. To be honest man if you leave I might join you." Trooper said as one of the large garage doors opened up for them.

Zhan smiled as he drove the car inside and said "I appreciate the offer."

As they got out of the car Trooper sighed in annoyance at the sight of some punks he recognized. "Shit, they had to bring the Fury Gang here." Trooper muttered. He didn't like the Fury Gang at all as they were way too wild and chaotic for his taste, but Ante liked their style, as he felt it fit in perfectly, so he let them keep running their operations in the west side. Trooper knew whatever Jude wanted to do with these punks couldn't be good.

They made their way to the main part of the factory floor where Jude was finishing laying out his plan. Damien was off to the side, just listening to the plan but he nodded to his enforcers' as they entered.

"Once I make the announcement to the public I'll kill one of the staff to prove how serious I am. And once he comes..." Jude said before a girl in the gang interrupted him.

"Hey man, what makes you think this Ashe guy will show?" she asked.

"Oh he will come, he thinks me dead so once he learns that he failed to kill me once again he will come." Jude assured her.

"And if he doesn't?" asked Gerard, the leader of the Fury Gang. He was a man in his early thirties with long black hair and a husky voice, a body that hinted at years of fighting experience. Despite being a street gang they had taken the half robotic Jude and his plan to hold students hostage rather well. The sight of Jude's half burned face did freak some of them out, but Jude found those reactions more amusing than anything else.

"We will make him come. If he fails to arrive within half an hour of our announcement we begin killing hostages. There will be more than enough to make an example of if he does not comply." Jude said with a dark grin.

"Sounds good to me." Gerard said with a shrug.

"Okay, so you're gonna demand him to bring you both Nikos and the crystal thing, right? I mean I need to get back on Salem's good side." Ante said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do not fear Ante, I will make note of your contribution. Once we have him we will go back to our entrance and get into the tram and drive back to the abandoned subway station and bring Ashe here so we can have a proper final battle." Jude stated.

"Hey, Mr. Jude, one question." Said a Fury thug who looked like he was a bit of a drug addict. "If you want this Ashe dude dead so badly why don't you just shoot him? Like just unload a buncha Dust bullets into his chest and end it?"

"It so sad that common sense solutions like that have become unheard of." Muttered Zhan to Trooper, who grinned in response.

"Because my friend; that is the easy way out and Ashe... oh he deserves so much more. Now Mr. Gerard, I will leave you to assign which of your men takes guard duty, which ones man the tram, and which ones join us in the main auditorium. Do I make myself clear?" Jude asked.

"Crystal. Come on boys and girls; let's get ready to raise some hell. We'll be getting ready outside Jude, we'll take you with us to the subway but don't keep us waiting." Gerard said before he led his massive gang out of the factory and into their own assorted vehicles outside in the parking lot.

Damien had been watching from the side and said "The druggie had a point; why don't you just shoot him? You said that arm got an upgrade courtesy of Sherizawa, so why don't you just use the arms setting to kill him?"

Jude nodded and said "As tempting as the act of killing him quickly is I am more tempted by making his death last for hours on end. I want to break him, make him suffer, make him a pathetic, weeping mess and then end him. I have been testing this new arm out on some junk and its settings are most impressive. I can simply shoot through like a normal gun, stun, kill, or even make the target explode depending on the amount of Dust the setting uses."

Ante nodded and asked "Why exactly do you want to bring him here? We'll be leaving tonight."

Jude nodded and said "I need an illusionist to help break his mind. I want to show him something."

"You will be in need of my services?" asked Zhan.

"Indeed I will. You see, I intend to break Ashe's spirit as well as his body, so I may need an illusion to help me do it." Jude stated.

Zhan sighed and looked to Ante who nodded. "I want to be paid extra for this." Zhan said.

Jude laughed and voiced "Ha! Hired guns, reminds me of my drug lord days. I will be on my way Ante, just be prepared to hold Nikos when we get back."

"You really think they'll give Nikos up after all they did to get her back?" Damien questioned.

"Oh, the only way they'll refuse to give us Nikos is if they're okay with the deaths of children on their conscience. Trust me, we will please Mistress Salem." Jude said as he took out a scroll. He pushed a button and within ten seconds Salem appeared on the screen.

"I trust you are ready to enact your plan." She stated.

"We are ready to begin. You have my word Mistress that I will not only get the Aura Crystal for you, but I will also have Nikos back in your grasp by tonight." Jude exclaimed confidently.

"See that you do, Saul. Do not fail me." She added before she cut the transmission.

Saul looked over to Ante and said "I shall see you soon, and I'll be sure to allow you a good chance to kick Ashe's ass when I return."

Ante grinned and said "You're my kind of psycho cyborg Jude." Jude returned the grin before he left the building to join the Fury Gang outside.

Elsewhere, within Salem's palace she smirked. She'd keep her eye on the situation closely but knew she would have to send someone to intervene. Cinder was correct when she said that Jude's obsession with Ashe Kasai was dangerous. It would serve its purpose but soon it would become little more than a liability and it seemed to be the only thing Jude cared about.

Salem smiled to herself as she knew someone else would have to enter the battle if Jude lost.

* * *

_**Ashe put his guns in their holsters as he began to head out for the day's routine of Grimm watching. As he made for the door Mila called to him.** _

" _ **Uh... Ashe?"**_

" _ **Yeah?" he asked as he turned to face her, giving her a smile. She returned it but he could easily see she looked rather nervous so he asked "What's wrong?"**_

" _ **Nothing's wrong I... I made a new song for you, well a really old one my mom sang to me. I want you to listen to it while you're out there today." She said as she held up a drive. Ashe nodded and gave her his scroll which she inserted the drive into to load up the song file.**_

" _ **I'll listen to it while I'm going into the forest." He said.**_

" _ **No, listen to it while you're on break. There's... there is a message on the song for you." She said with a nervous, shy blush.**_

" _ **What kind of message?" he asked.**_

" _ **You'll know. We can talk about it when you get back, okay? I love you." She said as she leaned up to kiss him.**_

" _ **I love you too, Mila." Ashe said before he returned the kiss.**_

_**He walked out into the woods and waved to her.** _

_**A few hours later Ashe sat down on an old log and wiped the sweat from his brow. A pack of Boarbatusks, a young Death Stalker, a couple of Ursa, more Grimm than usual but nothing he couldn't handle. He took a drink from his water bottle and took out the scroll.** _

_**He smiled down at it and went to open the sound file. "Okay my beautiful singer, let's see what you've sung for me now." He said.** _

_**Before he could press play he heard something he hadn't expected; gunfire, followed by shouting. He quickly placed his scroll into his vest pocket before he ran off into the forest. There was no sounds of Grimm, no screams of panic, so what could be happening? He unsheathed his sword as he ran into a clearing of the forest and he recognized it as a spot close to the mansion where Saul Jude had set up shop.** _

_**Ashe gasped in horror at what he saw in the meadow; Deno was there, a bullet wound in his stomach as he lay on his back coughing up blood. Four men stood around shouting in panic as one of them was talking on a phone.** _

" _ **Boss, you better get down to the post uh... something happened... the boys were drunk and..."**_

" _ **NO!" Ashe yelled as he ran forward and shoved two of the men out the way. "Deno, some on man... what the hell happened?!" he demanded before he recognized some of them as Saul Jude's thugs. "What did you do?!" he yelled.**_

" _ **We... the holy man came here wanting to talk to Jude, said he wanted to just ask Jude to leave but shithead over there was so damn drunk he shot him." The man who had been talking on the scroll explained as he put his scroll away.**_

" _ **Why?!" Ashe demanded. He could see the smoking gun and could guess what had happened; shotgun blast to the chest at point blank range. He could see the shotgun was huge, the barrel still smoking a little. Even with aura Deno couldn't survive a shot like that... shit.**_

" _ **Look man, we need this town, it's small and out of the way, perfect for out business..." one the drunken thugs began before Ashe slammed his fist into the man's face.**_

" _ **I deal with you later." Ashe muttered as he jumped down and put pressure on Deno's wound. "Come on preacher, stay with me."**_

" _ **H-hello Ashe... well, m-maybe you w-were rig-right about these men..." Deno rasped out.**_

" _ **Why the hell did you come out here alone?! That was stupid and careless, even by my standards!" Ashe scolded as he took out a medical kit from his backpack and tried to wrap up the wound. He didn't know how to save people, he didn't have the training for that, almost none except for how to treat your own wounds.**_

" _ **I did it... because I knew you'd try to stop me. I-if you came armed we might never have had a chance to settle this peacefully... I'm sorry... I was foolish... do not follow my example Ashe, think through this..."**_

" _ **Don't talk, don't preach to me now, man! You gotta save your energy, okay? I'll get you out of here I..." Ashe stopped as he saw Deno's eyes glaze over. He placed a hand to Deno's wrist and felt the pulse stop.**_

" _ **No!" Ashe cried as he pounded on Deno's chest, but it was too late, the holy man was gone. His friend was gone and he had failed to save him. He looked down at his hands which were covered with bright red blood from Deno's body.**_

_**Ashe just sat there for a few minutes, the clearing was silent before he let out a scream of anger as he faced the thugs. "You are going to pay for this." He snarled.** _

_**One of the drunks laughed and said "Try us, Huntsman."** _

_**Ashe got his sword ready to go before a car sped out of the forest. It came to a halt and Saul Jude stepped out. "What the hell did you idiots do?!" he shouted as he got out of the car.** _

" _ **It's O'Neil sir, he's a stupid drunk..."**_

" _ **Enough! My friend is dead because of you!" Ashe screamed as he took out a pistol and aimed it at Jude.**_

" _ **Now Ashe, this was just an accident, we can talk this over..." Jude began before Ashe shook his head.**_

" _ **Deno tried to talk it out and your thug killed him. No more talking." Ashe said as he fired his gun.**_

" _ **No!" cried the man who had called Jude there as he jumped in front and took the bullet for his employer.**_

" _ **Kries!" Jude yelled as the man fell to the ground; nut dead but in a lot of pain. Jude looked up at Ashe and said "You want a fight, boy?! Fine! I wanted to do this peacefully, but now you have forced my hand."**_

" _ **You forced me first. Your men spilled innocent blood and now you're going to pay for it. I will make you regret ever trying to set foot in this town." Ashe swore.**_

" _ **Kill him!" Jude yelled to his remaining men who all got out their guns and shot at Ashe, but Ashe quickly dodged them and managed to blast two of them down before he hoisted up Deno's body over his shoulders and ran into the forest, dodging Dust bullets from the one left standing.**_

" _ **Let him go, we'll have to prepare to move. Shit..." Jude muttered as he looked down at the two injured men, one of who was O'Neil, the one who had murdered Deno.**_

" _ **Boss... help me..." O'Neil cried as Jude took out a gun and aimed it at the injured man's head. He pulled the trigger twice, killing him.**_

" _ **Come on, get Kries and San into the car, maybe if we're quick enough we can get out before Ashe leads a mob to our base." Jude said as he looked out into the woods.**_

_**A half an hour later Ashe entered Mila's bookshop, luckily while no one was inside. Mila's head jolted up from the counter and her eyes got wide and nervous.** _

" _ **Ashe! I didn't think you'd be back yet... did you..." she began before Ashe spoke up.**_

" _ **Mila, Deno's dead."**_

_**Her eyes went wider and her jaw dropped in shock. "Wh-what?! How?! What happened?" she demanded.** _

" _ **Jude's men killed him. He went to talk to Jude, alone, and Jude's drunken guards shot him." Ashe said sadly.**_

" _ **Oh my god... Ashe, what are we gonna do?" Mila asked.**_

" _ **I... I've taken his body to the church already and I've spoken to the mayor and the chief. They've decided that Jude and his men need to be arrested for murder and they want me to help the police take him in." Ashe said.**_

" _ **Are you going to?" Mila asked him.**_

" _ **I have to, I know you'll probably say..."**_

" _ **No, you don't. Go and help bring that monster down if his thugs murdered Deno, bring him to justice. What... oh god..." Mila said as tears began to stream down her face. She and Deno had been friends years before Ashe had came to the village, she had known him since she was a child and now... now he was gone.**_

" _ **Mila, I'm so sorry." Ashe said weakly as he hugged her to him.**_

" _ **What are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong." Mila said as she hugged him back.**_

" _ **If... if I had been better I could have saved him but..."**_

" _ **But nothing! Did you do your best?" she asked**_

_**He nodded. "Then that's all that matters to me, I can't ask any thing more of you." She said as she buried her head into his chest.** _

" _ **Mila, please stay in the loft until I get back, okay?" Ashe said.**_

" _ **Why?" she questioned.**_

" _ **Because I don't really know what Jude is capable of, if we lose this fight I don't want him to get to you. I'll be back, I promise but just stay upstairs until I get back, okay?" he begged.**_

_**Mila shook her head and said "Ashe I just can't lock myself in my room like a scared little girl while..."** _

" _ **Please! If... if I lost you I wouldn't know what to do. My life was pretty dark before I met you so... I don't... just please stay here until this is over." He pleaded.**_

_**Mila sighed and said "Okay, just please be careful, you mean the world to me too."** _

_**He kissed her and said "The chief is getting most of his team ready, I'll be back in a few hours, I promise."** _

_**As he began to walk out the door Mila called to him "Ashe!" He turned to face her with an inquisitive look. "I love you." She said as she ran forward and kissed him.** _

_**Ashe returned the kiss and as they parted he said "I love you too."** _

_**He left her shop and ran to join the town's police force. Mila slumped against the wall and slid down to the ground in tears, wondering why she didn't just tell him about the life inside her womb.** _

Ashe opened his eyes as a voice said "You okay?" He looked up to see Qrow sitting in a chair across from him, reading an old book.

"Okay, just a dream." Ashe said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good or bad?" Qrow questioned.

"... Mixed." Ashe answered, "You need anything? I mean there has to be some reason you're sitting in front on me."

"Yeah, you see; Goodwitch and Ozpin wanna make you a deal; let us train you to become a fully fledged Huntsman, official." Qrow explained.

Ashe smiled and said "A pretty tempting offer, I guess you're never too old to learn. What do you think?"

"I wanna get it over with as fast as possible and make you one right now but Goodwitch feels you need to be trained." Qrow revealed.

"I do. The kids doing okay, anything happen while I was resting?" Ashe asked.

"Some drama when they told the other kids about Nikos and how we kept Arc alive. One brat was pretty livid over it, but that's to be expected. They'll be coming in here soon to wait for Nikos' parents. You really do care about these kids, don't you?" Qrow asked.

Ashe nodded and said "They're the closest thing I've had to a family in five years."

Qrow sighed and said "Damn it, I'm starting to like you."

Ashe smirked and responded with "Don't, I'm an asshole."

It was Qrow's turn to smirk as he said "I am too. Join the club, we got jackets."

The two men laughed as she mentally began to wonder what he should do. Maybe he'd take them up on the offer.

* * *

Hera Nikos opened her eyes as she felt the Bullhead land on the platforms of Haven Academy. She yawned as she stretched her arms out and glanced over to her husband, Zeus, who was still dozing.

It had been a rough four months since their daughter's tragic death at the fall of Beacon, killed at the hands of the terrorist known as Cinder Fall. Well, more than rough really; there were days she would just lie in bed, not eating anything and only drinking bottled water as she just laid down and looked through photograph books of her family, weeping over her dead daughter. Hera was still an attractive woman, being only in her late forties, but her body had not taken the loss of her daughter well as the bags under her eyes were quite noticeable as was her pale skin and her vibrant red hair that her daughter had inherited was graying. She had married as wonderful Huntsman named Zeus Nikos who quit the hunting business to train others in dojos while she was an assistant to an agent representing a client who trained under Zeus.

They had met after Zeus got into an argument with said client but once he saw Hera he looked like he had been stricken by a spell and frozen. A few weeks later, after feeble attempts at conversations and trying to look each other in the eye, Zeus worked up the nerve to ask Hera on a date and the two hit it off rather well and after a few years they were married. A year later their beautiful little girl Pyrrha was born and Hera thought everything was perfect.

But then Pyrrha showed promise, she showed remarkable talent unlike anything she had ever personally seen. When it was clear what a powerful warrior she would become, one destined for greatness she decided to allow her daughter to enter the training. Once she was ready she quit the law firm and became her daughter's agent and once the world saw what the young Pyrrha Nikos could do they were set for life.

Some had suggested that they didn't really love their daughter and only saw her as a way to make money, which Zeus always responded to with a punch to the face. They truly did love their daughter, but they were hesitant to allow her to go to Beacon, as they knew the dangers a Huntress would face but Pyrrha convinced them that going to Beacon was something she needed, she needed to make friends and protect people so her parents gave in and allowed her to go.

Oh how Hera wished she had denied her daughter's wishes.

She leaned over to Zeus, still a muscular man with dark brunette hair and a graying beard who had taken the loss of his daughter just as bad as Hera did. For a month he became detached and antisocial, preferring to stay in his dojo and just beat the training dummies until his hands bled, imagining all of them to be the witch who murdered their daughter. Luckily Hera confronted him on it and when she did he broke down crying in her arms, something he had never done in the twenty years she had known him.

She didn't know why they were here; all she knew was that the news last night reported a battle in Haven City and then later that night as they were sleeping Glynda Goodwitch called them and told them they needed to come to Haven Academy as soon as possible and that the Headmaster of said academy was sending a bullhead to collect them.

What this was about she hadn't the faintest idea but she hoped that something had happened, like maybe they had found Cinder Fall and had apprehended her. But why were they called? Aside from the obvious personal grudge they had against Fall they knew nothing about her.

She nudged her husband and said "Zeus, love, time to get up, we're here."

He groaned as he opened his eyes and stretched. "I hate sleeping in chairs." He muttered.

"I know." She said with a smile as she got up and walked down the Bullhead to the exit ramp.

"What do you think Goodwitch wants us for?" he asked as he jogged to catch up with her.

"I honestly don't know, but she'll tell us in a moment." Hera replied as Glynda Goodwitch came into view on the school grounds.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Nikos, I trust you had a good journey?" Glynda asked as she shook their hands.

"Don't really know, we were asleep the entire trip." Zeus stated.

"Understandable, now I want you two to come with me; we have something rather... important to show you." The blonde teacher said as she led them into the school. The couple looked at each other, neither of them knew what to expect.

As they entered the main building of the campus Hera spoke up. "Professor Goodwitch, if you don't mind me asking; what exactly is going on and why are we here?"

Glynda sighed and said "A few months after your daughter's funeral her teammates joined forces with Ruby Rose to track down the one murdered her and bring her to justice."

The couple looked at each other again, both a little confused. Ruby Rose was the only witness to their daughter's death so it made sense why she'd join them to track Fall down. "Did they?" Zeus inquired, remembering the news about a battle in the city last night.

"Well they did find Cinder Fall and fought her but... well I think it'd be best for you to just see for yourselves. Honestly I think I'd exhaust myself explaining what happened." Glynda confessed as she led them down a hallway to the closed doors of the library.

"Professor Goodwitch, the last few months have been very hard on us so please just tell us if our daughter's killer has been brought to justice." Hera pleaded.

Glynda sighed and responded "No, not yet. Despite a valiant effort by many students and Hunters, myself included, Cinder Fall escaped, but not unharmed."

"Then why are we here?" Zeus demanded impatiently.

"Go through those doors and you will see." Glynda assured him as she got out of their way.

The two looked at each other, unsure, but Hera shook her head and walked ahead, pushing the doors open with closed eyes. Once she was inside the room she opened her eyes and gasped at the figure she saw.

A few meters away from her was a beautiful young woman she knew all too well, a child she had brought into this world and nurtured, one she had loved for eighteen years.

One that had been taken from her.

One who was supposed to be dead.

"Mother?" Pyrrha said gently. Jaune stood by her side and nodded to her, pushing her forward a bit. Pyrrha looked down to the ground a bit but forced her head up as she rubbed one arm nervously. "Hello... again."

Hera collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "P-p-pyrrha?" she asked. There were so many emotions going through the woman's head right now; shock, happiness, fear, confusion, worry... feelings she had never felt before now.

Pyrrha nodded and walked forwards as her father came into the room and nearly collapsed as well. "What in the name of...?"

"Father..." Pyrrha said, tears streaming down her face as well.

"It... it can't be! Sh-she took you from us!" Hera cried as used her hands to keep her body from giving out on her. Zeus didn't know what to do, he stood still as a statue.

Pyrrha nodded and said "She did, but she didn't kill me. I... Jaune and the others saved me from being their slave. It's me."

Zeus walked slowly forward and helped his wife up who regained control of herself. Hera walked up to Pyrrha and looked her in the eyes. They were the same wonderful emerald orbs that looked out to the world of Remnant in innocent wonder so many years ago the same eyes that had been filled with determination to do her best at everything, the eyes that had betrayed her loneliness during her time at Sanctum .

This was her daughter.

Hera grabbed Pyrrha and hugged her as tightly as she could, shouting "Oh thank gods you're back, my little Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha returned the hug, now crying openly as she nearly fell in her mother's arms. "I'm so sorry I hurt you!" she said as they collapsed.

Zeus ran forward, dropped down, and caught his daughter and wife, taking them both in his arms and holding them against his body as he cried as well as he muttered over and over again "You're back."

Jaune watched the scene from up close while Ren, Nora, Team RWBY, Qrow, and Ashe all watched from afar, happy that the family had been reunited at last. Weiss wiped a happy tear from her eye as did Nora. Yang just had the biggest smile on her face, making the smiles of Blake and Ren look stoic in comparison. Ruby let out a sigh of happiness while Qrow just shook his head and muttered "Oh boy, waterworks are gonna start up." Ashe grinned at that but nodded in approval of the happy reunion.

Jaune smiled and began to walk away when Pyrrha said "Jaune, please come here."

He turned around to face them and Hera asked "Is she telling the truth? You saved her?"

Jaune quietly nodded and confirmed "I got the beating of a lifetime, but I managed to get her back."

All of a sudden Hera reached out and grabbed him, then pulled him down into the hug as well.

"Boy, if you brought our daughter back, you're officially part of the family." Zeus said as he squeezed the boy tight.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Hera said as she kissed his forehead.

Jaune smiled as felt three sets of arms wrap around him and each other. He looked to Pyrrha who was still crying tears of happiness, but she leaned in and kissed him.

Up above Ashe grinned and thought 'They don't know how true that officially part of the family bit is.'

Hera and Zeus hugged the two teenagers tighter. Hera knew Pyrrha had been infatuated with Jaune, the message she left on her scroll only solidified that, but if they wanted to get married today she'd approve without a second thought.

The Nikos family was together once again.

* * *

Elsewhere, not far away from the library in a lounge room Professor Echo was letting Teams SSSN, CFVY, Penny, Neo, the Arc sisters, Reese, Bolin, May, and Taiyang with Zwei on his lap. Many of them were happy to just spend the rest of the day relaxing considering the last few days had been hectic, to say the least.

Coco grinned cheekily as she was laid out on the knees of her teammates with her head on the couch's armrest. "Oh it is good to be the queen." she said as a movie she liked began to play on the TV.

"You think the reunion's going okay in the library?" Neptune asked.

"I don't see why it wouldn't. I met Pyrrha's parents before at the funeral and they seemed to be wonderful people." Vevlet assured him.

"Yeah but, what if they don't react positively to the whole 'Grimm' thing?" he pointed out.

"Well I can kinda understand 'em freaking out about that, but I'd just be happy to have her back." Sun said.

"As the only one in the room who is an actual parent I think it'll be fine. I'd do anything to have either of my daughter's be safe, human or not." Taiyang stated as he scratched Zwei's chin.

Coco nodded and said "Well all we can do for is hope for the best and..."

Just then the TV screen went black.

"What the heck?" asked Reese.

"Oh come on!" shouted Coco in annoyance.

The TV came back on with a newscaster looking rather horrified and shocked.

"We interrupt this broadcast for an important announcement, there has been a hostile takeover at the St. Shenna Elementary School, police officers have confirmed that the perpetrators are the Fury Gang, usually confined to the city's west side. It unknown how or why they have done this but as of now all children inside of the school are being held hostage but it has yet to be determined if any have been killed. One of the teacher's was released by the criminals to give the police a message... hold on... okay, said message is 'If Ashe Kasai does not show up within the hour we start... murdering the children. We will soon reveal our real demands, hope you're watching Ashe.' Oh Oum..." the newsman said, clearly disturbed.

"Oh my god." Bianca said in hushed horror.

"Some... someone get Ashe now." Sun said.

"I'm on it!" Reese cried as she jumped over the couch she had been sitting on and released her hoverboard from the strap on her back and raced out the door. She dropped her hoverboard, activated it, and then jumped on and rocketed down the hallways.

She made it to the library and slammed throw the doors, startling everyone inside. Glynda stood next to the counter while everyone was gathered around a table as Pyrrha began to explain to her parents what had happened to her.

"Ashe!" she cried.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Come on man, we got a problem, a BIG one! You need to see this, now!" she said.

Ashe glanced at the others before he ran after her, the others deciding to follow with Pyrrha and her parents trailing behind, clearly confused.

Reese led Ashe and the others into the lounge where the situation on the TV had changed, very drastically.

On the TV was Saul Jude, half of his flesh burned away to reveal a robotic skeleton with one of his eyes glowing red and a scared looking man in front of him, a teacher's assistant most likely. He was also being flanked by six thugs from the Fury Gang armed with auto-guns.

"Holy shit." Yang gasped.

"That's... that's..." Velvet stammered in shock.

"Ashe, what the hell is going on?!" Bianca cried.

"That's Saul Jude, I thought you said you killed him!" Jaune exclaimed.

"I threw him down an elevator shaft right before the place starting blowing up and he was trapped right at the freaking epicenter of it! I kinda assumed!" Ashe cried.

"You threw him to a horde of Grimm last time and assumed too, make sure he's dead this time!" scolded Blake, a little worried about the situation as she could clearly see Jude was at a school.

On the TV Jude spoke up; "City of Haven! I will spare these children only if my demands are met, I will order the Fury Gang to leave and your brats can go free but it is not in your hands, but of one man: ASHE KASAI! If you're watching this then you know what to do. I want you to bring me Nikos, the Aura Crystal, and yourself here within half an hour or else..." Jude said as his arm transformed into a hook and it slammed into the man's back. The man screamed in pain as he spat out blood over and over again.

"Pan away!" yelled the newscaster to the cameraman who quickly did so.

Ashe stood still as a statue, frozen in horror and guilt. Another person was dead because of his failure, a man he didn't even know the name of. And now hundreds, maybe even a thousand kids were in danger because of him.

The camera panned back as Jude let the body drop down to the ground, his hook covered in bits of gore. "Ashe, you know who I am and how far I will go. Come as fast as you can if you want these kids to live, if you fail to show up in thirty minutes I begin killing one child every minute. If the police even try to stop us examples will be made of not only them, but of the children too. Our final battle begins soon, don't be late Ashe." Jude finished before he burst out into a deranged laugh and went back inside.

Everyone looked to Ashe, wondering what he would say or do.

Ashe took a deep breath and said "Get me a ship, I'm gonna give him what he wants."

**To Be Continued...**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Ashe vs. Jude, the final battle.
> 
> I was originally going to have Ozpin, Glynda, and co make Ashe an honorary Huntsman, but my friend smstanton advised against it so I compromised.
> 
> Hera was first introduced in "I Never Even Told You" to prologue to this story.
> 
> Fun fact: I originally forgot about Taiyang in the infirmary scene, he was completely absent. I also had Ashe lock Mila in the bathroom but I decided against it since it would be too similar to Jaune and Pyrrha's situation.
> 
> Please read and review and tell me what you think of this chapter. If you're on Fanfiction . net please review, follow and favorite. If you're on AO3 leave a kudos and a comment. Feedback keeps me going everyone and I couldn't do this story without you guys.


	23. Vengeance is Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

_Cinder listened to the loud cracks of thunder outside her home, the wind howled and the rain beat on the house like a barrage of water bullets, lighting would briefly illuminate the sky every ten seconds, but Cinder wasn't afraid; the house her family resided in had withstood much worse over the years so a storm like this was a minor threat._

_She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she soon opened them again when she heard the door to her room opening. She sat up in her bed and saw a small figure approaching her. She instantly knew who it was._

" _Ashe..." she muttered as she shook her head._

" _Cinder, can I sleep with you?" the six year old Ashe asked quietly._

" _Afraid of the storm?" she asked._

_He nodded and said "I'm afraid that old tree outside my room will fall into my room and crush me."_

_Cinder shook her head and answered "No, go sleep with mom and dad."_

" _I don't want to, it'll be too crowded, please let me sleep in your bed." He pleaded._

_Cinder sighed as she reached over and turned on her lamp. "Ashe I..." she stopped as her lamp lit up the room and she saw how scared Ashe was, the terrified look in his eyes._

_Just then a particularly loud boom of thunder made Ashe jump down to the ground and cover his ears. Cinder looked down to her little brother and knew no matter how hard she tried she couldn't deny him._

" _Alright, come on." She relented._

_Ashe's eyes sparkled in happiness as he quickly climbed into the bed and got under her covers. "Thank you Cinder! Thank you, thank you so much." He said as he wrapped his arms around her belly and hugged her torso as tightly as he could as he snuggled into her._

_Cinder could only smile as she hugged him back and said "Hey, don't sweat it. I'll always take care of you, little bro. You wanna hear a story to help you sleep?"_

_He nodded as lightning lit up the sky outside._

" _Okay, once upon a time in Remnant there was a boy and a girl, they were brother and sister and no matter how much they got on each others' nerves they would always stick together. So they grew up to be two of the best warriors in the whole world. And they lived happily ever after. That will be our story, just wait and see." Cinder said as she hugged Ashe closer to her as if to keep him safe from the storm._

_The storm raged on into the night, but Ashe was able to sleep peacefully with his sister. Their mother opened her daughter's door the next morning, looking for her son, only to coo at the adorable sight before her as the two siblings cuddling into each other. It had been something she would never forget; neither would the brother or sister._

Cinder shook the memory from her head as she and Emerald entered the main assembly room of the ship where Salem, Ziz, and Steppenwolffe all awaited them.

"You wished to see us, my master?" she asked.

"Yes, Jude has made his move in Haven. He has taken an elementary school hostage and has demanded that your brother surrender himself, Nikos, and the Aura Crystal." Salem announced.

Cinder's eyes widened, she expected Jude to make a move but not this quickly, not so soon after his injury.

"Has my brother come yet?" she asked.

"No, but he will. I have a Grimm Knight watching over the situation and transmitting the it to us." Salem said as she gestured to the wall above the entryway where a large screen showed a school surrounded by a panicked crowd and police officers.

""What should happen if Jude fails?" Cinder inquired.

Salem did not bother hiding her small smile and said "Should he fail me again he shall pay for it with his life, and you shall have a chance to redeem yourself by killing your brother."

Cinder did not show any signs of refusing or hesitation, even though she felt like she should. "Understood." Was all she said.

* * *

Ashe looked out the windshield as Ross piloted the Vale ship towards the St. Shenna Elementary School. He checked himself, loaded to the brim with Dust bullets and clips, his sword, all three of his guns plus an extra one, two grenades, everything he could need for this fight. He was dressed in his usual attire with his black trench coat but with several bandoliers and pouches filled up with Dust for the coming battle as well as a switchblade in his pocket.

He looked to the back where Pyrrha sat with the case that contained the Aura Crystal. If Jude wanted it so damn badly Ashe was going to give it to him, trouble was he was going in blind; he thought he knew Jude well enough but apparently not since Jude's cyborg half was more than a surprise to him, plus this Fury Gang, he knew next to nothing about them except what little Team SSSN could tell him, they would obviously be hindrances, but Jude was the main target.

It ended today, one way or the other.

"You sure about this plan, Ashe? I mean the stakes are damn high and the kids in that school might get hurt." Ross pointed out.

"I'm sure, I am more than enough for Jude and this gang and so is she, right?" Ashe said to Pyrrha who nodded in agreement. "I kicked his ass twice already; maybe the third time will be the charm."

"Let's hope so." Ross muttered as the school came into view, surrounded by cops, a few Atlas soldiers, civilians, teachers who managed to escape, and of course parents and families of the children and teachers who were being held hostage inside. Ross glanced back at Ashe and asked "Do you think this Jude character will expect what's coming?"

Ashe smirked and answered "If we're lucky he won't have a chance in hell. You know what to do, right?"

"I got it; just keep yourselves and those kids alive, okay?" Ross said.

Ashe nodded and said "You got it. Thanks for going along with this."

"No problem, but I'll tell you what; the last week has been so crazy that I could retire after the crap that's went down." Ross stated as he looked for a place to land in the crowded space, and luckily the police were ordering the bystanders to get out of the way so they could land.

"Looks like listened to Argo, okay take us down." Ashe said as Ross began the ship's landing sequence. Ashe walked down to Pyrrha and asked "You sure you're up for this? This guy is insane, brutal, and unrelenting. We go in there's no guarantee we'll come out of this."

She just looked at him and smiled.

He smiled back and said "Okay, let's get ready to kill that maniac's ass once and for all."

As the ship landed safely on the ground Ashe slid the door opened and Pyrrha followed him out, resulting in most of the crowd gasping at the appearance of someone who was supposed to be dead. Some were looking at him, wondering if he was the one to blame for the predicament their children were in and Ashe didn't blame them; if he had finished Jude off in the first place this wouldn't have happened.

A police lieutenant ran up to him and said "You're this Ashe Kasai that maniac wants?"

"Sadly, I am. Okay officer, what can you tell me about the situation?" Ashe asked as Pyrrha ignored the reporters trying to ask her questions, not even sparing them a glance as Ross exited the ship.

"I have a niece and a nephew in that building so I want to know if you plan on stopping this." the officer, whose badge read Morse, worded.

Ashe nodded and said "I intend to kill him and the gang inside. All of them. I am sorry about your niece and nephew, but this asshole just refuses to die."

"What do you mean refuses to die?" Morse inquired.

"I threw him to a horde of Grimm five years ago and yesterday I threw him down an elevator shaft before a giant explosion went off." Ashe informed him, he had to admit the reaction on Morse's face was priceless. "What do you know about the situation?"

Morse sighed and said "Come with me, the commissioner is up here and she'll want to see you. We only have nine minutes before time is up." As he led Ashe, Pyrrha, and Ross to the front he began to tell what he knew. "From what we can tell on our scanners they have all of the students and teachers still inside of the building held up in the auditorium. We don't know how they got in but we do know they managed to take over the building very quickly. I assume you saw the assistant who was executed, and he was not the only one. From what our scanners have told us three other teachers have been killed trying to stop the punks from the Fury Gang."

"How many gang punks do I have to worry about?" Ashe inquired.

"I think forty-two, but with that cyborg maniac you'll have forty-three according to our scanners." Morse informed him as they arrived to the front where the police and the Atlas soldiers worked together to form a perimeter around the school.

A large muscular woman with an old and worn out face, a face that had seen more than most, looked over to them and asked "Is that Kasai, Morse?"

"Yes Commissioner Vetus, he's brought Pyrrha Nikos as well but I'm... not too sure how he did that." Morse admitted, just now realizing who the girl before him was and how utterly impossible that should be.

Vetus nodded and said "Now, Mr. Kasai, can you tell me what in the name of Oum is Saul Jude, who according to our computer died five years ago, is doing here, why he has taken these innocent children and teachers hostage, how Pyrrha Nikos is still alive, and what you have to do with this?" She knew deep down there was more to this than revenge, Ante was in control of all gangs in Haven so maybe he was using this as a distraction while the rest of his men moved about the city.

Ashe smirked and muttered "You're rather direct, but to answer your questions in order: one, he didn't die, some big time evil saved him and made him a cyborg. Two he took all those people hostage to get my attention. Three Pyrrha here is... well that's one story I think should be explained later once all of this has calmed down. And four, I'm the one who threw Jude to a pack of Grimm and took down his drug trade so now he wants me to suffer for it."

Vetus sighed and said "I feel like there's a fair amount of details you are leaving in the dark, but we are short of time so I'll leave it be for now. Gannz, get on the megaphone and tell that scumbag Gerard that Kasai is here."

"Yes Commissioner." Said one cop who took up a megaphone and walked forward.

"Do you have what he wants?" Morse asked.

Ashe looked down to the case Pyrrha was carrying and sighed. Oh how he hoped this worked, if it didn't it wasn't just his own life he was forfeiting, but all of those innocent kids inside of the school. "Yes I do, I have no choice but to give it to him."

"Alright, Fury Gang, Kasai is here with Nikos and the crystal! We will send him and Nikos up to the entrance so your men can let them in." Gannz called from the front of the barricade.

"We hear you loud and clear." Said a voice from the school's intercom. The front doors opened and a group of seven gang members, all armed with guns, came out. The leader of this small group, a blonde man with glasses eyed them.

"Ashe Kasai, Pyrrha Nikos, and the case you are carrying must contain this crystal I assume."

Ashe nodded and said "If Jude wants a fight I'll be oh too happy to oblige, just take me to him. When will you be releasing those kids?"

"Once we're done with you and take our leave they will be free to go, completely unharmed." The blonde assured him. He gestured for Ashe and Pyrrha to follow him inside and they began following him as the thugs flanked them and kept their guns up and ready for the cops to try anything.

From up above on one of the nearby buildings a Grimm Knight watched the over the crisis and transmitted what it saw to Salem and her followers.

"So you probably want me to hand over my weapons, right?" Ashe guessed as the doors closed behind them.

"No. Well I wanted to, but Jude ordered me to let you keep your weapons, to give you a fighting chance. Frankly I wonder why we just don't shoot you here and get it over with." The blonde admitted.

A man with long dark hair and a strong body appeared around a corner, armed with a heavy caliber automatic pistol and a sword. He laughed at the sight of Ashe and said "So you're him, huh? This Ashe guy who managed to do that" he said as he traced a finger down his face "to Jude? You're armed and ready, but you don't look like much."

"Looks can be deceiving." Ashe quipped.

"That they can." the man agreed with a smirk as he led them down the halls to the auditorium. "I'm Gerard, leader and founder of the Fury Gang, so if you don't mind me asking, friend; what exactly went down between you and Jude and why is Nikos still alive? Thought Cinder Fall killed her."

"Yeah, turns out she only teleported her, oh and Cinder is my sister by the way." Ashe announced, getting a kick out of the shocked reactions the thugs had.

"Well, ain't this a day for surprises?" Gerard deadpanned with a grin.

"As for my relationship with Saul Jude, he used to be a drug lord who tried to take over the town I was protecting; a good friend of mine was killed by his thugs so I waged war on him, got myself beaten, my lover stabbed him trying to rescue me then he killed her. Then I lost it, beat him half to death, threw him into a horde of Grimm and let them feast. Turns out..."

"They took him to that Salem woman Ante told me about?" Gerard guessed. Ashe and Pyrrha both gave him a look but Gerard smirked and said "It was the only way Ante could get me to submit without a fight, and let me tell you; she is one person whose bad side I'd rather not be on. Hell I'd kill a hundred kids if she told me to."

Ashe glared at him but continued "So fast forward a few years later I meet up with these kids from Beacon who are coming to this city to make Cinder Fall pay for what happened and for 'killing' her." he said a he pointed to Pyrrha, "I didn't tell them my relations to Cinder until she made herself known to us and by then shit got crazy. So a few days later me and the kids' friends, teachers, and families all teamed up and kicked our enemies collective asses, Ante's included, and I had another one on one with Jude which ended with me throwing him down an elevator shaft before a massive explosion went off. And here I am, here to clean up a mess that refuses to be cleaned."

The blonde gang member eyed Ashe and stated "You're life is very strange."

Ashe glanced at him and said "You don't... you have no damned idea, man. I'm sorry by the way."

"Sorry for what?" Gerard questioned.

"Your deaths." Was all Ashe said in response.

The thugs all looked either disturbed or furious but Gerard looked at Ashe and smirked. "Oh I think you and I will get along just fine."

"If you want to be friends that's fine by me, but have your gang turn on Jude and let those kids go, and you can all walk away from this, Jude is the only one who has to die." Ashe bargained.

Gerard grinned at him and said "Let me think about that... Nah, what do I look like to you, a fucking charity? Nice try Ashey boy, but no dice, we got a certain pissed off cyborg friend of yours to deal with. Ante is paying us the collective sum of the bounties he placed on those kids, so no way am I turning that kind of lien down."

They escorted the two to the auditorium where hundreds of kids were sitting down in the seats, most of them were too scared to move an inch and others were crying in sheer terror while teachers stood up with guns pointed to their heads. The atmosphere of the room was tense and on edge, everyone waiting for the first shot to be fired, some even expected bodies to begin hitting the floor any minute now. Most of the kids and teachers were shocked at the appearance of Pyrrha, who was supposed to be dead. Ashe could even hear some kids whispering about whether Pyrrha Nikos and this man were going to save them, but the teachers' minds were more doubtful, but the situation got even more complicated as Ashe could sense that up on the stage with Jude and a group of gang members were a small group of teachers who were being used as insurance. Ashe observed the situation and counted the members of the Fury Gang; there were eight with him and Pyrrha, including Gerard, he had briefly glanced at six guarding the school hallways and the front on the way here so that made fourteen, he could see around the room and counted a grand total of twenty-five so put that with the previous thirteen and they had thirty-eight gang members to take care of. Number thirty-nine was Jude himself so if Morse was right they still had three more gang members unaccounted for somewhere in the school.

Jude stood up on the stage of the auditorium and clapped upon seeing Ashe, who couldn't help but stare at the grotesque sight Jude was now, a hideous amalgamation of flesh and metal.

"There you are, Ashe old friend! How do you like my new look?" he asked as the thugs on the stage all aimed their guns at Ashe.

"I like it, now everyone will know what a freak you are. Although I do have to admit the half robot skull makes you look like something out of a sci-fi horror movie." Ashe said as he kept a firm grip on his pistols.

"I must admit it does. Gerard, take the case from them and bring it me." Jude ordered.

Gerard looked to Pyrrha who handed the case to him. Gerard shook his head as he walked over to the steps, went up, and made his way to Jude and held out the case. "Well that was easy." He joked as Jude took it.

"There's a DNA fingerprint lock on this case." Jude observed.

"I already deactivated it, open it up." Ashe called as he secretly used his Semblance, fueled by a desire to protect the innocent youths around him, to spread his aura out and around the auditorium.

Jude glanced at Ashe but did so with ease. He looked at the crystal and had to admit he was somewhat disappointed by the generic, albeit very large, crystal that was in the case. He could feel no major power within it but if what Salem said was true then he knew better than to judge a book by its cover.

He glanced up to Ashe and just now noticed that Pyrrha's skin was back to normal, however it was still pale. "What has happened to her? Why are her skin and eyes back to normal?" he asked.

"The Aura Crystal managed to undo what that mad scientist did, for the most part but I assume the other science cronies will find a way to redo it." Ashe said as two of the guards led the submissive Pyrrha up to the stage, leaving Ashe alone with the blonde and three other guards. Pyrrha looked down at him and subtly gave him a hand signal, which he returned with one of his own.

Jude hummed and said "Very well then, let us recap our situation: I have the Aura Crystal, I have Nikos, I have all these hostages at my mercy, I have all these gang members at my disposal, and the only thing standing in my way from obtaining my Mistress' praise and achieving glory untold... is yourself."

Ashe glared at Jude and said "So are you going to stand us there talking all day or are we gonna get this over with?"

"Oh we shall fight but first... you need to be worn down." Jude said as he gestured to the four thugs with Ashe. The blonde pointed a switchblade at Ashe while the other three, joined by two more thugs, aimed their guns at him.

Ashe glared up and said "I knew you were a coward." He didn't have much longer, the fight was going to begin soon and bullets would start flying, he needed a little more time to get his aura out.

"Oh I'm no coward Ashe, I just playing it safe. The only reason you won last night is because you had energy, you were still raring to go and five years ago I defeated you because me men wore you down. And now it's time for me to win once and for all." Jude said.

Ashe's aura finally finished spreading out just in time. He smirked and said "I don't think so." He let out a roar and he lurched forward, grabbed the blonde man's head, and twisted it, snapping his neck and killing him in the blink of an eye. The body fell to the ground with eyes wide open in surprise as Ashe whipped out his pistols and unloaded them into the five thugs who were surrounding him, he quickly fired but did so carefully and was sure to not miss a single shot, so with a few blasts and enough pulls of the trigger the five thugs around him were all dead.

Kids and teachers screamed as the battle began. Up on the stage Pyrrha's form vanished and was replaced by a smiling Neo who quickly went to work. She hopped off the stilts that made her appear to be as tall as Pyrrha, she unsheathed her estoc and slashed it sideways to disembowel one of the guards who escorted her to the stage. He screamed out in pain as blood erupted from his mouth, before Neo high-jump kicked him down. She landed and stabbed her sword backwards to impale the other guard's knee, making him scream out too. She pulled it out and sliced him across the throat, letting out a squirt of blood.

"Kill them all!" Jude screamed.

The thugs opened fire on the children and the teachers, horrified screams rang out but were soon replaced by sounds of confusion and gasps of astonishment as shields of aura were protecting all of the hostages.

"What?!" Jude exclaimed, utterly baffled.

Ashe smirked; he wished he could have taken a picture of the look on Jude's face. He had been able to spread his aura out to protect all the hostages, it was a move that cost him most of his aura, even with a boost he had gotten earlier, but it was worth it.

* * *

" _What do you mean you're going to give them what they want?!" cried Ruby incredulously._

_Ashe stared at the screen a little more before he snapped out of it and told her "Well not entirely, I'm going to save those kids and the only way to do that is to give him what he wants, or at least make him think I am."_

" _You mean to deceive him?" Blake said._

" _Of course I do, no way am I letting him come out on top of this one. Pyrrha, I know it's asking a lot but are you up for another big fight?" he asked._

_Pyrrha looked at her parents, then to Jaune and answered "I... I don't know. I don't want any of those children to die because of me but... after everything I've been through I just don't know if I can." She knew she sounded selfish, but after everything Salem and Cinder did to her she didn't know if she could just surrender her friends and family after finally getting them back._

_Jaune grabbed her hand and said "What if we both go? They probably think I'm dead so maybe they'll be caught off guard."_

" _A good plan, but you still look weak from your near death experience last night." Qrow stated._

" _Then why don't we all go?" Yang suggested._

" _No, I can't bring all of you, if I do something extreme as that Jude will start killing kids." Ashe said._

" _But..." Jaune objected as he and Pyrrha stepped forward, but a voice stopped them._

" _Neither of you have to go." Neo said as she stepped forward. "I have the Semblance of disguise; I can make myself look like Pyrrha and help you fight them. Unlike the rest of these people I do not mind blood on my hands."_

_Ashe smiled at her and said "Sounds good to me."_

_Coco grinned as she gave Neo a friendly pat on the back and said_ " _Hey, I guess it's nice to know you're not that shallow, if you were you would have snuck out in the middle of the night."_

" _What about the Aura Crystal? If it really is as powerful as you say then we cannot allow Jude to give it to Salem." Glynda pointed out._

" _She's right, you can't give into him." Jaune said._

" _I'm not giving it to him; I can't now that Jaune and Pyrrha are its new guardians." Ashe said, getting a confused reaction out of Pyrrha's parents. "I need someone go tell Argo about this and see if any student in this academy has a crystallization Semblance." He finished._

" _Oh I see where you're going with this. I'm on it." Bolin volunteered as he quickly left the room._

" _So you're going to give him a fake Pyrrha and a fake crystal, but what about you and Neo?" Nora asked._

" _We'll fight out way out, kill them all, and end Jude for good." Ashe stated simply._

" _Ashe, think about this, do you really think you can fight your way out of this?" Jaune asked._

_Ashe was silent for a moment before he answered with "No, but I can fight everyone else out of it. They had to get in some way beside the front door so they probably have another entrance. If I die today than so be it, but... but I just want all of you to know that the last week I have spent with you kids has made my life worthwhile, you know? You guys have made me feel like a have a purpose but no matter what I refuse to let innocent people die because of my failure to kill Jude. Maybe I will die today, but maybe I won't. I need to do this."_

" _Ashe," Pyrrha said, getting his attention, "what happened to me happened because I believed in destiny, I foolishly allowed myself to believe that I needed to do something I didn't have to. I let the expectations of others control me and I made a choice, one that was chosen very poorly. Do not make my mistake Ashe; you have to think about this! I'm not saying let Jude do whatever he wants to those people but you need to be careful if you are going to face him again."_

_Ashe smiled and said "Destiny. Heh. Pyrrha, you're right. I do have a choice; I don't have to do go and be a hero. I don't have to do anything. I can let all those kids die, I mean after all I don't know 'em, what do they mean to me? But I am going to do this, I am going to save them and beat Jude. Not because I have to do it, not because of destiny or some predetermined path or because someone told me to do it but because I choose to do it. This is something I want to do, not something someone else told me to do. I'm doing this because I choose to do it, because I want to do it, but most of all it's because it's the right thing to do."_

_Pyrrha stared at Ashe and considered his words. Jaune looked at Pyrrha and squeezed her hand, he smiled when she squeezed back._

" _I'll call Ross up, he can take you there." Qrow said as he got his scroll out._

" _Thanks, Neo do your best Pyrrha impression while I go load up." Ashe said as he left the room and began running to the elevator._

" _Let's help him, give him as much ammo and Dust as you can spare." Ruby said._

" _Right." Everyone said in agreement._

" _Excuse me, can someone please tell us what is happening?" Zeus Nikos asked._

" _Later dad, right now our friends needs all the help he can get. Although... I suppose I do need to explain a few things to you..." Pyrrha said._

_A few minutes later Jaune and his sisters arrived in Ashe's room where he was loading up his guns with as many Dust clips as they could hold._

" _So that's it? I mean you have a way to save Pyrrha and that stupid crystal, but what about you and Neo? You'll be too outnumbered to take them all on." Jaune pointed out._

" _I've faced crazier odds before. I want to do this Jaune, don't make any mistakes I know how insane this is but I'm not backing down from it. I can't promise that I'll be back but I will try." Ashe promised._

" _That's all anyone can ask." Sienna said with a nod._

" _Ashe you have to think about this!" Bianca objected._

" _I already have and it's simple and easy choice. Jude's only given me thirty minutes so I don't have much time to act, I need to hurry." Ashe said._

" _But what about the Aura Crystal? Pyrrha and I don't know much about it, we need you to help us." Jaune argued._

_As Ashe finished loading up his shotgun he sighed and said "You're right." He walked up to Jaune and placed his hand on his head "If I don't make it..." he whispered a word and Jaune cried out as the memory spell began to pour into his head. Jaune saw Ashe's memories, his experiences, all of the knowledge Ashe had about the Aura Crystal was being poured into Jaune's mind as well as a certain prophecy._

_When the transfer finished Jaune fell backwards but Indigo and Sienna caught him. "Whoa, you okay?" Indigo asked._

" _Yeah... I... Ashe what did you do?" Jaune asked._

" _I transferred pretty much all of my knowledge of the Aura Crystal to you. Everything, meditation, rituals, chants, etcetera. Not everything though, there's a lot more specific stuff I left out as its a bit too complicated to share via memory but if I don't make it back look to those books." Ashe said as he gestured to some book on the floor. "I've kept them in my backpack the entire time; they helped me out a lot. They're old and tattered, but they'll do."_

_Jaune nodded and said "Ashe, do you really think a fake Pyrrha and a fake crystal will fool them?"_

" _Only so far, but since Jude never saw the crystal himself he'll probably fall for it. As for Pyrrha, well Neo seems to be pretty good at fooling people, but we may have to do something about her height." He said in response._

" _The other kids are all getting Dust ammo for you to use, so you'll have plenty to shoot with." Shani told him._

" _Good, my own ammo can only get me so far." Ashe stated as sheathed his sword. He looked at them all and said "Look, we owe you girls big time for coming out here to help your brother. We couldn't have done it without you."_

" _Hey, we'd do anything for our little brother." Indigo said as she patted Jaune on the head._

" _Yeah, plus you know, big sis instincts." Bianca said, before she realized how wrong that would sound to Ashe. "Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot that..."_

" _It's okay, but just know that you girls are better sisters than Cinder is."_

" _Well that's not hard to outdo." Snarked Violet._

_Just then Qrow and Ross appeared in the doorway. "I filled Ross here on the situation, he's ready." Qrow said._

" _You need a pilot to save the day? I'm your man." Ross stated bravely._

" _Good, can you find out the school's location?" Ashe asked._

" _All ready did, I got the coordinates and I can get us there whenever you're ready." Ross said._

" _Get to the ship and get it prepared, we'll be along soon." Ashe told him. The older man nodded and ran off as Ashe exited the room._

" _So you really gonna do this?" Qrow asked._

" _Of course, even if there were no innocent lives at stake I'd go to finish Jude off." Ashe voiced as Reese appeared._

" _There you are! Headmaster Argo knows about the situation and has called the police commissioner to let her know about you." She said._

" _Good, what about the fake crystal, how are we doing with that?" Ashe asked._

" _I think someone is coming up, I know there's a girl with that Semblance here but I don't know her." Reese informed him as they began walking down the stairs._

" _Good, that'll be a big help. So Pyrrha is telling her parents about her... condition?" Ashe guessed._

" _Not yet, later once everything has calmed down. She was going to tell them in the library but then this disaster came up." Jaune said._

" _There's always something." Qrow muttered._

_Just then Pyrrha appeared in front of them. "Hey, Pyrrha! Are your parents..." Jaune began before Pyrrha smirked._

" _Fooled you." She said in a different voice. The form of Pyrrha fell away to reveal Neo standing on stilts, the petite girl smiled and said "A girl here is from a circus family and agreed to give me these to make me look to be Pyrrha's height."_

" _Wouldn't it be easier just to make an illusion?" Shani inquired._

" _It would be easier just to create an illusion but those gang thugs will probably grab me by the shoulder to force me somewhere and I can't have them phase through my body, now can I?" she said._

" _It'll do, this will fool them long enough for us to start shooting." Ashe said._

" _What about all of the hostages?" Violet pointed out._

" _I got that covered; I think I can use my Semblance to spread my aura out to shield everyone from gunfire or blades. It'll be tricky and it will take a huge toll on my aura but it's worth a shot." Ashe stated._

" _It sounds way too risky." Violet argued._

" _Oh, it is, but right now it's the best plan I got." Ashe said._

" _What about the Aura Crystal? Maybe Pyrrha and I can use it to give you a boost." Jaune suggested._

" _It might work, but not to the extent it did yesterday, you see once a bloodline has ended its service to the Aura Crystal it can only connect to them for another twelve hours, or so I've read." Ashe explained._

" _Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go back to Pyrrha and the crystal." Jaune cried._

_They quickly made their way back to the lounge where Pyrrha and her parents remained with the Aura Crystal._

" _Pyrrha, we got to help Ashe's aura stronger, we need to give him as better chance." Jaune said._

_Pyrrha nodded and said "I'm all for it, but can we do it?"_

" _Ashe just gave me his knowledge of the crystal's workings with that memory thing he does, I think I know how to do it, but I'll need your help." Jaune said to her._

" _Pyrrha has told us about this Aura Crystal business and while I'm pretty sure we haven't gotten the entire story yet I think my daughter can help you, Mr. Kasai." Hera voiced._

" _Okay, Pyrrha get the crystal out and use the gravity field." Ashe instructed her. Pyrrha opened up the case and pressed a button on the small anti-gravity generator which made the crystal float up into the air._

" _Hope they can find that girl, we can't let this scumbag get his hands on this thing." Reese stated._

" _Don't worry; I have no intention of handing it to him. Okay, now Jaune and Pyrrha, I need you both to place one hand on the crystal and grab my hands with your free ones." The young couple did so and then Ashe said "Okay now I need you both to repeat this chant: Su Sol Zah Tih lm Ac Nol Yod Utt Amaj Va Sen Ur Kai! The last two words will help transfer energy into my body, okay?"_

_They both nodded, having paid close attention to the words of the chant. "Okay then, say the words and focus on the power that will flow through you and into me. You ready?" he asked as Shani began to explain the plan to the Nikos parents._

" _Yeah." They both said. The trio closed their eyes and Jaune and Pyrrha began to chant the words as aura from the crystal began to flow into their bodies and into Ashe's._

"Su _Sol Zah Tih lm Ac Nol Yod Utt Amaj Va Sen Ur Kai!" the two teenagers shouted as they finished the ritual. Ashe reeled back as he could feel the power surge through him, it wasn't nearly as much as the crystal had given him the night before but it was enough to get him through this fight. At least he hoped so._

" _Di-did it work?" Pyrrha asked._

" _Yeah, yeah it worked. I think my aura will do the job now." Ashe confirmed as Teams RWBY, CFVY, SSSN, Penny, Flynt, May, Neon, Ren, and Nora all rushed in with loads of Dust ammo._

" _Here you go Ashe, top of the line Dust." Coco said as she handed him a string of chained Dust bullets and the right kind of gun to use them._

" _And here's for when things go really crazy." Nora said as she handed him a couple of grenades._

_Ashe grinned and said "Thanks Nora, I may not need them but you never know."_

" _Take this too, every little bit helps." Qrow said as he took a small knife out and handed it to Ashe. "Switchblade, those little things come in handy."_

" _They do indeed." Ashe said with a nod as he took out a pair of bandoliers from his backpack and strapped them on, loading them up with Dust. "Okay; I got four guns, one grenade, a sword, a switchblade, and my own moves. We're nearly ready to move out." After Team SSSN told Ashe everything they knew about the Fury Gang, Argo, Bolin, Ozpin, and a female first year student entered the room._

" _Okay, Mr. Hori has told me about the situation and while I think it's a bad idea for you to go alone on this I won't stop you. Kira here can make a copy of the crystal for you, just show it to her." Argo stated._

" _It's the big floating shiny rock in the middle of the room, how can you miss it?" Yang asked sarcastically._

_The girl now identified as Kira looked at the Aura Crystal and said "Yeah, Yeah I can recreate that, no prob." She sat down on the floor and began to create a crystal form identical to the Aura Crystal's._

" _Okay good. Now Argo I need you to get me another case for the fake crystal." Ashe said._

" _I don't think I can get you one in time, you only have twenty minutes left as it is so you're rather pressed for time." Argo said as he noticed the clock._

" _Shit, you're right. Okay I'll just put it in the case I have now while Jaune and Pyrrha look over this one." Ashe said._

" _Ashe, are you sure about this? You could die!" Ruby pointed out._

" _I know. I'm still going to do it." Ashe said firmly as Kira finished creating a copy of the crystal._

" _Whew... th-there you go, sir. I don't know how strong it'll be as my crystals break under enough pressure but if you want to fool someone with it I..." she began before Ashe cut her off._

" _No, it's good enough kid, you did fantastic. Jude doesn't even know what it looks like so we're fine." Ashe assured the girl as Yatsuhashi and Fox quickly picked the copy up and put it into the case._

" _Okay Neo, you set?" Ashe asked._

" _Yes, although I do plan to take my leave if I survive this. I'm making a nasty habit of being a hero." The multicolored haired girl muttered as she took Pyrrha's form._

" _What about her arms, something could phase through those, right?" Jaune said._

" _I'll be sure to keep the arms out of their reach." Neo assured him as everyone began to head out._

_Outside Ross was inside of the ship and was ready to go as the large group exited the building._

" _Ashe, be careful. We don't want to lose you." Velvet said to him, the concern in her voice evident._

" _I'll try to be. Thanks for... well for everything Velvet." Ashe said as she hugged him. He stood awkwardly for a second before he hugged her back._

" _Try to come back in one piece, even if you don't they can patch you up again, okay?" Coco said._

" _Okay. Coco, Fox, Yatsu, it's been a pleasure." Ashe said._

" _Hey, you're acting like this a goodbye." Neptune said as he took Ashe's hand and shook it._

" _It is, for now. Let's face it this might be it." Ashe said as he looked to Sun. "Take care of your team Sun, they need you and you need them."_

_Sun shook Ashe's hand and said "They sure do. Kick that guy's ass."_

" _Will do." Ashe said with a grin as he shook hands with Scarlet and Sage._

_He walked up to Penny and said "So I guess you know my odds are pretty bad, right?"_

" _Well... I don't have all of the factors to properly make a good guess but... your chances don't look good. If you want I can..." Penny began only for Ashe to stop her._

" _No, Neo and I can handle this. Penny, you are a real girl. You may not be one in body but you are in spirit. Don't let anyone ever tell you different, or else they'll have to face the wrath of Ruby." He said with a grin._

_He said his goodbyes to each of the Arc sisters, but parted ways with Bianca with a rather strong hug. "Good luck." She whispered to him._

_Penny smiled back and hugged him as gently as she could. He looked over to see Arslan arriving. "They told me what's going on. You sure you wanna do this?" she asked._

" _Oh yeah." Ashe confirmed._

_Arslan sighed and put her hand out. "I guess I was wrong about you, you are an okay guy." She said._

_Ashe accepted her hand and said "Not by much."_

_After he said his goodbyes to Reese and Bolin he moved on to Glynda and Ozpin. He shook both their hands before Glynda said "We'll be watching, once the hostages are safe the Atlas soldiers and the police will be able to help you."_

" _I hope so." Was all Ashe said before he shook Taiyang's hand, then Qrow's._

" _Just don't your ass kicked too badly, I've already gotten one friend hurt today, I don't need another."_

" _Qrow, did you just call this man and James your friends?" Glynda questioned, baffled._

" _Yes, so what?" Qrow asked. Secretly Qrow wanted to help Ashe in his avian form but after the physically and emotionally draining events of last night combined with the lack of sleep made it highly unlikely he could help Ashe out._

_Ashe snickered as he went over to the eight kids, four of them he had only met in the last couple of days but the other four had made him feel his life had meaning again, in only a handful of days these kids had saved him from the lonely life of a wandering Guerrilla Huntsman. He couldn't but realize how hopeless his situation was now, even with a plan to stop Jude._

" _Hey, don't act so depressed! You'll be okay, I know it." Nora said encouragingly as she hugged him, tighter than Penny had._

" _Thanks Nora, and thank you for telling me about Magnhild, it... it helped put things in perspective for me." Ashe said gratefully as he hugged her back._

_He looked to Ren and said "Hey, now I know you were never my biggest fan but I..."_

_Ren stopped him and said "I am sorry for thinking you would have betrayed us. That night when Jaune and Ruby were taken, I... I did want to shoot you but... I am sorry."_

_Ashe took his hand and shook it. "Hey, I would've done the same in your shoes. Take care of Nora, you two need each other." He said._

" _More than you know." Ren said with a small smile as he glanced at his partner._

_Ashe moved to Blake and said "Take care of Sun, you'll know he'll need you, same with your teammates, despite the whole White Fang past you might be the only sane one on Team RWBY."_

_Blake smiled and said "Thank you Ashe, I will do my best. Good luck."_

" _That's odd, a black cat wishing me luck." He said with a grin._

_He moved on to Yang who said "Don't get all mushy on me man; we know you'll kick their ashes."_

_While most of them groaned or rolled their eyes at the pun Ashe just laughed. "Good one!" he said._

" _Hey, don't die on me because you're, like, the first person in a while who found my jokes funny." Yang said._

" _You can use your entire library of material on me if I get out of this." Ashe promised her._

" _Trust me Ashe, you'll be wishing for the sweet embrace of death if she does." Weiss said with a roll of her eyes._

_Ashe laughed at that and said "Take care of Ruby, Weiss, it's obvious you care about her and your friends way more than you let on."_

_Weiss sighed and said "Sad thing is you're right and they have all changed me for the best. Take that monster down."_

" _Oh I will, and I will make it painful." Ashe promised her before he went on to Pyrrha._

" _Now Pyrrha, do you remember what you promised me on the way to the warehouse?" he asked._

" _Of course I do, and I intend to keep it for the rest of my life, no matter what." She said confidently and firmly._

" _Good. Take care of him, okay? If you don't and I die I am totally haunting you." He joked._

_Pyrrha smiled and chuckled a bit before she hugged Ashe. "Thank you for saving him." She whispered._

" _I only helped out, the thing that saved him was the love all of you had for him. Hang on to this for me, it has some more stuff about the Aura Crystal and some of my own private files I don't want to lose." Ashe told her as he gave her his scroll._

_He moved on to Ruby and wiped a tear from her eye. "No tears, okay? You've been through enough; I can't have you crying over me. I want you to look over this for me." He said as he took off the necklace with the whistle on it._

" _No, no! You're only giving it to me because you think you're gonna die, I can't take it!" Ruby refused._

" _Ruby, this whistle belonged to my mother, she used it to distract her enemies and let her loved ones know where she was, it has been the one thing of hers that I have managed to hang on to for all these years so I can't let it get damaged, I need you to look after it until I get back. I'll be okay, just take care of it, alright?" he said as he held it out for her._

_Ruby stared at him before she sighed and said "Okay, just... just come and get it later, okay?"_

" _I will." He swore as she took it from him._

_One last goodbye to say; Jaune._

_Jaune sighed and said "Ashe I... I owe you a lot, man. How long have we even known each other? A week?"_

" _I don't know, kinda lost track." Ashe confessed as he gripped the engagement ring._

" _Ashe, thank you, for everything you've done. I'm not gonna lie, you were a total jerk at times but I understand why, maybe if I never got Pyrrha back I would have been bitter and angry at the world too. You got this, I know you do." Jaune assured him._

" _Hey, third time's the charm, right?" Ashe said with a shrug as he removed the ring necklace._

_Jaune's eyes widened and said "No, I can't, give it to someone else."_

" _Shut up and take it. I don't need it anymore and even if I do survive I... I think you need it more than I do. So I want you to keep it." Ashe said. Jaune looked at him, totally confused as Ashe placed it in his hands and glanced at Pyrrha. "You know what to do with it when the time comes."_

_Jaune blushed a bit but he slowly nodded and said "Do what you have to do, Ashe. You can do it." He tightened his grip on the ring and Ashe smiled._

" _You'll be okay kid."_

_He followed Neo into the ship and took one last look at his friends, the ones who helped him, the ones who had given him a life again._

_He turned around and closed the door as the ship began to rise up._

* * *

Jude looked at Ashe and realized what he was doing. "Kill him! Shoot him now!" he ranted as his arm transformed into gun-mode on its highest setting and fired. Ashe rolled over, letting the blast of Dust hit the ground where he had been standing and pulled out his shotgun and quickly fired out into the gargantuan room, hitting three more thugs who were trying to physically kill the hostages. Three more bodies hit the floor with small splashes of blood on them as the powerful Dust blasts ended their lives.

Neo jumped off the stage as two henchwomen tried to shoot her, but she managed to cover herself with the umbrella.

Jude calmed himself and said "Good, good, this is what I need. Gerard, get your gang ready to retreat."

"Retreat?! You frigging planned on this?!" the gang leader barked.

"Not entirely but it wasn't unexpected, though I have to admit the massive aura shield is pretty out of left field." Jude said as he looked over to the teachers they held hostage on stage and grinned at one of them. Gerard glanced at one of his top men, Nash and shook his head in annoyance as they tried to shoot Ashe together.

On the ground floor Ashe smashed his fist backwards into the face of the thug who tried to sneak attack him. He whipped around, grabbed the guy, smashed his head against the thug's, shot him in the foot, and finally threw him into the wall hard enough to crack it.

He cried out in pain as he felt something stab him in the shoulder, which turned out to be a shuriken thrown by one of the female thugs but he easily tore it out, even if it stung like a bitch to do so.

He looked over to Neo who eviscerated a female thug, then jumped up to ram another through the gut. Okay so if his math was right that made fourteen down so far and a lot more to go. He could feel the large aura shield taking more damage; he needed to end this quickly before the aura gave out. He jumped over a row on seat and landed in front of another thug who he grabbed and slammed into the back of the seats thrice before he rammed his fist into the thug's stomach. He released the thug, only to take a shot in the back. He cried out in pain so the thug took his chance and screamed as he tried to attack Ashe, only for the Guerrilla Huntsman to whip out the switchblade Qrow gave him and ram it into the thug's forehead.

The thug's scream was short lived as Ashe ripped out the small blade and let him fall to the ground as a lifeless husk. The kids who witness the murder were either screaming or too scared to scream. Ashe quickly ducked down to avoid being hit and let more of the aura shield take the damage, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up, his aura was draining fast.

He looked over to see Neo had killed two more thugs with her own blade and was constantly trying to give him some relief by using her umbrella to take shots meant for the hostages. Ashe nodded in approval as he used the automatic rifle Coco had given him to blast another thug down from the rafters above, he fell to the floor and his skull was cracked by the hard impact.

Ashe looked up to one of the entryways behind them and saw three of the guards from the front were running in and trying to shoot the hostages, but to no avail as the aura shield was still holding out. Ashe jumped forward and kicked one in the head, slamming him into the wall. He crouched down to prepare for another attack only for the second guard to land a few hits on him. Ashe fell backwards onto the ground, crying out in pain as the third guard stomped down on his gut.

"Not so tough now!" the guard said as he aimed a shotgun at Ashe's head. Ashe quickly grabbed the unconscious form of the first guard and hauled him over his body to protect himself from the blast right before the guard fired. The blast killed the out cold guard and Ashe used the shock of it to jump back up and blast both guards away, killing them both with fast and precise shots.

Ashe looked up just in time to avoid a killing blast from Jude's new arm cannon. He rolled out to the floor and saw Jude was holding one of the teachers hostage, holding her close so Ashe wouldn't shoot at him.

"ASHE! Give up NOW or I kill this bitch!" Jude screamed furiously. Ashe's eyes widened when he saw the teacher, she was only a little younger than himself and she had blue eyes and black hair, not exactly an uncommon combination, but those two always reminded him of Mila, but what was worse was the fact that she was pregnant, the large bulge in her belly made it obvious. She was crying and had a look of pure terror on her face and in her eyes, she was trying so hard not to scream of beg for mercy as she knew this monster wouldn't give it to her.

If Jude killed that woman he wouldn't just kill her but the child she held within her womb. Two more deaths that would Ashe's fault, just like Mila and their unborn child. He sighed and looked to Neo who had decapitated another thug, but she looked to him with an inquisitive look. He nodded a signal for her to stand down. She gave him an angry face but submitted and threw her blade down but quickly pressed a button on her scroll to signal Ross to make his move. Now if Ashe could just keep their attention long enough...

"Okay Jude, alright, you win. You have the crystal and you have me, just let the woman go." Ashe said calmly as he put his guns away.

"Oh I don't think so Ashe, she's my insurance that you will give up. She looks a little bit like her, doesn't she? She has your lovely little Mila's eyes and hair, although her baby has made it longer than Mila's did, eh?" Jude said mockingly.

Ashe wanted to scream in fury but held it back. "Jude, just let the woman go and you can do whatever you want to me." Ashe bargained.

"Not just yet, hero." Jude spat. "Hero, that's what you want to be, what you've always wanted to be, huh? But I'll tell you what, Ashe; you are nothing but a fraud and liar, you are a stone cold killer, just like me."

Ashe glared at him, but didn't even try to deny his words.

"You see Ashe, you're worse than me; you're a killer with a rising death toll and yet you claim to be the good guy! HA! That makes you the greatest liar of all, to the point where you think your lies have become true and you are a hero. Tell me, did Mila even know you were a Guerrilla?"

Ashe shook his head as he looked down.

"Say it." Jude demanded.

"No." Ashe whispered.

"Speak up!" Jude barked as he tightened his grip on the pregnant woman.

"No! She never knew!" Ashe yelled. He had planned to tell her sometime before the wedding but he wanted to be sure she wouldn't hate him for the lie; of course he never got the chance to do so thanks to Jude.

Jude laughed and said "Ashe, look around at these good little children and the good people who dedicated their lives to teaching the next generation."

Ashe did so and glanced around the room. He saw eyes filled with fear, confusion, hatred for Jude, angry, panic, and dread. But Ashe could see that a few eyes held hope.

"They know this is all your fault, Ashe, they hate you just like I do. You're friends, like that Rose girl; they think you can be a hero, that you can save all these good lives, save the little souls of these children..." Jude lectured. He held the pregnant woman close and licked her cheek, making her shudder in disgust. "...but we know better. Don't we?"

Ashe glared at him and asked "What do you want me to do?"

Jude grinned as his metal arm transformed back into a hand and placed itself atop the woman's head. "I want you to understand just how much of a pathetic failure you truly are Ashe, I want you to watch me as I squeeze the pretty blue eyes right out of this woman's skull!" Jude yelled as the teacher began to scream in terror.

"No!" Ashe cried.

"Yes!" Jude screamed with an insane grin on his face. "This is all your fault Ashe! These people will die and I will take you straight down to hell with me!"

"Like hell you will!" Ashe yelled as he whipped out one his pistols. Jude grinned, ready to take a hit or use the woman as a human shield, but Ashe did something he had not expected; Ashe placed the gun to his own head.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Jude asked, confused.

Neo saw her chance and took it; she created an illusion of herself standing still while she began to sneak her way up the stage.

"I'm making sure you lose, asshole. Let her go, now, or I kill myself." Ashe ordered.

Jude's grip on the woman loosened a little. The atmosphere in the room became tenser and even more on edge. Some were confused as to why this Ashe man killing himself would be a bad thing to the cyborg maniac.

"Jude, quit fucking around and let her go, it's me that you want. You know you can't let it end like this, so stop being a damn coward, let her go and fight me like a man. If I kill myself I will rob you of everything you want. You want to see my die by your hand and yours alone, you want to see the life fade from my eyes and know that you killed me. You want to look into my eyes as I die and see my thoughts, hear my dying breath, you want to kill me and if you don't let her go I will deprive you of the only thing that has kept you going for five years!" Ashe yelled as his finger gently rested on the trigger. His grip was careful and steady, his finger ready to pull if Jude didn't give up.

Jude's eye was wide and nervous while his mechanical one stared at Ashe unblinking, trying to make a choice.

"I... I don't need her." Jude said as he threw the woman to the side. "All I need is my own body to kill you!" He jumped off the stage and landed right in front of Ashe and smashed his mechanical fist into Ashe's face. Ashe fell to the ground but unloaded the pistol into Jude's body, making him fall against the stage.

"Gerard! Get the crystal out of here and get it to Ante! Wait for me, I'll be there shortly." Jude yelled as Ashe opened up a barrage of punches on Jude.

"Gladly, this has gotten frigging nuts." Gerard muttered as he and what was left of his gang began to head behind the stage.

"No you don't!" Ashe yelled as he jumped up on stage, trying to keep the illusion that they had the real crystal. Jude jumped up as well and slammed his steel fist into Ashe's back, blowing him down. "Ah!" he cried out as he slammed into the wooden floor.

Ashe glanced up to see that the pregnant woman had crawled to the other teachers who were being held captive and were now free to move as most of Gerard's gang had ran for their escape route.

One of the teachers tried to move away only for a blast from Jude's cannon to cut them off. Ashe rolled over to see Jude aiming at them, his gun set low. "This won't kill a person, but it will be enough to end the life within her..." He muttered as he aimed for the pregnant woman's belly.

"No!" Ashe screamed. He jumped up as Jude fired, the blast hitting his back. He fell to the ground with a hard thud, moaning in pain. Jude grinned as he went over to Ashe while the only remaining thug on stage while one other guarded the door, all the others making way for the exit they had created. Ashe tried to get up but Jude's metal hand grabbed his throat and squeezed tight before he slammed Ashe into the floor.

"Don't worry Ashe, I'm not going to kill you yet." Jude said as he pressed his foot on Ashe's back. Ashe cried out as his aura couldn't take it anymore and the shield he had created around the hostages in the rows of seats fell. "I am going to make you watch as I kill them." Jude finished as he pointed at the pregnant teacher as his arm cannon went up to the highest setting.

All of a sudden a blade stabbed right through the mechanical part of Jude's skull, piercing the robot eye and destroying it in a shower of sparks. Jude screamed in pain as Neo grinned. Ashe smiled as he leapt up, grabbed Jude's cannon and aimed it at the thug. Neo punched Jude in the shoulder and Jude fired the firearm at the thug, killing him with one hit.

Neo pulled her estoc out of Jude's head before she kicked him down. "I hope that hurts, robo-boy." She spat.

"Get down!" Ashe yelled as he pulled her down as the only remaining thug began firing on them.

"Come on dickheads, come to daddy!" the thug yelled as he ran closer to the stage.

Ashe got ready to fight only for a gunshot out of nowhere to blast through the thug's torso, making him fall to the ground dead. Ashe looked up to see Morse, Ross, and over a dozen cops all armed with guns running into the room and beginning to free hostages.

Morse stood holding a smoking gun and called to Ashe "You okay?"

"I'm hurt but I'll live." Ashe said as his aura began to heal him. The aura shield had cost him every bit of the boost the crystal had given him, now all he had left was his normal aura reserves.

Neo glanced over and muttered "Oh crap."

Ashe looked over to see Jude giving up. "My eye..." he groaned as he staggered away. He looked at the situation, cops all aiming at him.

"Saul Jude, stand down you are under arrest." Morse demanded as cops began escorting kids and teachers out of the room.

Jude glanced around and knew his situation didn't look good if he chose to stand and fight, cops all aiming for him and Ashe was getting up. "Not today, later Ashe." Jude said as he quickly dashed behind stage, dodging some shots meant for him.

"No! He's not getting away this time!" Ashe shouted as he ran after Jude.

"Ashe, let it go!" Ross called before Jude twirled around on his way to the exit and turned his hand into its whip form. He slammed it down and managed to drive Ashe back before he whipped it up and caught a low hanging beam attached to a catwalk. He tugged it down and brought the catwalk down to block the narrow hallway.

"See you around Ashe!" Jude mocked as he ran out the door.

"No, no, no!" Ashe yelled as he tried to climb up the wreckage but Neo grabbed him from behind.

"Ashe, stop. They're on the run, we saved the hostages, we're alive, he has lost. Let him go." She said as calmly as she could.

Ashe shook his head. "No, no freaking way! Every time I let that bastard get away he kills more innocent people, I can't let him go again!" Ashe ranted, an obsessed look in his eye.

Neo knew it was pointless to stop him so she sighed and said "Alright, fair enough. Go kick his butt."

"We've already caught the three who were up in the front guarding the doors. Hopefully all these kids will need is a crap ton of therapy but we'll take care of them and we'll try to send some cops in with you as soon as we can, good luck Kasai." Morse said.

Ashe nodded and as he began climbing.

"Wait!" cried the pregnant teacher. Ashe looked to her, fearing that she would blame him for what happened to her, but she didn't. "Th-thank you... thank you for saving me." She said.

"It's what I do, or at least what I try to do." Ashe said as he jumped over.

"I'm sorry about Mila." The woman called. "That Jude madman killed her right? Is... is that what happened?"

"A little of it, Miss..."

"Mrs. Victoria Silvers." She said.

"Listen Victoria, take care of that baby, okay?" Ashe called as he ran off down the hallway after Jude.

"I will, thank you." She said as he vanished from her view.

Ross approached Neo and said "That guy's a little obsessed, but he's okay."

Neo simply nodded in response.

* * *

Jude ran into the empty classroom where a giant hole in the floor had been created by an explosive to reveal an old abandoned subway tunnel that ran under the school. Gerard and what was left of his crew, along with three who had been left behind to guard their only means of escape, had already gotten into the tram they had used to drive on the subway rails. The tram consisted of one very small train engine which pulled five miniature roofless coaches behind it, but was now significantly empty with all the members of the gang they had lost. Gerard had been talking to the only remaining female gang member about the crystal when Jude showed up.

"Where are the others?" Gerard's lieutenant asked.

"Dead or arrested." Jude answered as he jumped in.

"And Kasai?" Gerard questioned.

Jude glared at him but answered "Still alive."

"You damn failure." Gerard muttered.

"Not entirely a failed job, we still have the Aura Crystal for Mistress Salem." Jude said with a grin.

"Yeah, about that... Miko?" he said to the henchwoman he had been talking to, who was the girl who had thrown the shuriken at Ashe.

"I can sense aura, Jude, there is none within this crystal, in fact I believe it is nothing but a construct created by a Semblance." Miko explained to him.

Jude gave her a look of disbelief before one of terror took over. Salem would destroy him for this failure.

Unless...

"JUDE!" Ashe screamed from above.

Jude grinned and said "I might just have a way to salvage this mess."

Ashe slammed the door open and saw the giant hole, 'So that's how they got in.' he thought. He ran over to the hole just in time to see the rear car going out of view. A subway underneath the school, must be abandoned otherwise there's no way they could have done it. He jumped down into the hole and saw them driving away.

He began running after them, ignoring the pains he still felt from the earlier battle.

"Here he comes!" cried one of the thugs.

"Shoot him!" yelled Gerard. Six thugs quickly began shooting at Ashe who dodged all of the blasts, with only one or two grazing his coat. He kept running behind them and soon enough alongside them, constantly dodging blasts meant to kill him, but something felt off; no way they were this bad with their shots, they were baiting him.

Good.

He jumped onto the middle coach and ducked down to avoid getting hit but he was not alone in the car as a trio of thugs occupied it. He quickly created an aura shield to protect himself from the blasts before he grabbed the thug closest to him.

"What the...?!" the thug cried in surprise as Ashe hoisted him up.

"Sorry about this!" Ashe said as he used all the strength he had to throw the thug forward, over the tram, and onto the rails right in front of the train.

"No, no! AH!" the thug screamed as the small train ran him over, creating sickening crunching and bursting sounds as bones cracked and blood splattered over the rails and the gravel, but the body was enough to derail the train.

"Oh shit!" the driver cried as he jumped off. Gerard, Jude, and the rest of the remaining thugs all got off the train as it was clear it wasn't going anywhere anymore. Ashe stayed in the coach as the thugs began firing at his position to keep him pinned down. Ashe checked his guns, all fully reloaded and ready for action.

"How much further to the exit?" Gerard asked the driver.

"Not far, only a few hundred meters that way and to the left!" the driver answered.

"Good, everyone follow me, we are getting the hell out of here and getting paid!" Gerard barked, then he pointed to four of the thugs and said "You four stay here until we get the cars and come back for you, then we'll finish this asshole off together, understood?"

"Yes sir!" all four thugs answered, three armed with guns and the other with throwing daggers.

"Wait, now's my chance to..." Jude objected before Gerard silenced him with a punch to the face.

"Sorry cyborg, but you had your chance and you blew it. Most of my crew is dead because of your dumb ass so I am calling the shots now, understood?" Gerard barked furiously.

Jude glared at him with his remaining eye and muttered "Yes."

"Good, now you're coming with us because I personally want to see this Salem witch kill you. Now get moving!" Gerard screamed as most of his troops quickly began to run down the dark tunnels.

Ashe moaned as he listened in on them, knowing they already outnumbered him but if they got a chance to regroup they totally overwhelm him. So once he could no longer hear the echo of footsteps and only the gunshots of the four remaining thugs he decided to make his move.

"Hey! Stop! Hold fire guys!" he called.

"What do you want, dead man?" asked the knife wielder.

"The cops will be coming in to back me up soon! Do you really want to stay behind while your boss and buddies get away?" Ashe inquired.

This made the gun wielding thugs stop and consider the implications of Ashe's words and knew he had a point.

Ashe made his move. He jumped over the coach and used the gun Coco gave him to mow two of the thugs down with ease. Their bodies hit the ground as the other two scattered, but the other gun user quickly blasted at Ashe and managed to hit the gun Ashe was using. Ashe cried out in shock as the gun's midsection broke apart due to the heavy impact of the blast.

Ashe ducked down from the next shot as the knife user slashed Ashe across the back.

"Gotta admit, boy, you ain't half bad! Too bad we gotta kill you, 'cause I wouldn't mind fighting with a coldblooded guy like you." He said as he tried to stab Ashe in the chest. Ashe grabbed his hand and wrestled him around, throwing him down as he quickly ducked down to avoid being shot.

He ran forward to the last gunner, taking a few painful hits in the process, but managed to tackle the man, tear the gun away from him, and slam his head into a steel support beam in the middle of the tunnel. Ashe slammed the man's head into the beam several times until he stopped moving. Ashe sighed as he dropped the dead man, only to cry out in agony as something stabbed him in the back.

He whipped around and backhanded the knife wielder as he quickly got out the switchblade.

"Oh, you are good!" the knife wielder cheered as he and Ashe slashed at each other with their respective blades.

"Thanks." Ashe said as he kicked the man in the kneecap and followed it up with a punch to the gut. The knife user cried out as Ashe sliced his throat open, unleashing a stream of blood. The man tried to stagger forward and kill Ashe, but simply fell to the ground face first, gurgling up blood.

Ashe groaned in pain as he recovered from his newest injuries but he knew he couldn't let them slow him down. He needed to keep moving. If his counting was right he only had ten gang members left plus Jude himself. So he began running into the dark tunnels to catch up.

At the entrance of the small tunnel for meant for maintenance engines, which was placed in a big alleyway flanked by two large buildings with various fire escapes leading up the gang ran out to where the gang had left their collective cars. Everyone was getting their guns reloaded or unsheathing their swords for the coming battle with Ashe, one of them even got out a rocket launcher as Jude began to think.

He wondered just how had Ashe beaten him? No, he hadn't won, not yet... he could still win this with some luck. He looked at the fake Aura Crystal Ashe had deceived him with and snarled. He yanked it out of the case and smashed it on the ground with a roar on frustration and anger.

"Calm down, we'll get Kasai soon enough." Gerard said as he took up his scroll.

"Will you? Call your men you left down there and see how much of a challenge they offered him!" Jude growled.

Gerard sighed, but knew Jude had a point; if this Kasai guy could create an aura shield that big and could take out so many men that easily who knew what else he could do. He called the knife user up on his scroll but no answer.

"Shit." He muttered.

"Gerard! I can sense Kasai, he's coming up the tunnel!" Miko cried as she used her aura sensing to feel Ashe running towards them.

"Okay then, new plan boys and girls! We get in our cars and lure this shithead to Ante's factory and we can finish him off there." Gerard decided.

"Why not just shoot at Ashe once he shows his face?" questioned the lieutenant.

"Because, my friend, we cannot draw attention to ourselves! The entire city will be looking for us so even if we do get paid we're splitting town with Ante. Now let's get ready to get out of here. Nash and Miko, you two lead the others." Gerard finished.

Gerard, Jude, the lieutenant, and the driver all piled into Gerard's car and drove off while Miko and the seven others all began to board a large vehicle that could carry up to eight passengers.

The one armed with a rocket launcher opened up the trunk to sit in there only for him to see Ashe coming down the tunnel.

"Kasai is here! Come on we can take him now!" he yelled.

"Stick to the plan Spider!" Miko yelled.

But Spider just ignored her and fired the rocket launcher at Ashe. Ashe screamed out in surprise as he rolled to the other side of the tunnel as the rocket slammed into the wall, causing large blocks of stone to rain down on Ashe, but he managed to only take a few hard hits, which he knew would leave nasty bruises as he lobbed one of the grenades Nora had given him at Spider.

Right before Spider could fire again the grenade lodged itself in his rocket launcher and with a mighty explosion the gang thug exploded in a mighty gang of shrapnel, fire, and body parts. The large vehicle was sent lurching forward into the building and collided with it as its passengers quickly jumped out.

Miko glanced down at the gory remains of what was once Spider and shuddered.

"Up the fire escape!" yelled Nash.

Miko nodded and quickly began to lead the remaining gang members up the ladders and catwalks while one of them remained behind to slow down Ashe. He glared at Ashe and unsheathed his blade, an old katana and said "You are a talented warrior, Ashe Kasai, but I want to see your skills with a blade put to the test."

Ashe nodded and took out his father's sword, while keeping an aura shield up to deflect some blasts from the escaping thugs.

"Bring it on, but if you want a fair fight get your friends to stop shooting at me." Ashe said.

The swordsman nodded and called for his fellow gang members to cease fire. "Let us fight." He said.

"As you wish." Ashe agreed before the two charge at one another. Their blades clashed together with a mighty clang before Ashe elbowed the man in the chest and swung his sword but the man easily parried his strike.

"Fighting dirty, are we?"

"No, just doing what must be done." Ashe shot back as he blocked a strike meant for his head. The two exchanged blows five times before Ashe's enemy managed to trip Ashe over. Ashe fell but quickly recovered and rolled over to avoid the blade slammed into his back. He jumped up and parried another strike and did so twice more before he slammed the hilt of his sword hard into the man's shoulder, giving Ashe an advantage. He struck down but the swordsman easily blocked it and reached up to strangle Ashe, who cried out in surprise before he managed to struggle himself free as his opponent recovered.

The swordsman spun his blade around like a fan to intimidate Ashe, only for the battered warrior to slam his sword into it hard enough to throw the man off balance. Ashe used this distraction to get behind the swordsman and strike from behind, but he was met with a strong parry.

"I admit, you are a worthy adversary and a talented duelist." The swordsman relented as he pressed forward.

"You are too, Look I'm in a hurry so we have to finish this." Ashe said as struck forward. They traded blows three times before the swordsman tried to behead Ashe, but he easily ducked the swing and parried another strike. The swordsman kicked Ashe in the gut, sending him staggering into the wall.

Ashe groaned but tried to ignore the pain as he got up and saw the swordsman smirking at him.

"Shall we end this?" he asked.

"Lets." Agreed Ashe.

The two ran forward and past each other, both striking at their opponent's bodies with their blades and within a few seconds the swordsman let out a dying breath as he fell to his knees with blood running down his torso. He fell to the ground dead.

Ashe bowed in respect to him, this man had been a talented fighter, but in the end he chose to use his gifts for evil so if Ashe hadn't ended his life someone else would have.

Ashe quickly began running after the gang members up the fire escapes, hoping they'd give up their plan or at least tell him where Jude was heading so he could catch him later. As he climbed up the final latter that led to the rooftop a boot smashed him in the face and blew him on his back. Ashe looked up to see a sadistic looking bald thug armed with a machete.

"Ready to die, Kasai?" he asked.

"Come on and find out." Ashe said as he remained on his back, but with a firm grip on his sword. The thug jumped down and landed on his feet, ready to plunge his blade into Ashe only for the Guerrilla Hunter to swing his sword sideways and separate the man from his knees.

The bald thug screamed in horror and pain as dropped the machete and fell forward only for Ashe to kick upwards then forwards and sent his newest would-be killer flying over the railing and onto the concrete below.

Ashe grabbed the railing and pulled himself up to see that the thug was still just barely alive and screaming in pain. Ashe decided to put the man out of his misery so he grabbed the machete and threw it down where it impaled the man's head, killing him instantly.

So many horrible deaths caused by him today, all of them could have been avoided if he had killed Jude last night.

This whole mess was his fault. But he couldn't let that get to him now, he'd have to deal with his breathtaking self-loathing issues later, right now he needed to catch the five who were getting away and make them give up Jude's location. As he dashed after them he failed to notice the Grimm Knight quietly following him.

About a block away Miko, Nash, and the other three gang members got off the scroll with Gerard.

"So what's the plan?" asked a thug.

"We are to lure Kasai to one of the buildings along the highway where they shall be waiting for us. Once there we can take Kasai down and take him to Ante." Miko elaborated.

"They're still on that?! This guy has killed all but a few of us! Why don't we just run for it, hide out with Ante, and let that Grimm bitch kill Jude?" another thug asked.

"Because we're going to make this asshole pay for killing our mates and we are going to take our time doing it." Nash said as he got his grappling hook gun ready.

"Here he comes." Miko said as she looked to the west of their position to see Ashe jumping and dashing across rooftops and alleyways. Despite being a decent distant away they all opened fire on him.

Ashe cried out in annoyance as he dodged the bullets and tried to get closer. "Always the hard way!" he cried.

Miko quit firing at him once her gun was empty and said "Enough for now, let him chase us."

She led the group in running across rooftops and alleyways as Ashe gave chase and struggled to catch up.

"How much longer till the highway?" asked a thug.

"Only half a block away." Answered Nash as they ran faster to jump over another gap between the tall buildings.

"That's good, 'cause I could..." the thug began before he tripped over an old plank of wood that he hadn't seen. "Ow! Ah!" he cried in pain as he tried to get up. As the others jumped over the gap the thug who had fallen moved to jump over only for a soft 'thud' to sound off behind him.

Before the thug could turn around or even call for help a slash of Ashe's sword decapitated him. Ashe didn't even look back as he strolled past the headless corpse, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his head to just stop the killing. He needed to make them all pay, they would have murdered those kids for profit, they all deserved to die!

Just like Jude.

Just like Cinder.

Just like himself.

The remaining four glared at him but did not shoot.

"If you want a battle Kasai, you have it! Follow us and we will lead you to Jude!" Miko yelled.

"Gladly." Ashe said with a calm nod.

Miko and Nash quickly led the two remaining gang members across the dangerously high rooftops of the city, jumping over the gaps to taller buildings, going higher and higher with Ashe trailing behind them.

Ashe knew they had something planned, they just had to. He was ready for them to try something on them as he followed them, ready to defend himself or counter attack at any moment.

After a period of five minutes they came to the roof of a giant business building that overlooked a rather empty highway with only a few dozen cars going to and fro as opposed to the usual hundreds. Obviously the crisis at the school had been enough motivation for people to stay inside and watch the madness unfold on TV. They were a hundred feet over the highway and a hundred and thirty feet over the ground, with a rather large angel statue with its arms held out and a large passageway being the only things that separated the road from the building.

Miko had quickly called Gerard on her scroll only to find he was still two minutes away from their current position. They could easily hold off Ashe in that time so the four turned on him, ready to fight.

"Sure you don't want to just let me take Jude? It would be a hell of a lot easier." He said.

"No way in hell, you killed our comrades and now we shall avenge them." Miko spat venomously as she held up three shuriken in one hand and a staff in the other. Nash got out his grappling hook gun while the other two thugs whipped out their standard pistols.

Ashe smiled and said "Okay, let's get this over with!"

Miko charged him first and preformed a sweeping blow with her staff but he easily dodged it once, twice, three times before she managed to land a hit on his chest right before one of the thugs managed to shoot Ashe in the shoulder.

Ashe cried out in pain before Miko jabbed him in the sternum with her staff and then slammed the three shuriken into his arm. Ashe grunted as Nash pistol whipped the back of his head. He could feel blood running down his head despite his aura trying to heal him.

"Enough!" Ashe yelled as he created a shockwave of aura to send them all flying, but Miko stayed put. She quickly ripped out the shuriken and slammed one into Ashe's shoulder, then his leg, and tried to stab the final one in his chest before he grabbed her and squeezed her arm hard enough to make her drop the small weapon.

Miko smashed her fist into his face three times before he let her go, she pressed her assault on by punching and kicking his torso but he retaliated by kicking her in the gut, and finally shooting her in the knee. Miko screamed in pain before Ashe smacked a karate jab across her collar bone and sent her flying to the other side of the roof with a mighty punch. Ashe moved to fight Nash but one of the thugs tackled Ashe while the other went to help Miko up.

Ashe managed to get the thug off and blow him away with his one of his pistols before Nash slammed into him and forced him onto the ground, making Ashe lose the small gun.

"I have to admit, for a killer who's a total wannabe hero you're pretty strong." Nash growled as he slammed his fist into Ashe's head five times, sending spit and blood flying.

"You want to know how strong I am?!" Ashe screamed as he forced Nash off of him and jumped up. He ran forward and kicked Nash in the face and quickly followed it up with a punch across the cheek, then two in the chest, then an uppercut to the chin. Nash yelled out and used his fingernails to slash Ashe across the face. Ashe ignored the pain and delivered a series of quick punches to Nash's chest and face before he finished it with an elbow to the head. He was about to finish it when a shot grazed his leg. He looked over to see Miko and the only remaining thug had recovered and were aiming their guns at him.

"Give up Kasai or we shoot you now." Miko threatened.

Ashe smirked and said "I don't think so."

He quickly threw out the other grenade and it began rolling over to them but Miko destroyed it with a shot of her gun, hoping the blast would be enough to kill Ashe.

It wasn't, but it was enough to send all four combatants flying. Ashe and Nash were merely blown on their backs but Miko and the thug were sent over the edge. Miko grabbed on to the edge for deal life as the thug fell screaming to his death, ending with a loud thud and a splatter of blood.

Miko began to pick herself up only for Ashe to appear in front of her and grab her hands. He hoisted her up, kicked her unhurt knee to wound her and held her over the edge, letting her look to see how high up they were.

"What kind of car are they in?" he asked.

"A new one, normal looking dark blue one, but I don't know what kind! They know our location and will be here very soon, just let me go!" she cried, afraid of dying.

"Okay, think of a snappy one-liner for me to say on your way down, would ya?" Ashe said darkly as he let her go. Miko let out a high pitched scream of terror as she fell and landed on a dumpster with a crack of bones and a sudden stop to her scream.

Ashe could feel his mind reeling with horror and disgust at what he just did. What was he...? No! They deserved it! Didn't they? Wait... was he enjoying this?

The turmoil within his mind distracted him enough for Nash to attack him from behind.

"You son of a bitch!" Nash yelled as he slammed a powerful punch into Ashe's back, causing him to spit out blood. Ashe screamed in pain as Nash slammed fists into the back of Ashe's knees and then picked Ashe up. "Die like them!" Nash ordered as he threw Ashe off the building.

Ashe went flying and then fell. He closed his eyes and waited for death to take him. He cried out as he landed on something hard, but something much closer than the ground, something that didn't kill him.

He opened his eyes to see the angel statue had caught and saved him with its outstretched arms.

"Heh... City of Angels." Ashe said with a weary smile.

Up above Nash growled in fury as he got his grappling hook ready to go. Ashe wasn't getting off that easily. He fired the grappling hook into the side of the highway and swung over, landing on the head of the angel.

"It's still a long drop, Kasai! You think you're done?!" Nash ranted.

"Oh no, I won't be done until Jude's dead, but I'll settle for you for now." Ashe deadpanned.

Nash roared and jumped off the head and slammed into Ashe, but held onto his gun and used one hand to keep hold of Ashe. They swung over and Nash let go of his enemy who slammed into the wall.

Ashe moaned as the pain in his back increased but his distraction was short lived as Nash kicked him in the face. "I'm not gonna let Jude have the pleasure of killing you!" he yelled as he grabbed Ashe, brought him up and began to choke him. He then tosses Ashe into a trashcan and began walking towards him. "I understand why Jude wants you dead so badly! You just won't die!"

Ashe smirked as he took hold of his shot gun and muttered "Not for lack of trying." He jumped up and slammed Nash in the torso with the shotgun as a blunt weapon, blowing Nash down and giving Ashe the advantage he needed.

He jumped on top of Nash and began to strangle him "Scum... you didn't even think about letting those kids go, DID YOU?!" Ashe screamed.

"I had no choice!" Nash tried to argue.

"You always have a choice." Ashe said darkly.

"Go to hell!" Nash yelled as Ashe pressed his knee on his opponent's neck.

"You first." Ashe growled as he pressed his thumbs into Nash's eye sockets. Nash screamed in horrific pain as Ashe killed him, blood flowing out of his eye holes and painting Ashe's hands red.

Ashe rolled off of Nash once he stopped struggling and moaned in exasperation. Gods he was exhausted. And yet he still had Jude, Gerard, and two more thugs to deal with and soon if that girl was telling the truth. He looked around the alley at the three dead bodies and felt that feeling of doubt once more, that voice in his head telling him he was no better than Jude was.

He had to be better than Jude. Didn't he?

He looked at the blood on his hands and couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was just as bad as these gang punks were. He knew deep down he wasn't some hero with a rough exterior but had a heart of gold, he was anything but.

Deep down he couldn't shake the feeling that Jude was right about him; he was nothing but a murderer trying to be a hero, and failing miserably at it.

He sighed and reclaimed his weapons; shotgun, sword, one pistol, and switchblade. More than enough to take them on, only question was how much longer could he keep this up? His body was tired but his will kept him going, but that could only get him so far.

Nevertheless he began to climb the statue and wait for his true enemy, using Nash's grappling hook to help him get up faster. He still didn't notice a robotic figure watching him from afar. Or, for that matter, a raven.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, Ashe got pretty violent in this one, didn't he? Now this and Chapter 24 were meant to be the same chapter but my friend smstanton suggested I split the chapter in half, so I did. He thinks that the length of my chapters scare people off so in order to try and attract more readers I will try to keep the chapters shorter in the future.
> 
> So will Ashe finally beat Jude? Find out tomorrow.
> 
> If you read this on Fanfiction . Net please leave a review and fave and follow the story. Same goes to you guys on AO3, but with a comment, a kudos, and a bookmark. By the way we finally reached 100 kudos on AO3! Please don't let up, good readers.
> 
> Please give me some feedback if you want me to continue this story.


	24. Last Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

Not too far away from Ashe's position Saul Jude sat in the back of Gerard's car next to the lieutenant while Gerard and the driver sat in the front, speeding along the unusually empty highway, with only a few cars going this way and that.

Gerard sighed as he began to consider just how many of his crew were now dead because he had agreed to go along with this, the money was just too damn good to pass up but now he wished he had just told Ante to take his offer and choke on it. He only hoped what was left of the Fury Gang could hold Ashe off until they got there.

The angel statue soon came into sight and the driver said "Boss, there's the statue Miko told you about, they have to be around here somewhere."

Gerard nodded as he looked up to the buildings to try and see his crew fighting Ashe, but saw nothing. The lieutenant cocked his gun and said "Think they're okay?"

"After what that maniac Kasai did to our gang in the school I'm just hoping they're all still alive." Gerard stated as he loaded up his automatic pistol.

"I know Ashe, when he goes on a rampage he doesn't stop until he thinks he's won." Jude revealed, getting an annoyed glare from Gerard in return.

"Don't tempt me to give him what he wants." Gerard voiced with a snarl.

Jude was about to respond when a loud thud sound impacted against the car. All four of them looked to see Ashe clinging to the left side of the car, right outside the lieutenant's seat.

Before the lieutenant could act Ashe blasted through the door and riddled him with bullets, killing him. Jude transformed his arm into cannon mode and fired at the door, blasting it right off the hinges and forcing Ashe to jump up to the roof of the car.

"Shake him off!" Gerard yelled to the drive who began to wildly swerve the car left and right in an attempt to force Ashe off but it wasn't doing anything.

"Your gang's all dead Gerard! What's wrong? Not so tough when you're victim isn't a child or a civilian?!" Ashe called. He tried to shoot into the car, but it went faster and faster, making him hold on tighter as he just barely dodged the blasts coming from Gerard and Jude inside of the car.

The driver kept accelerating until he was nearly at top speed, speeding along the highway until they were at a part of it that went over a river next to the train tracks. The drive looked in the rear-view mirror to see Ashe struggling to hold on and then with a smirk he slammed his foot on the breaks and Ashe lost his grip and went sailing over the car and landed on the road, dozens of meters in front of them.

Ashe moaned in pain as he tried to get up, he could feel his aura failing to heal the new bruises, made worse by the fact that he could tell a few of his ribs were now cracked.

Up ahead Jude smiled in satisfaction as he saw Ashe struggle to get up. Gerard looked to the driver and said "Run him over." The driver nodded and sped the car forwards, aiming for Ashe.

Ashe crawled over to the other end of the highway, which overlooked the river, but then he heard a car stopping so he looked up to see that a car stopped near him and the civilian driver got out. "Hey man, are you okay?" he asked.

"Not really." Ashe said as he stood up and saw the car rushing towards him. "Word of warning, sir, you might want to get clear." He finished as he took out the shotgun and aimed it at the charging car. He could hear the quick footsteps as the man got out of the way and he took aim for the speeding car. "Come on..." Ashe beckoned as he fired a round off.

The blast hit the front of the car and managed to tear through the front and make a small impact on the engine. "Slow down, we're giving him an open shot at us!" Jude pointed out.

"Shut up! We're turning this son of a bitch into road kill!" Gerard shouted as they kept going forward, swerving a little to avoid the blasts.

Ashe fired three more times, hitting the front twice and causing the engine of the car to catch fire and the third blast hit one of the front tires, but the car kept speeding towards him. Ashe held his ground in front of the now abandoned car and grinned, they were playing right into his hands.

As the car continued speeding towards Ashe Jude could see though his enemy's plan and knew this would not end well so he opened the door. "Where do you think you're going?!" Gerard demanded.

"Not with you." Jude said before he jumped out of the car and landed roughly onto the ground, made a little softer by a roll, luckily going unnoticed by Ashe. Gerard decided to ignore Jude for now, but then another blast tore through the windshield and hit the driver right in the chest, killing him.

"No!" cried Gerard as the dead man's foot slid onto the gas pedal and the car accelerated and went faster towards Ashe. He looked ahead to see a small smile on Ashe's face before he jumped out of the way.

Gerard screamed in panic as he moved to get out of the car and then...

A loud and terrible crashing sound tore through the air, alerting all in a close proximity of what had happened as metal tore and scraped against metal as the two cars smashed into one another. If one were to listen closely busts of fire and miniature explosions erupted as glass from the windows and mirrors shattered and littered the streets. Other cars on the road stopped dead, some began to reverse or turn around while others dialed the police.

Ashe got up and sized up his handiwork, the terrible crash was a deadly one, no way any one inside could have survived. No way in hell Jude could have survived that... but you never know.

As Ashe began to approach the wreckage he heard someone rushing up from behind him. He turned around just in time to get a metal fist to the face. He fell to the ground and looked up to see Jude grinning down at him.

"Just the two of us now, Ashe!" he said as he kicked Ashe in the gut. "You think you're a hero after today? All the blood on your hands will never wash off! NEVER! You're just like me!" Jude ranted as he kept kicking Ashe over and over again.

Ashe screamed in defiance and let out a scream of "HAAKSKEEKAH!" that sent Jude flying into one of the parked cars, cracking the windshield. Jude moaned as Ashe began to approach him with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. "We are more alike than I'd like to admit, Jude. But the major difference between us? I regret my kills and I hate myself for every single life I take. I know that with each murder I commit, no matter how bad they were or what I tell myself I was preventing, I know that I am just another monster. I'm no hero Jude, but I'm no villain either!" Ashe said as he blasted Jude several times. As this happened Ashe didn't notice a figure climbing out of the wreckage.

Jude fell off the hood of the car and crumbled on the ground as Ashe blasted the ground a mere two inches in front of his head.

"Get up! I want you to see what's coming! This is our final battle, Jude. I will not let you get away this time!" Ashe shouted as he aimed for Jude's head.

Jude glanced up and couldn't help but smile. Behind Ashe was Gerard, burned and scarred, with shrapnel sticking out of his guts as his aura feebly tried to heal him with blood pouring from his wounds. In his hands he held a burning piece of wreckage and was moving towards Ashe. Jude smirked as he looked back down and shook his head. "Oh Ashe... you never did know when to quit. Did you?" he asked before he began laughing.

Ashe heard a footstep behind him as well an agonized grunt so he whipped around and fired his pistol into Gerard's chest.

"Ah!" Gerard cried in pain as he staggered back towards the edge. He dropped his blunt weapon and examined his newest wound before he let out a small, bitter laugh before he finally rasped out "Bullseye dude... ah fuck..." He backed up closer to the edge and went over the traffic barriers and fell into the river below, his life ending with a loud splash.

Ashe sighed and knew that he had pretty much destroyed an entire gang. Sure three of them were still alive and six or seven of them had been killed by Neo, but most of them were dead by his hand. His guilty conscience provided a good enough distraction for Jude who grabbed Ashe from behind and slammed his metal fist into Ashe's back.

"You're getting easily distracted, Ashe old boy! Not a good sign!" Jude taunted as stripped off Ashe's weapons and tossed them aside and put enough pressure on Ashe's wrists to force him to let go of the weapons he had in his hands. Despite all of Ashe's struggles he could free himself before Jude twirled him around and preformed a quick and brutal series of punches to the face and torso.

Ashe cried out in pain as spittle and blood went flying from his mouth once more before Jude transformed his arm back into cannon mode, reset it, and blasted Ashe, sending him flying down to a part of the highway that stood over the railway.

Jude stalked over to Ashe and picked him to slam him into the barriers.

"It's over Ashe! I've finally won!" Jude cheered maniacally as he smashed his fist into Ashe's eye. Ashe spat blood on Jude's face and tried to fight back, but after all the fighting he had done today he was utterly worn out. Just as Jude wanted him to be.

He struggled to breathe as Jude's hands tightened their grip on his neck. Just then Ashe heard something very familiar to him; the horn of a train. Then he remembered they were right above the railway! And with a train coming right below them...

His eyes looked up at Jude as he struggled to speak. "Do... do yo..." he choked out.

Jude lightened his grip on Ashe's neck a little and asked "What are your last words, Ashe?"

Ashe took a breath and said "Do you like trains?"

"What?" Jude questioned before Ashe used his feet to kick Jude in the gut and send him flying over the traffic barriers but due to Jude's grip on his neck he went too. Ashe quickly grabbed on to the barriers and held on for dear life as Jude lost his hold on Ashe's neck and fell down, only to grab Ashe's leg instead.

Ashe glanced back and saw the train rushing towards them and grinned. He looked down at Jude and used his free leg to kick Jude in the face. "I've had enough of this!" he yelled as he finally kicked Jude hard enough to force him to let go and Jude fell screaming to the ground only for the train to smash into him and end his cry.

Ashe weakly pulled himself over the barrier and back onto the solid pavement. He smiled as he heard the trains horn go under the bridge and he muttered "Walk away from that, you son of a bitch."

"Freeze!" yelled a voice. Ashe opened his eyes to see a motorcycle cop aiming his gun at him while some civilians watched from what they hoped would be a safe distance.

Ashe groaned and said "Look officer, I have been having a really hard time today and I'd really appreciate it you just take me to Haven Academy."

"Fat chance, I'm calling in back up to take you in for questioning, you murdering piece of garbage." The cop spat as he reached for his radio.

Just then a voice from the other side of the highway screamed "ASHE!"

Ashe's eyes widened as Jude appeared over the barriers of the opposite end of the road, injured, battered, but not dead, with the cable function of his robotic arm hauling him up.

"Did you really think that would work? I've been drowned, fed to Grimm, stabbed, shot, blown up, thrown down elevator shafts, impaled, and now hit by a train... I won't die until you do Ashe! I will always come back!" Jude ranted as he began cackling like a madman.

"Oh for fuck's sake, why won't you just die?! You have become more annoying than threatening." Ashe said, tired and exasperated.

Jude laughed and said "And yet I know you won't stop until I die, so try and catch me!" Jude said as he towards the civilians.

"Stop right there!" yelled the cop as he aimed for Jude, but was sent down on his back by a blast from Jude's cannon.

Jude quickly got into one of the civilians' cars and closed the door as Ashe struggled to get up.

"You want to end this? Come and get me!" Jude called to Ashe as he began to drive off.

There was a part of Ashe that was tempted to just let Jude go, his body with sore bones and aching muscles wanted to just give up... but deep down he knew he couldn't. That monster needed to be stopped today, for good.

He reclaimed his weapons and got on top of the knocked out cop's motorcycle and quickly sped after Jude, taking the closest exit where Jude was speeding away from. The motorcycle sped over pavement and past signs and other cars as he tired to keep up with Jude's new car as they entered the closest slum.

Ashe's new bike swerved left and right a little as he tried to get the hang of it but kept his focus on the road and where Jude was going, ignoring how tired his body was.

He pursued Jude relentlessly, zigzagging all around the rotting part of the city they were now in, aside from the occasional car or pedestrian he only had to keep watch for Jude as the sound of the roaring motorcycle engine being the only thing in his ears as he kept on Jude's trail.

In the car Jude kept glancing back to make sure Ashe was following him, and sure enough he was. Good, he didn't have long to go before he made it to Ante's factory. He turned a corner and sped off as Ashe followed him, rounding the corner not-so-gracefully as he quickly reared the bike up on one wheel to keep himself from falling then he brought the front back down and zoomed ahead after Jude.

If Ashe had been paying attention he would have noticed the Grimm Knight flying overhead, but that wasn't the only thing following him, as there was also a black bird soaring gracefully overhead, but keeping up with the chase, unnoticed by all.

Buildings and trees went zooming by, cars were overtaken, and neighborhoods passed up, but after a good five minutes of seemingly non-stop chasing Jude's car finally pulled into a large parking lot of another factory.

"Another one? How many factories do these guys own?" Ashe asked himself as he drove in as well. He observed that the surrounding area was totally empty, all the buildings were derelicts of the slums. Now he wished he had kept his scroll, at least then he could have called for backup.

He put the parking break on for the bike and got off of it as Jude exited the car he stole.

"Time's up, Jude." he called.

"Well this is as good a place as any for our final battle, though I must admit that train was a pretty nice idea." Jude confessed as they approached each other.

"Honestly I'm beginning to think your Semblance is 'staying alive' or something like that." Ashe snarked as he got ready for a fight. He knew there was one way to stop Jude and end him for good; the Ultimate Attack, he could unleash it if he got a good grip on Jude's head...

"My Semblance is endurance so I suppose that's not too far off." Jude stated his robotic hand flexed.

The clouds above were now dark and faint claps of thunder could be heard in the distance. Ashe looked up could tell a storm was coming, that would pretty appropriate for a final battle. He looked at Jude and said "I want this fight of ours to end here, tonight, forever."

Jude nodded in agreement and voiced "Maybe we've both outlived our purpose... Maybe we can kill ourselves here and now, so hell will welcome us both."

Ashe laughed and shook his head. "Hell?! Jude, stop and think about it; you claimed you saw hell as a child, I threw you to the Grimm, I impaled you with my sword, I left you for dead right before an explosion went off, a damn train hit you! Don't you see it? Hell doesn't want you." Ashe said.

Jude glared at him and asked "What?"

"Maybe, just maybe there are some souls just so evil, so tainted, so twisted and sick that hell cannot have them. It doesn't want them, so it spits them out like bad food. Hell has had plenty of opportunities to look into your soul Jude, and hell is too good for you." Ashe finished.

"There where would my soul go after death? Purgatory?" Jude inquired.

Ashe smirked and said "No. Nothing, it would go to nothing. An endless, empty void bereft of anyone, so large that the souls imprisoned inside of the Nothing would never come close to crossing paths. They would wander an empty nothingness for all eternity, alone and unwanted, hated and forgotten. That's what you will be, Jude. Nothing."

Jude grinned as the sounds of guns loading up could be heard. Ashe turned to see Trooper, Zhan, Tom-Tom, Lao, Little Steve, and Fireball all aiming their weapons at him while behind on a balcony of the factory Ante, Merrick, Douglas, and a Grimm Knight all overlooked the standoff.

"Bravo Ashe! A pointless pontificating speech of self-righteousness that wannabe good guys like you just thrive on... though I must thank you for getting rid of the Fury Gang, saved me over four million and fifty-five thousand and lien!" Ante said.

"So I guess Jude called you guys to prepare a trap?" Ashe guessed.

"That's right." Trooper said with a nod.

"And we're not the only ones here, Ashe! This Grimm Knight has been following and watching you, Mistress Salem and your dearly beloved big sis want to see the final battle! Say hello!" Damien prodded.

Ashe just glared at the Grimm Knight and said "Sis, if you have anything else to say to me tonight is the final night I'm willing to give you a chance."

"Enough stalling! Come on, NOW!" Jude commanded furiously.

Ashe turned to face him and said "You want a fight? You got it."

The two charged at each other. Jude made the first blow with two kicks to the gut and a head bash as he ripped Ashe's shotgun away from him and slammed it into Ashe's side, and followed it up with a sucker-punch to the head. It was just as he wanted it; Ashe was too worn out to properly fight back anymore. This battle was his before it even began.

Ashe, however, wasn't going to give up that easily. He landed two quick punches to Jude's side before slamming a powerful chop attack to Jude's neck and followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the head, forcing Jude to drop the shotgun, only for him to recover with his hand transformed into hook mode as he slammed it into Ashe's shoulder. He then ducked a wild haymaker from Ashe and got behind him and grabbed both of his arms and pulled as one foot kicked Ashe in the small of his back, trying to break Ashe's arms, but Ashe kicked up with both his legs and hit Jude in the still flesh part of his stomach, forcing Jude to drop him.

Ashe received a nasty slash across the shoulder from the hook before he whipped around and blasted Jude twice in the robotic part of the upper torso before Jude backhanded him with the hook. Ashe rolled out of the way of Jude's hook as it tried to slam into his head and he jumped up and got out both pistol and sword.

He jumped forward and slammed his sword into Jude's robotic foot, causing him to cry out in pain before the organic foot kicked Ashe in the face once more. Jude transformed his hand back into cannon mode and both combatants fired at once, while Ashe's shots only managed to hit Jude's robotic half Jude's shot hit Ashe in the arm, forcing him to drop the gun. He moved to pick it but Jude stomped on his hand to stop him, but Ashe struck back by swinging his sword up and scarring Jude across the face, both flesh and metal sides.

They lurched towards one another and began wrestling for each other until Ashe head butted him and tried to slash Jude with his sword three times but the cyborg dodged it each time before he transformed his hand into its blade form and met Ashe's head on.

They traded blows about seven times before Jude slammed his against the lower part of Ashe's so hard that the Guerrilla Hunter lost his grip and dropped it. Ashe quickly began weaving and dodging past Jude's wild swings and strikes, one of which managed to cut off some of Ashe's hair before Jude kicked him in the groin and then slammed his fist into Ashe's cheek so hard a tooth flew out.

Ashe staggered sideways and fell to the ground as Jude jumped on top of him, blowing the wind out of him before he unleashed a powerful series of five metal punches to Ashe's face. "That all you got?! Is that as hard as you can fight?!" Jude ranted as he forced Ashe to stand up and unleashed five more powerful punches upon him.

Ashe managed to dodge the next attack and run a few meters away as Jude's hand turned into buzzsaw mode. He rushed forward and swung at Ashe twice but missed both times before Ashe used his Semblance to launch himself up and over Jude but the cyborg twirled around and slashed Ashe across the back with the buzzsaw. Ashe fell to the ground and Jude plunged the spinning saw forward only for Ash to roll out of the way. He tried it again but Ashe simply got out of the way once again so this time Jude aimed for Ashe's midsection but Ashe kicked Jude in the chest as he pushed himself up with his arms and dodged another wild swing of the buzzsaw. Jude preformed another swing but Ashe ducked and got behind Jude to smash both his fists into Jude's back. Ashe then jumped up onto Jude's shoulders, grabbed the buzzsaw and brought it up mere centimeters in front of Jude's face before Jude dropped his body onto the ground to force Ashe off.

The two fighters got up but Jude got the first hit in with a haymaker to the gut but Ashe managed to slam a fist into Jude's neck once again before he tried to grab Jude's head to perform the Ultimate Attack but the former drug lord head-bashed Ashe, spun him around, and stabbed the hook right into Ashe's back, forcing him to scream out in pain as it got hooked on his scapula, better known as the shoulder blade bone and used it as leverage to spin Ashe around, forcing more screams out of his before Jude let him fall to the ground, only to open up another attack with fifteen devastating kicks.

The enforcers and Ante watched, most of them unsettled by just how brutal the fight was but others were unphased by it, while Ante himself just enjoyed it.

Trooper put his gun down and said "This is wrong." The others glanced at him, but said nothing to agree or disagree with him.

Ashe had had enough; he whipped out Qrow's switchblade and jumped up to slam it into Jude's collarbone. Jude screamed in agony before Ashe silenced him with an uppercut before he grabbed Jude by the head and slammed the organic half of it down into his knee, and then he kicked him down and punched him thrice before he saw his shotgun had landed about six feet away.

He lunged forward and grabbed it as Jude got back up, only for Ashe to smash him across the face with the butt of the shotgun twice and then in the blasted him in the robotic section of the gut. Ashe pressed forward, slamming the gun into Jude twice more before the cyborg blasted Ashe in the chest with the arm cannon.

Ashe fell yet again as Jude got up. "I have had enough of this." He snarled.

Ashe looked at him as he got up and said "I... I'm... just getting started." He charged at Jude but was sent flying by a mighty punch into the car Jude had stolen. He slid off the hood and onto the ground where Jude jumped to his side and ripped the robe off.

"A memento of the priest? Cute." Jude scolded as he ripped it up, only for the two pictures to fall out of the pocket. "What's this?"

"No!" Ashe cried as he tried to grab the two photos, only for Jude to kick him in the neck to keep him down. Jude picked up the photos, looked at them, and laughed.

"Oh you sentimental fool." Jude muttered as he kicked Ashe back into the car, the impact shattering the side window. Ashe tried to get up but Jude rammed him head to gut like a bull, then got up and unleashed three jabs into Ashe's face followed up by a roundhouse kick to the head. He let Ashe fall to the ground before he slammed his foot down on Ashe's shoulder. He picked Ashe up and slapped him across the face but the injured warrior tried to punch Jude in the gut again only to hit the robotic half. "Pathetic." Jude hissed before he kicked Ashe in the chest so hard he went flying onto his back.

Ashe tried to get up but Jude slashed his across the back with his hand's blade mode, then he kicked Ashe back into the car and elbowed him in the face, breaking Ashe's nose. He picked up Ashe and whirled him around and sent him flying through the windshield of the car, breaking the glass.

Ashe managed to get himself out only for Jude to plunge his blade into Ashe's shoulder, but Ashe didn't give up. He jumped up and slammed both fists into the organic side of Jude's face, blackening his eye. He tried to attack Jude with two punches and a kick but Jude blocked and countered all three attacks before he backhanded Ashe hard enough to knock him down.

Jude picked Ashe up and said "You lose again Ashe. You will always lose!" he placed his knee out and held Ashe over his head and then he slammed his down, hurting Ashe's spine, but not breaking it.

The enforcers watched on, most of them no longer seeing this as a simple good fight, but as a bloody death duel.

Ashe saw his pistol, ran to pick it up and successfully reclaimed it as he dodged Jude's next attack. He aimed the gun at Jude and screamed "Fuck you!" He unloaded every Dust bullet he had into him, only for Jude's robotic hand to punch out, grab Ashe's hand, and crush it. Ashe screamed as he dropped the gun before Jude punched his collar bone and kneed him in the face before he punched Ashe hard enough to send a torrent of blood and spit out of his mouth.

Ashe staggered around, dazed and tired before Jude kicked him hard enough to send him flying into the motorcycle he had hijacked. Ashe moaned as he saw a pipe near to where he had parked the bike and knew that with his weapons scattered or gone he needed to improvise. He crawled to the pipe and picked it up and could see that Jude was approaching him, so he jolted up and slammed the pipe across Jude's chest four times before Jude simply judo-chopped him across the chest and then knocked him back down with a chop to the face, laughing at the weakened fighter as he fell.

"Really now Ashe, a pipe? Oh how desperate I have made you." Jude taunted as he grabbed Ashe's hair and pulled him up. He slammed the steel fist into Ashe sending him reeling back but did not let up, as he quickly kicked Ashe in the groin again before sending him flying with a high karate kick to the chest.

Ashe landed near his sword and tried to reach for it, only for Jude's metal foot to stomp on his hand while his organic foot stepped on Ashe's neck.

"Look at me Ashe." Jude ordered. Ashe forced himself to look at Jude's hideous half and half face as he held up the photo of his family. "So hard to believe that either you or Cinder could have looked so innocent at one point. You're a pathetic shell of a warrior Ashe, who only longs to live in the past instead of the future. Well today I will do you a favor and end your miserable little life." He spat as he tore the photo apart.

Ashe screamed in anger as he desperately tried to get free but Jude was too strong.

* * *

Elsewhere Cinder watch via the Grimm Knight's transmissions and did her best to hide the horror and woe she was feeling. Last night she had tried to kill Ashe, true, but she wanted him to die quickly so he would not suffer. This... this wasn't what she wanted. She couldn't stand to see her little brother in such pain but she forced herself to.

Despite her best efforts Salem could sense Cinder's emotional turmoil and knew something needed to be done about it.

* * *

Jude looked down at Ashe and laughed. "Emotions will only get your Semblance so far... now for the one of your dearly departed little Mila..." he said as he began to rip the second picture apart. He managed to make one little tear before...

"Haakskeekah!" Ashe screamed and Jude was sent flying backwards as Ashe jumped up and grabbed the picture. He would have done that earlier, but his aura wasn't strong enough for a proper Haakskeekah, hell even the one he had just used on Jude was pretty weak.

Speaking of which, he looked to see Jude getting up but he couldn't let him gain an advantage so Ashe ran forward, flipped over, and brought all of his body weight on top of Jude's torso. Ashe laughed as he grabbed Jude under the arms and flipped him over his head and then he sat on Jude's back as he began choking him.

"You wanted a real fight asshole so I hope you're happy!" Ashe yelled. He knew he needed to finish this quickly, his body was covered with blood and sweat so he knew this couldn't last much longer so he moved to perform the Ultimate Attack but then Jude growled as he rolled around to force Ashe off, which did work, but as he got up Ashe kicked him in the back, slamming Jude's head onto the pavement, denting the metal side a little. Ashe got on top of Jude's back and grabbed his arms to pull him back to put more strain on Jude's back. The cyborg screamed in pain as he used his hand to crush Ashe's injured hand once again, forcing Ashe to let his arms go but the Guerrilla Hunter didn't give up. He ran down to Jude's robotic leg, picked it up, and shattered the knee on the ground. Jude grunted in pain before Ashe dive-bombed him with an elbow to the back of the head.

Jude yelled out as he forced Ashe off and managed to get up before Ashe ran up to unleash the Ultimate Attack on Jude and end the fight for good, but he was too slow. Jude's arm cannon got close enough to Ashe's face to make the final blow of the fight. The Cannon fired at a low setting, but at point blank range which was enough to send Ashe down.

"Got anymore in you?" Jude asked as Ashe tried to get up.

Ashe tried, he really did try to get up and keep fighting but his body just couldn't do it. His aura was depleted to the point where his Semblance couldn't help.

This was it.

Jude had won.

Jude transformed his arm into the whip mode and wrapped the cable around Ashe's neck and dragged him to the edge of the parking lot where he detached the cable and tossed it over a streetlight pole where and used it to hoist Ashe up, while Ashe had managed to get his hands over the impromptu noose so he wouldn't choke. Jude tied the other end of the cable to the car and laughed at the hanging Ashe, whose vision was covered by blood and sweat.

"Zhan, come here!" Jude called.

Zhan looked up to Ante who nodded approvingly. As much as Zhan wanted to stay out of it he apparently had no choice. He walked over to the streetlight and asked "I can see that your need of my services has come, so what do you want me to do?"

Jude handed Zhan the picture of Ashe and Mila. "Look at her, take a good long look." Jude said as a new whip came out of his arm. Zhan did so and had to admit the woman in the photograph was a rather beautiful young lady, what she was doing with Kasai was anyone's guess, though Zhan was smart enough to deduce what had happened on his own.

Jude used his new whip and began slamming it against the hanging Ashe, forcing him to cry out in pain.

"Her name was Mila, she was Ashe's beloved, I killed her and that's where this hatred between us got really personal." Jude elaborated as he continued whipping Ashe, creating bloody stripes on Ashe's body.

Zhan nodded, he didn't like where this was going. "You want me to create an illusion of her?" he guessed. While he had done such an act many times in the past recent events were making him question everything. He regretted stabbing Ember, he regretted creating an illusion of Pyrrha in front of Jaune, but with a sick mind such as Jude's he wondered what he wanted him to create.

Zhan grinned and stopped whipping Ashe to whisper something into Zhan's ear. "I want you to create an illusion of her. Naked, bloody, crucified, and weeping in misery, a dead newborn before her. I want you to make this vision of her curse Ashe's name and damn him. I want you to help me break his spirit and mind for good."

Zhan stepped back, a shocked look on his face, he had created some terrible illusions in his time but that... that wasn't just wrong, it was pure evil.

"No." Zhan said defiantly as he let the photo fall to the ground.

Jude glared at him and asked "What did you say, illusionist?"

Zhan glared back and barked "I said no!"

Jude placed his robotic hand behind his back and transformed it into cannon mode, resetting it on to special assassination mode it had been given by Sherizawa. "Why not?" he inquired.

Zhan stood his ground firmly and said "I may work for monsters, but I refuse to be one."

Jude rolled his eyes and said "Heroes." His arm jolted out and fired at Zhan's chest point blank, the laser piercing Zhan's heart. Zhan cried out in pain as he fell on his back, a little blood pouring out of his wound past the aura.

"NO!" screamed Trooper as he and the other enforcers ran forward to help their fallen comrade. Up on the balcony Ante's jaw had dropped, but the shock was replaced by fury. Jude had killed one of his men... he was going to pay for that.

Jude began to go back whipping Ashe when a blast from Trooper blew him down.

"Get that son of a bitch!" Tom-Tom cried as he slammed his mallet into Jude's stomach. Jude snarled as he got up and managed to drive Tom-Tom back with a crack of his whip. He could see that Little Steve and Lao were ready to avenge their cohort while Trooper and Fireball tried to help Zhan.

Jude sighed as he used his hook to catch Tom-Tom's mallet and throw him back then used it to parry Lao's strike. "Some learn and some don't!" he said wickedly.

"Zhan! Buddy, come on, stay with us!" Trooper begged as he and Fireball tried to stop the bleeding.

Zhan gave out a small, bitter laugh and said "Just like my... grandmother said... shot to the heart..."

"Don't talk, save your strength, we WILL save you!" Trooper cried as Little Steve opened fire on Jude.

"No... it's too late for me, my friend... just give me one last request..." Zhan weakly said.

"Anything!" Trooper cried.

"One last cigarette..."

Trooper held back the tears as his friend lay dying and dug out a cigarette pack from Zhan's breast pocket and had Fireball light it up for him.

Up ahead Lao parried a strike from Jude's blade and jumped over his new enemy to slice his ear off. Jude screamed in pain before Lao rammed his sword through Jude's robotic leg and yelled "Fucking cyborg!"

Jude roared as he sent Lao flying with a mighty punch from the metal fist before Tom-Tom slammed his mallet onto Jude's back, cracking his one real shoulder blade and then jumping up to kick the back of Jude's head as well as the upper back, but Jude swung around, grabbed Tom-Tom, and slammed him into the ground.

"You wanna fight?! Come on! You'll all die!" he growled as Little Steve blew him away with his minigun.

Jude moaned in pain, but he recovered despite blood leaking from his wounds of his organic side while sparks flew from his robotic half. He transformed his hand back into cannon mode and fired four times at Little Steve. The massive enforcer took the impact of the hits, and while he did feel pain he forced himself to ignore it as he used his huge gun as a melee weapon to smash Jude down.

Up ahead Merrick took aim at Jude with his sniper rifle and muttered "This is for Zhan you..."

"No." Ante said, "I want you to use that shot for Ashe."

"Damien, I think the Guerrilla is the least of our worries, we need to take that cyborg down!" Merrick yelled.

"I agree, that's why I want you to shoot Ashe free of that cable." Damien finished.

Merrick was a little stunned by the order at first, but then he grinned and nodded.

"Damein, when Salem, who has a damn robot within ear shot by the way, finds out about this she'll kill you! Why are you doing this?!" Douglas exclaimed.

Ante sighed and looked to the dying form of Zhan and muttered "Loyalty."

Merrick took the shot and the bullet tore through the cable, freeing Ashe who dropped to the ground, taking in deep breaths of air into his body.

Trooper looked over to Ashe, then to his three partners who were fighting Jude. He had to help them.

"Go... take Jude down." Zhan urged him.

"I'll stay with him and do what I can." Fireball said as he reached into a pouch on his belt and took out a medical strip.

Trooper nodded but before he left Zhan said "It's funny... we've known each other for years and I never learned your real name."

Trooper looked down guiltily and revealed "My real name is Alexander Camos."

Zhan smiled at him and said "It was nice to know you... Alexander." He took one deep inhale of the cigarette and blew the smoke out of his mouth as Trooper... Alexander ran to help Ashe up.

"Come on Kasai, don't die on us yet." he said as he pulled Ashe to his feet. "You okay?"

"Wha... what do you think?! Why are you helping me?" Ashe inquired.

"Because that bastard killed my friend, truce?" Alexander offered.

Ashe looked over to the sight of Jude slamming the full weight of his combined fists into Little Steve's head, then grabbed Tom-Tom who tried to jump him out of the air and slammed him into Little Steve. Ashe nodded and said "I know what to do, the one sure thing that can kill him... he's mine."

"Fair enough." Alexander agreed, "I'll distract him, just get a weapon."

Ashe looked over to see his sword and said "I can do that, just get him ready for me." Alexander nodded and ran into a fray while Ashe reclaimed his sword. "Okay... one last time."

Jude currently had Lao locked in combat, their respective blades pressing against one another, Lao seemed to be gaining the upper hand as he pulled back and swung his sword. The blades met seven times but then Jude head-butted him and sent Lao to the ground. He raised his blade up to finish the swordsman off only for Alexander to shoot him in the back four times. Jude cried out in pain as Alexander pinned held his gun across Jude's neck to pin him to his body with Lao preformed a sweeping kick to knock Jude's legs out from underneath him, while using his sword to impale Jude's leg.

Jude screamed out in pain before Little Steve grabbed his remaining organic arm and twisted it, resulting in a snapping sound as it broke, making Jude scream more. Tom-Tom joined in the beating as he slammed his mallet into Jude's face, cracking the metal cheek. Jude managed to wrestle himself free and tried to use his arm cannon to blast them but just before he could fire Alexander used his gun to shoot into the robotic hand cannon, blowing it off with a small explosion, reducing the hand to a jagged, sparking stump.

The cyborg fell to his knees screaming in agony before he slumped backwards onto the ground.

Tom-Tom got ready to slam his mallet down on Jude's head but Alexander stopped him. "No, he's not ours to kill." he said.

"Trooper..." Tom-Tom began before he noticed Lao and Little Steve were staring at something... or someone.

Ashe was walking towards them; bloody, sweaty, beaten, and tired, but not done yet. He glanced at all of them with a threatening look and they all understood the meaning of it so they all backed off.

Jude looked at Ashe coming at him with the sword and said "Looks like neither of us won in the end."

"Nobody really ever wins a war, not really. Because when you take part in the bloodshed you've already lost." Ashe said as he firmly gripped his sword. "I'll just be what they call the winner."

He slammed his sword into Jude's stomach and yelled "One for sorrow!" over Jude's agonized screamed. He yanked the sword out and slashed Jude's organic fingers off and added "Two for joy!" Then he stabbed Jude's foot and cried "Three for a girl!" Then he slashed Jude across the hip as he said "Four for a boy!"

The enforcers all watched, either amazed or disturbed by the sight, but they enjoyed watching Jude suffer.

"Five for silver!" Ashe exclaimed as he bashed Jude's metal skull in with the hilt of his sword. He got behind Jude and cried "Six for gold!" as he rammed his sword through Jude's metallic chest. He pulled the blade out, now covered with blood and oil and slashed Jude across the face and shouted "Seven for a secret never to be told!" Then he spun around and cut both of Jude's sides with quick spins. "Eight for heaven! Nine for hell!"

And finally he got in front of Jude and quietly said "And ten for family you took from me." He stabbed the sword into Jude's chest, impaling him. Jude vomited up some blood as he tried to look up at Ashe.

"I... I won't..."

"You've lost Jude, for good. Now it's time for the finishing blow." Ashe said as he placed his hands on the sides of Jude's face. "Time for a little thing we call the Ultimate Attack." he finished as he closed his eyes and thought back and remembered everything.

"Ashe... I... I'm afraid." Jude stammered.

Ashe looked at him, smirked, and whispered "I know."

Then the Ultimate Attack was unleashed.

Every bad thing that had ever happened to Ashe, every embarrassing little incident, every time he feared for his life, every time he almost died, every time he considered taking his own life, every lonely minute, every wound, every cold night, all the sadness he had felt; losing his parents and Cinder, the burden of the crystal, every injury he had ever gotten from a Grimm, every friend he had lost along the way, the loss of Deno, the loss of Mila, the self loathing he felt after she died, the loneliness after he lost her, every bad dream and regret he had regarding her, the pain of finding out what Cinder had truly become and eventually seeing it for himself, failing Jaune and Ruby, finding out Mila was pregnant when she died, his breakdown in the warehouse, every injury he suffered during the battle of Haven, Cinder stabbing him in the shoulder, realizing that Cinder was willing to kill him, the pain of nearly losing Jaune, every little bit of guilt he felt for the lives he had snuffed out over the years and today, all of the pain Jude had just dealt him: all of it flowed into Jude at once. Over twenty years of excruciating pain went into Jude, all at once.

Jude screamed louder than he ever had before as blood began to pour from his mouth and his one real eye. His body began to violently shake along with his screams as he fell backwards, blood still flowing out of his body as his aura faded away. It was simply too much for him. With one final scream of hatred Saul Jude died.

It was quiet for a few minutes afterwards. Ashe and the four enforcers just stared at the dead body of the cyborg. Ashe fell to his knees and muttered "It's finally over."

Alexander turned and ran to Zhan and Fireball, the other enforcers realized what he was doing and ran after him. They made it to Fireball who was cradling Zhan's dying body in his arms. Alexander kneeled down and took hold of Zhan's hand. "It's been an honor." he said.

Zhan squeezed his friends and said "Same to you..."

Ashe kept staring at his now dead enemy, but was broken out of his trance when a raven landed on Jude's head. Ashe remained silent as he knew what was happening; doves to souls to heaven, crows to purgatory, sparrows to hell, and ravens took them to nothing. The raven hopped up to stand over Jude's eye and then it plunged its beak in, tearing it out.

The raven turned to look at Ashe, eye in beak, and it was then that Ashe realized that the raven had red eyes. Just like...

"Branwen?" he asked.

The raven simply flew away and Ashe watched as it took off into the overcast sky.

Ante, Merrick, Douglas, and a few guards came out of the factory over to enforcers who were still gathered around Zhan.

"I got a medic, maybe we can..." Douglas began before Lao shook his head.

"It's too late. He's gone."

Most of the enforcers bowed their heads in respect to their fallen partner as Ashe got up in the background. He looked to see Ante approaching him and said "I... I don't want a fight... not anymore."

Damien sighed and said "That's not up to me. Thanks for killing him and avenging Zhan."

"Why do you care?" Ashe asked.

"To inspire loyalty in his men a leader must be loyal to them." Damien replied.

"I never expected you to be that profound." Ashe stated.

"No one ever does." Ante said with a smile.

* * *

Salem nodded with approval as Jude died, one less pawn for her but she had plenty more. Cinder was correct when she said Jude's obsession with Ashe was a burden, one that could be costly if left unchecked so Salem had expected Jude's usefulness to her was nearing its end and once again she was proven correct. Jude had failed her so he deserved to die.

Now there was two things left to take care of, both of which could be dealt with at once. She could feel Cinder's relief at her brother's victory so she said "It appears that your brother is victorious, my apprentice."

"It seems that way." Cinder stated blandly.

"Mistress, what of Ante? He and his men helped Ashe kill Jude, shall we punish them for it?" Steppenwolffe asked.

Salem shook her head and voiced "No, Jude was going to die for his failure to obtain Nikos and the Aura Crystal, they did us a favor. As for Ante, while I am somewhat annoyed by his actions I am more impressed by his choice to stand against me. He will live for now, but one of his enforcers will need to be made an example of so he will know not to try my good will again."

Everyone could tell Emerald was disappointed with that decision.

"What of my brother? Shall we allow him to go free?" Cinder asked.

"No, my disciple, you are going to kill him." Salem answered.

Cinder was surprised but quickly hid it and nodded obediently. "What... what if I was to bring him over to our side? The loss of Nikos and the death of Arc has left us with a dent in our Grimm Commander number. We could..."

"No." Salem snapped, her voice raising. "Your compassion for your brother is clouding you judgement and your... failure last night has made me reconsider my faith in you. You need to redeem yourself." she finished sternly.

Cinder bowed and said "I... I will do anything you ask of me, my master."

Salem smiled and said "Good. Go forth and destroy what is left of your family, prove your loyalty to me my child and earn your redemption."

Cinder nodded and answered "I will do whatever is necessary."

Salem opened up a portal and Cinder walked through it. Emerald moved to follow her but Salem stopped her. "No, this is something she needs to do alone."

* * *

Out of nowhere in the parking lot Salem's portal opened up, startling most of those present.

"Oh what now?" muttered Little Steve as he quickly reloaded his minigun. Cinder appeared out of the vortex and surveyed the situation.

"Oh crap." whispered Tom-Tom, terrified of Cinder's presence.

"Wh-what do we do?" asked Fireball.

"Let's just wait and see what she's gonna do first." Alexander stated as Cinder looked at Ashe.

"Congratulations Ashe, you finally defeated him." she said as she walked towards her brother.

Ashe gave her a humorless smile and joked "Third time was the charm after all."

Cinder looked at Ante and his men and said "Excuse us, we need to speak in private."

Damein nodded and went back to his group while Ashe and Cinder walked alongside each other.

"You're here to kill me, aren't you?" Ashe asked.

"That is my appointed task and I... I need to do it." Cinder confirmed.

"There's no point in arguing with you anymore, you chosen your fate already." Ashe stated.

"Perhaps I have." Cinder said with a nod.

"What's up with your face? Shouldn't you aura have healed it by now, as powerful as it has to be?" Ashe asked.

"My master decided I needed to be punished for my failures." Cinder answered.

"Cinder, if that isn't proof enough of how bad of an idea staying loyal to that witch is I don't know what is." he stated as he knelt down to Jude's body and yanked the sword out.

"I deserved it, my ego got the better of me." Cinder voiced.

Ashe sighed and revealed "I spoke to mom last night."

Cinder looked at him and asked "What?"

"I spoke to her, she said she's sorry for what you've become. She was within the Aura Crystal, or at least a part of her soul was. She loved us sis, even after death." Ashe said.

Cinder did not respond to that, she just asked "Ashe, where is the Aura Crystal?"

"Safe from you. Safe from Salem."

"Not for long, once you die I will be the only guardian left and..." Cinder stopped when she noticed a smile on Ashe's face. "What?"

"It won't do you any good Cinder, last night I severed our bloodline from the crystal. Our family no longer serves it, it will not accept you." he answered.

"What?! Then..."

"I gave to two new guardians, both of whom are very trustworthy, more so than the two of us ever were." he told her.

"Who are they?" she demanded, an edge to her voice.

"You already know them, so you'll have to guess." Ashe said with a cheeky smile.

Cinder hid her frustration and asked "Please Ashe, join me. Maybe my master can find a place for you in our ranks if you..."

"You already know the answer to that. Besides, I don't think she'd take kindly to you weaseling out of your job." he said.

She nodded, "I suppose you're right."

The two siblings faced each other and Ashe said "Okay, let's get this over with."

"Y-you're just accepting your death? Just like that?" Cinder asked, rather put off by his attitude.

"Cinder, in the last week or so I... I made a difference. I helped saved lives and I have ended lives, but most importantly I have helped make the lives of some really amazing kids better. And if... if I can make the lives of other people better then I will have no regrets dying. Who knows? Maybe I'll be with Mila once I die but I just want you to know this... no matter what you've done Cinder I still love you." he finished.

Cinder was silent before she returned with "And I love you."

She created a fire within the palm of her hand as she approached Ashe. He didn't make a move. He accepted his fate; he couldn't run, couldn't fight anymore, he couldn't win this time.

The least he could do was sacrifice himself so his sister could live.

He smiled and mentally wished all of his younger friends good luck in the future. 'Jaune, Pyrrha, have your happily ever after... Ruby, kick Salem's ass...' he thought. But his thoughts ceased when something happened... the flame in Cinder's hand died down and she turned around, hiding her face from him.

"Cinder?" he asked.

"Once upon a time in the world of Remnant there lived a brother and a sister, they wanted to be the greatest warriors in the world... so they did." Cinder recited as she whirled around and slammed a flaming fist into Ashe's chest, tearing through his flesh and bones to grab his heart and burn it.

Ashe's eyes widened but he didn't scream. He just looked at his sister and tried to whisper something, but the pain was too much. He slumped forward but Cinder withdrew her blood soaked hand from his chest and caught him. She placed him in her lap and whispered to him "And the brother and sister, despite how hard they tried or how much they loved each other, didn't live happily ever after."

She refused to let her tears flow as she leaned down and kissed Ashe's forehead. "Goodbye little brother." she whispered.

She looked up as the Grimm Knight approached her and Salem's voice came out of it.

"Well done." her master said. Cinder simply bowed her head in respect.

"Master, what shall I do with the bodies?"

"Whatever you want. I will leave you time to settle things out, use your scroll to contact us so I can bring you back to the ship, I hand control of the Knight over to you." Salem stated. The robots transmission device deactivated as the Mistress of Grimm added "Do as you please, my disciple."

Cinder nodded and said "I will be ready to return to you within the hour.

As the communications ended Cinder picked up Ashe easily with the strength she posses and as she placed him in the Grimm Knight's arms said "I will have the Grimm Knight return him to Haven Academy."

"Why?" Alexander asked.

"It's the least he deserves. They need to know where the village his beloved lived in was, so get me a note and pen." she ordered. One of the guards quickly ran back into the factory to get it for her as she turned her attention to Jude's corpse.

"And Jude?" Lao inquired.

Cinder glared at the dead cyborg and said "Destroy the body, throw it into a furnace and burn it."

"Gladly." Alexander said, all too happy to destroy the body of the one who murdered his friend. Despite that he hadn't enjoyed seeing Ashe died, he wondered why didn't they just let the tired and broken man go and give him a break for once, but kept his thoughts to himself so as not to entice Cinder's wrath.

"What will you do with Zhan?" she asked.

"What do you care?" snapped Douglas.

Cinder glared at the enforcer but ignored him as Ante answered her. "Give him a proper burial, he worked for me and died working for me, so I could at least do that for him."

Cinder nodded and said "Fair enough, oh and Ante..." She grabbed Douglas by the neck and crushed it, killing him. Douglas died with a surprised yelp before Cinder dropped him to the ground. "My master wishes you to know that if you ever try a stunt like the one you pulled by freeing Ashe you shall die."

Ante glared at her and asked "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"You still have a purpose to my master, your weapons expert was expendable. Continue your evacuation and contact my master once you are done." Cinder explained as she walked up to the the factory to claim the note and pen.

The enforcers watched as she walked away and knew that no matter how much they hated Cinder, Salem, or working for either of them they now had no choice, they would work for them or die. Some of them wanted to fight Cinder but knew that would be suicide, so they just accepted their fates as servants to Salem.

After Cinder wrote the note she walked over to where Ashe had been hug and picked up the photo from where Zhan had dropped it. She examined the photo and saw how happy her brother was with this woman. She clenched the photo in her fist as she stuffed it in a pocket on her dress. She went over and easily picked up Ashe's body as she walked over to the Grimm Knight. She placed Ashe's body in its arms, then she put their father's sword in his arms and placed them on his chest to cover up the wound she had created and then pierced the bottom half of the note on to the sword so it would stick.

"Take him to Haven Academy and fire a rocket at the grounds to get their attention, then return here." she ordered as she closed Ashe's eyelids.

The Grimm Knight nodded and took off into the gloomy sky as the rain began to fall.

Cinder watched as Ante, his thugs, and what was left of the enforcers carried their two dead comrades as well as Jude's corpse into the building. Once they were inside Cinder walked out of the parking lot and into the empty slums, walking until she was sure no one was around. Once she was sure she was utterly alone and no one could see or hear her she let out a scream of anger and misery, her powers creating a small shockwave that destroyed anything it touched before it died out.

After so many years of refusing to shed tears Cinder Fall finally let them flow.

Her brother was dead, and she had killed him.

* * *

Ruby hummed to herself as she used a welding torch on Crescent Rose to fuse the two halves back together. Haven Academy had a fantastic weapons forge room and she decided to try and repair Crescent Rose to get her mind off of Ashe. The last news they had gotten about him was the cops following a loose trail of dead thugs from the Fury Gang and him being spotted on a highway. Neo and Ross had returned earlier and told everyone what they could but Ruby shook those thoughts from her head as she returned her attention to her beloved weapon.

The gun barrel was badly damaged, Cinder had unintentionally burned it when she grabbed it so it would need a new handle due to the scoring would mess up any shots fired and make them detonate too early.. She knew she could repair it here, but with once Uncle Qrow was rested up and they got home, sky was the limit so it was better to wait.

She looked over to Penny, who was spinning around in a swivel chair. "You getting dizzy yet?" she asked

"A little disorientated, but it is not unpleasant! Quite the opposite in fact." Penny said.

"So I guess this is your first time on one of those." Ruby stated.

"Yes! I always wanted to do this but my father wouldn't let me." Penny answered as she stopped spinning.

Ruby nodded and said "Hey Penny, you think I could make Crescent Rose's pole stronger but still light enough to carry? Don't want it to get broken again."

"I think I may know a few metals that could help with that..." Penny began before someone else entered the room.

"Hey Rubes! Pen!" called Yang. Ruby looked up to see Yang standing in the doorway of the forge, which had been left pretty much up to her and Penny despite Professor Echo's hesitations. Fox had came in a while ago to look at the blades but ultimately decided to wait until he returned home to replace his weapons.

"Hi Yang, fixing up Crescent Rose might take a while and I may need Uncle Qrow's help." she reported.

"Well with you working on it it'll be ready to fight in no time." Yang said encouragingly.

"So is everything okay with Pyrrha's mom and dad?" Ruby asked.

"I guess so, we've left them pretty much alone since Ashe left so they can sort this out themselves. Though I guess they're trying to figure out just how some of Pyrrha's aura... soul... whatever, got into Jaune to begin with." Yang stated as her organic hand toyed around with some spent shell casings on the table.

"Any word of Ashe?" Penny asked.

"Not yet, only a lot of dead scumbags." Yang replied.

"Those kids okay?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty much, the aura shield thing he had in mind worked, but I think it drained his aura big time." Yang voiced.

"I wish he had kept his scroll, then he could have called us for help." Ruby complained.

"Hey, he's like that. I haven't known him long but I guess he thinks this is something he needs to do himself." Yang said.

Ruby shook her head and voiced "If I ever try to do something stupidly heroic try to stop me, okay?"

Yang laughed and said "Ruby, if I agreed to do that I could never let you out of my sight!"

Ruby laughed before she asked "So where are Weiss and Blake?"

"Blake's hanging out with Sun, letting him show her around the school and the library. Weiss is talking to her sister on the scroll." Yang revealed.

"They have released Specialist Schnee?" Penny asked.

"Yup, and your dad Pen, they're on their way right now." Yang informed.

Penny smiled as wide as she could and said "That is fantastic!"

"So what about Weiss' dad? I mean he has to be pretty..." Ruby began before an explosion interrupted her.

"Oh what now?!" Yang shouted as she activated one of her gauntlets.

"Let's find out." Ruby said as she took off her gloves.

The three ran out into the halls and soon met up with Blake and Sun.

"I'm guessing you heard that too?" Blake surmised.

"Kinda hard to miss, even without kitty ears." Yang teased.

They ran together until they found a small crowd gathered around one of the side entrances while Professor Echo and Dr. Oobleck held them all back and Qrow and Glynda stood outside investigating the disturbance.

"Dr. Oobleck! What happened?" Ruby asked.

"Miss Rose... I believe you and your friends should see this, however unpleasant it is." he said as he made way for them to get through. Ruby look to her teammates and friends as Ren and Nora arrived.

"We heard the boom, are we under attack?" Nora asked as he held up Magnhild.

"No, something else." Oobleck said before adding "I do believe you should get Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos, without a doubt this will concern them."

Ren nodded and ran off the fetch his other teammates as Weiss entered the scene "What's happening now?" she asked.

"We're about to find out." Blake said as they made their way through the crowd. Soon enough they were outside and could see a body laying on a bench with Qrow and Glynda standing in front of it.

"I... I just can't believe that even someone like Cinder could..." Glynda began before Qrow cut her off.

"Why not? It's obvious she's nothing but a heartless witch bitch by this point." he said bitterly.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

Qrow and Glynda turned around to see Team RWBY, Nora, Sun, and Penny.

"Did Oobleck let you kids out?" Qrow inquired.

"Yeah, what happened? What was that... oh no..." Blake gasped as she saw who was on the bench.

Ashe's body was laid out across the bench with his both of his hands grasping the sword's hilt as the blade was laid on his torso.

All of the teenagers' eyes widened in shock at the sight of their friend's dead body beaten, scarred, cut, burned, bruised, whipped, and there was no missing the hold that had been burned through his chest.

"Ashe..." Ruby said quietly before she fell to her knees, tears once again flowing from her silver eyes. Yang quickly dropped down to hug her little sister, she failed to do that last time Ruby lost a friend so she wouldn't fail her again.

Weiss stared at the bloodied body and asked "Is... is he...?"

"I am afraid so, Miss Schnee. He's gone." Glynda confirmed.

"Oh my god..." Sun whispered, stunned as Blake remembered hearing Glynda and Qrow talking about Cinder and she knew that Ashe's sister must have been his murderer.

"It was Cinder, wasn't it?" she guessed.

Qrow nodded and said "A kid spotted a Grimm Knight putting him here and then before it left it fired a rocket to get our attention. It seems that Cinder even sent a note." He took out the note that had been impaled on the sword and silently read it.

 _'_ Give my brother a proper burial, alongside his beloved. They lived in the village known as Otium, that's where she was buried so that is where he must be laid to rest. He lived and died a warrior, honor his sacrifice. - Cinder Fall.'

Qrow looked as Weiss, Blake, and Penny were now hugging Ruby as well and crying with her while Nora wiped her own tears away and Sun clenched his fist so tight he nearly drew blood.

Glynda looked at Ashe's body and said "He truly was worthy of being a Huntsman in the end."

Qrow said nothing in response. He just nodded and he sat down to comfort his nieces.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Ashe is dead and sadly I suppose most will not care, but I hope I made him a good enough character, one that you all ended up liking. He died, but he put up one hell of a fight before he did. Some of you liked him, some didn't, but I hope that in the end he was a good character.
> 
> Music for Ashe's death scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qDd9LF7QMQ&list=LLCau63s2u70pjq9UFQxNfJg&index=11
> 
> Jude's death was originally going to be much more over the top and Raven would have been more involved in it, but I decided for a more subtle approach and I hope you thought his death was fitting enough. Jude was originally going to be run over by the train, not just hit by it and would have used a pill Salem gave him to repair his body, inspired by a scene from Batman Gothic where the villain Mr. Whisper is ran over by a train but his body repairs itself.
> 
> Originally Ante was going to be the one Cinder killed, but I decided to go with Douglas, who early on was to die in the explosions Ashe caused in the battle of Haven, but I decided that if he did the enforcers wouldn't have helped Ashe out.
> 
> IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: After the next chapter I will be going on a month long hiatus to rest my brain cells and get some much needed rest and relaxation, and to plan out the next story arc... The White Fang Saga!
> 
> If you read this on Fanfiction . Net please leave a review and fave and follow the story, but please tell me what you thought about Ashe's death. Same goes to you guys on AO3, but with a comment, a kudos, and a bookmark. Please give me some feedback if you want me to continue this story.


	25. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

After Ashe had left The Nikos family, along with Jaune, retreated back to the library to continue the reunion. After waiting for news of the school being cleared and Ashe pursuing the surviving gang members they decided to do something to take their minds off of the newest crisis as it happened. Pyrrha had insisted that her parents go first so she could try to get her own story ready so they went on for a while about how they had handled losing her; their depression, the brief rift between them, how they cried, the lack of sleep, the anger and regret that haunted them every single day since the fall of Beacon.

This of course made Pyrrha feel even guiltier over her choice, but her parents and Jaune kept assuring her that it was not her fault. They had managed to cope with the apparent loss together, but now they had her back. The Nikos family was finally whole again. Once they had no more to tell it was finally her turn.

"I... honestly do not know where to begin. It would seem that I have two different sets of memories, maybe even three." She said.

"What?" Zeus asked, baffled.

"I can remember darkness and hearing... Jaune. Somehow, some way that shouldn't even be remotely possible, something of me, be it my soul or my aura, resided within Jaune." Pyrrha explained.

"I don't understand." Hera stated.

"Neither do I. I remember it being quiet, except for Jaune's voice every now and then, but it became more common and easier to hear as time went on. I can remember the first time I spoke to him..." Pyrrha began.

"When I jumped over the street, right?" Jaune asked.

"No, it was in one of your dreams." Pyrrha revealed.

"Oh..." Jaune said, a little worried about what that meant.

"After I... 'died' Jaune had very dark dreams, dreams driven by anger and a lust for revenge. I saw him murder Emerald, and then Mercury, from afar and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't talk to him. The final one of these dark dreams was him killing Cinder Fall herself; he fought her until her body was a broken and bleeding husk and then he threw her off of Ozpin's tower where she was impaled by a spike. I managed to speak to him and discourage him from the violent path, even if it took every ounce of strength I had, leaving me exhausted for weeks afterwards." She said, smiling a bit as Jaune placed his hand on hers.

"Don't think any less of yourself for some revenge fantasies, boy. I had plenty of them after we lost her." Zeus said reassuringly.

Jaune smiled at the older man as Pyrrha continued. "For months on end I resided within Jaune, regaining my strength so I could speak to him, and when I could it was only in his dreams or when he was focusing on a difficult task. Once Cinder had captured him it was easier for me to communicate with him, especially within dreams. But once I found out what they had done to my body..."

She stopped, afraid to tell her parents the truth about what had happened to her physical form and what it still suffered from.

"What? What did they do?" Hera prodded nervously.

Pyrrha looked at them with fearful eyes and asked "I... will you still love me if I tell you the truth?"

Her parents were naturally shocked and confused by the question.

"Of course we will! What kind of question is that?" Hera cried.

Pyrrha looked to Jaune and he nodded as her father said "Tell us what happened, we promise nothing will change between us."

"The turned my body into a Grimm Hybrid." Pyrrha finally revealed.

She closed her eyes and heard her mother gasp in shock. She was afraid of what their reactions would be; would they hate her? Fear her? See past the Grimm and still love her?

"Wha... how?" her father asked.

"A man named Giger who worked for Cinder's master, he had turned three others into Grimm Hybrids to lead the Grimm into battle, Pyrrha was the fourth and I was the fifth." Jaune said calmly, hoping they wouldn't freak out.

Pyrrha buried her head in her arms and repressed a sob as she tried to continue. "Cinder didn't incinerate my body, she teleported me to her master where I was healed and brainwashed into thinking I was someone else named Fotia Drakos, a girl who hated the world for the abusive life she had and wanted to make the world a better place under a dark rule." She told them as she refused to look at their faces.

Jaune, however, did not look away. Had they been his own parents he couldn't have faced them either but right now Pyrrha was afraid so he had to be brave for her for once. Zeus Nikos had a look of fury and woe, but he was not mad at his daughter, he was seething with hatred for the people who did this to her and woe for what had happened to his little girl. Despite being what some would call a stereotypical man he let his tears lose without hesitation.

Hera Nikos had tears in her eyes as she could only imagine the horrific torment her daughter must have gone through and the horrors that she had been subjected to. She was no fighter but right now she wanted to grab the nearest minion of Cinder Fall and rip their throats out for what they did to her baby.

"You... you don't look any different." Zeus pointed out.

"We have the crystal to thank for that, it couldn't cure us but it did restore our physical appearances so no one would freak out at a girl who looked like a Grimm." Jaune explained.

Hera got up to walk over to her daughter, whom she captured in a comforting hug. "Oh Pyrrha, we don't care if you're a human, a Faunus, or a Grimm! Nothing will change the fact that you are our daughter, our baby! It doesn't matter what they did to you or how much you've changed, I will never stop loving you." She said before she kissed Pyrrha's cheek and pulled her close.

Pyrrha sobbed happily as she hugged her mother back, overjoyed that she didn't hate her for her Grimm half. She felt her father hug her from the side and said "So you can control Grimm?"

Pyrrha shrugged and said "I haven't tried it since the other day... but I suppose I still can."

Zeus smiled, "My girl always could do the impossible." He said proudly as he hugged her tighter. They were safe from the truth of their darker halves getting out, since Argo had promised grave consequences should any of his students breathe or text a word of it to anyone, so they were safe for now.

"So, you're both okay with... me being part Grimm? The very thing that the entire world hates?" she asked.

"Oh honey, we could never hate you! What's important is that you are you and any Grimm within you is controlled, and I know for a fact that you can control it." Hera said proudly as she squeezed her daughter a little tighter.

"Thank you!" Pyrrha cheered as she hugged her parents back.

Once they separated from the hug Pyrrha decided to continue. "When I discovered what had became of my body and that they were planning to do the same to Jaune I used as much of my aura, or power, or whatever you wish to call it, into keeping most of the Grimm essence from taking root inside Jaune. It only worked a little, but I managed to stop him from becoming a full hybrid. After that Cinder's master forced us to fight to the death." She noticed the furious look on her father's features and the horrified look her mother had. "But I used all my strength to help Jaune fight and overcome my body and defeat Fotia, then Jaune used his Semblance' greatest attack in reverse to remind me of who I was while the part of me within him went back into my body and just like that I was myself again." She finished.

"You beat Pyrrha?" Zeus asked Jaune, stunned.

"Well I had her help the entire time and I don't think 'Fotia' really knew all of Pyrrha's moves and I won't lie; I got my butt kicked but yes; in the end I won the fight." Jaune answered.

Zeus smiled at the young man and said "I think the relationship between you and my daughter is going to be very interesting."

Jaune blushed and sunk back in his chair while a blushing Pyrrha giggled.

"What about your second and third sets of memories?" Hera asked.

Pyrrha concentrated, trying to separate one set from the other and said "The third set of memories is vague but I remember being locked away within my own body while this Fotia Drakos took control, I could do nothing at first but as time went on I gathered strength and tried to speak to her, trying to convince her... myself that I was being lied to. During our fight I helped Jaune out from within myself as well to hold me... her... myself back so he could have a better chance."

"So all three different sets of memories combined into one?" Zeus guessed.

"I think that is accurate, it's all so confusing..." Pyrrha said.

"And what of the second set?" Hera inquired.

"I can remember Fotia Drakos, who she was, the things she liked, her thoughts and desires... I remember everything about her, even the heartbreak she felt when she realized that her entire life, the last four months, had been a lie to turn her into a tool for evil. I can remember training to control Grimm, training and bonding with the Wyvern and Cinder watching over us so it wouldn't burn me... I can remember her growing paranoia when I began to speak to her and I can even remember... how badly I wanted to be accepted by those horrible people." She finished, remembering the man Salem had forced her to kill, she had yet to mention it to anyone, anyone at all and she was too afraid to do so now.

Her parents looked amazed; their daughter could not just control the creatures of Grimm, but a Wyvern?!

"One thing I don't understand though..." Jaune began.

"Only one?" deadpanned Hera.

"...how did some of your aura... soul... whatever, end up inside of me? You said it could have been unintentionally done it when you kissed me but I don't think that it makes sense." Jaune pointed out.

Pyrrha sighed and confessed "To be honest I... I don't exactly know how I came to be within you."

"Maybe it could have something to do with you unlocking Jaune's aura?" Hera speculated, remembering when her daughter told her about what happened in the Emerald Forest.

"Wait, what?!" Zeus cried in surprise.

"You never told dad?" Pyrrha asked her mother.

"It... must have slipped my mind. Zeus, am I..."

"You unlocked his aura?" Zeus asked Pyrrha dead seriously.

"Yes, during the initiation at Beacon. He told me his was still locked so I released it for him. Is mom right?" Pyrrha asked.

Zeus glanced at his hands and muttered "I never thought it was anything more than just a legend of our family, I thought it utterly impossible..."

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

Zeus didn't answer her until Hera firmly grabbed his chin, forced him to look her in the eye and said "Love, tell us what you think happened."

He nodded and began. "It was something I had forgotten about to be honest, I hadn't even thought of it since I was a boy but my grandfather told me that a when a one unlocks their partner's aura they form a bond that will last forever, even after death because in unlocking the aura they give their partner a small fragment of their own. While I have never doubted that I did question what he claimed about our family, he said that if they were on the verge of death or if they had been mentally enslaved an evil force then their partner could use the aura within them to revive them and bring them back. I... I never thought it anything more than a myth." Zeus finished.

"Mr. Nikos, trust me when I say that if there's a myth there is probably some truth to it." Jaune said with a smile.

"So what led to you being the guardians of this Aura Crystal?" Hera asked as she gestured to the crystal that sat on the ground at Jaune's feet.

"When we escaped from the factory Cinder tried to shoot me with an arrow, meaning to kill me for good but Jaune pushed me out of the way, taking the blow for me." Pyrrha explained, noticing the shocked looks on her parent's faces. They both looked to Jaune who nodded and showed them the scar on his chest. "Once we escaped Ashe said that the only way to save him was to use the Aura Crystal, but it would only work if Jaune was its guardian and even then he needed help so I took him up on the chance to save Jaune. The crystal deemed us both worthy in the end and it saved it, but we are now bound to be its guardians, together." Pyrrha finished.

The older couple looked at each other, unsure.

"So is this bonding crystal thing like a marriage?" Zeus asked.

Both of the teens blushed but Pyrrha answered "If it is Ashe did not tell us about it."

"And you're sure that if this Ashe fellow doesn't survive this battle with the cyborg the knowledge he gave you will suffice?" Hera asked Jaune, who nodded.

"I think so, but I hope Ashe comes back, we'd be better off with an adviser then doing it alone." Jaune stated.

"Well, this does create an issue for us." Zeus said.

"Such as?" Pyrrha inquired.

"We're going to have to move to wherever the Arcs live or they'll have to move to us." He said.

Jaune nodded, "Makes sense, but I don't know if my parents will be up for it."

"What of your parents, Mr. Arc? Do they know what you've been through?" Hera asked.

"A little, my sister Sienna called them this morning and filled them in on the basics and Professor Goodwitch has sent a bullhead to get them, but I'm kinda dreading the freak out my mom will have once she knows the whole story." Jaune admitted, getting a laugh out of Pyrrha's mom and dad.

"Well, whatever the case may be I'm just happy we got our daughter back, more than happy really, I feel like the gods themselves have blessed us. And I don't know the full extent of the romantic situation you two obviously have, but it has my full approval. If you wanted to be married here and now I wouldn't object." Hera said, making the two blush.

"While I wouldn't go that far... yet, I feel like I am in your debt for saving our daughter from those monsters. If you ever need us to do anything for you we will try our damnedest." Zeus proclaimed.

"Thank you sir, but you don't need to thank me for saving Pyrrha..."

"The hell we don't! You nearly died to save her, you almost gave up your own life so she could live! We owe you so much, more than we could ever repay." Hera said sternly. "So do not argue with us, young man. We owe you for saving our daughter's life, end of discussion."

Jaune was silent for a minute before he finally said "Okay..."

Pyrrha laughed and said "I swear they're less intense in normal circumstances."

"Jaune, be honest with me, what does my daughter mean to you?" Hera asked importantly.

Jaune looked the woman straight in the eye and answered "She means the world to me. I hated myself for not realizing her feelings for me until it was too late I... I had a lot of issues after the fall, I never felt such self hatred before in my life but now that I have her back I will never take her for granted again. She... she's more precious than any sum of money or gold in the world to me. I nearly died for her last night and I would gladly do it again because she proved she would do the same for me."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune in amazement. She was overjoyed that he now returned her romantic feelings but what he just said was... she was at a loss for words. Hera smiled and said "Pyrrha, you found a keeper."

Just then there was the sound of an explosion. "What was that?!" cried Zeus.

"Ugh! Knowing the last few days probably something to do with us." Jaune groaned. They left the library, with Zeus staying behind to look after the crystal, and walked down the halls, following other people who would do double takes at the sight of them until they ran into Ren.

"Jaune, I don't know what has happened but Oobleck says you need to see it."

Jaune nodded and followed Ren to the hallway where many students had crowded around to try and see the source of the commotion while Dr. Oobleck, Professor Echo, and several other members of Haven's staff kept them back.

"Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos, please come this way!" Oobleck called. The three teenagers and one adult managed to easily get through the crowd, since most of them seemed wary of Pyrrha they quickly made way for the small group. Jaune walked out the doorway first and glanced around to see Ruby crying in the combined arms of her team and Penny while Velvet was crying into Yatsuhashi's chest. Nora, Coco, Fox, Sun, and Reese were all present as well, hanging their heads sadly while Qrow and Glynda were huddled around something on a bench.

"Guys?" he asked, alerting everyone to his presence. They all looked up and over to him as Qrow got out of the way, revealing to Jaune and the other new arrivals what was on the bench.

"Oh my god..." Pyrrha whispered in a shocked voice as Jaune went silent with wide eyes at the sight of Ashe's dead body.

"Wh... wha...?" he tried to ask as Pyrrha grabbed his hand to keep him steady.

"A Grimm Knight brought his body here, with a note attached to his sword." Qrow said as he handed Jaune the note. Jaune took it and read it, clenching his fingers tightly as he did so.

"She killed her own brother..." he said.

"Cinder did this?" Pyrrha said, shocked.

"Yes, as evidenced by the hole burned through his chest." Glynda said sadly.

Jaune fell to the ground, shuddering as he cried. Pyrrha wrapped her arms around him and whispered comforting words to her boyfriend. She didn't know Ashe that well but could tell that despite everything he was a good warrior who had given his all to help them and to make up for what his sister did. And his sister killed him for it in cold blood.

Qrow watched the young couple as they cried in each others arms while Ren went to comfort Nora. Ruby and the others managed to make their way over to Jaune and Pyrrha where they enveloped the two in a mighty group hug to comfort one another. He sighed and looked up to a window overlooking the courtyard they were in and saw Ozpin watching the scene unfold. Qrow glared at the older man and knew they needed to have a talk.

Jaune leaned into Pyrrha and his other friends as Ren and Nora joined in the hug. Jaune couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something to save Ashe, there was this feeling in his gut, not unlike what he had felt when he thought Pyrrha had died; a good friend was dead and he had failed to help him. Losing Cardin, whose parents had been informed of his death, was bad enough but this... was almost as bad as losing Pyrrha again.

* * *

Ante looked over the catwalk as Tom-Tom, Little Steve, and Merrick all carried Jude's body towards the giant furnace. Jude's dead, eyeless head still had that look of pure horror on its face. This was too much, it was better than this asshole deserved. What he deserved was to be left on the ground for someone to stumble across, to let the bugs and birds and other scavengers have at him, but he knew Salem wanted the cyborg incinerated so no one could trace them.

He looked over to see Trooper and Lao walking towards him while Fireball turned up the power on the furnace.

"We got the guards out to the edge of town by the woods to dig the graves for Zhan and Douglas. We'll lay them to rest before we leave, right?"

"Yeah, that right Trooper." Damien answered only to get an unexpected response.

"Only call me that in combat situations or when we're working. The rest of the time it's just Alexander." He said.

Damien nodded and said "Okay Al." He looked down to his men and yelled "Toss him in!"

The three heaved back and forth before the body of Saul Jude was flung into the furnace. The smell of burning flesh could be picked up instantly as the sound of burning metal combined with sparks of the cybernetic implants bursting due to the heat. After the organic half had been burned away they were to flood the furnace with water so the metal half would crack, so it would be damaged beyond repair.

"Burn in hell, asshole." Tom-Tom spat.

"If Kasai was speaking the truth then something much worse awaits this man's soul." Little Steve said as covered his nose to block out the disgusting stench.

"Let's speed this up." Fireball murmured as he turned up the flames to burn the body quicker.

After a good twenty minutes the organic part of the body was burned away, leaving nothing but bones and half of a robotic skeleton.

"Douse it." Ante ordered. Fireball nodded and pulled a lever on the control panel and a huge torrent of cold water poured onto the flames. Steam rushed out of the vents as the sound of cracking, bursting metal could be heard from within.

"Okay, I'll have the mooks grab the scrapheap and smash what's left of it, now let us get out of this city while we still can." Ante said as he walked down the catwalk to the doorway. The others followed him, the three down below climbing up the ladder as Alexander took one last glare at the furnace, sighed, and followed his comrade out of the large room.

* * *

Emerald stopped telling Mercury what had happened while he had been out and the pain of losing his leg to Yang was replaced by the shock of what he had missed. He had only recently woken up after Sherizawa had given him another new leg and now that he was off of the pain killers he could listen to Emerald tell him what had happened.

"No way! Rose didn't! There's no way a weakling like her could ever..."

"She did. She caught Cinder's fireball with her blade and then slashed her across the face. I know it's hard to believe, I know it sounds impossible but I was there, I saw it!" she insisted.

Mercury wiped his brow and whistled. "I'm actually kinda impressed. What happened next?"

"Well Cinder's brother sent her flying with one of those... power blasts of his and then they all started shooting at her. Ziz and one of Ante's men managed to get her inside right before Nikos slammed all the Grimm Knights down on us, wrecking what was left of the factory." She said.

"And Arc?" Mercury inquired.

"Don't know, but I doubt he survived Cinder's arrow. It was on fire after all."

"Good. Serves that bitch right for betraying us, hope she watched him die." Mercury said darkly.

"Well anyway we got away, Grimm and all, on the ship and Salem wasn't happy to say the least. She put a bomb in Ante's head which she said she'd detonate if he steps out of line." Emerald revealed.

"I would have paid good money to see the look on his face when that happened." Mercury bemoaned.

"I wanted to record it, but I didn't want to risk ticking Salem off. Cinder... she got it bad." Emerald said with a sigh.

"What did she do to her?" Mercury asked, a little nervous.

"She branded the scar Rose gave Cinder onto her face and said she'll only remove it if and when Cinder redeems herself." Emerald admitted.

"...Holy Crap." Mercury whispered.

"I know." Emerald said with a nod as she glanced down. "Mercury... do you ever think we're on the wrong side?"

"Us? No way. People might say we're the bad guys, but remember what Cinder told us; we're what this world needs if it's going to survive the evolution." Mercury said confidently.

"Yeah, but does it need to evolve?" she asked.

"Look at my legs. Remember what your life was like before Cinder found you. The world needs to change and if it refuses we will make it change. Now that I know Neo was the one helping Nikos out I gotta say... sorry." He said.

"You thought I was the one helping her?" Emerald asked with a blink of surprise.

"Yeah, Cinder told me to keep an eye on you. Guess that silent little minx fooled us, huh?" he said with a laugh. Emerald glared at him so he continued "Look, I know you don't really like me much, or at all, but let's face it Miss Master Thief, we're in this together, like it or not. And... thank you for making sure I got out of there." He finished as he held his out to her.

Emerald smiled and accepted his hand to shake it.

* * *

Cinder stood in her small room before a hologram of Salem.

"You have done well, my disciple. With your brother dead you have finally severed all ties to your family." The Mistress of Grimm said.

Cinder flinched at the mention of her now dead brother. On the table behind the hologram the photo of Ashe and Mila sat upside down so her master, despite not facing it, could not spot it. She knew it would be better to just incinerate the picture but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "But what of the Aura Crystal? He spoke of two new guardians, ones I already know so who could they be?" she asked.

"We shall deal with that once the time comes. Right now both sides are in disarray; Ironwood is injured but recovering, Cy ended his usefulness to me, Ante has told me that Jude's body has been destroyed, so if we keep it up we can recover from this disastrous defeat fairly quickly." Salem stated.

"Good. What of Nikos? Any word of her?" Cinder asked.

"Yes, a spy I sent to Haven Academy tells me that not only is Nikos alive and well, but so is Jaune Arc." Salem revealed.

"What?!" cried Cinder in astonishment.

"I know, your arrowhead should have ended him, but he lives. Most... odd." Salem stated.

"Can your spy end them?" Cinder asked.

"No, attacking them now would bring unwanted attention. True it would be easy to strike while they are tired but he would be surrounded by an army of Hunters young and old and could be captured. I am not in the mood to risk another defeat at the moment." Salem said darkly.

Cinder nodded and said "Understood, we shall continue on course to the island."

"Safe travels... oh and Cinder?" Salem began. Cinder looked up at her master before she continued with "Do you think you have redeemed yourself enough for me to remove your scar?"

* * *

Qrow walked into the small one person guest room Argo had given Ozpin to see the older man sitting down in an armchair, at first Qrow thought the old headmaster was contemplating something deep within his mind to the point where he didn't even realize Qrow had entered the room, but upon further inspection the old wizard had fallen asleep

"Wake up!" Qrow shouted, startling Ozpin awake and earning a laugh from the dusty younger Huntsman.

"Ah! Qrow..." Ozpin muttered as he stretched his arms out. "Forgive me, this is the first chance at sleep I've gotten in over a day."

"I know that feeling, haven't gotten much sleep myself." Qrow said with a small smirk. Truth was they were all tired and he personally looked forward to a good night's sleep.

Ozpin looked up to his agent and inquired "What of Ashe's body?"

"Argo had it taken to a morgue, Fall was kind enough to tell us the village his lover lived in, out of the way place called Otium. Oobleck is going to call the village and have them prepare a grave for him next to his would-be wife. Sorry about your cane by the way, left it back at Vale." Qrow said with a dry smile.

"I wondered what happened to it, but I can manage without it for now." Ozpin stated.

"Oz, I've been thinking about what you said this morning in Argo's office about giving up. So right now I need you to tell me you weren't being serious about quitting." Qrow said with a dead serious look in his eye.

Ozpin sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry Qrow, I truly am, but I need to quit. Too many lives have lost or ruined because of my failings. They deserve someone better."

"Bullshit." Qrow snapped, taking Ozpin by surprise. "They have you, despite all the mistakes you've made you can't back down like this. It's a disgusting way for you to get away from your responsibilities and you cannot do it. So you failed, so what? We all fail; you just have to try again." Qrow said.

"Try? TRY?! Look at what 'trying' got me, Qrow! In a coma for four months and once I was conscious I was locked in a cell with an inhuman serial killer from my past! My failures not only got Amber and countless other killed but Ironwood under Salem's control, Pyrrha and Jaune turned into Grimm Hybrids, and unbelievable trauma to the children I was supposed to protect! And in the end I not only got many children hurt and one of my own students killed but your sister is dead because of me as well! Why are you objecting? You shouldn't want me anywhere near your nieces." Ozpin spat angrily.

"Get the hell over it! My sister and Winchester didn't die just so you could give up. You are not just some teacher, you are a soldier! All of those kids and teachers at Beacon, countless people across the planet all look to you for hope and leadership! You can't just quit, you have to soldier on! The only way I will let you quit is if those council assholes fire you. Not before or after." Qrow shouted, a fire in his eyes.

"Are you threatening me?" Ozpin questioned with a harsh edge in his voice as he clenched his fist.

"No! Yes... maybe. Listen Oz, you have to rethink this and see how wrong you are. So you made mistakes, we ALL make mistakes! Look at the Arc kid, he was a royal screw up but he did his best to make up for them! You..." Qrow sighed and sat down on the bed. "You can't do this to us Oz. It's not right."

"I'm sorry Qrow, but giving up my position is the only way to set things right." Ozpin said grimly.

Qrow's head snapped up and glared at Ozpin. "You damn coward!" he shouted. He dashed in front of Ozpin before the older man could move, picked up his old mentor, and slammed him into the wall. "You think the right thing to do is to run away from your mess and let everyone else right your wrongs?! What the hell is wrong with you?! I can't believe I ever looked up to you!" he yelled before Ozpin managed to force the glaring Qrow back.

"Don't ever put your hands on me like that again, you pathetic drunkard!" Ozpin scolded as glared at Qrow with just as much intensity.

Qrow couldn't take it anymore, he snapped. "I'm pathetic? ME?! Yeah, I'm a drunk and can be a fuckup sometimes but I never quit like you are right now! I may have bitched about the missions you sent me on, some of which were practically death sentences but I never backed down! Neither did those kids for Oum's sake! Nikos went up to that tower to face Fall after she beat you, knowing she would probably die! She was ready to throw her life away because it was her duty! Ruby, Arc and what was left of his team went after Fall to make her pay, Schnee and those kids all risked their lives to save Penny and Winter was in jail because she chose to save me, Yang forced herself out a depression, Belladonna wanted to take on the White Fang alone, Glynda, Oobleck, Port, they all took risks to come out here and fight but the did it anyway because it was the right thing to do! Ashe Kasai went to his own death to save a bunch of strangers because it was right and here you are backing down like a coward! If my adorable little nice and an emotionally unstable blonde dope can make it out of that factory alive then you, the veteran grand headmaster of Beacon Academy should be able to resume his duties no problem. So before you call me pathetic, _Headmaster_ , look in the mirror and ask yourself one question and think real hard about it: Is your decision the noble thing to do?" Qrow finished, taking breaths to try and calm himself down.

Ozpin slumped back into his chair and sighed as he removed his glasses. He looked up to Qrow and said "What if I make another mistake? One so bad that I can never make up for it?"

Qrow looked at his old mentor, a man who had given him a chance to be one of the top Huntsmen in Vale despite everyone telling him not to, the man who he admired like no other; he was the man who sometimes had to keep the very fate of the world on his back alone.

"We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we can't fix them alone." He answered.

Ozpin began to realize how right Qrow was, how foolish he was being, he was being the pathetic one. He shook his head and said "You... you're right. I... I have made a mistake, I was wrong to even consider forfeiting my power my own. Giving up would mean giving in to Salem and I was a fool not to see that until now. Thank you for talking sense into me... I would have made a horrible mistake."

Qrow nodded and said "Just doing my job, Oz. We need you and you need us, don't ever forget that. Drink?" He offered his flask to the older man.

"I shouldn't... but what the hell?" Ozpin said with a shrug as he took the flask and took a drink from it. He looked over to the door which was now opened with Glynda standing in the doorway, nodding at the sight. "Glynda, I take it you heard our little spat?"

"I did, I had to use all my effort to not to storm in and slap both of you." She said with a small smile. Ozpin quickly realized she had been listening in on the conversation the entire time.

Qrow laughed out loud at Glynda, before he realized she wasn't joking.

"Well at least I talked some sense into him; you wouldn't have been so harsh. I mean you're harsh with students and with others but no with Oz and he needed someone to pound reality into him." Qrow pointed out.

Glynda sighed, she knew Qrow had a point but didn't want to admit it. "So Ozpin, are you sure this nonsense about stepping down and handing the reigns over to me is over and done with?" she asked.

"Yes. I will step down only if the Vale council forces me to step down, but I do think I would like to take your ideas and criticisms into consideration more, Glynda. I need the people I trust to make sure I don't make anymore costly mistakes." He said as he handed Qrow's flask back.

"I think that would be a wise move, professor." Glynda said with a kind smile before she hugged him.

"Here's some more good news to make this happy bit even happier, before we came up here Chamberlain told us that Ironwood's okay and will make a full recovery, just needs to sleep for a day or so." Qrow said.

"Thank the gods." Ozpin said in relief.

"Oz, just to be sure... there's no bad blood between us, right? That... it was something that needed to be said." Qrow said.

Ozpin nodded and said "It was not a pleasant confrontation, but as you said it is what was needed."

Qrow smirked to his old mentor and walked out of the room.

* * *

A few hours later Ruby followed Penny and the rest of her team out to the landing pads as an Atlesian ship landed down. She had shed her tears for Ashe and had cried with Jaune over the loss of their friend, she knew that Ashe was a loss that they couldn't get back; Penny was a robot, Pyrrha's return had been a miracle, no way they were lucky enough to bring Ashe back.

Despite that her friends tried to cheer her up, since they hadn't known Ashe as well as she had but once Professor Echo told them that Winter and Dr. Polendina's ship was approaching the school she knew she had to go with them.

Weiss stood as still as she could in proper fashion, knowing that's how Winter would want it while Penny fidgeted nervously.

"Calm down Penny, it's just your dad." Yang said encouragingly.

"I know but... it's been, well, crazy, you know? I just hope he's okay." She said innocently.

"I'm sure he's fine." Yang assured her as the ship's ramp went down and two passengers, flanked by four Atlesian Knights disembarked from the ship.

Winter and Dr. Polendina spotted their respective loved ones immediately and while Winter simply strolled down calmly Polendina did not wait, his old age did not hold him back from sprinting down and capturing his daughter in a hug.

"Penny! Oh thank goodness you're safe!" he sobbed as he held her to him.

Penny returned the hug as tightly as she could, easily picking him up with her strength. Had she the capable of crying she would have burst out into happy tears then and there.

"Daddy!" she said as she buried her face into his chest.

Ruby, for the first time since seeing Ashe's body, smiled at the sight of the reunion. Her friend was back to normal and reunited with her creator, no, her father.

"Penny, I was so afraid for you! I... what's this? Battle damage?!" he cried as he saw the wounds Cinder had inflicted on Penny's arms.

"I was slightly wounded in battle, but I am fully functional. Daddy, I would like you to meet my best friend, Ruby." Penny said as she gestured for Ruby to come forward.

Ruby walked forward and said "Hello... uh, Dr. Polendina. I guess you already know who I am."

"I do indeed and I can only say thank you, Ruby Rose. You were the first since me to know Penny was a robot and see her as a real, sentient being despite the quirks. You helped her so much, in ways that I cannot describe. I... thank you so much for inspiring my daughter, Ruby." He said with a tearful smile.

Ruby nodded and said "Hey, why wouldn't she be any less real than me just because she's made of nuts and bolts?"

"Why indeed. Now Penny, are you alright? The memory reintegration sequence preformed correctly I assume?" he asked.

"Yes daddy, I remember everything." Penny confirmed.

Ruby looked over to see Weiss and Winter had reunited so she left the father and daughter alone for now as she walked over to the rest of her team. She stood next to Yang and Blake and asked "So what's happened so far?"

"Nothing besides hugging." Blake informed her.

"The ultimate Schnee affection." Joked Yang as the two sisters before them separated.

"Well done Weiss, I am so proud of you, you saved this city, possibly even the world." Winter praised.

Weiss tried to hold back the tears, but failed to do so as she smiled. "Thank you, it means so much coming from you."

"Just wait 'til you hear the juicy details of our harrowing adventures." Yang said cheerfully.

"Winter, you already know Ruby..." Weiss said.

"I do indeed; it is good to see you made it out safely Ruby Rose." The elder Schnee said.

"It's good to see you too... uh, so you went to prison for this to happen?" Ruby asked awkwardly.

Yang burst out laughing while Weiss scolded "Ruby!"

Winter smiled with a bemused look and said "Yes, and from what I can tell a small handful of days in the stockade was well worth it if this was the end result."

"Okay, so now that you're reacquainted with Ruby, this is her older sister Yang..."

"What up?" Yang asked.

"It is good to meet you properly, Miss Xiao Long, I am sorry to see that your new arm is damaged." Winter apologized.

"Eh, it'll be okay. Compared to the last arm injury I got this is a paper cut." Yang assured her cockily.

"I'm not sure that's that an accurate comparison but it is good to see you in high spirits."

"...and this is Blake." Weiss finished as she pointed to the Faunus girl.

"Nice to see you are alright, Miss Belladonna." Winter said as she shook Blake's hand.

"And you as well, I am glad that you were released. I must be honest I did not expect any Schnee other than Weiss to be so noble." Blake confessed.

"Well... I know our family name is not the purest, but maybe we can try to change that." Winter admitted in return. She looked at the four girls, odd misfits who made up a team shouldn't have been able to work, and yet Team RWBY worked better than anyone could have guessed. She remembered when Weiss was demanding to become a Huntress and to attend Beacon and while Winter was not opposed to it she didn't think it would work out in the end. Oh how wrong she was.

"Now then, I hope you can tell me what I missed out on in greater detail. What little my escort has been able to fill me in on has left me... rather confused." She said.

"You are in for a long story." Yang joked.

Winter looked up to see Qrow approaching them. "Hey there Ice Queen!" he called, causing Weiss to turn her head, looking irritated at the nickname.

"Hello Branwen. It is good to see you alive and well." She said.

"Why so formal? Come on Schnee, I'm happy to see they let you out." He said as he held his hand out to her, which she accepted without hesitation.

"One does have to keep up appearances. So Qrow, do you plan on telling me how exactly you escaped from Atlas?" she asked, making the four younger girls look at him.

"How... did you escape?" Weiss asked, just now noticing that question had never been answered.

Qrow smirked and said "Magic."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang scolded.

He laughed and said "Sorry, but tricksters like me need to keep the details of their tricks a secret, right?"

"I suppose so." Winter said with a smile. "Any word on General Ironwood's condition?"

"He's out of surgery and Chamberlain said he'll make a recovery, but the mental damage will have to be determined later on. All in all things are okay, we lost people and things could be better, but we're lucky we made it out as okay as we are." Qrow stated as they began walking back in to the school.

Ruby looked back to Penny and Dr. Polendina. "You guys coming?" she asked.

Penny smiled at her and said "We have some catching up to do right now, see you soon Ruby."

Ruby smiled and with a nod jogged to catch up to her family and friends as Penny and her father went for a stroll around the school grounds.

"Winter, a friend of our lost his arm in the battle, his family is not very rich so I was wondering if..."

"If our family could pay for a cybernetic prosthesis as a way to thank him for his efforts?" Winter correctly speculated.

"Well... yeah." Weiss confirmed.

"Oh, I think that once our father understands just how wrong he was he'll be rather eager to make it up to us, I think paying for a stranger's surgery is something he would easily pay for." Winter said with a smile, "Now, how about you fill me in on everything I've missed?"

* * *

A while later Jaune stood against the railings of the balcony and looked out to the city of Haven as the sun set. It had been a rough day to say the least. There were, however, positives to take from the events of the last twenty-four hours. He was back with Pyrrha and his team, families were being reunited, Ironwood had been saved from the mind control, the traitor had been unmasked, Salem's forces were in disarray with some dead and some injured, the charges against everyone involved with Penny's rescue had been dropped, Ozpin was saved, a lot of innocent lives were saved because of Ashe, and most importantly he got Pyrrha back.

But every battle had its failures; a lot of the good guys had been injured, they didn't know if Jude had been killed, and Cardin, Raven, and Ashe were all dead.

Ashe had been killed by his own sister, a heartless witch who was only powerful because Jaune got distracted. Maybe if had sacrificed himself Pyrrha would have become the Fall Maiden and would have crushed Cinder.

He looked to his feet and the case that Ross had returned to them after he and the cops found it in the alleyway. It once again housed the Aura Crystal, the thing that had saved his life.

Maybe...

"Jaune?"

He looked back to see Pyrrha entering the balcony. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Bianca said you wanted to be alone for now but I believe that is a mistake." She said.

"You're right, as usual." He admitted as he beckoned her to come. She walked over to him and hugged him from behind.

"I am sorry about Ashe, I know I was not very familiar with him but he seemed to be a good man." She stated.

"He... he could be a jerk at time but I guess anyone who is willing to die to save people they don't know has to be a good person right?" he asked.

"Obviously." Pyrrha said in agreement.

"I keep thinking that I could have done something, maybe if it was you, me, and Neo with him we'd have stopped Jude there at the school, together. I just keep thinking what-ifs lately, you know? I keep thinking if I was better the people I care about would never get hurt."

She sighed said "Jaune, you can't blame yourself for his death, the only one to blame is Cinder and that monster Jude." She then considered what she would say next, but threw caution to the wind and asked "Jaune, when we talked with my parents you said you had some issues, self hatred... when I was within you I was too out of it to fully understand or know what was going on so please, tell me what you did to yourself."

He looked at her hesitantly. "Pyrrha I..."

"Please be honest with me, I will not think any less of you, no matter what you tell me. We have already been through so much that... we need to be honest with each other, okay?"

Jaune sighed and said "Okay. After I lost you, before we set out with Ruby I... I hated myself I hated myself for never noticing your feelings or just how perfect you are, how everything about you is beautiful... I hated myself, blamed myself for what happened to you. I looked into the mirror and told myself I deserved to die for what happened to you." He noticed the sad and distressed look on his love's face but continued. "I cut my arm at night when no one else was awake, forced myself to feel the pain I must have inflicted on you because of my stupidity. I used a kitchen knife to cut my arm in the downstairs bathroom and told myself it was for how I hurt you, for how letting you die, for how I dragged you down, for breaking your heart, and for everything I never gave you. I looked at myself with disgust and... loathing. I washed away the blood and always put the knife exactly where it had been and my aura healed me. No one noticed, no one else knew until now."

Pyrrha looked at him with a horrified and devastated face. He had been that harmed by what she did? Oh gods above...

"How long did you do it?" she demanded.

"Only for a week, I quit if after that so no one would notice, Ren suspected but wasn't sure. I haven't done it since." He assured her.

Well that was a relief, but it didn't change the fact that what he had just told her was disturbing.

"Did you ever try to take your own life?" she inquired.

"No."

Thank goodness.

"But... I was tempted to."

Oh no...

"What happened?" she asked gently.

"It was after we set out from Patch Island, about two days into our journey, we made camp on a cliff by the sea and I had the first watch. I looked out to the sea and looked down the cliff-side to see the waves and the sharp rocks below. A part of me wanted to jump down and get it over with, let the rocks break my body and the sea take me... but then I thought of you." He said.

"Me?"

"Yeah... I thought about how you would never give up, how you always kept going no matter what. You could have ran with me back at Beacon, just let Cinder go without a fight but you didn't. I knew I'd disrespect you if I took my own life so I decided that no matter what I wouldn't give up, I wouldn't let Cinder win. I prayed to whatever god would listen that we'd beat Cinder and that someday we'd be reunited. I guess someone answered my prayers." He said with a sad smile as he leaned into her hug.

"Jaune, please promise me that you will never even think about hurting yourself again." Pyrrha said.

"It won't even cross my mind, I think I've had enough punishment to last a life time. But I want to thank you again Pyrrha, you saved my life even when you weren't around." He said with a small smile.

Pyrrha returned the smile and said "Now, if the nonsensical self-harm ideas are out of your head for good perhaps you can join our friends in filling in my parents and Winter Schnee on the finer details of our adventure?"

"I'd love to, my beautiful goddess." He said as he took hold of her hand. Pyrrha blushed madly and couldn't deny that she loved that. The couple walked back into Haven Academy together.

* * *

Alexander stood in front of two graves in front of the forest outside of Haven City; one for Zane Zhan and the other for Douglas Bade, both freshly dug and filled up. He stood silently with the other enforcers who were all saying their own individual goodbyes to their dead comrades. He didn't really pay attention to them, he just stared at the graves.

Soon enough it was time to go. "Okay boys let's get to the ship, sooner we're out of here the better." Ante stated.

"Hey uh... just give me five more minutes I... need to say something in private." Alexander said.

Ante nodded, "Fine, let's go guys." While Ante and the other enforcers walked away Alexander took two of three items out of his pocket; a cigarette and a lighter.

"Gods give me strength. Zhan... I'm sorry you died, you stood up to that maniac after we... we would have just done whatever he asked. You... shit I'm no good at this. Here's to you man." He said as he lit the cigarette and put it in his mouth. He would normally never do this due he was now as a way to honor his dead friend. He inhaled the smoke and quickly coughed it out. "If I get lung cancer from this shit man I'm kicking your ass in the afterlife." He rasped. He looked to Douglas' grave and said "I didn't know you that well but seemed like a smart, okay guy, although you did enjoy fighting a little too much for a techie but hey, what can you do? You... you both deserved way better. Here's to us, the criminals." He finished as he took another puff of the cigarette.

He threw it to the ground and stomped on it as he took out the last item from his pocket; Ruby's scroll. He had taken it from her during the battle at the construction site while he injected her with the tranquilizer so Jaune couldn't use it to call for help. He had kept it on hand and had told no one, especially not Cinder. He had no idea why he had kept it this entire time, maybe to use it for leverage for Cinder in the future or to trick Rose's friends but he had nearly forgotten about it. He looked up a number on the device and sighed, he knew this could be a very bad idea but those kids deserved to know how Kasai died. They deserved to know what happened. He pressed a button to send a call.

* * *

Ruby smiled as Yang excitedly described how she and Team SSSN fought the White Fang forces to rescue Blake with Neptune and Scarlet occasionally chiming in to remind her of details she forgot. They were in a lounge room with Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN along with Winter, three of Jaune's sisters and Pyrrha's parents, and Taiyang who listened to their rousing tales of adventure as part of filling everyone in on what had happened.

"And then there just this one skinny guy left, all I had to do was say boo and he was out like a light!" Yang proclaimed.

"She's not exaggerating about that part." Sage stated.

"That's my girl." Taiyang said proudly. Qrow was not there to brag about his niece as he had left to talk with Ozpin, Argo, and Glynda about how they would deal with the councils.

"Man, those White Fang guys must be desperate if they let wimps like that in." Violet stated.

"Yang was just really intimidating that night, trust me, I was there." Scarlet said.

"So after handing over the captured White Fang troops to the police you came here?" guessed Winter.

"Well, we did consider going ahead to the White Fang's main base to take Adam down, but we decided that helping Ruby was more important." Blake admitted as she noticed Ruby's happy smile.

"We I'd say you made the right choice." Bianca said with a happy smile.

Just then Weiss' scroll began to ring. She took it out as Winter asked "Is it father?"

"No, it's... Ruby's scroll, audio only, it seems that video has been disconnected." Weiss said, very confused.

"Ruby, do you remember what happened to your scroll?" Sun asked.

"No, it was just gone when I woke up, I guess they took it from me." The small girl answered.

"Answer it and see who it is." Yang suggested.

"That doesn't seem very wise." Ren pointed out, but before Weiss could agree Yang snapped her scroll away from her, ignored her protests, and answered it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey... uh, look, I don't know who this is but I... I'm one of Ante's enforcers, I was there when your friend died." Said the voice. Yang's eyes narrowed as she put the voice on speaker. "Look, I know you have no reason to trust me..."

"Damn right we don't." Yang snapped.

"Who is this?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm Trooper, one of Ante's men."

"I remember you, we fought you in the Seras Kalifa, you're the guy who tranquilized Ruby and... when Ante and his thugs were torturing me you left the room. I was in a lot of pain, but even I saw you and that bald guy leave." Jaune said, getting shocked looks from his sisters when he mentioned torture.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I... never approved of torture and they were getting a kick out of it. I couldn't stop it but at least I didn't add to your pain." Trooper said.

"What do you want?" Jaune demanded.

"Nothing, but I feel like you kids deserve to know that Kasai didn't go down without a fight. He and Jude had one hell of a final battle and he won, big time. He used some weird power that just overwhelmed that sick maniac Jude and killed him. We... we even helped him out."

"Why would you help Ashe?" Bianca questioned.

"Because Jude wanted Zhan, our illusionist, to create a vision of something, something so bad that Zhan wouldn't do it so Jude killed him for refusing to do his bidding. He shot him in the heart." Trooper revealed.

There was a small silence after that, one of Ante's men had moral standards? That was hard to believe.

"Well, I'm sorry about your co-worker and I guess if you guys helped Ashe out..." Ruby began before Trooper cut her off.

"Jude had managed to hang Kasai up and was whipping him, when he killed Zhan we shot Kasai free of the cable and distracted Jude for him so he could prepare the final blow. Once Jude was dead Cinder came out of nowhere, a Grimm Knight had been following Kasai ever since he came to the school and Salem apparently wanted him dead, as proof that Cinder was still loyal to her." Trooper elaborated.

Jaune grimaced and clenched fists while Ruby had a mixed look of sadness and anger, as Trooper had just confirmed Cinder had murdered her own brother.

"And if that wasn't enough she also killed another one of us to make a point; if we ever step out of line again she will destroy us all." Trooper finished gravely.

"Why did you call us? What was the point of this?" Blake inquired.

"Because I think you kids deserve to know that Ashe Kasai didn't die a poor death, he defeated his enemy and accepted his death honorably. Hell maybe in a different time he and I could have been friends, he seemed like a decent guy, point is do not let his sacrifice be in vain, if you wish to honor his memory keep fighting Cinder, Salem, and us."

"Why would you wish us luck? You are our enemy." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Who ever said I want us to win? I'm leaving now so if Rose wants to get this scroll back you can track it easily; it's in front of two graves outside the forest. Over and out." Trooper said as he ended the call.

There was another brief silence, they were all confused as to why an enemy, one of Ante's thugs no less, would tell them about Ashe's death. Winter remained silent about the fact that she recognized the voice.

Jaune and Pyrrha squeezed each other's hands, a little comforted by the fact that Ashe had won his battle as was Ruby who decided to speak her thoughts.

"I guess... they're not all bad." Ruby said, making everyone look at her. "While I was her prisoner Cinder kept telling me that the world simply isn't black and white, that most of the time you can't divide between good and evil and I guess she was right."

"How so?" Weiss inquired.

"Well Neo for one, hi by the way." Ruby said, making everyone's head turn to see Neo standing in the back of the room.

"Hey guys, don't mind me." The multi-colored girl said.

"As you were saying?" Blake said to Ruby, who nodded and continued.

"Neo betrayed Cinder to avenge Roman but she still helped us out a lot! She didn't have to help Ashe but she did anyway. Remember when we were getting out of the factory and those guards caught us? The Ziz woman saved us and let us go." She reminded them.

Pyrrha nodded and said "She said that she wasn't lying about liking me, maybe she did consider me to be a friend."

"Well if one of those full-on Grimm Commanders helped you escape then I think the complications of you being hybrids are a little less serious than we initially feared." Hera said with relief.

"We'll figure that out as we go." Jaune stated.

"Anyway!" Ruby exclaimed to get the attention back to her, "As I was saying, that Cy guy was being forced to betray Atlas and Trooper didn't have to tell us about Ashe but he did anyway. So sometimes there are good people and evil people, but there are those who you can't judge like that. They might do bad things for good reasons or good things for bad reasons but... I guess what I'm trying to say is that, if given the chance anyone can be good."

"Wise words, but that may not apply to everyone, Cinder Fall is clearly beyond redemption at this point." Yatsuhashi stated, to the agreement of everyone.

"No argument there but maybe some people who work for them aren't bad, just misguided or slaves like Pyrrha was. I guess... I don't really know what I'm trying to say here, but I just want to... uh..." Ruby struggled to come up with the words.

"You lost it, didn't ya?" Yang said with a small smile.

"Yeah." Ruby admitted with a sigh of defeat.

"Well I think we understand you Ruby, and I agree with you. We all make mistakes and most of us can make up for them, but some have done things that can never be forgiven, like Cinder." Blake said as she put a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Thanks Blake." Ruby returned.

"Well, speaking of morally gray I've decided it's time for me to leave." Neo announced, making everyone look at her.

Pyrrha quickly got up to approach her friend. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?" she asked.

"No, Goodwitch and Ozpin can't keep me arrest-proof for long, I was a thief long before I was forced to be a terrorist and no matter what I did to help you guys out is not enough to make up for what I did in the past." Neo stated.

Pyrrha nodded before she hugged the smaller girl. "Thank you Neo, for helping me discover who I truly was."

"No thanks needed." Neo said as she returned the hug a little awkwardly before she accepted the gratitude of the Nikos parents.

Ruby and Jaune both shook her hand as they said goodbye.

"We owe you a lot Neo, if you ever need our help just call us." Jaune said.

"But if you want us to help you pull of a heist you're out of luck." Ruby joked, getting a laugh out of the older, but smaller girl.

"Hey, I guess you're alright." Yang admitted as she slapped Neo on the back.

"I suppose you are too." Neo agreed as she began walking out of the room.

"Any idea of where you'll go?" Nora asked.

"To wherever the wind may take me or something romantic and sappy like that. See you around." She said as she walked down the hall and turned around the corner.

"Think we can trust her?" Blake asked.

"We can trust her not to go running back to Cinder, that's for sure, but she'll be okay for a while. Besides, I think the cops can afford to give her a few days head start." Jaune said with a smile as Indigo appeared around another corner of the hallway, running towards the lounge.

"Indigo? What's wrong?" he asked, but she didn't answer as the other Arc sisters looked up to her.

She made it to the doorway and stopped to catch her breath before she said "Mom, Dad, and Azure are all here! They just arrived."

"Oh boy." Bianca muttered.

Shani looked to the group and said "Looks like we'll have to hear some of these stories over again for our family's sake."

They walked out to the landing pads where the bullhead Glynda had sent to collect the rest of the Arc family, sans Olivia, Shani's twin, who had a husband and child of her own in Cadia. Teams RWBY and JNPR, along with the Arc sisters, Pyrrha's parents, Winter, and Taiyang, walked out to the landing platform where Sienna was talking to her parents and youngest sister.

Joanne Arc was a woman in her late fifties and while she did not look to be that old she was clearly not a young woman, giving birth to eight children over the years could do that to you, but she was attractive for her age. Her eyes were filled with worry as Sienna tried to assure her that Indigo was getting Jaune and the rest of her children and that everything was okay. It did little to assure the nervous mother, who had been praying for her son's safety ever since he left for Haven.

Jaune's father, a man with graying blonde hair who was also in his late fifties, was named Andre Arc and while he did seemed to be a little worried over the situation he was nowhere near as stressed out as his wife was clearly distressed. He looked over and spotted them.

"Honey, it's okay, there they are." He said as he pointed towards them.

"Oh thank you gods above." Joanne muttered as she began running towards her children.

"Hey mom, sorry if I scared you." Jaune said meekly before his mother, despite being five inches shorter than her son, managed to pick him up in a crushing hug.

"Jaune Arc! If I wasn't so happy that you're alive I'd ground you for life!" she scolded. The Arc sisters all giggled at that until she glared at them and added "Don't laugh, that goes for all of you too." That shut them up.

"Sorry mom." They all said at once.

She looked into her son's eyes and said "Please never scare me like that again."

"I'll try not to." He promised. "I'm sorry mom and dad, but it was something I had to do and... it was the right thing to do."

"We're so happy you're okay Jaune, but if what half of Sienna told us is true then we want to hear the full, unabridged thing from you." His father said as he hugged his son.

"Trust me, you'll wish you hadn't asked that." Weiss muttered as Azure hugged her brother.

"Hey Jauney! I knew you could pull it off." She said.

"Really?" he asked as he returned the hug.

Jaune's mother looked at Pyrrha and said "So... I can tell that you are Pyrrha Nikos... Sienna didn't exactly explain how you came back."

"We'd be happy to tell you Mrs. Arc, please don't be mad at your son, he did so much for me and for everyone." The Spartan pleaded.

"I'm too happy to see him alive to be mad at him right now, but I am also glad to finally meet you in person Miss Nikos, when you were attending Beacon he wouldn't stop going about how wonderful you were." Joanne said as she shook Pyrrha's hand as she blushed.

"Yes, well it is nice to meet you as well... uh these are my parents." She introduced as Hera and Zeus came forwards.

"It is nice to meet you, I'm Hera Nikos and I implore you not to punish your son, without him I might have never gotten my daughter back." Hera said as she shook Joanne's hand.

"Well... I don't think I could ground him even if I wanted to, if what Sienna told me is true he helped save thousands of lives last night." Joanne stated.

"He did indeed." Ren said with a nod. "You should be proud of him."

"We always were. So, are we going to get the full story of what happened here?" Andre asked.

"Very much possible Mr. Arc, I suppose some of us would like to hear the same story twice." Winter said. She glanced up and something caught her eye, a shuttle was departing from the Atlesian flagship, the one used by General Ironwood.

She heard rushing footsteps behind her and turned to see Qrow, Glynda, Ozpin, and Argo all rushing out of the school.

"What's happening now, Qrow?" Taiyang asked.

"Ironwood's coming down to see us, Chamberlain's with him and said he woke up half an hour ago, once we told him that Schnee and Polendina were here he wanted to see them right away." Qrow answered.

"Wait, what's wrong with General Ironwood?" asked Andre.

"Well... you see he _might_ have been controlled by Cinder's forces for a while but he stopped himself by shooting himself in the head." Nora answered.

The shocked reactions on the faces of the Arc parents and Azure were priceless.

"I hope James won't do anything too rash." Glynda muttered to Ozpin as she gripped her wand.

"If he is free of the control I doubt we need to worry about his actions and more about his health." Ozpin replied as the Atlas shuttle touched down on one of the landing platforms.

The ramp came down and General Ironwood, leaning on a cane to help steady himself, as he was still shaky from the incident that occurred that morning, disembarked from the ship with Chamberlain and several guards.

Taiyang spoke up "Mr. and Mrs. Arc, Mr. and Mrs. Nikos, I think we should step back for the time being."

They agreed so the five parents, along with the six Arc sisters, all stood back while Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, Winter, and Argo went forwards with Teams RWBY and JNPR. Ruby noticed the serious look on Ironwood's face and hoped he was doing better and that he wasn't angry at them for what happened. She looked over to see Professor Echo leading Penny and Dr. Polendina forward and quickly noticed the nervous look on Penny's face, afraid that Ironwood would do something to separate her from her father and friends. Ruby wouldn't let that happen no matter what.

Once the two group were close enough General Ironwood was the first to speak. "Chamberlain here has filled me in on the finer details so I pretty much know as much as he does about the situation now."

"And is it to your liking, James?" Ozpin asked.

"Normally it might not but considering what that witch did to me I'm happy to say it has ended rather well, as it could have been much worse. I'm alive, you all made it out with only two fatalities and several injuries; normally it would be much, much worse. I want to thank you all for your bravery; you are a credit to your Kingdoms and your academies. You children have gone up against things most Hunters never do and you did not back down. I am lucky to know you all." Ironwood stated.

"So we cool, Jimmy?" Qrow asked.

"Yes, despite our differences in the past Qrow I admit you were right about a lot of things. I am sorry for what I did to you while under her influence." Ironwood said sadly.

"Water under the bridge, Jimbo. Hey, don't feel bad about shooting me in the leg, I have had a lot worse." Qrow said with a cocky smirk.

"With that mouth of yours I don't doubt it." Ironwood shot back with a smirk of his own before he turned serious. "Chamberlain told me about Raven, I'm very sorry."

Qrow sighed as he noticed a saddened look on Yang's face and said "It'll be tough, but we can handle another loss."

Ironwood nodded and looked to Winter. "Specialist Schnee, I own you a tremendous apology for my actions."

"You were under Salem's control sir; I don't blame you for what happened to me."

"Yes, but you were in the stockade for doing the right thing. You had the courage to stop my plan when no one else did and for that I am eternally grateful, but to further compensate for your inconvenience I will be giving you a promotion, you won't be just one of our top Specialists, you will be among the total elite." He finished.

Qrow, Ruby, and Yang all had to laugh at the utterly shocked look on Winter's face, wide eyes and dropped jaw, she stood there for several seconds before Weiss snapped her out of it with a nudge to the ribs.

"Uh, sir, it's a very prestigious honor that I will take humbly." Winter said with a bow.

"Good to know, you deserve it for standing up for what you knew was right. It is the least I can do to make up for what I did while under her control." Ironwood said before he looked to Glynda and said to her "Glynda, thank you for going behind my back. If you hadn't trusted Qrow over me we'd be in disaster."

"Well I had my pick of stupid decisions; I simply took the less idiotic of the two." Glynda deadpanned with a dry smile. "In all seriousness, I am happy to see you back to your old self again, James."

"Thank you, Glynda." He said as he looked to Dr. Polendina. "Joseph, from what I can remember I said some... very cruel things to you while under her control and I don't think I can ever properly apologize for the horrific thing I tried to do."

"With all due respect sir once I found out what had happened to you I no longer blamed you, after all you did have a point when you said you were only way I could have ever created Penny in the first place. Despite everything general you don't need to do anything to apologize to me as long as I can stay with my daughter." Polendina said as he held Penny's hand.

"How about a lab offsite? One on a nice peaceful island? I understand that Patch is quite a nice place to live." Ironwood said as he smiled at Ruby, whose eyes got big and bright.

"Y-you mean it?!" she cried.

"Yes, I think it would be better if Penny were to stay in an environment with friends." He said with a nod. Before he knew it he could feel himself being hugged and lifted up by the small robot girl.

"Thank you general!" she cried.

"After what I tried to do to you it's the least I can do, Penny." He said.

"Thank you sir, thank you so much." Polendina said happily.

Ironwood then turned his attention to Weiss and said "Young lady, usually I would throw anyone who did what you did in prison, but in this case I will make sure that you and all those involved in stopping me and rescuing Penny get medals for valor."

The look on Weiss' face became a mirror duplicate of the that had been on Winter's just a moment ago.

Ironwood looked at Jaune and Pyrrha next. "I understand you two were... turned into Grimm Hybrids." They both nodded affirmatively, holding each other's hands for comfort and not backing down. "Chamberlain has told me what you two have been through and what this Aura Crystal thing did to help you, I don't think it needs to become public information." He finished with a smile, shocking both of them.

"James, are you sure about that?" Glynda asked, knowing what he would have said a year ago.

"Quite sure, I won't let these kids be harmed for what was done to them, councils be damned." He said firmly, which earned him a grateful smile from Glynda as well as the two young Aura Crystal guardians.

"Speaking of the councils we will have to deal with them to keep this Grimm Hybrid situation a secret." Ozpin pointed out.

"I've already told the students not to mention a word of it to anyone, under threat of expulsion but the councils will be harder to deal with." Said Argo.

"The councils will trust me, and if not surely the word of Ozpin, Glynda, and Argo will make a difference, so let us deal with them together, but we shall do it tomorrow, I still need to recover from my ordeal earlier today." He finished.

"I think that would be most wise sir." Chamberlain agreed.

"I agree. James, it is good to have you back." Ozpin said.

"Same to you old friend." Ironwood returned before he looked to the eight students. "Have a good night's rest, you have all earned it." He finished before the guards escorted him back to the shuttle with Chamberlain trailing behind.

The group watched as the ship took off and Jaune said "So we should probably start telling my parents and Azure what happened."

"And continue filling in my parents on our misadventures." Pyrrha agreed.

"We shall leave you to it." Ozpin said as he walked back into the school, eager to get some much needed rest.

Ruby looked to Penny and said "Oh my gods! He'll let you live on Patch! That is awesome!"

"I know!" Penny cheered in agreement as the kids began to head back to the school.

"Would you like to hear about the young one's adventures doctor? It will keep you entertained for the night." Winter offered.

"I think I'd like that." Polendina said with a smile.

Pyrrha looked back to see Neo about to begin on her travels so she waved to her and before she set off down the giant flight of stone steps into the city Neo waved back with a grin and a bow.

They walked back up to the group of parents and the Arc sisters to see Mrs. Arc fussing over Violet's nearly healed gunshot wound. Bianca saw them coming and asked "Is everything okay?"

"Way better than I expected it to go." Nora admitted. "We'll tell you about it later, right now we should probably start filling in you new arrivals about the crazy stuff we had to do."

"I honestly can't tell whether I'd like that or not." Joanne admitted with a happy smile.

Jaune looked around and sighed happily; he had everyone back; his mom and dad, nearly all of his sisters, his friends, everyone but Ashe was here.

While he would mourn the fallen he knew he was lucky to have as many of his friends and loved one still alive. He placed his arm on Pyrrha's shoulders and she leaned into him.

Ruby smiled at the sight as she walked into the school with her team.

Things weren't perfect, but they could always be worse, so the young Hunters knew to count their blessings. And right now they had a lot of them.

* * *

The bullhead landed on the outskirts of the village of Otium and a few minutes later the ramp went down to let the ship's passengers off. Team RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, most of ABRN, Winter, Penny, Dr. Polendina, The Arc family, Pyrrha's parents, Taiyang, and Zwei all disembarked from the ship while troops from Atlas acted as the pallbearers for the coffin that contained Ashe's body.

Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, Ironwood, Argo, Oobleck, and Chamberlain had all stayed behind to deal with the councils of the four kingdoms while the others performed Ashe's funeral at Mila's village. Many of the other young Hunters, as well as Ross and Dr. Chloris had already said their own goodbyes before the bullhead had departed as many of them were either still injured or refused to leave their teammates for an unknown period of time.

Winter approached the gravediggers of the Otium cemetery who spoke with her and then led the way to the recently dug grave by Mila's, which was a simple marker with her name on it and the word 'Loved by Many' carved below it.

The troops, doing this under orders from Ironwood himself, lowered the body gently into the grave where it settled with a soft thud.

Jaune, holding Ashe's sword as a memento looked on as the troops planed the grave marker Professor Argo had made for Ashe. It read 'Here lies Ashe Kasai. Friend. Warrior. Brother. A True Huntsman.'

Jaune had not been the first to comment it; Blake herself had said "It's unfair that they made him an official Huntsman posthumously."

"Whoever said life was fair?" asked Winter rhetorically.

Ruby huffed grumpily as they all looked down at Ashe's coffin.

"Do any of you wish to say anything? I am afraid I never met him so I cannot speak." Winter said.

Everyone looked to Jaune who said "No, I want to go last. How about you Velvet? You seemed to like him."

The rabbit Faunus nodded and with some encouragement from her team she cleared her throat and began. "I only knew him for a brief time, some would say he was unstable and needed help and he might have but I never once thought him a bad person, a sad man in need of friends, he needed someone to understand him and I guess in the short time that we all knew him we filled that void for him. I hope he's been reunited with his love and is happy, wherever he may be."

She stepped down and let Bianca come up next. Penny had been tempted to go up and speak but she didn't know what to say as she had never spoken at a funeral before and she secretly hoped there weren't more in her future.

"We... didn't get off on the right foot, to say the least. He let it slip that he was Cinder's brother so I kinda snapped. I took my sister's gun and nearly shot him but when I came to my senses I realized I had made him snap. I... felt really bad after that. The next morning we said our apologies to each other and he promised that he'd get my little brother back, no matter what and... he kept his promise." Bianca said as she failed to hold back a sob. She walked to hug Shani as Ren and Nora went up together.

"I must be honest, when we first me him I did not trust him and my suspicions were only amplified when I found out who he was related to, I was ready to write him off as lying, murderous scum but in the end Ashe proved his worth. He was much better than I thought he would be." Ren said.

Nora nodded in approval before she spoke "I trusted him right away, I always try to see the good in everyone and if I can't I... well those who know me know how I am. He could be a jerk at times, no doubts there, but I think he needed to be a jerk. Sometimes when people don't want to be hurt by losing someone they act hostile so people won't get attached to them. Problem was we got attached to him anyway, he helped us out a lot but I think we saved him from a dark place, loneliness." She noticed the looks people were giving her and said "What? I know I act like an airhead but I'm not stupid."

Nearly everyone laughed at that.

Pyrrha went up next, looking to her parents who smiled proudly at her. She looked to Jaune who nodded and she began. "I only knew him for a brief time, we didn't even know each other for a day before he died but in the short time I knew him he gave me one of the greatest gift I have ever received: Jaune's survival. He saved Jaune despite all odds, giving us the power of a relic we barely understood just so one of us could live. I will always be grateful to him for that. He helped Jaune and my friends so much, which led to my rescue so I thank you, Ashe Kasai, for being the warrior you were. May your soul join Elysium and be with your love, among the greatest of Remnant."

She looked to Ruby who nodded and walked forward with encouraging looks from her team and her dad.

"I was the one who ultimately decided to let Ashe come with us, while I had my doubts about him sometimes but I guess that in the end he was a good person. I... I'll never forget what he said to me the night before Jaune and me were captured; he told me things Ember, his mom, and Mila had told him in the past, stuff like 'every cloud has a silver lining even when it rains' which he thought meant that no matter how bad things seem or how hopeless the world looks there is good in it and it is worth fighting for. You just have to keep moving forward. Mil told him that if you ask a writer for a tale of heroes and adventure they'll give you a tale of tragedy, violence, and loss, and yet in those tales the heroes will never truly die, because despite how bittersweet some stories, stories like Ashe's can be really sad but it's up to the people who read or are told these stories how bitter or how sweet they are. A lot of stories are sad Ruby, they are miserable if we let them but there will always be a light at the end. So we can't let ourselves think of Ashe dying as sad, think of it as bittersweet. If we just mourn him and don't think about how happy he is now that he's back with Mila then we're disrespecting his memory. If any of you truly want to honor him, then keep moving forward." Ruby finished.

Some nodded in silent approval while others applauded the young girl. Ruby turned to face her team, all incredibly proud of their leader. She looked to her father who had the proudest look she had ever seen on his face. Deep down Taiyang knew his little girl was growing up, he wasn't a failure of a parent after all.

Jaune stopped clapping for Ruby and stepped up next. "Well there's no way I can top what Ruby just said." he confessed, getting a few laughs before he continued with "But I know she's right. I won't stop fighting Cinder, not until we beat her and I know we will one day. I will keep Ashe's sword and put it to good use to honor his memory. So for his sake and for the sake of all of us we will keep moving forward, you have my word on that."

As the gravediggers began to bury the coffin and the Atlas troops returned to the ship the students stayed and lingered, chatting witch each other.

Jaune looked at the grave as dirt piled on to it. His mother hugged him from the side and said "I can't tell you how sorry I am for the loss of your friend. I never met him but I suppose I am in his debt for how he saved you."

"I guess so." Jaune agreed. Joanne watched as Pyrrha came up, she smiled at the younger girl and left the young couple alone. "Hey Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"I hope, wherever Ashe is right now he's just as happy with Mila as I am with you."

Pyrrha smiled, she leaned in and kissed him lovingly.

A bit away from them Ruby was talking with Penny, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi when Winter called to out "We need Teams RWBY and JNPR in the ship right away!"

Within a few minutes Winter, Taiyang, and Teams RWBY and JNPR stood in front around a hologram projector on the bullhead as an image of a screen containing Ozpin, Qrow, Glynda, Ironwood, Argo, and Chamberlain appeared.

"Our meeting with the council has ended and with much effort and shouting to get our points across we came to an agreement." Ozpin began.

"So are we okay?" Yang asked.

"Yes, they have decided that you eight shall accompany us on a television broadcast tonight once you return and help General Ironwood and myself give an incredibly abridged version of the events that led to where we are now. The councils, even though some among them are unhappy with it, have decided that Jaune and Pyrrha's Grimm halves will remain secret to the general public for the time being, for their own safety and privacy of course." Ozpin revealed, noticing the incredibly relieved looks on the couple's faces.

"So we can leave out the Grimm Hybrids, the Aura Crystal, and we have to leave out Salem, I suppose." Blake speculated.

"Correct, Miss Belladonna." confirmed Glynda.

"But that's not all, Ozpin here has agreed to a full trial and investigation into his methods and ways of running things, some council members aren't convinced he should be in charge anymore." Qrow added, shocking the young Hunters.

"I myself would have agreed with them, had it not been for Qrow here... forcing some sense into me." Ozpin said a bemused smile.

"But they won't kick you out, will they?" Ruby asked.

"We shall see, I hope to see you soon. Has Ashe been laid to rest?" Ozpin inquired.

"Yeah, we just buried him. Can you give us a couple of hours before we start back, some of us need to say our goodbyes in private." Jaune requested.

"You most certainly can." Ozpin permitted as the hologram faded.

Ruby went into the ship to get something she left behind while the others headed back outside.

"Jaune, the truth will get out eventually, you do realize that, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"I know, but it won't be that bad. Whatever they throw at us we'll face it together." Jaune said with a smile as he leaned in and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Pyrrha said with an incredibly happy face, remembering the days she would yearn for him to say that.

Ruby came out of the ship with two red roses and laid them down on the two graves; one for Mila and one for Ashe.

"I hope you guys are happy, wherever you are. Rest in peace Ashe." she said.

* * *

It had been nothing but a dark, silent void for hours. Almost like sleeping a dreamless sleep. Ashe opened his eyes and looked around. He didn't know where he was, it looked like he was in a forest but not a natural one, it was darker, paler, and a little... gray?

He tried to call out for someone but no noise came from his mouth.

Okay, what happened? Last thing he remembered was Cinder... oh... shit.

He was dead.

So where was he? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory?

He felt a presence behind him so he turned around and saw a familiar figure; the stranger he had met in the Aura Crystal.

All of a sudden he knew he was not in Heaven, Elysium or whatever one wished to call the place where good souls go when they die nor was he in Hell, Tartarus, or whatever one would call a place for evil. This was the place for those in the middle, Purgatory.

The figure nodded, for some odd reason the silence was not an issue, they did not need to speak, they simply knew what they were trying to say. Was it telepathy? Who knew or cared at this point?

Ashe knew he'd never get into Heaven... the good place; the lives he had recently ended were proof enough of that. He had just hoped he was a good enough person to stay out of hell, apparently all his good deeds worked out in the end. He had done many terrible things in his life but most of them were for the greater good, so he and many others could survive. As terrible as some of his sins were he didn't regret the, he did what he had to do and if other, better people than himself could have happy lives because of his choices that was all he needed.

He could tell Mila wasn't here; she was too good for a place like this.

The figure smiled and gestured for Ashe to turn around. Ashe did so and gasped at the very familiar figure he saw.

Mila.

There she was, as beautiful as she ever was, standing there with happy tears and a joyous smile.

He tried to speak but no sound came out of his mouth. He tried to walk forward but he stumbled to the ground, still in shock. He felt someone grab him and hug him as tightly as they could. He looked up to see Mila's overjoyed face, tears still flowing. Ashe forced himself up and his lips crashed against Mila's in a passionate kiss which she eagerly returned.

Ashe couldn't help it, he broke down crying as he continued to kiss Mila with all his strength and she hugged him, rubbing his back to calm him as she kept returning the kisses.

It was an untold amount of time before Ashe calmed down and looked his love in the eye apologetically, sorry for all the terrible things he had done, sorry for letting her die, sorry for everything.

But without saying a word Mila shushed him and pressed her forehead against his. Somehow Ashe could sense her thoughts and could understand her. She told him he did what needed to be done, he did terrible things only when forced to do so, it would have been a far greater evil to stand by and let terrible things happen then to intervene and do lesser evils to prevent them.

Ashe smiled, thanking her for understanding, thanking her for still loving him despite everything.

She mentally, or with aura, neither of them were quite sure how they were communicating, said that she never stopped loving him because he never fully gave into the darkness, no matter how tempting it could be. She told him how proud she was of him for everything he did, how he struggled on, how he worked with the young Hunters-in-training to save the world, how he sacrificed his own duty so Jaune could live.

He hugged her tighter, overwhelmed with happiness.

They just sat there, kissing in each other's arms for no one knew how long before the stranger made himself known once again.

The look on his face was enough to get the message across. It was time for Mila to go.

Ashe's face showed pure heartbreak as Mila's grip tightened. He looked at her and she showed a fiery determination in her eyes. He told her no, he didn't want her to stay in Purgatory for him but she wouldn't have it.

She got up and glared right at the stranger with a defiant look that said 'No, I'm staying with him.'

The being shook his head and sighed. He didn't want this to be difficult but it looked like Mila needed to make a choice.

There was a quick flash of light and both the stranger and Mila were gone.

Ashe stood in stunned silence before he tried to scream no. He fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground, crying tears of anger and frustration. Why? Why were they reunited for a brief time and then separated?

It wasn't fair, damn it!

There was a small part of him that said it wasn't so bad, after all Jaune, Ruby and the others were still okay. Maybe a few of his old friends were here, Kion and such... maybe even his dad...

He tried to convince himself that he'd be alright but deep down he knew he couldn't take this. He got her back only to lose her again.

Then out of nowhere there was yet another flash of light and Ashe quickly jerked his head up to see a confused looking Mila and the strange man standing behind her with a satisfied look on his face.

Ashe ran forward and grabbed Mila, hugging her once again in a powerful hug, this time he was flat out afraid to let go as she might disappear once again. Mila hugged him back slowly, looking a little dazed as she did so.

The stranger looked to Ashe and spoke, the first sound Ashe heard since he woke up.

"She was to return to Elysium, but she refused. She said that she'd never leave you here alone, her bottom line was that if you were denied access to the higher planes of the afterlife then so was she. You have quite a remarkable mate there, Ashe Kasai. Bonds such as that are not common, savor it. You will both stay in purgatory forever, but I trust as long as you have one another I do not think that will be a problem." The man said with a kind smile.

Ashe looked at the man with a thankful look.

"No thanks are necessary, but it's appreciated. Your vocal abilities will return in time, just a side effect of entering another plane of existence. I will leave you two be for now... oh and Ashe, your parents are also somewhere here as well. I trust you will find them in time. Goodbye." The stranger finished before he vanished into thin air.

Ashe closed his eyes and leaned into Mila's hug. There was a small part of him that still wanted to live, a part that wanted to help Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby and the other more, but... he couldn't bring himself to want that. Not when he had her back.

They laid themselves against a tree, resting in each other's arms. They didn't know what they would do now that they were together again, find Ashe's parents, just sit next to each other forever, who knew?

Soon enough Ashe heard her hum a beautiful melody, her voice was back.

He opened his mouth and words successfully came out. "It's... can you please sing to me? I want to hear your voice." He pleaded.

Mila smiled and said "It would be my honor. I love you."

"And I love you." Ashe said as he leaned against her before she started singing to him.

* * *

That night Salem watched as a holographic screen appeared in front of her throne. One of her agents had been able to tell her about the news report by Ironwood, Ozpin, and Teams RWBY and JNPR themselves about what had been transpiring. Salem had decided to watch it for her own amusment and had told Cinder and various other underlings about it as well so they were most likely watching too.

She watched as Ironwood and Ozpin walked out onto the stage, camera lights flashing and dozens of questions being asked at once by reporters and news anchors. Ironwood made it to the microphone and said "Please, calm down everyone! We will not be taking questions at this time, but we will answer most of them ourselves."

As the audience calmed down Teams RWBY and JNPR walked out, many noticing Pyrrha and Jaune were both nervous and holding each other's hands for support.

'Enjoy your life while you can, children. It will not be happy for long.' Salem thought to herself.

"Now, the first question we shall answer is what happened to me? Simply put, I was defeated by Cinder Fall and teleported to another place where I remained for some time but I escaped through my own resources and the aid of my students. A similar thing happened to Miss Pyrrha Nikos here, she was nearly killed by Cinder Fall but teleported to the same place as I was so she could be healed. She was then brainwashed into being a solider of the enemy but she was freed thanks to her partner Jaune Arc. Ruby Rose along with what was left of Team JNPR went on a journey to avenge their friend they thought dead and ran into a man named Ashe Kasai, who turned out to be Cinder Fall's brother. He joined them help train Jaune Arc and fought against his sister when Mr. Arc and Miss Rose were captured. In the end Cinder Fall brutally murdered her own brother in cold blood because he refused to join her." Ozpin finished as he turned it over to Ironwood.

"Thank you, Professor. I, on the other hand was being controlled by one of Cinder's allies for months on end, who strong-armed colonel Ulysses Cy into being their minion and when he failed them they killed his family for it. Thanks to Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch along with Qrow Branwen I was freed but only after I had been made to make some terrible mistakes. They wanted me to use the rebuilt Penny Polendina to bomb Haven City and it is thanks to Weiss and Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen, Team CFVY, Flynt Coat, and Neon Katt that their plans were stopped and many lives, including that of Miss Polendina's was saved. The Atlas Military owes them a tremendous debt of gratitude and I hope that Willow Schnee is watching right now so he understands how wrong he was about his daughters." Ironwood said with a small smirk. "Miss Yang Xiao Long was fitted with a new arm and with Team SSSN's help she rescued her partner, Blake Belladonna from the clutches of the White Fang and when united these wonderful students along with Team ABRN, CRDL, NDGO, and BRNZ, along with some wonderful teachers and civilians worked together to save their friends and this city, possibly even the world from Cinder's plots. We were not without casualties, we lost a good agent named Raven Branwen and a brave young Huntsmen named Cardin Winchester, but their sacrifices were not in vain, they won and at the end of the day the forces of evil were defeated, but not for good. They are still out there and we have a message for them. Miss Rose..." he invited as he let Ruby come up to the microphone.

"Thank you General... uh hi everyone, I'm Ruby Rose..." she could hear Yang's snickering from behind and Blake and Weiss scolding the blonde for it. "A lot has happened in the past week or so to say the least. We have all lost family, friends, partners, to the Grimm and other forces of darkness but we can't let that beat us. We will mourn the fallen and soldier on to honor and avenge them. There's someone out there, someone who I know gets nothing but pleasure from the suffering of others and I know they are watching this and I have a message for them; Leave us alone, quit now, run and hide, because if you continue to fight us we will find you and we will beat you. Mark my words, if you want a fight you got one. It's not just us up here, but all of our friends, every Huntsman and Huntress in Remnant, every soldier in every kingdom, I know they will all stand united against you some day. I am Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long, leader of Team RWBY, and friend to anyone who wants to be friends and I say this..." she said as her team and JNPR all stood up with Teams CFVY and SSSN along with Glynda, Winter, Penny and Qrow joining them on the stage "if you want to fight us, bring it on. We will defeat you."

Salem listened to Ruby's little speech and could only do one thing: smile.

It would seem that out of all the enemies she had gained in the past week or so, young Hunters who now knew of her existence Ruby Rose was the one that could actually threaten her if left unchecked.

"Very well Ruby, I think this game just got a little more interesting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for reading the first twenty-five chapters of RWBY: Destiny of Remnant, it has been a wild ride so far and I want to thank each and everyone of you for reviewing, faving, following, leaving a comment or a kudos or bookmarking this story depending on what site you're on but I need a break.
> 
> This story has literally swallowed up my life in the last five months, I have gotten the complete Legend of Korra but because of this story I haven't had time to watch it, I got the first three Metal Gear Solid games but no time to play them, I have been SO busy with this fic that my life has nearly shut down otherwise.
> 
> I WILL RETURN so do not be alarmed, as I promise you I won't abandon this fic, I'm just taking a break, okay? I will be back in late July with more chapters that I hope you will enjoy.
> 
> Once I'm back I may change the rating to M for violence and reasons you'll see in the future.
> 
> Originally I wasn't sure if I would kill Ashe off, maybe I'd bring him back as a brainwashed Grimm Commander, but since that'd be retreading used material I decided against it. So, yeah, he's dead, but happy.
> 
> Other Voices
> 
> Bianca - Colleen Clickenbeard  
> Trooper - Steve Blum  
> Shani - Jessica DiCicco  
> Sienna - Taissa Farmiga  
> Indigo - Ashleigh Ball  
> Violet - Amber Lee Conners  
> Sherizawa - Troy Baker  
> Dr. Chloris - Jennifer Hale  
> Douglas - Grant Goodeve  
> Merrick - Bruce Spence  
> Lao - James Sei  
> Tom-Tom - Nathan Vetterlein  
> Little Steve - Kevin M. Richardson  
> Ross - Jeff Bennett  
> Hera Nikos - Susan Eisenberg  
> Zeus Nikos - Kevin Conroy  
> Dr. Polendina- Alfred Molina
> 
> I am happy with the amount of attention this story has gotten so far but I think we can do better so I would like it if you, the readers, help out and get this story noticed. Try to get it on the fanfic recs on TVTropes (although I doubt it will ever get on there and if it does I'll eat my hat), mention it on the RWBY Reddit, anything to keep the story going. I need more reviews, more faves and follows, because I want to make this story as good as I can and I want to keep it going but I need more people to read the story because sometimes the lack of attention makes me feel like I have done a poor job at making a good story despite all the work and effort I put into it, so help get this story noticed a bit more, please? I will be forever in your debt if you help make this story more popular. Thank you all so much, you guys rule.
> 
> Please leave a review or fave and follow this story if you read in on Fanfiction . Net but if you read this on AO3 please leave a kudos, a comment, and bookmark it if you wish, you feedback is incredibly important to me so leave some. Thank you.


	26. How the Times Fly By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.
> 
> A big and happy shout-out to Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov and his fic Mercenary of No Kingdom, check it out, he helped me out in a big way so check out his story to repay him.

Yang walked out onto the cliffside that overlooked the ocean. She shrugged off her beige jacket and sat down on the grass in front of the two small grave markers and she looked up to the blue, cloud dotted sky. She sighed as she forced herself to look at the two markers and said "Hi moms... it's uh... been a while, huh? Moms... that sounds a bit weird, should I go one at a time? I guess it's okay if I talk to both of you."

It had been nearly five months since the Battle of Haven, Ruby and Yang returned home accompanied by Patch's new residents; the Polendinas, while Jaune and his family returned to Cadia where Pyrrha and her parents moved to shortly after, Weiss returned to Atlas while Ren, Nora, and Blake went to Vale with Glynda and the rest of the teachers while Team SSSN remained at Haven and Team CFVY returning to the respective homes.

After they returned home from City of Haven they preformed a funeral ceremony, afterwards they cremated Raven's body and placed her ashes in a small hole next to Summer's grave. Yang originally was against the cremation but Taiyang and Qrow convinced her that it was what Raven wanted in case she died. Yang thought it a bit odd, did not complain any further.

"It's been... well I don't know how it works in the afterlife so maybe I'm just telling you stuff you already know but it's been okay for me ever since we got back, I mean I have a new and improved arm so who am I to complain, right?" she voiced aloud as she looked at her robotic hand. "A lot of people out there probably can't afford it so I'm pretty lucky all things considered. Ruby's okay, but I guess you both know that already, I mean she comes out here often enough."

She looked to Summer's grave and said "Moms, or should I call one Mom-A and the other Mom-B? Mom one and Mom two? Oh screw it, mom, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for Ruby when she left. I... I should have slapped myself out of the depression and went with her but no, Jaune of all people looked after her. That's a pretty big blow to the ego, I mean he's a nice guy, don't get me wrong, but the knowledge that he was there for her while I wasn't... man I suck. After you died I made a promise that I would always look after Ruby and I am so, so sorry I forgot it. I was feeling so sorry for myself that I neglected my little sister; I was supposed to take care of her but I... I just let her go. And she pulled through, that amazing little girl made it out of there, because... maybe Ruby is some big ole Chosen One or something like that or maybe she's just that awesome."

She allowed silence to reign for a few minutes as if waiting for a response even though she knew it wouldn't come.

"I hope you can forgive me for failing you, I promise I won't let her go again. I promise, for real this time, that as long as I can help it she'll never have to fight without me again or... I can't promise too much mom, she's just a pure Huntress, I couldn't stop her from charging into battle even if I chained her to the bed. I know I can't always look after her but I promise I will try, for you, for dad, and for Ruby." Yang finished as she placed a hand on Summer's grave.

She looked to the other grave marker and said "I know this is awkward, Ruby's been out here more than I have since we got back, it's just that I... I'm ashamed of how we parted ways. I should have said 'I love you' back, but I didn't because I was stupid, careless, and... confused. This is just so screwed up. I hope you can hear me because I want you to know just how sorry I am that I never let you know how much I love you when you were alive, I know it's too late but I can only hope that you're up there somewhere and that you can hear me. I hope you can forgive me for how I hurt you mom, because now I can say it; I love you mom."

Silence took over once again; the only sounds were the wind, the sea clashing with the rocks below the cliff, and the birds in the trees.

"I'll make you proud mom, both of you, I swear! I'll make Cinder pay for what she did to you, and Ashe, and Cardin, and..." Yang struggled with what to say. "She won't get away with it, I will avenge you."

Cardin...

Yang remembered Cardin's funeral she and the rest of her team attended in Atlas, in a town called Starkwane. They had to have a closed casket funeral because the body, or what was left of it, had been so horribly mangled that Cardin's family had no alternative. Teams JNPR, CFVY, SSSN, and what was left of Team CRDL all attended the wake, as well as many other teams from Beacon that Yang knew casually or by sight. She remembered Jaune had been hesitant about attending the services because he hadn't forgiven Cardin for what the rich teen had done to him until it was too late. Man did Yang know what that felt like.

Nevertheless Jaune attended the funeral and met with Cardin's parents and two younger brothers, who made it clear that despite their grief over Cardin's death they did not blame Jaune. In truth they were proud of Cardin for going out of his way to help someone who he had once tormented and blackmailed, proud that he sacrificed himself for others, proud that he helped foil the plans of some malevolent force unknown to them.

In the end Cardin had been an inspiration to his two little brothers to become the best Huntsmen they could be one day and help in the fight against the Grimm to honor the memory of their fallen brother. Jaune, happy that the Winchester family didn't hold a grudge against him for the death of their loved one, felt at ease and remained respectfully silent for the rest of the service.

Cardin's remains were cremated and the urn laid to rest in the Winchester mausoleum while his mace, recovered from the chamber, was proudly displayed in the Winchester home as a memorial to his heroic sacrifice. Velvet had added to the memorial by decorating it with flowers as a way of mourning her former tormentor and a way of thanking him for his change of heart and selfless act, making Cardin's mother even prouder that her son had overcame his old prejudice and befriended a Faunus before he died.

Yang knew that if anything Cardin's sacrifice made her even more determined, if someone like Cardin Winchester, a bully and all around jerk could change into a better person then surely she could change too. She promised to never let herself be overwhelmed by misery or depression again, which was easier with the friends she had.

She stood up and said "I'm sorry for the short visit but you know me, never one to stay too long, even though it's in my name, right? Heh... I gotta get going. Ruby and Penny are out hunting some Grimm so I should probably go and help 'em out."

Yet another awkward silence took over before Yang said "I love you both, goodbye."

And with that the blonde bombshell walked back into the forests of Patch Island, not noticing the raven watching her from above in a tree until it cawed at her. Yang looked up to the branch it was perched on and smiled. "A raven, oh that's just perfect... irony? No, that's not the word." She said as she shook her head and continued her trek back into the woods.

The bird continued to mournfully watch Yang as she walked away and once she was out of sight it flew off its perch into the blue sky.

* * *

The sixteen year old girl in a red and black hood and cape stood still in the meadow, seemingly enjoying the sunny sky and the pleasant day. Then she took out her weapon, Crescent Rose Mark 2 and it unfolded into its full, beautiful form, crimson and black, sleek, sharp, and deadly. Loaded with several different cartridge slots of Dust ammunition that were loaded up in an chamber that rotated to make the different types of Dust interchangeable.

"Come and get it, doggies." Ruby said as the pack of Beowolves slowly stalked out of the forest.

She heard the steps behind her and knew the ones before weren't alone. She gave a quick glance behind her and counted, then she looked back to see that the main pack was getting closer. All together they were twenty-five, maybe twenty-six strong. This was going to be too easy.

She looked to the back to see the Alpha Beowulf, the largest of them and clearly the oldest as its claws were long and its fur dirty and ragged, its eyes having this odd aura of wisdom to it.

It roared and the smaller Beowolves charged Ruby.

"Finally." Ruby muttered as she jumped forward and sliced two down with Crescent Rose's scythe blade. She fired a round into the ground and she went flying. She fired off the sniper rifle portion of the weapon in rapid succession, blasting four more, killing them and blasting off their limbs, causing dark ashes to fall to the ground as the bodies disintegrated. She landed effortlessly on her feet and quickly whirled around to cut a Beowulf in half lengthways as it tried to pounce on her from behind.

She began to wildly swing Crescent Rose around to keep them at bay, her Semblance aiding her and creating a wild cyclone of red, black, and rose petals. The Beowolves surrounded her, growling and snarling, ready to attack but knew to keep a distance for the time being, lest they be sliced apart by the sharp and deadly blade.

"Now!" Ruby yelled.

All of a sudden a shape launched out of the trees and into the sky. Penny came down with her swords rotating in a circle around her. She landed next to Ruby as the crimson reaper stopped spinning and the robotic girl's swords slammed down, all ten of them impaling a Beowulf, each sword hit its intended target easily and killed them instantly.

"Good job Penny! That's seventeen down already." Ruby praised as she got Crescent Rose ready.

"Thank you Ruby, this should be easy." Penny said as she used the strings to pull the swords out of the ground and bring them up behind her, using one to slash down a lone Beowulf who had tried to get around them. "Correction Ruby; eighteen down and there are only eight left."

"Then let's make this quick, we'll take the Alpha on together." Ruby said.

"Good strategy!" Penny chirped, and with that the two ran into battle.

Ruby blasted and cut down four Beowolves with quick and deadly swings of Crescent Rose's blade while Penny transformed her arm into its cannon form and blasted three more down in the legs and midsection for maximum efficiency.

The Alpha roared as it jumped out and tried to slam its large claws into Ruby, only for the small girl to jump out of the way and land on her back. She quickly transformed Crescent Rose to sniper rifle mode again and began blasting at the Alpha. She managed to hit it twice but due to its age it was much harder to kill than an average Grimm.

It let out a screaming roar and jumped up, its claws ready to stab into her body before Penny slammed her swords into the Alpha's back. It roared out in pain but did not die, even though black smoke began to wisp off its back. It whipped around, grabbed the strings and sent Penny flying into a tree a hundred meters away, which caused the strings to yank the swords out of the Alpha's back.

The Alpha turned to face Ruby just in time for its right arm to be blasted off by an explosive round of Dust.

"Oh yeah! Who's goin' down? You are!" Ruby cheered... before she was cut off by another Beowulf slamming into her from behind. "Ah!" she cried.

"Oh dear! I may have miscounted!" Penny called as the Alpha Beowulf roared as the subordinate continued to pin down the struggling Ruby. Penny quickly got up and began running towards them crying "My strategy may have been flawed but my wrath is without mercy!" but before she could reach her friend a bright, burning figure of yellow light rushed out of the forest and knocked the younger Beowulf off a Ruby with a punch so strong it was reduced to black dust in seconds.

Yang smiled at her little sister and said "Could you just for once stay out of trouble?"

"Nope." Ruby answered as she aimed Crescent Rose's gun barrel at the Alpha Grimm that was now attempting to retreat. She fired and the explosive round hit it in the back of head. The large Grimm roared out in pain for a split-second before its head exploded and showered the immediate area with black dust and smoke as it fell, its body disintegrating.

"Good job Ruby, took that overweight canine down like a pro." Yang said as she ruffled Ruby's hair with her remaining organic hand.

"Thanks Yang, how did you find us so fast?" Ruby asked.

"All I had to do was follow the sounds of chaos and destruction." The older sibling joked before she looked to Penny and said "I'm assuming you were pretty awesome too, but you might want to work on your battle cry, try to sound more threatening, okay?"

"What was wrong with it? Was I not threatening enough?" Penny asked with a tilt of the head.

"Just sound a little bit meaner, okay? No offense Pen, but sometimes you're just unintentionally adorable or awkward, sometimes both." Yang explained.

Penny looked sad for a short second but quickly recovered and gave her friends a confident smile and said "I'll do my best to improve."

"Good, it'll be dark in a few hours so we should head home. Another day, another Beowulf pack." Ruby said as she began walking back into the forest.

"How many packs have we taken out since we got back?" Yang asked.

"Eleven by my count." Penny answered.

"Man, if Jaune and Pyrrha want to practice controlling Grimm they should just come here, plenty of Beowolves to work on." Yang remarked as they continued their walk home.

* * *

Weiss stabbed her blade into a training robot before it could dodge her attack; the screen on the wall beeped and read out "Non-Fatal Area Hit."

"Good." She muttered, today's training session involved attacking non-fatal areas, so as to wound and incapacitate enemies, not kill them. That was something Weiss knew she would need a lot of practice in for the coming battles as she had no doubt in her mind that they would be fighting Salem and her minions in the future and taking one of them alive would be a good way to get more information about the so-called Mistress of Grimm.

As she continued her training exercises she became aware that she was no longer in the room. She looked over to the door to see her father observing her as she effortlessly dodged a lazy swing from a training robot's weapon.

Ever since she had returned home she had been quick to notice the cold distance between her older sister and their father, apparently her father had some rather cruel words for Winter when he believed her a traitor to Atlas. To say that Willow Schnee had been shocked when he learned that his eldest daughter was telling the truth would very much be an understatement, he apparently fell to his knees in shock when the truth about Ironwood reached him, for he then realized that Winter had been telling the truth, and he was prepared to let her rot in a cell for the rest of her life.

Willow had tried to make it up to his daughter; he apologizes constantly, he agreed with Weiss' demands to help pay for Nadir's operation so he could have a new arm, and most of all he tried everything he could to make amends with Winter but she would have none of it. Winter simply ignored every attempt at rekindling the relationship their father made.

Weiss still didn't know exactly what happened between the two while she was in Haven, but it obviously couldn't have been the happiest of encounters.

As she finished off the last training robot with a slash to the forearm she called "Computer, end training program."

"Acknowledged." The computer said as the training robots got back up and returned to their posts. Weiss walked back to her father who was now sitting down on a bench watching as his daughter approached him.

"You're doing marvelously, child. The way you move reminds me of your mother, graceful even in battle." He said with a sad smile.

Weiss closed her eyes as she sat down next to her father, knowing he rarely ever talked about her late mother, Gwyneth Schnee, so this had to have been hard for him but she knew this was a conversation very much long overdue.

"Father, I think it's time we..." she began before he interrupted her.

"Have you spoken to Winter recently?" he asked. The gap between he and his eldest daughter was obvious, despite every attempt he made to apologize to her she would have none of it.

"You know I have, she is doing well, earlier this week she led an attack on a large horde of Grimm several hundred miles to the north." Weiss said, knowing he was dancing around the topic of his late wife. He looked at her, right in her eyes and smiled.

"You look so much like your mother, both you and your sister. The eyes especially, you both have the same wonderful eyes I fell in love with so long ago." He said as tried, and failed, to hide his sadness.

"Father... you have avoided the topic of mother for years but for months you have also avoided what happened with you and Winter while I was in Haven. Winter will not tell me but I deserve to know, so please tell me." Weiss said.

Willow looked at his youngest child and said "Both of you are so direct and to the point, just like her. While you and your friends were on the run with the robot... Penny," he quickly corrected, "I said some rather harsh words to her; I called her a traitor to our country, I insinuated she was a fool for trusting Branwen, and I... I stated that your mind was poisoned by your friends from Beacon, and that is why, I thought, you helped free Penny."

Weiss said nothing; she remained silent as he continued. "I said derogatory things about the Faunus race and... I was cold to her, very cold and very distant. I didn't even try to help her or try to understand why either of you did what you did. I was blind and foolish not to see it until it was too late. Many of our corporate rivals, both major and minor, have called us cold, uncaring, and cruel, I always dismissed that as them being bitter and jealous but when I was told Winter was right about Ironwood..."

Weiss looked at her father and saw the look of misery and regret on his face and in his eyes. She placed her hands atop his and said "You were angry and didn't know the whole story, maybe we should have told you about our plan but we knew you wouldn't go along with it."

"No, I wouldn't have. I would have reported you to Ironwood as quickly as I could." Willow admitted bitterly. "I'm afraid my old ways have come back to bite me, you and Winter, you are the next generation, you leave mine in the dust."

"Father, you will have to try and mend your relationship sometime, you can't just let this go on." Weiss stated.

"I tried for a few weeks to speak to her but she rebuked me rather bluntly. The things I said to her... if you were there you'd probably refuse to speak to me as well." Willow voiced.

"Maybe so, but I know that eventually we'd have to get back in touch. I know you're set in your old ways, you are loyal to Atlas and blindly trust in its leaders, you look upon the Faunus race as sub-humans, but I think you can change for the better. I know I did." Weiss said with a gentle voice.

Willow Schnee looked at his youngest daughter with tears in his eyes and said "You truly are becoming more and more like your mother each day."

Weiss smiled with tears of her own as she hugged her father, all the while she knew she would have to formulate a plan to mend the relationship between her father and sister.

* * *

Blake sat on a stool reading a book in the small room she had been given at the Vale Grimm Resistance headquarters, it was a small room with only a bed, a table, a drawer, and a lamp but it was enough for her. Glynda was not in Vale at the moment, as she was with Ozpin at the council's headquarters at a city in the north of the kingdom so Oobleck led the operations for the time being.

The last few months had been a tedious cycle of fighting off Grimm from the city while construction crews and those with the rights Semblances worked to repair the city. It had been decided that Glynda and the others would need to make a big push into Beacon to truly drive the main Grimm population out, and then it would be an easy task of keeping them at bay for the school to be repaired and put back into commission.

She finished reading a chapter of her novel and placed a bookmark in between the pages for later. She got up and put on a white jacket and loaded up Gambol Shroud with some Dust cartridges as she exited the room, ready for her patrol duty on the eastern perimeter.

She walked down the hall, nodding to the occasional passerby until she reached the main hall of the building they were held up in and smiled at Ren and Nora who were coming back from their patrol. Both had grown out their hair, with Nora's looking, for lack of a better word fluffier, while Ren's hair had grown out quite a bit and he had taken to wearing an outer tailcoat in a darker shade of green.

Nora spotted Blake and quickly began waving enthusiastically to her. "Hey Blake! You'll never guess what kind of Grimm we ran into today!" she invited.

"What? Something unusual?" Blake asked.

"Oh yeah, I'll give you a hint: it could be considered part of your family." The orange-haired girl teased as she poked Blake's bow.

"Feline Grimm... Sabers?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Bingo!" Nora confirmed.

"It's very odd, Sabers rarely ever appear outside of the Vacuo jungles, it's not unheard of but it is highly unusual." Ren stated as he confirmed what Nora was saying, knowing Blake would jump to the conclusion that the energetic hammer wielder would exaggerate things.

"This doesn't feel good, the longer we wait to move in on Beacon the more Grimm will move in, the tighter their grip will be on it." Blake said, considering the implications of Sabers being there.

Sabers were Grimm that resembled tigers, black with white stripes with spiked tails, sharp claws with adhesive gel on their paws that allowed them to scale building with ease and long, sharp fangs jutting out of the top of their jaw. It one got a strong enough grip on you with its mouth you'd be a goner for sure. Even if they merely scratched you with their long teeth you'd be infected by a venom that coated the fangs, which was easily cured with a antidote, which needed to be administered quickly so no permanent damage could stick but the venom's effects would still render the victim out of the fight for about a week.

"They weren't anywhere near your area, found em' on the west side. We only took down a few but most of the pride ran to Beacon." Nora explained.

"Making the numbers of the Grimm more of a problem." Ren added.

Blake nodded and replied "Well when the time comes to reclaim Beacon we will doubtlessly have the numbers to do it, I just hope we can do it without injury. See you later, I'm off for my patrol."

"Goodbye Blake, see you for dinner later." Ren said as she walked out.

"Feel free to drop by our room anytime, though if you hear weird noises just keep walking!" Nora joked.

Ren blushed profusely and cried "Nora!"

"I'm just joking Renny." She giggled as she playfully poked him.

Blake repressed a laugh as she shook her head and left the building, highly amused by the couple's antics. It was an odd match up, but they weren't unlike Sun and herself, though Sun was much more subdued than Nora could ever be.

Her relationship with the Monkey Faunus was overall a good one, while Sun and his team remained in Haven he kept in contact with Blake nearly every day, even if it was just to remind her he cared for her. There were days they weren't able to talk to one another; be it her being out or he studying for a test, but all in all their relationship was a healthy one.

Much healthier that her previous one ever was but she shook those thoughts away.

She went about her patrol route, a small part of the eastern area of the city among some old buildings and a park near the forests but one that had very little Grimm activity. During her time on the run she had stayed in Vale, taking out Grimm whenever she could, avoiding detection, and she knew the town better than most, due to her being able to freely move about without restrictions while it was abandoned.

As she went about her routines her mind kept wandering to Adam and Claudandus, it had been months since she had seen either of them and despite General Ironwood's best efforts there had been no major progress in finding the White Fang's base after the one in the Mistral Mountains had been abandoned. She pulled a few strings to get in contact with an old friend who was still part of the White Fang, but only out of fear of his life. Blake knew that after the murder of Tukson and several others a lot of good Faunus would be too afraid to even risk voicing the idea of leaving.

She remembered her fight with Adam in Beacon, the distant, but angry sound in his voice, the way he called her his 'love'... he didn't even hesitate in trying to murder her or Yang.

Blake shivered at the thought of the monster her old love had become.

She thought of Claudandus and prayed for his safety. She couldn't help but think if she had stayed then he'd be okay, he'd still live a life of solitude but at least he'd be free. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead at the moment.

She walked to the forest and came to the edge of a small cliff overlooking a creek and she looked up into the trees, hoping to spot a bird. Her ears stood at attention, hoping to catch a specific type of bird call and after a few minutes of waiting she heard it. She imitated the bird call in a specific manner and a bird flew down from the treetops and landed on a log behind her.

"Finally, I was getting worried about you, Swoop." She said to the bird as she sat on the log, placing her hand down so the bird could hop on. She saw the small note wrapped around the messenger bird's leg and carefully slipped it off. "Please have something about him." She said to herself as she unfolded the small piece of paper.

"Blake, haven't found him and I don't know where he is yet but from what I've heard and what I've asked Razor and the others Claudandus is still alive. I know he's not with Adam but I don't even come close to having the clearance to know where they put the old cat. I'll keep digging for info and send when I get something, send Swoop back to me with a reply. - J"

Blake sighed and knew this wasn't good, if her contact couldn't get a sure fix on his location then Claudandus' life was still on the line, but at least he was still alive for the time being.

At least she had hope for her old friend.

She took out a small piece of paper and a pen so she could quickly write down a note of her own.

"Thank you, this means a lot to me. Good luck and stay safe. - Blake."

She folded it up and tied it to the leg of the bird and said "Thank you for the message, go home." And with that the bird took off into the sky and flew away.

Blake went back to her patrol duty and made a silent prayer that everything would be okay. After they retook Beacon she would have to have a talk with Glynda and Ozpin about Claudandus and the potential of a rescue mission.

* * *

_Seven and a Half Months Ago_

_Fotia silently followed Cinder into the deeper parts of the factory they currently resided in. She had only been here for a month and a half and after recovering from what she the Grimm hybridization process she entered into a strict training regime with Cinder, Steppenwolfe, Ziz, Sheer Kaa, and other servants of Mistress Salem. She had fought incredibly well in those weeks, her body homed to perfection but now it was time for her true purpose to be revealed._

_She knew she was to be a Grimm Commander like Ziz and Steppenwolfe but thus far they had been keeping the type of her primary Grimm a secret. All they had told her was that it was something big. Was it a Goliath? A Nevermore? A King Taijitu? A Beringel? It could be anything._

_Cinder apparently noticed the worried look on Fotia's face and said "Don't worry, this Grimm can be a bit unruly but I will be there if it tries anything."_

_Fotia smiled with a grateful look as they approached a large door that opened automatically. Fotia followed Cinder into to the giant underground chamber in which she would be training with this Grimm. She took a few moments to gaze around the cavern and appreciated how utterly huge it was before Cinder called out "Bring it in."_

_The large door on the other end of the cavern opened up and Fotia's jaw dropped at what she witness._

_A Wyvern, a type of Grimm that was a little over the size of a car but when full grown it would be the size of several buildings was led out by over two dozen of the Grimm keepers with bands on its wings that would electrocute it if it tired to break free._

_"Alright everybody, keep moving. Heads up!" barked Matilda as she lead the beast inside._

_Cinder glanced and couldn't help but smirk at the overwhelmed look on the younger girl's face. "This will be your assigned Grimm, a Wyvern."_

_"B-but how?! I thought they were incredibly rare!" Fotia cried. She had been able to control Grimm before, Beowolves, Death Stalkers, Boarbatusks, but never anything like this. Sheer Kaa had praised her, saying she was gifted and could bond with them easily, but she didn't know if she was ready for this._

_"Oh yes, they are indeed. You see, when we freed the last Wyvern during the attack at Beacon it laid an egg before it escaped from its prison within the mountain, just as Mistress Salem predicted it would. You see, when imprisoned for long periods of time Wyverns lay eggs and keep them warm, but the eggs cannot hatch without sunlight, when the Wyvern burst out of the mountain it felt my master's presence around me and did our bidding. Once it began rampaging through Vale it was only a simple task to quickly move in and take the egg. Mistress Salem did not predict losing the elder Wyvern but she knew about this egg. We will have more Wyverns in the future but with this one you shall lead them in the coming war." Cinder elaborated._

_Fotia nodded and carefully began to approach the young Wyvern and asked "It's so small... I read that Wyverns were massive, why is it so small?"_

_"It's only a month old, it will grow very rapidly in the coming months and it won't obtain the ability to spawn minor Grimm for years but now is the time for you to... bond with the creature." Cinder explained before quickly warning "Be careful, even at this young age its fire breath can still disfigure you."_

_Fotia nodded and approached the young Grimm with care._

_The Keepers got out of the way as the beast roared and noticed Fotia, sensing the fear within her._

_"H-hello... I'm Fotia Drakos and I'm your... partner, I guess? Commander? Some would say master, but I don't really feel comfortable using that term. Mistress Salem is the only master after all, but... oh I'm babbling. I'm sorry, I'm rather..."_

_Fotia was cut off as the young Wyvern roared and unleashed a powerful barrage of fire upon her. She screamed and braced herself but despite the heat didn't feel the flame touch her. She opened her eyes to see the flames being repelled away from her by Cinder._

_Cinder looked at her and stated "You have to be firm with these things." She took control of the fire and sent it right back at the Grimm, slamming it into the wall, injuring it, but not killing it. She looked down to Fotia and said "You have to be swift and firm and prepared for without a weapon..."_

_Without any warning Fotia was lifted up by Cinder's Maiden powers and thrown on to the back of the Wyvern which roared in defiance as it began to wildly rampage around the large cavern. The teenage Grimm hybrid was scared out of her wits and she knew the young Grimm could feel her anxiety, but she knew she had to try._

_She climbed up towards it's head and straddled its neck as she placed her hands on its head. "Listen to me! Please! I can feel the anger and sorrow within you, the darkness, but if we cooperate with each other we can be a force for good!" she cried out as it continued roaring. She looked at the soft placement of skin beneath the 'mask' bone structure and got an idea. "Listen to me!" she screamed as she slammed a fist into the soft skin._

_It roared in pain and screeched to a halt and fell over, forcing Fotia to clamber around it's neck, avoid it's wide mouth, and get up to its muzzle so it could stare it right in the eye._

_"Fotia! Catch!" Cinder called as she tossed her a sword. Fotia caught it and held it up to the young Wyvern's eye._

_She looked at the Grimm's blood red eye and could see into it, and it stared right back at her. She could see the darkness within it but there was something else, something she hadn't sensed in the other Grimm... fear._

_"Please, I don't want to hurt you... I want to help you become strong. You can help me with that goal as well and together we will change the world. We can do great things, but only if you work with me." she pleaded. She gently pressed her hand against its snout to let it know her intentions. "Please, I... I can tell there's something about you, your kind aren't mindless beasts, are you?"_

_The Wyvern seem to calm down, but it was breathing roughly and a small flame burned at the back of its throat. It looked at this thing that smelled of human and of Grimm, it could understand her words and what she wanted. It looked into her eyes and saw pain, fear, and a desire to make a difference._

_It moaned gently and made a choice as Fotia gently got off its snout and then it_ _leaned its head towards her. She held out her unarmed hand and let the thing pressed up against her, like a cat or a dog would._

_Fotia's red eyes were now wide with amazement and she said "I did it... I did it!" She turned to see Cinder who nodded with approval as the younger girl began to affectionately rub the dragon Grimm._

_"Well done Fotia, I think this partnership will prove to be quite interesting."_

Pyrrha was snapped out of her memories by the sound of the door opening and footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Sorry I took so long Pyr, I just needed that shower to wake me up." Jaune said as he came down, slightly wet, from the upstairs of the Nikos family's new home down to the training area in the basement. Because of the duty she now shared with Jaune her parents agreed to move from Mistral to Cadia in Vale so the two teenage Grimm Hybrids could be together and protect the Aura Crystal. The new Nikos house was a large and impressive three story, four if you counted the basement, home a block away from the Arc residence.

Ever since they moved in Pyrrha and Jaune had spent their days together as an official couple and would either tour the city or train and today was a training day. The problem, however, was that Jaune was suffering from drowsiness and as a result he was taking more hits from Pyrrha and wasn't putting up a good performance so he quickly took a shower in one of their guest bathrooms to wake himself up.

Pyrrha's hair had grown back to it's original length while Jaune had stayed the same, save for his hair being slightly longer and shaggier. Pyrrha looked into Jaune's eyes and could still see he was tired, not to be unexpected as they had been training for hours but she had noticed that he looked when he arrived earlier.

She took a brief moment to admire his body, while his body wasn't totally dry from the shower the sweat on his shirt made the developing wiry muscles of his attractive body stand out a bit and... he looked quite good.

"Ummm... Pyrrha?" he announced, snapping Pyrrha out of her gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jaune I was... distracted." she said with a blush, which made him blush too.

"Okay, let's get back to the jabbing and blocking lessons, shall we?" he asked.

"Yes, let's." Pyrrha said as she went back into 'instructor mode' as Jaune affectionately dubbed it.

For ten minutes they traded blows with Pyrrha making quick jabs at Jaune's torso and Jaune sluggishly blocking or dodging them, but for the most part Pyrrha managed to land a hit, which made her concern for her boyfriend grow. He wasn't the best fighter, even after the vast improvements he had made in the last nine months or so but he was much better than this. Pyrrha unleashed a sequence of several fast jabs, Jaune avoided one, failed to block two and finally with the fourth he went down on his rear.

"Ow!" he cried.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" she asked as she got on her knees next to him.

"I'm okay Pyr, I'm sorry I'm so useless today, I didn't get much sleep last night and..." Jaune didn't bother to finish, he could see the look in Pyrrha's beautiful emerald eyes, a look of concern and of love.

"Jaune, love, please tell me what has been going on in your dreams." she said.

The nightmares. He had been suffering through them for months now. Once it got so bad he woke up screaming and called her in the middle of the night just to make sure his dream hadn't come to pass. He had been very reluctant to talk about them and would stubbornly withhold details from her, and this made Pyrrha worry even more.

"I... I can't okay. I don't want you to..." he tried to say before she cut him off with a kiss which he quickly returned.

"Nothing you could say would change the way I feel about you. You make me feel things I don't understand and have never felt before. I love you Jaune, so please trust me and tell me what your nightmares are about. Please." she said.

Jaune looked into her eyes and tears began to well within his.

"Pyrrha, I think the piece of Grimm that's still within me is making me worry, like what if it grows? In my nightmares I remember the night Ruby and I were captured. I can hear your voice but its far and is telling me something I can't understand. I see Ante's thugs rushing to attack an injured Ruby so I protect her and I... I kill some of them. Once I'm done I hear it; laughter. I look up and see her..."

"Cinder." Pyrrha guessed correctly.

Jaune nodded and continued "I see her, laughing at me, mocking me. Telling me..." he stopped and buried his head in his hands. "Telling me I'm just as bad as she is and I can see myself, I look like how you used to, Ziz, that wolf guy and I'm covered in blo..."

He was cut off by Pyrrha grabbing him and hugging him tightly against her body.

"Jaune, you are nothing like her! Whatever you did... it was because you had no other choice. Killing is a terrible thing, but it isn't our fault when we are forced to do it." she said as she repressed the memory of that innocent man she killed and the two dozen abducted people that were slaughtered by the Grimm Knights. She had told Professor Argo and Lieutenant Morse about those people and managed to successfully identify them before she left Haven. She didn't, however, admit to what happened to the man she had been forced to kill. "Jaune, I want you to know this right now; you are nothing like that monster Cinder Fall! Neither of us are! We beat her before Jaune and we will beat her again when she comes back. I promise Jaune, I won't let her hurt you again."

"And I won't let anything or anyone hurt you." Jaune said as he kissed Pyrrha.

They just stayed like that, holding each other on the floor for several minutes before Jaune said "I'm really tired."

"All the sparring today has worn me out as well... let's go over to the sofa." Pyrrha said.

About twenty-odd minutes later Hera came down the staircase and said "Pyrrha honey, Jaune? I was wondering if either of you would like something to eat... oh my..." she said quietly to herself as she saw an adorable sight.

Jaune was sitting on the sofa with Pyrrha sitting sideways in his lap with her back resting against the arm of the couch while Jaune's arms were wrapped lightly around her body while she had her head buried into his neck while his head rested against hers. It took every ounce of restraint Hera had not to made a sound to express how cute she found the scene.

She quickly did what most mothers would do in this situation and took a photo with her scroll and muttered "Hello new screensaver." She went to the closet in the side of the basement and got out a blanket and covered the couple up with it and it warmed her heart to see her daughter, safe and alive with the boy she loved.

Hera tried to hold back the tears of joy, but failed to do so. With that she quietly made her way back upstairs but silently vowed that if Cinder Fall were to ever harm either of these children again she would split open skull and tear out her heart.

No one was going to harm her baby again.

As she shut the door Pyrrha became slightly aware of the blanket so as she fell asleep again she sleepily murmured to Jaune "I love you." as she snuggled into him.

"I love you too." he whispered back, unaware of Mrs. Nikos had ever been in the room.

* * *

"Oh come on Yang! Give me some mercy!" Ruby whined.

"Let me think about that. No!" Yang said, without even a second's hesitation as she effortlessly outraced Ruby in the video game they were playing in the living room.

The game they were playing was currently on a racing level and Ruby, despite her speedy nature, was never good at racing games, but Yang on the other hand was very talented at it.

"Oh come on! I'm like twenty thousand miles behind you... you just past me! You already completed the lap?!" Ruby cried.

"You shouldn't even try Rubes." Yang said with a smirk.

"Oh just wait 'til we get back to the fighting stages, I am going to kick your butt!" Ruby declared with a fiery determination in her voice.

Yang smiled at that, she knew Ruby was a bit better at fighting games then she was but it was fun to have times like this. Zwei barked in excitement, rooting for no one in particular, just happy to be there

Taiyang smiled as he entered the living room and said "Now girls, don't try drive yourselves crazy trying to one up each other at a video game again. Save that for the real action."

"We know dad." They both said as they kept concentrating on the game.

Taiyang sighed and repressed a chuckle before he heard his scroll ring. He took it out of his pocket and retreated into the kitchen so he could speak to the caller.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tai, miss me?" said the voice of Qrow.

"Like I miss a scab." Taiyang said with a good natured smirk as his brother-in-paw appeared on the screen.

"How are the girls doing?" Qrow asked.

"Doing pretty good, that arm you got for Yang has been wonderful and Ruby... well no matter what Ruby will always be Ruby. What's up with you?" the blonde man asked.

"Same old, same old. I am so damn happy that Oz's trial will be over soon, hell next week as a matter of fact." Qrow revealed.

"Really? About time." Taiyang stated. The trial had been dragged out for months due to the conflicting schedules of the collective council members from the various kingdoms so it could only be held on days when all members were available, none of them could simply miss it and read reports on it later due to how big of a deal it was. Ozpin was one of the most important people in Remnant, so it went without saying that if his capabilities were to be put under scrutiny the trial was an important one. It had mostly been kept quiet, no members of the press or the general public were allowed to know what was going on until the trial was over, so Taiyang had been kept in the dark ever since it began. The only thing he knew about it was when Ruby and Yang were called in as witnesses to the events at Beacon and how Ruby and Ozpin had been reunited in the factory. They weren't the only one, Jaune and Pyrrha had also been called in.

"They threw out the traitor bullshit two weeks in..."

"Two weeks? It should have been thrown out in two minutes." Taiyang ranted.

"Hey, the councilors are just a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats. You know; assholes and morons." Qrow offered, getting a big laugh out of Taiyang. "Anyway Tai the trial will conclude next week and Ozpin spoke to me today, he wants you and the girls to be there."

"Sure thing." Taiyang agreed.

"Not just our family, their teammates, JNPR, CFVY, SSSN... I know that old teacher well enough to know when he has a scheme forming in his brain." Qrow said with a considering look on his face.

"What do you think he's up to?" Taiyang inquired.

"Whatever it is, I think I'll like it. So tell the girls about the end of the trial, they'll be eager to be there. See you later Tai." Qrow said as he cut the transmission.

"You too old buddy." Taiyang bid as he ended the call. The blonde man looked to the living room where Ruby and Yang still played against each other ferociously.

"Oh yeah! Kicked your butt, little sis!" Yang taunted.

"Just wait, next level is a fighting stage and I will destroy you at it!" Ruby promised.

"You're on!" Yang accepted as Zwei yipped happily.

Taiyang smiled as his daughters played together, way too caught up in their game at the moment. He decided to let them have their fun for now and tell them later. What was the harm of letting them have fun while they still could?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back!
> 
> Ready for Season 2 of Destiny of Remnant, or Volume 5 of the series? Then you're in luck.
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter but I felt it'd be better to start out just seeing how our friends are doing since the last chapter.
> 
> Also updates may come out less frequently after a while and I will be changing the rating to M in the future for... certain things other than violence.
> 
> In my time away I have rewatched all of Avatar The Last Airbender and the various comics (I love them, hope they'll come out faster) and Legend of Korra and I have read nearly 300 Transformers comics. So I am more than happy to get back to writing.
> 
> Next time we'll take a look at how Ozpin's Trial went over but so far we've established some new storylines: Jaune and Pyrrha training, a search for Claundandus, the schism in the Schnee family, flashback to Pyrrha and the Wyvern, and more will all be part of this story arc, which will have the White Fang as major villains. Expect more of RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, Penny, Qrow, Winter, Ozpin, Glynda, Ziz, Adam, and more in the future. And yeah a lot of them will have their V4 designs, as evidenced by Ren and Nora's changes.
> 
> Also, about the Wyvern being different from other Grimm... yeah I'll be developing that more as we go.
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you've read it on fanfiction. net then review, favorite and follow and if you're on AO3 then leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, please! The more feedback I get the more I will make, thank you everyone!


	27. The Trial of Ozpin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Ozpin stood as still as a pillar, content to take the occasional sip from his coffee mug as he watched the city outside of the window of his study. Currently he was in his hometown of Baum, an average sized town that had been serving as his prison, as some would look at it that way but compared to what Ozpin had been through months before staying at his family's old home that he rarely ever had the occasion to visit after being held by Salem for months was a reprieve that was very much welcome. So he was technically under house arrest until the trial was over tomorrow but home was home.

With the small exception of the annoying ankle monitor that was on his lower right leg that made it impossible to leave the premises without alerting the squad of guards stationed to watch him, not to mention the electric shock he would receive. Many of the council members, as well as Ironwood himself, had objected to such a harsh treatment but Councilman Benedict had insisted that with as much power as Ozpin had had prior to the Fall of Beacon and with the accusation levied against him it was necessary to be so rough.

It had been a long trial with over three dozen sessions over the past four months, it took one month to set everything up and get everyone prepared, contact all the necessary witnesses and schedule the dates so the various council members of all the Four Kingdoms could attend and observe. Ozpin didn't truly know what the final verdict would be but it would be revealed to him tomorrow at last, after months of deliberation and arguing the councils of the Four Kingdoms were finally ready to end this trial.

After Qrow had, rather forcibly, talked some sense into him Ozpin no longer wanted to give up his powers by his own accord but if the council had decided he was no longer capable of performing his duty then so be it. He just hoped they knew Glynda would be the perfect successor.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." he beckoned. With that Glynda and Qrow both entered the room.

"Hey Oz, sorry I haven't been around much but Goodwitch has had me on a lot of missions plus I have to keep up with Signal and... eh, you know how it goes." Qrow said with a shrug.

"I know you have been busy Qrow, mostly because we know that you'd constantly interrupt the trial with objections even though you aren't a lawyer. I believe your one time act as a witness for my case was enough." Ozpin stated, which got a smirk out of his old student.

"Damn right it was and I would be calling 'em out on their bull constantly if I had been here more. Goodwitch said she'd give me the cliff notes version of the trial so far with all the unnecessary crud and just the stuff I need to know." Qrow stated, remembering the day he acted as a witness for the trial got a little out of hand as he didn't like the accusations that were initially being thrown at Ozpin.

"I have contacted the teams you wished me to, Jason has agreed to grant your request regarding Team SSSN." Glynda said to Ozpin.

"Good, with you being their only logical candidate to replace me if they wish..." Ozpin began.

"Um, hello, what about me?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin glanced at him and said "I said Glynda was the only logical replacement. You could replace me but it wouldn't be a very sane move to make."

"Oh real nice Oz." Qrow muttered sarcastically.

"I meant no offense Qrow..." Ozpin began before Glynda cut him off.

"Qrow, can you imagine what _you_ as the Headmaster of Beacon would be like?" she asked.

Qrow laughed and said "The secretaries wouldn't be too bad but the kids... I can handle Yang and Ruby but over a thousand brats? No way, you're right Oz, Goodwitch is much better suited to that crap."

Glynda shook her head with slight annoyance and continued. "So even if they do strip you of your power and position I will still be able to follow the plan. I have brought Miss Belladonna, Mr. Lie, and Miss Valkyrie with us from Vale so they will be here when the time comes."

"What is this plan you keep going on about? I think I need to know why you want my nieces and their friends here." Qrow voiced.

"You will know when the time comes, Qrow. For now Glynda and I need to keep this a secret. It is not a conspiracy like we had with Amber, lord knows that is behind us. No, this shall be a reward to those brave students for everything they did to save Haven City and Remnant itself." Ozpin explained.

Qrow nodded and said "Okay, Taiyang and the girls will be leaving tonight and arriving in the morning and with Penny and her dad. I just got off the scroll with Ruby and she told me that her Schnee friend is already on her way."

"And Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos are already on their way with a few members of their families, Jason is coming with Team SSSN and the various members of Team CFVY will be arriving this evening, in fact Mr. Alistair as already arrived." Glynda informed.

"Excellent, has James arrived yet?" Ozpin asked.

"No, but he will be here soon." Glynda said.

"Oz, what will happen if they do decide to fire you?" Qrow asked seriously, any sense of the normal humor in his voice missing.

Ozpin sighed and said "Should they choose to relieve me of my duties I will step down without a fight or argument. I shall request to be brought on as a consultant from time to time, especially if Salem makes a move but after all these years I think I have earned retirement. If, however, they allow me to stay in command then I shall 'soldier on' as you put it Qrow. I shall rely a bit more on the advice of those around me, as I now realize it was a terrible mistake to ignore them in the past. You shall be the ones to keep me in check."

"Sounds good to me, well I better get going. I've got that summary of the trial to read so I better get to it." Qrow said before he bid them goodbye and walked out of the door.

Ozpin waiting until he could no longer hear Qrow walking away and looked to Glynda to say "Glynda, is it wrong that a part of me had some small hope that they will fire me?"

"Why would you ever hope that? I thought Qrow made it explicitly clear to you..."

"He did, but that doesn't count for the self-doubt I feel towards myself. I've seen the body count, the memorial, the soldiers, the innocent civilians, the students... all of those who lost their lives to the White Fang and the Grimm weigh heavily on my conscience. I know I have to keep trying, I know I have to persevere, but I will always feel guilt because I deep down I know no one can be blamed for Cinder's victory at Beacon except me." He said darkly.

"Stop that." Glynda barked, making Ozpin's head snap up to look at her. "Yes, you can be blamed for the Fall but blaming yourself and moping about isn't going to accomplish anything except diminishing my respect for you and make you look pathetic. The best you can do is try your best to make up for your failings, not mope about them. So straighten yourself up, because I no longer want to hear you whining like a failing student. Is that understood?"

Ozpin stared at Glynda for a moment before he smiled and said "I knew you'd pull me back. I was testing you Glynda, I needed to know if I could depend on you to help me fix my mistakes and be the one who would set me straight the way no one else would dare to and for that you have my eternal respect, gratitude, and friendship."

Glynda was a little shocked by this but quickly recovered and said "I will always be there for you sir. I am honored to be your friend, I just want you to promise me that if you need someone to talk to, you'll come to me."

"I will." Ozpin said with a smile, "Now, has there been any news of the White Fang? Ever since Miss Belladonna told me about Claudandus' capture it has elevated their threat. If they are willing to kill their former leader there's no telling what they won't do."

"So far, nothing but reports of attacks, a few prisoners taken, and rumors of potential base locations but nothing concrete and nothing about Claudandus." She reported.

Ozpin nodded and said "Wherever my old friend is I hope he is alright."

* * *

Qrow walked down the street the hotel where he and the various others would be staying, he had even booked a room for the rest of his family to stay in, as well as their teammates. The trial had been a long and annoying process but it was finally coming to an end. Whether Ozpin would stay or not was up to the collective 'wisdom' of the councils.

Each council had eight members in all and one for each position; military, economics, education, trade, construction, agriculture, culture, and a figurehead who acted as a leader. Vale's was a smart and fair dark-skinned man named Jonathan Henry who had been acquaintances with Ozpin for years but was putting their friendship behind for now as this trial needed no bias against nor in favor of Ozpin. So with eight councilmen or women for each of the Four Kingdoms that altogether made a grand total of thirty-two council members who acted as a jury to decide Ozpin's fate. They all knew of Salem, anyone who was to be directly involved in the trial had to.

Tomorrow there would only be the four heads of each council and the council members from Vale as Ozpin was directly an issue for their kingdom. The councils were making their final decision right now and would finalize it tomorrow as well as announce it. So far the press had been kept back to keep controversy down, but there had been some, as many relatives and survivors of the Fall of Beacon were calling for Ozpin's resignation and imprisonment for his supposed incompetence. Stuff like that made Qrow's blood boil but he ignored it for now

As he strolled down the streets of Baum he remembered the only day he had attended the trial, when he had been called forth as a witness for the fourth day.

_Three Months Ago_

_It was the fourth day of the trial. Qrow walked up from the rows of seats and towards the stand to take his place for the trial. He could see Glynda was standing next to Ozpin and his defense attorney, a man named Dan Webster who had been a friend of Ozpin's for over a decade and had helped the school out of several lawsuits._

_The council representative of Vale's military, a man that Qrow vehemently disliked known as Benedict, who had even more of a stick up his ass then Ironwood. He had been the one to accuse Ozpin of being a traitor and after pointing out some of the unfortunate and odd circumstances such as how easily Cinder's plan went through, how he didn't think about the possibility of an illusion Semblance after Yang attacked Mercury, Amber's lack of security The judge was a man named Yong Zheng, who was presiding over the case with neutrality and no prior bias as he had never met Ozpin before._

" _Please state your name for the record." Benedict said to Qrow._

" _Qrow Branwen, and before you ask yes I swear to tell the truth and nothing but under the penalty of law." He said in an annoyed tone of voice._

" _Mr. Branwen please state your occupation." Benedict said._

" _Professional Huntsman by trade, though I do teach at Signal Academy from time to time in the weapons class, helping the future generation design their weapons and teach them how to safely operate them." Qrow elaborated._

" _And what is your relationship to William Ozpin?"_

" _I was a student of Beacon Academy nearly two decades ago, during that time Ozpin was the headmaster, of course. His teachings helped me and many others prepare for the world of Remnant for our adult lives and helped us to better fight the Grimm menace." Qrow stated._

" _And is it correct that you are one of his agents?" Benedict inquired._

" _Yes. I took my missions directly from him; I went out into all four kingdoms to do whatever he required of me. Often it was to take down incredibly powerful hordes or Grimm or to sabotage the efforts of anti-government terrorist groups or to shut down Guerrilla Hunter training operations, but in all honesty he sent me to do pretty much everything, including watching over the previous Fall Maiden from time to time. A duty I shared with several others." He informed the councils, those who were not physically present were there via hologram._

" _Yes, we have already interviewed the other guardians of the Fall Maiden but they were not as close to Ozpin as you are, Mr. Branwen. Now from what we understand you were the one who saved Amber's life when she came under attack from Cinder Fall and her followers, and not only that but you saw them at the Vytal Festival and failed to recognize them, do you mind telling us why?" Benedict asked as the typist continued to record everything._

" _The girl, Sustrai, the one with the illusion Semblance covered their faces. In hindsight it seems pretty obvious but that's the thing about hindsight." Qrow admitted._

" _Would you agree that the healthcare and the security for the Fall Maiden after her injuries were inadequate?"_

_Qrow was silent for a moment before answering "Yes. I didn't say anything at the time because I believed that Ozpin knew what he was doing, more than anyone so who was I to question him? I suspected that Salem's agents were at the Festival but I didn't believe whatsoever that they would find Amber."_

" _And yet General Ironwood claims that you said that they would take down his forces quite easily so you recognized the threat Cinder Fall posed at the time." Benedict pointed out._

" _Yes, I did, not to Amber but the public in general. I didn't think that Ironwood's forces could defeat them without heavy collateral damage. I didn't understand the full extent of how right I was until Beacon had already fallen." Qrow said seriously._

" _Yes, and would describe Ozpin's strategy in defending not only Amber and Beacon, but defending the people of Vale, the innocent civilians, and his own students as ineffective and highly flawed?" Benedict questioned with a stern voice to let Qrow know how serious of a question this was._

_Qrow sighed but answered "At first I would have merely called it slightly flawed and in need of reevaluation but after our disastrous defeat I would admit that, yes it was highly flawed and even somewhat arrogant. The lack of security for Amber especially spelled doom for the girl and deciding to transfer the Maiden powers when he did... well, he, Nikos, Arc, and many others suffered for it but Amber paid for it with her life."_

" _Yes, that's what I thought, but how would you describe him altogether, as a teacher, an employer, and as a friend?" Benedict asked._

" _I would describe him as a wise and heavily burdened mentor who has helped many great Huntsmen and Huntresses realize their full potential and he has saved us all time and again in the battle against Salem and the Grimm. He has his flaws, but we all do. I am happy to call him not only my mentor but as a friend as well. No one can deny that he has made mistakes but he deserves a chance to redeem himself." Qrow said to the council members of the kingdoms._

" _Thank you for that, Mr. Branwen but I'm afraid we must ask you some more questions. Do you think it is possible that Ozpin betrayed us to Salem and could betray us in the future if left in command?" the councilman prodded._

" _To put it bluntly; there is no way in hell would he ever willingly betray us. Just because he dropped the ball doesn't mean he did it on purpose. He isn't a traitor and never will betray us. He was Salem's captive for months in a coma and once he woke up was forced to be in a cell with the killer of his old team! She put him through hell and tortured him, so I don't buy the idea that he's a traitor for a second and anyone who does is a damn fool." Qrow said firmly, looking Benedict in the eye._

" _Very well, Mr. Branwen, your opinion on that matter has echoed the thoughts of many others we have called. Now what can you tell us about your nieces?" the military councilman asked._

" _What do they have to do with this?" Qrow asked._

" _If I'm not mistaken Ozpin's failure to recognize an illusion Semblance not only made her look like a brute but in the end it also cost her one of her arms." Benedict stated._

" _Okay, yes, maybe he should have realized it but the final rounds of the tournament were in full swing so he couldn't launch a full on investigation. It's crappy but it's also reasonable, I think you'd have established that by now." Qrow said with an annoyed voice._

" _We have and we have decided that it was not a display of incompetence or of any traitorous acts, I just wanted to know your opinion of it." Benedict said._

" _Objection! Your honor the prosecutor is trying to get an emotional reaction out of the witness." Webster called._

" _Agreed, this trial is not meant to provoke emotion, councilmen." Zheng voiced._

" _Yes sir, I apologize, but I have one last question for the witness. Do you think your younger niece was only admitted to Beacon at such an early age because Ozpin wanted to use her eyes and take advantage of the legend?" Benedict inquired._

" _Objection!" Webster cried out again._

" _No, it's okay. There's a part of me that thinks that could be possible but I know that Ruby is special, just like her mom. We need her if we are going to win this fight. Ozpin knows that more than anyone and so do I. While he may have let her into Beacon early because of her eyes I think it was also because of her natural skill and talent." Qrow said._

" _Thank you, Mr. Branwen that is all I have at this time." Benedict said before he turned to Webster and said "Your witness."_

_Qrow glanced back up to Mr. Henry who had a rather uncomfortable look on his face._

The session with Webster hadn't been as awkward or as unpleasant as it had been with Benedict to say the least. It was quite unremarkable and was little more than Qrow recounting his more important experiences with Ozpin or how Ozpin had influenced his life and he had to make special note that Ozpin most certainly didn't inspire his love of alcohol.

Ozpin arrived at the hotel where he, Glynda, and the others were staying and as he walked in he saw Oobleck and Port in the lobby chatting with each other.

"Ah, Qrow old boy! How is Professor Ozpin doing?" Port asked as he waved to the younger man.

"He's doing fine, way better than I'd be in his place." Qrow said.

"Well at least this meandering excuse of a trial will be behind us tomorrow, for good or ill." Oobleck voiced.

"Yeah, and before either of you ask I haven't read Goodwitch's report on the trial yet. I'm going up to my suite to do it now." He assured them.

"May either of us read it after you're done?" Oobleck asked.

"Nope, sorry guys but Goodwitch said it's for my eyes only." Qrow told them as he made his way to the elevator.

"Are you telling us the truth or lying?" Oobleck inquired.

"I don't even think he can tell the difference at times." Port remarked.

Once Qrow made it to his room he locked the door behind him and took out his scroll and opened up the file Glynda had sent him and saw the notice he had read earlier.

This is only a brief summary of the events as they transpired Qrow, Ozpin had me write them down and occasionally record a specific incident so you would be kept in the loop. I'll also be sending a similar document to James soon enough. Don't let anyone else read this unless either of us give you permission. - Glynda.

Qrow grimaced as he sat on his bed and began to read the file.

'DAY 1

Ironwood and I were both here for the first day. Not much happened aside from an introduction and summarization of the events of the Fall and the Battle of Haven. Benedict questions about where Ozpin had been and what had happened while he was in captivity and Ozpin tells them about the battle with Cinder and how she managed to best him with a nasty arrow to the back which weakened him enough for her to teleport him to Salem's domain, afterwards he vaguely recollects being zapped with dark aura energy by Salem which apparently put him in a coma for four months. He tells them about Norvik and I must admit many of the details of what that maniac told him are sickening. He goes on about what Salem planned to do with Jaune and Norvik and if I ever get my hands on that witch I will make her regret ever hearing the word Grimm.

He tells us of how he slowly built up his aura, even with aura draining bindings, and how he escaped from captivity with Ruby and Jaune. He tells them about what happened to Pyrrha and Jaune and with backup from James and myself the councils agree to let that subject go for the time being.

Questions about his loyalty are thrown against him, as there is no visible scar to mark the place where Cinder shot him, but he claims that Salem's underlings healed him.

DAY 2

Things get a little rough today.

They reviewed Ozpin's early history as well as his parents and his education at Signal and Beacon as well as his team, WZRD. From what the reports say they ran ninety-four missions during their four years with eighty-six of them being successful, making them one of the best teams Beacon had ever seen.

Then they got to Norvik. I was recording at the time which thankfully saves me the task of recapping to you what happened, just press play.'

Qrow cocked an eyebrow and wondered what could have happened but remembered that when Ozpin had told them about Norvik and what Salem had planned for him. He remembered how Ozpin described gunning down the elderly murderer. Qrow had been disturbed by some of the things Ozpin had told him about Norvik the Hunter but he already knew that if someone were to push the topic of the old killer onto Ozpin it wouldn't be pretty.

He pressed play and began to listen.

"And on your way back from Sudria you received a distress call from a lone wanderer claiming to be trapped in a cabin by a horde of Grimm..." the voice of Benedict began.

"Yes, I know we have to get to the topic of Norvik sooner or later but I'd prefer it if we..." Ozpin tried to say before he was stopped.

"The sooner we talk about it the sooner it will be behind you. Now your pilot landed your ship and you led your team to the location of the transmission, where you were all knocked out by a gas grenade. According to the report when you awoke Norvik had already began his work on Miss Harrison..."

"Objection your honor! Bringing up past emotional trauma has no place in a courtroom." Webster said scornfully.

"Overruled. Normally I would agree but with the revelation of Norvik the Hunter being recently alive I think we must go over what happened all those years ago. Please continue Councilman." Zheng said.

'Idiots.' Qrow thought bitterly.

"From what you told the authorities over forty years ago he proceeded to gut Miss Harrison like a fish, even taking a bite out of one of her organs. After she gave into the pain and died he proceeded on with Mr. Shimmer, impaling him and hacking him with a sharp blade. As is recorded in the various files detailing Norvik the Hunter he saved team leaders for last, which ended up saving your life and dooming his. As he began to mutilate Rouge Baton you managed to escape, her screams providing the cover for you..."

"Spare us the details, Councilman. We do not need to hear the gorier bits of this experience." Judge Zheng scolded.

"But it is the truth. Ozpin managed to escape while his partner was being murdered and he managed to get to their pilot in time who then radioed for the authorities. Afterwards William Ozpin led a manhunt for the serial killer which only lasted a few days, ending with two battling over an abandoned railway viaduct and Ozpin coming out the victor, with the madman not being brought to justice but plunging off of the tall bridge and into the raging river below to a watery grave. Or so we thought. It disturbs me very much that Norvik the Hunter was, in fact, alive for over four decades in the hands of the Mistress of Grimm, kept alive for her incredibly sinister plots. Now, how could he possibly survive such a fall, not to mention the rapids and the rocks of the river. Could it be that he let Ozpin escape and that his would-be victim returned the favor?" Benedict speculated, arousing whispers from the other council members and cries of protest from Ironwood and Glynda.

"Don't be a fool! That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard!" Ironwood protested.

"This is absurd and a waste of time." Glynda agreed.

All of a sudden there was sounds of a scuffle and cries of shock and surprise from around the room.

Then Qrow heard Ozpin growl out in a ferocious voice that he had never expected, nor wanted, to hear from the older man. " _Never_ insinuate that I let that abomination live! He murdered my team, my friends, the woman I loved! I hated him with every fiber of my being and I was just as shocked as any of you to discover that he was still alive. I was locked in a dank cell with him for days, forced to listen to his insane prattling and I gunned him down and as ashamed as I am to admit it I enjoyed ending him. I want you to never even consider that he and I were in league, not even for an instant! I would rather die then ever aid him in any way shape or form."

There was the sound of shoes landing on the tiles and whispers breaking out again as Zheng banged his gavel to restore order.

"Mr. Ozpin please calm yourself, I am sorry this happened. This incident will be stricken from the record." Zheng announced.

"But your honor, this was a clear case of assaulting a duly appointed officer of the court!" Benedict protested.

"Assault? You are uninjured; all he did was grab you. This was a case of a subject reacting to extremely hostile emotional provocation. I repeat, it will be stricken from the record. Court will now take a brief recess."

The audio file ended and Qrow shook his head. Pushing Ozpin was most definitely not a good idea and Benedict had to find that out the hard way. He just hoped that Ozpin would talk about this Norvik issue over with Glynda, it wasn't healthy to keep all those emotions pent up like that.

He continued reading on in the file onto day three, which had taken place a week later and Glynda's summary of it detailed long testimonies from both herself and Ironwood, describing how they came to know Ozpin, their experiences with him, their feelings towards him, and so on but they had to admit things about Ozpin that didn't paint him in such a positive light.

Apparently both Glynda and Ironwood had made numerous suggestions about Amber's safety. Ironwood himself wanted her relocated to a heavily secret fortified base in the Atlas mountain range guarded by a legion of Atlas soldiers and professional Hunters while Glynda wanted at the very least to have some highly trained warriors guarding her in the vault but Ozpin insisted on the utmost secrecy with as few people as possible knowing about it.

Ironwood also revealed that he wanted to beef up security for the Vytal Festival but Ozpin refused, feeling that the more visible the guns and soldiers were the more uneasy the populace would become which would attract Grimm, which ended up being wrong as due to the limited security the Grimm were able to rampage into Vale with little opposition.

He had been present for the fourth day of the trial, which had been a week later, so he went on to read about the fifth day which had marked the second week of the trial.

'DAY 5

As I told you earlier this was the day they _finally_ decided to throw out the ridiculous notion of Ozpin being a traitor, but in the end it doesn't make him look any better.

They go closer into the Fall of Beacon and determine that Cinder's infiltration of the CCT tower earlier that year during the dance is what caused the security measures to fail so spectacularly, such as; the early warning systems not picking up the Grimm, the Atlesian Knights turning on us, the cameras going out, and it is how she learned of Amber's location.

In the end Councilman Benedict relents that the notion of Ozpin being a traitor is highly improbable but he makes special note that in the end Ozpin still failed, that his incompetence was our downfall. As hard as it is to even think Qrow, he's not entirely wrong.

Ozpin, as wise as I think he is, should have been able to prevent all of this, yet he didn't.

I'd be lying if I said my faith in him wasn't a little shaken after everything that's happened. I have looked to him for guidance and inspiration for years now and I still do, I love him and yet I have to wonder; is he fit to command?'

Qrow sighed as he had to admit, part of him wondered if Ozpin could remain in control. He was a great man, no doubts there, but everyone had a point in their lives when they hit burn out.

The fact that Ozpin genuinely wanted to quit before Qrow talked him out of it was a little unsettling to say the least.

He continued reading on, most of it was uninteresting but he soon got to Ruby's testimony, which he had missed due to being away on an assignment. She didn't have to stay for very long, she was asked to recount her first bout with Roman Torchwick and her meeting with Ozpin afterwards and confirm the powers her eyes granted her. She told them of how Ozpin managed to deceive Salem and help them escape, he already knew about this from what Ruby had told him and he knew she also had to admit that she herself had some suspicions about Ozpin only letting her into Beacon so early so her eyes could become a tool for him to use against Salem but she made sure to tell the court that she didn't think that was all there was to it.

He skimmed through Glynda's summary of Pyrrha and Jaune's testimonies. Pyrrha told the court about how she was told the story of the Maidens and was shown Amber. She admits that the rush of everything that happened on that day and how Ozpin gave her little to no choice once the battle began would ultimately result in her choice to fight Cinder alone, most of this had been backed up by Jaune who also confirmed what Ruby had said about his escape. That sure as hell didn't win Ozpin any points. It was here that the truth about them being Grimm Hybrids came out and while it apparently caused a ruckus Ironwood managed to calm everything down. In the end it was agreed to keep their Grimm natures a secret for their own safety and privacy, but they would help to fight the Grimm in new ways, but for now the young couple was okay.

He continued reading on, most of them were people acting as character witnesses, going through various wins Ozpin had won the free world in the past. Qrow knew that in the end they wouldn't throw Ozpin in prison, it would raise far too many questions, but the final choice of what to do with Ozpin; fire him or leave him in charge, was still to be ascertained.

He found comfort in the fact that if Ozpin was going to be replaced the best choice was Glynda, at least she was someone he respected.

* * *

General Ironwood stood on the observation deck of the Atlas Military's flagship, the sight of the towns and countryside below and the clouds that surrounded the ship gave him this odd sense of serenity, as if from up here he could truly make a difference.

The last few months had been a very hectic experience, even putting aside Ozpin's trial there was the matter of the General trusting himself after how easily Salem had been able to control him but the Atlas council and many of the soldiers and staff that served under him made it clear that they trusted him and didn't blame him for what had happened, which gave the cyborg some comfort but he couldn't help but fear the possibility of it happening again, even with the up-to-date security software his engineers had installed in his robotic components.

"Sir?" said Chamberlain as he stepped onto the deck.

"Hello Jackson, how long until we reach our destination?" the General asked.

"ETA is thirty-four minutes, Specialist Schnee has confirmed that her sister and her friends are already on their way. I must say sir that Specialist Schnee seemed rather hurried when talking with her sister, I'd say she was probably avoiding the topic of their father." Chamberlain guessed as he sat down on a chair.

"Yes, whenever I speak to the man he seems distraught whenever I mention her. You were there Jackson, how unpleasant was it?" Ironwood inquired.

"Very. It was bad enough when it was you but to hear such harsh words coming from her own father, who wasn't under any sinister influence... to be frank; I'd be bitter too." The man admitted.

"They'll patch things up. Winter may seem like a cold woman, no joke intended, but at her heart she is far kinder then she initially lets on. I believe she and her father will mend their relationship, with some help from her sister. If there's one thing I've learned about the next generation it's that they begin living up to their potential sooner than I had ever expected." Ironwood said confidently.

"I think that sentiment has been proven time and again by this particular generation, sir. Also I wanted to update you on the investigation of our ranks." Chamberlain stated.

"Any catches?"

"None, all loyal but there are a few who believe you should step down after you were corrupted and some who feel frustrated by your recent easing up on the occupation of other kingdoms." Chamberlain elaborated.

"There will always be complainers and those with feelings of dissension. As long as no one's outright planning to betray us or mutiny my mind is at ease but I'd feel safer if we found someone else Salem has managed to manipulate, blackmail, or corrupt. The idea that we're missing something or someone keeps me up at night." Ironwood admitted.

"Sir, what happened to Cy was no one's fault but Salem's. It was a tragedy, but if keep investigating and looking into our personnel we might be able to prevent a similar disaster from happening again." Chamberlain said, foregoing formality and allowing an unusual amount of emotion into his voice.

Ironwood looked at the younger man and smiled. "That's the attitude to have. To honor Cy we can't allow Salem to take control of anyone else, keep me informed if anything develops. For now I'll just wait here until we reach our destination."

"Very good sir." Chamberlain as he gave the General a salute and left the room.

* * *

Atop the hotel's landing platform a ship owned by the Schnee Dust Company landed safely and it's ramp came down so Weiss Schnee could disembark and allow the hotel workers to go onto the ship and collect her bags for her. She had come alone, she had told her father he was invited to come as well but he declined, citing an important business deal that just had come up and couldn't be ignored. She knew that was a valid enough reason but personally doubted it was true. Winter was going to be here and Weiss could tell her father was avoiding her sister.

She looked to the door and smiled at the sight of Blake who was waiting for her.

"About time you got here, I was starting to worry that I'd have Nora and Ren alone to keep me company all day." The Cat Faunus said with a dry smile as she hugged Weiss.

"Wow, hugs, we've both made progress." Weiss observed with a smile of her own.

The two teenage girls walked in the hotel as Blake said "You didn't have to pay for a room for our entire team and Ruby's dad."

"Oh I can afford it, trust me Blake it's not even a dent in my allowance." Weiss assured her, glad that her financial problems were gone for good.

"Your dad's that eager to get on your good side?" Blake inquired.

"Well whenever he finds out he was wrong he does his best to make himself look a little better by making amends for it. It usually works but it hasn't made up for anything with my sister." Weiss told her teammate.

"I'm aware that your father isn't the nicest of individuals, trust me I was a part of the White Fang, even when we were peaceful we couldn't stand your family's company." Blake stated honestly.

"And now I know why, low wage and poor work conditions for Faunus workers. It has changed for the better ever since the Faunus Rights Movement's progress made it so that Faunus workers would have to get equal pay but I can tell there's still some animosity." Weiss admitted.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Blake confirmed as they arrived at the room Weiss had booked.

"I assume you already signed in?" Weiss asked her teammate who nodded. "Then I'll head downstairs and sign in and make the payment. Just be sure to let the bellhops or whatever they call themselves in when they come with my luggage."

"Can do." Blake said as she sat on her bed and took out her novel.

Weiss left the room and made her way to the elevator so she could sign in but she found that she wasn't alone in the lift as Ren and Nora were there as well.

"Weiss! It's so good to see you again!" Nora proclaimed as she squeezed the thinner girl in a crushing hug.

"Ah! Help me Ren!" Weiss called.

"Don't fight it; she'll only hug you tighter." Ren offered stoically, hiding a smile of amusement as the elevator began to descend.

Weiss moaned but accepted the hug and Nora finally let her go when the elevator was halfway down. Weiss took a deep breath before she asked "So why are you going down?"

"To meet up with Jaune, Pyrrha, and their families. Pyrrha just called us and they'll be landing at the airport any minute now." Ren explained.

Weiss nodded and said "In that case I'll call Blake down when they arrive. Will they be bringing the Aura Crystal?"

"I think so, they can't leave it unguarded." Ren stated.

"Just wondering, it's good to know they're honoring Ashe's memory." Weiss said as the elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors split open.

"They're also bringing someone else and it will be a big surprise for Blake." Nora said cryptically.

"Who?" Weiss inquired.

"It's a secret!" Nora stated brightly.

"I don't know why, Weiss has a better chance of keeping is secret than you." Ren said dryly as he allowed himself a smile at his pouting girlfriend.

Weiss went to the front desk while Ren and Nora headed to the lounge area and once the Schnee heiress arrived at the desk she smiled at the familiar sight of a girl with long brown hair and rabbit ears with a dark-skinned young man in an orange sleeveless shirt.

"Hello Velvet, hello Fox." Weiss announced.

The Rabbit Faunus turned to see her friend and smiled "Weiss! I didn't know you were here yet." She said before she went back to finish signing in. Fox gave Weiss a small but friendly smile and nodded.

Weiss was about to say something when a hotel concierge came up to her. "Hello Miss Schnee, it is such a privilege to have a member of such an illustrious family as a guest here."

"Um, thank you sir, I am glad to be here, can you help me sign in and make sure my arrangements for the Xiao-Long/Rose family is in order?" she asked.

"Of course, Miss Schnee, your rooms have already been paid for, all you need to do for now is sign in and pay for any additional charges when you leave." He said.

Weiss signed in and once Velvet was done Fox took his teammate's bags up to the room Team CFVY had been assigned and after that they came back down, with Blake and tow to meet up with Ren and Nora in the front lounge area. The group of young adults sat around chatting and catching up with Blake and Fox having a conversation about the book Blake was reading, turns out Fox was a fan of the book as well, while Weiss, Velvet, and Nora talked amongst themselves, leaving Ren alone to keep watch for the other half of his team.

Within the hour he saw several cars pull up and could see Pyrrha in the window. He smiled at the sight and announced "They're here."

"Finally!" cheered Nora who bolted up and ran for the door.

Jaune opened the car door for Pyrrha, her mother, and his mother. "Such a gentlemen." Pyrrha teased as she got out of the car.

"I have to agree, I always worried about Pyrrha finding the right 'one' and I can say without any hesitation that she struck it rich." Hera said, making Jaune blush.

"Oh stop it, seriously I'm nothing special." Jaune said as he and his girlfriend began getting their bags out of the car's trunk.

"Jaune, you were brought back from the edge of death, I'd say that makes you pretty special." Pyrrha said before she kissed him on the cheek.

Jaune's blush intensified as he looked up to his companions in the other cars; Team SSSN and Professor Argo who had been on the same plane as them.

"Want us to help you with that?" Sun asked.

"Sure, if you don't mind." Jaune agreed.

"Nah, we don't mind. I'll take that one..." Sun began before Pyrrha stopped him.

"Sorry Sun, but this is the case with the crystal." She told him.

"Oh, gotcha. That's for your hands only, no prob." The Monkey Faunus said.

"Jaune, hon, relax and let the people who work here handle it, it's what they're paid for." His mother said as she went on inside past Nora who gave her a speedy greeting as she ran towards Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Oh boy..." Jaune groaned as he submitted to the valkyire's powerful hug.

"Fearless leader! Finally we've been waiting forever for you!" she said.

"Nora, we have literally only been here for a few hours." Ren said as he greeted Team SSSN.

"Blake's here with you guys, right?" Sun asked.

"Yes, she's in the main hall's lounge area." Ren said, only for the blonde to rush past him, carrying his one bag full of clothes.

"Oh to be in love." Neptune muttered.

"I know what it's like." Ren said as he smiled at Nora who was currently giving Pyrrha a bear-hug.

"Yes Nora, it's good to see you too but could you please...?"

"Sorry guys, hugs for all teammates!" Nora declared before she let Pyrrha go.

"Man, I like her and all but I'm glad I don't have her constantly squeezing me like that." Scarlet whispered to Sage, who nodded in agreement.

"So how's it been being Guardians of the Aura Crystal?" Neptune asked discreetly as the bellhops went to work getting luggage out of the car while Professor Argo went to the front desk to sign in and pay.

As they entered the building Jaune looked to Pyrrha and sighed. "It's been alright, I mean we've meditated with it, tried the things Ashe wrote down but so far nothing's worked."

"I still think we should just give it time, Ashe did say that it didn't work for him for years, after all." Pyrrha reminded Jaune.

"Well we have to keep trying." Jaune returned.

"Hey, you'll get it sooner or later. I mean I don't know much about it but it deemed you guys worthy, right? Maybe it only talks when the time is right." Neptune suggested.

Pyrrha smiled at the bluenette and said "That's right, you shouldn't worry so much Jaune, it will come to us in time."

Jaune nodded and said "I guess you're right but I can only hope that it doesn't take twenty years like it did with Ashe.'

Pyrrha nodded, smiling as she glanced over to see Blake hugging Sun and nuzzling into his muscular chest. Pyrrha was happy for the couple, but she had to admit at first she found them to be an odd pairing but she had to admit opposites did seem to attract; Ren and Nora, Blake and Sun, Jaune and herself, even her parents seemed to be an odd match to some at times.

"Surprised to see me in the flesh?" Sun asked his girlfriend.

"Yes, but pleasantly of course. What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"We got invited to the trial too, it's a bit weird since we're not students of Beacon but we think something's up. Anyway how've you been?" he asked.

"You know how I've been, aide from worrying about Claudandus I've been fine." She said.

He nodded, remembering what she told him of her past via their scrolls. "He'll be okay. We'll find him." He said.

"I know." She returned as she kissed him.

Pyrrha smiled at the couple and Jaune noticed this. "I'm happy for them too; they deserve to be happy together as much as we do."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement before she was quickly pulled away by Nora's powerful tug. "Come on! Weiss pulled some strings and they say they can put you guys in the same room as us!" the shorter girl cheered ecstatically.

"Okay Nora, no need to pull me along!" Pyrrha said as Jaune quickly followed her, carefully holding onto the case that contained the powerful relic.

With everyone showing up it was certainly going to be quite a day.

* * *

Later that night, or morning as it was only a couple hours until sunrise, all of the teams were asleep, resting up for the final day of Professor Ozpin's trial. In Team JNPR's room Jaune and Pyrrha slept together, which was good for Jaune since he never seemed to have nightmares when Pyrrha was nearby him. Nora slept in the other bed while Ren had insisted on sleeping in a nice, comfy recliner chair that was in the room. Nora loved Ren to death but she had been constantly annoyed by his need to be a gentleman at times. That and she denied his claims that she kicked in her sleep.

Team SSSN had a room on the first floor with one bed for each of them so they were fine, even if it was a cheaper room than the others. Team CFVY were put into the same room with Velvet and Coco taking up the beds while Yatsuhashi slept in a large lounge chair that was in the room. Fox had to follow Coco's odd orders and sleep at the foot of her bed, as she wouldn't allow him to sleep on the floor.

Winter, General Ironwood, and Colonel Chamberlain had stayed on board Atlas' flagship, as Winter told her sister over the scroll, which gave the younger Schnee the feeling that her sister was avoiding her or a certain topic. Qrow, Glynda, Oobleck, Argo, Port, Mrs. Arc, and Mrs. Nikos all slept in rooms of their own.

Like most hotels they had an all night service which made for some guests to arrive in the dead of the night, guests such as the Xiao Long/Rose family and the Polendinas.

In the room Team RWBY were staying in Blake and Weiss both slept in separate beds, sleeping soundly, only for their peaceful slumber to be interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"Ugh, get it Blake." Weiss groaned.

"No, you, you paid for this room." Blake returned as she buried her head deep in a pillow.

"Yeah and I can kick you out so you open the door..." Weiss shot back as she opened her annoyed eyes.

The door opened regardless, but neither girl had opened it, a bellhop did. The door revealed a very tired Ruby and Yang, the latter of whom seemed very annoyed.

"Weiss, you paid for a room for all of us so would it have killed either of you to show us some freaking common courtesy?!" the blonde cried as she walked into the room, tossing a bag beside Blake's bed.

"Yang, Ruby?! What are you doing here? It's only six past four! You weren't supposed to be here until seven!" Weiss said as a very tired Ruby, with a droopy head and eyes that were barely even squinting, lumbered over to the heiress' bed and asleep instantly. "Ruby ...oh forget it." The youngest Schnee moaned as she went back to sleep.

"Our ship came in way too early, sorry we had to pop in like this." Yang said as she fell atop Blake's midsection, making the Cat Faunus cry out.

"Ah! Yang, get off of me!" she cried as she tried to push the taller girl off of her.

The bellhop looked at the scene awkwardly and said "I'll just, uh, leave their bags here." He dropped the bag and proceeded to leave only for Blake to call out to him.

"Hey! Wait! Help me get her off!" she said.

"I'm sorry Miss Belladonna, but I know better than most it's a terrible idea to wake up a cranky, sleepy young woman. Good night." He stated as he left the room and locked the door.

Blake struggled for a few minutes before giving up, her tiredness winning out, and resigned herself to a night of sleeping with her partner on top of her.

* * *

The next morning Team RWBY were up and about, taking turns in the shower. As Blake and Yang were waiting for Ruby to finish, Weiss had gone first naturally; they shared barbs with each other.

"I still can't believe you spent the last four hours lying on top of me." Blake muttered.

"Don't pretend you didn't like it." Yang teased with a smirk.

"I'm not pretending!" Blake cried.

"Oh so you admit you liked having me on top of you." Yang joked.

Blake blushed and stayed silent as they waited for Ruby to exit the bathroom. Soon enough she did and Blake, faster than Yang had ever seen her partner move, ran into the small room and locked herself inside.

Yang couldn't help but smile as she turned over to see her little sister and Weiss getting dressed and asked "So what do you think will happen? You think Professor Ozpin will get to stay on?"

Ruby shrugged and said "I don't really know. I hope he does but it's not up to us."

"Really? I thought you'd be more in favor of there being no trial at all or something like that." Weiss said.

"I don't think he needs to go to jail or should be fired but you have to admit guys, after everything that's happened can he really be trusted to run everything on his own?" Ruby asked them.

Weiss and Yang, and even Blake who was now peering out of the bathroom door, stared at Ruby.

"I never expected Ruby to say something as wise as that." Weiss admitted.

Ruby smiled and said "I've been a team leader for nearly a year; I have picked up a few things, y'know?"

* * *

Later that day Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY along with Penny, Dr. Polendina, Taiyang, Oobleck, Port, Argo, Hera, Joanne, as well as Winter and Chamberlain were all in the gigantic main lobby of the courthouse, along with various other Headmasters from various academies and news reporters eager to see what would happen and tell it to the masses with still an hour to wait before the verdict would be delivered.

"Lot of people here." Scarlet observed.

"What did you expect? Professor Ozpin is a very important man." Yatsuhashi stated.

Ruby looked around and asked her dad "Where's Uncle Qrow?"

Taiyang looked down to Ruby and explained to her that "He went off with Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood to speak with Ozpin before the session begins."

Ruby nodded and looked over to see Team JNPR minus the Aura Crystal. Ruby started to worry but quickly remembered that Pyrrha and Jaune had it locked in an old safe that had been in the hotel. She guessed it made sense, as carrying that thing around all the time would get annoying. Then she noticed Weiss was walking away. "Hey Weiss! Where're you going?" she called.

"Following my sister!" her partner said as she ran off.

Ruby looked over the crowd to see Winter leaving the main hall. She glanced to Blake and Yang who nodded and the three girls chased after their teammate.

They soon found Weiss standing in front of her sister who was sitting on a long bench, both of them were looking grumpier than usual.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Weiss demanded.

"Because I know you, little sister. You're going to try to get me to give in to father's attempts to patch things up, sorry but it won't work. I have seen the way the world, the real world works, how our enemies work and to put it bluntly most fathers would do everything in their power to help their daughters when they are accused of serious crimes. Our father did no such thing; he not only sat idly by, he felt I deserved it." Winter said darkly.

With the exception of Blake all of the members of Team RWBY were shocked by this little revelation.

"Winter, you can't possibly think that! Father said he didn't help you out but..."

"I do Weiss. Father was prepared to let me rot in prison without a second thought. He was angry at me for damaging his reputation and that of the company. I shudder to think what he would have done to you had you failed." Winter admitted ruefully.

"Winter... our father may be a harsh man at times but he regrets his actions after the truth came out. I think you need to give him a second chance." Weiss argued.

"There are some people who can't change Weiss, no matter how much they want to." Blake stated as she sat down.

"Your friend speaks a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless. Father said some rather terrible things about Penny and the so called 'lowly Faunus'. Honestly I don't think he'll ever change after what happened to mother." Winter said sadly.

"Your mom? Yang repeated.

"You've barely ever talked about her Weiss..." Ruby said gently. She knew that Weiss' mom was dead but she didn't know the details, she never saw it as an appropriate topic to bring up.

Weiss sighed and said "Blake, Ruby, Yang... I think it's time you learned a bit more about our family, my mother to be exact."

"You said you were witness to executions... was your mom one of them?" Ruby asked carefully.

"No! Oh gods no... I've seen bloodshed Ruby, board members and friends of my family die at the hands of Faunus with cruel intentions. Because of people like Blake, Sun, Velvet, and Neon I've learned that I was wrong and some Faunus are good people, but I know that they can be just as bad as humanity can. My mother was killed when I was very young, I wasn't there, I didn't witness her death but losing her devastated my younger self and made sure that I never trusted any Faunus until I came to Beacon." Weiss said as she sat down next to Winter, who placed a comforting hand on her back.

Winter began to tell the younger girls the sad story of their mother's fate. "Over twelve years ago our parents were on their way back from an important conference with our grandfather when their shuttle was shot down by a Faunus terrorist group known as the Rabid Ones, a gang of thugs that felt if humanity saw the Faunus race as animals they would show the world what real animals could be like." Winter began to elaborate, but she noticed the uncomfortable look on Blake's face. "I take it you know of them?"

Blake hung her head and answered "Yes, their brutal actions were an inspiration to the White Fang's new leader."

"Father managed to send a distress beacon out before it crashed into the side of a mountain. The guards fought bravely but were slaughtered by the Rabid Ones, since they weren't rich or famous there was no point in keeping them alive. Father, never being much of a fighter, was eager to give in to protect both himself and his wife but mother... Gwyneth Schnee was always tougher. She trained me to fight when I was young and she intended to do the same with Weiss but..." The usually stoic Winter wiped away a tear and said "She wouldn't be a hostage. Father begged her not to make it worse but she refused to be abducted by those lowlifes. She took a gun from a wounded guard and began shooting down as many of the Rabid Ones as she could before their leader, a cruel Lion Faunus named Taka came at her with a blade. She asked him why he was attacking them and he told her about the horrible conditions the Faunus were subjected to at the Schnee Dust Mines; it was, as I would later discover, practically slave labor!

"Mother promised him she would make things right but it was no good, Taka wanted revenge for his lover who had been whipped to death in the mines, he wanted blood for blood. She fought bravely but he stabbed her in the chest, piercing her heart. Luckily they had only crash landed a mere twenty miles away from our company's headquarters so the security force was already coming as quickly as they could but they were too late to save my mother. The Rabid Ones retreated but my father vowed vengeance. They were hunted down and executed, almost every member of the cell, Taka included, were killed and those who did. In the end it was nothing but bloodshed and revenge, an endless cycle of it. Once our grandfather retired and our father took over he discovered that Taka's claims were true and the conditions in the mines were horrifically inhumane. He, most likely due to a guilty conscience, shut down the mines and fired all of those involved, blackmailing the human employees so the truth would never get out. He believed the most wouldn't believe the Faunus' claims of the slavery within the mines and for the most part he was correct. Despite what he discovered about the mines he never stopped holding his racist grudge against the Faunus race.

"When I decided to be a part of the Atlas Military, possibly even an acting liaison for our company I worked with or met some Faunus people who confirmed the rumors I heard about the mine and that was when I began to doubt our father and our family's legacy but after he spoke to me like that, calling the lowly Faunus and saying that Penny didn't even clarify as being alive," Winter noticed the furious look on Ruby's face, "and when he made it clear that he was going to abandon me it was then that I knew that maybe they were right, maybe our family is a disgrace. The worst part of our family's sins against the Faunus people is that our mother had to pay for it with her life." Winter finished.

Ruby who looked to Weiss who was now silently crying, something she couldn't stand to see. She sat down besides her partner and hugged her close; Weiss didn't fight it like she normally would and just hugged Ruby back.

Winter sighed and said "That is why little sister, I have learned that you cannot judge a race, especially not because of the actions of a few, but I doubt he will ever realize that; He has a lot to answer for before I can forgive him."

Weiss didn't answer, she just hugged Ruby tighter.

* * *

A car containing Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood pulled up to the courthouse only to be swarmed by members of the press, who were kept at bay by Atlas guards and local police officers. They had spent most of the morning discussing what to do about Beacon and what should happen if Ozpin were to be fired, as well as Qrow and Glynda agreeing with Ozpin's plan regarding a few teams from Beacon and Haven.

Ozpin looked out the windows and could see people with signs reading 'Ozpin Must Pay!' or 'Remember the Fall!'. Ozpin looked to Glynda who put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will be okay. Those people are blinded by emotions, don't let them get to you." she told him.

"It's hard not to." Ozpin said with a heavy sigh. On the bright side at least he didn't have to wear the monitor anymore.

The car parked and an Atlas soldier opened the door and Qrow was the first to exit the car. "Back up people! Back off!" he said as the press and civilians were kept at bay behind the lines by rope and guards.

Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood all exited the car and made their way up to the courthouse despite the constantly flashing lights and irritating questions from reporters.

"Professor Ozpin! What do you think the outcome of the trial will be?"

"Ozpin! Is it true that you knew Cinder Fall's plans and allowed her into Vale?"

"Who will be your successor?"

"General Ironwood, are the rumors about you being under enemy control true?"

"What do you have to say for yourself Ozpin?"

"Enough!" Glynda shouted, creating a small shockwave with her Semblance that moved everyone back, but small enough not to knock them over. She gave them one of her infamous glares and said "Your questions will be answered in due time, after the final verdict is delivered, not before. And a word of warning, you should all think your questions out before you ask them."

The crowd was significantly quieter after that.

Ozpin and his group made their way into the courthouse and was greeted by Webster in front of the door to the courtroom.

"Final day William, I have a feeling the outcome will be in our favor." the lawyer said.

"I hope so Daniel." was all Ozpin said in reply.

Ozpin and Webster sat at the defendant's table while Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood sat in the front row of the first audience section. Ozpin could see that Henry, along with the other three heads of the councils of the Four Kingdoms, sat on high raising pillars behind the judge's stand. Qrow looked over to the plaintiff's table and could see Benedict going over some papers. While Qrow had a feeling that the verdict could go either way and he really wanted Ozpin to be allowed to continue his duties there was a part of him that wanted to see Benedict's face when he didn't get his way.

Within a short amount of time the courtroom was filled up with people. One aisle of seats was filled up with those who knew Ozpin such as Glynda, Qrow, Ironwood, Taiyang, Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, Argo, Oobleck, Port, CFVY, Winter, Penny, Dr. Polendina, Hera, Joanne, and many old friends and colleagues that were their for support. The second aisle was filled up with average people who had either came with demands for Ozpin's punishment or those who just wanted to witness the event. The third, and final aisle was filled with members of the press who were all taking notes and pictures.

A door to the side opened up and one of the several bailiffs announced "All rise for the honorable Judge Zheng."

Everyone rose up as the judge walked from the door to his large bench that overlooked most of the room. He banged his gavel down and announced "Court is now in session, the final verdict will be delivered today." With that everyone sat back down so the trial could come to a close.

"William Ozpin, please stand up." Zheng instructed. Ozpin did so and his face retained its usual calm and stoic expression. "Professor Ozpin for the past forty years of your life you have performed many a tremendous service for only only your kingdom but for all of Remnant. For thirty years you have been the Headmaster of Beacon Academy and you have given our world many talented Huntsmen and Huntresses but your more recent failures have made some wonder if you are no longer capable of running a school, among other, much more important duties." he said, being careful not to mention Salem's name to the crowd of reporters and civilians. "As is the case in such important manner is it not up to a judge alone to decide to outcome but a jury, and in a case as important as this it shall be a jury made up of the heads of the councils of the Four Kingdoms. The Head of the Vale Council and this jury's foreman, Mr. Jonathan Henry, will deliver the final verdict."

Behind the judge's bench the four pillars that contained the four heads of the councils rose up so they could look over the crowd as well.

"Headmaster William Ozpin, you have served this kingdom for years on end and have made many sacrifices along the way and I am proud to call you a friend." Henry began, "However, your failure at the Vytal Festival was so horrific and costly that we can no longer turn a blind eye to your failures, even the minor ones. Some among the councils wanted your service terminated but in the end cooler heads have prevailed. We have decided that you shall remain Headmaster of Beacon, but you shall no longer hold that title alone. Professor Glynda Goodwitch has serviced our kingdom and her school for years and in the process she has earned the respect and admiration of many so we have decided that both of you shall share your duty." he finished.

Many in the crowd were shocked by this decision; some wanted Ozpin thrown in prison outright, some felt he deserved more of a chance, some felt it was the best choice they could make.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN were all happy with the final verdict, as it meant Ozpin could stay on and would have a second chance.

Zheng slammed his gavel down and said "The jury has reached a verdict. William Ozpin you shall remain in control of Beacon Academy as well as the powers you held before the Fall, but now will share them with Glynda Goodwitch. I have also deemed it necessary for others close to you such as General James Ironwood and Qrow Branwen to be more directly involved in... certain important matters."

Ozpin nodded, knowing what Zheng meant, he looked to his coworkers and friends and could see Ironwood with a calm smile, Glynda looking very pleased, Qrow giving him a thumbs up, Port nodding in approval, Argo giving him a reassuring look, and Oobleck smiling.

"Do you have anything you would like to say to the court?" Zheng asked.

"I do." Ozpin confirmed. He turned back to see a T.V. camera recording him and he began to speak. "I wish to say that I am deeply sorry for what happened all those months ago. I take full responsibility for the tragedy of Vytal Festival and the Fall of Beacon. I am eternally grateful for this second chance, a chance to redeem myself for my failures. From now on I shall work more closely with my colleagues to insure the safety of our people and our world. I apologize to everyone who lost somebody at the festival, if a loved one died because of me then I want you to know that everyone who died because of my mistakes weighs heavily on my conscience and I do not believe that I can ever make it up to you. I am truly sorry. I know some of you out there believe that I have gotten off far too lightly, that I deserve a life sentence in prison and I can honestly say you are not entirely wrong. Today, here and now, I make a promise to all of you, all of the Kingdoms, all of my students, all of my friends, that I will make amends for what I have done, I will right my wrongs, and I will take back Beacon." he announced.

There was a collective noise of both surprise and approval at this from the students, the press, and the civilians.

"General Ironwood and my staff shall work together over the next week and formulate a plan to retake Beacon from the Grimm, but he has agreed to release further details to the public later. I will make up for my mistakes and I will regain the faith that the world once had in me. On this, you have my word. We owe it to those who died in the disaster at Vale, we owe it to Raven Branwen, Cardin Winchester, and Ashe Kasai who gave their lives to save Haven and rescue those such as myself who were being held captive by Cinder Fall's forces. We cannot let their sacrifices be in vain. Thank you all." he finished.

It was silent for a minute but then applause began to break out for him. While it wasn't unanimous Ozpin could tell that most of the audience, especially those that knew him, were more than ready to give him another chance. He looked over to see students from Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY all clapping for him, as well as his friends like Port and Oobleck. Even Benedict was giving him a respectful look of admiration.

He looked to Glynda, Ozpin, and Qrow all of whom looked very happy for him, he returned their smiles and held back the tears in his eyes.

Zheng banged the gavel again and said "Order! We shall have order!"

Once the room calmed down he continued on. "William Ozpin, you are hereby free to go. You shall be once again granted power by the Council of Vale at a time of their choosing. All parties are now excused." he finished with a final slam of his gavel.

Ozpin shook hands with Webster and thanked him for everything he did. He then joined up with Glynda and Ironwood to leave out the main entrance, the Atlas guards keeping the press at bay while they made their way to the car.

"Wow, they really want to get out of here." Ruby observed.

"Trust me Ruby, the press has that effect on you." Pyrrha explained.

"You kids aren't done yet." Qrow announced to them, making the teenagers look to him.

"What's up Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked.

"Ozpin wants all four teams and Penny to meet him at his family's house, he has something he wants to tell you in private." Qrow said cryptically.

The group of sixteen teenagers and one robot exchanged glances, wondering what Ozpin could have in store for them.

Qrow then looked to Winter and said "You and me are to go too, his plan includes us."

Winter gave him an odd look but simply nodded in response.

* * *

As the car began to drive away Ozpin let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods above that's finally over with." he said.

"Oh come now sir, this trial was probably a welcome reprieve from Salem's dungeons." Glynda offered.

"Sometimes I couldn't tell which was worse." Ozpin joked, allowing himself a small smile. Glynda chucked at him before he said "Glynda, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" she asked.

"For everything. You always had faith in me, even if you had some doubts. I am lucky to have you as a colleague, as a Huntress, and as my best friend." he said as he smiled at her.

"Sir..."

"Don't call me sir anymore, we are equals now." he stated.

Glynda smiled and said "Yes William."

Ozpin leaned over and hugged her, something she eagerly returned.

* * *

About an hour later Qrow, Winter, Port, Taiyang, and Oobleck along with Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, and Penny arrived at Ozpin's home; a large three story mansion.

"Whoa, fancy place." Coco said admirably.

"I wonder why he never comes here?" Velvet pondered aloud.

"I think that he prefers to think of Beacon as his true home rather than this place." Yatsuhashi suggested.

"Yesh, I hope I never become such a workaholic." Fox muttered.

They were greeted at the front door by Glynda who led them to a large living room area where Ozpin and Ironwood were waiting for them.

"Welcome to my home everyone. It is a pleasure to have you all here." Ozpin greeted.

"Thanks for inviting us Professor Ozpin, this is a really nice house." Ruby said.

"Yeah, my mom and dad would love it here." Jaune agreed.

"Not as much as my mom would." Sun voiced as he sat down next to Blake.

Coco beat Sage to the punch at claiming a large and soft looking chair and asked "It's a nice mansion Professor, but why did you want all of us here? Shouldn't you be celebrating your release or planning the push against the Grimm?"

"Correct Miss Adel, but before I get to that I want to make an announcement regarding the seventeen of you." he said as the students began to take their seats, some like Jaune, Fox, and Sage having to sit on the floor (although Jaune was giving up his seat for Pyrrha).

"All of you worked remarkably well together at the Battle of Haven, to be sure Teams such as ABRN, NDGO, CRDL, and the rest played key roles but the all of you in particular were wonderful. I spoken with Professors Goodwitch, Argo, and Branwen and they agree that it would be an excellent idea to untie all four teams and Penny into one single unit." Ozpin announced, making some eyes widen in surprise.

"Wait a minute, our team goes to Haven! How are we...?" Neptune began to ask.

"Fear not Mr. Vasilias, Professor Argo has already agreed to transfer you to Beacon should you accept our offer." Glynda explained.

Sun, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet all looked to each other, all of them knew that Sun wanted to say yes right away but he wanted the approval of his team. Sage and Scarlet both nodded to Sun who then looked to Neptune who gave a thumbs up.

"We're in." Sun said with a big grin on his face.

"I think my team trusts me to say; hell yeah." Coco announced confidently, earning a giggle from Velvet and a smirk from Fox.

"It would be an honor to be a part of something like this." Jaune said as Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder while getting encouraging smiles from Ren and Nora.

"Count Team RWBY in!" Ruby announced.

"It would be a wonderful privilege!" Penny said.

"What are we gonna call ourselves?" Yang asked.

Ozpin considered Yang's query and said "I think Team Beacon would be an appropriate title."

"Sounds good to me!" Nora said as she quickly went around hugging her new teammates, starting with... "I heard you yesterday, Scarlet."

"Oh god!" he cried as she grabbed him.

"Don't fight it, it'll only make it worse, believe me." Jaune advised.

As Nora went about her hug rampage Winter came up to Ironwood and asked "What about Qrow and I? He said this plan of Ozpin's included us."

"Yes, when Team Beacon goes on missions you and Qrow may go with them from time to time. After all the team does have a silver-eyed girl, two Grimm Hybrids, a robot, among others. They're going to need some guidance." the General explained.

Winter nodded, she looked over to her sister, who was trying to avoid Nora's grasp by hiding behind Ruby and Yang. "It seems like a good assignment." she said with a small smile.

Ozpin smiled at the group of teenagers as Penny hugged Nora back, the team he had just formed would prove to be very interesting and very wonderful indeed.

These children were just what the world needed.

* * *

Later that night the four members of Team RWBY slept together in the bed with Yang and Blake in one and Ruby and Weiss in the other. Tomorrow they would leave the hotel and head for Vale to begin training for the Grimm purge at Beacon.

Unbeknownst to any of the four girls a raven landed on the ledge outside of the window. With a great amount of effort and concentration it transformed from a bird to a human woman and slowly opened the unlocked window.

The woman stealthily crept through the room as silently as she could and made her way to Yang. She stood over the blonde brawler and gently tucked a hair out of Yang's face.

"Yang, I'm so sorry I left you." She whispered so quietly that not even Blake's ears could hear her. She was so tempted to wake Yang up but knew that now wasn't the time, she'd have to wait.

Raven resisted the urge to touch her daughter and wake her and looked over to Ruby who was sleeping soundly with a light, yet adorable, snore. Raven suppressed a chuckle; she had to admit that the girl looked exactly like Summer.

She stood over Ruby and muttered "You have the key to our future little one; I know that in the end you shall save us all."

Ruby began to stir and groan a bit. At first Raven thought the girl was just having a bad dream but then Ruby began to open her eyes.

From Ruby's point of view she could make out the blurry, dark figure that looked a bit like Yang with red eyes.

"Huh?" she said drowsily.

She sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and saw that the figure was gone. She looked to the window to see a bird perched on the window sill.

"What the...?" she asked quietly to herself. She looked around and saw that the rest of her teammates were still totally asleep so she quietly got out of bed and walked over to the window to inspect the bird, which didn't fly away as she expected it to.

"Hi there, what are you doing here? Did someone open the window?" Ruby quietly pondered. The raven looked at her and Ruby began to think out-loud. "Wait a minute, are you that bird that was in the vents?" she asked, remembering the odd sight of seeing a bird in the air vents of Cinder's factory.

The bird, of course, offered no answer and merely flew away after taking a glance at Yang.

Ruby smiled and shook her head, why did she expect anything different? Did she really expect the bird to answer her? Better not tell Weiss about this, she'd never stop teasing her over it.

She closed the window and went back to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Raven.
> 
> Next Time: Return to Beacon and kick some Grimm ass.
> 
> Anyway, about Ozpin in this chapter, yeah... okay listen, I think you all know by now that Pyrrha's death was one of the worst, most insultingly stupid, poorly handled, and ill-conceived deaths that never even should have got past the idea stage since Optimus Prime killed himself over accidentally killing some NPCs in a video game (and before you ask, no I am not making that up) and was all around an abortion of an idea, but I think it's time to be honest about Ozpin.
> 
> If any character should have died it should have been Ozpin. Let's face it; the only way Cinder's evil plan in V3 would have worked at all is if Ozpin and Ironwood are complete and utter idiots. Ozpin no longer comes off as the wise old mentor, he comes off as an incompetent old man who shouldn't even be a janitor.
> 
> They should have had Ozpin die to redeem himself, scrap the Pyrrha vs. Cinder fight and just focus on Ozpin vs. Cinder instead of the incredibly brief and rushed glimpse at it we did see. Ruby sees Ozpin die, it activates her power, plus she had a closer relationship with Ozpin than she did with Pyrrha. And then just give whatever future stories you had for Ozpin to Qrow and Glynda.
> 
> Man the more you look at Pyrrha's death it becomes more obvious what an epic fail it was. I'm sorry to harp on it, but man that just sucked so hard. I wouldn't be surprised if someone gets fired over it. If they bring Pyrrha back and never kill her off again I will gladly apologize for what I've said but man, they just really dropped the ball.
> 
> And I want to make special note: I am NOT ripping off Resurgence, that is a far more popular fic and while it is good I haven't ripped it off, we just think incredibly similar I guess. Also I had the idea of sticking the four teams together for months but he beat me to the punch but I won't let it change how I'm writing the story.
> 
> Originally Weiss' story of what happened to her mom was between Winter and Qrow but I felt it was better if Team RWBY all knew about it.
> 
> And yes, Ozpin's hometown of Baum is names after L. Frank Baum who created the Oz book series. Likewise Taka, the Lion Faunus who murdered Weiss' mom is named after Scar from The Lion King, that was his name before he got the scar. Ozpin's lawyer Webster is named after the tale of a lawyer called The Devil and Daniel Webster.
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.


	28. Taking Back Beacon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
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It had been a week since Ozpin's trial was resolved and while many were not happy with the outcome, as a lot of people were still demanding for his resignation or even a prison sentence, for the most part it looked like Ozpin was welcomed back into the fold.

In the week following the announcement of his intention to reclaim Beacon from the Grimm many Huntsmen and Huntresses came to Vale, volunteering to help with the siege. They didn't know how many, but Glynda had counted over four hundred and she recognized a good many of them, as did Ozpin and Port. Some of the senior teams had even returned to help fight back, since they'd have graduated by now some figured the best way to take out their frustrations of technically not being professional Hunters yet by paying the Grimm back.

They stood at a hotel that served as the temporary headquarters for the Vale resistance against the Grimm. While the city itself was Grimm free the surrounding forests and Beacon Academy were the exact opposite, totally infested with Grimm of every shape, size, and type one could imagine. The hotel stood about a mile away from Beacon but had plenty of room and was close enough to the school so they could attack quickly if they needed to.

Robotic probes created by the Atlas Military had been sent in to investigate the school, see exactly what types of Grimm they would be dealing with, and searching into the various locations of the school in order to determine how badly infested a particular area was or how difficult it would be to recapture it places of strategic value.

The Academy itself was now utterly surrounded on all sides by Hunter camps and the Atlas Military, huge airships overhead and boats of the Atlas Navy flanked the cliff the overlooked the ocean. Ironwood, Ozpin, and Glynda had been devising a plan to retake the school from the Grimm and tomorrow they would finally accomplish it.

In a large meeting room in the hotel Ozpin stood at the head of the large circular table with Ironwood, Glynda, Qrow, Port, Oobleck, Winter, Chamberlain, Henry, Benedict, and several others attending the final strategy meeting.

The plan was to have Qrow, Glynda, Port, and Oobleck to lead as many Huntsmen and Huntresses into the school as possible and obliterate the main Grimm presence with some help with the more well-experienced members of the Atlas Military and the Atlesian Knights, led by Specialists such as Winter. Any Grimm that attempted to flee would be destroyed by the other Atlas soldiers who would create a giant perimeter around the academy. Any that attempted to fly would be shot down by either the airships commanded by Ironwood or the ships at sea commanded by an admiral who commanded the Navy forces named Aqua Nemo, a rather muscular woman in her early forties with tanned skin and light brown hair. She would destroy any flying Grimm that attempted to fly out to sea as well as blitzing up the Grimm who had made their homes on the cliffsides.

"These locations will give us great tactical advantages; we must reclaim them and destroy all Grimm around the areas if we are to achieve victory tomorrow." Ozpin said as a hologram of the massive schools highlighted the tower, the library, the main school area that contained the lecture halls and the sparring chambers, the cafeteria, the library, the weapons forge, the dorms, the training grounds, and the main avenue that led to the school.

"How many Grimm are we going to be dealing with, exactly?" asked another Specialist from Atlas.

"Untold thousands, possibly even tens of thousands." Ironwood answered before gesturing to Chamberlain.

"Our probes we sent in detected many Grimm types, including Beowolves, Death Stalkers, Ursa, Boarbatusks, King Taijitus, Nevermore, Griffons, Tarantula Widows, Sabers, Creeps, Blood Lusts, Hell Hounds, Vampires, Scavengers, Beringels, Goliaths, Colonists, Claw Hammers, and if you'd like to count the corpse atop the tower, a Wyvern. All in all you could start a zoo of these damn things. We don't know exactly how many there are, the scanners couldn't make an exact estimate but we know there's too many to deal with without help from the Hunters." Chamberlain reported.

"William, you said you think we can achieve a victory tomorrow, but with this many Grimm within Beacon this battle could last for days." Henry said doubtfully.

"With any luck that will not be the case sir, the Hunters that have come here in the last week are some of the finest the Four Kingdoms have to offer, a good many of them were students here and are determined to take back their old school no matter what. I think that with a great amount of effort from all of our Hunters and soldiers combined we can do it before the sun sets tomorrow." Glynda assured the head of the Vale council.

Henry nodded and said "That does sound rather promising Professor Goodwitch but I can't help but worry about the casualties we will suffer tomorrow."

"Thinking like that gives 'em power, just focus on the positive crap." Qrow told him.

Winter rolled her eyes at him as Port spoke up. "I am sure we can do it! With as many weapons and soldiers as Atlas has brought as well as a legion of talented Hunters, ourselves included, those blasted beasts won't stand a chance!" he said confidently.

"I wish we could all have your enthusiasm for this Peter, but Jonathan is right, we will inevitably suffer losses tomorrow. No matter how many weapons we have or what they are capable of some of our number will fall." Ozpin said ruefully and darkly.

"Well, be that as it may we'll try to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen. We're taking extreme precautions, with the information from the probes Professor Peach has gathered the necessary antidotes and medication for any Hunter who is hit by a venomous Grimm attack and we have numerous talented medics at our disposal, so when we do have injured parties we shall do our best to save them. While the risks are high I believe that our chances of success are even higher. " Oobleck said confidently.

Ozpin nodded, knowing Oobleck was a cautious person and despite the fact that the youngest of the currently present Beacon staff was also the one who enjoyed combat the least he was quite skilled in tactics and strategies. The plan they had came up with was a good and competent one but whether it would ultimately work or not was up to fate to decide

Nonetheless Ozpin nodded to Oobleck and said "Agreed. Tomorrow at eleven am on the dot we shall launch the first waves of our attack. Early in the morning we shall brief our forces and assign them to groups led by Qrow, Glynda, Peter, and Bartholomew. Admiral Nemo, Specialists, you are dismissed. There are still matters the rest of us need to discuss in private."

Admiral Nemo rose from her seat and saluted. "Yes sir. May you have a pleasant sleep General Ironwood, it shall be an honor to fight alongside you tomorrow." She said.

"It will be an honor for me as well, old friend." Ironwood agreed as he returned the salute.

As the admiral and the other Specialists and officers left the meeting room Ozpin said "We need to talk about Miss Nikos and Mr. Arc, while I don't think Jaune will be much of a problem, Pyrrha, on the other hand, will be. From what she has told us about her time with Cinder she was a talented Grimm Commander and if someone sees her word could get out."

"So? Let it. It's no one's damn business." Qrow said.

"I'm afraid most people will not see it that way." Oobleck stated.

"Qrow, I don't think you appreciate or understand the gut reactions people, especially a Hunter, will have if they discover Pyrrha and Jaune are Grimm hybrids! They could be attacked, lynched for something they have little control over." Glynda told him. "I have already spoken to her and she has promised she will keep her powers under control and will not use them unless unobserved. Let us hope she is not forced to use them."

"That's all very well and good, but what about Ruby Rose?" Benedict asked.

There was a small, awkward silence as everyone glanced over to Qrow, who had a look of restrained fury on his face. Benedict regretted asking the question instantly.

"What about my niece?"

Benedict gulped and gathered up the courage to say "Let's not be naive here, we all know what she's capable of, the dead Wyvern on top of the tower is proof of it! With her power we can learn so much more about the Grimm, find new ways to end their threat, maybe forever!"

"While he does have a point I believe we shouldn't do anything yet. Miss Rose is still too young and doesn't fully understand her powers and we only have vague ideas based on old legends and rumors." Oobleck voiced.

"The powers of a Silver-Eyed warrior are only awoken once the warrior is put through great emotional stress, something I am not prepared to inflict on a student." Ozpin said.

Several people in the room were tempted to comment on how it was far too late for that but decided to remain quiet.

"Tomorrow will be quite a hectic day filled with battle that will be the final one for some good lives out there, maybe in the madness of it all Ruby's eyes will shine, it would give us an advantage but I will not have anyone force it upon her just to gain an advantage. That is my final word on the matter." Ozpin finished.

"Completely agreed. Meeting adjourned." Henry declared.

As everyone began to leave the room Henry looked to Ozpin and asked "You don't think Salem's forces will interfere, do you?"

Ozpin shook his head and explained "Those Grimm within the school are her forces, but I don't think she will intervene. She made the previous move when Cinder killed Ashe Kasai, so for now it is our move."

* * *

Ruby was currently looking out the window from the main lounge room of the hotel and while the rest of her team was interacting with their new teammates she was squealing adorably at the weapons of the Hunters she could see.

"Oh my gods! That guy with orange hair has a Light-bringer Cannon! It can burn through a line of forty-seven whole Grimm when fully charged! EEH! The Fox Faunus over there! She has Grimm-Sensitive Arrows! You fire them from the bow or crossbow and the computer chips inside detect any nearby Grimm and direct the arrow right at it with tiny little rockets like a missile! Oh, and that old guy has a collapsible dual-blade..." Ruby blabbed on, drooling over the various weapons she could see.

Scarlet couldn't help but stare and say "Is this... normal?"

"Sometimes, only when she's around a bunch of weapons." Though Blake answered.

"Sometimes? Try nearly every hour." Weiss muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah." Yang chuckled with a smirk.

"We can only hope she is this enthusiastic about battling the Grimm tomorrow." Yatsuhashi commented, which earned him a look from Velvet.

"You really think they're going to let us go in with them?" she asked.

"Why not? There's more Grimm then they can count so they're going to need all the help they can get, even from students." Sage said.

"Eh, no big deal! It'll be easy, all we have to do is march in and blast, cut, and Semblance every Grimm we see into oblivion!" Nora cheered with a wide grin.

"First thing; Semblance isn't a verb Nora. Second; it isn't going to be that simple at all." Ren told her.

Pyrrha nodded and said "The Grimm consider Beacon their territory now, they will fight tooth and claw to keep it, while some may flee others will refuse to give up until we kill them. This will not be an easy fight, even with this massive army they've gathered."

She felt Jaune's hand squeeze hers comfortingly. She looked at his face, seeing his affection for her as he said "We can do it, it may take a few days but I know we can do it. Just remember to be careful with your powers, okay?"

Pyrrha nodded and leaned into him as she said "The Grimm part us gives us an advantage, they won't attack us so it'll be easy for us to fight them, and control them if we have the opportunity." She closed her eyes and smiled happily as she snuggled into him, making him blush a bit.

"I have to admit, going in with someone who can control Grimm makes me feel a whole lot better about this." Weiss stated.

"Well if and when we move in tomorrow we'll be ready, we got enough ammo here to level a village." Coco said proudly as she loaded up her purse with Dust containers and bullets.

"Coco, please, we're here to take Beacon back, not damage it even more." Velvet said as she shook her head.

"I'm pretty sure we're gonna have to knock down some walls and break some stuff it we want to drive the Grimm out, Velv." The leader of Team CFVY said.

"Yeah, with all the Grimm we'll be fighting the collateral damage will be inevitable." Sage agreed.

"It'll be so weird to go back after all this time; we haven't been back there in nearly nine months." Blake said, remembering the room she shared with the rest of her team.

"Tell me about it, I miss our nice little room." Nora said somberly.

"It would be nice to go back after so long, just hope our rooms haven't torn up too badly." Weiss worded.

"The Grimm don't exactly have manners, we'll be lucky if they've only messed up the rooms and totally destroyed them." Sun reminded them.

Yang nodded and said "Well I hope when we take it back it's not messed up too badly, Bumblebee is still in the garage at Beacon." Yang said, remembering her motorcycle she had been forced to leave behind during the fall.

"Bumblebee?" Penny asked as she looked away from Ruby as she was eagerly pointing to yet another exotic weapon.

"Yeah, that's what she named her motorcycle." Neptune said.

Scarlet shook his head and muttered "Who names their bike? Seriously..."

"Hey, people name boats, airships, some trains, why not bikes?" Yang offered.

"Eh, fair enough I guess." The redhead surrendered

"Um, guys, you might want to do something about Ruby." Neptune said as he gestured over to the window where Ruby was pressed up against the glass trying to get a better look at the weapons outside, and some of the Hunters who were still up and about had noticed her big eyes staring at their weapons, inspiration and ideas for possible future additions to Crescent Rose were sparking wildly in her mind.

Yang laughed as she pulled Ruby away with some help from Penny. "Come on Ruby, people are starting to stare..."

"But Yaaannng!" Ruby whined as she was dragged away.

"You can harass them tomorrow Rubes, right now we should probably get ready for bed." The elder sister said before she gave a Hunters outside an awkward apologetic grin.

Outside several Hunters stared as Weiss closed the curtains so Ruby couldn't look out anymore. One Huntress turned to a Huntsman next to her, smirked and said "Kids."

* * *

The next morning everyone was up and about, ready for the new battle for Beacon to begin. Hunters were loading up, sharpening, polishing, tuning up their various weapons, Atlas Soldiers were doing some last minute training exercises while the Paladins were being prepared while the Atlas Eagle Fighters, now operated by living beings, flew around the massive perimeter to keep any curious Grimm within the school grounds.

Ruby, remembering to keep her enthusiasm for weapons in check, as she walked around with the rest of Team Beacon, as well as Taiyang, to admire the display of Hunters and their gear, which seemed to get more and more elaborate by the minute.

"How, this really is a war. I think I saw a guy with a giant machine gun that shoots missiles." Velvet commented.

"Wha... h-how would that even work?" Sun pondered.

"Sometimes I ask myself the same question about many of the weapons we see. I'm not much for fancy weaponry; give me a simple blade any day." Yatsuhashi said

"Amen to that." Sage agreed.

"It's worked out okay for me." Jaune said with a nod.

"Tell that to Ruby, it seems the more elaborate and insane the weapon the better for her." Weiss stated with an amused look.

"Who can blame me?! That guy's bo-staff is so big because it can spit out swords and maces! Maces! Imagine it; a double sided mace!" Ruby cheered.

"That just seems like an easy way to accidentally kill or maim yourself." Ren observed.

"Yeah, no offense Ruby but something like that seems really impractical and silly." Weiss agreed.

"Oh don't get her started..." Taiyang muttered as he shook his head.

"Because that guy has probably trained with that weapon for years so he knows how to use it perfectly! You stick-in-the-muds just don't know how to be one with your weapon." Ruby huffed. There was a small part of her that wondered just how one with her weapon she was, if she was that good would she have lost control at the construction site?

"We can all be one with our weapons Ruby, we just prefer them to not be so over the top." Blake said, pulling Ruby out of her thoughts.

"And that means something coming from us." Sun joked, looking at his own weapons, Velvet's camera, Crescent Rose, Penny's swords, Magnhild, and others.

Pyrrha looked over to top of the hotel and could see Port, Oobleck, and Chamberlain were already on top of it, waiting for the rest of the leaders of the offensive. They could see a microphone stand as well, meaning that was where Ozpin would make his announcements.

"Some of them are already up there, we'd better get over there if we don't want to be caught up in the crowd." She suggested.

"Not a bad idea P-Money, okay guys let's move up!" Yang said.

They moved up to the front of the hotel just as the crowds started to gather. Weiss looked to see Winter and a squad of Atlas soldiers and a few Atlesian Knights standing nearby. The elder Schnee nodded to her sister but remained stoic, so as to set an example for her troops.

"I wonder what group we'll be assigned to." Velvet mused to herself.

"Probably in the third or fourth, Ozpin won't want us charging into the Grimm just yet, not until they're driven back a bit." Coco stated as she noticed the various scores of Professional Huntsmen and Huntresses gathering around the hotel, ready to be given assignment and orders.

"You're right; most of the Hunters have already been assigned. I'll be going in with Qrow and Winter." Taiyang informed them.

"Don't take out too many Grimm dad, leave some for us!" Ruby pleaded.

"I'll try to remember that." Taiyang said with a chuckle.

Soon enough Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and General Ironwood all came out onto the roof and the gray-haired Headmaster made his way to the microphone.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please! All available Hunters please report to the front of the headquarters to join with your assigned groups." He said, alerting those not already there.

A few minutes later everyone was present and Ozpin began again. "Thank you all for coming, today we will begin a battle to retake Beacon from the creatures of Grimm. The future of Vale's Hunter population may depend on this. I know you will all fight well and in the end we shall succeed. While some may die we must not let that deter us from winning back what is a symbol of hope for many people. Today the Grimm will be driven from Beacon, we will let them know it is ours."

This was met with a loud round of cheers and applause from the Hunters below, all of them were eager to charge ahead into Beacon and take it back.

"Thank you, thank you, please settle down." Ozpin called. As they did so he spoke up again. "Those of you who have been assigned to the groups led by Qrow Branwen and Glynda Goodwitch please gather into two places, Qrow's to my left and Glynda's to my right."

The Hunters did so, with Taiyang hugging both of his daughters before joining up with Qrow's group with Winter and her assigned troops and knights. Most of the Hunters were now separated but a good number still remained with the students in the center.

"Very good, all of you shall lead a massive assault on Beacon, two waves hitting them at once, driving them back. General Ironwood will have the Atlas ships above fire on the avenue and clear it off Grimm, which should give you an easy run into Beacon but I suggest you make sure any Grimm surrounding the area are put down quickly." He said as Glynda used her Semblance to float both herself Qrow, Port, and Oobleck down to the ground.

"Once the first two waves have driven the main bulk of the Grimm forces back Professor Port shall lead the third wave. All those assigned to Professor Port's group please move to the back." Ozpin said, watching as a bulk of the remaining Hunters in the center moved to the back as Port ran over to stand ahead of them. "You shall be brought to the rear of the academy by the cliffside via airships. You shall spread out and surround the Grimm, pushing them back into the city. Allow the Atlas Navy to shoot down the Grimm on the cliffs and if any get past you Colonel Chamberlain and his troops shall take care of that." Ozpin said.

Chamberlain was put in charge of the ground-based soldiers and Atlesian Knights. The army, two thousand strong with a healthy number of Paladins was currently surrounding the school to make sure no Grimm could escape into the woods.

Ozpin looked back down to the last group, which now stood behind Oobleck. It was mostly comprised of students; Team Beacon included, but did have a scant few professional Huntsmen with them.

"Professor Oobleck shall lead the fourth and final wave once the Grimm have been significantly weakened enough, I know some of the students here will be disappointed to go in last but it is for your own good. The Grimm capable of flight shall be engaged by Atlesian Knights and Atlas Eagle Fighters, but feel free to shoot a few down. I shall remain in near constant contact with your commanders to give advice and suggestions but I think you can do this without much aid from me. I wish you all luck, all of Remnant is with you today in spirit, the future of Vale's Hunters depends on this battle. Make it a good one." Ozpin finished.

* * *

An hour later Qrow and Glynda stood at the front of their army of Hunters and Atlas soldiers, all armed to the teeth and ready to go. Combined they had about two-hundred and fifty Hunters, a dozen Specialists, and seventy Atlas soldiers. Various Grimm types were just a few hundred meters away, ranging from Beowolves to Creeps, snarling and glaring at them. A few Grimm, younger ones obviously, had charged but had instantly been destroyed. The more experienced Grimm seemed to be aware of what was about to happen and looked ready for a fight.

"Would you prefer for one of us to go first or both at once?" Qrow asked. They had already gone over their battle plan for the first attack and would begin soon enough, as Ozpin had left it up to Ironwood to begin the battle with a bombardment of the Grimm surrounding the campus.

"Either way suites me just fine." Glynda said as she took out her scroll and called Ironwood. "General, we are in position and ready to move in but there are plenty of Grimm surrounding and on the main avenue. I think we can take the ones on the road but we need your ship to shoot down the ones to the sides."

"Understood Professor Goodwitch, we shall begin the blitz in one minute, are you at a safe distance?" he asked.

"Safe enough, once your bombardment is over we will move in. Goodwitch out." She finished.

The Eagle Fighters launched from the hangers of various Atlas ships and made their way towards the school, their weapons aiming for the Grimm.

"They know not to hit the school, right?" Taiyang asked as Qrow shot down an inexperienced Beowulf that attempted to charge them.

"With all honesty Tai it might just be easier to bomb the whole damn place but we're not letting that happen, they know not to hit it." Qrow assured his brother in-law.

Taiyang nodded and thought of Ruby and Yang, they were back with the rest of Team Beacon and Oobleck's team but he knew that no matter how many Grimm the first two groups took out they would still need help from the younger Hunters.

He was torn out of his thoughts by the booming sounds of the airships flying towards the area, the loud noises got the attention of the Grimm as the beasts began to look up with a new Griffons and Nevermore even taking flight to battle the ships.

The Eagle Fighters opened fire, ripping apart the flying Grimm and bombarding the ground, which resulted in various Grimm being blown up, incinerated, or sent flying by the impact. Some tried to run but it was too late as they were torn asunder by the explosions.

A group of Grimm began charging the Hunters, managing to outrun the massive explosions as they did so. Winter and the other Specialists stepped forward with their groups to clear a path.

"Atlas soldiers, Atlesian Knights, open fire!" Winter ordered and her squadron blasted the Grimm down. A Hellhound that seemed to be advanced in age managed to avoid the barrage of bullets and lasers and leap towards Winter.

Hellhounds were a type of Grimm that appeared to be rabid as white foam dripped from their mouths filled with sharp teeth. Their red eyes gave off this sense of madness and frenzy while their black coats of fur were matted and dirty, spotted with red and white. The white bone-like 'masks' that covered their faces were dotted with red blots, resembling blood splatters.

With a ferocious bark and a powerful push from its hind legs the beast jumped at Winter only to be cut in half immediately by a quick and brutal slice of her sword.

"We're moving in now! Attack and destroy every Grimm you see!" Glynda yelled as Qrow and Winter led their group first. Glynda yelled "Charge!" as she and her Hunters chased after them, the two groups practically merging.

Qrow, Taiyang, and the rest of the Hunters under Qrow's command went to work, slashing apart, blasting, blowing up, burning, stabbing, impaling, and tearing apart any Grimm they came across as they charged down the road.

Winter turned to the Atlesian Knights she had been supplied and ordered "Take flight, go ahead and shoot down as many Grimm as you can."

The robots did so, and this was the signal for the other Specialists to give the same order to their Knights as well. The Knights flew around the city, shooting Grimm as they went.

Glynda used her wand and her Semblance to lift a streetlight-post out of the ground and send it towards a large Beringel that stood atop one of the large pillars of Beacon's campus. The post impaled the creature where it stood, before it even had a chance to understand what had happened it began to disintegrate.

All of a sudden the ground began to shake from beneath their feet.

"Movement underground!" cried a Huntsman near Glynda as a giant black King Taijitu erupted out of the ground next to the road. It looked down upon them and roared as it brought up its lower body and slammed its lower body onto the road and hissed at them. As various Hunters began to fire upon it Glynda jumped up onto its body while using her Semblance to rip more poles out of the sides of the road. She jumped up to the upper part of the serpent's long body and ran up to its head where she slammed down the streetlight's poles into its head, killing it.

Its body fell as it began to fade away, leaving the black dust behind.

"Onward!" Glynda called as a Death Stalker pounced onto the road and stabbed a Huntsman in the shoulder, only to be blasted away by a heavy blast of gunfire.

Glynda picked up several Beowolves and held them up so her Hunters could destroy them, after that was done she ran ahead, leading the charge into Beacon after Qrow, Winter, and Taiyang.

She gasped as an Eagle Fighter crashed down a few hundred meters from the side of the road, bursting in a huge ball of fire. The remnants of a Griffon could still be seen fading away. She shook her head and tried console herself with the knowledge that the pilot had died for Beacon.

Up ahead Qrow, Winter, and Taiyang led their troops and Hunters into Beacon's main avenue and were met head on by Beowolvles, Creeps, Ursa, Boarbatusks, Tarantula Widows, Beringels, Hellhounds, and Griffons.

"Have fun boys and girls, it's a free for all!" Qrow announced as he sliced apart an Ursa with Reaper in its scythe mode. He grinned as he looked up and could see the ships containing Port's group flying overhead towards the other side of the school. Qrow's Hunters ran forward, dozens of Hunters taking out dozens of Grimm as they ran deeper into the campus.

"Qrow, is a little organization too much to ask for?!" Winter asked as she slammed her sword down on a Creep.

"Trust me, we Hunters tend to work better in chaos. Besides, they know not to go too far from each other." Taiyang said as he used his gauntlet to burn through a large Boarbatusk's side.

Before Winter could come up with a proper retort one of her troopers yelled "Incoming!"

A Goliath slammed through a wall with a tremendous roar as its deadly tusk impaled an unfortunate Huntsman as it stormed through.

"Scatter!" Taiyang called as they ran to get out of the massive Grimm's way.

"Schnee, you up for taking that thing out?" Qrow asked.

"You didn't have to ask." Winter replied.

"You get the back while I take the head." Qrow said as he jumped up.

Qrow slammed Reaper into the side of the Goliath's head while Winter jumped on one of it's tusks, proceeded to jump onto its head and run down its back where she slammed her blade into its spine.

It roared in pain as Qrow used his scythe to swing over to the other side of the Grimm's head, forcing it to turn around. "Stab deeper!" Qrow yelled to Winter.

Winter nodded and slammed her sword harder into the beast's back, making it charge forward and smash into a wall as Qrow jumped off. Winter yanked her sword out of the Goliath's back as it began to disintegrate. She hopped up onto the large colonnade which had several Creeps and Beowolves on it, which she quickly dispatched with a series of wild slashes and strikes from her sword. She kicked the last Beowulf off and her troops blasted it into oblivion.

"Not a bad strategy all told, Branwen." She admitted before she heard the screech of a Vampire. She turned and saw the human-sized bat Grimm with a pure white face with the usual blood red eyes with pure black wings and body with long sharp talons on its feet. It was flying right at her and she waited until it was a mere foot away to duck down and stab up her sword, severing its wing and jumped onto its back as it fell pathetically onto the ground.

"You missed your calling Schnee, you're wasted on the military." Qrow said with a friendly smirk. He turned to a few Hunters and said "You four! Head into the amphitheater, see how many Grimm we have to deal with there and come back with a report."

"You got it." A Huntsman said as he led the group towards the amphitheater.

Qrow and Winter looked up as various flying Grimm; Nevermore, Griffons, Vampires, and Scavengers, which were medium sized Vulture Grimm, all began to ascend and take flight towards the Atlas ships in the sky above.

"They won't get far, Ironwood will destroy them." Winter assured Qrow.

Up ahead General Ironwood and Benedict stood on the bridge of Atlas' flagship as the armada of airborne Grimm began to fly at them.

"All ships, heed my orders! All batteries open fire!" Ironwood commanded.

All of the large guns and turrets of the Atlas airships began to open a mighty series of blasts on the incoming flocks of Grimm, some of which didn't even stand a chance, exploding with one hit.

A few Griffons managed to land on the flagship's exterior and began their attempts to claw their way in through the thick, hard steel.

"Griffons are trying to penetrate us sir!" yelled a female ensign.

"Not likely, launch some Knights and have them clean up our exterior." Ironwood ordered.

The Atlesian Knights were launches out of the ship and began to blast off any Grimm that were clinging to the outside of the impressive vessel.

Ironwood watched on the monitors as Griffons and Vampires were taken out by the Knights and nodded with approval.

"So far so good." Benedict observed.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Ironwood commented.

Winter watched the air battle before a noise got her attention. She looked over as Glynda finally caught up after using a fallen pillar to brutally smash a large Death Stalker.

"Whoa, never seen you so brutal before professor." Taiyang stated.

"Seeing a place that I have worked and lived at for over twenty years in this deplorable state. I admit I am taking some anger out on the Grimm." She confessed. "I called Port and he and his group have landed, he said that he may meet up with us if he can and that Admiral Nemo has already started blasting the cliffs and the area around them."

Port had taken the most of the remaining Hunters, a grand total of one hundred and thirty under his command along with four Specialists and ninety soldiers, more than enough to enclose the Grimm.

"Good, with any luck we can do this tonight." Winter commented before.

"That kind of luck isn't usually the type we get." Taiyang pointed out as a Griffon, shot down by an Atlesian Knight, crash landed near by.

"Most of my group scattered and they're out there kicking ass all around the campus, you still got most of yours I see."

All of a sudden they heard a pair of horrified screams coming from the amphitheater. Two of the four Hunters came out, with a Huntress in the lead and a Huntsman behind her only for his to be impaled by the stinger of a Death Stalker and pulled back inside the darkness of the building.

"Oh crap." Qrow groaned as he ran towards the injured Huntress and stopped her. "What happened?"

"Grimm! Hundreds inside! They were wall to wall! We were overwhelmed and we lost two almost instantly!" she cried.

"Shit." Qrow snarled angrily, feeling guilty over sending those people inside.

"Hundreds? That's going to be a problem." Glynda stated.

"Blow a hole in the damn front wall and we storm the place, wipe those sons of bitches out." Qrow said darkly.

Glynda nodded and said "Well we were going to have to repair it anyway." She turned to the rest of her group and pointed to a section of them. "You all scatter about the campus and help Qrow's troops take out as many Grimm as possible, the rest of you are with us as we move into the amphitheater. Remember, do not go anywhere alone, have at least one other person with you." She commanded.

The selected Hunters ran off to join in the escalating battle about the campus while Glynda and Qrow called forward those with heavy artillery and explosive weapons.

"Blow the building open, they'll scatter in a panic and we can pick them off." Qrow said.

"They'll come directly to us more likely." Winter pointed out.

"Either way we get to kill some Grimm." Qrow stated. "Fire!" he shouted.

The Hunters with rockets or grenade launchers as well as some Atlas soldiers who were armed with highly explosive weapons were all opened fire on the amphitheater and with a massive explosion a good portion of the main entrance to the building was blown open, allowing massive amounts of Grimm to pour out like blood from a wound.

"Here they come!" Taiyang yelled as he let out a fire blast from his gauntlet to destroy a young Creep.

Everyone with a long-range weapon fired and there was a huge burst of black ash in the air as Grimm of all kinds exploded, sending the black dust everywhere as the sounds of guns firing and grenades exploding could be heard from all around the area.

"This is crazy!" cried a Huntsman.

"Don't let up! Pour it on!" Winter yelled as she fired a pistol at the oncoming horde.

A Beringel jumped over its Grimm brethren and into the crowd of Hunters, smashing its mighty fist into a sword-wielding Huntsman and sending him flying into a pillar with a loud crack of bones.

Qrow jumped back and slashed off the ape Grimm's left arm and leg while a Huntress severed its head from its body.

"Keep on fighting! Go check on him, anyone with medical experience help him out!" Qrow ordered as he pointed to the downed Hunter. Two people ran towards him while Qrow turned his attention back to the battle just in time to blast down a Hellhound.

This continued on for a few minutes, in that time over three hundred Grimm were destroyed by the combined might of the Hunters and Atlas military.

"Oum above! How many of the damn things are in there?!" cried a Huntress.

"A lot, but not that many now." Qrow answered before he looked to Glynda, "Want to move in and take it?"

"It's doable but we should take out a few more Grimm before we... look out!" she cried as another, but younger, Goliath charged out of the building and towards them.

"What the hell?! Fire! Blow it to bits!" Qrow ordered as the groups scattered to get out of the large Grimm's path. Nearly twenty of the Hunters armed with grenade launchers or rocket launchers fired at the Goliath, and the multiple explosive impacts on multiple points on its body killed the beast.

As it fell Qrow yelled "Get ready, there aren't many left! We're moving in! Everyone follow me!"

"Right behind you!" Winter shouted as she saw a group of twenty-five or so Grimm charging towards them.

Qrow launched himself into the air and used Reaper's gun to blast away two Grimm as he came down, transformed it into scythe-mode and bisected an Ursa before he swung around and eviscerated a Beowulf, ran forward and stabbed another one in the chest, blasted down a couple of Creeps, ran past a Boarbatusk and blasting it from behind, he turned around and severed a Beowulf's upper torso from its body before he slashed a small Beringel across the chest and again across the back, and then he sliced off an Ursa's head. He made into the building and jumped up as he slammed down an explosive Dust charge which went off and vaporized a group of Creeps and Boarbatusks before he back-flipped over to a Beringel where he slashed open its side and quickly finished it off by severing it's head. He then tossed a grenade into a swooping Griffon, blowing it up before he could snatch him.

"I will never be too old for this." Qrow said with a smirk as the other Hunters ran past him, destroying the remaining Grimm in the building.

"Most impressive Branwen." Winter admitted as she walked up next to him while cutting down a Creep.

"Just doing my job." Qrow said with a shrug as he took out his scroll. "Oz, we're taking the amphitheater right now. Haven't a damn clue how many Grimm we've taken out so far but we're doing good so far. We've lost about five people so far, I think."

"Damn, press on. You need to take the tower." Ozpin said.

"We will try, how is Peter doing?" Glynda asked.

"Quite well, his forces are pushing into the city but there is the issue of a large concentration of Colonists and Claw Hammers near the cliffside as well as some Griffons but they should be able to press inwards in no time. He has proposed a rendezvous at the dining hall." Ozpin informed them.

"Sounds good to me, we can take it together. When we're getting ready to take the tower you send in Oobleck with the kids, they can get the rest of these things while we take the tower. Taiyang you take some of these guys and help out our scattered Hunters, try to lead some of them into the school, the weapons forge, the ballroom and take all of them back. The kids can get the dorms and the library once they get here." Qrow said.

"That will leave our forces stretched out rather thinly." Winter pointed out.

"Not the best strategy, I know, but I think it'll work. Take care of yourself out there Taiyang." Qrow said to his friend.

"Qrow, if anything happens to me..."

"Don't start that shit with me, Tai!" Qrow snapped.

"You'll take care of my girls, right?" Taiyang asked sternly.

"I won't need to; you're going to be fine. We can't lose each other now Tai, we're all that's left of Team STRQ, so neither of us get to die, okay?" Qrow said as he put his hands out.

Taiyang grabbed it and squeezed it, "Right, kick some ass."

"You know I will." Qrow said.

Taiyang chose some Hunters and led them out into the campus.

Glynda looked out into the newest battle of Beacon, listening to the sounds of gunfire and roars of the Grimm and said "We have a chance of winning this, let's not waste it."

They ran into battle, leaving a combat medic in command of the recaptured amphitheater.

* * *

Up above the second of the Eagle Fighter pilots blasted away another Nevermore, its body dropping to the ground as it disintegrated.

He swung his ship around for another pass when the voice of another pilot on the radio system said "I think I've found out where all these Nevermore are coming from! The ballroom!"

"Right, out of all the buildings that one is the most expendable." The pilot said.

He quickly contacted General Ironwood who gave the word.

"Destroy it Eagle 2, hit it with as much firepower as you have but give me a few minutes to make sure that area is clear." Ironwood said.

A few minutes later, which the pilot spent shooting down Griffons and Vampires while avoiding being destroyed by the furious Grimm, Ironwood called back.

"All the Hunters have cleared that area, you are free to open fire." He said.

"Yes sir!" the pilot said as he and three other ships formed up for a bombardment. "Okay, Eagles 4, 6, and 9 on me, let's blow those things back to the hell they came from!"

The four fighters swooped down and let loose everything they had, dropping missiles and laser blasts down on the ballroom, blowing it up and killing the Nevermore that surrounded the establishment.

"Yeah!" cheered Eagle 4's pilot, "We kicked some Grimm... wait a... what the hell?!" he cried as a gargantuan black shape rose out of the burning wreckage of the ballroom, surrounded by fading Nevermore and fiery debris.

"Oh gods..." muttered Eagle 2's pilot as a giant, ancient Nevermore rose up and pierced the air with a loud, furious screech.

It stabbed out its massive wings into the air and with one flap it rose up and began to soar after the quartet of ships, its wings flapping to keep it afloat as the vast, predatory bird came at them.

"We used up all our missiles to destroy the ballroom! What are we gonna do?!" cried Eagle 6.

"Kill it with our guns! It might not do much against something that big but it'll be something at least!" Eagle 2 ordered.

They did there best, blasting away at the old Grimm as much as possible but it avoided most of the shots and what hits did manage didn't do much in the way a hurting it.

The alpha Nevermore soared towards then and with a mighty caw it swooped down to gain momentum and came back up then slammed one wing upwards to send its razor sharp feathers at the four ships, but only managed to hit two of them. One feather went into Eagle 7 slicing the wing off which sent it spiraling down. Eagle 4 was hit right in the cockpit which was an instant kill, destroying the ship quickly.

"We need back up, we need back u-AH!" screamed Eagle 6 as the Nevermore smashed through his fighter, totaling it.

"Eagle 2, return to the flagship now! Lure it here and our guns can rip it apart!" General Ironwood ordered.

"I'll try sir!" Eagle 2 said as he began to fly his ship towards the pride of Atlas' fleet.

Try as he might his fighter couldn't out fly the monster, as the tail end of the ship was crushed in the Nevermore's sharp beak. The pilot screamed as the front end of ship exploded, destroying his body in the inferno as the old Nevermore smashed through it.

Ironwood stared at the scene and clenched his metal fist.

"All of you will be avenged. We can't let that overgrown bird attack the Hunters on the ground! Shoot it and lure it here!" he commanded.

"Yes sir!" said a deck officer who gave the word for all Atlas ships to open fire on the Nevermore and lure it towards them.

The Nevermore roared in pain as it took multiple hits from the cannons and it quickly began to fly up and gain momentum for a dive-bomb attack.

It flew towards a tower where two Huntsmen had taken position and were blasting Grimm out of the sky. They saw the Nevermore coming at them and tried to shoot it but it was no use and too late to escape.

"We're finished! Ahhh!" screamed one of the Huntsmen as the Nevermore smashed through the tower, killing them both. It swooped up and was dead set on attacking the flagship. It slammed its wings forward and the feathers stabbed into the ship's side, making it shake violently.

The Nevermore flew up and slammed down right in front of the bridge, absorbing hits from the turrets the entire time. While they were doing damage the large beast ignored them as it plunged its beak into the bridge, forcing Ironwood and other members of the crew to get out of its way.

Ironwood shook his head as he was helped up by a guard while other soldiers began shooting at the beast. "Sir, are you alright?" the guard asked.

"Fine, tell the gunners to hold their fire, I'm about to do something rather drastic." Ironwood stated.

When the cannons stopped shooting Ironwood ran forward and jumped right at the Nevermore's head as his hand transformed into a sword. He slammed his blade deep into the giant Grimm's head while his other hand, armed with his revolver, shot it in the eye.

"This is my ship, you mindless beast, and I don't want you on it!" he yelled before he he pulled his sword out, unloaded a powerful shot into its skull and jumped back onto the bridge. "All guns fire!" he commanded.

All of the ship's guns turned on the Nevermore and blasted it away, the multiple shots blowing its head off, causing the body to fall to the ground as it disintegrated.

"Well done, general! I must admit I was worried for a minute." Benedict said as the look of shock was still on his face.

"I've fought bigger Grimm than that bird in the past, our ship will be fine for now." Ironwood stated before he received a call from Qrow.

"Jimmy, you okay? I saw that Nevermore attack your ship..."

"We're fine Qrow, I took care of it, we lost some good pilots to that damned thing but at least we avenged them. How goes the battle?" Ironwood inquired.

"We've taken the main avenue and the amphitheater, minus a few Grimm still around and we've taken down over a thousand Grimm so far so we're making progress." Qrow reported. "Goodwitch and I are trying to move in on the cafeteria but we're meeting up with a lot of Grimm on the way so we might have to make Port wait for us. Taiyang is gathering up our guys and is going to take the school building."

"Good, should I send Oobleck in with the fourth wave?" Ironwood asked.

It was then that Glynda joined the conversation "Against my better judgment I'd say yes, despite our best efforts we will need all the help we can get right now."

Ironwood nodded and said "Right, I'll contact Ozpin and have them sent in, is the main avenue stable enough to be a landing zone?"

"For the time being, yes. We left a few there to hold the area so it should be alright." Glynda informed him.

"Very good." Ironwood said.

* * *

Back at the main compound Ruby and the rest of Team Beacon watched the battle from afar, getting glimpses of flashing lights and explosions and bursts of Grimm dust.

"That Nevermore went down hard! Oh man I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere near that thing." Sun exclaimed.

"Neither would I but it makes me wonder just how many Grimm of that size are in Beacon." Blake offered.

"Oh the wait is killing me! Why can't we go in yet?" Ruby whined.

"Jeez Ruby, maybe they want to wait before sending students in." Jaune said sarcastically.

"But we can help! We've... okay I gotta admit I've never seen this many Grimm, but we can help!" Ruby said stubbornly.

"You're right Ruby; we can and will help but not yet. They won't send us in, we're too inexperienced but soon enough we'll kick some ass." Coco assured the younger girl.

"Sooner than you expect, Miss Adel." Said Oobleck as he approached them. "Professor Ozpin has just received word from General Ironwood, our forces are making progress but in order to do this more efficiently we are to head in right away."

"Already?" Ren asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah!" Nora cheered.

"Let's get to it!" Ruby said eagerly as she ran to the ship with Penny in tow.

"Dr. Oobleck, do you have any coffee on you?" Weiss asked.

"No, why?" he returned.

"Never let Ruby have any!" the Schnee heiress answered.

"Yeah, you might accidentally cause a judgment day for the Grimm and put us all out of a job!" Yang joked.

* * *

Towards the back of Beacon Port led his group into battle, taking down every Grimm in sight with gusto.

"Ha-ha!" Port laughed as he slammed his axe down on a Beowulf before blowing apart three more of its kind with his blunderbuss. "Oh I'm half tempted to thank Cinder for this! She has made my life so much more fun!" he declared as he blasted down a Colonist, a Grimm ant, which tried to pounce him.

Slightly behind him a female fox Faunus and her human male compatriot observed the older man before she said "I think they stuck us with the crazy one."

Landing had been a bit difficult as the landing pads were badly damaged by the Grimm but Admiral Nemo had bombarded the cliffside and drove the Grimm back enough for Port and his troops to land and disembark from their ships. Afterwards she continued to blitz the cliffs for Colonists and Claw Hammers that attempted to come at them from behind.

"Onward, my friends! Onward to the school! We'll teach these devils a thing or two about invading our schools!" Port commanded as he slashed a Death Stalker's claws off and crushed a Blood Lust under his feet.

The Colonists, giant black ants the size of a dog with white pincers in front of their faces, tried to attack the invading Hunters but it was no use as they were blasted and cut down quite easily.

The Claw Hammers, however, were a bit more of a challenge. They were Grimm crabs about as big as the Creeps with large, crushing claws that could rip a person's arm off and could dent armor by slamming its claws down and their thick shells gave them great protection but most Hunters had found that the best to deal with that was to just sever it from its limbs and leave them helpless, which was the fate of many Claw Hammers that day.

As Port preformed that move on an unlucky Claw Hammer, leaving it awkwardly lopsided as it struggled to move, the ground was shaken by a large tentacle rising up out of the water. Port turned around and his eyes widened at the sight of a Grimm Kraken.

The giant squid Grimm was black with large red eyes and white markings on its tentacles and its big body as its suckers let loose an acidic ink that many Hunters scrambled to avoid.

The Kraken's powerful tentacles began to pull it up the cliffside when Admiral Nemo's vessel opened fire, the powerful guns being more than enough to get its attention and make it realize that Port and his troops weren't much of a threat to it at the moment, a heavily armed battleship, on the other hand, was.

It hopped back into the water with a tremendous splash and its eight limbs pushed it towards the battleship.

On the bridge of her ship Admiral Nemo yelled "Fire at the water! That thing's acid won't burn through our hull but it will do damage! Use the Drill-Bombs!"

The Kraken's mighty tentacles rose out of the water and straddled the ship, bringing down in the water while it levered itself up.

Nemo grimaced before snarling out "Fire now! Aim for the eyes, those are weak points! Don't hold back, give this monster everything we have!"

The Kraken roared as its beak penetrated the top of the ships hull; it wanted to reach in and begin to take hold of people but the constant firing from the ships cannons kept hurting it. It began to move up to attack the bridge when one of the cannons launched a special type of weapon called Drill-Bombs.

It slammed into the Kraken's eye and began drilling deeper, causing black fluid to pour out as the beast roared in pain. It let go of the ship and fell into the water, mere seconds before the bombs went off and the Kraken's head exploded.

Admiral Nemo nodded in approval at the sight and said "Give that gunner a medal, quite an effective kill."

* * *

Back at the main avenue a group of five ships landed down on the desolated site and Oobleck, Team Beacon, and many other Hunters, both students and professionals, poured out into the street.

"Forward! Professor Goodwitch told me we can proceed to take the library and the dorms as they have yet to be reclaimed." Oobleck said as he led the group towards the amphitheater where the combat medic and a group of ten Hunters kept it Grimm free.

As they walked up to them they could all see the dead bodies, now covered with tarps. Some of the younger Hunters looked away, including Ruby, Weiss, Velvet, Neptune, and Scarlet.

"Professor Oobleck!" called the medic as she continued to attend to a wounded Huntress, using a healing Semblance on a leg wound.

"Doctor!" he corrected.

"Uh, fine, Dr. Oobleck! Good to see you've come; we could sure use the backup. I'm Sue Nightgale, Professor Goodwitch and Branwen left me in command of this post for the time being." She said.

"Excellent, have there been any changes in the past few minutes?" Oobleck asked.

"Aside from this Huntress being brought to me, no, but it is rather insane out there and from what I can hear they could use some help at the weapons forge, so if you can send them some help that would be wonderful and Xiao Long split off from the main group to rally the Hunters and retake the school building. Take great caution, especially you young ones!" Nightgale said to them.

"They shall, some of these students have proven quite remarkable." Oobleck said as he looked at Team Beacon.

"The Battle of Haven, I know, but in something like this no one is immune to injury, speaking of which if you find anyone who has been hurt bring them to me and I'll do what I can." She said.

"We most certainly will, thank you. Alright, professional Hunters spread out and do what you can, head for the weapons forge and give them a hand, after that do whatever you can to drive out the Grimm. Team Beacon from what I understand the library has not yet been taken so please capture it for us. The rest of you will come with me to help Mr. Xiao Long take back the school. Understood?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" they all said.

"Good, now let's go!" he cried as he held up his thermos in weapon form.

Team Beacon separated from the main group with a shout of "Good luck!" from Oobleck.

"You think we should be on our own for this? I mean we could use some help." Velvet pointed out.

"From what I understand Hunters are scattered all over the place, if we need some help we're bound to run into it." Sun assured his fellow Faunus.

"Plus, Oobleck knows for a fact that we can take care of ourselves." Ruby added.

They soon ran into a horde of Grimm, consisting of Creeps, Beowolves, Ursa, Boarbatusks, Tarantula Widows, and Death Stalkers.

"Grimm dead ahead!" Neptune announced.

"Okay Team Beacon, our first real mission together so let's make it count!" Ruby cried as she transformed Crescent Rose into scythe form.

"Right behind you Ruby!" Jaune said as he took out Crocea Mors.

"Let's go!" Coco yelled as she transformed her bag into its minigun mode and began blasting down Grimm, and those with long range weapons followed her example as Yang, Blake, Neptune, Scarlet, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Penny all opened fire with their guns, or grenade launcher, gauntlets, and arm-cannon in the cases of Nora, Yang, and Penny respectively.

"Yatsuhashi, give me and Ruby a lift!" Jaune called.

Yatsuhashi nodded and ran forward he lifted up both team leaders with his massive, strong hands and threw them up and over the Grimm horde. Ruby began blasting Grimm from above, killing every one she hit with one shot.

Jaune landed on of Death Stalker's back and with a mighty, emotion Semblance powered swing of his sword, chopped off the beast's tail and stinger. The Death Stalker, now handicapped, tried to grab Jaune with its claw only for Pyrrha to blast it off with Milo in rifle mode. Jaune smiled at her before he jumped over to the Death Stalker's head and impaled it. "That felt too good." He said to himself before he jumped over to bash a Beowulf in the side with his shield while slashing it across the back.

Pyrrha blasted a hole in a Beowulf before transforming Milo into spear mode and ramming it through a quartet of the wolf Grimm. She ripped it out just in time to dodge a swipe from an Ursa's paws. She used Akouo to block the next strike before ramming Milo in rifle form into the beast's chest and firing off a shot, killing it. She could sense that the Ursa wasn't trying to kill her, just drive her away, her Grimm half confused the monsters around her and made them wonder what exactly they were battling. "You're right Jaune, this does feel good." She agreed as she used her Grimm powers to make a line of Beowolves to stand still while she went to work destroying them, with some help from Ren.

After Ren was finished helping Pyrrha he quickly stabbed one of the StormFlowers' blades into the head of a Boarbatusk before flipping over to slam both blades into the rib cage of a Beowulf and opening fire into the beast's interior. He ripped them both out let loose a barrage of blasts into an Ursa that had been charging him. He jumped on top of the wounded beast, kicking its head down and jumping over it before finishing it off with some well placed shots to the backside.

Nora grinned happily as she fired a grenade into the waiting maw of a Death Stalker, blowing it up. "Now that's a spicy meatball!" she quipped before she used her hammer to send a Boarbatusk flying into a pillar hard enough to kill it. She ran about the new battle ground, jumping over a bench to slam her mighty hammer into a Beowulf's head and then slamming Magnhild into a Boarbatusk, sending it flying as she cheered "She shoots, she's going for distance..." the Boarbatusk hit the side of a building with a splat as black sludge dotted the building, "she scores!"

"And the crowd goes wild." Ren snarked.

"You know it, Renny!" Nora said happily before she blew up an Ursa.

Fox used his new arm blades to slash a Beowulf across the back and then impale a Creep that tried to sneak up on him. He turned around and with four quick swings of his arms eviscerated two more of the lizard Grimm. He looked over to see a Tarantula Widow about to pounce on Ren and Nora. "Not today." He muttered. As the spider made its move Fox made his. As it descended upon the ninja and the valkyire Fox jumped under it and used his arm blades to slice all eight of its limbs off. "Out of the way you two!" he called.

Ren and Nora made themselves scare as the Tarantula Widow fell to the ground, writing in pain before Fox landed on it and stabbed both of his blades into its head, the two crisscrossing as they exited the beasts' multi-eyed face.

"None of that." Fox stated as it began to disintegrate.

"Thanks Fox." Ren said.

"No prob." Fox said with a nod before he jumped over to slash apart a Beowulf behind them.

Meanwhile Coco jabbed her gun into an Ursa's chest and let 'er rip and the intense stream of bullets blew the creatures upper chest and above from its body. Coco jumped onto a bench and used that to jump into a crowd of Grimm so she could let all hell loose with her minigun-purse, as she ripped Creeps, Beowolves, and Death Stalkers apart, filling the air with black dust.

"I live for the simple things, like fashion, nice bodies, beauty in everything, and killing things like you." Coco remarked as she used her bag to smash the head of a Beowulf in before she jumped over a Creep and blasted it away. "Oh yeah." The fashionista said with a smirk before sending another Creep flying with a simple whack from her bag.

Velvet used her camera to crate copies of Ashe's weapons and went to work slashing down and shooting Grimm as fast as she could, her ears giving her early warnings whenever one tried to sneak up on her so she would easily whip around and blast one out of existence. She heard a Vampire try to swoop down and grab her but she quickly blasted it out of the sky before she shoved her copied gun into the mouth of a Beowulf and said "Wolf vs. Bunny."

She fired and the Grimm's head burst into dust.

"Bunny wins!" she said with a happy smile before quickly using a copy of Jaune's shield to block the sting of a Death Stalker, which she killed with a copy of Crescent Rose. She saw Yatsuhashi was currently dealing with a very powerful Ursa and didn't notice another, smaller one sneaking up on him so Velvet quickly created a copy of Nebula's crossbow and fired five arrows into the Grimm's back killing it.

Her larger partner noticed this and gave her a quick thumbs up before blocking the large Ursa's strike. He tried to slash the bear Grimm open with a quick slash across the side but it blocked it using one of the spikes on its back.

Yatsuhashi became annoyed by this Ursa's stubbornness and quickly tried to stab it in the leg only for it to land a successful hit on his shoulder, but his armor absorbed most of the pain from the strike. The large swordsman growled in fury before he stuck the beast's chest hard with his greatsword, but it only scratched the monster. He growled out before he quickly struck it across the chest again, swiftly used that as a distraction so he could chop off its arm and finish it off with a might blow to the head.

As the Ursa fell Yatsuhashi walked over to battle a pack of four Beowolves, which he quickly killed in a similar manner, by twirling around with his blade sticking out, decapitating all of them.

He turned to see Sage impaling a Creep, the green-haired swordsman smiled at him and said "Uh... swords for life?"

Yatsuhashi nodded with a small smile before he bisected a Creep. Sage quickly went back to work, cutting down Beowolves and the like as quickly and as effectively as he could. He heard a screech so he looked up to see two Vampires flying towards him. "Come and try it, rats with wings." He muttered.

He jumped on a bench and then onto a streetlight where he jumped forward to meet the dive-bombing Grimm, cutting one in half lengthways while the other once avoided his blade. He landed on one knee and a foot so he got up just in time for the second Vampire to crash into him. He fell on his back, struggling with the creature until someone shot it through the head.

Sage looked up to see Scarlet with the smoking gun. "You okay?" the redhead asked.

"Just peachy." Sage answered.

That was good enough for Scarlet, who fired his grappling hook into the chest of a Beowulf, brought it up close and smashed its face with his fist. He brought his cutlass down on some Creeps that were trying to take him on all at once but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

Scarlet fired his flintlock three times, killing a charging Ursa as the bullets shattered its head. The redhead saw a Boarbatusk trying to ram him but he quickly got out of its way and slashed it open with his cutlass.

He looked over to see Neptune electrocuting an impaled Beowulf. "Nice one Neptune!" he called.

"Thanks!" Neptune called back before transforming his weapon into gun mode and blasting down some Scavengers who were hovering overhead. As the dying vulture Grimm fell Neptune helped Sage out by taking blasting at an Ursa that was giving him trouble, distracting the Grimm just enough for Sage to sever it from its legs.

Sage nodded appreciably as Neptune transformed his weapon into its guandao mode and began to run towards a group of Tarantula Widows where he quickly spun around the deadly blade, cutting off their legs and slashing their bodies open as he did so.

This was a little move he had been working on called 'Whirlpool of Doom'. Sun had mocked him constantly over it, but Neptune didn't care, as he thought it was a cool move with a slightly less cool name.

Speaking of his Faunus partner and leader he looked over to see the blonde Monkey tripping a Creep before slamming the combined form of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang onto it.

Sun, for his part, had been doing really good so far and knew that his Grimm kill count was already in the twenties. He slammed his bo-staff through a Beowulf's legs, tore it out, and blasted it apart as it turned Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang back into their nunchaku modes. He could see that he would need the fire power as a pack of sixteen Beowolves were coming at him.

As the Beowolves began to surround him he wildly flung his weapons around, blasting down some of them but he was getting a little nervous as he was running out of ammo. He had more, but the idea of running out with this many Grimm around him made him a little worried, which attracted them to him.

He soon found that no matter how many he killed, not that he could even bother counting that time, more seemed to join in on surrounding him.

One pounced at him but he slammed Ruyi and Jingu together to impale the wolf Grimm just in time, following it up by whacking several more back. He looked over to see Yang and Blake and called "Could really use some help here!"

Yang and Blake quickly ran to help him only for Penny to jump down off of a pillar, her swords either impaling or cutting the pack apart.

"I am Penny! I am a goddess of hellfire and I bring you stabbing death!" she cried as she transformed her arm into cannon mode and shot a hole clean through an Ursa. She sighed and muttered "Stabbing death, that sounded better in my head..."

"Don't sweat it! You were awesome!" Sun praised as he patted her on the back.

"Thank you!" Penny said with a pleasant smile before she sent a sword flying to cut a Beowulf's head in half.

"Don't worry Pen-bot, we'll work on the awesome nicknames, just focus on fighting right now." Yang said to her.

"Are you alright Sun?" Blake asked.

"I'm good, all this action and we haven't even gotten to the library yet!" Sun joked.

"Well action is usually absent at the library." Yang pointed out. She looked over to see a horde of Boarbatusks and Creeps rushing towards them. The blonde brawler laughed and said "Bring it on, punks!"

She opened fire with the Ember Celica, the wild barrage of gunshots turned all of the charging Grimm into clouds of fading black dust. She smirked with satisfaction until she saw an average sized Ursa coming towards her.

"Okay robo-arm, let's see how the doc's upgrades work." She said to herself as one of Dr. Kimball's more recent editions, spikes formed on her knuckles whenever she wanted them, stabbed out of her metallic hand with the letters "B" "U" "R" and "N" inscribed on the spikes.

She used her Semblance to propel herself up and slam her now spiked fist through the Ursa with her hair glowing gold. She landed on her feet and her robotic fist stabbing into the ground as the now headless Ursa fell over, dead.

"I'm just too bad." She said to herself.

Blake slammed Gambol Shroud, in katana form, through a Tarantula Widow's thorax. She quickly changed the chamber for her weapon's Dust and slammed down a purple arc of energy that destroyed the few Grimm it hit.

She turned Gambol Shroud to kusaigama mode and cracked it like a whip around a Beowulf's waist which cut it in half.

The Cat Faunus looked over to her Schnee teammate and said "Checkmate Freeze?"

Weiss smiled and said "You got it."

Blake exchanged the purple Dust crystal for an ice one and worked with Weiss to create a large ice streak that entrapped several Grimm, allowing Sun, Coco, Pyrrha, and Ren to finish them off.

"Good work, Blake." Weiss stated as the black cat shot down another Vampire.

"Thanks, a few more Grimm and this area will be clear, but I'm a little worried about the Sabers, if they're here we should have run into them or at least seen one by now." Blake said.

"Relax, if we do we'll take care of them easily, for now let's just finish this up." Weiss said. The Schnee heiress created a black glyph and launched herself forward, cutting down fourteen Grimm in as many seconds.

She used Myrtenaster to freeze a rather large Beowulf, which she then stabbed and shattered. Weiss looked to her leader who was enthusiastically cutting down the last three Beowolves with quick and merciless swings of Crescent Rose's blade.

As the last Beowulf disintegrated Ruby surveyed the site of the battle, taking in the lack of Grimm, which was always a good thing. Ruby secretly hoped Salem could feel this, as it was just a taste of what she had coming.

"Well I'd say our first official battle as Team Beacon was a complete success!" Ruby declared.

"Obviously, they didn't even stand a chance." Sun agreed.

"Not even for a second." Coco chimed in.

"We should get headed for the library, the more major places we take back the sooner Beacon will..." Jaune began to say before a cry interrupted him.

The seventeen kids looked to see a lone Huntsman running from a rather large Death Stalker. The Huntsman was armed only with an axe so he couldn't do much against the beast without help.

Ruby quickly changed Crescent Rose's chamber to an explosive Dust cartridge and said "Nora, Coco we'll take it down. Pyrrha get him out of harm's way."

"Right." Pyrrha said as she used her Semblance to grab the metallic items on the man's clothes to bring him closer to them faster and got him out of the way while Nora and Ruby both fired explosive rounds at it and those blew both of its pinching claws off but Coco's heavy blasts from her minigun reduced it to nothing but slag.

"Whew, oh man! I owe you kids one." The man said as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's okay, just helping out a fellow Hunter." Ruby said with a smile.

"Listen kids, I just came from the garage and there are over a dozen Hunters holed up there and they're surrounded by Grimm! They've got badly wounded Hunters and the ones that can fight don't know how much longer they can keep the Grimm back, they're getting hit with a capital 'H', as in hard and heavy! They could really use some help." The man said desperately.

The members of Team Beacon looked to each other and without even a chance for someone else to speak Ruby said "We can spare some of our group to help them."

"No talking about it?" Coco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's there to talk about?! Fellow Hunters are trapped and need help, so we help them!" Ruby exclaimed.

Coco grinned and said "I like the way you role, Rose."

"I'll go, maybe I can get Bumblebee out to help kick some Grimm but." Yang said.

"I'm going too." Blake said.

"If she goes I go." Sun added.

"And he won't last a second without me." Neptune sighed.

"Thank you, I'm tired but I can still fight." The Huntsman stated.

"Okay, once you help them out of there you guys can join up with us at the library, maybe we'll save some Grimm for you." Ruby joked.

"You sure we can take on the library with just the thirteen of us?" Ren asked.

"I think we can, we got enough weapons, Dust, and power to do it." Ruby argued.

"She's right, besides we might not even be doing it alone, other Hunters are scattered around the place, remember? Chances are we'll have some help." Jaune said.

"Okay good. Yang, Blake, Sun, Neptune, take care of each other and come back to us safe!" Ruby said.

"Can and will do Rubes!" Yang said as the four members of Team Beacon followed the lone Huntsman to the garage.

Ruby waved to them and said "Okay, now let's go capture that library!"

And with that the remaining members of Team Beacon followed Ruby, Coco, and Jaune to the library.

* * *

A trio of Hunters had taken up a position in a skyway near the cafeteria and they were shooting various Grimm down, but mostly Beringels who had taken over the dining hall.

"These things are freaking everywhere! It's like if we kill one three more take its place!" cried one armed with a heavy caliber machine gun as he used his gun to rip one of the ape Grimm to shreds.

"We can do this! I see Goodwitch and Branwen, they're coming with reinforcements!" said a Huntress as she saw Qrow, Glynda, and Winter lead nearly a hundred Hunters and soldiers towards the skyway.

Another Huntsman huffed and said "It's about time! We could sure use the..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as a Beringel jumped onto the bridge and its mighty fists crushed his neck. The two other Hunters quickly tried to shoot the Grimm before it could do anything else but it ignored them and smashed through the glass, landed on the ground, and began to rampage towards Qrow and the others.

Qrow and Winter nodded to each other and ran forward with their swords out, aiming for a large Beringel. The two ran past it, their blades slashing off its arms. The creature roared in pain before one of Winter's finished it off with a well placed shot to the head.

As Qrow, Winter, and the other warriors continued killing as many Grimm as they could Glynda used her powers to launch herself on top of the skyway, where she used her Semblance to send some debris slamming into the Beringels, either crushing them or distracting them enough for the various Hunters or Atlas soldiers to finish them off. She looked over and allowed herself a small smile at the sight of Port and his Hunters.

She jumped off the bridge and landed in front of Qrow.

"Peter is here, we need to join up." She said to him.

"Right, taking back this place will be easy." Qrow stated.

Port happily blasted a Beringel's head off before slamming his axe twice into the torso of another. "Oh if only these things stayed, I do wish Miss Rose's eyes were here, they'd be of great help." He mused to himself before he noticed Glynda and Qrow. "Ah! Hello my dears! Wonderful battle, isn't it?"

"First off; never call me 'dear' again, that's just creepy. Second, what the hell is a good battle?" Qrow asked as he shot down a Scavenger.

Port chortled at his old student's response as Glynda approached him.

"Most of your troops are with you, correct?" she inquired.

"Yes, some have went off to fight their own glorious battles but I think together we can take the dining hall with little effort." Port answered as he blasted a small Beringel in half.

Glynda looked into the windows of the dining hall and could see dozens upon dozens of the ape Grimm, roaring furiously. "In that case let us get it over with, the more locations we take back the sooner this mess will be over." She said as she aimed her wand towards the doors of the cafeteria. "I'll open the doors, any of you with heavy artillery shall open fire and clear a path for Qrow, Winter, and Port. You three will then lead our troops into the building and slaughter the Grimm, agreed?"

"Agreed." Qrow, Winter, Port, and several others said with a nod.

Glynda waited for various Hunters armed with explosive ranged weapons to get in front of her before she got ready. She knew there would be an insane amount of damage to repair once this was over, but it wasn't anything she and an army of construction workers and architects couldn't repair. "Prepare to pour everything you have!" she shouted.

"Surround the windows and get ready to jump in once we start pushing them back." Qrow ordered a few dozen Hunters.

Once everyone was in place Glynda used her Semblance to pull the heavy doors open and the band of Grimm poured out from the dining hall and charged towards the Hunters, only to be obliterated by grenades, rockets,

"Go!" Winter yelled as Hunters and soldiers alike began running inside. Winter slashed down the large Grimm with some effort while Qrow, using Reaper's scythe-mode, rocketed inside and slashed half a dozen down within seconds. Port, laughing jovially, blasted them apart while occasionally using the axe portion of his weapon to stop them from attacking him if they got to close.

"Now!" Qrow screamed, giving the signal for the Hunters by the windows to come in. They Hunters jumped up, cutting or shooting their way in through the glass and bearing down on the side of the Grimm's forces.

An alpha Beringel, three or four times the size of an average person, slammed through the kitchen and roared at the invaders. It slammed its fists down and launched itself at them, landing on one unlucky Atlas soldier who was crushed under its weight. The alpha grabbed a Hunter and slammed him down, breaking his spine. The beast gave out a terrifying roar as it jumped up to the walls, crushing a Huntress as it did so.

"Schnee, Port, we're taking that thing down!" Qrow ordered. He fired a shot at its chest but the bone-like armor protected it from the blast. Port, however, had a much more powerful gun.

"I'll draw its attention while you take it down with your blades." Port said.

"Sounds good to me." Winter agreed.

Port began blasting it, managing to land a powerful blow on its upper-arm. The alpha roared and began to charge at Port while the eldest teacher present began firing away at its chest area.

Winter and Qrow struck, with Winter slicing off its fingers as Qrow attacked from behind, severing its foot while jumping onto its back.

The beast's movement, now hampered by the loss of its foot, ground to a halt while taking another hit from Port's blunderbuss, this allowed Winter to jump up towards its head and cut it open while Qrow slammed Reaper deep into its back.

The alpha Beringel fell, roaring in pain, not noticing Port had gotten incredibly close to it. Port shoved his blunderbuss into the beast's mouth and fired, blowing it to smithereens and ending it.

"Ha! The brute was no match for the three of us. It's a shame Miss Ruby isn't here, if she had frozen the monster it's head would have made an excellent trophy." He said as he shot down a young Grimm.

Winter gave Qrow a look. The scythe user laughed and said "You get used to him, trust me."

She rolled her eyes and said "If you say so."

Qrow laughed as he heard the sound of the building shaking, the back wall burst open to the reveal a furious Goliath, roaring at them.

"Oh shit!" cried one of the nearest Huntsmen as he tried to get out of its way, but no luck, he and an Atlas soldier were trampled to death by it.

"Fire! Blow it to bits!" Port cried. He fired his blunderbuss as many other Hunters and soldiers opened fire on it all at once, the massive Grimm, despite its thick hide, didn't stand a chance against that many explosives hitting it at once and it burst into large globs of black sludge as more Grimm such Beowolves began to pour in.

"More!" cried a soldier before a Beowulf jumped onto him and bit into his neck.

Qrow opened fire with Reaper as Glynda came in using he powers to send the chairs and the long tables scattered about the place smashing into the Beowolves.

"Keep it up!" Qrow yelled as the battle raged on. He didn't know how much longer this would last, probably all day, but no matter what they had to keep fighting.

* * *

Elsewhere, not too far away, Ruby, Jaune, and Coco led the other ten members of Team Beacon into the library. On the way they had run into a few other Hunters who said that Sabers had been prowling around the library, which gave Team Beacon the need for caution as the feline Grimm were rather intelligent compared to others in the Grimm kingdom.

From the looks of it the battle was going incredibly well, Ruby could even see the use of the Light-bringer cannon in the distance and the sounds of gunfire off the campus grounds meant that Chamberlain's troops were blasting down any Grimm that were attempting to escape and if the Grimm were beginning to retreat that could only mean good news for Beacon.

Jaune looked over to see Hunters and soldiers fighting in the distance at the school building and said "I think I can see some the guys from our group, Oobleck and your dad can't be far behind."

Ruby nodded and said "So if we need help it won't be far behind."

"What about the Saber's venom? If one of us gets bit we'll need an antidote quick." Velvet pointed out.

"Oh, good point. Well if someone gets hurt I'll just back to the main amphitheater and get one from Nightgale, sound good?" Ruby asked.

"Good enough for me, let's head in! Make sure your weapons are ready! Remember these cats don't go down without a fight!" Coco said firmly.

Jaune looked to Pyrrha and said "We'll be alone, so you can control them, right?"

"Right." She confirmed as she gripped Milo and Akouo tightly.

"Alright, Nora, Ren, Coco, Penny, Fox and I will head in first, and Nora please don't fire your grenades in there, and the rest of you follow us in, everyone okay with that?" Ruby asked.

Everyone nodded and Coco said "Cut the chatter, people, we got a hall of books to capture. She blasted the door open and immediately a Saber jumped out as the doors crumbled.

Coco didn't even flinch as Yatsuhashi cut the tiger Grimm apart.

"Thanks, Big Y." the fashionista said, which was returned with a nod.

Ruby led Nora, Ren, Coco, Fox, and Penny ran in first, shooting, smashing, and slicing Grimm down. Nora swung her war-hammer with ease and a slightly manic grace, obliterating a young Saber in midair while Ren blasted down Sabers who were trying to pounce on them, taking them out by riddling them with Dust bullets, although he did occasionally have to block a saber-tooth bite with the StormFlowers' blades.

Coco slammed her bag into the head of a Saber before blowing three more away with her minigun before jumping out of the way of a pouncing Saber and blowing it away easily. Fox fought close to her, using his arm blades to slash the Grimm apart and drive them away from him.

"This isn't so bad, I expected much worse." He remarked to his partner and leader.

"Keep up your guard; these cats are known to play tricks." Coco warned him as Jaune led the others in.

"Take 'em down!" Jaune commanded as Scarlet fired his grappling hook into the ceiling and swung overhead, cutting Grimm's backs from above, distracting them enough for Ruby, Penny, Ren, and Pyrrha to shoot them.

Penny looked up to see a group of six Sabers were using the adhesive gel on their paws, as well as their sharp claws, to climb on the ceiling. They were about to let go and attack from above when Penny impaled them all with her swords and slammed their bodies down on other Sabers.

"I am not to be messed with!" she declared before she used her arm cannon to scare a Saber off from attacking Ruby, who gave Penny an appreciative smile.

Sage and Yatsuhashi worked together, fighting back to back as they used their powerful swords to hack and slash apart any Saber that came at them. Weiss froze a group of Savers in place, allowing Ruby to blast them all without any resistance.

"This is too easy." Ruby said.

Jaune looked at her and muttered "Yeah, too easy... Pyrrha, try to take control of them!"

Pyrrha nodded and quickly used Milo in spear form to impale a Saber that had nearly pounced Fox. She ran over to the small space between the shelves, now battered and dirty due to months of neglect, and the windows to see a lone Saber. She reached out to it with her Grimm Commander powers only feel something odd... something wrong... it was already being controlled.

She looked down and saw a body part on the ground, an ear, a few inches from her feet. Others had come in before them and had been killed, and they were next. Before she could collect her thoughts and warn the others she heard a scream from someone and heard Velvet yell "Fox!"

Fox had been bitten on the leg, the razor sharp fangs sinking into the area under his knee. The venom entered his bloodstream as Velvet killed the Saber, as well as several others that had surrounded Fox to kill him.

Velvet grabbed her teammate and helped him down.

"Oh no, Fox can you hear me?" she asked.

"Hear you just fine, Velv... crap it hurts..." he moaned in pain as his aura went to work healing the damage.

Coco ran over, smashing down a couple of Sabers as she did so, and grabbed his hand "You're gonna be okay Fox, I promise. Ruby! Fox got bit! Go get an antidote now!"

Ruby nodded and said "I can carry him back to Nightgale."

"No, I'll slow you down, go get the antidote!" Fox cried in pain.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few, I promise!" Ruby swore before she vanished in a flash of black and red.

Jaune made his way to them as he decapitated another Saber while Pyrrha ran over to him.

"We need to leave." She said.

"We can do this, Pyr! Ruby will be back and Fox will be okay, did you try..." he began before she cut him off.

"I did, that's the problem; they're already being controlled!" she revealed.

Jaune let this information sink in and he muttered "Crap. Come on!"

The couple ran back to the main avenue of the library with the others and Jaune said "We're leaving, now!"

"Fox is injured but we can hold out until Ruby gets back." Coco argued as she and the rest of Team CFVY formed a protective circle around Fox.

"We need more than just that, Pyrrha says that the Grimm here are already being controlled by someone!" he shouted.

Coco's eyes widened and she said "Gotcha, we're moving out people!"

"Understood! Move Fox out while we cover you." Weiss said as she, Ren, Nora, Scarlet, and Penny kept the Grimm back as they tried to surge forward.

Coco nodded but looked to see more Sabers from the upper level were moving towards the exit. "Crap." She murmured to herself.

"Take them down and draw their attention, I'll carry him out." Sage offered.

Coco nodded and said "Right, okay Fox hold onto Sage."

Fox didn't argue and did his best to make Sage's job a little easier as he climbed into the larger Huntsman's arms. Coco, Velvet, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Yatsuhashi all gave them covering fire, or covering swords in the case of latter two, but before Sage could reach the door a Saber pounced him from out of a bookcase and bit into his hip, making him scream with pain.

"No!" Scarlet cried.

Several Sabers jumped down from above and made ready to attack the two injured Huntsmen in training before Coco and Velvet blasted them away. Pyrrha, Jaune, and Yatsuhashi all rushed forwards and dragged the two injured teammates back as more Sabers jumped down, blocking the exit.

"It was a trap. Damn it." Coco swore as the Sabers began circling them.

"The windows, we can make it out through the..." Jaune began before he noticed that each window was being blocked off by four Sabers each. "Damn it."

"Who is it Pyrrha? Who's controlling them?" Velvet asked as she held a photo-copy of Ashe's sword.

"She knows who it is, don't you Fotia?" asked a deep voice.

Pyrrha glared up as a figure emerged from the dark shadows of the upper levels, a Tiger Faunus who was without a doubt a Grimm hybrid. He was wearing a neat suite, his skin was white with black markings that resembled tiger stripes, and his red eyes bore down on them as he wielded two large blades, the handles of them resembled scissors. His mouth opened up as he laughed to reveal large feline jaws.

"I wanted to wait until the one with the Silver Eyes was gone, I'm not eager to find out what her powers can do for myself but I am very eager to talk to you again, _Fotia_."

Pyrrha glared at him and revealed to the others what his name was; "Sheer Kaa."

He gave her a sinister smile before saying "Oh my dear Fotia, you may have betrayed our cause, but no matter what you will always be one of us."

* * *

Yang, Blake, Sun, Neptune, and the Huntsman, whose name was Tip Canner, arrived at the garage to find it surrounded by Beowolves.

"From what I know the Beowolves' lair was inside and when the Hunters took it over the Grimm called in reinforcements." Tip explained.

"That's a lot of Beowolves... think we can kill enough to even the odds?" Neptune asked as he turned weapon into its gun form.

"Oh yeah we can, get ready to start shooting everyone!" Yang said as she aimed her gauntlets forward. Blake nodded and transformed Gambol Shroud into pistol mode while Sun got out Ruyi and Jingu Bang.

"Blake, get their attention." Sun said.

Blake created an explosive clone and sent it forward, it collided into a Beowulf and the resulting explosion killed several more.

Yang whistled and called "Over here doggies!" She then let loose a wild barrage of Dust fire from her gauntlets, destroying a dozen Beowolves in mere seconds. She jumped up and kicked her boots through the head of another she flipped up and slammed her metallic fist through yet another Beowulf while she used her free hand to shoot two more into nothing but dust.

Blake shot several Beowolves down as she and Sun fought together, Sun wildly flinging his nunchaku, sending Dust bullets into the wolf Grimm. She transformed her weapon into kusaigama mode and launched it forward, impaling a line of six Beowolves and then finishing them all off with a swing of her sword, loaded up with a purple Dust crystal that killed them all.

"Nice one!" Sun complimented as he slammed Ruyi Bang into the head of a Beowulf.

"Thank you." Blake said as she cut off a Beowulf's legs.

Neptune and Tip ran to the door of the garage as the former blasted Grimm away while the latter cut them down. Neptune turned his weapon into Guandao form and cut a Beowulf down from shoulder to groin as Tip banged on the metal door.

"Help is here! If anyone is still alive please let us know!" he called.

There was the sound of metal scraping from the inside as several battered Hunters could now been seen through a window in the door.

"If you can still fight help us out! We can get your wounded to a medic!" Neptune said as he cut a Beowulf's head in half.

A door on the side opened up and several Hunters poured out and began slaughtering Grimm. One shot two Grimm, blowing one's arm off and the other was blown in half. A Huntress armed with a flamethrower melted down a trio of Beowovles while a Goat Faunus rammed his horns through one's mouth. A Huntsman, armed with what appeared to be some sort of telescope on his shoulder aimed and fired a powerful deadly laser from it, destroying ten Grimm with one shot.

"Whoa, Ruby would fall in love with that thing." Yang said to Blake as she ripped Beowulf in half with her bare hands.

"Speaking of which I hope she and the others are doing okay." Blake stated as she blocked an attack.

"As soon as we're done here we'll make our way to the library to give 'em some back up." Yang reminded her partner as the Beowolves began to retreat.

"Well how about that? Take down like five dozen of 'em and the rest run like cowards." Sun said with a smirk.

"Thanks a lot you guys, we were nearly done for. A few more minutes and those things would have torn through the door." A dark-skinned Huntsman said as he shook Yang's hand.

"No big deal, happy to help out fellow Hunters. Hey, is there a yellow bike in there with a black stripe?" she asked.

"I think so, wasn't really paying attention, is it yours?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Yang confirmed as she ran inside after the main door came up.

"We need help getting the wounded back to the main avenue, two of us have already died." The Huntsman said to Tip.

"I'll help you. I think my team can make due without me." Neptune said.

"Normally we couldn't but now that we have like a dozen others to depend on we can, do what you can Neptune." Sun said to his partner.

"Excuse me, young lady, but did your friend say that your group was heading towards the library?" the Hunter with the telescope weapon asked Blake.

"Yes, why? Is something wrong?" Blake asked, a bad feeling beginning to surface in her gut.

"Before we came here we tried to take the library, several of our number were killed by the Sabers that have taken up residence there! Your friends need help!" he alerted her.

"Oh man!" Neptune cried.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's get moving!" Sun shouted worriedly.

Blake nodded and began to run towards the library when Yang burst out of the garage on Bumblebee, she drove her bike in front of them and said "Forget walking, we're making a rescue in style. Sun, can you drive?"

"Yeah, my uncle showed me how a few years back." Sun assured her as she got off. He got on and revved it up. "Okay Neptune, see you later."

"Good luck!" Neptune said as Blake got behind Sun and Yang behind her.

"Let's move!" Yang shouted, and with that trio of young Hunters on Bumblebee zoomed off towards the library.

* * *

Inside of the library Pyrrha glared up at the Faunus Grimm Commander who was giving her a dark smile.

"Pyrrha, I assume this is the Grimm hybrid I didn't meet." Jaune said.

"Correct, Sheer Kaa, the first successful hybrid." Pyrrha confirmed. "What do you want? Are you here to kill us? To being me back?! I'll never be her slave again! NEVER!"

"No, no, no my dear. Right now it is your move to make, Mistress Salem merely sent me here to observe the battle, a enemy that appears to be peaceful is simply biding its time as they say, but I must admit seeing you come to me was quite the bonus. I have been here for the last few days, waiting to observe the siege, and I confess that the final effort is most impressive, but I am not here to fight or to kill any Hunter, simply to watch and report anything significant to Mistress Salem. A few Hunters did wander into my friends' lair, but I played no part in their deaths, I simply watched." Sheer Kaa said as he stroked a Saber's chin.

"If you're going to fight it come on down and get it over with!" Jaune snarled.

"Yeah, all of us against you and your pets? Easy win." Coco shot.

"Children, I told you I am not here to fight, Mistress Salem knows that even if you succeed in retaking this school there will always be the dark memory of the disastrous defeat. While I won't fight you personally I am taking some rather... hostile measures against you before I leave." He said.

"And what are those hostile measures?" Pyrrha inquired.

"I've just recalled every Saber out in Beacon to return here, defend the den, and do their level best to kill you. I think that will be more than enough of a fight for all of you, good luck. I bid you all adieu!" he finished as a portal opened up behind him, one Pyrrha knew would take him directly to Salem.

"You're leaving? Just like that?!" Pyrrha cried.

"We're not to interfere with you for now, Fotia, just remember; your happiness won't last." Sheer Kaa said darkly.

"We'll see about that." Jaune said with a glare.

Sheer Kaa smirked and then the Grimm Commander stepped inside of the portal that disappeared in a flash of light.

The group of teenagers stayed close together as the Sabers circled them, growling and snarling at them.

"Pyrrha, now that he's gone you can control them, right?" Nora asked.

Pyrrha nodded and said "I should be able to, you should too Jaune."

"Pyrrha, now is not the time for a lesson!" Weiss snapped.

"No, she needs all the help she can get, okay, reach out and feel them, feel the dark within them, their anger, fear, and hate." Jaune said to himself as he reached out with his mind. They had gone over how to do it before but after what happened with the Chimera Jaune had been rather hesitant and thankfully the minds of these creatures weren't anywhere near as disturbing as the beast that had claimed Cardin's life.

Despite his best efforts he failed to grasp at the creature, he couldn't make it listen to him. It roared at him as it struggled to get him out of its small mind. It leapt forward but Penny pulled Jaune away just in time and stabbed the creature.

"You tried Jaune, I'll handle this." Pyrrha said as her eyes turned red for the first time in months. The Grimm all stopped and looked at her, no longer making any hostile motions or noises.

"Now!" Pyrrha yelled.

Weiss quickly created an ice glyph and encased a large part of the Saber pride within the cold block.

"Take them out!" Jaune ordered.

Coco, Ren, and Penny all began blasting the frozen Grimm into pieces while Nora and Yatsuhashi smashed them with their melee weapons.

"Ah!" Fox cried in pain, a burning sensation was spreading through his leg, and the same kind of pain was beginning to hurt Sage as well.

"Frith and Inle... we need to get them out of here." Velvet said to Jaune, who nodded.

"Pyrrha, keep the Grimm back, Velvet, Scarlet, and I will help Fox and Sage out of here, everyone else take out as many as you can!" Jaune ordered.

"Not a bad strategy, Arc." Coco said with a hint of admiration as she fired on the Sabers in the upper levels.

"You got it fearless leader!" Nora said as she fired a grenade at the remaining clump of frozen Sabers, shattering them. "No books were harmed!" she declared.

"I wouldn't say that..." Ren muttered, looking around at the various damages caused by the battle.

Jaune, helping Scarlet carry Sage, led the group out of the library with Velvet helping the injured Fox out, followed by Penny, Pyrrha, Weiss, Yatsuhashi, Ren, Nora, and Coco, the last few shooting away at the Grimm to keep them in the building.

Pyrrha looked ahead to see a few dozen more Sabers coming towards them at their top speed, which was very fast.

"Kaa wasn't bluffing, we've got more incoming!" she cried as she quickly transformed Milo into its rifle form and shot one down, a cloud of black sludge bursting from its head.

Jaune got Crocea Mors ready and said "Come on!"

The closest Saber leapt at him and he cut it down with a heavy swing of the Crocea Mors, the body hitting the ground behind him as it began to disintegrate.

Just them the windows of the library burst open as the Sabers from inside attacked. Two came down at Jaune and he managed to ram his sword through one and keep the other at bay with his shield until he rammed his sword through it. He saw another one was about to attack Sage and Scarlet so he ran over, pushed them out of the way and took the attack for them, the Saber bit his shoulder, forcing him to scream.

"Jaune! NO!" Pyrrha screamed.

She ran forward slammed Milo into the Saber, killing it.

"You will not hurt him!" she yelled as she began cutting Grimm down.

Nora smashed her hammer onto a Saber right before a small one bit down on her shin, making her cry out in pain.

The immediate pain ended quickly as the young Saber, which didn't even have full grown teeth yet, was sliced in half by an angry Ren. He grabbed Nora and said "Hang on to me!" as he kept shooting at the Grimm.

Just then the sound of a motorcycle engine filled the air as Bumblebee, driven by Sun with Yang and Blake hanging onto him came into view, speeding towards them.

Sun brought the bike to a sudden halt and, as planned, Yang and Blake went flying into the air, blasting the Grimm from above.

"Oh thank goodness." Velvet mothered as Yang landed in front of her and began to shoot down more Sabers.

"You guys bit off way more than you could chew, huh?" Yang asked as she slammed her gauntlet down on a Saber's head.

Sun left Bumblebee behind and used the combined form of Ruyi and Jingu Bang to slam down the Grimm as he ran towards the injured Jaune, Nora, Sage, and Fox, who were being protected by Velvet, Pyrrha, Ren, and Scarlet

"What the hell happened?!" he cried as he joined them in fighting off the Sabers, the number of which seemed to be growing.

"We'll explain later." Pyrrha said.

"If there is a later!" Scarlet cried as he blasted a young Saber.

Yang, Blake, Weiss, Penny, Coco, Yatsuhashi, fought the main bulk of the Grimm's forces, attracting more and more Grimm of different types to the battle such as Beowolves and Beringels.

A Saber ran towards the injured, its jaw open and ready to feast only for Pyrrha to obliterate it with blast from Milo.

"Keep them back! We can hold them off!" she cried.

"You sure about that? It looks like the more we fight the more Grimm come at us!" Scarlet said.

"We can do this, man! Don't whine so much!" Sun scolded.

"Where's Ruby?!" Yang asked Weiss.

"She went to get an antidote for the Saber venom, I hope she brought enough for all of them..." Weiss informed the blonde brawler.

Before Yang could respond a Beowulf tried to pounce on her, only for it to be blasted away by a burst of flame from Oobleck's thermos. She smiled as she saw the green-haired teacher leading a group of seniors into battle.

"Attack! Draw their attention!" Oobleck said.

Just then a flash of red and black appeared and seven Sabers were sliced in half by a furious Ruby, holding Crescent Rose firmly in her hand and a case containing several syringes filled with the antidote for Saber venom. Before she could say anything she saw the injured forms of Jaune, Nora, Fox, and Sage and was shocked by the sight of three more of her friends being injured, shaken by the fear that she hadn't been fast enough but then she noticed a very large Saber on top of the library, big with matter fur, a scarred and battered skull-mask with one it's long fangs noticeably chipped and cracked. It jumped off the building, aiming for the injured, its claws out and ready to kill.

"No!" Ruby screamed, her eyes glowing a brilliant silver light. In an instant all Grimm within the small area were killed, their bodies seemingly frozen at first until they fell over.

Ruby had jumped up into the air and cut the alpha Saber in half lengthwise, she landed on her feet behind the injured, slightly hunched over and breathing hard.

"Ruby!" Yang, Weiss, Blake, and Penny all cried.

Yang grabbed Ruby and said "Calm down Ruby, everything is going to be okay." She could see the worried look in her little sister's eyes behind the silver light.

"I... I got the antidote." Ruby said between breaths. "I... got enough for... everyone!"

"Good, that's good Ruby." Yang said as she hugged her close.

"Antidotes? Judging by all the Sabers I imagine someone was bitten?" Oobleck said.

"Us! The four of us need the antidote ASAP!" Jaune said as he tried, and failed, to ignore the burning pain in his shoulder, knowing that Nora, Fox, and Sage were suffering through the same thing.

"I'll administer the drug Miss Rose." Oobleck said, and with that Ruby quickly gave him the case.

"How did you get here so fast?" Velvet asked.

"We were fighting nearby, lucky for you that we noticed the commotion. General Ironwood noticed your battle and alerted us to your dire circumstances." Oobleck explained as he injected the cure into Fox.

"Where's Neptune?" Scarlet asked Sun, making Ruby's head jerk up.

"Hey, I didn't notice he wasn't here, is he..." she began before Sun stopped her.

"He's fine; he stayed behind to help out some injured Hunters." Sun assured her.

"That's a relief." Scarlet muttered as Sun turned to Sage.

"Hold still, Mr. Ayana!" Oobleck scolded.

"Sorry, gotta thing with needles." Sage said as he took the stinging sensation on his hip with a seethe of pain.

"You gonna be okay, man?" Sun asked.

"Oh it's nothing!" Sage said.

"Not nothing Mr. Ayana! A Saber bite is very serious, none of its victims have been able to properly perform in a battle for a week after the venom is entered into the bloodstream, even with the antidote!" Oobleck said.

"Oh..." Sage retorted, a little shocked by that.

"Don't sweat it bro, you'll be back on your feet and fighting in no time." Sun promised him as Oobleck began work on Nora, because Jaune insisted she go first.

"But Jaune..." she argued.

"No buts Nora! The leader always puts his team before himself!" he snapped.

Nora sighed and let Oobleck go to work on her while Jaune noticed the smile on Pyrrha's face.

"What?" he asked.

"You continue to make me proud everyday." She said as she knelt down and kissed him.

"I failed to control the... you know." He said, not wanting to let the knowledge of their Grimm sides out to the strangers present.

"We'll work on it." She said happily before Oobleck attended to him.

"Dr. Oobleck, is dad okay? Earlier we saw group fighting where he was supposed to be." Ruby asked, the concern in her voice obvious.

"Yes Miss Rose, your father is fine, he's still trying to take the school and while some of the others have moved on to the dorms, if you'd like you can join him. You can too Mr. Arc." Oobleck announced with a smile.

"Huh? What?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"Your... condition and aura surplus slowed down the venom remarkably well, you can still fight despite some minor pains." Oobleck said.

"Lucky." Nora said with a huff.

Pyrrha helped Jaune up as he smiled, he could already feel his aura fixing up his shoulder.

"Can you take care of Nora and the others?" he asked Oobleck.

"Of course, we have some injured to deliver to Nightgale anyway." The man said.

"You guys wanna keep fighting?" Ruby asked.

"I'm still combat ready, Ruby. Some minor damage and fatigue are nothing to me." Penny said.

"We're good to go." Coco said as Velvet and Yatsuhashi got behind her.

"Sage will be okay so we'll give you some help." Sun said as Scarlet reloaded his pistol.

"You know we're good." Jaune said as he and Pyrrha got their weapons ready, while Ren was making sure Nora was okay.

"You know we're with you Ruby." Blake stated as Yang got ready to ride Bumblebee into battle once again.

"Okay then, let's move!" she said. The rest of Team Beacon made their way towards the dorm building, ready to reclaim the place that had served as their home.

Oobleck looked over the dead, but still existing, Beringels, Beowolves, and Sabers and muttered "Peter is going to have a field day with this." He took out his scroll and called Ozpin. "Professor, we have retaken the library and the chances of taking the dorms within the next two hours are very much in our favor."

"Wonderful, now if we can take back the tower and the dorms this grueling battle will be over."

* * *

Little did they know that the battle had not gone unobserved, Ironwood had alerted Oobleck to Team Beacon's need of assistance but he and Benedict also witnessed the power of Ruby's eyes.

All Benedict could say was "Incredible."

Ironwood nodded and said "If only we had more of her."

* * *

An hour later the still active part of Team Beacon, rejoined by Neptune, had helped Taiyang's forces and the rest of Oobleck's group in retaking the lecture halls and the dorms. It had been a hard battle as many Grimm had made the buildings their homes but in the end they had driven the creatures of darkness out. Many Grimm had retreated away from the school grounds only to be shot down by Chamberlain and his forces.

With the buildings finally secured, for the most part, Taiyang led most of the adult Hunters to the CCT tower to join up with Qrow, Winter, Glynda, and the others for one final assault. He ordered Team Beacon, tired and weary, to stay behind and make sure no Grimm recaptured the area.

Jaune walked down the hall and turned to see the open door of the room that belonged to Team JNPR. It had been nearly nine months since he had last set foot in this room that he had lived in and a part of him still felt at home here. He could see that Pyrrha was already inside, taking in the damage done by the Grimm.

He looked around to see the walls clawed up, Ren 'Please Do Nothing to the Cook' apron was ripped to shreds, textbooks tossed about the place. It was sad to see their old room like this.

"Pyr, you okay?" he asked.

She remained still but nodded, "I'm fine Jaune it's just... been so long."

"I know." he said as he sat down on his old bed, the frame snapped in half. "It feels like a whole lifetime has passed since we were last here."

"It has been." Pyrrha stated.

Jaune sighed as he opened up a drawer on his nightstand, he smiled to see that his comics were still in good condition.

His head jerked up when he heard sniffling. He saw a sight he always hated, no matter what: Pyrrha was crying.

He shot up, rocketed over to her, and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

"Jaune, all of this was because she manipulated me into destroying Penny... this is all..." she began to say before Jaune hushed her.

"No, it's her fault, not yours. We were all her pawns. She can't hurt us now Pyrrha." he tried to assure her.

"She'll be back Jaune... you were hurt today, for a second I was afraid I'd lose you." she said as she buried her head into his neck.

"I won't go down that easily, I know you, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and everyone else will always be looking out for me. You protect me and I protect you." he told her.

Pyrrha simply nodded as she kissed Jaune's neck and wrapped her arms around his back, content to simply be held by him for now. The two felt safe in each others' arms, a feeling they both needed.

In the room next door Team RWBY stood together in the ruins of their room; the bunk beds had collapsed, Blake's books tossed around the place, clothes lay on the ground torn up, it was a mess.

Blake picked up her _Ninjas of Love_ novel and tucked it away in her long jacket's pocket while Weiss looked out the window to see the damaged courtyards. Yang sighed sadly as she took up a pair of gloves she wore every now and then, knowing that she no longer had use for one of them.

Ruby shed a few tears at seeing their old room in such a ruined state, but she found comfort in knowing that with any luck, Beacon would be back to normal within a few months. And to Ruby, the knowledge that they had helped take Beacon back made all the difference.

* * *

The second battle of Beacon raged on for hours until after the sun had set. The school, the weapons forge, and the dorms had been difficult to capture but they had done it. It had been hours of intense battling, over three dozen Hunters had fallen to the Grimm and more Atlas soldiers had been lost to battle Qrow, Winter, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, and Taiyang, along with many Huntsmen, Huntresses, and Atlas had worked together to make one last major offensive to take the last major part of Beacon; the tower.

It had been a while since Qrow had been there, the last time he had to run in was when he had to collect Amber's dead body during an attempted attack shortly after Ruby had woken up. He had to admit, seeing the forests and the towns in the distance from this height was rather breathtaking.

Qrow stood with them atop Beacon tower, looking down on the war torn academy. All of them were showing signs of the long and difficult battle; his jacket torn and dirty from the intense battles he had fought today. He looked to Glynda, who was fine save for a torn cape, and Winter, who had a healing scratch across her cheek and a tattered up sleeve after a Beowulf tried to bite her arm off. Port stood tall and proud with his jacket off and his blunderbuss showing signs of battle damage while still in good shape while Oobleck's glasses had cracked after a run-in with a Scavenger. Taiyang looked fine, his arm was bruised and his vest was torn up, but he was still ready for one last fight should the need arise.

Qrow could hear the heavy steps of the Paladins from below them, moving around the bottom of the tower to keep any remaining Grimm away. Ironwood and Ozpin came up alongside him and the cyborg said "We've done it, Beacon is finally ours again."

The dusty old crow sighed and simply said "Yep." Winter looked at him and could see the exhausted look in his eye, he was too tired to say anything else.

"Don't be so down Qrow, you've all done us a magnificent service by riding this school of the Grimm infestation." Ozpin said as he looked out to the ruins of his school. "It will be a long process but we can and will rebuild. Many have given their lives today so that we may have hope for the future, their sacrifices can never be forgotten." He stated, coming up with an idea for a memorial statue to list the fallen warriors, as well as those who died during the Fall.

"There are still some Grimm left, little over one hundred, but they will be minor threats with what we have now." Glynda said.

Ozpin nodded and replied "We can't let go of this place, never again and not even for an instant. We lost it once but we must never lose it again."

"My army can't stay for long but I can leave a detachment of troops and Paladins behind to help you defend it from further attacks." Ironwood said.

Ozpin gave him a smile and said "That would be most helpful, General. The battle is finally over and now reconstruction can begin. We have won."

Ozpin knew that the victory was a mild one, that there would be more battles in the future, but for now they were victorious.

One could only hope it stayed that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well Team Beacon's first mission could have gone better, but on the bright side Beacon is theirs again.
> 
> The next chapter won't be up next week, I have relatives visiting so I won't have the time to write, sorry! But in the next chapter we'll finally get to the White Fang part of the White Fang arc! As well as some Blake and Adam backstory.
> 
> About the designs; Ruby and Blake have their V4 looks while Weiss and Yang keep those outfits they wore in part of V2.
> 
> Originally I was going to show the siege of the tower but I don't want to burn myself out on the action, plus I didn't want to make it too long. Plus it was a pain writing this for some reason I guess I put too much action in, too fast.
> 
> Also Originally I was going to show off a new Grimm Commander who Pyrrha didn't know, but decided it would be better to show Sheer Kaa, since I've built him up for a while. Hope you enjoyed the Sabers as well as the action in this chapter.
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.


	29. Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

It had been over a week since Beacon had been retaken by the Hunters of Remnant, while many had went back to their villages and homes, to the next mission, or to just wander the world looking for a chance to do good some, including all seventeen members of Team Beacon stayed behind to help protect the dozens of construction workers who had arrived to rebuild the school and restore it to magnificence. Ironwood and Admiral Nemo had both left as well, as the Admiral needed to be out at sea protecting the various islands and sea towns from the aquatic Grimm, as well as dealing with pirates, while General Ironwood returned to Atlas' headquarters, leaving Ozpin and his staff in charge of Winter and the remaining Atlas forces and the Hunters who stayed behind.

Currently Teams RWBY and CFVY were on guard duty, protecting the workers who were fixing up the cafeteria, which was no easy task after all it had endured. Blake sat on a bench, reading from a book as she glanced up to see several ships hovering around the top of Beacon tower, which had many men and women atop it, working hard to rebuild it and thanks to her ears Blake could hear the tools hard at work, even from so high up.

It would take a while but it would be worth it.

She looked over to see Ruby dashing off towards the school building where Glynda and Qrow were overseeing the reconstruction as well as protecting the workers from any Grimm stragglers. She wondered what her leader was running off to them for but decided she'd just ask later.

The Cat Faunus looked over to see Yatsuhashi and Yang helping the workers lift up a heavy piece of stone and lift it into a hole in the wall, once it was inside the workers quickly began to seal it in, making it seamlessly blend in with the rest of the wall.

"Thanks kids." A workman said gratefully.

"No biggie." Yang said as she wiped the large amount of sweat from her brow. Blake couldn't help but blush as she stared at her partner, clad in a dark yellow tank-top. She had done the same thing with a shirtless Sun the other day while she watched him spar with Neptune.

Did she just have a thing for hot blonds?

Wait... did she just think of Yang as hot? Well there was no denying the fact that Yang was an incredibly attractive girl...

"Yo Kitty Cat, you okay?" Coco asked, snapping Blake out it.

"Yes, I'm fine Coco, thanks for asking."

She knew the Coco was savvy enough to know what she had been thinking about but luckily the fashionista was good-hearted enough not to joke about it.

Coco gave her a sly look before getting serious. "Yang, Big Y! You two and Kitty Cat are gonna want to come see what Fox found before Ruby gets back with Goodwitch and Qrow." She said.

Yang and Blake exchanged glances before Yatsuhashi asked "What did he find? Another Grimm?"

"No, if it was we wouldn't need help dealing with it. Blake, I think it's safe to say we found one unlucky White Fang soldier." Coco revealed.

Blake's eyes widened and she shot up. "Take me to the body." She said, knowing right away what they had discovered.

Yang stepped forward and put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Blake, are you sure you want to see this?" she asked.

Blake looked at the blonde brawler and simply answered "Yes."

Coco led the trio to a small passageway leading into the rear entrance of the kitchen, which had yet to be dealt with as the portion of the building that had been smashed open by the Goliath was taking precedence.

"They'll be working on it tomorrow so we decided to check it out. Fox looked into one of the spare pantries and found his or her body, nothing but bones, the Grimm sure had a good fight." Coco muttered darkly.

Blake shook her head as she turned around a corner to see Weiss, Velvet, and Fox all hanging back from the small pantry closet where the body no doubt was.

Weiss looked to her teammates, her eyes betraying her horror she felt at the sight. Velvet didn't even try to hide her emotions, as her ears were slumped over and her eyes quivering. Fox stood aside with his hand in his hair.

Everyone on Team Beacon knew about Blake's past with the White Fang, though not the whole story as she had yet to tell anyone, not even Yang or Sun, the full story about her past with them.

"From the looks of it he was left behind after the Fall. He carved a message on the wall." Fox said quietly, getting Blake's attention.

The fact that a White Fang agent had been left behind was not surprising; the things Adam had done, what he had become... it didn't shock her that he'd leave his own soldiers behind. She had heard rumors that some White Fang troops had been left behind in the hurried retreat and most had died trying to escape from the Grimm but to actually stumble across a body was shocking nonetheless. She saw the door could swing open and had marks on the knob, meaning that an older, therefore intelligent Grimm must have opened it up, she took a breathe and looked inside the small room; the items the soldier had used to barricade the door hadn't held at all.

"Blake, don't go in there." Weiss warned her.

Blake ignored the Schnee heiress and peered inside to see a skeleton torn apart. There was nothing left of the flesh or blood, the Grimm had been very thorough. The white and black uniform was torn apart as well, the rifle torn in half and tossed aside, and blood stains all over the floor and walls. The left arm was missing and nowhere in sight, most likely torn off by a Grimm along with the lower right leg, which was also gone.

Whoever he or she

"I feel sorry for them; even if they were with the White Fang they didn't deserve to die." Velvet said quietly.

"This shows the true colors of the Fang, they have neither honor nor courage. That will be Adam's downfall." Yatsuhashi stated.

Blake absentmindedly nodded, knowing that the Elite Guard of the White Fang would object to that rather violently, as she looked to the wall on the right to see a message carved into it.

"If anyone finds this it is too late for me, those damned beasts will have gotten to me and my body is probably going to be devoured. Damn Adam Taurus, he is the one who condemned me to this, he left some of us behind and I've seen my brethren of the White Fang be eaten alive by those monsters. Adam kowtows to that witch, does her bidding because he's afraid of her. He has betrayed us, the White Fang cannot be the pawns of her, we must fight for the rights of all Faunus! Taking this academy was a foolhardy disaster, so many of us died because Adam couldn't be bothered to properly lead us. He was off searching for his traitorous lover because he's an obsessed fool! To whoever discovered this, be you human or Faunus, let it be known that I"

The message ended there, the dagger still embedded in the wall. Apparently the Grimm had made their way through before he or she could name themselves, leaving what was left of the body anonymous.

Had her departure truly changed Adam that much? He had become ruthless before but the knowledge that he had left one of his own soldiers behind was worrying to say the least.

" _What about the crew members?"_

" _What about them?"_

Blake shivered at the memory of that day; the apathy in his voice, the revelation of just how little he cared about the lives of humans had made her realize what he had become but then the Fall of Beacon happened and...

She absently placed her hand over her stomach where he had stabbed her.

Yang noticed this and placed a comforting metal hand onto her partner's shoulder. "We'll get him Blake, I promise he'll pay for what he did to us and to people like this Faunus." Yang said.

Blake nodded once again and said "If Professor Goodwitch asks tell her I cannot identify him. I need to go think about this."

"We understand Blake." Velvet said gently as the Faunus walked out of the hallway.

As soon as Weiss was sure Blake was out of earshot, which was hard to ascertain with Blake's superior hearing skills, she looked to Yang.

"You need to talk to her about them." She stated.

"About the White Fang? I've tried, so has Sun, she doesn't like talking about her past or about _him_." She said, spitting the last word venomously.

"You have to try harder, both of you. Look, once we're off duty you can go get Sun and we'll make Blake tell us how she got involved with the Fang." Weiss said, hoping to know more of Blake's shrouded past.

"Are you sure a confrontation is really the proper thing to do?" Velvet asked doubtfully.

"Velvet is right, if Blake wants to keep her past a secret you can't force it out of her, you have to let it come out naturally." Yatsuhashi agreed.

"We deserve to know how she got mixed up with that thug Adam. I'd like to know more about him if we are ever to fight him again." Weiss argued.

Yang nodded, "You're right." She looked at her arm and muttered "I want to know more about the asshole who did this to me."

Just then Ruby, Professor Goodwitch, and several Atlas guards arrived into the hallway. "Children, please leave and return to your duties, we shall deal with the body." Glynda said calmly.

Coco nodded and said "Okay boys and girls let's get out of the way."

Glynda waited as Ruby and Coco led their teams out and once they were gone she walked into the room to examine the body that had been picked clean.

"What do we do Professor?" asked a guard.

"We take it and bury it off of the school's grounds tonight." She answered. She looked to a different guard and said "Stay here and guard it, I don't want anyone disturbing it, even if it was an enemy."

The guard nodded and stayed behind as Glynda and the other guards left the hall. Glynda sighed, rebuilding Beacon was far from an easy task and the fact that they had found a skeleton within one of the buildings made it worse. If she was a superstitious woman, which she wasn't despite everything she had seen in the last year, she would consider this a bad omen.

* * *

 

Later that day as the sun began to set Team Beacon returned to the hotel in Vale where they and many others were staying while Beacon's reconstruction was underway. The Bullhead that would take Team Beacon, as well as a few dozen other Hunters, back to Vale landed and the Hunters who served the nightshift of the guard duty disembarked from the ship.

While RWBY and CFVY had simply been on guard duty Teams JNPR and SSSN had gotten stuck with the task of going with Professor Port and other Hunters into the underground tunnels created by the Colonists to eliminate any Grimm that still remained there. Luckily, thanks to Pyrrha's abilities, they were able to cage two dozen Grimm for observation and so Jaune could learn to use his own Grimm Commander abilities which he hadn't gotten a hold of yet.

All in all they had taken seven Beowolves, five Colonists, four Boarbatusks, two Tarantula Widows, three Creeps, one Beringel, and two King Taijitus, all caged an incapacitated thanks to Pyrrha and with permission from Ozpin and Ironwood she would begin to train Jaune to hone his new skills tomorrow.

"You sure they can hold those things?" Nora asked.

"Of course, I was with the Grimm Keepers so I know what materials they used to contain them, it'll be fine." Pyrrha assured her friend as they walked onto the Bullhead.

"Are you worried about tomorrow Jaune?" Ren asked.

"No, not with Pyrrha there and certainly not with everyone else looking out for me." The blonde knight answered with a smile.

As the ship took off Yang looked over to Sun who nodded, she had told him about their plan earlier and he agreed with them; Blake had been too secretive about Adam and her past and he and the rest of RWBY had decided that they deserved to know the truth.

Some minutes later the ship landed on the recently built landing pad and the various Hunters left the vessel to return to their rooms to get some rest or to spend the rest of the day however they wanted to.

"Hey Sun, we're heading over to the hall to play 'Ringworld', you in?" Neptune asked.

Sun laughed as he knew that his team, himself included, had become rather fond of a video game that was among the collection in the recreation hall that had been set up in a restaurant down the street from the hotel for the Hunters, workers, and guards to enjoy.

"Nah man, I've got something more important to do." Sun said as he gestured over to Blake who was talking to Ruby.

Neptune gave him a nod and said "I understand, it couldn't have been easy seeing that body earlier. Let me know how it goes."

As Sun followed Team RWBY into the hotel's main lobby he could hear his girlfriend talking to her younger leader.

"Listen Blake I know this is really sensitive for you but..." Ruby didn't get to finish before Blake interrupted her.

"You're right Ruby, it is sensitive to me and I'd rather not talk about it."

"Blake, we're worried about you, okay? It's been months since we got back together and you still haven't told us anything about Adam." Sun pointed out.

"And let's face it Blake, we are going to fight him again, it's only a matter of time. When we do fight him we will need to know more about him." Weiss said sternly.

"I... this isn't easy for me. When I left the White Fang, when I left him I made a promise to myself that I was done with them. I'd become a Huntress, something that felt right to me, but if I ever saw the White Fang again I would keep a safe distance. Adam's choices since then have changed that." Blake said darkly, remembering what she had seen the White Fang do at the Fall, how they had caused the Breach, working with Torchwick...

Just how far was Adam willing to go? And how much of it could be blamed on her?

She felt Yang's organic hand grab her shoulder; she turned around to look her partner in the eyes.

"Blake, please tell us. After all we've been through together we deserve to know more about you, haven't we earned that?" Yang pleaded.

Blake sighed and looked down. She knew that deep down they had earned the right to know more about it. They had given her a new family, one that she could trust, they had given her faith in humanity and a new hope for equality for the Faunus race. After all they had done together she knew that maybe it was time to tell them.

She looked to Sun, she could see his admiration for her in his eyes, something that had been absent in Adam's cold, obsessed orbs.

"Okay, I'll tell you all in our room, okay? I'd prefer not to talk about it out in the open." She said.

Sun and the rest of Team RWBY nodded in agreement and with that they stepped into the elevator.

Once they arrived at Team RWBY's room Yang closed the door behind them as Weiss said "Now as I recall you once told us you were practically born into the White Fang."

Blake nodded as she sat down on her bed, and thankfully this room had four beds as opposed to just two, while Sun took a seat on a wooden chair. "The White Fang was founded over a decade before I was born by a friend of my mother's named Claudandus Pirinci..." she stopped briefly at the mention of the her old mentor, she had told them about his capture but had so far kept them in the dark about her contact in the White Fang trying to find him.

"I know you're worried about him, but I'm sure he's alright." Ruby assured the older girl, not too sure herself.

"I can only hope for now. Claudandus created the White Fang with support from several prominent figures from the Four Kingdoms, including Ozpin. It was meant to be a sign that the wars between the two races were over and that equality for all was within reach but you all know how that turned out. My mother, Esther, was once a members but it attracted many Faunus who held bitter grudges against humanity, one of them being a man who would become my father; Kurt Belladonna."

The other four in the room glanced at each other, Blake had rarely, if ever, mentioned her parents and when she did it was only in passing and had ignored any questions about them.

"My dad was a kind man from what I remember but apparently he hid a darker side from me. From what Claudandus told me my father was a White Fang recruitment agent and convinced many to join our cause but eventually he tried to rally the members of the White Fang away from peaceful protests, he felt it made us look weak and didn't get results fast enough and my mother was one of the few who was taken in by his charisma, as were other who felt disinherited by the lack of progress they had been making thus far. They left and formed their own group, got married, and a year later I was born. My parents had become controversial figures at the time; their methods of attracting attention were criticized by many pro-Faunus organizations including the White Fang, which had grown exponentially at that point. However, many agreed with my father, especially as the rumors about the Schnee Company's slave mines began to surface." She looked to Weiss who winced but didn't seem to get angry.

She continued, "I was often out there with them at the protest rallies holding up a sign in my hands and shouting as loud as I could, I can still remember the times when it got violent... the hoses they used when we began throwing things at the guards..." she shook the unpleasant memories away. "One day it got bad, really bad. I was there but I can't remember what really happened. I know someone from the Fang attacked a police officer, stabbing him in the eye and killing him and then a full blown riot began. I lost both my parents in the chaos but before she died my mother managed to get me back to Claudandus at his home..." Blake stopped as tears began to fall from her eyes.

This prompted both Sun and Yang got up simultaneously and bolted over to Blake's bed, both of them putting comforting arms around her.

Ruby looked to Weiss, worry evident in her eyes. Weiss looked at her and shrugged, not really knowing what to say. Ruby sighed as a doubtful thought of maybe this was a bad idea began to creep into her mind.

"Blake, I'm so sorry to make you do this. This was a terrible mistake..." Ruby began before Blake once again cut her off.

"No, I've been keeping all these secrets pent up for too long. I need to talk about them." Blake stated firmly.

Ruby gave Blake a look, asking if she was sure about this which Blake confirmed with a nod.

"My mother died from her wounds within the hour and the White Fang took me in. I learned from their more peaceful methods of protests and negotiating for equality but nearly a year after I joined the Fang took in an orphan who hid his face from everyone else with a burlap bag he wore over his head. I was only seven years old when he came to our headquarters for shelter and for three days he locked himself in the small room he had been given. Claudandus got worried and encouraged me to try and connect with the boy..."

"It was Adam, wasn't it?" Sun guessed.

Blake nodded in confirmation as she began her story of her first official meeting with Adam.

_11 Years Ago_

_The young new arrival walked into the small room the members of the White Fang had given him. It was narrow and the bed was old, but it was much better than the harsh conditions he had been forced to live on the streets of various cities for the past eight months. He had managed to make it to this city via stowing away on boats and trains, it had been an incredibly hard journey but so far it was worth it._

_At least everyone was leaving him alone._

_As he shut the door behind him he began to take off the bag that covered his face but he was startled to hear a young voice from behind him say "Hello?"_

_Adam jumped up in fright and quickly yanked the bag back down, even though he knew the intruder had most likely gotten a glimpse of the back of his head by now. He turned to face her and saw that she was the little girl the old Cat Faunus was always keeping around, Blake._

" _What the hell do you think you're doing in my room?!" he demanded._

_Blake's yellow eyes widened before she quietly said "You shouldn't cuss."_

" _Cussing? 'Hell' is a pretty small time cuss word, girl, and trust me I know enough about it. Now what are you doing in my room?" he repeated impatiently._

" _Well... Claudandus is getting worried about you, he thought that maybe I could get you to come out of your shell, so to speak. He was some scars on your arm so he got worried and wanted me to try and be your friend." Blake offered._

" _I'm fine. They gave me a room and they give me food, that's all I need until something better comes along." Adam said bitterly as he approached her. "Now get out."_

_Blake huffed and said "I'm under orders to get you to talk, I mean he didn't order me Claudandus is just worried about you, a lot of people are talking about you, wondering what's behind that sack you wear on your head."_

" _You don't want to know and if anyone ever finds out they'll regret it. I'm only here because they're nice enough to help me out, I'm not a fan of the equality crap." He said darkly._

" _What do you mean by that? If losing my parents taught me anything it's that violence only makes things worse." Blake said sadly. This, however, managed to get the young man's attention._

_He looked at her and asked "You're parents are dead too?"_

_Blake recoiled from the blunt directness of the question but nodded. "Did you lose yours?" she asked._

" _I don't really remember my dad, he died when I was just three years old so my mom had to take care of me." He answered._

" _What happened to your mom?" Blake asked._

_Adam was dreadfully silent before he whispered "She got sick, they said she was too weak to work..." He stopped himself and said "I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay? Just please leave."_

_Blake didn't leave, she stepped forward and gently took hold of his hand. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Blake."_

" _... My name is Adam Taurus." He relented, he now knew that this, admittedly cute, younger girl wasn't going to leave without a fight, something he didn't want._

_They sat down on the bed together so Blake could ask him more questions._

" _So where do you come from?" she asked._

" _My mom said we're from here in Vacuo but I was born in Atlas." He revealed._

_Blake's eyes widened, the treatment of Faunus in that kingdom was notoriously poor._

" _We were forced to work, after my mom died they shut the place down and that was over a year ago. Ever since then I've been making my way across Remnant to find a good home and this is my best option right now." Adam told her._

" _It is, Claudandus says were making progress and I think he's right. In a few years everyone will be equal, especially in places like Vacuo and parts of Mistral." She said optimistically._

_Adam snorted, "Equality? That's not enough, not after the wars, not after what they did to... to..." he stopped himself and Blake's ears easily picked up the hints that he was about to cry._

_She placed a comforting hand on his and grasped it tightly. "What happened to you? To your family?"_

_Adam responded by clenching his hands tightly._

" _They call us animals, those stupid, evil humans! You think equality is enough, Blake?! You think we can all just get along, forgive and forget?! How can I forget what they did to me?!" he shouted as he ripped off the bag to reveal what he had been hiding._

_Blake gasped in horror at what she saw on his forehead. She fell backwards off of the bed in shock._

" _There! The mask is off so I hope you're happy! Take a good long look at what those humans did to me! They did this to me because I was trying to stand up for others! I was trying to stop them from beating weak Faunus! This is my punishment!" he ranted as tears of anger and misery now freely flowing from his eyes._

_He broke down crying and covered himself with a blanket, hiding the mark on his forehead from the world as Blake tried to recover, getting on her knees._

_She couldn't help but cry with him; humanity had taken his family, possibly enslaved him, and had marked him. They had taken her family so had her mother not saved would she have suffered a similar fate?_

_Was Adam right? Was equality not enough? Doubt and conflict began to fill her mind but she ignored it for the time being, deciding that Adam was more important right now. She climbed back up to the bed and wrapped her arms around the older boy in a comforting hug._

" _I'm so sorry, no one should ever suffer through what you did. I... I'm so sorry..." she cried as she held him. He hugged her back, holding onto her for dear life. "Maybe one of our healers can..."_

" _No, I've already tried that, they said it's permanent, I will have it for the rest of my life unless I can afford a surgery to remove it and I know I can't."_

" _What about a mask?" Blake asked, "One that will cover your forehead but will let you see better than this bag. We can talk to Claudandus..."_

_Adam was silent for a few moments before answering "That sounds nice. Blake, will you be my friend?"_

_Blake smiled and said "Of course, I think we could both use one."_

Blake finished her story and Yang instantly asked "What was it? What kind of scar does he have under that mask of his?" .

Blake looked to Weiss, then to Ruby.

"I'm sorry, I'd rather not say what happened to him, what humanity did to Adam..." Blake said quietly.

"Was it that bad?" Sun inquired.

Blake met his eyes and answered "If you knew what was under his mask you might feel sorry for him."

"So what? Just because something horrible happened to him when he was young doesn't excuse for the abominable things he has done." Weiss stated.

"She's right, so he has a sob story, so do all of us." Yang pointed out.

Ruby nodded and said "Yeah, he hurt you and cut Yang's arm off! I can't just feel sorry for him because he has a scar or something on his forehead."

Sun sighed and said "I feel bad that the guy lost his parents but he's lost any sympathy he would have gotten from me after what he did at the Fall. You don't have to tell us what was on his forehead Blake, just go on."

Blake smiled at him and said "That night we showed Claudandus what the humans had done to him, a few days later Claudandus had that mask made for Adam so he wouldn't have to hide his face for the most part. Once Adam took over the White Fang the mask became a symbol, something for humanity to fear. Adam said it would symbolize their sins coming back to haunt them. As the years went by Adam told me more about the place he came from, the White Fang was growing with more and more Faunus who resented humanity for past sins and eventually Adam had enough followers, myself included, to overthrow Claudandus and make it into what it is now. If only I had known the things he would do, the lives he would claim, I would have stopped him before his insurrection."

"Blake, you can't blame yourself for what he did." Ruby said.

Weiss nodded before saying "She's right, I now know a lot about what was done to the Faunus race and it sickens me, but I do know that it's not justice Adam wants, it is revenge."

"And that's exactly what we're gonna get." Yang voiced darkly.

"Yang! You can't think like that!" Ruby objected.

"He took my arm Ruby! He hurt Blake! I don't want him to hurt anyone else, especially you!" Yang shouted.

Sun sighed and said "Despite my name I'm not the smartest guy around, but I do know that Adam is nuts and needs to go down. We don't have to kill him, just beat him. I think that'll be enough."

The four girls looked at the Monkey Faunus and Weiss confessed "I have to admit Sun, you are smarter than you think and much smarter than I thought you were when we first met."

Sun smiled as he wrapped an arm around Blake. "Hanging out with a smart girl like her rubbed off on me."

Blake giggled as she leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.

Yang couldn't help but smile as well and said "Well, one thing's for sure; if and when we fight Adam..."

"We are gonna kick his butt." Ruby finished.

Everyone laughed at the prospect, but deep down Blake was still worried about what Adam could do to her new family.

* * *

 

Blake wasn't the only one reminiscing, at the White Fang's new headquarters hidden in Vacuo's vast desert Adam sat on his small bed in his modest room, reflecting on the past.

" _Goodbye"_

He saw her section of the train roll away down the tracks, a sorrowful look in her beautiful golden eyes.

He remembered the duel at Beacon... he tried to decapitate her.

She deserved it.

She betrayed him, she betrayed the White Fang, betrayed their entire race for the damn humans!

He held up two pictures; in his left hand was a photograph of the two of them when they were younger, shortly after he had received his mask. They were sitting on a bench as the sun was setting and she was fast asleep and leaning into him. He remembered that day, it was one of the happier times in his life, it actually looked like his past was behind him and he had a family. But families will always leave you. They either betray you, leaving you for dead or they are taken from this world by the merciless hands of death.

That is what Adam had learned about families.

He looked to the picture in his right hand, the one his new allies had given him shortly after the Battle of Haven. It was a photo of Blake kissing that street rat Monkey Faunus Sun Wukong with the rest of her team nearby, smiling at the sight.

He looked at Blake's partner who now had a robotic arm to replace the one he had cut off, did she truly think that was enough? Making herself a freak of nature and technology was enough to undo the damage he had done? He would have to teach her a lesson the next time they met.

'Maybe she will get the message if I cut off all four limbs off.' He thought darkly.

He looked to Weiss and his anger grew. 'She is on a team with a bitch from the damned Schnee family! If Blake had any respect for our race she would have killed that white-haired harlot the moment they were alone! It's just proof of how far gone she is!' he mentally ranted.

Then he looked to Ruby and thought 'This little brat is your leader? How desperate are they?! Even if what Cinder claims is true her little eye power won't have any effect on me. I will slaughter this child easily.'

Then he looked back to the happy couple, Blake and Sun, and snarled as he crushed the picture.

"When I find you I will slaughter this pathetic replacement and force you to watch my love! And once they are all dead... I will make you mine again, whether you like it or not. You will be mine, body and soul." He said to himself.

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door and the voice of Lieutenant Hui called "Sir! I can hear talking in there, are you conversing with someone?"

Adam put the photos away and said "No Lieutenant, I'm fine and I am alone. Leave me be."

"Sir, we have visitors, Sustrai and Black." Hui reported.

Both of them? That was interesting. After her defeat at the Battle of Haven Cinder Fall had been reclusive, he had only ever heard her voice since then and the amount of times could be counted on one hand, not to mention the fact that whenever they received a visit from Cinder's underlings it was usually just one of them, so if both of them were here it must be something important.

Adam got up and took up his sword, "I'll go talk with out guests, let's see what they want this time." He muttered.

A couple of minutes later Adam and Hui arrived in the large room that served as the main room for the base of operations. Emerald and Mercury both sat on chairs usually reserved for high ranking officers as they waited for Adam.

Mercury had taken his defeat at Yang's hands to heart and had begun training to make sure he wouldn't suffer a loss like that again. His arms and torso were now somewhat more muscular and his hair had grown down to neck length. He now wore mostly black with the exception of a gray shirt under his jacket.

Emerald's hair had grown a little longer as well and from what Adam had gathered the illusionist had become very talented with her Semblance and she no longer had as many restrictions as she once had, thanks to the training she had gone through. She now wore a beige shirt that was cut off to show her midriff and she had stitched on two kimono-like sleeves to cover her arms while her legs were glad in dark green trousers that ended at her knees.

Mercury saw Adam come out of the hallway and said "Well if it isn't the notorious leader of the White Fang. About time you got here, I was getting impatient and I get..."

"More annoying than usual." Emerald finished, provoking an annoyed look from her partner.

"To do I owe the pleasure? It's nearly been a month since we last heard from any of you." Adam said directly.

"Well Taurus that's about to change." Mercury stated.

"Where is Cinder?" Adam asked.

"Training, she took her defeat pretty hard... I take it you're aware of the recent battle at Beacon?" Emerald asked.

"Yes, I know they took it back. I still don't understand why we didn't interfere." Adam growled.

"From what we know it was their move, but now it's ours." Emerald told him as she walked over to the computer and plugged something in.

"What are you doing?" Adam barked.

"No need to get upset, I think you're aware of our true benefactor?" Emerald asked, to which Adam nodded. "Well she thinks it's time you met her." Emerald pushed a button and the pale face of Salem appeared on the large monitor the overlooked the room, her red eyes staring right at Adam.

"Hello, Adam Taurus."

Everyone in the room, after hearing all of the rumors, dropped to their knees to bow to the Mistress of Grimm, afraid of invoking her wrath but Adam was slow and hesitant to do so but soon he got down on his knees as well He hated submitting to these humans and whatever Salem was, but it was a necessary pain until he could efficiently operated without their help.

"Mistress Salem, I have heard much about you. I am grateful you saw it fit to ally your forces with my own." Adam said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Adam. Your fight against the oppressive regime of humanity is an admirable one and it will become a fight you can win in the not too distant future. Now shall we get down to business?" she asked.

"I will be happy to serve you." Adam forced himself to say.

Salem allowed herself a smirk before saying "Excellent, now rise, all of you."

Everyone who had bowed to her got up again as she continued. "Cinder tells me you have captured the founder of the White Fang and are holding him prisoner somewhere."

"Yes, but not here, at an offsite location where we keep all of our prisoners." Adam stated.

Salem nodded and said "Before they recaptured Beacon Ozpin united Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY into one single unit; Team Beacon."

"Good, that'll make it easier to destroy them all, saves the time of hunting them down." Adam said defiantly. Emerald rolled her eyes while Mercury nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps, but I believe that you and your organization are crucial to our next move, as is your prisoner." Salem voiced.

"What can that old cat do for us?" Adam asked.

"So small-minded." Emerald muttered.

Adam glared at her but Salem got his attention again with "We want you to use him as bait to lure Team Beacon out and capture them."

"How would they even know unless we directly told them where he's being kept?" Adam asked.

"Adam, do you truly believe that everyone in your organization is loyal to you? You use brute force and intimidation to command them, but you do not combine it with the occasional kindness, glimmer of hope, and promises of rewards. If one of your soldiers truly wanted to he or she could tell our enemies about Claudandus' location. That way not only can we capture them, you will also weed out any traitors." Salem pointed out.

Adam sighed, he knew it made sense but it wouldn't be easy. Razor and the Elite Guard would have to be in on it for a plan like this to work and while Adam admired Razor for his brutal fighting skills the Boar Faunus he found himself annoyed by the man's code of honor. But Adam had usually been able to find away around that and if this plan involved capturing Blake, as well as Nikos who technically betrayed Salem's forces then Razor could easily be talked into it as he despised traitors.

"It sounds like a good plan and I have just the task force for it." Adam said.

"Your Elite Guard, I presume." Salem guessed.

Adam nodded and said "If properly motivated they are a magnificent fighting force, as Razor recognizes our cause as a noble one..."

"Even if you have to keep some of the darker things you do a secret from him." Salem interjected.

Adam looked at her and nodded, "Codes of honor will more often than not prevent great warriors from doing what needs to be done."

"True, but that's what lies are for." Salem said.

Adam nodded and inquired "Can I know a little more about this plan?"

Salem smiled and said "Of course. Where is your Elite Guard now?"

"Razor is leading a group out to do a little freedom fighting, to make us look better."

* * *

 

Elsewhere in Vacuo, in a place where forests and deserts met there was a large building that had once been used as a mine but had been shut down years ago. Now it was used for something else.

Slavery.

Despite the fact that slavery was firmly outlawed in every part of Remnant imaginable the concept of forced servitude of the Faunus, and occasionally the human, race wasn't done for yet.

Screams, shouts, and moans could be heard from within the building, as punishments and rewards for the guards were underway.

This particular group of slavers led by Madame Fatalea mostly dealt in sexual slavery for the rich and powerful in places such as Atlas as slaves for physical labor were harder to hide and the slave mines were now scarce and well hidden. The slaves within the building were nearly all Faunus, but there were two or three human slaves, those who had fallen in love with Faunus or had simply stumbled across an abduction and tried to stop it. Most of the Faunus slaves were female but there were some male ones as well to appeal to the occasional sadistic mistress who wanted to buy a slave.

The lifestyle of a slaver was a dangerous one, as it was obviously highly illegal, and you needed to keep it entirely secret and be as careful as possible and those who were competent enough to capture and guard the slaves were paid very handsomely.

Outside of the building two men stood guard, jealously listening to the sounds the female slaves were making.

"I cannot wait for my turn tomorrow." the first guard muttered.

"Tell me about it, they're in there, having all that sweet Faunus pussy while we get stuck with this boring ass job." his partner stated.

"Ugh! How the hell did Madame Fatalea find someone with enough lien to pay every single slave?! I mean who the hell has enough cash for that?!" the guard ranted, more to himself than anything.

"Probably someone high up in Atlas, those dickheads are loaded... do you hear that?" the second guard asked.

The first guard stopped and heard an odd musical sounds coming from a few dozen or so meters away in the forest.

"Come on, we'll check it out." the first guard stated as he walked into the forest.

A moment later they came across a very odd sight: A small teenage Mouse Faunus girl was in the forest listening to music on a radio she had on her shoulder. She was a petite girl about the size of one Reese Chloris who wore a white T-Shirt with torn up jeans, which had a hole so her long tail was free, and a gray and red hoodie, as well as a dark red scarf around her neck.

The two guards looked to one another and both shrugged.

"Should we do something?"

"Let's take her in, we don't have any this young." the second guard said.

The first guard looked to him, confused and said "What did you say?"

"I said we should take her in."

"What?"

"Are you deaf or just stupid?"

Then there was silence. The second guard could see his partner's mouth opening but no noise could be heard, he looked over to the Mouse Faunus who now looked very pleased with herself.

"What did you do to us you little...?!"

Just then a heavy weight slammed down on both guards, knocking them to the ground. The second guard looked up to see another Faunus with bat wings on his arms. The winged Faunus took out his weapon and bashed them both on the head, knocking them out cold.

Alessandro Kane smiled at the young Faunus girl and said "Nice job Piper." After he had been demoted by Adam, Razor had recruited him into the Elite Guard as he felt Kane deserved a second chance and he needed more flyers. In that time he had come to appreciate Piper's sound Semblance.

Piper nodded and turned off her music as Kane took out a radio.

"Razor, the rear guards are down, you and the others can move in." he said.

"Excellent, we're coming up now." the deep and raspy voice of Razor, leader of the White Fang Elite Guard stated.

A few moments later Razor, a large and muscular Boar Faunus with the sharp and pointy dark brown hair of a Razorback standing out as his animal trait. His eyes were a dark yellow and on his belt was the sheath of his sword. His face was scarred, showing hints of past battle he had fought long ago.

Kane looked to the relatively small number of troops. "You sure this is enough to take this place down?"

"We are more than enough to wipe these monstrous slavers out of existence." Razor assured Kane as he took out the radio. "Jinty, make sure the missiles don't damage the building."

"Don't worry boss, I won't hit the building, just give 'em one helluva scare!" a voice of Jinty, a Weasel Faunus from south Atlas, his accent giving him away.

"Fire." Razor commanded.

Inside of their ship Jinty opened fire and a cluster of missiles rocketed out of the jungle and soared down, exploding with the desert floor a hundred meters away from the slavers' base. Alarms began to sound off from within the old mine building and guards were rushing out.

"Attack!" Razor shouted as he charged forward, his group running after him.

A thug looked at them, saw the symbols they wore and cried "Oh shit! It's the White Fang!"

The slavers began to open fire on their Faunus attackers but it didn't do much good. A large Gorilla Faunus slammed his fist into a slaver's gut, which he followed up by grabbing his leg, throwing him up, and slamming him down, the harsh impact breaking the slaver's leg hard enough so his aura couldn't heal him fast enough.

"Good work Kong!" Razor shouted as he whipped out his deadly sword and slashed a slaver's gun in half. He rammed his blade through the slaver's gut but it was nothing aura wouldn't heal but Razor knew the cretin wouldn't survive the night. He looked up to see Kane now on the roof with his weapon out, blasting the guards down from above.

Razor grinned as he blocked an attack from a swordsman slaver. "Amature!" Razor snarled as he kneed the man in the gut, slashed him across the chest, and slammed him to the ground. Razor moved on, eviscerating a slaver, spilling blood and aura.

"White Fang! Damn you all!" yelled a female voice. Razor looked over to see a middle-aged woman in a business suit wielding a whip. "I'm about to make the sale of a lifetime! I will not let you damn vermin ruin my early retirement!"

Madame Fatalea no doubt. Razor made his way towards her as she began to attack his troops with her whip, which he noticed was electrified.

"Witch!" he shouted as he ran at her with his sword.

"Dumb animal." she muttered as she slammed her whip down on him, he endured the shock enough to try and cut the cord but it his enemy was quick to pull it away from him.

"You're doing me a favor! Less guards and workers means more money for me!" she yelled as she slammed the whip at him. The whip wrapped around his sword and she used her surprising strength to pull it down.

"You think you can really beat me?!" Fatalea asked.

"Yes I do, and I will." Razor answered as he pressed a small button on the hilt of his sword and then small things resembling the 'teeth' of a saw popped out of the sides of his blade.

"What?!" Fatalea cried.

Razor grinned as he used his chainsaw-sword he had dubbed 'Kill-Master' to slice through the cord of the whip.

"No!" she cried as slashed Razor across the face with her nails. This managed to distract Razor enough for her to jump away from him. "Fall back! Don't let them get in the base! A million lien to whoever kills that one!" she yelled as she pointed at Razor, whose facial injury was already gone thanks to his aura.

Various slavers and guards began rushing towards Razor, only to be shot down by Razor's troops or cut down by him personally.

Fatalea ran back into the base, knowing that all her men outside were as good as dead now, she had heard about the Elite Guard of the White Fang before and they had a reputation for being brutal killers. She ran past a cage in which a nearly naked female Rabbit Faunus was uncomfortably stuffed into. "We're saved! Oh thank the gods above! They have answered my prayers!" she cheered. Fatalea growled but ignored the girl, while making a mental note to hook a shock collar on her neck if they made it out of this.

As she ran to her office she could hear the cheers of the slaves. "Shut up! All of you shut..." she couldn't continue her yell before a loud sound blast hit the building hard enough to break the windows.

"No, no, no, no!" she muttered fearfully as she made it to her office, locking the door behind her.

She looked out the window to see her men get slaughtered in a variety of ways as her men were being rendered useless by something as they were all covering their ears as if under attack from some sound based weaponry. She took up her shotgun as she watched the White Fang execute her guards.

If these animals wanted to kill her they were welcome to try.

Damn it, and after that big sell, that old fool in Atlas was giving her enough money to buy her own island. Why did these stupid Faunus have to ruin it?!

Just then the Kill-Master slammed into the door, the chainsaw portion cutting it down. She screamed furiously as she fired at the door, blowing a hole in it. Razor had dodged the blast, but the knowledge that she had a weapon and was still up for a fight made it all the more interesting.

He slammed into the door, smashing it open and he ran towards Fatalea who kept firing at him. He took a hit to the shoulder and forced himself to ignore the searing pain as his aura began to heal the wound. He slammed down Kill-Master on her gun just as she pulled the trigger again, resulting in a bright burst of Dust as the gun was destroyed, the bullet hitting the blade, and the recoil sending Fatalea into the wall.

Razor slammed Kill-Master into her gut, mortally wounding her. She screamed in pain as he aura tried and failed to heal her.

Razor smirked and said "This is a fitting death for a woman such as you. You sell off innocent people, my people, for profit! You force them to work against their will, you make them into sexual toys, you disgust me!"

She glared and spit on Razor's face. "You disgust me too, you pig. You don't get it, the Faunus are meant to be enslaved! It's the natural order!" she growled.

"No, this is the natural order..." Razor said as he withdrew Kill-Master and went to work with the chainsaw feature of his deadly weapon. The screams of Madame Fatala could be heard from inside, as could the coppery scent of blood.

Outside Kane led several other Elite Guard troops in freeing the slaves from their cages and cells. He aimed down and shot off the lock of the caged Rabbit Faunus who had been cheering earlier. He opened up the cage and the young woman ran out and glomped him, ignoring the fact that she was naked except for a pair of panties. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said with happy tears in her eyes as she kissed Kane.

"Whoa! Nice ti... um... all a day's work Miss." he said, blushing.

"Oh Kane you are such a ladies man." teased Selena, the Raccoon Faunus who was the only member of his old regiment still with him. While Jake had been assigned to a minor post but Selena had been allowed to join the Elite Guard due to her above average records and the fact that she had captured Claudandus.

"Oh shut up and get this girl a shirt." Kane groaned.

As Razor finished dismembering the cruel leader of the slavers he looked to her computer and took out a flash-drive. He plugged it in and downloaded the computer's files, hoping it could lead to any human who had purchased the slaves, lead to the location of any slaves already sold off, or the location of other slaver bases.

* * *

 

Later that night the old mine building had been evacuated and blown up, destroying the bodies of all the slavers who had been killed.

Back in the forest the slaves were now boarding the Elite Guard's large ship, which would take them to a city where they could find a way home.

Kong looked to a human female slave and said "What're we taking the human ones for?! We should leave 'em to rot!"

One of the freed male salves, a Wolf Faunus, got in front of the woman and said "Lay a hand on my wife and I'll rip out your damn throat!"

"Calm yourselves! Kong, we shall not harm any of these slaves Faunus or not. Even if they were human they are victims too." Razor said sternly.

Kong looked down, somewhat ashamed, and muttered "Understood boss."

As Kong walked away the Wolf Faunus said "Thank you so much for saving us, we'd only been there a week. I honestly don't think I could have gone on a few more days."

"You are welcome brother, when we land at Oshatuk you and your beloved will be free to resume your lives. Unless you wish to join the White Fang." Razor offered.

The Wolf Faunus sighed and said "I'm sorry. I am grateful to you but I have no desire to join the Fang, not after Beacon."

Razor sighed as well before saying "We had nothing to do with that. We did not stop our leader but didn't join in, I found it distasteful." He had been the only high ranking officer who had opposed the attack of Beacon. Adam had been angry with him but agreed to let the Elite Guard sit it out.

"Then maybe you guys are in the wrong crowd." The Wolf Faunus offered.

"I think not, after everything humanity has done to us the White Fang need to stand up, to show that the Faunus race hasn't been beaten into submission." Razor argued.

The man nodded and simply said "Humans like my wife are becoming the rule, and the ones you just killed were the exception. Things are changing, but if the White Fang keep attacking innocent people and cities then you're giving our naysayers proof."

Razor couldn't argue with that as it made sense, but he had also noticed that humans no longer pushed innocent Faunus around so brazenly anymore.

That was progress enough for him.

As Razor made his way up to the bridge he met Jinty. "Boss, Adam's calling us."

"What is it?""

"He says he has a job for us but I dunno what it is, he wants to talk to you."

Razor shook his head but said "I'll talk to him in my quarters, once everyone is onboard and the ship is refueled I want you to take us to Oshatuk so we can drop these people off. Hopefully they can return to their normal lives."

"Yes sir." Jinty said with a salute.

"Oh and take this, I downloaded Fatalea's hard drives, maybe they'll help us find some more enslaved Faunus and some humans who need punishing." Razor said as he handed Jinty the flash drive. Jinty nodded and walked back to the bridge.

Razor made his way to his room, running into Piper on the way.

"Good work out there my student. You make us all proud." he praised.

Piper grinned and hugged the larger Faunus before rushing off to her room. Razor smiled as he opened his door and went inside his average sized, rather plain dwelling. He placed the Kill-Master on it's holding place upon the wall and turned on the monitor next to it, which had Adam's face on it.

"Razor."

"Commander Taurus." Razor said as he saluted his leader.

"How went your slave-freeing mission?" Adam asked.

"Perfectly sir, the slavers are all dead and we'll lift off soon." he answered.

"Good, now Razor I have a mission for you, one that will be of great use to the White Fang."

"What is it?" Razor asked curiously.

"How would you like to help me and our allies catch some very dangerous enemies and a traitor?" Adam inquired.

Razor allowed himself a small smile before he said "I'm listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a chapter focusing on the White Fang... four chapters into a story arc about the White Fang. And Adam, Emerald, Mercury, and Kane are all back and we can properly meet Razor, and I hope you like his weapon.
> 
> Sorry this took so late and is so short, relatives were visiting, work to be done, trees to be cut down, kittens to be rescued (and no I didn't make those last two up) but the reason this chap is so short is because I wanted to try giving a smaller chapter a go.
> 
> While we have had a lot of development to the BlackSun part of SunnyBees we've yet to truly develop Bumblby, but that changed this chapter. Hope you shippers are happy.
> 
> Next Time: A New Mission, more Fotia and Wyvern flashbacks, Jaune training with the Grimm, and the story arc finally begins properly.
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.


	30. The New Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

It was relatively early in the morning in Vale, the various Hunters, soldiers, and workers were all waking up, ready for another day of rebuilding Beacon Academy. Some of them, however, were already up.

Ozpin sat in his temporary office in a building near the hotel, looking over the schedule for today which included, among other things; continuing to rebuild the tower, the cafeteria, the school building, and the dorms, adjusting for newly arrived workers, checking the routines of the Hunters, and last but not least making the necessary arrangements for Jaune's training with his powers. While Port, Qrow, Winter, and several others would be looking over the reconstruction of Beacon, Glynda would take Team Beacon to one of the secured training grounds out of the way so no one could observe them and they were going under the guise of serving as that day's forest patrol. He had made the arrangements for a Beowolf, a Creep, and a Boarbatusk to be flown down from the Atlas science vessel.

Over the town a few of the Atlas airships had stayed behind for security purposes and one, a science vessel, was presently serving as a base for Grimm research and experimentation. It currently housed the corpse of the Wyvern Ruby killed at the Fall and the various Grimm she had killed when she came to save her friends, as Ozpin knew the non-disintegrating bodies of Grimm were an opportunity no one could pass up. Currently Oobleck and several of the top Grimm experts from all over Remnant were on board the ship running tests and examining the bodies.

Oobleck had also made sure to keep his promise to Professor Port and allow him to keep the heads of a Saber, Beringel, and Beowolf once he and the other scientists were done. The Wyvern was off limits and was now considered property of the Four Kingdoms.

For now Ozpin hoped Jaune's training would go well. He knew it was unlikely the blonde would be hurt as not only was Pyrrha there, but so was the rest of Team Beacon as well as Glynda, who Ozpin knew was more than capable of keeping them all safe.

There was a knock on the door, so Ozpin called "Enter."

His young secretary, a smartly dressed woman in her twenties with light brown hair named Melanie opened the door and said "Headmaster, you have a call and from what I can tell it is a very important one."

Ozpin nodded and asked "Is it from General Ironwood?"

"No sir, it's from... well... one of the maidens." She said, a little unsure of herself.

Ozpin nodded and said "I'll take it onscreen and alone." She nodded and closed the door as Ozpin turned on the monitor and connected to the transmission.

A rather beautiful woman in her late twenties with piercing pale blue eyes and platinum blonde hair looked at Ozpin with an unpleasant look in her eyes.

"Hello Elsa, I must say I've been wondering why you hadn't called me like the others have." He said with a kind smile. In the past he had known nearly a dozen Maidens, Cinder not included, and most of them trusted him and understood their purpose and importance.

Elsa Vorst, the current Winter Maiden, understood her purpose, had made great sacrifices for it, and had done her duties with dignity, grace, and humility. He knew Elsa saw the powers of the Winter Maiden as a small blessing and a major burden and curse. Ozpin knew that her lover Kaifin was the only thing that kept her sane at times as Elsa hated to be locked up in the mountains of Atlas as she couldn't travel very far unlike the other four Maidens could. The isolation would be unbearable for most people but Elsa managed to cope with it because of her lover and the friends she had.

"Hello Professor Ozpin," she opened venomously "I know it has been a while since we last talked and I am aware that you're smart enough to know I have been avoiding this call."

Ozpin sighed and admitted "The others have talked to me since my return but I knew you were cross with me and I know you have good reason to be."

"Good reason?! Amber is dead because of your incompetence!" she shouted.

"Elsa..." said the off screen voice of Kaifin.

Elsa sighed and collected herself. "If you had just listened to me, if you had gone with my idea she would still be alive and those poor children would never have suffered the way they did." She had heard about what Pyrrha, Ruby, and Jaune had been through in Atlas, Ironwood and Chamberlain told her about the Grimm hybridization, the brainwashing, the torture, the trauma they had endured. Elsa was not one for tears but when she had learned what had happened to them she wept.

Elsa's plan had been to have herself and the Summer and Spring Maidens travel to Beacon and use their combined powers to heal Amber's wounds. Ozpin had forbidden it has he had deemed the gathering of all four Maidens too dangerous, and he knew very well that Salem would have sensed such a gathering of immense power and could have attacked the school with every asset she had. Maybe Ozpin had just been paranoid but at the time it felt like a good strategy to shoot down Elsa's plan and keep doing things his own way.

Oh how wrong he had been.

"I know what they suffered through but believe me they are safe now. They will never forget those horrible experiences but their bonds are now stronger than ever before. I regret my choices and I can never get over the suffering I unintentionally caused those children but in the end things worked out alright." He said.

"'Things worked out alright'?! Oh Ozpin, you are some piece of work! A girl was nearly killed, taken away from her friends and family, mind raped, and turned into a freak! A boy had been tortured both mentally and physically and was on the verge of dying if it were not for the intervention of some old relic and a Guerrilla Huntsman! A girl with silver eyes was tormented because of the threat she posed to Salem and from what I understand was forced to kill!" she ranted.

"Yes, I know!" Ozpin snapped, "Recently I have had my failures and mistakes thrown in my face over and over again, I know I made some terrible decisions and if you are aware of the suffering my students went through then you should also be aware of what I was put through."

The Winter Maiden nodded and said "I am aware of what you endured while you were Salem's prisoner and your encounter with Norvik the Hunter, and I feel that you have been punished enough Ozpin."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow and inquired "Then why do you berate me?"

"To let you know that not everyone forgives you so easily. I will remember your mistakes and the fact that they have cost many people their lives... including Amber..." she said sadly, holding back tears.

Ozpin looked down guiltily, he knew that out of all the Maidens Elsa and Amber were the closest, they even considered each other best friends.

"She was so gentle and kind... she wasn't even the strongest of us so why did they pick her?" Elsa asked tearfully.

"Her powers were still great even though she used them with restraint. They took advantage of her kindness and her reluctance to hurt others with her gifts so Cinder Fall could take them from her." Ozpin said, remembering what little Amber had been able to tell Qrow before she slipped into a coma. He faced the screen again and said "You have every right to despise me but for good or ill I will remain in power, albeit sharing it with Glynda and with advisement from my friends."

"At least Goodwitch has some sense in her and whilst Branwen is a drunk he at least knows a good idea when he sees one." She said, remembering how Qrow agreed with Elsa's idea when she called Ozpin before the Vytal Festival began.

"Elsa, I am truly sorry for everything that has happened. I have been given list upon list, speech upon speech, and a lot of evidence that all point to my being a failure and a fool... but I want to make up for it. They have decided to give me a second chance and I will not waste it. I hope that in time you will learn to forgive me." Ozpin stated solemnly.

Elsa stared at him before responding "Who knows what the future will bring? I cannot forgive you yet, not after Amber... but I will not fight you, if Salem attacks I will fight alongside you because I know that is what Remnant needs and it is what Amber would want. Goodbye."

The transmission ended and the monitor screen went back to Ozpin's plain desktop.

The old wizard slumped back in his chair and massaged his temples, not ignoring the nagging voice in his head that told him that people like Elsa, the ones saying he had gotten off too easily, were right.

* * *

Jaune had been having a pretty good day so far. He had been waken up by Pyrrha kissing him, something that was common now that they slept in the same bed, but no matter how many times it happened he never got used to being woken up by a kiss from someone he now realized was as beautiful as a goddess. He looked into those awe-inspiring, playful emerald eyes and tried to speak but utterly failed to; she giggled and continued to kiss him. The basic sleeping position they had taken up was Jaune lying on his back with Pyrrha cuddled into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her waist, it was a good position that made them feel closer to one another and safe from any bad dreams they might experience, since if one of them should suffer one the other would be there to comfort them. After their morning kissing session they found themselves amused by the sight of the other half of JNPR sleeping together, as a distressed Ren had been rendered a human teddy bear by Nora.

After they took separate showers they had a pleasant breakfast, went for their morning jog around the block (during which they noticed that the reconstruction of Vale was nearly complete and that some businesses were already moving back in to prepare for the reopening of the city), and returned to the hotel to greet the other awakening members of Team Beacon. Nora, Sage, and Fox were still somewhat injured from the venom of the Sabers but they were in good enough shape to move around, they just couldn't fight very well but they insisted on being part of the patrols and were still able to keep lookout.

The entire morning, however, Jaune couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness he felt about controlling the Grimm. Despite constant reassurance from Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Velvet, Neptune, Sun, and all of Team RWBY he still felt anxious about it.

He knew that if he failed Pyrrha would be there to bail him out.

'As usual.' He thought bitterly but he shook the negativity away and tried to focus on the positive side; the Grimm they'd be using had been in captivity and tranquilized so therefore would be disorientated and a little easier to control. He could only hope.

They were presently at a one of the training arenas outside of the campus, one used for senior students who had more advanced skills and therefore bigger fights. Jaune stood in the sand pit with the Crocea Mors in hand while Pyrrha stood ready at the side, gripping Milo and Akouo tightly.

Above in the observation ring Teams RWBY, CFVY, SSSN, Ren, Nora, Penny, and Professor Goodwitch stood by ready along with several Atlas soldiers who knew of Jaune and Pyrrha's conditions. The Atlesian troops had brought down three cages from the science vessel with each containing one Grimm; a Beowolf, a Boarbatusk, and a Creep.

Jaune watched as Glynda used her Semblance to slowly lift up the cage containing the Beowolf into the pit.

"Are you sure you want to go with the Beowolf first?" she asked as it settled into the sand.

Jaune nodded and said "If I'm going to control the Grimm I might as well start with one of the most common."

Glynda nodded, seeing his logic as the rest of Team Beacon cheered for him.

"Go Jaune!" Nora cried as she lifted up a huge banner with those words written on it while Ren help up a little red flag with Jaune's head on it, giving his leader a confident smile.

"You got this buddy!" Neptune cheered.

"Kick its ass! Er... control its ass I guess would be better." Sun mused.

"You can do it! We know you can!" Velvet encouraged.

"Go Jaune!" Ruby called, which was followed by a cheer from Penny.

"Don't give up." Weiss stated.

Jaune nodded and stabbed the blade of Crocea Mors into the sand while transforming the sheath into a shield. "You ready Pyr?" he asked.

"Yes." She said with a nod.

"Okay Professor Goodwitch let it out." Jaune said.

Glynda hoisted up her wand and with that the Beowolf came tumbling out of the cage, snarling and swinging its claws everywhere in a panic.

Jaune held his ground and heard Pyrrha say "Get its attention!" He nodded and let out a loud, furious yell which made the Grimm look at him.

"Come on!" he beckoned.

The Beowolf barked and bounded towards Jaune.

"Reach out!" Pyrrha cried.

Jaune held out his hand and reached into the Beowolf's mind and like before with the Saber, feeling the hatred, misery, rage, and fear that filled up its mind. The Beowolf screeched to a halt a few meters away from Jaune, growling in resistance as it felt the strange sensation of Jaune's mind in its own.

"Don't be afraid, don't be angry, if you don't hurt me or my friends then I won't hurt you... can you understand me?" he asked.

The Beowolf fell onto all fours and looked up at Jaune, growling at him the entire time, its claws digging into the ground.

"You have to be firm Jaune! Keep a grip on it!" Pyrrha called.

Jaune nodded but kept concentrating as hard as he could to connect with the creature.

"My sword is down, I only have a shield for protection." He announced as he carefully and slowly got closer to it. "You have nothing to fear from me..."

Jaune's eyes snapped open as he could feel the Beowolf's mind become aflame with rage. It roared and jumped up at him, its claws ready to sink into Jaune's flesh. The knight knelt down and slammed his shield up just in time to catch the beast.

He cried out in pain as one of its claws landed a small slash on his forearm before he used his Semblance to power a throw that sent the beast flying to the left where it collided with the wall. Jaune's aura healed his minor wound in no time as he quickly reestablished his connection with the Beowolf's mind.

"Please! I know your angry and you want to fight, but you don't have to live this way. We can..." he brought up his shield again to block an attack from the spikes on its arm and drew back to avoid getting his neck bitten into.

With a rush of power the Beowolf slammed into him and he landed on his back with his shield on his chest as the Beowolf got on top of him.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried as she got out Crescent Rose and aimed for the Grimm's head, while Ren, Blake, Yang, and Neptune all got their weapons ready.

"No! I got it!" Jaune screamed as he shot out his arms and grabbed the Beowolf's head, reaching into its mind violently. "I can do it!"

The Beowolf roared in panic as it felt Jaune enter its mind violently, it tried to get away but Jaune's mental hold was strong enough to keep it still.

"Please! Don't fight it! We won't hurt you, I promise! We want to help people and if we can we can make it so other Grimm like you don't have to... I don't know." He said, he honestly didn't know what to say to calm the struggling beast but he had to keep trying. "Listen, I don't know what we'll do with you but I promise we won't kill you. Feel me, I have part of a Grimm within me, you can trust me. Please." He pleaded.

He felt the inner being of the Beowolf change, it became softer, calmer, still weary and hostile but it wasn't trying to tear Jaune's throat open anymore.

"Please get off of me." He ordered.

The Beowolf shook for a minute before slowly climbing off of Jaune and crawling far enough away so he could get up. Pyrrha took control of the Beowolf with ease and guided it back to the cage where Glynda quickly locked it inside.

Pyrrha ran over to the recovering Jaune and captured him with a hug.

"You did it!" she said.

"Way to go Jaune!" Nora cheered.

"You were wonderful out there!" Velvet called.

"I knew you could do it!" Ruby cried.

"Well done." Ren said.

"You had us scared for a minute there Jauney." Yang admitted.

"Aw, it was nothing." He said modestly.

"Nothing? Mr. Arc you just controlled a Beowolf, something only a small handful of people have ever been able to do and unfortunately most of them are our enemies, if we are to defeat them then you need to realize that your abilities are far from nothing." Glynda said wisely. She looked at her scroll and said "Your aura is still in the green Mr. Arc, would you like to proceed?"

Jaune nodded, "I can try it with the other three. Pyrrha you want to do the double team?"

"It would be my pleasure." Pyrrha

"What do they mean by that?" Sun asked.

"It's a plan they've devised; Pyrrha will take control of a Grimm first and then Jaune takes hold of it with her. She lets go of it but it will remain in Jaune's control. They know it will work but they don't completely know what will happen once she hands over full control to him." Ren explained.

Glynda nodded and said "Which one should I send down?"

"The Creep or the Boarbatusk?" Jaune asked his partner.

Pyrrha considered and answered "The Boarbatusk, Professor Goodwitch told me it was a young one." Boarbatusks were pretty weak compared to most Grimm, which was why they were used for Professor Port's first year classes, so it should be easy for Jaune to control one.

Glynda sent down the smaller cage with the Boar Grimm and said "Can you control it quickly?"

Pyrrha smiled as she held out her hand and said "Yes, let it out."

Glynda's Semblance opened up the door and the Boarbatusk charged out but didn't make it more than a meter away from the cage before Pyrrha took control of it.

"Boarbatusks are relatively weak Grimm so that makes them easier to control that a Beowolf or a Saber." She said as it calmly walked towards her. She kneeled down and placed her hand gently on its snout, making it make a pleasant rumbling sound, something no one ever expected to hear "Since you struggled a little with the Beowolf we should work with a weaker Grimm like this one, reach into it."

Jaune nodded and placed his hand on the Grimm's head and reached into it, feeling that its rage had already been calmed by Pyrrha. He took great care to make sure he had a firm grip on its being before saying "Pyrrha I think I got it."

"Alright Jaune, be prepared to command it as firmly as you can and get towards it back, those horns can gore you." She warned.

Jaune nodded and kept his grip on the Boarbatusk as Pyrrha released it from her control. The Grimm began to shake and screech as it slowly regained its will only to slip into Jaune's control.

"Come on..." Ruby said quietly.

Jaune took his hand off of the Boarbatusk's body and stepped away but kept controlling it. It turned around and faced him, the usual lust for violence that would be seen in a Grimm's eyes were gone.

"You got it Jaune!" Pyrrha said.

Jaune smiled and mentally instructed the Grimm to go to Pyrrha, which it did so.

"Well done Jaune!" Pyrrha congratulated.

"Can I ride it?" Nora asked.

"No!" Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Glynda all answered at once, but Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle at her friend's eagerness of riding a Grimm.

It reminded her of when she rode Wyvern in the sky above Haven...

_Six Months Ago_

_Fotia nervously walked up to the large landing platform where Neo, Emerald, Mercury, Giger, West, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, and Cinder all stood waiting for her along with something that was hidden from the rest of the world's naked eye thanks to Neo's Semblance: The Wyvern._

_The dragon Grimm was being held down by strong cables attached to powerful poles on the platform. The ropes were attached to a harness on its back that also kept the wings in check, making sure it couldn't move unless a rider detached the bonds._

_Fotia had been training with the, now much larger, Wyvern for nearly two months now and she had a fairly strong bond with the beast, noticing how it would snap, roar, and even spit the occasional fire blast at others but it would act tame when she was close to it. This, however, would be the first time she ever flew with it, the most she had ever done was hanging onto it as it hovered a few meters in the air._

" _Are you sure you wish to do this so soon my dear?" Giger inquired._

" _Yes doctor, thanks to Neo's Semblance we can fly around undetected." Fotia said confidently._

" _Just be careful not to fall, it would be shame it our secret was given away by the police finding a large black, white, and red splat on the ground." Steppenwolffe advised._

_Fotia looked a little nervous at that but felt a reassuring pat on the back from Ziz. "You'll do fine kid, it was scary for me the first time too, just hold on for dear life and don't let go for jack shit." The older woman said with a grin._

_Fotia returned the smile and said "Thank you." She climbed up the Wyvern's left wing, carefully so as not to hurt it, and sat down on the saddle harness. "Come on Neo." She beckoned._

_The multi-colored girl hesitantly climbed up and strapped herself into the saddle as Fotia did._

" _Okay Neo, remember, I'll be in control so don't worry." Fotia assured the smaller girl, who simply nodded in response._

" _Good luck with your first flight Fotia, and remember to keep the Wyvern silent until you reach a high enough altitude so the city will not hear it." Cinder reminded her._

" _I will make sure of that." Fotia said as she placed her hand atop the Wyvern's head, telling it to be as silent as it could until they got high enough. It grumbled reluctantly but it seemed that it would obey._

_Fotia took a deep breath to calm any fears or doubts she had twisting around in her gut. She took hold of the reins and shouted "Let's fly!" She pressed a button on the side of the harness and all of the cables detached at once and the Wyvern's mighty wings shot out, making Emerald and West jump back._

_It jumped off the platform and with a mighty flap it began to fly._

_Fotia couldn't help herself and let out a cheer out excitement as they began to lift up into the sky. She looked down and saw the city getting smaller and smaller with each push of the wings._

_Neo grabbed Fotia's head and made her look forward and Fotia directed the dragon towards a cloudbank. They burst through the clouds, getting Fotia and Neo slightly wet, and Fotia directed the Wyvern a little to the side and once they were away from the cloudbank she looked down and her breath was taken away by the beautiful sight of the city, the suburbs, and the countryside, forests, and the sea that surrounded the city._

_From up here it was all so perfect, nothing evil or cruel or mean, just peace, beauty, and serenity._

_She looked up at the full moon shining down on them. She let go of the reigns and spread out her arms, letting the air of the night sky surround her. For the first time since she woke up in Mistress Salem's palace she felt like she was truly herself. Up here, flying with this mighty dragon; it felt right._

" _Hey! Don't let go of the reins!" cried a voice from behind Fotia, it obviously had to belong to Neo so Fotia didn't question her until she picked up the reins again._

" _Sorry about that, I got a little carried away. I... I didn't know you could talk." Fotia confessed._

" _Eh, few people do. I just prefer talking to people I like." Neo elaborated._

" _You like me?"_

" _Sure." Neo said with a nod._

_Fotia smiled and thanked the petite girl just as the Wyvern let out a roar into the night. Fotia quickly regained control of the dragon and began to fly them back towards the city where they continued to fly as fast as they could._

_About five minutes later Fotia sighed sadly and said "I think that's enough for tonight. Miss Cinder will be angry if we stay out too long."_

_Neo said nothing as Fotia directed the dragon back to the factory._

Pyrrha snapped out of the memory as Glynda announced "Alright, now that I am sure Mr. Arc is going to be alright I want Teams RWBY, CFVY, and SSSN to move out. We have to keep up our cover so I need most of you out there looking out for Grimm. Mr. Alistair and Mr. Ayana can remain here as back up while Miss Polendina goes with Team SSSN as backup."

"Yes Professor Goodwitch." They all said obediently.

"So Pyrrha, how long will it be before Jaune can control multiple Grimm like the other commanders could?" Neptune inquired.

"A few weeks, it took me about two and if we work hard enough he'll have it done just as fast." Pyrrha answered.

"Very well, Mr. Arc do you have firm control over that Boarbatusk?" Glynda asked.

Jaune nodded and gave it a command, making it jump over him. "I got this one down pretty good; he's young though so if the Creep is older I'll have more of a challenge."

"Right, we'll work with the Creep next and once you make progress on a stronger Grimm we'll go back to the Beowolf since you struggled with that one." Pyrrha said.

Jaune smiled and said "Sounds good to me."

"Good luck Jaune!" Ruby called as she and the rest of her team went off into the forest.

"You two are phenomenal." Velvet cheered happily.

"You'll be controlling something major like a Goliath in no time bro." Sun encouraged.

Jaune smiled at the idea, but right now he'd just be happy if he could work with the Beowolf. He knew, however, that with Pyrrha by his side it was only a matter of time before he pulled it off.

Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage bid goodbye to the rest of Team Beacon as they went off into the forest together.

Jaune looked up to Glynda and said "Send it down Professor, I'm ready."

* * *

Up in the Atlesian Science Vessel Dr. Oobleck had been reunited Dr. Tremain to work with her, as well as several other highly regarded scientists from all over Remnant, on the corpses of the Grimm Ruby had killed with her powers. The ship was large enough to accommodate the oldest of the specimens, the corpse of the Wyvern that Ruby had killed when Cinder 'killed' Pyrrha and it also housed the various Beowolves, Sabers, and Beringels that Ruby had frozen during the retaking of Beacon, which gave the scientists a huge opportunity to finally study the bodies of dead Grimm without the problem of disintegration.

Oobleck reached inside the open gut of a Saber that had been brought out of the freezers that morning and pulled out a finger that belonged to one of the unfortunate Hunters who had been killed. In the week since they had began their work they had discovered that the Grimm, did in fact digest human and/or Faunus flesh and bones but the fear, anger, and panic from the dying victim empowered the Grimm and made the kill all the more wonderful for the creatures.

Oobleck made a disgusted sound as he placed the finger in a small container with other body parts he had found in the last few days, the Grimm seemed to have a very fast acting stomach acid for digestion and when Ruby froze them she also froze the acid as well, rendering it useless.

Oobleck looked over to the Huntsman he had been paired up with, his old partner from back when he was a student; Nicolas Crane. Crane had actually been, by a bizarre chance of fate, the Hunter armed with the telescope weapon who had been saved by Blake, Yang, Sun, and Neptune at the garage. Crane was a tall and lanky fellow, similar to Oobleck himself but with bigger ears, a larger nose, and wild black hair but where the two old friends differed was that Oobleck has continued his education after he graduated to achieve a doctorate while Crane became a professor honorably due to his extensive knowledge of Remnant's myths and legends. In that field he had few rivals and was by far one of the most sought after scholars when it came to mythological studies.

He had been allowed to come on board and study the Grimm in an attempt to see if any of the old legends were true. After so long Ironwood and Ozpin knew they needed help to separate fact from fiction.

Crane was presently using his telescope weapon in its microscope mode to examine the dead Saber's exterior.

"Hmm... healthy fur, perfect teeth, claws fit for combat and the musculature seems to be in perfect health. It's as if Miss Rose's eyes just flat out stopped its heart, some sort of instant kill-switch." Crane said out loud as he wrote a note down in his book.

"Yes Nicolas, I must be honest I always found your fascination with these old legends to be a bit irritating but it seems you were somewhat correct." Oobeck confessed as he examined the Grimm's heart, which seemed to have just stopped. He also could tell that this heart was nowhere near as old as the one he and Tremain had examined in the Wyvern some months ago, meaning that the rot had yet to set in while the Wyvern's had given in to an incredibly slow process of decomposition. Apparently rotting away took a bit longer after the Grimm had been rendered dead by the power of a Silver Eyed Warrior.

"I still can't believe you came this close to the Aura Crystal! Or that I'm close to it!" Crane said excitedly.

Oobleck nodded, he was under orders from Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood to not give out the location of the Aura Crystal, which Jaune and Pyrrha had locked away in a vault below the hotel, guarded by a squad of Atlesian Knights personally programmed by Dr. Polendina himself.

"I never truly saw its power, but from what my students have told me it is a sight to behold." Oobleck said.

"What about those Grimm Commander things? If they could control these beasts..." Crane began before Oobleck stopped him.

"I did see them but I didn't fight them. Port and I were taking on a mad scientist who had created the robotic warriors who guarded the factory. I only got a glimpse of them and their fighting skills but if you want to talk to someone who did fight them you'd have to ask Ozpin for permission." Oobleck elaborated.

Crane gave out a sigh of defeat and said "Well at least I know for certain things like the Mistress of Grimm, the Aura Crystal, and Silver Eyed warriors are real, that only leaves two of the big five."

"The Remnant Knights and the Headless Grimm Horseman." Oobleck said with a small smile.

"Oh come now Bartholomew, don't tell me you don't think they're the least bit possible after all you've witnessed! If anything the mere fact that a Mistress of Grimm exists..."

He was interrupted by the sound a throat being cleared; the two men looked to see Dr. Tremain standing before their station, looking a bit hassled from the lack of sleep she had been suffering through, as he hair was frizzled and there were noticeably bags under her eyes but she hadn't let it show as she had remained professional and firm in her duties as the head of Atlas' Grimm scientists. Oobleck mentally wondered what kind of coffee she used to keep herself going.

"Dr. Oobleck, Professor Crane I think I need to show you something. Have you looked at the molecular level of the Grimm's body, inside and out?" she asked.

"I was about to..."

"We have to look at it. I think I have found something but I want you to confirm it with me Oobleck, I don't want Ironwood to think I'm suffering from sleep deprivation." She said.

"Dr. Tremain, my good lady, how long has it been since you slept?" Oobleck inquired.

"Nearly three days but I think I can manage for a few more hours before taking a rest. I noticed something that I want you both to see. Can your weapon detect radiation in its lenses?" she asked Crane.

"Of course it can, but why? Surely the sensors would detected any radiation in here." Crane inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"That's what I want to talk to you two about. Examine the skin of the Saber at a molecular level." Tremain instructed.

Crane did so, sliding his weapon over the head of the Saber and adjusting the scope and lenses for the molecular level. He looked into it and immediately he looked back up at her with a bewildered expression. "Bartholomew, look..." he said.

Oobleck quickly took off his glasses and peered into the microscope/telescope and saw what appeared to be a small trace of a silver aura-like energy shimmering, invisible to the naked eye but with magnification...

Oobleck looked to his peers and said "I see it, I doubt that it's radiation because none of us have showed any signs of being affected by it. It's appears to be silver in color so..."

"That would mean the power of Miss Rose's eyes freeze Grimm like you initially theorized after we cut open the Wyvern and the energy keeps them in a suspended state of animation and we've actually been performing biopsies instead of autopsies or this is just a remnant of the energy." Tremain speculated.

Oobleck nodded, "It could be anyone of those things, shall we report our findings?"

"I'd say yes and then I can finally get some sleep." Tremain agreed with a small smirk "We'll do it tonight, just let me tell the others about this and see what they can dig up."

As Dr. Tremain left Crane looked back into the scope and took a closer look at the energy, it was eating away at the Saber's body, it was just there. "Oobleck, if this energy from Miss Rose's eyes can truly do this then maybe we can collect some of the remaining energy on the other Grimm and test it out on a live specimen." He suggested.

Oobleck smiled and said "Not a bad idea, I'll suggest it to Tremain."

The idea that Crane had proposed could go either way, since they would ultimately need approval from both Ozpin and Ironwood to kill one of the captive Grimm. Deep down Oobleck couldn't help but feel a little odd about this, if Ruby's eyes left behind some trace of energy then that meant it was possible for the power of her eyes to be harvested as a weapon.

He knew Ironwood and Ozpin would never let anything as dreadful as that happen, but that didn't quell what he felt towards the mere concept.

* * *

Meanwhile in Vacuo, more specifically the city of Oshatuk the Elite Guard's ship landed in a large, but cheap hanger on the edge of the city after releasing the freed slaves quietly from the lower levels of the cities' landing platforms they refueled and were now to prepare for their next mission.

Kane sat on one of the rafters overlooking the storage bay of the ship and called to Razor, who was helping some others load up crates filled with Dust. "So what exactly could be so important that Adam decides to swallow his incredibly over-inflated pride and call us for help? He usually just goes himself with a crap ton of guards, well it used to be just him and Blake but after she ran off he became moodier than usual." He asked.

Razor looked up at the flier and replied "It is something very important; we shall be dealing with the traitor you just mentioned."

"Belladonna? Good, I owe her one..." Kane muttered darkly before he said "Are you okay with using Claudandus? I mean you once answered to him, you respected him..."

Razor sighed at that, one of the odder things of Adam's plan involved allowing the members of the White Fang to know where Claudandus was being kept but Razor had been forbidden to let any of his crew know what the mission fully entailed until they rendezvoused with Adam in a few days, so far they only knew that it would involve the location of their founder. "And I still do, as hard as this assignment will be using Claudandus will be a surefire way to lure the traitor and her friends in..." Razor said until he was interrupted by Jinty running in and shouting out to Razor.

"Razor! Boss! I managed to decrypt the info on the drive you gave me last night!" he cried.

Razor turned to face the skinny Faunus and said with a pleased look "Excellent Jinty, have you discovered the location of any other slavers outposts or any potential buyers?" he inquired.

Jinty nodded, "Oh yeah boss, but the thing is all of those slaves we just freed were bought up by just one guy!"

The eyes of everyone in the room, Razor and Kane included, widened in surprise at that.

"Show me." Razor said grimly. Before he walked out of the room he looked up to Kane and said "Finish storing the Dust."

Jinty led Razor to his small, cluttered room and showed him to his computer. "It was pretty hard to work out and decrypt, those people have pretty tight security protocols, well I guess they have to since they're an illegal slave trade... um, sorry to ramble. Anyway I finally managed to find out who the buyer was, as well as the identities of other interested parties..."

"I don't care about them; we'll deal with them later. I want to know who bought all of those people from Fatalea." Razor stated firmly.

"You do realize we can't go after him right away, right? I mean we're bound for Adam's mission first." Jinty reminded him.

"I know, but I'm just planning ahead, after we're done with Adam's task we'll take care of this scumbag and free any other slaves Fatalea sold off. Just tell me who he or she is." Razor stated.

"Well look no further, the identity of our buyer is none other than..." Jinty said as if he were an announcer on some show.

The name was revealed on the screen and Razor growled out in anger at the identity of the buyer.

Willow Schnee.

* * *

It had been a few hours since the various members of Team Beacon went their separate ways into the forest on the cliffs that overlooked the Emerald Forests and the Forever Fall to patrol for Grimm. So far they had taken down a fair amount of Ursas and Beowolves in the time, spending their walk chatting with each other.

"So you can still summon the knight?" Ruby asked her partner.

Weiss sighed and answered "Yes Ruby, just because Cinder destroyed it did not erase the knight from existence, I can still summon it."

"Can you summon it now?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Why? That would be a huge and irresponsible waste of aura to just summon it here and now so you can admire it." Weiss scolded.

"Oh man, you're so right Weiss, sorry. I was just curious." Ruby defended.

"I know Ruby, it never ceases to amaze me how much you've changed since we first met while at the same time changing so little." Weiss mused.

"And we wouldn't have it any other way." Yang added from up front as she and Blake walked ahead of the younger girls.

"Aw, thanks Yang." Ruby said bashfully.

Yang nodded to her little sister as she looked back to Blake. "So did Ironwood tell you anything else about their raids on the Fang?"

Blake shook her head, during General Ironwood's recovery from his little incident Blake told him about the location of Adam's base, as well as bringing the information she gave to the sheriff of the village where Kane's group had been stationed. Ironwood had an entire army go to the location of the primary base Blake had discovered but only to find it abandoned, quickly and carefully as there was no hint of where they had gone, all the computers had been wiped and destroyed, so ship or equipment had been left behind, nothing.

All had not been lost, however, as the information regarding the White Fang's radio frequencies had been up-to-date enough to discover the locations of half a dozen White Fang bases but any word on the new location had been missed since Adam had altered the radio frequencies to hide the communications about the location of the new primary base. Despite capturing nearly one hundred and fifty White Fang members, all of whom either didn't know the location or refused to talk, even under intense interrogation.

"From what I know they haven't had anymore luck finding White Fang bases, after we captured so many Adam and his followers seem to be taking greater steps to hide their whereabouts." Blake informed her as they walked over a hill.

Yang sighed and said "Well as soon as we get some info about where he is I want a chance at him."

"We all do, but I want to talk to him first." Blake said.

Yang gave the Cat Faunus a bewildered look and exclaimed "What?! You don't honestly think you can convince him to turn good do you?! After everything he did..."

"Relax, I know Adam deserves whatever punishment you, Sun, Ruby, and the others have in store for him. Gods know he deserves everything that's coming to him... I just want to tell him just how far he has fallen, I want to look him in the eye and tell him he was wrong about humanity, we both were. I want him to know that he threw away what we had for his obsession, for his lust of violence..." she stopped and leaned against a tree to rub her eye.

Yang felt bad, she didn't mean to bring up something that obviously hurt Blake to talk about.

"Blake, I am so sorry, let's stop talking about this." The blonde brawler said as Ruby and Weiss caught up, having listened to everything.

"Blake, listen we..." Ruby began to say before her teammate stopped her.

"No Ruby, it's okay. It's hard to talk about it but it's unhealthy to avoid talking about your past, no matter how uncomfortable it is." She said.

Weiss intervened, saying "Well can we at least do it elsewhere? Right now we should be on our guard in case any Grimm are nearby."

"There's just a part of me that feels like I'm to blame for what happened at Beacon all those months ago, if I hadn't left Adam would never have joined Cinder. The morning before I left I overheard Adam talking to a strange woman and he turned her down and sent her away. When I asked him what had happened he didn't tell me, saying we needed to get ready for the day's mission. I left him that day and I can't help but wonder if that's what made him turn to her." Blake speculated.

"Maybe Cinder didn't give him a choice." Ruby offered, "I mean I saw her in action before she got all of the Maiden's powers, trust me when I say what you guys saw her do in the tournament was nothing."

Blake nodded but said "While that is possible Ruby I think Adam wanted in on the attack on Beacon just to get a shot at me, if I had been with him maybe he would have refused Cinder... I shudder to think of the 'what if'.

"Then don't think of the what if, think of what is." Weiss said. "You can't change the past but you can change the future Blake. I can't change what my family did to your kind in the past but I will make sure that we never hurt your people like that again."

Blake smiled at the heiress and said "Thank you."

Just then a small grey and black bird landed on a log a couple of meters away from them and made an odd, specific call to them.

"Hey, what's up with that bird?" Ruby asked.

"Swoop!" Blake exclaimed as she ran to the log to sit on it. The other three members of Team RWBY looked to each other in surprise at the fact that Blake apparently knew this bird.

Blake sat on the log and laid down her hand for the bird to hop onto her hand where she carefully took off the small scroll of paper tied around its right leg. Blake looked at the message and her amber eyes widened. "He found out..."

"Uh... Blake, mind telling us what's going on?" Ruby asked.

Blake sighed before she said "This is a message from a contact I have within the White Fang."

"WHAT?!" cried the other three girls at once, loud enough to make the bird fly up into the tree in shock.

"Look, after I joined up with Vale I decided to text an old friend within the White Fang, one who I knew had been disillusioned with Adam as well. While I was with Claudandus he informed me that some of his old friends in the White Fang are too scared to leave or to warn people about attacks because of Adam's rage and that my contact was still disillusioned with Adam. Luckily he is still in the White Fang Elite Guard and while he didn't want to sell out the White Fang entirely he knew that keeping its founder prisoner was wrong so he was willing to give me information about the whereabouts of Claudandus via his pet messenger bird." Blake explained.

Yang sighed in relief while Ruby grew a small smile, and Weiss' expression softened.

"So your buddy found out where Adam and his thugs are keeping Claudandus?" Yang asked, Blake had told them of her history with the elder Cat Faunus and how he had been a surrogate parent to her after she lost her own.

"Yes, he's being kept in the jungles of Vacuo, we need to get this information to Ozpin and Ironwood so they can send a rescue party!" Blake cried.

"Sounds good to me, let's tell them once we get back." Ruby suggested.

"Wait a minute! I understand that you had a contact in the White Fang who didn't want to sell out his fellow members but why didn't this contact warn you about Cinder?!" Weiss pointed out.

"After I left Adam I threw away my old scroll so he couldn't contact me. He said he would have warned me if he could, and he wanted me to know that the Elite Guard was actually opposed to invading Beacon, Razor saw attacking something like the Vytal Festival as dishonorable." She explained.

"Honor, huh? Maybe these Elite Guard guys can be talked over to our side." Yang suggested.

"No, Razor's loyalty is to the White Fang itself and whoever leads it. Defection is not an option for him or anyone who serves under him." Blake told them.

"Well then if they get in our way we'll fight them too! Let's finish up the patrol and get this info to Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby declared.

"Sounds like a good idea, just please don't keep anymore secrets Blake." Weiss said.

"I'll try not to." Blake agreed before she took out a small piece of paper and wrote something on it before tying it to Swoop's leg again. "Thank you Swoop, take this back to your master, I really appreciate both of you for this."

The bird cooed at the black and white clad girl before it took off into the sky.

Team RWBY watched as the bird vanished into the distance before Yang said "Why do I get the feeling that this is just the start of another adventure?"

"Because it is!" Ruby answered.

"To be quite honest; I have had my fill of adventures." Weiss stated.

* * *

Later that day, after the day shift was over and the sun had began to set Team Beacon had returned from the academy and all of them were currently waiting outside of Ozpin's office while Ozpin, Goodwitch, Qrow, Ironwood, and Winter spoke with Oobleck and Tremain about their findings. When RWBY had returned to the small arena they told Professor Goodwitch everything, and while she was annoyed at Blake for keeping secrets, she recognized a chance to strike the White Fang and to rescue someone who could help turn the Faunus population against the terrorist cell.

Jaune had made good progress in the hours the others were gone, as he had managed to get control over the Creep with some difficulty in little under half and hour and had spent the rest of the day taking turns with each of the three Grimm, even managing to conquer the Beowolf, which had been giving him the most problems. It had been exhausting work but he knew it would be worth it in the end but man he was looking foward to lying down in his bed.

"So who is this guy you're still friends with in the White Fang?" Sun asked.

"He's made we promise not to reveal his identity to anyone else, not even my teammates. I know it sounds silly but he's a little paranoid." Blake voiced.

Weiss nodded and said "Being amongst as many ruffians as he must be I'm not surprised he's paranoid."

"Yeah, I mean maybe the reason the White Fang has so many members is because they're too afraid to leave." Velvet suggested.

"With how crazy this Adam guy sounds I wouldn't blame them." Neptune added.

"They could be forced to join; it's not unusual for terrorist cells use force to get what they want, in this case numbers. Whoever Blake's friend is he could want to leave but is unable to, helping us may be a way to free himself." Ren commented.

"Good point, it makes sense and hopefully we'll be able to help him." Pyrrha agreed.

"I just wish you would have told us sooner Blake." Ruby said gently.

"I would have but I prefer to keep my secrets, even if I am getting a bit more loose. Besides you girls aren't exactly the best secret keepers." Blake stated.

"Actually Ruby kept the fact that I was a robot hidden from all of you for weeks. I'd say she was a good secret keeper." Penny pointed out, earning a thankful smile from Ruby.

"And we managed to keep Ruby's mission a secret." Yang said as she gesutred to Weiss and herself.

Blake sighed and said "You guys are right, I'm sorry for making excuses I just... I didn't want any of you to think I was still in league with the White Fang."

"We'd never think that." Yang stated.

"Not after everything you've done for us and how hard you fought them, we'd never think you'd go back to them." Weiss said.

"If there's one thing you have to get used to Blake; it's that we're way more trustworthy than Adam and his cronies ever were." Sun assured her.

Blake smiled and said "Thank you."

Ruby looked at the entrance to Ozpin's temporary office and said "I wonder what's taking so long?"

"They said it was something important to do with the Grimm, maybe Dr. Oobleck and the scientists found something." Neptune guessed.

Inside of the office Ozpin, Ironwood (who was only present via hologram), Glynda, and the others considered what Oobleck and Tremain had told them. The idea that could harvest left over energy from Ruby's silver eyes was interesting concept but one that was risky.

"It does sound promising I admit but I'd prefer not to openly test it out until you can collect a sufficient amount of this silver energy from the Grimm bodies." Ozpin said calmly.

Qrow wasn't so keen on the idea. "If any of your mad scientist buds even think about using my niece as some kind of energy source I'll..." he began before Oobleck quickly shook his head and hands frantically.

"Oh dear gods no, Qrow! I would never think about harming that girl and if I were to ever catch anyone attempting to do something like that I would demolish them! I'm just suggesting that if Ruby's eyes leave traces of their power behind we could find a way to salvage them and use them as weapons against the Grimm! It would even our odds against Salem's forces tremendously." Oobleck explained.

Glynda spoke up, starting with a firm "Ahem..." to calm Qrow down. "While I do not appreciate the implications of harvesting Ruby's powers I must say that using what her eyes leave behind is a good opportunity to understand more about her powers and to exploit the weaknesses of the Grimm. As long as it doesn't harm anyone I think it is worth a try."

"Agreed, we cannot allow Miss Rose to come to hard but her powers are far too great not to take advantage of. I know they only activate in times of great emotional stress and I shudder to think of inflicting that on one so young as her. If you can find a way to collect the energy you found then you have my permission to go ahead but only after you prove to me that you can, in fact, salvage it. Then I'll grant you one of the imprisoned Grimm to experiment on." Ironwood said.

"We're in agreement then, find a way to harvest this energy residue and harness it, then we'll see where it goes from there. You may begin tomorrow as I can tell you are both tired, so get some rest." Ozpin stated with a tired smile of his own.

They both returned it with Tremain saying "Gladly."

"Now, let's see what the children have to say." Ozpin said.

Oobleck and Tremain exited the office, the green-haired teacher giving his students a nod and a smile as he walked past them. Winter walked to the door and said "Come in, all of you."

The large group of young warriors all entered the relatively large room to see Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and the hologram of Ironwood all awaiting them.

"Hello everyone, please take a seat or stand if you prefer." Ozpin greeted.

All of Team JNPR, most of Team SSSN, Velvet, and Fox all sat while RWBY, Sun, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Penny chose to stand.

"Now Miss Belladonna, Professor Goodwitch tells me you have received a message from a contact you have within the White Fang and that it could lead to helping out an old friend of mine." Ozpin said. He had been a supporter of the White Fang since Claudandus founded it after the last war, making it a policy to accept Faunus students into his academy, an example of tolerance and good will that many other headmasters and headmistresses would follow. After Adam took over the White Fang and made it clear that there would be radical changes in method and attitude Ozpin and many others withdrew their support.

"I'm more concerned with the fact that she has a contact within the Fang who refuses to give out any information that could lead to their downfall and the fact that she kept this secret for so long." Ironwood pointed out.

Blake began to long and redundant task of explaining why she had kept her contact a secret, how she got in touch with him and how he sent messages, why he hadn't given her any information that could lead to casualties for the Fang, and how sorry she was and how she would accept a punishment.

Ironwood sighed and said "While somewhat irresponsible it is also understandable and if this tipoff is sincere then it could work in our favor."

"It is, apparently Adam had kept Claudandus' capture secret for the most part, knowing it would entice mutinies against him but he's told the ranks about it recently, saying the Claudandus sold them out and was aiding the enemy... and since he gave me shelter it is technically true." Blake said sadly.

"So by helping you Claudandus, in turn, is a traitor as well in the eyes of the White Fang." Glynda stated.

"Yes, and they take betrayal very personally." Blake stated.

"All Faunus do." Sun provided.

"Hmm... if we free Claudandus and get the truth out it may cause the White Fang to turn on itself, creating schisms and chaos, allowing our army to strike and take them down." Ironwood said, considering the possibilities.

"That would lead to a lot of misguided Faunus being hurt." Glynda pointed out.

"I know but... we can't let them run rampant and do whatever they wish." Ironwood argued.

"And if this Claudandus is as respected as Ozpin and Blake make him out to be then maybe some White Fang members are suspicious of Adam's true intentions." Qrow said.

Ozpin nodded and said "Claudandus is a friend and I won't let him rot in a prison. Qrow, Winter, are you two up for a little rescue mission?"

"Beats staying here." Qrow said with a smirk.

Winter nodded and began to say "Yes sir, I shall pick some soldiers who are perfect for the..."

"No Winter, you won't be taking Atlas soldiers, you'll be taking Team Beacon." Ozpin said.

"What?" Most of Team Beacon, Glynda, Qrow, and Winter all exclaimed.

"William, why exactly are they going to be taking these students instead of trained soldiers?" Glynda inquired.

"It may seem reckless but there is a great deal of logic; Miss Belladonna has had an incredible amount of experience with the Fang and knows their methods, she knows Adam Taurus and she is his weakness, one we can use to defeat him." Ozpin said.

"Plus a lot of us have had experience dealing with the White Fang before!" Ruby pointed out.

"Yeah; Me, Blake Ruby, and Penny took them on at the docks, Team RWBY fought 'em off in the tunnels, my team managed to take out a whole base, Blake practically crippled a base on her own, and Yang and my team finished 'em off!" Sun listed off.

"And we know we'll have to fight them at some point or another, might as well get some experience on a rescue mission." Coco agreed.

"They're right Professors... and General... and Specialist..." Penny said a little awkwardly before continuing "In total we have defeated the White Fang many more times than they have beaten us. If we are to truly be the special team you want us to become then we need more combat experience with enemies such as the White Fang." she finished.

Glynda nodded, "I see your points and I must admit that as much as I dislike it... it would be best to have Team Beacon go on this rescue mission given the circumstances. However Team JNPR, Mr. Alistair, and Mr. Ayana will have to remain behind."

"Huh?" went Nora.

"What? Why?" Coco inquired.

"First of all I don't think the latter two boys nor Miss Valkyrie should be off on a mission so soon after their injuries, yes I know you're still recovering but at least rest. Second of all Mr. Arc still has to train and Miss Nikos has to teach him." Glynda explained.

Jaune sighed and said "She's right, if I'm going to be prepared for an all-out battle, especially one with Salem's forces, I'll need to train my new powers more." Pyrrha leaned into him, nodded in approval.

"It'll be sad to be left behind but if we're to become stronger we'll need it." she said.

"And I suppose I'll stay behind because Nora will refuse to stay without me?" Ren guessed.

"Correct." Glynda confirmed.

Coco considered it, she looked to Fox who nodded. "Okay, Fox is cool with it. Sucks that our first real mission with the rest of these guys will be without him but we got to share the last few battles."

"As much as I don't like the rest of my team going off without me I guess I'll stick around to keep Beacon safe, I mean, if I'm gonna live here I might as well get used to it." Sage stated.

"Then we are agreed, tomorrow I will make arrangements for you to travel to Vacuo via airship." Oizpin said.

"Not a good idea, my contact has told me that Adam has spies in the transportation hubs such as airports on the look out for White Fang turncoats, if they see me they'll attack us." Blake warned. Ozpin nodded and looked to Glynda and Qrow for advice.

"Actually Oz, I got an idea. About two years ago I got a quick, unnoticed ride from Vale to Vacuo when you sent me after those raiders. Last I heard that kid and his sisters were still operating and if we pay 'em they'd be happy to take us for a quick ride." Qrow said.

Ozpin nodded, "Very well. While I know some of you aren't happy with leaving an entire team and two others behind I have every confidence that you can pull it off, defeat the White Fang yet again, and bring Claudandus Pirinci back. You will leave the day after tomorrow, good luck to you all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated in loving memory to Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the first seven Star Wars films, R2 has always been my favorite Star Wars character and it devastates me to know that his original performer is gone.
> 
> Next Time: Quoth the Raven
> 
> Well Elsa the Winter Maiden makes her second appearance after briefly debuting in Chapter 8 (finally) and Dr. Tremain who had a minor appearance in chapter 4 also returns.
> 
> And oh dear, what has Mr. Schnee gotten himself into?
> 
> Special shout out to jkphantom9 who did some artwork of Ashe, Mila, and Damien! Thanks bro!
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.


	31. Quoth the Raven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

The next day most members of Team Beacon were ready to go for tomorrow's journey to Vacuo. It would be hard to say goodbye to all of Team JNPR, as well as Fox and Sage, for the time being but they knew it was just a temporary goodbye. What they didn't know was that a certain Raven landed on a tree close by to observe them.

Glynda had given them the day off from patrols so they could train for the coming mission and presently in one of the public training grounds in Vale a shirtless duo of Jaune and Sun fought off a team consisting of Ren, Scarlet, Neptune, and Yatsuhashi. Jaune expertly blocked a few jabs from Scarlet before kicking the redhead in the knee, delivering a series of five punches to Scarlet's abdomen, and finally an uppercut to the chin which knocked his opponent out of the fight.

"Whoo! Go fearless leader!" Nora cheered.

"Come on Scarlet!" Sage moaned as his partner limped away.

Ruby watched the fight from the sides, listening to the cheers from the stands as Pyrrha, Nora, Coco, Velvet, Fox, Sage, Penny, Blake, and Weiss observed the sparring session. Yang stood next to her little sister, her vest off as she was getting ready for her own turn as she watched the fight.

"I take on the winner!" Yang called eagerly, unwittingly making all of the males, bar Yatsuhashi, hesitate at the prospect of fighting the fearsome Yang Xiao Long, which got a big laugh out of the bombshell.

Pyrrha giggled as the fight continued, but made no attempt to hide the blush on her face due to the sight of the topless Jaune. While she had seen Jaune shirtless before there was something about seeing his newly well built muscles in action out in action, glistening with sweat in the sun...

She shook those thoughts out of her head and tried to get her mind back on the fight as Jaune and Sun both dodged Yatsuhashi's mighty fists. Her attention was now drawn to the two scars Jaune now possessed as mementos from the Battle of Haven: a scar on his right side courtesy of Damien Ante and one on his chest, the one that had nearly killed him that had been caused by... her. The Spartan inadvertently clenched her fists before she watched Sun deliver a series of punches and kicks to Yatsuhashi's torso who grabbed the Monkey Faunus and threw him into Jaune.

"Oh no!" gasped Penny.

"Woo! Go Big Y!" Coco cheered.

"Umm... I don't know who to root for, I mean Yatsu is my partner but Jaune and Sun are my friends..." Velvet said nervously, blushing because deep down she couldn't help but find the sight of two muscular boys like Sun and Jaune hot as the sun.

"Oh relax Velv." Coco said as she put an arm around the Rabbit Faunus. "We're all friends here. At least you're not as blonde crazy as Kitty Cat over there." She finished as the thumbed over to Blake.

Blake, who was also blushing and seemed to be in a trance, was staring at the shirtless Sun and Jaune and would occasionally glance over to the tank-top clad Yang who was doing stretches and if one looked closely they would see something resembling drool on the side of her mouth.

"Girl's got a fetish." Coco whispered, making Velvet blush and Blake's ears snap to attention.

"Coco! Please don't be so lewd!" Velvet objected.

"Don't you dare say anything else." Blake threatened.

"Not even about your nose bleed?" Coco asked.

Blake quickly moved to wipe her nose only to realize that there was no blood coming from her nose.

"Good one boss." Fox deadpanned as he held up his hand for a high-five, which Coco accepted.

"Adel, I swear to Oum I will get you back for this." Blake swore.

"Oh relax Blake, it's just a little teasing." Weiss said.

Blake was oh so tempted to point out that to her knowledge Weiss and Ruby had been ignoring the fact that they had kissed ever since Haven.

"Well just remember Blake that Jaune is off limits." Pyrrha said, half serious and half joking.

"And that Ren is mine!" Nora declared in a dead serious voice.

"She's not kidding." Ren called as he fought Sun.

While her feelings for Jaune were strictly platonic and were not at all like the ones she felt for Yang and Sun, Blake couldn't lie that Jaune had become quite the attractive man since she first met him nearly a year ago. He wasn't as ripped as Sun, Sage, or Yatsuhashi but his muscles were more developed and more obvious than those of Ren, Fox, Neptune, or Scarlet. Blake knew Pyrrha was proud of her boyfriend and she had every right to be, as the knight had come such a long way since initiation, both physically and mentally, but she knew that he was still the same kind, goofy blonde that had endeared himself to the rest of Team Beacon.

Penny, who had been silently watching the back and forth between her teammates, was utterly confused but then again she didn't quite understand the romantic part of human nature yet nor the physical attractions one would naturally feel.

"Sometimes I have no idea what you girls are taking about and I don't think I want to." She voiced which made the others laugh.

"Good, it's better that you stay that way." Velvet said.

"Oh Penny, to be innocent again." Coco mused.

"Shut up and pay attention to the fight!" Nora complained.

Everyone looked back to the fight to see Yatsuhashi was currently recovering from a powerful attack brought on by both Sun and Jaune while the Monkey Faunus was currently battling Ren and Jaune was taking on Neptune.

Jaune sidestepped a kick from the bluenette and slammed a palm to Neptune's collar bone.

"Ow!" cried Neptune, the pain distracting him long enough for Jaune to grab his goggles, pull them away from his head, and let them snap right back, causing the bluenette to cry out in pain before Jaune tackled him to the ground. Neptune fought back by elbowing Jaune in the gut, which distracted the blonde enough for Neptune to kick him in the chest, knocking him on his back. "Gotcha Jaune!" he said as he moved to attack him with a slam attack only for the knight to roll out of the way and let him crash to the ground.

"Nice try." Jaune commented before he grabbed Neptune's right arm and used his Semblance to hoist him up and throw him into Yatsuhashi who was about to grab Sun from behind.

Sun noticed this and said "Thanks!" as he dodged a kick from Ren, only to take a punch to the shoulder from the green clad ninja, which forced Sun back enough for Ren to open up a barrage of punches.

"Oh that was a nice one Ren." Sun complimented as he grimaced in pain before catching another kick from the stoic warrior.

"Thank you." Ren returned before he jumped over Sun and kicked him in the back, resulting in Sun falling to his hands and knees.

Before Ren could turn around to attack Sun again he was blown down my a strong punch from Jaune. "Sorry Ren!" he quickly said.

"It's okay." Ren assured him.

"Like heck it is! Take no prisoners Renny!" Nora demanded.

Jaune couldn't help but laugh, something that Ren took advantage of as he kicked Jaune's feet out from under him while Sun made himself busy by fighting Yatsuhashi.

"Come on Jaune, keep it up Sun! I know you guys can do it!" Ruby cheered from the sides.

"Who are you gonna cheer for next round, me right?" Yang inquired.

"Well of course!" Ruby answered, even if Jaune and Sun did win she'd have to root for Yang, sisters' code of honor and all. She then noticed this odd look in Yang's eyes, a look that seemed to be uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing Rubes, I just got this weird feeling like... like I'm being watched." Yang explained As Yang went back to exercising Ruby glanced up and saw something familiar on a nearby tree branch: the raven that had been in their window last week.

She stared at it for a moment or two before she realized it was actually staring back.

All of a sudden the familiar voice of her Uncle Qrow spoke to her from behind. "How you kids doin'?" he asked.

"Oh! Uh, fine Uncle Qrow, just watching the guys spar, later me, Penny, and Weiss will be taking on Pyrrha, Velvet, and Coco." She said, still a little weirded out by the bird, her eyes wandered up to look at it and Qrow noticed this.

He looked up to where Ruby was looking and gasped when he was the familiar sight of his dead sister's avian form.

"No..." he whispered to himself, but Ruby and Yang noticed it.

"Uncle Qrow?" both girls asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Is something wrong?" Ruby put forth.

"No, it's nothing. I came to say that I've made the arrangements for us to leave tomorrow around noon. Ross will take us to a town on the edge of Vale where we can meet up with our transport. Now just keep training, I got things to do..." Qrow said before he walked away.

The sisters looked to one another, not knowing what to make of their uncle's odd behavior. Ruby looked over to the tree branch only to see that the raven was gone.

* * *

Once he was out of sight Qrow began running. He went into an alley and once he was sure nobody could see him his body transformed into a crow. He shot up from the ground and into the sky, getting a brief glimpse of Raven flying over the town.

He called out to her but she didn't look back. He didn't give up, he couldn't! If there was even the slightest chance his sister was alive he needed to keep flying so his wings were beating as fast as they could.

Was it really her? Could it just be an ordinary bird and he was just imagining it was her out of desperation?

No, no it had to be her! He knew his sister when he saw her, what's more is that he could _feel_ it was her! You don't grow up with someone, know them so well, and not know them when you see them.

He called out to her again but she still ignored him as she flew past a truck filled supplies, startling the workers who were unloading it. Qrow swooped down and back up to gain speed as he tried to get a better look at the bird to make sure it was her and sure enough it looked exactly like his sister's raven form, and it wasn't just some random bird either, he could tell it was her by the red eyes that no doubt belonged to his sister.

He could see the eyes glance back at him and he knew, without a doubt in his mind, that they were those of his sister. He beat his wings as hard as he could, mentally bemoaning the fact that she had always been a better flyer than he was. They continued flying through the recovering city, the buildings rushing past them as the wind blew lazily.

Raven flew up and into one of the still damaged buildings and threw a broken window. Qrow tried to follow but he cut his wing on the jagged edge of the broken glass. He cried out in pain and landed on the wooden floor of the large empty room they had entered as his aura began healing his wound. He turned into a human and glanced at his healing wound just as a bright light flashed up and vanished just as quickly.

"Raven!" he shouted as he got up. "I know it's you! I'd recognize you anywhere! Please come out! RAVEN!"

There was no response and no sign of the bird at all, nothing could be heard in the abandoned room other than the sound of his own breath.

Qrow slammed a fist onto the wooden floor hard enough to crack it as he cursed "Damn it! Why didn't you just let me die and save yourself?!"

Yet again there were no answers.

Qrow sighed as he got up and transformed back into his crow form to fly away. He had no idea what the hell was going on but he knew he had to find out somehow.

* * *

Elsewhere a pure white portal opened up and a raven flew out before shapeshifting into the form of Raven Branwen who landed on her feet with a scream of frustration as she jumped forward and slammed her fist into a tree, shattering the bark. The angry scream and the sound of the punch echoed throughout the dreary limbo realm she had entered, the noise fading away after a few seconds.

_5 Months Ago_

_Raven's eyes snapped open as her body jerked up. She could see there was a figure next to her, but it seemed to have no intention of attacking her, but she had learned to be prepared. She reached to pull out her sword but felt nothing... then she remembered what had happened._

_Qrow, Cinder, Taiyang, Kasai, Arc, Ruby, and... Yang._

_Oh god no._

_She was dead. She had her aura taken away from her by Cinder Fall and had taken a fatal stab meant for her brother. She had felt her life slip away, she had felt death take her, she had died in her brothers arms._

_So what the hell was going on?!_

_She looked at the figure she had noticed, an old man with slicked back gray hair, a dark gray robe, and a sympathetic look on his face. Raven lurched forward, grabbed him and yelled "Where am I?!"_

" _Calm yourself Miss Branwen, you are safe." He assured her._

" _Calm? I'll be calm once I know what the hell is going on and what happened to me!" she shouted._

" _That's rather complicated but it has something to do with your Semblance..." he said before she interrupted him._

" _I died! I felt myself die in Qrow's arms! What the hell is going on?!" she demanded._

" _I'm trying to tell you! You are no longer among the living so your service to the dead begins now!" he said quickly._

_There was a long silence between the two until Raven finally asked "What do you mean?"_

" _People with your Semblance, our Semblance, have a duty to perform after we die. We are the guardians of the dead, we take souls from the realm of the living to one of the four places: Elysium, Hell, Purgatory, and The Nothingness. The last one is your duty by the way... I am Gabriel." The man said before he transformed into a crow._

_Raven collapsed onto her knees and struggled to breathe with all of this information as Gabriel turned back into a human. "I am truly sorry for what happened to you." He said as he reached a hand down to her. "Come, you have much to see and learn."_

As it turns out, people who had the Semblance of transforming into birds were appointed to a very specific task in the afterlife; they were to guide the souls of the dead to their designated afterlives. Those who turned into ravens, such as herself, usually were allowed to rest in piece as the souls they were assigned to, people who had been so evil that not even hell could take them so they were to be dumped in the Nothing, were very much few and far between. Raven had been unlucky enough to be chosen as the new guardian since they only needed one.

The ones like her brother and Gabriel who became crows carried souls who weren't good enough for Elysium but not evil enough for hell to purgatory and as Raven understood that place was rather busy and was now home to Ashe Kasai. When Gabriel told her he had guided Ashe's soul to purgatory she felt pity for Kasai but at the same time was happy for him upon hearing that he had been reunited with his love who left Elysium for him.

Deep down she wondered if she would be so lucky when someone else took her place. Would Taiyang, Qrow, Summer, Ruby, and Yang be there waiting for her? Who knows?

Doves took the good and pure souls to Elysium, and as Raven had noticed the doves tended to be incredibly kind and loving people who did their best to comfort the dead about passing on and what awaited them in the next life, trying to assure them that their family would either be there already or would join them in time.

And finally there were the sparrows who took souls to hell, which amused Raven as she always figured that job would belong to bats, not tiny little things like sparrows but apparently having your soul taken to hell by small, swift creatures that could rip one's body apart in sufficient numbers was more than enough.

As Raven had had very little to do since she arrived, the only soul she had collected in her time here was that of Saul Jude, she had taken many trips to the realm of the living to watch over her family, especially Yang. Raven took comfort in knowing that her daughter mourned her, that she regretted never saying 'I love you' back. She took no joy in it, she was just comforted by the fact that her daughter did in fact love her. This journey had been close as she had been spotted by Ruby and Qrow, who had nearly caught up with her, and if he had cornered her he would have doubtlessly demanded an explanation, which was flat out forbidden for reasons Raven didn't understand.

She rested against the tree and tried to think about her predicament. Qrow was now going to think he was either going crazy from grief or think she had somehow faked her death, neither of which were true. Plus Ruby had seen her several times in her bird form but had only gotten a glimpse at her human form, so what the girl thought Raven hadn't a clue but as far as she knew Yang and her former husband didn't know anything about her.

"Visiting family again, I see?" asked a taunting voice she had come to despise. Raven turned to see a lanky man who appeared to be in his sixties with wild graying-brown hair, a cruel smile, and an odd, dingy brown suit that looked to be decades old. This was one of the guardians who turned into a sparrow and took souls to hell, he had taken up the name Azrael, after one of the legendary angels of death. From what Raven understood Azrael's life on Remnant hadn't been a very pleasant one. She was unaware of the details but Gabriel told her that Azrael wanted to keep it that way for everyone as he was one of the few guardians of the damned souls who enjoyed his job.

If one actually enjoyed taking people to hell then Raven knew she wanted nothing to do with them.

"What do you want Azrael?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, I just don't get you." The old man said. "I mean, from what Gabriel told me you squeezed out your daughter, stuck around for seven or eight months and then left her and your blonde boy-toy to go off an fight wild and free or some pretentious crap like that." He said mockingly.

Raven glared at him and said "Be happy you are dead, I have killed men for less."

"Oh I don't doubt it. But what I don't understand about you is that why do you want to be with your family now after avoiding them for so long? I might be a nut but at least I'm consistent." He stated.

"What do you..." she sighed, knowing he wasn't going to go away until he got an answer "I wasn't around enough when I was alive. I owe it to all of them to watch over them as much as I can. Besides it's not like there's a surplus of dying people with souls evil enough to take to the Nothing." She briefly thought of Cinder Fall and clenched her fist.

"I guess that's true, I mean you've only taken one soul since you've come here while I've guided two souls just this morning. You want my advice?" he asked.

"No."

"Too bad, you're getting it anyway. My advice is get the hell over it. You were barely there at all for her and from what I've been told you had to be forced to give her an arm. So there are three things you've given her in life: breast milk, constant abandonment, and an arm that your brother made you deliver." He said.

"I saved her life!" Raven snarled.

"Oh? And did you run off immediately after doing so?"

Her silence answered him.

"That's what I thought. You see Branwen we're more alike than you'd like to think, I mean our outlooks on life make a frikkin' funeral look like a child's birthday party, you were happy to let her be for nearly eighteen years so why are you getting so sappy about it now? So get over it, because your family is clearly better off without you." He finished.

Raven's response was a punch so powerful and devastating that his head was nearly slammed off as he flew into another tree. He looked at her as his face healed itself and remarked "If we had been alive that would have killed me."

"No it wouldn't have, it would have merely crippled you enough so I could torture you to death without you struggling." Raven spat.

"Oh I like you!" Azrael said before portal opened up and two figures came out of it.

The first was the familiar figure of Gabriel and the second was a woman wearing a flowing white gown with light brunette hair who appeared to be in her early thirties who Raven recognized as being named Samantha, one of the doves who escorted people to Elysium or heaven or whatever it was called.

"Azrael, are you bothering Raven?" Gabriel asked in a stern tone of voice.

"I..."

"Yes, get him out of here before I begin experimenting with ways to erase a soul from existence." Raven threatened.

Samantha looked taken aback by that but Gabriel just smirked before looking to Azrael warningly and saying "You heard her Azrael, get going."

The man, whose face was still healing up from Raven's devastating punch, simply sighed in defeat as he opened up a portal before walking into it.

Once he was gone Raven looked to the two new arrivals and said "Thank you, has he always been this way?"

"Yes, he and I have been here and while at first he was quiet and rarely even spoke time and his appointed task took their toll on him." Gabriel explained before saying "I take it you were out watching over your family again?"

Raven nodded and said "Don't tell me I'm the only one here who has any regrets about life, surely both of you have visited your families in secret? Watched over them? Dreaded the day they die?"

Samantha drew back a little but Gabriel said "Yes, I have visited my family many times and I am sad to say I have taken several relatives to purgatory. I watched over them, mourned for what my life could have been but I have accepted my fate. I know that one day I shall be able to pass on from this plane of life and onto the next where, hopefully, the ones I love will be waiting for me."

Raven nodded again, deciding that that sounded reasonable but Gabriel had been doing for nearly five decades, or so he said, she honestly didn't know if she could stand this life that long. She wished the previous raven guide had at least stuck around to talk to her or give her some advice, but to be fair she would have ran off the first chance she got too.

"My advice to you is to hold on to the hope that you will be with your family again one day and keep seeing them. It may be hard but I think it will be worth it in the end." He finished.

Raven sighed and said "Thank you, it's hard for me to wait... ever since I jumped in front of Qrow my life has been just one big mess. I'm incredibly tempted to just transform in front of Qrow and tell him what's going on."

"Oh yes, I can picture how that meeting will go; 'Hi Qrow, I'm dead but technically not also I'm a guardian of extremely damned souls. How've you been?'" Gabriel joked.

"Smartass." Raven snapped.

"Wait, you've turned into a human while in the land of the living?" Samantha asked.

"What? Is that against the rules?" Raven asked dryly.

"Um... I don't think so, it's just that I've never tried it." She admitted meekly.

"It takes a great deal of effort and concentration but it is very much possible. I could show you if you'd like." Raven offered.

Samantha gave the older woman a kind smile and said "That would be lovely! Some other time perhaps? I need to leave and go back to my duties. It was nice to see you Raven."

With that Samantha turned into a small dove and flew away, a portal opening and closing for her.

Gabriel looked to Raven and said "Talking about family is hard for her, she was always wonderful with children but she died before she could have one of her own. She's perfect for her task, which is to guide the souls of children to Elysium."

Raven considered Samantha and wondered how someone with a depressing task like that could be the way she was.

Gabriel spoke up once again. "In all seriousness Raven I think that if you deeply want to you should reveal yourself to your brother, husband, and daughter. If one dies and has unfinished business, especially when it concerns relationships with loved ones but they try to ignore it... well it can eat away at a person and drive them mad."

"Has it happened to you?" Raven inquired.

"No, but I have witnessed some guardians lose their way. They ignore their pasts, like Azrael has, deny their unfinished business and eventually they give into a lust for revenge against those that have wronged them in life... usually the ones responsible for their deaths."

"You're afraid I will try to take action against Cinder Fall, aren't you?" Raven guessed.

"Yes, while I find you to be a flawed but good person I cannot deny that you have a dark side, one that is no stranger to revenge and all it entails." Gabriel stated.

"What happened to the guardians of the dead who took vengeance on their killers?" Raven asked.

"By the time they had been caught they were too far gone, souls who become evil after death, corrupted by hatred and rage... it's not a pretty sight. They were ultimately banished into the Nothing. It may seem harsh but we can't have guardians of the dead going around the realm of the living killing people, no matter how bad they may be." He finished.

"Don't worry, I won't kill Cinder Fall, I believe I have too much competition for that job... but I want to be the one to take her soul when she dies." Raven said darkly.

"Oh, I believe that can be arranged quite easily." Gabriel said before asking one last question. "So, how will you approach your family?"

Raven looked at him and answered "I'm still thinking about what I will do and what I will say, wondering how they'll react. It's... going to be a while before I'm ready."

"I understand. If you ever need to talk Samantha and I will be happy to listen." He said.

"Thank you, I'll be alright now, just leave me to think." Raven said.

Gabriel nodded and left via a portal, leaving Raven alone with her thoughts.

* * *

The next day the time for the majority of Team Beacon to depart from Vale. Ross would take them from the capitol to a city near the Vale/Vacuo border called Brandofi where they would meet their main transport for Vacuo.

Winter watched from the ship as Team RWBY said goodbye to JNPR, even though they would only be gone for a month at the most it was hard to say goodbye to fellow Hunters who had been with them for so long.

Ruby hugged Jaune tight and said "We'll call you as much as we can, don't forget to keep training and listen to Pyrrha!"

"I know Ruby, I will. We're both going to be facing some big stuff but I'm more worried about you guys." Jaune said.

"Yeah, the White Fang might be waiting for you and they might have some help from Cinder!" Nora stated.

"I highly doubt that, there hasn't been a sighting of Cinder since Haven, my contact has told me that Mercury and Emerald have been the only ones to meet with them." Blake informed her.

"Somehow that fails to comfort me." Pyrrha said, absentmindedly rubbing the scar on her chest.

"Don't worry P-Money, if we get into trouble you guys are just a phone call and an airship ride away." Yang said cheerfully, now dressed in her new outfit that consisted of her black combat boots, a pair of ripped up black trousers that covered her legs, her brown vest over a dark yellow sleeveless shirt, and a strong black glove that covered her left hand.

"Hopefully we won't need you and this will be a simple in and out rescue mission." Blake told them.

"Knowing our luck? We'll probably have to fly over there before the end of the week." Jaune joked as Pyrrha hugged Ruby.

Pyrrha noticed something around Ruby's neck. "You're taking Ashe's whistle?" she asked.

Ruby held it up and said "Yeah, think of it as a good luck charm or a way of honoring him. I think it suits me."

"I suppose it does, I guess Ashe made the right choice when he gave it to you." Weiss said. The Schnee heiress was wearing an outfit that resembled Winter's but with a white vest instead of a blue one and the coat wasn't as long and hands were covered by red gloves. Her combat skirt ended just above her knees where they were met by knee-high gray boots. Around her neck she wore a beautiful neck collar that donned a blue gem of some kind.

"Thanks Weiss!" Ruby said as she looked over to see Penny talking with her dad. Dr. Polendina had been up on the science vessel going over the remains of the various Grimm Knights that had been left behind at Haven and had been so busy that whenever he came down from the ship he was too tired to spend time with Penny.

"Now remember Penny to be careful, if your skin is torn make sure to cover it so the metal doesn't rust and if you have to go into the desert..."

"Make sure my internal cooling systems are operating at sufficient capacity, I know daddy. I'll be okay, I have my friends with me! They won't let anything happen to me, besides this will give me a chance to see Vacuo! It's the only one of the kingdoms I haven't seen in person yet. I will be fine." she said sweetly.

"I know Penny, I'm just old and when you get old you worry about the ones you care about." he told her.

"I don't think that means you are old daddy, I think it means you are a good person." she said.

Ruby smiled at the scene as she looked over to see Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Velvet saying goodbye to Fox.

"Bet you're happy to have a room all to yourself, eh?" Coco teases as she hugged Fox. The leader of CFVY was dressed in tight black and brown combat boots that went up to her shins where they met yellow knee-pads which met with a brown and black skirt that was held to her waist by a black and yellow belt while her torso was clad in an amber sleeveless shirt which was covered by a black vest while a brown scarf covered her neck and collar and of course she kept her black beret and sunglasses.

"You know it... but I'm going to miss you guys. The only reason I'm so quiet is because you're talking all the time." Fox joked, which earned him an affectionate slug from his partner.

"Just remember to do what Jaune says, he's your boss until we get back." Coco reminded him.

"And make sure to help keep Beacon safe while we're gone." Velvet, who was wearing her civilian outfit which consisted of a pair of white boots, dark grayish-brown pants which had a green stem shape on the side of the right leg, a dark violet-red dress shirt that went down to her thighs and met the stem shape with a yellow sunflower shape on her right hip, and around her hips was a brown belt with several pouches.

"Don't sweat it Velv, I bet the place will be back to normal once we come home." Coco remarked.

Yatsuhashi, whose outfit was pretty much the same save for a new shoulder armor in dark green color, shook hands with his smaller partner, simply giving him a respectful look and a friendly nod.

Team SSSN was currently saying goodbye to Sage, with Neptune being the only one to change outfits; which was simply a pair of dark green trousers and a red t-shirt that had a belt with several pouches around his hips.

"Take care man, won't be the same without you." Sun said as he shook Sage's hand.

"I'm sure, I don't know how I'll survive without you guys since you know, I won't be doing anything dangerous while you're all going up against the White Fang." Sage joked.

"Hey, I'm the funny guy, don't go gunning for my job." Sun joked as Scarlet hugged his partner.

"Stay safe out there, Scar." Sage said.

"We'll call as much as we can, just get over that Saber bite so we can go on the next one as a whole team." Scarlet encouraged.

Neptune hugged Sage as well and said "Wish us luck buddy 'cause we're gonna need it!"

Ruby had just said goodbye to Fox when she heard a familiar happy barking. She turned around to see Zwei running towards her and Yang with her dad not too far behind.

"You made it!" she cheered as she knelt down to hug Zwei, who instantly began licking her.

"Sorry, we got held up at Patch." Taiyang said as he hugged Yang. "I was worried we'd miss you." Taiyang was coming to help fill in most of Team Beacon's place while they were gone and decided to bring Zwei along as well.

"Well you made it just in time dad." Yang said as she petted Zwei while Ruby hugged her father.

"He sure did." announced Qrow as he, Ozpin, Glynda, Port, and Oobleck arrived. Qrow looked at Taiyang and he briefly remembered his encounter with what he knew was Raven but repressed the urge to tell him.

"Hello Taiyang, good to know that you made it." Glynda greeted him.

"Hey, I would want to miss this." he said before Ozpin spoke up.

"Members of Team Beacon, this is your first official mission together, and while it is true some of you will be left behind to perform other duties most of you will be going on what is most certainly a challenging mission but I have every confidence that you will succeed in this endeavor. From what Miss Belladonna has told me is that the man you will be saving, Claudandus Pircini is the original founder of the White Fang and can help us discredit them. This is a personal mission for Miss Belladonna and I must admit Claudandus is an old friend of mine as well, but I know you can save him. I wish you all luck on your mission." Ozpin said.

"Thank you Professor." said most of Team Beacon.

Winter stepped forward to say "If we leave now we can arrive in Brandofi before nightfall and our transport can have us across the border and a bulk of the desert by this time tomorrow."

"You heard her kids, let's get moving." Qrow ordered.

Most of Teams CFVY and SSSN quickly boarded the ship along with Penny. As Team RWBY embarked onto the ship Yang couldn't help but feel she was being watched again but simply shrugged it off. Before Ruby vanished into the ship she turned around and said "Take care guys! We'll do our best!"

"We know you will Ruby, good luck out there." Jaune told her, secretly in the back of his head he was a little worried since he was going to be the only team leader who would stay behind, but he knew that the others would be there for him, plus he always had Pyrrha.

"If anyone can save this man you guys can." Fox stated.

"Have a safe journey everyone!" Pyrrha called.

"Kick some butt!" Nora cheered while Ren simply bowed respectfully to his departing friends.

"What she said." agreed Sage.

Qrow and Winter walked onto the ship while the various members of Team Beacon said their final goodbyes to their friends and teammates.

"You ready for this Schnee?"

"Quite ready, what about you Branwen?" Winter asked.

"I can handle whatever the White Fang punks throw at me." Qrow said with a small smirk as he turned around and waved to Ozpin, Glynda, Taiyang, and the others.

The door closed and a few minutes later the ship lifted off into the sky and flew away.

"Think they'll be okay without us?" Sage asked.

"They have three leaders, a ton of awesome weapons, the right fighting skills, and Blake's knowledge of the White Fang. I think they can handle this." Jaune said.

"I hope so, Mr. Arc." Glynda said quietly.

Pyrrha looked to her boyfriend and said "Up for a training session?"

"You know I am, what about you guys?" Jaune asked the rest.

"I got a lot of pent up energy that I could stand to let out." Sage stated.

"I'm in." agreed Fox.

"You know it!" Nora said eagerly.

"As long as it's not as bad as yesterday's." Ren said.

As the students walked away Glynda looked to Ozpin and said "Are you sure they'll be alright?"

"Yes. With not only one of my best agents but one of Atlas' top Specialists in charge of this mission I have every confidence in them." Ozpin told her.

Glynda nodded and voiced "Then I hope everything turns out for the best."

"So do I Glynda, so do I." Taiyang agreed.

As the adults walked into the building they didn't notice Raven in her bird form watching them from above, never once taking her eyes off of Taiyang. Once the door closed behind the Hunters she took off into the sky, utterly unnoticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: A really useful mode of transportation...
> 
> Oh my god, the shortest chapter ever and I'm not really sure what to think of it. It really exists to act as an answer to what's been going on with Raven and what's up with her.
> 
> To be completely honest I'm not too happy with this one, I think parts of it are good but I think it's altogether a weak chapter, probably the weakest I've done for this story. Sorry if it's crap.
> 
> Don't worry, Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage won't be gone for long, as we'll be checking in on them every few chapter to see how they're doing.
> 
> Okay Yang and Weiss have some new designs while Ruby and Blake will have their V4 designs (except Ruby has Ashe's whistle) as does most of CFVY and SSSN. Also Velvet's new outfit was inspired by isaiahjordan's first Velvet Battle Gear design on Deviantart.
> 
> If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.


	32. Train Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

After a long day of traveling most of Team Beacon, accompanied by Winter and Qrow, finally arrived at the busy town of Brandofi, a large port town on the edge of Vale that was one of the biggest industrial places in Remnant. Ross landed his ship on the platforms as everyone gave out a sigh of relief that they'd finally be off the ship after being on-board for hours. As Winter opened the door and led the students off Qrow spoke to the faithful pilot.

"I'll get refueled and then I'll head back to Vale. You sure you don't want me to fly you guys into Vacuo?" Ross asked.

"Nah, we're fine going by train. Besides those kids are gonna need all the bonding time they can get. Thanks for another good ride." Qrow said to the older man.

"My pleasure boss... well technically Ozpin is my boss again but I think I like you a bit more, just don't tell him I said that." Ross said.

"My lips are sealed. Later." Qrow bid as he walked after the rest of the group. The group waved goodbye to Ross and he waved back, wishing them good luck on the mission ahead of them.

The town of Brandofi, while not as large as Haven or Vale was still a significantly large place that was one of the busiest places in the world. Workers of all sorts went this way and that, either on an assignment or leaving or coming to work. While this place wasn't exactly a tourist friendly spot it was the main hub of the largest railway in Remnant; the Vacuo-Vale Railway that covered both kingdoms and was involved in every business imaginable for transportation, including food, weapons, medicine, machinery and passengers. Its long reach over two kingdoms made it the most successful railway in Remnant, largely due to the tireless efforts of its employees and crews who made it a very reliable business and the leadership of the controller, a man named Stephen Awdrey, or Old Top Hat as the workers affectionately called him due to the prominent hat he was rarely without. Some had noticed it would be incredibly difficult to live in this town due to all of the sounds, and indeed Noises of all kinds could be heard from large, powerful train engines bustling about the city to heavy machinery hard at work to the rather far off sound of a boat's mighty horn blasting off to even people talking louder than they should.

Naturally all of this noise was bothering those with sensitive ears, Blake and Velvet to be more precise.

"Ugh! I can't wait to get out of this place, this noise is giving me the headache of a lifetime!" Velvet declared as a truck rolled by.

"Tell me about it." Blake agreed as she covered her already folded down ears.

"How do the Faunus who live here stand it?!" Velvet asked aloud.

"They get used to it, I guess." Sun answered as Qrow got to the front of the group.

"I must admit that it will be ideal to leave this place as soon as possible." Yatsuhashi said as he stepped out of the way of a young boy running past them.

"Okay follow me, I made arrangements for the kid who will provide our ride to meet us the town square." he said as he led the group.

As the team followed the older Hunter Ruby asked "So who is this guy?"

"A kid who operates on this railroad, he and his sisters are kinda freelance but they're still part of this place's fleet. Old Top Hat feels bad for 'em and cuts 'em a break everynow and the then. He agreed to not tell 'em who they'd be taking to Vacuo so it'd be a surprise." Qrow said with a wink.

"You and your surprises." Yang said with a small laugh as she shook her head.

They walked deeper into the city for about five or six minutes, observing pedestrians all out with a purpose, police officers on patrol, and farmers from the outskirts selling their produce from carts before arriving to the town square, which was flanked by buildings and streets on all sides that led up to several large buildings including city hall and the top station of the railway, which had a total of eight lines of tracks going in and out of it. In the center was a small park area that had a few trees and benches which looked like a nice place to sit along with a statue of a tired, but triumphant looking worker. The walk, while not unpleasant, had been hindered by the sounds of the city and a few people staring at them, no doubt recognizing them.

"Take a seat kids, this is where he'll meet us." Qrow said as he leaned against a lamppost while the young Hunters-in-training either chose to stand or sit on the benches.

"When is this young man supposed to meet us?" Winter inquired.

"I don't know, let me see..." Qrow said before checking his watch. "About ten minutes or so. Trust me we'll be out of here within the hour. From what Old Top Hat told me they were gonna take a freight train across the desert but because of us they had to reschedule, the kid doesn't like to be kept waiting so he'll get us soon enough."

"I hope so, I can't stand it here!" Velvet complained as she held her ears down over her head as an engine with a particularly loud horn sounded off while the sounds of the construction site nearby pounded on.

"It's just as loud as I remember it being." Weiss muttered.

"You were here before?" Ruby asked.

"Once with my father on a business trip, he had to discuss a contract with controller." the Schnee heiress answered, who noticed a slightly pained look on her elder sister's face when she mentioned her father.

"And I've been here a few times, never stayed around for long I can tell you that." Sun commented.

Blake nodded in agreement, remembering that she had led a few robberies here for food and supplies when she was in the White Fang but decided to say nothing.

Penny simply shrugged and said "I don't mind the noise, but then again I've been around loud machines for most of my life."

Coco chuckled at her friend's remark while Neptune took something out of his bag and said "Hey Velvet, I was gonna give you my ear buds to help you block out the noise but considering your ears I don't think it'll work."

Velvet smiled at the bluenette and said "No, it won't. I've tried that before but thanks anyway."

"Hey guys, I've been thinking." Scarlet announced.

"Oh boy." muttered Sun before his friend continued.

"Today is Wednesday, right?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Yang inquired.

"Why is it spelled wed-nes-day when we all say wensday? Why is the D silent?" Scarlet pondered.

Everyone looked at him and as odd and as random as they question was they had to admit he had a point.

"What did that have to do with anything?" Ruby questioned before Neptune answered her.

"He just does this sometimes, his mind wanders and finds things to think about." he told her.

Ruby nodded and looked to the her Faunus teammate. "So Blake, you think we can pull this off?"

Blake glanced up at her younger leader and answered "I don't really know but I think that if we do this quietly and stealthily enough we can get Claudandus out of there before Adam even knows we were near the prison."

"Hey, even if we have to fight our way our we can take 'em." Sun assured her.

"Right, and if Adam is there himself we can take him down." Yang said as she clenched her fists.

"I hope so." Blake said absently.

Just then Qrow said "There he is!"

Everyone looked over to one of the main streets that led into the town square to see a boy who looked to be ninteen years old with messy long brown hair and was about Velvet's height approaching them, walking lazily with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black work boots and a dark blue jumpsuite (with the torso hanging behind him and the arms tied around his waist, a blue-green sleeveless shirt to cover his chest and an old beat up cap with a yellow number one stitched on it.

"That's him? Branwen, he's practically a child! He's no older than they are." Winter said indignantly.

"Hey, we're not children lady." Coco said sternly.

"Can children do what we've done in the past year?" Ruby asked grumpily.

"Correct, technically we are young adults. Although I am technically a child..." Penny said.

"Quiet, I'll get his attention. Yo Tom! Tom Allcroft, over here!" Qrow yelled as he waved to the young man.

The man, Tom apparently, looked over to them and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Qrow... before he seemed to get mad.

"You!" he cried out as he pointed furiously at Qrow and began running towards him.

"Uh-oh." Ruby muttered before both she and Yang asked at once "Uncle Qrow, what did you do?"

"Nothing! I think..." Qrow answered as Tom dashed across the street, narrowly avoiding a car, and quickly got up in Qrow's face, well as much as he could given his height.

"You're the one who booked my train for Vacuo? You've got some nerve Branwen!" Tom said angrily, his voice thick with annoyance.

"Okay, listen kid; I have no idea what you're so angry about."Qrow told him.

Tom groaned before crying out "You cheated me!"

"What do you mean?" Winter inquired.

"Well the check he... wait a minute, I recognize these kids! They're those kids who saved Haven from that Cinder Fall lady! Yeah, we heard all about it!" Tom said enthusuastically.

"Well nice to get some recognition." Coco remarked.

"About time." agreed Weiss.

"Yeah, that's Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake, Yang, Penny the robot girl... man my sisters will be honored to have you guys on board..." he said excitedly before Winter stopped him.

"Calm yourself Mr. Allcroft, can you please tell us why you are angry with Branwen?" Winter asked.

"We gave him a ride from Vale to Vacuo so he could take down a pack of raiders in the desert. He wrote us a check for what he owed us but when I went to cash it it turned out that he wrote a bad check so no lien for us!" Tom explained.

Everyone looked at Qrow who quickly said "Hey, I had I no idea! To be completley honest Ozpin made arrangements so that the bank accounts of us teachers would be taken care of so I never really paid any attention to it."

"And you were the one in charge after Ozpin was taken." Winter bemoaned before asking "Mr. Allcroft, I am Specialist Winter Schnee of the Atlas military and I am on a mission with Mr. Branwen and these young Hunters. We need you to take us across the desert into Vacuo but if you feel that Qrow has cheated you I will make sure he pays. How much does he owe you?"

"He owes me sixty-five lien." he revealed.

Weiss cocked one of her eyebrows and asked "That's it? Sixty-five lien?"

"It might be mere pocket change for you, Miss Schnee, but out here we take what we can to survive." Tom said as Winter looked to Qrow.

"Well Branwen?" she prodded.

"Look, I kinda... don't have that much money on me right now..." Qrow admitted.

Winter groaned and said "You've got to be kidding me."

"Look, if you pay him here and now I will pay you back later, I swear on it! Look I know you aren't tight with your dad anymore but I know you're still loaded." Qrow pointed out.

Winter simply shook her head before saying "Very well, I will pay for it. And make no mistake Qrow, you will pay me back for this."

"I will." Qrow promised as Winter took out a wallet and took out a few bills.

"I believe this will cover his debt to you." she said as she handed the money to Tom.

"It will indeed, my good lady." Tom said before he counted the numbers of Team Beacon. "Okay, I think we can fit you lot into our coaches for the night. We can't go nonstop though, tomorrow we need to stop ay Hondyama to drop off our cargo."

"Hondyama? That's my hometown! If you have to stop there I can introduce you guys to my family!" Sun exclaimed.

"Well good for you, we'll take you wherever you want us to but we will need some payment." Tom said.

Winter and Qrow looked at each other. "Well discuss it on the way." Qrow quickly said. Winter decided not to argue and simply nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so its settled. Come along everyone, the sooner we leave the better." Tom said.

"Amen to that." Velvet muttered to Blake, who nodded in agreement as Sun spoke to her.

"I can't wait for you guys to meet my mom, I've told her a ton about you guys." Sun said excitedly as they began to follow Tom out of the town square.

Qrow, Winter, and Tom walked ahead as Qrow said "Sorry about that kid, if I had known I would have made it right."

"Whatever, I don't really care as long as me and my sisters get paid." he said with a shrug as Ruby ran to catch up with them, deciding that one of the three present team leaders should be ahead of the group.

"So how long will it take us to reach your train?" she asked Tom.

"Not long, about fifteen minutes, tops." Tom answered before he noticed something on Ruby; the necklace with the old whistle. "Hey, that's a train conductor's whistle, where'd you get that?"

Ruby grasped the whistle and answered him by quietly saying "A friend."

Tom, seemingly realizing that whoever gave her the small keepsake was gone, or something along those lines, simply nodded and said "I understand." before quietly leading the group into the industrial area of the city, much to the chagrin of Blake and Velvet.

A short amount of time late, as the sun began setting, the group arrived at the edge of a road that was flanked by a wire fence that overlooked a large, bustling train yard near Brandofi's harbor port where towering cranes unloaded heavy loads from the ships and onto trucks or freight trains. A few shunting engines when to and fro, pushing empty freight trucks into their proper places while a few engines went by, presumably to home or to the next assignment. Several people were walking up the hill and out of the yards toward's the fence's gate, obviously their shift was over.

Tom opened up the gate and quickly led the present members of Team Beacon down the steep hill to level ground. "So where's Pyrrha Nikos? I've been wondering how she came back to life ever since I saw her on the news during that hostage crisis a few months back." he asked.

"Well technically she never died, she was simply teleported away and brainwashed by the terrorist organization Cinder Fall works for." Blake told him.

"Oh, so why didn't she and the rest of her team come? And I noticed some of yours is missing too..." he pointed out to CFVY and SSSN.

"Training, plus a few of our number suffered some injuries after we took back Beacon so they had to stay behind." Coco answered.

"So which train is yours?" Yang asked.

"That one over there." Tm said, pointing to a siding where small black engine was parked so it would be out of the way. It was coupled to two grey passenger coaches with orange stripes marking the sides and a line of freight cars which included a flatbed loaded with steel girders, a tanker filled with tar, four boxcars loaded with machinery and tools, and two trucks with gravel and rock with a caboose in the rear. "Home, sweet home." he remarked.

"Wait, you live there?" Neptune asked incredulously.

"Yeah, no rent or obnoxious neighbors plus its way better than it looks on the inside. I even worked with my sister to make the first coach all nice and presentable for you. We even brought up the seats out of the floor, something we haven't done for a while but I swear you'll like it." he assured them as they finally made it to the ground.

"Doesn't look too bad, besides I have had worse." Ruby said, remembering the boat she and the rest of RNJR had taken when they left Patch for Mistal.

As Tom led them towards the train Winter whispered to Qrow "Are you sure about this?"

"Trust me." he said with a smirk.

Weiss looked at the engine and the caboose to see one turret on each before asking "So do you have any defense droids to protect your cargo?"

"Nope, we don't get any important contracts to warrant defense droids nor can we afford them. It's up to us to defend our hauls from Grimm, White Fang, and rail pirates." Tom explained.

"Rail pirates? That's a thing?" Neptune asked.

"Yes." Tom, Weiss, Winter, Blake, and Qrow all answered at once. Tom had had to deal with the crooks several times when they tried to plunder his cargo, Blake had fought with them over cargo once or twice with Adam, Qrow had fought with a group once (utterly totaling them), and both Schnee sisters had to listen to their father rant about the company's Dust and equipment being hijacked by the thieves more than once.

As they approached the engine and the coaches the door on the side of the first coach opened up to reveal a thin girl nearly Winter's height with light brown hair. "Yo Anna, I got our passengers!" Tom called.

"Whoa, those are the kids from Haven!" the woman, Anna, cried.

"Well none of us are from Haven, but salutations nonetheless!" Penny greeted.

"And you're the robot girl... and two members of the Schnee family... and Qrow Branwen." Anna said as she noticed the eldest person there.

"Look, we settled it, okay? I didn't know that I had cheated you but I... she paid him back." Qrow said as he gestured to Winter.

"Oh and trust me Qrow we will talk about this little financial ordeal on the way." Winter said to him.

Anna counted the group they'd be taking into Vacuo, thirteen altogether, and said "It'll be a bit tight but I think our coach can accommodate you all."

"You have two coaches." Neptune pointed out.

"The second one is the bathroom and kitchen, not many places to rest I'm afraid." Anna explained.

"These are the people we're haulin'?" asked a voice from above. Everyone looked to see a woman identical to Anna, but with shorter hair, a tan, and was more muscular, standing on top of the second coach.

"Yeah Clara, we're taking them to Vacuo." Tom confirmed, "Everything secured?"

"Yep, everything is hooked on nice and tight, everything on the manifest is accounted for and we're ready to go once these pretty little kids are all aboard." Clara, the eldest of the three siblings, said as she sized up the younger passengers.

Anna sighed at her elder sister's behavior before saying "Okay everyone, please follow me into the front coach and find a place to sit. The bed is mine by the way but one or two of you can sleep in it tonight since I'll be awake."

The Hunters-in-training all followed her while Winter led Qrow to the second coach to discuss his little debt to her and how they would pay the trio at journey's end.

Ruby and the others stepped into the coach to see that despite how rough it looked on the outside it looked to be rather comfortable. A door that led to the engine was in the front wall while before it was a row of leather seats; six in total with three on each side (and it appeared that they had the ability to fold into the floor given their appearances). Behind the seats were two couches, one on each side with a bed behind the one on the right and a computer terminal with a swivel chair behind the one of the left. Penny instantly called "Dibs!" upon seeing the swivel chair. There was also a bean bag chair behind the bed that was nestled nicely between the bed and the wall of the end of the coach and at the back there was also a door that led to the second coach where Qrow and Winter were discussing things.

Everyone placed their bags at the front of the coach and quickly sit down with Ruby, Blake, and Weiss on the couch while Velvet, Coco, and Yatsuhashi took the couch across from them. Sun, Scarlet, and Neptune all took the seats towards the front while Yang took the beanbag chair, dragging it closer to the couch while Penny simple swung around happily in the swivel chair.

Weiss looked at Penny and said "Ruby, why did you have to introduce her to those things?"

"Oh come on Weiss, don't act like you never did it." Ruby said.

"I didn't!"Weiss cried, making everyone look at her.

"You didn't?" asked Velvet in disbelief.

"Even I did that." Blake deadpanned, to which even the stoic Yatsuhashi nodded in agreement.

"Man being rich must be a pain if you can't do one of the underappreciated gems of childhood." Coco lamented.

"Once we get going I can fix you all some dinner if you'd like." Anna offered.

"Sure that'd be nice." Ruby said.

"I could eat." agreed Scarlet.

"Bring it on." remarked Coco.

"I'm starving! Whatcha got?" Yang asked.

Anna listed off the various foods they had in the fridge or the pantry and everyone told her what they'd like. "Okay then kids, once we're on the move I'll get started. I hope you like it." she said.

"I'm sure we will Miss Allcroft." Weiss assured her.

Anna smiled as she walked to the second coach and said "That means something coming from a Schnee. We used to live in Atlas before coming out here."

Up in the engine Tom climbed up into the back of the engine and walked up to the main cab where the control console was. He grabbed the heavy knife switch and brought it up, making the engine roar to life. He flipped a dozen switches or so, turning on power for every system then he flipped over a heavy switch to make sure the fuel system would be airlocked. He made sure the brakes were all operational as he grabbed a radio and said "This is Engine 11984-44 in siding 2-3 to harbor yard signal dispatch, we have our passengers and cargo onboard and we are now ready to depart. Over."

"We hear you Engine 11984-44, heading to Hondyama, correct?"

"Yes sir." Tom answered.

"Very good, we're setting the switches that will take you to the right track and making sure there's no traffic in your way. Have a safe journey kid." the dispatcher said.

"Thank you and good-night." Tom bid as he released the brakes, which caused the train to lurch slightly forward. Tom switched his radio over to the internal channel and said "We got the go-ahead girls, everything set?"

"We are back here, the kids are all set and Branwen and Miss Schnee say they're good to go." Anna reported.

Clara answered from the caboose, saying "We're all good little bro, take us out."

Tom nodded and set up the speed control throttle into notch one, the slowest speed, which connected the motor to the contractors, which made the engine being to move forward. Tom turned on the fuel injectors and with that the train began to slowly move out of the sidings on onto the main line. He pulled a chain down and the engine's horn blasted off loudly, making Velvet cover her ears.

"I hope he doesn't do that a lot." she said, but the horn did give Ruby an idea.

Ruby got up from her seat on the couch and walked over to the front seat's window to open it up. She leaned out and looked to the city's skyline as twilight fell over the city. She grabbed the whistle around her neck and brought it to her mouth and blew into it, letting the lonely whistle echo into the twilight.

Tom's voice came on the PA, "The whistle sounds nice Miss Rose but wait til you hear this." The horn of the engine blew loudly and much to the dismay of Blake and Velvet it encouraged a few of the shunting engines to reply. Ruby simply smiled as she withdrew back into the coach as the engine left the yard and made its way towards the setting sun and Vacuo.

* * *

About an hour later the young Hunters-in-training were nearly done with the meals Anna had made for them; Ruby had a plat of cookies, Weiss and Velvet had salads while Yatsuhashi, Yang, and Sun had ramen, and Blake, Scarlet, Neptune, and Coco all ate some nicely cooked fish. Winter was currently in the second coach talking with another Specialist about something going on with the investigations while Qrow had already gone to sleep on one of the leather seats. While Penny could eat she didn't feel the need to right now, her energy levels were good and she didn't need to keep up the human illusion any longer.

The train was running smoothly along the rails as the light of day dimmed, towns and farms could be seen nearby or in the distance as the lights from inside the engine and coaches shone in the night.

The group of teenagers were talking amongst themselves when Ruby noticed something on the sheath of Yatsuhashi's sword that was currently propped up against the wall. There were two symbols now engraved on the sheath; the first consisted of a rectangle with a slash going vertically through its center and underneath it was what appeared to be a 'U' with one side falling off and two slashes flanking it. The second symbol was a bit more complicated with what appeared to be a 'Y' with three lines going through it horizontally (the highest was medium, the second was the shortest, and third was long) and underneath it were two 'J' like shapes (one backwards and without a line across its top) and both had another horizontal line going through it and both had two comma looking slashes going through them and the backwards one had another comma like shape floating near it.

"Hey Yatsu, what are those symbols on your sheath? I just now noticed them but I don't think they were there before." Ruby said.

Yatsuhashi sucked in a noodle before saying "You've just now noticed them?"

"Well we really don't see your sheath often since you prefer to be last in line." Coco pointed out.

Yatsuhashi nodded and asked "I'll tell you, if everyone else doesn't mind hearing?"

Everyone shook their heads before Coco said "You know, since we're gonna be a whole unit together we might as well know more about each other so we can trust each other a bit more and work better as a team. We all tell each other why we decided we became Hunters and how we chose our weapons."

"Not a bad idea. You guys up for it?" Sun asked the present members of his team, who both agreed.

"We're up for it. You go first Yatsu." Ruby encouraged as her team nodded in agreement. The large teen nodded as he reached over and grabbed the sword and placed it in front of him to show everyone else.

"These symbols were bestowed upon my sheath as a reward for my actions in Haven. You see I had to lie to my parents to go with you, they didn't know a thing about Haven or saving Penny all they knew was that I was in Sandleford, the home village of Velvet and Coco to help the rest of my team defend the town from Grimm, but then Weiss called us about Penny. A part of me wanted to tell my parents but I decided against it and at the time I didn't know the full extent of the crisis we would face but after Penny's predicament was explained I was prepared to help, even if it meant lying to my clan. You see, my family is a samurai clan and while we do believe in the modern ways we still think that old values such as loyalty, honestly, and honor above all are paramount. After I returned home from Haven most of the family viewed me as a hero for helping save so many lives from Cinder and her underlings. The elders decreed it that I had earned these symbols; loyalty and devotion, for the sheath of my sword as a symbol of my own character as proven by my loyalty to my friends and the fact that I was willing to die for my friends and many innocent people I had never met. My parents, Kengo and Miyoko, while not pleased with my lies were proud of my actions in the end, at least I think so with my mother, since I am her only child she has always been protective of me, she even objected to me becoming a Huntsman but tradition of the clan decreed that I be allowed to forge my own path and I chose to follow in the footsteps of my father and so many others before me and become a Hunter. I felt like I needed to put my talents to good use and I hope I have done so." Yatsuhashi said.

"You have. I think she's proud of you for everything you've done, I know I would be." Velvet said to her partner.

He gave her a smile and said "Thank you, and I think she is."

"Wait, I didn't think samurais used swords like the one you use." Neptune pointed out.

"They usually don't but I'm not picky. My uncle is a blacksmith and he decided that I needed a sword that would fit my size, so I worked with him to create my weapon; Kyodiana Buredo, the mighty blade. It's the perfect wight and the blade is sharp enough to cut through most Grimm." Yatsuhashi told them.

"And we've seen the sword with one mouthful of a name in action plenty of times to know how true that is." Coco remarked.

"So once we have some downtime would it be okay if you and me spar?" Ruby asked.

"While I would normally think it would be a bad idea I know you can hold your own Ruby, so very well." Yatsuhashi said with a nod.

"I gotta say big guy, that's the most I've ever heard you say." Yang observed, to which Yatsuhashi simply grunted in response.

"Okay, I'll go next. You all probably know who my mom is." Coco began, while most of them nodded a few such as Penny and Ruby looked confused.

"Uh... no, not really." Ruby confessed.

"Okay Rose, my mom is Aria Adel, a model you might have heard of." Coco explained.

"Obviously! Ruby, how have you not heard about Aria Adel? She was ranked among the ten most beautiful women in Vale for over a decade!" Weiss cried.

"I don't really pay much attention to fashion honestly, I just put on what I like." Ruby said.

"Besides how dependable could a top ten beautiful women list be for Remnant? I mean practically every girl on this team is really attractive in one way or another." Neptune said.

"There are a lot of cute girls around now that you mention it. Well anyway, my mom didn't fall in love with some big hero and Huntsman, instead she settled for my dad; Richard Adel, a geeky, shy fashion photographer who was able to capture her beauty like no one else could. Plus she had kind of a thing for adorable dorks, kinda like Pyrrha and Jaune. Well the unlikely couple got married and a year or so later I was born. You see, for the first eight years of my life we lived in Vale where my mom had most of her photography sessions and occasionally I would come with them. One night my mom and I were outside of the studio really late at night while waiting for my dad went to get the car. We weren't in a bad neighborhood so that makes what happened that night all the more surprising. While we were waiting for my dad a man came from the alley next to the studio and pulled out a gun, aiming it at us. He told my mom to give him her purse or he'd shoot us to death and to be honestest... that was the first time I was ever scared for my life." Coco admitted.

Velvet put a comforting hand atop her leader's own and said "You don't have to tell them if you don't want to."

"No, this was my idea so I should carry on with it. My mom held me tight as she slowly handed him the purse, making sure he kept the gun on her and not me. Once she handed him the purse he suddenly brought up his gun and slammed it into her head, knocking her down and... I screamed. My mom was on the ground and it was the first time I had seen so much blood and aura. I was on my knees, trying to wake my mom up while I was crying but when I looked up and saw that look in the mugger's eyes I knew he was about to shoot us to death. I screamed some more when all of a sudden my dad, my geeky, harmless dad, came out of nowhere and knocked this guy out with one punch to the jaw. I had never seen him so angry before or since, but he looked at me and I could see how worried he was. He picked up my mom and led me to the car where he called the police and drove to the hospital. After that my parents decided to move out of the city and to a much smaller town where I met Velvet, Sandleford. But you see that night had a big effect on me; I decided I wouldn't be helpless after that, I decided to become a Huntress like the ones who were constantly saving people from Grimm. My mom wanted me to become a model like her, and I know I'm hot enough to be," Coco said with a sly grin, "but I wanted to be a Huntress so I followed that path. That night was also the reason why my weapon is a purse."

"Because anyone who tries to mug you is in for the surprise of a lifetime." stated Yang with a smirk.

"Bingo. The reason I chose this particular type of gun, however, I just like guns like this. They get me all nice and excited for combat. Plus anything that get hit by it is in for a real bad day." Coco said as she rubbed her bag. She looked to Velvet and said "Your turn Velv, tell 'em how we met."

The Rabbit Faunus nodded and said "Well before Coco came to Sandleford I was pretty shy, well more so that ever before. You see before Faunus like myself were treated as equals by most people we had it bad and a small town like Sandleford was no exception. I had very few friends except for a few other Faunus and even some of them would tease me, because of our bunny features my kind were always seen as weaklings to be pushed around by most people, some Faunus included. Most of my childhood I was a scared little girl trying to avoid teasing and beatings from the bullies but I always wanted to be someone strong, a Huntress to protect others, to prove that just because I was a Rabbit Faunus didn't mean I couldn't help others and fight just as well as a human but for a long time it looked like that would never happen because my parents were so overprotective of me and it was hard for me to be courageous and some human bullies certainly didn't help out there. For most of my life I was scared of humans, and did my best to avoid them until Coco and her family moved to my town and she was assigned to sit next to me in school."

"Took me nearly a month to get her to actually talk to me instead of just mumble out a few words." Coco added as the train began to climb up a hill, which made the swivel chair Penny was in roll to the back wall.

"You okay Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Yes I am." the android answered cheerfully.

Velvet smiled at her friend and continued with "I admit I was too shy for my own good but Coco helped me out of that shell and encouraged my dream of becoming a Huntress, so did my Uncle Thayer who saw my potential so when it came time for me to go to Signal Academy my parents were against my wishes to become a Huntress and it wasn't until I had a few successful missions under my belt during our first year of Beacon that they finally accepted my choice."

"So what about your weapon? I've been really curious as to how the camera works." Ruby said eagerly, to which Yang groaned.

"Oh man, please just give us the simple version. Techno-babble gives me a headache." the blonde said as she finished up her ramen.

"Me too." Sun agreed.

"Me three." Scarlet voiced.

Velvet giggled and said "Don't worry, I'll try to keep it simple. During my time at Signal Academy I discovered that my Semblance was Mimicry, I could imitate the moves and fighting styles of others very well so a few professors there decided to give me an experimental device that would go perfectly with my Semblance; this little camera. When I take a picture of someone and their weapon I won't just mimic their movements but their weapons too. You see when I take a picture of a weapon, like Crescent Rose for example, it scans it and its inner workings to create a solid light copy of it that works exactly like the real weapon, projectiles and all, and thanks to the rotating frames within it I can switch between weapons quite easily."

Velvet finished her elaboration as she affectionately rubbed the camera.

"Tell me about it, remember when you copied that lasso weapon to pull Fox away from those boulders?" Coco reminded her.

"Oh please, it was nothing." Velvet said bashfully.

"Tell that to Fox." Yatsuhashi deadpanned.

"So cool." Ruby muttered as the engine reached the top of the hill.

"So we'll go next, that okay with you guys?" Sun asked Team RWBY, who all nodded.

"Go ahead monkey boy." Yang said as the train began to go down the hill, which caused Penny's swivel chair to roll down towards the front only to be caught by Yang and Yatsuhashi.

"Penny, are you sure you don't want to sit with us?" Weiss asked.

"No, this is much more fun! Can you please let me go?" Penny asked.

"I think it would be better if we hang on to you for now." Yatsuhashi said.

"I'll go first lads." Scarlet declared.

"You sure about that man? I mean I know it's not easy to talk about what happened to your folks." Sun said.

"No, it's okay. It's not easy but talking about it makes it easier to live with." Scarlet explained.

"So what happened?" Blake inquired.

"Well I didn't exactly have a normal childhood." he began, nodding to Blake and Penny, "You see; my parents were members of a pirate crew."

"Whoa, really?!" cried Ruby in amazement.

"What?!" asked Weiss in disbelief.

"So there's a reason why you dress like that." Coco commented.

"Yep, my mum was the first mate and my dad was the navigator for a ship known as The Bloody Hook. I never really helped out or was an official part of the crew, I was just a cabin boy. But one day on a raid something went wrong, they never told me what happened but it was so bad that they led a mutiny against our captain, Silvers. Suffice to say it didn't go over well but they made sure I was hidden and I knew the ship well enough to stay that way until we docked." he said.

"What happened to your parents?" Penny asked gently as the train returned to level ground, meaning Yang and Yatsuhashi could let her go.

Scarlet took a deep breath before Sun said "Man, you don't have to..."

"No, it's okay. If we're gonna work together they deserve to know. They and the rest of the mutineers were executed." he answered, making everyone look at him sympathetically.

"I'm... I'm so sorry." Ruby said to him sadly.

"No, it's been eight years and while I still miss them a lot it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. When we docked I managed to sneak off the ship and told the authorities and while most of the crew got away they police managed to catch a few of them. After that I was put in Treasure Academy in lower Mistral for the next few years until I got accepted to Haven where I got partnered with Sage and joined up with this motley crew. As for my weapons, well I made the flintlock myself in Treasure Academy, added on the grappling hook because I knew I'd have to climb up cliffs while I was a Huntsman, which I'll get to in a minute, but the sword originally belonged to my mum." he said as he held out the sword that once belonged to his mother as well as a small brass compass. "Before I escaped from the ship I managed to swipe it, I figured I wasn't going to let Silvers keep it as a trophy. I also have this compass that belonged to my dad, since he was the ship's navigator."

"So why did you decide to become a Huntsman? Why not join up with the navy and help take out the pirates?" Blake asked.

"Because to be honest I was kinda tired of the ocean. I mean, yeah it's nice but after eleven years of it you get tired of nothing but endless water. I find land much more interesting since it has mountains, swamps, deserts, forests, all kinds of stuff while in the ocean your lucky to see a big rock or a whale so I wanted to spend my life on land and have something better. I decided to become a Huntsman because I saw all the damage the Grimm were doing I decided to make up for what my parents did while part of the crew and do some good by saving people and taking down Grimm." Scarlet said as the engine rumbled over a bridge.

"Well I think you have, and I'm pretty sure your mom and dad would be proud of what you've done with us." Sun assured his friend.

"Totally buddy." Neptune agreed.

Scarlet smiled and said "Thanks guys, okay so you want to go next Neptune?"

The bluenette nodded and said "Uh, sure, don't see why not. Well I come from Atlas, my family isn't part of high society like Weiss' is but we make do by being middle class."

"So that's why you dress way nicer than the rest of your team." Coco observed.

"Yeah, we might not be rich but we still try to look nice. Anyway, the reason I decided to become a Huntsman... well do you guys remember how during our fight with Team NDGO I was afraid of the water?" Neptune inquired.

"Yeah." Yang and Ruby said while Yatsuhashi, Blake, and Velvet all nodded.

"Sure do." stated Coco.

"Does the source of your fear have something to do with your choice to become a Hunter?" Weiss asked.

"Oh yeah, big time. When I was eight years old my family went on a cruise for summer vacation. It went really smooth for about a week and a half until the ship came across something in the ocean, something huge; a Megacharodon." he said darkly.

"Whoa, that's one heck of a Grimm." Ruby said quietly remembering the pictures she had seen of the aquatic Grimm; giant sharks covered entirely with black with a white underbelly with blood red eyes and sharp bony fins used to slice ships and prey apart. They were a rare sight for the surface as they only came up to grab quick bites of unsuspecting, small boats and retreat back to the depths so with that strategy they lived to be older than most Grimm.

"It is quite a large and rare species of Grimm and I understand they live to be quite old. I think we can imagine what happened next." Yatsuhashi stated.

Neptune nodded and continued "Well at first it didn't do anything, just swam around but there weren't many Hunters onboard the cruise ship and the passengers were starting to panic. The captain had radioed the Atlesian Navy and Coast Guard as soon as the Megacharodon was spotted but the fear and panic from the ship attracted it to us and the closer it got the more afraid people got which eventually drove it crazy so it attacked the ship. It rammed itself into the bottom of the ship but by that time the captain had already ordered everyone to evacuate the lower decks and get to the top but a few people did die in the initial attack, mostly due to the fact that they had to seal off the bottom parts of the ship so it wouldn't sink as quickly, trying to buy time until help arrived, but the water was just too strong and fast."

"I remember hearing about this incident years ago, I had no idea you were in it. I'm so sorry." Weiss consoled.

"Well you haven't heard the worst part. So with the ship flooding fast my family was running to the main staircase that led up to the first deck so we would be safe. There was a pair of doors to the left of the staircase and just when my parents reached the first stepped the doors burst open with water and I got knocked down and covered with the water. I could hear my mom scream my name as I tried to get up only for some debris to knock me back down, face first, into the water. Then all of a sudden a crewman picked me up and carried me over to the staircase and handed me to Ariel, my mom. She thanked him a few times as she held me tighter than she ever had before and before he could say anything the Megacharodon smashed through the side of the ship and its huge mouth was right above us and its lower jaw came from probably two floors down and swallowed the man who saved my life alive along with about a dozen other people. I have no idea how many teeth it had, maybe a thousand but once its jaws closed we could still hear people screaming from inside. My mom and dad screamed too and ran up the stairs with me but I looked over my mom's shoulder and I stared right into its eyes... and it stared back." Neptune said before taking a drink out of a water bottle.

"No wonder your afraid of the water, would be too if I lived through that." Blake voiced.

"Ditto." agreed Yang.

"Well its only affects me majorly in large bodies, I'm okay with pools or small rivers but big ones and oceans... that I just can't do." Neptune explained.

"But you still managed to come on top of Team NDGO in the Vytal Festival, so maybe there is hope for you to overcome your fear." Penny encouraged.

"I hope so. So anyway it wasn't long before the navy and coast guard came to rescue us with helicopters airlifting us all out and taking us to nearby rescue ships. Admiral Nemo was the one leading the rescue, well she wasn't an admiral back then, just a captain but this incident was what got her noticed by General Ironwood and the Atlas council. She made the rescue of the passengers and crew top priority while she and a few attack boats lured the Megacharodon away so some underwater ship could keep the liner afloat long enough to get everyone off." Neptune said.

"I read about this! How Admiral Nemo killed the Megacharodon by shooting a harpoon into its eye before using the torpedoes of five different attack ships to blow it to bits is legendary, and she's not even a Huntress!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yeah, we didn't get to see that part since the rescue ships left as quickly as possible to get the wounded to shore. So that's it, I've been afraid of the water ever since." Neptune finished.

"So why choose to become a Huntsman?" asked Velvet.

"Well because I kept seeing Grimm attacks on TV all my life and I felt like I could help people if given the chance and I had listened to my grandpa's stories about his adventures as a Huntsman so I decided to become one too. My weapon was actually inspired by his, the trident part of it at least, I got the gun so I'd have a ranged weapon, electricity in case I ever had to fight an aquatic Grimm, and I just liked the guandao's look and feel." he said.

"If you ever go up against aquatic Grimm an electric weapon is the ideal choice, blue." Yang agreed.

"Yeah, except we've never gone up against one." Sun revealed.

"You haven't?" Blake asked.

"Don't jinx it. If we do have to fight one I will but I'd like to keep as far away from 'em as possible!" Neptune cried as the train went around a curved track.

"Okay, my turn!" Sun said, "Honestly there's not much to me other than the usual stuff. Grew up in the city we're heading to, Hondyama, which is a pretty rough place on the edge of the desert for both humans and Faunus alike. I had to learn to fight at a young age, especially after my dad was killed in a car accident." he revealed to the present members of Team CFVY and Penny, he had told Blake months ago who in turn had told her team. "So because I was a Faunus I got picked on a lot but that never stopped me from fighting back, but as for why I chose to become a Huntsman... well I guess it was just the best job for me really. Plenty of action, chances to do good, and the chance to prove how kickass a Faunus can be while proving to jerks like the White Fang that you don't have to harm people to be respected."

"With Hunters like you, Blake, and Velvet I'm pretty sure that's been proven." Yang stated.

"You bet. You see my dad always wanted to be a Huntsman but due to a medical condition he never could I was a student of Blaze Academy and I was once of the top fighters there for four years straight. My weapons here, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang were created by yours truly with help from Blaze Academy's weapons teacher, Professor Guang. You see I was pretty good with normal bo-staffs but old Guang thought I needed something more extreme if I was going up against the Grimm so I came decided to combine it with the other type of weapon I was really good at; nunchucks. So that's why they're technically two weapons instead of just one. And to be honest the guns weren't my idea, they were his... and it took way more practice to get right in combat." Sun admitted.

"So what about your family? If we're going to see 'em tomorrow we should know some more about them beforehand." said Yang voiced.

"Well my mom's name is Gina and she worked hard to raise me and my sister. She's a nice woman but stay away from her bad side, trust me. Oh and Blake, be careful. My mom is nice but she's a little... excited about you."

Blake nodded and said "Does she know we're coming?"

"No, but I always liked to surprise her." he said with a wink. "As for my sister, her name is Haulan and she's ten years old but watch out for her she's but but kind of a little spitfire. I don't think we'll have to worry about the White Fang while we're in town either, after what happened at Beacon most local White Fang supporters quit so we'll probably be okay."

"I hope so, okay so I guess we'll do Sage, Fox, and JNPR once we get back?" Yang asked.

"Sounds good but now it's your turn." Coco said to the bombshell.

"Okay sis, you wanna tell it together?"

"Sure do." Ruby answered. "Okay then, well the first thing to know is that our family is pretty much all Hunters. Our and uncle are Huntsmen, both of our moms were Huntresses and we grew up hearing stories of their adventures all the time so naturally we wanted to be Huntresses too." Ruby let Yang take over, however the younger sister had noticed a pained look on Yang's face when she mentioned their mothers.

Yang recovered instantly and said "Dad was a little hesitant to let us at first but can you blame him? After my birth-mom left him and Ruby's mom died in that Grimm attack so he naturally didn't want to lose us but Uncle Qrow over there," she gestured to the snoring Huntsman in the front seat, "was more supportive. Try as he might to get other careers in our heads there was no changing our minds."

"Yep, Hunter family to the end! It's in our blood!" Ruby declared proudly as the train's horn blew ,once again making Velvet and Blake attempt to shield their ears, as another train went by them on the opposite track which gave a friendly horn blow in return. They waited until the other train went by to continue their tale.

"So when the time came for me to go to Signal dad finally accepted that I would be a Huntress but spent a few more years trying to talk Ruby out of it before he gave up. Now as for my weapons Ember Celicas, they're based on dad's old gauntlets but I took out the flamethrowers and the claws and replaced 'em with good ole shotgun blasters and metal fists." Yang finished.

"Well it certainly suits you." Blake commented.

"As for me, I always loved watching Uncle Qrow show off tricks with Reaper and while I considered have a simple sniper rifle I decided that my weapon of choice would be a scythe sniper rifle hybrid." Ruby said proudly.

"I wish we'd taken a picture of dad's face when you told him." Yang said with a wide grin.

"What did it look like?" Blake asked.

"We cannot do it justice, believe me, we've tried." Yang answered.

"So dad made Uncle Qrow promise on his life (and flask) to train me so I'd never hurt myself with Crescent Rose. It took months of training but when I was ready for a test I aced it, taking out an entire pack of young Beowolves. After that dad was finally okay with letting me become a Huntress but he still worried about both of us." Ruby said.

"Eh, it's just his way of letting us know he loves us." Yang said as she wrapped an arm around her little sister.

"If you two are done now I guess I'll go ahead." Weiss announced. "Well my mother had always been an inspiration to me because she was more of a fighter and not just a pretty face but my sister inspired me when she defied our father's wishes of being part of the our family's company and joined the Atlas military, eventually rising up in its ranks to be a specialist. I had always been impressed by the heroics of the Huntsmen and Huntresses I saw on the news report so once my father made me take self defense classes in case I was ever threatened by an assassin or enemy the idea that I could be a Huntress entered my head. As I got older the idea became more and more likely in my head and the more I saw of the Grimm attacks and the unrest in the world the more determined I was to become a Huntress. I asked my father to allow a weapon to be forged for me, and it became this blade in that case, Myrtenaster. It is actually based on Winter's second sword she used to have but it was destroyed in a fight with a Goliath and it had a gun device on the hilt but I decided to forego a gun in favor of the Dust chambers. When the time came I asked my father to allow me to attend Beacon and of course he refused, but a few days later I saw an opportunity to get my way. The Atlas Council and General Ironwood were considering replacing the Atlesian Knights, which were originally created by a company my father funded, for the CraftTech Atlas Armor developed by Dr. Sherizawa. My father was furious but then I made a deal with him; if I could defeat the Atlas Armor in battle not only would it prove to the council and General Ironwood that it was an unwise investment but it would prove to him that I could be a Huntress. It was a hard battle and I didn't come out of it unscathed..." she absentmindedly rubbed the scar across her eye "but in the end I was victorious. The council and Ironwood decided to continue with the next model of Atlesian Knights and my father permitted me to attend Beacon."

"And that didn't last real long." said Blake dryly, remembering of the time Weiss' father cancelled her credit card, robbing the Cat Faunus of her precious fish.

"Yes, he thought that I was simply going through a rebellious phase and thought I would leave Beacon after a month or two but when I didn't he decided to take drastic actions." Weiss explained. "So what about you Blake?"

Blake sighed, she knew she would have to tell this story to the others eventually so she decided that it would be better to tell them all now rather than later. She told them the story of her family, how she joined the White Fang, how she met Adam, that they lost hope for equality, the insurrection against Claudandus, the White Fang becoming a terrorist cell, Adam's descent into darkness, and her eventual abandonment of the Fang.

"No wonder you left the creep." Coco muttered.

"You made the right choice Blake. My Uncle Thayer that I mentioned earlier hates humans and even left us to join the White Fang, I hope one day he sees the error of his ways like you did." Velvet said to her friend.

"So why did you wish to become a Huntress? Why not escape from violence entirely?" Yatsuhashi questioned.

"If I am to be completely honest with you all... I felt guilty for what I had done, I felt that allowing the White Fang to become what it is now has done far more harm than good to all of Faunus kind, no matter what Adam's delusional mind tells him. I decided that by becoming a Huntress I could make up for my past sins and the sins of the White Fang." Blake said.

"Well I'd say you've made some pretty good progress with that." Sun assured her.

Blake smiled in response before saying "As for Gambol Shroud; I made it with the help of Razor, the leader of the White Fang's Elite Guard. I wanted a sword and a gun but he suggested the kusaigama because of his love for the old weapons and helped me install the rotating Dust chamber. Razor felt that if I was going to be the second in command I needed a gun that suited me perfectly."

Both Yang and Sun couldn't help but think 'Sleek, dark, and sexy. Suits her perfectly.'

"So how are we gonna sleep?" Yang decided to ask.

"I'll stay in this chair." Penny volunteered.

"No." Coco, Yang, Yatsuhashi, Weiss, and Velvet all said at once.

"Sorry Penny." Ruby said quickly.

"Aw." Penny moaned.

"Well my team and Qrow have the seats but there are still two more available." Sun pointed out.

"I'll take one." Yatsuhashi volunteered.

"And I'll take the other and if you want to Blake you can sleep in this bean bag chair." added Yang.

The Cat Faunus nodded, "That sounds good to me, I've certainly slept in worse places."

"I guess Winter can take one of the couches..." Weiss said.

"And me and Velvet can share the other one." Coco suggested.

"And I guess Weiss, Penny, and me can have the bed." Ruby stated.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Weiss bemoaned.

"Oh don't be such a sourpuss Weiss, sleeping together won't be so bad." Ruby said.

"Agreed! It actually sounds fun." Penny said cheerfully.

"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm."the Schnee heiress snarked dryly with a role of her eyes.

Just then Anna came in from the second coach and said "Well I hope you all enjoyed the meals I made for you."

"Oh you bet!" Yang said as she handed her bowl to the older woman who was now collecting the plates, bowls, and silverware.

"Thank you, I used to be a chef before I joined Tom and Clara out here." Anna told them.

This naturally made Ruby curious, so she inquired "So Anna, if you don't mind me asking... what exactly is your story? Why are you guys out here?"

Anna smiled and said "It's okay, you're not the first to be curious. You see our dad was a train repairman and our mom was a attendant. Ever since he was a little boy Tom wanted to be a train engineer, even after mom and dad died in a Grimm attack a few years ago. Tom got a job at an old scrap yard and found that little engine in the side so he worked together with Clara and a few workers to restore it, and obviously he got it running. After mom and dad died Tom decided he was gonna follow his dream and become a railroader so he and Clara went to Brandofi and after a while I decided to come with them. We joined up with the fleet, found these old coaches and caboose in a siding and fixed them up, did some odd jobs like shunting before we got some deals from local factories and businesses to make deliveries for them and about two years ago we met up with your uncle right before we made a trip. That's pretty much our story in a nutshell."

"So why did you leave your old job? Why give it up for this?" asked Neptune.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I know that someday I'll go back to being a full time chef once we get enough money to hire more crew-members, but I didn't want Tom and Clara to be on their own. Clara might be the older twin but I've always been the responsible one and I knew I'd never forgive myself if something happened to them. We big sisters have always got to look out for the little ones, right?"

"Right." Yang confirmed with a confident nod as she looked at her little sister.

"It is an unwritten law." said the voice of Winter who cast a small smile at Weiss while she was entering the coach with Clara.

"Aw sis, you're making me tear up." joked Clara as she entered the coach.

"You know I'm right." Anna said with a smirk.

"That I do. I'm gonna go up and take over for Tom tonight so he can get some rest." the elder twin said. Anna nodded as she headed back to the second coach with her load of bowls and plates while Clara went up to the engine.

"So where will Tom sleep?" Penny asked.

"Don't worry hon, he has a hammock in the engine. Not the best but it works for him." Clara answered before she shut the front door.

"Well children it is time we got some sleep." Winter declared.

"Really? This early?" Sun asked.

"Early to bed, early to rise. Have you all found adequate sleeping places?" she asked, to which everyone answered yes or some variation of it.

"We decided that you can sleep on this couch." Ruby said to her.

"Good. Now I suggest we all get some sleep." Winter stated.

While some such as Winter, Coco, Velvet, Blake, and Ruby found it easy to sleep others didn't as it took a while for some of them to get to sleep, with Yang and the present members of Team SSSN wondering how Yatsuhashi could have fallen asleep so fast, and Weiss finding it both annoying and cute to be cuddled like a teddy bear by Ruby while her legs were pinned down by Penny who was curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed in sleep-mode. It wasn't long, however, until everyone managed to drift asleep while the train raced on into the night.

* * *

The next morning Tom woke up from his hammock that hung neatly near the rear of the engine, he carefully got out of bed, yawning and stretching as a somewhat sleepy Clara sat at the control seat called to him "Morning little bro!"

"Morning. Peaceful night? Any Grimm sightings?" he asked.

"Nope. We're about half an hour away from Hondyama so you might want to wake our passengers up." she said.

"Right, want me to take over?" Tom offered.

"Nah, I can last a little longer. I'll sleep once we get to town." she declined.

Tom nodded and walked to the front coach only to find most of them already awake with Winter, Yang, and Velvet looking slightly wet while Blake was just beginning to dry off. "Morning everyone, taking showers I see."

"Yeah, girls are going first and Coco's in right now but we guys might get to go if Ruby and Penny don't wake up." Sun said with a smirk as he gestured over to the bed where an adorable sight was; Penny had woken up in the night and made her way, meaning that Weiss was now trapped between Ruby and Penny.

Weiss looked up and said "None of you say a word and Velvet, Yang don't either of you dare take a picture of this."

"But it's so cute." Velvet cooed.

"Maybe from where you're standing! Yang, can you please wake Ruby up?" Weiss pleaded.

Yang smirked before leaning down to Ruby's head and saying "Ruby, a Beowolf is about to eat your cookies."

Ruby snapped awake in a split-second, with Crescent Rose out somehow, and yelled "I will wipe you out of existence...! Wait a minute, we're on the train."

"Yeah, Weiss just wanted me to get you up." Yang said as Penny snapped awake as well.

"Good morning everyone! Have we reached our destination yet?" she inquired.

"We will in about twenty-seven minutes. So Branwen, where exactly are you going?" Tom asked.

Qrow told him the coordinates that Blake's informant had given him and Tom thought about it. "Hmm, that area is not within our reach but we can take you close enough to it that you can make it there by foot. Once we reach Hondyama you'll have to wait for about four or five hours while our cargo is unloaded."

"Understood, if Sun's family is there we won't have to be bored for long." Qrow told him as Weiss quickly ran to be the one who would shower next.

Qrow had no idea how right he was, however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To quote the asdfmovies: I like trains.
> 
> Hey guys, I'm not dead! This story has reached 500K words on and over 150 kudos on AO3! Keep it coming everyone.
> 
> I am so, so, so sorry about the delay guys, I cannot apologize enough. My computer broke down when I was 3/4ths done with this chapter so I had to get a new one and wait for a data recovery to get everything off my old harddrive. Again, I'm sorry for the delay guys.
> 
> Also I am officially an uncle now, my sister gave birth to a baby girl.
> 
> Tom, Anna, and Clara are all clearly based on Thomas the Tank Engine and his coaches Annie and Clarabelle, they can be considered fairly recent fairy tale characters as the book series they're based on began publishing in 1943 and of course there is the tv show; Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and their last name, Allcroft, is a tribute to the woman who adapted the books to television. That show was my childhood.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I had to do it all over again due to the aforementioned computer problems. It gives Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Coco, Neptune, and Scarlet some much needed character development that fleshes them out more so I hope you enjoyed that. Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader who helped me flesh out these backstories. It might be a little pointless (and I think the opening is weak because I couldn't really remember what I wrote down in the original draft however once I get the original chapter back from the old harddrive I can fix up the first half of this chapter) but I feel it was needed to flesh out these characters a bit more so I hoped you liked that. I hope that what this chapter lacks in action it makes up for it in character development and backstory.
> 
> This chapter was originally going to end with an action scene of Team Beacon, Qrow, and Winter fighting a bunch of Creeps that had taken over a railroad tunnel but after such a long delay I decided to scrap it so this chapter would come out a little earlier.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going.


	33. Monkey Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Out of the desert came the small engine that belonged to the Allcroft family, it arrived into the average sized city known as Hondyama that was one of the many towns that acted as an oasis in the incredibly large desert of the Kingdom of Vacuo. It was by no means as major city but to any traveler who had been wandering the desert it was a godsend. It was a modest looking town made up of a few hundred buildings with homes, businesses, offices, a school, a hospital, storage facilities, restaurants, stores, a police headquarters, and other such things. It was far from perfect, or even important, but to the twelve hundred people who lived there it was home. It wasn't a totally barren location, as many palm trees dotted the town along with bushes and many plants that helped the place look more alive, along with a man made lake and canal area. As they entered the town they drove by a sand dune where children, both human and Faunus, played happily together, a sight that made Blake smile.

"Cute aren't they?" Yang asked as Ruby and Penny waved to the kids from the window who cheerfully returned the waves as Tom blew his horn at them.

Blake nodded, "It makes me wish I had someone like you and Ruby in my childhood."

Yang didn't reply vocally, she just returned her partner's smile before asking "So what are you gonna tell Sun's mom?"

Blake looked at her partner understandingly; if Sun was anything like his family then they hated the White Fang too but there was the possibility that they might not be as understanding as Sun was, add to that the stress this mission was bringing her in general like if Claudandus would be alive when they got there or if she'd run into Adam it all made the Cat Faunus rather nervous. "Sun will stand up for me, even if his mother doesn't approve he won't leave me. Besides I still have you and others." Blake said.

"You got that right." Yang confirmed with a grin.

They arrived into town and made it to Hondyama's small station where Tom stopped the engine right at the platform for them. "Okay, stop number one for Hondyama. It'll take about four or five hours for our cargo to be unloaded so we'll be back to pick you up around here." he said into the PA.

"Understood kid. Thanks for the ride so far." Qrow said as he opened up the door to get out, just as Sun ran out of the second coach, still freshly wet from his shower.

"Well let's not wait around, let's go!" the energetic Monkey Faunus erged eagerly.

"Uh, Sun... you're still kinda wet." Ruby pointed out.

"Trust me, I'll dry off once we get outside. One thing you have to know about this place is that it is hot." he told her.

"Tell me about it." grunted Qrow as he pulled off his jacket to cool off from the hot sun.

As everyone got off the train the Allcroft family, with Clara going to sleep in the bed Ruby, Weiss, and Penny had been sleeping in, bid their passengers goodbye for the time being and set off to unload their cargo in the train yards on the other side of town.

It turns out that Sun had not been kidding about the heat, it was positively cooking outside. For Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and others who had never been in a desert ecosystem it was absolute murder. Most of the kids decided to follow Qrow's example and take off their outerwear with Weiss, Blake, and Neptune removing their jackets while Yang and Coco removed their vests.

"Ugh! I immediately regret coming to this part of Remnant." Ruby groaned as she began fanning herself.

"Warned ya." the drying Sun remarked as Winter walked ahead, seemingly unaffected by the heat.

"How are you not burning like the rest of us?" Weiss asked her sister, not noticing the look Ruby gave her for a few seconds.

"I am hot but I've been to places like this before and have built a tolerance to it like Mr. Wukong." Winter explained as she eyed the town while disembarking from the platform and onto the ground. From their position many people could be seen going about their daily lives, working, talking with friends, or rushing to get somewhere. Most of these people seemed to be Faunus but most took no notice of them, although they did draw the odd look due to their appearances and weapons.

A duo of teenage girls dressed in skirts and cropped tank tops that showed off their midriffs and a generous amount of skin walked by them. The human girl leaned next to her Faunus companion with a fluffy squirrel tail coming out her skirt and whispered "Tourists, look at 'em sweat."

"Heh, the desert wasn't a hint that it was gonna be hot?" the Faunus girl said before shooting a flirty look to Neptune and Yatsuhashi.

Velvet and Team RWBY glared at the passing girls before Coco said to her Faunus teammate "Eh, wouldn't hurt to get some clothes while we're here, I mean this mission might call for some disguises after all."

"Not a bad idea, Miss Adel. If we're going to pull this off we will need to blend in the locals." Winter agreed.

"So Winter, uh... Specialist Schnee, can I ask you a question?" Ruby inquired.

"Go ahead Miss Rose." Winter said as Sun came to the head of the group and led them further into town past a man who was dusting off a sidewalk with a broom.

"How exactly did you and Uncle Qrow settle out the whole payment issue?" Ruby asked.

"Simple: I will pay half and Qrow, and by that extension Ozpin, will pay for the other. The Atlas Military will also give Mr. Allcroft a little bonus for transporting us, consider it a public service. And Qrow will be paying me back one way or the other." Winter stated with a small smile which Ruby returned.

"Okay come on guys, once I introduce you to my family I can show you around town." Sun urged as he led them into town.

The present members of Team Beacon followed Sun into the town, but little did they know that they were being watched by someone up above. On the roof of one of the nearby buildings a Coyote Faunus dropped what he was working on and silently observed the group head into the city under a pedestrian bridge. He took out a pair of binoculars to get a better look at Blake and the others.

"Black hair, yellow eyes, pale skin, bow, that's her alright. Let's get a look at those others. Silver eyes, red and black, oh yeah that's that Rose girl. Those two are Schnees, no doubt about that. Blonde hair, right arm has been replaced with a robotic prosthetic, big boobs. That's them, oh hot damn that's them! Time to make an early report." the Coyote whispered quietly to himself.

He jumped off the roof and landed on his feet and hands in the back alley before rushing off to the place he called home. After the Fall of Vale and the disaster at the Vytal Festival many Faunus around Remnant either decided to utterly and vehemently renounce the actions of the White Fang and other such groups but others were convinced join up to overthrow the humans and get payback for what had happened in the past. While many White Fang supporters had left to join up a few decided that they weren't ready for action so stayed behind, but acted as spies and recruitment agents. Once Adam's spies learned what town Sun came from he quickly reached an interested party who would be willing to act as a spy for them. They had been put out to watch for them after Adam told them that the team, along with several others, would arrive somewhere in Vacuo soon and it looks like the leader of the Fang was proven correct.

The White Fang agent ran to his home, a small building that had once been a storage shed, and closed the door behind him. He walked over to his computer and quickly opened up a line to the White Fang but made sure it was secured first.

"Come in White Fang communications, I repeat; come in White Fang communications! This is Wilder from Hondyama. I have spotted high priority targets the high command will be very interested in." he said urgently.

It wasn't long before a female voice answered him "This is White Fang Headquarters, speak Agent Wilder."

"I have spotted several targets that I know for a fact Commander Taurus is interested in; Team RWBY." he said

"What?! Please hold, I'll send for Commander Taurus right away!" the female communications officer said quickly.

* * *

Adam sat in his dark room, alone as always. He sat on the floor without a shirt and if anyone else were in the room they could see the scars of battles long over marking his body as he held up a picture of Team RWBY from the newspaper taken after the Battle of Haven. It had the entire team standing together with Yang's robotic arm stretching out to her little sister at the opposite end of the small line with Ruby bearing a ridiculously happy smile with a bit of sadness in her eyes, Weiss trying to look prim and proper but failing to hide a small smile, Blake look serene and content to be back with her friends while Yang had a cocky smirk and was winking at the camera.

Adam snarled quietly as he took out a knife and stabbed it into the picture, right into Yang's robotic arm. "I'll just have to take it off again, you human slut. Maybe if I cut off both arms you'll be put in your place." he growled as he stabbed into picture Yang's other arm. He stabbed the knife twice into picture Ruby's head, right into the eyes. "These eyes are a threat? Not if I get a hold of you."

Next he stabbed picture Weiss in the neck, decapitating it. "You will pay for your family's sins you spoiled little brat." he muttered darkly as he cut Blake out of the picture entirely and held the small fragment of paper close to his face. "You said you understood. You said you loved me... you gave me hope and then left me. You were supposed to understand... I'll make you understand!" he yelled as he ripped the small paper Blake apart.

He let the shreds of paper fall to the floor as he brought the knife to his bare arm and cut himself "You will rue the day you betrayed me, my love. I will make you mine again." he said darkly as his aura healed the cut. "Some scars heal, some don't." Adam remarked as he absentmindedly pressed his hand against his mask. "But the scars I will give to you, my love, will never go away."

There was a knock at the door, "Commander Taurus! We have received word from our lookout in Hondyama, the traitor Belladonna and her team have been spotted!" cried the voice of a soldier.

Adam bolted up and grabbed his robe. "I'm coming." he said as he made his way to the door.

A few minutes later he arrived at the main room and said "I want details now."

"Well sir," the female communications officer began, "Lookout Wilder spotted most of Team Beacon in his town, Hondyama and if you remember that place is the hometown of Sun Wukong."

Adam nodded and asked "Are they all there?"

"No, he noted that Team JNPR was missing and that Teams SSSN and CFVY were both missing one member each but they're accompanied by two adults; one of which we believe to be Specialist Winter Schnee." she reported.

"Well we cannot simply squander an opportunity such as this. Prepare a strike force and the fastest ship we have, I want to be in that town as soon as possible. Also, contact the Elite Guard, I want them in on this just in case these elders prove to be more of a challenge." he ordered.

"Right away sir. Should I contact Black or Sustrai?" she asked.

Adam considered it but answered "Not just yet. I want to show them we can capture these fools without their help. Have those Grimm Knights they gave us transported to the ship, I want as much firepower as possible. As for our spotter in Hondyama, have him sneak around Wukong's house since that is where they are most likely to go. Order him to keep an eye on them."

"As you wish sir." the officer said with a bow.

Adam set off to the hangar, clenching his fist as he walked at a fast pace. "I'm coming for you Blake." he whispered to himself.

* * *

A few minutes later on the Elite Guard's ship Jinty received the message. "Yo boss! We just got word from headquarters! Belladonna and her team have been spotted in Hondyama and Adam is on his way there now, he wants us there as backup." he reported.

Razor smirked and said "More likely to pull his ass out of the fire if things go wrong. Still, I imagine by the end of the day we'll have that traitor in chains. Change course and take us to Hondyama!"

* * *

At a modest sized house in a relatively nice neighborhood in Hondyama a Monkey Faunus woman in her late forties stood in front of the sink washing dishes as she leaned over to watch the news on TV. Her name was Gina Wukong and despite her age and the fact that she had given birth to two children she could still be seen as an attractive woman, with short blonde hair, a thin body, and a tail hanging out of her pants.

She watched the news with rapt attention as the newsman described what had happened in a small village in upper Vacuo. "And fortunately, despite the viciousness of this Grimm attack and some injuries no lives were lost. It is unknown who this Huntsman or Huntress was as they did not stick around at all. According to several witnesses they appeared out of nowhere on a motorcycle and quickly went to work slaughtering the Grimm and protecting this small village with what were described as two unusual swords that cut through a group of King Taijitu like butter. Apparently as soon as the last Grimm fell to his blades he vanished. No one could get a clear look at this warrior but a majority agree that the mysterious Hunter was male. The villages' local Huntsman was injured early in the attack but was saved by the stranger, any comment on it sir?" the newsman asked a middle aged, muscular Huntsman.

"I don't know who saved me or my village but I want to thank them. You saved a lot of innocent lives that could have been lost today, I don't care if you're human, Faunus, or a spirit; you have my gratitude for your actions." the man said.

The reported nodded before looking to the camera and saying "We'll keep our viewers informed as this story develops, back to you Sarah."

Gina returned her attention to washing her dishes before there was a knock at the front door. She sighed and took off her apron and gloves before rushing to the front.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she called, "I was doing the dishes and I..." she opened the door only to be greeted by the sight of her son's cocky smile and bright eyes.

"Hey mom, sorry to bother you but we were in town and thought we'd drop in." he said as he gestured to the large group behind him.

Neptune, Scarlet, Ruby, and Yang all said "Hi." while Qrow gave a lazy little wave and Yatsuhashi simply bowed in respect.

"What's up?" Coco greeted.

"Salutations!" Penny said cheerfully.

"Greetings Mrs. Wukong." Winter said with a respectful nod.

"Um, hello ma'am." Blake said nervously.

Gina cheered as she leapt forward and captured her son in a powerful hug. "Ah! Sunny!" she cheered.

"Whoa! Go a little easy on me mom!" he cried.

"Sunny, huh?" Yang teased.

"Don't start." he deadpanned as he returned his mom's hug.

"Why didn't you tell me you were dropping by?!" she asked.

"I wanted to surprise you." he said with a grin.

"Oh you truly are your father's son. Well don't just stand there! Come in everyone." she invited, beckoning them inside.

Once everyone was inside she said "I'm sorry if it's a bit messy, I wasn't expecting company."

"Looks fine to me." Ruby said at the modest living room area.

"She's just like that, always worried about appearances." Sun said as he gestured to Neptune and Scarlet. "Mom, I'd like you to meet two of my teammates in the flesh."

"Neptune! Scarlet! Nice to finally meet you two face to face." she said as she hugged Sun's partner.

"Um, nice to finally meet you too, Mrs. Wukong." Neptune said while Winter, Weiss, and Team C_VY began to take seats around the living room.

"She's a hugger, sorry about the lack of warning." Sun said to Neptune before he went about introducing everyone to his mother, with Qrow giving her a flirtatious look and click of his tounge and teeth only to get glares from his nieces, Winter, and a death glare from Sun himself.

"And last but not least, this is the Blake I've told you so much about." he said nervously.

"Hello Mrs. Wukong, I suppose that I am your son's girlfriend." Blake said meekly. Deep down she was incredibly nervous about this, while it was obvious that Sun's mom wouldn't be too happy to know her son was dating an ex-member of the White Fang, and a high ranking one at that, she couldn't help but worry if the mother before her judged her to be good enough.

"So you're the girl Sun keeps going on about." Gina said as she sized Blake up analytically before giving her a kind smile and assing "You're just as beautiful as he said you were."

Blake couldn't help but smile before saying "Thank you, your son has been a good friend and has helped me out quite a lot since I met him."

"He's told me about some of your little... misadventures together. It gets me worried sick but he was always one to help someone out." Gina said as she placed a friendly hand on Blake's shoulder.

"So where's your little sister you mentioned?" Yang asked.

Sun perked up and asked "Hey, where is the little squirt? Is she out with her friends?"

"No, I think Haulan is in her room playing." his mom answered, "Go check, I know she'll be happy to see you."

Sun nodded and went off to fetch his sister while Gina said "I'm sorry to ask, but will you be staying for long? I don't think we can accommodate everyone unless you've brought sleeping bags."

"Don't worry Mrs. Wukong, we will only be here for a few hours, our train needed to stop to unload its cargo before it can take us the rest of the way on our journey and we will be leaving in a few hours so your son was insistent on dropping by for a visit while we were here." Winter explained.

"That's my boy." Gina said proudly with a smile, "He's been wanting to introduce me to his friends for a while now, he told me about Team Beacon being formed and that he was going on a mission but he didn't tell me much and I can't help but notice some of your are missing like Sage and those kids from Team JNPR."

"They had to stay at Beacon to train, besides Sage and my partner Fox got injured while we were taking back Beacon so they had to stay behind with them anyway." Coco elaborated.

"I see." Gina said before turning to Blake. "Well Miss Belladonna I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Sun hasn't told me much about your history but he has told me a lot about what you are like."

This made Blake a little nervous, obviously Sun didn't want to bring up her White Fang past to his mother, since she most likely hated them like her son did, but she decided to speak up anyway; "Well my history hasn't exactly been the most spotless one, I have made a lot of mistakes in the past."

"We all have dear." Gina said comfortingly.

Meanwhile in another part of the house Sun stood in front of the sticker covered door that led to his little sister's room. He knocked on the door and said "Hey squirt, guess who?"

There was no answer.

Sun sighed as he twisted the knob and opened the door. He stepped inside and said "You better not have snuck off again because mom..."

All of a sudden a weight fell from the ceiling and landed on his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Gotcha!" cheered a nine year old Faunus girl with bright blonde hair, brown eyes, and a wildly swinging monkey tail as Sun fell to the ground with her on his back. She slid down his back until she was sitting on his head where she said "You never even saw me coming, bro."

"No I did not." Sun admitted to his little sister, who had used her tail to hang on to the air vent in the ceiling.

"I saw you and those others approaching the house so I decided to set up another one of my deadly pounces!" Haulan explained.

"Deadly is right..." Sun murmured before he threw himself around and pinned his little sister to the ground. "You're gonna break my back one day. Miss me?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, yeah I missed you." Haulan confessed before she wrapped her arms around Sun's torso in a hug. "I'm happy you're home big brother."

"Knew it, and no picking pockets, okay? I know you like to do that but these guys won't be so happy with it, okay?" he warned.

"Alright." she said as let her up.

"So, have you managed to swipe any good stuff?" he asked.

"You know it." she answered with a grin.

Back in the living room Gina said "Well, I must say I never expected to have a Schnee in my home, let alone two."

"Don't threat, we do not hold grudges against your species like other members of our family." Winter assured her.

"No, we're above that." Weiss voiced firmly.

"I had a feeling you were, what with having three Faunus as friends and I'm happy to have you in my home. The Wukong family was always one that fought for equality, no humans or Faunus pushing themselves above others, it's no real surprise to me that Sun became a Hunter, he was always getting into fights at school, usually it was because he was stepping up for the helpless be they human or Faunus so it was obvious he would make a career out of it, at least he can demolish Grimm and not get in trouble for it."

Sun and Haulan made their way back to the living room where Sun announced "Guys, this is my little sister Haulan. Watch out for her, she's kind of a pick pocket."

"I learned it from you! ...Hi." she said to the group who all returned the greeting.

"Aw, she's so cute! She looks like a younger version of me!" Yang cooed.

"Don't call me cute." Haulan muttered before looking to Blake "So that's your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, she's..."

"She's kinda pretty, I like her hair. Wish mine wasn't so bright." Haulan lamented.

Blake smiled while Yang pouted, muttering "Blondes for life."

"Agreed, you should be a little prouder of your hair sweetie." Gina said before continuing with "So Sun told me you're all off on a mission, what is it exactly?"

Sun was about to say something before Winter quickly said "I'm afraid that is classified for the time being, the fewer people know the specific details of our appointed task the better, I'm afraid."

"Oh, well I understand. Need to know only?" Gina guessed while Haulan began talking with Ruby and Penny, the former of whom was looking at Weiss again.

"Affirmative." Winter stated as she ignored the roll of Qrow's eyes. Winter had made sure that everyone knew they couldn't let anyone know of the mission until it was over, if they were going to pull this off successful then they'd have to be secretive and despite his attitude Qrow knew this as well.

Winter and Qrow had discussed this mission to detail, the plan was to infiltrate the prison where Claudandus was being kept one way or another. While she questioned the worth of this mission at first it was quickly pointed out to her that not only could saving Claudandus from the White Fang help discredit them there was the possibility that saving him would turn some of their number against Adam, plus if it was possible they could save a few more prisoners who could back up their claims and cause further dissension within the ranks of the Fang. And there was always the chance that the old cat had managed to learn a thing or two about the White Fang's plots, locations, numbers, etc... and would most certainly help them gain an advantage on the battlefront and encourage infighting amongst the Fang's numbers which would make them easier to defeat.

They had also discussed an extraction plan and backup plans. Once at the prison they would contact the Vacuo Rangers who would send airships for extraction and additional firepower. They had briefly considered using the Vacuo forces to rescue Claudanus but rejected it because the White Fang were too familiar with the patterns and fighting styles of the rangers and other military forces from Vacuo and the Fang knew the land far too well and could easily ambush the Atlas Military so it had been decided that a small group led by Winter and Qrow, both of whom had combat experience in areas such as the desert and the jungle and since Blake knew the White Fang intimately she would be a great asset in the battle, plus the collective experience of Team RWBY and SSSN's encounters with the Fang meant they had quite the combat advantage, plus having power-houses like Team CFVY didn't hurt either.

Backup would come in the form of not only Vacuo forces but that of the rest of Team Beacon, Professor Goodwitch, and a few airships from the Atlas Military, so one way or the other the White Fang were in for quite a fight so once the time came they'd take out the White Fang, or at the very least put a noticeable dent in their numbers and hopefully taking Adam Taurus down for his crimes.

Gina allowed them to put their hotter outer-wear on Sun's bed and afterwards they sat around and talked for about hour about various topics such as whatever antics Haulan had been getting herself into and what had been happening in town or the group telling Mrs. Wukong and Haulan of their adventures but eventually Neptune's curiosity got the better of him and he knew he wanted to discuss the fate of the absent member of the family; Mr. Wukong.

"So if you don't mind us asking, what happened to your husband? I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic but Sun never really talks about him and he's only told us that he died in a car accident." Neptune asked.

Before Sun could say anything his mother put a comforting hand on his before nodding, telling him it was okay. Gina gave the bluenette a sad smile and said "Just a simple car accident. My beloved Cheng was crossing the street one evening on the way home from his job when a car's brakes failed and it sped forward and couldn't stop. Cheng always wanted to be a Huntsman but that blasted heart condition he had kept him from following that dream but he always tried to be a hero whenever he got the chance. He ran out and pushed a woman and her baby out of the way, taking their place with no time to get out of the way."

Her eyes began to water and Sun quickly hugged his mom.

"Oh way to go Vasilas." Neptune muttered to himself, feeling terrible for bringing this up.

"No, it's okay Neptune. I've shed many tears for my husband, I've gotten used to the pain. Anyway I suppose his death is what made Sun determined to become a Huntsman, he always wanted to do what his father never could and as I said he always did stick up for others." she finished proudly. As she finished her short tale she couldn't help but notice Blake's nervousness, being a mother she had gained a natural ability to sense when something was wrong with someone but before she could ask her son's girlfriend a question Coco spoke up.

"Hey Mrs. Wukong, you mind telling us where a decent clothes store is?" the leader of Team CFVY asked.

"Of course Coco, there's a rather nice one just a few blocks down by the market place. If your needed cooler clothes and some food for the road the prices are quite reasonable."

"Good to know, if its okay with you guys I think we should explore this town so we'll be familiar with the kinda things we'll be seeing while in Vacuo." Coco said.

"An excellent idea." Winter agreed before adding "If you don't mind us taking a brief trip for an hour or two? We'll be back as our train will not be ready for quite some time."

"Oh go ahead, I don't mind." Gina said kindly as Haulan got up from the floor where she sat in front of Ruby, she had mostly been talking to Penny, who fascinated her since she was a robot and Penny was more than happy to engage in conversation.

"Thank you for talking with me Haulan, it was very nice." Penny said.

"No problem, hey when you get back can you show me some tricks, I mean I saw those cool swords of yours on TV so I bed you know how to use 'em." Haulan said eagerly.

"That would be wonderful." Penny said as she walked to the door.

"Thanks for having us Mrs. Wukong, you have a nice home." Ruby said as the others began heading to the door.

"Why thank you Ruby. Sun, Blake, can I talk to you two for a minute?" she asked.

Blake and Sun both gave each other unsure looks but Yang gave both of them a confident smile and whispered to Blake "Don't worry, I know you guys got this. She looks like the understanding type so I think you'll be okay, I mean who wouldn't love a face like yours? Good luck."

"Thank you." Blake said with a grateful smile before the others went outside to wait while she and Sun remained inside.

"Blake, I can tell you're nervous, you learn a thing or two like that when you're the mother of two children. What is it?" Gina asked.

The Cat Faunus looked to the older woman and said "Mrs. Wukong, you seem to be a kind person and a loving mother, something I have sadly lacked since I was six. My past has not been the most spotless as for a long time I was angry at the world and at humanity and so I... made some poor choices."

"We all have Blake, so I take you have a bit of as checkered past?" Gina guessed.

"More than you know." Blake said sadly, "I got involved with some bad people... Mrs. Wuk... Gina, you seem to be a wonderful person but I'm afraid that if I tell you about what I did and the thing I was involved in you will want me as far away from your son as possible and..."

"Blake, your past doesn't control your present. I don't know much about you but I know you make my son very happy and for that I am grateful. If you don't want to tell me about your past then you don't have to because it's none of my business, at least it won't be unless you become part of the family." she said giving a wink to Sun who tried to hide a blush while his little sister snickered. "But from what I can tell you are a good person, I mean being a Faunus on a team with a member of the Schnee family couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't at first but eventually we formed bonds with each other. Weiss isn't perfect but she has overcome the prejudice that her family is notorious for." Blake stated.

"Good for her and for you, now if you'd like you can tell me a little about your past later. For now go on with your friends." Gina said with a kind smile.

Blake returned the smile and said "Thank you. We'll talk about it when we get back, thank you for being so understanding Gina."

"You are welcome." the mother returned as her son and his girlfriend left the house.

As the couple closed the door behind them Yang asked "So did you tell her?"

"Not yet, but I feel a lot less nervous about it now. I think I'm ready to talk to her once we get back." Blake said with a small smile.

"Cool, now come on guys I'll take you to the shopping center." Sun said.

As the group followed him Qrow thought he saw someone watching them on the roof of a neighboring building. He looked up to see a Coyote Faunus speaking into a scroll.

"No, no I think this roof won't be much of a problem, we can do it easily mate. What day's good for you next week?" was what Qrow heard the man say. Qrow shook his head and cursed his old senses that made him a little too jumpy at times.

"Uncle Qrow, is something wrong?" Ruby asked.

"No, just being paranoid." Qrow said as he lazily followed the rest of the group.

The Coyote Faunus watched them as they left the street then said into his scroll "They're going to the shopping center, should I follow them?"

* * *

Out in the train yards on the outskirts of town a large crane lifted up the steel girders from the freight train with powerful chains before setting them down on a flatbed truck.

"Okay, I'm unhookin' 'em." said a worker.

Anna on the couch next the window and watched as the workers went about their jobs, with some draining the tanker car of its tar while others goth the easy job of unloading the machinery from the box cars. They hadn't anticipated so many workers here today, maybe the delay caused by their little group of passengers made them wait longer than expected so they had more hands to get the unloading jobs done faster and at this rate they would get to leave earlier.

She looked over to see Tom finishing up signing the paperwork a foreman had given him. After the workers were finished they'd uncouple the cars and get the caboose back on and let one of the shunting engines take the freight cars out of the way while they went to be refueled. She looked over to see the elder twin peacefully sleeping on the bed despite all the noise, how she did that Anna didn't know.

She looked up to the sky and noticed a small ship heading into town while decreasing speed. It was a bit odd since the ship didn't look at all like the smaller kinds of airships that tended to be at Hondyama's small airfield, in fact if she didn't know any better she'd think it was an attack ship...

* * *

Hondyama's shopping center was obviously one of the town's more busy areas; in contained a rather nice clothing store, a movie and book shop, a Dust shop, a hardware store, a jewelry store, and a large market place area in the center that had foods of all kinds, including a small building that housed the frozen foods. While it might seem a bit odd to an outsider to leave so much food out in the open the stands and aisles were sealed off when it came time to close, so as to keep the food fresh.

Qrow leaned against a building while nearby Winter sat on a bench talking to her house maid over the scroll with Penny happily sitting next to her, content to watch the busy people around her. He took out his flash and drank from it, only to discover that it was nearly empty. "Crap." he muttered. He walked into the marketplace to find some more whisky to refill his trusty old flask. He glanced back at Winter who still didn't seem to be bothered by the heat despite wearing her full uniform. Qrow had been on many missions in harsh desert areas but no matter how many times he came out to Vacuo he never got used to the heat. 'Maybe it's a bird thing.' Qrow thought to himself, making him chuckle out loud.

Meanwhile Yatsuhashi and the present members of Team SSSN stood in front of a fruit stand and the vendor was supplying them with a fruit known as Pitaya, or dragon fruit, which Yatsuhashi had never eaten before since it was native to hot climates.

"Thanks Vinnie." Sun said to the vendor.

"Sure thing."

"Okay boys, Pitayas can be kinda bland but when take in the spices this guy puts on 'em they're really tasty." Sun said as he passed one to each of the four boys, along with little spoons used to scoop out the flesh of the fruit from the skin. "Dig in."

They used the little spoons to scoop out the white fruit with small black dots on it and ate up, it tasted a bit odd, like a mixture of kiwi, pear, and melon but the spices put on it did in fact give it quite a bit of a tasty zing.

"Hmm, nice!" Neptune declared.

"I must admit it is very appetizing." Yatsuhashi said.

"Yeah, I've had dragon fruit before and it can be pretty bland." Scarlet commented.

Neptune looked to his partner and said "Sorry I brought up your dad man, it was kinda inappropriate."

"Don't sweat it man." Sun told him.

"So did Blake tell your mum about her dark history?" Scarlet inquired.

"Not yet, my mom said she doesn't have to until she's more comfortable, but I think they'll make some progress." Sun stated.

Neptune nodded before he looked to the largest member of the team and said "Hey Yatsu, so if you don't mine me asking... are you and Velvet like... together?"

Yatsuhashi swallowed and said "No. We are partners and good friends, I have saved her many times on missions and she has saved me from grievous injury on more than one occasion and while she is quite beautiful, for the time being we are not romantically involved."

"But you wish you were?" Sun asked.

Yatsuhashi was silent for a solid ten seconds before saying "I don't know."

"Hey, cheer up man. I think you got a chance with her." Neptune said encouragingly.

"Yeah dude, I mean you've got muscles some guys out there would kill for, like Jaune from a year ago." Sun joked, which got a small smile out of his large teammate.\

"Thank you. I will think about this later." he said.

"There are times like this I'm kinda jealous, I mean you don't see girls lining up for me." Scarlet bemoaned.

"Hey, what about that Neon girl from Team FNKI? She seemed to like you." Neptune said.

"Ha, yeah right." Scarlet laughed.

As this was going on the girls were in the clothing store, but while Coco and Velvet were in the back dressing room Team RWBY looked about the store.

Ruby approached Weiss and said "Hey, can we talk?"

"Of course we can, what about?" Weiss asked.

"Well uh... can we talk in private?" Ruby inquired bashfully.

Weiss glanced at Ruby and said "Very well, I..." she didn't get to finish as Ruby grabbed her and dragged her off into the bathroom.

"Oh man, nice gloves, they're just my colors." Yang said as she admired a pair of black and yellow leather gloves. But she sighed sadly as she looked at her metallic arm that was too large for a glove. "If it wasn't for my robo-arm they'd be perfect." she finished as she put them back on the shelf.

Blake nearly said something but silently observed instead and once her partner was no longer looking at the gloves she quickly grabbed them.

Ruby dragged Weiss into the bathroom and made sure it was empty as Weiss cried out "Ruby! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Keep your voice down! I don't want anyone to hear us." Ruby said nervously.

Weiss gave Ruby a look and asked "Is something wrong? Is there a reason you're being so secretive? Ruby, you can tell my anything, I'm your partner and despite my attitude at time I do care for you."

Ruby sighed and said "That's what I want to talk to you about."

"Beg pardon?"

"I think we've... been avoiding what happened when we were reunited in Haven for too long." Ruby said, making Weiss' eyes widen. She knew what the younger girl was talking about; those kisses.

"Ruby, it was a spur of the moment thing. I had been so worried about you and was so happy to see you were alright I..." the heiress looked at the silver eyed girl and saw the confusion in those beautiful orbs, Ruby had changed a bit; she was now only a mere inch shorter than Weiss and her hair was a bit longer, but those eyes still had that wonderful kindness, determination, and innocence in them. "Ruby, I love you dearly as a friend and as a partner, you have helped me in more ways than I ever could have imagined. When we first met I was so stuck up and full of myself and my family's legacy, I was so sure that nearly everyone at Beacon was beneath me but you... all of you helped me discover that I was wrong and that I underestimated all of you terribly."

"So there was love in that kiss?" Ruby asked.

"... Yes but not romantic love, or maybe there was... I don't know okay! You kissed me back too, was there love in that?" she inquired.

"I don't know either." Ruby admitted, "We were so busy trying to save Pyrrha from being frozen that it was just a spur of the moment thank you for everything you had done. You risked everything, including your own life, to save Penny because it was the right thing to do. You risked so much for her and for me that I thought kissing you back was the only real way to thank you."

Weiss smiled and said "You always have been clueless to subtlety, but I guess that's what makes you so... you."

"So Weiss do you think we could ever be... together? I mean what about you and Neptune?" Ruby pointed out.

"I think it's obvious that we're no longer together like that. We are still good friends and you know as well as I do how wonderful Neptune is but I decided he's just not for me in that way." Weiss said before taking a breath and continuing with "As for you and I, as a couple? I... I don't really know yet. I mean, if there are two things that the last year has taught it's never underestimate anyone no matter how goofy they appear to be at first glance and that anything is possible."

Ruby smiled and said "To be honest, I don't think I'm ready for a serious romance yet."

"Oum knows that's true. I mean, it could happen but for the time being can we still be partners and friends?" Weiss asked.

"The best." Ruby answered with a happy grin before she hugged Weiss, who smiled and returned the hug.

As they left the bathroom they ran into Blake who said "Come on, Coco wants us in the changing rooms, she's gotten Velvet into something."

Both Ruby and Weiss gave the Faunus girl a curious look but she just shrugged before she led them away

"You can't hide in there forever Velv!" Coco said as she and Yang waited outside of the dressing booth in the dressing room area. Luckily they were the only ones there so no one could stare and gawk at them as they waited for the shy Rabbit Faunus to come out.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked as the rest of Team RWBY came in.

"Coco gave Velvet a revealing outfit and she doesn't want to show us." the blonde brawler explained.

"Why doesn't she just put her clothes back on?" Weiss inquired.

"I swiped 'em." Coco answered as she held up Velvet's outfit.

"Clever girl." Blake muttered, which got a laugh out of Yang.

"You bet I am, come on Velv it's just us! I've seen you in your underwear before and you trust these girls, right?" Coco urged.

"I'll only come out if you all promise not to take pictures or say a word of this to any of the boys... especially Yatsu!" she demanded nervously.

"What are you making her wear?" Blake asked as she took out her scroll.

"You'll see, just get rid of your scroll." Coco said as she placed her scroll on the ground and slid it over to the other side of the wall. The girls of Team RWBY didn't know what to make of this but decided to follow her example and do the same with their own scrolls. "They're gone Velvet, come on out."

"Okay..." she muttered. She slowly began to open the white door that separated her booth from the main dressing room before saying "But first you all have to promise you won't make fun of me!"

"We promise Velvet." Weiss swore.

"What's to make fun of? I think you'd look good in anything." Ruby encouraged.

"Well maybe not everything, I mean there's stuff even I can't pull off but we won't make fun of you." Coco agreed.

"If it shows off some skin don't worry, I have worn way worse." Yang assured her.

"Come on out." Blake urged.

Velvet took a deep breath before opening up the door to reveal a rather breathtaking outfit that looked it belonged on a belly dancer; she wore no shoes and her waist was covered by a sarong skirt that was cut on both sides to show both of her legs. The sapphire sarong skirt itself hugged her waist tightly, giving any and all who beheld it a very generous view of her hips and her pale, thin torso. The top she wore was the same color as he skirt and hugged her chest tightly, making her cleavage stand out. She wore a hand band that was a mere inch away from her ears and a arm band on her left arm which was holding her dangling right one nervously. She was blushing madly so she hung her dead down to stare at the floor to avoid eye contact.

Yang whistled in admiration before giving into a teasing temptation to say "I think I know a certain seven foot tall samurai who'd faint at the sight of this."

"Tell me about it, I don't think he could keep up that whole 'tall, dark, brooding, and hansom loner' bit for much long if he saw this." Coco agreed.

"As I said, tell Yatsuhashi about this and I will tear your worlds asunder." the Rabbit Faunus meekly threatened.

"Don't worry, this will be our little secret." promised Ruby.

"Besides, you look absolutely breathtaking." Blake assured her.

"Th-thanks." Velvet said.

"So, besides the pleasure of seeing one very drop dead gorgeous Faunus girl in a revealing dress..." Coco joked, "can anyone tell me why I did this?"

"Because it makes Velvet look sexy?" Yang guessed, which made the shy girl in front of her blush a little more.

"... Well yeah, but besides that didn't any of you notice that this is how a lot of girls around our age dress around here?" Coco asked.

"Well it is blistering out there, cool clothing is probably normal for them no matter how revealing." Weiss stated.

"Right, but I noticed that around here clothes like that are the norm." Coco said before she held up a cropped olive undershirt and added "Look familiar?"

"Yeah, that looks like what Emerald wore!" Ruby said.

Coco nodded and began to explain "Right; remember what Ruby told us what Cinder had let slip about her little cronies during their 'training sessions' before we left Haven? Well I decided to look into those little details. You see, fashion can tell you a lot about a person if you pay close attention; where they're from, what they're like, if they care or not about how they look... and clothes like the ones Emerald tended to wear scream Vacuo. Fox comes from Vacuo too so I asked him if the girls from places like this dress like Emerald did and he said yeah. And if you've paid attention you'll have noticed that the girls around here tend to show a lot of skin due to the light clothes they wear because of the heat and Emerald probably wears those kind of clothes out of habit."

"You can tell all that from the clothes a person wears?" Weiss asked.

"Oh yeah, like how I can tell that you, your big sis, and Neptune wear nice fancy outfits because of your Atlesian upbringing, Blake tends to wear black to match her personality and the whole black cat thing, Ren's outfit has some ninja influence, I could go on." Coco said with a sly smile. "When you're a fashionista like me and the daughter of one of the world's top models you tend to learn things like this."

"So what about Mercury?" Blake inquired.

"Ruby said that Cinder mentioned Mercury's dad was an assassin named Marcus Black who did some very messed up things to his own son. I looked this guy up and he's an assassin who until Ruby spilled the beans was listed with 'whereabouts unknown'. He came from the north-west part of Vale, where gray hair is pretty common, just like a certain headmaster of ours." Coco revealed.

"So Ozpin and Mercury could be from the same neck of the woods?" Yang said.

"Correct. In hindsight I guess they should have known something was up when the ambulance taking Mercury to the hospital never showed up." Coco said.

"Tell me about it." Yang muttered bitterly.

"So, what is the point of all this?" Blake asked.

"To get a better grasp on our enemy. Now it's pretty unlikely that Emerald came from this town, but from what I've read orphans running around the streets and stealing things isn't uncommon in the towns of Vacuo, so combine that with how she dresses and it's a safe bet that Miss Sustrai came from some town in Vacuo. And thanks to what Ashe told us we know that Cinder came from Mistral." Coco stated.

"That's all well and good, but can I please have my clothes back now?" Velvet begged.

"Sure thing, Velv." Coco said as she tossed her friend back her outfit. "But we're buying the stuff you're wearing."

"Why?" Velvet asked.

Coco smirked before saying "Because not only will it look good on me, but I know that in the future you are gonna use that to wow a certain samurai before you rock his world..."

"Okay, no more talking!" the Rabbit Faunus cried as her face got redder.

* * *

Adam and a small group of others jumped from roof to roof, quietly and unnoticed until they arrived at the neighborhood where the Wukong family lived. He had sent other members of the White Fang out to hijack cars for the escape when things got hectic and the ship, which had landed on the western outskirts of the town, was about to send the group of Grimm Knights to their location.

"Is everyone ready?" Adam asked.

"Yes sir." they all answered.

* * *

As Haulan sat on the living room's couch and watched the television Gina went back to the dishes and was currently putting them back in the cabinets, humming a little tune to herself as she did so. Gina didn't really know what to make of her son's girlfriend just yet but Blake seemed like a nice enough girl, she must be if Sun was willing to run off from Haven Academy for a few days to find.

She felt that she would just have to get to know Blake as time went on, no good trying to force her to open up. Just then there was a knock at the door, she was about to ask Haulan to answer it but decided to do it herself, just in case it wasn't her son and his teammates. She walked to the door once again and opened it up to see a small crowd of Faunus and she didn't recognize a single one of them. "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked right before the group parted to reveal a tall man who brought up his powerful leg to kick her in the stomach and knocked her down on her back a few feet away, making her cry out in pain.

"Mom?!" cried Haulan as she jumped over the couch and ran over to her mother as several Faunus armed with guns rushed into the house while the Bull Faunus with blood red hair who kicked Gina down took out his sword and pointed it at them.

"Hello Mrs. Wukong, these good people are members of the White Fang organization and I am its leader, Adam Taurus. I believe you've recently met someone who belongs to us."

* * *

Blake stood near the entrance of the clothes store while Coco, with some help from Weiss, paid for the clothes they had purchased. She had went up to the register a little early with a surprise for Yang she'd give her some time in the future; the pair of gloves the blonde brawler had been admiring. She had decided to buy them in secret and keep the right glove while giving Yang the left glove, it seemed to be perfect as a nice gift. The gloves currently rested in her pocket as she leaned against the door only for her ears to perk up at the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind.

She was about to turn around when a voice whispered "We have your boyfriend's family. Give yourself up to Adam if you want to save them."

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear god my writer's block was at full peak, I procrastinated for all of Monday and most of Tuesday and Wednesday before forcing myself to write this chapter. There was a big part of me that just didn't want to write for some reason so I'm sorry if this chapter sucks, since I fear it might be another weak one. But again, thanks to RelentlessCrusader for helping me out with some ideas for Sun's family.
> 
> Okay... Velvet in belly dancer-esque outfit, don't act like it's not both adorable and sexy, it's shameless but I think it works and it will help out later.
> 
> Also, some WhiteRose development, finally and some development for Sun, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi. And don't put too much thought into the idea of Scarlet/Neon, its just a nod to their voice actors.
> 
> Announcement time guys: In October there will not be many updates as that's the month where I just go insane and binge watch/read/play a bunch of horror movies/shows/books/comics/games. I will get a chapter out (and maybe a second one) in that month.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit.


	34. The Elite Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Blake quickly reached behind her and grabbed whoever had snuck up on her and flipped him over, slamming him to the ground to reveal it was the Coyote Faunus Qrow had spotted on the roof earlier. A good many people around the front of the store all snapped to watch the scene, wondering what had just happened.

"Ow!" the Coyote moaned as Blake grabbed him and hoisted him up.

"Word of advice; don't try to sneak up on me in the middle of the day and without backup." Blake snarled.

"Blake! What is going on?!" cried Weiss as the rest of Team RWBY and Velvet ran over to Blake.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"This guy snuck up on me and told me that 'we' have Sun's family and that if I want to keep them safe I have to give myself up to Adam." Blake elaborated, making Ruby and Velvet gasp.

"I'll get the others." Weiss said seriously before she ran off into the market place while Yang grabbed the Faunus from Blake and slammed him into the wall.

"Okay bud, spill it! What's going on?!" Yang demanded while Coco finished paying for their clothes.

"Hang on to these for me, okay? I'll be back after we deal with this. Call the cops." she said to the cashier, who was a little shocked by the incident but nodded and reached for the phone.

"I said spill it!" Yang ordered loudly as she slammed the Faunus into the wall again.

"Okay! Adam Taurus and some White Fang soldiers have made it into the city and they have the Wukong family hostage. If Belladonna, or maybe all of you, give up and surrender to him he'll let them go." the Faunus explained.

"That bastard." Yang muttered before she slammed the Faunus to the ground.

"Hey! I'm just a lookout and messenger, okay?! If you didn't want to get them involved you shouldn't have come around White Fang turf." he said.

"This isn't your turf, I don't know if you've noticed but a majority of Vacuo's Faunus population are done with the White Fang." Coco stated.

"That's what you think..." the Faunus muttered.

"Where are they?" Blake inquired.

"At the Wukong's home. As I said, give yourselves up and no harm will come to them."

"Like this Adam jerk-wad would keep his word." Ruby growled as Weiss came rushing back with Qrow, Winter, Penny, Sun, and the others behind her.

Sun grabbed the Coyote Faunus from off the ground and slammed him back into the wall.

"Again with the wall! What is it with you people?!" the Faunus asked before Sun slammed his fist into his face.

"They have my family! What did you do?!" Sun demanded.

"Like I said, I'm just a lookout, one of many, we watch for potential recruits or trouble makers. Adam has been having us all keep a look out for Belladonna or anyone connected to her. Sorry blondie but your family is now connected to her." the Faunus said, which made Sun growl furiously.

He was about to punch him again but Qrow caught his fist.

"I recognize this punk, I saw him on the roof of the house across from yours. You followed us?" Qrow asked him.

"I was ordered to, to tell you about this so Adam wouldn't have to wait. The cops are probably at the house right now." the Faunus said. Blake and Velvet listened and indeed they could just barely hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance.

"You're gonna pay for endangering my mom and sister." Sun snarled.

"Blame Belladonna for that." The Coyote spat.

In response Sun slammed his fist into the lookout's face hard enough to knock him out. Sun let the Faunus drop to the ground unconscious, breathing hard and furiously. Neptune placed a hand on his partner's shoulder and said "We'll save them, I promise."

Qrow and Winter looked at each other. "If Taurus is here now we have an opportunity to end this early."

"Hell yeah we do." Qrow agreed as a duo of police officers arrived. "Take this punk in, we got a hostage situation to deal with."

"Wait, what?" one of the cops asked.

"But we need to..." the other began before they all ran off.

"No time now, gotta save the day!" Ruby said as Team Beacon ran off.

As they ran out of the marketplace Blake managed to get alongside Sun and say "Sun, I am so, so, so sorry! This is all my fault."

"No, we talk about this later. Right now the only thing that matters is getting my mom and sister out of there." he said, his voice filled with an unusual seriousness that she had never heard before. His voice lacked any of the good natured cockiness she was used to from him, she could tell he didn't care whose fault it was, right now he was just dead set on saving his family.

Deep down Blake was afraid he would hate her for this and if anything were to happen to Gina and Haulan...

She didn't want to think about it.

"Well Branwen, this mission might not take so long after all, there is a positive to this." Winter said.

"A woman and a child are being held hostage because of our presence here, how is that a positive?" Qrow asked.

"If we can defeat Taurus here today we can end this mission early and force him to release Claudandus." Winter elaborated.

"It's never that easy." Qrow said, a plan to deal with this mess already forming in his head.

* * *

Adam looked out the window to see several of White Fang troops and Grimm Knights standing their ground while a group of nearly three dozen police officers with several police cars stood scattered about the street with guns out, he could tell they were totally unsure of what to do in a hostage situation, which was good since that made this all the easier to pull off. They had told the cops that they had hostages, which made these local cops, who had obviously rarely, if ever, dealt with a situation like this, hold off on doing anything until they got a better grasp on the ordeal, which would take a long time.

Adam knew Blake and her friends would be here soon, as a few minutes ago Wilder had reported in and was told to tell Blake of the situation at hand and what she needed to do for the outcome not to get bloody. Adam knew Wilder was probably out cold by now, no doubt beaten into submission by Wukong or Xiao Long, maybe even both, but it was obvious that Team Beacon was on its way. He just hoped that Razor and his Elite Guard got here, because once their numbers were increased by those warriors it would be obvious to Blake that she had no choice but to surrender.

He looked back to the living room where Wukong's mother and sister sat on the floor surrounded by White Fang guards and a couple of Grimm Knights.

Gina had tear stains on her face as she was obviously terrified for her daughter's life and her own as she held her youngest child close to her body. It was fairly obvious by now that the dark past Blake had included being involved with the White Fang, but Gina couldn't really be mad at the girl for that since she obviously left their foolish cause she didn't really know how to feel towards the girl due to the fact that her current and primary focus was keeping her daughter safe. Haulan, while nervous and afraid of what these people would do to her, tried to hide it and put on a brave and defiant face.

"So where'd you get the robots from? They look pretty cool." she said. Adam and the others ignored her at first before she called "Hey masked man! I'm talkin' to you! You break into my house, hurt my mom, want to do something creepy with my brother's girlfriend, so the least you can do is answer one little stinkin' question!"

"Haulan, be quiet!" Gina scolded nervously as Adam turned to face the.

He smiled and said "We got them from a... benefactor. Your brother and his friends went up against similar robots in Haven but these come from Vacuo, they're made of a different metal and are a little harder to destroy. They won't be easy to beat. I must say, you're awfully brave for one so young. You remind me of myself when I was your age. But unlike you I knew the full extent of mankind's cruelty. You obviously do not."

"Yeah, I've been picked on because of my tail, so what? You can't take a joke?" Haulan asked before Gina placed a hand over her mouth.

"Haulan, please! Don't upset him! I don't want you to get hurt!" her mother begged.

"No, let her speak. I won't hurt her... unless your son and Blake force me to." Adam said. Gina, too afraid to refuse, took her hand off of Haulan's mouth. "You know, I had a sister. She wasn't like you, she was shy, afraid of nearly everything, so I had to be the brave one, I had to stand up for her and others. The humans didn't like that, not one bit. I don't have a family anymore, do you know why?"

Haulan, eyes now betraying her nervousness, muttered "I... I don't want to talk to you anymore..."

Adam grabbed her face, pulled her close to him and said "Humans killed my family, including my little sister, and marked my head, that is why I wear this mask. Do you have anything else to say?"

"Yeah; my brother is going to kick your ass." she hissed.

"Haulan!" Gina scolded.

Adam smirked and shoved the young girl into her mother. "I doubt that very much. I take it you've met Blake's partner Yang, well by now you've noticed her robotic arm and that was my doing, so if your brother fights me I will do the same to him with little effort." he said.

"Sir, they're coming!" said a female White Fang operative.

"Excellent. Make sure they don't try anything." Adam said to the guards, who nodded and kept their guns aimed at the mother and daughter.

* * *

Team Beacon, with Sun, Blake, and Qrow in the lead, arrived at the neighborhood the Wukong family resided in only to find it surrounded by police officers and closer to the house were White Fang troops with a few Grimm Knights added to the mix.

"Oh great, its those tin cans again." Yang muttered before quickly adding "No offense Penny."

"None taken, besides we can take them out easily." Penny said.

"Doubtful, if we rush into this Mrs. Wukong and the girl could be seriously hurt." Winter remarked before she approached the officer in charge, a human who appeared to be in his fifties with graying hair. "Officer, I am Winter Schnee, a specialist of the Atlas military."

He shook her hand and said "I'm Chief Banner, I'm glad we have a military specialist here because he could use some help with this, we're are really out of our league Specialist Schnee. These White Fang punks have at least two hostages in there and they refuse to give any demands for ransom or anything."

"We know what he wants; me." Blake said as she stepped forward. She looked towards the house and at the guards, none of them did anything more than briefly look at her, their expressions hidden by their masks.

"Have the hostages been hurt? That's my mom and sister in there!" Sun said.

"We don't know, but we assume their unharmed for now." Banner said, which didn't make Sun feel any better.

"Hey, the door is opening up!" cried a cop. Everyone looked to the front door as it opened to reveal Adam, standing proud and arrogant. He looked to Blake and the rest of Team Beacon and allowed himself a small smirk.

"Hello, my love." he said to Blake.

"Don't call me that, you lost that right when you joined forces with Cinder." Blake hissed.

"You bastard." Sun growled, "Trust me Taurus, no amount of doctors, aura, or science will be able to fix what I will do to you if you've hurt my mother or sister!"

"Don't worry Wukong, they're unharmed for now. Blake, come up here." Adam ordered.

"No way, she's not going with you alone!" Ruby objected furiously.

"Very well then, who will come with her? How about you, Xiao Long? Up for another severed arm?" Adam taunted dryly.

"Keep cracking jokes, dick weed, it'll make all the sweeter when I slam my robo-arm into your face." Yang snarled.

"Save it." Winter said to the blonde before giving her attention to Adam. "Mr. Wukong will go in with her, he needs to be assured that his family is safe."

"Very well. Surrender your weapons, all of you. Throw them out of reach. Now since Xiao Long and the robot's weapons are technically part of their bodies and therefore can't simply toss them aside my guards and the Grimm Knights keep their aim on anyone who's unlucky enough to be in the way so if they try anything 'innocent' people will die because of them." Adam said. The guards all nodded and made sure to keep their aim on the police officers or at the members of Team Beacon themselves.

"Unacceptable, we need to protect ourselves as well as others." Winter denied but Qrow stepped forward.

"No, drop your weapons kids." Qrow ordered as he noticed one of the police cars towards the back was parked over a manhole cover.

"Are you sure Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"Listen to him, unless you want guns to start firing." Adam called.

Ruby glared at him but threw Crescent Rose down to the ground about ten feet away from her. Weiss reluctantly nodded and did the same with her rapier, followed by Neptune, Scarlet, Coco, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Winter, Blake, Sun, and Qrow all doing the same. Yang took off her left gauntlet, while never taking her glaring eyes that had changed from lilac to red off of Adam's form. Penny, for her part, remained still and careful to make sure her weapons wouldn't activate by instinct, should it cause someone to get hurt.

"Come on in." Adam beckoned as Blake and Sun walked up to the house and stepped inside, the door closing behind them.

"Qrow, I hope you have a plan to salvage this." Winter whispered.

"Trust me." he whispered before he walked over to the car and sat down behind it, out of the White Fang's field of vision. "I got an idea." he added before he beckoned Penny to come over to him. He whispered something to her and when she nodded he rolled underneath the car.

Winter sighed before looking to Ruby and Yang and asked "I'm never going to get used to him, am I?"

"Probably not." Ruby answered.

"Oh no." Yang admitted with a little smirk.

Winter shook her head before she looked to Penny, "What did he say to you?"

"Mr. Branwen said to jump in when the fighting starts." Penny answered quietly.

Winter moaned, knowing Qrow was probably going to pull something dangerous and stupid. She got on her knees to look under the car. "Qrow what are you...? What in the name of...?!"

Qrow had vanished. Had they paid close attention a few seconds ago they would have noticed a crow hopping out from under the police car and taking flight.

* * *

Blake and Sun followed Adam into the house, escorted by several guards who all had their guns carefully aimed at them.

He stopped and turned to face them, "What happened to your ear?" he asked Blake, pointing to the small portion of her ear that was missing.

"Cinder cut it off during the Battle of Haven." Blake answered.

"She didn't tell me about that, but then again she has been rather reclusive for the last five months. Now second of all I want to know where Nikos and Arc are, Salem knows they are alive so it is a safe bet she would like them back." Adam stated.

"They're back at Vale, Beacon to be specific. Good luck capturing them there while they're surrounded by nearly two hundred Hunters." Blake answered.

"Oh well, I suppose Cinder and her followers will just have to get them later." Adam said as they arrived in the living room.

Sun's heart skipped a beat at the sight of his mother and sister sitting in the center of the living room floor with guns pointed at them, with Hui the White Fang Lieutenant standing firmly over them.

"Sun!" Gina cried.

"M-mom... oh gods..." Sun stuttered out.

Blake felt terrible, she couldn't help but blame herself for this entire ordeal, but the pain in Sun's voice was making it worse. "Alright Adam you have me, now let them go." she demanded.

"Not just yet, I think of them as leverage for the time being, assurance that you won't try anything. I know you very well, my love, and I know you're capable of more than a few tricks without your weapon so until our extraction arrives we keep them as hostages." Adam said.

"You won't get away with it Adam, my friends out there will stop you." Blake stated.

"I doubt that." Adam voiced as he glanced to the mother and daughter, looking at Sun. "Do they know, Blake? Do they know about your past? That you are one of us?"

Gina and Haulan looked shocked, while Gina had suspected it after Adam arrived she didn't want it to be true.

Blake sighed and answered "No, I was going to tell Gina but she gave me time to be comfortable, so she didn't know. And I am not one of you, not anymore. A year ago last month I left you for good Adam. I thought leaving you and the Fang behind would make you understand that I couldn't follow you down the path you were treading but... but now I know I only made things worse. You were becoming a bad person, but when you helped Cinder attack Beacon, cut off Yang's arm, and tried to kill me it was clear to me that you've become nothing but a monster."

"You call me a monster, even though you know what humanity did to my family? To me?" he asked as he lazily traced a hand over his mask. "No, they're the monsters and you are the freak for joining them."

"Keep talking horn head, I'll take your sword, cut off those horns, and shove 'em up your ass!" Sun yelled furiously.

"Cute." Adam muttered as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Adam, please, prove to me that the man I once loved is still in there, prove to me that you have respect for what the White Fang are supposed to be; let them go and sever your ties with Salem." Blake pleaded.

"I won't do that, even if I wanted to I couldn't. Surrender yourself to me Blake and I might just let your little silver eyed leader and the rest of your friends go unharmed for the time being." Adam demanded.

"No. I will never be yours and I know you won't keep your word. You didn't before." she said angrily.

Adam smiled and said "You think you're so damn clever, don't you? Wrong!"

In the blink of an eye he unsheathed his sword and grabbed Haulan by the hair to yanked her up and place his sword under her neck.

Haulan let out a scream of fear as Gina cried "NO! No please! Take me just don't hurt my baby!" She tried to get up but several White Fang guards kept her pinned down.

"Get your damn hands off of my little sister!" Sun screamed, but before he could do anything a Grimm Knight grabbed him to hold him back.

"Adam don't!" shouted Blake as Hui grabbed her to hold her still.

"Your choice my love, be mine again or I slit open this little brat's throat!" Adam roared.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I never wanted any of you to get hurt becasue of my past!" Blake cried to Sun and his family. "I'll come with you just let her go! She has nothing to do with this!" Blake yelled.

"Yes she does, when you left me for him you involved her in it. I lost a sister once, it's only fair he should lose... AH!" Adam yelled in pain as he dropped both Haulan and his sword. Blake could see that Haulan had somehow stabbed Adam in the ribs... with a thumb tack.

Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, Qrow crashed through the widows and collided into a White Fang guard, his feet slamming into the thug's head and knocking him out.

The Grimm Knights began blasting at Qrow, so Sun used this distraction to create four clones via his Semblance. Two of the clones crashed into the Grimm Knights, blowing up and knocking them off balance and while the third one collided into the White Fang guards who were holding his mother, and one more into Hui, which freed Blake from his grasp. Sun jumped forward and slammed his fist right into Adam's jaw, and Haulan quickly yelled at Adam "Told ya!"

"Where did you come from?" Blake asked Qrow as he grabbed a wooden chair and threw it at a Grimm Knight. He quickly grabbed the gun of one of the out cold guard's and blasted one of the Grimm Knights down while the other avoided the blasts.

"From the sky." Qrow answered snarkily with a wry smile.

Sun quickly grabbed his sister and mother's hands and began to pull them to safety.

"You always do steal the dumbest things. I mean a thumb tack, really?" Sun asked his little sister with a small grin.

"I swiped one from Mrs. Fa's board, I needed it to put up a poster." Haulan justified.

"Oh Sun, thank goodness..." Gina began before the second Grimm Knight jumped in front of them, guns out and ready to fire.

"No!" cried Blake.

"Kill them!" ordered Adam.

Just then Penny came crashing through the front window and slammed two of her swords into the Grimm Knight's torso. She used the powerful strings to pull it over to her as her arm transformed into gun mode and she blasted the Knight's head multiple times at point blank range until it exploded.

Gina's mouth was agape while Haulan managed to find her voice and say "She is so cool!"

"Thank you." Penny said perkily before she grabbed a White Fang trooper and threw him out the shattered window and into the fist of Yang.

"Is everyone alright?" Yang asked as she climbed through the window. It turns out that Qrow had told Penny that he would sneak away and once the fighting would start she would lead the others into action to take down the White Fang. Penny told Ruby and they passed it from there and once the fighting began Penny and Yang led the charge with Penny using her swords to disarm the White Fang guards while Yang kept the Grimm Knights distracted long enough for everyone to reclaim their weapons.

"Yes, oh thank Oum!" Gina said as she hugged her children to her, kissing their foreheads.

"Mom!" They both whined.

Adam tried to get up only to be stopped by Qrow.

"You're not going anywhere." he said. Then Hui grabbed Qrow by the neck and threw him across the room, into the wall.

"We must retreat sir!" Hui yelled as the last two White Fang troops supplied cover fire.

Adam took one last look at Blake and said "Agreed."

They jumped out the window where their three getaway cars were waiting only to discover that Qrow had knocked out the drivers.

"Damn it! We'll do just drive ourselves." Adam barked as he climbed into the car.

Ruby ran past the Wukong family once she was sure the were unhurt and made it to the window in time to see one of the cars pulling out. "They're getting away!" she cried.

"We can't let them get away, if we catch Taurus now we can end the threat of the White Fang much sooner than expected!" Winter declared as Qrow got up.

"Mom, we're going after them." Sun as he escaped from her grasp while Banner and a group of police rushed in through the front door.

"Sun, wait!" Gina called.

"Go get 'em!" encouraged Haulan as Coco

Blake gave Gina an apologetic look before following Ruby, Qrow, Winter, Sun, and Yang out of the window with Weiss and the others close behind.

"We can't all fit into one car, Qrow you take the first while I take the second." Winter ordered.

"You got it." Qrow agreed with a nod as he quickly got in the driver's seat of the first car and started it up. Team RWBY and Sun quickly piled into the car with him and they sped off after Adam, joined by a couple police cars. Winter took control of the second car while Penny, Neptune, Scarlet, and the present members of CFVY got in with her, but it was a rather tight fit, with Neptune on the left, Velvet in the center, Scarlet on the right, and Penny sitting on the floor, so Yatsuhashi climbed onto the roof of the car and hung on tight as Winter drove off to join the chase.

* * *

Adam sat in the front passenger while one of the two soldiers drove the car with Hui and the other trooper in the back. They had managed to get away from the suburbs quickly and easily and were now on the main road out of town but it wouldn't be easy getting away, he knew that much. Adam took out his scroll and called up the Elite Guard's ship, they should have been here by now.

Jinty answered but before he could get out a single word Adam shouted "Where are you?!"

"We're coming up into the town now, from the north." Jinty reported. Adam looked out the window and indeed he could see the shape of the Elite Guard's ship in the distance. "What's goin' on?" Jinty asked.

"The situation is no longer in our control, we're currently in a car heading for the bridge over the highway." Adam said. "Contact our pilot and tell her that she needs to pull out and return to base."

"Okay, will do. Help is on the way sir, Razor and the others will be heading your way with drop ships, just don't get caught." Jinty said before he ended the transmission.

Adam sighed, that damn Huntsman had come out of nowhere, had somehow taken out three armed White Fang soldiers without anyone hearing or noticing, and had ambushed them expertly. He knew he should have brought more troops but now was no time to reflect on the past, now was time to focus on getting away.

"Sir, we got company." Hui said from the back. Adam looked in the rear view mirror to see the two other cars they had hijacked as well as several police cars were speeding after them in pursuit.

"They just don't quit." Adam muttered before telling the other soldier "Shoot them, keep them back."

The soldier nodded and shot out the back window and began to open fire on their pursuers , he managed to hit the front tires of one of the police cars, causing them to spin out of control and veer wildly off the road where they came to a stop.

"They're shooting at us!" Velvet cried.

"Then let's shoot back!" Neptune declared. He looked at Scarlet and the redhead nodded. "Hold on to us Penny!" Neptune ordered. The robot girl nodded as both boys jolted up and opened the doors and with Penny hanging on to them with a mighty grip they were in no danger of falling out of the car and onto the rapidly going by road as they began to shoot at the White Fang.

"What are you...?! Oh forget it, Penny don't let go of them!" Winter ordered.

"Yes Ma'am!" Penny called.

Neptune and Scarlet kept firing at the escaping White Fang members and in the first car Yang said "Not a bad idea, wanna help 'em out Blake?"

Blake nodded and rolled down the window while Yang crawled over Weiss to stick her robotic arm out of the right side of the car and began shooting at their foes.

Hui, now armed with the driver's gun, began to help the solider return fire but it was hard to do that when the car was swerving wildly to the right and left of the nearly empty road to avoid being hit. Hui fired off three shots in rapid succession, managing to hit the second police car in the radiator and twice in the windshield, managing to blast the driver in the chest. The other cop in the car managed to get the driver unbuckled from his seat belt and out of the car before it went careening off of the road and crashed into a ditch.

"We're down another car!" Coco exclaimed.

"Then we better take out those gunner quick!" Neptune replied as he began to shoot faster as the approached the bridge.

"We got another car off our backs." Hui told Adam, before one of Scarlet's Dust bullets from his flintlock slammed into his shoulder and forced him to cry out in pain, and to make matters worse a stray shot from Neptune managed to land on his chest.

The soldier looked to Hui but before he could do anything a blast from Yang's gauntlet slammed into his side and knocked him out, his body collided with the back of the driver's seat which made the driver nearly lose control of the car.

"We need to take out the car. Yang, use the rocket!" Qrow ordered.

"What?!" Weiss, Blake, and Sun all cried in confusion.

"You sure about that Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked.

"Oh yeah, do it!" Qrow cried.

"Oh heck yeah! I finally get to see this in action!" Ruby cheered.

"What is going on?!" Weiss demanded to know.

"This!" Yang said as she pressed a small hidden compartment on her robotic arm that revealed a button. She pressed it and another hidden compartment opened up to reveal a rocket. "Boom goes the Adam!" she yelled as she fired it with a complex motion of her hand, it shot off her arm and slammed into the back of the car, making the rear tires burst and sending the car flipping into the air and landing upside down.

"Whoa." was all anyone could say, except for Ruby.

"That. Was. Awesome!" she cried.

"Hell yeah it was!" Yang agreed before she kissed her robotic arm while Qrow stopped the car.

"Time to take this punk down." Qrow said as Ruby handed Reaper to him, "Thank you." he said to her as they got out.

"Yang, where did you get that rocket from?" Weiss queried.

"Dr. Kimball installed it when he fixed it up, figured I'd need it and boy was he right. I've been dying to try it out and Mr. Crazy Redhead over there gave me the best opportunity ever." Yang explained.

"Hardcore." Sun muttered in admiration.

"Ohugh..." moaned Adam as he, Huo, and the driver crawled out of the wreck of the car. He glared up at Blake, her team, Qrow, and Sun while Winter and the last police car stopped a few meters away. Winter and the others got out of their car, after Winter told Penny that she no longer had to hold onto Neptune and Scarlet, of course. Adam tightened his grip on his sword as the driver grabbed the gun of the other soldier and tried to shoot but Ruby used her speed to jump up and slam her foot into his face, knocking him out. "No." Adam muttered as he shot up and unsheathed his sword, Wilt. "I will not go without a fight!"

"Take a look around kid, no way you're getting out of this." Qrow stated.

Just then Blake and Velvet's ears perked up. "We've got company!" Blake announced as she turned to see two drop ships approaching them with a third, much larger airship keeping away in the distance. "The Elite Guard!"

"The what?" Neptune asked.

"Some of the White Fang's top fighters, I should have known you had a backup plan!" Blake shouted at Adam.

"I usually do." Adam said as he made his way to the edge of the bridge and jumped off into the highway below.

"After him!" cried Winter as the drop ships opened up to reveal a grand total of seventeen Faunus warriors, nine in each ship. Blake recognized some of them all too well, including Razor and Kane.

Qrow pointed at Yang, Blake, and Sun and shouted "You kids take take the car and go after Taurus, we'll hold these clowns off."

"You got it, come on!" Yang said as she dashed over to the car and got into the driver's seat.

"You can do this guys, we trust you!" Ruby encouraged.

"Kick his butt!" called Neptune as Blake and Sun both got into the car.

On the highway a man had stopped his car to watch what was transpiring on the bridge so this gave Adam the chance to make some distance between he and his enemies. He threw the man on the ground and drove off.

"Hold on." Yang said as she built up speed before racing off the bridge and landing on the road below with a hard crash but luckily she had built up enough speed to keep going.

Razor saw this and said "Kong, take your group and go after Adam, make sure he's unharmed."

The Gorilla Faunus, armed with gauntlets, nodded and said "You got it Razor. Let's move out!" He led four other Faunus; an elephant, a hyena, a ram, and a dog, to the back of the ship while Razor jumped down to the ground with Kane as well as a female Faunus with the tail of a Mandrill and a large woman with the thick skin of a Rhino. A young Mouse Faunus girl led the warriors from the second ship down to reveal these types of Faunus included a large man who had the white hair and black eyes of a Polar Bear, a wild looking teenager with the feet of a Spider Monkey, a man with a Skunk tail, a girl with the wings of a Flying Squirrel, a guy with the ears of a Giraffe, a teenage girl with the claws of a Tasmanian Devil, and a man with the horns of a Buffalo all jumped down, ready for battle.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Two members of the infamous Schnee family." Razor said darkly as he withdrew his sword.

"Stand down, whatever crimes any of you have committed are unimportant. Let us capture Adam Taurus and..." Winter began but she was interrupted by the sound of some kind of large custom made vehicle bursting out of the side of the drop ship. It went sailing into the air and landed on the road below them and sped off after Yang and the others.

"Okay, listen bud; we couldn't care less abut what you want but like Ice Queen over there said; piss off and let us take down that Adam brat." Qrow said as he transformed Reaper into scythe mode.

"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to do that. Even if I have had my differences with Taurus in the past he is still my leader and I will not allow you to take him." Razor said while Hui took out his sword.

Winter quickly counted their numbers; while the White Fang currently had thirteen they only had ten, twelve counting the police officers who were hesitantly waiting off to the side. She secretly began to power herself up with aura, it looked like this situation would call for one of her larger summons.

"If you want a fight we'd be happy to oblige." Coco said as she transformed her bag into minigun form while Yatsuhashi swung out his sword. The two sides stood apart from each other on opposite sides of the road, ready to strike at any moment.

"You're leader's a no-good scumbag! Ten minutes ago he was perfectly willing to murder a Faunus child!" Qrow snapped, making many members of the White Fang Elite Guard all look to Razor, who in turn looked to Hui.

"Lieutenant Hui, is this true?" Razor inquired.

"No, this human is a lying fool." Hui stated.

"No he is not!" Ruby cried.

"Tell me girl, did you witness our leader attempting to murder a Faunus child? Can any of you truly back up this Huntsman's claims? Did any of you truly witness this?"

There was a dreadful silence from the present members of Team Beacon, as none of them could truly claim that they had.

"As I thought. " Razor remarked.

"The ones who did went after your leader. Sorry but I'm kinda getting tired of justifying myself to a terrorist cell." Qrow barked.

"And I no longer wish to speak to one who fraternizes with slavers like the Schnee family!" Razor barked back, pointing to Winter and Weiss.

"I beg your pardon?! Our family hasn't done such a thing for years!" Weiss cried out furiously as she loaded up a Dust crystal in the hilt of her sword.

"You, young one, are most likely unaware of the most recent sins your father has committed." the Polar Bear Faunus stated.

Before Weiss could argue Winter stopped her by saying "Enough of this. If you wish to stand in our way then we have no choice but to fight you." Deep down Winter was wondering what these Faunus meant by their father's recent sins.

"Very well. Attack!" Razor shouted.

All of a sudden an odd, yet beautiful music began playing but all of the Elite Guard members seemed to know what it was. The present members of team Beacon realized it was coming from the radio/boombox like device the Mouse Faunus had.

"Um, what the...?" Neptune began to ask before he received a kick in the gut from the Spider Monkey Faunus.

"Well that settles that." Coco muttered as she opened fire.

Ruby, however, was a little worried to fight living beings after the... incident at Haven. Over the months she had been training with Penny, Yang, and her dad to have better control, but that didn't mean her anxieties would automatically go away.

She saw her Uncle Qrow and Razor trade blows with their respective blades when the Flying Fox Faunus known as Alessandro Kane jumped in front of her.

"Hi, I'm Ruby." she said as she transformed Crescent Rose into its full form.

"Uh... hi, Kane, fight?" he asked as he held up his rifle/bayonet hybrid.

"Sure." Ruby answered before she dodged a shot from his rifle and slammed the pole of her weapon into his legs. Hopefully no one would be hurt at the end of this.

* * *

Out on the highway Yang kept her foot on the gas pedal, pouring on the speed as they drove after Adam.

"Run all you want, you're not getting away from us." Yang said darkly.

Blake looked behind them to see a vehicle she knew belonged to the Elite Guard chasing after them. "We've got company." she announced.

"So there's probably no reasoning with these Elite Guard guys?" Sun guessed.

"No, Razor is bound by honor to be loyal to whoever commands the White Fang." Blake explained as she loaded up a purple Dust crystal into Gambol Shroud.

"Well ain't that just our luck?" Yang joked before saying "Sun, take the wheel!"

"Sure thing." Sun agreed as he scrambled over to the seat next to him while Yang moved into the back with Blake.

"How many?" she asked.

"Probably four or five, I can't tell from here. We need to shoot out Adam's tires, we can't let him get away." Blake stated.

"Understood, I'll..." Yang was cut off by the shaking of the car as it was hit by a Dust blast. The partners looked back to see the Dog Faunus had jumped out of the car and was using an acceleration Semblance not to dissimilar from Ruby's to catch up with them.

Sun saw this and got an idea, he slammed the brakes hard, making the Dog Faunus accidentally outrun them as Blake opened the door. Sun used Jingu Bang to shoot the Faunus a few times, making him trip and lose his balance, so Blake took advantage of this and used Gambol Shroud's kusarigama to take his enemy out of the fight. She whipped it hard to wrap it around the Faunus' waist and then slammed it back, lifting him up and throwing him into a sign that was between the highway lanes.

"Well that's one down!" Yang said as she aimed for Adam's tires and fired multiple times. She scored hits on both of Adam's back tires and as the car swerved violently about she took out his left front tire, crippling his getaway vehicle further.

Adam quickly got out of the car and took out his sword, ready for action.

Sun opened up the driver's door and created a few clones. "Take him down!" he ordered as they rushed forward.

"Sun, no! That's a bad idea!" Blake cried, but it was too late. The clones all crashed into Adam harmlessly as he used his Semblance to absorb their energy. He grimaced as he channeled their energy into his blade and jumped up into the air and slammed his sword down a few feet from the car, totally demolishing it. Yang, Blake, and Sun all jumped out just in time as the car flew over Adam and landed in a ruined heap behind him.

"Okay, not the best of ideas I've had." Sun admitted as he got up.

"Yeah, we should have warned you about his Semblance." Yang said bitterly, remembering what it did to her.

Adam growled furiously and said "If you thought you could defeat me like that then you are sorely mistaken."

"Well whatever your plan was it obviously failed big time." Yang said to him as he eyed began to turn red.

Blake looked over to see Kong, along with the Hyena and Ram Faunus running towards them and in the distance she could see the Elephant Faunus she recognized as Babara helping the Dog Faunus she had defeated into their vehicle.

"Commander Taurus, sir! Are you injured?" Kong called.

"Just attack them!" Adam shouted as he slashed at Blake, who easily dodged his attack.

"You got it!" said the Hyena Faunus took out a mace.

Kong activated his gauntlets and charged Yang who didn't back down. Her eyes shone red and her hair began to glow as she met him fist to fist, the impact of their gauntlets colliding created a small shockwave in midair that forced them both back.

Blake quickly used Gambol Shroud to shoot Adam in the shoulder to slow him down, then she used the Dust crystal in her sword's hilt to power up the blade. "Yang, get clear!" she called as Sun used his weapons' combined form to pole vault right into the Hyena Faunus while creating a clone to knock down the Ram.

Yang smirked and jumped out of the way, giving Blake a clear shot. She slammed her blade down and a purple energy arc was created, it zoomed over to Kong and exploded on impact, blowing him back. Yang grinned as she opened fire with every ounce of ammo her gauntlets had while Blake went back to fighting Adam.

She fired twice at him, he managed to dodge the first blow but the second landed on his shoulder before his aura could heal his previous wound. Adam ignored the pain and swung his sword out but she dodged the attack by leaning back, letting the blade move above her body. Blake dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way of another swing and jumped up to parry another strike.

The two pressed their blades against each other as Adam said "Did you learn nothing from our last encounter, my love?"

"Yes, I learned just how low you can go." Blake hissed as she struck again.

As the two traded blows Sun dealt with the other two. He swung his bo-staff back in forth expertly to dodge the attacks of the Hyena's mace and the Ram's horns. He smacked the mace back before quickly blocking the Ram's attempt to, well, ram him in the chest with his horns. Sun knocked the Ram down with a kick to the chest just in time to turn around and jab the Hyena in the face with his staff. Sun moved forward and took his staff apart and slammed his opponent five times with his nunchucks only for the Ram to grab him from behind and hold him.

"Gotcha!"

Sun managed to land a nunchuck on the Ram's horn and while it did hurt it wasn't enough to make the Rem let him go.

The Hyena got back up and grinned as he rushed forward, ready to slam his mace into Sun's exposed chest but Sun quickly used his Semblance to create another clone and it exploded on impact with the mace wielder. Sun grinned and wrestled himself free from the Ram's grip and began another round of fighting.

Blake parried another strike of Adam's sword but didn't move fast enough to block his fist that knocked her down on her back. Adam approached her, sword in hand as she loaded another Dust crystal into Gambol Shroud and used it in combination with her Semblance to create a flaming Blake clone that ran into Adam and exploded, covering his torso with fire. He cried out in pain before he tore off his robe to reveal his scarred, but muscular, body and quickly dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the flames. He got up only for Blake to slam the hilt of her sword onto his back, he grunted but endured the pain as he grabbed Blake by the hip and threw her to the ground.

He stood up and approached her as she took a shot at him with Gambol Shroud but his blade easily absorbed the energy of the blast and he used his Semblance to throw it back at her but she avoided it with a well timed jump.

The two former lovers glared at one another, her amber eyes staring at his red and white mask. Blake knew he might somehow know about their mission so decided to play dumb. "Where is Claudandus? I know you have him, tell me where you're keeping him." she demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Adam said. He held his sword firmly and charged at her and Blake met him head on.

Yang panted, her gauntlets now out of ammo, a little tired as Kong tried to get up. "You can take your beatings, I'll give ya that." she complimented as she reloaded her gauntlets.

"I know, can you take yours?" he asked as he charged at her.

Yang stood her ground and smirked as he got closer and closer to her. She used her gauntlets to brace herself but he didn't go for her head like she thought he would, but her stomach. She was pressed backwards a few feet, feeling the pain of the attack from she from the mighty punch of the Gorilla Faunus.

Then she smirked. "My turn."

With the power of her Semblance her hair and eyes began to glow as she slammed Kong with a powerful uppercut before grabbing Kong by the hands and began to slam him into the pavement over and over again before tossing him up in the air, aided by a powerful punch, and added to it with a few blasts of her gauntlets as he began to come down. He landed on the ground, and though he tried he couldn't get up from a beating like that. He looked up to see Yang right in front of him with a smile on her lips.

"Nice try." she said as she finished him off with a shot from her robotic arm. "Okay so that's two down." she muttered to herself. She quickly surveyed the situation to see Blake holding her own against Adam, for now anyway. Blake parried once and evaded two strikes aimed at her chest before striking on her own twice and then ducking to avoid having her head cut off.

Blake seethed in anger at the sight of that but she rushed in she saw that Sun seemed to be having trouble dealing with the other two. Yang sighed and decided that Blake was holding her own so Sun needed more help.

Sun blasted the Ram with Ruyi Bang's gun but the Faunus didn't seem to be effected by it.

Just then Yang rushed past them, grabbing both White Fang members and flipping them on their backs.

"Thanks Yang!" Sun said as the two got up. The Ram Faunus pulled out a couple of pistols and aimed one at Yang and one at Sun. Yang aimed her gauntlets at the Ram and the Hyena while Sun did the same with Ruyi and Jingu Bang, which left the Hyena with only his mace, to which he muttered "Crap."

"Okay boys, we got you outgunned." Yang said as she kept aiming at them.

"So just drop your weapons and give up, unless you want to end up like your two friends." Sun added.

The two Faunus looked to each other.

"Wanna give up?" the Ram asked.

The Hyena smirked and said "I don't see why not."

The Ram dropped both of his guns while the Hyena seemed to be gently laying his on the ground... that's why Yang noticed there were buttons between the mace and the handle. The Hyena pushed one and one of the spikes shot out of the mace and stabbed Yang in the shoulder.

"AH!" she cried.

"Yang!" Sun shouted. The Hyena tried to do the same to Sun but he evaded the spikes and punched the Hyena in the face, pushed him towards Yang who took him down with a blast of Dust bullets and a metal fist to the face.

Sun grunted in pain as the Ram used his horns to score a gash across Sun's chest. The Monkey Faunus flipped over on his hands and kicked the Ram back before jumping back onto his feat and opening up a volley of attacks with Ruyi and Jingu Bang until Yang helped out by slamming her fists into the Ram's chest. She grabbed him and flipped him over, slamming him into the pavement and kicking him into the Hyena.

"And that makes four." she commented.

"Now let's finish this." Sun said.

Adam and Blake traded another series of blows that ended with Adam spinning around and gaining momentum to slam his blade into Blake's hard enough to make her lose her balance. She looked up at Adam, more specifically his mask...

She got an idea. She jumped up and went on the offensive, slashing at Adam with her sword four times before he swung at her only for the Cat Faunus to avoid it. She struck him twice more but she made a misstep and got too close to him, which allowed him to punch her in the face. He swung his blade hard but she quickly met it with a parry. The two surged against one another, neither giving in.

Blake took her chance and reached for his mask.

"No!" he screamed as he grappled with her and threw her to the ground. Adam brought his sword up, aiming to finish the duel, but then both Yang and Sun opened fire, slamming their Dust bullets into his back. Blake took advantage of this distraction as she jumped up and slashed Adam across the mask with Gambol Shroud, making him cry out in pain as he fell, the mask separated from his face.

"All right! Way to go Blake!" Yang cheered.

"Thanks." Blake said, giving her partner a tired smile as she got up.

The three looked at the downed Adam, who was not yet unconscious, just hiding his face from sight as he sat on his knees.

"You think you've won? Wrong, even if I fall the White Fang will go on. You'll never beat us." Adam said furiously as he glanced at them revealing blood red eyes while his hand covered his forehead but if one were to look closely they would notice some kind of mark or a hint of a scar.

"Think again." Yang said as she aimed her Gauntlet at him.

Just then they heard the roar of a large woman as the Elephant Faunus Babara, who they had forgotten about since she had stayed out of the fight, slammed a huge Dust loaded battle-ax down on the ground a few feet away from them, sending them flying off the road.

Babara quickly went to help Adam up, "Sir, thank goodness I got here in time, do you need medical attention?" she asked as he reclaimed his mask.

"Just some rest." Adam answered as he put his mask, now cut open to reveal his eyes, back on. He looked over to Blake, Yang, and Sun to glare at them, his scarlet eyes radiating hatred as he got up. Babara helped Adam to the vehicle while the newly awake Kong carried the Hyena and the Ram Faunus back as well. The trio of young Hunters wanted to do something but the vehicles guns were aimed at them in case they tried anything.

"Next time, my love." Adam said out loud, leaving the three to watch as the vehicle raced off down the highway, back to the bridge.

* * *

As the battle on the highway occurred, the battle between Team Beacon and the White Fang on the bridge raged on; Qrow dueled with Razor, their mighty blades slamming into each other over and over again, sending sparks flying while Ruby and Weiss battled Kane and the Mandrill Faunus. Velvet fought Piper, who had seemed to be treating this more as a game as she used her transforming musical weapon to dodge the Rabbit Faunus' attacks as Scarlet and Neptune fought the Giraffe and Spider Monkey Faunus off to the side. Winter and Yatsuhashi had teamed up to take on Hui and the three heavy hitters still present; the Buffalo, Polar Bear, and Rhino along with Hui so this left Coco and Penny to fight the Tasmanian Devil, Skunk, and Flying Squirrel.

Qrow slammed Reaper's scythe into Razor sword as he activated the chainsaw feature. "Chainsaw, not a bad idea." Qrow remarked as he parried a strike. He swung up his sword to the upper part of Kill-Master and slid it up, creating a small shower of sparks.

"Do not rip it off." Razor said dryly as he dodged a swing and plunged his sword at Qrow, only for the Huntsman to sidestep it. The two warriors swiftly slammed their respective blades against one another six times, the strikes were fast and deadly but neither landed a hit. Qrow struck twice more as he dashed behind the Warthog Faunus who quickly turned around to block another attack. Razor pressed forward, swinging his blade wildly to drive Qrow back.

Nevertheless Qrow met the attacks head on and blocked a few of them before he leaned to the right to avoid a hit to the head. He quickly brought up Reaper and the two blades clanged together once again as Qrow hopped back to avoid a punch from Razor. They slashed against each other but this time Qrow had the upper-hand as he forced Razor's weapon down before quickly bringing his sword up to take a swing at the enemy but the leader of the Elite Guard expertly ducked it and managed to land a small jab on Qrow's stomach.

They brought their weapons together again and surged against one another.

"Why don't you just use those guns on your ships to finish this off?" Qrow asked before Razor drove him to the side of the bridge where Qrow jumped on top of the traffic barrier and leaped over Razor who quickly whirled around to block another attack from the Huntsman.

"Because the blasts would kill, and I don't aim to kill young warriors such as these." Razor stated as he pressed on another set of swings and slashes against Qrow who met the attacks head on.

"Then you're on the wrong side, bud." Qrow remarked as he blocked another attack.

The two swung their blades at each other once again and they met with a mighty clash that created sparks.

Meanwhile in one of the ships up above the pilot was keeping the ship steady while also watching a certain young brunette Rabbit Faunus that he recognized all too well.

"Oh Oum no, that's Velvet."

Further down the road on solid ground Velvet used a light-copy of Crocea Mors' shield to block the powerful attack of Piper's weapon as it sent powerful soundwaves at her. Velvet kept bracing herself but strangely the soundwaves weren't bothering her sensitive ears. She watched as the Mouse Faunus transformed her weapon from boombox to... a violin?

Piper smirked as she yanked out a bow from a pouch on her belt and quickly rubbed it against the strings of the violin to create arcs of energy that went flying at Velvet who quickly dodged them.

Velvet mentally deduced that the reason this girl's must have a Semblance that gave her control over sound, that was why these sound based attacks weren't hurting her sensitive ears; it was probably due to the fact that they would also hurt her fellow Faunus which would give Team Beacon an opportunity to win this battle easily. Velvet quickly jumped up into the air and her camera switched to a copy of Milo's rifle mode and she opened fire on the Mouse Faunus.

Piper quickly moved to avoid getting blasted by Velvet's shots and when the Rabbit Faunus landed Piper sent an arc of energy at her with the violin, which managed to hit Velvet and knock her down. Piper smirked but before she could do anything else Velvet's camera created a copy of Magnhild and slammed it into Piper, sending her down the road.

Velvet got back up as Piper transformed the violin into a set of bongo drums. She whipped around at Velvet and began beating the drums rapidly, creating energy blasts. Velvet got hit by a few of them but her used her camera to create a copy of Akouo for cover. Velvet tried to think of a way to beat her musical enemy as she approached with an energetic, and catchy, beat of the bongo drums that kept slamming energy into the shield.

"Stop right there!" yelled one of the cops, who finally decided to enter the fight.

Piper whipped around and blasted him down with energy from the bongo drums and did the same to the other cop who was trying to take a shot at her. She turned around only to face a standing Velvet and copies of Penny's swords.

"I might look cute, but that doesn't mean you can turn your back on me." Velvet said with a smile as she brought the swords down.

Piper, realizing this wouldn't be that easy of a fight, moved as quickly as she could to avoid the swords slamming into her, even jumping from blade to blade, only for them to vanish. She looked over to see that Velvet had replaced them with copies of the Ember Celicas. Piper began blasting at her with rapid beats on the drums and Velvet returned the favor, resulting in two barrages of energy colliding with one another and exploding, blowing both girls back.

Velvet moaned as she stood up only to see Piper already recovering, taking out a pipe and playfully blowing into it and making some kind of sound that seemed to be an attempt at a voice that said " _This is fun._ "

Velvet gave the younger girl a weird look before her weapon transformed into a guitar that resembled an ax. Velvet frowned as she created a copy of Yatsuhashi's sword and got ready for another bout.

Penny's swords danced about in the air gracefully, forcing the three Faunus she was facing off against to keep dodging while Coco tried to blast them. The Skunk managed to dodge the heavy blasts and managed to get close enough to Coco that he could land a hit on her shoulder with his elbow but Coco got him back with a mighty swing of her bag.

The hit was heavy enough to knock the Skunk down on his rear where he said "How do you even lift that thing?"

"With a little thing called effort." Coco answered over the sounds of battle as Penny blasted down the Flying Squirrel who collided with the Skunk.

"Nice one Penny." Coco complimented as the Tasmanian Devil pounced onto Penny tried to take a bite out of Penny only to discover the metal underneath.

"Ow!" she cried in pain before Penny grabbed her and threw her at Coco who blasted her with a barrage of Dust bullets.

"That was not very smart." Penny observed before she noticed the Flying Squirrel was now on all fours before she rocketed up into the sky.

"Whoa, must be her Semblance." Coco guessed before the Skunk attacked her with a club.

"Correct." he said as he met her bag with his club. "What, no crack about my odor?"

"Nope, if you haven't noticed I got three Faunus on my team, I am no racist. Plus I am not that cheap." Coco said as she ducked a swing and bashed the Skunk in the stomach with the full force of her bag.

"Ugh, good to know..." the Skunk grunted painfully before the Tasmanian Devil jumped over him for an attack on Coco but the knocked the Faunus girl down by slamming her purse into the side of her face and blasting her away again.

Penny, for her part, blasted at the Flying Squirrel who was throwing down miniature explosives but Penny quickly dodged everything that was was thrown at her. She shot up her swords into the sky and the strings wrapped around her enemy. Penny smiled as she brought her swords down to the road, bringing the Flying Squirrel with them. Penny forced her swords apart, which made the Flying Squirrel slump to the ground. Penny approached her to see if she was alright but the female Faunus jumped up and landed a punch on Penny's face.

"Gotcha!" she said.

"And I got you." Penny said as she grabbed the girl's arm and spin her around before letting her go, sending her flying into the Skunk.

Off to the side on the embankment that led down to the highway Scarlet and Neptune faced off against the Spider Monkey and the Giraffe respectively. The teenager Faunus was lean and very agile, it helped that his feet allowed him to grip onto things while aided him in avoiding Scarlet's shots and slashes.

"Too slow human!" he taunted as he dodged a blast from Scarlet's flintlock. He jumped up to the side of the bridge, hanging upside down by his feet before Scarlet whipped around and blasted him in the shin, forcing him to drop down and land on his head. "Ow!" he cried before he ducked a kick from Scarlet.

He jumped up onto Scarlet's back and began wailing on the former pirate's head. "Ah! Cut it out you little bugger!" Scarlet yelled. He reached up and grabbed the Faunus by the neck and slung him into the wall of the bridge.

The Spider Monkey growled before he took out a small orb out his pocket and yelled "Eat this!" as he chucked it at Scarlet, who dodged the orb which rolled over to where Neptune and the Giraffe were duking it out and exploded, knocking them both back.

Neptune got up first and charged at the recovering Faunus with his gun but the Giraffe jumped up and grabbed the bluenette's weapon and forced it down. Neptune tried to deck his enemy in the face but the Faunus caught that too, forced both of Neptune's arms down before punching him in the face. The Faunus tried to stomp on Neptune's stomach but the young Huntsman used his weapon's guandao for to hit him in the knee, forcing him back, this distance allowed Neptune to jump up and spin kick his enemy in the head. Neptune landed on his feet and moved to attack but the Giraffe Faunus surged forward and caught him, forcing the two to grapple for dominance over the fight before he headbutted Neptune in the face.

Neptune fell to the ground only to bring up his weapon in gun form and shot his opponent in the chest.

"Not bad for a pretty boy human." the Giraffe admitted.

"Thanks." Neptune said before attacking again.

Scarlet was forced to the ground by a kick from the Spider Monkey. "Running outta aura, ain't ya human?"

"A little bit, what are you exactly?" Scarlet asked as he spotted an old soda can next to him.

"I'm a Spider Monkey." he said, as if it was obvious.

"Why are they called that?" Scarlet asked.

"Uh... I think it has something to do with the long limbs? I dunno." the Faunus confessed.

"Wouldn't it be cool if it made sense and you had eight arms?" Scarlet pointed out.

"Oh tell me about it..." the Spider Monkey began before Scarlet threw the old soda can in his face, distracting him. "Ow what the...?!" Scarlet fired his flintlock's grappling hook and it wrapped around the teenage Faunus' legs, yanked him towards him and bashed him in the face with his elbow.

Neptune, meanwhile, was sent to the ground on his knees by the Giraffe Faunus, who activated the gauntlet on his arm to reveal a small, but sharp blade. "Time's up human." he said.

"No way." Neptune cried as he used his trident to sweep the Giraffe's legs out from underneath him. The Faunus fell forward and Neptune pushed himself up to punch his enemy in the face, blowing him back. Neptune got up as the Giraffe jumped to into the air and tired to stab the bluentte with his blade two times but Neptune dodged them both as he transformed his weapon into its gun mode. The Giraffe got behind Neptune and tried to stab him in the back only for the bluenette to whirl around and blast him in the face point blank range, knocking him flat on his back and twitching.

Ruby and Weiss were not having it any easier than the others, as Kane and the Mandrill proved to be worthy challengers. The Mandrill blasted at the duo and forced Ruby to give them cover with the rapid spin of Crescent Rose. Kane helped out but Ruby deflected his shots too when Weiss jumped out from behind Ruby and used a Weiss' glyph to send Ruby sailing into the air as the Mandrill Faunus reloaded her blaster. The Mandrill tired to shoot down Ruby but the silver eyed girl got the first shot, blowing the female Faunus down.

Ruby landed in front of the Mandrill and spun around, using the blunt side of Crescent Rose to whack her in the side. Ruby rolled forward and saw that Weiss was trading blows with Kane, her rapier with his bayonet and while her talent was giving her a good edge his experience gave him one as well, so neither one seemed to be winning as their blades clashed.

"Weiss outta the way!" Ruby called.

Weiss saw Ruby and quickly dashed away from Kane and before he could move to attack her Ruby blasted him in the back, which allowed Weiss to shove him down with a shoulder slam.

The Schnee heiress smiled to her partner. "Thank yo... Ruby behind you!" Weiss cried.

Before Ruby could turn around she was shot in the back several times by the Mandrill Faunus, forcing her to cry out in pain.

"No!" yelled Weiss as she loaded up a Dust crystal into the hilt of her sword, created a glyph and created a wall of ice and sent it right at the Mandrill Faunus, encasing her in the ice.

"Oh! So cold! S-somebody g-g-get me out of t-this!" the Mandrill managed to cry out as Weiss checked on Ruby.

"Ruby, are you okay?!" Weiss asked frantically.

Ruby gave her a smile and said "Just fine." Weiss returned the smile and helped her partner up as Kane loaded up a red Dust crystal into his rifle and blasted at the large mound of ice to free the Mandrill.

"You okay?" he asked he as she stumbled around, now wet and rather hot.

"Yeah, I was just frozen and then burned out in the span of seven seconds, no big deal!" she snapped furiously.

"You try to help somebody..." Kane muttered as he shook his head and opened fire on Ruby and Weiss. Ruby quickly used Crescent Rose to cut down the heat-powered Dust bullets but doing so reduced them to hot slag that fell to the ground.

"Watch your step." she said to Weiss as she blasted Kane in the stomach.

Weiss nodded and gracefully avoided the smoking debris as she ran forward and used a glyph to bring the Mandrill flying over to her where she greeted her with a kick to the face. The Mandrill fell to the ground and muttered "This is just not my day."

Ruby jammed the blade of her weapon towards Kane's head, which forced him to step back only for Ruby to grab his hair and yank him towards her but he swung up the butt of his rifle and whammed her in the stomach with it, forcing her to cry out in pain before she smacked him in the face. He grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground, glaring at her.

"Two members of your team ruined me a few months back and I..." before Kane could finish he was blasted away by the combined weapons of both Weiss and Penny.

Ruby gave them both a smile as she reloaded Crescent Rose and jumped back to battle Kane once again.

As the battle between Qrow and Razor raged on with the two avoiding or meeting attacks Razor heard a message from one of the pilots via his earpiece.

"Razor, we just got word from Babara, they've got Adam and are heading back."

"Understood!" Razor yelled as he slammed his chainsaw-sword on the ground where Qrow had been standing a mere second ago.

Winter and Yatsuhashi fought bravely on, even though the fight was not in their favor as they were outnumbered two to one by Hui, the Buffalo, the Polar Bear, and the Rhino.

Yatsuhashi was currently backed up against the traffic barriers as Hui and the Buffalo, armed with an ax, wailed on him while she was kept busy by the Polar Bear and the Rhino who were both armed with swords but she kept them back with her own blade and her rarely used main-gauche. As Winter fought on, parrying and striking as quickly as she could she continued gathering up aura for a summon, but one she had been saving for such an occasion.

Yatsuhashi fought on as well even though he was literally pushed up against a wall. He struck out at the Buffalo hard enough to make him lose his balance and then he attacked Hui, slamming his sword down on the White Fang Lieutenant's own hard enough to make his lose his grip on his blade, which gave Yatsuhashi the chance he needed to take him out of the fight. Since Hui had been hit multiple times since this mess began and had been in the car crash he would naturally be a little easier to take out. The large teen stabbed his sword into the ground and punched the Buffalo down before opening up a barrage of punches on Hui's head, shoulders, and chest. Hui stood dazed as Yatsuhashi grabbed him, hoisted him over head, and slammed him into the recovering Buffalo.

That was Hui out of the fight but he noticed Winter was having some trouble; Winter's clothes were torn in several places and she had one or two bruises about her body as she suffered another punch from the Polar Bear but she didn't back down. She slashed the Rhino woman across the stomach, but the Faunus endured it due to incredibly thick skin and an endurance Semblance. Winter jumped up and kicked both her opponents in their faces with her legs before she landed on her feet just in time to block a slash from the Polar Bear Faunus. She pressed her sword and main-gauche against him hard enough to make him stagger back and then she jumped up into the air to avoid being rammed into by the Rhino who crashed into the Polar Bear instead.

Yatsuhashi ripped his sword out of the road and ran over to her and said "Specialist, I've defeated one of them but I don't know if we can beat the remaining three."

"I know we can, and I have just the trick for the job up my sleeve." she said as she created a large white glyph.

"The Schnee is going to summon something! Stop her!" yelled the Buffalo as he charged them. Yatsuhashi swung his sword at the attacked but the Buffalo dodged, accidentally getting a haircut as the teenager's sword sliced through the Faunus' thick hair. The Buffalo Faunus slammed Yatsuhashi with the blunt side of his ax only for the samurai to grab his hands, and by extension the ax handle.

"I don't think so." Yatsuhashi growled as he hoisted up the Buffalo with all his strength and tossed him into the Polar Bear, and while such a move put quite the stain on him it still bought Winter more time as something on the glyph began to take shape. Something very big.

The Rhino Faunus lobbed a grenade at them but Yatsuhashi quickly used his sword like a baseball bat and knocked it high into the air where it exploded harmlessly. As that happened Yatsuhashi noticed one of the drop ships was landing behind the bridge... and that the car that had ejected out of it earlier was returning. He turned his attention back just in time to see the three large Faunus all approaching him.

"Game's over kid, now..." the Polar Bear Faunus began before his jaw dropped at the sight behind Yatsuhashi and his two partners did the same. Yatsuhashi turned around to see Winter atop a white version of a Goliath, but this Summon version seemed to be a pure version of some long vanquished, ancient Grimm.

Everyone stopped to look at the sight as Winter glared down at them and firmly said "Give up. Now."

"Whoa..." Ruby said in awe.

"Well, that's not good." muttered Kane.

"You wonderful Ice Queen." Qrow muttered to himself before Razor punched him down.

"Launch the wreckage!" Razor ordered.

The Polar Bear, Rhino, and Buffalo all retreated towards the wrecked car Adam had been in, and the soldier had woken up and crawled out of it only to find himself smack dab in the middle of a battle. As he crawled out of the way the three large Faunus worked together to lift up the totaled car and then Razor used a mighty kick to send it flying into the Goliath Summon.

"Razor, we got Adam on board, you wanna pull out?" asked the pilot via the earpiece.

"Yes. Everyone, we are leaving! Piper, take the younger ones and get to the first drop ship. The rest of us will hold them off." he said as Kane, the Polar Bear, Rhino, Buffalo, Mandrill, and Skunk all gathered around each other. "Second ship, open fire!" he yelled.

The second drop ship quickly began shooting at Winter and the Goliath while Piper led the Flying Squirrel, Tasmanian Devil, Giraffe, and the Spider Monkey all retreated to the ship that had landed to reconnect with the vehicle.

"Can't let 'em get away!" Coco said as she began blasting at the still hovering ship, but its shields withstood her blasts.

Ruby, Weiss, Penny, Velvet, Scarlet, and Neptune all opened fire on the second ship that was about to take off.

"Why are they leaving like this?" Weiss inquired.

"I saw that odd vehicle return, they must have gotten Taurus." Yatsuhashi called as she parried a strike from the Polar Bear while Qrow and Coco helped Winter out.

"Then stop it from taking off!" Ruby cried as she opened fire, helped out by the others as they poured it on.

No matter how much they fired they couldn't stop it as it lifted off and began to provide covering fire, blitzing up the bridge and forcing Team Beacon to scatter and allowing the other ship to land.

"Get it!" yelled the Polar Bear as he grabbed Hui while Razor grabbed the unconscious driver and the soldier jumped into the ship. The remaining members of the Elite Guard all piled into the ship and took off, leaving for the larger ship in the distance.

The present members of Team Beacon all breathed heavily as they watched the ships leave. "So... did we win or lose? I'm not really sure what to make of this." Neptune remarked.

"It's called a stalemate kid, we didn't get what we wanted but Adam didn't get what he wanted." Qrow answered as he sat down against the traffic barriers but Ruby wasn't sure of that unless she knew the rest of RWBY was okay so she got out her scroll and called Yang as Winter recalled her summon.

"W-was that...?" Weiss tried to ask.

"Yes, the Goliath that destroyed my second sword. I only use it in the most extreme of circumstances.

"Maybe you should have used it to begin with." Qrow remarked.

"I needed to gather up aura to pull it off, but I think it worked rather well. What makes you think they saved Taurus?" Winter inquired.

"Because if he was dead they wouldn't stop fighting. I saw that kick you gave those two Faunus, you got great legs." Qrow said, which nearly made Winter blush.

"The nerve of you!" Weiss cried before Ruby yelled something out.

"They're okay! Yang, Blake, and Sun are okay!" she cheered.

"Where are they?" Penny asked.

"They're in the desert, I guess Adam wrecked the car." Ruby said as Velvet's ears perked up.

"Sirens, I guess the police are coming." she said.

"Late, as frikkin' always." Qrow said with a chuckle.

Weiss looked to her older sister and asked "Winter, what do you think that Faunus meant about our father?"

Winter looked at her younger sister but couldn't give her an honest answer at the moment.

* * *

As the two drop ships docked with the Elite Guard's ship Adam stormed out of the first one to meet Razor.

"You shouldn't have retreated!" he yelled.

"I had no reason to fight them anymore." Razor said, "You're welcome by the way. If we hadn't come in time you'd be in human custody and I'd have to risk the lives of my troops to save you."

Adam glared at the older Faunus, his eyes showing through the gash in his mask. "We should go forward and bomb that entire town." he said darkly.

"That reminds me... the Huntsman said that you threatened to spill the blood of a Faunus child. Is that true?" Razor asked darkly as he gripped Kill-Master.

"No." Adam lied, "I might be a dark person, but even I wouldn't go that far."

"Good, because if I discover that he was telling us the truth... I might have to do something about you." Razor hissed.

"Is that a threat?" Adam inquired.

"Only if you cross the line." Razor answered.

Adam nodded and said "Once we're far enough away we'll meet up with our ship and head back to base."

"What of the troops left behind? They could give out information." the Polar Bear Faunus pointed out.

"The ones that were captured know nothing important except for the location of our base and I have made sure they won't reveal that little detail." Adam assured him as he walked away.

As soon as Adam was out of earshot Kane said "Razor, I think you're the only person in the White Fang with the balls to stand up to Adam like that."

Razor simply smiled as he turned around and said "Today we didn't truly win, but a stalemate is good a victory as any. I'm proud of all of you."

"Why? We got our butts kicked." the Tasmanian Devil girl said.

"But you managed to hold your own against Hunters, and Hunters, even the ones in training, are much harder to battle than a guard or Atlas soldier. Today was the first time some of you have ever went up against such opponents so tonight we celebrate!" he announced.

Everyone either cheered or let out some appreciative words for their leader, but one of the pilots didn't look so happy and Razor saw this. As the others departed to go about their various routines Razor followed the pilot to the side of the docking bay.

"Thayer, old friend, what's wrong?" he asked.

"That Faunus girl Piper fought... you... you know who she was." the pilot, a Rabbit Faunus, said.

"Yes, I recognized her from the old photos you showed me..." Razor said with a sigh.

"She's my niece, Velvet..." Thayer said nervously.

The two waited in silence for a few moments before Razor said "I'll make sure Adam doesn't find out."

"Th-thank you sir."

* * *

To say that it had been a long day would be an understatement. The members of Team Beacon were utterly exhausted from their clash with the White Fang and its Elite Guard but they all knew it would most likely not be the last time they had to fight this group of Faunus.

After being picked up by the police and taken back to the Wukong family home Qrow (who also stopped by the train yards to tell the Allcroft family what had transpired) and Winter went with Chief Banner to interrogate the captured White Fang troops and the lookout before they were taken to Atlas for proper questioning and incarceration while the students stayed with the Wukong family.

The house had been fixed up quite easily by the cleanup crew, a profession in Remnant where men and women with Semblances similar to Glynda's would use the repair ability to fix up homes damaged in Grimm attacks. Chief Banner had left a small squad of officers behind to keep guard, because now that the White Fang knew where the Wukongs lived it was very possible that they could attack again. He had brought up the likelihood of relocating Mrs. Wukong and Haulan to another home on the other side of town but after all that had happened in the preceding hours Gina was in no mood to consider such a thing right now so she simply said "I'll think about it tomorrow."

Team RWBY, Penny, and the Wukong family sat in the living room while Scarlet, Neptune, and the present members of Team CFVY stayed in the kitchen to rest and to stay out of the way of anything dramatic that could happen.

"So, you were part of the White Fang." Gina said to Blake.

"Keyword being was. Ugh!" Yang cried as her shoulder still ached from the spike she took earlier, her aura still hard at work healing it.

Blake took a deep breath and said "Look I... I didn't want this to happen. I can honestly say that this was all my fault, but I had no idea that Adam would come here and do..." she stopped and looked at Haulan, "what he did. I left the White Fang because of what Adam was twisting it into but I didn't leave until it was too late and it drove him over the edge. No matter what anyone tells me I can only blame myself for this."

"Don't, from what you've told us Adam was messed up before he met you, he would have gone crazy sooner or later." Sun assured her.

"Yeah, plus even if you had stayed Cinder would have forced you both to work for her, trust me she has her ways." Ruby agreed.

"I guess so but I still..." Blake began before Gina cut her off.

"It's obvious that I don't know a lot about what's going on or your history Blake. So before I say my piece I want to know more about you." the elder Faunus said calmly before asking "Will you tell me what happened?"

Blake looked to Ruby and Weiss, they both nodded and the former said "Hey Haulan, they're about to talk about boring stuff, how about we go in the kitchen with the others and tell you about our battle?"

"Oh heck yeah!" the young girl said eagerly before running off into the kitchen with Ruby, Weiss, and Penny in tow.

Blake looked to Yang but the blonde shook her head. "I'm staying." she said firmly.

Blake nodded and began to tell Gina her story, all of it.

Once she was finished she, her boyfriend, and her partner waited quietly as Gina took the tale into consideration. After a while of silence, aside from the voices coming from the kitchen, Gina finally spoke up.

"I understand Blake and I cannot be mad at you for what happened to us." she said.

"You can't? But I..."

"You joined the White Fang back when it meant something, when it a noble purpose. You made a mistake joining with Adam's insurrection but you have realized it was a mistake and have tried to atone for it by leaving them and becoming a Huntress. What happened here today is Taurus' fault, not yours." Gina said.

Yang placed her hand on Blake's back and gave her a smile, but the Cat Faunus was still unsure. "I don't feel good about this, I nearly got you both killed because of my relationship with Sun and..." she said before Gina stopped her.

"I approve of your relationship. I'm happy Sun found a girl like you." Gina said with a smile.

Sun grinned and let out a cry of "Yes!"

"B-b-but...!" Blake stuttered before Gina walked over and sat next to her.

"Blake, your parents were killed by humans, whatever was under that man's mask must have made your early dislike of them even easier. When I was your age it was worse, hardly a day went by when I wasn't tormented by schoolyard bullies because of my tail. I used to be so angry at the humans and wanted nothing more than to fight them, it wasn't until years later that I realized how wrong I was about a majority of humanity and I'm happy I was wrong. You learned this lesson just as I did, even if it was a bit harder for you. As I said earlier your past doesn't control your present. When I think about everything Sun has told me about you and the friends you have clearly made and what you've done for them it is so obvious you have changed for the better. Today you risked your life for mine and my daughter's, so I don't hate you at all, in fact; I'm happy my boy is with a girl like you." the older woman said before she grabbed Sun and Blake and hugged them both to her.

Blake smiled, a few stray tears coming out of her eyes before leaning into the hug, happy to be accepted. She looked over to Yang who wore a wide smile and a thumbs up.

* * *

A couple of hours later, after Haulan had forced her brother, Blake, and Yang to tell her how they had kicked Adam's butt and nearly captured him, Team Beacon returned to the train station to find their ride waiting off to the side for them; now with just the engine, the two coaches, and the caboose.

Tom, Anna, and Clara all waved to them, "Its about time you got here!" Clara called.

"From what Qrow told us you guys had quite the day." Anna said.

"They can tell us about it later sis, right now I think they'd like to get moving." Tom stated.

"That sounds most ideal. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Wukong." Winter said to Gina.

"It was nice to have you Specialist Schnee." Gina said as the younger woman embarked on the train. Deep down Winter was a little uneasy, despite their efforts in the interrogation Winter and Qrow couldn't get anything out of the captured White Fang agents who withstood every thing they used against them in the time they were allotted and the Coyote Faunus' hard-drive had been wiped by some kind of automatic device. Plus there was what Razor said about her father and slaves...

The Wukong family said their goodbyes to everyone as they boarded the train until only Sun and Blake were left. Sun looked to the back where a few cops who would be guarding his family stood. While he was a little worried for them Sun knew he couldn't stay right now, he needed to help Blake and the others fight the White Fang.

"Be safe, Sunny. I love you." Gina said as she hugged her son and kissed his forehead.

"I will, just be careful while we're gone and let the cops take care of you. And I love you too." he said as he hugged her back.

"I still can't believe you're on a major team with some of the coolest girls in Remnant." Haulan said.

"So I'm I finally awesome in your books?" her brother asked.

"I guess so. Go kick some more butt." she said as she hugged him.

"I sure will, little sis. Love you." Sun said before returning the hug.

"I love you too." she returned.

Gina smiled at the sight and said to Blake "I know Neptune and Scarlet will look out for him, but make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"I'll do my best." Blake promised.

"Good luck with your mission, I'll be praying for all of your safety." the older woman said kindly.

"We might need it." Blake said with a nod.

The couple boarded the train and in a few minutes the engine set off into the desert once again, with Sun's family waving goodbye as they rolled off.

"You think they'll be okay mom?" Haulan asked.

Gina sighed and considered everyone on that team, ten wonderfully talented teenagers, a powerful but kind robot, a trained military specialist, and a strong Huntsman. Put them all together and you had a force to be reckoned with. She knew they

"I think they'll be okay." she told her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Back to Beacon with Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage.
> 
> Soundtrack for this chapter (and Adam's theme): Cry Little Sister from The Lost Boys
> 
> We have officially reached 300 reviews on Fanfiction . net! More please. Also I've hit half a million words on Ao3.
> 
> I came really close to showing you what was under Adam's mask in this chapter, but I decided to save it for later on in the arc.
> 
> And before you ask, yes Piper is inspired by The Pied Piper and Babara is named after the children's book Babar.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	35. Goals and Tests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Great progress had been made with pushing back the Grimm away from Vale and Beacon. The city of Vale was almost entirely repaired and it had been deemed safe for the citizens to return so people were beginning to move back in, overcome with joy to finally return home. There were still a few buildings that needed fixing up, and a good number of civilians had insisted on the Hunters and Atlas soldiers staying for protection just in case, but all things considered it looked like the capital of Vale would finally be back to normal in a matter of weeks as many of the businesses had reopened. The same went for Beacon Academy, while it was a bit harder to work on it seemed that it would be up and running again for the next semester when the time came.

However, not all of the Grimm were out yet. Out in the forests that surrounded the town in the school a small quartet of young Hunters worked together against a group of Ursa that were trying to get back into the city. Sage blocked a strike of an Ursa's claws before surging forward and slicing its arm off, then impaled it with his sword.

"Sage, behind you!" Ren called.

Sage whipped around and impaled another, larger Ursa that had tried to attack him from behind. "Shoot it!" Sage yelled.

Ren nodded and unloaded a barrage of bullets into the back of the large Ursa, finishing it off. As it fell disintegrating Sage gave the green clad ninja a smile and said "Thanks for the heads up man."

Ren simply nodded before his attention went over to Nora and Fox who were busy killing more of the bear Grimm.

Fox thrusted his arm blade through a young one's head, brought it forward, and sliced its underbelly open. As it died Fox back-flipped high into the air and landed on the back of a large, elder Ursa and slammed both of his arm-mounted blades down its back before finishing it off by cutting off its legs from underneath it then whipped around to eviscerate and decapitate another Ursa that had tried to charge him from the side.

"Sometimes that guy can be scary." Sage muttered as he cut an Ursa in half.

Right after he said that Nora jumped down from a tree and slammed Magnhild down on an Ursa, killing it one blow before twirling around and firing three grenades into three Ursa, blowing up each one of them before smashing her hammer into a charging Ursa, knocking towards Ren who finished it off with a few slashes of the StormFlowers' blades. Nora ran towards a young Ursa which was trying to jump on Fox and slammed her war-hammer into it so hard it went sailing into the sky and out of view. "It's going! Going! Going..." there was the sound of a crash "It's gone! It's outta here! Nora Valkyrie has just broken the world record for Ursa throwing distance!" she declared.

"But not nearly as scary as her." Sage finished as he cut another Ursa in half.

Ren finished off the last Ursa with the guns of the StormFlowers and said "I believe that was the last one, we might be done here for today."

"Let's hope so." Sage agreed with a nod.

"Oh bring 'em on! I could go for another round with some Grimm! I hope its a Goliath!" Nora said eagerly.

"There are going to be times where I regret agreeing to be transferred to Beacon, aren't there?" Sage asked rhetorically.

"Probably." Fox deadpanned.

"Oh come on you grumpy guys! Where's your sense of fun? Don't pretend you didn't enjoy that battle." Nora said cheerfully.

"Well it was good practice, and nowhere near as dangerous as that ancient Vampire we found the other day." Sage said, before shuddering. The old, and gigantic, flying Grimm that they had encountered yesterday had been so hard to deal with that Jaune and Pyrrha had to leave their training to come help them, along with Professor Port. Jaune had attempted to control it but the beast's age made it very smart so it was able to resist him, but not Pyrrha who had controlled it long enough for Nora, Ren, and Port to shoot it down before it could get any closer to the town.

"Well I thought it was fun." Nora muttered.

"You tried to ride it after it picked me up!" Sage cried.

"I was gonna wham it on the head to get it to let you go but it threw me off!" Nora defended.

"Maybe it wouldn't have it you hadn't held on to it shouting 'Whee, this is so awesome! Ren take a picture!'" Sage scolded.

"Don't deny the awesomeness of the picture Ren took!" Nora cried.

As their little argument continued Ren and Fox both looked to each other before sighing and rolling their eyes.

* * *

Jaune stood still in the pit arena before a group five Beowolves, all of which glared at him but made no move to attack. Jaune had made some decent progress in the last few days but controlling five Grimm at once was probably the biggest challenge he had faced thus far in his training, though at least these Grimm were young and inexperienced unlike that giant Vampire he had failed to control the other day. His bond with the five Grimm was holding up steadily as they stood still and aside from the occasional growl they didn't do anything threatening. He mentally thought that if a year ago someone had told him he would be in a relationship with one of the most beautiful, strongest girls in Remnant after nearly losing her, as well as being half Grimm, nearly dying, being the leader of an entire team and the guardian to a mystical relic from the past he would have thought them certifiably insane. And yet here he was.

Pyrrha stood off to the side in case something went wrong so she could step in and help out but so far Jaune seemed to have a decent handel on thing as all five of the Beowolves held their heads up, then down, and then got on all fours with their tails high in the air.

"You're doing well Jaune." she said.

"Thanks, I..." he was cut off by one of the Beowolves snarling and trying to break out of his control. "Hey! No! Don't give me that." he barked as he tightened his 'grip' on the rogue but as he did that he loosed the 'grip' on two others, who began to prowl towards him. He noticed this and quickly reasserted his control over them just as Pyrrha moved forward. "No, I got this!" he called to her.

Pyrrha nodded but kept watching, ready to help him at any moment. He had been able to control a single Grimm perfectly and had, with a great amount of effort, had managed to control two Grimm at once, then three. While Pyrrha was proud of his progress she felt he was rushing through it, he had just gotten a firm hold of controlling three Grimm the other night and he hadn't perfected controlling four Grimm at all and he had just barely controlled the five at once. She had objected to him rushing through the training but he urged her that he needed to do this, something Pyrrha was unsure of.

Jaune grunted and mentally ordered the Beowolves to run to the other side of the arena and come up to him slowly and non-threateningly. The large Grimm ran to the other side before coming back to him. They did so calmly at first but after the first three reached him the fourth and fifth growled and snarled at him.

"No." he said before he tried to assert control over them again, only for one of them to pounce on top of him and make him lose his concentration; thereby making him lose control of all of them. "Ah!" Jaune cried as he used his Semblance to keep the Grimm from biting him. He threw it off of his body and jumped out of the way of another one's charge. He quickly began to regain control over them and managed to get a hold on three of them but the fourth tried to attack him.

Before anything else could happen Pyrrha quickly jumped over and kicked the Beowolf down and took control of the other two Beowolves, now all five of them had stopped and kneeled down to them. "Ready the cages." Pyrrha called to the guards.

Jaune got up and said "No, I can still do some more training."

"Jaune, we've been at this for over three hours and you've been working yourself too hard. We're stopping for today before you make a mistake and get hurt." she said firmly.

He sighed and gave her a nod. "Why do you have to be so right all the time? Then again you are the master and I'm the student." he said with a small smile, which made her blush slightly.

They worked together to usher the five Grimm back into the cages and as they were being pulled out of the pit Jaune went over to sit on one of the benches and said "I'm sorry I rushed through it, I just want to know what you know. Someone has to be there for you."

"You already are." Pyrrha said as she sat next to him and placed her hand on top of his.

"I know, but I need to be better at this. Someday, in some battle, you'll turn the Grimm around and you'll need someone to be there with you. I can't help you if I don't get better at this." Jaune said as buried his face in his hands.

Pyrrha's heart ached to see the boy she loved like this so she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "I know how you feel but this is something you can't rush. You'll get it soon, I know it. For now you have a good grasp on three so we'll train with four and fave later this week after the test tomorrow." she said.

He visibly winced at the mention of the test; Dr. Polendina had gotten a few of the Grimm Knights recovered from Haven up and running again and it was decided that they could be used to safely determine Jaune's skills as a Grimm commander in a combat situation. It would be Jaune and three Beowolves against five Grimm Knights.

Pyrrha felt bad for her boyfriend and remembered some of the difficulties she had when she was beginning her training with the Wyvewrn.

_Seven Months Ago_

_Fotia had been training with the magnificent, but young, Grimm known as the Wyvern and while it seemed to be accepting her presence and close proximity it got a bit annoyed when she tried to take control of it._

_"Whoa-a!" she cried as it threw her off its head and into the wall before huffing at her with a puff of smoke. "Ugh..." she moaned as she got up._

_"It's late Fotia, you have been at this all day. You should give up for tonight and start again in the morning." Cinder said from the catwalks that flanked the arena._

_"No Miss Cinder! I can do this! I just need to try harder, he's warming up to me, he just needs to get used to me riding him." Fotia argued as she charged the adolescent Grimm again, only for its large tail to trip her up. She growled as she rubbed the dust and dirt off her face, gripping her shield and weapon tight. The Wyvern could sense her anger and frustration so it looked at her and growled in interest ._

_Fotia got up and roared at the Wyvern and ran towards it in a brave, but foolhardy, charge._

_The Wyvern's wings shot out and while it still couldn't fly very well yet, and was kept in the arena by powerful fire-proof steel bars, but it could still use them in a fight. It waited for its commander to get close enough and despite feeling her mental grip on its mind it resisted enough to swat her down and let out a blast of flame from its mouth at her. "Ah!" she screamed as she braced herself for the pain, only for Cinder to quickly drop down through the bars and use her Semblance to control the flames and keep Fotia safe._

_"You're lucky child, it wouldn't have killed you but it would have left you a very nasty scar." Cinder said. "And it wouldn't do to scar such a pretty face." she added, rubbing Fotia's face with faux affection. "I appreciate your dedication Fotia and so will Mistress Salem but pushing yourself like this is just making your body more and more tired, weak, and even a young Grimm can sense weakness."_

_She nodded to Matilda and the rest of the Grimm Keepers and they quickly came in through the pit's door and began driving the Wyvern back towards the pins by roping up its muzzle, putting weights on its wings, and forcing it forward with cattle prods._

_"What if I can't do it? What if I get burned?" Fotia asked the older woman._

_"My master has told me that if a Wyvern bonds with someone and obeys them then its flames will only be warm, not burning. It might sound impossible but I believe in our master. Do you?" Cinder inquired._

_"Y-yes, I do. Tomorrow I will try a little harder." Fotia said before yawning._

_"That is good to hear, now get some rest." Cinder encouraged._

Pyrrha sighed sadly at memory and while she was secretly worried for the Wyvern and what became of it she decided that the love of her life was a bit more important so she squeezed him tighter and said "Don't worry, you'll do fine. We'll get in some more training early tomorrow, okay?"

Jaune nodded and said "Okay."

"Once Ren and the others come back their shift will be over, you think we can go about the town?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't see why not. We'll have to ask Professor Goodwitch first though." he said with a smile before adding "We should probably shower first though." Pyrrha returned the smile and nodded.

A few minutes later they hit the arena's shower/restroom building that had been untouched by the Grimm invasion and had been fully attended to by the cleanup crews.

As she rubbed the soap and body lotion on her toned body she mentally began to think of ways that could help Jaune's training. Maybe if he bonded with one particular Grimm like she had with the Wyvern but knew he would be more than a little hesitant at the idea. She knew that she was going to help him out as much as she could and tomorrow morning they would practice a little more with just three Beowolves to make sure he had gotten that down and if he managed to pass the test then they'd try four or five again.

At the thought of the Wyvern Pyrrha couldn't help but let out a sad sigh and wonder what became of her Grimm. Considering the fact that Wyverns were an incredible rarity Salem most likely had it taken off site in that large vessel of theirs but Pyrrha somehow knew it had resisted them, she was the only one it ever cooperated with willingly and without fight. No doubt that Salem and Cinder were taking control of it, planning to use it for horrible things she'd rather not think about.

Cinder...

Pyrrha hugged her body and shivered at the thought of that insane woman, the one who nearly murdered her, the one who destroyed her life. Thoughts of hatred and revenge flooded her mind as her eyes turned red. The last time she had seen that woman was when she had buried her under a giant pile of ruined Grimm Knights and she had hoped that when Qrow and Goodwitch returned from the site they would report finding her broken body either dead or just barely alive, she hadn't cared which. Maybe if she had succeeded in killing her Ashe would still be alive or if she had merely crippled her she would face justice and be imprisoned in some remote citadel where no one would ever be hurt by her ever again.

Cinder had caused so much damage to Pyrrha's life and the lives of her friends and family, especially Jaune, Ren, Nora, and her parents. She could still remember her father taking her out to the grave site they had made for her.

_5 Months Ago_

_Pyrrha and her father got out of the car, the teenage girl walking slowly towards the small shrine that had been erected for her when they thought her dead. Zeus Nikos had already talked to the managers of the illustrious cemetery to ether have the shrine changed to note that she was still alive or tear it down altogether._

_Pyrrha arrived at the shrine, a small but beautifully crafted with stone covered with pictures of her and flowers from fans, family members, and admirers. She looked at the words carved into the stone: 'In Loving Memory of Pyrrha Nikos, a true champion and a kind spirit of strength. She was a beloved daughter, friend, partner, and idol. Wherever she is we wish for her to find happiness and know that she was loved. Rest in Peace, Champion.'_

_"Your mother didn't want you to see this. I... I wasn't sure but you said you deserved to see it." her father said from behind you._

_Pyrrha turned around and looked at her father with sad, sorrowful eyes before tackling him in a hug._

_"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." she said over and over to him as he hugged her back._

Pyrrha shivered as she thought of the pain she had caused her parents when she went up the tower, how they hurt in the months she was Salem's tool. Them, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Ruby...

She would never let it happen again.

She finished showering and once she was dried off she dressed herself in her civilian clothes; a simplistic outfit consisting of a black T-shirt, a blue skirt that went down to her knees, and some old tennis shoes that she used for her morning jogs, she also let her hair hang down, since she wondered if Jaune found it a bit more attractive that way.

When she came out of the ladies' showers she saw Jaune sitting on a bench dressed in a dark red T-shirt and jeans with his hoodie slung over his back. He looked to her and asked "Is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, a little confused.

"I could sense your emotions while we were showering. I guess that's just a little extra feature from being part Grimm." Jaune remarked.

Pyrrha sighed, she knew what he was talking about; ever since becoming a Grimm hybrid she had been able to sense people's emotions with ease but the strange thing was it never seemed to happen when they were happy, just negative emotions like sadness, fear, anger, etc... It had gotten awkward a few times like when her parents would talk about how they dealt with losing her or when Jaune got a little too depressed but she managed to deal with it.

"I was thinking about Cinder, again." she admitted.

Jaune sighed and got up to hug his girlfriend. "If you ever need to talk about it..."

"I know who to talk to." She finished before kissing him.

They went out to wait and a short amount of time later Fox came walking out of the forest with Ren, Nora, and Sage in tow.

"Hey guys, fight any Grimm?" Jaune asked.

"You know it! A group of Ursa, a couple of Death Stalkers..." Nora began to list off.

"We think the Grimm have been pushed back to the Emerald Forest and the Forever Fall. A few of them are brave enough to try and venture back to Beacon but they've been taken care of." Fox stated as a Bullhead landed and other Hunters disembarked to take over for them.

"Good, the sooner the Grimm get the picture the better. Pyr and me were thinking about going out on the town now that the people have come back, you guys wanna come?" Jaune asked.

"Do we?! Heck yeah!" Nora answered.

"It does sound nice." Ren agreed.

"I'm for it, you Fox?" Sage inquired.

"Nah, I'll just go to my hotel room, I got a book to read." the dark skinned teen said.

"Okay then man." Jaune said with a nod, "So let's get back to the hotel so we can report to Professor Goodwitch and spend the rest of the day out on the town."

* * *

Team JNPR and Sage walked down the crowded city streets as Vale was once again filled with people, celebrating the liberation of their town. A band and a few street performers played music or did stunts to entertain the crowds while people sat at outside restaurants eating and chatting while all around them friends were reunited. Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the sight of the rebuilt town seemingly coming back to life as the citizens, and a few off duty Hunters, celebrated.

With stands of games, food, and other such things it was almost like a carnival.

"Man, too bad the others aren't here, I know Ruby would have loved this." Jaune commented.

"So would my team, that 'Simple Wok' stand is selling noodles half of! You guys want some?" Sage asked.

"Nah, we're good." Jaune declined with Pyrrha nodding.

Sage nodded and went off on his own to get some noodles from the old man's stand before Nora noticed something.

"Oh my gods! Stuffed animal prizes! Will you win one for me Renny?" Nora pleaded.

"Nora..." Ren began before he saw her adorable aqua eyes quivering like a puppy's. "Alright, I'll win you one... or two... or three." he relented.

"Yay! I love you!" Nora said as she hugged Ren, squeezing him tight and nuzzling him like a kitten before grabbing his hand and rushing off, dragging the magenta eyed ninja by the hand along. Ren looked at Jaune and Pyrrha as if to ask for help but didn't say anything as his energetic girlfriend took him away.

"As odd as it may seem I think those two are perfect for each other." Pyrrha commented.

"Yeah, I guess opposites attract, like you and me." Jaune agreed.

Pyrrha glanced at him and asked "What do you mean?"

"Well I used to be a total wimp and you've always been a... a total goddess who could kick everyone's butt!" he explained, making her giggle. "You want one of those stuffed toys? I used to suck at them but maybe I..."

"No, it's okay. You're all I need to cuddle with at night." Pyrrha joked, blushing a bit and causing him to blush too.

The couple went about the town, seeing the sights, watching children play, or listening to the bands play their music. They had a few run ins with some of Pyrrha's fans, causing them to stop so she could sign autographs and talk to some of the children who looked up to her and had to personally answer their questions about how she hadn't really been killed and had been teleported by Cinder and simply said that Jaune and her friends came to rescue her, which was basically true.

After a while they arrived at a public park and were currently sitting down on a park bench eating some snacks Pyrrha had bought them while watching people go by or enjoying the park while children played on the playground. Jaune excused himself to go use the public restroom but once he was gone a rather tall and muscular teen about their age sat down next to her.

"Hey, you're Pyrrha Nikos!" he said.

"Um, yes I am. Can I help you?" she asked.

"I heard about how you weren't really dead and all that, which is good 'cause I've always found you really hot." the guy said.

Pyrrha gave him a look but thanked him and asked "So are you happy to be back in Vale?"

"Yeah, it's sweet to be home but I just wanna know something." he said.

"Um... okay?" she said.

"What are you doing with a pathetic loser like that Arc guy? I mean I saw that little runt in the tournament, talk about pathetic, sorry you got saddled with him." the teen said, only to receive a furious glare from the usually kind Spartan. "Okay, bad choice of words. Maybe he's a nice guy, I mean I think he helped save you and all but whatever. So would you like to go get a..." Suddenly Pyrrha grabbed his hand and squeezed hard, making him cry out in pain. "Ow! What the hell...?!"

"That 'pathetic loser', as you called him, is my partner, best friend, and the man I love." she said angrily.

"You... you're kiddin', right? He doesn't deserve someone as hot as you." the guy said, which only made Pyrrha angrier.

"He was the first true friend I had after years of being placed on a pedestal put me in social isolation, he nearly died for me, and fought and worked harder than anyone else ever has and I love him like no one else. No one, not you or anyone else, can ever take his place. Now please go away." she said sternly with a dark look in her eye.

The guy, getting the picture, nervously nodded and ran off as Jaune came back and asked "Who was that?"

"Another admirer." Pyrrha answered with an annoyed tone of voice, she could also feel a slight anger radiating off of Jaune as he watched the guy run off.

"At least you didn't have to punch this one to make him get the picture." Jaune remarked, reminding Pyrrha of the several obnoxious 'admirers' who had made moves on her in Cadia, which often resulted in the couple forcing them to back off but Pyrrha wasn't the only one as Jaune now found himself being crushed on by a few local girls from Cadia, only for Pyrrha to scare them off. Jaune smiled and that got Pyrrha to smile as well as he sat next to her and kissed her on the cheek before his scroll rang.

"Who is it?" Pyrrha asked as he looked at the caller I.D. and smiled. He answered it and a familiar blonde head with blue eyes appeared on the small screen of the scroll.

"Hey Bianca." he said to his oldest sister.

"Hey little bro, how are things over in Vale?" she asked.

"Pretty good, the training is coming along as we expected it to." Jaune stated, careful not to mention the specifics of his training in public.

"Let's hope it stays that way. The others are eager for you to come home soon." Bianca reported.

"I know, I got a call from Azure this morning and one from Shani last night and another from Olivia yesterday afternoon. How's work been?' Jaune asked.

"Pretty good, got commissioned to do some art for a children's book and I'll get to work on it later but I wanted to check up on you. How's Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora?" she asked.

"I'm doing just fine Bianca, hello." the Spartan, who then swallowed down some fried dough.

"Good to know, have you gotten any word from Ruby and the others?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, the left Hondyama a couple of days ago and they're nearly at their drop off." Jaune told her, deciding not to tell her about the clash with the White Fang for now.

Bianca nodded and then her eyes snapped wide open and she said "Oh man I nearly forgot! You wanna see the portrait of Ashe I'm making?"

Pyrrha looked to Jaune as he nodded and said "Sure, go ahead." From where she was sitting Pyrrha could see Bianca moving on Jaune scroll before turning her own scroll around and pointing it at a canvas on a stand that was a halfway finished portrait of Ashe Kasai. While the background was blank white the Ashe part of the painting looked dead on, the face, eyes, and hair all looked right. The painting Bianca was making had the now dead warrior giving off a sad but triumphant smile and as Pyrrha looked at the unfinished painting she couldn't help but wince, something Jaune noticed.

"It probably looks bad from here but it'll look better in person and when it's finished." Bianca stared.

"No, it looks pretty good so far. I bet it will amazing when its done." Jaune said encouragingly.

"Thanks Jaune, hope you two lovebirds are having a good time."

"Oh we are." Pyrrha assured her.

"Good to know, love you Jaune, bye!" the eldest Arc daughter bid as she ended the call.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha and asked "What's wrong?"

Pyrrha attempted a smile and said "Why nothing, Jaune. I'm fine."

"When she showed us the portrait you felt sad, guilty. What's wrong?" He asked. She didn't answer at first, she just looked down to the ground until he placed a gentle hand on top of her own and said "Please, tell me."

The Invincible Girl sighed and knew there was no point in trying to put it off or lie to him so she said "It's Ashe... there's a part of me that feels guilty over his death."

"Why? What happened to Ashe wasn't your fault." Jaune said firmly.

"But if I had killed Cinder when I slammed down all those Grimm Knights, or if I had managed to cripple her a bit more then she wouldn't have been able to kill him." she said to him.

Jaune sighed and said "I know what it's like to feel guilty over someone's death, believe me."

Pyrrha looked at him and remembered how he blamed himself for her death and she quickly said "Sorry!"

"No, it's okay. Ashe went because it was his choice, I think he knew he was gonna die and even if Cinder didn't kill him... would he have made it? From what we know she only punched the hole in his chest and everything else was that scumbag Jude's doing. Heck, maybe Ante would have killed him but just because you didn't kill Cinder doesn't mean you're responsible for Ashe's death in the slightest." he said as he hugged her.

He let out a small smile as he noticed how they would have to comfort each other over their own respective fears, guilt, and insecurities and how they helped each other out in more ways than one. Nora had openly said that it was just another bit of proof as to how perfect they were for each other.

Pyrrha, however, wasn't done with her anxieties. "But what if Cinder does something worse? What if more people die becasue of her? I could have ended her right then and there but I..."

Jaune silenced her with a passionate kiss that took her by surprise but she quickly got over it and returned the kiss. As they parted lips Jaune said to her "We all tried to take her down, so when she comes back the burden won't be yours alone. We're in this together Pyr, now and forever."

Pyrrha smiled as buried her face in his neck and whispered "I love you."

"And I love you. You want to spend some time meditating with the crystal tonight?" he asked. They had been working with the Aura Crystal on and off over the months but so far they hadn't made any real progress.

"That would be fine by me, but right now I just want to stay like this." Pyrrha said as she snuggled into him.

He smiled at her and whispered "Me too."

* * *

Ozpin sat as his desk going over the reports of fights with Grimm and how progress on rebuilding Beacon was coming along and altogether things seemed to be just fine. Despite the calm they were enjoying Ozpin found sitting at his desk and looking over reports and requests quite dull, knowing that Glynda, Taiyang, and Port were all out there helping with reconstruction or keeping the Grimm at bay, he couldn't help but wish that he was with them. He knew that Bartholomew felt this way too, as the younger teacher had been cooped up on the Atlesian science vessel for the last two weeks or so.

Just then a button on his desk began to light up and a ringing sound went off. Ozpin pressed a button and a hologram of General Ironwood appeared in front of his desk.

"James, good to see you." Ozpin greeted.

"And you, how are things at Beacon?" the general inquired.

"Swimmingly, the Grimm are mostly staying away and those that do venture forth are being dealt with and the reconstruction process is keeping up with the schedule, we should be ready for the next semester on time. Have you made any progress with the White Fang operatives that Team Beacon captured?" Ozpin asked.

Ironwood shook his head and answered "Not so good, I'm afraid. We've made very little progress on interrogating them as they have proved resistant to every technique we have at our disposal. We tried using truth serum on one of the higher ranking captive, unconstitutional I know but we're desperate, and it appears that this Adam Taurus prepared for that. When we fed him the truth serum he died. The autopsy revealed that he had been given a drug that is only poisonous when combined with a certain element of the truth serum."

Ozpin cupped his hands and brought them up underneath his chin. "It appears Adam Taurus is far more devious than we realized. From what Qrow and Winter told us in their report we may have an ally of sorts in the form of the White Fang's Elite Guard. If we could somehow get proof that Adam tried to murder a child and poisoned his own soldiers than we might be able to convince them to betray him." he said.

"Not a bad strategy, we've heard rumors about this Elite Guard saving Faunus, and a few humans, from slavers or illegal labor camps throughout the kingdoms. Any news of Cinder Fall on your end?" Ironwood asked.

Ozpin sighed, Cinder was still a raw nerve for him, she had been the weapon Salem used against him, the one responsible for the fall of Beacon. He personally blamed himself for not being able to recognize her during the Vytal Festival but he had thought that a girl who had Cinder's first name and looked like her being that young when in reality Cinder Kasai would be in her mid-thirties so he just brushed it off as a mere coincidence, an idiotic mistake that he would probably never really forgive himself over.

"Nothing. Yours?"

Ironwood shook his head, "On a brighter note our friends at Future Technologies have finalized their design for the Hyperion One, would you like to see it?"

Ozpin nodded and Ironwood leaned over to push a button on his end, causing his hologram to expand and include another, smaller hologram of an impressive looking ship design; The Hyperion One was (as the name implied) going to be the first of its type of ships, the Mobile Airborne Command Ships (or MACS for short), others would be used a smaller command ships for situations that didn't call for the massive airships Atlas was normally associated with. It looked like a cross between a stealth fighter and a mobile airborne command plane, clad completely in matte black armor plating with grey highlights, and powered by four main large VTOL engines. It's close to three hundred feet in length, with a wingspan of a hundred feet on each side. In addition to its VTOL engines, there were also a substantial number of thrusters on its underside to assist with taking off or landing or dealing with certain battle situation whenever necessary. The Hyperion One had the impression of a triangular giant bird of prey from the air, except with enough armaments to defend several reasonably-sized city blocks on its own.

"Most impressive I must say, I think we'll be very happy with it." Ozpin said.

"Good, the engineers at Future Technologies will be happy to know you said that. I've had some of our Specialists from S.W.O.R.D. go over it and they think they added on some of the turrets currently on the design. It'l take them a few months but it'll get made. I'll be appearing at the demonstration tonight, even though I'll have to stay up a little later than I usually do to see it. Have a good day Ozpin." Ironwood said.

"You too James and don't forget about Jaune's test tomorrow." Ozpin reminded him before he ended the call, remembering that Dr. Oobleck and the others were ready to show off the potential of harvesting silver energy and were given a chance to demonstrate it tonight. Just then he noticed he had a new mail notification on his computer. He opened it up and it was from the head councilman Jonathan Henry. He opened it up and was surprised to see that it was a rather short, and very blunt, message that read: 'Hello William, I've been in contact with my friends and they want to know if you'd agree to a meeting with them.'

Ozpin thought about his answer and then hyped up his response; 'I am more open to a meeting with a few of them, yes. Who do they want to send and when?'

He waited for a few minutes before receiving Henry's response which was 'I am sure that they will only send one but I do not know when they will come, tough it will most likely be at night, which helps them go unnoticed. I will contact them and tell them of your answer. Good day old friend.'

He sent the message and then leaned back in his chair, muttering to himself "So they finally want to get in contact with me. About time."

* * *

The sun had set and the moon was rising by the time Team JNPR and Sage returned to the hotel. Nora was carrying the eleven stuffed animal toys Ren had won for her while Ren carried one of his own that she won for him. When Team RWBY left for the rescue mission they let Ren and Nora take their room which meant Jaune and Pyrrha had a room all to themselves.

Sage went down to the hotel's gym to get in a workout before watching some TV and hitting the hay while Team JNPR decided to simply retire for the night. Ren and Nora were going to watch a movie.

"Nora, I still don't think watching this movie you rented is a good idea." he said to her as he looked at the dark cover to the movie while the group walked down the hall.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well its a horror movie and the last time we watched a horror movie you couldn't go to sleep unless you were using me as a teddy bear all night." Ren reminded her.

"That's the idea!" she said as she skipped into their room with their new collection of stuffed toys in her arms.

Ren turned around to give Jaune and Pyrrha a look before smiling and saying "She's more than a handful, and yet I wouldn't have her any other way."

"Aw." Pyrrha cooed as Ren went inside their room.

After that the second half of JNPR went into their own room and quickly locked the doors and closed the curtains to make sure their mediation with the Aura Crystal would not be observed.

Jaune reached under the bed as Pyrrha handed him the second key needed to unlock a small compartment hidden under the bed where the case containing the Aura Crystal was kept. He had the first one, so he unlocked it, opened it up and lifted out the case Ashe had kept the crystal in and was thankful that Ozpin himself paid the hotel staff to install it for them.

Jaune and Pyrrha pressed their fingers against the print-lock and opened the case and Jaune activated its levitation or anti-gravity or whatever it was that let the Aura Crystal float in the air. Ashe had told them that it would be a while before they really made a connection with the Aura Crystal, reminding them that it took him years to really communicate with it so as far as they could tell the relic would only connect with them when it felt like it but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Okay, let's get started." Jaune said.

They sat down across from one another, Jaune in front of the crystal and Pyrrha behind it but both facing each other as they began to meditate in silence. It was always a nice, calming experience whenever they did this together, their arms reaching out to touch the crystal to try and communicate with it, somehow. Despite being its guardians for over five months now but they really hadn't had any real vision or connection with the crystal or the souls within it since the night of the Battle of Haven when Ashe traded places with them. The books he had given them were a bit too vague and while Jaune could remember some of the chants and meditation tricks Ashe had taught him via the memory spell he was not ready to try some of it yet, since he wanted to be in control of his Grimm side first.

They continued meditating together for about forty-five minutes, but nothing happened as usual.

Jaune sighed and said "I think that's enough for tonight."

"Are you sure? We can keep going." Pyrrha said.

"No, I think I'm done for now." Jaune said, and Pyrrha couldn't help but notice that he sounded a bit down so she decided to agree with him.

They put away the Aura Crystal again, firmly locking it away before Pyrrha asked "Jaune, I can tell that something is bothering you. What is it?"

Jaune looked at her and asked "Pyrrha, do you have any goals for the future?"

Pyrrha was a bit taken aback by the question but answered "Yes, to help defeat Salem, Cinder, and those who help them, save Remnant, protect people, and be a good person." She was a bit to bashful about the topics so left out a few things like 'marry you and have children'.

"Those are a lot like mine but another goal of mine but I have other goals, like to improve and be as strong as I can possibly be and to have full control over my Grimm powers." he explained to her.

Pyrrha nodded and said "I know it's not coming along perfectly but we need to take time with this, okay? Remember it took me two weeks to pull it off before they allowed me to work with the Wyvern."

"I know but... I just don't want you to be alone." he said, "What if a herd of Grimm attack and you need help controlling them? I wouldn't be much help, would I?"

"Not now, but in time you will be. All you need is more training, more patience, and to relax because I doubt that a herd of Grimm will try coming here after how hard we fought to drive them away and with how happy people are to be back. I promise you will get better Jaune, you just have to try." she told him as she sat on the bed next to him.

He smiled at her and said "Thank you, I know you're right. I just need more practice and more patience."

Pyrrha smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before he got up and went over to the small fridge the room had to get a water bottle only to find them gone.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you I drank the last one this morning, sorry!" Pyrrha said as she opened the curtains.

"It's okay Pyrrha, I'll go down to the vending machines and buy a few for tonight." Jaune said to her before he grabbed his wallet and left.

He walked down to the floor's 'living room' area where the vending machines, as well as a TV, a couch, and a few chairs were kept for people to sit around and entertain themselves for whatever reason. Jaune walked to the vending machine and placed in a lien and ordered a water bottle, only for a voice to speak up from behind him.

"Hey Jaune."

The youngest Arc child jumped in surprised and whirled around to see Fox relaxing on the couch reading a novel.

"Ah, hi Fox, didn't see you there." Jaune said as he took a breath.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. How was the town?" the dark skinned teen inquired.

"Pretty good, some guy tried to hit on Pyrrha but she scared him off easily." Jaune told him.

"I'll bet. You're lucky to have a girl like her." Fox said.

"Like you wouldn't believe. How's your book?"

"Pretty good." Fox stated before looking at his temporary leader and asking "Is something bothering you?"

Jaune sighed and asked "How can you tell?"

"When you're around as many... memorable people as I have been you tend to notice someone's emotions, even when they try to hide them." Fox explained before repeating "So what's wrong?"

Jaune sat down next to him and made sure they were alone before beginning in a hushed voice "It's just that I... there are a few things bugging me really; first of all I'm worried what if I can never be a good guardian for the Aura Crystal? I mean Ashe had his doubts and look at all he pulled off."

Fox sighed and said "I didn't know Ashe very well and I know even less about this Aura Crystal even after he explained it to us but Jaune, I think you're a better person than he was." He could see Jaune getting angry at that statement so quickly added "I think he was a good man in the end, but he had a lot of flaws and a real dark side to him but considering all that had happened to him in the past I'm amazed he was still a functioning person. I mean I saw Ashe break down when your sister pointed a gun at him and he just lost it, practically begging her to end him, and yet... he got over it. He got his act together and helped us save you, Ruby, Pyrrha, and all those kids and teachers in that school so I think that in the end he was a good man, but I think that you could be better Jaune because you have all of your friends."

Jaune looked at him and nodded, "I understand."

"So if he could be a decent guardian you could be just as good." Fox told him.

"Thanks. The other thing that's bugging me is my..." Jaune looked around before whispering "Grimm side, what if I can't control it? I mean I can _feel_ negative emotions! Earlier today when we were in town a little girl lost her balloon and I could feel her sadness and her mom's frustration and embarrassment so what if... what if I lose control in a battle and I hurt someone?"

Fox nodded, "That is a possibility, but I think that won't happen as long as you have your friends. You might lose control but the others, especially your team, will be there to help you regain control."

Jaune smiled and said "I know you're right, I know they'll be there for me but that doesn't mean my anxieties will magically go away. I... I just don't want to be anything like Cinder."

"Jaune, you resisted their torture and manipulation for days and you managed to survive everything Cinder threw at you, you won't be like her. Trust me."

"Thank you. The last thing bothering me is something I don't really think I can talk to Pyrrha about because I don't want her to get annoyed with me."

"What is it?" Fox asked.

"Despite everything we've been through together there's still a part of me that wonders if I am worthy of her." Jaune admitted.

Fox sighed before forcing Jaune to look him in the eye and say "You ran off to avenge her, endured Cinder's torture, fought her while she was brainwashed and managed to defeat her, risked everything to save her from being frozen, and were a mere inch from dying because you took an arrow meant for her. Trust me, if you are not worthy of her no one is. You deserve her just as she deserves you. I know she loves you very much, everyone does but do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Then get back to your room and show her how much you love her." Fox said firmly.

Jaune smiled and said "You... you're right! Thanks Fox!"

He quickly bought some more water bottles and ran back to his room. Fox smirked, closed up his book, and muttered "Romantics. I've been hanging around Coco too much."

Jaune returned to their room and smiled at Pyrrha, who had changed her clothes to a dark red tank-top and black shorts, as she sat on a chair in front of a table polishing Milo.

"What took so long?" she asked.

"Ran into Fox, talked to him, he helped me out with a few things and he helped me realize something I need to do." Jaune said as he finished stocking the fridge.

"And what is that?" Pyrrha asked as she placed Milo down on the table and walked over to him.

"This." he said before he reached forward, grabbed her, pulled her towards him and kissed her as hard and as passionately as he could, making her eyes widen in surprise but she did not object in the slightest. She returned the kiss very eagerly and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Pyrrha was mentally spinning around in pure bliss as the kiss continued on, she didn't know what had gotten into Jaune but she liked it. Then all of a sudden she felt his hand travel down to her shapely rear and squeeze, making her cry out in surprise and pleasure as she blushed madly.

Jaune stopped kissing her and pulled back to them both get some air. He was blushing too but he was also incredibly nervous now. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! I went too far. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm..."

Pyrrha shut him up by quickly kissing him again. "It's okay Jaune! I'm not angry or offended, just a little surprised, that's all. It actually felt... nice." she said.

"Oh... good." he said as she wrapped her arms around his chest.

"What brought this up?" she asked.

"Well when I talked to Fox I told him about how there's a part of me that still doesn't feel worthy of you." he told her. She opened her mouth to object but he quickly stopped her with "But he talked some sense into me, he said that I am worthy of you after everything I did and everything I went through in Haven. So I'm going to try and ignore the insecurities I feel about our relationship. I wanted to show you just how much I love you." he said.

Pyrrha gave him a mischievous smile and without warning yanked off Jaune's shirt before tackling him to the bed, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. She lifted herself up and used her Semblance to close the curtains before looking at the shirtless Jaune and admiring his body. "You want to show me how much you love me? Not a bad idea." she said before she took off her tank-top to reveal a sports-bra that was straining a little to contain her large breasts.

Jaune marveled at the sight before she crawled on top of him, kissing his body until she met his lips in another kiss.

They spent all night making out and expressing their love for each other, and while it never got overly sexual it was a magical night to both of them, even as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Atlesian science vessel that hovered over the recovering Beacon an important presentation was about to be underway. Ozpin, Glynda, and Port stood with the Vale Council along with holograms of General Ironwood, Admiral Nemo, several experts in the field of sciences dealing with Grimm, and at least a few members from all councils of the Kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo were all there to witness and judge the test for the possibility of harvesting left over energy from the powers of the silver eyes.

Dr. Oobleck, Dr. Crane, and Dr. Tremain and a team of scientists and assistants all worked in the test area behind a strong pane of glass as containment crews brought in a cage with an Ursa inside.

"So how goes the patrols on ocean, admiral?" asked a Mistral councilwoman.

"Acceptable, stopping Grimm and arresting pirates, same as always." the muscular woman stated.

"I've been meaning to ask you if you could send a small ship to Kipton, one of the specialists from S.W.O.R.D. reported she heard rumors of Krakens around the area. I had some airships scout the area but no luck so far." Ironwood said to her.

Nemo nodded and said "I'll dispatch a crew to deal with it."

Councilor Henry approached Ozpin and whispered "I contacted them, they'll send someone soon."

"Good. Will you be appearing at Jaune's test tomorrow afternoon?"Ozpin inquired.

"Yes, I'll make it. I want to see something like that firsthand." Henry confirmed before Oobleck's voice came over the PA.

"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention? We are about to begin." he said.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to attention as Oobleck handed the microphone over to Dr. Tremain as the containment crew parked the large cage inside the testing area.

"Good evening everyone and thank you all for coming tonight, be it in person or by hologram. In case any of you aren't caught up with the details allow me to indulge you. I am Dr. Linda Tremain and to my left is Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and to my right is Dr. Nicolas Crane, nearly a week ago we discovered that the Grimm defeated by the mystical power of Ruby Rose's silver eyes were, in face, not entirely killed but placed in a state of suspended animation. Take for example this Saber..." she said as two assistants brought up the dead Saber Oobleck and Crane had been studying before they discovered the energy. "As Dr. Crane observed it has healthy teeth, claws, fur, and a body in top physical shape, one could call it a prime example of a deadly Grimm but when Miss Rose's eyes began to shine out of fear for the lives of her friends this Grimm and a few dozen others all just stopped living. Why? According to legend; warriors with eyes of silver are beings that all the Grimm fear but why? We think we have found the answer; the energy radiated by these eyes is harmless to humans and Faunus and animals but why is that? Dr. Oobleck."

Oobleck took over for her and said "I believe that the energy emitted by the silver eyes doesn't affect those that possess aura but to the Grimm, that have no aura to speak of, it is a deadly poison that puts one in suspended animation which is why their bodies didn't disintegrate. The reason our report on the Wyvern was so unsure is because it hadn't yet died when Miss Rose defeated it so months of being trapped atop the tower caused it to rot inside and out while it was still alive until we came along and cut it open, mercy killing it.

A few looked put off by that information while others simply nodded or watched and listened with interest.

"So, we now know what happens to a Grimm is hit by the powers of the silver eyes but what if they were concentrated, refined? We don't know much about these powers but Dr. Crane has theorized that the silver energy might be aura in its purest form. Now, while we didn't have access to the bodies Miss Rose left behind at Haven during the battle there, we do have some bodies Miss Rose left in her wake during the retaking of Beacon. With some effort we and the rest of the hard working scientists on this ship managed to harvest the energy covering the bodies and place them into Dust bullets. Observe." Tremain finished as she handed a loaded assault rifle to a guard.

The guard stepped away from the cage to a safe distance and waited to get a good shot and then fired into the cage, hitting its flank which made the Ursa roar in pain and thrash around before falling to the ground, seemingly dead but it was not disintegrating, which amazed many of the people there as they had never seen such a thing.

Tremain ordered the cage opened so Oobleck and a few guards went inside. The guards kept their guns aimed at the Ursa as Oobleck examined it. After a few minutes he said "From what I can tell its exactly like the rest that were defeated by Miss Rose, there will have to be further testing of course, but upon first glance it appears to have worked."

"Excellent." Ozpin said in approval.

"How many of these bullets were you able to make?" Ironwood asked.

"Aside from the one we just used about twenty-four." stated Tremain.

"Hmm, we still have the Grimm corpses stored at a secure warehouse outside of Haven, I can talk to the leader of our council and see if he can transfer them to you but I am very impressed with the potential of this." said the Mistral Councilwoman.

"All well and good my lady, but where are we going to get more silver eye energy after we harvest those Grimm? Force it out of the child?" Benedict asked "Because if so I must object. Need I remind you that these silver eyes only shine when she is under great emotional..."

"Calm yourself Mr. Benedict, we have already agreed that Miss Rose will not come to harm." Ozpin told the councilman.

"Yes, we have decided to only take what little of the silver energy there is available from the Grimm bodies we have now and the ones we will have in the future. It will be a limited supply but we cannot force it out of Ruby Rose, to do so would be monstrous and inhumane." Ironwood stated.

"Agreed." voiced Glynda.

"So what does this mean for our project?" Crane inquired.

"Well you will need to give us all a few days to collect our thoughts, all of the councils need to deliberate before we give a final verdict on this endeavor but if you want my honest opinion I think these things, with some testing and in the right hands, could be very effective at protecting the common people from the menace of the Grimm despite limited numbers." Henry said to the scientists.

"I concur." agreed Ozpin before stating "That is all ladies and gentlemen, report to your councils in the morning, may you all have pleasant nights."

As the holograms began to deactivate Glynda moved to Ozpin and whispered "We need to make sure that no matter what these council members understand that Ruby Rose's eyes are not a resource to be strip-mined."

"Trust me Glynda, we will make sure they are aware of that fact. No matter what." Ozpin said to her, "And if we can't, Qrow and Taiyang can."

* * *

The next day Jaune and Pyrrha stood by the trees a few meters away from the arena while Ozpin, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, Taiyang, Henry, Benedict, and a few other members of the Vale council sat on some steel bleachers with a hologram of General Ironwood among them while Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage stood nearby to cheer Jaune on while some Atlas guards helped Dr. Polendina with the five Grimm Knights in the pit. On the other side of the pit were three cages that contained one Beowolf each.

Jaune and Pyrrha had practiced all morning with the three Beowolves to make sure Jaune had complete control over them and it appeared that their hours of hard work had paid off because the trio of Grimm had obeyed every order or command Jaune had given them be it something simple like roll over or complex like back-flipping and even fighting Ren, Sage, and Fox without hurting them. He had also worked on how quickly he could take control of all three of them and found he could do it within five seconds. Jaune was happy with another step of his training complete but was still a little nervous as to how they would preform in battle, it would call for him to jump into the pit, quickly take control of the three Grimm, battle all five Grimm Knights, and defeat them, all while not getting hit and making sure none of the Beowolves got hit too bad either even though the blasts would be on low power.

Jaune looked over to the various adults on the bleachers and sighed, "I hope I don't mess this up."

"You won't, we've been practicing all day and nearly an entire week before today. You will do fine." Pyrrha said to him before planting a kiss on his cheek.

He smiled and said "Thanks, let's just hope I can pull it off."

"I know you can. I believe in you." she told him.

"And we do too." Agreed Ren as he and the others came up.

"Good luck down there man." Sage said as he shook Jaune's hand.

"Don't worry, the Grimm Knights went down with a little effort at Haven and I assume someone who can control Grimm can take five recently repaired ones down just as easily." Fox encouraged.

"Make us proud fearless leader and kick some robo-butt." Nora cheered.

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks guys, I'll do my best."

"You always do." Ren remarked with a slight smile.

Glynda walked over to them and asked "Are you ready to begin, Mr. Arc?"

"As ready as I'll ever be Professor." he stated.

"Good. Get in position." she said before she walked back in front of the bleachers to address the people gathered. "Hello everyone, you all know why we are here; to witness the progress and potential of having two Grimm hybrids on our side. You all know what happened to Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc so there is no point of repeating that information but what you might not know is that the possibility of simply curing them of this condition is highly unlikely. We know little to nothing about the science of it as the one behind it, Victor Giger, was killed by his own creation in the Battle of Haven and even the mythical powers of the Aura Crystal said it couldn't undo what had been done to them, merely restore their appearances. We all know that Pyrrha Nikos is an incredibly talented young woman and in the hands of the enemy she learned how to control the Grimm..."

Pyrrha sighed at that and remembered the Wyvern yet again, how the magnificent, but at times difficult Grimm, really warmed up to her.

_Seven Months Ago_

_Fotia cried out in frustration as she jumped to avoid a swing of the Wyvern's tail. She landed on her feet and quickly ran towards the large Grimm and jumped to land on its back which made it thrash around to try and get her off._

_"Whoa! Wait... ugh!" Fotia cried and grunted as she held on to the beast for dear life as it struggled. She didn't understand what had happened to the Wyvern, after the first night it seemed to be going so well and then a few days later it just started acting up, she knew it was young but still couldn't figure out why it was acting like this after seemingly accepting her._

_Fotia lost her grip and went sailing across the arena and landed on her back with a grunt and a thud. As she got up the Wyvern roared at her and slammed its tail down, warning her to keep away._

_"I don't understand! I thought you were okay with me, why are you acting like this?!" she cried but her only answer was a roar._

_She remembered the first night, the way she got it to calm down and accept her was when she sensed its emotions, something a Grimm should not possess. She remembered Cinder's advice, to be firm and swift. While it was easier said than done that didn't mean she would give up, even if she felt exhausted._

_"Please, don't fight me. We need to work together if we're to help make Mistress Salem's new world a reality." she said as she placed her weapon down. "No weapon, I won't hurt you, I promise. No one will hurt you as long as I can help it."_

_After she said that she could feel the Wyvern calm slightly, its emotions (still an odd thing for a Grimm to possess) softened a bit._

_She smiled a little as she slowly and carefully approached the Wyvern, listening to its nervous growls as she got closer to it._

_Soon enough she was right in front of it, she could feel its nervousness and decided to calm by placing a gentle hand on its face, letting it know she had no intentions of harming it. It seemed to calm down and pressed its head into her, nuzzling her a bit. Fotia smiled and rubbed its head before she gently climbed atop its head to ride it like she had before but the Wyvern made no move to throw her off as it was now assured of her intentions._

_Fotia beamed happily before jumping off and walking back to her weapon. When she picked it up it growled a bit but she placed it behind her back into the scabbard and approached it again. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'll never hurt you. I will not break that promise." she swore as it calmed down._

_She once again got on its back and it raised on with her, making her appear to anyone else that she was an all powerful dragon rider who could lay waste to a whole army._

_Fotia, tired but happy, grinned as she held up her weapon and swore "We will make this world a better place."_

_Later that night Cinder and the keepers found her asleep with the Wyvern curled up around her, as if it was protecting her now._

Pyrrha was snapped out of the memory by Jaune placing his hand on her shoulder. "Well here goes nothing." he said to her before he approached the pit.

"Now, I would not send fully repaired Grimm Knights into battle with this boy, they have been reprogrammed to follow our commands and are at half power. We haven't been able to fully repair one without the proper schematics for their design so we can't send one to infiltrate out enemy's command but we've fixed them up decently enough to put up a fight. Mr. Arc, I would advise you not to hold back, they may be weakened but their blasts can still harm you and we have more in the ship so don't worry about setting our work back. Good luck Mr. Arc." Dr. Polendina said.

"Thank you sir." Jaune said as he stood over the pit.

"Remember Mr. Arc, no worries, this is merely a test run." Glynda reminded him.

Jaune nodded and said "I'm ready."

Glynda nodded to Dr. Polendina who activated the Grimm Knights and all five of them got into battle poses. "Go." she said to Jaune.

Jaune jumped down into the pit and landed in front of the cages and used his Semblance to create a shield of aura to protect himself and the Beowolves from the blasts while Pyrrha used her Semblance to quickly open the cages and let them out.

The trio of Grimm dashed out of their cages towards Jaune who quickly took firm control of all three of them with a bit of effort, made harder by keeping up the Aura Shield. Once he was sure they were under control and wouldn't attack him he whipped around and saw the five Grimm Knights were approaching him.

He mentally instructed the eldest Beowolf to go after the Grimm Knight furthest to the left and the second Beowolf would take out the Knight next to it. He would attack the Grimm Knight in the center while the third Beowolf would take on the second robot on the right, leaving the first one on the right surrounded by Jaune and a Beowolf.

The three Beowolves hissed and snarled at the robots, so they knew who their enemies were and they didn't count Jaune as one. Good.

Jaune dropped his shield and let out a furious yell as he unsheathed his sword and led the Beowolves into battle. The eldest one leapt ahead of Jaune and slammed down into its assigned Grimm Knight, using its arm spikes to tear into the robot's torso before using its powerful arms to grab those of the robot and keep them from shooting the others.

The Grimm Knight next to it moved to blast the elder Beowolf only for the second one to slam into it, knocking it down. The second Beowolf jumped up onto the chest of the Grimm Knight, its claws digging into the metal exterior before it used the skull mask on its face to absorb the hit of an energy blast. It then brought down its head and used its powerful jaws and began to rip off the head of the robot while using its arms to keep the blasters of the Knight pinned down to the ground.

Jaune jumped up and slashed the lead Knight across the chest in what would have been a devastating killing blow had the robot not jumped backwards just in time. A blade came out of its wrist and met Jaune's strike with a parry while the Grimm Knight beside them tried to blast Jaune while his back was turned only for the third Beowolf to slam into both Knights on the right side, knocking them down.

Jaune smirked, so far his strategy was working, but he was ripped away from that thought when a blast from the Grimm Knight he was dueling hit him in the stomach.

"Ah!" he cried as he ducked a swing from the robot's blade. He glanced back to see the third Beowolf outnumbered by the two Grimm Knights and was running as fast as it could to avoid their attacks.

Jaune knew he needed to win this and quickly so he used his Semblance to power him up, he shouted out furiously as he surged forward and swung Crocea Mors rapidly, cutting off the lead Grimm Knight's legs and arms before cutting of the head, sending it slamming into the wall.

He could see that the first two Beowolves had finished off their appointed Knights, the elder had ripped off the arms of the furthest to the left and had impaled it with its back spikes while the second Beowolf had decapitated its Knights while tearing up its chest area.

Jaune smirked proudly but then quickly turned his attention to the third Beowolf which had been injured by the two remaining Knights. They were about to finish it off but then Jaune jumped up from behind and impaled one of them through the chest and then ripped his sword up, cutting the upper half of the Knight in half length-ways while the injured Beowolf used its claws to attack the legs of the third Grimm Knight, while the other two Beowolves jumped on it from behind and ripped it to pieces.

Jaune let the devastated Grimm Knight fall to the ground as a heap of scrap and took a breath as the Beowolves finished off the final Knight. Once they were done the trio of Grimm looked up to the spectators and began to growl until Jaune mentally ordered them to stop. The three got on all fours and bowed to him before he instructed them to go back to the cages where Pyrrha locked them in again.

Jaune sighed in relief that the test was finally done and it had gone over pretty decently.

"Well done Mr. Arc, your performance was astounding." said Henry.

"It was far from perfect but that is to be expected. Congratulations Jaune." Glynda voiced as Ozpin, Fox, Sage, Port, Oobleck, Polendina, Benedict, and the others began applauding him. Pyrrha had proven to them that the idea of using the Grimm against their own was possible but today was his own turn to test his abilities and he had succeeded.

"Most impressive Mr. Arc, I look forward to seeing this in action one day." General Ironwood's hologram said.

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks, but I..." suddenly he was lifted up out of the pit by his chest armor via Pyrrha's Semblance. She placed him gently on the ground where Nora grabbed in and squeezed him tight.

"Way to go Jaune-Jaune! I knew you could pull it off!" she said.

"You were fantastic." Ren complimented.

"You did wonderful Jaune." Pyrrha said as Nora let him go, only for the Spartan to grab him and capture his lips in another kiss.

"Awww." cooed Nora.

"Uh... let us take our leave and discuss things somewhere else, give the young lovers some privacy." suggested Oobleck.

"A sensible idea if ever there was one, come along everyone." Ozpin stated as the hologram of Ironwood shut off and the adults began to leave.

Jaune parted from the kiss to get some air, smiled and said "Pyrrha! Everyone is watching! Not that I mind but..."

She placed a finger on his lips to shush in and said "I'm just showing you how much I love you. And I don't care if everyone knows it."

Jaune's only answer to that was to grin and quickly kissed her back.

Nora meanwhile, grinned and said "Not a bad idea..." she looked at Ren and added "Come here lover boy."

"Yes dear." Ren said as she grabbed him and began wildly kissing him.

"What have I started?" Fox mused out loud.

Sage could only mutter "I have got to get into a relationship, looks pretty nice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Hunting the White Fang
> 
> Updates won't be so frequent October because of my obsession with horror during that month and tomorrow... it begins.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	36. The Hunt Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

After a few days of traveling into the more lush and green parts of Vacuo the members of Team Beacon had gotten a little tired of being cooped up in the train for hours on end, bar the occasional stop at a village. That morning Tom had told them they would arrive at their destination, the city of Preshia, sometime that afternoon and they had gotten a call from Beacon to hear from JNPR, Fox, and Sage to tell them how things were going at Beacon and how Jaune's training was coming along. While she was happy for her friends Ruby couldn't help but feel a little bored since she had nothing to do and had wished aloud that they had something exciting to pass the time with.

She got her wish in the form of Rail Pirates.

Ruby ducked the mighty swing of a large pirate's hammer before he was sent on his back by a blast to the chest from Yang.

"You okay Rubes?" Yang asked as she dodged a shot.

"I'm a-okay!" Ruby answered as she began using Crescent Rose on the pirate's engine, a huge diesel engine that had a large, rusty old claw coming out of its roof with a hold behind it that allowed for more rail pirates, both human and Faunus, male and female, to climb out and attack them. Behind it was a long line of coaches and boxcars used to house the pirates or carry their plunder and weapons with a few turrets attached to them and gates lined up along the sides of the trains roofs to prevent someone from falling off.

Currently Team RWBY, along with Penny, Qrow, Winter, Sun, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Velvet, and Scarlet were on top of the Allcroft family's train fighting off the attackers while Clara was in the caboose, using the turret to shoot at their attackers and Neptune waited in the train to protect Tom and Anna in case any pirates got past them and take shots at the ones who were shooting out of the engine's windows.

Velvet was using her camera to create giant copies of her friends swords to keep the crushing claw at bay, slamming the light-blades into it and parrying its strikes. So far it had gotten a few 'bites' out of them, large gashes now scarred the engine and the coaches with broken windows and cut open steel but Velvet was managing to keep it at bay.

"Ah!" the Rabbit Faunus cried as she slammed a copy of Corcea Mors at the claw's 'arm' to try and sever it but the claw's operator saw what she was trying to do and used the claw to grab the copy sword and keep her away. "Clever." Velvet muttered before she tore her copy away out of its strong grasp before parrying a strike, trying to keep it from grabbing the coach and pulling it off the tracks.

Qrow, Winter, Blake, Sun, and Scarlet had all jumped over to the pirate's train and were currently fighting off an entire swarm of the thieves but the two adults fought back to back while Clara used the turret to keep the heavy artillery off of them

"How many of them do you think there are?" Qrow asked as he slammed Reaper into one pirate so hard he was thrown over the railings and off the train, onto the ground, injured and left behind.

"Who cares? Keep fighting, we can count them once this mess is done." Winter replied as she kicked a female pirate into a large Dog Faunus and parried the strike of a sword before dodging a shot meant for her head.

Scarlet used his grappling hook to tie up the legs of a few pirates together, pulled them down, and drag them into another group of pirates, tripping them up and making crash into one big pile of bodies and Sun finished them off by having a clone elbow-slam down on them and exploding, the blast taking them all out of the fight.

"Thanks for the help man!" Scarlet said before blasting a pirate with his flintlock and finishing him off with a slash of his sword, not killing him but hurting him enough to knock him out cold.

"Don't mention it!" Sun replied as he pole-vaulted over to another car and slammed his feet into a pirate's face and using his tail to trip a skinny pirate and knocking him out with a slam of his bo-staff to the head. As Blake jumped behind him and shot down a Faunus pirate who tried to sneak up on her boyfriend Sun decided to make some conversation, "You know, I kinda thought that the rest of the trip would be kinda peaceful after what went down at home."

"And yet here we are." Blake deadpanned as she created a clone to take a shot meant for her, dodged, and ran forward to slam the hilt of Gambol Shroud into a pirate's gut, following it up with an uppercut. She had personally been thankful for the calm but knew it couldn't last for long, it never did in her life. She looked over to see a pirate about to sneak up on Weiss and yelled "Weiss, behind you!"

The youngest Schnee sister whirled around and created a glyph to quickly create some ice to freeze the ruffian in place.

"Serves you right." she muttered before parrying a strike from another pirate. "Ruby! You just had to say something, didn't you?!" she voiced irritably before striking the sword out of her attacker's hands and ducking so Ruby could shoot him down.

"What do you mean?! How is any of this my fault?" Ruby asked as she slammed into a Faunus pirate, sending him flying towards Yatsuhashi who finished him off with a simple punch.

"You tempted fate! After Jaune's call you were all 'OMG, its so boring on this train, can't something exciting and epically awesome happen?' and when you say something like that if brings something like this about!" Weiss cried.

"I do NOT talk like that." Ruby said with a grumpy pout as swung the blade of Crescent Rose so hard it managed to cut two swords off their hilts.

"Yeah, that's more like how a pair of twins I know talk, Ruby's speech is a bit more like a sugar addicted ten year old." Yang said as she headbutted a thug.

Ruby growled in annoyance as she used her Semblance to launch herself in the air, landed in the middle of a group of pirates on the second coach where Penny, Coco, and Yatsuhashi were fighting. She quickly held up her arms with her weapon grasped firmly and she spun around like a red tornado, hitting them all with the blunt end of Crescent Rose and knocking them out and they hit the railings or the roof.

"Don't listen to them Ruby, they're just teasing." Penny assured her friend as she picked up a large pirate with both arms and threw him to Yang who finished him off with her robotic fist.

"Thanks Penny." Ruby said to her with a friendly smile.

Penny nodded before she whipped around and transformed her arm into its gun form and jabbed it into the face of another pirate.

"Ah fuck." he said in defeat.

"Please watch your language." Penny stated before she shot him, with her weapon at low power so she wouldn't hurt him too bad, just enough to knock him out.

"If only that would work on Uncle Qrow's foul language." remarked Yang.

"Never!" Qrow yelled from the other train.

Up in the engine cab Neptune did his best to help out his friends, shooting down pirates who were in the front of the enemy train and shooting at the engine's windows. He wondered just how long they could keep this fight up before they ran out of tracks or crashed into something.

"Hey Tom! Do you have a plan or something? I mean you know these tracks right? Anyway we could lose 'em?" Neptune asked.

"I'm working on it! Right now I'm trying to focus on keeping our speed up and..." he was cut off by the sound of the claw scrapping against the engine, "keep us from being cut up! Ann, have you made contact with anyone?"

Anna looked up at her little brother from a chair in front of a communications console and said "I've called the authorities of the nearest town, they'll try to send help but we're still like thirty miles out."

"Crud! What about any signal boxes? They could switch the tracks and get these creeps onto a different line, maybe even one that's a dead end." Tom suggested.

"I think there's one up ahead, I'll try the open frequency and see if they'll listen to us." Anna said quickly.

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast! Man I miss going more than a few days without someone trying to kill me." Neptune muttered as the window was smashed open by a pirate, who the bluenette quickly disposed of with a few well placed shots.

Back on the coaches Penny looked at the pirate's train to try and notice any potential weak spots they could exploit and her sensors picked something up in one of the boxcars towards the end, something she knew they could use to their advantage.

"Coco!" she cried, "The third boxcar from the end of their train, it contains a large amount of explosives!"

Coco looked at the robotic girl and smirked, "You got it!" she said, "Cove me Yatsu, I'm about to create quite the fireworks show."

Her large teammate nodded before grabbing a small pirate and throwing him off of the train and into a bush as they sped by.

Coco loaded up her gun and aimed it carefully at the boxcar Penny told her about.

"She's aiming for one of the weapon cars! Stop her!" shouted a pirate, but it was too late. Coco fired off her mighty minigun, sending a barrage of Dust bullets ripping into the boxcar and what was stored inside, only for it to set off a huge explosion that devastated the last few cars of the pirate's train.

"Oh crap! Unhook us! It'll drag us off the track and spread the fire to us!" cried the pirate captain, who currently fighting Winter and losing.

"Not a bad idea." Yatsuhashi said as Ruby ran up and took careful aim before shooting the couplings that held the cars together, separating the flaming one from the rest of the train. It fell backwards before derailing off the tracks, the pirates left behind ran for it before another explosion went off.

"Good idea Penny, thanks." Coco said to her friend before knocking a pirate out with her purse.

"You are welcome." Penny said cheerfully as she used her swords to protect the four from the pirate's gunfire.

Up towards the front Winter parried the captain's slash with ease. While the pirates might easily be a threat towards engine crews and passengers they found themselves outclassed by Hunters and a high ranking Atlas Specialist.

"Give it up, captain, you have already lost this battle." Winter said before she quickly opened up a series of strikes, driving him back.

"I don't think so! We may lose some of our numbers, weapons, and plunder, but if we can bring in two Schnees dead or alive to the White Fang I think we'll be compensated well enough." the pirate leader said as he just barley managed to block all of her attacks.

Winter allowed herself a smirk, which confused him but in the blink of an eye Winter jumped up and kicked him into the railings. She landed on her feet, threw her sword in the air, brought both of her fists up to slam two pirates in the face, grab her sword, slash another pirate down, and held her blade to the captain's chin before he could recover his own sword.

"Tell your crew to stand down." she demanded.

"Never." the captain said with a smirk before the metal 'arm' of the claw knocked into Winter from the side before Velvet could stop it.

"Winter!" Weiss cried. She quickly created a glyph and launched herself into the air and thanks to the speed of the engines being equally matched due to the long line of freight cars holding the more powerful engine the pirates possessed back she managed to land on the captain, boots to face. "Winter, are you okay?!" she asked frantically as she parried a strike from a large female pirate.

Winter got up as her aura healed the bleeding wound on the side of her head and helped her younger sister defeat the attacking pirate. "Injured, but I'll be fine. Believe me when I say I have had worse." Winter said to her little sister.

In the engine Tom desperately tried to keep his engine going as fast as it could, even though it wasn't meant to go this fast for this long.

"Yes! Oh thank you sir!" Anna cheered out loud.

"Tell me that's good news from that signalman!" Tom cried.

"It is, in about a minute they'll be at a switch track that leads to a siding with some buffers and they won't be able to stop in time! They'll crash!" Anna explained.

"Then we better get my friends off that train!" Neptune cried. He ran over to the window and looked out to see Velvet still fighting off the claw. "Velvet! Get Sun, Blake, and the others off that train! They're gonna switch off to another track!" he yelled as loudly as he could.

Velvet's ears, filled up with every noise the fight was making, managed to hear his warning. "Everyone! Get off the pirate train! They're going to crash!" the Rabbit Faunus called.

"What? How would she...?" Scarlet began before Sun grabbed his arm.

"You heard her! Jump!" his leader cried.

The two members of Team SSSN and Blake all jumped across to the safety of the Allcroft family train while Qrow, Weiss, and Winter were all kept busty by a crowd of pirates.

"They're surrounded, we gotta help 'em!" Ruby declared before she opened fire on the attackers, helped out by Yang, Penny, Blake, Sun, Scarlet, Coco, and Clara from the turret.

"Go!" Qrow ordered.

"What about you?" Winter inquired.

"I'll be fine, now go!" he barked.

Winter nodded, grabbed her sister's hand, created a glyph, and jumped up into the air and landed on the front coach.

"Are you two okay?" Ruby asked.

"All things considered we're okay." Weiss answered.

"Uncle Qrow come on! Clara and the rest of us will cover you!" Yang shouted as Neptune climbed up to join them.

"Come on! We're running out of time!" he added, he looked ahead and could see the switch track leading to the siding.

Qrow was about to jump over when he had to duck an attack by the claw. It reared up and snapped at him, threatening to tear him open with its sharp teeth.

Velvet growled as she gathered her strength and channeled more aura into the copy of Crocea Mors and swung managing to sever the claw off of the train, making it fall onto the roof with a loud clang and fall off and crash on the ground to be left behind.

"Thanks kid!" Qrow said as he jumped off just in time as the pirates' engine swerved violently off of the main line and into the siding. Despite the driver's best efforts he couldn't stop the train in time, it had simply been going too fast. It raced ahead, losing speed, and slammed through the buffers, demolished a few bushes and trees before coming to a stop in a pond, utterly wrecked.

Tom slammed on all of the brakes on his train, making it jerk to a violent stop, nearly throwing the ones of top off. He sat down and planted a kiss on the controls.

"Oh baby, I knew you could get us through this. Anna, call the cops and tell 'em where we are, let me get out there and expect the damage." he said to her.

"You got it little bro!" Anna said as he hopped out of the train.

Tom ran around the train as the present members of Team Beacon climbed off of the coaches. Come on, we need to make sure they don't get away." Qrow said.

Everyone nodded as Tom cried out "Aw man! This is gonna cost a fortune to repair! Windows busted, wall damaged, gashes in the steel, scrapped paint, dents! How are we ever gonna pay for this?"

"Don't worry Tom, we'll find a way. We always do." Clara assured him with a comforting hug.

Winter and Weiss looked at each other and the elder sister nodded. While Qrow led the others Winter stayed behind and said "Mr. Allcroft, I can see that your locomotive, and home, has taken severe damage because of these pirates, who you only ran into because you were transporting us. I think it would be the decent thing to compensate you for these damages."

"Y-you're serious?" he asked, shocked.

"Of course, I will contact my superiors in Atlas, I know they will agree to help you." she told him.

Tom grabbed her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Oh thank you Miss Schnee! Thank you! I swear that if I ever hear someone badmouth your family name again I'll fight 'em!" he said.

"No need to go that far..." Winter said.

A few minutes later the pirate leader woke up with a groan and shook his head, only to feel that he was surrounded by other people. His eyes opened up to find himself surrounded by his crew, all tied together by the strings attached to Penny's swords and a giant copy of Arslan's wire-dagger.

"Don't even think about trying to get away." Qrow said with a smirk on his face.

Ruby and Yang couldn't help but share the smirk as they heard police sirens in the distance getting closer.

* * *

After the police took the pirates into custody and a couple hours or so of questioning and the coaches being repaired via a repairman's Semblance the train took off again and despite the damages they managed to make good time, arriving to the city of Preshia just as the sun began to set.

Preshia was much larger than Hondyama and was located in a much better location; near the jungles of Vacuo and while it wasn't as big as Haven but it was just slightly bigger than Vale was. The buildings or stone or steal ranged from large and towering to cramped and diminutive with many spires standing up and shining like beacons in the sky. Streets ranged from dirty and best avoided to large and busy.

The Allcroft's engine pulled into the engine yard and came to a gentle stop and the members of Team Beacon disembarked from the first coach with their bags.

"Thanks for hiring us, and thank you for helping us out." said Anna happily.

"No problem, did you get paid enough?" Ruby asked, as a half an hour ago Qrow and Winter talked it over with Glynda and a financial representative from Atlas to pay the Allcroft family what was owed to them.

"Yep, sure did. All there nice and ready to be used." Clara said to the younger girl.

"So what about your engine? Can you get it repaired here or do you have to go all the way back to Brandofi with the damage?" asked Velvet.

"Nope, there's a fantastic workshop in this city that specializes in repairing engines of all kinds and even consults on building designs, they even helped out on that bridge that's being built to link Vale to Mistral. They can fix us up for the right price." Tom explained.

Winter nodded and said "Just give them the letter I wrote, that will be enough to make them consider. If it's not give them my number and I will have a check sent to them if they will fix your home."

"We will, and thank you again, so much Miss Schnee." Tom said gratefully.

"Well we better get moving into the city if we want to get this mission moving on. Thanks for the ride kid." Qrow said as he shook Tom's hand.

"No problem, we know this mission is gonna be dangerous if you're all goin' up against the White Fang, so good luck and give 'em a few hits for us." Tom said.

"We sure will." Sun agreed.

"It'll be easy." Yang stated.

"You've done very well for us, all three of you. I can recommend you to my father for future use so you can get some more high profile work." Weiss offered.

"That'd be sweet Miss, thank you all for traveling on our train." Tom said as he lifted off his cap to them.

Team Beacon said their goodbyes to the family of three and took off into the city.

"Okay Blake, refresh me; who are we looking for again?" Qrow asked as they came to a pedestrian bridge that overlooked a highway.

Blake nodded and began, "My contact could only tell me the coordinates of the prison they're keeping Claudandus in but he told me earlier that someone who knows more about the exact details like defense, troop numbers, advantages, would be a White Fang officer who was one of the first to join Adam in his crusade. He's a Lynx Faunus named Basil and once the White Fang became what it is now Adam sent him to cities like this as a recruitment agent and he was one of the best, still is from what I've been told."

"How can you be sure this Basil guy is here?" Scarlet asked.

"My informant told me he was here last month." Blake elaborated. "He usually sticks to the slums and the red light district, to find Faunus who harbor resentment towards humanity but he'll occasionally spy on the local academy to see if any Faunus students have any reason to defect. My informant sent me a picture of what he looks like now." she added before holding up her scroll to show a picture of a cocky looking Lynx Faunus with long pointed cat ears, dark eyes, tanned skin, a slight beard, with a dark green outfit.

"Good, I think I can find this guy soon enough." Qrow stated.

"In a city like this?" Yatsuhashi asked doubtfully.

"My sister was a better tracker than I was but I was still a good one, I'll find him." Qrow assured.

"Good, my informant told me where he goes some nights, a bar called 'Last Chance', not a nice place but it's a chance." Blake told them.

"Let me guess, a strip club?" Coco speculated.

"I think so." Blake confirmed with a nod.

"Then count Ruby out of going near it." Yang said firmly.

"Weiss too." added Winter.

"I'm not going there." Velvet voiced.

"And I don't think Penny should either." agreed Ruby.

"Um, what is so bad about a st..." Penny began only for Coco to cut her off.

"We'll tell you when you're older." she said quickly.

"Anything we can use against him? Something we can use to make him talk?" Winter inquired.

"I didn't know him that well but I remember he was afraid of heights." Blake answered.

"Okay, I'll scout out for him. Schnee, take Yang, Blake, and those two," Qrow said pointing to Coco and Sun, "and check out this 'last chance' joint. Ruby, take the others and find a really high place where we can bring this guy to make sure he answers our questions but make it one where he can't try to get help."

"You got it Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said with a nod.

"You really want me to take your niece to such a filthy establishment?" Winter inquired.

"Trust me, I've been in worse. Heh, that guy's crotch probably still hurts." mused Yang to herself.

"Nice to know blondie, now let's move out." Qrow stated.

"Remember, you need to take Basil without being noticed, if they think we got him they might change security or move Claudandus so be careful with him." Blake reminded everyone else.

They all nodded and Qrow said "You heard her, now let's move."

* * *

Once they had all walked away from each other Qrow had snuck off into an alleyway (one thankfully devoid of homeless people) and transformed into his avian form and took off into the sky to find his target. Without any scent it would be rather difficult but he had pretty good eyesight, especially in bird form so he knew he could find this Basil character with some effort.

Some forty minutes later Qrow landed on top of a building on the edge of a slum to look over a small group of Faunus conversing in the alley.

He looked at one of them and despite a hood covering his head he got a good look at the guy's face and knew it belonged to the Faunus known as Basil. He looked to his target's belt to see a deadly shotgun hitched to it, he could take it but it would cause a scene and if those other White Fang punks saw him attack Basil they'd alert Adam and even though he could beat all of them he knew that if they went missing for long Taurus would know something was up.

"I know it inconvenient guys, but Adam wants me to do it." Basil said.

"Why you? Can't he just send that big lieutenant of his?" asked a Faunus with a stumpy tail.

"I don't know and I don't ask, I don't ask becasue Taurus kinda doesn't like his troops questioning his orders. Trust me, it'll be fine. Just make sure the cops keep away from the storage house until I get back, I'm sure you can do decent jobs while I'm away." Basil told them.

"I still think its damn weird to send you out into the desert to an old..." began another Faunus.

"It is, but I can live with it and you can too. Just don't fuck up too badly while I'm gone. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a hot human bitch to see." Basil stated.

"That girl at Last Chance? What would Adam do if he found out you've had sex with human girls?" asked the second Faunus.

"Hey, sex is sex." Basil answered before taking off.

Qrow smirked and took off again before landing behind a billboard a block away. Once he was sure that he wasn't being observed he transformed back into human and got out his scroll to call Winter.

"Schnee, I've spotted Basil." he said.

"Good where is he?" she asked.

"Heading into the red light distract, right to that bar Blake mentioned. I don't think I can jump him without making a scene, I know this part of town has more than a few White Fang sympathizers." Qrow reported.

"Understood, keep following him but leave his capture up to us." Winter said.

"Right." Qrow agreed. They ended the call and he quickly transformed back into a crow before taking off into the twilight sky.

* * *

Basil strolled down the dirty streets of Preshia's red light district. He looked up to the darkening sky and was surprised to see a bird, a crow or a raven or something like that, flying overhead. Weird, he didn't think birds like that were out this late. He shook his head and shrugged it off as his favorite small time, but good as hell, strip club bar appeared at the end of the street, highlighted in the dark by neon lights.

He thought about the mission Adam had given him; go out to some old base from the last human-Faunus war in the middle of the desert aka the middle of nowhere and set it to self destruct after wiping the hard drives and making sure it would burn itself to the ground. He didn't know why but what was weirder was that Adam had been incredibly explicit in instructing him to simply go to the control room and stay away from all of the other rooms, install the virus that would wipe the all of the data and then activate the self destruct sequence, get out of the base, let it burn. Why he wanted him to do it was a secret to Basil but he wouldn't question it as long as Adam and the White Fang kept him living a relatively good life.

He made it to the doors of Last Chance and pushed them open before paying the small entry fee. It was early in the night so there weren't many people there; a few early drinkers at the bar, a Faunus couple in the back, a woman eating some food at one of the tables, an old bum asleep in a booth, the usual.

He walked up to the counter and said "Yo Darla! Tell Midori I'm here and I wanna see her."

Darla the barkeeper, a portly middle aged woman glanced at the Faunus and nodded. "You never come when she's not here."

"That's cause she's the only girl you got worth a damn." Basil stated, Midori was a nice enough human girl, kinda shy, wasn't very smart but had one hell of a body.

Darla went to the back to announce over the building's speaker system that one of her girls had a customer then she came back up and tossed him the keys and he opened up the door that revealed the stair case, which led to the upstairs rooms where sexual acts were preformed nightly. He walked in, allowed Darla to lock the door behind him, and headed up the stairs.

He unlocked the door to the room Midori lived in and saw her 'clients' in and locked it behind him. "Midori! Yo baby! Basil here, and this wild cat is gonna rock your world yet again." he announced, only to find the decently sized room empty with a chair in the center of the floor and the bed in front of the window hidden behind the curtain that would cover them in case anyone came in, but he could see a very feminine shape behind the white drape.

"Midori? You ready girl?" he asked.

"Oh I'm ready alright." said an unfamiliar female voice.

"What the...?" A hand grabbed the curtain and drew it back to reveal a drop dead sexy pale human girl with brunette hair with a single bang that was a lighter color, she appeared to be about seventeen to nineteen years old, and she was wearing a very revealing belly dancer or harem girl outfit. He looked at her right in the eyes and saw a pair of beautiful chocolate brown eyes that looked at him mischievously.

"Wha... who...?" he stuttered out.

"Midori took the night off, I'm the new girl. Tonight they want to see how good I am and they say you're one of the best customers, so you'll help me out, right?" she asked innocently.

Basil was about to say something but got distracted by the very generous view of her cleavage, which looked very inviting. She walked closer to him, her hips swaying to and fro seductively. "Umm... s-sure... I'm... how old are you?" he asked, he was guilty for a lot of things but didn't want to be a sex offender if this girl was underaged.

"I'm old enough, trust me. Sit down, unless you're uninterested." she said before tossing her loose bang behind her head.

"No, I'm interested, just a little put off by this, I mean it's weird for Midori to let someone else take me up." he said as he sat down on the wooden chair.

"Well, I'm sure she and I can make it up to you next time." she said with a suggestive wink before she whipped around, allowing him to get a brief view of the side of her butt. She walked over to the bed, making sure to sway her hips around, and picked up a black handbag and opened it up before smirking, leaning down to give him a better view of her cleavage and ask "Do you want me?"

"Oh yeah..." he said eagerly.

The girl smirked and her purse transformed into a large, powerful gun, pointing it right at him. "Bend over." she quipped.

"Wh... wha?" Basil tried to voice before he felt something metal on the back of his head.

"Do us a favor and keep quiet." said a woman's voice. With a single punch to the back of the head Basil was out like a light.

Yang, Winter, and Coco stood over the unconscious Faunus, "Good work, now all we have to do is sneak him out of the building." Winter stated. It was simple to take Midori's place, with a small bribe of fifty lien and the promise to make sure Basil wouldn't bother her ever again and the bar keeper promised to keep her mouth shut over the incident after Winter paid her and to tell any White Fang operatives that came looking for Basil to tell them he had simply been arrested for hurting one of the girls.

Yang and Coco nodded before the former said "Blake and Sun are making sure we won't be noticed, they'll find a perfect escape route." She looked over to Coco and remarked "You know what? You do look good in that."

Coco smirked again, put her hands on her hips and said "I make everything look good."

Winter sighed and said "Get changed before we leave."

Coco nodded and drew the curtain back to cover herself but before she changed back she held up her scroll and took a picture of herself and sent it to Fox. "Enjoy."

* * *

Basil moaned as he began to awaken, he remembered the slut that replaced his regular slut only for her bag to transform into a massive gun like something a Hunter would use. He opened his eyes only to find himself being held upside down atop of the highest buildings in the city. He could see cars moving about like ants between the buildings, if he were to fall from his height he would be dead for sure.

"WHOA!" he screamed loudly, struggling in the air, only to find himself held firmly in place by the hand of a very large man with tanned skin and short black hair.

"I suggest you not move, a fall from this height wouldn't be a pleasant thing." said Yatsuhashi.

"What the fuck?! Who are you?" Basil demanded.

"We're the good guys, and you're the bad guy." answered the voice of Qrow. Basil looked over to see most of Team Beacon sitting or standing not too far away and sure enough he recognized a few of them, one Faunus member in particular.

"Belladonna! You traitor! What do you want?!" he demanded.

"We want to know where Adam has Claudandus, we know you know so spill it." Blake stated bluntly.

"That old cat? Yeah, I know where Adam has him stowed away but what makes you think I'll tell? The thing about Adam is that I know he'll go to some dark places, do some scary things but you Blake? You don't have the guts to really interrogate me, that's why you ran!" Basil snapped.

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes when Coco, who had changed back to her mission outfit, said "You do realize that she's not the only one here, right?"

Basil glared at the Huntress and said "You! I'll get you for tricking me, you little..."

He was silence by Yatsuhashi tightening his grip on Basil's leg and snarling out "Quiet."

Qrow smirked and knelt down to look Basil in the eye. "Look, we have your foot tied to a length of powerful strings, so if we let you go and fall a little we can still catch you... but the string can run out. So do yourself a favor and tell us about the prison, its location, its defenses, number of guards, how powerful their firepower is, security weaknesses we can exploit, the good stuff. Now if you're a good boy I'm pretty sure we can place you in a nice, cozy little cell in some Atlas prison where Taurus can't get to you. Deal?"

Basil looked a bit nervous but snarled at Qrow, "No deal! Do whatever you want to me, I won't talk!" He reached for his find gun only to find that it was no longer there.

"Looking for this?" Winter asked as she held up the gun before letting it drop.

"Let him go." Qrow said to Yatsuhashi, who nodded and dropped the Faunus.

Basil fell, screaming for about a hundred feet or so when Yatsuhashi grabbed the string, keeping him from falling any further but accidentally banging him against the concrete wall of the skyscraper.

"You got him Penny?" Ruby asked in a low whisper.

"Easily." Penny answered. The string they were using to hold Basil was, in fact, an upgrade Penny had received when she was rebuilt; a long thread of string that would be used in case any of her strings were severed, that way she could tie them back to the sword, even in a battle, it was powerful and could easily hold a man of Basil's weight but they didn't need to tell him that.

"Oh did we drop you? Sorry about that. The big guy here can be a bit clumsy sometimes." Qrow called.

"Very." Yatsuhashi added in a deadpan voice.

"Just tell us what we want to know and this will all be over." Blake called.

"Yeah right, I'll give you something you want you little bit... AHH!" he screamed as Yatsuhashi let him fall some more.

"Some people can be so rude." Penny observed.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Yang told her.

Qrow looked down at the Faunus and called "You know, the string doesn't have much to go..."

"You wouldn't! You wouldn't dare! You're not supposed to cross that line!" screamed Basil, utterly terrified.

"The White Fang weren't either, look what happened." Blake said angrily. "In fact, I bet that's what some of Adam's victims said before he had them killed."

"Okay, okay! I'll talk! I'll talk! Just don't let me fall! Please!" he begged desperately.

"We'll pull you up, but first you talk." Qrow said firmly.

* * *

About an hour later Qrow and Winter stood in front of the holograms of General Ironwood, Goodwitch, and Ozpin in the city's police headquarters.

"What did he tell you?" Ironwood asked.

"He has told us enough information for us to infiltrate the prison. It is located by a Vacuo village by the mountains called Oro, it has about seventy-five guards altogether, including officers and other staff with human and Faunus prisoners. Mr. Pirici is kept under heavy guard but if we infiltrate it carefully we'll be able to defeat them and get him out of there before we're noticed, though there might be a few skirmishes. If we time it just right we can make it out into the forests and have a ship evac us." Winter said to them.

"And we can't just attack them head on because of the village, innocents would be caught in the crossfire. A clever placement I must admit." Ozpin stated.

"What of your unwilling informant?" asked Glynda.

"The cops are keeping him here in solitary confinement but we want him transferred to Atlas so he can't break out or warn his buddies." Qrow told her.

"Easily done." Ironwood said with a nod. "Do you want back up?"

"No, I think this would be better suited for a small task force like us, we could have the Vacuo Rangers and our own military attack but..." Winter began.

"The innocent villagers would be caught in the crossfire. Clever of them." Glynda admitted, but didn't approve of such an underhanded tactic.

"Exactly, so this calls for subtly." Winter stated.

"I can have a stealth ship flyby when your ready, just call me the day before and I'll send it over to your location, but it will stay at a safe distance before you're ready for extraction." Ironwood said.

"How do you plan to infiltrate the prison? Only three of you are Faunus and most of you will probably be recognized." Ozpin pointed out.

"Trust me Oz, we got that covered. Yang's gonna call an old friend to help us out with that." Qrow said before he remembered something, "Oh, Jimmy I nearly forgot. He told us something else; Taurus wanted Basil to go to some old base from the last Faunus war in the middle of the desert and destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Ironwood repeated.

"Yeah, Basil doesn't know what for and what's in there but its something Taurus doesn't want getting out and if he wants to hide something we could use it to our advantage. Here are the coordinates." Qrow said as he typed them into the computer.

Ironwood looked at them and hummed, "I'll have Chamberlain and his troops check it out. It might not be anything but a lead is a lead."

Ozpin nodded before looking to Qrow and Winter to ask "Now, who exactly are you going to contact to help you disguise yourselves?"

* * *

In a decent hotel in south Mistral a petite girl with an odd combination of pink, brown, and white colors for clothes, hair, and even eyes, sat on a nice couch, sipping from a drink.

She had been avoiding the cops for months and had only done a few jobs here and there to keep money in her pocket and pay for places like this. It wasn't as good as the old days she had with Roman, but it would do for now.

All of a sudden her scroll beeped and she picked it up to see who was calling her, only to see that it was a text from none other than Yang Xiao Long. She opened it up and saw what it said.

"Hey, this is Yang obviously, hope you're doing okay. We're in Vacuo on a mission and we need to sneak into a prison controlled by the White Fang. We need your help to disguise ourselves so we can sneak in. Are you up for it?"

She smirked and sent a small, simple text that said "Yeah, where shall we meet?"

It felt odd to be so eager but Neo couldn't help but feel excited for another little adventure with these crazy kids.

* * *

Violet Arc pulled up her hoodie so she wouldn't be recognized, just in case anyone was watching, as she strolled through one of the less savory parts of Cadia. Despite how nice of a town it was it was obviously not perfect and it had its fair share of crime and trouble, though nowhere near the extent of Haven, Vale, or many major cities in Vacuo.

As she kept walking towards her destination a rather skinny girl in a punk outfit passed her by, making a flirtatious face and gesture as she did so.

"In your dreams sister, keep walking." Violet said.

"Your loss." the punk girl said with a shrug as she walked away from Violet.

The Arc girl sighed and muttered "No one, man or woman, tries to hit on me when I'm in uniform."

She wondered if she should have brought her police outfit but she knew that cops weren't welcome in this part of town, except if they were female, pretty, and alone and she currently fit the bill on all three of those. She had thought about bringing back up but knew her informant only trusted her and would freak and run if he saw someone else. Snitches only stayed alive if they were paranoid, after all.

She made it to her destination, an old alleyway between two empty buildings; old boxes, scattered planks of wood, bits of litter, old newspapers all laid scattered about the ground, trampled under her boots as she walked into the alley.

She whispered the safe word to let him know it was her "Long live snitches, I'm here."

She heard a noise and her head jolted up to see the figure of a skinny man emerging from one of the windows above.

"Hi there pretty cop, good to see you." the informant greeted.

"You too." Violet said, she didn't know his real name and he didn't know hers but it was better that way, safer for both of them. But then again she could know his real name, the first ten or so meetings he revealed a different 'real' name to her each time before he agreed he wasn't comfortable with sharing his identity but for all she knew one of those names was legit. "What do you got for me?" she asked as she leaned behind a dumpster to give herself cover.

"I've heard something about a meeting going on in the old water treatment plant, you know, the one under renovation. Anyway it's between Ben Bressi and some big name crime lord from Vacuo." the informant said to her.

Violet considered this and nodded, but inside she was a little excited; if this tip led to the arrest of one of the few big criminals left in Haven it could make her a hero.

"Who's the guy from Vacuo?" she asked.

"No idea... but I heard something about... Grimm." he revealed.

"Grimm? What are they having pit fights?" Violet inquired. It was a possibility, underground pit fighting was a nasty and highly illegal sport where fighters high on Dust enhanced drugs fought Grimm to the death with their bare hands and a lot of people who were either criminals or had criminal ties bet on these terrible events.

"Could be but I didn't really hear the rest. I was hiding in the old vent two blocks down when I heard a couple of thugs mention it. All the same I wouldn't go alone if I were you pretty cop, take at least five or six others with you if your gonna bust 'em. I don't know who this Vacuo guy is but I know its probably dangerous." the informant said.

"Trust me bud, I faced something way, way worse a few months back. Me and a squad of good cops locked and loaded can handle a few underworld mooks. Thanks for the tip. Go get some real food tonight." she said as she handed him thirty lien.

"Th-thanks, good luck." the informant said before he went down the other side of the alley and disappeared around a corner.

Violet smiled and began to job back where she parked her car. When she got home she had a few calls to make with her superior officers.

Deep down she had a feeling that told her this was going to be something big.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Atlas discovers something... not right.
> 
> Okay, as I said October will be pretty empty on updates but you will get one more this month so be prepared for something a little... spooky.
> 
> This chapter might be a little weak since I wasn't really sure of what to do with it but I feel that it turned out okay. Plus it turns out the belly dancer outfit didn't exist just for fanservice... kinda.
> 
> Originally Neo wasn't going to come back so soon but I decided that they needed to disguise themselves convincingly and they couldn't do that without someone with a Semblance like Neo's so I hope some of you are happy that she's back.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	37. Fear of the Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.
> 
> This chapter is a little different, as it is a Halloween special, but I hope you horror lovers enjpy it while those who are squeamish... well you'll survive... or will you?

Chamberlain looked out of the drop ship as it flew away from the airship and down towards the empty base in the middle of Vacuo's great desert.

"Any life signs on the scanner?" he asked the pilot.

"None but small ones like bugs and mice. By the look of things no one's home, not that I blame them, that place it wrecked." called the pilot.

Chamberlain nodded and looked down to the large base, signs of battle, blood marking the sand, the building torn asunder with large holes in the walls and there was a faint pillar of smoke rising in the air. He knew he wanted to get to the bottom of this but it might take a while. He turned to his troops, most of them were from the military but a couple of them were Specialists from Special Weapons Operations Response Division, S.W.O.R.D. for short, they were an elite group in Atlas' military that selected the troops who had the most potential and were seen as the best of the best and gave them advanced training.

"Okay, Specialist Blair, take those troops there and secure the perimeter of the complex. Specialist Yin and I will lead the rest of you into the base and investigate, remember to look for survivors, if you find bodies don't touch them, leave them for the investigators. If you find a scroll or something that has recorded data on it then bring it to our technicians. Everybody clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all shouted back in response as the ship landed.

"Good. Now let's get out there." he said as a soldier opened the door.

The front runners went out first, bolting to the main entrance to check it out while Blair led his appointed troops to surround it and try to spot any survivors or evidence of what had happened.

Chamberlain allowed Yin to go forward to check out the front entrance, which had been slammed open, both doors lying on the small stone staircase before them, which was covered with dried blood.

"All clear so far sir! Come up!" she called.

He nodded and ran up, leading more soldiers behind him.

"How's it look?" he asked.

"Pretty bad, signs of something big, look at those claw marks on the wall." Yin said, gesturing to three slashes that scarred the wall.

"Grimm?"

"Most likely, unless on of these Faunus had claws strong enough to dig three or four inches through solid stone." Yin said as the front runners went further into the darkness. One saw a switch on the wall and flipped it, activating the lights, revealing blood stains on the walls.

"Power still works, that's good." he remarked.

"Yeah, but the blood on the walls has me fairly alarmed." voiced a scout

"No major life signs on the scanners, I think the biggest life sign I'm getting is a rat." said another scout.

Chamberlain nodded and said "Just in case I want everyone to be very careful, minimum noise and watch your fire. Yin take them and scout the building, and take these troops and do the same."

"You got it Colonel, but I think it's safe to say that whatever happened here we missed it." she stated.

"Yes, but what exactly did we miss?" asked one of the only Faunus soldiers, whose nose was being driven crazy by the thick scent of blood in the air, to no one in particular.

No one knew the answer, and some didn't want to know.

Chamberlain's group arrived to the large infirmary only to discover the disturbing sight of the words "We're all gonna die here" written on the wall with what was unmistakably blood.

"Well... that's never a good sign." he muttered to himself.

"Sir! I found something over here!" called a female soldier, she shined her light on an arm, bits of bone and muscle sticking out of it. She looked back to Chamberlain and asked "My god, what the hell happened here?"

"I don't know, but I know I won't like the answer." he said.

A half an hour later they came across an office that seemed to serve as the base commander's room. Yin and her group had already gone through the assembly hall and the command room but found nothing, other than a few scattered items.

Chamberlain looked at the name on the desk, Captain Matthew Riley. "Okay, so we know who was in command, so maybe he left us a clue somewhere." Chamberlain said as he began to check the desk. He pointed to a soldier and said "Stay here with me, the rest of you comb the area and see what you can find."

The other troops nodded obediently and set off as Chamberlain continued looking through the desk, found nothing but a scroll, a few papers and pencils, and a photo of a small family of Cat Faunus, a mother, a twenty something son, and a teenage daughter, all of them smiling and looking happy.

"Captain Riley I presume, now this scroll is probably yours so let's see what's on it." he said to himself as he turned the small device on. When it came to home page he was intrigued by the small document that said "Audio Logs, This is What Happened" "Well that was fast." Chamberlain muttered, hopefully these documents would provide some answers. He looked around the roof and noticed a blood splatter on the wall. "Did you die in here Captain? Or was it someone else? Maybe the answers are on this scroll."

About an hour had passed before he met up with Yin and the others outside. "Any survivors?" he asked.

"No, but we did find some bodies, shot to death... but they weren't White Fang." Yin revealed.

"What?!"

"We found four human bodies, both of which belonged to Vacuo Rangers. I'll call the nearest ranger base, see if they're missing a couple of their number. As for the White Fang the only things we've found were a few chewed up body parts scattered about the place but we did find something else that was rather interesting." she reported.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

She pointed to a technician who came forward, and he said "The computer in the command room is pretty old but I still got into it but I found something pretty messed up, the old self destruct button had been reinstated only thirty hours ago, but what's disturbing is that it was wired to activate a lockdown protocol if activated, trapping anyone who was inside."

Chamberlain's eyes darkened and said "Now that is odd. Yin, I'm leaving you in charge of this operation for the time being, so everyone take orders from her. I want you to keep searching the base for something, anything really; bodies, scrolls, anything. I managed to find the scroll that belonged to this base's commander but as far as I know none of you have found any other scrolls."

"No sir." they all said.

"Well keep looking, sir. What are you going to do?" Yin asked.

"Take this scroll back to the airship, see what our technicians can dig up from it. Did you find out where that smoke was from?" he inquired.

"Yeah, a blast tore a hole in the ceiling over the furnace which was left burning. We took care of it. I hope you find something on that scroll sir." Specialist Yin said.

"I do too, if you find anything at all radio for me, understood?"

"Yes sir." she said.

"Good, and good luck. See you soon." Chamberlain said as he boarded the ship. As it took off and flew into the sky he held Riley's scroll in his hands and muttered to himself "I do hope there are some answers on this thing."

* * *

Ironwood sighed as he got off the line with Glynda and looked up to Chamberlain to ask "Is there any particular reason you were so insistent on them hearing these recordings as well?"

Chamberlain had came back earlier that day with the recordings and a small report but he had been a little shaken up, and had been pressing for Ozpin and Glynda to hear the logs as well. "You'll understand soon sir. Ozpin and Goodwitch need to hear what is on these scrolls. I had one of our technicians edit them into a cohesive narrative for us, clean up some of the audio and visual issues, and even label the voices when multiple people are talking at once, they'll appear on the screen." Chamberlain said as he gestured to the flat-screen in Ironwood's office.

"Why can't you just tell me what's on these things?" Ironwood demanded, beginning to lose his patience.

"Because sir I listened to them already, I saw the wreckage of that base, I saw the body parts and the blood. There is no way I can recount it myself. It's better to just listen." Chamberlain said, a small ounce of nervousness in his voice. "Have you found anything out from this Basil character?"

"Yes, but he doesn't know the location of their headquarters, but we've discovered that he's lost interest in the White Fang's cause and has gotten involved in the drug trade, but still stayed with the White Fang as a cover for his drug operations." Ironwood revealed.

"Well that explains a few things..." Chamberlain said with a nod before holograms of Ozpin and Goodwitch, both on chairs, appeared beside Ironwood.

"Hello Colonel Chamberlain, good to see you again." Glynda voiced.

"You too Professor, and Headmaster... what you might hear is going to be a little shocking so I suggest you brace yourself." Chamberlain said to Ozpin, who was taken aback by the warning.

"Just what exactly is on these recordings?" Ozpin inquired.

"Nothing good." Chamberlain stated bluntly before he began to play the audio logs.

* * *

_"Um, this is Log Entry Number 1, I guess. This is Captain Matthew Riley of the White Fang and now that I've been given full command of an entire outpost I decided I should keep a record of the day to day life here at Outpost 10-31. Don't understand why it's a top secret assignment but I'll take what I can get. First day here but Commander Taurus had this old place decently fixed up before we got here. It's an old lead mine from about a century ago but it was commandeered by a Faunus freedom fighter group in the third Faunus War a few decades ago. After the war ended the mine was taken back and operations continued but only minor ones before it was shut down and left to rot about nine years ago but it was mostly unchanged from the massive one thousand worker facility it used to be._

_Commander Taurus found out about this place from an old Faunus solider who joined us so it makes for the perfect outpost since its the underground facility it leads to dozens of these huge mine shafts and massive air vents, apparently the reason they're so huge is because the air needs it to circulate to the underground tunnels or something like that._

_I got about sixty-five or so Faunus here, most of them seem to be okay but a few of 'em seem lazy or a little off their rockers but that doesn't bother me. To be completely honest I'm surprised Adam gave me control of this outpost after our little... disagreement regarding the attack on Beacon. I was one of the few who were pretty vocal about how bad of an idea it was but I was ignored. I was the leader of a small recon team but because of my little outburst we were forced to take part in the assault on Beacon and the Vytal Festival. Most of us got out okay except for one of my guys, a good man named Ray Vargo. We had to leave and he... he didn't make it in time when Adam ordered out ship to leave. I know he's most likely dead or in some prison but I hope he's okay. Its no secret that I blame Adam for all out loses that night and those left behind and he knows that, so it makes my little promotion all the weirder._

_Tomorrow some of us will be going down into the tunnels and mine shafts to make sure they're safe and put up signs that'll keep us from getting lost but I really don't know what this place is for; its out in the middle of nowhere with no tactical advantage but I suppose it would make for a good hiding place if the heat goes up. Place isn't even ready yet; some of the lights won't work, a few doors won't shut, communication equipment needs major work, but I think with a little luck we can get this place up and running. Our Scrolls have no reception out here, that's weird but I think we'll find a way around it. They still work, that's how I'm recording this, but they can't connect to the net or call anyone but photos, things you've already downloaded, or stuff like this recorder are still working. Weird but I think we'll make due._

_That's all I have to say for now, I guess. Signing off."_

* * *

_"This is entry number two and... things didn't go so well today. Last night I posted this kid, a Dog Faunus named Alderson, don't know his first name, on night guard duty after a little incident he caused after slightly damaging a piece of machinery and... this morning our janitor, an older man named Ellis found him... or what was left of him, outside of one of the tunnels. He was torn apart, like... I mean it looked like he had been tossed into a giant fan blade or something._

_Our medical officer, a Deer Faunus named Styles, inspected the scene and the remains and told me that he wasn't killed by any weapon, gun or blade, but it looked like some kind of incredibly violent Grimm attack._

_Now I may not be a Huntsman, but I've seen my fair share of Grimm attacks before but they were nothing like this. She said that it must have accidentally stumbled in here and couldn't find a way out and when we arrived it hid in the tunnels and must have been really hungry and surprised Alderson with a sudden attack. We checked his rifle, with his hand still attached, and sure enough he got two shots off before it his hand got bitten off._

_I talked to one of the few people here that have experience with fighting Grimm, a guy named Carpenter, and he said that whatever killed Alderson was a Grimm without a doubt but it must have been an ancient one, one who was smart enough to avoid attention and strong enough to do that to Alderson._

_We can't call it in because the equipment still isn't working but we're keeping the area closed off for now and we searched half of the tunnels and vents but haven't found anything but spots of blood and some more of Alderson's body parts. Tonight I'll be having our security officers, Bannerman and Pangborn go into the tunnels with some troops; Quentin, Holloway, Leaven, Worth, Kazan, and Wrens. I wanna stay up and go down in the tunnels with them but Styles says I worked myself to hard today and I need my sleep. I just hope they kill that damn thing before anyone else gets hurt. These guys are tough and their guns are locked and loaded so I'm sure they'll be okay."_

* * *

_"Shit... Shit!_

_They're... I have no idea what happened while we were asleep but it's a good bet we lost some good Faunus. We found Kazan in the mess hall this morning, covered in blood, whimpering and curled up in a ball. Styles said he was in shock so we had to carefully move him to the infirmary, he just kept whimpering 'beast' and 'monster' over and over again._

_I asked him what happened to the others and I didn't like his answer, he said he watched 'it' slaughter them. Never a good answer._

_I got together a team and we went really deep down into the tunnels to find the bodies. Quentin had been torn in half, Leaven and Worth had both been impaled by something and left to bleed out, the wounds were so big that their aura didn't even have a chance to save them. We found Holloway with her head smashed into the ceiling, Wrens' face had been bitten off, and Bannerman had been mauled to death._

_That look on Bannerman's face was... the most terrified expression I have ever seen. If it wasn't for the claw and bite marks on his body I'd think he'd literally died of fright._

_No sign of Pangborn yet, some of the guns weren't found so that might mean he has them. I hope he's okay._

_Kazan's not talking except mumbling out about 'it' or the 'monster' and occasionally screaming. Styles says that she doesn't know how long the shock will last but we just have to give him time._

_I'm getting another crew together to back into the tunnel to find Pangborn and this monster._

_Also the damn radios still aren't working. A lot of things aren't working here: lights, doors, air conditioning, security cameras, nothing. Not even my scroll. It's like Adam sent us here knowing the place was in this bad of a condition."_

* * *

The next log was silent for about ten seconds before Riley spoke up.

_"...I saw it._

_Oum and all the gods above I saw the damn thing... it was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen. It kinda looked like a Grimm... but none I've ever seen, and it's head looked almost human._

_Pangborn... poor Pangborn I watched him die, it... killed him right in front of us._

_We got into the deepest parts of the tunnels, found Pangborn in an old supply closet hiding armed with two guns. He was so happy to see us, said he wanted to get out of those tunnels, that 'it' had been walking by every now and then, as if it knew he was there._

_Well we got him checked up by Crawford, that's Styles's assistant, and hightailed it out of there but those tunnels are just so huge that it takes half an hour to get back. We were so close to the exit but we stopped for a break when that... thing jumped down from one of the vent shafts and it went right for Pangborn. It bit his head off... like a gingerbread man._

_The others freaked out and ran for the exit but me and a few others fought back, or at least tried to. We fired our rifles at it but it didn't do anything! We blasted it and I know we hit it but we only seemed to annoy it as it used its claws to scale the walls and before it retreated back into the vents it stopped, looked at me, and... I swear to Oum I'm not making this up, it smiled at me._

_Once it was gone we ran off to and locked the tunnels down. We're currently shutting off all the major vents that it can get through so it can't come in without us knowing._

_I'm ordering everyone to lock their doors tonight and I'm going into the infirmary with Styles and a few other guards to sleep._

_We can't get through to anyone with our scrolls and if the radios aren't fixed by tomorrow I'm sending for help._

_Captain Matthew Riley, signing off."_

* * *

_"Log entry five; no attacks last night. I just left the assembly hall where we did a head count: fifty-seven of us left so far. No bad but I'd rather have the eight we've lost with us._

_Pangborn, Quieten, Leaven, Worth, Holloway, Wrens, Alderson, and Bannerman._

_Their deaths are on me._

_Shiraishi still can't get the radios or the scrolls working so I'm sending out a scout, young guy who calls himself Green. He'll take the motorcycle in the garage to the nearest base for help. I hope he's lucky, we're all gonna need it."_

* * *

_"We're all trapped here. Green drove off into the desert only for a... a... Taijitu to come up from under the ground, a dozen other Grimm of all kinds pouring out from the tunnel it had bored and they ripped the poor kid to shreds and they destroyed the motorcycle, leaving us with only the old car in the garage._

_He was too far away to hear but somehow I know what his dying screams sounded like: high-pitched, pleading for help, scared, alone, gurgling up blood, screaming with every new ounce of pain from a new bite._

_We're trapped here, the Grimm were fucking waiting for us in the desert if we tried to leave._

_They're not doing this naturally, something is controlling them and I think... I think Adam did this to us. I can't prove it but I've heard rumors of those hybrids that can control Grimm... what if they're out there right now?_

_Shit._

_We're going to meet and discuss things in the assembly hall, hopefully we can figure out a way to get help or to kill that thing before someone else is killed to._

_I can only hope we can pull it off._

_End of entry six."_

* * *

_"One of our girls managed to lure it into the mine shafts and lock it in there so we worked quickly, we closed off all of the large mine vent shafts and sealed 'em off so it can't break through and closed up the main entrance to the mine nice and tight. Tonight we've managed to come up with some kind of plan on how to deal with that thing, our weapons supervisor, a Wilder Beast named Daggs, came up with this idea to take some of our Dust supplies and gas and coat the walls of the mines with them. Basic strategy is to go in, coat the place in Dust and gas, plant some explosives and torch it to hell and then we go in to make sure its dead and if it hasn't been burned alive we unload every ounce of ammo we got into the fucker._

_Everyone's nervous and I don't blame them, I scared out of my wits too but I can't let it show, for their sake. Someone has to be the brave hero here and I'll try my best to be one._

_Funny, I'm only here because I wanted to be a hero, I thought being part of the White Fang was a thing to be proud of, something that would make me a hero to my mom, my sister... help poor Faunus who were being hurt by the bad humans. Then Taurus started hurting people, we became a refuge for Faunus who were sickos or vengeful assholes who want to kill humans. The White Fang has became less about fighting for our rights and more about... hurting people. I didn't sign up for that."_

_"None of us did."_

_"AH! Styles?! You scared the crap out of me!"_

_"Sorry sir, didn't mean to scare you."_

_"... Are you gonna report me?"_

_"For treason? No, you're right. All our 'glorious leader' cares about anymore is hurting others and that Blake girl. Come on, the others are waiting."_

_"Hang on, you share my thoughts about the current state of our so called leadership."_

_"I suppose so."_

_"Why did you join the White Fang? You don't seem the type."_

_"Well... I was nurse in Atlas and I often saw some poorer Faunus denied treatment and thrown out to the street, and some patients refused to have me because of my heritage. I suppose I joined because I felt I could do some good here. I guess I was wrong."_

_"We all were. We both have our doubts about Taurus, I spoke up but did you?"_

_"Once when he wanted me to allow a human prisoner to die, I refused."_

_"Shit, I think I'm beginning to figure out what's going on."_

_"What? What, you think he sent us out here and knew that creature was waiting in the dark?"_

_"Maybe... how's McGee coming with the explosives?"_

_"She's got a good amount, come see for yourself."_

_"Right. End of log seven."_

* * *

_"Well, I officially suck._

_Ten more people are dead because of me..._

_That makes nineteen dead altogether._

_The plan backfired, from what I know Ellis found a shaft, went to close it and that thing just jumped out at him, he fired his gun and that started the blaze. The blaze reached the nearest explosive and it set off a chain reaction and... we lost nine others in the inferno and all of those names and faces weigh heavily on my conscience now because I approved the plan, I'm in charge so it's all my fault._

_I'd blame Daggs but he tried to fight that damn thing man to beast._

_He got his head crushed for his troubles._

_The other eight we lost were Janni, Howie, Bottoms, Carter, Cropsy, Quinn, Cybil, and McGee._

_They're all gone._

_Styles was left up here with the one who were either guarding the five large shafts that were big enough for the thing to get through or weren't brave enough to help out, and Kazan. I used my walkie-talkie to call her and she activated the sprinkler system, saved most of us._

_Maybe I should put her in charge._

_We're in disarray, some are mad at me, some mad at themselves, some mad at the Grimm, some mad at Taurus, a few are just plain mad at everything._

_It's out of the mines now, it ran out of the main entrance when the guards ran in to help us. I have no idea where it is, we can't get the cameras back up or the fucking security cameras. We can't leave and if we try those monsters out there will rip us apart. Maybe we can try to fight our way out but it's probably too risky for the tastes of the others._

_I'm not sleeping tonight, I don't want anything to happen without me knowing._

_... I don't want to die in this place."_

* * *

_"Entry number nine; Four of us have went missing in the last ten hours during the night; Marand, Holt, Dier, and Garris. Their room was empty but there was no sign of a struggle so h_ _opefully those four are okay and are just hiding somewhere or something but I doubt it._

_That leaves forty-two of us. So much for knowing everything._

_Styles and I have asked around and sure enough pretty much everyone here has had their doubts about Adam or the White Fang and its methods and in one way or another voiced them to someone._

_Shit, I think... I think this is Adam's way of getting rid of potential trouble makers. I have no way of proving that but Styles and I are sure that we're right and we'll tell the others of our theory tonight at the assembly hall._

_Some of our guards are up on the roof taking shots at the Grimm but I'm going with some others to search the compound for the missing four troops. End of entry."_

* * *

_"We found them. Apparently they went to the lower areas of the complex to hide from the beast, make a new room for themselves down their only to find it waiting for them. Marand got a claw through the neck, and the aura couldn't even begin to heal him before it bit right into his face. Dier was slammed into a wall and mauled to death and Garris' body was literally snapped in half like a folding chair. Holt's dead, we found his hand but not the rest of his body. Oum only knows what that thing is doing with it._

_Tomorrow we'll have been here for a full week. I want to see two things right now: Adam Taurus dead, and my family._

_We're all scared, paranoid, and very tired._

_End of entry ten..."_

_"Hello Captain."_

_"What the hell...?!"_

_"You don't need to fear me, good sir. Not yet anyways, I'm saving you for last."_

_"Y-you... what the fuck is this?!"_

_"Isn't it obvious? I'm the monster Grimm."_

_"You c-can talk?"_

_"Of course I can. I am not totally a Grimm, this body is a hybrid of various Grimm types and has a few parts from humans and Faunus."_

_"H-how are you talking to me? The vent isn't big enough..."_

_"No, no it is not but I merely talking to you from the end of this small shaft since it connects to another large one. I've been coming by, listening to you and the others. That Dr. Styles likes you, maybe I should..."_

_"Leave her and everyone else alone!"_

_"No need to be rude. I won't kill her yet. Who shall I take tonight?"_

_"Nobody, I don't know who or what you really are but I won't let another one of my team come to harm."_

_"Try and stop me."_

The sound of something moving against the metal vents could barley be heard on the recording.

Ironwood looked to Ozpin who was now very uncomfortable with what they were listening to. That voice... something about it was so familiar but...

"It's not possible..." he said absentmindedly.

_"I can't take this shit anymore. We gotta get out of here."_

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" General Ironwood asked.

"The Chimera, but how? It had to have been incinerated in the destruction of the factory. It might have gotten out of its pen, since there was no malformed Grimm body with Cardin Winchester. The rubble was to thick and hard to get through but its body was probably destroyed in the explosions." Glynda said.

"I don't know but we never found any trace of its body, even if it had been incinerated there would have been some trace of it." Ironwood said before Ozpin spoke up.

"It may be the Chimera, but I think this is... something worse." Ozpin said before looking to Chamberlain ans asking "What aren't you telling us?"

Chamberlain sighed and said "Just keep listening, you'll find out the truth sooner or later. And with that they resumed with the next log entry.

* * *

_"Okay Log entry number eleven, we are currently in the assembly hall. We've closed off all of the vents and doors so and we spent all night in there and there were no attacks. While some of us were annoyed to be moved others were just happy to feel the good old safety in numbers feeling._

_This morning we had something of a meeting and I got everyone to confess that they have all, at one point or another, voiced unhappiness with the direction the White Fang has taken or a lack of confidence with Adam's leadership._

_I... I didn't mention my little encounter I had last night to anyone but I did say I heard something moving around in the vents so we're going to close off all ten of the big shafts that lead into the tunnels and seal all of them off on both sides just like we did with the mine shafts. The mine is screwed and we've closed it off, no way is it hiding in there anymore. We have, however, left the main door to the tunnels open so if it goes in there we can lock it in, let it starve._

_This morning we've pitched around ideas on how to escape and Carpenter_ _had suggested painting an S.O.S. on the roof, not a bad idea so we're gonna try it out. Others will move around the base in groups, trying to find it and lure it to the tunnels. Hopefully we can pull this off without anymore loss of life and we'll make it out of this godforsaken hellhole."_

* * *

_"Well the S.O.S. didn't work. We got out on the roof and saw that more Grimm have come to surround us, even Goliaths. The moment we started painting the first 'S' a few Scavengers swooped down and carried one of my men, Hitchcock, away, dropped in the the middle of the Grimm and he was devoured. Scavengers, Griffons, and Vampires all came down from the sky and landed on the roof to keep us in and they haven't left._

_Kazan has committed suicide. He was left alone in the infirmary for a few minutes and when Styles came back she found he had taken a scalpel, slit his wrists and throat wide open. Before he died he left us a message on the wall in his own blood..._

_'We're all gonna die here.' That's what he wrote..._

_I don't want that to come true._

_We're trapped here, Shiraishi can't fix the radios or our scrolls, we can't signal for help, can't get out, no vehicles to escape with, so we're pretty fucked all things considered._

_I'm looking out my window and I can see the Grimm; prowling around, waiting for us. Maybe I should just walk out there and let them take me._

_No, no, I gotta stay strong, I still have thirty-nine troops to take care of. I swear if I get out of here I will tell everything I know to the councils and give myself up as long as they take down Taurus and make him pay for this and everything else he has done._

_I now know that Blake Belladonna had the right idea when she ran..."_

All of a sudden several screams of terror could be faintly heard along with the sounds of gunfire.

_"Shit!"_

* * *

_"There were forty of us just an hour ago. Now there are only twenty-eight._

_It came at one team; killing all four members: Lantz, Taryn, Kincaid, and Jordan._

_Then it got poor Crawford, that's when I made it just in time to see it bite into his head and twist. The poor guys neck was twisted like... like a rubber toy's neck would before his head came off, unleashing a torrent of blood._

_Me and some of the troops, the ones that are left anyway tried shooting the beast but it bolted off and killed two more, Myers and Robitaille. Then we found Meeker, who had somehow been impaled with her own sword. We ran after it only to find Lawrence shredded to pieces and Kramer just barely alive with his stomach ripped open, blood and aura leaking out everywhere. Styles tried to save him but the blood and aura loss was too much, he didn't make it._

_Then it started chasing one of the troops, a guy called Wyndham and another man named Leahy, our cook. Leahy was kind of old and couldn't run very fast and he tripped. It pounced on him, its weight must of crushed him, but what really killed him was the fact that its claws were stabbing into him so when it ran after Wyndham Leahy's body was dragged along, the multiple stomps smashing him into the floor over and over, killing him._

_It chased Wyndham out the front entrance, trapping him between the it and the Grimm. Then the Grimm rushed him. A Beowolf bit off his hand while a King Taijitu began to devour his leg... and then a Vampire swiped his head off, feeding off of his fear and flesh. We shut the door so that thing couldn't get back in and so we wouldn't have to watch them eat a good Faunus._

_I know it got back in because fifteen minutes ago Carpenter found the door to the roof torn off its hinges and claw marks on the walls, so it is back in here with us._

_With only twenty-eight of us left we need to come up with a plan to escape and kill that fucking thing._

_I just wish I knew what to do."_

* * *

"This next part is a bit confusing, a lot of them are talking at once. I think Captain Riley wanted to record their talks for whatever reason. Our video editor managed to identify most of the voices and their names will appear on the screen when they talk." Chamberlain said after briefly pausing the recordings. He then pressed the play button the resume.

_**RILEY:** "Okay, let's see if we're all here; Shiraishi, Carpenter, Craven, Kruger, Voorhees, Winston, Romero, Samara, King, Styles, Toro, Seeley, Poe, O'Bannon, Cunningham, Medak, Amenabar, Stine, Gains, Shelly, Stoker, Kent, Whale, Vincent, Brayker, Kripke, Holland, and me. That's all of us."_

_**KING:** "All that's left you mean."_

_**CRAVEN:** "King..."_

_**KING:** "Shut up Craven, Riley hasn't done jack shit right since we got here, over half of us are dead!"_

_**RILEY:** "Don't blame me, blame Taurus! He's the one who sent us here to die in the first place!"_

**_SHELLY:_ ** _"What?"_

 **_TORO:_ ** _"The hell are you talking about?"_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"We have a theory that all of this was set up to get rid of potential traitors and insurrectionists. Adam works for that thing... this Mistress of Grimm. And Grimm usually don't circle around a complex like this without attacking it for this long, because gods know our fear should be enough to bring them crashing through the windows."_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"Exactly, we've all heard rumors about these... Grimm Hybird things, humans and Faunus that have been infused with the genetic makeup of a Grimm. Considering that thing that's killed most of us has a head that looks like a person I don't think it's impossible to say that we've met one already."_

 **_AMENABAR:_ ** _"But why? Killing us would only inspire more to rise up against him."_

_**STYLES:** "Not if they don't know about it. Nothing here works, not our scrolls, not the radios, nothing that could help us contact the outside world."_

_**SEELY:** "He wanted us totally isolated."_

_**RILEY:** "Exactly."_

_**KENT:** "This is a crock of shit. He can't afford to lose sixty-five White Fang members, and even if he could it wouldn't go unnoticed."_

_**RILEY:** "Something else to blame on the humans."_

**_SHELLY:_ ** _"Then we gotta do something! Maybe we could get a message to the Elite Guard, tell them what's going on..."_

 **_SHIRAISHI:_ ** _"We can't! I've been trying for days to get something, anything, working. I'm not even that good of a technician I was just an assistant."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"Oh, well that's just great! What the fuck are we supposed to do?!"_

 **_CRAVEN:_ ** _"From the sound of it we're supposed to die and be buried like a dirty little secret."_

 **_O'BANNON:_ ** _"Fuck that!"_

_**HOLLAND:** "Yeah!"_

**_KENT:_ ** _"We've gotta get the hell out of here. I say we get all our weapons and Dust, go out there, shoot and slash everyone of those monsters back to hell, and walk into the desert until we come to a road!"_

 **_KING:_ ** _"Come on Kent, even I know that won't work."_

 **_CARPENTER:_ ** _"Yeah, the closest road is five miles away, I don't think we can walk that with those things hounding after us. No offense Winston."_

_**WINSTON:** "None taken."_

**_RILEY:_ ** _"Hey if we're coming up with escape plans we need to talk a little quieter, that thing could be listening."_

 **_VINCENT, KING, STINE, STYLES, ETC:_ ** _"What?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"As insane as it sounds I think that thing used to be human or Faunus, I've already said I think it's a Grimm hybrid but I've been keeping something from you all."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"And what would that be?"_

_**RILEY:** "A few nights ago I was in my office and that thing was in one of the vents. It talked to me. Now for all I know it was one of you pulling a sick prank but I doubt that. It told me it was saving me for last. Why I don't know but then again I don't know much about this disaster except that I want to get out and get all of you out with me."_

**_SAMARA:_ ** _"You're kidding right? There's no way that thing could... talk."_

 **_CRAVEN:_ ** _"Riley, you're suggesting this thing is sapient, that it has been smart enough to do all of this on purpose. I'm no Grimm expert but unless this thing is centuries old I don't think it could do that."_

 **_CARPENTER:_ ** _"Unless it is a hybrid. When Grimm get old they get smart, when they're real old they're real smart but to my knowledge they've never talked. So maybe we are dealing with one of those hybrids, but one that's more Grimm than human or Faunus."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"And that does not bode well for us at all but why save you for last?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"I have no idea, maybe to make the weight of my failure crush me before I die."_

 **_SHELLY:_ ** _"This is insane, I feel like I'm in a Mike Enslin book or something.""_

 **_KING:_ ** _"So we're trapped with a sadistic Grimm abomination that has an extremely violent and blood thirsty mind in it and we can't figure a way out of here!"_

 **_BRAYKER:_ ** _"What about the old car?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"What Brayker?"_

 **_BRAYKER:_ ** _"The old car in the garage. It only takes five but with enough guns aboard and a good driver and a distraction to keep the Grimm's attention elsewhere I think we could get away, go to the nearest town, come back for the others with help. Even if we can't help those who stay behind we can still get the truth out about what's happened."_

 **_HOLLAND:_ ** _"That's not a bad idea."_

 **_KENT:_ ** _"It's better than just sitting around waiting for that thing to come here and finish us off."_

 **_POE:_ ** _"I don't see any better options at the moment."_

 **_STINE:_ ** _"What do you think captain?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"... It's risky, but I think it's worth a shot."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"Finally speaking my language."_

 **_VINCENT:_ ** _"Freakin' A!"_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Riley you need to think carefully about this. Yes it is the best plan we have so far but what about the beast?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"I know, and m_ _y only other idea is that we find a way to get rid of the main one before we try to take out the others."_

 **_MEDAK:_ ** _"That won't be easy sir."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"What's the plan?"_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"Lure it into the tunnels, bait it and let it chase us until we trap it, then we open up the doors and blast it to hell."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"Good idea, even if I don't like the whole 'running around in a dark maze with that thing chasing us and shutting doors that might not close' bit._

 **_STINE:_ ** _"He's got a point boss I've tried to map those tunnels but because of all this crap I haven't made much progress. We could get easily lost or killed."_

 **_CRAVEN:_ ** _"Plus if this thing is as smart as you think it is it probably won't fall for it."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"All good points, let's just keep some heavy artillery prepared for that thing if it comes and save Riley's plan as a last resort. We need to get started on fixing up the car."_

 **_RILEY:_ ** _"Right, it can take five so who's going."_

 **_BRAYKER:_ ** _"Me. It was my idea so I should go. If it fails I'll suffer for it. Plus I used to be a street racer in my younger days."_

_**KENT:** "I'll go too, I'm a good shot and I know my friends here won't back down."_

_**RILEY:** Kripke, Holland, and O'Bannon. That makes five. We'll gather up every gun, blade, and flamethrower we got in this damn place to keep them off of you but remember; we'll only have one shot at this so make it count. Let's get started._

* * *

_"Riley, are you in here?"_

_"Yes Styles, I'm here."_

_"You shouldn't be alone."_

_"Me? That thing is saving me for last and unless all of you drop dead by an act of Oum I'm fine but what about you? I don't see Carpenter or any of the others with you."_

_"Voorhees is right outside the door, he'll guard us. Carpenter spotted the beast going out the back exit, joining up with the other Grimm. Maybe it's on to us."_

_"Maybe but we need to take this chance. You know Styles, before this I was just the leader of a small recon team, we scouted out enemy positions, potential bases, cities we could find support in, criminals who'd work with us. It was good, we were a good crew. Wonder if they miss me."_

_"You're a good leader Matthew."_

_"Whoa, first names. May I ask what yours is?"_

_"Ha, it's Ginger."_

_"Ginger Styles, what a name. You have any family?"_

_"A father in Mistral, my mother died of a disease when I was a teenager."_

_"I'm sorry to hear about that. My dad died when I was just a kid, it was just me, my mom, and my little sister Kya. I wanted to make a difference in the world, I wanted there to be a world where my kids could play with human kids, you know? One where my family could go out without being yelled at because we have cat tails. That is why I signed up for the White Fang, but when I did I didn't realize how bad it would go, how crazy Taurus would become. Now all I want is to go back home, be with my family, try to forget all of this."_

_"... I came to tell you that Brayker and the others are nearly done with the car. We should be ready to move by day break. Poor souls, the main things keeping the, going is the motivation to get out of here and bad coffee."_

_"Is there any other kind?"_

_"Ha! I suppose not. Sir, do you remember what I said about why I joined the Fang?"_

_"Yes, why?"_

_"I wasn't being totally truthful with you. I just mentioned my mother died of a disease, we tried to get her treatment but the town we lived in was very prejudice against our kind. None of the doctors would help her. I was so mad, I cursed humanity so much... but one nurse, one very kind human nurse took pity on us and gave us some medicine to make her feel better. It cost that woman her job but her kind act kept my mother alive for three more months. That was why I became a doctor, I wanted to be like that woman, but some people are just so blind in their hatred that I lost some hope."_

_"And then you joined the White Fang."_

_"Yes... Matthew, are you recording this conversation?"  
_

_"What? Oh! I guess I am. Sorry, it's just that I decided to keep a captain's log like on that old show, I figure that if we get out of here we can use it to document what's happened to us."_

_"Good idea, fantastic thinking."_

_"Thanks. Styles, if I don't make it tomorrow during the attack, or the assault or whatever I have a couple of favors to ask of you."_

_"And what is it?"_

_"The first is to take command. If I'm killed I want you to be in charge, and to continue these recordings. Second is if you get out find my mother and sister, their addresses are on this scroll's contact list."_

_"I promise I will do that, but I don't think I'll have to. I am sure you will make it out."_

_"Thanks, you look tired, how long has it been since you slept?"_

_"I could ask the same of you."_

_"Take my bed, I'll go around, see how we're doing."_

_"I can stay awake for a few more hours..."_

_"You're sleeping, and that's an order styles. And remember, if I bite it tomorrow, you're in charge."_

* * *

_"This is Medial Officer Gigner Styles, now acting commander of what is left of Outpost 10-31's crew._

_This morning we attempted a daring escape plan. I stayed behind with_ _Shiraishi, Samara, Vincent, Amenabar, and Stine to give them support from afar, to shoot down any fliers or sneak attacks. Riley led King,_ _Carpenter, Craven, Kruger, Voorhees, Winston, Romero, Stoker, Shelly, Poe, Medak, Cunningham, Seeley, Toro, Whale, and Gains into battle so Brayker, Kent, and the others could get away._

_It didn't work._

_Stoker was the first to go, the Scavengers just swarmed around him, their sharp feathers slicing him up but his aura held up before they worked together; their beaks, claws, and feathers tearing him in half._

_Kruger and Voorhees went down next, they were friends so it was only natural that they went down back to back as a legion of Beowolves, Creeps, Boarbatusks, Ursa, and Death Stalkers killed them, but they went out with one hell of a bang._

_Then it really went south, the car made it a good distance, shot down or ran over most of the Grimm that came after them, but then that thing... the beast, came out of a window from the buildings and it... took control of the Grimm, like a commander. Just like the rumors said._

_After that the Goliaths charged after the car, I've... I've never seen something that big move so fast. It was terrifying, but it must have been worse from inside the car when one of them rammed it's tusk through the car and lifted it up and threw it, making it land upside down. A couple of them got out before the Goliaths stomped the car into scrap, killing those left inside. I couldn't tell who the other two were, they didn't get close before they were finished off by the Grimm._

_The beast charged the ones who were isolated, taking out Whale by impaling him on its tail and slamming him into the ground multiple times before he died. Riley tried to get its attention and lured other Grimm away while ordering a retreat but it was too late for Cunningham who surrounded by Creeps. We tried to shoot them away but they got him before we could clear a path for him._

_Then... Riley sacrificed himself for us all. He jumped onto the beast's back and began stabbing it with a large knife from the kitchen but it just... laughed._

_It laughed._

_It... threw Riley off before slashing him across the left leg, injuring him so he couldn't get away from it. Other Grimm approached him but the beast just roared at them, and they backed off._

_But then Riley pulled one last trick out of his sleeve; he took out a grenade and set it off, he may have died but he killed over a dozen Grimm and he managed to injure the monster._

_Then it started screaming. The monster actually started to scream. It screamed out 'no' when Riley died. It had been saving him for last, so he denied it that._

_As everyone was running back to the entrance a Goliath went berserk and ran right at us. We all managed to get in but the door hadn't been locked so its trunk burst the doors open easily, reached in and wrapped around poor Gains. We grabbed him and tried to keep him in, Seeley even tried to hack the trunk off but it was too strong, motivated by the panic emanating from us, and it dragged Gains out. I will never forget the desperate pleading in his voice as we tried to hold on or that sickening crunch of bones when it pulled him into its mouth and bit down hard, creating a waterfall of blood that now stairs the entrance steps._

_Now there are only sixteen of us left, and I know that monster is in here, somewhere. I don't know where or how exactly it got in, but I know it is here with us._

_And I know it wants me now that I'm the leader, but I intend to finish it off. For Riley and the others._

_Adam called us earlier, lifted up the blackout he placed on the base to gloat. I recorded it but I'm hiding it on my scroll so if Riley's scroll is destroyed proof of Adam's treachery will remain. I hope it gets out."_

"Have you found this Scroll of hers?" Glynda asked hopefully.

Chamberlain shook his head as he paused the audio, he noticed the concerned look on Ozpin's face before saying "No, it might still be somewhere in the base with the other scrolls. Here a lot of people start talking again, we've labeled the voices like last time."

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Okay, everyone is here."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"Yet again, those of us who are left you mean."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Right, listen up; I think we all know we need to do something."_

 **_VINCENT:_ ** _"And what exactly will we do? We don't have enough ammo to kill all those Grimm, we still can't call for help, so what are we gonna do?"_

 **_MEDAK:_ ** _"Vincent is right. I mean, let's face it doc we blew it big time. That car was the best chance we had at getting out of here so unless_ _Shiraishi can fix up our scrolls or the radio I think it's clear that we're screwed."_

 **_SHIRAISHI:_ ** _"No, I can't fix them, and I think the reason our scrolls don't totally work is because Adam did something to this place to block any and all signals from getting out. He only lifted it give that little bragging shit a few hours ago. I tried but I still couldn't get a signal out."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"What about video recording? Can any of you record a video?"_

 **_SAMARA:_ ** _"Yeah, that works but what's the point? We can't send a video or a text to anybody."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"We won't have to, if someone finds this place we can leave videos of what's happened behind. I did manage to record Adam's little tirade on my Scroll but we'll need video for proof."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"So what? We just let that monster kill us and hope somebody stumbles across this place and happens to find the video? Great idea."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"It's a last measure. I know that creature is back in here somewhere so I think we can record it, but we'll have to use Riley's plan."_

 **_CARPENTER:_ ** _"What? The bait and chase? No way, too risky."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"You have any better suggestions? We can't kill this thing until we trap it somewhere and Riley's idea was the best way of doing that. Anyone else have an idea?"_

There was silence for a while before one of them spoke up.

 **_POE:_ ** _"What if... what if our race, the Faunus, came to be because some animals wanted to be like humans?"_

 **_CRAVEN:_ ** _"Poe, what the hell are you talking about?"_

 **_POE:_ ** _"Stop and think about it, animals who wanted to become like humans and when Remnant was created those animals got their wishes, but they had to keep one animal trait to remind them that deep down they were really animals. I mean how could Adam do this to us unless he was nothing but an animal?"_

 **_SAMARA:_ ** _"But it makes no sense Poe! What about birds, fish, and bugs? If that was true then why are Faunus only Mammals?"_

_**KING:** "Yeah, I mean there'd be Shark Faunus, Butterfly Faunus, Frog Faunus, and Platypus Faunus is that were the case."_

**_CRAVEN:_ ** _"King, Platypuses are mammals."_

 **_KING:_ ** _"No shit? Huh, learn something new everyday."_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Can we please get back on topic?!"_

 **_AMENABAR:_ ** _"Calm down doc, they're just trying to lighten the mood. Are we? What was that little ramble about Poe?"_

 **_POE:_ ** _"Because maybe the dream is over, and that thing is the nightmare here to wake us up."_

 **_SEELEY:_ ** **_"_** _... right. What were you saying about Riley's plan, Doc?"_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Look, we should have done this before we tried the car, then the Grimm out there wouldn't have been as organized. Riley was right. I say we strap our scrolls to our chests and record everything, so even if we die there will be proof of what happened, proof that can be used to take Adam down."_

_**SEELEY:** "Yeah, if the humans find it. Doc, even if we pull this off we're screwed, you know that right? There's not enough of us to fight off the rest of the Grimm, especially after we used up all our ammo earlier. Hell we'll just barely have enough to kill the big one if we do trap it."_

**_STYLES:_ ** _"I don't think we'll have to fight off the Grimm, if we can kill the big one they might lose interest and leave."_

 **_SEELEY:_ ** _"What makes you think that?"_

 **_STYLES:_ ** _"Because when the big one joined the battle the Grimm became more focused, more viscous, they went straight for the car. So if we can trap the beast and kill it the other Grimm will eventually go away, even they lose patience and we have enough food here to last for a few weeks. Once their gone we'll just walk right into the desert to the nearest town, call for help, tell the authorities our whole story, and give them as much info as we can to help bring Taurus down and make him pay for everyone he sent here to die. I'll do it myself if I have to, but I'd appreciate some help. Who's with me?"_

Yet again the audio went silent before King spoke up.

 **_KING:_ ** _"Fuck it, let's go for it!"_

* * *

Chamberlain sighed and spoke up again. "We couldn't find any of their scrolls, so we have no footage. We could use this audio to create a schism within the Fang, but we have no real proof that it is genuine. They will say we faked the audio."

"But what about the state of the base? The damage, the bloodied remains?" asked Ozpin.

"We assume that is why the bodies of those Vacuo Rangers were planted there, to make it look like humans attacked the base and destroyed the bodies. We were able to I.D. the rangers as a patrol that went missing three days ago. There were also fresh bullet holes in the walls to make it look like a battle was fought in case Basil couldn't activate the self destruct." Ironwood stated.

"And why would Adam Taurus want Basil dead?" Glynda inquired.

"Basil confessed to using the White Fang as a cover for his drug trade operations, apparently Taurus didn't like that so decided to punish him for it." Ironwood explained.

"So this entire thing was just a way to get rid of potential troublemakers and to create more distrust towards humanity." Glynda stated angrily.

"That's not all, while we do not have any audio or video of their attempt to trap the Chimera, we do have the final entry on Riley's scroll made by Styles afterwards, before she died. This bit of audio reveals what the creature really is." Chamberlain said darkly before beginning the audio log once again.

* * *

_"This is the final entry, the final report of Outpost 10-31. Everyone is dead except for me, Medical Officer Ginger Styles. I am leaving the scroll of Captain Matthew Riley here in his office to record my final moments as the beast comes for me. I've seen all of their bodies, some of them no doubt being devoured by that monster, the horrified expressions on their faces..._

_I'm all alone now._

_With everyone else dead I can hear it moving towards me quite easily, every step echoes in these dead hallways like thunder and I know my time is up._

_I want the people who find this scroll to find our families and tell them that we love them, and that we are sorry. Tell my father, tell Riley's mother and sister, tell them all! On my own scroll I have recorded Taurus' little tangent on why we deserve to die, I have hidden it within the base and I hope you can find it but if the one listening to this is one of Adam's cronies I hope you never find it._

_And if Taurus is listening to this I only have two words; fuck you._

_This is Ginger Styles, signing off._

_... It's here."_

There was the muffled sound of a door opening and a disturbing laugh could he heard.

_"Hello my dear... What? No fighting back? Have you learned your lesson now that everyone else is dead? Has your failure finally sunk in?"_

_"Maybe. What the hell are you? I mean, I suppose you're one of those Grimm Hybrids we've heard about..."_

_"This body... was a mindless killing machine known as the Chimera,, I am a Grimm Hybrid, one of eight, even if two of them have betrayed us, but if you want my real name; I was Norvik, the Hunter."_

"NO!" screamed Ozpin, forcing Chamberlain to stop the audio. "No, no it can't be! I killed him myself! I shot him to death!" he shouted, horrified.

"William, calm down!" said Glynda.

"No! I ended him myself!" Ozpin said frantically.

"Did you watch him die?" Ironwood asked.

"No... no I didn't, we left him behind." the headmaster answered.

"We never found a body, we assumed it incinerated like some of the others, but how is it that he is in the body of the Chimera?" Ironwood pondered.

"... Salem. Norvik told me that she wanted his murderous work to continue but his body was too old, he wanted a new one... he wanted to be one of her Grimm hybrids and she planned to place him in Jaune's body but Glynda, Qrow and the others attacked before that could happen." Ozpin explained.

"Somehow both Norvik and the Chimera were taken out of the factory before it was totally destroyed and Salem placed his soul inside of the Chimera to control it better and to preserve Norvik's soul." Glynda speculated.

"Makes sense." Chamberlain agreed.

"No... he's still not dead..." Ozpin muttered.

"William..." Glynda began before he stopped her.

"No, this is the second time I have failed to destroy that monster. Now over sixty people are dead because of my failure." Ozpin whispered.

"Don't blame yourself sir, if our encounters with these people have taught me anything its that evil can never truly stay dead. Salem would have found someone else like Norvik, maybe somebody worse. Should we end this here? The last bit is of Styles shooting herself with a special Dust enhanced bullet that killed her instantly and robbed Norvik of one last kill." Chamberlain said.

"The leaders, he always saved them for last." Ozpin muttered to himself before saying "Well, at least he didn't get that victory. And you're sure you haven't found the scrolls of Styles and the others?"

"No sir, not yet but as soon as they find them they will be delivered to us. I've already told Specialists Yin and Blair, they know their importance."

Glynda nodded and said "Let us hope they find them soon, because if we get that kind of 'dirt' on Adam Taurus, we could tear that entire terrorist organization down from the inside out."

"Until then, we'll have to depend on Branwen, Schnee, and the students." Ironwood said.

"I suppose so, now if you'll all excuse me, I need to get in contact with some families." Chamberlain said seriously before leaving.

Glynda bid him goodbye before looking to the two men and saying "Did you notice how Norvik said there were eight Grimm Hybrids?"

Ozpin nodded and said "Yes, the two traitors obviously being Jaune and Pyrrha and thanks to Miss Nikos we know of four of those eight; Sheer Kaa, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, and Norvik. But that means..."

Ironwood finished for him with "That means that there are two new ones, ones that even Nikos is unfamiliar with."

* * *

As the hologram of Ironwood's office vanished Glynda turned to Ozpin and placed a comforting hand on him.

"It's not your fault, Norvik isn't your responsibility. You did your best to end his threat, you always try your best." she told him.

Ozpin gave her a tired, ashamed, and hollow look before saying "Tell that to the all of the Faunus he has killed. Just another failure to add to my ever growing list."

He got out of his chair and looked out the window.

"He had the soul of a monster before, but now Salem has given him the body to match it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everybody, I hope this was creepy enough for you. Try and name all of the horror references I made in this chapter they range from super obvious to obscure, so do your best to find as many as you can, but don't do in your reviews, just PM me. Thanks!
> 
> See you next month for another JNPR, Fox, and Sage chapter, and a follow up on Violet's lead.
> 
> Also, before you ask; yes the Faunus left behind that Riley mentioned was the skeleton CFVY found back in chapter 29.
> 
> Originally I was going to feature the video recordings but I decided to leave them hidden for now, since if they found hard evidence against Adam this arc would end too soon. Also Styles and Riley were going to be lovers, but I changed to them being friends.
> 
> I want to personally thank each and everyone of you for reading this story and helping it grow, you guys might not be as big in number as Resurgence but you give me hope because there are just times where I feel hopeless, the fact that my fic doesn't have that many followers or faves makes me feel like what I'm doing is pointless but I look at your reviews and comments and it makes me feel better, like what I'm doing really matters. Thank you all and if any of you enjoy this fic but haven't faved or followed it yet please do, it makes me feel like I'm not a total failure. You guys keep me happy and make me smile everyday.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	38. Nightmares Part I: Officer Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Violet ran down the dark tunnels of Cadia's abandoned water treatment plant, away from the carnage she had unintentionally brought six other police officers into. There were four or five others on the outside but the way to that entrance had been blocked off by the thugs, leaving the Arc woman only one chance; run and hope to find a way out before one of these found her.

She had reported what she found out to her superior officers of the Cadia police force and she was placed on a small task force led by Captain Ganz with a warrant to search the old water treatment plant on the night her informant had told her the meeting between crime lord Ben Bressi and some others. What they had found what was most definitely a meeting between criminals but one of the guards had spotted them and a violent firefight started, but the perps had superior weapons and they tore her fellow officers, including the captain that led them in, apart within the span of three minutes. She had witnessed three of them get gunned down violently, with special bullets that devastated the organic beings they would hit, loaded up with enough Dust to blow entire limbs off and the body, draining aura as well so there would be no healing or comfort.

She didn't know how many of the others we still up and running but for now she could just hope the others got away, right now she needed to get out.

Just then her radio went off, the voice of the officer left in charge outside. "This is Hoffer, can anyone hear me? Captain? Arc? We've heard the gunshots, what's going on in there? Come in, anyone!"

Violet quickly grabbed her radio and said "Hoffer! This is Arc, we've been blitzed up bad, these guys are packing some serious firepower. It was dark but I know we've got at least three or four down, possibly even dead and that includes the captain! Call for backup now!"

"We already have and the E.T.A. is six minutes, hang on we're coming in to help."

"No! No, negative on that Hoffer, do not come in! If you do these S.O.B's will slaughter you guys too! I..."

Violet was interrupted by the sound of gunfire and furious yelling, probably between some thugs and one of the other cops. She whipped around and held out her pistol, ready to shoot at anyone she didn't recognize. She slowly walked backwards, occasionally looking over her shoulder as she down the hallway before saying into her radio "Okay, I saw one of the layout plans, there's an exit not to far away, I'll meet you outside, try to get in touch with one of the others, and once backup gets here tell them Bressi was here, along with... I don't know his name but I know he works at the nightclub down town and I think I recognized a few of these thugs of one of the others big guys, but I'll say more once I get outside. Over and out." she said as she quickly began to run forward, checking her corners to make sure she would have any nasty surprises.

She came to a large part of the hallway that had a highly raised ceiling with skylight windows before she heard a strange, wet clicking sound... coming from above her. Just then she noticed a shadow cast upon the floor, one that had eight limbs.

She looked up and gasped in shock and horror as she saw a man with glowing red eyes, a red hourglass mark on his forehead, slimy skin that while being a dark shade of brown still appeared to be pale with a few white splotches on his skin while his hands and feet seemed to be covered by a silky, white substance that kept him suspended t'o the ceiling, aided by the addition of four, long spider legs coming out of his back and hips.

"Hello there." he said menacingly before he jumped down at her. She opened fire on him but the first shot only grazed him as he kicked her in the chest, making her fall on her rear.

The spider thing landed on his feet and grinned down at her as his spider legs lifted him up to stand over her, but in the pale light Violet realized something.

"You're a Grimm Hybrid!"

"That's right, surprised you'd know about us, are we public knowledge yet? I'm Anansi, what's your name?" he asked with a dark smirk.

Violet yanked her gun up and fired at him but he easily sidestepped the bullet and used his unnatural legs to pin her down to the ground. "Hmm, feisty aren't you? Would you like to see my babies?" he asked as Violet just now noticed something was moving inside of his shirt. From out of his sleeves and some holes in his shirt came young Tarantula Widows which were the size of rats.

Violet screamed and brought her head up to bash him in the face, making him rear back. She held up her gun again and tried to shoot him before one of the young Tarantula Widows jumped onto her arm and bit her, making her cry out in pain. She threw the arachnid off and blasted it to the death only for the spider Grimm Commander slammed into her, his spider legs jabbing into her torso, one piercing her shoulder and another stabbing into her gut.

"Bitch!" he snarled as he barred his teeth and used the white spider silk on his hands to keep her arms stuck to the ground. "I'll enjoy this... wait a minute..." he said as he saw her name under her badge. "Arc?" He was obviously surprised at that... and then a sinister grin spread across his face, "Jackpot."

Just then an explosion went off from behind them and the Grimm Commander was thrown into the wall, Violet looked up to see one of the other cops that went in with them but she didn't know his name.

"Thanks man." she said as she placed a hand over her bleeding stomach that was currently glowing with aura.

"Damn it..." Anansi growled as he tried to get up before several bullets slammed into him, taking him out of commission for the time being.

Violet looked to her fellow cop only for him to drop down dead revealing someone standing behind him who had been holding the dead cop up. As he approached her she looked at him closely and said "I know you..."

"You don't know me, you just recognize me. I'll get you out of here, just tell your brother we're here and so is the new Grimm Hybrid." the man whispered to her as he used a knife to cut her free of the spider webs.

"You're a cop killer! Get awa... ugh!" she moaned in pain as her aura spiked up, trying to heal her fresh wounds.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, no need to thank me." the man said sarcastically before leaning down to whisper "Tell your brother we're here, we leave tomorrow night." He followed that up by punching her in the face, knocking her unconscious and after he made sure Anansi was still out cold he picked violet up and ran down the hallway as he could hear police sirens in the distance.

He came to a side exit and placed her down on the ground and heard the footsteps of one of the cops who were trying to surround the building as the backup arrived, with over a dozen police cars and a SWAT van. "Looks like we're taking the sewer exit." he muttered as he took out a pistol and shot it into the air, getting the cop's attention.

"Freeze! Hands in the air now!" yelled the officer as she came around the corner only to see Violet on the ground out cold and the door closing with the sounds of footsteps echoing from inside the building. "Shit." the female officer muttered as she ran to Violet and took out her radio "Officer down! West side of the plant! It's Arc, she's hit in the stomach and shoulder, I think she's alive but we need to get her to a hospital!"

"Roger that, we're coming, just wake her up and keep her alive." said a voice over the radio.

The officer nodded and said "Roger that, over and out." She put her radio away and knelt down and cradled Violet's head gently. "Come on, stay with me..."

* * *

_**Jaune's hands were raised up and bound together, attached to the ceiling as he watched the horrific sight before him: Team RWBY, Ren, Nora, and the rest of Team Beacon standing before him and on the floor was a broken and bloodied Pyrrha, who was looking up and him and trying to say something.** _

_**"J-j-jaune..."** _

_**"Pyrrha! No! What the...?" he was silenced by a vicious punch from Yang.** _

_**"Quiet, freak-show!" she scolded, her eyes red with fury.** _

_**"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" he cried frantically** _

_**"We're Hunters, Jaune, you know what that entails." Ren stated with a dead monotone voice, "Ridding the world of all Grimm, and that includes hybrids like you, you pretender."** _

_**"You're both monsters now. We're doing you a favor, you're better off dead, especially you, you lying sack of crap." Nora snapped before slamming her hammer on Pyrrha's back, forcing the Spartan to spit up blood.** _

_**"No! Leave her alone!" Jaune screamed as he struggled to free himself. "We're not evil! We are trying to help you! I thought you were our friends!"** _

**_"How could anyone be friends with a pair of freaks like you?" Velvet said, an unnatural venom in her normally kind voice._ **

**_"Even if Pyrrha had some use to us you don't. You never did." Weiss said coldly as she gave Jaune an icy glare._ **

**_"And she won't cooperate unless we put up with you, and you're just not worth the effort so it's time to cut you both loose." Sun added as he slammed his bo-staff into Jaune's chest, making him cry out in pain._ **

**_"Right, who would ever want to put up with a whiny, pathetic little runt like you?" asked Blake as she slashed Gambol Shroud down on his leg._ **

**_"All you do is drag us down." Yatsuhashi stated as he slammed his fist into Jaune's chest._ **

**_"All you are is a burden." Fox said as he slammed down his blade into the blonde's hip._ **

**_"A waste of flesh." Neptune hissed and he shot Jaune in the back._ **

**_"An abomination." said Penny as she held Pyrrha up, revealing the girl he loved covered with cuts, bruises, and blood._ **

**_Jaune looked up to see his family standing nearby in the dark place they were in and called to them, "Mom! Dad! Bianca! Violet! Help us! PLEASE!"_ **

**_They all looked at him with dead, emotionless expressions before turning around and walking away._ **

**_"No... no, please come back! Please! Don't leave me!" he yelled. He looked down to Pyrrha and said "Pyrrha, I'll save you, I promise!"_ **

**_"J-jaune...?"_ **

**_"I'm here... AH!" he cried as Coco slammed her purse into his head._ **

**_"Jaune, please help me! They're going to kill us! Please sa..."_ **

**_She was silenced by Ruby slicing open her throat open, killing her._ **

**_"NO!" Jaune screamed in anger, sorrow and horror._ **

**_Ruby looked up to him, her bright eyes now a dull, sinister silver. She licked Pyrrha's blood off of her scythe and said "Don't worry Jaune, she's free now. She deserved to die, it was her destiny. And now you get to die to."_ **

**_She swung her blade at him as he screamed._ **

Jaune screamed as he woke up, only to find himself in a camp site with Ruby, Nora, and Ren standing over him.

"Jaune? Jaune, wake up!" cried Ruby.

Jaune sat up and moaned "Holy crap, what a nightmare... where are we?"

"We just left Sion, remember?" Nora asked.

Jaune looked at his three friends and realized that they were wearing their newer outfits, something was wrong, very wrong.

"Sion? No, Ruby's in Vacuo with the others and we're in Vale with... Pyrrha..." he said.

The other three teens gave each other sad looks before Ruby said "Jaune, we all miss Pyrrha..."

"No, she's alive! We found her in Haven! With... Ashe and Cinder... and... what the hell is going on?" he asked, utterly dumbfounded.

"Jaune, who is Ashe? What are you talking about?" asked Nora, confused.

"Jaune, I know you miss Pyrrha, I miss her too. Heck, even I've been having dreams about her but you..." Ruby began before Jaune cut her off.

"No! No, this has to be a dream. There is no way everything I have went through in the last nine months was a dream!" he yelled as he ran away into the forest.

_"Jaune! Wait..." Ruby's last word was slurred as she and the other two members of Team RNJR faded away._

_Jaune looked back to see that his friends had vanished "What the hell is..." before he could finish that sentence he turned around and came face to face with Cinder Fall. He screamed out in shock and fell backwards, looking up to see Cinder with an 'x' shaped scar across her face and with shorter hair._

**_"I am going to destroy you, her destiny was to die by my hand, and you will share that fate." she said evilly as she took out her bow and arrow._ **

**_"No, no, no, wake up, wake, WAKE UP DAMN IT!" he yelled at himself as he crawled backwards, only to bump into a wall. He looked up to see a tall, seemingly endless wall reaching into the clouds. He looked back down to see that Cinder had vanished._ **

**_"This is crazy, I'm dreaming, I have to be." he said as he got up. He slapped himself in an attempt to wake up but he didn't feel any pain. "Great." he bemoaned._ **

**_Then he noticed something on the wall; a mirror, and the reflection that appeared to a Grimm Commander version of himself, as in what he could have looked like if Pyrrha hadn't sabotaged Giger's surgery._ **

**_"What the...?" he muttered as he got closer to the mirror, to get a better look at the white hair, crimson eyes, pale skin dotted by black marks._ **

**_Just then the Grimm-Jaune reached forward and its arm came out of the mirror and grabbed him. "Did you think it would ever end like this? Do you really think she can ever really come back?!" the dark version of the youngest Arc ranted as he pulled Jaune forward. "She's dead and you are a weak, pathetic failure! ACCEPT IT!"_ **

**_Jaune cried out as he was pulled into the mirror, the glass shattering around him but before he could even try to do anything else he realized he was somehow pulled sideways and landed on his feet, small glass shards raining down from beside him. He looked up and screamed at the sight of Salem's face smiling down at him, then it screamed and began to shake rapidly. Jaune closed his eyes and covered his ears, and as he opened his eyes he saw that the giant head was gone._ **

**_After that Jaune remained silent, confused and scared before he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He whipped around only to be greeted by a kiss from the girl he loved. He quickly returned it and wrapped his arms around her waist._ **

**_"Pyrrha..."_ **

**_"I'm sorry." she said sadly._ **

**_An arrow burst through her chest and she disintegrated into golden dust._ **

**_Jaune fell to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes as he tried to hold some of the dust. "No, NO! I..."_ **

**_"Hello again." said her voice. Jaune looked up to see dozens of Pyrrhas standing around, all with warm eyes and kind smiles. Then their eyes went wide, their smiled died as arrows slammed through their chests and they all burned into nothingness._ **

**_"Jaune?" said her voice. He turned around to see her standing there behind him._ **

**_"Pyrrha..." he said as she came to him and knelt down to hug him._ **

**_"I'll always be here for you." she said as he hugged her back._ **

**_"I don't want to lose you, never again." he sobbed._ **

**_"... I'm sorry." she said before she went limp in his arms._ **

**_"Pyrrha? Pyrrha?!" he cried as he held her tight. She made no response, her emerald eyes dull and lifeless as her body began to glow. "No! NO! Stop it! Just stop it!" he yelled in complete misery as Pyrrha was incinerated again while tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes. He desperately tried to keep his hold on her body as it crumbled away, into nothingness._ **

Jaune's eyes, red and wet with tears, snapped open to see Pyrrha shaking him awake.

"Jaune! Jaune wake up! Please wake up!" she cried as kept shaking him.

"Pyrrha!" he cried before he surged toward her and captured her in a desperate hug, holding her to him tightly as he buried his teary face into her neck, sobbing wildly as he kept saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Pyrrha didn't know what Jaune had seen in his, obviously horrible, nightmare, but she knew that what he needed right now was someone to comfort him. That was a task she would always be up for.

She pulled Jaune close to her and hugged him back, rubbing his back soothingly as she whispered words of comfort to him as he wept, still muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." over and over again like a mantra.

They had tried to sleep in separate beds, and despite her hesitations Jaune had insisted that they couldn't always sleep together, as there would be times they'd be separated so they would be prepared for times when they were alone on missions. While she had a peaceful slumber it was obvious that Jaune had not, as it had taken her nearly five minutes to wake him up from the nightmares he had been having, listening to his screams, sobs, and cries. It made her a little happy the the hotel's rooms were sound proofed for privacy, although there was a part that wished Ren and Nora were there to help.

It was nearly half an hour before Jaune finally calmed down and his sobs had lessened as Pyrrha held him close and planted gentle kisses on his face to let him know everything was okay.

Jaune, exhausted both physically and emotionally, was fading in and out of consciousness as he snuggled deeper into his partner.

"Pyrrha... I'm so sorry I..."

"Hush, you have nothing to be sorry for, my love. You just had a nightmare, a terrible nightmare. That's all. You'll be okay, I promise." she said to him as she tightened her grip and hoisted him up to lay him against the headboard of the bed so she could slink in, then she gently pulled him back to her and cuddled into him.

"Pyrrha..."

"No Jaune, we can talk about it in the morning. Right now you need to go to sleep." she said gently. She had a lot of questions about what he had seen in that terrible dream but she knew it could wait until morning.

Jaune, tired and afraid, looked her in the eyes and allowed himself a small smile before he kissed her. "Please tell me you're real. Tell me this isn't a dream and that we're together, tell me we're safe!" he said, his voice a bit shaky.

"We are safe, it was just a nightmare, we've both had too many of those. I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you and I will never leave you behind or send you away again, now go to sleep. I love you." she said as she hugged him closer still.

"And I love you." he said as he drifted off to sleep.

Pyrrha smiled but a soft vibrating sound got her attention. She glanced at the nightstand to see Jaune's scroll vibrating, she sighed and picked it up to see the caller I.D. read 'Mom'. "I'm sorry Mrs. Arc, but he needs some rest." she whispered to herself as she shut the scroll off.

With that the two lovers went back to sleep, feeling safe in each others arms.

* * *

When Pyrrha woke up the next morning she sat up and stretched her arms out as she yawned before realizing that Jaune was absent from the bed, but she soon heard the sounds of water hitting tiles and knew that he was in the shower. So apparently she had been more tired than she thought and Jaune was getting better at stealth for her not to notice him getting out of bed.

After a few minutes the shower shut off and Jaune came out of the bathroom wearing only sweatpants as he dried his hair off with a towel.

"Morning." she greeted.

"Good morning." he said back with a small smile.

"Jaune... I know you won't want to but we need to talk about last night." she said with a sigh, deciding to try and get it over with now.

"You're right, I don't want to talk about it. It was just a nightmare Pyrrha, a very weird, very disturbing nightmare but I can tell the difference between fantasy and reality." he said to her.

"That's rather hard to do in the world we live in." she mused with a smile of her own, which he returned. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you! I just don't want to burden you with... my own demons." he stated.

"Your demons are mine, Jaune. We've shared so much already, can't we share each other's dreams too?" she inquired.

"Maybe... look, I just don't want to talk about them right now, okay? Can you give me time to think the nightmares over?" he asked.

"Of course I can, but just remember we shouldn't hide things from each other. If we're going to be partners for the rest of our lives, if we are going to love each other in the future as we do now then we need to be honest with each other, understand?" she said to him gently as he sat down next to her.

"I understand." he voiced as he pulled her to him, taking in her scent as she took in his, enjoying the feeling of her skin against his freshly dried body. Thoughts of the nightmares crossed his mind and he remembered what the nightmare versions of Ren and Nora had said to him, which he continued with "I think I should tell Ren and Nora the truth."

"The truth?" she repeated.

"About how I faked my way into Beacon. Even after I lost you I didn't tell them, I told Ruby and Ashe but I never told them." he stated, which made Pyrrha wonder just how much they knew from each other from the Aura Crystal's ritual back in SSSN's warehouse as she knew Bianca had vocally confessed about the false documents but was it possible that the crystal had shrouded that information from those who didn't already know about it?

"You told Ashe but not them?" she asked, finding that to be strange.

"Yeah... he was there for me when I was vulnerable, I just spilled my guts out to him, even though I didn't even know him. It was a moment of weakness and he was there to listen." Jaune told her. "I told Ruby after a rough training session with Ashe, I was feeling really angry and depressed and she was there for me."

Pyrrha allowed herself a smile and said "She tends to be there when you need her."

'Most of the time.' thought Jaune to himself before quickly banishing that dark thought, mentally scolding himself for thinking that about Ruby, knowing it wasn't her fault Cinder had taken Pyrrha.

"But, I believe that you should tell Ren and Nora the truth about the transcripts, we've kept it hidden from them long enough." Pyrrha stated, to which Jaune nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we'll do it tonight." he said as she smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek before getting up to take a shower.

"Oh, and before we went back to sleep last night your mom called, so you should probably call her back." she said to him before she shut the bathroom door.

Jaune took up his scroll and turned it on only to see that he had over twenty missed calls from his mom, dad, and his sisters. There was a sinking feeling a dread deep in Jaune's gut as he quickly dialed his mom's number, hoping everything was okay back in Cadia.

Soon enough his mother answered the phone and right away he could tell something was off, as her voice made it sound like she had been crying.

"J-Jaune! Oh thank the gods! We've been trying to reach you for hours!" she said.

"I had a really bad nightmare last night and Pyrrha had to comfort me, she decided to shut off my scroll so I could get some rest after I calmed down. Mom, what's happening?" he asked.

"Jaune... it's Violet. Last n-night she was part of a police raid and... she was attacked..." Joanne said miserably.

"Oh no, is she...?"

"No, she's alive but she's in the hospital. I know it's asking a lot but could you please come, just in case something goes wrong?" she asked.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." he promised her.

* * *

Jaune looked out the window of Ross' ship as it made haste from Vale to Cadia, after Pyrrha's shower he told her and the others about what had happened to his sister and while it wasn't mandatory the other members of Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage all agreed to go with him. They talked to Ozpin and Goodwitch, the later of whom was a little hesitant to let them forgo Jaune's training but she knew it was important to Jaune and with his emotions being clouded by worry his Semblance would be affected so she agreed to let them go and Ozpin arranged for Ross to transport them to the city of Cadia as quickly as he could.

"Are you sure you don't mind coming?" Pyrrha asked Fox and Sage, the former was reading from his book while the later dozed off.

"Eh, it's way better than walking around looking for Grimm to kill." Sage said.

Fox nodded and added "It's best not to split the team up even further."

Pyrrha kept a comforting hand on his shoulder as they looked out the window at the villages and farms below, passing out of sight as the ship flew into the sky. Beside her was a case that contained the Aura Crystal she glanced at it before looking over to see Fox, then Sage, and then Nora who was playing a game on her scroll while Ren gave her advice.

"Do you want to tell them now?" asked asked him quietly. At the speed Ross was going it would be half an hour before they arrived at Cadia's hospital, which gave them time to talk it over.

Jaune looked at her, then glanced up to Ren and Nora, then his eyes went back to his girlfriend and whispered "Not now, I... I need time to think, okay? We can do it once all four of us are alone."

She nodded in understanding, knowing he needed time to think. For her part Pyrrha looked forward to seeing her parents while in Cadia, as the last time she had spoken to them they told her they had a gift for her. She didn't know what it was, but she looked forward to it, nonetheless, but she forced those thoughts out of her head she began to mentally pray for the safety of Violet Arc.

* * *

Ross landed the ship on the hospital's landing platform and Jaune quickly opened up the door and hopped out.

"Thanks for the ride!" he said as he darted towards the entrance where Shani and Azure were waiting to greet them.

"No problem." Ross said as Pyrrha and the others go out as well, while Sage carried the bag that contained their weapons. "Man, I used to be an air force pilot, now here I am shuttling around these crazy Hunters, young and old alike."

"If it's any consolation we need you, we wouldn't have made it here so fast without you." Pyrrha said to him.

"Where will you be Mr. Ross?" Nora asked.

"An air base on the other side of town to refuel and stock up, just call me when you need me." he told them as he handed Pyrrha a card with his scroll's number on it.

"We will, thank you." Pyrrha said to him before going after Jaune with the others Hunters and the Aura Crystal in tow.

As Ross started up his ship once again he smirked to himself and muttered "Better than dog-fighting for a livin', I guess."

Jaune hugged his two sisters, making Shani say "Wow, I remember when you could barley wrap your hands around my wrist."

"I grew up, what happened? Is Violet okay?" he asked.

"She's in surgery now, they started about half an hour ago." Azure told him as the others approached. "Hi Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and... what are your names again?"

"Fox and Sage. Ruby and the others are off on a mission but they volunteered to come with us." Ren explained as they entered the hospital.

"So what exactly happened? Mom said she got hurt in a raid last night but that was it." Jaune said to his sisters.

"We don't know much, apparently she has an informant who found out something was going on with some criminals and they were meeting in that old water treatment plant on the edge of town. Apparently they had a lot of firepower and had bigger numbers than anticipated." Azure told him.

"So what happened? Was she shot?" Nora inquired.

"That's the weird part, it looks like she was stabbed in the stomach and shoulder but not with a knife or any type of blade since they couldn't pick up any traces of metal, and she kept whispering something about Grimm and spiders." Shani said.

The teens all looked at each other.

"A Tarantula Widow bite?" Sage suggested.

"Maybe, but those things are rather big and hard to miss, also they tend not to let their pray get away if the manage to bite them." Ren stated.

"But they didn't find any traces of venom, just a stab wound created without a blade." Azure reminded him.

"It is possible that it could have been made with the legs of a Tarantula Widow, I learned in Professor Port's class they will sometimes use their limbs to attack certain opponents." Fox informed them.

"Yes, but Tarantula Widows usually don't venture very close to cities." Ren pointed out.

"They're spiders Ren! They do whatever they want!" Nora exclaimed.

"We can figure out all that later once she's out of surgery, right now I just want my sister to be alright." Jaune said firmly.

They went up in an elevator and when the doors opened for them they were greeted by the sight of a little girl, no more than eight years old, with bright energetic eyes and black hair and her mother.

"Mom! It's her! It's Pyrrha Nikos!" said the little girl excitedly as he mother pulled her out of the way so the group could exit the lift.

"Oh man... I can see that honey. She's probably here to visit somebody, so let's not bother her." the mother said.

"Looks like an adoring fan..." Nora teased.

"Oh it's no trouble Ma'am. Hello, what's your name?" Pyrrha asked as she knelt down to look the girl in the eyes.

"Cassie." she answered. "I've been a fan of yours for a long time, I want to be like you when I get older."

"That's sweet, but I think you should do whatever you want." Pyrrha told her gently, "Would you like an autograph?"

"Heck yes!" Cassie said.

"We don't want to take up your time Miss Nikos..." said her mother but Pyrrha waved that off.

"It's no trouble Ma'am, I'd be happy to give her one, Azure, could you stay with me to show me the way?" she asked.

Azure nodded, "No problem, go on without us." she said to Jaune and the others.

She handed him the case with the Aura Crystal and he gave her a loving look and smiled at her and the girl before following Shani into a hallway that led to the waiting room where his family was, with Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage in tow.

Pyrrha, Azure, Cassie, and her mother went to a nearby nurses station and took a small scrap of paper and a pen so she could write the autograph.

As she wrote it Cassie said "So I've seen you with that guy on TV, like at the Tournament and when you came back, is he your boyfriend?"

"Cassie!"

"No, it's quite alright. Yes, he is, and I love him very much." Pyrrha answered with a smile as she handed the young girl the paper which now read 'To Cassie, your friend Pyrrha Nikos.'

"Thank you!" Cassie cheered as she hugged Pyrrha.

"It was nothing, always happy to meet a fan." Pyrrha said as she hugged the girl back. She now noticed Cassie's mom was smiling at the sight.

"I'm really happy you're okay Pyrrha, everyone told me you were dead last year." Cassie said.

"I nearly was, but my friends saved me."

"Was your boyfriend one of them?" the child asked.

Pyrrha chuckled and said "Yes, he was practically my knight in shining armor."

After that Cassie and her mother went down in the elevator, with a small piece of paper that Cassie would boast about to her friends while Pyrrha and Azure went to the waiting room.

"You handled that pretty well." Azure stated.

"I've done it many times, but I think it's best when it's someone young and filled with hope like that." Pyrrha said.

"You'd like to have a kid like her someday, wouldn't you?" Azure asked.

Pyrrha blushed a bit but nodded. "It would be wonderful."

Soon they arrived to the waiting room where Joanne and Andre Arc awaited them along with Bianca, Indigo, and Olivia, who also had her husband, a man in his thirties named Justin, and their baby girl with her.

Currently all of them save Justin and the baby were crushing their son/brother in one big group hug.

"Okay, ow! A little too tight with all of you at once!" he cried.

His father chuckled as they let him go, "Sorry about that Jaune, it's just a big relief to have you here in case something goes wrong. It's been a rough night."

"Where's Sienna?" Jaune asked as his hugged his mom.

"On her way back from a cargo delivery in Mistral, she'll be here in a few hours." Indigo answered.

"The life of a pilot, but it's good to have you here." Olivia said as she kissed her little brother on the cheek. She turned to the others and said "I wasn't with the others last time, on account of my baby girl over there. I'm Olivia Arc-Nivil and that is my husband Justin Nivil with our baby Arabella."

Fox nodded while Sage said "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, what a cute little baby!" Nora cooed at the eight month old infant while Ren simply smiled at the scene.

Pyrrha approached Joanne and Andre and said "Mr. and Mrs. Arc, I must apologize, last night I shut off Jaune's scroll so he could get some sleep after a terrible nightmare he had. If I hadn't done that he could have gotten here sooner, so I am..."

"No need to apologize Pyrrha, you couldn't have known what had happened." Joanne said as she placed a reassuring hand on Pyrrha's. "Besides, given what kind of nightmares you two have been having ever since Haven it was probably for the best."

"Thank you for being so understanding." Pyrrha said before turning to Justin, who she had met before since she was now practically neighbors with the Arc family. "Hello again Justin, have you been well?"

"As well as a simple restaurant manager could be. Want to hold Arabella?" he asked.

"If that's alright with you." she said.

"Of course it's alright! After everything you've done for my brother you're practically family." Olivia said as Justin gently handed the baby to Pyrrha.

The baby girl in Pyrrha's arms had the eyes of an Arc, but her father's brown hair. Pyrrha smiled at the baby, whose eyes were still so bright and innocent. It made Pyrrha think of several things, making two thoughts go through her mind at once. The first was of her former 'master' Salem; this baby was innocent, she had no knowledge of the evil that lurked in the world and there were millions of others like her, like Cassie, human and Faunus... and Salem and her followers wanted to destroy them all in the name of evil, something Pyrrha was determined to never let happen. The second thought was of her future with Jaune, could a baby like this, with eyes of emerald or sapphire with hair of yellow or crimson, be in their future? She had a small blush at the thought. She looked up to Azure who gave her a look, which made her blush a bit harder to hide.

"So is she okay?" Jaune asked.

"The surgery is still going on, we won't know for another hour or so." his dad told him.

"What did the police find? Do they know what happened?" Ren inquired.

"Not entirely, apparently those scumbags had a way out via the underground and once Violet and the other cop who made it out are better they might be able to identify who was there, since apparently Violet recognized a few of them." Indigo elaborated.

"So what were your nightmares about?" Bianca asked Jaune as they sat down.

He was silent for a few seconds before saying "I... don't really want to talk about it right now, not in front of everyone else."

Everyone nodded understandingly before the eldest Arc sister asked "Jaune... I've been thinking..." she began to whisper. "...could the Aura Crystal heal Violet? I mean she's technically of your family so would it count her as a guardian too?"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other before they both said "I don't really know."

They looked at each other, which made Nora giggle a bit as she held Arabella. "Aw, hi there! I'm your Aunt Nora and this is Uncle Ren!" she said as she pulled Ren into the baby's line of sight.

"Hello." he said gently.

Jaune continued "We haven't had any big breakthroughs with the crystal at all, barley even a glimpse. I don't know if that would work at all, and I have no idea how to even start something like that."

"It might take a while before we truly begin to understand the crystal, maybe even a year or two." Pyrrha added.

'Time we might not have.' Jaune thought darkly.

Bianca sighed and said "Well, it was worth mentioning I guess."

Jaune smiled at her and said "Yeah, it was. Don't feel bad sis, if Pyrrha and I don't understand this thing yet how could you? We just have to hope we'll get better with it in time."

Pyrrha smiled as she placed her hand atop Jaune's and said "That's the Jaune spirit I know and love."

* * *

An hour of waiting had gone by, and in that time Sienna had showed up, looking rather hassled and tired from her flight but happy she made it and overjoyed to know that her sister was still alive. Shortly after that Hera and Zeus Nikos had also come to meet up with Pyrrha and to wish the Arc family good luck.

Pyrrha looked at the large case her father carried and guessed that it must contain the gift they had for her, whatever it was, but she couldn't help but feel it was odd to bring it to a hospital.

Hera glanced over to Joanne who got up and made her way to the hallway, briefly saying that she needed to use the restroom. Once she was out of sight Hera got up and went to follow her.

"Dear..." Zeus began.

"I need to talk to her, this is something I know about." Hera said.

Zeus nodded, as did Andre, who said "Thank you, she could use some words from someone who's had experience with something like this."

Pyrrha and Jaune looked to each other, neither one of them needing to say anything. The looks in their eyes were enough.

"Go, we'll be here in case something happens." Pyrrha said to her mother, and with that Hera Nikos marched down the hallway.

She quickly found the restroom and sure enough Joanne stood alone in the room, in front of the mirror, crying.

"Are you alright?" Hera asked as she closed the door behind her, turning the little lock for privacy.

The older woman turned to face the redhead and said "My daughter is on the operating table and I don't know if she'll be okay! Do you think I'm alright?!"

"No, no mother would be if their child was hurt. How do you think I felt when I thought my child was dead for a third of a year?" Hera asked darkly.

Joanne's eyes softened and said "Oh... I'm sorry, times like these make me forget things, make me think my family is the only thing that matters."

"Everyone feels like that at some point. Most people, anyway. You're lucky you know? You have eight children, I honestly don't know how you managed to do that."

"There was a lot of love in our house." Joanne said with a ghost of a smile.

"Obviously. I only had one and that... well once was enough for me. I'm pretty sure Violet will be okay, I mean if she's a police officer and from what I've been told also fought in Haven then she's obviously a tough one. She'll make it." Hera assured the fellow mother.

"I hope so. Heh, Bianca and Shani first you know. Fraternal twins. It was rough the first time and I swore never again, but luck would have it the Arc family apparently breed like rabbits because that the next time it was just one, Olivia. I thought that was it but a little over a year later out children doubled, we had triplets; Violet, Sienna, and Indigo. We're lucky they weren't identical because it would have been hell telling them all apart. I was in such pain the day they were born but there was this happiness that overrode it." Joanne told her.

"Gods above, some women die from a single birth, but you survived so many! What is your Semblance?" Hera joked.

"Maybe it's being a mom. After that came little Azure, another girl. I was so blessed but I thought that was the end of it, but the gods had one more child for us, my little knight." Joanne said, sniffling a bit from the tears. She walked over and sat down against the wall, and Hera did so as well. "We nearly lost him, you know? Jaune. When he was born he was so little, so weak that the doctors said he wouldn't make it through the week. We were all heartbroken, so we prayed, we all prayed and in the end that baby boy made it, even though the doctors were sure he couldn't have. Maybe that was the big hint that Jaune was different, he was meant for great things." the Arc woman said as she wiped her eyes.

"He was indeed, he saved my daughter from death and from a lonely life. I owe him so much..." Hera said.

"Your girl is all he needs. He was always so awkward with girls, but with her he's... happy, and that is the best thing for him in the end. I tried to hold him back from being a Hunter you know? We argued over it so many times but I suppose that in the end I was just afraid of losing him to those monsters, and while I nearly did he beat them. He lived, just like he did when he was born." Joanne said with a proud, but sad smile on her face. "It was almost the same with Violet, I didn't want her to become a police officer but she was determined to become an officer of the law, she and Jaune are a lot alike in that regard. Oh gods... I don't know what I'll do if I lose her..."

"You won't." Hera assured her.

The two were silent for a few minutes before Joanne asked "What happened when you thought Pyrrha had been killed?"

Hera sighed and said "It was... horrible. When I was first told I just froze up, the world went dead around me as this... terrible feeling of dread in the bottom of my stomach surged around my body once I realized it wasn't a dream I just broke down crying. I just cried in my husband's arms for over an hour until I just began to crack. They had to give me a sedative to calm down and when I woke up in the morning I just walked to Pyrrha's room and for... just a short instant I thought I could see her, in her room watching television between training sessions, she turned to look at me and smiled. I blinked and it hit me; she was gone. I just went around the house, on some kind of biological autopilot, repeating that; 'she's gone, my baby is gone'. I thought I was going to die. For days I refused to eat or get out of the house, it was a big mess. No mother should ever have to lose her child."

"No. Never, and I don't want to lose mine now." Joanne stated.

"I'm sure she'll make it. In the end, mine did too, thanks to your son and the rest of their friends." Hera voiced.

"It must have been something to see her alive and well again." Joanne said.

Hera nodded, "Oh it was, I thought my mind had finally broken and I was seeing things but there she was, my baby girl alive again. And I have your son to thank for saving her from those monsters. Let me tell you right now; after everything he has done for Pyrrha I look forward to the day when he becomes my son-in-law."

Joanne smiled and said "And after everything Pyrrha's done for my boy I would be proud to call her my daughter-in-law."

Hera smiled back and said to the older woman "Trust me, Violet will be okay. Never give up hope, because sometimes that is all we have."

Just then there was a knock at the door.

Hera got up and unlocked the door to come face to face with a tearful Shani who said "Mom! The doctor came out, she made it! She's gonna be okay!"

* * *

With the surgery a success and Violet out of danger she was moved to a room of her own where she would remain in deep sleep for a few hours. After thanking the doctors for the efforts and moving to the room to wait for her awakening.

With a few hours to spare until she woke up Justin took Arabella home and Sage and Fox retreated to the main lobby while everyone else waited for Violet to stir.

Pyrrha looked at the case her parents had brought, and while there was that childlike curiosity to find out what was inside she decided it could wait for a while longer. All the while there was something else that needed to come out, a secret Jaune had kept from Nora and Ren for too long.

She nudged Jaune and whispered "It will probably be a few more hours until she wakes up, do you want to tell them now, while we have time?"

Jaune sighed, there was a part of him that didn't want to reveal the truth because he didn't really know how the two would react to both the secret and the fact that he kept it from them for so long. Yet he knew, deep down, that Pyrrha was right; he couldn't hide it forever.

"I don't know if this is the best place to do it." he whispered to her.

"I'll ask a nurse if there's a place we can go and talk in private. Do you want to do it?" the Spartan asked.

"... Yeah. Hey, Ren, Nora?" he said, waking up Nora who had dozed off while leaning against Ren while Pyrrha got up and left the room.

"Whu... huh?" she said groggily as she woke up.

"What is it Jaune?" Ren asked.

"I need talk to you guys, in private. Pyrrha's going to find someplace we can be alone." he said, elaborating to everyone, although Bianca and his parents gave him knowing looks, seeming to know what he was going to tell them.

"What about?" Nora asked with a yawn.

"It's kind of a secret, let's just say it's a private Team JNPR meeting. Are you two up for it?" he inquired.

"Of course." Ren stated simply.

"You bet." Nora said with a smile and a thumbs up.

Jaune smiled back at her, but secretly he was nervous and hoped that they wouldn't turn on him once they learned the truth.

A nurse had been generous enough to take them to a room not too far away that was empty for the time being and would give them the privacy they needed.

"Nice view." Nora commented, looking out at the pleasant landscape of Cadia in the afternoon.

"So Jaune, what do you wish to tell us? It must be serious if you only wanted us to hear it." Ren said as Pyrrha sat down.

Jaune nodded and said "Well... my family knows about it, and Pyrrha found out about a couple of weeks after we became a team. I told Ruby before we got captured, Cardin knew about it because he eavesdropped on me and Pyrrha, it's actually how he blackmailed me way back when, and I spilled my guts to Ashe in a moment of weakness so he knew too."

Ren and Nora looked at each other, both a bit confused. "So you told Ruby and Ashe, but not us? What was it?" Nora inquired.

"I... I only told them because I was feeling really lousy at the times and I never told you guys because... I was afraid of what you'd do or say if you knew the truth." the blonde admitted.

"What is it? What could be so bad that we'd ever get angry at you?" Nora asked.

"I..." Jaune stopped and looked at Pyrrha, who nodded and gave him a look of both comfort and encouragement. "I faked my way into Beacon. My transcripts were forged with some help from Bianca."

A long, heavy silence hung over the room. Jaune hung his head, not daring to look his teammates in the eye.

"Well, this does explain a few things." Ren said, beginning to understand a lot of the questions he had once had about Jaune, but it was what Nora said that utterly shocked Jaune.

"So what?"

Jaune's head jolted up to look at them, shocked to see that neither of them were as furious as he feared they'd be. Hell, they didn't even appear to be a bit annoyed.

"Y-you're not mad?" he asked.

"Wellll... maybe a little miffed that you told Ashe, of all people, before telling us but you still told the truth." Nora said.

"Better late than never." Ren stated dryly.

"B-but... you should be furious! I could have gotten you killed on multiple occasions! I'm a fraud!" Jaune cried.

"Yeah, but we survived. Heck a lot of seasoned Hunters couldn't have survived what you went through." Nora pointed out.

"And you are not a fraud Jaune. You may have been one at first, but over time you more than proved yourself worthy of being not just a Huntsman, but being our leader as well." Ren said reassuringly.

"So... you don't hate me? Even if I'm a..."

"Jaune, after all we've been through together: the breach, Vytal, losing Pyrrha, being Team RNJR, you getting captured, tortured, mind screwed, and turned into a hybrid, the battle of Haven, and nearly dying to save Pyrrha, among other things, we could never hate you! So what if your documents were phony? You made up for it with everything you did. You're not just our leader, you're part of this family! Transcripts or no transcripts! We love you Jaune, and I wouldn't have anyone else lead Team JNPR. But you still get a slug for keeping it from us for so long." Nora said before she playfully punched Jaune in the shoulder, which he took effortlessly. And then she grabbed the blonde and squeezing him in a tight hug.

Jaune began to tear up as he hugged the redhead back before he looked to Ren, someone he had seen as the brother he never had. "What about you, Ren? Are you...?"

Ren nodded, "Nora is absolutely right. You don't need transcripts or paperwork to be a Hunter or a hero, and that is exactly what you are. While this does explain a few things about you and while I did have my doubts back when we first became a team I think Nora's words are perfect. I see you as a brother Jaune, and I am proud to call you that. While it is irritating that you didn't tell us sooner, I can say without hesitation; I don't care if you faked your way in. You have earned my trust, respect, and friendship. This changes nothing."

More tears fell from Jaune's eyes as Nora reached over and pulled Ren into the hug before Pyrrha joined in as well.

"Team JNPR forever!" she cheered. "We can take anything on!"

"Be it fake transcripts." voiced Pyrrha.

"Or seemingly losing one of our own." Ren added.

"Or death itself." Jaune finished.

He felt a little better now, his team now knew about the fake transcripts, and they didn't hate him for it.

"So what are you gonna do about everyone else? I mean you'll have to tell 'em sooner or later." Nora pointed out.

"Let's make it later, I still gotta earn their trust." Jaune said, "For now, I'm just happy my team has my back."

"We always will." Pyrrha said before she kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

Violet moaned as she began to stir. Her eyes twitched open as her nose quickly picked up on familiar scents of hospitals, making her realize she was in one, further proved by the sound of beeping from a heart monitor and the conspicuous lack of her police uniform, which had been replaced by a hospital gown. Her eyes opened up fully only to be assaulted by the bright lights overhead.

"Ah!" she grunted as she quickly raised up her stiff arms to shield herself from the light.

"Violet!" cried the familiar voice of her mother.

Violet looked up to find herself in a nice hospital room surrounded by her parents, her sisters, her brother, his team, and his girlfriend's parents.

"M-mom? What happened?" she rasped out, her throat dry.

"Here Vi, drink up." Shani said as she handed her sister a bottle of water while Azure used the small controller to make the bed sit up.

Violet eagerly drank from the bottle and once her thirst was quenched she felt like talking a bit more.

"Oh honey I'm so happy you're awake." said Joanne with teary eyes.

"You had us worried Vi, please don't do it again." her dad said.

Violet nodded with a smirk before she she said to Pyrrha and the others "Wow, nice to see practically everyone here, even you guys."

"Oh, well we wanted to come, we couldn't let Jaune come alone." Pyrrha said.

Violet nodded absentmindedly as she began to remember what happened to her, the plant, the firefight, the spider hybrid... and that man. "Okay, so I remember what happened, but after I was knocked out it's pretty unclear. Mind filling that end for me?"

"Well, from what we've been told you were found outside of the planet out cold and injured, but no sign of anyone else except for some footsteps from inside. At least that's what was on the report." her father said.

"You had bad wounds in your gut and shoulder, you were in surgery for hours to seal 'em back up and get yourself patched up." Indigo added.

"And that was about three hours ago, you've been sleeping ever since." Olivia finished.

"Oum, no wonder I feel like crap." she said dryly before taking another sip from the bottle. "How long was I out? Did they catch anyone? Did anyone else make it out of there?"

"Slow down! You were out for about eighteen hours, one other cop made it out, I forget his name." Andre said, "And I'm sorry, but they didn't catch any suspects."

"Yeah, apparently they used those old sewer tunnels as a getaway once backup showed up." Indigo stated.

Violet grimaced as she sat up and said "Well, they're gonna question me tomorrow and see if I can I.D. somebody, and I can but by then some of them will be long gone and the few I know from here will probably have alibis. Jaune, we gotta talk."

"Uh, sure Vi, what is it?" he asked as he stepped forward.

Violet took a breath and asked "There are no other cops out there, right?"

"No, but security is pretty tight downstairs and as of a few hours ago they're guarding the elevators for this floor." Indigo informed her.

"Good, now listen close Jaune, you too Pyrrha." she said firmly. "I know what I was attacked by; it was another Grimm hybrid."

"What?!" cried Jaune and Pyrrha, before being hushed by a nurse who happened to be passing by.

"Are you sure? The doctors said it looked like a Tarantula Widow stab." Azure pointed out.

"That's because he's kinda like that winged girl, he had Tarantula Widow legs coming out of his back." Violet said.

Jaune looked to Pyrrha and asked "Anyone you know?"

Pyrrha shook her head and said "No, I only knew the other three."

"Then that means there could be more of them, and who knows how many." Ren voiced grimly.

"Well this one was a nasty creep, called himself Anansi, and that's not all; I saw the guy who stopped him from killing me, I recognized him, I knew his voice... it was Trooper." Violet revealed.

"Oh crud." Nora said.

"And if he's here, then you know who else is." Ren stated.

"I'm sorry, but who is Trooper?" asked Olivia.

"He's a mercenary, works for Damien Ante, a crime lord who works for Salem. He told us how Ashe won and he was one of the two thugs who didn't partake in my little torture sessions, maybe that's why he saved you." Jaune said.

"You think he wanted to do something good?" Hera asked.

"Or maybe he wanted to lay a trap; before he knocked me out he told me to tell you 'we're here'. Now either that could be tipping you off to them or, as I said, a trap." Violet said.

Jaune nodded and said "If they're somewhere in Cadia, that means we have a chance of catching them."

"But just the four of you? Against Ante, his thugs, and a new Grimm Hybrid?" asked Sienna.

"We have Fox and Sage downstairs, and now that we've got Pyrrha at full strength and the now that we're all more experienced we have a chance of taking them down." Jaune said, his voice filled with determination.

"That still won't be enough! You should call for backup, or let the police handle this." Joanne objected.

"No time mom, Trooper told me they're leaving tonight! Add to that the time it would take to get the search warrants the cops would need to search Bressi's nightclub it'll be too late. They need to try now." Violet said.

"Who's Bressi?" asked Nora.

"Local criminal scum, owns a nightclub downtown." Zeus said, remembering what he had read in the papers.

"Why would he be in contact with Ante?" asked Azure.

"Who knows, but knowing Ante it's probably not good. Ren, Nora, go get Fox and Sage, and maybe call up Ross. We're gonna need firepower." Jaune said firmly.

"Aye-aye!" Nora said with a salute before quickly dragging Ren out of the room.

"Whoa, since when did Jaune get like this?" Olivia asked.

"Since Haven." Bianca said, slightly amused.

"Pyrrha, if you don't want to..." Jaune began before she stopped him.

"No, we do this together or we don't do it at all. You need me." she said firmly.

Jaune smiled and said "More than you'll ever know." He looked to his sister and continued; "We'll kick this Anansi guy's butt for you, just do me a favor and get better."

"Can do." Violet said with a smirk.

"Jaune!" his mother said sternly, making him turn to look at her. "I know I can't stop you." She walked closer to him as she continued, "If I could some of us probably wouldn't be here right now. Just promise me you'll stay safe." She finished as she hugged him.

"I promise mom, trust me, I got one heck of a team taking care of me." he assured her as he hugged her back.

"Be careful out there, son." Andre said as he placed a firm hand on Jaune's shoulder and gave him and encouraging look. "Do your best."

"I'll try to." Jaune said.

Pyrrha smiled at the sight as her own mother stepped forward. "Pyrrha, before you go we'd like to give you something." she said.

"Here? Now?" Pyrrha asked.

Zeus smiled as he hoisted up the case and said "We had this made for you, for future missions and dangerous situations. I hope you like it, my little warrior princess."

Pyrrha blushed at the old nickname as he handed it to her.

She placed the large case on the table and opened it to reveal something so wonderful she could not help but grin in appreciation at what she saw: a brand new set of armor.

The armor itself was form fitting and light. Browns and gold dominated the decorative design with red highlights giving it just enough pop to stand out. Under the main plating was a black under shit which protected her torso and gave an extra layer of material between the plating and her skin. Touching the armor with her right hand she sought out the surprise emblem in the center near where her throat would be in the armor. That of a cross shaped scar built into the armor itself. Her grin grew into a smile, that emblem would be taunting her enemies with the mark they had made... seems fitting.

Jaune looked at her with a smile of his own as she headed into the bathroom to change clothes. She pulled the light material over herself gripping her curves nicely. With another motion of her arms the armor slid into place and found its place on the under garments. Doing some light stretching and motions with her torso she nodded in appreciation. The new armor would protect her nicely while not restricting her moments, far more so than her previous corset did in terms of protection anyway. The boots weren't high-heeled, which would make it easier to run and jump in dangerous situations, and there was room on the waist for her red sash.

It was utterly perfect.

She came out of the bathroom, now clad in her new armor, and nearly everyone looked at her with admiration, especially Jaune (who seemed to be awestruck) and her parents who looked on proudly.

"Lookin' good Pyrrha." Indigo complimented.

"Thank you." Pyrrha said before walking over to her parents and hugging them both. "Thank you! Thank you both so much! I love you!" she said as she hugged and kissed them.

"It's our pleasure." Hera said.

"You deserve it, make us proud like you always do." Zeus said with a slight tear in his eye.

Pyrrha forced down her own tears as she squeezed them one last time before letting go.

"So... how are you going to get there? I mean, I don't think you can just fly in." Azure pointed out to her brother.

"Huh... good point..." he said.

"Well, now that Violet is awake, I guess I could drive you guys there." Bianca volunteered.

"Okay, but once we get there you leave, okay? I don't want you around in case something goes wrong." Jaune said to her.

"Wow, since when were you the responsible one?" the eldest Arc child joked.

"Go get 'em, and if you see that spider creep, give him one for me right in the face." Violet said.

"You got it." Jaune agreed with a smirk.

A few minutes later they met up with Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage in the lobby. "Whoa Pyrrha! Where'd you get that from?" Nora asked, very much impressed.

"It's what was in the case my parents had. This is my gift. Suffice to say I think it's going to do wonders for me." the Spartan said.

"You got our weapons Sage?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, so Ren and Nora have told us what's going on and I guess I'm up for it." the dark skinned teen said as he hoisted up the bag.

"Count me in too, better than doing nothing all day." Fox agreed.

"What about Mr. Ross?" Nora asked.

"Don't worry, I've already called Ross and told him what's going on, he'll be in the sky for us and ready to strike at the first sign of a battle or if we call him." Pyrrha told her.

"Okay guys, it will be dangerous." Jaune warned, only for everyone to give him looks.

"Jaune, compared to what happened nearly half a year ago, this will be an average day for us." Fox deadpanned.

"Sad thing is he's not entirely wrong." voiced Sage.

"Then if no one objects, we're going to spend the night kicking butts and bringing some bad men to justice." Jaune said, and everyone nodded. He smiled at them, and deep down he knew he could always count on not just his team and his family, but the members of Team Beacon too, no matter what the nightmares said but he would have to earn their trust before he told them certain things. Which reminded him, once this was over he should probably talk to Pyrrha and the others about his nightmares, maybe then they wouldn't bother him as much. "Okay, then let's move out."

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now that Halloween is done we can carry on with Destiny of Remnant. Sorry this one's a bit slow but it sets up the next chapter, which will have some action, and offers up development for Mrs. Nikos and Mrs. Arc, introduces a new Grimm Commander, develops JNPR a bit more, and Pyrrha's armor! Originally the opening bit with Violet and Anansi was going to be the ending of last chapter, but I decided I'd save it for this one so I could end it sooner. Also, the name Anansi is a reference to African folklore. Also, I do believe this is the first time Olivia Arc has made a proper appearance.
> 
> Special thanks to my friend smstanton who helped out with designing Pyrrha's new outfit.
> 
> I want to say thank you to all of those who review, favorite, follow, whatever my story. I've been feeling really... off recently, just suffering from some depression I guess as I sometimes doubt myself and my ability to write as there's this nagging feeling that's telling me I can't write for crap and my story will never be successful and nothing I do matters... and I'm sorry to say that maybe Jaune's dream, a reflection of self-loathing, doubt, and guilt may have been inspired by the depressing things I feel sometimes... but you guys make that feeling go away, you all really make me feel better with your praise and kind words, when someone faves, follows, leaves a kudos, puts up a review or a comment I can't help but smile, you guys make me determined to keep writing and keep this story going, so thank you all so much. I owe it all to you guys.
> 
> Now that Volume 4 has begun I can say I'm not going to take anything from it, this story is obviously going to ignore everything from the show after Volume 3. Besides if I am to be honest... I'm not watching the show any more. Yeah, Pyrrha's death got to me that much and that should say something about how stupid it was as I usually have thicker skin than that but her death was such an offensive and idiotic misstep I've decided not to watch the show unless she is brought back (and not brought back just to kill her off again either, I wouldn't put it past them to do that). In fact what enforces this is the fact that they deleted the posts on their fourms made by my esteemed colleague smstanton, which were not hostile, scathing rants but calm critiques on how he was disappointed with the direction the show is going, so it's proof that they're stuffing their fingers in their ears and ignoring the criticism. I referenced the second chapter, to make it clear that in this universe the events of Volume 4 are nothing but a nightmare Jaune is having.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	39. Nightmares Part II: Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.
> 
> Let's hear it for Relentless Crusader aka Golden Crusader who helped write this chapter.

Kane walked down the gray hallways of the Elite Guard's ship which was currently on the ground outside of the White Fang's headquarters in the mountains of Vacuo. He was exhausted and bored after hearing Razor go over the plan of attack for the next time they were to encounter 'Team Beacon', Kane didn't know how long it would be until their next encounter but Razor had come up with a pretty decent plan; Branwen and the elder Schnee were the biggest threats as they had years worth of experience in battle and their skills were impeccable, as Razor could attest after dueling with Qrow, not to mention Winter's Summons could do some serious damage if given the opportunity. So with that in mind the plan was to take them out of the fight first which could leave the young Hunters-in-training in confusion and uncertainty.

Even thought Razor had ordered his troops to not use lethal force on the young ones he had made it clear they would have to fight them. The Rabbit Faunus, for instance, wouldn't be much of a threat without her odd camera weapon which, as Piper... sort of attested to, could pose a decent threat. They had come up with various strategies for dealing with the various targets including the Schnee girl, who combined with the elder sister they could hold them for ransom and use them as leverage against the Schnee Company, the traitor Belladonna who Adam wanted personally, and the girl that Kane himself had battled; Ruby Rose, was a very high priority for the Fang's mysterious benefactor and her faction. Apparently the young girl was someone Adam's ally wanted deeply, for what purpose Kane didn't really know and didn't want to, the less he dealt with those people the better.

He heard some music coming from the Elite Guard's rec room and a hammering sound so he he walked towards the room to see what was up. He entered the large room only to see Piper sitting on the couch, her scarf still carefully covering her neck as her radio weapon played music while she controlled the melodies with her Semblance via making gestures with her hands. Kane smiled at the rather nice beat of the music and walked closer into the room to see some of the other like Jinty and Babara having a conversation as they played pool with the Giraffe Faunus, whose name was Warwick, and the Hyena Faunus, who was called Morgan.

Misha, the Mandrill Faunus who had fought Weiss, danced with Selena to the music while Thayer, the Rabbit Faunus who served as one of the group's pilots sat next to Piper on the couch fiddling with his scroll. Kane then heard a hammering sound and looked up to see Penn, the Spider Monkey Faunus, doing pull ups on the rafters while behind him on the catwalk was the Polar Bear Faunus, whose name was Russell, was hammering another car's licence plate to the wall.

Kane smirked and shook his head in amusement, despite the fact that Russell was easily one of the more normal people in the White Fang, with no extraordinary taste for violence or any weird Semblance he still had this odd hobby of collecting licence plates from old abandoned cars. Everyone had their quirks, this just happened to be Russell's.

The large Faunus finished adding another place to his collection on the wall, this one brought the number to twenty-seven, and he he climbed down the later and walked over to the couch to sit down next to Thayer and Piper so Kane joined them by taking up a wooden chair next to the couch.

"Where'd you get that one?" he asked.

"Found it on an old scrapped car outside of the base when I went with Razor to talk with Commander Taurus." Russell stated.

"Speaking of which I wonder how long we're gonna stay here." Selena said as she continued dancing.

"For as long as Taurus wants us to stay here I guess, I hope this business with Team Beacon is over soon, I hate being kept on a short leash." Morgan voiced.

"Amen to that." Babara agreed. "I want to be out there proving that the White Fang aren't a bunch of terrorists, Adam's keeping us from doing that."

"Hear, hear." chimed in Penn. "You wanna know what I think?"

"No." everyone said at once, except Piper who merely shook her head 'no'.

"Too bad, I think Adam only cares about getting Belladonna back. He's a little desperate for a certain pussy if you catch my drift." the Spider Monkey Faunus said as he hung by one hand and his tail, while everyone groaned at him bad joke, except Piper who merely shook her head in disappointment at the bad joke.

"Sad thing is he might not be wrong, Commander has some serious issues with that girl." Misha said.

"That's as obvious as saying I have big ears." Thayer said dryly as his long ears twitched. "I'm more curious as to what he'll do with the others." Although deep down he was very much concerned for Velvet's well being.

"He'll probably ransom 'em off. That's what he's planning to do with the Schnee girls, but knowing him he'll probably keep Blake and do something to the Monkey and the Xiao Long girl, 'cause he's kinda obsessive like that. I do know he has to give Rose over to the big bads." Kane stated.

"Yes... something to do with the girl's silver eyes. Which means that the rumors about that girl are probably true." Russell surmised.

"I'm tellin' you guys, I got one bad feeling about working for these people like Cinder Fall. Ever since Adam got involved with them it's been one big conspiracy!" Jinty proclaimed.

"Jinty, you think everything is a conspiracy." Babara told him.

"That's because everything is!" the Weasel Faunus cried, which got a laugh out of everyone.

Outside of the room stood Razor who listened in to the conversations between his soldiers. He smiled as they laughed together, even Piper who made some kind of musical noise that resembled a laugh. He walked down the hallway with his room as a destination, but deep down he began to think deeply. Was Jinty right? Was there some kind of conspiracy going on with Adam? He had heard what Babara had said and he agreed with her; he would very much prefer to be out there doing good and helping Faunus in need but Adam's orders prevented them from leaving until Blake and her group was captured. And even though he knew the reason for Thayer's concern he deep down had his own curiosity for what would become of some of the young Hunters... and he didn't like the idea of handing someone as young as Ruby Rose over to the forces Adam had allied them with.

As Razor approached his room he remembered Qrow Branwen's claims that Adam was willing to kill a Faunus child, and while none of those present could back him up Razor still wondered if Qrow had been telling the truth. He remembered how Adam had been so furious after the retreat that he suggested bombing the entire town, which had a great many Faunus in it, as well as young human children.

Razor grunted as he opened his door and knew that if he ever saw or heard anything that would prove Branwen's claims true... if there was some sort of conspiracy to keep him in the dark over Adam's actions then he would have a very serious talk with Adam...

* * *

**_Blake looked over to see a very young version of herself, four years old at the most, on what looked like a playground as she ran to her mother. Esther Belladonna saw her daughter weeping and ran over to her child, she looked almost exactly like an older version of her daughter, except for the ears as her Faunus trait was a long black cat's tail. It was so surreal to see her mother like this, exactly how she remembered her._ **

**_Ester captured little Blake and held her up, hugging her to her chest. "Blake, calm down my sweet. What happened? What's wrong?"_ **

**_"I was playing with a little boy, his mommy came and yelled at us then took him away!" little Blake explained through sobs._ **

**_"Was... was he a human?" Esther asked quietly._ **

**_Blake nodded, still crying before she asked "Mommy, what's an... ab-om-in-ation?"_ **

**_Esther held her daughter closer, her eyes wide with shock and wet with tears. "Wha... sweetie, where did you hear that word?!"_ **

**_"The mean lady said that's what I was." the child Faunus answered._ **

**_Esther held her daughter closer as they faded away._ **

**_Blake remembered that day, it was probably the first time she saw the dark, ugly side of humanity._ **

**_The scene changed to show her mother and father, a reasonably attractive Cat Faunus whose ears she had inherited, as the former was speaking to someone on the phone in the kitchen of their small apartment._ **

**_Blake looked over to see her younger-self in the living area, playing with her meager few toys, cheerfully unaware of the harsh reality around her. How she wished it could have stayed that way for a while longer. Blake turned away from her younger-self to see her mother getting furious with whomever she was talking to on the phone. Blake was confused, as she didn't remember this... or did she?_ **

**_"Dad, for Oum's sake! That bitch called your granddaughter an abomination! Aren't you the least bit mad? ...One person?! I saw other parents giving me looks! It was a children's playground, a place where kids can have fun with each other! If that isn't proof that your cause is doomed to fail I don't know what is! As long as you think humans like that aren't so bad I don't want you to see Blake! In fact I don't think I'll even recognize you as my father until you wake up and smell how hopeless the chances of equality are!"_ **

**_Blake thought about her grandfather, whom she did not remember meeting as she was too young. Her mother turned off the phone and collapsed into her chair, crying. Kurt Belladonna hugged his wife and said "I'm so sorry, Esther. He's nothing but a blind, idealistic old man who has fooled himself into thinking the White Fang have a chance. I promise you we will make the world a good place for Faunus-kind, our baby will be safe."_ **

**_Blake watched as the vision of her parents faded away and was replaced by a much bigger, more familiar sight that happened two years after that day, this was something worse; this was the day she lost them._ **

**_"No... not this..." she said to herself as she heard a man scream._ **

**_"They killed him! Those filthy Faunus killed Wang!" cried a human guard. Blake could see a tanned human guard dead with a dagger in his eye, his body still twitching. Her mother had her younger-self in her arms and held her against her shoulder so she wouldn't see the grisly sight. Up ahead her father stuttered in horror at what had transpired._ **

**_"Oh gods above! We didn't mean it! We didn't want to hurt anyone! Lano, what that hell...?!" cried Kurt Belladonna before the crazed Possum Faunus cut him off._ **

**_"I did mean it! I'm glade another filthy human is dead! You all deserve to die! Kill all humans! Kill all AH!" the Possum Faunus screamed as his body was riddled with bullets so fast he was dead before his aura even began to shine._ **

**_Screams erupted from the crowd as Esther began to move away from the crowd, fearing for the safety of her child. The commanding guard yelled "Hold fire! Hold your fire damn... GAH!" he was cut off by a Faunus who leapt up and began to stab him wildly in the chest, neck, and face with a dagger._ **

**_The details of it, however, were odd and faded, but Blake surmised this was because these were her memories of these events and with age they had deteriorated or she had simply forgotten them. She knew what happened next, she didn't want to see it but knew she had no choice in the matter._ **

**_Things spiraled out of control; human guards panicked and opened fire on the crowd while a couple dozen Faunus protesters surged forward and attacked with blades, blunt instruments, claws, and anything they could use. The battle, however, began to fade away as Blake's attention was drawn to her parents._ **

**_"Esther! Get Blake out of here now!" Kurt yelled._ **

**_"Where?! Where am I going to go?! They'll kill me and take her..."_ **

**_"Go to Claudandus! He'll help you!" her father said._ **

**_"But after everything I've said he won't help us!" Esther protested._ **

**_"Yes he will! This... tell him I was wrong, we were both wrong! He was right! He won't turn you away, it's not in him, now go!" He looked to Blake and kissed her forehead. "Blake, my baby girl I love you so much, never forget that, okay?"_ **

**_"O-okay daddy. I love you." she muttered._ **

**_"And I love you." he said before he kissed Esther passionately, "And I love you too. Get away nowAH!"_ **

**_Her father fell as a Dust bullet slammed into his shoulder._ **

**_"Kurt!"_ **

**_"GO!" he screamed._ **

**_Esther, with tears in her eyes, ran off as fast as she could, away from the crowd and the chaos, but she didn't get far. A heavy bullet slammed into her back, causing her to fall to the ground but she quickly rolled around, allowing her now wounded back to take more damage so Blake wouldn't be harmed. Young Blake looked at the ground, listening the sounds of guns, screams, and death as a man's shadow came over them._ **

**_"Using your brat as a shield? Low, even for a Faunus like you. I'll be doing you a favor by killing you, bitch!" ranted the man as he slammed the butt of his rifle into Esther's face. He raised up his gun and aimed it at her head but before he could get his finger on the trigger Kurt Belladonna slammed into him knocking him down._ **

**_"Go my love! GO!" he screamed._ **

**_Esther forced herself to get up and run off. Little Blake felt something on her mother's back and saw a small glow coming from behind her as well. She then lifted hp her hand and cried out "Mommy! You're bleeding!"_ **

**_"I know baby, be quiet for now, okay?"_ **

**_"Mommy, what's going to happen to daddy?"_ **

**_"... Just be quiet for now, okay?"_ **

**_The scene faded away again and Blake, with tears staining her face, knew what happened next._ **

**_Suddenly a beam of light in the shape of a door opened up to reveal the familiar, albeit slightly younger, form Claudandus as the figure of her injured mother let the little Blake down before collapsing._ **

**_"Esther!" Claudandus cried as he caught her. "I saw the news, thanks goodness you are alright... oh gods no..."_ **

**_"It hurts... it hurts so bad! T-take care o-of Blake..." Esther managed to say as Blake began shaking her._ **

**_"Mommy! Please stay awake! Mommy!"_ **

**_Blake fell to her knees, covering her ears with her hands as she heard her younger self cry out while the scene faded away._ **

**_Just then she felt two hands being placed on her shoulders. She looked up to see Yang and Sun looking down on her._ **

**_"You did nothing wrong." the both said in monotone voices before fading away, those four words echoing in the void._ **

**_Blake sat, alone and in total silence._ **

**_Just then a fiery light appeared in front of her and before it was a dark, but familiar figure._ **

**_"Adam." she said nervously._ **

**_Adam stood up, only to reveal he was holding something, the dead body of a little girl._ **

**_"Look what they did to her Blake. They took her from me, they murdered my entire family. They killed your family. And here you are, fighting for them."_ **

**_He rose up and the small body faded away as Adam turned to face Blake._ **

**_"I will take everything from you, my love."_ **

Blake jolted awake in the bed she shared with Yang in a Preshia hotel.

"You okay Blake? Judging by the look on your face and how you were moving I'd say you were having one bad nightmare." Yang stated.

Blake's ears twitched nervously as she made sure she was awake, and sure enough she was.

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare." she said with a nod as she sat up.

She looked over the room to the bed that Ruby and Weiss shared, the former of whom was taking a nap after an intense training session in the hotel's gym. They were currently waiting in this hotel for Neo to show up, as they couldn't infiltrate the prison without her Semblance disguising them, and they knew without a doubt that every White Fang base and outpost would be keeping an eye out for them.

"Did I miss anything while I was asleep? Has Neo gotten here yet?" the Cat Faunus asked as she stretched her arms out, allowing Yang to get a good look at her upper body, the sweat her body had created during the nightmare was making her shirt cling to her chest and Yang liked what she saw.

"Oh yeah... I mean, not yet. I don't think she'll be here for a few more hours." Yang said, looking away and blushing a bit.

"Smooth." Weiss deadpanned, amused by the sight of her two blushing teammates, which earned her a glare from the blonde brawler. "We did, however, get a call from Jaune, apparently Violet was attacked the other night by something they think was a new Grimm Commander."

Blake's eyes widened before she asked "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's in the hospital but she'll recover. Right now he and the others are going to investigate the nightclub in Cadia to see if Ante and his thugs are there. Apparently Violet saw the guy who called us to tell us about Ashe." Yang elaborated.

"This isn't good, I don't like the idea of our friends taking on those criminals without backup." Blake voiced.

"Relax, after what happened in Haven I think it's safe to say that Jaune and Pyrrha can take care of themselves alone and they got Ren, Nora, Fox, Sage, Ross, and Bianca with them. I think they'll be fine." Yang assured her partner.

"Let us hope so, but it looks like you're not the only one having a dream, Blake." Weiss said as she gestured to her partner, who was moving around in her sleep mumbling out loud.

"Oh yeah Weiss... keep it coming..." Ruby said drowsily. Yang's head snapped up and she glared furiously at Weiss who was now blushing madly. "More cookies Weiss, this Ruby commands... nom..." the youngest girl whispered as she began to chew on nothing.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head." Weiss said out-loud.

**_IN RUBY'S DREAM_ **

**_Ruby sat at the chess table atop the twenty-five foot and three quarters tower across from the giant white kitten, which moewed at her._ **

**_"You fiend! I will beat you at laser-chess!" Ruby cried as the kitten licked itself._ **

**_Ruby looked down to see all of her friends under the kitten's evil spell which made them fight each other, expect for Ren and Nora who were singing show tunes for some reason and Penny who was making a giant pizza._ **

**_"You got this Ruby." Weiss said as she gave Ruby another cookie. Ruby admired her partner, who was for some reason dressed only in a tight one-piece swim suit._ **

**_Ruby ate the cookie and then gave the giant kitten a determined look. "Okay, let's go!"_ **

"I wonder what she's dreaming about." Blake said.

"I will be the laser-chess champion, not a big kitty... nya..." Ruby said as she gripped the bed tightly.

The three girls all looked at each other before Yang said "Some things are better left unknown."

"Agreed." Blake said with a nod.

"With the things we deal with that goes without saying." Weiss voiced. "So Blake, what was your nightmare about?"

"Yeah, I mean if you want to talk about it we're here for you." Yang said gently.

Blake sighed and said "It was about my parents, how they died, how my mother had been shot and beaten but she didn't quit moving until I was safe. It's... it's a very painful topic, alright? I don't think now is the best time, can we talk about it later with Ruby and Sun? Is that okay?"

Weiss was about to give Blake another lecture about trust but Yang said "Sure thing, but you do know you can always trust us, right?"

Blake smiled and said "Of course I do, I just need time to think about it."

Yang nodded and said "No prob Blake."

* * *

Bianca parked her car on the large lot in front of the seven story nightclub the lit up the landscape of Cadia. In the front seats was Bianca driving and Nora, who had called shotgun, with Jaune and Nora in the middle seats and Ren, Sage, and Fox in the rear.

"Note to self, civilian cars are not a good place to wear the blades." Fox said dryly as Jaune pulled the side door open and hopped out

"Everyone out, thanks Bianca." Jaune said as Pyrrha followed him out, with Ren, Fox, and Sage coming after her in that order.

"No problem, I shuttle around my sisters because most of them don't own a car, why shouldn't I do it for something big every now and then?" she said as the Hunters-in-training got their weapons ready.

Jaune smiled and said to her "Thank you, now get out of here sis, if we have to fight I don't want you getting hurt."

"Hey, I was at Haven, remember? If I can handle something as insane at that I can handle a few local punks. I'll be out here if you need me." she said sternly.

Jaune sighed, he knew there was no arguing with his oldest sister so he said "Point taken, just don't do anything dangerous, okay?"

Bianca gave him the thumbs up and he smirked but returned the gesture, and with that he led the present members of Team Beacon to the entrance of the club. He looked up to see Ross' ship flying around in case they needed backup, so far so good.

He took out his scroll and called the pilot. "Ross, we're about to go in, any sign of hostiles?"

"Negative kid, there's a nice looking ship up here for getaways, though. I'll keep standing by, good luck in there. Over."

Jaune turned off his scroll as they approached the door. The door man, a tall man with dark skin and sunglasses, looked at them and said with a deep voice "Identification please."

Nora tilted her head and asked "Why are you wearing sunglasses? It just got dark?"

"It's... the dress code around here for us guards. Now identification please." he repeated.

"I believe this will suffice." Pyrrha said as she showed him her I.D. card.

"Pyrrha Nikos, I thought I recognized you. I heard you moved in to this city, but I've never seen you. Now the rest of you." he ordered.

Everyone showed him their own I.D. cards be it a physical copy or on their scrolls.

"Alright, go on in. What is your business here, by the way?" the door man asked.

"Let's just say that's need to know, and you and your employer do not need to know." Pyrrha said as she took out a small wad of lien bills and handed it to the man.

The man counted the money and nodded as they went inside.

The main floor of the club was large and noisy, loud music playing as people danced to it on the main floor, lights of many colors flashed on and off from the ceiling.

"Huh, wouldn't expect a place like Cadia to have a place like this." said Sage.

"Every town does, from seedy taverns to big nightclubs." Fox told him as a large black-haired bearded man dressed in a while shirt and a black vest, gloves, pants, and shoes with a red tie approached them.

"Hello, I'm Junior, how can I help you?" he asked.

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other and the later nodded at her boyfriend to take this one. "Well we just wanted to ask some questions..."

"Wait a minute... I think I recognize you... from the news..." Junior said suspiciously.

"Well we have been on TV a few times, but she's been on it a bunch." Nora said, gesturing to Pyrrha.

"No, I know now! You're friends with Team RWBY!" Junior said angrily.

"Is that a problem?" Ren inquired, tightening his grip on his weapons hidden in his sleeves.

"It is, especially concerning a particular big boobed blonde who I want nothing to do with! Get lost!" he barked.

"Wow, lousy service here." Nora joked before saying "Hey, I remember now, Yang told me about you!"

"Yeah, Neptune told me too, how you guys helped out Torchwick back in Vale." Sage added.

Junior growled and said "I only lent my men to Torchwick once, I didn't have any other dealings with him or whoever he was working for."

"Torchwick worked for Cinder Fall." Jaune revealed, making Junior gasp. "So, technically, you aided one of the most dangerous terrorists Remnant has ever seen."

Junior growled and whispered "Okay, what do you want?"

"We know Boss Bressi owns this place and we know he's been in contact with Damien Ante, take us to a room where we can talk." Jaune said.

"Or what?" Junior asked.

"Or we'll call Yang, it seems you don't have a good history with her and she's in town. She's just a call away. Should I get her involved?" Jaune inquired as he took out his scroll.

"No, no, no! Follow me, I'll hear you out." Junior said.

As they followed him deeper into the club Nora whispered to Jaune "Nice bluff."

"Thanks." he whispered back with a smile.

Junior led them to a back lounge that was nearly empty, save for two raven haired girls with lime green eyes who would look identical if it weren't for their clothes; one was wearing a white strapless dress while the other wore a dark red strapless shirt.

"Junior, who are they?" asked the girl in white.

"Some Hunters looking for info. These two are Melanie" Junior said pointing to the girl in white, "and Militia." he finished, pointing to the one in red, as he locked the door.

"Hunters, huh? Last two times that happened it was that blonde girl." Melanie said while Militia nodded.

"Yeah, well these kids work with her and apparently she's just a call away, so if we want to avoid trouble we're gonna have to answer their questions." Junior explained to them.

The twins looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright, so what makes you think Bressi is working for Ante?" Junior asked.

"My sister saw them together last night at the old Water Treatment Plant. Some police officers lost their lives in the gun fight and my sister is currently in the hospital. What do you know about it?" Jaune asked as the twins began to circle him, liking what they saw.

"Oh, straight to the point." Militia said.

"And he wants to help out his sister, isn't that sweet?" Melanie asked as she pressed herself against Jaune, giving him a generous view of her cleavage.

"It is indeed, sis." Militia agreed as she began to feel Jaune's abs.

"Uh..." Jaune said as he looked to Pyrrha, his eyes asking for help.

"Uh-oh." Nora said as Pyrrha walked forwards, grabbed both of the petite girls and lifted them up.

"He is off limits." she said darkly with an intense look in her eyes before adding "Got it?!"

The twins glanced at each other and they said in unison "Sure thing."

Pyrrha's glare softened a bit as she let them down.

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks Pyrrha. No offense girls, but I'm spoken for. Permanently."

"Well someone is clingy." joked Militia.

"And someone else is as loyal as a pet." stated Melanie as they cast a glance at Ren, only to be scared off by the sight of Nora gesturing to them with Magnihild.

"Sorry about them, the girls like to flirt with most guys, and even some girls." Junior explained as he took a seat in a chair. "Now what exactly do you want?"

"We want to know if Ante and his Enforcers are here." Pyrrha stated.

"Heh, they're here all right, arrived twenty minutes ago for a meeting with Bressi up stairs. What do you know about Ante?" Junior inquired.

"More than we'd like to, but I can tell you that he works for Cinder too." Jaune said bluntly.

"What?!" Junior cried.

"Yeah, we fought him in Haven, some of us more than once. We know about him and his enforcers, Trooper, Little Steve, Lao, Tom-Tom, Fireball, and Merrick. There were two others but they were killed." Jaune elaborated.

"What about the freaky one?" asked Militia as she and her sister admired Fox's arms

"What freaky one?" Fox asked as he shooed the twins away.

"They have another member, weird creep who has freaking spider legs coming out of his back. Name's Ana-C or something like that." Junior elaborated.

"Anansi." Pyrrha corrected.

Junior nodded, then he sighed and continued with "Look kid, I'm only here because of what happened in Vale nine months back. I know the city has been reopened and we were gonna leave in a few days for the reopening of my club but we needed the work until things settled. Bressi is an old friend and gave me a job, I haven't had anything to do with the... unofficial business except making sure it comes in or overseeing a deal every now and then, and I sure as hell kept away from Ante and his thugs."

"Especially that Tom-Tom punk." chimed in Melanie.

"Yeah, he keeps hitting on us whenever he comes by. I'd rather deal with the spider-thing than him." Militia added.

"How long have they been around?" Pyrrha asked.

"About a couple weeks now." Junior answered, "At first they were trading Dust for goods but recently they've been getting a little more personal. I don't know where they stay but every night they come around to meet with Bressi, except yesterday when they wanted to meet somewhere private. I wasn't there so I don't know what for, but Bressi's been acting nervous ever since he got back."

"The fact the cops saw him probably has something to do with it, even if most of them were killed." said Sage, who was enjoying the attention he was receiving from the twins.

"My sister made it, and though it might take a while Bressi will be in trouble and be involved in the deaths of several police officers, I don't think you want to be involved in that." Jaune said.

"You got that right, but if Bressi finds out he could do something to keep your sister quiet..." Junior was interrupted by Jaune grabbing him violently and slamming him against the wall.

"Are you threatening my family?!" Jaune roared as he eyes began to turn red, scaring the hell out of Junior.

"What the hell?!" Junior cried as Pyrrha, Ren, and Fox all grabbed Jaune.

"Jaune calm down!" Pyrrha said firmly.

"Don't hurt him, he didn't mean anything by it." Ren told him.

"Don't let your dark side control you man." Fox added as the twins got ready for a fight, only to be blocked by Nora and Sage.

Jaune growled at Junior but he felt Pyrrha's gloved hand touch his cheek and she brought his head over to look her in the eyes. She placed her head against his and said "Jaune, let him go. Nothing will happen to our families. They will be safe, don't let the Grimm control you. Remember who you are."

Jaune's eyes snapped back to blue as he dropped Junior and staggered backwards. Pyrrha held him to the couch and embraced him. "You're okay Jaune, you beat it."

"What just happened?!" demanded Melanie.

"Yeah, what did she mean Grimm within him?" Militia added.

"None of your business." Nora said, "And if you tell anyone... well I'll leave that up to you."

The twins looked at each other again and decided it was best to remain silent.

"I am sorry about that, Cinder did something to him months ago, this must be a side effect of it. I've been told about it but I've never seen him do that in person." Ren said to Junior who was getting back up.

Pyrrha knew this was serious, the sudden burst of anger and fear must have triggered some of the Grimm within Jaune, over the months of training they had discovered that whenever they got angry or let any negative emotions get the better of them their Grimm side would begin to show, mostly just the eyes. The fact that she had managed to prevent most of the Grimm essence from taking him over didn't mean that the root of it couldn't spread, even with the Aura Crystal keeping his physical appearance normal it wouldn't prevent their Grimm sides from rearing their ugly heads if negative emotions took over.

Once Jaune calmed down he said "S-sorry about that... I just lost it for a minute. Look, we need to find Ante and catch him, maybe he can lead us to where Cinder and the rest of her little gang are and we can put an end to their threat for good."

Junior nodded, but was still weary for the blonde after what had happened. Now that he thought about it he seemed to have bad luck with any blonde from these Hunter teams.

"Look, let's make a deal; you let us go up there and catch 'em, and when you go back to Vale Professor Ozpin will reward you for helping us out. Maybe even get your club built a little faster." Fox offered.

Junior thought about it and sighed, while there was a part of him that knew this was a bad idea another part of him wanted to make Cinder Fall pay for what she did to Vale, this was his best chance at that.

"Okay, I'll get you upstairs and past the guards but nothing more." he said.

"That's good enough for us." Jaune said as he finished recovering from the little Grimm incident. "Sorry about that."

"I have been through worse, believe me." Junior said.

"And from another blonde too." Militia stated dryly.

* * *

Outside in the parking lot Bianca sat in her car. So far everything was quiet, except from the noisy music coming from inside of the club, heck there hadn't even been some drunk loser coming up to the car to hit on her. She looked at her scroll's clock and saw that it had been nearly ten minutes since they entered the club and she didn't get any word from them, so naturally she was a little worried.

"Jaune... come on, call me." she said.

As if on cue her scroll began to vibrate and she answered it as quickly as she could.

"Bianca, everything's good so far but Ante is here." Jaune told her.

"I wouldn't call that good." she voiced.

"Neither would I but if we can catch him we could figure out what he's up to and where Cinder and the others are. Ross is still overhead so if things get bad he'll be our backup. Call you once this is over, be safe, love you sis." he said.

"Okay one; Be safe yourself! Two; I love you too." she stated, and after that she ended the call. She sighed and looked around the parking lot, mentally assuring herself that they could pull this off together. As she fiddled around on her scroll to pass the time there was a sudden knock on her window making her jolt up in surprise.

But she soon saw who it was, someone she knew. She rolled down her window and asked "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Junior pushed open the metal door and said "Down this hall, to the left and down the main hall, take a right at the end of it and you'll find Bressi's business room, that's where they'll be."

Jaune led the others out of the stairwell as Fox asked "What about the guards?"

"When Ante's here Bressi keeps 'em close, they'll be at the doors to the room, just be quiet until you get there and you won't attract the attention of the other guards, good luck." he said.

"Your wishing us luck? Why?" Sage inquired.

"Because if you screw up Bressi will have me capped. See ya later." Junior said as he shut the door.

Jaune looked to his team and those who were now officially teammates and said "Okay, no backing down now. We check how many we're dealing with and then we strike, take out as many as we can and we help each other out whenever we can, got it?"

"Got it." they all said.

"Good, now let's move." Jaune said.

As they moved down the hallway they heard the music from down stairs become louder, loud enough to make it nearly impossible for anyone downstairs to hear a fight.

Just then from up ahead they heard the sounds of a door opening. "Take cover." Jaune whispered, and everyone quickly pressed themselves up against a door or went inside of a room. Jaune peered around the doorway and saw half a dozen guards with their arms behind their heads and a familiar figure forcing them on; Trooper. The former solider was pointing a gun at them and making them march into a room across from the business room at the end of the hall.

Once the coast was clear the young Hunters quietly moved down the hallway only to hear the sounds of an argument.

"You'll never get away with this Ante!"

"Won't I? Well let's see now; some of your guards have turned on you, we've already killed four of your loyal guards and six more are about to be executed, Tom-Tom just had the DJ turn up the music so no one will hear us, and we got you outnumbered. I'd say we're getting away with it." said the cocky voice of Damien Ante.

"Looks like we got here just in time." Ren observed.

"And with two of the enforcers gone for now we'll have a way better chance at winning this." Sage added.

"Right, let's..." Jaune was cut off by a new voice speaking up.

"Ante, quit wasting time and kill him." spat the voice.

"Okay, okay. I swear it was better when I had to deal with Cinder, at least she was hot... in more ways than one! HAhahaha!" Ante laughed, but his joke only earned groans from the others.

Fox silently peaked over the hallway to see into the room and he could see that Ante, Fireball, Lao, and Little Steve were there, along with five of Bressi's guards who had turned on him, lest they get slaughtered by Antes's men and there was Bressi himself, a man in his early sixties tied up in a chair. Fox quickly drew his head back before he could be spotted while the sounds of gunshots could be heard from other room, meaning Trooper had executed the remaining loyal guards.

"Go ahead and kill me Ante! Get your hands dirty!" Bressi shouted.

"Oh I would... but I promised Merrick the chance to use his new silent gun." Ante said.

"What your sniper isn't... oh n..." Bressi was cut off by the sound of breaking glass and a small thump sound, followed by a louder thump.

"Well, another one bites the dust." Ante said.

"They killed him." Nora muttered angrily.

"Okay, make that three enforcers out of the picture. We couldn't save Bressi but we can still stop Ante! How many are we dealing with Fox?" Jaune asked quietly.

"Five guards, Ante, three enforcers, and possibly one or two more, plus the sniper that killed Bressi." Fox reported with a whisper.

"That voice talking to Ante was unfamiliar so it is a safe bet someone else is in there, probably Anansi. Okay; Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, you guys use your ranged weapons to take out the guards, after that Pyrrha and I will take on Anansi and Ante, the rest of you will work together to take down the enforcers and find a way to keep that sniper off of us. Everyone ready?" he asked. They all nodded as they gripped their weapons. "Let's go!" Jaune yelled and with that he led his team into battle.

"What the...?!" a guard cried before Pyrrha blasted him in the chest with a round from Milo's gun mode, hitting him so hard he was sent down on his back and knocked unconscious by Nora jumping on his head.

Nora leapt into the air and shot off a few grenades, sending guards flying into the air where Pyrrha and Ren quickly took them out of the fight with their guns while Nora saw a switch that had a little label above that read 'Window Shields Activation'. The redhead grinned and flipped the switch, bringing large black shields down, blocking Merrick's gunfire.

"Good job Nora!" Jaune said as he ducked a blast of Fireball's flamethrower.

Ante and his men got into battle poses, with Little Steve hoisting up his massive minigun, Lao drawing his blade, Fireball aiming his flamethrower, and Ante whipping out a gun. "Well look who it is! If it isn't Arc, Nikos, and some of their little friends! Long time no see, kids!" Ante laughed as he opened fire on them, only for Sage to block the shots with his sword.

"Get in there Jaune!" Sage cried, and the blonde did just that, he rushed forward, screaming in fury as he parried a strike from Lao's katana which was pushed away by Fox's arm blades.

"Take him!" the white-eyed teen said as he began to exchange blows with the swordsman, the blades moving fluidly as they slashed against each other.

Jaune swung his sword out and managed to cut the gun apart, he then slammed Crocea Mors down at Ante, but the crime lord jumped out of the way, before there was a loud crash behind them. Everyone turned to see a man of average height that most definitely a Grimm Commander, if his odd skin coloration and eyes were anything to go by, but what drew everyone's attention were the four, massive spider legs coming out of his back not to mention the gray jacket he wore that seemed to having something moving underneath it.

The legs lifted the man up and he said "Well, looks like the plan worked after all. They played right into our trap."

"Holy crap." Nora said in creeped-out awe at the sight, after she blocked an attack from Little Steve.

"Anansi, I presume." Pyrrha snarled as she got Milo and Akouo ready.

"You are correct, little sister." the man said as reared up and slammed his front spider-legs down on her, which she quickly dodged and took a stab at him with Milo in xiphos form but he sidestepped it. "We didn't meet each other before, I was still an option, but once you betrayed us I got these things, not to mention these!" he snarled as he launched gobs of web at her, throwing her to the wall and sticking her there.

"Pyrrha!" cried Jaune, he moved to help her but Ante slashed him across the upper back with his daggers, forcing Jaune to cry out in pain.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried as Anansi moved towards her. She looked around the room to see Nora fighting Little Steve, Ren dodging Fireball's blasts, Fox and Sage both dueling with Lao, and Jaune was busy with Ante.

No problem, she could take Salem's new minion on even with her arms stuck. As Anansi approached her she used her Semblance to lift up some chairs in the room and throw them at him.

"Ah! What is...?!" he cried out before Pyrrha launched a table at him from the side, nearly knocking him over. She quickly used her Semblance to lift up Milo and used it to cut herself free of the web, and once she was she glared at Anansi as he recovered. "Neat tricks, girl, they weren't kidding about you being tough."

"You don't know the half of it." Pyrrha said as Milo transformed into its spear form and she used threw it right at his face, but he quickly caught it. She allowed herself a small smirk as she rushed forward, sneaked under his arms and slammed Akouo right into his face as she grabbed Milo. Then she jumped up and landed two successful kicks into his chest, knocking him on his back.

Pyrrha launched herself into the air and aimed to come down on his chest but his spider legs came up and protected him, knocking he away into the wall.

"You're not bad." Anansi hissed as his legs began climbing up the wall.

"Salem wanted me for a reason, and she'll never have me again." Pyrrha said darkly as she transformed Milo into gun-mode and opened fire on her arachnid foe.

The battle went on, with Fox and Sage moving and slashing at Lao as he dodged many of their strikes and met others with parries or attacks of his own. The blades moved about wildly in the room while the other fights went on around them. Many blade users will tell you that a fight like this, up close and personal, with nothing but the warriors and their blades clashing against one another, was the best kind of battle. Fox and Sage moved carefully as the latter just narrowly avoided getting a sword ran through his arm.

"You kids are better than the last one of you I fought, how is he doing by the way? The boy with the pink hair? Can't be easy being a sword user with one hand!" Lao mocked. Neither of the teens said anything, Fox just allowed himself a growl of fury as he jumped up and overhead, allowing Sage to slam his big sword at Lao who quickly blocked it only to have Fox come down and attack from the rear, forcing Lao to kick Sage in the gut so he could bring his sword over to parry Fox's blades.

"I don't know, but I think you'll find out what it's like to be a swordsman with no arms!" snarled Fox as he pressed forward, only for Lao to use his free hand to punch the dark skinned teen in the face and kick him down to bring his sword around and parry Sage's next strike.

Ren, on the other hand, was still dealing with Fireball who had put away his flamethrower in favor of an ax, which allowed for a more physical fight. The man in the body suit that covered his burned body spun the weapon around, blocking the bullets from the StormFlowers and occasionally trying to strike forward, but Ren dodged the attacks with relative ease, since Fireballs outfit and wounds prohibited his body from moving too fast.

Fireball slammed the ax at Ren but he parried the attack with the blades of his guns but then Fireball slammed his head forward, catching Ren off guard and dealing him quite a blow, knocking the black and magenta haired teen on his back. Fireball brought up his ax, aiming to slam it into Ren, but the teen rolled out of the way right as the ax came down. Ren moved quickly and used his hands to lift himself up and he kicked Fireball right in the face.

"You go Renny!" Nora cheered as she ducked a blast of Little Steve's minigun.

"You are still very strong, girl. How have you been?" Little Steve inquired as he slammed his minigun at Nora, but she ducked and it slammed into the wall instead.

"Um... Pretty good, me and Ren are together now." she told him as she tried to slam Magnhild into his legs but he jumped out of the way.

"Really? You two are cute together." the thug admitted as he tried to blast her, but she took cover using the table Pyrrha had thrown at Anansi.

"Aw thanks!" Nora said cheerfully before she jumped up and fired a grenade at him. "Why do you care?"

"I'm not mindless thug people think I am, might want to move, that table can't take much more." he warned before he fired at her. Nora nodded and got out of the way and fired another grenade at the large man.

Jaune and Ante went head to head, sword and shield to daggers. Jaune bashed Ante in the chest with his shield and moved forward to attack again but Ante ducked the slash attack and moved to stab Jaune, who avoided it by mere inches.

"I bet you're surprised it was us, right?" Ante asked as he landed a small cut on Jaune's forearm.

"Not really, what did Anansi mean by plan and trap? What's going on?!" Jaune demanded as he slashed at Ante over and over again, who met Jaune's attacks with parries using his daggers.

"Well it's like this Arc; our boss, you know who, wants to see just how much Grimm you and Nikos have left in you so one of her men concocted this little scheme to draw you out and fight us, but we needed something to get you mad so we leaked out some info about a meeting in a Water Treatment Plant and your sister just happened to find out..." Ante explained mockingly.

Jaune roared in fury as he slammed his shield into Ante's face, knocking him into the wall. Jaune was furious, Ante was the reason Violet was hurt... he'd pay for it.

Jaune's eyes turned red as he plunged his sword forward, aiming to stab Ante in the heart but the crime lord got out of the way, all the while a little voice in his head was telling him Violet's injuries were his own fault but Jaune shut out that voice, for now he just focused on Ante.

"You know Arc, I saw your big police-girl sister, maybe I ought pay her a visit and give her a little something." Ante said suggestively before making suggestive motions with his groin area.

Jaune screamed angrily as he surged forward, swinging his blade wildly, forcing Ante to duck and dodge the barrage of strikes as fast as he could. Jaune managed to land several hits on Ante including a slash on his forearm, a large cut across his chest, a slice on the leg, and amputating a few of Ante's dreadlocks. The entire time that little voice kept telling him 'It's your fault.'

"Oh you little dickhead..." Ante growled as he defended himself from Jaune's next attack.

"Jaune! Don't let him play you! He wants to get you mad!" Pyrrha called as she stabbed Anansi in the legs, making him cry out in pain.

Jaune could hear Pyrrha and he knew she was right so he quickly began to think of the things that helped him calm down; Pyrrha, his entire team, Ruby and the rest of Team Beacon, his family... He did this while defending himself from Ante's strikes, his eyes fading back to blue but as he focused on calming down he allowed Ante to out-pace him and he got a painful slash across the back for his troubles. Jaune spun around and slammed the side of his shield into the side of Ante's head.

Ante fell to the ground and Jaune quickly placed a firm foot atop the crime lord's chest while pointing his sword at his neck. "All right, stop fighting my team now or we see if Ante can regenerate his head!" Jaune shouted.

"You wouldn't dare, boy! You don't have it in you!" Anansi barked as fought with Pyrrha.

"Wanna bet?" Jaune asked, giving Pyrrha a wink.

Pyrrha smiled and asked "Would Salem be happy to know that one of her pawns was killed by him under your watch?"

Anansi growled and said "Stand down for the time being."

Little Steve, Lao, and Fireball all backed away from the Hunters-in-training as Anansi retreated to the back of the room.

Jaune allowed himself a little smile before a gun shot went off and Jaune was knocked off his feet and onto the floor, a blast had hit him dead center in his chest armor.

Everyone's attention go to the doorway where Trooper stood with a grim look on his face.

"What the fuck kept you?!" Ante demanded as he got up.

"Sorry I'm late, a few guards gave me trouble. Mind if we cut this short?" Trooper asked as he aimed his gun at Jaune.

"Nah, let's keep this going!" Jaune snapped as he blocked a shot from Trooper with his shield, jumping up as he did so while the others grouped around him.

Trooper was about to move in and fight when something slammed into him and knocked him down. "Ah... what the hell?" he asked as he saw the out cold and beaten form of Tom-Tom laying on top of him as another figure approached, one very familiar to the Hunters-in-training.

"Mr. Xiao-Long?!" cried Nora as the blonde man looked inside.

"What are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked as she used Akouo to block a web attack from Anansi as he and the other criminals moved around them.

"Ozpin sent me a few hours after you left, just in case there was trouble. He was right, your sister filled me in on what's going on." Taiyang said as he moved to enter the room, only for Trooper to trip him. Taiyang growled as he jumped back up, Trooper doing the same, as the blonde slammed his gauntlet-clad fist at the former soldier but Trooper caught the fist and tossed Taiyang over his shoulder.

"Be careful Mr. Xiao-Long, that man just killed six guards!" Nora warned as Anansi spoke up.

"I think it's time we left, but you can still play with some friends of mine!" he said as most of the teens just now noticing that something was moving under the old gray jacket. He unzipped it to reveal his bare torso, which was covered with baby Tarantula Widows. "Meet my babies, I think they'd like to play with you."

"Oh shit!" cried Sage.

"I think I'm gotta puke..." Nora said in disgust as her body shuddered.

"Well... there's something to welcome to my nightmares." Jaune said quietly.

Anansi smirked and his eyes glowed, "Get them!" he yelled. The young horde of spider Grimm leapt off his body and onto the floor to attack the group.

"Let's move boys!" ordered Ante as he and his enforcers ran out of the room with Anansi who controlled the spiders to make a path for them as the students began fighting off the small Grimm while Trooper and Taiyang fought.

"Go ahead, I'll catch up!" called Trooper as he pushed Taiyang out the door where he had taken the troops to, which led to a staircase entrance with one set of steps going up to the roof while the other went down. The two went down the stairs, Taiyang using his gauntlets to throw fireballs at the enforcers while Trooper used his guns and his fists and feet with furious punches and kicks.

Little Steve picked up Tom-Tom and looked back to Anansi. "Let's go!" he called. Anansi held up one finger, the hybrid looked out to the Tarantula Widows and with their task in mind, and attracted to the teens by their disgust and shock of the sight, Anansi released them from his control. He still had one last thing he needed to see.

As the spiders began attacking in a frenzy, on the floor and walls which made it hard to get them all Pyrrha noticed that Anansi had relinquished his control of them, giving them an opportunity to stop this. She looked to Jaune and said "Jaune! Together!"

"Right!" he agreed. The two reached out with their minds and stopped the swarm of spider Grimm in their tracks, Pyrrha doing many of them but Jaune was able to control a lot of them too thanks to their small size. "Take 'em out! We can't hold this many for long!" the blonde ordered, and with that the others went to work, with Nora enjoying the spider smashing all too much.

While Anansi hated to see the young Grimm be destroyed their sacrificed proved something; despite their seemingly normal appearances Arc and Nikos were still hybrids. They could still control Grimm. This little fact would be one that Mistress Salem would be most intrigued to know.

With that he retreated after the others while Trooper and Taiyang battled at bottom of the stairs; with the blonde member of Team STRQ sending out blasts of fire at the disgraced soldier who fired at the Huntsman with guns. Trooper ran forward, ducked every blast and punch that Taiyang threw at him and skull-bashed the man head on.

Taiyang stumbled back which gave Trooper an open shot, he rushed forward and opened up a barrage of punches and kicks on Taiyang, finishing up with a fist to the face, but Taiyang grabbed the hand before it could draw back and he kicked his leg outward, knocking Trooper down as well. Taiyang's aura helped him recover from his injuries and he leapt up and slammed his clawed gauntlets down on Trooper's back, but the enforcer kicked his opponent off of him. He grabbed his assault rifle from off his back and began beating Taiyang with it like a blunt instrument.

Taiyang cried out in pain as it was slammed into him over and over again before Trooper grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him up, aiming a gun at his face. Taiyang's gauntlets heated up and the Huntsman got ready for an attack, hoping that he would like through this for his daughters when Trooper spoke up.

"I am not on your side." he growled before he dropped the blonde man to the ground. Taiyang looked up, confused as his enemy put away his weapons. "But I'm not on their side either."

"Then... whose side are you on?" Taiyang questioned.

"Mine. I don't want Salem and her psychos to win but if I openly defy them I'm dead. They won't know about this since Ante had me take out the security cameras when we arrived so I'll be okay for now. I'll help when I can." Trooper said.

"Nora said you killed six guards, why not kill me?" Taiyang asked.

"I didn't kill them, they're down that hall, hiding in a room." Trooper answered, pointing to a door that led to a hallway. "I'm leaving now, don't try to stop us, I wouldn't want your daughters to lose their father."

As Trooper began going up the stairs Taiyang asked one last question; "Why didn't you kill me or the guards?"

Trooper paused and answered "At Haven... I saw what Salem does to the people who work for her; Saul Jude was a monster, and my friend died refusing to be like him. It's too late for me to be a hero, but I refuse to be one of her monsters."

They said no more to each other, Trooper went back up while Taiyang let his aura nurse his wounds.

* * *

A short amount of time earlier as the battle began another skirmish happened, across the street in a large finance building Merrick stood in an office and uttered a curse as the shields prevented him from taking shots at the Hunters. "Bloody hell, better get over there and help out." he muttered as he placed the sniper rifle over his shoulder and ran out of the room, right as Ross' ship began to hover around the building, looking to corner the sniper.

He went down in the elevator and came out on the third floor and made his way to the balcony area to grapple his way up to the nightclub's roof only to spot Ross' ship.

"Looks like I got company, better not draw attention to myself." Ross muttered as he took out a grappling hook and fired it just below the nightclub's roof and the hook slammed into the building nice and tight, but the shot drew Ross' attention.

The ship began to descent towards Merrick and he noticed it. "Wanna have a go, fly-boy? Okay by me." he said as he quickly and carefully aimed his rifle at the ship's guns and fired twice, hitting both guns before Ross could open fire on him.

"Crap! He hit 'em dead on." Ross griped as he saw the damage readout on the ship's computer, so if he tried to fire there was a high risk of a weapons backlash that could damage the ship and cause it to crash.

Merrick allowed the grappling hook to pull his body across the street and through the air, but Ross gave chase with the ship. Merrick's feet landed on the side of the nightclub and the grappling hook began to pull him but Ross hadn't given up at all. The ship hovered behind the marksman like a wasp.

"You just don't give up..." Merrick muttered as he attached the grappling hook to his belt and grabbed two guns from his pocket. He leaned back and opened fire on Ross' ship, shooting open the window which allowed him to shoot Ross twice; one bullet merely grazed the pilot's ear but the other one slammed into his shoulder.

"Damn!" Ross cried out as a few more bullets hit the ship's controls. "Crap!" he cried again.

Merrick smirked as he began going up again while the ship began to descent to the ground. Ross forced himself to ignore the pain while his aura began to glow. Despite the damage done to the controls he could still direct the ship away from the parking lot and off to the side where no one would get hurt.

He managed to land the ship with a loud thud in an old lot beside the nightclub, as the engines died down Ross unstrapped himself from his seat and opened the door to see Bianca running over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"A little injured but I'll manage." he answered, "I just hope those kids are okay."

"Trust me, no matter how insane things get they'll find a way to win. Somehow they always do." Bianca said as she began to examine the wound.

* * *

Once all the young Tarantula Widows were destroyed, or nearly all of them anyway, Team JNPR ran up the staircase while Fox and Sage went down to help Taiyang. Pyrrha used her Semblance to fling the door open, just in time to see that the ship had already taken off and left.

"Pyrrha, can you bring them back with your Semblance?" Jaune asked.

"It's worth a try!" Pyrrha said, she reached out to the metal of the ship and grabbed on to it, managing to hold it back, but it didn't last long. Lao opened up the side door and lobbed an explosive at her.

"Pyrrha get down!" cried Jaune frantically as Nora stepped up and used Magnihild like a baseball bat to knock the grenade back into the air where it exploded harmlessly while the enforcer's ship blasted off, too far for Pyrrha to grab them again.

"They're gone." Ren observed.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and said "Nora had the grenade Jaune! I had them! If you hadn't broken my concentration they wouldn't have gotten away!"

Jaune looked a little hurt, but he knew that Pyrrha was absolutely right. He looked down with guilt and said "I... I'm sorry it's just... it's just that I already have one person I love in the hospital, I don't want you to get hurt too."

Pyrrha mentally scolded herself for hurting his feelings but she quickly grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry Jaune, but I promise you I will not get hurt."

They went down the stairs to see Fox and Sage helping an injured Taiyang to the doorway. "Come on down, let's get out of here before more guards show up." Fox said.

Jaune nodded, "Good idea, let's get out of here."

About four or five minutes later the group made it out of the nightclub via a side entrance and sure enough they could see Ross' downed ship with the pilot and Bianca outside of it, but there were surprised to see that they were accompanied by Junior and the twins who had about a dozen or so bags and suitcases with them.

They came over and saw the Junior had brought a first-aid kit for Ross' wounds.

"Taiyang? What are you doing here?" Ross asked as Junior tightened the gauze around his shoulder.

"Ozpin sent me just in case these kids got into trouble, naturally they did. When I came to the hospital Joanne and Hera told me what was going on and that they had the crystal. I came here to help out and sure enough I was needed. You kids are gonna have to help me on this report." Taiyang said to the students.

"We'll do our best." Ren said with a nod.

"It's only fair after what we got you into." Pyrrha agreed.

"So what happened up there, anyway?" asked Junior.

"Turns out this entire thing was a trap for us, Bressi was a pawn and a disposable one at that." Jaune explained.

"So... Mr. Bressi is dead?" Militia asked, her questioned answered with solemn nods from the young Hunters.

"And there probably will be proof so they can't say you did it, that Trooper guy told me they deactivated the security cameras before they came in so it's a safe bet we'll be safe from any murder charges. And the guards who work here can probably attest to Ante being the culprit." Taiyang stated.

"And those guards we knocked out will say he did it too." Nora added.

"Why did Trooper tell you that?" Sage asked.

Taiyang pondered the question and answered "Well... he let me go. I think it's safe to say we can't call him a friend or a foe just yet."

"So what are you doing out here?" Jaune asked Junior as he finished patching up Ross.

"Figured crap was about to hit the fan, might as well leave a little early and leave a thank you note for Bressi, but I guess that ended up being pointless. Saw this ship come down and we decided to check it out." the bearded man answered.

"Well I'm grateful you did." voiced Ross as he placed an arm on his bandaged shoulder.

"We better get somewhere secure and report this to Ozpin." Taiyang stated.

"And get some help, knowing Ante he probably knows where our families are." Jaune said.

"That's right, and I for one would feel safe if there were someone guarding my parents." Pyrrha agreed, wondering just what Ante, and by that extension Salem, had in store for their families.

"I think that can be arranged. Can your car fit all of us?" Taiyang asked Bianca.

"Well... if someone is willing to sit in the trunk or on the floor." she said.

"Something tells me this will not be a comfortable ride back." Fox said dryly.

* * *

Meanwhile at Vacuo, Ruby had woken up from her nap and was feeling hungry, so the girls went down to hotel's dining room to have some dinner, meeting up with the present members of Team CFVY along the way who decided to join them for dinner while Team SSSN simply preferred room service.

As they sat around a large round table eating their evening meals, with Ruby happily munching on a plate of cookies, a hotel worker approached them.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt your dinner to ask you a question?" he asked.

"Go ahead, we can eat and listen." Coco stated as she crunched on a crouton.

"Well, I saw you come down here and a few minutes ago this young woman arrived, asking via text on a scroll, for some odd reason, to see you." the man said.

"A young woman? Let me guess; short, has an umbrella with her, pink and brown hair, eyes, and clothes?" Yang asked.

"Umm, yes. Are you expecting her?"

"We sure are, bring her in." Coco said.

The man bowed respectfully and came back with, sure enough, Neopolitan.

"Neo! You made it!" Ruby said.

The multi-colored girl nodded, giving them a cat-like grin as she took a seat between Yang and Coco.

"How was the trip?" Coco inquired.

Neo held up a flat hand and slanted it back and forth to give off the emotion of 'meh'.

"Well it was awesome of you to come to help us out. How's life been treating you since Haven?" Ruby asked.

Neo gave off another cocky smile and shrugged, being sure to show off the new necklace she had... obtained. They all got the picture, with Weiss, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi giving her disapproving looks but she merely smirked.

"So you're sure your up for this mission, right?" Yang asked.

"It's going to be very dangerous." Blake told her.

Neo smirked once more and texted something on her scroll, then held up to show them what she had typed: 'I'd be disappointed if it wasn't.'

"That's the spirit." Yang said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it's the kind of attitude you need to be in this team. So do you want some food?" Ruby asked. Neo answered with an eager nod.

* * *

It had been quite a day.

After a few hours of talking to the police about what had happened and reporting to Ozpin and Goodwitch, both of whom agreed to get that the Arc and Nikos families needed looking after for time being should Salem and her ilk try anything and would get Ironwood to provide some tomorrow. After a long day had left the teens feeling exhausted, some both physically and emotionally, it was time to retire for the night. Taiyang, Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage would stay at the Arc household while Pyrrha and Jaune would spend the night at the Nikos home, in the guest room while Pyrrha kept the Aura Crystal under her bed.

Jaune sat on his bed in the guest room, watching a comedy show on the television when Pyrrha walked in.

"Are you comfortable enough?" she asked.

"It's pretty good, nice of your parents to let me sleep here." Jaune said.

"Well they know of the nightmares we've been having, my mother feels it's not a good idea to separate us for too long. Are you sure you don't want to be with me in my room?" she inquired.

Jaune blushed slightly and said "Well it... feels inappropriate for us to sleep together in your house so soon, you know? I mean I don't want your parents to think I'm a pervert or anything."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that, "They won't think that of you."

"Well better safe than sorry, how do you like the new armor?" he asked.

She smiled and said "Love it, it will do wonders for future missions. How do you like it?"

Jaune blushed harder at her flirty smile and said "Well I... think it makes you look like a goddess, but everything you wear does."

Pyrrha giggled and said "Why thank you." She gave him a kiss and then asked "Will you be okay tonight?

"I think so, but I promise you if I have a nightmare I'll be outside your door." he said.

Pyrrha suddenly got serious and she said "Speaking of which; after all that's happened today I've forgotten to talk to you about your nightmares." She saw Jaune's expression doured but she didn't give up. She placed her hand atop his and said "Jaune, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do!" he cried.

"Then please, tell me what happened in your nightmare last night." she pleaded.

Jaune took a deep breath and began, "I... at first I dreamt about our friends turning on us, killing us for... what she turned us into." he said. "I... I watched as Ruby sliced open your throat and then I was in... in another dream or something, I don't know how to describe it but that's what it was like. We were Team RNJR again, in Mistral still looking for Cinder and we had never met Ashe, we never found you. I ran off and I... I saw Cinder and Salem... and you."

He stopped talking and buried his head in his hands before Pyrrha placed a comforting arm on his back. "What did you see?" she asked gently.

"I saw you die. Over and over again, turning into golden dust, an arrow in your chest, you said you'd always be here for me and..." Jaune stopped as Pyrrha captured him in a tight, loving hug.

She held him as close as she could before saying "Now I understand why you knocked me out of the way, I don't blame you. I've had nightmares too Jaune, visions of losing you and... I know how you feel. But my dream-self was right; I will always be here for you."

Jaune smiled and hugged back back, saying "Thank you." as he did so.

* * *

Ozpin sipped his latest cup of steaming coffee, one finger idly tapping against the top of his cane even as the lift ascended towards a room in the hotel that served as an area for business conferences. Usually he would hold a meeting like this in his office but this would do for the time being until Beacon Academy was rebuilt. His mind was currently going over the items of the latest meeting with Oobleck and the other scientists on the project with updates for development of the bullets created with energy harvested from Ruby's eyes, which Crane had affectionately dubbed 'Silver Bullets' after the old legend about how werewolves could only be killed using such weapons. The constant soft hum of the ascending lift filled his ears as he pondered over his next course of action to counter Salem and her agents, and mentally sighed to himself that he still might have more difficult choices to make in this new war to come. Qrow had called him and had informed him that Neo had arrived so they would be heading out to the prison at Oro tomorrow, so hopefully this ordeal with the White Fang would be over soon.

Taiyang had also called him and had informed him of what had gone down in Cadia earlier that evening, and the report meant many things, such as: one new Grimm Commander identified, it was a safe bet that Salem now knew that Jaune and Pyrrha can still control Grimm, Trooper aka Alexander Camos wasn't entirely a foe, and the Arc and Nikos families needed body guards from potential attacks, something General Ironwood was happy to supply.

What was on his mind right now, however, was the meeting ahead of him. Councilor Henry had messaged him that afternoon to inform him that the meeting was to take place that night in his office. A meeting between himself and a warrior.

After the lift came to a slow halt with a soft chime, Ozpin's slow footsteps carried him to one of the meeting rooms that the hotel possessed which was mostly used for meetings between various working companies doing their business in Vale. Mentally checking the number of the meeting room with his brown eyes, the headmaster of Beacon Academy politely knocked and then pushed open the oak doors. He then stepped into the meeting place, closing and locking it behind him as he did so. His eyes took in everything in the room, and saw his guest standing near the windows which provided a view of the streets leading to Beacon Academy in the distance, observing with arms crossed at the inhabitants of Vale going about their business below, most of them just happy to be back in the city.

The distance separating Ozpin and his guest was a large meeting table made of fine mahogany and black obsidian marble, and a number of office chairs populated the two opposite sides of the meeting table. An expensive-looking glass chandelier illuminated the room in a dim white light, reflecting off the smooth surface of the meeting table and the transparent glass of the windows Ozpin's guest was currently staring out of. As the click from the closing doors echoed throughout the meeting room, the guest turned his head and studied Ozpin with a careful and emotionless gaze.

The new arrival was almost as tall as him, and cut and lithe, muscular figure fully decked in armor plates of gunmetal grey with black trim highlights, and a robe of blackest night flowed from his armored shoulders and was connected with metal clasps to his pauldrons. A hood concealed the figure's head in shadow, and if Ozpin squinted a little he could catch a glimpse of the figure's head glancing at him, the figure's shadowed face-plate reflected on the glass surface illuminated by the dim lights of the meeting room. The guest stood a respectful distance from the meeting table, and watched as Ozpin walked around the table and approached him in slow, purposeful steps.

Stopping a short distance from the armored figure, Ozpin placed both his hands on top of his cane and looked at his latest visitor in the eyes. Or more specifically at the eyes of the other person through the eye-slits of the face-plate partially concealed by the black hood. The silence in the room dragged on to uncomfortable levels as Ozpin and the armored figure eyed each other intensely, like hawks about to swoop in for the kill.

"I was expecting Tranquility, but I do remember you; Shadow Reaper. That's your Knight name, is it not?" Ozpin spoke and took a small breath, preparing himself for whatever the armored knight might say in return.

"Headmaster Ozpin, it is good to see you safe after your capture. It has been a long time." The voice of the Remnant Knight was low and measured, and was spoken more like a counselor than a warrior. It gave Ozpin the impression of the sound of water flowing over stone in the rivers leading to lakes within the mountains. There was not even a single breath wasted in the Knight's speech, just enough to state his intent and nothing more than that. If he had not replied Ozpin thought he might have mistaken the Remnant Knight for a statue instead.

This man was a Remnant Knight, a member of a legendary order of warriors who were dedicated to protecting Remnant and its people from threats of all kind, be it Grimm or otherwise. Many people had forgotten about them, allowing the order to fall into the realm of myths and legends, but there were those who believed they existed, Professor Crane was among them. Some had spent years searching for proof of their existence, but usually came up with nothing or, if they actually got somewhere, gave up for seemingly no reason.

"Confirmation Code: Crouching Drakes, Hidden Slayers - The Knights of Remnant." Ozpin continued, speaking calmly as he looked at the armor-clad figure in front of him, noticing the minuscule nicks and scratches here and there marring the Knight's otherwise pristine armor plates, which probably came from whatever combat operations he had undertaken in the field; be it from fighting Grimm or more normal threats like thieves or murderers.

"The unbreakable shield of Remnant against the encroaching darkness. Confirmed." Shadow Reaper replied, pulling back his hood to show the Knight's helmet and gorget, the former of which was fashioned in the snarling likeness of an alpha Grimm Beowolf with bared fangs. Detailed lines of archaic script written in ancient languages and patterns revealed themselves upon the exposed overlapping armor plates of meticulously-crafted Aegis armor commonly worn by the Remnant Knights.

Ozpin slowly extended a hand and clasped the Remnant Knight's armored gauntlet in a firm grip, feeling the firm grip that has doubtlessly wielded the two exceptionally lethal gun-blades sheathed in their respective holsters at each side of the Knight's waist. They shook briefly, and then released each other's hand. Taking their seats at the opposite sides meeting table, the headmaster placed his cane to lean against the table by his side, and knotted his fingers together, while Shadow Reaper reached up and unclasped his helmet, revealing a face worn by battles and conflict, with a mop of raven black hair and dark brown eyes. A few long jagged scars ran from Shadow Reaper's eyebrow all the way down across his face and ending at his lips, giving him a hideous look to what would otherwise be quite a handsome face if it wasn't chewed up by a Grimm creature. Ozpin's eyes widened a fraction momentarily, and he inclined his head a little in respect as the Remnant Knight placed his somewhat macabre helmet by the side and sat back on his own chair.

"Supreme Grand Knight Master Seraph sent his regards, Headmaster Ozpin, as do the others. We has received your message that you would speak with us and sent me to handle matters here in Vale. I speak with the full authority of the Knight Order as Master Seraph's proxy and would hear whatever you need to say and inform our Order accordingly." The Knight continued, and Ozpin gave another nod in response.

"Thank you. It has been a long time since I have seen a Remnant Knight in the flesh, and a lot of things have changed since your Knight Order has...focused its efforts on fighting various battles around Remnant throughout the intervening years." Ozpin began, speaking slowly as he regarded the Remnant Knight, "In fact, I seem to remember something on the news not a week ago about a mysterious warrior who appeared out of nowhere to save a village in Vacuo from a Grimm attack, one 'savior' who vanished without a trace as soon as they finished slaughtering the Grimm. I assume it was one of you?"

Shadow Reaper narrowed his dark brown eyes a little at the news report, and then a grimace came to his lips, and what passed as a chuckle seeped from his throat before nodding in confirmation, "Ah yes, that would probably be one of our Knights operating deep in the field. I'm pretty sure that this is the handiwork of a certain Remnant Knight, he's a young one, trained by one of our Prognosticars, Argentius; Sharp Strike. It would most likely fit his approach to be the one who would step in to save a village from the Grimm, and then vanish without a trace. He's one who tends to keep to himself and report in only after a battle. Battles like the one in Vacuo are all too common for him to fight."

Ozpin nodded and said "Well, he is yours to take care of. However, I regret to inform you that some things have gotten considerably...worse after the fall of Vale, and it was with the efforts of several Huntsmen as well as the supporting army of Atlas that we managed to take Beacon Academy back from the swarms of Grimm infesting the ruins."

"Taking back Beacon Academy and pushing the Grimm out of Vale is certainly a small victory." Shadow Reaper pointed out as he tapped a finger against the smooth black surface of the meeting table, "...but against the scale of what's facing us out there in the world of Remnant, this battle is but one small piece of the overarching puzzle." He took a breath and continued, "We know enough of the current happenings around Remnant; Grimm, the White Fang, pirates, criminal organizations, and... her. ..and to say that things have gotten worse would probably be the understatement of the millennium, especially after what transpired in Haven."

"On that, my friend...I can wholeheartedly agree with you." Ozpin sat back on his seat and rubbed his temples, absentmindedly sighing as he thought about what he would be telling the Remnant Knight in the next... however long this meeting would take. He was going to need more coffee later, of that the headmaster would have no doubt.

"How go the repairs on the academy?" asked Shadow Reaper.

"The damage was extensive, so the repairs will be too, but at this rate we will be up and running again before the month is out. So if you don't mind me asking, what have your fellow Remnant Knights been doing? I mean, did you come close to finding Cinder in Haven, or me? What have you been up to?"

"We have been countering the Great Enemy on an innumerable number of battle imaginable, though there are times when I feel the Mistress of Grimm doesn't even notice us we are of such little consequence to her." Shadow Reaper replied, his eyebrow raising a little on his scarred face, "Their hands have not been idle, and with each battle we fought against them the great shadow that threatens to overwhelm Remnant grows a little darker, and we have been trying to beat them back as best as we could and we've been... doing alright so far."

"And I take it that those battles have been...costly?" Ozpin prompted, and the Remnant Knight gave a grave nod.

"We have suffered some losses yes, but those are yet manageable at the moment. You see, our Knight Order is not as numerous as the times back in the Great Wars, but we are coping with the developing circumstances around Remnant as they arrive. We're not perfect but we're getting the job done." Shadow Reaper let out a small breath, "But one thing is clear...the Grimm are getting bolder with each passing day, with attacks on the Outskirts of the Kingdoms intensifying significantly as of late."

"A dire situation, I must say." The headmaster mentioned, "Speaking of attacks, it seems that the White Fang have also stepped up their attacks too on the various Kingdoms. Various raids on warehouses, robberies, etc... While the law enforcement agencies have managed to eradicate a few resistance cells and captured their members, they haven't given up the location of their leader, Adam Taurus, or the Fang's headquarters. I have heard word that many other sleeper cells throughout the kingdoms still remain undiscovered."

"Some of the other Remnant Knights have crossed paths with them before." Shadow Reaper said, sitting a little upright on his chair, "...and it's shocking how much of their ranks have been populated by Faunus who were little more than thugs or innocent people pushed over the edge by some less than savory humans, but we've also gathered reports of what quite possibly be mercenaries with clear connections to the Mistral underworld. The Remnant Knights have tried to neutralize the various White Fang members whenever we came across any of them, but even with the best of our efforts there are possibly some that escaped our watchful eyes, and those we do capture kill themselves before they spit out the location of the leader, wherever he may be."

"For your information, a considerable group of Huntsmen and Huntresses from Team Beacon are tackling the problem at the moment." Ozpin informed the Knight, "They have acted on a tip-off from a contact one of the young Huntresses has within the White Fang and are on their way to rescue Claudandus and hopefully help us sort out the White Fang problem."

"And do you trust the Huntress with the contact?" Shadow Reaper inquired.

Ozpin returned his piercing gaze with a nod, "I do, and The Huntress is Blake Belladonna, who knows quite a lot about the White Fang and has proven to be trustworthy in the past. She even shares a bond with its founder, but unlike him she stayed with the Fang when they turned dark but she abandoned their cause when she saw what they were becoming, even becoming a target of their wrath. We can trust her."

The Knight gave a barely perceptible shrug of his shoulders in response, "Then I am sure they will succeed on their given mission, and hopefully reduce one less problem from our rather huge mountain of current difficulties."

"That's not counting the foes that Team Beacon has faced during the battle which took place in Haven." Ozpin remarked, and when Shadow Reaper remained silent he continued, "It seems that Salem, the Grimm Mistress has assembled quite a formidable number of powerful allies and followers to her banner, and it has become clear to me that we require the help of the Remnant Knights once more."

"As long as our goals correspond with each other, I don't see any problem with our cooperation." Shadow Reaper replied, "Even as we speak, some of my fellow Knights are looking over the remaining three Maidens; Elsa, Amethyst, and Heliosia. We started do so after what happened to you and Amber, to ensure that they at least remain under protection so that the Great Enemy won't obtain their individual powers after getting the Fall Maiden's power."

"That...is indeed good news." The headmaster gazed at the knight, "...although I have to ask, what should happen if our enemies find the other three maidens? What would be your next course of action?"

Shadow Reaper looked contemplative for a brief moment, and he replied, "We will protect them with our lives. This is one bridge we have planned for, we will not simply 'cross that bridge when we get to it', headmaster."

"I understand." Ozpin adjusted his spectacles by pushing the bridge up his nose, "And there's a matter we cannot avoid for long; that of the Aura Crystal... what does your Order want with it?" The Remnant Knight pursed his lips, making the scars on his face twitch a little.

"We know of what happened in Haven, Henry sent us the details. We knew of Ashe Kasai and his passing. A certain few members of the Order, including young Sharp Strike, would want to meet the two new guardians of the relic you speak of in person, and we had been looking for the Aura Crystal for a long time but Kasai prevented us from taking it from him but now that he is gone and it has resurfaced, we would like to see for ourselves the relic and its two chosen guardians. But who are these two chosen ones?"

"Jaune Arc of the Arc Family and Pyrrha Nikos." Ozpin produced his scroll and opened it, tapping a few choice buttons and both Jaune and Pyrrha's profiles appeared on the transparent screen, before passing it to Shadow Reaper who studied both their faces with a careful gaze, "Yes. I can see you are acquainted with them, the crystal itself is currently with them in Cadia." The headmaster noticed the look of recognition on the Knight's face as he scanned through every bit of detail on both their profiles.

It was a few long moments before the Remnant Knight spoke again, "I thought the name Arc sounded familiar, as I think you and I both remember that the Order had wanted to recruit an Arc child into the ranks of the Remnant Knights, but the family politely refused that offer because at that time the child was still a baby. But since he has become a Huntsman now at Beacon Academy, I suppose that he had indeed put all his potential to good use."

"Both of them have been among our best fighters." Ozpin mentioned, "And I am sure they will surprise you if you give them a chance to prove themselves in battle."

The armored knight gave a small nod, "While fighting me isn't necessary, yet, I certainly hope so, since they are the current guardians of the Aura Crystal, which must not fall into the wrong hands or we would suffer the most terrible of consequences."

"That would never happen." Ozpin felt his hands unconsciously tighten into fists, "...not when I am alive to prevent it. I will never fail so miserably again." He forced himself to relax his clenched hands, and if Shadow Reaper noticed his brief display of anger he gave no indication of it, "I've also been meaning to ask you a few things; were any of you at the Vytal Festival? Someone who could have prevented the disaster?"

"We had one; a simple warrior named Woodcutter, the morning of the fall we lost contact with him, we have heard nothing from him in months. I assume Cinder Fall found him out and killed him, left his body to be devoured by the Grimm. Anything else?"

"Yes, did look for Cinder Fall in Haven? Were you aware of what was transpiring there?" Ozpin inquired.

"As I said our numbers are stretched thin, we cannot conduct thorough searches of giant cities looking for a few people. We did send a few of our scouts out to search some major cities for any sign of her, including Haven. They came up with nothing, she must have been well hidden before those young ones arrived." Shadow Reaper said.

"The last thing is... rather personal; did you come close to finding Salem's palace?" Ozpin asked, remembering the horrible period of time he was kept there.

"...No. Many have searched for the Grimm's Kingdom for years and have found nothing, the only ones who have been there have either pledged their lives and loyalty to the Mistress of Grimm or have been killed. You are one of the only people to have been there, do you know where it could be?" Shadow Reaper asked.

Ozpin thought for a moment and answered "No, I was rarely ever let out of that horrible cell I shared with... him, Norvik. The only times I was ever let out was to speak with Salem and the only thing I could see outside was... an oddly beautiful view of the moon."

"Not surprising, even the darkest pits of Remnant have a bit of beauty in them, I've seen enough of this world to know that truth. I am sorry to hear about Norvik's survival by the way. Twice, no less. Henry told us what happened in Vacuo... those poor Faunus did not deserve such a fate. Make sure Taurus burns for that." Shadow Reaper said, a bit of anger rising in his voice.

"I'll do what I can, hopefully Team Beacon will bring him to justice soon. Is there anything else you require besides meeting the Guardians of the Aura Crystal?" Ozpin asked.

"In fact, there is." The Knight passed the scroll back to Ozpin, and the headmaster glanced down to see the profile of Ruby Rose, and he felt his eyebrows rise on his face, "I have mentioned him several times but you have never met him, and if you did his face was most likely covered, Argentius, would like to meet Ruby Rose in person. Her unique...abilities with the Grimm have come to the attention of our Prognosticar and Supreme Grand Knight Master, and Argentius has expressed interest in meeting her. We would like you to bring her to meet us with the two guardians of the Aura Crystal."

"And why her specifically? Is it because of her Silver Eyes?" Ozpin posed to the Remnant Knight who tilted his head a little.

"I am sure all would be made clear when the representatives of the Knight Order arrives in Vale. Whatever the case, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose are of extreme interest to the Remnant Knights. We do not wish to force them into our order, we merely want to meet with them, I am sure you understand, Headmaster Ozpin."

"I suppose all would be made clear when those three meet the representatives of your order, wouldn't it?" Ozpin answered slowly, "I will make the arrangements for the upcoming meeting when the rest of Team Beacon comes back from their mission in Vauco. Thank you for answering my questions, Shadow Reaper." Ozpin finished, and stood up from his chair, "I suppose that concludes our meeting for tonight."

The Remnant Knight nodded his head, and reached for his masked helmet before locking it in place back onto his gorget, and clashed one fist to his silver-black chest plate in response, showing the specialized emblem of the Remnant Knights before saying, "Until we meet again, headmaster Ozpin."

"May you continue to walk as an eternal beacon of light against the shadows, standing against evil when all others falter, Shadow Reaper." The headmaster spoke and the Remnant Knight bowed a little.

"And you as well, fellow Huntsman."

* * *

_**Fotia stood on the battlefield, her armor and weapons covered with the blood of her fallen enemies, Huntsman, Huntress, Solider, and civilian alike. Behind her, growling with a festering hatred was the Wyvern, looking out for something else to kill. Her pale white body was poised to kill anything that tried to stop her, her blood red eyes filled with lust for war.** _

_**As the dragon rider walked forward she looked down to see her former comrades from Teams SSSN and CFVY dead by her blades or the Wyvern's fire, with them were Atlas soldiers and ordinary citizens young and old alike. None had been spared, just as Mistress Salem had commanded.** _

_**She glanced up at the Wyvern's armor-spikes and allowed herself a smirk at the severed heads of Ironwood, Goodwitch, Branwen, Schnee, Oobleck, Port, and the one she despised the most;** _ **Ozpin.**

_**She allowed herself a small smile at the grotesque scene before feeling something touch her foot. She looked down to see the partially destroyed Penny crawling with her left hand, since her lower body and right arm had been destroyed in the battle.** _

_**"You aren't Fotia Drakos... this isn't you..." she said, her voice more mechanical than ever.** _

_**"Oh shut up." she said as she fired her gun at the robotic girl's head, destroying it with a small explosion. She kicked the now limp body off of her and she walked further into the battlefield, spying the charred remains of the traitor Neo's body.** _

_**She kept moving, seeing the dead bodies of Teams CRDL, NDGO, ABRN, BRNZ, and many others before coming across Ren and Nora, dead in each other's arms. She spared them a small glance and nothing more. Why should she? She was Fotia Drakos now, they didn't mean anything to her anymore.** _

_**She kept going forward, the Wyvern stopping to eat a corpse every now and then. Eventually she saw what had become of Team RWBY; Yang ripped limb from limb, Blake decapitated, Weiss hung and impaled with her own sword, and as for Ruby Rose... there was nothing left of her but the red cape and some ashes. A fitting punishment after she scarred Lady Cinder.** _

_**She moved onward, and amongst the corpses and debris she found the bodies of her former parents, their hands clasped together in death. A decent way to leave this world, she supposed. She remembered killing them, she had made if quick so they wouldn't suffer.** _

_**A noise stole her attention away, she turned, weapons ready, to see the wounded and weary Jaune Arc, likewise covered in blood from his wounds and enemies, his body dotted with battle wounds, and his eyes rich with misery and tiredness.** _

_**"Pyrrha... don't make me fight you... I love you..."** _

_**"I am sorry Jaune, but I am Mistress Salem's servant and you are an enemy. I love you too."** _

_**She charged at him with The Blood Blade out and with a mighty scream she swung the blade at his neck...** _

Pyrrha woke up with a scream, her hair and body wet with sweat as she nearly fell out of her bed from the nightmare she had just suffered from. She looked around, eyes wide with shock and relief as she realized she was in her bed in her room in home. She looked to the vanity mirror and was beyond relived to see that her skin, while pale, was still its normal color, her eyes were still emerald.

It was just a dream... but that didn't mean she hadn't been utterly terrified of what she had seen and disgusted by the mere thought that she could do such horrible things.

Just then the door flew open to reveal her parents.

"Pyrrha, what happened?! We heard you scream!" cried Zeus.

"Is everything okay? What's wrong honey?" Hera asked quickly.

Pyrrha looked them in the eyes, so happy to see they were alive, and she jumped up and rushed at them, capturing them both in a hug.

"You're okay, you're okay..." she whispered.

"Of course we're alright. Did you have another nightmare?" Zeus asked gently as he helped his daughter back to bed. Hera sat down next to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Y-yes... it was so horrible! The t-things I did..." she said quietly as Jaune ran into the room.

"Wha... what happened?" he asked as he panted for air.

"She had a nightmare, don't know what it was about." Zeus answered as Pyrrha looked up at her boyfriend.

"J-jaune? Could you please come here?" she asked.

Jaune didn't hesitate for a second, he walked from the door to her bed and sat down next to Pyrrha. "I'm here, what's wrong?" he asked.

Pyrrha didn't say anything, she just hugged Jaune and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"She had a nightmare, a bad one apparently." Hera said. She looked to her husband, her eyes asking a question and Zeus nodded in agreement. "Jaune, we think it would be best if you were to stay with Pyrrha for the night."

"Really? You don't mind?" he asked as he rubbed Pyrrha's back, soothing her.

"After everything you have done for our little girl, who are we to deny the fact that you two need each other?" Zeus asked with a shrug.

Despite the fact that she still felt uneasy Pyrrha allowed herself a small smile at that.

After a few minutes, when Hera and Zeus were sure that Pyrrha was alright and would feel better with Jaune they went back to their bedroom.

Jaune and Pyrrha lay together in the bed, both of them tired from the events of the long day behind them.

"Thank you for being here for me Jaune." she said as she snuggled into him.

"You're always there for me, and I will always be here for you." he said.

Pyrrha smiled, very tempted to begin a wildly passionate make-out session but for now she simply laid a thankful kiss on his neck before cuddling with him, his arms wrapped around her to hold her still while she found his body wonderfully warm and then, feeling safe in each other's arms they fell back to sleep.

And then Pyrrha had another dream, one that was somewhat brought on by her close proximity with Jaune, this dream was much... different from her other one she had that night...

**_Pyrrha snuggled into Jaune as they sat outside against a large willow tree, their bodies were slightly older and there were a few young, and rather adorable, children sleeping with them._ **

**_This was her dream, to be happy with the man she loved and to have a family with him._ **

**_It was a dream she wanted to come true so much but for now... a dream was good enough._ **

In the real world the couple snuggled together under the covers, sleeping a peaceful sleep together, happy with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Infiltration.
> 
> Special thanks to my friend Relentless Crusader for creating the Remnant Knights and allowing me to use them, and for writing a bulk of Ozpin and Shadow Reaper's scene.
> 
> So Junior and the twins finally appear in this story and we got the return of Ante and his men, hope you enjoyed it. Taiyang originally wasn't going to be in this chapter, but I decided to give him something to do, and I thought it would even things out in the fight.
> 
> I also made some Blake scenes myself because I decided that since this arc should be focused on her it hasn't been so far, so I decided to give you a bigger glimpse at her backstory we've heard about so far, and to play into Adam's past as well. Also I needed more Arkos goodness before I could move on to the next five or so chapters which will be focused of the White Fang mission.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	40. Prisoners of the White Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Claudandus sat in the dark cell he had been thrown in. There were no windows and the air was damp, adding to the oppressive atmosphere of this small room. He didn't know how long he had been in here as there was no way to tell the time but he knew it had been months since his capture. All of a sudden his ears perked up at the sound of the heavy iron door to his cell opening. He looked out of the bars to see none other than Adam Taurus illuminated in the light from the outside hallway, sword at his hip and guards at his side.

"Leave us, I'll be out shortly." Adam ordered the guards, who nodded and left without question.

"Hello Adam, what do you want?" the old Cat Faunus asked.

"I just feel the need to talk, this conversation will not be recorded, so we can speak freely." Adam said as he sat down in a chair.

Claudandus looked at the younger Faunus and said "It won't last for long, you know? Your rule. It will end sooner or later, all things do."

"What makes you think that?" Adam asked, the slit Blake had created on his mask allowed his red eyes to be visible to the world, betraying no emotion at the moment.

"Your followers will eventually discover what you have done and what working for Salem entails for them. They will betray you, and leave you, just like Blake."

"They abandoned you too, she helped me usurp your power. Or have you forgotten?" Adam inquired.

"No, I remember that day oh too well. I remember the change before that day, how distant and cold Blake became to me, how the others agreed your path was better than mine." Claudandus stated, trying not to let out any trace of sadness or misery.

"And look where we are now; the White Fang is five thousand strong in number, we have a great and powerful ally, we are feared by every human and cowardly Faunus in Remnant, and we are more powerful than ever. We'd be nowhere if we had done things your way, we'd still be nowhere."

"And is that better or worse than the hell you have created? You have become powerful Adam, but how many people have you killed to obtain that? How many Faunus have died because of you?" Claudandus prodded.

Adam glared at him and answered "I never bothered to count them, but I will kill as many as necessary for the White Fang."

"And how many members of the White Fang have you killed or had murdered?" the elder Faunus snapped.

"As I said, as many as necessary, and those Faunus were traitors, cowards, fools who deserved to die. There is a mine deep in the Vacuo desert where many traitors were slain recently. It has been blamed on the humans and it has been a wonderful fuel for the fire that is the White Fang's cause." Adam said.

"Your cause is a pathetic one. All you want is to hurt people and feel good about it, you use whatever excuses you can to justify your actions. That is why Blake and so many others left you Adam, what you have become is abominable." Claudandus told him, his voice rising to get the point across.

"And why did she abandon you? Do you know the answer to that? Hmm? I will tell you why; it's because she knew about what happened to me and so many other Faunus, she knows what humanity has done, no matter how hard they try to make up for it the blood of our people... people like my family will always be on their hands." Adam said, glancing down so Claudandus couldn't see his eyes.

"What happened to you and your family was horrible, no one can say otherwise, but you cannot judge all of humanity on the actions of a few. This isn't justice, that isn't want you want Adam, it's revenge." Claudandus said to him.

Adam glanced at him and said "Sometimes they are the same thing, and this is one of those times. It's easy for you to sit and pass judgement on me, but you don't have to live with this." He pointed at his mask, "You know what's behind this mask, I remember your face when you first saw it; shock, horror, a bit of anger, and just a hint of realization; you know that something like this meant that the chances for equality were impossible and yet you ignored that epiphany and went about on your fool's crusade, trying to teach me forgiveness. Everyday I look into the mirror and I see what those bastards placed on my forehead, I remember what they did to my parents and what eventually happened to my little sister... I can never forgive them for that."

"Hatred breeds hatred, if you kill innocent humans for something another human did to you then you will be no better than they are." Claudandus said, trying to reason with his captor.

"I can live with that. Sometimes evil must be done to bring about justice. I am the necessary evil." Adam stated coldly. "I accepted that when Blake betrayed me. I thought 'maybe I have gone to far.' And then Cinder approached me, I saw her power and I knew that if I turned down her offer my life was forfeit, so I became their accomplice and after that I looked in the mirror, at my face, and I remembered what set me on this path. Blake left me, but maybe that was for the best because if she hadn't I would have never joined up with Cinder Fall and Salem. I would never be as powerful as I am now, the White Fang cannot stand with such weaklings with bleeding hearts for humans. I decided I will be isolated, I will let no one in, no one who will try to steer me off of my path, I will let no one take away my destiny."

"And what is your destiny?" Claudandus inquired.

Adam looked at him and answered "To enslave humanity and have Faunus kind rule Remnant."

"Salem won't allow it, I know of her boy, she's more powerful than you realize." Claudandus warned.

"I know her power is great, but that's what the Hunters are for. She will be defeated and she will die, along with Cinder and the rest of them but if some of them survive I might keep them around as servants. As for the Hunters, they will fall against our might, Blake included." Adam said.

"Are you willing to kill her? She showed you kindness, love, compassion, and much more, so can you truly bring yourself to kill her?" the old Cat Faunus asked.

"... She chose her fate when she left me on that train. I will make her death quick, however, for all she has done for me. The others will not have it so lucky." Adam stated.

"You'll never do it Adam, Salem will kill you the moment she has no further use for you but that probably won't come to pass, as I know Blake and her friends will defeat you." Claudandus hissed.

"We shall see." Adam said. He rose up out of his chair and moved for the door, before asking one last question; "Does Blake know?"

"Know what?"

"You had plenty of time to tell her when she took up refuge in your cabin. Does she know who you really are?" Adam asked.

Claudandus looked down to the dingy floor and remained silent.

"That's what I thought." Adam finished with a slight sneer as he opened up the door and closed it behind him.

Once the door was shut and he was alone again Claudandus buried his face his his hands and began to cry. "Blake... please forgive me."

As Adam made his way towards his ship he got a call on his scroll. "Yes?" he asked as he answered it.

"Sir, Sustrai just contacted us. She says that herself, Black, and the Grimm Commander known as Steppenwolffe will come to the ceremony for the dead tomorrow as a sign of good will from the Mistress of Grimm." said Hui. Tomorrow morning a funeral service would be held for those killed by 'human savages' in the old mining facility in the Vacuo desert. Salem was rather amused by how easy it was to convince the Faunus of the White Fang that humans were behind the massacre at the mine, but Adam knew that some planted humans weapons and some dead humans with gun wounds made it easy to convince his underlings. While there were a few who knew the truth, such as Hui and those who planted the weapons and the dead Rangers, they knew what it took to eliminate some traitors and weaklings and to motivate the ranks. Plus, it didn't hurt the loyalty of Razor and the Elite Guard, who would be in attendance tomorrow.

"Good, we might need them, I don't know how long it will be until Blake and her friends try to free the old cat but I suspect it will be soon, I'll see if I can get them to stick around. As helpful as the Razor and the Elite Guard can be they aren't willing to do everything I ask of them and it wouldn't do for them to find out what's been going on here. I suspect these three will provide enough support to deal with Blake and her friends for good. Soon enough I will have Blake, Xiao Long, and Wukong, we can ransom off the Schnee sisters, while Salem will have Rose and the others to do with as she pleases. How goes work on the ship and its weapons?" Adam asked.

"Everything is on schedule sir, all will be ready on time." Hui reported.

"Excellent. And what of the preparations for the ceremony?" Adam added.

"It will be ready within a few hours sir."

"Good, and have the Elite Guard been behaving?"

"They haven't been giving us any trouble and if they suspect something I see no sign of it." Hui said.

"Good, I'll be back soon. Over and out." Adam said as he shut off his scroll. As he strolled down the prison hallway alone he allowed himself a small smile, something that rarely ever appeared on his face. Everything was going according to plan.

He looked to the prison's Warden, a muscular Bison Faunus and said "Excellent work Warden, keep it up."

"Yes sir, I trust your visit with the prisoner was to your liking." said the Warden.

Adam glanced at the Faunus and answered "More or less."

As Adam walked out of the prison and towards his ship a Sparrow landed on the roof, a rather nasty person had been killed by a guard earlier that morning so it needed to come and take the soul to hell. The Sparrow managed to crack a smile as it watched Adam get into his ship and prepared to take off.

'I hope I get to take his soul when he dies, though knowing my luck one of the others will get it. Or even Raven since he did something to her daughter. What's poor old Azreal to do? Oh well, I suppose I'll just go off and amuse myself some other way.' the Sparrow thought before taking off into the sky.

* * *

Team Beacon had left Preshia early that morning in style; they were currently in a large green R.V. that was connected to a large trailer via an accordion tunnel drove off of the countryside roads of Vacuo and into the large forests. Winter sat at the driver's seat while Qrow and the Hunters-in-training were either behind her or in the trailer. This large vehicle set had been lent to them by the Vacuo Rangers for this mission, it would serve as a mobile base of operations, it could operate on most terrain, it would be camouflaged by its paint-scheme, and it could go rather fast for something of its size.

They had been driving since before the sun had risen and it was currently three in the afternoon but in the back trailer Blake had just finished telling her team and Sun, Neptune, and Velvet about her dreams from the previous night.

"Whoa, no wonder you didn't want to talk about it at first. I don't know if I could handle seeing something like that in my dreams." Velvet voiced.

"Me neither." agreed Sun as he looked at his girlfriend with concern. "Blake if... I'm not sure what I can do about this but I promise I'll do anything to help you out."

"We all will." said Yang in agreement. "We've all had nightmares before Blake, heck even I've had nightmares about Adam."

"You have?" Blake asked, a bit surprised.

"... Well yeah, it's not something I like to talk about." the blonde brawler said, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, she had them after the Fall but she didn't like talking about them, not even to me." Ruby explained.

"Well you can tell us Yang, we're all friends here, remember?" Neptune said.

Yang nodded, "You're right, I know. It's just... What Adam did changed me. I had lost fights before but never like that. I saw him hurt someone I care a lot about and I just attacked him and... He took something from me something I was able to replace but... I don't know I guess it's just weird. It's hard to describe the feelings I get for this, you know? It's really hard to put into words." she said.

"Tell me about it." Blake said with a nod. She looked at her partner and asked "What happened in your nightmares?"

Yang was quiet for a moment before saying "I watched him hurt you, I rushed in, I lose my arm. I just relived that moment in my dreams over and over again. Losing my arm caused me to just give up for a while, a part of me wanted to get up and fight again but another part of me had already accepted defeat. It took a while but eventually I talked myself into getting back up, that's when mom showed up with this new arm." She flexed her robotic appendage and allowed herself a smile before continuing with "I stopped having the nightmares about a week after Ruby left with Jaune and the others. I guess I just got used to them or my depression made them seem a little less scary, I don't know."

Blake looked at her partner guiltily and said "I'm sorry, if I hadn't..."

"Nope, none of that, remember? Get it through your head Blake, what happened to me isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself." Yang ordered before she gently added "The dream versions of me and Sun are right; you didn't do anything wrong. I just don't want you to blame yourself for what happened, okay?"

Blake gave her friend a nod and said "Okay."

"Blake, we've all had nightmares, when I was little I used to have nightmares about humans chasing me so they could hurt me, but that changed when I became friends with Coco and other humans, good people who showed me that I was wrong to fear all humans." Velvet said.

"Yeah, and after the incident out on the ocean cruise I used to have dreams about being alone on a boat with all kinds of water Grimm attacking me. Those kind of dreams went on for months. They just kinda faded away, you know? I mean I'm still afraid of what happened in those dreams but I haven't had one in the past few years." Neptune said.

"Really? What made them go away?" Blake asked.

"Nothing, like I said; they just kinda fade away." Neptune answered.

"Well, I didn't have any when I went back to sleep last night, so maybe it was just one time." Blake said.

"Well I hope so, but just remember that if you ever need to talk about it or your parents we're here for you." Yang told her partner.

"That's right, we're not just your team or your friends Blake, we're your family." said Ruby as she hugged Blake from the side.

"She's right, we'll help you no matter what." Weiss agreed.

"Yeah, so if you do need to talk, don't forget about me, okay?" Sun asked. Blake smiled and planted a loving kiss on her boyfriend's cheek, and while Yang was slightly jealous of that little display of affection she didn't let it show.

"There's just two things I do not understand, first of all; what ever happened to your grandfather?" Weiss inquired.

Blake sighed and answered "A few days after my mother died I asked Claudandus about him and he told me that my grandfather had died a year prior to what happened to my parents while I didn't have any grandparents on my father's side."

"Oh... I'm sorry to bring it up." Weiss apologized, which got her an approving nod from Ruby. "Secondly; you said that when you saw Adam in your nightmare he was holding a young girl, who would that be?"

Blake sighed and said "Adam didn't just lose his parents before he found his way to the White Fang, when he escaped from that horrible place he took someone else with him... his little sister."

"He had a sister?" Velvet repeated.

"And yet he was still willing to kill Haulan." Sun said bitterly.

"Makes him worse in my opinion." Yang stated bluntly.

"Maybe... but what happened to her has haunted Adam... she didn't survive. She didn't last very long in the outside world. I don't want to tell you the horrible details but let's just say there is a reason Adam has become what he is today." Blake said to them.

"Was it really that bad?" Neptune asked.

Blake nodded sadly and said "Yes, I think he is a monster now, but some monsters have tragic stories to tell. I honestly don't think he would be what he is today if his past wasn't so horrible. Maybe once we've dealt with him I can tell you what happened... maybe."

Yang used her strength to pull Ruby a little closer to her and wrap her arm around her. "I don't feel sorry for him..."

"Nope." agreed Sun.

"Not after what he has done." stated Weiss.

"Not in a hundred years." said Velvet.

Yang let out a chuckled and continued "...but I know I'd lose it if something happened to Ruby."

"Aw, thanks sis." Ruby said.

Yang planted a kiss on Ruby's forehead, smiled and said "Any time."

Truth be told Ruby didn't know what to think of Adam, sure he was a horrible person who had hurt not only her sister, Blake, he had tried to hurt Sun and his family, and had done some pretty nasty things and worked for Salem, but if what Blake was saying was true then maybe he wanted to make sure what happened to his own family never happened to anyone else, but that probably wasn't it, maybe he just used his past as an excuse to hurt other people. After everything she had been through Ruby knew not to judge someone so hastily, but she knew that for now Adam was most certainly not a good person.

'I guess I'll just have to wait and see.' she thought to herself.

Up in the front Qrow approached Winter in the driver's seat and asked "How long until we get to Oro?"

"We should be close enough in fifteen minutes. We'll be keeping a safe distance from the town so we won't be spotted. Alert the students." Winter said to him.

Qrow nodded and turned around. "Okay kids we'll be there soon! Everyone get ready." he ordered.

Everyone heard him and responded with "Yes sir" or "You got it" or something to that regard.

"Let's get up to the front guys." Ruby said as she got out of Yang's hold and walked off.

Off to the side Penny was using her scroll to speak to somebody when Qrow made his announcement. "It appears that we are about to begin our mission Ciel, or at least it gets more serious. I think I will have to end our conversation here." she said to her old teammate.

"Very well Penny, but do call me once it's over. Good luck out there, and take care of yourself." said the voice of Ciel Soleil over the scroll.

"I will be sure to do both." Penny responded as Ruby came out of the accordion tunnel that connected the R.V. to the trailer.

"Hey Penny, who are you talking to?" she asked.

"I am talking to Ciel, but I think I should end the call now." Penny stated.

"You probably should, hello there Ruby Rose." said Ciel from the scroll.

"Oh, hi there Ciel. Long time no see, huh?" said Ruby, a little awkwardly.

"Indeed, I hope your mission is a success and please, take care of Penny. I might not be her teammate anymore but that doesn't mean I don't care about her." the girl with the blue beret said.

Ruby allowed herself a smile and said "That's good to know. Don't sweat it, Penny will be a-okay on this mission."

"I hope so. Good luck to both of you. Goodbye Penny." said Ciel.

"Goodbye!" Penny said cheerfully as Ciel ended the call.

Ruby sat down next to Penny and said "So... you're still friends with Ciel?"

"Oh yes, I decided after I moved to Patch that she and my teammates deserved to know I was back. I told them as much as I've been allowed to about what happened to me and at Haven. And they have forgiven me for not telling them the truth about my nature and they want to be my friends." Penny said.

"That's great! I gotta be honest; kinda thought Ciel was a bit snooty when I first met her but if she wants to be your friend after what happened then I guess I was wrong." Ruby admitted, "Why didn't you tell me about it until now?"

Penny stopped, thought about it, and gave her friend a shrug. "I do not know, maybe I felt it was something I needed to do along. Maybe when we are done with this mission you can meet my old team, would that be a good idea?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to meet them. Just keep me informed okay? You know I'll always be there for you, right?" Ruby asked.

"I know." Penny said with a smile.

Soon enough they came to a clearing, which Winter estimated to be four and a half miles away from the village, which was a safe enough distance from the town and Winter estimated that any White Fang scouts or patrols wouldn't go too far out, so they were good for the time being.

"This is a good place to make camp; surrounded by the forest with a decent path to the nearest road, far enough from the village, and a good enough position for extraction." Winter said as she surveyed the site.

"Whatever you say Schnee." Qrow voiced with a shrug while the students approached them.

Everyone sat or stood in the R.V. as Winter and Qrow stood before them.

"Alright everyone listen up; reports from the Vacuo Rangers say that the village more than likely being held captive by White Fang agents. While travelers, both human and Faunus, are allowed to pass by without incident it seems they will arrest anyone who figures out what is going on in the village." Winter said to the small crowd.

Qrow nodded and added "That's right, the Rangers sent a scout in shortly after we found out what was happening, I checked in this morning and he still hasn't reported in so it's a safe bet they've captured him."

Winter continued with "The reason they haven't done anything as of yet is because the villagers will doubtlessly be used as living shields and we cannot accept civilian casualties in a crossfire so General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin, and the leader of the Vacuo Rangers are allowing us to go in and scout out the village before we initiate our jailbreak. After that we can give them what we find out from the village and use that information so the military can stealthily take out the White Fang agents there and quickly evacuate the civilians before a serious battle begins."

"Sounds dangerous, but we've become used to that." Yatsuhashi observed.

"Some of us can't seem to live without it." Weiss blurted out, getting some laughs out of the others.

"Okay so what's the plan?" Sun asked.

"Simple, kid; Coco and Neo, you two and me will infiltrate the village in disguise, passing ourselves off as simple travelers who wish to stay at the Inn for night. I'm the father and you two are my daughters. We pretend to go to sleep and then we go to work." Qrow said. "Neo, you and I will check out the prison, I have my own methods of getting around unseen and I know your Semblance will come in handy. We need to check out the prison, look for escape routes, weak points, guard changes, access codes, the works. You up for it?"

Neo nodded and spoke up for the first time since she arrived. "Don't worry, I've broken out of my fair share of prisons and cells before and I highly doubt this will be the last one. I'm up for it alright and I know what to look for, how will you be getting around?" she inquired.

"I have my ways and let's just say I like to keep them to myself." Qrow answered with a wink.

"He always does that." muttered Ruby.

"As for you Coco, all you have to do is check out the village, put on an innocent and tired traveling girl act, try to figure out how many White Fang guards are in the village and try to see if any villagers can tell you something. You'll need to disguise yourself since we'll be at the prison and Neo's Semblance won't be able to help you from there." Qrow told her.

"I understand and I'm up for it. So I assume we're spending the night and coming back in the morning, then tomorrow night we put our escape plan into effect?" Coco asked.

"Pretty much." Qrow confirmed.

"Why does Coco have to go?" asked Velvet.

"Because out of all of you Miss Adel is probably the only one who can blend in well enough, her fashion sense will allow her to disguise herself well enough and she is probably the most subtle of you. Team RWBY is out of the question as there is no doubt all of you will be recognized, same goes for you Penny." Winter said.

"Aw." Penny said sadly, only for Ruby to comfort her with a pat on the back, which made her face go back to smiling.

"Mr. Daichi is simply too noticeable, Miss Scarlatina has a bit of a nervous habit, and none of Team SSSN are very subtle, so that leaves you Miss Adel." Winter finished.

Coco nodded and allowed herself a smile. "I'm in, just let me change clothes." she said as she got up and made her way to the R.V.'s bathroom.

"So what will we be doing while they're in town?" Yang asked.

"Setting up an extraction point. After we escape from the prison the White Fang will be on our backs so we will need to be fast. Before we leave for the prison we will contact the Vacuo Rangers who have agreed to send air support for us, they will extract us and take us to the nearest city where we can report to General Ironwood, Ozpin, and Goodwitch, if everything goes to plan that is." Winter said.

"And it will, we just have to play our cards right, stay hidden, make a good escape plan and everything's gonna work out fine." Qrow said to her as Coco's bare arm shot out of the slightly open bathroom door.

"Vev, I'll need your help, get my clothes bag and makeup kit." she ordered.

"Right away." the Rabbit Faunus chimed as she jogged to the trailer to fetch said items. She came back a moment later and said "Here you go Coco, are you sure you're up for this?"

"I'm sure Velvet, just relax, I know how to be sneaky believe it or not." the leader of CFVY assured her as she took the bags.

"So what if something goes wrong? I mean, what if they're found out while their in the village?" Scarlet asked.

"An excellent point, Mr. David and we have devised a contingency plan should that scenario arise, Qrow?" Winter said.

"Right, if we're found out we just run for it. We make it out of town, call you guys, you pick us up, and we hightail it out of here." Qrow stated.

"What?! But what about...?" Blake tried to say.

"Relax, we make them think we've left... then we go into the prison from behind, but that's only if we're caught, which won't happen." Qrow promised the young Hunters.

"Just be careful in there Uncle Qrow."

"And that goes for you too Neo." Yang added.

"We'll be okay kid, I promise." Qrow swore before looking to Neo and asking "Can you make up some good disguises for us?"

The multi-colored girl nodded as Coco came out of the bathroom with a new outfit, and hair style.

"Huh, blonde looks good on you." Yang complimented as Coco finished straightening up the blonde wig, neatly tucking her own hair beneath it.

"I keep telling you; I look good in everything." the fashionista said proudly. She now wore simple brown boots, old tan pants she had torn herself to give off the illusion of rough living, a gray t-shirt which had some black markings on it, a belt with some pouches, a brown hood to wrap around her head, no sunglasses, and she had used her makeup kit to give herself some fake freckles. "Hmm, might have to walk around a bit to make it look like I've been out all day. What do you guys think?"

"It's perfect." Velvet complimented.

"I don't think they'll recognize you." Yatsuhashi agreed.

"I think it will work." chimed in Penny.

"Looks pretty good." said Ruby.

"I think you've got this." Sun stated.

"You'll pass by no problem." Neptune voiced.

"I'll take all of that as a big 'yes'. Now what disguises can you cook up Neo?" Coco asked the petite girl.

Neo smirked and easily created an illusion around herself and Qrow, making her look to be a girl with tanned skin, dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, a brown poncho with brown pants, and gray boots. Qrow, on the other hand, was given longer hair with a new color of graying blonde and he had a beard to boot, she made him appear to wear simple tan hiking shoes, black pants, a white jacket with a gray T-shirt underneath it, and dark brown eyes to give the illusion that he was their father.

"So, how do we look?" Qrow asked. Weiss took out her scroll and showed him what he looked like in the mirror app, which got a chuckle out of the Huntsman. "Heh, I think I pull off blonde better than Taiyang does. Okay you two, are you ready to move out?"

"What about our weapons?" Coco inquired as she held up her bag.

"You can keep yours, pass it off as a traveling bag. Neo you can keep ours concealed, you good with that?" Qrow asked her, and she nodded in agreement as Yatsuhashi handed them some bags with Coco's clothes to keep up the illusion to make it look like they had been carrying around heavy bags.

"Good. Schnee, you know what to do, wish us luck." Qrow said.

Everyone wished the three good luck as Qrow opened up the door and led Coco and Neo outside. They walked off into the forest, waving goodbye before they vanished into the tress.

"Are you sure they'll be okay Specialist Schnee?" Velvet asked.

"Qrow might act like a fool at times, but I am well aware of his talents on missions, he rarely fails and I am certain that your leader will preform excellently on this assignment." Winter said to the Faunus girl.

"And that leave us with two things to do..." Ruby said, "set up the extraction point and wait for them to come back tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded, and deep down Blake was feeling a bit nervous and a bit excited, if they pulled this off without a hitch Claudandus would be safe once again and she knew that in the prison they could get some proof of the terrible things Adam had been doing to his fellow Faunus, giving them have a chance to stop Adam once and for all. She could only hope that everything turned out okay.

* * *

Coco's legs were aching a bit after a half-hour of walking through the forest and on the dirt road that led to the not very big village of Oro, but that slight tiredness she was feeling would help keep up the illusion. She look to Qrow and Neo, disguised by the latter's Semblance, marching on silently beside her as they approached the village.

Oro was a small village, especially when compared to the towns and cities Coco was used to but she knew that fact is probably why the White Fang picked it; a small, out of the way, and little known village on the outskirts of a Vacuo mountain, it was the perfect place to take over. From what Qrow had gathered the prison in the base of the mountain was a re-purposed mining facility that had closed down some years ago, another good choice for the White Fang. If one were to look up they could see the prison, obscured by trees and hills.

Coco surveyed what she could see and she noticed a few farmers, children playing, civilians chatting about the town, the buildings were mostly made of a wood but there were a few brick ones here and there. There was a large water tower, a big communications tower to keep TVs and other such things going, there was a tavern, a place of worship, an indoor food market, a clothing store, an inn, and various homes. All the buildings one would see in a relatively isolated village.

She saw a middle-aged man approaching them and Qrow stepped forward. "I'll handle this. Hello there sir, would you be so kind as to point us to the inn?" Qrow asked, putting on a fake, but convincing, accent.

"Not many people come to our little town. What brings you here?" the man asked.

"Oh, nothing really, we're but weary travelers who wish to stop and rest for the night and leave tomorrow. I am Victor Rong and these are my daughters; Ashley and Jen." Qrow lied as he gestured to Coco and Neo respectively.

The man nodded and he pointed to a decent looking two story wooden building towards the end of the main street before saying "That's the inn, it'll keep you well enough for the night. Just don't leave your rooms after sunset."

"Why?" Qrow asked, putting on a curious, slightly ignorant act. He knew very well the White Fang had probably established a curfew for the village to keep the people in line but he wondered what their excuse was.

"Grimm." the man said. "Oddest thing tough, they only come out after dark."

"Don't you have a Huntsman?" Coco asked, making her voice sound a little quiet.

"We used to, young lady, but he was killed by a rather nasty Geist a few months back and we haven't gotten a replacement yet. All the same it's best to stay inside at night." the man told them.

Qrow nodded, he knew the man was lying to them and could tell that he was a bit nervous, but played along with him. "Don't worry, all we want it to get some sleep for the night. In fact we're so blasted tired we might just fall asleep the moment we get in our room. Thank you for the help sir. Come along girls." he said, and with that he led them down the street towards the end.

As they walked down they couldn't help but feel that they were being watched, White Fang sentries no doubt. Coco looked around and saw both humans and Faunus, but noticed that people of both species looked nervous and on edge.

They came into the inn through the main door and Qrow, or Victor as he was calling himself, said to woman at the front counter "Uh, hello. We'd like a room please."

The woman, who had dark skin and seemed to be in her late thirties, nodded and put on an obviously fake, yet nervous smile. "Oh, so nice to see travelers. We don't get many out here." she said. "How long will you be staying?"

"Just for the night, we'll probably leave in the morning before hitting the road again. How much?" Qrow asked.

"For the three of you? Thirty lien." the woman, whose name was Maria according to the small sign on the desk, said.

Qrow reached into his pocket and gave Maria the money, she nodded and said "Come with me, I'll take you to your rooms."

She led them up the stairs to the second floor and took them to a decent room with two beds. "Only two beds I'm afraid, I hope you girls don't mind sharing."

"No, we don't mind ma'am." Coco said, putting on a similar fake accent as Qrow sat down on one of the beds and laid down.

"We're grateful for the room, Miss Innkeeper, but we're very tired and could use some rest." he said.

Maria nodded and said "Well in that case I hope you all have peaceful rests. Thank you for your business, just come down stairs if you need anything." She then closed the door and they could hear her walking away.

Coco was about to speak when Qrow held up his scroll with a text on it that read 'Don't speak, the room could be bugged.' She glanced to look at Neo, who nodded and moved to close the curtains so they wouldn't be seen.

As Neo allowed the disguises to fade away Coco took out her own scroll and typed out 'So what do we do?'

Qrow typed back with 'Just remain quiet for the time being. If we talk we keep up the illusion that we're a traveling family, if we need to talk seriously we talk like this, understood?'

Both girls nodded as Qrow took one of his bed's pillows and stuffed it under the cover to make it look like he was sleeping.

'Has that trick ever worked?' Coco typed.

'You'd be surprised.' Qrow typed back while Neo did the same to her pillow and bed.

Coco nodded and took out some clothes from the bags, more specifically yellow clothes to add to the illusion that her 'family' was sleeping.

Qrow nodded in approval and typed 'Okay, Neo and I will sneak out with her Semblance and check out the prison. You stay here and figure out what the situation is but be careful, be discreet, and make sure you keep this secret.'

Coco nodded and typed out 'I understand. I'll open the windows and your Semblance can make you two look practically invisible so you can get to the prison unnoticed. Good enough?'

Neo smirked and nodded before typing out 'Good plan, you up for it Branwen?'

Qrow nodded and typed out 'Let's do it now, the sooner we get this over with the better. Open the windows.'

Coco nodded and moved over to the window as Neo used her Semblance to make Qrow and herself invisible. Coco nodded and drew back the curtains to look outside to the village. She looked around, playing the part of a curious teenage girl, then she drew herself back in and nodded to the invisible pair. The two jumped out, unnoticed by anyone.

Coco received a text on her scroll that read 'We're out, we'll be back soon.' She gave a subtle nod and closed the windows and drew the curtains closed again as the two ran out of town and towards the mountain.

* * *

Winter and the others had set up the extraction point not too far away from where they had parked the R.V., a large clearing in the forest where a drop-ship could land , pick them up, and take off with ease. Currently she had finished typing the coordinates of the extraction point on the R.V.'s on-board computer and sent them to Preshia where the Vacuo Rangers would receive them. Tomorrow, before the mission began, they would send note to the Rangers who would send help with a fast ship to get them out, along with a few attack ships just in case.

"Done." she said.

"So when we need 'em they'll come?" Scarlet asked.

"Yes, we'll probably be cutting it close but I'm confident we will succeed." Winter assured him, then she called to Penny "Miss Polendina, please come up. We need to continue your driving lessons."

"Yes ma'am!" Penny said with a salute.

"Are you sure she's the right one to drive this thing for the getaway?" Scarlet asked, a bit unsure. "I mean I like and trust you and all Penny, don't get me wrong, it's just we need to be sure, y'know?"

"I understand you being nervous Scarlet, but don't worry! I am a very efficient learner." Penny assured him.

"Yes she is, now come along Penny." Winter said.

The plan to escape from the prison was a bit hectic; have Penny drive the R.V. around the village but near the mountain and stay hidden until the jailbreak was fully underway. Once they were out Penny would drive the R.V. into the prison's compound to pick them up and then drive them to the extraction point. Scarlet and Velvet were also staying behind to guard Penny and to help her just in case anything happened, and to add support for the rest of the team when they had to flee the prison.

Out in the forest everyone else was making sure the area was secured and setting up sensors and cameras to detect and spot any potential intruders. Earlier that morning Jaune had called them and told them what had happened, so naturally some of them were talking about Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage's little misadventure in Cadia.

"And here we thought Sage would be bored if we left him behind." Sun joked to Neptune as he placed a sensor between some tree roots.

"Trouble does seem to follow Jaune." Velvet added as Yatsuhashi held her up so she could tie a sensor to a tree branch.

"They made it out of it well enough, hopefully things will be quiet until we return." Yatsuhashi stated.

"Knowing our luck they'll have to come to help us." Weiss said dryly.

"No way! We'll pull this off without a hitch and be out of here tomorrow night." Ruby said, she turned to Blake and asked her "Are you excited Blake?"

"Hm? Excited for what?" inquired the Cat Faunus as she and Yang placed motion detectors in the ground.

"To see your friend Claudandus again?" Ruby asked.

Blake tightened her fist and thought back...

_6 Years Ago_

_Claudandus Pirinci walked into the packed meeting room of the White Fang's current headquarters, many Faunus of all kinds were there, dozens upon dozens of them whispering to each other as their leader walked up to the podium. He glanced over to his opponent, a boy he had taken care of for the past five years; Adam Taurus and next to the teenager was a girl who was only twelve years old, someone Claudandus loved very much. He looked around to see many Faunus he had come to like and respect as fellow members of the White Fang; Kane, Tuskon, and Razor were all there._

_He got to the podium and spoke into the microphone; "Alright, I think you all know why I have called this meeting. It's no secret there has been a great amount of unrest within ranks for the past year or so, I know that many of you feel that we are no close to equality than we were after the war. Some of you have become bitter and angry at the human race, maybe even angry at Faunus like myself who believe in equality for both races. After so many years of peaceful protests, petitions, interviews, and presentations there has not been as much progress as we would like. I know that many of you are frustrated, rightfully so, but we must stay the path my friends. If we were to lash out, if we were to give in to violence we would be proving the racist members of the human race right, we would harm the support we have achieved so far... we would truly become animals."_

_"A lot of nice words, old man, but where will they get us?!" yelled a male Faunus in the crowd._

_"Hold your tongue!" Razor snapped._

_"Everyone please calm down. This is proof that many of you are frustrated, maybe even with me. I know there has been a lot of anger towards humanity but I must remind you that you cannot judge a race based on the actions of a few..." Claudandus said before Adam cut him off._

_"A few?! You call the legions of humans who have oppressed our kind a few?! What I would give to live in your fantasy world, old man." Adam snarled._

_Claudandus looked to Blake for support but she simply looked away from him. "Blake..." he whispered quietly before shaking himself back into focus. "I think you are too biased to see this clearly, Adam. Your tragic past clouds your judgement all too often."_

_"No, my mark is the light! What is under this mask is proof of the depths humanity will sink to, and while I suppose not all humans are like that they are in the minority. Look around yourself! Yes you have gotten some big organizations and corporations support us, but how many of them will supply us with food or medicine? How many of them are overturned by superiors or are to embarrassed to help us? Will the governments of these kingdoms support us in any major capacity? Will they punish people like the Schnees for what they have done to our race in the past? I don't think so!" Adam ranted furiously as he stepped forward._

_"Careful there boy, I know you have become a talented fighter but if you try to harm our leader I will be forced to fight you... and you wouldn't be happy with the end result of that." warned Razor seriously, his grip on his sword._

_"Really Razor? Tell me, do you know what is under this mask?" Adam inquired._

_"Adam..." Blake spoke up._

_"No Blake, this is the best way for us to win tonight." Adam said to her._

_"Win?" Claudandus repeated, a bit confused._

_"Well? Speak up Razor, do you know what is under this mask?" Adam asked again._

_"A scar, inflicted by a human." Razor answered._

_"Yes, but do you know what what it is? What it looks like?" Adam demanded._

_Razor didn't answer, he remained silent, a bit confused as to where this was going._

_Adam turned to see Tuskon and asked "And you, do you know what my mark resembles? What it says?!"_

_"What is says? I... I have no clue where you're going with this." Tuskon said, a tad nervous._

_Adam looked around the room, looking upon all the races of those present. "Would you all like to see? Do you want to know what I have been forced to hide every day of my life for the past half of a decade. For five long years I have worn this upon my face to hide what humanity has done to me! Claudandus expects me to forgive and forget. Forgive and forget?! Forgive and forget how they killed my family and got away with it?! Forgive and forget the years of war, slavery, and torture forced upon us because we're just a bit different?! Forgive and forget THIS?!"_

_He ripped off the mask._

_The room fell silent, save for a few gasps of shock._

_Everyone stared at Adam as he slowly turned around, allowing everyone to see what marked his forehead._

_"So now you all know. You can all clearly see what the humans did to me and he..." Adam said, pointing to Claudandus, "expects me to 'forgive and forget'. I don't think so. The White Fang cannot live on for this cause, we need a new one."_

_"And what would that cause be?" Claudandus demanded._

_Adam placed his mask back on his head ans answered "We have tried it your way, the peaceful way... now will will do it my way; force."_

_"You'd be outnumbered, you would do much more harm to the Faunus race than good! You'll undo everything we have worked for if you follow him!" Claudandus cried._

_The members of the crowd looked to each other, some unsure, some doubtful, others confident._

_"I'm with Adam!" Kane shouted, leading to a chorus of others speaking up as well._

_"So am I!"_

_"Hear, hear!"_

_"We've worked for years and have achieved nothing!"_

_"Look at what they did to him..."_

_"This isn't working."_

_"We need to force them to see us as equal!"_

_"Down with humans!"_

_"This might be the only way."_

_"I'm tired of being treated like crap because of my tail."_

_"We do need a new leader! A strong one!"_

_"Adam is right!"_

_"Get off the stage old man!"_

_Claudandus' heart sank as his organization, his hope for equality, his followers, all changed at once. He looked to Razor, who was glancing down at the floor._

_"I owe you so much for the life you have given to me, old friend... but I am not loyal to you, I am loyal to the White Fang. The people of the Fang have deemed change necessary." the muscular Faunus said sadly._

_Adam approached the stage and smirked at the elder Faunus. "The people have spoken, times have changed and so will the vision for the White Fang if it is to survive."_

_"Your vision will lead us to catastrophe." Claudandus said quietly._

_"And where will yours lead us? To be subjugated even further? To remain as 'the other' to humans? Leave us Claudandus, we are grateful for what you have done and your efforts in the past but the White Fang must change and you have made it clear that you will be an obstacle to that change, so please leave." Adam said._

_Claudandus looked around the room and said "Very well. I will leave, but let it be known that do not approve of where this is going. I disavow any of this as I know it will lead to violence and I know many of you do not want that. If I am to leave, then anyone who wishes to live in peace is welcome to leave with me."_

_He got off the stage and began to move towards the exit, a few others joining him. Some members of the Fang, such as Razor or Tuskon, looked away sadly as they left._

_He looked to Blake, the little girl who had to grow up so fast, the one he had taken care of for so long, for the last time for a few years. "Blake... please don't do this."_

_She made eye contact with him, her own welling with tears. "Please go Claudandus. I'm sorry it had to turn out like this."_

_He was silent for a few seconds before he said "I am too. Goodbye Blake."_

_Claudandus led the few like-minded Faunus out of the room as Adam took his place at the podium._

_"And now, let the rebirth of the White Fang begin." Adam said darkly._

Blake shook her head and answered Ruby's question; "I'll be very happy to get him out of there, I'd love to see him safe again."

"Hey, don't sweat it Blake, tomorrow night he'll be out of that prison and on a ship headed for Preshia with you at his side." Sun said to her.

"Totally, he'll be happy to see you Blake, trust us." promised Yang with a smile.

Blake returned the smile, but deep down she was nervous. There were a lot of ways this could go wrong, past experience had taught her that. While she knew Claudandus had already forgiven her for what had happened she still felt like she was somewhat to blame for what the White Fang had become. She shook her head again, ears twitching a bit as she forced that thought out of her head. She couldn't think like that; everyone from Sun to Yang to Ruby had told her that none of this was her fault. If she hadn't supported Adam someone else would have.

"Blake, come on! We need some cameras over here!" called Weiss.

Blake nodded and began walking towards her teammate. She knew needed to forgive herself sooner or later and hopefully saving Claudandus would be the key to that.

* * *

Coco walked down the staircase to the first floor of the inn to see the innkeeper at the front desk, looking rather sad as she looked at the framed photograph she held in her hands. She knew this woman was hiding what was really going on in this town for the sake of three innocent strangers so she decided to speak with Maria, in more ways than one.

She got off the staircase and approached her. "Hello ma'am, is everything alright? You look a bit sad." she said, putting on the fake accent once again.

Maria looked at her and said "Oh, it's nothing dear, it's just my husband. I miss him when he's gone."

"Where is he?"

"He went off with a few others on a hunting trip." the innkeeper lied.

"And with Grimm giving the village grief at night? An odd time for it." Coco said as she got to the desk. Maria looked nervous at what Coco had said, as she could clearly see through an excuse.

"Well... hunting Grimm, as well. I thought your family were getting some shut-eye?" Maria said.

Coco shook her head and said "I couldn't sleep, my father and sister could though. Would it be any trouble to get a little something to eat? I'm rather hungry after walking all day."

Maria gave her a smile and said "Come with me to the kitchen, I can fix you up a little something." She led Coco, or 'Ashley' as she was called for now, past the desk and towards the kitchen, not noticing the younger girl had grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from the front desk.

She sat down at the decently sized dinning table as Maria looked through the refrigerator. "Would some eggs and beacon be alright, dear?" she asked.

"That would be fine." Coco answered as she wrote something down.

"Okay, scrambled sunny-side up or..." Maria began to say as she noticed the girl was giving her a 'hush' gesture.

"Scrambled, please." Coco said as she held up the paper which had 'Be quiet, don't worry, we're Hunters here to help you. We know what's happened to this village and we're going to stop the White Fang. We know this building has probably been bugged so talk to me via writing, okay?'

Maria's jaw had dropped in surprise, her hands shaking a bit.

"Is scrambled of alright?" Coco asked, obviously meaning something else.

The older woman nodded and said "Y-yes, I can make scrambled just fine. She started making the eggs as Coco wrote something else down on the paper.

'I'm pretty sure that you're not with the Fang, are you?'

Maria shook her head no as Coco erased what was on the paper and wrote some more. 'I assume your husband and a few other villagers plus a Vacuo Ranger who stopped by a couple of days ago tried to resist them and were taken to the prison in the old mining facility?'

Maria nodded again, looking both nervous and sad as she said with a fake happy voice "Hold on please would you dear? Let me finish making these."

Once they were done the two sat at the dinning table so Maria could converse via writing as well.

'It's just the three of you? You'll be no match for them.'

Coco wrote down a response; 'No, there are others somewhere outside of the village, I can't tell you many details right now because I don't know if you can be trusted not to snitch on us for a reward or for your husband's freedom.' "Thank you for the eggs ma'am, they're very good." she said as she took a bite of them with a fork.

"Oh you're welcome young lady." Maria said as she wrote 'Even if I did they'd never let him go, he wounded two officers before they got him down. He and over two dozen others are in that prison along with who knows how many humans and Faunus. They didn't just take humans you know, they arrested any Faunus who tried to fight back or spoke out against them. Every building has been bugged and there are over a dozen agents spying on the town.'

'We guessed as much. The others who came with me aren't here right now, they snuck out and are scouting out the prison.' Coco wrote as she said "So when do you think your town will get a new Huntsman? It's not safe for a village like this to be without one."

"Oh we'll get one sooner or later, one of our deputies went to Vacuo City itself to assure they send somebody soon." Maria said to her as she wrote down 'The prison? You're going to free the people they have locked up in there? If you are I want to thank you so much! I've been worried sick about my Anthony.'

"That's good to know." Coco said with a nod as she answered with 'We're here to get someone in particular out, the White Fang's original leader from back when it was a peaceful organization. It's new leader, a blood thirsty nutcase named Adam, had him locked in there for some reason. What can you tell me about the prison?'

'Not much, but I know it must have many prisoners, since there have been at least thirty or so ships coming and going there ever since they set it up. I've even heard that one left this morning. Rumor has it they lock up any human they capture or any Faunus who tries to fight them. The only reason they haven't locked us all up yet it becasue they need the village to appear normal, or to use us as hostages.' Maria wrote. She looked to Coco with nervous eyes. "I'll be happy when we do get a new Huntsman or Huntress, I've been on edge ever since we've had these Grimm coming around.

Coco nodded and began to write again. 'Well the Vacuo Rangers know what happening, they've let us come in first to check out the situation. I promise you Maria we will free your village, we'll do our best and our best usually tends to work out. When we're in the prison tomorrow we'll record some videos and take some pictures, if we can prove that innocent Faunus have been wrongfully imprisoned we might be able to turn the White Fang against its leader, or at least start some in-fighting. Do you think Faunus have been treated badly up there?' "What kind of Grimm have been giving you problems?"

"Oh all kinda; Beowolves, Boarbatusks, Geists, even an Ursa or two." Maria answered as she wrote down 'I'm not sure but I wouldn't put it past these brutes. Sometimes I can swear I hear screaming echoing from the mountain pass.'

Coco nodded and said "Well I hope everything works out okay."

Maria smiled sadly, with a few tears welling in her eyes and she said "I hope so too dear, thank you... thank you so much."

Coco wasn't exactly sure how things would turn out, but she would try her hardest to free this town and the prisoners from the White Fang. Some people thought it odd that the daughter of one of Remnant's top models became a Huntress; some said it was nothing but a phase, or just a way of seeking attention. They were wrong. Coco was in this to help and protect people, she wanted to prove that she was more than just a beautiful face with a nice body.

She was going to help save these people, naysayers be damned.

* * *

Neo and Qrow arrived outside of the prison, unseen and undetected. They took cover behind a large group of trees that hid them from sight as they took a minute to catch their breaths. Once they had both recovered Qrow whispered to the girl "Okay, you use your Semblance to sneak yourself in. I'll get my own way inside."

"What?" Neo asked, a little weirded out by such a plan. "I don't like talking unless I have to and I have gotta ask; how are you gonna get in there without me? What is your Semblance?"

"A secret to everyone, including my family. Let's just say it's an odd one and leave at that, since that's how much Ruby and Yang know. Now get moving, and don't forget to download a layout of the place." Qrow ordered. "We meed back here in an hour."

Neo rolled her eyes and nodded as she turned invisible via her Semblance and began moving toward the prison.

The prison itself was a large, stone and steel facility with dreary colors that faded into the mountain-side rather well. It was two stories tall and about a few thousand yards long with fences of electric barbwire surrounding the perimeter, along with a seven foot tall brick wall that seemed to be hastily constructed. The compound was littered with various things; there were multiple guard towers, light towers, and turrets along the prison as well, while groups of four guards marched on patrol. On one of the roofs was a landing platform large enough for a transport ship, several large cannons to repel any attack from the sky or the ground, and last but not least was a long pole that had what was most certainly a dead human body hanging from it, giving off a macabre warning to all the prisoners within that such a fate could be waiting for them should they step out of line. All in all the place had a rather oppressive atmosphere, but such things tended not to both Neopolitan.

The closer Neo came toward the main entrance, which was flanked by a small shack where two guards were stationed and it had an open door to the interior of the main compound. The guards seemed to be able-bodied men, armed with advanced assault rifles probably stolen from a shipment. Neo stood still and remained invisible as she waited for one of them to present an opportunity to her, and sure enough one of them did.

The skinnier of the two got up and opened the door to go out and breathe in some fresh air, which gave her the perfect chance. She strolled on in, unnoticed by all, and made it into the compound without a hitch. She still wondered how Qrow planned on getting himself in, but if she had looked behind her when she had gone up the hill she would have seen a crow fly out from behind the gathering of trees.

Neo's Semblance kept up her invisibility as she made her way through the main compound, past guards and vehicles and equipment. She spotted a doorway that was open and empty and dashed towards it, still unnoticed by the prison at large. She slipped in and saw a bathroom door nearby, she smirked and mused to herself 'This isn't no hard.' She quickly made her way into the restroom and once she saw that she was alone she allowed her invisibility disguise to fall and replaced it with that of a White Fang guard with a Raccoon tail while she made her umbrella look like the usual White Fang gun.

Now that she was properly disguised she walked out into the hallway and began to march into the prison in a soldier like fashion.

Meanwhile outside Qrow, in his avian form, landed on the rooftop of the main building. His head darted this way and that, looking about at the guards' rotations and movements that they had been decently trained and could tell by the way they moved these guards were not pushovers. They could probably be taken out quickly in a sneak attack but in a straight up fight they'd be an adequate challenge for the inexperienced fighter. Luckily he knew that the kids of Team Beacon would be good enough to fight them off when the need would arise, problem was figuring out how many White Fang operatives were at the prison.

He looked down the wall and spotted an open window and took his chance and swooped off of the roof and onto the window sill where he hopped into the building and onto the floor quickly so he wouldn't be noticed. The room, which seemed to be some kind of a guard's lounge, wasn't empty like he hoped it would be, there were about five guards in it, all off duty, so Qrow knew he would have to be careful.

He hopped from cover to cover, trying not to be noticed by anyone. He saw that the door was open, giving him the perfect chance. He might be spotted but hopefully he could get away before these chumps could move to catch him. He hopped out into the open, mentally cursing how annoying it was to walk in his bird body since hopping was faster and walking was dreadfully slow, but he made it to the door, just as a guard said "Hey, it's a bird!"

The other guards all looked to see the crow standing in the doorway. "How did that thing get in here?"

"We opened the window, maybe it came in and we didn't notice." said a female guard.

"Should we catch it?"

"We should try..." just as the guard said that Qrow took off and flew down the hallway.

'Not in your lifetimes.' Qrow thought to himself, wishing he could smirk with his beak. He saw that the ceiling of the hallways were covered with pipes that would give him cover so he flew up and hid among the piping, letting the guards trying to catch him run by.

Once he was sure he was good to go Qrow came down and began to fly mere inches under the ceiling, taking care to stay away from the busier hallways until he came across an open air-vent. 'Bingo.' he thought to himself as he flew in.

He moved down the air vents and soon enough he made it to the cells and he began to look in on the prisoners. A lot of humans, no surprise there, but there were more Faunus prisoners than he expected there to be. As he moved further and further into the vent the more obvious it was that these prisoners had been through hell, especially the Faunus ones. That meant if they could get proof of the White Fang abusing the race it claimed to protect they could turn the Faunus race at large against the White Fang for good and maybe even cause a schism within the ranks.

Qrow thought about Razor, the man seemed to be a decent guy with a code of honor, something unusual among the punks who tended to fill up the Fang's number, but he also knew that a good many of these Faunus were altogether good people who had just been disheartened by the mistreatment they had received from some unsavory humans so maybe if they were to be shown some kindness and how the White Fang really operated they could realize the mistake they had made joining up with Adam Taurus. Qrow knew there was hope for a lot of these Faunus yet.

He moved further and further into the prison, seeing more prisoners both human and Faunus, in the cells below. He kept moving about the air vents, trying to memorize any place that stood out to him.

Eventually he came to a vent over an unusually large prison cell, that looked more like a dungeon out of a fairy tale, he could see prisoners in there but he couldn't really tell if they were human or Faunus... until he noticed something rather unnerving; one of the prisoner's hands had been cut off. Qrow grimaced, while wounds like that weren't uncommon in prisons such as these he had a terrible feeling in his gut that told him something very wrong was going on in this prison.

He used his eyes to carefully look around the dark room and he could see even more people moving around, some with missing hands, feet, eyes, and most disturbingly; bloody stumps coming from their heads and the smalls of their back.

The truth hit Qrow like a ton of bricks. These people were all Faunus whose animal features had been amputated.

Qrow felt sick to his stomach as his avian feet gripped the vent tightly. Early on in the second Faunus revolution amputating a Faunus' animal part had been deemed a abominable war crime that only provoked the Faunus groups. It had been decided that any officer in the military caught preforming such an act would be stripped of his rank and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. While it had been an effective law since amputations rarely ever happened after that and those responsible for it when it did happen were punished severely. Qrow had heard rumors of such thing happening in work camps where Faunus were treated like slaves but the councils had put a harsh crack down on such places in recent years. But still... the thought of the White Fang doing something as awful, as inhumane as this was... it was just horrific. Aura could heal them, but not heal the emotional trauma of losing a part of your body.

This was how low Adam Taurus and his cronies were willing to go.

Qrow was beyond furious, the last time he felt anger like this was when Raven had been killed.

He watched as these people moved about in the dark, those with eyes helping those who no longer had them, some of the younger ones sobbing quietly on the dirty floor, others just sat about the place looking dead inside.

This was it. This was the proof they needed. Qrow knew that if the ranks of the White Fang knew of this, that if warriors like the Elite Guard knew about this, and Qrow knew for a fact that there was a damn good chance that they didn't, then the White Fang would tear itself apart trying to make Adam pay for what had been done to these Faunus.

He wanted to say something to these people, anything at all. He wanted to whisper comforting words to them, tell them he'd get them out of here, promise them everything would be alright in the end... but he couldn't do that right now. He needed to stay silent for this little infiltration mission to go off without a hitch. Plus he still needed to locate Claudandus, but he made it a priority that once the old man was safe they were going to storm this prison and free each and every person who was being held here, human and Faunus alike.

Elsewhere in the prison Neo walked around without incident, her disguise allowing her to move about freely. After she found a directory she made her way to the command room where she could get her task done quickly.

As she kept walking she heard a voice call "You there!"

She halted in place and turned around to see the Warden approaching her. She pointed at herself to ask 'me?'

"Yes you, I don't see anyone else here!" scolded the Warden as he walked over to her. "I need these papers delivered to the command room, can you handle that?" he asked.

Neo nodded and gave him a salute before she walked down the hallway, thinking 'Not too close at all.'

She made it after a little bit of walking and delivered the papers to the officer on duty at the command room. She gave him a salute as well and looked around the room, which was large with many chairs in front of a long line of computer consoles and banks. There weren't as many White Fang officers in the room as she thought there would be, only sixteen or so but it made no difference to Neo.

She took out her scroll, which she had programmed to hack discreetly into the computer system and find exploitable weak-points, codes to get past guards and security systems, the exact number of White Fang members stationed at the prison, and a map of the facility so they would know their way around. She disguised herself a bit more with her Semblance to make herself look like a White Fang solider on guard duty while hiding the sight of her scroll being plugged into the computer bank.

'This isn't so hard, but it probably would have been for them. What's a girl to do?' she thought to herself cockily as her scroll went to work.

She looked to see one of the officers at the computer consoles had noticed something had been plugged in, and with a small extension of her Semblance said officer looked again and saw nothing.

Later on, back in the air shafts Qrow kept moving forward, he didn't know how long he had been in the prison but he knew that it would soon be time to meet up Neo outside and he still hadn't found Claudandus.

Just then, as he was moving over an air vent he overheard some guards talking.

"Bloody little buggers, they just don't learn do they?" said a female guard as she shoved a human prisoner into a cell.

"Nope, man I'll be happy when the new guys get here tomorrow, we'll need all the help we can get to keep these morons in line." said her male cohort, who had a long rat tail coming out of his pants.

"Yeah, but I don't think twelve more guards will be enough for reinforcements." said the female Faunus.

"Just be happy we're getting any help at all!" said the male as they walked out of sight.

'A dozen new guards, huh? That sounds like an opportunity...' Qrow thought to himself before he got moving again.

As he kept moving he eventually came to an air vent above a lonely cell with no windows and only one occupant, a Cat Faunus who was currently sleeping on the bench he had been provided. Qrow looked closely and saw that the man appeared to be in his late sixties and his hair color was exactly like Blake described it and Qrow also recognized the Faunus from the pictures Ozpin had showed him he, so knew that this was Claudandus.

Qrow mentally grinned as he began to move quickly in the air shaft to look for a way out and after four minutes of hopping through the ducts he came across an open vent that wasn't too far from an exit. Qrow flew out of the vent and landed on the floor, startling the guard on duty.

"Whoa! Where the hell did you come from?" cried the guard in surprise.

Qrow flew over to the door and began pecking at it with his beak, cawing to let the guard know he wanted out. The guard, still rather weirded out by the random bird coming out of the air shafts, nodded and muttered "Okay, you want out, I'll let you out." He opened the door and Qrow took off into the sky.

Qrow landed behind the trees and turned back into his human form, remaining silent and unseen the entire time. Those amputees were major, he knew they needed to be saved as soon as possible but it would take time. There was a part of him that wanted to say 'fuck subtly' and storm the prison right now, kill anyone who got in his way, and free every prisoner, call the Rangers for help and get the whole thing over with, but that would be way too reckless and would get too many people killed.

If they were going to pull this off they would need patience and careful planning. Besides, a dozen new guards arriving tomorrow was a promising chance.

After about ten or so minutes of waiting Neo returned to the meeting place and allowed herself to become visible after she had went invisible once again to get out of the prison unseen.

"I got it, I downloaded a copy of the prison's important files, we're good to go." she whispered as she panted.

"You okay?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah, I had to be careful in there so I wouldn't be found out. I know for a fact Cinder and Salem would just love to get their hands on me if I was caught." she said to him.

"But you got everything we need?" Qrow asked.

"I got everything, yeah. What about you? What did you do?" Neo inquired.

"I checked around the place and I spotted some of the prisoners, including Claudandus, but they're treating some of those people like shit in there." Qrow said to her.

Neo nodded, "I know, I saw a bit of it."

"Did you see the amputees?" Qrow questioned.

"Amputees? No. What...?"

"Nothing, let's get moving. It's almost dark and the sooner we get back to the inn the better, I'll look at what you've got when we get back. Ready to move out?" he asked.

"Sure thing." Neo whispered. She put up the invisibility disguise again and they took off back towards the village, completely unnoticed by the White Fang.

* * *

Not long afterwards, just as the sun had finished setting Coco sat in their room, fiddling with a game on her scroll when it began to vibrate and she saw that it had received a text. She opened it up to see that the text read 'We're outside the window, open it up.'

She smirked and went over to the window to once again draw open the curtains and push the windows apart. The fashionista stood back as the two climbed up the wall and jumped back into the room. Coco moved to close the windows and the curtains as Neo allowed her Semblance to 'deactivate', as it were.

Qrow gave Coco a thumbs up and she smiled at him.

'So what did you guys find out? Was the mission a success?' Coco wrote on her scroll.

Qrow nodded and typed on his own scroll 'Yeah, but can we tell you tomorrow when we get back to the R.V.? It would be really annoying to talk about it like this.'

Coco smirked and nodded as Neo crashed onto the bed, a bit drained from how much she had to use her Semblance in the last few hours.

Qrow, following Neo's example, laid down on his own bed, looking forward to a good night's rest while he could get it.

* * *

The next morning Qrow, Neo, and Coco, under the guises of Victor, Jen, and Ashley respectively, all came down stairs to leave the inn, the former two were disguised once again by Neo's Semblance.

"I trust you all had a good night's sleep?" Maria asked from the front desk.

"Oh yes ma'am, do we need to pay you for anything else?" 'Victor' asked as he reached into his pocket.

"Oh no, you paid me enough yesterday. Good luck out of the road, and be careful sir, wouldn't want your girls to be hurt by the Grimm, now would we?" she said.

"No we wouldn't. Thank you for the room ma'am and have a good day." Qrow said to her as he led the girls out the door.

"I hope your husband will return soon, and safe too." 'Ashley' said to the older woman, giving her a wink.

Maria nodded and returned the wink as she said "I do too lass. I hope to see you again someday. Goodbye, and may you have a safe journey."

After that, the trio left the inn and began walking down the main street of Oro once again. A few of the townspeople, a select few of whom Qrow was sure were White Fang thugs in disguise, glanced at them as they walked out of town. No one said anything and nobody moved to stop them, but Qrow knew there were a couple pairs of eyes watching them.

Once they made it to the outskirts of town they followed the dusty path into the forest and Neo activated her Semblance to cover them. "We're good." she said.

"Finally, now let's get moving. We've got to report back so we can go over the plan I'm coming up with." Qrow said.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Coco asked quietly as they began to move quickly away from the town and back to the base camp.

* * *

After returning to the camp Qrow and Winter had spent sometime discussing what they had learned and after a couple of hours of planning they stood before the group of young Hunters-in-training and Neo as a hologram of the prison's layout from the ships computer hung in the air.

"From what we were able to find out not only do they have many of the White Fang's prisoners, both human and Faunus, inside of the facility but some of more rebellious townspeople who weren't going to be taken over without a fight. Claudandus is in there alright, I saw him myself." Qrow said.

"Thank the gods. Was he hurt?" Blake inquired.

"He was asleep but he didn't look as bad a some of the other prisoners." Qrow said darkly.

"They've got about ninety-two White Fang members about the place, officers, guard, and all including the warden." Neo added.

"And a dozen more coming in this afternoon, which will be a perfect way for us to sneak in." Qrow told them.

"How? Wouldn't they be coming by airship?" Winter asked.

"According to these reports Neo downloaded their coming via an old bus. We can ambush them, knock them all out, tie 'em to the trees, and take their places and their uniforms." Qrow said.

"I might have to bring along some extra clothes just in case, a couple of us might have problems fitting in to those outfits." Coco said, gesturing to Yatsuhashi and Yang.

"Well at least it'll be much easier than having Neo sneak us in one at a time." Neptune said.

"But there's a dozen of them, that means one of us three will have to go in too." Velvet pointed out.

"That will be you, Miss Scarlatina. Since you are a Faunus you'll fit in a bit more naturally, plus I think Mr. Scarlet and Penny will be okay with each other." Winter said.

"Looks like it won't be a Penny and two Scarlets after all." Yang joked, only to have everyone look at her.

"Boo." Scarlet muttered in disapproval.

"What does that even mean?" Weiss asked.

"I dunno, just kinda popped into my head, I mean; Scarlet, Scarlatina. Joke just kinda... was born and died instantly." Yang admitted.

"Well, anyway; so it will be the twelve of us going in; me, Winter, Team RWBY, the three members of CVY, you two" he said to Sun and Neptune "and Neo. I'll lead the first group with RWBY and Sun while Schnee will take the rest of you to pull the virus stunt we did at Atlas back when we saved Penny, you think you can handle that Schnee?" he asked. "We're gonna need it to give us more time to get out of there."

Winter nodded and said "I brought another one with me, I knew we'd need it to disable the prison's security system."

"Good, wonderful. Now after you upload the virus you need to go to this cell here." Qrow said as he pointed to the large, dungeon like cell on the map. "I saw some Faunus prisoners in there who have been horribly treated and mangled, you need to record them, take pictures or make a video, anything. We just need proof that Taurus has crossed the line and we might be able to get a lot of his followers to turn against him, maybe even those Elite Guard guys too."

"How bad is it?" Blake asked.

Qrow looked at her and hesitated a bit before saying "Pretty bad, they're not in good shape and will need a lot of help after we come back to get them out of there. Physical and emotional, maybe even mental considering what happened to them."

"What did they do?" Blake demanded.

"Look kid... it wasn't a pleasant sight. According to the data Neo stole these Faunus were members of the White Fang who tried to leave or Faunus who assaulted high ranking White Fang officers. As punishment for their actions they..." Qrow stopped and looked around, all of them were curious as to what he was about to say but some seemed to be a bit nervous as to what it would be. He looked to Winter who nodded, she felt the students could take it. Qrow sighed and answered "They amputated their animal body parts."

A long silence reigned.

Blake, Sun, and Velvet's eyes were all wide. Being Faunus themselves they were shocked, disgusted, and utterly horrified by such a thing. They had all heard about such atrocities being committed in the past so the idea that a Faunus group like the Fang were doing it to other Faunus... it was just incredibly wrong.

Coco and Yatsuhashi both looked to Velvet with concern while Neptune and Scarlet did the same with Sun. Yang looked at her own arm, realizing she wasn't the first nor the last victim of Adam's butchery. That made the idea of killing him with her new arm all the easier.

It hit Blake the worst of all, her ears dropped, her hands fell to her sides as feelings of dread and horror welled up in her body, but another feeling surged through her soul: guilt. Adam probably would never have gone this far if she hadn't left him. Tears began to stream down her face when Yang placed her robotic hand on her shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself for this. It isn't your fault. Adam probably would have done this behind your back anyway." Yang said to her.

"But I..."

"Not buts, this is no one's fault but Adam's. Okay?" Yang said firmly as Weiss came up.

"She's right, he's gone too far this time but you cannot blame yourself for his own actions, no more than I can blame myself for the things my family has done in the past." the Schnee heiress said.

Ruby hugged Blake and said "Don't worry Blake, we'll save all of them. We're here for you."

"We all are." Sun voiced as he looked Blake in the eyes, letting her know how much he meant it.

"They must be stopped. We cannot allow something like this to go unpunished." Yatsuhashi said as he placed a comforting hand on Velvet's shoulder.

"Yeah, after we get Claudandus out of there we come back with the Atlas Military and kick their butts!" Ruby declared.

"You're talkin' my language Rubes." Yang voiced as she placed her other hand on the shoulder of Sun to assure them she'd be there for them both.

Sun gave her a grin and said "Freaking A! The next time we see Adam we'll give him the beating of a lifetime!"

"Yeah, he's going down once and for all!" Neptune chimed in.

"He won't stand a chance." Penny agreed.

Blake gave her friends a smile. This feeling; the friends she had made since she had left Adam, the love she felt, the things she had done... this wouldn't have happened had she never left Adam. So in the end it was probably better that she did leave him, and though there had been terrible things to come from that, she would make sure they would be undone. She would make it right. She would stop Adam for good, but she knew that as long as she had her friends, her new family, she wouldn't have to do it alone.

"Adam will pay for what he has done, and we're going to be the ones to stop him." she said, receiving a round of cheers and sounds of agreement from the others.

"Couldn't agree more, but Blake, are you sure that the whole White Fang doesn't know about this? I mean if it's common knowledge then getting proof won't mean jack." Qrow stated.

Blake shook her head, "No, it has to be a secret only known by Adam and a handful of others, I doubt that many of the guards know. I've known Razor since I was a child and if he were to find out about this nothing could stop him from turning on Adam."

"Good, all the more reason we need proof of what's happened in there." Qrow voiced.

"Indeed, but we must be careful. If something goes wrong our plan will be thrown into jeopardy, so shall we go over the plan?" Winter asked.

"The brief version we know: sneak in, get Blake's old friend out, get out as quietly as we can until we're noticed and then we fight our way out, Penny and pirate boy come in this R.V. to get us out of there, we race back to here where the Rangers will pick us up, and then Ironwood and co will come back to kick some ass. But it would be nice to go over the details." Coco said.

Winter gave the girl a bemused look and said "Well put, Miss Adel. Now, shall we begin."

Everyone nodded as Ruby said "Let's get started, this is serious so we can't afford to mess this up. A lot of innocent people, both human and Faunus, need us to save them. So let's not disappoint anyone. Okay?"

Qrow smiled, Ruby was going to be an amazing leader and Huntress someday. He nodded and said "Well said kid. Okay, so here's what we're gonna do; the twelve of us will go to the road around the time the bus approaches, which will be around five in the afternoon and then we..."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Jailbreak! Sorry I didn't tell you more about the plan, but I didn't want to bore you with the details, which you will see in action next time!
> 
> Okay... so I think all of you can tell that my version of Adam has well and truly gone off the deep end.
> 
> Sorry not much happened in this chapter and it might suck a bit since I was suffering with some writer's block and I have relatives visiting so I've had a lot on my mind. This chapter was mostly setup for what is going to go down in the rest of the arc, and trust me things are going to get crazy soon, but at least there was some character development for Blake and Coco. This chapter was going to be longer and have more scenes but due to time and personal reasons I decided to save them for the next chapter. Also the scene with Penny and Ciel was going to be in the last chapter but I decided to do it here so I could get the last chap done faster. Hope you're happy to know they're still friends.
> 
> It's going to be busy for these last two months of 2016; Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas are all coming up, but do not worry, I'll have at least two more chapters before the year is out. Promise!
> 
> Here are some more voices for the newer characters:
> 
> Razor: Lance Henriksen (Bishop from Aliens, Lockdown from Transformers Animated)
> 
> Shadow Reaper: Kieth David (Goliath from Gargoyles)
> 
> Councilman Henry: Charles S. Dutton (Dillon from Alien 3)
> 
> Haulan: Jessie Flower (Toph from Avatar)
> 
> Gina: Veronica Taylor (Delia Ketchum voice)
> 
> Jinty: Danny Webb (Morse from Alien 3)
> 
> Joanne Arc: Susan Egan (Lin from Spirited Away, Rose from Steven Universe)
> 
> Professor Crane: David Tennant (The 10th Doctor)
> 
> Anansi: Jonathan Adams (Vaatu from The Legend of Korra)
> 
> A story recommendation: 4 Years of Beacon by smstanton. He has helped me out so much and has recently promoted my story. This is one of, if not the best, Arkos stories I have ever read and is just a good romance. Do yourself a favor and read it, especially if you love Arkos.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	41. Escape from the White Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Razor walked with the members of his Elite Guard onto a large catwalk that overlooked a large room in the White Fang's headquarters with a stage at the back. Today was the day they would hold a funeral service, a wake so to speak, for the brave Faunus who had been killed by the Vacuo Rangers out in the desert. The incident had been discovered about three days ago, right before the Atlas military arrived. Bodies of Vacuo Rangers were found shot to death and signs of battle had been documented by Adam's scouting team, which confirmed that humans had been behind the brutal attack. As of yet the Atlas Military had yet to say anything about the incident or release information to the public.

'Probably to save their own skins.' Razor thought to himself, but still... there was something about this that didn't feel right. He had been shown the pictures of the mining facility and had seen the blood, bullet holes in the walls, and other various tell tale signs of an intense battle but in one of the pictures he could have sword he could see claw marks in the background. There was a nagging feeling in his mind, telling him that whatever happened at that mine humans weren't behind it. He had no idea who else could have been responsible, but if he was to be honest he felt something was very wrong with this whole mess.

Below them hundreds of members of the White Fang had gathered to mourn the fallen, or pray for their safe return if they were still alive and merely in captivity. Some were crying, some looked angry, some looked solemn, but they were all here to pay respects to the dead. Razor knew that some of these Faunus had known the ones who had been at the mine, so this was going to be a bit of a sensitive day. He looked to Russell, who stood next to him on the right and he whispered "Sad, isn't it? So many good Faunus down there, mourning for their friends, praying that they're still alive in a jail cell somewhere."

Russell nodded and quietly answered "There's hope, groups like the Rangers are like the Atlas military, they try to take prisoners, remember? With the way human-Faunus relations have been improving they'll probably have taken prisoners unless they were forced to kill."

"I don't know what to really think after those pictures I saw." Razor confessed.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see, I trust you boss." Russell told him sincerely.

"Thank you." the Boar Faunus said with a smile before he looked down to his left to see Piper. "Remember Piper, somber tones, respectful. Add some lightness in your music to give these people some hope. Just do your best."

Piper smiled and nodded confidently. Adam had approached them earlier that morning with the proposal for Piper; she would use her Semblance to preform some music for the lost ones, to give the ceremony a bit more emotions. Piper didn't like Adam very much, there was something about his she never liked as her music would often tense up if he was around her, but she happily agreed to do this for the lost members of the Fang.

Razor returned the smile and said "Just do your best."

Piper nodded again before giving Razor a brief hug and snapping back to a more professional stance. Just then a blast of air from one of the ventilation shafts blew past her and nearly blew her scarf off of her neck. She let out a gasp and frantically moved to grab her scarf and wrap it around her neck again. Had one been looking closely they would have seen some rather unnerving scars on her neck.

"Are you alright?" Razor asked her. She nodded and fastened her scarf a little tighter.

At the end of Piper's side stood Thayer who was looking through his scroll before the ceremony officially began. He thumbed through the photo gallery until he came across one little picture that was very close to him; one of he and a younger Velvet taken before he left the Scarlatina family for the White Fang a few years ago...

_4 Years Ago_

_Thayer walked about his younger brother's home in a very foul mood. They had been working at the Sandleford market for years now, helping needy Faunus families get food, and even some human families at his brother's insistence but for Thayer it was mostly for the needy Faunus who had been neglected and mistreated by humanity. Unlike John, his more forgiving brother, Thayer was a bit of a vengeful type. When they were young they had often been picked on for their ears, some of the meaner human punks would sneak up on them and scream right into their ears to give them one hell of a scare. Thayer had often wanted to fight back but John always kept him in line, keeping him from sinking to their level._

_When they grew up and John got married to the lovely Rabbit Faunus named Margery, who had a cute little rabbit tail for her animal attribute, and they had a wonderful daughter named Velvet, whom Thayer simply adored. When she was little he always made time to play with her or tell her stories, and he didn't even mind her little nickname for him; 'Uncle Bigwig', which she called him due to the odd way his hair looked between his ears, while he found it a bit embarrassing at first he got used to it, mainly becasue of how cute she was as a little girl and he couldn't bring himself to make her stop calling him that, and he honestly missed it when she got older and stopped using the nickname. He was very protective of her, as if she was his own daughter, because whenever he heard about Velvet being bullied at school John had to talk him out of marching down to the school and making a scene._

_The two brothers worked together for years until four years ago when John had discovered something that made him furious: Thayer had been supplying the White Fang with free food._

_"I can't believe this Thayer... we agreed, no criminals!" John said, his ears twitching nervously._

_"They're not criminals! They're freedom fighters! They're the best chance we have at equality..." Thayer said before John cut him off._

_"Oh? Our best chance at equality is terrorism, hurting humans, stealing, and attacking companies? I don't buy it! I mean, they were perfectly all right and I wouldn't have made such an issue over this if that Claude or whatever his name is was still in charge but he isn't! They kicked him out when he refused to go along with their violent ideas, is it any wonder why so many people who once supported them have withdrawn said support!" John cried._

_"It doesn't make any difference. If those schools and councils really cared about equality they would have done more than just 'support' the Fang. They're the way of the future John!" Thayer argued._

_"If the future of Faunus kind is to harm others with a 'might makes right' mentality then I want no bloody part of it!" John snapped furiously._

_There was an uncomfortable silence between the two._

_"So what does that mean for us?" Thayer asked._

_"I guess it means we're through. I can't cover you for this, this is serious man... I..." John tried to say but couldn't bring himself to be too blunt with his brother._

_"It means you'll turn me in? Is that it?! Well fuck you. If that's how little family means to you, if this is how little Vlevet's safety means to you..."_

_"Leave her out of this. She's made friends with humans, her teachers at the academy adore her, hell she's even thinking of applying to Beacon in a couple of years! She understands that we can't judge humanity becasue of a handful of bigots. I don't want you poisoning her head with lies and White Fang propaganda. Please Thayer, don't do this to us." John pleaded._

_Thayer looked at his brother sadly and said "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. It's what I think is right."_

_"I'm sorry too, please understand you have to stay away from us until you get this nonsense out of your head. I know it will hurt but... I have to take care of my family and I can't risk you getting us into trouble." John said sadly._

_Thayer looked at his brother with a mixture of anger and sorrow. "I... I understand. The one I've been selling the food to, big chap named Razor, offered me a place among them. I guess I'll have to take them up on that offer. Goodbye." he said before he turned around and walked out the door quietly, not even glancing back._

_He shut the door behind him and walked outside to see Velvet, now fifteen years old, sitting by a tree in the front yard looking rather sad._

_He sighed, for he knew that she had probably listened in on their conversation. Thayer hated to see his niece sad, but it was always worse when he felt responsible for it._

_He walked over to her and sat down next to her and said "Hi. So... I guess you heard me and your dad fighting?"_

_She nodded._

_"Look... I know this isn't easy for you Velvet but it's just something I have to do. I know your dad is angry with me, your mom will be too when she gets back tonight, and I know your mad at me too but... I need to go, alright? I'm doing this for our future, for yours. Maybe someday we will all be equal, but I don't think that'll happen anytime soon."_

_She was silent still._

_"Velvet... do you hate me?" he asked._

_She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and she said "No, I just don't understand why you helped the White Fang after the bad things they've done. You've helped criminals Uncle Bigwig, and I know you have to go away so you won't go to prison."_

_"Uncle Bigwig? You haven't called me that in five years." Thayer said with a bittersweet smile._

_Velvet gave him another smile and she said "I still love you, I just don't want you to get hurt."_

_"I'll try not to, but it'll be hard without your dad to keep me out of trouble..."_

_"You already are in trouble." she reminded him._

_He chuckled and said "I guess I am. I might come home one day, maybe we'll win or maybe we'll quit once the humans learn their lesson but I think one day we'll be together again, I promise. Just don't forget that I love you Velvet."_

_She smiled and said "I love you too, Uncle Bigwig. Let's take a picture, so you won't forget your promise."_

_He took out his scroll and said "Good idea."_

Thayer was snapped out of the memory by Misha, who had nudged him in the ribs. "You with us?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just thinking about my family, that's all." Thayer said as he put his scroll away.

She smiled at him and nodded understandingly. "A lot of us have families, hell that's why I'm here." she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep, for me it's my little brother. He's out in Mistral City working at some restaurant. When he was in school he got attacked by some human punks and beaten up pretty badly. I tracked 'em down and beat the shit out of 'em, after that I ran off and joined up with this mess..."

"Shush!" scolded Warwick.

"Shush yourself. I guess we'll talk later." Misha said, and Thayer merely nodded with a small smile.

As more members of the White Fang arrived, at least a few from each base and outpost, the Elite Guard observed them.

On Russell's side of the catwalk Kane, Selena, Jinty, and Babara all looked down and the Elephant Faunus couldn't help but comment "Man, there's a lot of them down there."

"Yeah, makes me wonder what Adam's gonna pull." Jinty said quietly.

"What makes you think he'll pull anything?"Selena asked.

"It's Adam bloody Taurus, besides he didn't do anything this big for the ones we lost at Beacon. I think something's up." Jinty elaborated.

"Like what exactly?" Kane inquired. While the Flying Fox Faunus didn't know whether to believe Jinty or not he knew for a fact that something like that wasn't beneath Adam and that their leader had become increasingly violent over the years, more so after Blake ran off.

"I think he's trying to smother out any discourse in the ranks and use this tragedy to rally everyone to his side. I mean from what I've heard the only bodies the scouts found belonged to Vacuo Rangers, so why would the humans take all of the Fang troops there, dead or alive, but leave behind a few of their own soldiers there? It don't add up." Jinty pointed out.

Kane and Selena glanced at each other, both knew that the Weasel Faunus had a legitimate point. Little did they know that Razor had overheard this and he also knew that Jinty wasn't wrong, he had questioned Adam about it himself but Adam simply said that the humans weren't as honorable as he was and had brought up the possibility that it was done on purpose to throw them off track. Razor didn't know the truth but he suspected that it would come to light sooner or later.

"So did you know anyone who was at the mine?" Babara asked.

"Yeah, one of them, a guy called Riley. Met him a few times but I wouldn't say we were friends." Kane admitted. "He used to be the leader of a recon team, some of them are down there with the others. He was a decent guy, spoke out against Adam when he and his group were forced to help out in the attack on Beacon, they lost one of their own and he really began to voice some harsh opinions on Adam, even when he stopped by my old outpost in Mistral. I guess Adam respected him though since he gave him a promotion and put him in charge of that old base."

"Weird." Babara muttered.

"What is?" Kane inquired.

"Because the medical officer who got transferred to the mine, Styles, also spoke up against Adam once when he said to let a human prisoner die." Babara told them.

"Hmm, she probably wasn't used to Adam's typical rants. It is a bit odd that both of them had spoken up against him though." admitted Russell.

"Plus, Adam does have his... violent outbursts and punishments..." Kane said, remembering the needles stabbed into his back as punishment for losing Blake and his troops.

Razor nodded in agreement, making note that he would have to ask his leader about this later on but for now he spoke up; "I understand your concerns but don't go spreading rumors. I will speak to Adam about this in detail later, for now we need to remain quiet, it's about to begin."

"Yes sir." they all said before going respectfully quiet as lights lit up the stage. Razor looked to Piper and she nodded as she began to make her music.

Hui and eleven other White Fang lieutenants walked out to the stage before standing to attention as the cameras began to transmit the ceremony to other White Fang bases on a secured channel. Adam came out with Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe following him, the three putting on stoic faces for the crowd.

As Piper's music kept up the somber yet respectful tone, Adam stepped up to the microphone and began to speak; "I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for attending this ceremony today, and to all of those who couldn't make it I commend your dedication to our cause. In attendance today we have at least one or two White Fang soldiers from each outpost and base throughout the Four Kingdoms, we have the members of the White Fang Elite Guard on the catwalk above, and we have three representatives from our ally's forces; Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, and Lieutenant Commander Steppenwolffe, a Faunus who fought for our race's freedom in the last war, before some of us were even born."

Steppenwolffe nodded to the crowd modestly, some looking at with awe, some with doubt due to his Grimm appearance. "I've wanted to work with the White Fang ever since I've heard of what you've all accomplished. So far you haven't disappointed me, you do our race proud." he said, earning some applause for himself before looking to the Fang's leader.

Adam continued, "They have come to assure us of their dedication to Faunus equality, they promise me that when they overthrow the failing Kingdoms they will bring about a new world order, and in that order we shall be free to do as we please! We will have justice!"

The crowd applauded and cheered for him and for the three agents of Salem. Emerald simply smiled and waved while Mercury soaked it up.

Once the applause died down Adam began again. "You know why we are here. Several weeks ago I decided to reestablish an old base from the Faunus Wars, a large place where we could be safe in the event of a catastrophic defeat or attack by the humans. I placed Captain Matthew Riley in command of this operation, knowing he would be right for the job, even though he and I had our differences in the past. The equipment was faulty but he assured me they'd have them up and running soon. After over a week of nothing from them I sent Lt. Hui to check on them and he found the facility devastated with obvious signs of a battle and the bodies of four Vacuo Rangers, all human."

There were a few hisses, growls, and boos from the crowd while Piper's music got a bit angry sounding. Adam allowed himself a smirk and went on, "It was obvious to me what had happened; the humans arrested any surviving White Fang operative and took the dead ones away to throw us off of their trail but it didn't work! I know that the humans are behind this and that they have our people imprisoned and have done gods know what with the dead! But we will not be silenced, will we?"

"NO!" shouted back the crowd.

"No we will not! They want us to forgive and forget their past sins, but I cannot forgive and forget what humanity did to me, that is why I am forced to wear this mask, to hide how the humans marked me! I will not forget the innocent Faunus who died by human hands and I will not forgive them for it! Even our founder Claudandus fell to this sin, as he wanted to 'forgive and forget' humanity's atrocities, he even tried to silence me as some months ago he conspired with the traitor Blake Belladonna to spread lies about me, blame me for the deaths of White Fang operatives who deserted us! He currently rots in prison for his crimes. He wants us silenced!" More boos roared out. It had been easy to turn the White Fang against Claudandus since most of them had joined after he left and the cover story seemed to work. "Well we won't remain silent for long my brothers and sisters! As we speak, in our main hanger, a special ship is being refitted with armor and weapons for the purpose of flying all over Remnant, from villages to cities to let the world of humans and Faunus know we will never be silenced! We shall broadcast a message to remind them of our cause and of their sins, and if they try to shoot us down we will shoot back! Next week we will fly that ship and it shall spread our message and we will speak up for the whole of Faunus kind! We will not allow ourselves to be silenced! We will not let the humans forget the blood on their hands! We are the White Fang and we will have justice!" Adam yelled, earning a loud chorus of cheers and applause from the crowd before him as Piper swelled up her music victoriously, even though she found herself a bit unsure of Adam's methods, but she did what was wished of her.

Adam waited for the cheers and claps to die down again before he gestured towards the Elite Guard and said "The whole Elite Guard is here and with them is their leader Razor, and I would like for him to say a few words."

Razor gracefully nodded, even if he was sure he agreed with what Adam was purposing for the ship, but he cleared his throat and began to speak nonetheless.

"I am grateful for the chance to speak for our fallen comrades, even if I didn't know many of them, but I am sure that at their hearts they were good people who wanted nothing more than equality, like all of us here today." he said as he briefly met the eyes of Razor and Steppenwolffe who eyed him oddly, but Razor ignored this for now. "While we hope and pray that some of these Faunus are alive and in captivity we know that some of them must have perished and I hope that their souls have been taken to Elysium where true heroes belong. I must ask why are we here? Not why do we exist, that is too complicated to answer, I ask why are we a part of the White Fang? Why do we fight? We have all been wronged by humanity in someway or another; maybe they hurt us, maybe they hurt a loved one, maybe you couldn't stand being treated like you were lower than dirt, maybe you had been a slave, maybe you had been left scarred by them..." he glanced at Piper who still made her now sad sounding music, even as she briefly touched her scarf that hid her neck from the world like Adam's mask hid his forehead. "... or maybe you just joined up because you felt it was the right thing to do. The Faunus at that Mine were not the only ones to be lost, we fight each and every day to survive and sometimes we will lose one of our own. But I hope that you will all find comfort in the fact that these Faunus will never be forgotten, they will live on in our memories. They will live on as long as the White Fang lives on! Long live the White Fang." he finished.

"LONG LIVE THE WHITE FANG!" Everyone else cheered.

As the applause roared Jinty leaned over and said "Nice speech boss."

"Thank you, I meant every word." Razor said.

"But that makes me wonder how much of Adam's speech was genuine?" Babara said, her voice nearly drowned out by the crowd. Razor had heard her but said nothing. There was a part of him that wondered that same question himself.

Adam spoke up again as he took out a piece of paper. "Well said, old friend. Now, I am going to list off the ones we lost in this tragedy, starting with Captain Matthew Riley... Ginger Styles..." He continued reading names off the list for the next five minutes as the ceremony went on.

* * *

Some time later the ceremony ended Razor made his way through the White Fang's headquarters with Kane and Selena trailing him.

"I'm just saying I never really bought the whole 'Blake and Claudandus wanted to blame Adam' thing. Hell I was the one who arrested him! I think Adam made it up so guys like you wouldn't really question it." Selena said.

"I don't believe it either and I know neither of you did, so why bring it up now?" Razor asked.

"Well we didn't make a big deal about it because neither of us wanted to piss Adam off, but this whole thing is just weird, man. I mean nothing really adds up, and after what Jinty said about the thing at the mine we're even more suspicious." Kane said.

"I understand and I'm going to talk to Adam about it now. Go back to the others and tell Jinty to quit spreading around his conspiracy crap." Razor ordered. The two nodded and left, leaving Razor alone. He walked through the occasionally busy hallways until he came found Adam in the main hangar, talking to some engineers who were working on the ship. "Adam! I'd like a word with you." he said.

Adam looked over to him and nodded, "Back to work." he said to the engineers, who quickly went back to their work places. Adam walked over to Razor and asked "What is it?"

"We should probably do this somewhere private. Just to be safe." Razor advised.

Adam nodded and led Razor away from the hangar and to a spare room where they could talk in private. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just want to ask you about Claudandus, in case you've forgotten both Kane and Selena are now part of my Elite Guard, and they both say you didn't have Claudandus arrested for conspiring with Blake. Why did you have him arrested? I know you want to use him to capture Blake but I want some reassurance." Razor demanded.

Adam glared at the older, larger Faunus and said "I've spoken to him several times and he told me he thinks I was responsible for the deaths of several deserters such as Tuskon. He confirmed he told Blake the same thing."

"But this was after you had him captured and did he threaten you with this lie? And why the cover story instead of just letting everyone know he's bait?" Razor pointed out.

"First of all; No, it was just his suspicion. Second of all; I don't want any traitors in our midst to tell that truth, plus some of our underlings light not like us taking our founder prisoner was so we can have bait to capture a traitor like Blake. Why are you questioning this now? You've known this ever we've had him in captivity, and it's been nearly six months." Adam said.

Razor sighed and knew Adam had a point. "I wasn't thinking clearly back then, my mind was elsewhere, busy fighting for the freedom of Faunus slaves in illegal work camps. I didn't question it then but I wish I had. Could I speak with Claudandus?"

Adam gave him a look and said "Perhaps, when his purpose has been fulfilled. If he cooperates he may go free."

"What do you mean by that?" Razor asked sharply.

Adam looked at the bigger Faunus and said "I'm using him as bait to trap not only Blake, but her friends as well. When you saved me from capture last week I suspected that they were on a mission to find Claudandus. If my calculations are right they'll begin a jailbreak any day now and when they do we will rush in and take them all down."

Razor glanced at his leader and asked "What will you do with them?"

"I'm to give Ruby Rose to our ally, she wants that girl alive. I'll do what I please with Blake, and that is final." Adam said firmly, glaring at the Elite Guard's leader. "We'll ransom off the robot and the Schnee sisters and use them as bait to lure in Willow Schnee, then you can find out what he wanted with all of those slaves. We'll use online dummy bank accounts to keep the money safe so we'll get some financial gain out of it as well. I might want to have some time with Wukong and the Xiao Long girl... but as for the others... we'll just have to wait and see. Are you satisfied?"

Razor sighed and said "I suppose I'll have to be for now... but know this Commander Taurus, I will not allow you to kill them outside of the heat of battle. We might be fighting for freedom, but we can't allow ourselves to sink to the levels of some humans."

Adam nodded, "Understood. Now leave me, I must attend to my guests."

"Yes sir." Razor said with a salute before he walked out the door to see Piper waiting for him. "Hello there Piper, did you follow me?"

She nodded and he just had to chuckle. "Well how about we go back to the ship together?" She nodded again with a smile. "Well then let's go." he said as he took her hand and the two walked down the hallway together, noticing Adam glaring at them as they left.

Once they were out of his sight Razor asked the thirteen year old girl "Piper, do you trust him?"

She glanced at him as if to ask 'are you serious?' before shaking her head 'no'.

"I don't trust him very much myself, but for the time being he is our leader. To be quite honest Piper I think I would have left this whole mess years ago had I not found you." Razor told her. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

Piper's scarf was like Adam's mask, it hid scars caused by human cruelty from the world, but the sad thing is these scars had been made just a little over four years ago. He had been reminded of the cruelty the humans were capable of and he took Piper in, treating her like the daughter he never had. He smiled at her as he began to think about what would happen should Adam go too far, something that now seemed incredibly likely.

Elsewhere in the White Fang's Headquarters Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe waited for Adam to arrive so they could talk with him about his plan to deal with Team Beacon.

"Ugh, how long do we have to stay here again?" groaned Mercury.

"As long as necessary, now quit whining." said Emerald. "We're lucky we've been given this job; we've barely done anything since Haven outside of keep Cinder company while she trains. Hazel would have come but he's busy scouting for the Spring and Summer Maidens with Sheer Kaa and Thorn."

"Hazel, heh. Still can't believe he puts on the 'strong, silent tough guy' act with a name like that. Seriously what parent names their son Hazel if he isn't a Rabbit Faunus or something wimpy like that? He didn't even bother changing his name." Mercury said.

"Say that to his face." Emerald dared.

That shut Mercury up.

"Anansi got stuck with Ante and this thugs and we can't let them come here and mess everything up, Ziz has been acting too moody lately and prefers to stick with her Grimm, Dr. Watts is working with Dr. West, Salem can't trust Tyrian with this since that freak mess it up big time, Sherizawa is busy working with Cadmus, Mavis is too inexperienced, the less said about Norvik the better, and you know what Cinder's been like recently so that leaves you and me." Emerald finished.

"Just be grateful you've been permitted to come along, boy. I don't mind Emerald but I find you to be untrustworthy, I only agreed to bring you along because Mistress Salem requested so, I wanted this assignment so do not screw around or you will be sorry." Steppenwoffe said darkly.

Mercury nodded and said "Okay, okay, I got it."

"So what do you think of the White Fang?" Emerald asked.

Steppenwolffe considered and said "The White Fang is rather impressive, reminds me of my old army from before Mistress Salem found me. I think they'll serve us well, but I think we may need to keep Taurus in line from time to time."

"Tell me about it." muttered Emerald as the door opened to reveal Adam himself.

"Don't bother, I heard you." Adam said, getting a snicker out of Mercury which earned a light slap from Emerald. "Sorry I'm late, I needed to see that progress on the ship was on schedule and I got held up by Razor."

"Will he be a problem?" Steppenwolffe asked.

Adam considered and said "Possibly later on but for now we'll need him. Many look up to he and the Elite Guard and if we were to turn against them things could go wrong for the White Fang. Now, shall we go over the plan?"

* * *

Late in the afternoon of a rather overcast summer's day in Vacuo a bus filled with guards for the White Fang prison drove down the old dusty road towards the village of Oro. It was nearly nightfall, even though it was a bit hard to tell due to all the gray clouds overhead but the darkness made it clear night was falling soon.

The lead guard came up to the driver and asked "How long will it be until we reach the village?"

"Uh... we're about ten minutes outside of the village and it's about another ten or so minute drive to the prison from there so about twenty or so minutes. Anyway we're nearly there, Sir." said the guard who drove the bus.

"Excellent, we'll be there in no time and... wait, what's that up ahead?" asked the lead guard, pointing to a small group of six White Fang troops standing in the middle of the road.

The bus got closer and stopped in front of them, its door opening so the lead guard and a few others could get out and confront these strangers blocking the path; two were male and the rest were female.

"What's going on here? Warden Wade said nothing about a welcoming committee." the lead guard said sternly.

One of the shorter female guards stepped forward and said "The Warden thought you'd like a surprise. Is that not acceptable?"

"Well... it's nothing to get mad over but it's damn unusual." said the lead guard as he eased up a bit.

"Well we're sorry to have bothered you sir, if you'd like we can escort you to the prison." she said as she offered up her hand to shake.

The lead guard nodded and said "That would be quite alright." He reached out to grab the woman's hand only for her to grab him and use her surprising strength to pick him up by his arm. "What the...?!" he exclaimed.

"One Hundred and ninety-six pounds." the girl said as the trooper next to her took out a whistle and blew into it, sounding off an alarm.

Just then with a sight similar to shattering glass the six White Fang guards were revealed to be Ruby, Blake, Velvet, Sun, Yatsuhashi, and Penny who currently had the lead guard by the hand.

"Attack!" Ruby cried as she let go of Ashe's whistle and yanked out Crescent Rose while Penny tossed the guard towards her friend and Ruby took him out with a blast of light caliber bullets from her beloved weapon while Qrow led Yang, Coco, Scarlet, and Neptune out of hiding from the forest and they all worked together to shoot at the bus, forcing the guards to get out and fight them head on, which was a bad idea as the guards closest to them were taken out by a heavy barrage of Dust bullets in mere seconds.

Blake jumped onto the bus, gripped the roof tightly, and swung inside, her feet kicking the driver in the face. She landed on her feet, grabbed the driver before he could recover, and tossed him into a waiting Penny who knocked him out and called "One hundred and sixty-seven!"

The three remaining guards who weren't busy fighting Sun, Ruby, and Yatsuhashi tried to run only to come face to face with Winter.

"Hello there." she said. Before any of the thugs could even move she attacked one with a brutal series of jabs to the chest, arms, and gut, knocked him down with a sweeping kick and punched him in the back as he fell before she jumped up and kicked the second one in the side of the head as she grabbed the third one and pulled her down by the shoulder, headbutted her in the gut, and smashed the palm of her hand into the guard's face before knocking her out with a swift kick to the head. Winter expertly landed on her feet and saw the second one trying to crawl away, she put a stop to that nonsense with one swift jab to the back of the head.

All of the guards had now been knocked out cold, with their uniforms, I.D.s, and bus all for Team Beacon's use.

"Penny, weigh all of them." Winter said as she took out a small kit with tranquilizers in it. She needed to know their exact weight in order to drug them with the special tranquilizer she had with her so she could give them enough to keep them asleep for ten hours. Too much could kill them and too little they'd risk a guard waking up early and figuring out a way to escape. Luckily Penny was able to determine someone's exact weight if she were to pick them up using her internal computers and special sensors in her skin.

After Penny had weighed them all the twelve guards were taken into the forest and tied to a tree tightly so they couldn't escape.

"So far so good. Those uniforms good Coco?" Blake asked as the leader of Team CFVY inspected the White Fang's uniforms.

"Yeah... we might have a bit of a problem here and there since Yatsu is so big but if Neo keeps up her Semblance that won't be an issue." Coco said as she made sure the outfits would be good so when they split up they'd still be convincing as members of the White Fang.

"We might have another problem. There are supposed to be seven guys and five girls, but we'll have four guys and eight girls." Sun pointed out as he checked the guards sleeping forms out.

"That's another thing I can take care of. Schnee, Yang, Coco, Velvet, and I will be the girls while I disguise the rest of you as guys." Neo said.

"Why us?!" demanded Weiss indignantly.

"Because you and Ruby will be easier to disguise, Blake needs it since she doesn't want to be recognized, and I don't think even my Semblance can hide Yang's tits." Neo said with a dry smile.

"Hey! Don't be jealous!" Yang teased back as she jutted out her assets proudly, which all of the boys (minus Qrow) couldn't help but notice while Ruby and Weiss rolled their eyes.

"... I don't get it." confessed Penny.

"And I'd like it to stay that way." Ruby said to her.

"Enough, we need to get to work. They'll be expected within the hour so we need to get moving. Is everyone ready?" Winter asked.

"We got our weapons, the uniforms, the I.D.s and Neo has her Semblance. You got the virus program?" Qrow asked.

"Of course. Penny, Mr. David, get back to the R.V. and get moving." Winter ordered. She had contacted the Vacuo Rangers before they left the R.V. and the ships were already on their way

"You got it Specialist Schnee, later lads and lasses, good luck in there. Come on Penny." Scarlet said.

"Coming. Good luck everyone, and be careful." Penny said to them all.

"We'll do our best Penny." Ruby said with a smile.

"I know you will, you're Ruby! You always do your best." Penny returned with an equally kind smile before she walked off, following Scarlet.

"Velvet, are you sure you wish to come with us? We already know we will see horrible things, you don't have to come if you don't want to." Yatsuhashi said to his partner.

"Yeah Velv, I mean I'm pretty sure Scarlet can..." Coco tried to say before Velvet stopped her.

"No, I'm good. I can do this." the Rabbit Faunus said, her voice filled with determination, which got a smile out of all of her teammates.

"Alright kids, let's get dressed." Qrow said, "Ladies first."

* * *

A short amount of time later, as darkness took light's place, Team Beacon's newly acquired bus drove through the village, soon left it behind and made its way towards the mountain Qrow finished putting on his gloves and checked the I.D. of the lead guard, who was apparently named Captain Furman, of all things. Qrow looked back to everyone as Winter, who was wearing a wig Coco had given her to hide her all too familiar white hair that the Schnee was associated with, drove the bus to make sure they were all ready for the mission and everything seemed to be good; they were all in their uniforms and Neo had her Semblance ready to use at any moment.

If things went according to plan they could pull this off with minimal casualties for both sides and save both the prisoners and the villagers, of course that was rather optimistic view and one that probably wouldn't happen considering their track record so far, but all they needed was a little bit of luck and this mission would be a success.

"Okay, let's go over the plan again." he said.

"We got it Uncle Qrow, we've drilled it a hundred times today." Yang said as she pulled a glove over her robotic arm.

"I know, but I'll feel better if I know for sure we all know what to do. Better safe than sorry, right Schnee?" he asked Winter nodded in agreement.

"He's right, you can never be too careful. Go over the plan again." she said.

"We know it, man; we get in, meet with the warden and let him take us on a tour of the prison or whatever and once we ditch him we go into action." Coco said.

"And once we are alone we split up; Winter goes to the command room to upload the virus which will take out the security systems and once she give the clear signal Uncle Qrow will take me and my team plus Sun to get Claudandus out while Neo and Coco lead everyone else to get proof of what Adam has done to those poor Faunus." Ruby continued.

"And once we've got Claudandus and the proof we hightail it out of there, probably being chased because let's face we will be, meet up with Scarlet and Penny in the R.V., drive to the extraction point while keeping any White Fang thugs who try to chase us off our backs, get on the Rangers' ship, and get the hell out." finished Sun.

Yang spoke up next, flexing her robotic arm which had a new rocket inside of it. "And when we need to get out I use my _handy_ rocket to blow apart that wall since you guys said it looked pretty shoddy. We blow up the wall, get out, meet up with Penny." she said.

"And then the Rangers will move in and get ready to free the village and once the councils release the proof of what Adam has done to his own kind arrive which will make taking back Oro and freeing the prisoners much easier." Blake added.

"That sums it all up pretty nicely. Now remember, you'll probably see some pretty awful things in there; beatings, the amputees, and Oum knows what else but you need to keep your cool, alright?" Qrow said and everyone nodded affirmatively.

"It's just down the road, get ready everyone." Winter said.

The members of Team Beacon became silent as the old bus drove up to the front gate and one of the on-duty guards approached them. Winter opened the door so Qrow, now disguised by Neo's Semblance to look like Captain Furman, could speak to him.

"Hello there, nice to see you made it on time. Warden Wade has been waiting for you, I'll let him know you've arrived. We'll open up the gate for you." said the guard.

"Much obliged." Qrow said, doing an impression of Furman, having heard a bit of his voice when he confronted Ruby and the others at the blockade.

The large gates split apart to let them into the compound and Winter drove the bus inward.

"No turning back now." Yatsuhashi muttered to himself.

"Was there ever?" Coco joked dryly as the bus swerved and came to a stop before the main building's entrance.

There were multiple White Fang troops in the yard, marching about on patrol or going about their duties as spotlight towers slowly moved about. This amount of activity was to be suspected in a prison but it made the present members of Team Beacon feel that these guards were competent at their jobs and would pose a threat in a battle.

Everyone got off of the bus, with Neo disguising most of them and hiding their weapons from plain sight, as a worker got on the bus and took it away to a garage on the other side of the compound.

Warden Wade, a large Bison Faunus who was the commander of the prison, came out of the main building with a stern and serious look on his face as he approached them. "Captain Furman, good to see you made it here. I trust the trip went well?" he said as he looked at them all thoughtfully, sizing them up and judging them.

"Uneventful sir, my troops and I have had a long trip and we weren't able to rest on those old roads so we'd like to retire for the night and familiarize ourselves with the base in the morning. Would that be alright, sir?" Qrow asked, still keeping up the impression as he knew the Faunus was inspecting them.

"Everything seems to be in order... oh, forgive me I was just getting a good feel on your troops. Why of course you can rest for now, I understand that you've had a long trip and are probably eager to get some rest. It would probably be better anyway as I have little to do tomorrow morning so I'll show you around the place and introduce you to some of the more high profile prisoners you will be guarding in the morning. We've already have a room set up for you and I hope it will be to your liking." Wade said.

"I'm sure it will be sir, thank you sir." Qrow said.

"Thank you sir!" said the others, to keep up the impression that they were the ideal, obedient White Fang guard team, even though Ruby, Weiss, and Blake had to deepen their voices to throw off the Warden, and it seemed to be working.

"Impressive... very well, I'll report to Commander Taurus that you've arrived, I trust he'll feel our prisoners are more secure now that you're here." Wade said before he pointed to a guard "You there, Sarne, take Captain Furman and his troops to their quarters then you may carry on with your duties."

"Yes sir." said the White Fang guard, "Follow me everyone."

Qrow nodded and saluted Warden Wade, which made everyone else follow in suit, before they followed the guard into the main building.

So far so good.

* * *

Once Sarne left them in their room Team Beacon made sure to search the room for bugs while Neo put on a trick with her Semblance on the security camera. Once they were sure the room wasn't bugged they all got on the beds. "Everything seems clear." whispered Sun.

"Yeah, I don't see anything" agreed Blake.

Qrow nodded and quietly said "Okay Schnee, your time to shine."

Winter nodded as she took out her scroll with a map of the base from Neo's downloads and she easily located the command room but found something else. "There's a computer terminal nearby, I think I'll be able to upload the virus there. It might be better, we should be as scarce as possible so I probably shouldn't pretend I just wandered into the command room." she said.

Qrow nodded, "Good thinking, if you can upload it there come back here but if you can't you'll probably have to go to the command room... and that Warden chump will probably have us woken up to help patrol the grounds for any intruders..."

"Which will allow us to move about freely." Winter finished, allowing herself a small smirk, which Qrow returned.

"You're brilliant, now while you're gone we'll go over the layout again just to be sure. Now get moving." he said.

"I'll go with you, if there's a camera there they might see you." Neo warned.

Winter nodded, "Good idea, come on."

As they exited the room Weiss said "Good luck Winter, be careful out there, you too Neo."

The elder Schnee sister smiled at the younger before closing the door and setting off down the dull, somewhat chilly gray hallway with Neo, who was already using her Semblance to keep them unseen by security cameras or any passing guards they encountered.

It wasn't long before they came to the terminal and Winter quickly plugged in her scroll and used it to subtly hack into the network, she just hoped it hadn't been noticed and mentally wished Penny had came along, her upgrades included advanced hacking abilities that would come in handy but her hiccups would be a problem for an infiltration mission such as this. Soon enough she was in and it seemed that she was unnoticed, so that was a big plus. She took out the flash drive that had the virus on it and plugged it into the terminal's port and once it was it she quickly gave the go-ahead for it to do its job.

On the R.V. Winter had programmed the virus to disable security cameras, alarms, listening devices, and electronic doors so it would be easier for them to get around and it would last for one hour. It had been made all the easier thanks to the information Neo had gotten the other day. After a few moments a small window opened up on the screen that read 'Virus Successfully Uploaded.'

Winter nodded and whispered "It's in." She then pressed a button on her scroll to send a transmission to the R.V. before she added "Come on, we better get back to the room."

Neo nodded and kept up the illusion as they made their way back to the room.

* * *

Meanwhile the R.V. moved along at a fairly quick pace in the forests surrounding the mountains with Penny in the driver's seat. While she was far from an experienced driver her highly tuned senses helped her keep the vehicle away from trees, logs, and other debris strewn about the forest so they would manage to get around unnoticed by the White Fang agents in the village.

"Whoa!" Scarlet cried as he banged his head on a cabinet.

"Are you injured?" Penny asked him.

"Eh, it's nothing, just a bump." he said as he sat down in the passenger seat next to her.

There was a short, slightly awkward silence between the two, even if Penny didn't realize it.

"So... you think they'll be okay in there?" he asked her.

She looked to him and smiled before she answered "Yes, I think our friends have a fair chance of pulling this mission off successfully, and you'd know if I'm telling the truth or not."

"How?" he asked her, a tad confused.

"Oh, you've never seen it. Well my father put in a little quirk so he knows when I tell a lie." she said.

"And what is this 'quirk', exactly?" Scarlet inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"My hair is blonde." Penny stated before letting out a hiccup, then she added "That is the quirk."

"Well that would probably get annoying." he observed.

"Only if I have to lie, probably why they took Velvet for this mission instead of me. I've asked my father to patch it but he refuses, he thinks it's... cute." Penny confessed.

Scarlet chuckled and said "Well he might not be wrong... what the?! Penny, look over there!"

"What is it?" she asked.

"Look, a pack of Beowolves, five or six of 'em." Scarlet exclaimed as they could see a few hundred meters away in the forest a pack of lupine Grimm dashing through the trees of the thick woods. "Wonder what's gotten them so excited?"

"It is most likely they saw the R.V. and have deemed it a threat, so they are getting out of our way. Wise, since this R.V. would allow us to crush them with minimum effort." Penny said.

"I guess that makes sense." Scarlet said with a nod.

Just then the computer on the car's dashboard lit up as Winter's transmission arrived. Penny opened it up and said "Specialist Schnee had uploaded the virus, the jailbreak will begin soon. Get the weapons ready just in case."

"You got it." Scarlet said as he jumped out of his seat and went to activate the vehicle's turrets and shields while Penny began to drive faster, still keeping to the woods but rushing to get there in time to help her friends.

She didn't want to let any of them down.

* * *

Winter and Neo returned to the room in no time at all and if their exit had been noticed it could be easily excused as a trip to the restroom but the important thing was that this phase of the plan had been a success so far.

"Virus uploaded, we sent Penny the message, everything went off without a hitch. We should move out now." Winter said.

"Yeah, the sooner we're out of this place the better." agreed Yang.

Blake nodded as well, she wanted to get Claudandus and get out as soon as possible. The last thing she wanted was to be around the White Fang after everything she had experienced and learned.

"Eh, hold up for a few minutes, we don't need to arouse suspicion." Qrow said.

"But the virus won't last more than an hour, maybe less since they might be able to recover quicker than we anticipated." Winter argued.

"My sister is right, plus we could be suspected since we just arrived. I don't thing the warden is very smart but he's probably not too stupid." Weiss voiced.

"All good points, can we please just decide what to do and do it?" Velvet asked.

Winter nodded and said "I think we should move out now, we need to use our time wisely..." before she could continue she was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

Qrow quickly placed the White Fang mask back on his head, then he got up to answer it while Neo quickly disguised the others. He opened the door to see a few White Fang officers standing in the hallway. "Captain Furman, Warden Wade has a job for you and your team. We understand that you wanted to get some rest but we have need of your services."

Qrow nodded and said "We're at his beck and call. What is it?"

"Something is happening to our security systems and he suspects there may be intruders in the complex trying to break out a prisoner. He needs more guards in the maximum security wing post haste." said the officer, who could see into the room and found it odd that they were all still in uniform despite retiring for the night.

"Right away, just take us to the wing and we'll help keep it secure until he gives us other orders. Come on everyone." Qrow said as he came out of the room with the others following him.

"Very good, come with me." said the officer who led them down the hallway, further into the prison.

After a few minutes they arrived to the maximum security wing of the prison; it had two doors on the left and the right as entrances, a large electronic gate that served as the entrance to the cells, which they knew contained Claudandus, the amputees, and who knows who else. There were six other guards there, all looking a little anxious.

"This is Captain Furman and his team, the Warden has assigned them to assist you in guarding the wing, so show them around and keep your guard up." said the officer. "Now we have to go join the others to search the premises. Do your best, soldiers."

"Yes sir." said the six guards. After that the three officers left the maximum security wing, with one of the guards locking the door behind them.

"How prisoners do you have in this wing?" Winter asked.

"Not many of the cells have prisoners but we do have a few, the ones Commander Taurus doesn't want getting out at all, but why would you ask? Weren't you assigned to help guard these people?" asked one of the guards.

"We just want to be sure." Sun said.

"Eh, it's okay. There are only five or six cells that are occupied and one of them had about a couple dozen or so traitors in it. I think altogether we have about thirty prisoners in this wing." the guard answered.

"They give you any trouble?" Winter inquired.

"Not much, some of the ones in their own cells do but not the ones all bunched up, those morons are broken, they're too scared to fight back anymore." the guard reported.

Qrow looked over to Ruby who was looking out of the left side door and she gave a nod, coast was clear. "Well then this job sounds easy. Any exits or restrooms?" he asked, just to make small talk.

"Yeah, one restroom here and there's another one in the cell block and there's a fire exit that leads to the compound right there." said the guard, gesturing to the 'T' shaped corridor that had an emergency fire exit at the top with a hallway on both sides.

Qrow looked over to Neptune, who was 'guarding' the right door and he gave a thumbs up. Qrow smirked a little as he said "Well everything that will Guard sees to be in perfect order, I think we'll have a good time here."

All of a sudden his arms shot out, grabbed the guard he had been talking to and slammed his head down on his knee before kicking him in the chest, making him stumble back to Coco who slammed her heavy bag into his head, knocking him out.

"What the...?!" a female guard began to cry when Yang delivered a powerful uppercut with her robotic arm to her jaw, sending her into the ceiling and when she came down Yang punched her into Weiss who finished her off with some quick and well placed punches to the back and a punch to the face.

Yatsuhashi grabbed two guards who were moving to fight and slammed their heads together before throwing them to Sun and Blake. Blake opened up her attack on the first guard with a kick to the chest and then slammed the blunt end of Gambol Shroud into the guard hard enough to knock him out while Sun whacked the other guard with Ruyi and Jingu Bang's combined form in his legs, arms, chest, stomach, back, and head and finished him off with a quick, but strong blow to the head.

Winter, on the other hand, had a more subtle way of dispatching her guard, she used a glyph to prevent a female guard from moving which allowed her to wrap her hands around her mouth and nose, cutting off the air, not nearly enough to kill her but enough to make her slip into unconsciousness.

Ruby took on the last guard; she rushed forward with her Semblance and she attacked with three kicks and a punch to the torso before she kicked him in the chin and followed up by slamming Crescent Rose into the guard, sending him flying to the other end of the room but Ruby's Semblance allowed her to beat him there, so she could jump up and finish him off with a powerful kick to the ground, spiking him like a volleyball. She added insult to injury by landing on his back perfectly.

"That's all six of them down and out, let's block the doors." Qrow commanded. He, Yang, Sun, Yatsuhashi, and Coco quickly went to work moving the desks and chairs and a few other things over to the door to barricade them just in case they were noticed. Ruby, Weiss, Velvet, and Neptune moved the unconscious guards to the side.

Blake grabbed a set of keys from a hook on the wall and said "Here are the keys to the cells, Neo give us the access codes to the main doors."

"Sure thing, according to this Claudandus' is 13751619." she aid slowly and carefully so the Cat Faunus would remember it. "Got that?"

"Got it."

Winter spoke up "I just checked on the R.V., it's nearly in position."

"That means this is it kids, no backing out. Let's move." Qrow said.

"Go, I'll stay here and keep look out." Winter said, and everyone nodded.

The group split up with Qrow taking Team RWBY and Sun down one hallway and Neo leading the present members of CFVY and Neptune down the other. They didn't chat, they didn't waste one precious moment of time. They couldn't afford to if they wanted to help these people.

However, little did they know that after Coco had finished off the lead guard he had managed to keep himself conscious long enough to turn his radio on, and transmit it to the command room... and the Warden had heard them.

* * *

Adam's head jerked to look at the door as someone began knocking on it. He has been resting after his long and extensive 'conference', so to speak with his three guests. He sighed and said "Enter."

The door opened to reveal a female White Fang officer, looking a bit on edge. "Commander Taurus, sir! Warden Wade had just contacted us via scroll, the prison has been infiltrated by Belladonna and her team!" she said quickly.

Adam jumped out of his chair and grabbed his sword. "He can confirm they're there?"

"Yes sir, he heard them himself, apparently one of the guards they attacked began transmitting on his radio before they knocked him out. He says they're in the maximum security wing." she said.

Adam snarled and said "We can't let them escape." He pushed the officer out of hid way as he dashed out of his room and towards the control room.

He entered the room and saw Hui standing at attention. "I trust you've heard the news sir?"

"Yes I have, go fetch our guests, they will be very interested in this. I do believe it is time the White Fang proved itself to the Mistress of Grimm by doing what her 'Maiden' could not." Adam stated confidently. "And once you have them gather our best troops just to be safe, we don't want to waste this opportunity."

Hui nodded and let the room to get Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe as Adam went over to the P.A. system.

"Attention all members of the White Fang, the nearby prison is under attack by the traitor Blake Belladonna and her... Team Beacon, a group of self-righteous humans and pathetic self-loathing Faunus like herself. They are trying to free the humans we have imprisoned and traitors to our race! We need to stop them! I call out to the Elite Guard and I ask for their help in stopping this attack on our cause." Adam said with a proud and determined voice.

"And you shall have it." said Razor's voice over the radio. "We'll stand by you and we'll help capture them, but let it be known that we want do fatalities on the young Hunters, understood, sir?"

"Understood and agreed." Adam said, hiding his annoyance with Razor's little code of honor. "I will come with you and your ship with Lieutenant Hui and some of my elite troops. Ready your vessel, Razor."

"Understood sir." Razor said before shutting of his radio.

"Commander Taurus sir, our long range radar has picked up faint traces of ships hovering in the air about a mile away from the village, they could be Ranger ships." said a technician.

"Then prepare the attack ships, if they make a move I want our fighters to shoot those ships down. And just to be safe move out our troops and surround the village and the mountain perimeter, many of the visiting officers from various bases are still here so we'll be able to do this a little easier. Deploy the troops at once." Adam commanded.

"Yes sir!" said a high ranking deck officer.

Adam smirked and walked out of the room, he knew Blake would try to save Claudandus sooner or later and the fact that she knew where he was proved that there was a traitor among them, or had been if said traitor had died with Riley and the rest of his fools in the desert. Luckily the White Fang's headquarters was located in the mountains near Oro, the prison was a simple flight away, that way if a jailbreak were to occur he could have troops flown in to aid the Warden in recapturing the prisoners. He wondered if Blake and her team knew they were so close, but it wasn't likely. They had been well hidden in these mountains for months and very few of the general rank knew its location unless they were told and in that case they usually swore to secrecy.

"Adam, your lieutenant has told us the situation. Are your forces getting ready?" asked Emerald as she, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe came out from behind a corner.

"They're preparing to mobilize, come with me to the Elite Guard's ship." Adam beckoned.

"I'll go on my own, thank you. I have my pack waiting for me nearby." Steppenwolffe said, as he had summoned some of his Beowolves earlier and had been calling to various Beowolves in the nearby areas.

"Suit yourself. Take us to the Elite Guard." Emerald said.

"Just follow me." Adam said as he began walking away, with Emerald and Mercury in tow while Steppenwolffe went off on his own.

Adam thought about the current events and knew that within a few hours his beloved would be his again whether she liked it or not and her little friends were his to do with as he pleased.

He allowed himself to grin at that thought.

The various members of the White Fang Elite Guard were rushing about their ship, getting into place, readying the weapons, releasing the ship from the grips that kept the ship steady in dry-dock, and starting up the engines.

"Ready your weapons everyone and get ready for a good fight, I think most of you will remember that these kids are not to be underestimated." Razor reminded his followers as he made his way through the ship. "And remember, no killing. Just because they're our enemies doesn't mean we shouldn't show mercy."

"And we don't show mercy to those who don't deserve it, just like those slaves, right boss?" said Kong excitedly.

"Well they're not that bad, so just keep your temper in check." Razor advised with a small smile, but the warning was clear.

"Uh, got is Razor, no fatal attacks." Kong said with a nod as he walked off.

Razor rolled his eyes as he walked forward to see Thayer and another member of the Elite Guard, a Horse Faunus named Edward.

"Get to your ships and get ready to pull out, we're probably going to have to give chase." Razor instructed them.

"You got it." Edward said he strolled off but Thayer lingered behind, obviously nervous and Razor noticed this.

He sighed before bringing the Rabbit Faunus close, leaning in, and whispering "Thayer... I'll do my best to make sure no harm comes to your niece."

Thayer looked at his leader, his true leader, Adam Taurus be damned, with nervous eyes and said "Th-thanks boss... oh Oum she'll hate me for this."

"Let's hope not. I'll talk Adam into releasing her and some of the others via ransom. You have my word, old friend. Now get to your post."

Thayer nodded, muttered "Thank you Razor." And he took off towards the hangar. As he turned a corner, getting out of Razor's sight, he took out his scroll and saw Velvet's number on his contact's list. He shook his head and whispered to himself "Sorry boss but I don't trust Taurus enough. My family is more important."

And with that he began to type a message to Velvet. Little did he know that he wasn't the only one on board the Elite Guard's ship that was sending a warning...

* * *

Neo led the group of four Hunters-in-training to the large steel door the sealed off the cell that contained the White Fang's amputee victims.

"Here it is, got your scrolls?" she asked as she began entering the code.

"You bet." Neptune voiced as he and Coco took out their scrolls. They had decided that there should be as much proof as possible, so both of them would record the amputees as backup just in case one scroll was damaged.

Yatsuhashi kept a tight grip on his sword just in case something were to happen, but his attention was caught by Velvet shivering a bit.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I... I'm just a little nervous. I've never seen amputated Faunus in person before." she admitted.

"Neither have I, I know it will not be a pleasant sight but we must stay strong." the large teen said as the door unlocked and he went to open it up.

Velvet nodded and plucked up courage as her partner opened the door. Secretly she prayed her uncle wasn't in there.

Light poured into the dank, dark dungeon-esque cell, causing some of the prisoners within to draw back.

One of the prisoners, a Bear Faunus who had his claws forcibly torn out of his fingers, stood up and looked at them. "I don't recognize you so you must be the new guards we've heard about. Look at us, do you think Adam's little crusade is..."

"Relax man, we're here to help." Coco said.

"What?"

"We're not White Fang, heck most of us aren't even Faunus. We're here to get proof of what the White Fang has done to Faunus like you and turn the Fang against that scumbag Adam." Neptune explained. "You need to show us what they've done to you and everyone else in this cell."

The Faunus' eyes widened and he said "You're going to get us out?"

Coco sighed and said "Not now, but soon. We don't have enough room for so many people and we're here to spring the original leader of the White Fang out, but if you help us prove what Adam has done it will turn a lot of Faunus against him and we'll have him by the balls. I promise we will get all of you out soon but for now we need you to help us."

The Bear Faunus sighed and said "I've heard Claudandus was locked up in here too, you promise you'll free us?"

"We promise." Velvet said honestly. "If you don't trust them, then trust a fellow Faunus, one who knows what's happened to you is abominable. You have my word we will help you. I promise you will be free."

The Bear Faunus grimaced and held out his hands, showing them where his claws had been plucked out, they had healed a bit but the wounds were still very much visible. "Everyone, come up and show them your wounds! They're safe they're here to help us." he called.

Others began to come forward, showing stumps where tails, feet, and hands used to be. Some of them looked to be recent as there were still blood stains on the flesh of a few of them others were lumpy and swollen. Others had horns lopped off and if one were to look closely at one Faunus they would get a small glimpse of bone.

"Oh Oum..." Neptune murmured.

"That sick bastard..." Coco voiced as she kept taking pictures.

A woman with bindings around her eyes came up. "I used to be able to see in the dark thanks to my eyes... they took them from me..." she said as she unwrapped the bandage around her head and showed them that her eyes were gone.

Velvet let out a gasp of shock as she began shake while tears welled up in her eyes and felt bile rising in her gut.

A young teenager wearing a hood over his head came up. "I wanted to leave the White Fang a few days after I joined up about a month ago, Taurus was there and when I tired to leave his thugs stopped me. When I fought back they arrested me and before they threw me in this prison did this." He took off his hood to reveal that the rabbit ears that once adorned his head had been cut off.

"Holy crap." muttered Coco in disgust while Neo winced.

"Monsters." hissed Yatsuhashi, while Neptune was stunned silent by all he had seen.

Velvet's ears twitched and her eyes got wider as her body shook more violently. "I... I... oh Oum I'm going to be sick..." she said before covering her mouth and running out towards the restroom the guards had mentioned.

The earless Rabbit Faunus looked a bit hurt when Coco said "She's sensitive, she didn't mean to offend you. Yatsu, go after her and make sure she's okay."

Yatsuhashi nodded and left the room.

"Okay, how about you speak directly to the camera? Get some definitive 'tell all' crud." Coco said to the Bear Faunus, who nodded in agreement.

"Start it up." he said.

Yatsuhashi found the restroom easily enough and could hear the sound of his partner vomiting. After a few moments Velvet stumbled out of the stall and balanced herself over the sink. She grabbed a paper towel and wiped off her face, but Yatsuhashi noticed the sweat covering her hands face and arms, her hands still shaking and her eyes wide with horror.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked her.

"I... I think so. Yatsu... how could they do this? How could any Faunus let this happen? This is just cruel and horrible! Nothing could justify it!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No, nothing justifies this kind of butchery. I know it pains you to see this, but you must be strong." he said to her.

"I know... but it makes me wonder if my uncle is still part of the White Fang, and if he is does he know about this? Yatsu... there are just times when I wonder if I really am strong enough to be a Huntress." she said with a sad sigh. She looked at herself in the mirror, a little disappointed in herself and added "I ran out and that poor Faunus probably thinks I'm disgusted with him. I'm such a coward. Maybe Penny or Scarlet should have come instead of me."

"Velvet, do not doubt yourself like that." her partner said firmly as he grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him. Velvet looked up at him and he went on. "You might be sensitive in spirit, but that doesn't make you weak, it just shows how caring you are as a person. I know that you are a strong and brave girl, a weak, cowardly one wouldn't have made it this far in the life of a Huntress, a weak girl wouldn't have been able to brave herself through Haven, the fall of Beacon, the missions we went on, and this mess. You shouldn't mistake your meekness for cowardice. I..." he sighed and looked her in the eyes. "You can make it through this, I know you can be strong and brave and... I'm not good with words, I prefer silence, but I want you to know that you are not weak, or cowardly, or a burden. You are our friend, you are my partner, and I am happy to have you as my friend."

Velvet, eyes quivering, asked "Do you mean that Yatsu?"

"Every word. Just remember, deep down you are stronger than you think." he said, giving her a smile.

The Faunus girl returned the smile as she tackled Yatsuhashi and hugged him. "Thank you." she said.

"Any time." he said as he rubbed her back the top of her head near her ears, which made them twitch adorably and forced her to giggle.

All of a sudden her scroll vibrated, signaling a message had been received. She took out her scroll and looked at the title of the message that she been sent and she gasped in shock.

"What is it?" the large teen asked.

"It's... it's my uncle..." she said in surprise. The title of the message read 'To Velvet from Uncle Bigwig. IMPORTANT!'

She quickly opened it and was shocked at what she read: 'Velvet, I know you and your friends have broken into the prison, the White Fang knows you are there! The leader of White Fang is coming for all of you along with the Elite Guard and probably some strangers who work with that Cinder Fall woman. I may be a part of them but I don't want you hurt, finish whatever your doing and GET OUT OF THERE NOW!'

Velvet had many questions buzzing around in her head but she looked up at her scroll and said "I don't believe it..."

"What is it Velvet?"

She looked up at her partner and answered "My uncle just sent me a warning; they're coming for us, we have to get out."

* * *

Claudandus took a sip from the meager bowl of water he had been given for the day, not drinking too much, only enough to keep himself from being totally dehydrated. He pulled at the chains that combined his wrists together, only spreading apart for about a foot, which was enough for him pick things up. How long had he been in here? He knew it was longer than a few weeks, possibly a couple of months, it was hard to account for the passage of time in the cell since it had no windows and no clocks, plus the guards never bothered answering his questions.

He sat down on the bench that served as his only furniture in the cell and began to wonder about what Adam had told him the other day; damn boy didn't realize what he had gotten himself into when he hooked up with Salem's apprentice, he had deluded himself into thinking his madness and cruelty were justified and was foolish enough to believe Salem and her ilk could be dealt with so easily. Even if the Mistress of Grimm were to fall another would take her place.

It made him wonder just how much Adam had done; how many lives had he taken? How much blood was on his hands? How many members of the White Fang knew the truth? How many allowed it to happen and how many died trying to stop it? Claudandus knew the answer to none of these questions and he probably never would.

There was a part of him that blamed himself for this, had he been a stronger leader, had he been a bit tougher and more demanding when he was in command of the White Fang then maybe Adam's insurrection would have never happened. Maybe they would have achieved total equality by now. Maybe he could have told Blake the truth...

Just then, as if on cue, his thoughts were interrupted by the heavy metal door opening up. He glanced over, not knowing who he would see since the guards had already supplied him with his meal for the day, but he saw the guards and didn't recognize any of them.

"Claudandus!" cried an all too familiar voice as one of the guards rushed forward and ripped off her mask to reveal beautiful golden eyes.

"Blake!" he cried in return as he pushed himself up and limped over to the cell door, which Blake opened with the key. "How did you get in here?"

"We'll answer your questions later Claudandus, we're here to get you out of here." Blake said as she pushed the cell door open. "Hold out your hands, I'll cut the chains." she added as she took out Gambol Shroud and transformed it into its katana form.

The elder Cat Faunus nodded and held out his hands and kept them as far apart as he could. Blake slammed down the blades, severing the chains and freeing his hands.

"Thank you, finally free of those blasted things. I've probably had them on for months." he stated.

"Probably, you've been in captivity for nearly six months." Blake told him as she put Gambol Shroud away.

"That long?! Gods above, I am happy to see you." Claudandus said as he grabbed Blake and hugged her. Blake smiled and eagerly returned the hug. "Thank you for saving me." he whispered to her.

Blake sighed sadly and said "I would have been here sooner, but I had a friend to save."

She pulled away from the hug and gestured over to Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Sun, and Qrow who come into the cell.

"Uh... hi Mr. Claudandus." Ruby said waving to him.

"Sorry it took so long." Weiss said.

"Better late than never, right?" Yang joked.

Claudandus allowed himself a smile and he said "Indeed."

"Claudandus, this is my team; Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and my partner Yang Xiao Long."

"Nice to meet you." Yang said.

"Yeah, I guess we're making a pretty good first impression so far, right? I mean we're breaking you out of this place and all." Ruby voiced.

"There are far worse ways, believe me." Claudandus assured her.

Sun stepped forward and looked at Blake, reminding her about him. "Oh, and that man over there is Ruby and Yang's Uncle Qrow." she said, giving Sun a teasing smirk which he returned "And this is my... boyfriend, Sun Wukong."

"Boyfriend?!" Claudandus cried, "You mentioned him last time we met but you didn't say he was your boyfriend!"

"He wasn't back then, but he is now." Blake said with a blush.

"Yeah, I guess you're practically family to Blake, so I hope you're okay." Sun said to the older Faunus as he held his hand out. Claudandus looked a bit troubled but shook it off and smiled as he accepted Sun's hand.

"As long as you make her happy I'm fine with you, and yes, I am okay now that you're all here. It is good to finally meet you all in person, judging by the fact that you've all gotten back together and made it here I can tell something happened while I was locked up." he said.

"Dude, you don't know the half of it." Yang stated bluntly.

"Keep up the happy reunion, I'll go keep guard with Winter." Qrow said before leaving.

"Well I'm just happy because I'll finally be out of here, and I'd like to get to know all of you soon, especially how Blake ended up being friends with a Schnee." he said.

"Trust me sir, it is a long story." Weiss assured him.

"I could do with some long stories after being locked up in here for so long." Claudandus said with a chuckle as he noticed Blake's face saddened at that. "Blake, what's wrong?"

Blake sighed and looked up at him with sadness radiating in her eyes while her ears drooped down. "Claudandus," she began, "I am so, so, so sorry you had to suffer like this for so long. I wanted to come as soon as I heard you had been captured, I even found out the location to Adam's last base but I was captured by Kane and Yang and Sun and his team came to save me. I wanted to go help you but we found out that Ruby and another friend of ours named Jaune were in trouble, they had been captured by Salem's forces and we needed to help them. Once it was over Adam and the White Fang had already relocated and left the location I learned about. I've been worried about you for months and I feel like what's happened to you is all my fault and I..."

She was silenced by Claudandus hugging her once again, shushing her as he did so. "Blake... you have nothing to apologize for. From the looks of it you made the right choice going to help your friends instead of letting them suffer to save an old fool like me. Besides, Adam had known my location for a while, he just needed an excuse to arrest me and 'conspiring with a traitor' was good enough. I have suffered through this, yes, but this mess is my fault too. I gave up the White Fang, my creation, so easily to that brat. I just didn't fight hard enough for equality or for the loyalty of the Fang but I do not blame you for what has happened at all. You are precious to me Blake, you always have been, more than you know." he said.

Blake hugged him tighter and said "I'm sorry for all of this, I was young, stupid, and angry. Had I known what Adam would turn into I would have left with you! Can you ever forgive me?"

"I already have, Blake, but can you forgive an old fool like me for lying to you for so long? For not telling you the truth?" he inquired.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, a bit stumped.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, just as confused as her friends were.

Claudandus sighed and said "I never told you the truth out of respect for your mother, she hated me in the last few years of her life because I refused to give up my hope for obtaining equality through peace. She left with your father... but when she came back to me on that terrible day with you in her arms and fatal wounds on her body I blamed myself. I should have fought harder to make her see the light but she refused and... she died in my arms on that day. Blake... your mother was my daughter."

There was a stunned silence in the room. Weiss let out a gasp of shock while Ruby's eyes went wide with surprise, Yang was speechless (a rarity to be sure) and couldn't even think up a proper response that wasn't 'What the hell?' Sun was confused, shocked, and a little angry that the old Faunus had never told Blake the truth about their relation in so many years.

Blake was silent as well before asking "W... why didn't you ever tell me? Why did you say my grandfather was dead?! Why did you lie to me?!"

"Because I didn't deserve to be your grandfather." he answered.

"Um... how come?" Ruby asked, innocently.

"I allowed my daughter to go down a path I knew would lead to disaster, I didn't fight hard enough to keep her from shutting me out of her life. I didn't fight hard enough for her... and yet she came to me with you when she was dying. I never told you the truth because I felt I had failed your mother so terribly that you would hate me for not trying harder to stop your parents. I wanted to tell you when you came to my cabin all those months ago but I couldn't muster up the courage to tell you the truth then, and the only reason I'm able to now is because Adam figured it out somehow. If... if you hate me now I understand and I do not blame you. If you wanted to leave me here I would understand, because I still feel like I do not deserve you." he said, his voice dripping with sadness and regret.

Silence reigned again. Sun and the three other members of RWBY looked at Blake with concern, all of them began to say something when Blake surged forward and captured her grandfather in a hug.

"I don't hate you. I'm confused and a little angry that you lied to me for so long, but I don't hate you." she said with tears coming out of her eyes. "We'll talk about it later but what matters right now is getting you out of here... grandpa." she said.

Tears began to fall from the old Cat Faunus' eyes as he hugged his granddaughter once again. "Thank you, Blake." he said happily.

The rest of Team RWBY and Sun smiled at the sight of the reunion, Sun couldn't help himself and said "I guess you really were born into the White Fang."

Blake smiled at him, just as her scroll began to vibrate.

"Ugh, always at the worst moment" Weiss said with a roll of her eyes.

Blake took it out and saw she had gotten a text message that read 'Blake, get the hell out of the prison! Adam knows you're there and he's coming after you with us Elite Guards in tow! Plus those two punks who work for Cinder! Get out ASAP! - J'

Her eyes widened in fear as Yang asked "Blake? What is it?"

"It's my informant in the Elite Guard... they know we're here..." she said.

"Guys!" cried Neptune as he appeared in the doorway. "Velvet's uncle just sent her a warning! The White Fang are coming for us! We gotta go now!"

"That can't be a coincidence, crap!" Yang snarled as she looked over to Blake and Claudandus "Can you continue the reunion later? We gotta move."

"A wise idea." Claudandus agreed as Blake led him out of the cell.

They ran down the hallway, with Sun and Yang helping Claudandus to move faster via him putting his arms over their shoulders so they could lift him up together, and they met up with Qrow, Winter, Neo, and the present members of Team CFVY at the main room.

"You got the proof?" Sun asked.

"You bet we do monkey-boy." Coco said as she tucked her scroll in her pocket.

"Can you transfer it somewhere? Like to Professor Ozpin?" Ruby inquired.

"We tried that but they're jamming us, we can't send the proof to Ozpin until we get away from this place." the fashionista answered.

"But before they blocked out communications I contacted Penny, they're in position and ready to get us." Winter said.

"Well that's one good thing at least." Weiss stated as Qrow looked out the window of the side door.

"You think they're out in the hallways waiting for us?" he asked Winter.

"No doubt about it, probably outside the fire exit as well." she said.

"Then we're gonna have to fight our way out." Qrow surmised

"Right. Everyone, we're going out the emergency exit and we're going to fight our way out. Just in case the guards inside get through these doors I'll be planting explosives, I hope you don't mind setting them off for me Miss Rose." Winter said as she laid down small explosive packets out in front of the barricades.

"You got it." Ruby said with a nod as she transformed Crescent Rose into it's full form and switched to a heavy caliber of bullet.

"What about Claudandus? He won't be able to run." Blake pointed out.

"I'll use my Semblance to get him through if you guys can provide a distraction." Neo volunteered.

"Why can't you disguise us all and save us the trouble?" Neptune questioned.

"Because I've been tiring myself out disguising you lot recently, the least you could do it let me have this one easy task." she snapped.

"Okay, okay, geeze." muttered the bluenette.

"Winter and I will go first, followed by Yang, Blake, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Sun. Ruby, Weiss, Velvet, and Neptune will bring up the rear and keep guards off of us. We make it close enough to the R.V., we get in, we drive as fast as we can to the extraction point. Everybody clear on that?" Qrow asked as he took out Reaper in sword mode.

Everyone nodded as they got out their weapons; Yatsuhashi held out his sword, Neptune transformed his weapon into trident mode, Sun took apart his staff into nunchaku forms, Coco loaded up her minigun, Velvet readied her camera, Ruby was all ready with Crescent Rose, Weiss gripped Myrtenaster, Blake took out Gambol Shroud once again, and Yang slammed the Ember Celica together.

Winter drew out her sword and she said "Alright Neo, get ready to go invisible."

Neo nodded as Claudandus leaned against her as they all moved to the fire exit.

"There's probably a hundred guards out there waiting for us, the moment we open that door they'll start shooting." Sun said.

"True, Mr. Wukong, but I think we'll be able to put a decent fight against them." Winter stated as she created a glyph before them and used summoned a white and pale blue Beowolf. "Is everyone ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be." Yang stated as her eyes began to glow red.

"Do it." Qrow said.

Winter's arm pointed at the door and with that simple command the Summon-Beowolf charged at the door and slammed it down, attacking a few White Fang guards as it did so, slashing and biting at them, catching them by surprise.

"GO!" Winter yelled as they ran out.

Qrow got out first and slashed the armor off of a guard before slamming his fist into his face so hard the mask cracked in half. Qrow whirled his sword around to deflect bullets as Winter, Yang, Coco, Sun, and Yatsuhashi all ran out into battle. He smirked as he parried a strike from a sword wielder and slammed his fist out, knocking the attacker off balance before Qrow finished him off with a slash of Reaper. Another thug tried to attack him but Qrow bent down and sprung up just in time to catch the Faunus launch him towards Sun, who jumped up, preformed a scissor grip with his legs and threw him into another guard. Qrow gave an approving nod to the teen before whirling around to cut a trio of guns pointed at him in half.

Sun returned the nod and tripped over another guard with his tail before slamming Ruyi Bang into the back of the guard's head. Sun began to slam and whirl Ruyi and Jingu Bang around wildly, firing off shots each time they impacted on a White Fang trooper, which would hit another White Fang trooper. He slammed the two weapons into bo-staff form and spun around, whamming the staff into White Fang guards and then he jumped up, landing with a kick on another guard and twirled around, his staff slamming into more guards.

Winter's Beowolf summon was destroyed after enough shots but she could afford that brief loss as she began attacking White Fang guards with brutal efficiency, disarming them or slamming the hilt of her sword into their heads to knock them out. A quartet of guards rushed her but she sent them flying into another group of guards via a glyph.

Yatsuhashi slammed his sword sideways, cutting sword blades off of hilts and guns in two. He swung his sword's blunt side at the now disarmed attackers and sent them flying into the air before backhanding a guard who tried to jump him from behind while Coco shot up guards who had heavy armor and weaponry.

"Come and get it!" Coco yelled as she blasted a guard's thick armor to pieces. She ran forward and slammed her heavy weapon into the Faunus, taking him out before she hoisted up her bag and opened fire on the spotlight towers shining down on them.

Yang blasted a guard that was trying to tackle Winter but this allowed a guard to sneak up on her and slam the butt of her gun into Yang. Yang cried out and fell to her knees, which allowed the guard and a few others to begin beating on the blonde brawler.

"Yang!" Blake cried as she blasted one of the guards in the back.

Just then a brilliant flash of light as Yang jumped up, tore the rifle from the female guard and grinned. "Thanks for the hurt, let me return the favor." she said menacingly. She slammed her robotic fist into the female guard's shoulder, shattering it and following it up with a mighty punch to the gut. She whirled around and kicked another guard in the chest so hard he was sent flying. She opened up a wild, furious barrage of fire with her Gauntlets, taking out the other guards who had ganged up on her.

Yang smirked as she grabbed the female guard, who was attempting to get up again and began to spin her around rapidly, knocking her into other White Fang troops before letting her go sailing into an officer. Yang activated her rocket and aimed her fist at the wall and the explosive went sailing out, crashing into the hastily erected wall and blowing a large gap into it easily.

"Go!" she cried.

Neo activated her Semblance and led Claudandus out of the building and away from the fighting while Blake and Neptune quickly began to blast any guard who tried to get in.

Weiss turned around and could hear sounds of the guards still inside of the prison breaking through the doors. "They're trying to get through. Ruby, shoot the explosives." she said.

"You got it." Ruby said with a nod. "Get out there and fight guys, we're blowing it!"

"Right." they all said before rushing out into the fray, Neptune blasted guards down and stabbed his trident into a guards armor and twisted him down to blast him, Blake loaded up Gambol Shroud with purple Dust crystals and began slashing into the air to create violet energy arcs that slammed into the White Fang troops as she went to keep guards off of Yang and Sun, and Velvet created huge replicas of Penny's swords and brought them down on the large crowd of guards, forcing them to scatter while the blades deflected their fire.

Ruby fired at the two small explosives which did their job, erupting into two powerful blasts of fire, blowing the guards inside away, forcing them to retreat. The blame rushed out at Ruby but Weiss used a glyph to create an ice shield to stop the flame, even if it only lasted a few seconds before melting.

"Thanks Weiss." Ruby said as she blasted a guard down and used the pole of Crescent Rose to slam a female guard into the wall.

"Think nothing of it." the Schnee Heiress said as she created a slick patch of ice which caused guards to trip and fall, making it easier for Neptune to blast them.

It was around this time that Neo and Claudandus got through the hole in the wall, unnoticed by all.

"Move forward!" yelled Qrow as he slashed an armored guard across the chest before helping Ruby blast away a few more guards. "Good job squirt!"

"Thanks!" Ruby said as she twirled Crescent Rose around to deflect bullets as Weiss parried the slash of a guard's sword before she expertly maneuvered about him, slicing a hand and forcing him to drop to his blade. She landed a kick on his gut, dropping him to his knees where she held her rapier blade in a stabbing motion, making him cower in fear but he was surprised when she dropped her stance and created a glyph under him instead, sending him to the other end of the compound.

Most of the guards attacking them had already been knocked out or were drawing back, but a few pressed on, moving towards the hole Yang had made in the wall.

"They're trying to keep us from getting out!" growled Yatsuhashi as he smashed a guard into Sun who delivered a hard blow to the Faunus with his staff.

"Yeah, let's see how that works out for 'em." Coco said as she aimed her minigun at the group of guards.

"Let me help you with that." Yang offered as she pointed her gauntlets at their direction, but the guards opened fire, forcing Team Beacon to dodge.

Qrow saw someone charge them and he whipped around just in time to parry a strike from Warden Wade's battle ax.

"You're not getting out of this, Hunter! The Elite Guard will be here any minute now and then you'll all be done for!" Wade snarled as he slashed at Qrow a few times, the Huntsman blocking each blow.

"Fat chance!" Qrow snarled back as he heard the sounds of ships overhead. Qrow looked up to see fighter ships zooming by, but this allowed Wade to punch Qrow in the chest and slash him across the arm. "AH!" Qrow cried as he fell.

Wade held up his ax but before he could bring it down Ruby blasted it out of his hands and slammed into him, knocking him down.

"You okay Uncle Qrow?"

"Just fine." he said as he got up, but he was worried about those ships.

All of a sudden there was a tremendous crashing sound as the R.V. slammed through the wall, Penny at the wheel. "You were taking too long so I decided to drop in... wait, maybe it was didn't invite me to your party so I crashed? I'll need to watch more movies later." she said to herself as she drove into the compound.

The guards were distracted by this sudden intrusion so Blake, Yang, Neptune, and Coco were able to shoot them down with little resistance.

The door on the side of R.V. opened to reveal Neo who yelled "Come on!"

"You heard her, get in!" Qrow ordered as he deflected a bullet meant for his head as Scarlet began operating the R.V.'s turrets to keep guards and snipers off of them.

Ruby and Weiss quickly got in with Neptune not too far behind. Velvet got in next as Scarlet blew a sniper away, Yatsuhashi followed his partner in as Blake, Sun, and Yang followed them.

"Coco! We're leaving, come on!" Blake called as they climbed in.

"I'm coming!" Coco called back as she fired at the remaining guards to keep them at bay, not an easy task as they were now using shields to advance. Coco gave up and ran inside as Winter kicked one last guard in the head before making her way to the R.V., with Qrow bringing up the rear.

"Penny get moving!" Winter ordered as she stepped onto the footplate. She glanced back only to see Warden Wade was about to attack Qrow again. "Branwen, behind you!"

Qrow whipped around quick as a flash and slammed Reaper into Wade's midsection. He plunged the blade in deeper, bringing the Bison Faunus closer.

"Murderer!" spat Wade.

"At least I'm not a butcher like you. We know what you've done to your own kind in there! We have proof now." Qrow snarled furiously as the R.V. kept moving out of the compound.

Wade's eyes widened with fear. "No! You'll destroy the White Fang if the truth gets out!"

"You should have thought of that before you mutilated your own people, you sadistic son of a bitch!" Qrow yelled as he transformed Reaper into scythe mode... while it was still inside of Wade; the force of the transformation cut Wade in completely half. The Faunus' torso fell to the ground; blood, glowing aura, intestines, and gore pooled out from the cut apart body.

"He's murdered the Warden! Shoot him!" cried an officer.

Before Qrow could make a move for the R.V. several shots managed to hit him in the torso, making him cry out in pain. He slumped over and rolled to avoid more gunfire when all of a sudden a flock of shining white birds which Winter had used against him in their fight way back during the Vytal Tournament, swarmed the guards.

"Come on!" Winter said as she grabbed him and helped him run to the R.V., Qrow glanced up an could see the Elite Guard's ship approaching the prison. They needed to get to the extraction point as soon as possible if they didn't want to be overwhelmed by the White Fang.

Ruby and Yang helped get Qrow on to the R.V. as it slowly moved forward and once Winter climbed in she yelled "Penny, get us to the extraction point now!"

"Yes ma'am!" Penny said before accelerating the large vehicle and taking off a bit too quickly for everyone's liking. Had any of the guards paid attention they would have noticed a sparrow landing near Wade's corpse.

Up above in the Elite Guard's airship Adam grimaced and his fist clenched in fury as his enemies sped away with his beloved and that old fool in tow.

"So much for your maximum security." snarked a cocky as ever Mercury.

"That doesn't matter now, what does matter is stopping them from escaping entirely." voiced Emerald.

"Don't worry, they won't get far. Razor, gather your troops and ready the drop ships, we're going after them." Adam commanded.

"As your command, Commander Taurus. Jinty, call thee hangars and ready the ships for launch!" Razor ordered.

"You got it boss, with any luck this will be over before midnight." the Weasel Faunus said as he activated the P.A.

* * *

Wade woke up to find himself in a strange void that was dark and light at the same time. He was confused at first, but then he remembered what had happened.

He remembered being stabbed...

"Oh Oum... am I...?"

"Dead? Yes, quite so." said a voice. Wade turned to see a dirty looking human with old glasses, dirty old brown clothes, and wild hair approaching him. "Hello there, my name is Azreal. Come now, Warden... we have things to do and places to go... well just one place really..." he said with a dark grin.

"N-no... no! Go to hell!" Wade screamed. He turned around to run, only to come face to face with Azreal.

"That's our last stop, how did you guess?" he asked with an amused, slightly crazed face.

Wade screamed.

* * *

Claudandus strapped himself into the seat he was in as the R.V. gained more and more speed.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked him.

"I've been better but I can't complain as I've certainly been worse!" Claudandus said with a small smile. "So who are the rest of your friends?"

"Introductions later, right now we're gonna focus on getting away." Blake said as she went over to the window. "Are we being followed?"

"Oh you bet! The Two Elite Guard ships from the last time are coming right at us." Yang said.

"Don't worry, I'm doing my best to keep them off of us!" Scarlet called as he kept blasting at the ships.

"Let's help you out there." Coco said as she opened the window and began shooting at the ship.

"Good idea." Ruby said. She dashed to the back trailer and forced the widow open before using Crescent Rose to shoot at the ships.

Edward winced as one of Ruby's shots landed on the windshield of the drop-ship. "She's not bad." he said with a shrug as Adam came up. He, along with Emerald, Mercury, Hui, some White Fang troops, and a few Elite Guard members like Babara, Morgan, Penn, Misha, Warwick, and the Tasmanian Devil Faunus whose name was Teresa. Thayer piloted the other ship, which had Razor, Piper, Kane, Selena, Russell, Kong, along with some of the other Faunus who had fought Team Beacon in their first encounter; Goddard the Skunk Faunus, Darla the Flying Squirrel Faunus, Burton the Rhino Faunus, Johnny the Ram Faunus, and Cash the Dog Faunus.

"Keep firing, don't give in!" Adam ordered.

"I'm doing my best, sir." Edward said as he swerved the ship to avoid a barrage of bullets from Coco.

"Well it's not good enough, get out! I'll fly." the Bull Faunus growled.

"Um, sir... are you...?"

"NOW!" Adam screamed.

Edward didn't say anything else, he wisely got out of his seat as quickly as he could so Adam could take over.

"Adam, what are you doing?" Razor demanded over the radio.

"Taking control. I've gotten word from an officer at the prison, they've got Claudandus and Branwen has murdered Wade." Adam explained, careful not to mention the amputees. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew there was a good chance they had proof of what he had done and if the truth got out it would be the end of him.

"Wade is dead? Then we can't let them get away, can your patrols corner them?" Razor inquired. He didn't care for Wade in the slightest but he did his duty for the White Fang and didn't deserve to die. Branwen would have to pay for that.

"Already taken care of, my men are spreading out to blockade this valley and our fighter ships are engaging their backup from the Vacuo Rangers, taking out any chance of escape. We just have to stop them before they cause more trouble. Do whatever you have to, just stop them!" Adam ordered, his voice very much on edge.

"I understand, Commander Taurus." Razor said.

"Good." Adam hissed before shutting off the radio.

"Well he sounded more than a little obsessed." Kane stated, knowing full well Adam's obsession with Blake.

"This is an important battle, he has a right to be." Razor stated as the ship swerved to avoid being hit by giant replicas of Yatsuhashi and Sage's swords from Velvet's camera.

"Do you really believe that, sir?" asked Russell.

Razor glanced at his old friend with no answer to give. He then looked to Piper who looked doubtful herself.

"Kane, you used to work with him back when you were young, what do you think of Commander Taurus?" he asked.

"Honestly boss? That guy's gone more than a little nuts over the years." Kane answered.

Razor sighed and said "I'll look into him once this mess is over. hopefully it doesn't end in disaster."

"We can only hope sir." Thayer voiced as he looked down at the R.V., which was swerving to avoid laser fire from Adam's ship. "Come on, move..." he whispered quietly, hoping for his niece's escape.

The R.V. kept moving, its wheels spinning rapidly on the ground, over dirt, mud, and sticks from the trees as it sped through the forest, bouncing those inside violently.

"Keep up the defense! We'll make it to the extraction point soon enough!" Winter said as she hung on to the back of the driver's seat as Penny drove the R.V. on. She looked up into the sky and could see something very unsettling; ship battles in the night sky. "Oh gods, hold on... you can beat them." she whispered to herself as they got closer and closer to the extraction point. Her worries were not soothed as she could see a bright explosion, signaling that a ship had been destroyed. "Damn it." she muttered.

The ship Adam piloted got closer to the R.V., lowering a bit as it did so. "You're mine, Blake." he said to himself in the cockpit. Then he let out a furious roar as he flew the ship downward.

Ruby looked up and could see how close the ship was. "Penny, speed up!" she called, and the android did so just in time, as Adam fired the ships weapons and scorched the ground where they had been a split-second ago.

"Get back!" Ruby yelled as she shot at the ship, managing to land a few hits on its front.

"Taurus are you insane?!" Emerald shouted.

"That's a big fat yes." muttered Mercury, who got a haunting, murderous glare from Adam in response.

"PULL UP!" screamed Misha as the R.V. went under an old bridge that was was too low for both of them, so Adam jerked the ship upward violently, knocking down a few of the passengers in the progress. Adam growled as he steadied the ship as he regained control and kept chasing after the R.V., he lowered the ship again and kept close to them and he saw someone in the R.V. staring at him with malice.

"Blake..." he muttered.

The Cat Faunus aimed Gambol Shroud in pistol mode and shot at him, the bullets hit the glass, which was luckily bullet resistant, but had there been no glass to separate him from the outside Blake would have hit his head. "You won't get away this time." Adam snarled.

Ruby kept shooting at the ship, helped out by Yang, Blake, Coco, Neptune, Scarlet, and Velvet, who were all working to keep the two ships off of them. As they rumbled over a bridge Ruby looked over to see a surprising sight; there was a pack of at least a few dozen Beowolves rushing at them with a humanoid figure riding an elder Beowolf.

"Steppenwolffe!" Ruby muttered. "Heads up everybody! We got company and it's a Grimm hybrid!"

"Crap!" cried Qrow as he looked out the window to see the Grimm rushing towards them.

Ruby opened fire on them, taking out a few Beowolves before one jumped towards her, but she quickly blasted it in half. She reloaded Crescent Rose only for Adam to fire at the R.V., grazing the trailer and throwing Ruby off her balance. "Jerk!" she exclaimed as she got back up and fired at the ship again.

"I'll help you out!" Neptune said as he joined her in the back to help her shoot at both the ship and the Grimm.

Just then three Beowolves jumped onto the R.V. at once, from both sides, two of them managed to get in but Neo stopped the third one as it began to climb through the window.

"Okay then, the gloves are off!" Neo shouted furiously as she began wildly stabbing the Grimm with her estoc.

The first of the intruding Beowolves jumped at Qrow but Weiss got in front of him and impaled the creature with Myrtenaster, she channeled her aura into the blade and combined with the Dust crystal within the force caused the Beowolf to explode.

"Good job kid." Qrow said as he shot out of the window to keep Steppenwolffe and his pack at bay.

Sun slammed Ruyi and Jingu Bang into the second Beowolf, injuring the creature's side before kicking him towards Yang and Blake who finished it off with one blast each from both of their weapons, killing the creature. "Thanks for the... Blake behind you!" Yang cried as she aimed her gauntlet at the window behind Blake. Blake leaned away and Yang fired, killing another Beowolf who tried to get in.

"Thank you." the Cat Faunus said as she leaned out the window and began shooting again.

Up in the driver's seat Penny kept adding speed. "Not long now, we're almost there." Winter muttered.

"I hope..." Penny began to say as two large Beowolves jumped onto the front of the R.V.. The first, and larger one, slammed his spiky claws into the windshield and shattered the glass. Winter grabbed her sword but before she could whip it out Penny's arm transformed into its cannon mode and jabbed it into the Grimm's head before firing, blowing the beast's head off with one shot. The disintegrating body fell backwards, knocking the other Beowolf to the ground where it was brutally ran over by the R.V., the weight of the mighty vehicle crushing it.

"Excellent work Penny... wait, stop!" Winter ordered as she saw a small drop up ahead. It wasn't too big, a mere five feet, but it was risky in this situation. "Penny, stop the R.V.!"

"I have a better idea, create an ice road!" Penny said.

Winter smiled and said "Not bad." She quickly worked to create a glyph between the R.V. and the drop and used a Dust crystal to create an ice ramp for them, allowing them to slide down easily.

However, Adam's ship didn't have it so lucky; he didn't see the drop in time, nor did he see the large tree next to it. "Sir pull up!" cried Edward, but it was too late, Adam swerved violently and the ship smashed through a thick, heavy tree branch which cracked the windshield like a spiderweb. The ship was damaged but not too badly, Adam pulled the triggers and the ship fired at the R.V. one more time before it pulled up and came out of the tree tops, scattering leaves all about the place.

The laser blast managed to hit the end of the trailer, throwing back both Ruby and Neptune, even though the bluenette took most of the hit.

"Ugh, what a... Neptune are you okay?" Ruby asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah, a little banged up but I'm alright. That was way too close!" he cried.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!" Qrow called.

Above them Adam brought up his ship along side Razor's while Steppenwolffe continued to give chase on the ground and through the woods.

"Taurus, what were you thinking?! You could have gotten everyone in that ship killed, yourself included!" Razor scolded angrily.

"Well I didn't, now shut up and keep after them!" Adam ordered.

Razor grimaced, furious with his leader's behavior.

"He IS crazy." Thayer muttered.

Razor didn't object and simply nodded in agreement as they continued flying after Team Beacon into the night.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen to our heroes? Will they escape? You'll have to check in next time to find out! But bad news: next chapter will be the last one of the year, sorry but I'll need to go on Christmas break since I've got shopping (and reading) to do, but there will be one more chapter before the year is out and chapters 43 and beyond will begin publishing in January.
> 
> Also Claudandus was not originally planned to be Blake's grandfather, but as development went on I decided to change it, to make her statement that she was 'born into the Fang' more true than she realized. I hope I pulled it off well enough, since they have to rush to get out of there but I think under the circumstances it was alright. Also Claudandus is named after the villain in the animated murder mystery thriller Felidae, it's a pretty good, but very strange and creepy, movie and it's up on YouTube but be warned it's pretty NSFW (cat gore and cat sex scene).
> 
> Yes, I will be using V4's villains, I need all of the enemies I can get. Mercury's joke about Hazel's name was originally going to be between Anansi and Ante but I felt it would be just as suiting for Emerald and Mercury's banter. Also Thorn and Mavis, who have been mentioned here, will be villains in the coming story arcs
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.


	42. Honor of the White Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

The R.V. kept moving through the forest as fast as it could while the Hunters-in-training kept shooting at the oncoming Beowolves, and taking the occasional shot at the ships through the treetops. They went over downed branches and rocks, over small hills and stumps, not stopping or slowing down even for an instant as they raced to the extraction point.

"How much farther do we have to go?" asked Yatsuhashi as he slammed Kyodiana Buredo out of the window to take out two Beowolves, slicing open the neck of one while the second lost its arm. The former fell off along with its head while the second one clung on, only to be forced off by Yatsuhashi's fist.

"We'll be there within the minute." Winter declared as she sliced a Beowolf who had tried to get in through the windshield in half while Penny kept her focus on driving.

"About time!" Yang cried as she blasted another Beowolf into dust.

Winter looked up into the sky and could see the ships were still there, engaged in dogfights with the White Fang's attack ships. She began to have doubts about their chances for escape, so she grabbed a radio and quickly talked into it; "This is Specialist Winter Schnee of the Atlas Military, Team Beacon and I need some help now! What is the situation up there?!"

"Specialist! We're getting shot up! We've already lost two of our escort ships and... ah! We're getting blitzed up ourselves!" cried the pilot of the pickup ship.

"Can you make it?" she asked.

"We'll try, are you in position?"

"Nearly... I can see it just up ahead!" Winter answered, seeing through the trees to a large clearing in the forest next to a cliff-side that looked over the nearby Vacuo jungle, one of many in the region.

"We'll get there and hold on! We'll get to the extraction point and get you out as best we can." said the pilot.

"Understood, have your escorts keep the fire off of you while you land to get us." she advised.

"Sound strategy but these White Fang pilots are fiercer than anticipated... we just lost another ship!" he cried.

"Just do it! We're here!" Winter exclaimed as the R.V. burst out of the forest and pulled into the clearing.

"Scarlet, keep firing on those ships, I'll give you a hand!" Coco ordered.

"You got it!" Scarlet replied from the turret as he once again began shooting at the drop-ships above while everyone else focused on taking out the Beowolves.

Penny brought the R.V. to a halt in the clearing with the other members of Team Beacon keep up the defense as hard as they could while Winter said into her radio "It is now or never, come down and get us out of here!"

"Copy that Specialist Schnee, we're coming for you now!" said the pilot.

"Keep firing everyone, they're coming for us but we need to be ready to run!" Winter ordered.

"Got it!" Coco said as she slung the duffle-bag that contained their clothes over her shoulders while she kept firing on the ships.

In the back Ruby saw Adam's ship hovering dangerously close to the trees and in the open, perfect for a shot. She switched to a heavy caliber of bullet, took aim at the windshield of the ship and fired, shattering the glass. "Got 'im!" she cheered.

But she hadn't; while the glass had been shattered Adam was just fine aside from a few scratches that his aura was easily healing. He glared down at Ruby and snarled loudly, something Ruby and Neptune did not miss.

"Uh... did he just growl at you?" Neptune asked, a little weirded out.

"He's crazier than I thought." Ruby said with a shrug, just as Adam fired at the trailer, blowing a hole in the roof. "Oh crud, come on!" she yelped to Neptune as they ran back to the front.

"Where's the ship?" Qrow asked as he shot a Beowolf's legs off. He could see Steppenwolffe in the treeline and could tell that the Grimm Commander was keeping his distance for a reason. He was probably afraid of Ruby's eyes, but there was also the possibility that he was waiting for the right moment to strike... like when they were out in the open trying to get to the ship. Qrow reloaded Reaper and got ready for a running fight.

"Right up there!" Winter said. In the sky above that large ship was about to land, its door had opened and the guns on its roof and side were firing at enemy ships.

"Then we better get moving. Everyone ready?" Sun asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Blake answered as she helped Claudandus, getting him ready for a dash. Scarlet put the turrets on autopilot while Penny activated the shields to give them some extra protection while she joined the others.

"Alright then everyone, let's get ready to..." Winter was cut off by a loud explosion.

Everyone looked out of the windows, filled with mounting dread as they could see that the evac ship had been hit right in the cockpit, which had erupted in a huge explosion. The ships began to descend and spin out of control as the White Fang attack ships did not let up and kept shooting it.

"No..." Blake said quietly, horrified.

The ship continued to be blitzed up by laser fire and rockets, making more explosions rock the ship until it finally lost control and fell, spiraling away from them as it landed with a mighty explosion somewhere out of sight.

The inside of the R.V. was silent until Penny asked "What will we do now?"

No one had a solid answer for the girl. Winter spoke up, "Penny, get back to the driver's seat and go as fast as you can."

Penny quickly moved back to the front. "You think we can make in this thing?" Qrow asked, unsure.

"We need to try." Winter snapped.

"Wait a minute... listen!" Velvet said quietly, making everyone go quiet.

There was nothing save for the growls of the Grimm and the sounds of battle in the distant skies.

"What is it?" Scarlet asked.

"I don't hear the Elite Guard's ships..." she answered.

All of a sudden the R.V. was blasted in the sides by lasers, making everyone stumble or fall.

"Oh shit!" cried Qrow as rockets slammed into the back trailer, destroying it. Sun slammed his fist into a button on the wall, sealing off the accordion attachment so the explosions wouldn't rush into the R.V. itself.

Winter looked outside to see Adam's ship had landed and was about to fire at the R.V.. "Hang on!"she yelled.

The rocket flew out and crashed into the R.V., knocking it on its side, throwing those inside around violently. Neptune hit his head on a cabinet while Yatsuhashi grabbed Velvet and tried to hold her steady while the wight of the duffle-bag dragged Coco down when the R.V. tipped over. Neo held on firmly to the seat but a few stray objects hit her while Scarlet fell out of the seat of the turret and landed on his shoulder. Yang had slammed her robotic hand into the floor and had ordered everyone close to her to hold on, Blake held on to Yang with her grandfather holding on tightly as well as Weiss and Ruby held on to her together while bracing each other. Sun had used his tail to hold onto a handle on the wall while using his hands to brace himself as Qrow and Winter had been thrown violently onto each other.

Items around the R.V. clanged about as they fell down while the fourteen passengers within moaned in pain and surprise.

"Ugh... you okay Schnee?" Qrow asked Winter, who had fallen on top of him.

"I'm okay, I've had worse." she assured him as she got up. "Is everyone alright?"

"Team RWBY and Claudandus are good." Ruby called, giving a thumbs up.

"Now I know how my bags feel in the cargo hold." groaned Coco as she recovered.

"We're unharmed." Yatsuhashi voiced as he let Velvet go.

"I'm fine." Sun called.

"Me too, but I've been better." said Scarlet as he pushed himself up.

"Oh... I hit my head but I'm okay." Neptune added.

"Eh." Neo said with a shrug as she dusted herself off.

"Wait... what about Penny?!" Ruby asked frantically. Everyone looked up to the driver's area but no one could see Penny... until they looked further outside to see the she had been thrown from the R.V.. "Penny! We gotta help her!"

Ruby got up and dashed by everyone in a flash.

"Ruby don't! It could be a trap!" Weiss scolded.

"Ruby get back here!" Yang cried.

"Ruby we don't know what they're up to out there!" Qrow said as he tried to catch her, but she simply sped right past him.

Ruby ignored their warnings as she climbed over the seats and out of the dashboard. She needed to check on her friend... she couldn't lose Penny again.

Not without a fight.

As she stumbled out of the R.V. she saw Penny getting up.

"Penny!" she called.

Penny looked at Ruby, her face scratched a bit here and there with her metallic exoskeleton showing a bit under the cuts and wounds, but she smiled nonetheless and said "Ruby, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that question!" Ruby said with a small smile.

She moved over to help Penny up while Qrow, Yang, Weiss, Winter, and the others got out of the wrecked R.V. as well. Just as Penny got up a blast of pale blue slammed into her and her eyes went wide. "Rubbbyyy... I... wh-ah-what is... aaaaahhhh!" Penny tried to say before letting out a scream as her eyes went dark. Penny fell to the ground.

"PENNY!" screamed Ruby. She whipped out Crescent Rose in all its glory and she glared around the clearing. "Okay, who did that?!" she demanded, her voice letting everyone know she was a serious threat to whoever harmed the people she cared about. "WHO HURT MY FRIEND?!"

"Sorry kid, just following orders." said a voice. Ruby whipped around to see Adam, standing with Hui and other armed White Fang troops with Emerald, Mercury, Morgan, Babara, Penn, Warwick, Misha, and Teresa. Morgan had been the one to speak, looking at Ruby with a slightly apologetic look as he took out his mace.

"Adam." Blake hissed as she got in front of Ruby defensively with Gambol Shroud out while everyone gathered around Ruby and the downed Penny.

"Hello my love." Adam said as he withdrew Wilt from Blush.

Coco hoisted up her minigun while Yatsuhashi held his sword steadily and Neptune got his trident ready as Scarlet held out both his cutlass and revolver. Qrow turned Reaper back into scythe mode while Winter got out her sword and Velvet picked something for her camera. Neo took out her estoc, Weiss gripped Myrtenaster, and Yang loaded up her gauntlets.

"Well... this ain't a pretty picture." Qrow muttered as the other ship opened up for Razor, Piper, Kane, Selena, Russell, Kong, Darla, Johnny, Goddard, Burton, and Cash, all of whom were ready to fight.

Things didn't look good for them at all.

"Surrender now, you are outnumbered and your means of escape has been cut off." Razor said firmly, his voice not betraying the fact that deep down he regretted that the those aboard the ships had to die, but since it was in battle and considering the fact that Branwen had killed Wade it could be considered fair.

"We never give up, we can still beat you!" Ruby declared.

"I admire your bravery child, but you have already been beaten. Hello Claudandus." he said to the elder Faunus.

"Hello Razor, old friend. I am sorry we had to reunite like this." the Cat Faunus said sadly.

"Razor, you don't know what Adam has done! He's become a monster and we have proof of it!" Blake cried.

All of a sudden, before she could say anything else, Blake was knocked down by a blast from Blush. "Blake!" Sun shouted out.

Many of the Elite Guard were taken aback by Adam's actions, especially Kane who had known Adam almost as long as Blake and Claudandus had and knew when the Bull Faunus didn't want something getting out.

"That's enough out of you, traitor!" Adam growled. Razor gave Adam a look of both anger and confusion, wondering what Blake had been talking about and why Adam had been so eager to silence her.

Blake wasn't hurt too badly, as her aura was quickly healing the wound in her shoulder, but that didn't matter to Yang who let out a furious scream as her hair turned pale yellow and her eyes went red with fury. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled. She was about to run forward at Adam, who got ready to strike when Mercury jumped up and slammed his boot into her chest, knocking her down on her back a few meters away from the others.

"Hey there blondie, it's payback time!" he snapped, only for Sun to slam his staff into Mercury's back. "Ah! What the...?"

"I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Sun." the Monkey Faunus introduced as he got ready to fight.

"And I don't give a shit!" Mercury snarled as he tried to kick Sun, but the blonde dodged every attack.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Shit. Let me just say you're name really suits you, and you will when we beat it out of you!" Sun shot back with a cocky smirk.

Mercury growled and ignored the amused look on Emerald's face as he preformed sweeping kicks at Sun, only for Yang to jump up, grab him by the leg in mid kick and throw him up into the air. This, however, gave Mercury a chance to attack and he used his boots to rain down Dust attack from above, making Team Beacon scatter.

"Attack!" Adam yelled as he charged at them, leading the Elite Guard, Emerald, Hui, and the White Fang troops into battle.

Blake jumped back up and met him head on with Gambol Shroud, their swords clashing violently while Yang and Sun, who were moving to help her, were attacked yet again by Mercury and some White Fang troops.

"You think you can get away with what you've done?" Blake scolded as she blocked every strike he threw at her.

"What I've done will lead to a Faunus victory, and I won't let anyone get in my way!" Adam snarled as he tried to thrust Wilt into her only for his former love to strike the blade away so she could elbow him in the chest. Blake swung her blade but Adam sidestepped it and met her next strike with a parry and then ducked a swing aimed for his head. He then brought up his sword to her chest and nearly plunged it in but she forced it away with a quick strike of Gambol Shroud.

They struggled a bit but Adam gave in, allowing Blake to strike forward with a yell. She swung her sword at him twice more, he leaned over to avoid it the first time and parried the second blow. He then pressed forward, forcing Blake back as their blades slid against one another. Blake pressed onward, forcing their swords down, she tried to land a cut on Adam's closest leg but he saw what she was trying to do and pulled back, nearly making Blake fall. She recovered and rolled away from a thrust of Wilt and she recovered and plunged her sword at his head but he met it wait a parry, knocking her sword away. He then tried to slam his blade into her side but she caught his blade with a parry.

Blake grunted as she used every ounce of strength she had to force down both swords. The two combatants pulled away and struck at each other once again, but Adam surged against her and pressed her back with a small strike.

"You've already lost." Adam whispered to her.

"Not yet." Blake hissed as she blocked another swing of his sword. The two traded blows about seven times before Blake tried another thrust, only for Adam to duck and jump to her side. Blake slammed her sword at him but he ducked once again and swung Wilt at Blake's side once more but she quickly met it with a parry.

"Don't delude yourself." Adam said as he pulled back and charged at her but Blake ducked down and gracefully jumped over Adam, managing to kick him in the back as she went over him. Blake activated Gambol Shroud's pistol mode and fired at Adam but his Semblance allowed him to cut off every bullet midair.

While this happened the battle raged on across the clearing, several White Fang troopers and many Beowolves had already been taken out by Ruby, Coco, Neptune, Scarlet, Yang, and Qrow's bullet barrages but the Elite Guard hadn't lost anyone yet. Yang and Sun fought Mercury, trying to get closer to Blake and Adam while doing so, Ruby and Weiss fought around Penny to keep her safe while Winter, Coco, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet fought with the Elite Guard members to keep Claudandus, who had grabbed a large stick to use as a weapon, safe. Neo, meanwhile, fought with Emerald.

"Long time no see, traitor." Emerald hissed.

"I'm no traitor, I never worked for you, I worked for Roman." Neo hissed back as she ran to avoid being hit by the blasts from Emerald's guns.

"So that's what you sound like... well that's one less question I had." The illusionist said before she ran forward and kicked Neo in the back, knocking her into a tree. She slammed both of her guns' sickles at Neo, but the multi-colored girl ducked which caused Emerald's sickles to be lodged in the tree. Neo brought up her head and smashed it into Emerald's chin, which ended up being a bad idea as she now had a splitting headache.

Emerald ignored the pain in her jaw and jumped up and brought her feet to Neo's back to kick her away. She landed on her feet, tore her guns out of the tree and slashed Neo across the back with one of her blades, making the usually silent girl cry out in pain.

Neo twirled around to block another attack with her estoc. "Emerald, please... I know you're not all bad, Cinder isn't here, help us."

"Never." Emerald snapped as she opened fire on Neo, landing a few hits before punching her. "Cinder gave me a better life, a purpose, a... home. I know what she's suffered through, I've seen some of it! I won't betray her like you did."

She ran forward and the weapons of the two young women clashed once again. "Besides, you tried to pin your little moves on me." she added.

"Not saying sorry." Neo said cheekily as she ducked a few blasts and plunged her estoc at Emerald, who easily parried it before shooting at Neo who shielded herself with her parasol.

"Good, because I don't plan on being forgiving." Emerald spat as she attacked once again.

Nearby Coco blasted the Beowolves to shreds while also swinging her bag to keep Misha and Warwick at bay. She looked over to Steppenwolffe, still keeping his distance in the forest.

"Why hasn't he attacked us?" she asked out loud as Velvet created giant replicas of Fox's arm blades and began to spin around to bisect the attacking Beowolves.

"Perhaps he fears Ruby's eyes and is waiting for the right time to strike." Yatsuhashi suggested as he parried a strike from Russell.

"Less talkin' more fightin'! Scarlet cried as he fought back Cash.

Meanwhile Qrow and Razor fought each other, with the former blocking an attack from Razor as the two entered into another duel.

"What did she mean by proof?" Razor asked as he forced Qrow's blade up but the dusty old Huntsman brought his sword back down and blocked the next strike.

"Proof of what was happening in that prison, have you ever been there?" Qrow asked as he twirled his blade wildly around to force Razor back.

"No, I haven't." Razor confessed as he slammed Kill-Master down on Reaper, stopping it dead. Qrow didn't give up, however, and punched Razor in the gut three times before spinning around the large Faunus and striking at him, only for Reaper to be parried.

"They've been amputating animal features off of Faunus prisoners." Qrow revealed.

"What?!" Razor shouted in shock, giving Qrow an open chance to attack.

Qrow slashed Reaper across Razor's chest, doing little damage, and followed it up by stabbing his blade in the ground and hoisting himself to kick Razor in the chest twice, knocking him back. Qrow yanked Reaper out of the ground and brought it up, ready for another bout as Razor recovered.

"I see, a rouse to get me to lower my guard." he said.

Shit.

"Shit, no! I'm not lying, that's what's been happening up there! We got proof of it, just listen to me..." Qrow tried to argue but Razor refused to listen as he held up Kill-Master and charged forward. Qrow quickly brought up Reaper to block the attacks, and the two began clashing their blades against one another about five times before Razor began to spin Kill-Master around expertly and then slammed it down on Reaper which just barely managed to stop it from reaching Qrow's chest.

"Adam might not be an ideal leader, but he would never sink that low. I thought you had more honor than that." Razor spat before kicking Qrow in the knee, knocking him off balance, which allowed the Boar Faunus to punch him in the chest so hard he went flying into a tree.

"Honor... if you cared about honor you wouldn't be working for Taurus!" Qrow snapped as he got up and plunged his sword at Razor, who easily pulled back.

They swung their swords against each other once again, parrying and blocking about four times until Razor brought up his weapon and swung it at Qrow's waist but the Huntsman jumped up and landed a meter away. "Taurus has butchered his own kind, there is no honor in that!"

"And there is no honor in murder? I never kill outside of combat, can you say the same Branwen?" Razor asked, though deep down he wondered if Qrow really was telling the truth or not.

"I only killed one person tonight, that warden who went along with Adam's crimes, he deserved it for what he let happen. Wise up and listen to us!" Qrow yelled as he ran forward, only for Razor to slam Kill-Master into Reaper so hard Qrow landed on his back.

"If what you say is true than surrender to us here and now, give us this proof and if what you say is true you have nothing to worry about." Razor offered.

"I wish it could be that simple buddy, but I have kids here to keep safe and I don't trust your boss as far as I can throw Beacon Academy!" Qrow quipped as he shot at Razor twice, but the Faunus deflected both blasts. Qrow got up and jumped over Razor, landing behind him holding Reaper tightly.

"Very well then." Razor said as he got ready for another bout... only to be thrown into a tree by a glyph from Winter.

"If you truly are honorable, then stop this battle and let us show you the proof of what Adam Taurus has done." she said.

"Your words mean nothing to me Schnee, your family has a dark history when it comes to my kind and it continues to this day, after all your father is a slaver." Razor revealed.

Winter and Weiss, who had been nearby, were both taken aback by that.

"W-what?" Weiss asked, stupefied, only to be thrown into Winter by a sound blast from Piper, who attacked Ruby with Kane and Selena. "Ruby!"

"I'll be okay Weiss!" Ruby called as she dodged and deflected blasts from Kane and Selena while also avoiding the frantic, yet strangely beautiful musical blasts Piper was throwing at her.

"You see, Schnee, about a week or so ago we liberated some Faunus, and even a few humans, from a slaver's base. We discovered that all of the slaves had been bought by one man so when we took at the data we took from their hard drives we discovered that the identity of the buyer was none other than your father, Willow Jacques Schnee." Razor told them as Winter parried a strike.

"I might not get along with my father, nor do I approve of how he treats Faunus, but he would never enslave anyone." she snarled.

"Not openly, not with you knowing about it, but his signature was there and there was an agreement to transfer the slaves to a little used site own by your family's company." Razor said as he dodged attacks from both Winter and Qrow.

All of a sudden he felt a coldness grab his legs and stop him in place. He looked down to see some ice had formed around him via a glyph created by Weiss.

"My father is not perfect, but he is no monster, unlike your leader!" she said as Qrow and Winter both held their blades to Razor's head.

"Tell your troops to stand down." Winter ordered.

"Do the honorable thing." Qrow said dryly with a little smirk.

Just then a loud blast of sound slammed into them and forced the three of them to cover their ears as the noise shattered the ice easily. Razor smiled at Piper before slamming his mighty fist into Qrow who fell into Weiss. Winter struck at him but he easily parried and her attacked her with a heavy swing that sent her stumbling back into Kong's waiting arms.

The Gorilla Faunus smirked as he forcefully grabbed her head and began to squeeze, putting a great pressure on her and making her cry out in pain, but she was not helpless. Winter tried to force her head back into his but his grip was too strong for that so instead she used a more direct method; her twirled her sword around in her hand so it was pointing at his side and she plunged it backwards, slashing him across the side.

"AH!" he cried before letting her go. She staggered forward only for Kong to jump up and kick her in the back, sending her flying forward into a tree.

Winter got up and wiped the small stream of blood off her lip while her aura dealt with the strain on her head. She growled at Kong and a few White Fang troopers who were approaching her.

"Looks like you're done for Schnee." Kong taunted as Edward and Cash joined him.

"Not just yet." she muttered as she created a glyph and she quickly began to channel as much of her aura as she could into it, creating the form of a rather large Goliath. Winter launched herself up into the air over her opponents and landed on the back on the Goliath which began to follow her command gestures. It let out a large bellow and rose up before slamming its legs down on the ground, making many of the fighters in the area stumble around. The summoned replica of the ancient Grimm swung its trunk into Kong and the White Fang troops sending them flying into the forest, while Cash and Edward wisely got out of its way. Winter grimaced as Beowolves charged her and began to attack the summoned Goliath, which attacked the Grimm, stomping on them or impaling them with its tusks while Winter cut them down with her sword.

Weiss smiled at her sister's summon and decided they'd need everything they had to win this so she created a glyph and quickly used as much of her aura as she could to summon up the magnificent shining Knight summon once again. "Attack!" she commanded, and the Knight did so, rushing towards a nearby pack of Beowolves it swung its might sword, killing them all in one strike.

Weiss ran over to Ruby and slammed her rapier onto Kane's bayonet, forcing it away from her partner.

"Thanks! That Knight Summon thing is still awesome." Ruby said as she deflected a shot before cutting a Beowolf in half. Weiss noticed Ruby was constantly looking down to her deactivated robot friend with worry.

"Thank you, how is Penny?" Weiss asked as she traded blows with Kane, who was no slouch as he kept pressing on with his attacks.

"She's not waking up! I don't know what that Hyena Faunus did to her!" Ruby cried nervously.

"Don't worry, she's not dead, Morgan just used his Semblance on her, an E.M.P. blast to knock her out, she'll probably be up and running in a couple of hours." Kane said.

"Oh thank Oum! Kane right?" Ruby asked as she slashed Crescent Rose at Kane's bayonet while Weiss began fighting Selena.

"Yeah, nice to meet you again." he said as he tried to punch her but she easily dodged.

The blades of the two clashed against each other, occasionally letting off a shot which their opponent easily avoided. Ruby whirled around, avoiding a thrusting stab from Kane and slammed Crescent Rose's blunt side into him before letting off a few shots at the Beowolves who were attacking Winter and her summon. Kane attacked her from behind and slammed the butt of his rifle into her shoulder, making her cry out in pain but she quickly recovered and elbowed him in the gut four times before turning around and bringing up Crescent Rose's gun barrel to his chest.

"You wouldn't." he said.

"Not with a high caliber of bullet I wouldn't." Ruby confirmed as she rotated the chamber to a lighter caliber before blasting Kane away.

Weiss, meanwhile, had created another slick patch of ice that had sent Selena sliding into Piper, knocking both of them down. She tried to encase them in ice but Piper's sound Semblance easily shattered it. Selena got up and pointed her long dagger at Weiss before Piper signaled her to go help Kane with Ruby.

"You sure?" she asked, and Piper nodded. Selena returned the nod and jumped into the fray, helping Kane fight Ruby. She stabbed her dagger at Ruby's arm but the red reaper sidestepped the attack and brought up one leg while the other remained on the ground which allowed her to spin her raised leg into Selena's back and the blunt end of Crescent Rose into her head, knocking her down.

Kane had already recovered and opened fire on Ruby, forcing her to spin Crescent Rose around to deflect his shots. She noticed Selena had already recovered but was crawling towards her to attack her legs. Ruby let her get close and before she could stab Ruby met her blade with the mighty scythe of Crescent Rose. Selena jumped up as Kane ran forward, both of them using their bladed weapons to attack Ruby who parried and blocked their attacks as best she could.

Piper's radio weapon transformed into something resembling an electric guitar/violin hybrid. She glanced at Weiss and smiled as she took out the bow while Weiss got into a battle-ready stance as her Knight summon went about attacking members of the White Fang. Weiss attacked first, charging in with a plunging stab only to be thrown off balance by a musical blast from Piper. Piper unleashed another one at her but Weiss sidestepped it and launched a fiery Dust blast at her with Myrtenaster which Piper quickly avoided.

Piper began to rapidly play the odd instrument, one hand rubbing the bow rapidly against the strings creating violin music while her free hand strummed against the upper bits of string to create what sounded like the music of an electric guitar. Since the younger Schnee had a history with music she recognized that this little 'melody' that Piper was making was building up to an attack so she braced herself with glyphs acting as shields. Piper threw a volley of musical attacks at the white-haired girl but the glyphs threw them right back at Piper who failed to hide her surprise as she ran to avoid them.

Weiss created another glyph and launched herself in the air, landing right in front of Piper as she swung her rapier but the Mouse Faunus quickly recovered and blocked the swing with her instrument. Piper smirked, seemingly amused, which made Weiss raise an eyebrow before Piper struck back with her instrument which now had a sharp blade on one side. Weiss parried her strike, and as their weapons met there was a burst of excited music instead of a metallic clang. Weiss struck against her and again there was a burst of music. She looked at Piper who nodded.

Weiss allowed herself a smirk as she began to engage Piper in a musical duel, their blades clashing against one another as Piper's Semblance began to make a musical theme for the battle.

"Oh great, she's composing again." Kane muttered as he ducked a swing from Ruby.

"Is that normal for her?" Ruby asked as she leaned back to avoid a stab from Selena before she slammed her weapons against both of her opponents'.

"Pretty much... why are we talking to each other like this?" Kane wondered aloud.

"No idea, but some of you don't seem that bad, too bad your leader is nuts." Ruby said as she ducked a plunge of Kane's bayonet and caught Selena's arm as she tried to attack her.

"Tell me about it." Kane muttered as Ruby threw Selena into him.

Weiss and Piper fought on, their weapons striking and parrying and swinging each other as Piper's music escalated to match the tone of the duel. Weiss parried, swung, ducked, thrust, blocked, parried, spun, slashed, and parried with Piper within the battlefield, her sword holding steady against Piper's odd, yet incredible weapon. She blocked another attack and forced Piper back and swung at her before sidestepping a swing from Piper.

"You know, I used to be a singer and I must admit you have a wonderful talent. If not for the Fang you'd be a celebrated musician and I would have been honored to preform with you." Weiss said as she rolled out of the way of a music blast. Piper gave her a genuine smile and as Weiss swung her sword the Mouse Faunus gave her a bow. She looked up and smirked before jumping up and slamming her instrument down on Weiss who used much of her strength to parry it.

Meanwhile Thayer stood outside of his ship, nervously watching the battle as it unfolded. Velvet was now fighting alongside Yatsuhashi with Hui, Russell, Goddard, Warwick, and Johnny with an imitation of Crocea Mors to protect Claudandus. Thayer looked to his loaded pistol and sighed, he had no idea what he was going to do; he couldn't let them hurt Velvet, but if he tried to help his niece and her friends he was doomed.

He looked back to Steppenwolffe who glared at him. "Why aren't you out there fighting?" the Grimm Commander inquired.

"I'm not a fighter, I'm just a pilot. Why aren't you fighting?" Thayer shot back.

"Because I do not want to risk being obliterated by that girl's silver eyes. I will be more helpful here, controlling the Grimm... but we'll need to do something about those summons." Steppenwolffe observed as the Knight blocked Morgan's attack on Neptune as Babara, Darla (who had rocketed up on it's head and was attacking from there), and other Elite Guard members tried to stop it.

Thayer said nothing in response, he just looked back at Velvet.

Coco slammed her bag into Warwick hard enough to send him sprawling on his back. Coco whipped around to blast a Beowolf into oblivion as the Giraffe Faunus recovered but she saw him and turned around again and opened up a wild barrage of bullets on him, blasting him so hard his aura could no longer protect him. He fell to his knees but didn't give in, he tried to get back up only for Coco to slam her bag into him, sending him flying into a tree.

"Not bad." the fashionista mused as she whacked a young Beowolf's head off with her bag.

"Doesn't matter, we don't have a means of escaping this." Yatsuhashi said as he blocked Hui's swing before pressing forward to block Russell's blade.

"If we can beat them all we might be able to convince them to listen to us!" Velvet suggested as she leaned to the side to avoid being cut. She slammed her replica sword forward and clashed with Goddard's blade, a kama, and then slammed her sword into the ground, used it to hoist herself up so she could kick him in the chest, making him stagger back. Just as she lowered herself back down Johnny slammed into her but Yatsuhashi punched him over to Claudandus who whacked Johnny in the head with the stick until it broke when Velvet sent him flying with a large holographic copy of Magnhild.

"Are you okay?" Yatsuhashi asked as he parried strikes from Russell, Goddard, and Hui all at once.

"Just fine, thank you sir." Velvet said to Claudandus as she began to create replicas of Penny's swords.

"No problem." he said as Neptune and Scarlet ran back to them, followed by Misha, Darla, Penn, and Morgan while Babara and Burton fought the Knight summon.

"We're pretty much screwed, aren't we?" Scarlet asked as he fired his grappling hook into a Beowolf's chest. He tugged it over and slammed it into Russell before it disintegrated.

"Maybe, but we won't go down without a fight!" Coco declared as she whammed her bag into Russell, adding to his pain which he withstood with little problem, he wasn't a member of the Elite Guard for nothing.

"Nice try kids, but you'll need more than determination to beat us." the Polar Bear Faunus said as Hui, Penn, Darla, Morgan, Goddard, and Misha, rallied around him, their weapons, be they sword, gun, mace, or even knuckle-busters in Penn's case, out and ready to go.

"Everyone get back!" Velvet ordered as she slammed her copies of Penny swords forward. The Elite Guard troops, while surprised, did not back down. Russell, Hui, Goddard, and Morgan fought back with parries and strikes while Misha tried basting the photo-copy blades as Darla and Penny were knocked away by mighty strikes from Velvet as she controlled all of the swords easily.

"She can't keep this up forever." Neptune said as he reloaded his weapon with a new Dust crystal.

Claudandus nodded and picked up a gun from an out cold guard and made sure it was loaded.

"You know how to work that thing?" Coco asked as she blasted some more Beowolves.

"It's been years since... AH!" he cried as a net slammed into him, wrapping around him as he fell to the ground. Coco, eyes wide in surprise, looked over to see Teresa, the Tasmanian Devil Faunus had been the one to fire the net and was quickly dragging the netted Claudandus away.

"Oh no you don't!" Scarlet said as he said as ran to cut Claudandus free, only for to be punched down to the ground by something he didn't see. He looked up to see Emerald standing before him, an illusion falling around her.

Coco growled opened fire on her, only for Emerald to throw a struggling, injured Neo between her and the line of fire. "Crap!" she cried as the unconscious form of Neo took the hits.

Emerald dropped Neo to the ground, falling next to Scarlet.

"Oh man..." Scarlet swore.

"Thanks for finishing her off for me." said Emerald as she got her guns ready for another fight.

Neptune growled at her and looked over to see Penn and Darla had recovered and were about to go help Teresa as she dragged away the struggling elder Faunus. "I'll go help him, can you handle this?" he asked.

"Go." Coco said as she aimed her minigun at Emerald. Neptune nodded and dashed off, blasting Hui and Goddard as he did so to give his friends some help.

Emerald watched him run off and without warning she rushed forward, ducked Coco's blasts and Yatsuhashi's blade and slashed one of her sickles across Velvet's camera, damaging it and causing the sword replicas to flicker away.

"No! No, no, no!" Cried Velvet as sparks flew out of the camera. She could fix it, she had learned how to mend the complicated device but she couldn't do it here.

Russell and the others recovered as Emerald got in front of them. "Thanks for the assistance." Russell said as he gripped his sword tightly.

"Four against six, I like those odds." said Hui as he glared at Yatsuhashi and Velvet.

"Make it eight!" said Penn as he returned, having decided to let Darla help Teresa with the former leader of the White Fang. He was not alone as Cash, who had decided fighting the Goliath Summon was a bad idea, joined in too.

"Come on, two to one doesn't matter to us! We'll take you!" Coco shouted, they were outnumbered two to one, but they'd faced worse odds than that.

"Bring it!" Scarlet said as he whipped out his sword and flintlock.

Yatsuhashi held out his sword while Velvet slung her camera around her back and got into a fighting pose, she might have been temporarily weaponless but she was still a Huntress-in-training and her Semblance made her a fast learner when it came to hand-to-hand fighting styles.

Emerald ran forward with Hui and the five members of the Elite Guard behind her as the present members of Team CFVY and Scarlet met them head on.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neptune ran after Teresa and Darla who were carrying the struggling Claudandus towards Thayer's ship. "Oh no you don't!" Neptune said as he glanced up to see a large, old tree branch that hung over them. This gave him an idea... He charged up his weapon and blasted the ground beneath him, sending him flying into the sky where he transformed his weapon to guandao mode and sliced the branch off of the tree and it landed on the two Faunus.

"Gotcha!" he cheered as he landed on his feet. He was about to go help Claudandus when he saw his partner and Yang still fighting Mercury. All three of them looked tired and had some battle damage on their clothes but none of them were giving up. Nearby was Blake and Adam, both of them looking exhausted as well as they traded blows with their swords, but Blake tripped over a rock and rolled to avoid a devastating slash from Adam. "Crud..." he muttered as he turned his weapon back into its gun mode and aimed at Mercury, who was dodging punches from Yang and both of Sun's weapons. He had a perfect shot and took it, the blast hit Mercury dead center in his back, distracting him enough for Yang to uppercut him and Sun to slam both Ruyi and Jingu Bang into his torso, knocking him down.

"Thanks for the assist Nep." Yang said as she took a breath.

"Guys, you better help Blake take out Adam, I'm gonna go help Claudandus, I'll explain later!" he said as he ran back to the netted Claudandus.

Yang and Sun looked to each other and shrugged before looking over to see Blake fighting Adam, the two were still trading blows furiously, their blades slammed together as they kept trying to slash each other.

"Let's go." Yang said.

"Nothing else I'd rather do." Sun agreed as they ran off to help Blake fight Adam... not noticing Mercury getting back up, and he was looking at Neptune.

As the blonde duo ran to help Blake, the Cat Faunus jumped away from Adam and slammed her blade down, creating a purple arc of energy that rushed at Adam only for his Semblance to protect him as he easily cut it away with his sword. He ran over to her and swung Wilt at her but she blocked him, the two former lovers glared at each other, but neither gave up. Adam pressed on, forcing her back as he kept slamming his sword into hers relentlessly as they got closer and closer to the cliffsides.

Blake yelled out as she slammed her sword against him, pressing him back as hard as she could before...

"Hey asshole!"

Adam glanced back only for Yang to slam her metallic fist right into his jaw, knocking him away from Blake.

"Ha, you looked!" she taunted. She turned to her partner who was catching her breath. "You okay?"

"Fine, I'm doing better than I did at Beacon at least." Blake said, remembering how he had nearly killed her during the Fall. She glared as Adam had recovered and was getting up, ready for another fight.

"My traitorous love, her pathetic cyborg partner, and the runt who tries to replace me... I will fight you all!" Razor screamed.

"Okay then." Sun said before he created a clone via his Semblance that rushed at Adam. It was destroyed with one swift swipe of Wilt but this distracted Adam enough for Sun to rush forward, jump up, grab Adam by the horns, and hang on, wrapping his legs around Adam's head.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Adam demanded, he tried to stab Sun but Yang grabbed his arm that had Wilt and squeezed hard enough to make Adam scream some more as Sun slammed down the combined bo-staff form of Ruyi and Jingu Bang onto Adam's head. Adam let out a roar of fury as he flipped himself over, slamming Sun onto the ground and prying himself free of Yang's grip. He used Wilt to cut Sun's left leg, making him loosen his grip around Adam's upper body. The leader of the White Fang jumped back up and stopped a foot on Sun's gut while headbutting Yang in the same area, making her cry out in pain as she flew past Blake.

Blake activated Gambol Shroud's kusarigama mode and launched the chain-scythe at her former lover, wrapping it around his arm. He roared once again, practically sounding like an animal as he used all of his might to pull her towards him with a mighty jerk. He slammed a fist into her gut and used his other hand to grab her by the throat and slam her to the ground. He held her down, getting on top of her, his eyes looking at her with hatred... with what looked like guilt and maybe even lust.

"I loved you." he hissed as he took up Wilt and prepared to stab her, when Sun jumped back up and held Adam back, using his staff as a brace to do so.

"She's better off without you." the Monkey Faunus snapped as Blake forced herself up and began punching Adam in the torso and face. She punched him harder and harder, Sun could swear he saw tears in her eyes.

All of a sudden Adam smashed the back of his head into Sun's chest and scratched him with his horns. Sun groaned in pain as Adam got free and jumped up and kicked with both of his legs, hitting both of them. He was about to stab Blake again when she created a stone double with her Semblance and a Dust crystal within Gambol Shroud. The stone Blake shattered as Blake dashed away from the Bull Faunus and rotated the ammo chamber to a red Dust crystal and sent a fire clone at him.

The fire Blake collided into Adam, setting his robe ablaze but he quickly tore it off, revealing a black tank top over his muscular, sculpted body. He glared at Blake, eyes brimming with hatred as he rushed at her. Blake ran at him, ready to strike as well. With a spin of the Dust chamber she sent another arc of energy at him but he cut through with Wilt before he did something unexpected; he sheathed Wilt into Blush as he rushed Blake and used the now blunt weapon to send her flying some meters away.

Adam composed himself and was about to go at her again when Yang returned, blasting him multiple times as he unsheathed Wilt again and tried to protect himself. Just as she stopped she ran forward, with eyes of red and bright yellow hair, she jumped up and kicked Adam in the face, cracking his mask. Blake crouched as she landed, then jumped up to punch him five times in the chest, blasted him in the shoulder, and punched him in the nose, cracking that part off of the mask before he blasted her with Blush, and then grabbed her head and smashed onto his knee. He brought up Wilt but she jumped up a spin-kicked him on the ground on his side where she kicked him into Sun who spiked him with his staff.

Adam swung his sword at the Monkey Faunus but Sun jumped up before kicking Adam in the horn. Adam tried to shoot Sun but he hopped over him and joined up with Blake, cornering Adam over the cliff that looked over the jungle.

"You're done for." Yang said as she approached him, her hair glowing like a giant candle. Sun nodded with a smirk as Blake recovered and walked over to join them.

"Not just yet..." Adam said as someone else approached them.

"Hey dumb blonde and dumber blonde, I got something of yours!" said the voice of Mercury.

Yang, Blake, and Sun all turned to see Mercury holding up a beaten and bruised Neptune. When Neptune went back to help Claudandus Mercury had attacked him mercilessly, clearly coming out on top.

"Let him go, NOW!" Sun shouted as Yang aimed her gauntlets at her fellow cyborg.

"Okay." Mercury said with a smirk as he threw the injured bluentte to Adam who grabbed him and slashed him across the chest, making Neptune scream in pain.

"Neptune!" all three of them cried. Adam grabbed Neptune by the arm and threw him over the cliff.

"NO!" yelled Sun, who ran forward desperately to catch his partner and best friend. He grabbed Neptune's arm, but the weight was too much and Sun was jerked down to the ground, but he didn't lose his grip on Neptune for an instant. Adam was about to impale the blonde Faunus when Yang rushed forward slammed her fist into his gut, knocking him down while Blake dealt with Mercury.

Mercury shot off Dust blasts from his robotic legs, a few managed to hit her but she avoided them for the most part. She blasted him with Gambol Shroud's pistol mode before he dropped down to the ground, used his hands to support his body as he kicked and blasted Blake in the torso at the same time, sending her flying back. She tried to get up to help her friends but Mercury didn't let up, he kicked her in the chin but she slashed him across the chest, just like Adam had done to Neptune.

"Bitch." he snarled as she got back up. Mercury began to run around her as quick as he could, kicking and blasting her every chance he got until he ran to her side and kicked her in the hip and punched her the shoulder. Blake cried out in pain as she slammed down Gambol Shroud's hilt on his forehead. Mercury grunted in pain before he jumped up and kicked her in the torso multiple times before she managed to grab him and twist his foot, spinning him around as he landed on his back. Blake moved to finish Mercury off but he leapt forward and landed a kick right in the face, blasting her as he did so. She fell down on her back, moaning in pain as she tried to get up, only for Mercury to place a firm boot on her gut. "They've already loaded up the old guy, so stay down."

Meanwhile Yang knelt down to help Sun get the injured Neptune back on solid ground. "Come on Neptune, don't look down just keep looking at us." she said as she grabbed his right hand with Sun holding the left.

"We... are r-really high up..." he said nervously as they pulled him upwards.

"Don't worry man we got you." Sun assured him as they managed to get up to solid ground. Yang grabbed Neptune's leg and yanked him up and over the cliff, placing him back on the ground.

"Oh man... thought I was gonna die there." Neptune moaned as his aura healed the wound on his chest.

"Not while we're around." Yang promised him. She glanced over and saw Adam standing right behind Sun with Wilt about to stab the Monkey Faunus. "SUN!"

Sun moved quickly, he was able to get almost entirely out of the way only for Adam to bring down his sword right on Sun's tail, cutting it in half.

Sun let out a scream of pain that echoed throughout the battlefield, heard by everyone. Tears fell from his eyes as he saw half of his tail lying on the ground, severed from his body. Horror and misery surged through his body and he seized up, allowing Adam to kick him in the chest, knocking him on top of Neptune, who tried to get up and fight, only for Adam to blast him with Blush.

It was horrible, pain seared through Sun's body as his aura went to work healing the stump where most of his tail used to be. Tears fell from Sun's eyes as the fact that his tail, something that was part of him and had been since he was born, something that made him who he was, was gone... taken from him by Adam Taurus.

"You bastard!" Yang yelled as she blasted Adam with everything she had, forcing him to run out her range of fire. The blonde brawler, very pissed off, gave chase. She jumped up and came down right behind him where she smashed her metal fist into his back, knocking him down. Yang grabbed him by the horns and slammed his head into the ground over and over again. "Why?! Why do you keep hurting people she cares about?! First me, now Sun, who next you obsessed psycho?!" she ranted as she kicked him in the torso hard enough to send him flying into a tree.

Adam got up and fired Blush at her but she took that blast easily, just more fuel for her Semblance.

"She is mine, and no matter who she wants to replace me with; you, him, I will always come back to hurt them until she learns that no one will have her but me." Adam said to her.

"Yeah, you're crazier than I thought. Let me beat some sense into you." she said as she rushed at him, but made sure to keep her distance from the sword to avoid a repeat of last time. She ran circles around him, shooting him from all sides but he managed to catch the Dust blasts with his sword, fueled by his Semblance.

He swung his sword at her but she caught his wrist and pushed him back, allowing her to open up a barrage of palm strikes on his chest before he recovered and shot her with Blush, but her Semblance took that pain and it fueled her 'fire', so to speak, as she struck him in the gut before landing another painful uppercut on him but before he fell to the ground he grabbed her hair and pulled her down with him.

Adam lay on his back with Yang on top of him. "You know, most guys would love to be with me in this position, but I think you're gonna hate it!" she snarled as she aimed both of her gauntlets right at his head.

Just then the same blast of pale blue that had taken Penny out hit Yang, shutting down her robotic arm. "No!" she cried as her arm twitched, trying and failing to function before it went lifeless. "My arm!" she cried as she looked over to see Morgan, who had come to Adam's aid.

"All too easy." Adam said before he brought his head up and bashed his head, horns and all, into Yang's face as he punched her in the gut, throwing her off of him. They both jumped up to fight again. Yang used her left leg and arm to attack Adam's side but he blocked it with Blush. Yang used her deactivated robotic limb to slam Adam in the ribs just as he punched her in the collarbone, threw both of his weapons into the air so he could smash his palms into the side of Yang's head, he caught his weapons as they came down, sheathed Wilt into Blush and slammed the now blunt weapon into Yang's head before bringing it down on her back to keep her down.

Yang wasn't giving up yet, despite one limb being dead weight for the time being she wasn't going to let him win. She tried to push herself up only for Adam to to kick her into a tree.

Adam approached Yang's body and said "I can tell you love Blake, but she belongs to me."

"She belongs to no one!" yelled the voice of Sun. Adam turned around to see Sun, missing half of his tail, walking over to the Bull Faunus for another fight.

"Sir... his tail!" Morgan said in shock as he saw what had happened to Sun.

"I was aiming for his leg, he moved and I accidentally got his tail instead." Adam justified before he glared at Sun, "I can see why she likes you; you're just as persistent as I am."

"I'm nothing like you." Sun snarled as he got ready for another fight.

"Please, what makes you think you can..." Adam began just as Yang blasted him in the back. He fell towards Sun and managed to block an elbow jab from the blonde Faunus, who jumped down on his hands and landed several kicks on Adam's torso before jumping back up and slamming Jingu Bang into Adam's face, nearly knocking off his mask.

Adam retaliated, punching Sun twice, forcing him towards the tree where Yang was trying to get back up only for him to kick her in the chest, knocking her back down. Adam opened up a mad series of punches, jabs, and palm strikes, while Sun managed to block a few of them the leader of the White Fang landed over a dozen hits on him.

Sun tried to jump up to another tree, but what was left of his tail wasn't enough to help him keep grip on a branch as Adam grabbed him by the leg, yanked him off of the tree, and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out.

Adam stood over his defeated opponents, the ones Blake tried to replace him with. He had proven he was better than them.

"Sir... your mask." Morgan said. Adam felt his mask was cracking, nearly destroyed in the battle.

"I'll make a new one. Get back into the battle." Adam commanded.

Morgan, now unsure of Adam's actions and afraid of getting on his bad side, nodded and ran back into the battlefield.

Adam looked out at the ongoing battle, watching as the Knight summon fell a group of Beowolves in one swing of its sword.

"We'll need to take those things out if we are to win this." Adam said as Mercury approached with Blake and Neptune in tow. He took out his radio and said "Attack ships, swoop down and open fire on the Goliath and the Knight summons, laser fire only."

"Right away Commander Taurus." said the voice of a pilot.

Mercury dropped Blake and Neptune on the ground next to Yang and Sun. Blake, still conscious, saw what had happened to them. "Yang... Sun!" she gasped when she noticed half of his tail was missing. "Oh gods Sun... I... I'm so sorry... not again... this is my fault."

"Yes, it is." Adam told her coldly.

* * *

Winter stood atop her summon, directing it as it sent Grimm flying and drove back White Fang troops. As she decapitated another Beowolf she looked around and knew that the battle was not going to end in their favor if it went on like this; Qrow fought on with Razor while Weiss still fought with Piper, Ruby was still fighting Kane but she had taken out Selena, but Scarlet and the present members of CFVY were being overwhelmed by the Elite Guard and obviously needed help.

She directed her summon towards them and with a loud roar it rampaged out of the Beowolves, crushing them with its immense weight, and slammed its tusk into Cash, forcing members of the Fang to run out of its way as it ran to help the young Hunters-in-training.

Coco used her bag as a shield from Misha's gunfire and then whacked her with it before blasting Penn off of Velvet.

"We can't hold out much longer!" Scarlet cried as he parried blow after blow from Goddard.

"We have to!" Coco barked as she heard a loud stomping sound coming from behind. The various members of the Elite Guard looked up and gasped at the terrifying sight of the Goliath Summon charging at them. "The cavalry is here." the fashionista mused before blasting down another Beowolf.

Just then the attack ships soared towards the battlefield and used the laser guns on the end of the ships to blast both summons and the ground around them.

"Scatter!" Russell shouted as he ran out of the way and everyone, White Fang or not, followed his example as the lasers blitzed up the ground. The Knight summon fell and Weiss felt it as the large warrior of light faded away as lasers continued to blast it until it was gone.

Winter cried out as a laser zipped right by her, mere inches in front of her face. The lasers slammed into the side of the Goliath summon over and over until it fell on its side with a roar, forcing Winter to jump off of it. She landed with a roll and the Goliath faded away, only for one of the attack ships to hit the ground next to where she was getting up and she was sent flying down on her face.

"Specialist Schnee!" Velvet cried as she went to help Winter, only for Penn to jump on her back and knock her to the ground.

"Hang on!" Yatsuhashi said as he tried to go help Velvet, only to be attacked by both Hui and Russell.

Winter tried to get up but a large Beowolf rushed out in front of her and slapped her with its claws. Winter fell back to see Steppenwolffe had entered the fight, he jumped off the large Grimm and landed on Winter's body, kicking her in the stomach and chest.

"Your summon destroyed a lot of my Grimm, you'll suffer for it." he said darkly as he kicked her in the face. Winter grabbed his leg and pulled him down, making him fall on his face.

She tried to get up but Steppenwolffe kicked her on her back as he jumped up and slashed her across the back with his blade. Winter screamed furiously as she sliced him across the arm with her own sword. The two warriors glared at each other as they entered a duel, trading blows with their swords, not giving up for an instant, but Steppenwolffe had waited until Winter was tired out and the drain the summon had on her aura was beginning to show, she wouldn't last long.

The two blades met with a clash until Winter pulled away and swung at the Grimm hybrid's midsection but he sidestepped it and plunged his sword at her head but she blocked it and parried his next strike before he pulled back and swung at her again, the blow nearly cost her her firm grip on the hilt of her sword but she held on to her weapon and stepped back to avoid the slashes aimed for her head. She swung her sword at him and sliced open his shirt but didn't touch his skin. They traded blows about eleven times until they went back to dodging each other's strikes.

Qrow parried a mighty blow from Razor's weapon, just as the Boar Faunus activated the chainsaw 'teeth' which created a small shower of sparks as Qrow jumped back.

"Have to better than that." Qrow said.

"Maybe so, but you will not win this battle, you're outmatched." Razor said as he parried a slash from Qrow.

Razor struck back and hit Qrow's sword three times before Qrow threw Reaper up into the air as it transformed to scythe mode, weaving away from Razor's attacks until he caught the weapon in it's full form. He attacked first but Razor parried, they kept striking and parrying each other over a dozen times until Razor had Qrow backed up against a tree. He kicked Qrow in the gut and swung Kill-Master in chainsaw mode but Qrow ducked so all he did was cut apart the tree before Qrow spun away from him and parried Razor's next strike as the leader of the Elite Guard whirled around to hit him.

"I'm not lying to you, I swear, Adam Taurus amputated Faunus of their animal features, call a ceasefire and we'll prove it!" Qrow said.

"I will see your 'proof' once this battle has been won." Razor answered before striking back, trading blows with Qrow four times before he preformed a sweeping swing at Qrow's legs but Qrow jumped up to avoid getting his legs cut off only for Razor to jump up as he came down to kick him in the chest. Qrow back-flipped and landed in a crouching position and came up just in time to block Razor's next strike.

The two exchanged strikes and attacks nine times before Qrow slammed Reaper into Kill-Master so hard Razor nearly fell back, which gave Qrow the chance to cut Razor on the shoulder. Razor recovered, letting his aura tend to the wound as he struck back, entering into another series of a dozen parries, strikes, slashes, thrusts, and blocks with Qrow until they parried each other and their blades surged and pressed hard against one another, neither letting up.

"Give it up Branwen, do not make the children suffer through this battle any longer." Razor said, "I will see that you are treated fairly."

"Fat chance!" Qrow shouted as he pulled Reaper back and tried to strike, only for Razor to slam Kill-Master into Reaper so hard it slipped from Qrow's grasp and landed a few meters away. Razor stabbed Kill-Master into the ground before grabbing Qrow's right arm, twisting it as he slammed his foot into the back of Qrow's leg to pin him down. Razor punched Qrow in the face five times before slamming him down on the hilt of Kill-Master before throwing him back, ripping Kill-Master out of the ground, slashing Qrow across the chest, and sending him flying with a jump kick.

Qrow landed roughly near Ruby whose eyes widened at seeing her uncle defeated. "Uncle Qrow!" she cried in horror. Now she was ticked. She quickly hit Kane down with the blunt end of Crescent Rose before she slammed the scythe into the ground and took aim at Razor and fired, hitting him in the chest.

"Argh!" Razor cried as he fell, getting Piper's attention. The Mouse Faunus and Weiss had been fighting each other the entire time, neither one giving up while Piper kept up her music to go along with the battle but when she saw Razor go down she got serious and glared angrily at Ruby.

Her music began to sound angry as she slammed her instrument into Myrtenaster, forcing Weiss around until her back faced Ruby and then she let out a gigantic blast of sound that sent the Schnee heiress flying into her partner, knocking both girls down.

"Ugh... what hit me?" Ruby asked.

"I did..." Weiss moaned as she recovered, she glanced up to the sky to see more White Fang ships surrounding the area. "Oh no..."

"Looks like we're going to have to fight harder." Ruby said as they got up, weapons ready. "You okay Uncle Qrow?"

"Been worse, but I've sure as hell been better." he muttered as he pushed himself up.

"Ruby, let's be realistic here... I don't think we can win this." Weiss said to her partner as Kane and Selena got back up.

"That's never stopped us before." Ruby answered as she got ready for another fight when...

"TEAM BEACON! Surrender to us now!" yelled the voice of Adam, getting everyone's attention. Behind Adam was Blake, Yang, Sun, and Neptune who were being held in place by Mercury, Kong, Edward, an injured Cash, and some of the still active White Fang troopers who had guns pointed at the captive four. "Give up, throw down your weapons or we will kill them!"

The members of Team Beacon were silent and nervous as Qrow called "Okay Taurus, we give up. Everyone throw down your weapons."

"Uncle Qrow are you crazy?!" Ruby whispered.

"We still have the proof and if we show it to Razor he and the rest of the Elite Guard will turn on Adam, we're not beaten yet." Qrow whispered back with a wink.

Scarlet and Coco's team reluctantly threw down their weapons and were marched towards Ruby, Weiss, Qrow, and Penny with Scarlet and Velvet carrying the out cold Neo.

Winter glared as Steppenwolffe but placed her weapon down on the ground before he forced her to group with the others.

Adam gestured to Mercury who led Kong and the others in dragging the four defeated teens to the group of captives as the ships landed, spilling out more White Fang troops loyal to Adam. Darla and Teresa returned, "We've secured Claudandus sir, he's not going anywhere." the latter said to Adam, who nodded in approval.

"Yang, Blake? Are you guys okay?" Ruby asked as she held Yang in her arms.

"My arm got hit by that E.M.P. and I feel like crap, but I'll survive." Yang said.

"Good, what about you Blake? Blake?" Weiss asked as the Cat Faunus hugged Sun to comfort him, it was then that everyone noticed what had happened to Sun's tail.

"Oh... oh no... Sun..." Scarlet struggled, trying and failing to come up with something to say.

"Sun... I'm so sorry." Velvet said with tears in her eyes as she gave him a hug as well.

Razor turned to Adam, glaring at him. "What happened to his tail?" he demanded.

"I was aiming for his legs, he moved, I couldn't stop and I accidentally cut off the tail. It's regrettable but it was just an accident." Adam answered.

"Yeah right you murderous little prick." Qrow spat before he looked to Razor. "You said you'd give us a chance, let us show you what Adam has done."

Razor glanced to his leader before eyeing Qrow, "Very well, bring me your proof."

"And give it to me." Adam ordered.

"No way, no deal." Ruby said defiantly.

"Why not? If this so called evidence of my alleged crimes is legitimate, then you have nothing to fear." Adam promised.

"We won't give it to you, we'll give it to Razor or one of his, but not to you." Blake said, hatred oozing from her voice. She looked to Razor and said "Razor, I know you and your team are better than this, better than him! He had been torturing, mutilating, and killing humans and Faunus alike, you have to believe us!"

"Be quiet!" Adam snapped as he smacked her.

"Son of a...!" Yang shouted as Mercury kicked her back down.

"You just don't learn, do you?" he asked as he aimed his boots at her head, making sure everyone stayed down.

Well... almost everyone.

Ruby growled at Adam and shot up and raced towards him, grabbing Crescent Rose on the way.

"Ruby don't!" Qrow yelled as Ruby slammed the pole of Crescent Rose across Adam's face, throwing off his mask and revealing to the world what he hid.

His face was a handsome one, with dull red eyes that hinted at years of anger, but what made everyone gasped in shock as he looked back at them, was that they were now able to see the mark on his forehead: the logo of the Schnee Dust Company branded on him, burned into his forehead with the words 'Property of' carved above the snowflake emblem.

Weiss and Winter's jaws had dropped, their eyes wide with shock and guilt. Qrow, Yang, Velvet, Neptune, and the others looked shocked and appalled at the sight, all of them wishing the mystery of what lay behind Adam's mask went unknown.

Weiss, who was mortified and ashamed at seeing her company's logo branded on someone's head, and Yang looked to Blake who hung her head in shame and misery. She had known the entire time.

Various members of the White Fang were horrified, disgusted, angered, or saddened by the sight. Most of them didn't know what was under Adam's mask as they had joined after he took control but they had heard the rumors, but reality was a bit more sickening.

Ruby dropped Crescent Rose, shocked and horrified by what she was seeing and what had happened to Adam in the past. Adam punched her before grabbing her and forcing her to look him in the eyes as he said "Yes, look at it. Look at what humanity did to me. I was a slave to do with as they pleased in the Schnee Dust Mines. I wasn't a life, I was lower than dirt, a waste of food, water, and air to them. I was just a number on a piece of paper, a name to fill a quota. As was my father, my mother, and my little sister. I am the only one left in my family... would you like to know why?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and Ruby shook her head as her eyes began to give off a fading glow that made Steppenwolffe and the Beowolves a bit nervous. "Humans killed them all, and they did this to me so I would always know that I was nothing more than their slave... but this slave has become the master!"

He grabbed Ruby and held up Wilt to her throat. "Give me the Scrolls with the evidence now or I'll slit the throat of your little mascot!"

"NO!" Everyone yelled as they struggled to help Ruby, only to be held down by the guards. Yang struggled under Mercury's boot. Weiss and Winter were handcuffed by the newly arrived troops, and Qrow nearly got up only to be shot by the guards and beaten down with rifle butts. Ruby tried to get away, struggling but she felt the steel of the sword against her throat, meaning she couldn't do anything without injuring herself.

"Adam, please don't do this!" Blake pleaded, but he ignored her as Emerald placed a White Fang mask over Ruby's face to cover her eyes.

"Adam! What do you think you're doing?!" Razor shouted as he got Kill-Master ready and pointed it at Adam, shocking everyone. "Let that child go or we will have a problem." he added as the Elite Guard got ready for another battle as the troops aimed their guns or swords at Razor.

"Are you threatening me? That's treason." Adam said quietly.

"I have a code of honor, sir," Razor spat, "I won't allow a hostage to be harmed, especially one as young as her!"

"Honor?! What the hell do you know about honor?" asked Qrow as he spat out some blood. "If you were were as honorable as you say you are, Razor, you'd have smartened up and killed him the moment he began working for these people."

"Relax Razor, I know what I am doing. I will ask you once again, give me the 'proof'!" Adam demanded again.

"Okay, okay! We'll give you the freaking proof you damn sociopath!" Coco cried as she took out her scroll. She had her doubts about this but she didn't want Ruby to die for this.

"Coco, Neptune, don't give them up, show them what you recorded." Winter said.

"Yes, show us." Razor said, glaring at Adam while he lowered his weapon, his troops following his example.

Coco took out her scroll and Neptune's from his pocket, since he was barley conscious and held them up. "Okay, once I show them what you've done you can kiss your..." Coco was interrupted by Mercury kicking a scroll out of her hand and smashing it with his foot.

"Oops, clumsy me." Mercury said as Emerald shot Coco's scroll to pieces in her hands.

"Ah! Coco cried as she pulled her hand back, her aura beginning to glow.

"Coco! Are you alright?" Velvet asked as she looked at the wounds.

"I'll be fine..." she muttered as she glared at Adam.

"What are you doing?" Razor cried.

"He's afraid of you figuring out the truth Razor. Look at what he did to Sun, that was no accident." Blake said angrily as she hugged the injured Sun to her.

"Wake up man, he's playing you!" Yang cried.

"Join us, help us bring this man to justice for what he has done." Winter invited.

"Justice? Where was your justice while my family and I suffered, Schnee? You were off at some fancy school while I was being whipped, moving Dust crystals about the mines in those cold mountains." Adam snarled. He looked at Razor who was glaring furiously at him so he said "We'll talk about this later, but I only needed to hold Rose like that as a bargaining chip, I wasn't really going to kill her."

"Yeah right." Ruby hissed while she secretly placed Ashe's whistle around her neck, just in case.

"Then why did those two destroy those scrolls? Are they telling me the truth?" Razor demanded.

"It is simple, they had fake footage of amputated Faunus probably from a secret prison in Atlas. It was nothing but a rouse to turn you against me Razor and by the looks of it you're falling for their trick. Now stand down and I shall ignore your little acts of treason, unless you wish to dishonor yourself and the Elite Guard by betraying the White Fang at a pivotal moment like this?" Adam asked.

Razor was silent for a moment before withdrawing his weapon as Thayer approached the rest of the Elite Guard

"Sir..." Russell began but Razor held up his hand to silence his troops.

"Put your weapons away, we will deal with this later." Razor told them. The various members of the Elite Guard looked around at the various White Fang troops, all of them armed. Some of them looked at Adam, unsure and unconvinced but Razor nodded and they began to put away their weapons.

Piper glared at Adam and gave off a menacing rattling sound like a snake before placing her musical weapon on her belt.

Kane placed his bayonet rifle away before looking at Blake and Ruby with sympathy and me muttered "Sorry..."

Razor looked to Qrow who said nothing, he just glared back.

"Excellent choice, Elite Guard. Now we need to get ready to move out back to base, and yes, we will talk Razor. First we sort out this lot." Adam said as he surveyed Team Beacon. "Blake is my prisoner, obviously, same goes for Xiao Long and Wukong."

"Like hell you will..." Qrow began before Adam kicked him in the side to silence him.

"Adam, please..." Blake said, getting Adam's attention. "Just take me, but let everyone else go. If you let them go free I will do anything you want, just don't hurt my friends anymore."

Adam turned away, ignoring her as he looked to Ruby and said "Rose is for Salem, she will be most pleased that we succeeded where Cinder failed."

Emerald glared at him when he said that but Ruby spoke up. "You just don't get it, do you?" She looked at him and said "When you joined Cinder you became Salem's slave, you've turned everyone in the White Fang into Salem's slave even if they don't know it. You're not just evil Adam, you're dumb too."

"She's right Adam." added Blake, "You claim to be a freedom fighter, but you'll bring nothing but death to the White Fang in the end."

Adam said nothing in return to either of them and looked to Weiss and Winter. "We'll ransom off the Schnees and the android to Atlas. You can use it to lure Willow Schnee in so you can make him pay for his transgression." he said to Razor who said nothing, he simply nodded with an angry look on his face.

"We'll deal with her ourselves." Emerald said as she glared at the multicolored girl, who had still not awakened.

"Fine. As for you, Miss... Scarlatina, correct?" Adam asked as he cupped the Rabbit Faunus' chin. She nodded, looking up at his brand and shivering a bit. "I think I'll keep you around, I believe we can find something for you to do." he finished, looking up and down her body.

Yatsuhashi and Coco both glared at him but didn't move, no matter how much they wanted to.

"What do you have in mind sir?" Babara asked, the doubt in her voice obvious.

"I'll think of something, but that's none of your business." Adam answered darkly when Thayer stepped up.

"Sir." he said.

"What?"

"Beg pardon sir, but fuck you!" the Rabbit Faunus said as he whipped out his pistol and fired at Adam. He kept pulling the trigger until the gun was out of ammo...

And Adam stood there with Wilt unsheathed, having blocked every bullet.

"Oh shit." Thayer muttered as Hui came up behind him and grabbed both of his arms and twisted them, forcing Thayer to cry out in pain.

"Thayer?" Edward said, stumped.

"What the hell?!" cried Teresa.

"What just happened?" asked Babara, confused.

"Holy shit, Thayer just tried to kill Taurus." Penn stated, his mouth agape.

"I don't believe it." murmured Russell.

"Well that's not good." Kane said as he looked to the shocked Razor, who said nothing.

Adam grabbed Thayer by the throat, squeezing hard as he did so, and said "I suspected there was a traitor in the Elite Guard, who is this Razor?"

"Thayer... one of our pilots." Razor answered.

"He's my uncle! Let him go you thug!" Velvet demanded.

"Very well. We will deal with you later, Thayer Scarlatina." Adam said as he threw Thayer into Team Beacon.

Velvet caught him and helped him down, "Uncle Thayer, why did you do that?"

"I didn't want him to hurt you. I'm so, so sorry Velvet." he said as he hugged her.

Adam glared at Razor and asked "Did you know about his relation to her?"

Razor sighed, looked at Thayer with sad, apologetic eyes. "No, I didn't know. I'm embarrassed and ashamed." he lied.

"You should be. As for the rest of them..." Adam began, looking at Qrow, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet, and then he looked to Hui, "take them to the cliff and execute them, throw their bodies into the jungle."

"What?!" cried most of Team Beacon as Hui and a dozen other troopers led the condemned five away, all of them struggling for freedom while other guards began to handcuff everyone else.

"I am gonna kill you, you horned-head asshole!" Yang shouted as she struggled.

"We won't let you get away with this!" Velvet cried, tears in her eyes.

"Come on boss, don't go through with this!" Thayer called.

"If you hurt any of them we'll kill you!" Sun added.

"If you go forward with this I will make sure that you're executed for what you've done Taurus!" Winter scolded.

"You can't do this! Stop and think about what you're doing!" Weiss yelled at the guards.

"I won't let you!" Ruby screamed as her eyes began to glow, which made Steppenwolffe and the Beowolves draw back and some guards moved to cover her head.

Blake looked at Adam and said "Adam, please stop this insanity, I know the boy I loved is still in there somewhere, you can redeem yourself, you can still change! You don't have to stay a monster! Just stop this! PLEASE!"

Adam looked at her and knelt down. "The old Adam Taurus is dead, he was died a slow, excruciating death that began with the death of his family and ended when you abandoned him on that train. As he died he slowly turned into me, and I suppose I should thank you for helping me become what I am today, my love. This is the new Adam Taurus, in all his glory."

Blake screamed out in anger and fury as she tried to attack Adam but was held back by the guards. She fought and struggled, glaring at Adam with pure hatred as she fought to get out. Tears streamed down her pale face as she kept screaming at Adam, her mind racked with guilt, horror, shame, and misery.

Qrow fought a bit but looked back at his nieces and shouted "Ruby, Yang! Everything will be alright, don't give up!" Then he looked to Razor. Told ya, you frigging moron! Where's the honor in this, eh?! Where?! So much for your fucking code of honor!"

Razor looked down in shame before Piper grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked at her and she nodded. He approached Adam and said "Commander Taurus, you can't do this, I promised they would be our prisoners, we cannot execute them."

"I am in command here, not you! If you defy me again I will have every member of the Elite Guard arrested for treason and betrayal." Adam threatened darkly.

"I thought you were better than this!" Razor shouted.

"I've never been better. This is justice for the death of Wade and our brothers and sisters who were killed in the mines, so if you want to be a traitor like your pilot just keep pushing it Razor." Adam growled.

They stared at each other until Razor finally backed down.

Babara looked to Razor and said "We gotta stop this, we can't let him do this."

"She's right boss, this is wrong." agreed Russell.

"Adam has lost his damn mind." voiced Kane.

"No shit." muttered Misha.

"Can we really do something?" asked Morgan.

"We... we can't stop this without openly defying Adam's command and with this many armed troops around we will not win. It's a horrible thing, but we will avenge their deaths. Adam will not get away with this." Razor said quietly but firmly. He looked to Qrow and the five teens as they arrived at the cliff and he whispered "I am sorry Branwen, I should have listened to you."

Meanwhile Ruby and the others struggled as they were marched to the ship. Winter and Yang were being forced along with electric prods to keep them under control. Ruby kept fighting to get free but both of the Faunus who had her were too strong and she was too tired after everything that had happened. She looked at her team with Weiss having a look a guilt for what Adam had been through while tears were falling from the eyes of Blake and Sun, and Velvet kept glancing at her friends as she was forced on as four guards carried the deactivated body of Penny.

She looked over to Uncle Qrow, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet.

They could die here and now.

Someone needed to help them. _She_ needed to help them.

She glanced up at one of her escorts and noticed he had large Bar ears on the side of his head. This gave her an idea as she looked down at Ashe's whistle. She bounced it off her chest and into her mouth and blew into it as hard as she could, hurting the Bat Faunus' ears and forcing him to cover them for protection. Ruby made her move, she slammed her head into the other guard's side, jumped up and kicked both guards with a split-kick and as she came down she curled up so her arms could pull her handcuffs under her legs so she'd have her arms in front.

She didn't waste a single second as she dashed forward to help her friends.

"Ruby!" Weiss, Blake, and Yang all cried as their leader dashed through the crow of White Fang troops, her eyes glowing a magnificent silver that made the Beowolves flee.

Adam saw Ruby run towards Qrow and the others and yelled "Shoot now!"

Ruby ran faster and launched herself into Qrow who fell sideways, creating a domino effect, knocking down Scarlet, Neptune, Coco, and Yatsuhashi... but the largest member of the team slipped and went over the edge of the cliff. Coco grabbed him but he was too much so she was pulled over too, Scarlet and Neptune tried to grab her but they were too late, Neptune however was too close and went over, grabbing Scarlet who went down with him.

The remaining White Fang troops, confused, shot at Qrow and Ruby. The Huntsman looked at his niece, grabbed her, and said "Hang on!"

He turned around only to be shot in the back by the White Fang gunmen as he jumped over the cliff into the jungle below.

"NO!" screamed Yang, Weiss, Blake, Sun, and Velvet together, utterly horrified and grief stricken by what just happened. They all tried to fight themselves free but more troops came over to keep them secured as they were forced towards the ship.

Blake began to sob wildly and say "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." over and over again. Ruby, Neptune, Qrow and the others could be dead... and in her soul there was this dreadful feeling that it was all her fault.

The executors ran over to the cliffside and began firing wildly into the jungle and the river until their weapons were empty.

"Save your ammo you idiots." scolded Hui as Adam led he, Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe to look over the edge at the jungle in the valley below.

"Salem and Cinder are going to be furious if Ruby died, they have plans for her. We need to recover her." Emerald said.

"They couldn't have survived that fall." Hui stated.

"Normally I'd agree but these people have a nasty habit of surviving literally everything we throw at them." Mercury pointed out.

"Besides, until the bodies are found and brought to us I don't think we should consider our work done just yet." Steppenwolffe voiced.

"Good idea." Adam agreed as he looked over to an officer who was the leader of a scouting team. "You there, Hopkins."

"Yes sir?"

"Take your team down into the jungle and search for their bodies. If they're not dead kill them except for Ruby Rose, we need her alive. Do not return until you find them dead or alive." Adam ordered.

"Understood sir but what if Ruby Rose died in the fall?"

"Trust us, she's more durable than she looks." Emerald assured him, "But if she did die... then there's going to be trouble."

Adam nodded gravely and said to Hopkins "Get moving."

The scout nodded and went to get his team.

Adam looked to Hui and said "We'll need to ready the cells at the base for our prisoners and until them we'll need to keep them in the brig on the Elite Guard's ship. Assign a platoon to 'aid' them, I want the Elite Guard watched, especially Razor."

"Yes sir, it will be done." Hui said with a salute before he turned to the crowd "Alright, let's get out of here!"

Razor led the Elite Guard members back to the ships. "Kane, pilot Thayer's ship, Edward can you fly yours in that condition?"

Both Faunus nodded as Piper held Razor's hand to comfort him like a daughter would her father. "Thank you." he whispered to her. "I don't deserve a friend like you, I don't deserve any of you."

"Don't say that boss, this isn't your fault." Babara told him.

"She's right." Russell nodded.

"Your loyalty warms my heart, old friends but I have no longer deserve it, not after this disaster. I have dishonored the White Fang and the Elite Guard by letting Adam become what he is now. I have lost my honor." he said sadly.

Piper squeezed his hand and used her instrument to make a voice that said _"You can always get it back."_

Razor looked at her and gave a sad smile. "Make I can. We have to make this right, Adam needs to be stopped." he said quietly. He wasn't worried, his troops were loyal to him and not Adam, and Piper was currently making sure anyone who wasn't part of the Elite Guard couldn't hear them because she was using her Semblance to mess with the soundwaves and sound molecules in the air so only the Elite Guard members could hear him.

"Okay boss, what are we gonna do? I mean you want to go against Adam now but I think we're pretty screwed if we try it." Kane pointed out quietly

Razor nodded but said "A plan is forming..." He looked at Piper, then Selena, and then back to Kane to say "I think I have a mission for you after we've rested up..."

Razor didn't care if this was treason, he was loyal to who ever led the White Fang but after his actions tonight Adam no longer deserved to be the leader, he had dishonored the entire Faunus race, and Razor would make him pay for it, but first he needed to know something for sure.

* * *

With all the attention of the White Fang troops, including the firing squad, all solely concentrated on the escaping prisoners of Team Beacon, none of them bothered to look twice at the Vacuoan surroundings around them. If any of them did glance around, they also would not have been able to clearly see that one of the darker shadows near the waterfall a considerable distance away towards the end of the valley wasn't actually a shadow at all.

Bringing the sleek silver-black motorcycle with blue highlights to a sharp but smoothly curved halt behind a series of large boulders, a figure clad in gunmetal-grey armor plates with similar blue markings released his grip on the throttles and raised his fully armored head from the smooth windscreen just in time to see the captured members of Team Beacon make their spontaneous and incredibly risky escape.

The armor-clad figure's midnight-blue robes slowly settled about the clasps on his shoulder blades while the miniature dust maelstroms died down around him. The sound of his specially-designed motorcycle slowed to a throaty purr, although if he had any reservations of the noise alerting any unwanted attention he might as well not have bothered as the roar of the motorcycle's passage was completely eclipsed by the sound of the waterfall and the noises the White Fang troops and equipment were making.

The figure did not make any sound as he watched the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Team Beacon fall like toy figurines in a child's hand from the cliffside and into the lush Jungle of Vacuo several hundred meters below, surrounded on both sides by a lush green trees, a raging river, and boulders. His armored face-plate concealed any emotion that could be seen on his face at the scene unfolding in front of him, and the sharp blue lenses of his helmet similarly obscured his eyes.

He watched silently as those members of Team Beacon all plunged into the jungle loud clashes of leaves, snapping of branches, and splashes announcing their impact on the water surface of the river and within mere seconds the choppy, foaming waves swallowed them greedily, erasing any trace of their existence, the river and the tower tress providing cover from the Fang. The assembled White Fang troops had immediately rushed to the aforementioned cliffside and fired their rifles futilely at the raging river, their usual conservation of precious ammunition clearly forgotten. The shifting waters of the river easily consumed their extended clips of bullets as well, small spatters of water splashes announcing where those rounds had penetrated the surface too, tree leaves and entire branches were blasted off of trees, crashing to the jungle floor below, scattering the green leaves about.

After expending every single round in their rifle magazines, followed by looking at the gushing river below them for several moments and then engaging each other in a heated shouting match among the leaders of the group, the various White Fang troops immediately stopped after the White Fang Lieutenant known as Hui ordered them to. The White Fang's leader, two young humans who were probably enemy agents, and what was without a doubt a Grimm hybrid looked over the cliff and clearly did not believe that the escaped hostages had died in their rather deadly plunge, and ordered a scout to lead a group to finish the job.

While the cloaked warrior on the motorcycle believed their survival too, he wasn't there with the intent to kill. For the last few days he had been tracking their progress across the continent of Vacuo from a discreet distance after being told to watch over them by his superior Shadow Reaper. He had heard about the battle that had taken place in Hondyama after doing a little intelligence-gathering here and there, making sure that Sun Wukong's family was safe, he continued to follow their progress to Preshia and eventually to the White Fang-held village of Oro on the outskirts of a Vacuo mountain.

Taking caution, the warrior made himself scarce so as to avoid detection by the increased White Fang patrols around the village and the surrounding mountain. Hence it was slightly more difficult for him to monitor Team Beacon's progress more effectively, and it was deep in the night when his built-in electronic system on his motorcycle's dashboard picked up increased White Fang communications and activity ,thanks to a White Fang frequency code he had obtained a few months ago during another operation with other Knights), alerting him that something big was definitely going down in the nearby prison complex.

Soon enough, furious fighting outside the prison complex and an explosion signaled an escape attempt by Team Beacon, and the armored warrior smoothly slipped onto his motorcycle and since he had warmed up the engine in advance, pursuing the R.V. as well as the White Fang ships chasing it was a simple enough task. But the mountain roads of Vacuo were treacherous even to a trained motorcycle rider like the armored knight, so he had to be careful white cutting corners or taking shortcuts to stay behind the chasing combatants.

When he eventually arrived at the waterfall, the armored figure witnessed the scene of a clear aftermath of a large battle, with at least half of Team Beacon about to be taken prisoner with the R.V. reduced to smoldering scrap metal, while the rest were forced on their knees in front of a firing squad. Mentally thinking that it was perhaps time for him to intervene before Team Beacon suffers any serious casualties, he was a little surprised when the red hooded Huntress managed to effect a hasty escape for all of them.

He was impressed, he hoped to see Ruby Rose in action soon.

As he watched the White Fang bullheads take off one by one away from the forest while one took off towards the jungle, the Knight contemplated on his next course of action. Reaching a decision quickly after remembering the important message sent to him from Shadow Reaper mere days before: 'Sharp Strike, meeting with Ozpin successful. Team Beacon operatives currently on mission related to WF in Vacuo. High possibility of interception if current search perimeter include locations with High WF activity. Locate and observe from discreet distance, keep watch. Intervene if necessary.'

He turned off the engine and got off his motorcycle in one smooth action, and stowed his bike in a shadowed lee between two of the largest rock formations near the waterfall.

Intervene if necessary.

The last three words of Shadow Reaper's message echoed through Sharp Strike's thoughts as the lone Knight made one last check of his armor's functionality, his two signature swords magnetically-locked in cross-scabbards affixed to his back armor plates as well as the dust bullet ammunition for the personal revolver which laid in a quick-draw holster at his left thigh. Walking to the lip of the cliff, he carefully checked the surroundings before drawing his twin swords and began to slowly descend the steep cliff, stabbing into the rocky surface of cliff as well as the large branches of the giant trees of the jungle to balance himself before jumping from tree to tree in a series of quick motions that would have made any Monkey Faunus proud, despite being clad in armored plates.

Setting his mind on finding those escaped members of Team Beacon, Sharp Strike sprinted at a brisk pace once he reached the jungle floor, slipping into the shaded shadows of the Vacuo jungle and becoming one of them within moments, leaving no evidence of his presence behind.

It was time for him to do what he does best.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... sorry to leave you with that cliffhanger. I'm sorry to leave you with that but I hope you liked it and enjoyed the fights, since I worked by butt off on them. So will they live? What will Razor do? Who is Sharp Strike? Will I get more faves and follows? You'll have to wait to find out. Also I've decided that this won't be the last chapter of the year, I will give you one last chapter before new years eve, so see you in a few weeks. Also thanks to Relentless Crusader for helping to write Sharp Strike's introduction.
> 
> Also just to make it clear; there won't be a Penny/Scarlet pairing as one reviewer thought, the scene between them last chapter was just some character interaction and development.
> 
> Note, the rating of this story will change from T to M in the future for violence and possible lemons.
> 
> Please if you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please let a review, or simply follow and favorite the story if you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback. Thank you all, once again.


	43. Schism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

"Hey, get the hell up."

"What, oh... uh, sorry Jorvitz, just got bored and wanted to get some reading done." said one Atlas solider to another as he put the small paperback away in his pocket.

"You're bored? How can you be bored in a place like this Kyle? I mean a friggin' massacre happened here just a week or so ago and there's still blood stains on the walls and we're constantly looking for the scrolls of the Faunus who were here, how can you be bored?" Jorvitz asked.

"Well I don't believe in ghosts for one thing. What, do you think the place is haunted?" Kyle inquired as he got up.

"Well I feel like I'm in a 'Crypt of Terror' episode, so that's a start. Come on, Yin wants us to join up with her and a few others to search the basement again, see if there's something we missed in the last few sweeps." Jorvitz said as he led the way.

Kyle couldn't help but agree with his fellow soldier, this place was pretty spooky, especially knowing what had happened. As he took out his rifle he couldn't help but comment "Search the basement? This whole place is a basement."

"You're not wrong, probably why they picked this place as their little death trap." Jorvitz agreed as he walked on.

Specialist Yin's small platoon had been left behind at the Mining Facility in the desert to search for more proof of what had happened here. According to Styles' log entries she and the other survivors were going to try one last desperate attempt to kill the Grimm beast that had been killing their people, including strapping their scrolls to their chests and getting proof of what really happened. Another big thing was that in the second to last entry they mentioned something about Adam contacting them to brag, which would be undeniable proof of what had happened here, but said audio was not in her scroll, meaning that she probably transferred it to something else for safety.

They soon arrived to the entrance of the basement, if it could be called that since it wasn't the lowest point of the facility. The place was actually a large underground room used for water softeners, large pipes and electric cables, breakers, and as a backup storage room.

"Alright everyone, get your guns ready just in case and check your targets, I don't want a repeat of last time." Yin said to them, giving everyone unfortunate reminders of how one of the newer troops had freaked out when a strange sound came out of a pipe and shot it open to reveal a practical horde of cockroaches and termites and all kinds of pests bunched up in the pipe.

Everyone walked down the stairs and once Yin turned the lights on the began to go through the large, foreboding room once again. Even with the lights on the room was dark, the lights were dim and didn't do much to help the mood.

"Are you sure we shouldn't check through the mine shafts again? I mean isn't that where they tried to bait and chase this thing?" asked a solider named Fong.

"We've searched those tunnels out extensively and to the best of our ability, if the scrolls were down there we would have found them by now." Yin said. They had gone through those tunnels nearly a dozen times since they had arrived. They had tried metal detectors, Faunus soldiers who had been trained in tracking, everything, but they couldn't find any trace of the scrolls in the mines. They had searched the rooms, the mess hall, the assembly hall, the garage, but the scrolls were nowhere to be found.

"Maybe whoever placed the dead rangers here found 'em first." Jorvirz suggested as he pried open an old locker only to find it empty.

"I don't think so, Styles left the scroll in a desk, pretty easily found all things considered. If the White Fang didn't find that they probably didn't find the others." Yin stated as she sidestepped a large pile of dead bugs that had poured out of the pipe.

"We've gone over this place like three times already, Specialist Yin, what makes you think it'll be any different?" a trooper asked Yin.

"You never know, today might give us a little luck." she answered.

Just then, as if one cue, there was a loud clanging sound of something metal falling to the concrete floor. Everyone either looked up, either annoyed or startled by the sudden noise, to see that Kyle had climbed onto a large group of sturdy pipes that came out of ceiling and into the floor, but one of the thinner pipes had came off unusually easily.

"Sorry everyone! I just think I see something behind these pipes." he excused.

"What is it?" Yin asked.

"I see an outline of something, maybe an opening? These pipes are blocking the way, but it looks like these thin ones weren't here originally, they're a bit newer looking than these big ones." Kyle said as he gripped tightly on another one and pulled until it came off.

Yin approached him and sure enough she could see an outline of a small rectangle shape in the wall that wasn't a cinder block or a large brick. "Let me help you with that, come on!" she said to the others.

The other soldiers began helping out, forcing the thin pipes off, revealing more and more of the small shape until they were completely removed.

"These pipes were put up not too long ago, maybe by Styles." said Fong as he examined the hastily installed pipes.

"Maybe..." Yin said as she pressed her hand against the rectangle outline and swept against it. She took out her sword and gently inserted it into the thin opening.

"Uh, that might be dangerous, shouldn't we go get a crowbar or something?" Kyle asked.

"Relax soldier, I can handle this." Yin assured him as she pried the strong piece of metal out of the opening, slowly but surely to reveal a hidden crawlspace. The metal fell to the ground with a heavy clang.

Yin looked inside and said "I think there's something in there, hand me a flashlight."

Fong quickly did so and Specialist Yin peered inside to see a bag covered with a few blood stains here and there but it was clearly filled with something. Yin reached in and just barely managed to get it by the tips of her middle and index fingers. She pulled it forward to where she could get a better grip on it before yanking it out of the crawlspace.

"What's in the bag?" Jorvitz asked as Yin sat down on the pipes.

"Let's find out." Yin said as she opened the bag up to reveal the scrolls. "I don't believe it, we found them." She took one out and examined it. It was in good shape, save for the blood stain on it.

"We did it, way to go kid." Fong said to Kyle.

"Contact General Ironwood and Colonel Chamberlain at once, they need to know about this." Yin ordered.

* * *

Ozpin and Goodwitch stood in front of a table which was projecting holograms of General Ironwood, Colonel Chamberlain, and a high ranking officer in the Vacuo Rangers named Commander Strider. On the table itself was various holographic readouts and a recreation of the dogfights between the Vacuo Rangers and the White Fang.

"We lost four ships and about nine good Rangers all together. The rest of our aircraft were forced to retreat." Strider reported.

"What about your ground troops? Did they make it to the village?" Glynda asked.

"No, they were stopped by a White Fang blockade, the White Fang officers there told our Rangers that if they came any closer villagers would be executed, just like you predicted Professor Goodwitch." Strider said grimly.

Glynda grimaced as she shook her head. "What of Team Beacon? Have any of your troops been able to get in contact with them?"

"I don't know Professor, one of the pilots who got away said he saw more White Fang ships approach the area where they had engaged the White Fang in battle, and since they have not contact you it is most likely they've been captured." Strider admitted.

There was a small silence around the table before Ozpin said "As of now they are a top priority. Glynda, please contact Taiyang and the rest of Team Beacon, they need to know about this."

Glynda nodded and quickly sent a message to Taiyang and the remaining members of Team Beacon as Ironwood said "I noticed that Taurus and his Elite Guard arrived rather quickly, this most likely means that the White Fang's headquarters are somewhere nearby, probably in the mountains."

"That's a safe bet General, it would explain their sudden appearance and how they've kept such a tight grip on this area." Glynda concurred.

"General, we could send an Atlas Eagle to scout out the area. All it would have to do is do a flyby high enough so it wouldn't be spotted, take a scan of the mountains and see if the White Fang's base really is there." Chamberlain suggested.

"Excellent idea." Ironwood said before looking to someone near him that wasn't in the hologram, "Send one of our top pilots in the Vacuo bases at once. Now that still leaves us with Team Beacon's situation; Strider's right, it is most likely they've been captured, even with Branwen and Specialist Schnee and the multiple powerhouse students among them they couldn't fight all of those White Fang operatives. Can we make an educated guess as to their situation?"

"Adam Taurus kowtows to Salem and Cinder Fall, we know that much, so I fear he will probably hand over Ruby as an offering to them, but hopefully we can stop that before it happens. He has history with Miss Belladonna, and considering her relationship with Mr. Wukong and what happened at the Fall with Miss Xiao Long I think he would want them alive for his personal vendettas." Ozpin said.

"I think we should also be concerned Weiss Schnee and Specialist Schnee, I don't think I need to remind any of you about the bad blood between the White Fang and the Schnee family." Glynda voiced.

"Too true, so we're looking at either ransom or execution there... we need to hurry." Chamberlain said.

"Agreed. James, if you were to mobilize your troops within the next hour how long would it take you to get there?" Ozpin inquired.

"Sometime around two o'clock in the morning, what about you?"

"We have a ship that can get us there a little earlier, it's..." Ozpin said before the door was flung open to reveal Taiyang, Jaune, Pyrrha, and the other remaining members of Team Beacon.

"We got your message, what's going on?!" Taiyang demanded.

"Are the others okay?" Pyrrha asked.

"What happened? What went wrong?" Jaune cried.

"Are our friends in danger? Do I need to start breaking some legs?" Nora inquired.

"Tell us what happened to our friends now!" Sage said firmly.

"What happened to my team? I need to know." pleaded Fox, who looked uncharacteristically worried.

Ren sighed and pulled out a StormFlower and fired off one round into the floor, getting everyone's attention and making them all stop talking at once. "Please be quiet. Asking a dozen questions all at once won't get us anywhere. Now, Headmaster, Professor, General, Colonel, would you please tell us what's happened to our friends?" he asked.

"The plan to rescue Claudandus failed, the ship sent to extract them was destroyed before it could land, and we think they've been captured by the White Fang." Chamberlain answered.

"Oh no..." Nora whispered.

"Not again, oh gods..." said Taiyang in horror with wide eyes.

"We gotta help them." Sage said with determination in his voice.

"He's right, what are you planning to do?" Pyrrha asked importantly.

"An Atlas Eagle will soon fly high overhead and get a scan of the mountains, we think the White Fang's headquarters are located somewhere there since they appeared so quickly. Once we have confirmation that they are there we will move out and attack the base from the other side of the mountain." Ozpin said.

"We need to think about this, even if we attack from behind they'll still have the villagers from Oro as captives, their lives are in the hands of the White Fang." Glynda pointed out.

"Well from the looks of it so are the lives of our friends. We need to save them, if we wait it might be too late to save them." Jaune said.

"And rushing into things will get innocent people killed, including your friends Mr. Arc." Ozpin told the blonde.

Jaune hung his head, knowing the Headmaster was right.

"So, what do you have in mind for this? I mean we have to save our friends and attack the Fang but we'll need to save those villagers too." Fox stated.

"Once we have enough information about the situation we'll plan it out a bit more but I think I'll send in one of our top combat teams to take care of the village when we begin the attack." Ironwood assured the teen.

"What about Ruby and the others? If we wait too long they'll be dead or they could be Salem's prisoners! No one should have to live through that... Ruby's already gone through it once... she's like a little sister to me, I don't want her going through that again." Jaune said sadly when Pyrrha grabbed his hand and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Jaune is right, we need to know what's happened to the rest of Team Beacon as soon as possible, Professor Ozpin, Ruby, Jaune, and I were all Salem's prisoners before and I know for a fact that no one should ever live through it again, especially not Ruby. They're in danger if Taurus hands them over to that witch so we need a plan right away if we're going to save them." Pyrrha voiced.

"Agreed Miss Nikos, but we have no choice but to wait until..." Ozpin was interrupted by a voice coming from Ironwood and Chamberlain's connections.

"General Ironwood, Colonel, we've just received word from Specialist Yin, they've found the hidden scrolls." said a female voice.

"Really?" cried Chamberlain.

"Excellent news." Ironwood said with a slight grin. "Have her transfer it to us immediately."

"Huh? What's going on?" Nora asked.

"We'll explain it later Miss Valkyrie, but I assure you this is a promising turn of events." Ozpin said to the redhead.

Pyrrha sighed and said "Well I hope this is a good sign, whatever it is."

Everyone else could only agree with a nod, except Taiyang who looked on bitterly. "Glynda, please call me as soon as you hear anything about my daughters and my brother-in-law."

"We will Taiyang. I promise we will do our best to save them." the professor assured him.

Taiyang didn't say anything, he merely nodded before walking away, fists clenched. Jaune and Pyrrha both noticed this so they quickly followed him out of the room.

"Mr. Xiao Long, are you going to be alright?" Pyrrha called.

He stopped and said "That depends on what happens to my family."

"Sir, when I said Ruby is like a little sister to me I meant it. They're our family too." Jaune said, with Pyrrha nodding in agreement.

"They mean so much to us Mr. Xiao Long, so just remember if you need to talk we're here for you." she said.

Taiyang allowed himself a sad smile before saying "Thank you."

As the Huntsman walked away the two lovers looked at each other. "Pyrrha, what are we going to do?"

"We can't do anything for the time being Jaune. I know how frustrating it is but for now we can only hope that they'll be alright."

* * *

Scarlet held onto the rocks at the edge of the riverbank for dear life with his right hand while his left arm braced the injured Neptune close to him as the raging tides of the river they had fallen into threatened to carry them away. The two members of Team SSSN had been unfortunate enough to land in the raging river in the jungle, but Scarlet, who was unharmed and alert unlike Neptune who was barely conscious after the savage beating he got from Mercury and the slash across the chest he received from Adam.

"Hang on lad! We're not done yet!" he said as he kept a tight grip on the slippery rock, water battering his side, trying to knock him down but he didn't give in.

'This would be so much easier if I had my grappling hook.' he thought to himself as he struggled to move Neptune up a bit more. He flung his head up to get his hair out of his eyes so he could see better. He slipped a bit but his hand quickly caught a large rock to keep him and his teammate from being washed away, the water constantly rushing by him, threatening to pull him away.

Scarlet grunted as his left hand got a good grip on Neptune's hand as he lowered his body down into the rapids to get Neptune a little higher as he pulled both of them closer to land.

"Neptune, I don't know if you can hear me but don't leave me! We're gonna make it!" Scarlet cried before shouting out "COCO! YATSUHASHI! QROW! ANYONE, HELP!"

There was no answer.

"Okay, doing this alone then." Scarlet muttered to himself before he got closer to the rocks, his legs fighting the current with every ounce of energy he had. He didn't know who was the strongest or the weakest of Team SSSN, obviously he and the blunette he was holding were the weaker of the two while Sun and Sage, but he didn't know if he was weaker than Neptune or not, but this was a bloody stressful way to test his strength.

He stomped a bit closer to the land, stomping hard to get his feet into the dirt and mud for support so he wouldn't be carried away when he let go. He took a deep breath and braced himself as he let go of the rock. The water kept pounding into him but Scarlet didn't give in, his feet firmly planted into the mud, as he got Neptune onto his back.

"I'm gonna throw you onto the ground, mate, brace yourself!" Scarlet warned.

"Scar... let me go... save yourself, man." Neptune said weakly.

Scarlet shook his head and shouted "No way! I'm not leaving you behind mate! You're my teammate, my friend! I'm not letting the river take you! Hang on... AHHH!" He roared as he managed to Neptune over his head, muscles burning with stress, before he tossed his teammate onto the safety of solid ground.

"I did it! I... whoa!" he cried as his left foot came loose from the mud and a surge of river water swept him down, jerking him free of the mud. "Oh bugger!"

"Scarlet!" called Neptune is horror as he attempted to force himself up.

Scarlet's legs began to kick as hard as they could, his arms stroking, trying to swim back to the rocks but the current was simply too strong. Water kept raging into him, water splashed into his face, flooding his mouth and nose, threatening to overwhelm him.

All hope seemed lost when a voice yelled "Grab the vine!"

Scarlet manage to look over to see Coco and Yatsuhashi on the riverbank, tossing a long vine from the jungle to him. Scarlet's arm flew up and he caught the improvised rope just in the nick of time as the two pulled as hard as they could to get him to safety. Scarlet climbed up the vine as the two remaining members of CFVY pulled him closer and closer until he was finally in reach.

"Grab my hand!" Yatsuhashi yelled.

Scarlet nodded and reached out to the large samurai who quickly grabbed him and hauled him out of the river and to the safety of the land. He coughed up the water out of his lungs and onto the ground, helped out by Coco giving him a rough slap on the back, and after he took a few deep breaths he began to recover.

"Oh man, that Oum you guys showed up just in time!" Scarlet said, relieved to be alive after the insane ordeal he had just been through.

"We try our best. You doing okay?" Coco asked.

"I'm soaked but I'll be fine, Neptune's down the riverbank, he's still hurt but he's okay for the time being." Scarlet told them with a couple of coughs.

"Good, Yatsu?"

"I'll get him." Yatsuhashi said as he got up and walked away.

"What happened to you guys? Where did you land?" Scarlet asked the fashionista.

"We landed in some bushy trees not too far from here, the branches were strong and had a ton of leaves which cushioned our fall. You haven't see Ruby or Qrow have you?" she asked.

"I was kinda busy trying not to drown or let Neptune go." Scarlet stated as she helped him up.

"Good point. We heard you call for help but you might not want to do that, knowing the White Fang they've probably sent scouts looking for our us." Coco said as she examined her sunglasses, which had one lens with a spiderweb and the other was missing completely. "And I liked these." she muttered.

"Why? Wasn't falling enough?" Scarlet asked.

"We're still alive so obviously it wasn't. Taurus might be certifiable but he's obviously not stupid, he probably wants proof of our deaths, so we should keep it down." Coco finished as Yatsuhashi returned, carrying Neptune.

"His aura is healing his wounds but it would be better if we got him to a healer." Yatsuhashi stated.

"Right, okay so we find Ruby and Qrow, get out of this jungle, and make our way to the next village that isn't controlled by the Fang." Coco said as she began walking into the jungle.

"You think that's a good plan?" Scarlet asked doubtfully as he and Yatsuhashi followed her.

Coco nodded and said "Unless a miracle happens, I'd say it's our best bet. Now just be qui..."

"HELP! COCO! ANYONE! UNCLE QROW IS HURT! SOMEONE HELP US!" cried the voice of Ruby.

"Oh for the love of... come on, if Ruby's calling for help like that this will probably be serious." Coco ordered as she led the others into the jungle.

"Coco, Scarlet, did either of you hear the sound of a ship?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"No." Scarlet answered.

"Nuh-uh, why?" Coco asked.

"When I was getting Neptune I something that sounded like a dropship somewhere out there." he replied.

Coco grimaced and said "Then it's a good bet the White Fang did send scouts, we'll worry about them later, right now we need to get Ruby."

Not too far away Ruby sat in the crook of a mighty tree branch, holding her Uncle to her so he wouldn't fall off into the jungle below. Her hands were still together but nonetheless she placed them over Qrow's head and on his back where he had been shot before jumping off of the cliff, pressing down on the wounded areas as hard as she could to keep the bleeding to a minimum while his aura gave off a weak glow.

They had landed in a huge tree with many bushy leaves and some vines that cushioned their fall and prevented them from falling to the ground below.

"Uncle Qrow, please tell me you're okay." she pleaded as she nuzzled his face.

"Uh..." he moaned.

"Not good enough. Come on Uncle Qrow, you've had worse than this. Come on, you're not quitting on me!" she said confidently as she tried to shake Qrow awake. "We need to get out of this tree, everyone's counting on us! Blake and Yang... and Weiss... and Penny... and Sun... and Velvet and..."

Ruby sighed, she hoped everyone would be okay, but in the hands of the White Fang she honestly didn't know. Penny had been hit by that E.M.P., and so had Yang's arm, Weiss and Winter had found out their family was kinda responsible for what happened to Adam, Velvet had been reunited with her uncle who had betrayed the whole White Fang in the open and tried to shoot Adam (which probably put Velvet in extra danger), poor Sun lost half of his tail, and Blake... Ruby couldn't imagine what was going through her teammate's head right now after what had happened. "Don't worry guys, I'll try to help you... if Uncle Qrow would just wake up!"

Qrow slumped over, nearly falling and dragging Ruby over with him but she quickly pulled him back over. "Whoa! That was a close one. I wonder if mom, dad, and Aunt Raven ever had to put up with you when you were like this." she muttered, knowing the answer was probably yes.

She looked around, trying to get a good read on the situation at hand. Even with her hands cuffed she could jump from branch to branch and crook to crook until she made it to level ground, but she couldn't risk leaving Qrow here, but she couldn't carry him down either, since he was too heavy for her to carry that far and she'd easily lose her balance with him as extra wight. She had called for help from the others and ignored the feeling of dread in the back of her head that was telling her they didn't make it.

All of a sudden there was a loud 'caw' sound. Ruby looked up to see a raven perched on a branch overhead. Ruby looked at the raven closely and her eyes widened. "Wait... I know you, you're the same bird from the factory vents and you were in our room after Professor Ozpin's trial! Are you stalking me?" she demanded.

She stared at the raven and the raven stared back.

"I'm demanding answers from a bird. I've officially gone nuts, as if today couldn't get any worse." Ruby bemoaned as the bird looked at Qrow. Ruby allowed herself a smile and said "I wonder what Weiss would say if she knew about this? She'd probably just stare and walk away. I hope she's okay..."

The bird paid no attention to Ruby, it finished examining Qrow and flew away.

"Ruby!" called a voice from below. Ruby looked down to see Coco and Scarlet.

"Guys! You're okay!" she said, feeling very relived.

"Well we've been better, is Qrow alright?" Scarlet called.

"He's breathing and his heart is still beating so he's alive but he won't wake up and I don't think I can get him down myself." Ruby responded as Yatsuhashi came with Neptune in his arms. "Is he alright?"

"He's injured and exhausted but he'll make it, but it would be best to get him to a healer." Yatsuhashi answered.

"Yatsu, we need to climb up and help Ruby get Qrow down, you up for it?" Coco asked.

The large teen nodded before gently setting Neptune down, resting his head on a big tree root. "Let's get moving." he said as he moved to climb up the tree, Coco and Scarlet joining him.

"Can we call for help?" Ruby asked as she got Qrow ready to go down.

"Nope, the area is still under a communications block as far as scrolls go, we won't be able to call for help with them." answered Coco.

Ruby sighed and said "Okay, so let's recap our situation; everyone else has been captured and we're the only still free, Neptune and Uncle Qrow are out of it, we're in a jungle, we can't call for help, we don't have our weapons, the proof of what Adam did to those poor Faunus was destroyed, and the White Fang probably sent someone to try and find us. Anything else?"

"Nope, that pretty much covers everything. We're screwed." Scarlet deadpanned as he climbed up to where Ruby was and grabbed Qrow by the legs while Ruby hoisted him up by the armpits.

"Not entirely." said Coco as she stood under Yatsuhashi. "You see, before the battle really started I decided that it was too risky for me and Neptune to keep the evidence to ourselves so I sent it to Yatsu's scroll."

"You did!" cried Ruby gleefully.

"Alright!" said Scarlet.

"Why me?" Yatsuhashi inquired.

"You barely use yours man so it was the perfect safe place for the data, plus since you didn't know you didn't volunteer to give yours up. We're lucky they didn't force us to give in all of our scrolls." Coco said as Scarlet lowered the unconscious Qrow to Yatsuhashi while Ruby began moving down the tree, jumping from branch to branch.

"Good thinking." Yatsuhashi said as he carefully lowered Qrow down to Coco. Ruby had finally gotten onto solid ground and ran over to get under Coco so she could help with Qrow again.

"That means if we can get out of this blackout zone we can send the proof to Professor Ozpin and he can use it to show the world what Adam has done." Ruby said as Coco took hold of Qrow.

"Yeah, and I have a plan; we find a way out of this jungle, get to the next village which isn't under White Fang control, call Vale and tell 'em the situation. Or just one of us goes..." Coco said as she looked to Ruby while handing Qrow down to the youngest Huntress.

"Me? Well I guess it makes sense since I'm faster than any of you... but I don't like leaving you behind, especially after what we just went through." Ruby stated.

"But you're smaller and faster than the rest of us and if there are any White Fang patrols you can probably zip by unnoticed and get help." Coco argued as Scarlet floated down via his Semblance.

"That's true but... I just don't want to leave you guys behind. I don't think I could forgive myself if something happened to you while I was gone." Ruby said sadly as she and Scarlet set Qrow down.

Coco sighed, she knew Ruby had felt incredibly guilty over what happened to Pyrrha during the Fall and she reminded herself that the leader of RWBY was the youngest of them all (save Penny) and had been through an insane amount of crap in the last year. Her team had just been taken from her and were in danger, so Coco knew Ruby had a good reason to be so reluctant.

"Okay Ruby, you don't want to leave us we won't force you. We'll get out of here together." she said as she placed a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Thanks Coco." Ruby said with a thankful smile.

Yatsuhashi jumped down and said "We should get moving, it might not be safe to stay here."

Coco nodded, "Right, Ruby you take the lead and cover our front while I cover the rear. Yatsuhashi will carry Qrow and Scarlet can take Neptune. We find a way out of this jungle, get to a village, get help, and try to save our friends. Everybody good with that?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's move out."

* * *

Penny's eyes snapped open as her systems rebooted. There was an odd numbness in her entire body, save for her head, she tried to move her arms but found she was unable to, same with her legs, but after a moment of sending additional power to those parts of her body she began moving again. It was then that she realized something uncomfortable was around her neck as she managed to turn her head to see Weiss.

"Hello?"

The Schnee heiress looked at her and breathed a sigh of relief. "Penny, thank goodness you're awake. I was starting to worry." she said.

"Worry? Weiss, what happened? Where is Ruby? Where are we?" she asked.

Weiss sighed and said "To answer your questions in order: we fought the White Fang and we lost, you were taken out by a Faunus with an E.M.P. Semblance. Ruby got away but fell over a cliff with Qrow, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet and we are currently being held prisoner in the brig of the Elite Guard's ship."

Penny absorbed this new information and quietly responded "I wish I hadn't woken up. Weiss, there is something around my neck, what is it?"

"They put some kind of shock collar to stop you if you try anything, that's what they said at least." Weiss answered as she sat down next to the robotic girl.

"Weiss... do you think Ruby will be alright?"

All Weiss could say was "I hope so Penny."

Penny looked around to see Blake, looking miserable as she leaned against the wall close to the bars of the cell they had been placed in. In the cell with them was Velvet and her Uncle Thayer, which Weiss explained in whispers.

Blake looked at Penny and was relieved that she had woken up but feared what they had planned for her. The cell next door was where Yang (whose robotic arm had been fitted with an odd mechanism that disabled its combat functions), Sun, Winter, Claudandus, and Neo had been imprisoned, and Blake knew Adam had made sure she'd be separated from her boyfriend who needed comfort after the loss of his tail, her partner, and her grandfather.

She glared at the six guards angrily but they took no notice of her furious amber eyes. She found it odd that none of them were of the Elite Guard for some strange reason, just normal White Fang troops.

The group had been silent ever since they had been forced into the cells, aside from Penny greeting Thayer and thanking him for joining them and Thayer and Velvet speaking to each other in low whispers.

"Why did you do that Uncle Thayer? He could have killed you." Velvet scolded.

"Not in front of everyone else he wouldn't have. I needed to do it, I wasn't going to let him hurt you, I might be White Fang but you're still blood Velvet. Oh gods you've grown up so much." he said with a sad smile, regretting how much he had missed because of he had been fooled into this insane crusade. "Can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

Velvet gave her uncle a smile and said "I forgave you along time ago."

Blake smiled despite herself, at least Velvet got something good out of this mess, but it probably wouldn't last long. As Weiss told Penny about the battle and what had happened she heard the sound of a whimper coming from the next cell and recognized it as Sun's voice. There was a tug at her heartstrings as she scooted at little closer to the end of the cell, as fast as she possibly could.

"Sun, can you hear me?" she asked.

"... yeah, I can hear you." he answered with a dry, monotone voice that made her wince. It was a voice that made Blake nervous because his normal voice had this mischievous, likable quality to it but his voice just sounded utterly emotionless now.

"Sun, I'm so, so, so sorry for what's happened to you. I don't blame you if you hate me for it, I deserve it. If we had never met you wouldn't have lost your tail and your family would never have been held hostage. I..." she stopped herself, honestly not knowing what to say. She had been overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last few hours; the revelation of her true relation to Claudandus, fighting Adam, Sun losing his tail, Ruby and the others going over the cliff, being captured and thrown in a cell, it was all more than she could bear. "I've brought you nothing but pain Sun, I'm sorry."

He was quiet for the moment before he said "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Blake looked down, her eyes threatening to spill tears when she heard Yang's voice whisper "I'll talk to him, okay?"

"Yang?" Blake asked quietly.

"One and only, I'll talk to Sun, I kinda know what he's going through." the voice of the blonde assured her.

Blake sighed, "I'm sorry about Ruby. Gods this is all my fault."

"No it's not. Quit blaming yourself for every little thing that happens to us. Trust me, I know what it's like to feel so low." Yang reminded her.

"Right... sorry about that."

"Didn't I tell you to cut it out?" the blonde brawler joked. "Besides, I think we still have a chance to win this. For now just let me talk it over with Sun okay?"

"Alright." Blake said as she looked over to Weiss who returned the stare with eyes that weren't as accusing or judgmental as they would have been a year ago. "I'm sorry Weiss, you shouldn't have found out like this."

"I don't blame you, I blame my family for what they did in the past... but Adam isn't that old, and that makes it so much worse."

"How so?" asked Velvet.

"Because whatever happened to Adam probably happened in my life time. I was living a life of luxury because my family ran a company that profited off of slavery. I don't blame you for anything Blake, I'm not mad." Weiss assured her.

Blake allowed herself a smile again and was about to reply when the door to the brig was opening up.

"So why why didn't you tell me about that brand?" Weiss asked.

Blake sighed and said "When we first met I didn't trust you and I know you had a good reason to hate the White Fang. When we began to trust each other and truly become friends I didn't want to risk damaging our relationship, that's why I never talked about Adam until things began to go wrong. Once you knew about Adam... I honestly don't really know why I didn't tell you after we were reunited."

"Because you promised not to tell anyone. Remember when we were children and I made you promise not to tell anyone. I'm touched you kept it." said the voice of Adam as he, Emerald, Mercury, Razor, Kane, Russell, Babara and Morgan. What disturbed everyone was that Adam hadn't bothered to put a new mask on, leaving his brand visible for the world to see.

"Actually, I think it's because I didn't want her to feel bad. That promise no longer holds meaning to either of us. Hello Adam." Blake snarled as she glared at him

"Blake." he returned with a calm voice as he looked down on her. He turned to the guards and ordered "Leave us, stay outside." The guards nodded obediently and exited the room

In the other cell Neo had woken up but had remained quiet until she saw Emerald and Mercury. "Hello you two, hope my friends gave you a beating before you captured us."

"We handled ourselves just fine, you would have too but you picked the wrong side Neo." Emerald said angrily.

"We'll see about that." Neo shot back as everyone in the cells looked at their jailers.

"Hello Thayer." Razor said, putting on a disappointed tone of voice.

"Boss." the pilot returned as Penny approached the bars.

"Excuse me, but will someone please tell me what is around my neck?" she inquired.

Emerald looked to the robotic girl and said "It's an experimental type of shock collar designed to be a pacification tool for some of Atlas' most hostile and uncontrollable criminals in their prisons, it's used to punish them if they get out of line. The late Colonel Cy provided about a dozen of them to us before he committed suicide."

"Yeah, we used one like it on Arc, I enjoyed torturing him, but the one you're wearing was made just for you, so I hope you like it, robo-girl." Mercury added.

"I don't." Penny answered seriously.

"He's telling the truth, it was made specifically for you. Dr. Watts, Mistress Salem's highest ranking scientist, modified it with an E.M.P. so it would disable your weapons and mobility should you try to resist." Emerald finished.

Penny said nothing in response, she just turned around and sat down on the bench, trying not to get angry.

Weiss and Winter both looked at Adam and the mark on his forehead and after a moment the elder of the two looked to Razor and spoke up. "Razor, that is your name, correct?"

"Yes." he confirmed.

"You said that our father was involved in the purchase of Faunus slaves, do you have any proof of your claim?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm not lying, I can show you the documents we downloaded from the slavers' database if you wish." he offered.

"Show us." Weiss said.

"Very well." Razor said as he took out his scroll.

"Yes, while you two might be unaware of it your father is still engaged in the same criminal activity that made me like this." Adam said as he absentmindedly rubbed his brand.

"What happened to you? What did they do?" Weiss asked.

"If you want to know, I'll tell you after Razor shows you the documents." Adam said as the large Boar Faunus held up his scroll.

"These documents are the ones we downloaded, I trust you recognize your father's handwriting." Razor said as both of the Schnee sisters cringed when they knew the signature on the slave trade papers was undeniably that of Willow Jacques Schnee.

"I don't believe it." Weiss said.

"Believe it Schnee, your father is just as bad as those who came before him. I mean the legacy of what your family did to the Faunus race is no secret, even to us non-Faunus." Emerald stated, remembering the rumors she had heard about the Schnee mines as a child in Vacuo.

"But what could he want those slaves for? The mines are worked by drones and highly trained professional miners now and slaves would be useless in the more obscure mines since they tend to be in harsh environments. Not to mention slavery is highly illegal in all four Kingdoms and an because of our regrettable history the Atlas council mandated that an ethics committee should oversee all operations to appease the Faunus citizens of Atlas. It doesn't make any logical sense." Winter said.

"Maybe he didn't want them to do that kind of work, a good many of them were being sexually abused." Russell said, making Velvet shudder in disgust at the thought.

"My father would never..." Weiss said.

"Your father wouldn't let you know everything about the company, Miss Schnee. He'd probably wait until you were older, shared his outlook on life and then let you in on the things he does in the shadows." Razor said to her. "There weren't just Faunus slaves, but humans too. I swear to you on my honor, on the White Fang itself I am not lying to you. Your father is involved in the underground slave trade. It is unpleasant, but it is the truth."

Winter looked Razor in the eye and no matter how hard she tried she could see so much as a hint that he was lying about this. She sighed and thought back to when she was starting out in the Atlas Military, remembering how many people despised her for her family's legacy, remembered the fearful looks on the Faunus citizens she had rescued on various missions. She had known about the uncomfortable truth regarding what her family had done in the past, what her father had said to her after she had been arrested for aiding in Penny's rescue mission was proof that he still held prejudice against the Faunus race.

She sighed and said "I don't want to believe you, but you don't appear to be lying."

"Your father will pay for his sins, one way or another." Adam commented.

"What about your sins? You have a lot to answer for." Weiss accused.

"If you want to keep insisting that I approved of amputation then you are dead wrong. I would never approve of it after what happened to my mother." he said to her, confusing Weiss and everyone in the room save for Blake and Claudandus.

"And that makes what you have done all the more reprehensible." Claudandus said.

"Hold your tongue old man or I'll remove it for you." Adam snapped.

"You'll have to go through us to get to him." Yang said as she glared furiously at him.

Adam looked at the blonde brawler, then to Sun who was also glaring at Adam, and then to Blake. He smirked and said "I never could have guessed you had a type, my love. I suppose I have kept you in suspense long enough. Do you want to know what happened to me? How I got this? How I became who I am now?"

No one gave any sort of response, so he began. "I was born into a small family of Faunus parents, my father was named Tarvos and my mother was a kind and gentle woman named Iona, we lived poor lives in a small home outside of an Atlas town but we were happy. When I was a child, four years old I think, and my mother was pregnant with a second child, who would become my little sister Lily, something horrible happened to us one cold winter's night. Our door was slammed down and strange men in masks rushed in, my father was hit with a tranquilizer and my mother and I were netted, we were forced out into the cold and onto a ship which took us away, leaving our home behind.

When I woke up we were in new raggedy clothes in a dark, dirty little room that was to serve as our home for the rest of our lives. We were told we were now 'employees' of the Schnee Dust Company. My father demanded our release but he got a cattle prod to the chest for his troubles. The mines we worked in were a long way from the Atlas capital, far from anywhere where the Atlas military could see our predicament and put a stop to it. The mining site was on a mountain known as Ausz."

Winter gasped at the mention of the name.

"I take it that you know of it, Specialist Schnee?" Adam asked.

"Only rumors, whispers of a mine site that was a slave labor camp ran illegally by my family's company, there were similar ones that became publicly known over the years but there were no records of one at Ausz at all, while there was confirmation of the site existing the official documents state it had been shut down decades ago." Winter said.

"Yes, your family's company doesn't want to get into too much trouble, any official documents about that place have probably been destroyed or 'misplaced'." Adam stated before going on with his tale. "Anyway, my father was put to work in the mines the next day and after my mother gave birth to Lily she was expected to... service the guards if they ordered her to. My father was furious and tried to stop it but he was punished for his resistance, this brand was put on his chest and the supervisor threatened to do the same to me and Lily if my parents kept resisting so for our sake they endured the humiliation and pain. When I was nine years old I had to cover my sister's ears and eyes as our mother was forced to strip down for the guards."

Adam clenched his fist as he went on but took a breath before continuing, ignoring the looks of sympathy or shock everyone was giving him.

"I was put to work as well, doing minor tasks like carrying laundry baskets or distributing food for the workers. I always put on a brave face for my mother, I always wanted to make her feel safe. Everyday she would kiss my head, smile at me, and promise me we would get out of that terrible place. Once I was old enough, at the age of eight, I was put to work in the mines as well and when Lily turned four years old she was left in our little room while my mother joined the rest of us in the mines.

While my father got by alright and my body endured the labor my mother was not so fortunate, she had always been a gentle person and child birth alone took a toll on her but being forced to work in the mines was something else My father and I usually had to help her back to our room, her skin became sickly pale, her hair was falling out in places, she had no energy... that place was killing her.

A year or so after being forced to work in the mines my father knew my mother wouldn't last much longer, so he plotted with the other workers and began to plan an uprising against the guards and the supervisors. I helped out a little; distracting one of the guards long enough for another worker to knock him out with a heavy tool. The children and the weaker ones were rushed into the living quarters while the able-bodied workers took up guns from the knocked out guards and mining equipment and went to war.

It didn't last long, a few hours later nearly all of the insurrectionists had been gunned down, my father among them. Some of those who had surrendered were publicly executed, made examples of what would happen should we try to escape or resist our masters. Since my father had been one of the leaders of the insurrection my family and I were also punished. All three of us were branded, my forehead, my sister's back, and my mother's stomach. I was only nine years old when it happened and my sister was only five. FIVE!" Adam shouted furiously, tears now falling from his eyes.

The present members of Team Beacon looked at Adam in disbelief, horror, and even sympathy.

Adam took a breath and said "These brands were to be permanent reminders of what we really were, slaves for humanity, to do with as they pleased. So even if we managed to escape that hell we would always be seen as property of the Schnee Dust company."

Weiss, mortified by what she was learning, looked to Blake who had buried her face in her hands. Weiss looked down to the ground, her mind filled with horror and dread as she knew her family's company had done was nothing short of evil.

Adam saw the look upon her face and continued "But that wasn't the worst of it, oh no; the worst part was then they forced my sister and I to watch as they sawed off our mother's graceful horns. For the next three months my sister would always wake up crying over nightmares where she witnessed the amputation again and again. My mother and I could only hold her as I hid my own tears, as I had been having similar dreams, but I had to be strong for them. The next two years went by, I worked in the mines while my sister and mother, now too ill to work with me, did minor tasks like I once did. I would stand up to the guards who would beat on the weaker workers but I only got lashes and punches as compensation for my defiance.

It was hard but we survived... until one terrible day arrived. It was late Winter, early in the year and old man Schnee was stepping down as the head of the company and handing the reins to his son, Willow, who didn't think operations like the one at Ausz were good for the company image and were too risky. The mine was being shut down and its workers were liabilities, potential hazards to the company, loose ends to be tied up. Word got out that they were going to execute us all and bury us deep within the tunnels in mountain. We panicked, we ran, we fought, we died..."

Adam stopped and covered his face with his hand. "I could hear so many screams of men, women, and children as we ran for our lives. My mother found a truck with the keys in the ignition and she quickly got us inside only for a stray bullet to hit her in the shoulder, but she kept on, weak and tired as she was, she did not give up. We drove out of the mine, most of the guards were trying to stop the others so only a few noticed us. The few that did opened fire on the truck. My mother sacrificed herself, using her body to shield us both from the shots. The truck rolled down the mountain until we crashed into a large ditch. When we came to a stop it was then that I realized my mother was dead. I wanted to just break down crying right then and there but I kept moving, I dragged Lily out of the car despite her protests. She didn't want to leave our mom but we had to before the guards came. I dragged my sister away from the mountain and into the forest, it was the first time I had seen the outside world in years and the first time Lily had ever even seen the sun and the sky. She... had always loved hearing stories about what the outside world was like... she always wanted to see the ocean.

We found an old shed in the wood and after using a pitchfork inside to chase away a few mice we took refuge inside to hide from the guards and any Grimm that came around, attracted by our combined misery and my anger. After a few days of no food or water I was sure we weren't in any danger so we left the shed and went to the nearest village for help but we were ignored. I didn't show any of them my brand because I was afraid the humans would report us. I tried to steal some food but I was found out and hit with a brick by the cruel man that owned the stand. I begged for some food but I was ignored by everyone I went to, most of them glaring at me and saying that we should eat grass like that animals we were.

As we passed by a store I heard a news report about the White Fang's progress in Vale and how they'd give shelter to needy Faunus, so I decided we'd go to Vale. We walked to the next town which was by the sea, she was so weak I had to carry her the whole way. Once we got to the town a kind Faunus at a vegetable stand gave us some food out of pity, I gave Lily most of my share but it wasn't enough, she had gone without food for too long. I carried her on my back and let her see the ocean... I think that was the last time she ever smiled. We kept quiet as we snuck aboard a ship headed for Vale.

We hid among the creates from the crew members and after finding a safe place to sleep I laid down so she could sleep on my chest and before we went to sleep she asked me a question; her voice was so quiet, so tired, so weak as she asked me 'Adam, why did this happen to us?'

I didn't answer her. I said nothing!" Adam spat. "There was no reason any of this had happened to us other than we weren't humans. Why should we have had to suffer because we were different?! There is no answer except for the cruelty of humanity."

Adam took a deep breath before dropping the bombshell. "When I woke up she was dead."

The room was dead silent.

The eyes of Yang, Sun, and Winter began to water, all of them fearing what would ever happen if they lost their little sisters.

"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how you lived through so many horrible things." said Velvet.

"It's simple really, I lived to avenge them, fueled by my hatred for humanity I kept going. I tried to wake her up but she wouldn't stir, her eyes were cold and lifeless, her body was hard. The realization that I had lost everyone I had ever loved hit me like a train and I broke down crying, but my sobs attracted the ship's crew. I was forced to hide as they came closer and closer. They found Lily, assumed my sobs had been her dying cries, and took her away. A few minutes later I looked out the porthole and saw that my little sister's body had been thrown into the sea. I kept watching as her little body floated farther and farther away, even as the seagulls descended on her. That day I made a vow, a promise that I would avenge my family and punish all of humanity for what happened to us... not just us, but every Faunus who had ever suffered because of mankind."

Adam sighed before finishing his story; "The next day the ship docked, I managed to sneak off, and I made my way to the White Fang, and you all know the rest. That is the end of my tale."

"That's... that's the saddest story I've ever heard." Penny worded with a quiet voice.

"No wonder you're so screwed up, I don't think I could have survived that." Sun confessed.

"Oum above..." muttered Winter.

Yang said nothing, she merely glared at her captor with a small hint of sympathy for him now that she understood why he was doing this.

Blake kept her face hidden, she couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye right now.

"You didn't deserve any of that. I'm so sorry." Weiss said to him, her voice sincere and sorrowful.

"It's too late for apologies Schnee, your family allowed mine to be destroyed and Razor has proof that your father still partakes in the subjugation of our race. I will have justice." Adam said to her.

"It's not justice you want." said Velvet.

Adam looked at her and approached as he asked "What did you just say?"

The Rabbit Faunus winced under his harsh glare but she didn't shy away. She remembered Yatsuhashi's encouraging words when they were in the prison's restroom just a couple of hours ago so she bravely approached the bars and said "You want vengeance for what happened to you and while I for one am so, so sorry for what happened to you I don't think it justifies what you have done. I know you lived through so many terrible things, you lost everyone you cared for and I truly do feel sorry for you, but I know what you've done. WE know what you've done. You may have fooled the Elite Guard and your troops, but we were in that prison, we saw what you did to those people, we know you held a sword to Haulan's throat, you cut off Sun's tail and Yang's arm, you were going to murder my friends had Ruby not gotten away, and who knows what else you've done. I feel bad for you, no one should have to live through what you did, but it doesn't excuse the terrible things you have done, the lives you destroy in the Fall, the people who were killed, the pain you've caused, and the amputees we saw. As long as we live we will do our best to make sure your crimes become known, Adam. Your lust for revenge has twisted you into a monster, you're no different than the humans who killed your family, they would be ashamed of you."

Adam's fist flew in between the bars and punched Velvet right in the nose, sending her on her back and forcing her to cry out in pain.

"You son of a bitch!" Yang shouted as she gripped her bars tightly, which made Russell and Morgan get their weapons ready just in case.

"I am gonna kick your ass for that!" snapped Sun.

"Dickhead!" scolded Neo.

"Don't touch my niece you freaking psychopath!" cried Thayer.

Penny glared and grabbed the bars threateningly and said "No one hurts my friends in front of me." She began to try and pry the bars apart but Mercury activated the shock collar and her entire body fell with a heavy 'thud'. Weiss moved to check on Penny, glaring at her captors with an icy stare as she did so.

Blake screamed at Adam furiously, looking at him with hateful eyes, furious that he kept hurting her friends. "She's right about you Adam! That's why you hit her! Because deep down you know she's right! You're everything wrong with the Faunus race! You're a monster!"

"A monster? Yes, maybe I am, but I am one that humanity created and monsters tend to destroy their creators. I am mankind's reckoning. Tomorrow you will be moved to cells in the base fitted for all of you. Enjoy your last hours together." Adam said darkly as he made for the door.

"I don't know how Adam, but I will take you down." Blake promised.

Adam ignored her as he left the room. Babara looked at Blake and sighed as she sat down in a chair.

"You comin'?" Russell asked.

"I think I'll stay behind just in case they try anything. These troops might need some help." she said, Razor nodded in approval as he left the room so the guards could go back in.

Adam walked away on his own but said "Keep an eye on them Razor, make sure they don't try anything."

"We'll do our part Commander Taurus, thank you for enlisting us. I am sorry about Thayer, I'd no idea about his traitorous actions." Razor said.

Adam nodded and answered "I hope so."

As Adam left the ship Kane looked to his commanding officer and said "No wonder he's so messed up."

"Right, a traumatizing ordeal like would drive anyone mad..." Razor said thoughtfully.

"Boss?" Kane asked as he tapped the larger Faunus on the shoulder.

"I'm beginning to think that what happened to Adam could have damaged his mind enough to make him confused when it comes to right and wrong, he has become so consumed by hatred he could see anyone questioning him openly as a betrayal." Razor stated as kept walking on in the ship.

Soon enough the two arrived to the hangar and met up with Piper and Selena who were waiting in front of the damaged ship along with Jinty.

"He's gone?" Selena asked.

"Yes, for now. It's time for this little mission to start." Razor said.

"Okay then, Troy and I gave the ship the once over, it's a bit damaged but she'll fly alright." Jinty stated.

"Right, what's the cover story? Someone will notice us leaving or the at the very least our absence." Kane pointed out.

"I'll tell them that you took the ship for repairs in a nearby city, I'll claim to know a guy. Get moving and remember that your under orders from me." Razor stated as he handed a letter to Kane.

"You got it boss, and before you ask we know the plan: me and Selena distract the guards and pretend to be inspecting the damage for you while Piper sneaks into the high security parts to see if they were telling the truth about these Faunus amputees... but Razor, after we found out what happened to his mom... do you really think Adam would do something like that?" Kane asked.

"A damaged mind can twist a person horribly, but if Adam truly has crossed that line we will have to move against him, but we need to know for sure before we do anything, understood?" Razor asked quietly.

All three of them nodded before Kane climbed into the ship. Piper hugged Razor and he rubbed her head affectionately. "Be careful Piper, if you do find these amputees don't look at them, someone your age shouldn't have to see such horrible things. Do your best." he told her.

She gave him a salute and a smile before she joined Kane and Selena on the ship.

Razor and Jinty watched as the ship left the hangar and set off into the night, back towards the base of the mountain. The Boar Faunus sighed and left the hangar, he just hoped Piper would be alright, she was a brave girl and qualified for this mission but even she had her limits. For the time being he could only hope that his soldiers returned soon with the evidence they needed.

* * *

Ruby dashed ahead of the battered and wounded group, jumping over various jungle plants, logs and bushes, while pushing aside hanging vines and large branches the best she could so that that the others could have an easier way of passing through. They were moving as quickly as they could, heading towards one of the many routes located in the large canyon walls which led out of the jungle.

Just moments before when she had climbed a rather tall tree, getting to the very top while still keeping herself hidden, Ruby noticed a path which had been carved into the side of the cliffs which led up presumably to level ground, which would give them a way to get out of the jungle. The girl with the red hood would normally use the sniper scope on Crescent Rose for her scouting of far places, but since her weapon was lost when they surrendered to the White Fang she could only rely on her own abilities for the moment.

The only other ways would be to climb up the cliffs, which were definitely out of the question due to Neptune and Qrow's injuries, or move deeper into the wilderness until the jungle ended at the far end of the valley which rose up and leveled out further. The latter option would meant risking the chance of running into a White Fang scouting party, which they wanted to avoid at all costs.

So that meant the path through the canyon walls was obviously the best option.

"Clear." She said as Scarlet came up with Neptune leaning heavily against him with his arm draped over the former pirate's shoulder. Yatsuhashi was next with Qrow hoisted over his shoulder while Coco kept guard from behind, bring up the rear. They were all alert for any sign of the pursuing White Fang scouts, intending to take cover at the slightest notice.

"How much further do we need to go?" Scarlet asked, his face a mask of exhaustion.

"Not far now, we will be there soon." Ruby answered as she ducked under a branch, "I hope..." she whispered the last two words silently under her breath, hoping no one else heard that.

"I hope so, because your uncle is heavier than he looks." Yatsuhashi said, glancing at Qrow who was still unconscious, he pressed his hand down on Qrow's back to prevent any further bleeding.

Ruby looked at the large teen and asked "Is that a joke?"

Yatsuhashi answered with a smile, which Ruby returned. "Ruby, to be serious; did you hear the sound of a dropship while you were up in that tree?"

"No, did you hear one?" she asked him with a puzzled look on her tired face.

"He says he heard one earlier, which probably belongs to a White Fang recon team. All the more reason for us to get out of here as soon as we can." Coco stated as she reached down and picked up a large thick branch from the ground to use as a melee weapon just in case. It wasn't much of a weapon, but at least it was better than nothing.

Ruby led the group closer to the route in cliff walls, keeping to the shadows and making as little noise as they could to avoid leaving a trail behind for the White Fang scouts to pick up on. After a short while later they eventually entered a small clearing in the forest, the shattered moon in the night sky casting its glow from the openings among the treetops of the jungle.

"Can we take a break? I'm gettin' tired of hauling Neptune around." Scarlet complained.

"No resting until we're out of here. You'll just have to grin and bear it." Coco replied, her dark brown eyes scanning their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary.

"Fine. I'll bear it but I won't grin." Scarlet joked, but the good humor went over the heads of everyone else.

"Don't worry Scarlet, we'll be coming out of the jungle soon." Ruby said as she turned her head to look back at them, walking a small distance ahead of the group. She barely took a few steps mire when all of a sudden a white net shot out of the darkness with a whooshing sound, slamming into her and knocking the young teen on her back as it rapidly wrapped her up.

"Ruby!" Coco cried as she ran forward to help her friend, only to topple and fall over when she was promptly blasted from both sides by stun blasts, twitching a little as she laid on the forest floor. Scarlet and Yatsuhashi quickly ran for cover, carrying Neptune and Qrow with them. Laying the wounded huntsmen down as quickly and carefully as they could, the former pirate and large warrior got ready for a fight as they saw dark figures appearing from the gloom in the jungle, running towards them with their rifles raised.

"Get me out of this thing!" Ruby cried as she struggled, trying to free herself from the net but instead of loosening the net curled around her even tighter, restricting her movements.

"We will, just hang on!" Scarlet said as he grabbed Coco's branch and held it up like a sword. He really missed his cutlass and flintlock pistol, but consoled himself that he at least had something to defend himself with, unlike Yatsuhashi who brought his gloved fists up as though like a boxer ready for a match.

A dark figure jumped down from a tree and Scarlet managed to slam the heavy branch into the assailant so hard it snapped in two. The attacker cried out in pain, falling on the ground and rolling into a patch of moonlight, revealing his identity as a White Fang scout by the attire he was wearing. The scout which was hit by Scarlet staggered back, putting some distance between him and Scarlet only for another one to tackle Scarlet by slamming into his side, knocking him down and before Scarlet could do anything else the other scout held a knife dangerously close to his neck.

"Move and you're dead." The scout threatened but Scarlet simply glared back at him.

Yatsuhashi narrowed his eyes when he saw the White Fang scouts slowly tightening their circle around him, and only managed to get a few good punches in when a couple of them ran at him. Then he was hit by several stun blasts coming from the other scouts and went down on one knee, before being knocked down by a rifle wielding scout who delivered the final blow with a kick to his chin.

Coco groaned in pain as she felt her nerves on fire from the stun blast, but she forced herself to endure the pain as she tried to get up, pushing herself up only for another scout to step on her back and jammed the barrel of his rifle at the back of her head, "Keep still, or I will put a bullet through that pretty head of yours."

The fashionista swore and laid her head down before the scout grabbed her by the back of her collar and threw her bodily onto Qrow and Neptune who were laying in a heap a short distance away. Turning on her side, she then saw three scouts working together to throw the injured Yatsuhashi into them, a thin line of blood leaking from the side of his mouth and down his chin as his aura healed the small wound and a few seconds later the scout who had cornered Scarlet forced the redhead towards them as well. She looked around and mentally counted eight White Fang scouts altogether, with Qrow and Neptune down for the count and Ruby captured in a net their odds didn't look too good.

It would honestly take a miracle to save them now.

"So you all survived the fall from the cliff and the river, lucky." said the leader of the scout group as he replaced his rifle's stun rounds with bullets, before racking the charging handle.

"Not lucky enough apparently." muttered Scarlet as he shot the leader a death glare.

"Captain Hopkins, all six of them are here and accounted for. The one we have netted is Ruby Rose." said an underling.

"You're dang right I'm Ruby Rose! Now let me out of here and maybe I won't kick your butts that much!" The said Huntress threatened as she tried to tear the net apart, but to no avail. The net constricted her movement to the point she only could turn her head, and the more she moved the tighter it grew around her form.

Hopkins merely sighed and shook his head, before saying, "Good, that means we can wrap this up now. Commander Taurus' orders were only for Ruby Rose to be brought back alive." He turned to address the rest of Team Beacon, "As for the rest of you...well, it's nothing personal but your time is clearly up."

"NO!" Ruby yelled as she pulled at the nets with all her strength, her silver eyes glowing a little more fiercely than normal. She had hoped that they would all make it out of their current predicament alive, but it seems that fate had decided to deal a cruel hand on her.

"Keep still, brat." One of the scouts snarled before kicking her in the side, causing her to cry out in pain.

"You don't have to do this, were you up there during the battle?" Yatsuhashi asked as he forced himself up from the ground, ignoring the pain running through his wounded body and wiping the line of blood from his mouth with the back of one gloved hand.

"Towards the end of it, yes." confirmed Hopkins, the barrel of his rifle still aimed at the group of Team Beacon members, as did the rest of the White Fang scouts.

"Then you must have seen what Taurus did to our Faunus friend and that was clearly no accident." The samurai continued, forcing words out of his mouth, his brown eyes fixed solely on Hopkins.

"Adam Taurus is a one hundred percent nutcase. We saw what he did to Faunus captives in the prison we attacked earlier." Coco snapped, nursing her wounded side. She tried to look for something, anything that would give her a slightly better chance of survival, but without her signature minigun-handbag and being wounded from the fight hours earlier, she was in no shape to fight.

"The same prison which now lacks a warden thanks to Qrow Branwen here killing him in cold blood." Hopkins pointed out grimly, although his eyes narrowed a little.

"That warden was just as cold-blooded as Taurus, considering what he did to those Faunus who disagreed with his ways of leading the White Fang." The fashionista accused, and then added, "Have you gone to look and see for yourself...or do you already know of what atrocities he had committed?"

There was a pause of a few seconds, and Coco for a moment wondered if she had gotten through to the White Fang scout leader. The next answer, however, dashed all her hopes.

"Enough of this. You are just biding for time." Hopkins snapped, "Men, reload your guns. We'll execute these five and get back to base with Ruby Rose as our prisoner." Around him, the other White Fang scouts slid back the receivers on their rifles, the sounds of rounds being chambered like the announcement of a judge's hammer in court.

"No you won't. I won't let you..." Ruby snarled as she tried harder and harder to get free. She didn't care if the net constricted her movement, but the young huntress was certainly not going to be captured without a fight. She knew what would probably happen to her once in the custody of the White Fang, and they would probably hand her over to Cinder Fall or worse.

"Quit struggling, brat." said the scout guarding her, kicking her in the back. "Heh, maybe I should make you watch. You know, I like it more when they squirm, showing a bit of defiance before a bullet goes right between their eyes. I mean, sure, it may be futile, but making you watch us kill them will definitely make these kills much more satisfying." Ruby growled at him with clear contempt, wishing that she could dish out a whole lot of hurt on him and save her friends, but it seemed that the scout's words had a kernel of truth after all.

Trapped in a net, she could do nothing but watch as the White Fang scouts and Hopkins aimed their rifles, ready to deal the killing blow that will wipe out Coco, Yatsuhashi, Scarlet, Neptune and her beloved Uncle Qrow from the face of Remnant itself.

All of a sudden, the scout guarding Ruby heard a distinctive click of a revolver, a round already chambered and ready to fire. Dismissing it as one of his other scouts clearly switching to a pistol for some reason, like his or her rifle jamming, he paid no attention to the noise until he heard a voice coming from the jungle behind him, "You've just made it so easy for me to chose who to start with."

There was a sound of a revolver shot in the next split-second, and a large Dust bullet ripped through the scout's chest, grazing the heart as it punched straight through him, bypassing the armor vest he was wearing like it was nothing. Seeing his blood splattering on the tree behind him and the ground below him, flowing from the fist-sized hole on his chest that his aura definitely couldn't heal. The scout collapsed with a gurgle, his eyes in pain and shock as he twitched in the throes of death, blood flowing freely from the mortal wound. His rifle clattered to the ground from deadened fingers, and the scout twitched once more before becoming still. Ruby gasped in shock at the dead body before her, as Hopkins and the other six remaining scouts all whirled around to see their dead comrade collapsing.

Their rifles turned from the wounded members of Team Beacon and towards the patches of darkness between the jungle trees, just as the voice spoke again, "Killing mere children now? When I thought the standards the White Fang had reached its lowest, they go lower still."

"Fire!" screamed Hopkins, and with that the remaining scouts all ran past Ruby and began to fire their guns wildly into the jungle. Their rifles chattered as the rounds expelled tore up bark and vines, shooting off branches and leaves, and sending splinters of wood flying into the air from rounds impacting on tree trunks in the vicinity. Whatever animals that lived in the area quickly fled for survival, seeking shelter elsewhere as leaves fell like rain upon them.

While the White Fang scouts were preoccupied Ruby seized her chance, worming her way towards her friends. Seeing their enemies distracted, Scarlet quickly got up and darted over to help her up, before carrying her over to the rest of the group.

"What's going on?!" Coco asked, surprise and relief on her face that she still lived. Yatsuhashi, who normally kept a stoic face, also had what passed for surprise and puzzlement on his own features.

"I don't know, but it's definitely not good for them!" Ruby declared, glad that the scouts' attentions were focused on them for the moment.

The scouts kept on shooting until they were nearly out of ammunition, small piles of smoking bullet casings carpeting the ground beneath their feet. After several seconds of shooting Hopkins held up his hand and yelled "Hold your fire!"

They stopped shooting and kept their eyes and guns directed at the forest, watching and listening for any signs of the mysterious attacker. Hopkins pointed at two scouts and used hand gestures that instructed them to move in and check it out. The two nodded obediently and moved up while the other reloaded their weapons and got ready for another attack, aiming at whatever shadows they could find in the jungle around them.

The two scouts looked around carefully, listening for something, anything, that could warn them of the attacker's next move. "Do you see anything? Did we hit them?" Hopkins asked as a scout inspected the dead scout's body and nodded back to his leader to confirm the latter's demise.

"Nothing sir, no blood, no body, zilch!" said the scout closest to the others.

The scout who had ventured a little farther smirked and said, "We probably scared 'im off."

As the last words left his mouth there was a sickening crack. The air was immediately filled with the alarming sound of a falling tree and the unintentional spectators watched as the huge jungle tree toppled over and crushed the cocky scout instantly, causing others to shout in shock and horror just as they caught a glimpse of an armored figure jumping down from above and sliding into the shadows behind the large fallen tree in the clearing.

"Shoot him!" yelled Hopkins as he opened fire with his rifle, the others quickly following his orders but they didn't wait for the second scout to duck or retreat, so as they fired at the downed tree, trying to get at the intruder, they accidentally riddled him with bullets, the scout's body dancing like a puppet before their salvoes before he fell down dead, red blood oozing from his many wounds with the faint glow of aura.

"Stop, stop, stop! We've hit one of our own!" Hopkins cried in horror as he realized what they had done, but it was already too late as the armored figure had already made use of the lull to change his position.

Just then, from the darkness surrounding the scout nearest to the downed tree a gauntlet clad hand wielding a silver-blue revolver appeared like a ghost and fired, the round blasting that unfortunate scout right in the forehead, killing him instantly before he even had the chance to scream, his body flying backwards a few feet to land at unceremoniously in a splayed heap of limbs.

The scouts' number had just been halved.

A figure stepped from the darkness over the downed tree, clad in gunmetal-gray armor which peeked out from his midnight blue cloak which flowed from his shoulders. An armored helmet with a V-shaped component at the front and sharp edges at the side encased his head in a series of similarly colored plates, the eye lenses glowing an azure color while an emotionless faceplate covered the figure's face. Blue highlights were clearly seen on various places on the surfaces of revealed armor plating, in addition to lines of tiny archaic script which glowed faintly in the light of Remnant's broken moon. His legs were also armored with cuisses and greaves, although Ruby could see that he was clearly wearing combat pants of sorts underneath the armor plates. His feet ended in armored boots, and they tread with purpose towards the stunned White Fang scouts, the revolver in his outstretched gauntlet smoking a little from the discharge seconds earlier. Besides the revolver, the armored figure was in possession of three swords, two clearly attached to his back and one belted to his waist, and he had drawn one of the twin swords at his back, a long silver of a blade with a gold pommel engraved with markings that bear remarkable resemblance to the script on his armor plates, inlaid with a red gem in its rainguard. The other sword sheathed to his back would have been a twin of the one gripped in his other gauntlet, if not for the sapphire which adorned its rainguard. The last sword at his waist had a red and gold pommel and crossguard, with some black ribbon wrapped around the grip, and its sheath was clearly black and gold in color, such as Ruby's glimpse of it before the last sword disappeared into the midnight-blue cloak of the armored figure once more.

Before the White Fang scouts could react, the figure flew at them, his sword arcing in a downward slash as he attacked Hopkins first. The scout leader narrowly avoided the figure's first attack, the blade slicing some hair away from his face as he dived to one side. The figure turned at lightning fast speed and landed a flying kick to his chest that sent the scout leader flying across the clearing and into a tree behind the captive six with a crash. He landed on his feet and crouched down, sliding the revolver back into his left thigh holster as he unsheathed the other sword from the cross scabbard on his back and swung them upwards, slicing away the top half of the rifles of a pair of scouts who were aiming at him, leaving them with shocked looks on their faces. The twin blades silver and gold glowed faintly in the moonlight, the brief illumination revealing lines of cursive script down the length of the blades, clearly written in a language that wasn't spoken by the majority of people on Remnant. The inlaid ruby and sapphire gems on the rainguards of the twin swords also glimmered in the moonlight, showing a sharp angular beauty as deadly as the cutting edge of those swords.

As the two scouts stared in shock at their damaged rifles, the intruder pounced up and delivered two elbow punches to the closest scout in the face and gut, shattering his mask and staggering him. The punches, coming from an elbow clad in armored plates, was significantly more painful when coming into contact with flesh and bone, and the injured scout screamed in pain the armored figure grabbed him by the collar and threw the screaming scout right into another thug who was charging at them, the two colliding with painful thuds and falling to the ground, ending up in a twisted heap.

The third scout, knowing his rifle was out of ammunition, tried to use it as a club to slam it across the intruder's back, but as he landed the blow he only hit empty air. There was a blur of azure color as the attacker was suddenly beside him, slamming his pommel into the scout's face which sent him reeling, before whirling around to plunge both of his blades into the scout's lower torso and hauled him up, making the scout scream in agony as his body hung in midair, slowly splitting apart as it slid down the smooth steel of the blades, droplets of blood dripping down onto the jungle ground.

There was no hesitation in his movements, nor a modicum of wasted effort. Each of the mysterious warrior's blows were precise and clearly designed to deal maximum damage to his opponents and dispatching them as quickly as possible.

Rifles barked, and the armored warrior withdrew his blades from the rapidly cooling body just in time to deflect the rounds flying his way from Hopkins and the scout who had attempted to ram into him earlier, the latter pushing himself up as they both took out their own swords after their rifles clacked empty.

"Surrender now, before more blood is shed." the attacker said calmly as he lowered his twin swords a little, his voice sounding a bit regal in contrast to his brutality.

"Never!" yelled the scout as he and Hopkins charged. The attacker sprinted to meet them, and jumped high when he was just a few steps away, landing easily behind them as he swung both his blades in an attempt to end them speedily but the two Faunus managed to parry his blows. The warrior tilted his helmeted head a faction, before swinging his blade in an overhead slash at Hopkins and sidestepping a thrust from the other scout. Seeing the scout overextending himself, the warrior brought his blade round in a blur of silver at the scout but the latter managed to duck at the last moment as the warrior's sword passed through the air above his head.

The stranger rapidly stepped backwards, swords akimbo as he got ready for another bout. Hopkins and the other scout quickly rushed at him, and the scout struck first by slashing at the warrior, but the armored figure merely leaned back to avoid the attack. He then forced the scout back with a mighty parry before sidestepping just in time to avoid a downward slash from Hopkin's sword. The swordsman delivered a kick with his armored boot into the abdomen of the scout which sent him staggering, before sweeping his legs out from under him, and sent the scout crashing into the jungle floor. He spun, his midnight-blue coat flapping as he blocked all three of Hopkin's sword strikes in rapid succession, before swinging at the captain's legs in return. The Faunus captain jumped up narrowly to avoid having his limbs cut off, but he didn't expect to see the warrior's leg strike out and kicked him n the gut hard enough to send him flying onto his back a short distance away.

An enraged scream caught the warrior's attention as he saw the scout attacking once more, catching his blade by crossing his swords together in an 'X' shape before he forced the scout back and opened up with a mad series of quick and precise attacks that severed the scout's arm from his shoulder, slashed open his chest, and cut a thin red line on his neck. The scout stood shakily for a few moments, blood leaking from his many wounds as his aura tried to heal him but to no avail. The warrior then finished off the scout by plunging his sword into the scout's chest, impaling him to a tree. The scout gurgled once, and then died with shock written over his face.

The warrior let go of the sword impaling his latest opponent when Ruby suddenly yelled "Behind you!". He whipped around just in time to deflect a Dust bullet aimed for his head with his other twin sword, as the last remaining scout stood up holding the gun from the first victim his hands.

"I almost forgot about you. Will you surrender and live? Or fight and die?" the warrior asked as he gripped his sword and pointed it at the final scout. The scout's reply was a scream followed by a hail of bullets expelled from the barrel of his gun. The warrior sprinted at the scout, dodging every single round flying his way while deflecting others, his shape a blue blur that left blinking afterimages in the sight of everyone present.

With one swift, sharp gesture from the warrior's sword the scout's head was separated from his head and fell off his body, bouncing away across the clearing and coming to a rest beside the fallen tree. He stepped past the headless body which fell to its knees, its arms going limp even as the fingers locked in a death grip around the trigger, causing the gun to fire continuously even as the body toppled onto the ground with a loud thud.

Turning around swiftly, the warrior looked at Hopkins with those glaring azure lenses of his emotionless faceplate, who was the only one left of the entire White Fang recon team. The captain gripped his sword tightly, knuckles white around the handle, his entire form shaking nervously even as he glared at the stranger, sweat running down his forehead and cheeks.

"You are alone, captain. I advise you to give up." The warrior spoke softly.

Hopkins reached to his belt and took out a small grenade, armed it and lobbed it at the warrior. Faster than the eye could blink, the grenade that was sailing through the sky was cut cleanly in half, the detonating mechanism clearly severed from its explosive payload and landing on the ground in two pieces harmlessly. The captain's eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked back from the destroyed grenade at the warrior who simply glared at him in return.

"I offer you mercy, captain..." The warrior's voice cut through the night air effortlessly, but Hopkins let out a furious scream and charged at the warrior who had single-handedly killed his entire squad, swing his sword wildly. But before he could enter into another duel the warrior swung his own blade into Hopkins's own with such force that he severed the captain's blade from the hilt, sending that silver of metal flying away to embed itself on a tree trunk a short distance away from them, its broken tip quivering from the force of impact.

Stunned from seeing how easily the warrior has broken his blade, the White Fang Captain stood still as he regarded the hilt of his sword before dropping it in shock. When he looked up again the armored warrior was right in front of him, the pommel of his sword shooting out in a sharp jab that sent him doubling over, followed by a punch in the face which sent him stumbling over towards Team Beacon.

Coco pushed herself up and used her recovering strength to finish him off with an elbow drop to the face, knocking him out. She then turned, and along with Yatsuhashi and Scarlet by her side, got into defensive stances in front of Ruby, Neptune and Qrow just in case the stranger tried anything they didn't like.

"Who the hell are you?" Coco demanded immediately.

"Are you friend or foe?" Yatsuhashi added half a second later.

"Well, he just saved us so I'm guessing he's not our foe..." Ruby voiced from behind them, a bit hesitant as she eyed the new arrival.

"The young one is correct in her judgment. I am not your enemy, but an ally. I have just saved your lives and had I not intervened, you will all be dead and Ruby Rose would have been taken prisoner. As for my identity, you can call me Sharp Strike." The armored warrior spoke as he regarded them with his azure lenses, idly shaking the last few droplets of blood running down his sword before sheathing it back into his scabbard.

"Sharp Strike? Is that a codename or something?" Coco guessed, her eyes never leaving the armor-clad figure as he moved across the clearing, nudging the bodies with his armored boot to check for life signs.

"You can say that." Sharp Strike said as he pulled out his other sword which had impaled the dead scout to the tree. "Forgive the brutality you have witnessed, but they were going to kill you and I couldn't allow that."

"No skin off our bones." Scarlet replied as he began helping Ruby with the net, but no matter how much he pulled at the net it simply would not loosen.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." Sharp Strike volunteered as he approached Ruby, gesturing for Scarlet to step back, "Don't worry, you can trust me. I'll be careful, just keep still."

"Okay." Ruby said, a little unsure but doing exactly what she was told by their savior.

With a sweeping gesture from his sword Sharp Strike sliced open the net, freeing Ruby from its confines. "Finally! Man that was uncomfortable." she said as she stretched, working the kinks out of her limbs. Then realizing that her uncle was still unconscious, she ran over and tried to shake him awake, but the surviving Branwen twin remained unconscious.

"Uhh... guys? What happened?" asked the unsteady voice of Neptune. They all turned to see that Neptune had woken up and was looking at the carnage with a mixture of amazement and fear.

"Nice of you to join us, Blue. This is Sharp Strike, apparently. He just saved our butts from a White Fang scout team so I guess he's okay." Coco said to him before turning to Sharp Strike, placing her hands on her hips and asking, "So what are you doing here anyway?"

The warrior thought for a moment before answering her question, "Let's just say an associate of mine had given me specific orders to follow Team Beacon in order to ensure that your mission's a success."

"Good job, " Scarlet snarked a little bitterly, "But shouldn't you help us like, half an hour ago when we are fighting for our lives against the White Fang forces at the cliff?"

"There were too many enemy combatants in the vicinity, most of them armed with heavy weapons with reinforcements standing by in support. Even I would not be able to handle that many, not without significant assistance." Sharp Strike answered carefully, checking over his other blade, "...I admit by the time I arrived I was far was too late to help you in the battle against the White Fang, but when I saw you all go over the cliffs I was determined to make sure you were alive. How is Branwen doing?"

Ruby eyed him as she checked her uncle's pulse, but she eventually answered, "He got shot in the back before we went over the cliffs, and he needs a healer badly. The same goes for Neptune."

"There is a Vauco Ranger outpost not too far away from here, which has been captured by the White Fang. They have stocked some medical supplies there." Sharp Strike said as he knelt beside Ruby, giving both her uncle and Neptune a brief once-over and saw how extensive their wounds were. Both of them had suffered a lot of damage in the fight and Qrow's shirt had large blood stains here and there and Ruby noticed that a few of them had gotten large while Neptune's clothes were also a bit bloody they were also soaked from the river and if he didn't get warm soon he could suffer from hypothermia.

"I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I don't think any of us is in a position to fight." Scarlet pointed out, "You saw how easily the White Fang recon team has taken us down, right?"

He withered a little when Sharp Strike turned the azure lenses of his helmet in Scarlet's direction. "Who said anything about fighting? I had liberated the outpost from the White Fang troops stationed there fifteen minutes ago, and they aren't a threat anymore." Seeing everyone listening to him, the Remnant Knight continued, "You would need to fix up the radio to call for help since they smashed it when I made my presence known to them."

"But what about the communications blackout?" asked Neptune weakly, one hand clasped over the wound on his chest, his aura still faintly glowing as it healed him.

"The blackout only affects Scrolls and other high tech devices, but radios at the outpost will probably still work. Maria the innkeeper told me that the White Fang destroyed every radio in Oro so the villagers couldn't get help. It just might work, but we'll probably only be able to contact the Rangers but it's better than nothing." Coco said before looking at Sharp Strike, "But I'm not too sure about you, who is your 'superior officer'? Who exactly do you work for?"

The lone Knight sighed and replied, "I am afraid I cannot answer those questions right now, another time perhaps."

Ruby and the others all looked at each other before the silver eyed girl spoke; "Look, we really need help right now and since you saved us I'm willing to trust you for a little bit. Can you help us?"

Sharp Strike nodded his head as he placed his gauntlets on his belt and revolver holster when Coco spoke "How can we be sure we can trust you?"

Ruby was about to say something when they heard a polite cough coming from the armored Knight, "Because I have just saved your lives, and if you don't get your friends some medical treatment quickly they would most likely suffer shock from from their injuries and hypothermia in Neptune's case I will help heal your friends, give you the bullhead that these scouts used to get here as transport, and I will also help interrogate the captain here so that you will have all the information you need to assault the White Fang base and save your friends once help arrives." He slowly spread his hands as though to encompass them all, "Would that be an acceptable offer?"

"It'll do for now." Coco stated before she grabbed the net launcher the scouts used on Ruby, turned and fired at the unconscious Hopkins, capturing him in a net so that he would be trapped and much more easier to carry. The Knight gave them a series of orders to strip the dead scouts of anything useful, and to spare Ruby the horrific sight of those dead bodies Yatsuhashi volunteered to do the dirty work instead, relieving them of their radios and ammunition. The samurai picked up a pair of battered but usable rifles, and tossed one to Coco who eyed the gun with disgust before slinging it under one arm.

The fashionisa marched up to the Knight and glared at his helmet lenses, "One more thing, Sharp Strike. Just remember that Ruby and me are still in charge for the time being. This is still Team Beacon's mission."

The silver-blue armored Knight returned her glare impassively, before stating, "Duly noted. But I will be watching." The reply was a huff from the brown-haired huntress.

Yatsuhashi picked up Qrow again while Scarlet helped Neptune up, but the bluenette said, "No, it's okay man... I can still walk..." Just as the words left his mouth he tripped and nearly fell flat on his face if not for Ruby who had caught him.

"I'll help you. Scarlet, can you drag the captain along?" she asked.

"With pleasure." the redhead said with a cheeky grin, grabbing the netted captain by the legs and dragged him by the legs unceremoniously along the jungle ground.

Slipping out his silver-blue revolver from his thigh holster once more and slamming a fresh clip into said firearm, the Remnant Knight turned to them and spoke, "Follow me, the outpost is that way, and it isn't far from here." After getting nods from everyone present he began to lead the way.

"Ruby, can I talk to you?" Coco asked in a whisper.

"Sure." The red hooded huntress replied softly.

"Why are we doing this? Trusting this random, not to mention brutally violent, stranger?" she asked, while watching the Knight's cloaked back a few meters in front of them.

Ruby looked at Sharp Strike for a brief moment, then back to Coco and said, "Well it worked out okay the first time with Ashe, didn't it?"

Coco chuckled as Ruby continued talking, "I mean Ashe was a jerk at first and a pretty brutal fighter but he was a good guy when all was said and done."

"Ashe Kasai..." said Sharp Strike, abruptly getting everyone's attention as he turned his helmeted head slightly to look at Ruby, the blue glow of his lenses meeting her silver eyes for a fleeting moment.

"How did you know who I was talking about?" Ruby demanded.

Sharp Strike shrugged his armor-clad shoulders a little and replied, "I will tell you later. Come on, we need to get to the outpost before the White Fang realizes that their team haven't reported back with your capture."

Nothing else was said after that. Sharp Strike led the way with Ruby supporting the injured Neptune close behind. Scarlet followed them, dragging the netted Hopkins with Yatsuhashi holding the still unconscious Qrow and Coco bringing up the rear. The group of Huntsmen and Huntresses, with the new addition of a Remnant Knight, walked further into the jungle and vanished into the night.

* * *

Adam, now with a new mask to cover his face, stood before the White Fang airship that was being refitted with armor and weapons for its journey across the Four Kingdoms. The weapons were being loaded up for the inevitable attacks the various towns and villages would launch on them but even if they didn't attack the weapons would still be put to good use, a simple trick to make it look like they had been attacked first would justify a 'defensive' strike against a populace. Salem had come up with a plan to help both of their agendas, namely creating a schism between humans and Faunus; they would go to various towns across Remnant and attack them, targeting human areas while sparing ones populated by Faunus, this would claim the lives of many humans and would generate misery and anger from the humans who would blame the Faunus race for the devastation. While some would say the humans would only blame the Faunus of the White Fang and not the entire race Adam knew what some humans could be like, and such a 'tragedy' would create a schism between the two races.

The Mistress of Grimm wanted the racial tensions to rise so the negative emotions from both sides would fuel her power while Adam wanted to prevent the peace between the two races, as he realized the more and more Faunus out there were beginning to believe in the chances for equality while they simply forgave humanity's past sins. That was something Adam could not allow, so Salem's plan gave him the perfect opportunity to strike and widen the gap between the races once again, giving Salem's Grimm fear, anger, and sadness to feast on while the White Fang grew stronger.

An engineer with the ears of a rat approached Adam and bowed his head. "I have the reports you requested earlier, Commander Taurus."

"Spare me the elaborate details, just give me the bottom line." Adam ordered.

"As you wish, well the refitting is going over steadily and the weapons and the armor plating are in good shape. All in all I think it'll be ready to fly in three days time." the engineer reported.

"Three days?"

"At the least. You don't want to rush it, too many things could go wrong; armor would be too heavy, guns could jam, it could even fall apart in the air." the engineer said.

"Understood, you're doing well. Keep it up and give me updates on your progress." Adam said. The Rat Faunus nodded, but Adam noticed he was staring at his mask. "Does my mask interest you?"

"Well sir... I heard about what happened out there, those Hunters took your mask off and on your forehead was a brand with the Schnee emblem on it... is that true?" he asked.

"Yes, it is." Adam answered simply.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't know how you could have made it through such brutality." the engineer said sympathetically.

"... I almost didn't. Get back to work." Adam ordered. He said nothing more, he just turned and walked away back into the base but when he got to the entrance he was greeted by Hui.

"Commander, I need to speak with you." he said.

"Go ahead Lieutenant, I'm listening." Adam said as he walked on.

"Talk of what happened tonight has spread through the ranks, rumors of what's behind your mask, the severing of Wukong's tail, and the amputees are all over the base. Some are beginning to have doubts." Hui stated.

"Well make sure the amputees stay as nothing more than a rumor for the time being, Lieutenant. The first two will make them fear and respect me more, it will discourage any potential traitors and let the rank know how serious I am about our cause. Keep an eye on anyone who question my leadership." Adam said to his underling.

"Understood sir, but I am concerned about the Elite Guard, Razor openly questioned you in front of everyone, he was willing to defy you. What are we going to do about them?" Hui inquired.

"If they get too out of hand I will talk with Salem, Steppenwolffe tells me his fellow hybrid, Sheer Kaa has a mind control Semblance that helped keep Nikos under their control for months. If Razor challenges us I believe Kaa can strengthen his loyalty." Adam stated.

"Good idea sir, I'll return to my duties." Hui said.

Adam nodded and continued on alone until he came to his room. He locked the door behind him and looked in the mirror as he took off his mask.

 _"Be brave Adam, take care of your mother and sister."_ Those were the last words he ever heard his father say before he ran off to join the uprising.

 _"Adam... Lily... I love you both..."_ Those were the dying words of his mother before the car crashed into the ditch.

 _"Adam, why did this happen to us?"_ And the final words of his little sister before she died in her sleep at the age of seven.

Blake and Claudandus had known that, and yet they still believed equality was an option. Blake left him and befriended humans, one of the a Schnee, whose company was responsible for the destruction of his family. If she expected him to forgive humanity for what happened to his family she was dead wrong.

"I will avenge you all." he said quietly to himself as he sat down, alone in his room. "And I will make her understand my pain."

* * *

"So what's the damage report? Casualties?" Kane asked as he and Selena followed a White Fang officer about the prison.

"Only one fatality thus far, Warden Wade." reported the officer, "As for injuries we have over four dozen guards injured, with said injuries varying in degree but none appear to be life threatening."

"That's good news." Selena said, sounding relieved.

"Now you're sure Razor doesn't want Commander Taurus to know about this visit? Why?" the officer inquired.

"Well you know Commander Taurus has had one hell of a night, might have overlooked to send you guys some help. Plus Razor is just concerned, I know he looks like the ultimate badass but deep down he cares about everyone in the White Fang. It's just that he doesn't want Adam to think he's going soft, you know?"

"I see... well let Razor know I appreciate it and I won't tell Commander Taurus about this little visit." the officer said with a nod.

Kane nodded back and quickly thought up something else to keep the officer distracted while Piper went about her part of the mission. "Uh, what about Captain Furman? From what I understand the intruders replaced them and disguised themselves as the captain and his squad to enter the prison's grounds."

"Yes, about twenty minutes ago we got a call from a patrol, they found Captain Furman and his squadron drugged to sleep and tied to a tree. From what we've been told they're all still alive and they'll be looked after by a medic." the officer reported.

"Shame they got taken out so easily, I mean if they had been more alert this wouldn't have happened." Selena commented.

"Yes, but your group and Commander Taurus did end up capturing the perpetrators, that's a win in my book." the officer said smugly.

"So what about the damage? How many hits the prison itself take?" Selena asked.

"Well outside of a virus that temporarily infected our computer systems, which we eliminated quickly, most of the damage was confined to the rear of the building where the maximum security sector is. Luckily none of the prisoners escaped aside from the old geezer who founded us and you recaptured him." the officer said.

"How bad was the damage to the prison itself?" Kane questioned.

"Well luckily not too bad, they set up an explosion that demolished the entrance to the sector but the sprinkler systems put out the fires so none of the prisoners were injured. The damage wasn't too severe but we've made sure the structure is sound and I'm happy to say it's not in danger of collapsing but I think we should stay away from it for now until some professionals examine it properly. As for the exterior damage; the walls were shot up in the battle, many of the spotlight towers were blitzed up by one of the brats' heavy fire weapons, and the wall surrounding our complex was blown open in the back via a rocket and their vehicle smashed through another part of it." the officer listed off.

"I'd suggest reinforcing that wall, seems a bit shoddy to me." Kane commented with a smirk, which caused the officer to nod in agreement with some embarrassment.

"Yes... we did build it in a rush to satisfy Commander Taurus' orders, I'll make sure to have it rebuilt but to a higher standard." the officer stated.

"I take it we can't see the maximum security wing? Too much damage, right?" Selena guessed.

"Oh yes, far too much damage, burn marks and shrapnel and a couple of live-wires that got loose... I don't want to risk you getting hurt." the officer lied.

"Okay then, what did you do with Wade's body?" Kane asked.

"Oh, uh, in the morgue." he said.

"You guys have a morgue?" Selena said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, back when this place was a functioning mining facility it was used to keep the bodies of workers who had died in accidents on ice until someone arrived to transport them. Do you want to see him?" he asked.

Kane nodded. As the officer led the duo further into the prison Selena said "And after that we'd like all the guards who were involved in the battle, the active ones at least, to come to the main hall to answer a few questions." The officer gave her a look but it softened and nodded. Selena leaned to Kane and whispered "Do you think she can handle herself?"

"Oh I've come to know the musical mute quite well since Razor recruited us, I think by the time we get home she'll have everything in order." Kane answered quietly but vaguely so as not to arouse suspicion.

As the two kept talking Piper, who hadn't come with them and had kept herself hidden in the ship until she was sure she could get into the prison unseen, sneaked past a pair of guards who were patrolling the area where Team Beacon had escaped. The ground was still marred by blast marks and the blood of Warden Wade after he had been cut if half by Qrow, but Piper forced herself to ignore the remnants of the battle as she darted into the open doorway which had been frozen up by Weiss.

Using her Semblance to mute any noises she made as she moved about she hid behind a pillar as a guard went by to leave the sector. Piper quietly snuck around the area, getting a good look at the damage done to the area; scorched walls, fallen lamps and pipes, loose wires, broken glass, bits of debris strewn about the place. The guards were too busy with their work to notice her as she silently went about, ducking behind pillars and the damaged desks to keep herself hidden from anyone who might spot her. Most of the guards were easy to get around as they were busy clearing the wing of debris and any glass that had been scattered about the floor during the attack.

She inspected the left wing of the sector first but found no amputees, but luckily for her she saw that all of the steel doors that led to the cells themselves had been opened, due to the fire messing with the wiring, making all of the steel doors open and they could close them again or they'd risk sealing it permanently. Piper silently inspected the left wing but found nothing of interest, most of the prisoners she saw were human and the Faunus prisoners were not amputees. The guards didn't notice her as most of them were dozing or just lazy and the prisoners were bored so it was easy to keep out of their collective line of sight.

The Mouse Faunus was about to move to the right wing when she heard a voice call out "All guards who were present during the battle earlier tonight please come with me, don't worry about your prisoners, they're not going anywhere and you'll only be gone for about 10 minutes."

Piper quickly but silently climbed up the old pipes along the wall and used her arm and tail to get a good, tight grip on the pipes of the ceiling to avoid being spotted by the guards who were getting up and leaving. Once she was sure they had left she quickly began to 'jungle-gym' her way across the left wing to the right, making sure to keep quiet so any remaining guards wouldn't spot her.

She made her way to the right wing and left herself fall down, she turned herself over in the air and quietly landed on her hands before cartwheeling back onto her feet. She was very tempted to make an applause sound but resisted it for the sake of the mission.

The right wing of the sector was mostly empty except for a big room at the end of it. The steel door was open like the others and there was a single guard who stood before a large, dungeon like cell with multiple people within. Piper's eyes lit up, knowing that was probably something so she quietly tip-toed down the hall and pressed herself up against a small corner beside the open door. She pointed out with her hand a made a clanging sound towards the end of the hallway, getting the guard's attention.

The guard grumbled as he left the room to investigate and the moment she decided he was far enough away Piper slinked into the cell.

What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. In the dark, dungeon like room were over two dozen Faunus, all amputated of their animal features. The young Rabbit Faunus whose ears had been cut off looked up at her with sorrowful eyes, but what made Piper shiver was how his wounds had been left for all to see save for a hood that had been pulled down.

Piper looked to another to see a Deer Faunus who no longer had horns, a Tarsier Faunus with wrappings around her head meaning her eyes had been gouged out, a Possum Faunus missing his tail, a Panther Faunus with her hands chopped off... their eyes... their faces looked so miserable, most of them still had eyes but a lot of them looked hollow, dead inside.

Blake and her friends had been telling the truth.

Piper's Semblance activated and the entire hallway went quiet, not a sound was heard, dead silence. Piper rubbed the scarf around her neck as tears began to fall from her eyes. Adam had been doing this behind their backs for who knew how long... and they let him remain in charge, Razor had challenged him on certain things but had never openly called for a resignation. Adam was responsible for so many terrible things like some of the people who died in the Fall and these poor Faunus before her... but no one in the White Fang tried to stop him.

Belladonna tried and now she and her friends were their prisoners.

A terrible pain coursed through the young Faunus' chest as she realized what a hypocrite Adam was, he was a monster... no different than the humans responsible for what happened to her throat. They were supposed to be helping Faunus not hurting them!

He needed to be stopped.

She needed to tell Razor.

She looked up at the Faunus behind the bars, who were know pointing behind her and silently shouting warnings. Piper whirled around just in time to jump out of the way of the guard she had tricked. With her Semblance still muting everything he couldn't call for help, which was a big plus since Piper was angry, and needed to take it out on something.

She tripped him with her tail and slammed her knee into his face on his way down. He tried to push himself up with his hands but she elbowed his head as she jumped on his back and began to punch his head wildly. The guard let out a silent snarl as he jumped back up and forced his back into the wall, getting Piper off of him.

Sound began to return quietly as the guard glared at Piper. "I don't know who you are, you little brat, but you're about to join these traitors..."

Just then a rock hit him in the back of the head. The guard whipped around to glare at the Bear Faunus who had cooperated with Team Beacon earlier.

"You'll never mutilate another Faunus, your days are numbered." he said.

"Your so called saviors failed, so I think tha..." the guard was interrupted by Piper slamming a fist into the back on his head. She had recovered and put up a sound barrier on the room so none of the other guards could hear them. The Bear Faunus punched the guard, forcing him back to Piper who slammed a sound blast into him, blowing him into the door frame where he was knocked out when he bashed his head on it.

Piper made quick work and threw the knocked out guard into the next prison room and quietly closed the steel door, trapping him.

She looked to the Faunus prisoners and quickly took some pictures of them before mouthing 'I promise I will help you.'

"Good luck kid." said the Bear Faunus as Piper made for the exit, quietly sneaking along the walls so any passing guards couldn't see her.

She made her way out of the prison and quietly ran past the guards, unseen the entire time. She began to make her way back to the ship as she took out her scroll and sent a text to Kane, letting him know her mission was accomplished.

Her mind was being racked by guilt and sadness over what had happened to those people inside, but she knew it wouldn't last long. All she needed to do was wait for the others, fly back with them to Razor, and confirm all of Blake's accusations.

As she got back into the ship, unnoticed by the guards patrolling the area, she allowed some more tears to fall from her eyes. Adam had thrown everything the White Fang was supposed to stand for in the dirt and he had been using them for his revenge, making them his tools... This wasn't how it was supposed to be, the White Fang were supposed to be the good guys, standing up for the Faunus race. That's what she thought they were, that's what she always wanted to be.

After she saw what had happened to those poor people she knew the White Fang weren't heroes. Adam had used them, twisted them all into his tools for revenge on humanity.

She made a determined face as she decided then and there she wasn't going to let him get away with it. And she knew Razor wouldn't either.

* * *

Ruby entered the small outpost after coming back from inspecting the White Fang's airship that had been left behind at the bottom of the hill, covered with camouflaged tarpaulins on long steel poles so as to avoid being seen from the air by any passing patrols from the Vacuo Rangers. On the ground however, they found the said airship pretty easily when they began their search, thanks to Sharp Strike's directions. It was one of the many small ships that the White Fang had hijacked over the years, clearly modified for battle and had enough space for a full squad of White Fang scouts or troopers. It was probably used for quick and easy pick-ups for supplies the White Fang had stolen in their operations from trains, boats or other airships in the surrounding regions, before disappearing into the jungle without a trace.

The outpost itself was a small cabin-like structure built upon a hill that overlooked the jungle but was hidden from view by the overarching treeline. There was a series of radar and radio antennas jutting from its roof, in addition to a small machine-gun nest beside the cabin which housed a sizable projectile weapon pointing towards the jungle below. If the weapon nest was not present, the outpost would look more like a simple holiday cabin than a place for a certain White Fang cell to monitor the jungle surroundings.

Inside of the outpost the small group of Huntsmen and Huntresses had gotten to work with whatever tasks that occupied their mind at the moment. Coco was examining the damaged radio, parts of its transceiver and various colored wires scattered across the table, while its shell lay a short distance away, shattered apart like a broken egg. Yatsuhashi was currently guarding Hopkins in the back room, the only sole survivor of the White Fang scout team which was tasked with their capture and execution. The captain had woken up shortly after they reached the outpost but thus far he was remaining silent, even when Yatsuhashi had secured him to a steel fold-up chair and stood close by with his braced arms crossed over his chest, and his usually stoic face occupied by a stern glare at the aforementioned captain.

In the bunk rooms off to the side of the main operations room of the outpost, Scarlet was keeping an eye on Sharp Strike who was almost finished tending to Neptune, wrapping medical gauze around the bluenette's bare chest to cover the wound Adam had inflicted on him. The small wooden table beside the bunk bed was completely covered with bloodied bandages and various medical supplies they had taken from the cabin's underground basement storage area, and the electric lamp which hung from the ceiling cast a sickly yellow glow which barely illuminated the room. Laying opposite Neptune in another bunk was Qrow, who haven't woke up yet but was still breathing slowly and steadily, his Aura clearly healing him at a slow pace. Just moments before Sharp Strike had removed the bullet that had lodged itself into the male Branwen's trapezius muscle with a pair of sharp clippers, and bandaged the wounds the veteran huntsman had sustained in battle.

"Ah..." Neptune seethed in pain as he writhed a little on the bunk, the gauze turning a little crimson as a few droplets of blood leaked from his deep wound.

"Keep still, it's not going to help your recovery if you move around unnecessarily. I have stopped the bleeding, but it's going to sting for about a few days. This should keep the wound closed while your aura heals you." Sharp Strike said before passing Neptune a few white pills from one of his waist pouches and a container of water, "Take these too. It will help speed up your Aura recovery significantly."

The bluenette sat up slowly with help from Scarlet who assisted him by propping him up with pillows while Neptune took the white pills and drank from the container. He grimaced at the bitter taste but still managed to swallow the medicine given by the Remnant Knight.

"How bad was the cut?" Ruby inquired with concern in her voice as she shut the door of the bunk area behind her. She glanced at her uncle on the other bunk bed and was relieved to see that he was already given some medical attention.

"Your friend is very lucky. The cut was not that deep, but it was enough to inflict severe pain. Had the blade cut any deeper and severed one of the major arteries, then even with my medical training I would not be able to help Vasilias." The Knight stated as he tore more pieces of gauze and began to tie it around Neptune's chest.

"I guess I'll count my blessings for that." Neptune murmured, managing a weak smile even as Scarlet gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Indeed, just keep out of fights until it heals." Sharp Strike instructed as he wiped his gloved hands clean of Neptune's blood with a piece of clean cloth. His gauntlets laid nearby beside the first aid kit, disengaged from the rest of his Knight armor so that he could administer medical attention to both Neptune and Qrow, but he haven't seen any purpose to remove his helmet yet.

There was a knock on the bunk room door, and Ruby walked over to open it, revealing Coco who nodded a greeting to Scarlet and Neptune, but a displeased look inhabited her face for a few seconds when she laid eyes on Sharp Strike again, who simply focused on checking the medical supplies in the first aid kit, his cloaked back turned from her direction.

"Glad to see you all patched up, Neptune. How are you feeling?" The fashionista inquired civilly.

"I'll live." The bluenette replied, gently patting his chest and wincing a little, "But I feel much better now after having some rest and taking some medicine."

"I knew you'd pull through, Blue." Coco replied before looking over to Ruby who was seated beside her uncle, holding one of his hands in her delicate ones, "Ruby, how's the airship?"

The young huntress turned her head to look at Coco with a small smile on her lips, "It's in good shape and that airship has got a lot of awesome weapons! I found some really heavy artillery on the side sponsors, there are crates of grenade launchers with usable grenades, some rifles and pistols, a couple of sniper rifles, and even a pair of rocket launchers with several rockets each! If we manage to sneak into the White Fang headquarters undetected we could really do some serious damage before they even know we're there."

The Remnant Knight closed the cover of the first aid kit with a sharp click and turned his head a little to listen to Ruby's words, his head tilting a little as though considering about what she was saying at the moment even as he opened another box of medical supplies.

"Well, let's just hold that thought until we get in touch with Vale or Vacuo. Sorry, but I don't think we will be able to fix this radio." Coco mentioned doubtfully.

"How bad is it?" Scarlet inquired while allowing Neptune to lean on him, one hand draped around the redhead's shoulder.

"Honestly? It's pretty much scrap. The audio receptor is damaged, and the motherboard is fractured. The transceiver is history, and some of the wires are burnt. I might be able to reconnect some of the wires but I have to admit that I am do have enough experience when it comes to these things; give me a damaged gun and will know what to do flawlessly, but this..." Coco informed them with a slight shake of her head and a shrug from her shoulders, "What about you, Ruby?"

"Well...I am good with guns and a variety of other weapons...but I have never fixed a radio before." She looked at them in the eyes, "Plus, I don't think we have could find any of those parts in this cabin we would need to fix it."

"She has made a good point. That ancient thing is probably too low tech to get us some real help anyway. Who knows? It could be bugged for all we know." Neptune pointed out as he held one hand to his chest wound and looked at Ruby and Coco.

"You're probably right. There's another radio on the airship... so maybe we could try that?" Ruby suggested hopefully.

"I wouldn't advise that." Sharp Strike turned and regarded them carefully with those azure lenses on his faceplate, "The White Fang uses specific codes for their radio frequencies for communication purposes. While I have managed to obtain some of those codes, the ones I have are way out of use and the recent ones are still unknown to me. If you broadcast on an open and unsecured frequency the White Fang forces in the vicinity would be able pick up on that, and use the transmission to triangulate your location."

"He's right, it's too risky. I don't think our luck would hold out once more." Coco muttered to herself, until an awful thought suddenly hit her, "This is an active White Fang outpost right? Why didn't the White Fang headquarters send anyone to investigate after you have taken out the entire cell?"

Sharp Strike turned and calmly raised a gloved finger to prove his point, "Remember the sizable computer console system in the main operations room? When I attacked earlier the White Fang troops here did not have time to call for help, so the computer is still transmitting an all-clear signal to other White Fang troops as well as the headquarters, so that no one would bother to come and check for the time being."

"That's one less problem to deal with." Coco admitted while watching Neptune shrugged his shirt back on while Sharp Strike turned and inspected his handiwork on Qrow's bandages. The wounds he had sustained in battle were many, and they weren't healing as well as they usually would due to the massive Aura drainage Ruby's uncle had suffered in battle, not to mention the various beating he had received from Adam's thugs. He would be fine for the moment, at least for now.

"Then what do we do?" Neptune asked slowly, "We have no way to call for help, and it's only be a matter of time before the White Fang discovers that their recon team haven't reported back with our deaths and Ruby's capture." Coco, Scarlet and Ruby found themselves nodding their heads in agreement, while the Knight simply remained still, a gloved finger placed at the chin of his faceplate in contemplation, while having a bottle of disinfectant liquid in his other gloved hand.

"The main thing is that we need to get outside the communication blackout zone put up by the White Fang." Coco replied, "I've checked the map in the operations room and I know where the blackout zone ends. Maybe if one of us can get outside the blackout zone and use a scroll to send a message to someone in Vacuo's government, or maybe even to Vale so that we can contact Goodwitch or maybe even get a report to Ozpin himself to send help for us."

Ruby listened as she continued to watch at the injured form of her uncle as the Remnant Knight began to clean the wounds, wiping away the caked blood and grime from Qrow's body and limbs, the faint glow of aura coming from the healing of his wounds.

"My thoughts exactly. The boundaries of the communication blackout zone most likely extends a few miles from this outpost since its boundaries can't be that long or passing Vacuo Ranger patrols would detect the jamming of communications in the area." Sharp Strike concurred, checking the bandages he had already put over the bullet wound on Qrow's back after gently moving the Huntsman over to his side.

"Time is of the essence..." Coco agreed, "...which means Ruby is the best one for the task since she's the fastest out of the all of us, she has the best chance of success." She looked at Ruby, as with the rest of everyone present in the bunk room, "I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't see any other option."

"I'll do it." Ruby replied firmly, her silver eyes filled with determination, "But I won't go until I know for sure that Uncle Qrow is going to be okay." She and Coco turned to look at Sharp Strike, and the latter posed the question, "How is he doing? Is he still in danger?"

"I have patched him up as much as I can, and I have also cleaned all of his visible wounds so far. I have also removed the bullet in his back, so that wouldn't be a problem anymore. The spine wasn't hit when he took the shot for you, so that's good news. The bleeding has stopped as far as I can see, and his breathing has been steady for the past half hour and the blood circulation through his body is adequate. All in all, I can say with confidence that he will pull through, since I' sure he has been in worse scrapes than this." The Knight moved Qrow onto his back and examined the bandaged wounds to make sure the bleeding won't start up again.

Coco, who was closest to the open door of the bunk room, felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Yatsuhashi coming out of the back room where Hopkins was confined. The large teen sighed and said "Our guest is not talking, but he's tied down good and tight so he's not going anywhere. We will have to interrogate him if we are going to find out any useful information about the White Fang's headquarters."

"Well, it has to be close by, I mean how else would they have gotten to the prison so quickly?" Scarlet pointed out, everyone else seeing his point

"So their base of operations must be probably hidden somewhere in those mountains we have passed by. That is the only plausible explanation." Yatsuhashi voiced his assent after giving some thought.

"Okay, since the radio's busted, we can't use the airship's radio...and seeing as Uncle Qrow is no longer in danger I'll run into the forest until I get out of the blackout zone, and then I can call for help." Ruby explained to the Samurai of the group, "Can you give me the backup evidence Coco sent you?"

Yatsuhashi nodded and took out his scroll and sent the evidence to Ruby's as Sharp Strike finished wrapping the final piece of gauze around Qrow's chest, covering it with some bandages and checked his breathing. After making sure that he had done all he could to the best of his abilities, the Knight cleaned his upper limbs free of blood and locked the armored gauntlets back onto his gloved hands with small clicks before flexing them slowly, checking their functionality a few fingers at a time.

"I have a better suggestion, Miss Rose. I think I'll be going with you since I will also need to contact my superiors to inform them of the developing situation. I know the surrounding area better and with my directions you won't get lost easily or run into any White Fang patrols. And you won't have to run when we can take my bike." Sharp Strike mentioned as he looked at Ruby, hooking his gauntlets around the belt at his waist.

"You have a bike?" Coco asked disbelievingly.

Sharp Strike gave a small nod, "I left it behind so I wouldn't be noticed, but since the White Fang scouts have already been taken care of I used my own scroll to call it to this location."

"Call it? What do you mean by that?" Coco questioned him, confusion clear on her face just as Ruby's ears perked up at the faint sound of a motorcycle in the distance through the slightly ajar window. Just moments before, there was the usual quiet of the jungle except for the sounds of night animals and birds, but the sound of a motorcycle was definitely something alien.

"Does anyone else hear that?" She turned around asked the other members of Team Beacon, just as Coco and Yatsuhashi moved aside for Sharp Strike to walk past them and out of the cabin's front door, the rest of Team Beacon except Qrow following him, with Scarlet supporting Neptune as usual.

"I can hear it too." Yatsuhashi replied as it got closer, the sound growing steadily louder.

A few moments later, the Knight's mechanical steed roared out of the darkness of the surrounding jungle and came smoothly to a halt in front of Sharp Strike, its engine slipping down to a idling purr once more as the Remnant Knight glanced at his side, seeing the stunned faces of Team Beacon behind him. His bike looked like an upgraded and personally customized version of a sports bike, except it has a sort of heavy duty look to it yet possessing a design that emphasized on speed and aerodynamics.

Fully decked in silver-black colors with blue highlights like his Knight armor, the motorcycle had wide tires with a certain special design of riveting that probably allows it to travel a variety of landscapes in addition to climbing up hills and even mountains when necessary. It also boasted a complex engine design made up of gears, springs and other unique metallic parts, with twin supercharged intakes with honeycombed meshes on the upper sides of the bike above the front wheel which extends in front of it. A windshield occupied the front part of the motorcycle, underneath which was an highly advanced dashboard which boasted a full suite of special functions, including remote autopilot and frequency scanning. Protruding from both sides of the front wheel were openings for twin machine-guns, and the glaring illumination came from the two front lights underneath the windshield. While the members of Team Beacon could see the visible machine-guns, they doubt those were the only weapons Sharp Strike's personal bike possessed in addition to a vastly superior engine than most custom-made vehicles.

And emblazoned on the side fairing of the Knight's motorcycle was the emblem of the Remnant Knight Order, a simple image of a pair of Knight swords crossed over a shield of silver with gold trim.

Neptune let out a slow whistle at the sight of such a spectacularly customized vehicle in front of them, "I have a nagging feeling that Yang would probably fall deeply in love with this Knight's bike if she so much as lay her italic eyes on it."

"I don't even want to bet on the odds of that, Neptune!" A surprised Ruby agreed as she regained her senses and closed her slightly open mouth.

Swinging a leg over his motorcycle, Sharp Strike looked up at them from his windshield, "So are we actually to make a move, or should we waste more time gawking at my bike?" He was about to gesture for Ruby to take the seat behind him when the Knight noticed the red hooded Huntress was missing from the group.

He looked about and then saw Ruby running back up the hill, a matte black sniper rifle taken from the weapon cache in White Fang airship slung behind her back with a sling running diagonally down her body, "Sorry! Just getting a weapon just in case of anything!"

She climbed onto the back of the Knight's motorcycle and caught a pilot's helmet thrown to her by Coco, putting it on to cover her entire head, "Thanks! We will be back as soon as possible!" The rest of team Beacon waved as they watched Sharp Strike revved up the engine of his bike, the sounds building up to a crescendo as Ruby grabbed onto the side holds on the bike itself.

"Just so you know, we will be going at very fast speeds...so I recommend you holding onto me so that you don't lose your grip and fall off." The Knight mentioned, his helmet turning a little so that Ruby can see one of his blue eye lenses.

"Don't worry about me. If I have ridden on my sister's bike Bumblebee, this should be a piece of cake." Ruby replied as Sharp Strike gunned the throttles and stepped on the accelerator.

She yelped as the custom-made motorcycle shot forward like a racing horse expelled from its stable, and almost regretted her previous words as she lunged forward and grabbed hold of Sharp Strike's shoulder pauldrons tightly, feeling the swift wind rush past her face as both Knight and Huntress shot into the darkness of the jungle, towards a place where they could summon reinforcements to rescue the rest of Team Beacon from the clutches of the White Fang.

* * *

Yang fidgeted with the annoying little clamp like mechanism that that been placed around the right Ember Celica to keep it from activating. She had tried to get it off but no luck so far, even if she did the White Fang guards would probably blast her. She looked out of the bars to the Elephant Faunus known as Babara and glared as she looked around at her cellmates.

Things had been quiet in the brig ever since Adam had left; Winter and Weiss were deep in thought about what their family's company had done, Penny was paralyzed from the neck down due to the collar, Neo was seemingly lost in her own little world for the time being, Claudandus was rubbing his leg as an old pain irritated it, Thayer was taking a look at Velvet's face to make sure Adam's punch hadn't hurt her too badly, Blake was keeping to herself remaining quiet and Sun was doing the same as his girlfriend, looking at his half-tail as he did so, letting out a few tears and grunts of pain as he mourned the loss of part of his tail.

Yang looked at her fellow blonde with concern before she looked to the wall, knowing Blake was behind it.

The silence between them was a sure sign that they both needed help and Yang decided she wasn't just going to sit on the cold steel bench and mess with her arm. Her friends, the people she loved, were more important. Sun had had enough time on his own, now he needed someone to talk to whether he liked it or not.

She got up and walked over to Sun and said "It'll be okay Sun, we'll get out of this somehow." In the next cell Blake's ears perked up and she listened in.

Sun was silent for a moment or two before he looked to her and said "Yang, We're prisoners of the White Fang and who knows what that psycho has planned for us. Not to mention Neptune and Scarlet, my teammates, my friends, the guys who I'm supposed to lead, are out there and I don't even know if they're alive or not. They count on me and I let them down. And then there's my tail... it was cut in half... I... I don't..." Sun couldn't go on as tears began to fall from his eyes.

Yang wrapped her arms around the Faunus and hugged him to her. She rubbed his back with her organic hand and said "Don't forget, I know what you're going through."

"Oh man... I'm so sorry Yang. I almost forgot." he said, feeling guilty that he had forgotten that Yang had suffered from the same kind of trauma not too long ago.

"It's okay Sun, but I know what you're going through, I felt the same way. Remember when I talked to Nadir when we found out his hand had been cut off?" she asked quietly.

"I wasn't really paying attention." he admitted.

"Well I'll give you the same talk I gave him. I don't know if it's quite the same but it probably is for you, it's a horrible thing to lose a part of your body. You feel overwhelmed with shock, anger, and sadness. The shock takes you over and once you've realized that part of your body is gone you just get angry, you try to assure yourself it can be fixed despite that annoying little voice saying 'you're stuck like this'. You let sadness and misery take you over and I can tell how devastated you are right now Sun, just overwhelmed by everything that's happened. But don't forget, I've been there before, I let anger, self-pity, and depression control my life for four months. Don't let them control you too. I managed to beat it when I got tired of them controlling me, but I'm going to do my best to keep it from happening to you." she said as she made Sun look her in the eyes.

Blue met lilac as the bombshell went on; "I know you're worried about your team but I think they'll be alright. I bet they've already gotten together with Ruby, Uncle Qrow, and the others and they're on their way to help us as we speak. You're a good leader team, and your guys are good Huntsmen, you're a strong leader so they're a strong team. Trust me, I'm worried like crazy about Ruby but at the same time she's proven she can take care of herself, so trust Neptune and Scarlet and they'll be okay. I know it sucks that we can't help them, but we have to hope and trust in them that they'll come through. Never forget Sun, you are not alone; you have Blake and I know for a fact that she loves you, you have me, everyone here, you have Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet all counting on you, and you have your mom and your sister are out there and they'll be there for you when we get out of here, losing your tail won't make them or anyone else love you any less. So just remember Sun, we are here for you."

Sun tired to hold back his tears as he quietly said "Yang I..." He couldn't speak, he just launched himself into her and hugged her tight. Yang was taken aback at first but quickly recovered and hugged the Monkey Faunus back as best as she could with one arm barely functioning.

In the next cell over Blake, now with tears in her eyes of gold, smiled to herself, happy for the boy she loved.

"Yang, I don't deserve a friend like you or someone like Blake. I'm not good enough." he said.

Blake was about to say something when Yang scolded "Yes you are! You're a team leader! You wanted to help Blake when I was too depressed to care! You fought the White Fang with just you and your team to help her! That makes you pretty damn good in my book!"

"She's right young man." Claudandus interjected. "From what Blake has told me you have risked your life for her in the past, I understand you care for my granddaughter very much. Why else would you go on an incredibly dangerous mission to save an old fool like me? I may not know much about you personally, Mr. Wukong, but I think you are a prime example of our race."

Blake smiled at the voice of her grandfather, something she was going to have to get used to, but before she could say anything Weiss spoke up as well.

"Sun, throughout my life I have been forced to mingle with spoiled brats, nitwits, and malicious fools of from the Atlesian upper-class. When I first saw you as a stowaway on that ship I thought you were a rapscallion and a low-life, but after I got to know you I realized I was wrong, and I can promise you that you are worth a dozen of those rich idiots." the Schnee heiress said.

Sun was stunned, to hear Weiss of all people say that was a mind bender.

"Sun..." said Blake's calm, smooth voice. Sun moved to the edge of the cell so he could hear her. "Sun, what I said earlier; I meant every word of it. I've brought you so much pain and grief, you've suffered because of me and I'll never forgive myself. Your family was held hostage, you went out of your way to help me so many times, you don't know whether your team is safe or not, and you lost your tail. All because of me. I understand if you want to break it off, I understand if you never want to see me again, but I want you to know that I love you, Sun Wukong."

Sun's eyes kept pouring tears as he heard a small sob from Blake. He slid his hand past the bars and reached over to the next cell as one of the guards moved to stop him but Babara blocked them off.

"Let 'em have this." she ordered firmly.

Blake smiled at her former friend as she reached out and grabbed Sun's hand, giving it a loving squeeze.

"Blake... I don't blame you for what happened to me so don't blame yourself for what happened to me, blame Taurus." Sun said to her before finishing up with "I don't hate you, I never could. I love you too Blake Belladonna."

Blake, now with tears of happiness squeezed Sun's hand a little more as another hand joined them.

"Don't forget about me." Yang said as he hand joined theirs.

"Yang, thank you. I love you both." Blake said.

"Same goes to both of you, things might look bad now but they'll get better soon." Yang promised, getting small smiles from the others.

"Heh, fat chance human." cracked one of the guards.

"Shove it." Yang and Sun both said at the same time while Weiss, Velvet, Blake, and Winter shot him death glares.

Just then there was a knock at the door that came in a strange, specific pattern. Babara shot Blake and the other prisoners a kind grin as she opened up the door to reveal Jinty, who gave the Elephant girl a thumbs up as she closed the door behind him.

"Hey Blake, long time no see." the Weasel Faunus said, nodding to her.

"Nice to see you Jinty." Blake said, smiling and giving her friends in the cell looks.

"Babara?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"They're coming back, everything's working just like we hoped it would. NOW!" he cried as he whipped out a gun and blasted one of the White Fang troops in the torso three times with it.

"What the...?!" cried a guard as Babara slammed him into the wall after she bashed him in the forehead with the pole of her battle-axe before grabbing another guard with one hand and smashing her head into the ceiling and them whammed her on the back of the head as she fell to the floor.

Jinty shot another one of the remaining three guards down and he was finished off by Babara who grabbed him and punched him out but the other two opened fire on them. He took cover by a desk as he fired from under his cover, blasting one in the legs. The unlucky guard cried out as he fell to the desk, his jaw hitting it as Jinty jumped up and socked him right in the face, knocking him out.

The last guard tried to get to the door but Blake, Sun, and Yang all reached out of the bars and managed to trip him up. He fell flat on his face just as Babara jumped on top of him, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the floor hard enough to knock him out.

Jinty grinned at the prisoners and said "Surprise."

Everyone was silent and stunned, except Blake who smiled at her old friends.

Neo broke the silence by saying "What the hell is happening?"

"A jailbreak, that's what." Babara said as she got the keys and unlocked the first cell, letting Blake, Weiss, and the others out.

"I don't believe it, you're both traitors?" Thayer asked in disbelief as Vevlet and Weiss worked together to move Penny up.

"We're loyal to what the White Fang is supposed to be but if you mean we're betraying Adam then you betcha. After the Fall of Vale and that craziness at Haven I got back in touch with Blake with some help from Swoop." Jinty explained as Weiss and Velvet helped Penny out of the cell.

"Could you please remove this from our friend's neck?" Velvet asked as Babara let Yang and the others in the second cell out.

"Sure thing." Jinty said as he took out an odd looking device. "Babara, go get their weapons."

"You got it babe." the large Faunus said as she made for the door.

As Jinty worked with getting the collar off of Penny, Winter, who was working with Neo and Thayer to get the knocked out guards in the cells, spoke up. "You do realize that if Razor discovers this you'll be in just as much danger as we are. What about the security cameras?"

"Relax, I disabled 'em before I came down here. Also I'm part of the White Fang's top teams and I've been a traitor among them for the last few months, I know what's dangerous Miss Schnee." Jinty said as he managed to get the collar off of Penny. "There you go."

"Thank you!" Penny cheered as her legs and arms began to move once again. She took up the collar and crushed it with her bare hands, then let it clatter to the floor. She saw Winter about to grab one of the guards but Penny said "Allow me Specialist Schnee."

She walked over and picked up two of the guard easily and threw them into the cells so Velvet could shut and lock the gates on them.

Yang held her robotic hand up to Jinty and said "Hey, me next."

"Sure thing." he said as he went to work.

"By the way Jinty, why did Babara call you 'babe'?" Blake inquired, which Jinty pretended not to hear as he began whistling while getting Yang's arm free.

Once the guards were locked in the cells and Yang's arm was freed from the restraining device Blake addressed the others. "Yes, Jinty is my contact within the White Fang. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but he swore me to secrecy because he didn't want there to be any chance of his 'treachery' being discovered."

"No complaints from me, thanks Jint." Yang said as she shook his hand a little too tight.

"Anytime." he said as he nursed his smarting hand. He looked to Claudandus and said "So you're Claudandus?"

The old Faunus nodded, "I am, thank you for helping us, it means a lot."

"I joined up after you left, I wanted to be in the White Fang because it was supposed to be about equality but then Taurus twisted it into what it is now. I stuck around because I wanted to do some good... and I didn't want to piss off a certain redhead if I ran." Jinty admitted as he shook Claudandus' hand.

"Excuse me, but what are we supposed to do? Just waltz out of here? In case you've forgotten we're still surrounded by less than friendly White Fang agents." Weiss pointed out.

"Don't worry about that, Adam's actions as of late have been making Razor weary of him, he sent your old buddy Kane along with Piper and Selena to check out that prison and see if you were tellin' the truth about the amputees. I placed a bug on their ship before they left and they are on their way back right now... and they know." Jinty said firmly as Babara came back into the room with a huge box.

"Here you go, weapons for all." she said as she placed the box on the ground and opened it up, revealing all of the weapons.

Everyone quickly recovered their own weapon; Yang placed the left Ember Celica back on her flesh hand and kissed it while Blake and Weiss took up Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster respectively. Sun combined Ruyi and Jingu Bang, Winter gripped her sword, and Neo reclaimed her parasol. Velvet mournfully looked at her camera and sighed.

"Any chance of fixing it Velvet?" Blake asked.

The Rabbit Faunus shook her head, "Not here, I need the proper tools and I doubt this place has them. It's alright though, I still know how to fight." she said with determination.

"Atta girl." Yang said with a smirk as she loaded up her gauntlets.

"Mr. Jinty, has there been any word of our friends?" Penny asked.

"She's right, have Ruby and the others been found?" Weiss asked seriously.

"No, there's been no word from the scout team that went into the jungle to look for them. If there had been we would have known by now." Babara stated.

"Hopefully that's a good sign." Winter said.

"Relax, the rest of your team is probably fine. We won't be doin' this alone either way, once Piper lets Razor know you lot we're tellin' the truth he'll help take Adam down. Trust me he'll call everyone to the main room any second now..." Jinty said before he was interrupted by a voice over the intercom.

"Attention all members of the White Fang aboard this ship, please report to the bridge for an emergency gathering, right away. This is mandatory." said the voice of Razor.

Everyone in the brig looked at each other and Yang smirked, "Well that was perfect timing."

Blake smiled at her partner and said "Maybe this will work out after all."

* * *

About five minutes later Razor stood on the bridge, overlooking all but five of the members of the Elite Guard and the various White Fang troops which Adam had claimed to put on the ship to 'guard the prisoners' but Razor no longer trusted Taurus enough to believe that. He knew these soldiers were there to keep an eye on his team.

He sighed as he pondered the absence of Jinty and Babara, the former had retired for the evening unusually early and the latter was guarding Blake but should have been able to attend. Kane, Piper, and Selena had just docked in the hangar and were coming up now. Kane had said over the radio that Piper had successfully sneaked around the maximum security wing and had seen something that had shaken her up.

Razor grimaced at that, he had known Piper for five years and she didn't get shaken up easily, not after the things the young girl had seen... not after what happened to her neck.

He sighed and looked about the bridge, seeing Russell, Morgan, Misha, Penn, Teresa, Burton, Darla, Warwick, Cash, Goddard, Kong, Johnny, Graham the Buffalo Faunus, and Miguel the Armadillo Faunus who had recently recovered from an injury he received during the fight with Fatalea's slavers so had yet to fight Team Beacon. There were also the two members who were non-combatants such as Troy the old Cheeta Faunus who served as their engineer and an Anteater Faunus who helped run the bridge known as Caitlin.

As for the White Fang troops, there were twenty of them altogether but only fourteen of them were here at the moment as the other six were guarding the prisoners. He wondered how they would react if Piper confirmed Blake and Qrow's accusations. He decided he would find out soon as Piper, Kane, and Selena entered the bridge.

"Everyone, if I may have your attention please." Razor said firmly, his raspy, commanding voice making everyone look to him. "I know you all want to know why you're here and I will answer that. As of late I have been having my doubts about our leader Adam Taurus; he joined up with this Cinder Fall person and aided her in attacking Vale, killing who knows how many innocent civilians human and Faunus alike, he has made dangerous and murderous suggestions such as bombing a village and has become increasing more violent in battles, tonight he cut off the tail of a fellow Faunus who opposed us. He claimed it was an accident, but our rivals that we hold prisoner now have claimed that Commander Taurus threatened the life of a Faunus child and that in the prison they infiltrated a couple of hours ago contained Faunus prisoners amputated of their animal attributes. Once he attempted to execute our prisoners I became totally disgusted with his dishonorable tactics and I wondered if our 'enemies' were telling the truth. I send these three to check out the prison and see if Adam truly has had Faunus prisoners amputated."

"Razor, that sounds like treason." growled one of the White Fang troopers.

"Maybe it is, but I will not let him use me as a tool for destruction and you shouldn't either soldier. Piper, please come up here." Razor beckoned.

The young Faunus climbed up the metal ladder and came along side Razor, who took out his scroll. "Tell me what you saw, type it down."

Piper took out her scroll and was about to start typing when she sighed sadly and put her scroll down before grabbing her scarf.

"What are you doing? Don't show them...!" Razor cried as she took off her scarf to reveal her bare, horrifically scarred neck. Nearly everyone in the room either gasped or winced at the sight of the neck wound.

"What happened to her?" Kane asked, a little stunned.

Razor looked to Piper for permission and she nodded as she took his hand. "Five years ago after a raid had been found out by human police and I was forced to scatter from my old team I made my way into the outskirts of the town when I heard a young girl screaming. I ran to help and I found a young Faunus being mauled by dogs from a nearby farm. She had tried to steal some food as she was starving, homeless, and without a family but the farmer didn't care, so he set his hounds after her. I blasted the dogs and saved her, managed to get her to a medic we had but her vocal cords were damaged beyond repair. I took her under my wing, gave her a home, a better life. Piper, why did you take your scarf off?"

Piper took out her strange instrument and combined it with her Semblance, struggling as she managed to make something that resembled a voice. _"What is on my neck... is proof of humanity's cruelty... but tonight I saw proof that Faunus can... be just as evil... I snuck into the prison... and I saw that Blake was... telling the truth. Taurus did have Faunus parts amputated... they were in pain... like I was... they were scared, sad, and... mutilated... it was so wrong... so horrible. I thought that we were supposed to... be heroes... Adam is no hero..."_ she said with tears in her eyes as she plugged her scroll into a computer and the screen showed pictures of the amputee Faunus

"Oh gods..." Misha gasped quietly.

"They were telling us the truth, Adam is insane." Russell said angrily.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Warwick.

"What can we do? We can't go against Commander Taurus openly." said one of the soldiers.

"She's lying... she has to be... this has to be a trick..." said another solider nervously as he stared at the pictures

"No, she's not! Look at her eyes, look at her face! Look at the damn pictures! Piper has never cried in all the time I've known her, she isn't lying!" snapped Teresa.

Kong looked at the disturbing pictures and slumped down to the floor before quietly asking "What have we been doing?"

"His dirty work." Razor snarled as he hugged Piper to him. "We won't let him get away with this. We aren't his tools, for three long years we've been going around Remnant, doing good for Faunus kind, now Taurus himself is a threat to Faunus kind. He must be stopped. Who else is with me?"

Every member of the Elite Guard nodded or cheered or said something like "Yeah!" or "We're with you Razor!" The soldiers who were there were a bit hesitant at first, but one by one they threw down their masks, rejecting Adam Taurus

"Thank you, I don't deserve your loyalty, I let myself be blinded by the White Fang's cause, which Adam has now ruined. We are going to do our best to fix this, I promise you all." he swore to them as more figures entered the bridge.

"Nice to see you found out the gruesome truth boss." said Jinty.

Everyone looked to see Blake, Yang, Weiss, Sun, Jinty, Babara, Thayer, and the rest of the captured members of Team Beacon. The members of the White Fang tensed and got ready for a fight when they saw that the prisoners were free and armed but relaxed when Blake said "Don't worry, we don't want to fight you. There's been enough fighting already. Now you all know the truth of what Adam has done."

Everyone nodded sadly, feeling guilty for following Adam for so long and never seeing what he had become.

Kane approached her and said "I'm sorry about your friends Blake, I hope they're alright... and sorry about capturing you earlier this year."

"I hope so too, and don't worry, I've had worse." she said before looking to Razor and asking "Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do about it?"

Razor looked to the his Elite Guard, then to the soldiers, and then to Team Beacon before looking down to the girl he considered a daughter. Piper smiled and Razor looked back to the crowd and announced "We're going to have ourselves a little insurrection."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I lied about the last chapter being the final one of the year, I wouldn't end this year on that depressing note! Still... Adam's backstory was pretty sad, wasn't it? I'd like to know what you all thought of it, as I worked really hard on it.
> 
> Also let's give a big thanks to RelentlessCrusader who helped write this chapter and created Sharp Strike and the Remnant Knights and allowed me to use them in this fic. Couldn't have done this chapter without him, and if you're curious as to what Sharp Strike looks like then check out DA artist Beartrixel who did a pic of him.
> 
> This chapter's early release is a special Christmas present to all of my readers, whether you're on Fanfiction . net or Archive of Our Own, I want you all to know how much I appreciate all of you. So thank you to all of you who have reviewed, faved, and followed my story. Thank you everyone who left a kudos, a comment, or bookmarked it. I care about each and every one of you, so thank you all so much for helping me make this story what it is now, I couldn't have done it without you guys.
> 
> See you guys in January, and don't forget that you all matter to me. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, happy holidays to everyone who reads this.
> 
> Also here are some story recommendations:
> 
> 4 Years of Beacon by smstanton, a great Arkos story and probably the best one there is.
> 
> Jaune Arc: Man of Steel by pitviper1157, a RWBY/DC crossover which, despite some spelling errors here and there, is shaping up to be a good fic.
> 
> Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117, a great and mysterious RWBY AU fic that has a dark take on Jaune's Semblance when Pyrrrha unlocked his aura, slow updates but the story is well worth it.
> 
> A Full Metal Alchemist fic called The Awful Truth of Suffering by c mary c, a tragic but beautiful FMA AU fic focusing on Ed and Winry's blooming romance in New York as they are both haunted by their tragic pasts.
> 
> Please if you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please let a review, or simply follow and favorite the story if you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback. Thank you all, once again.


	44. A Call for Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Ren walked into the gym of the hotel, lured to it by the sound of a familiar voice grunting and a powerful slamming sound that echoed about the large room. The gym was empty save for a girl he knew so well; Nora kept slamming Magnhild into a training dummy that looked like it had been mauled by a hundred thousand Grimm at once as she brought down her hammer again and again, her grunts sounding angry. If one were to look closely, which Ren tended to do, they would notice that a picture of Adam Taurus, taken from a wanted poster, had been duct taped to the dummy's head and Nora was going to town on it.

Ren flinched as the dummy's arm was sent flying off by a mighty slam from Nora and it landed perfectly in the trash container.

It was obvious that Nora was angry, but any one who knew the perky girl knew that that was never a good sign. Ren sighed and carefully walked over to her as she kept slamming her weapon into the dummy.

Her body was tense, her muscles bulging, her eyes furious, her hair wild... none of these were good signs.

"I'll teach you... if any of my friends are hurt... I'll break your legs... for starters..." she muttered under her breath before she slammed Magnhild into the dummy hard enough to knock its head off at last. She began to wail of the round object, slamming her hammer into Adam's picture harder and harder until the picture was torn and crumpled beyond recognition, the head getting flatter and flatter as Nora's grunts turned to growls and eventually screams of fury.

She was about to slam Magnhild down again when Ren caught her and firmly said "Nora, I know this is difficult, but you need to calm down."

Nora's pale blue eyes were angry, nervous, and teary as they looked into his calm but worried magenta ones and she responded "I... I don't know if I can Renny... I barely made it when we thought Cinder killed Pyrrha, but what if this jerk Adam killed everyone else? What if the six of us are the only ones left?"

"I don't think we are, I can't promise you but I think we both know our friends well enough to know they will not go down easily, especially Ruby. I know it hurts, I'm afraid to lose them too and right now I am so worried but all we can right now is hope that they'll be alright." Ren said calmly as he gently eased her arms down and lowered her down to the ground where she gently dropped Magnhild before she let him wrap his arms around her and hug her to him.

Small tears fell down her face along with a few whimpers from her mouth as she buried her face into his chest. "Renny, thank you for being here for me."

"I always will be, I love you." the green clad Ninja said sincerely as he kissed her forehead.

* * *

Elsewhere in the hotel, the room Team CFVY had been set up in specifically, Fox looked at a picture of his entire team; Coco with that confident smirk and look in her eyes as she tilted her shades up, Velvet looking a little shy but very happy, Yatsuhashi looked his usual stoic self but there was he seemed to be content... and then there was himself, Fox Allistair, scars on his arms, eyes that made people mistake him for being blind, tanned skin, and a stoic face to match Yatsuhashi's.

Those three had become more than just teammates to Fox in the last few years, they were friends, family... he hadn't had many of either before coming to Beacon; a mother and a father that loved and cared for him but he had always been a loner so he didn't have many friends growing up, something that concerned his parents... but then he came to Beacon and met these three wonderful teens. So different from each other, outgoing, shy, reserved, they were the friends he had needed his entire life.

He looked into the mirror and examined the scars on his arms, left by various training accidents that occurred when he was younger and inexperienced with his arm-blades. If any of his team... if any of his friends were killed then he would make Adam Taurus scream for mercy. That was a promise for Team CFVY, for his friends, all of them.

* * *

Down the hall in the room Team SSSN had taken residence in Sage sat on a wooden chair in front of a desk, watching an old video of he and Sun sparring while Scarlet and Neptune fought in the background. He smiled at Sun's energetic moves and laughs as the Monkey Faunus dodged everything swing and thrust of Sage's sword.

The dark-skinned teen sighed as he poured a small vial of rum he had managed to get his hands on into a cup of coffee.

"To us, Team SSSN. Never a better team of guys. Stay safe out there, please." Sage said quietly to himself before downing the drink.

* * *

Outside of the hotel in one of the training areas Pyrrha fought on with a group of five training robots, thin but sturdy machines that had been built by one of the companies that the Atlas Military had a private contract with. The robots fire small blasts at her that were set to stun so if she was hit she wouldn't be hurt too badly... but that wasn't a problem because the chances were that she wouldn't be hit at all.

She dodged the blasts easily and with grace as she used her legs to sweep-kick a robot off of its legs and Milo to impale it and bring it up to use as a shield from the other robots fire.

Her tall, powerful body glistened with sweat in the small lighting the lamp posts provided. If one were to look at her normally kind and gentle, not to mention beautiful, face they would see a look of complete seriousness and concentration. She threw the robot into two others before jumping up and landing behind another, jamming Milo into its back just as it turned into its rifle form and blasted through its torso. She cartwheeled away to avoid the blasts and kicked down one of the recovering robots that she had just knocked down a few seconds ago.

As she fought on she thought of her friends lost in Vacuo, their situation uncertain, their lives probably in danger... and yet here she was, thousands of miles away, unable to do anything about it. Those wonderful, powerful, odd at times Hunters-in-training that made up Team Beacon were the best group of people she had ever known in her life, they had all become her friends since this ordeal began when she entered Beacon.

Friends... something she used to crave so desperately during her days at Sanctum, back when she was seen as untouchable, invincible, unbeatable, and left alone because of her abilities and when people did want to become associated with her it was for their own personal gain. But with these Hunters it was so wonderfully different.

She allowed herself a smile as she dodged the blasts and took out another training robot with a series of powerful and well placed punches and kicks that deactivated it. There had been many hardships and tragedies in the months since then, the Grimm within her and the scar near her heart was proof of that, but there had been so many wonderful things too, like her friends; the rest of her team and... the ones who were lost now.

Team CFVY made up of kind Velvet, strong Yatsuhashi, confident and bold Coco, and stoic Fox who was now hiding his fear and worry for his teammates. Team SSSN with goofy but thoughtful Scarlet, polite and charming Neptune, cocky but able and eager Sun, and everyman Sage who she knew was worried sick about his friends. There was the awkward but so adorable Penny who would consider anyone who said anything remotely nice about her a close and personal friend, Pyrrha couldn't help but like the robot girl for how positive her outlook on like was after everything she had been through, more people should strive to be like Penny. Then there was her close friends from Team RWBY; fiery and headstrong Yang, calm and sometimes mysterious Blake who had suffered so much in life and wanted to be accepted for who she was, Weiss who used to so high and mighty and full of herself had changed for the better since she had enrolled in Beacon, as she was now down to earth and trying to improve upon her previous actions and that of her family as well... and then there was Ruby.

Ruby truly was a wonderful person, she wanted to be good and kind to everyone she met and would fight anyone who threatened her friends or innocent people with such power and talent that it was no wonder Ozpin enrolled her so early... then again her eyes probably had something to do with it. Pyrrha avoided a few more blasts from one of the two remaining training robots and launched Milo in spear mode at it, impaling it. Her thoughts went back to Ruby, a wonderful, energetic, kind, eager girl who wanted to save the world and Pyrrha didn't doubt that she probably would someday. What had surprised Pyrrha when she had found out the whole story of what happened after Cinder had taken her away was that her death had been what triggered the shining of Ruby's silver eyes.

While she had considered Ruby a friend at the time she didn't think they were close enough for her apparent death to affect Ruby like that. As she grabbed the final robot by the head and slammed it into the ground, deactivating it, she remembered a personal moment she had shared with Ruby the day before they left Haven.

_Five and a Half Months Ago_

_Pyrrha walked out of the police ship and back onto the grounds of Haven Academy where Ruby was waiting for her. Everyone else was preoccupied, Jaune was getting a medical checkup to make absolutely sure he was alright after the trauma he had suffered, Ren and Nora were going around with Team SSSN to enforce Professor Argo's decree and make sure no one in Haven Academy who had discovered the truth about her and Jaune's conditions told anyone else, Team CFVY were contacting their families, Weiss and Winter were talking about something involving their family, Yang and Blake were talking about what had happened while they were separated, Penny was with her father, and her parents were looking into moving to Cadia since she and Jaune needed to be close for the Aura Crystal, so that left Ruby to greet her._

_"Everything okay Pyrrha?" the small girl asked._

_"I could be better, but considering what I just got away from I have been worse." the Amazon stated as she sat down on a bench, an incredibly obvious miserable look upon her face._

_"So did things go okay with Lieutenant Morse? What did he want?" Ruby inquired._

_"Actually Ruby, I needed to talk to him about something instead. During my time with... them... I had witnessed more than a few deaths, the deaths of civilians used as tests for the Grimm Knights. I wanted to identify them from the list of missing people and confirm who had been killed." Pyrrha told her. They were all either homeless, drifters, or unimportant people who would not be missed, ones with few family or friends and minor jobs, which made sense as to why Sherizawa picked them to be their tests. The man she had killed was a dock worker who was a loner with no family, meaning his disappearance wouldn't be that big of a deal. It made her sick to think about it._

_Ruby cringed and muttered "Oh... do you need to talk about it?"_

_Pyrrha looked at the younger girl and said quietly "I wouldn't want to trouble you with the details..."_

_"Hey, don't worry about it. Jaune's not here right now, but I am." Ruby offered._

_Pyrrha smiled and said "Thank you. I... if you are okay hearing about it?"_

_Ruby nodded with a kind smile as she sat next to the taller girl on the bench._

_"Nearly a week ago, when I was still under the delusion of my Fotia persona, Salem forced me to kill an innocent man to prove my loyalty to her, to mark myself with his blood and swear my life to her. I felt his fear... and I am so disgusted with myself because it... the fear felt so good... I beat him to death with that mace and..." Pyrrha stopped and hid her face in her hands as she cried, mortified by her own actions, afraid that Ruby would hate her for what she did... but instead the younger girl wrapped her arms around Pyrrha and gave her a tight but comforting hug._

_"Y-you don't hate me for what I have done?" she asked._

_"Why would I? It's not your fault, it's Salem and Cinder's." Ruby told her, "They brainwashed you, filled your head with lies and made you do terrible things. You killed him because they made you, you didn't swear your life to her, Fotia did and she doesn't exist anymore. They made you do it Pyrrha and you weren't yourself when it happened, so don't blame yourself. I know what it's like to kill someone when you didn't mean to, I know what it's like when your lack of control gets someone else killed."_

_Pyrrha winced, she knew that Ruby had accidentally killed two of Ante's thugs before she and Jaune were captured and that she was disgusted with herself for it so she hugged the smaller girl back and said "What happened isn't your fault Ruby, it was self defense in the heat of battle, sometimes you can't stop your actions when everything happens so fast."_

_"I know, that's what everyone keeps telling me, but I still feel horrible. I still feel like I could have stopped myself if I was good enough..." Ruby lamented._

_"Ruby, sometimes you can and sometimes you cannot. In war, all of us are vulnerable, look at what happened to me for proof of that." Pyrrha stated._

_"I know, and me, Jaune, and everyone else will work to make sure it never happens again. I promise you Pyrrha." Ruby swore as she kept hugging her friend._

_Pyrrha managed a smile before asking "Ruby... Jaune told me that my... death was what triggered the power of your silver eyes, why?"_

_Ruby was confused. "What do you mean?"_

_"Well we weren't particularly close when it happened. I mean, I considered you a friend but I didn't think our bond was that strong." she elaborated._

_"I still cared about you, I considered you a good friend. I guess after all that happened; seeing the original Penny and Torchwick die and Yang's arm... I probably couldn't take losing anyone else, especially a friend. I know we weren't close but I still care about you, you're my friend Pyrrha." Ruby voiced._

_Pyrrha smiled, her tears of woe now tears of happiness as she hugged Ruby as tightly as she could. "Thank you Ruby, you're a good friend and I want our bond to be stronger from here on out, I want us to truly be friends." she said._

_"It's a deal." Ruby returned with a smile. "So if you ever need to talk, about anything, I'm here for you."_

_"I'll remember that." Pyrrha promised._

Pyrrha smiled at the memory as she made her way to the gate to leave the training area, signaling to the maintenance workers that she was done and they could begin cleaning up. As she left the area and walked back towards the hotel she continued thinking about Ruby, the young girl was so unusually kind and optimistic despite the many terrible things that had happened to her in the past, she cared about deeply everyone she considered a friend, even if they weren't that close. People would do better to strive to be like Ruby.

She just hoped that said silver-eyed girl and the rest of her friends were safe. She hated not being able to do anything, but she knew they had to be patient for the time being. For now she needed to get back to the room she shared with Jaune, he had decided to stay inside and try to communicate with the Aura Crystal, she hoped he had made some progress.

* * *

In a modest hotel room Taiyang Xiao Long lay on his bed with a small bottle of whisky in his hand. He rarely ever drank alcohol and when he did it was only for two reasons; Qrow had insisted he live a little or to deal with grief. The first time he drank was when his parents were killed in a Grimm attack during his time at Beacon, when Raven left him he drank heavily, in the month following Summer's death he had gotten drunk every night after Ruby and Yang were put to bed and after Raven's death at the hands of Cinder Fall he and Qrow had gotten more than a little drunk while in Haven Academy. He had drank after Yang's arm had been severed, he drank when Ruby ran off, he drank when he discovered Ruby had been captured by Cinder...

The blonde rarely ever drank unless there was a good reason for it and right now he didn't know if his little girls and his brother-in-law were okay, they could be alive and safe, or injured or captured or...

He didn't want to think about it. If he lost them it would destroy him, he hated that feeling of helplessness so he drank to deal with the awful feeling. Zwei was currently curled up along side the bed and whimpered a bit at his owner.

"I know Zwei, I'm worried sick too but we can't do anything right now... gods help me if I lose them..." he said groggily as he tried to fight off sleep. It was a fight he was losing.

Zwei got up and trotted over to the bed and nuzzled Taiyang's hand that dangled off the side of the bed as the blonde let sleep take him. Zwei whined, he felt bad for his master and was saddened to know that Ruby and Yang were in trouble, made all the worse because they couldn't help them right now.

All of a sudden there was a noise at the window. Taiyang was sound asleep but Zwei was wide awake. With his ears perking up he carefully walked over to the window as it began to open. He could sense something was coming, but what the little dog did not expect to come in was a raven... a raven that turned into a human.

Raven glanced down at Zwei who growled and barked at her once but Raven held down a gentle hand, letting the dog know she had no ill intentions. Zwei tilted his head as Raven allowed herself to smile at him before looking back to her out cold former husband.

She leaned down and whispered "Taiyang, Ruby is alright, she is free but Qrow is badly injured and Yang has been taken prisoner by the White Fang but I know she is alive. You can still help our daughter Taiyang, help our family. Good luck."

Taiyang was brought out of sleep when he heard the faint sound of a quiet voice speaking to him.

A voice that was so familiar...

"Raven?" he asked aloud as he opened his eyes, his vision blurred by sleep but he got a brief glimpse of a figure in a room. He wiped his eyes clear and looked around the room to see that he and Zwei were the only ones there but he noticed that the window was mysteriously wide opened.

He got up and slowly walked over to the window to inspect it before looking off into Vale, hoping to get a glimpse of something, anything that was a sign of somebody entering his room, a sign of Raven, miraculously alive again... but there was nothing.

"I'm losing it, no more for me." Taiyang muttered before he went into the bathroom and poured the whisky into the sink before returning to the bed.

Zwei whimpered as he jumped up and snuggled against Taiyang. "I know, I'm worried too... don't worry, we'll get 'em back. Hopefully that voice, whatever it was, was telling the truth about Ruby." he said as he rubbed Zwei's chin.

A few blocks away Raven landed on the top of another building, remaining in her avian form. She turned around to see a fellow bird she knew as her friend, she supposed she could call her that, Samantha in dove form.

"That was much too risky, he could have seen you." she pointed out.

"I know, I don't care. I needed to tell him that our family isn't dead yet. He is suffering and I needed to relieve that suffering somehow." Raven argued.

"What would have happened if he saw you?" Samantha asked.

"Gabriel has only said we should avoid being seen but I honestly do not know, nor do I care what would happen but I was not seen. If I am seen in the future then I'll deal with it when the time comes." Raven said.

"It would be quite the discussion." Samantha said quietly as Raven flew up to a higher level of the rooftop.

"Quite; 'hello everyone, turns out I'm an undead guardian of those who have passed on but I only deal in those who deserve complete oblivion and Qrow is going to join me someday if our Semblance is anything to go by. Oh by the way Qrow and I can turn into birds." Raven deadpanned.

Samantha giggled a bit before saying "I wish we never had to keep our Semblances secret in life."

"They blur the line between human and animal even further which isn't something a lot of people like, had our powers been known they would have brought persecution upon us much like the Faunus. It was best for them to remain secret. Though I never expected this was what I'd do for my afterlife." Rave admitted as she looked back to the hotel, getting one last glimpse at Taiyang as he shut the window.

"You've told me about your family, do you regret leaving them?" Samantha inquired.

"When I was alive and preforming missions for Ozpin, roaming Remnant I honestly wasn't too sure how I would answer that question, but now... yes. I do regret the choices I made in life, it's also why I needed to tell Taiyang about Ruby, Yang, and Qrow. I hurt him before so now I want to help him." Raven explained.

Samantha flew up to her so she could say to her "If it means anything to you, I think you're doing the right thing."

Raven glanced at her and said "Thank you. Now, let's go somewhere private and I'll show you nothing is wrong with transforming in the world of the living."

* * *

Jaune sat on the floor of his hotel room, the Aura Crystal floating in front of him above the containment case. He had been meditating, or at least, trying to, he didn't really know how but he knew that meditation required him to be calm and serene with a clear mind... but the problem was he was too nervous and worried about his friends to be either of those things or have a clear mind things he couldn't. He tried to focus on the crystal as he breathed in and out slowly at his body's own natural pace but he couldn't keep from worrying about his friends.

That was the problem with having an emotion Semblance, his emotions defined him and he couldn't meditate when his friends were in danger.

It had been completely silent within the room for the last hour, the only noise being that of Jaune's calm breathing, he had even turned his scroll off so there would be no interruptions, but he regretted doing that as he was hoping for some word on the rest of Team Beacon's situation.

Jaune thought about his friends who were out there, he didn't know if they were safe or not and those thoughts kept plaguing his mind; he cared about all of them and if even one of them was hurt he might let the darker parts of his Semblance take over, since anger was a powerful motivator but could easily lead him down a dark path. But he couldn't help it, Ruby had been his first friend at Beacon, before even Pyrrha, she was like a little sister to him and he'd go nuts if he lost her, or any of the others.

He kept breathing slowly but his emotions got the better of him and he lost focus on the slight glow of the Aura Crystal.

"I can't do it." he said quietly in defeat as he opened his eyes. He looked at the crystal and continued "Did you pick the right person? Are you sure you didn't make a mistake when you accepted me? Am I really worthy?"

Jaune didn't expect an answer at all. He sighed and moved to place the crystal back within the containment case but as he touched it he got a brief flash of something, a small but clear vision in his mind of something that happened during the Battle of Haven; he was pushing Pyrrha out of the way and taking Cinder's arrow for her.

Jaune stumbled back, the vision fading from his mind when a familiar voice whispered to him _**"Jaune, you are worthy..."**_

Jaune shook himself to make sure he was awake as the the vision and the voice faded away.

He looked at the Aura Crystal and stood up before placing his hand on it and while he could feel the immense power within it he didn't hear the voice again, nor did he get another vision. He sighed and gently pushed the crystal back into the case, and once he finished locking it he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck.

"How was your meditation?" asked Pyrrha.

"Whoa, I didn't hear you come in, probably too focused on this. But I guess it went okay, I mean I got a vision and I heard a voice." he told her as they moved to sit down together against the bed with him leaning into her while she kept her arms wrapped around him.

"What was the vision? What did the voice say?" Pyrrha inquired, the look in her eyes and some of the more subtle motions of her body giving off curiosity as well as some concern for her love.

"Well, it happened when I got frustrated, I've been trying to meditate ever since you left for training but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep my mind from worrying about Ruby and the others in Vacuo." he began.

"That's very understandable, we're all worried about them Jaune, wait until you hear what Ren told me Nora did to cope." Pyrrha said, remembering her little run-in with Ren on the way up.

"I guess I'll hear about it soon. But anyway, I began to doubt myself again and I wondered if the crystal made the right choice when it deemed me worthy." he said, noticing the slightly annoyed look on her face. "I know, I need to be more confident..."

"It's not just that, if the Aura Crystal hadn't seen how worthy you are you wouldn't be here, we would have lost you and I... I don't think I could have handled losing you." Pyrrha voiced as she held him a little tighter and set her head atop his shoulder, pressing her head against his.

"I know, I'm sorry Pyr but I just keep letting my insecurities get the best of me sometimes. When I touched the Aura Crystal to put it back in the case I got a brief flash of me pushing you away from Cinder's arrow." he told her.

Pyrrha smiled and said "I think that is the crystal showing you what makes you worthy, you risked your life for me with complete selflessness, that is absolute proof that you are worthy."

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks Pyr, apparently the crystal, or someone inside it at least, agrees with you because the voice I heard told me that I am worthy... and it sounded like Ashe."

"Well fragment of the souls of the past guardians are supposed to be within the crystal, maybe Ashe's is trying to reassure you." she suggested.

"I think you're right." he agreed as he kissed her cheek before saying "Thank you, you always know what to say, my goddess." He leaned into her took in her scent.

Pyrrha blushed a bit as she kissed him back when she realized he was smelling her. "Don't smell me! I'm sweaty from the training session." she said with a giggle.

"I don't care, you smell good to me no matter what." he said, making her blush even harder before he added "So do you really think Ruby and the others will be alright?"

"I'm worried, but I think they'll make it. They're all strong, brave, and wonderful friends, I am confident they will be triumphant. They might need our help, and I know we are all eager to give it to them." she stated as she leaned into Jaune. Both of them worried for their friends, both hoped their fellow Hunters-in-training they had come to think of as family would be alright, but for now they had each other for comfort.

"Pyrrha?"

"Hm?"

Do you ever wonder what we'll do when this is all over? I mean if we win and we beat Salem? What will happen?" Jaune asked as he looked into her eyes.

"To be honest... I never thought about it. When I first enrolled in Beacon I never expected any of this, I didn't expect to have friendships this wonderful or to fall in love or to nearly die and be mind raped by those monsters... I honestly do not know what the future holds for us Jaune, I don't even know if we really will win in the end or if it will even end in our lifetimes but I promise you that no matter what I will always be here for you. Always." she answered.

Jaune smiled at her before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

* * *

After what felt like a considerable amount of minutes of watching the jungle sights whiz past her at relatively rapid speeds, Ruby finally felt the Remnant Knight's bike beginning to slow down and easing into a cruising speed as they approached a series of green hills after coming out from the crowded trees of the forest. Realizing that they should be out of the communication blackout zone by now, she slowly eased her grip on Sharp Strike's shoulder pauldrons and looked at their deserted surroundings.

"How much further?" She called out to the Knight, eager to get to the place where she could call for help. In the young huntress's mind, she was hoping that the sooner they could get some much-needed reinforcements, the sooner they could rescue the rest of Team RWBY and Team Beacon. While Ruby wasn't letting her worry show on her face, internally she was most definitely worried sick for her friends.

"We're almost there. The place we need to go is just over a few hills and over a river, but we will be there in a minute or two." Sharp Strike replied reassuringly as they sped through a large puddle, creating a big splash as water splattered onto the plant-choked surroundings.

As they neared their destination, Ruby began to wonder about her new ally. While it was undeniable that he had saved them from the White Fang's recon team, the quick but somewhat brutal manner in which he had dispatched them honestly made her a little uneasy. Her thoughts went back to Ashe who had been guilty of the same thing but he was different in the sense that he had experienced enough tragedies in his past, and those traumatic events had gradually turned him into a lonely and angry man who was in desperate need of some friends, especially friends who would understand his perspective on life. While she was glad that she had never personally witnessed any of Ashe's brutal rampages when he fought against their enemies, Ruby had heard enough about how unrelenting when he was fully immersed in his fury. But unlike the armored Knight who was accompanying her now, she knew Ashe needed help desperately since she had spent some time with him, and she also knew he wanted to be a good person despite his own personal issues.

Ashe had never given up on whatever obstacle life has thrown in his way, and kept on moving forward until he could finally put the ghosts of his past to rest. What about her own issues? She still had quite a few essential things that she needed to work on even if the existing problem with the White Fang was finally resolved, not to mention whatever Salem and Cinder had planned for her. Ruby knew that she would probably need to make a some really hard choices in future.

And there was Sharp Strike, who was new to her in the form of another stranger who was playing the man of mystery for the time being... and to be honest, he was indeed doing a fairly good job at it, making vague allusions to whatever associates he worked with and superiors he reported to, as well as being given an unexplained order to watch over them. While Ruby was grateful to him for rescuing them from the White Fang, she wanted to know more about him before she made any real judgement about him as a person.

In the time since she had first decided she wanted to be a Huntress and save people she had experienced a lot; Cinder, the Breach, Torchwick, the Fall of Beacon, the whole Haven incident, and she had personally seen what was under Adam's mask, all of these things taught her that the world wasn't fully black and white, and there were more threats out there in the world of Remnant other than the Grimm. Other somewhat harsh lessons had also come too, such as good people can be sometimes manipulated into doing terrible things, those with considerable power in their hands would also make huge mistakes in their decisions, there's always a price to pay when someone tries to be a hero (or heroine), and finally... some things need to be said before you lose the chance to say them forever, which made her happy that Pyrrha wasn't dead after all, but both she and Jaune had nearly died at Cinders hands, but everything worked out okay for the couple in the end.

Realizing that she knew nothing about Sharp Strike, Ruby gathered her courage to find out more about him by any way possible, so that she would gain a better understanding of the armored warrior assisting them at the moment.

A vague thought appeared in her mind, and the red hooded Huntress remembered that Sharp Strike had indeed recognized the name that she had spoken in her conversation with Coco...even though neither of them had mentioned his last name. That was certainly another questioned she needed answered from the Knight.

As Sharp Strike's bike reached the top of one of the larger hills, the Knight and Huntress could see their destination from the panoramic view afforded by the hill's height. Just like where Coco had pointed out in the operations room map, the large hill they were supposed to head for was the size of a building with a few large trees scattered about it and a gently flowing river at its base. There was a rather huge tree at its summit and beyond it was a large curve of jungle before opening up into the vast masses of Vacuo's desert which disappeared into the distance.

Seeing that the Knight had stopped his bike for the moment, Ruby couldn't help but pose a question, "So do we leave your bike here or can it jump over the river?"

"Hang on tight." Sharp Strike answered in a voice that made Ruby suspect that he was smirking under his face-plate.

The Knight pulled on the handles and the custom motorcycle sped down the hill swiftly, and he followed up on that by tapping a certain function on the dashboard which made the engine roar with additional power as they powered down the slope. Just as they reached the edge of the river, the accumulated speed caused the motorcycle to fly over it with ease and land safely on the other. Executing a perfect circular drift and bringing his bike to a perfect halt, Sharp Strike slammed down the parking brake and looked back to Ruby who was taking off her helmet.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a calm voice.

"Yes, I am fine. Now let's get up there and call for help!" Ruby spoke as she hopped off the Knight's bike and took off the helmet Coco had given her before she began to climb the hill. Normally, she would have used her semblance to cover such a distance, but she realized that she needed to conserve every last bit of her energy for the rescue mission, not to mention any sudden clash with any White Fang patrols they might accidentally run into so the Huntress decided to go at a brisk pace. Sharp Strike followed a few steps behind her, after activating the scanners on his bike to alert him if there was anyone else in the vicinity around them.

As they progressed up the hill Ruby kept turning her head to glance down at the Knight to make sure that he was still behind her, but she was still feeling a little uneasy about his presence due to witnessing what Sharp Strike had done during the fight just a few hours earlier.

"Ruby, do you feel uneasy around me?" The Knight's voice came from behind her.

"Erm...what makes you say that?" Ruby questioned as she continued climbing up the steep hill.

"Other than the fact that you keep glancing back at me, I noticed that there's some significant tension in the way you walk, and you seem to be taking short and rapid breaths whenever you speak to me." The Knight continued when he saw Ruby giving a small nod, "I presume the reason for such behavior would be due to my actions during the fight against the White Fang scouts earlier that has made you feel so nervous."

"That's... true. I... I just don't know how you could kill so many people so easily!" Ruby replied, once he finished surmising her reasons for feeling jumpy. "Don't you feel any remorse for the people you've kill?"

Sharp Strike walked a few more steps before answering her question, "You misunderstand me. Taking lives is not something I do with ease, unless those enemies I kill are merely Grimm. I understand your reasons if you are indeed wary of me after what you saw, but I can assure you that I am not your enemy, the only reason I killed them so brutally because those White Fang scouts were going to kill your friends and the one guarding you was going to force you to watch. So I don't truly regret killing them but I am not proud of killing them either and I do not take pleasure in taking lives."

They walked on in silence for a few moments as Ruby mentally digested Sharp Strike's words before she spoke again. "I don't know how anyone could... I mean it's just so...so..." She tried to find the right words to express the various thoughts rolling around in her mind, but she failed to do so because her mind was currently in a messy clutter.

"Wrong." Sharp Strike spoke up again, "Disgusting. Awful. Nerve-wracking. Trust me when I say this Ruby, no words can do the feelings of killing another person justice. I know what happened in Haven, and I understand that you were forced to kill in self-defense, and that particular incident must have traumatized you greatly."

The young scythe-wielding Huntress was silent for a moment or two before responding, "Yeah, it's not something I like to think about most of the time... I mean, I've talked it over with my dad, my teammates, my friends from other teams, and even Uncle Qrow. He mentioned that he had killed in self defense before but it's still really hard to deal with, but he eventually moved on."

"Your uncle isn't wrong." came the Knight's reply, "It also took me quite a while to come to terms with my own first kill." He confessed as they got closer to the top of the hill.

"I don't think I will ever really be over it... I mean I threw up after that happened." Ruby admitted as she looked out to the view of the jungle beyond the hill and stopped for a brief moment to admire its beauty, especially with the illumination of the shattered moon flowing across the forest and desert. She squinted her eyes and in the darkness she could see some new-looking towers, probably the ones that were jamming communications.

"Don't be ashamed, we all have our own ways of dealing with the experience of taking lives. As long as you don't take joy in it you will eventually come to terms with your actions." Sharp Strike told her as he walked past her, his midnight blue cloak flapping a little behind him in the soft night breeze. "However, there will be times you will have to make hard choices, perhaps even fight to save your friends and loved ones, and such actions would inevitably lead to the injury or death of your enemies. But you would need to know that those people you fight against have no such compunctions, and they would gladly kill you along with everyone else you love without a second thought."

Ruby felt her face frown a little at the casual tone the Knight used while speaking the latest words, and asked, "Then how do you cope with the of taking the lives of others?"

The Knight turned his helmet a little to regard her, and plainly said, "As I said earlier, I have simply come to terms with my actions and accepted them... and I don't let them control me nor do I allow myself to take joy from it."

"I don't see how anyone could enjoy it, but I guess there will be people with really sick minds in their heads. People like Cinder, Adam, and Ante and whoever else works for...well, I don't think I should say this..." Ruby stopped herself from saying the last word but the Knight filled in with the appropriate response.

"Salem. Yes, I know of the Mistress of Grimm." He stated as though it was a commonly known fact.

"How...? I mean, wasn't she supposed to be like some kind of really obscure myth or something? The rest of my team didn't even know about her until Jaune and I met her face to face." Ruby said as she climbed up after the armored warrior.

"The organization I am part of knows of her existence. I am on your side, Ruby Rose, the side that seeks to vanquish Salem and all those who serve her." Sharp Strike told her as his helmeted head looked around to make sure that if a White Fang scout ship passed by it wouldn't see them.

Ruby nodded before letting a slightly awkward silence take over. Her mind became plagued with thoughts of her captured friends, of Penny, of Blake, of Yang, and Weiss... she needed to talk about something else, to seize upon anything that would keep her mind from worrying about them so much.

So she plucked up the courage and voiced the first thought which came to the front of her mind, "So how did you know about Ashe? I mean you knew exactly who we were talking about even though we didn't say his last name?"

The armored Knight was silent for a moment before he answered Ruby's question, "I met him twice before, and while I wouldn't exactly called us friends... he had quite an impact on me."

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly?" Ruby inquired, curiosity brimming in her voice.

He took a breath before answering, "When I was younger and much more naive, and also overconfident, I believed that... the organization I belong to was invincible, I thought we could not be defeated by anyone save the agents of pure evil itself, but Ashe proved me wrong."

By now they were quite close to the top of the large hill, with the summit less than twenty paces away.

"Again, how?" Ruby repeated her question.

"I was part of a small team of Knights whose mission was to take the Aura Crystal from him and place it under the proper protection of the... organization." The look of alarm that appeared on Ruby's face did not escape him, and the Knight carefully added, "Before you jump to any conclusions, I can assure you we merely wanted to protect it, since the previous guardians of the relic, his parents, were dead and the location of the Aura Crystal was lost to us. Fearing that it was either destroyed or fallen into the hands of the enemy, my superiors sent agents like me all over Remnant to look for any sign of it. After the Knight in charge of my group received word of a Guerrilla Huntsman-in-training named Ashe was in possession a powerful relic that matched the description of the Aura Crystal, and our leader sent a spy to watch him after he 'graduated' from the Guerrillas' unofficial Huntsman Academy. Once we had confirmed that he truly did possess the relic, our leader ordered us to move in and take it to a more... secure location where it could be easily protected. I was among the group given the assignment and I thought it would be a simple mission of negotiation and in the worst case scenario, strong-arming him into surrendering the crystal to us, since he was clearly outnumbered and didn't have the kind of training we had."

"Ashe still had the Aura Crystal when we met him, so that means it's obvious that mission didn't work out." Ruby pointed out as they finally walked the last few steps to the top of the hill, reaching the cover of the large tree at the summit of it.

"No, it didn't." came the whisper from the Knight.

"So what exactly happened?" Ruby posed her next question, wanting to know more about Ashe.

"He defeated every single one of us in my team, we had him outnumbered three to one and against all odds he kept us at bay and fought us off no matter how injured he became. Eventually the Knight in command of the mission decided that he had seen enough of Ashe's conviction to protect the Aura Crystal, and proved himself worthy of being the crystal's guardian so we leave him be and withdrew to lick our wounds." Sharp Strike elaborated, "I still carry the bruises from that unforgettable fight within my Aegis armour, if you didn't know."

"So in short: he kicked your butts." Ruby stated with a small grin on her face.

"A crude and blunt summary, but not entirely untrue." Sharp Strike admitted " as he rubbed his left shoulder pauldron, a gesture that did not escape Ruby's notice.

Another question left the Huntress's mouth; "What about the second time you met?"

"The second time I crossed paths with him was before the grave of his love, but that's a story for another time." The Knight answered before he then looked at the surroundings around them before taking out his scroll from within the folds of his cloak, "We should be out of the communication blackouts zone. Get in touch with whoever you can in Vale while I contact my superiors."

"You got it." Ruby said as she took out her scroll. She knew just who to call, and she quickly dialed Jaune's scroll number but there was no answer from his end, "Oh come on! You have got to be kidding me!" She cried frantically before she called him again only to for it to be ignored, not even a voicemail answering. "No, no, no! You have to answer me!"

Turning to the Remnant Knight a few steps away from her, she noticed that he was tapping a message on his own customized scroll which has the same color scheme as his Knight armor, and said with urgency, "I thought you said we were outside of the blackout zone!"

"We are, my scroll is working just fine." Sharp Strike stated in that rational voice of his again.

"What am I gonna do?! What if that nut job Adam has done something to them?! He's already cut off Yang's arm and he wants to hurt Blake and do who knows what else to her! Plus The White Fang hate the Schnees, what if they do something to Weiss? What if they cut off Velvet's ears?! What if...?!" She was abruptly stopped in her rambling when Sharp Strike reached out with his gauntlet clad hands and firmly held her by the shoulders, but not enough to cause any pain. Ruby could clearly see her emotional, worried and teary silver eyes reflected back at her while she looked into the emotionless face-plate that hid his face from her.

"Ruby, calm down. Whoever you are calling probably just deactivated their scroll. I know you are worried about the rest of your team and your friends, and I am sure that they are all very important and precious to you, but panicking is not going to help matters. If we are going to save them then you will need to stay strong and most importantly calm with a clear head. Do you understand me?" he said to her gently and quietly.

"Okay." she calmed herself down with a few long breaths and said before adding with a smile "Thank you."

The Knight gave a barely perceptible nod before releasing her, and guided Ruby's gentle hands to hold the scroll within his gauntleted ones, "I suggest trying another number. And I hope you don't freakout again."

"Yeah... you are right. I am probably thinking too much. I'm good now. I'll just call someone else." Ruby looked up at him before looking down as she entered another number, and felt relief surge through her like a powerful medicine when Pyrrha's scroll was answered.

As the Knight returned to his scroll a small thought presented itself in his mind. While he couldn't shake the feeling that Ruby's recent freakout had been a genuine case of a worried girl's emotions getting the better of her, but it could also be a way for her to test him to see if he could truly be trusted. While he was going for the former as a more reasonable explanation, from what he knew of Ruby Rose the Knight understood that the silver-eyed girl was probably clever enough to do just that.

"Ruby?!" Pyrrha's surprised voice cried from the other end of the scroll connection, and her face peered into view, showing her emerald green eyes.

"Pyrrha! Finally!" Ruby cheered as she felt her silver eyes became a little watery.

"Ruby? Is that her?" exclaimed the so excited it became high-pitched voice of Jaune in both surprise and relief as he tried to get into the frame projected on the scroll's screen.

"Yes, now just remain calm while I answer the call." Pyrrha tilted the scroll to show Jaune and her concerned faces, "What happened in Vacuo? Are you okay? What happened to the rest of Team Beacon?" She asked hurriedly and carefully.

"Hey guys... I guess you know about our situation already? Also, Jaune... you might want to keep your scroll on just in case of times like this." Ruby playfully scolded him while trying to hold back some joyful tears at seeing her friends after what felt like so long.

"You called? Oh Oum, I am so sorry!" Jaune cried out as he held his head in his hands.

"Don't worry about it, Jaune... just don't do it again, man your voice was almost as Nora's." she joked, making Jaune smile at her. "Listen, we need your help... and lots of it." Ruby's face became slightly serious after wiping away her tears with her hand.

"Just tell us what happened, we know the extraction by the Vacuo Rangers failed but nothing after that. Are you hurt? Who else is with you? How did you get away from the White Fang?" Jaune asked frantically, a little panic cracking his voice at the edges.

"Jaune, love, give her time to answer. And remember to breathe." Pyrrha admonished the blonde Knight, quieting him down.

"Umm... to sum up my current situation; I am safe and unhurt for the moment but everything else is too complicated. Can you guys get me in touch with Ozpin and Goodwitch so I can tell them the specifics of what happened personally? Please tell my dad too, I bet he's worried sick." Ruby quickly stated her purpose.

"You got it Ruby, I'll go get Taiyang and the others. Pyrrha, you take this to Ozpin and Glynda quickly." Jaune said to his girlfriend as he got up from the floor.

"Right. Ruby, you just hang on. I am putting you on hold but don't hang up okay? We will be back shortly." Pyrrha replied and Ruby nodded her head. The frame on her scroll showing their faces blanked out with the words 'on hold' appearing on them, but Ruby could hear the background noise of their hurried footsteps leaving the current place they were presently in.

While Ruby engaged in conversation with the rest of Team Beacon, Sharp Strike focused his attention on making contact with his own superiors. Opening his own scroll and tapping out a brief and precise message, he hit the sent button once a secure line has been established with his superiors. The Knight wondered briefly who would receive the message and reply him, perhaps Shadow Reaper who was the one who had given him the assignment, or some other Knight within the organization's chain of command who holds authority over him.

A full ten seconds elapsed before his scroll chimed with a reply, and the Remnant Knight felt his eyes widen behind his helmet lenses when the secure line switched over to a private communication channel, and a particular emblem he knew very well appeared on the screen of his scroll.

It was a pair of twin scythes curved in opposite directions with a sword pointed upwards. That gave Sharp Strike an obvious clue to who was responding to his latest mission report. He fought the urge to go down on one knee even though the Knight who that emblem belonged to wasn't presently in front of him.

It was Argentius, without a shadow of a doubt.

"I received your mission update as Shadow Reaper is indisposed at the moment with other matters in Vale." The words appeared on Sharp Strike's scroll, "Your recent work in locating Team Beacon and ensuring that their members did not come to any serious injury is commendable."

"Yes, master. However, half of Team Beacon's members are captured by the White Fang. The other half have escaped with my careful intervention, but they are going to need some serious assistance if they are going to succeed on their mission." Sharp Strike tapped back quickly, "Can I humbly request the assistance of the Relentless Crusaders Knight Legion for this endeavor?"

"Request denied. The Relentless Crusaders Knight Legion is currently engaged in Operation: Fracture across the continent of Vacuo. They do not have enough time to regroup and proceed to your location. However, I will inform the Knight Castellan of Fire of your task and request that he send any closest available troops if possible. However that isn't a given guarantee, so you must be prepared to become a lone wolf again." Argentius's emblem blinked as it chimed a reply almost immediately.

"Understood. I have also made contact with some members of Team Beacon, including Ruby Rose. So... am I given permission to assist them on their mission?" Sharp Strike inquired, and there was a pause as Argentius considered his situation and formulated a reply.

"Yes, I have consulted with the prognosticars. Permission is granted. However, proceed with caution and make sure that you aren't seen during your intervention moments when assisting Team Beacon. Our organization's secrecy is still paramount, so watch yourself." Argentius replied.

Sharp Strike considered and answered "Yes master, I understand completely. But what are my orders should I encounter any of the Dark Queen's agents during the rescue mission?"

"Do not engage unless absolutely necessary. And if you do, make sure they don't walk away...if you can. Also, make sure you return alive. Do you understand me?" The last few words were as serious as Sharp Strike had known Argentius have ever been, and he felt himself instinctively stand at attention.

"Understood master. Orders received and acknowledged."

"Good. Protect the Innocent, Survive the Trials, Serve Remnant."

Sharp Strike gave his assent and replied with the creed of his organization, "Protect the Innocent, Survive the Trials, Serve Remnant."

"Did you manage to contact whoever you need to reach?" Sharp Strike asked Ruby when he looked up from his scroll and saw her looking at the words "on hold" on her scroll screen.

"Yes, I manage to get in touch with my friends and they're going to get Professor Ozpin, what about you?" She questioned him in return.

"I received a response, but I think it's best to keep it to myself." Sharp Strike said as he looked at the final message he received on his scroll from Argentius, the azure glow of the scroll's screen briefly illuminating his face-plate.

"So, I guess I shouldn't mention you, or at least skip the specifics?" she asked him, not liking the idea of lying to Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and her friends but she wanted to stay on the warrior's good side.

"Just say I was a wandering Huntsman who saw what was happening and decided to help out. Pretend I'm not here, the less I am noticed the better." Sharp Strike told her.

As they waited for Pyrrha to get to Ozpin and Glynda's current position Ruby looked to Sharp Strike and asked "Okay. Look, I know this is a bit forward but I need to ask you this; will you help us fight the White Fang and save our friends? With Uncle Qrow and Neptune hurt I don't think we can do what I'm planning alone."

"I will. I asked permission to do so from my superior and he granted it. Besides, I can't let you do this alone." he said to her.

Ruby smiled before saying "I think I'm beginning to like you."

"So what exactly are you planning?" he inquired.

"Wait and see." Ruby answered with a wink.

* * *

Ozpin sighed as he looked over the Atlas Eagle's report of the mountains and found it to be rather disappointing; while it was guaranteed that the White Fang's headquarters was somewhere in that area the jamming technology they had stolen or obtained from Salem, combined with the natural camouflage of the mountains made it impossible to ascertain the exact location of the base from that high up, and if the pilot went any lower she'd be shot out of the sky. Ironwood and Chamberlain were already on the flagship of the Atlesian fleet and they were approaching Vale at the moment, thanks to its new and improved engines which got it there very quickly even with the various soldiers, strike teams, and Atlesian Knights aboard it for the coming battle.

"This is maddening, waiting while our students suffer... Commander Strider, surely a few of your men are familiar with the terrain, could one of them make an educated guess as to where the base could be located?" Glynda asked, her patience running out.

"I've already asked them and they don't know, one suspects it could be an old mining facility but he isn't positive on that." the bearded Ranger stated.

"And with the White Fang jamming the area's communications Team Beacon wouldn't be able to contact us anyway even if they did evade capture." Ironwood voiced as a holographic map of the large area hovered over the table.

"Perhaps a small recon team? Have some Rangers go in, sneak past the guards at the village and check out the mountains? It would take a while but it might be worth a go." said Port as he, Oobleck, and Crane all stood their superiors.

"Not a bad idea Peter, but it would take too long and from what Strider's scouts say the White Fang have placed a strong blockade around the village and the surrounding area, preventing anyone from getting by unseen." Ozpin dismissed.

Oobleck hummed in concentration as he looked at the map, "Since the White Fang made the first mining facility a prison it's reasonable to assume that they've made use of the other derelict site, maybe we could dig up some old records and..." he was interrupted by Pyrrha throwing the doors open and rushing into the room.

"Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch!" she cried as she made it to the table.

"Miss Nikos?"

Glynda held up her hand to silence Pyrrha before she could speak and said "While I don't appreciate students bursting in unannounced and without permission, again, I know you well enough to know you'd have a good reason for it."

"I do, Jaune and I just got a call from Ruby." the redhead announced, shocking everyone.

"What?!" cried Ironwood and Chamberlain together.

"Good heavens, that's lucky!" declared Port.

"Are you certain it's her?" asked Crane.

Pyrrha eyed the skinny teacher and nodded, "She's my friend, I'd know her anywhere. She wants to talk to you and tell you about their situation." she said to Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood.

"Then put her on." Ozpin beckoned as he gestured to a port that the scroll could be plugged into. Pyrrha quickly inserted it and the hologram of the map shut off and the table was now covered with a large view of Ruby on the scroll.

"Miss Rose, it's incredibly relieving to see you alive and unharmed." Ozpin said.

"It wasn't easy, but I'm here." Ruby said.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Ironwood inquired.

"Oh you bet, but the story is a little... complicated." Ruby answered as the doors opened up again to show a frantic Taiyang, followed by Jaune, Nora, Ren, Fox, and Sage, all rushing into the room.

"Ruby!"

"Dad!"

"Oh gods honey, I'm so happy to see you're okay!" he said as she leaned against the table, feeling very relieved to see his youngest daughter alive.

"I'm happy to see you too dad, man I know we've just barely been gone for a week but it feels like months since I've seen you guys." she said, wiping away a happy hear from her eye.

"Where's Yang?" Taiyang questioned, but his heart sank when he saw Ruby's change in expression.

"Ruby, what happened?" Glynda asked carefully.

Ruby collected herself and began; "After our ship got shot down we were forced to take on the White Fang, and they weren't alone; Emerald and Mercury were there too, so was Steppenwolffe. We put up a good fight but there were just too many of them and they beat us. That Adam guy is totally crazy, he wanted to execute Uncle Qrow, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet..." This information made nearly everyone gasp or widen their eyes, "but I managed to get free and knocked them down so they weren't shot, but we fell into the jungle, so we got away. The others were all taken by the White Fang."

There was a short silence as everyone processed this dreadful information, especially for Sage and Fox who were both horrified by the fact that two of their respective teammates had nearly died while the last remaining member of both teams was currently a prisoner of the White Fang. Taiyang, however, was not just terrified by the idea of his elder daughter being a prisoner of the bastard that had severed her arm but he also realized that what the mysterious voice told him had come true.

"So it's just the six of you?" Fox asked.

"Kinda; Uncle Qrow and Neptune were both hurt pretty badly and my uncle's alive but he hasn't woken up since we went over the cliffs. We tried to get out of this jungle but we were nearly caught by a scout patrol but a new friend helped us out a lot." Ruby revealed.

"A new friend? Who?" inquired Sage.

"A... Huntsman called... Striker. He helped us and took out all of the scouts, even took us to this old outpost the White Fang captured, but he took it back." Ruby said, hoping she was convincing enough.

She wasn't.

Everyone in the room looked at each other, even Nora knew that Ruby wasn't telling them the whole story for some reason, but right now it didn't matter.

"Is this 'Striker' guy with you?" asked Taiyang asked.

"Nope, stayed at the outpost to heal Uncle Qrow, I went outside of the blackout zone to call for help and man an I glad I got it." she said.

"We'll do our best Miss Rose, but we're at a bit of a disadvantage here." Came Ironwood's voice, "The White Fang are blocking us from entering the area, they have the villagers of Oro hostage, and our scout pilots can't place the location of their base. We need information before we make a move."

"Well Sha... Striker managed to capture one of the scouts, he'll probably know the location of their base and we can force it out of him." Ruby proposed.

"You'd have to go all the way out of the blackout zones to relay the info to us." Crane pointed out.

Ruby sighed and looked up, and then a smile graced her lips. "Not necessarily..."

"What do you have in mind?" Jaune asked, his curiosity piqued.

"From here and I can see some jamming towers, if me and the others take a few of those down we'll be able to tell you the coordinates of the base and you can swoop in and take 'em down!" Ruby cheered.

"Not a bad concept but it's highly unlikely the seven of you, with two of your number injured, that you'll pull it off successfully, and from what you've told us I feel like you were forced to surrender your weapons to the Fang so you will not have enough weaponry to full off such a feat." Oobleck argued.

"That's where you're wrong Dr. Oobleck! With the scout patrol out of the picture their ship is ours for the taking, along with all of the weapons inside of it, including explosives." Ruby said.

"How many?" asked Nora.

"Enough to get the job done, trust me." Ruby said.

"I think it could work, what do you think, Glynda? James?" Ozpin asked.

Glynda considered it, "It's a decent plan but we still need to take the villagers and the prison into account."

"I know and I am thinking of them Glynda, in fact I think we should all help out in the attack and you can lead the Vacuo Rangers in rescuing the villagers and the prisoners." Ozpin assured her before he glanced to Strider, who nodded.

"I see no problem with that, if you'd like to Professor Goodwitch?"

Glynda nodded, "It would be my pleasure to lead the mission to help those people. What else do we need to go over?"

"Our fleet. We're approaching Vale now so if you can come up in a Bullhead we can take you the rest of the way and rendezvous with the Rangers when we get to Vacuo. We'll move towards the White Fang's territory but we will keep our distance until Miss Rose and her group destroy the jamming towers, which will be our signal to move in. Once you've take down the towers Miss Rose, contact me at this number and tell us the coordinates of their base." Ironwood said as he sent Ruby his own personal scroll number.

"Got it General, I'll go back and tell the others about the plan, how long will it take you to get here?" Ruby asked.

"At top speed combined with the stops we have to make it will take an hour and a half to make it." Chamberlain reported.

"It'll have to do, just get here as fast as you can!" Ruby cried before she remembered something. "Oh man am I dumb! I nearly forgot to give you the evidence!"

"Evidence?" Ren repeated.

"Yeah! Of what Adam's been doing to Faunus prisoners, we had it on both Coco and Neptune's scrolls but Mercury and Emerald destroyed them. Luckily Coco transferred her data to Yatsuhashi just in case and he gave it to me so I could send it to you, it even has a Faunus talking about what Adam did to him and the others. Let me transfer it to you!" she said as she set to work.

"Good thing you remembered, now we have some more proof against Taurus." Chamberlain stated.

"More?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, you see we found some information regarding the fates of some members of the White Fang who didn't agree with Taurus' methods, they died but they left behind footage of what Adam unleashed on them along with proof that he was behind it." Chamberlain told her as the data finished transferring.

"Well the more proof the faster we can turn every Faunus in the White Fang against him." Ruby said before she looked at her dad and her friends. "I gotta go now, hopefully I'm not forgetting anything else."

"Stay safe." Taiyang said to her.

"I'll try my best dad."

"You always do. I love you."

"I love you too." Ruby said with a smile as she held back tears.

"Just hang in there Ruby, we're coming." Jaune promised her.

"We won't let you face this alone, Team Beacon needs to stand together." Pyrrha declared firmly.

"We're gonna kick their butts." Nora swore, with Ren merely nodding, but flashing Ruby a relieved smile.

"Tell Coco and Yatsu we're on our way and we'll get Velvet back in no time." Fox said to Ruby.

"Will do." she said with a nod.

"Same to blue and red, and tell them I'll be there to help them save Sun's tail again as soon as we get there." Sage added, noticing the brief uncomfortable look on Ruby's face when he said that.

"I'll tell them, I'll be really happy to see you guys again, just get here asap and help us win this. Love you guys, bye!" Ruby said before she turned off her scroll.

As her transmission cut off Glynda looked to the present members of Team Beacon and Taiyang. "Go and get ready for the mission right away." she commanded.

"You got it Professor, let's go!" Jaune said before leading the others out of the room. Taiyang glanced at Glynda before running back to the hotel to get ready for action.

"Professors, would you mind if I tagged along? I could use a good mission." Port requested.

"Granted, we'll need all the help we can get." Glynda said before looking to Oobleck and Crane. "Would you like to join us as well?"

"Of course, I'm a bit tired of being in that ship all day, I'd like to do some good, especially if I can help my students." Oobleck voiced confidently.

"Same here, you can count on me to lend a hand." Crane added.

"Excellent. James, I will call you when our ship approaches so be ready to receive us." Glynda said.

"Understood. What will you do Ozpin?" Ironwood inquired.

"I will overlook the situation from here, I don't feel confident to be a battle situation again. Not yet." he said.

The others nodded understandingly, "Understood sir, just take care. Hopefully this mess will be over by dawn." Glynda said before she led the three Huntsmen out of the room.

"We can only hope, old friend." Ozpin agreed before he looked to Ironwood and Chamberlain. He opened up the file and shuddered at the images of the Faunus amputees. "What of the footage of Norvik's rampage and what Miss Rose has sent us we can make those Faunus see Taurus for what he really is and hopefully they will forsake him."

"It's what he deserves. General, if you'd like sir I need to go discuss the plans with our troops, Strike Force Omega wants some clarification on our plan of attack." Chamberlain said.

"Go ahead." Ironwood permitted before the Colonel's hologram deactivated.

"I best go as well, I need to get my forces ready to mobilize." voiced Strider.

"Excellent, go ahead." Ozpin told him.

As Strider's hologram faded away Ironwood and Ozpin were nearly alone in the room, save for a few technicians.

"Hopefully we can end this with minimum casualties and no loss of life." Ironwood said.

"We can only hope James, good luck my friend." Ozpin bid and once the General's hologram vanished the Headmaster of Beacon muttered "Good luck to everyone." to himself, hoping to himself that everything would work out in their favor without losing anyone.

* * *

Qrow's eyes snapped open, taking in the light. "Uh... ah!" he grunted as he felt the pain the covered his bruised body. He struggled to lean up and take a look at his surroundings seeing the cabin, along with Neptune who was resting on a coach and Coco who was studying a map on the wall, but what alarmed him was the memory of his nieces and other members of Team Beacon being captured by the White Fang, he and four of the kids about to be executed, and Ruby breaking free before dashing over to crash into him, and all of them going over the cliff... and then darkness.

And he had just woken up after being out for who knows how long.

That was never a good thing.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, announcing his awakening.

"Yo Qrow, nice to you among the living again." Coco joked, "How do you feel?"

"Like crap, what happened?" he asked.

"Well we all gathered up after that nasty fall, Nep and Scar fell into a river while Ruby had to keep you from falling out of a tree. Plus we nearly got killed by some Faunus scouts, but another Huntsman happened to be in the jungle and saved our butts and slaughtered the Fang." Coco explained as she went over to him. "Do you think you can get up?"

"Yeah, I'm in pain but I've had way worse than this." Qrow assured her as he managed to get up. "So where are we?"

"Ranger outpost that the Fang took over, our friend, who calls himself Sharp Strike by the way, took out the troops holding it and we're held up here for the time being." she elaborated.

"So how are we? Give me more on the situation." Qrow requested.

"Well one scout is still alive and we got him all nice and tied up in the back, you and I were out for a while but now we're both awake." Neptune answered.

"The scouts left their ship outside so Yatsuhashi and Scarlet are checking to make sure we can fly it somewhere or use it to get somewhere safe. On the real bright side I transferred the data over to Yatsuhashi's scroll before Emerald destroyed it." Coco added.

"That's damn good thinking Adel, now where's Ruby?" Qrow asked sternly.

"She went with Sharp Strike to get out of the blackout zone and call for help, plus she's sending that evidence to Ozpin." Neptune revealed.

"Are you telling me that while I was knocked out you met up with a stranger who slaughtered a bunch of Fang thugs, and now my niece is out there alone with said stranger?!" Qrow asked loudly, obviously quite angry.

"I know how it sounds but considering the circumstances I think we can trust the Sharp Strike guy for the time being, I mean he helped heal you and blue." Coco argued.

Qrow sighed and muttered "Just another day in the life of Qrow Branwen. So what have you found out about this Sharp Strike guy?"

'Well apparently he was ordered to follow us." Coco stated, which made Qrow's face darken.

"Well that's just dandy." he muttered.

Outside of the cabin and inside of the ship Scarlet and Yatsuhashi looked over the weapons and the flight capabilities.

"Okay, yeah, we just might be able to get outta here." Scarlet said as he examined the cockpit.

"Or infiltrate the White Fang's base." Yatsuhashi suggested as he looked at some papers taped to the wall, one of which had the clearance code. He looked over a minigun on the wall and knew Coco would want it if they had to go into battle.

"Well maybe, but I'm not to keen on that idea without a full blown plan and some backup." Scarlet said as he climbed out of the seat he had been sitting in.

"Well Ruby is getting that as we speak, hopefully help will arrive soon." the larger Huntsman said as he examined a sword that was too small for his liking. "Here, this might be more to your liking."

"Let's hope it's enough to get the job done." Scarlet muttered as he admired the decent looking blade.

Just then there came a buzz on the ship's radio. "Come in Scout Patrol One, repeat come in, this is headquarters. Commander Taurus wants to know the status of the mission asap. Come in, over."

"Oh bugger." muttered Scarlet before they both dashed up to the cockpit with Yatsuhashi getting there first but hesitated at touching the radio. "What should we say?"

"Go over there and look at the paper on the wall, it had the clearance code just in case they want it. I'll impersonate a scout and try to keep their suspicions down." Yatsuhashi said.

"You sure this'll work?" Scarlet asked nervously.

"We have to try." Yatsuhashi stated before he answered the voice on the radio. "We read you command, this is Scout Patrol One, over." he said, trying to make his voice sound right.

"Finally, how goes the search for the escapees?" asked the voice.

"We've found the places where they landed but we're still trying to find them. Our trackers have a scent but we will contact you when we find something or bag one of them, but we're okay otherwise." the large Huntsman-in-training lied, hoping this deception would work.

"Okay then, do you need assistance down there?" the voice offered.

"Uh, negative, negative... we're fine down here, we even had the boys from the outpost help us out so everything's good. We're fine. Uh... how are you?" Yatsuhashi asked, resulting in a dumbfounded look from Scarlet.

"Oh! Well I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking. Taurus is about to have the Elite Guard bring the prisoners up so he can have one last face to face before they're put away." the voice revealed, causing both teens to look at each other is surprise.

"How are those prisoners? Not causing trouble I hope?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"I wouldn't know, the Elite Guard has been keeping watch but I hear none of them have been killed and that the commander told them the story of what's behind his mask. Happy hunting out there, hope you find those humans soon. Over." said the voice with a friendly tone.

"Copy that, thank you. Over." Yatsuhashi said before he put up the radio.

"Whoa, that was close." Scarlet said. "At least we know the others are okay."

"That is a positive, let's hope they stay that way until help arrives." Yatsuhashi agreed with a nod before he moved past Scarlet and exited the ship.

The large teen saw Qrow opening the door of the cabin and walking outside. "Good to see you're awake." he said.

"Good to be awake, I hate it when important stuff happens and I'm not there and it looks like I missed a lot." Qrow remarked.

"Not too much, I assume Coco told you what transpired while you were out of it?" Yatsuhashi stated.

"Pretty much, still pretty annoyed with Ruby going off alone with this Sharp Strike character." Qrow voiced as he looked at the ship. "You go through that thing?"

"Yep, guns, rockets, explosives, blades, enough to take on a small White Fang base if you and Neptune get better real soon. Can you fly it?" Scarlet asked as he got out of said ship.

"Sure thing, but right now I'd feel a hell of a lot better if..." Qrow sighed, "I'd feel better if I knew for certain about Ruby and the others."

"We all would." Yatsuhashi stated simply.

Qrow Branwen began to pace around the area impatiently, his steps slowly but surely wearing out the ground beneath him. The veteran Huntsman had forced himself to ignore the pain he still felt from his healing injuries and demanded answers from everyone present. He honestly didn't know what to make of a mysterious warrior coming out of nowhere to save him as well as the rest of Team Beacon who have escaped from the White Fang.

It could be one of those strange warriors who helped out small villages about to be overwhelmed by Grimm attack, it was wholly unexpected, but not impossible. He had heard rumors here and there during his own missions of armored warriors suddenly intervening in battles involving Grimm and the outlying villages, sometimes single-handedly turning the tide of battle by doing some rather impressive feats. Others were hearsay about whole renegade militias and White Fang cells completely wiped out without a trace, leaving the authorities to sift through the wreckage and bodies for any clues to what had caused their complete disappearance.

And the thought of Ruby being alone with such a dangerous individual had rekindled an emotion that Qrow haven't experienced for quite some time: anxiousness.

If Yang was here, she wouldn't have let Ruby leave alone with the Knight, seeing how protective she was of her sister. The bombshell probably inherited that trait from her father, who would gladly suffer any amount of pain for the sake of his two daughters. Speaking of Taiyang, if he so much as heard a whisper about Qrow being unable to protect Ruby and letting her get hurt in any way, the surviving Branwen twin knew he would in a world of hurt the likes of which Remnant has ever seen. He should know, since he had both seen and experienced that form of terrible anger quite a number of years ago.

He don't normally pray, but as Qrow took another swig from his flask he felt himself murmuring a prayer he heard from somewhere he never bothered to know a long time ago, asking whatever god or goddess listening out there to safeguard Ruby's safety. He was so not looking forward to become Taiyang's punching bag once more if his daughter come back with so much a strand of hair missing from her head.

Qrow stopped his pacing when his hearing picked up the sound of a travelling motorcycle, he moved quickly to the side of the large hill.

"So I assume that's him?" he asked

"Yes." Yatsuhashi said briefly as the motorcycle came into view in the forest at the bottom of the hill, the impressive looking bike came up the incline and stopped a short distance from the main door the ship, with Ruby safe and sound. Qrow Breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing that his niece was alright, he was nevertheless more than a little wary of this 'Sharp Strike' individual accompanying her.

Once the bike came to a stop, Ruby hoped off the back seat and took off her helmet. Her face broke into a cheerful grin at the sight of her uncle awake and well, his jacket hung loosely around his shoulders and one hand clutching the bandages around his torso.

"Uncle Qrow!" She cheered as she ran over to hug him, "You're up!"

"Apparently thanks to you, squirt. Thanks for keeping me alive." Qrow said as he ruffled her hair before looking up to face the mysterious armored warrior who walked towards them as Coco and Neptune left the cabin, the latter having recovered enough to walk on his own for the time being, "And I guess you're this Sharp Strike I keep hearing about?"

"That is correct, Qrow Branwen. Nice to see you're recovering from your ordeal." Sharp Strike greeted, his azure lenses looking at Qrow in the eyes.

"I'm a quick healer. So who exactly are you and where do you get off taking my niece out there after what she's been through tonight?" He demanded immediately, resulting in looks of shock from the others.

The only gesture from Sharp Strike was a slight tilt of his helmet to one side, the lenses of his helmet shifting to Ruby who was standing beside her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow, I..." Ruby started, her hands holding onto Qrow's but he gently shook her off, still glaring at the lone Knight.

"Who exactly are you? Why were you 'ordered to follow us' as Coco put it? What are you up to?" Qrow demanded, getting up into Sharp Strike's face.

"Such blunt behavior would get you nowhere, Branwen. Is there really a need to be hostile towards someone who had just saved your life?" Sharp Strike voiced as Qrow glared at him, and Ruby noticed one of his gauntleted hands resting on the holster of his revolver pistol, which was obviously alarming.

Seeing that she needed to do something to defuse the current situation before anything even worse happens, the hooded Huntress got in between them and held up her hands, pushing her uncle back while firmly saying, "Uncle Qrow, please calm down. Right now."

The normally drunk, but now sober Huntsman looked down at her and his stern features softened a little, "Ruby, you don't have the slightest idea of who this guy is or what his motivations are. For all we know..."

"'Well neither do you!" Ruby shot back at him before adding "I was out there with him, and I can tell he's not a bad person, and he's definitely not an enemy!"

"Ruby..." Qrow tried again but his niece interrupted once more.

"Uncle Qrow! He saved us from the White Fang so that Coco and the others would not be killed, and I wouldn't be handled over to Cinder and... her! He healed you and Neptune so that you won't die from your injuries! He could have just left us to fend for ourselves, but instead he offered to help us, so think we can give him a bit of our trust. Besides, we're outnumbered and outgunned, and our friends are captured and probably imprisoned. We won't have any help for another couple of hours and unless we work together that help that's coming wouldn't make it in time to make any difference." Ruby looked up at her uncle with a pleading look in her silver eyes, "So...can you please just be nice to him, okay?"

The reaper looked into his niece's eyes for a few moments before he sighed and eventually stepped back, saying, "Okay, Ruby. I think I was letting my feelings get ahead of me. I am... sorry, Sharp Strike."

"I accept your apology, Branwen...though you might want to be a bit more cordial in future." The armored Knight said dryly.

"And thank him for healing you too." Ruby added quickly.

"Ruby, come on..." The adult Huntsman nearly groaned in exasperation.

"Uncle Qrow...please?" Ruby said with adorably firm eyes.

Knowing that he would probably never win against such a disarming expression, Qrow sighed and replied, "You have my thanks for the medical attention, Sharp."

"It's no problem... and I suppose we could have waited until you woke up to go contact Vale, so I am sorry for causing you unnecessary stress." stated Sharp Strike.

Qrow nodded, accepting the apology as he let out a slow breath before looking at the warrior's motorcycle and letting out a gasp of surprise upon seeing the emblem on the side fairing.

"What's wrong?" Neptune asked with concern.

"It can't be..." Qrow's hand moved to his mouth as his red eyes widened slowly.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby said worriedly after Qrow remained silent for a moment. Sharp Strike glanced at his bike and knew what Qrow was thinking, he must have seen the emblem of the Remnant Knights. It wasn't easy to miss if you didn't know what the symbol meant, as another copy of that emblem was emblazoned on his right pauldron.

Qrow looked up at Sharp Strike and allowed himself a smirk. "I never thought I'd meet one in person again, even Ozpin was hesitant to talk about you guys. Kids, looks like we're in the presence of proof that a legend is true." he said.

"Uh... what?" Scarlet voiced the thought on the everyone's minds at that particular moment.

"Qrow, what are you going on about?" Coco asked bluntly.

"Yeah Uncle Qrow, what's up?" Ruby chimed in, her face showing distinct puzzlement.

"Our mysterious savior here is a Remnant Knight." Qrow revealed as he turned to face them.

All five teens, even Yatsuhashi, gasped in amazement. They all looked to Sharp Strike who nodded in confirmation, his gauntlets resting on his belt.

"That's well spotted, Branwen. Your reputation indeed precedes you." Sharp Strike complimented before turning to face the rest of the teenage Huntsmen and Huntresses, "He's right, I am one of the legendary Remnant Knights."

"Wait a minute, I thought the Knights of Remnant or Remnant Knights or whatever were supposed to be a myth!" Neptune cried, his face a mask of surprise and shock.

"Well they'd like it to remain that way for the world at large but for a few of those sitting on the councils and high places, people like Ozpin and Councilman Henry, know about them. Ozpin told me and Goodwitch that they do exist but they wish to perform their missions alone unless they need our aid, which to my knowledge hasn't happened yet." Qrow explained while gently shaking his flask in one hand.

"So Ozpin knew about them?" Coco asked carefully.

"Yeah. I've heard rumors of Huntsmen dressed in distinctive types of armor saving villages and slaughtering Grimm or taking down roaming packs of criminals and even a few White Fang cells, but those same 'Huntsmen' always vanish once the job was done. While Ozpin has told me you guys are our allies I've been a little wary of your true motives as well as who you all report to." Qrow said cautiously, staring at Sharp Strike.

"We report to our own leaders and no one else. That's one of the reasons we have survived for so long; empires, governments, royalty...they all come and go but our order will always exist because of our independence. The reason you have not heard of us is because of our proficient skills are keeping ourselves hidden, all the while fighting to protect Remnant from the shadows. You may not care for our methods or our ways, but at the end of the day we are all on the same side and we all aim for the Salem's defeat." The Knight spoke guardedly, and when no one spoke he continued, "We can talk about this later as right now we have a mission to discuss. Right, Ruby?"

"Right. Guys, I got in touch with Ozpin, Goodwitch, and the others. They're on their way here with reinforcements to help us save our friends but we got to do our part first." she declared to all those present.

"And what is our part, exactly?" inquired Neptune, as he and the others kept glancing at Sharp Strike in disbelief. They had all heard the legends of the Remnant Knights when growing up in different parts of Remnant so to find out that they were indeed real and were currently working with one was a little overwhelming.

"First we need to find out the coordinates of the White Fang's headquarters from Hopkins so that we can tell General Ironwood the base's exact location. Then we need to take out a couple of those jamming towers so that we can give the signal for the reinforcements he's sending to help out and save our friends." Ruby told them.

"They're on their way here, right now?" Coco asked incredulously.

"Yup, General Ironwood said military forces from both the Atlesian military as well as the Vacuo Rangers are coming, along with the rest of Team Beacon. They'll be here in about an hour and a half so we have to work fast to pull this off." The leader of Team RWBY confirmed.

"If that's the case then we need to interrogate Hopkins right away." voiced Yatsuhashi before he slowly shook his head. "Both Coco and myself have tried to get him to talk, but no luck."

"Allow me to handle that particular problem." Sharp Strike volunteered, gesturing with one hand, "I will get it out of him soon enough."

"So I take it you're with us on this?" Coco asked, raising an eyebrow in questioning.

"Yes, my master gave me permission to aid you... and to be honest I probably would have helped you anyway since we both want the same outcome." The Remnant Knight admitted.

"Well you're not getting the info out this guy alone, I'll go with you and help." Qrow said, after taking another sip from his flask.

"I welcome it, Branwen. Do we have enough explosives to cripple the jamming towers?" Sharp Strike asked the other members of Team Beacon.

"I just went through the airship's inventory, we should have more than enough to get the job done." Yatsuhashi stated, "Should there not be enough, there should be more explosives in the storage basement of the outpost."

"And the map on the wall of the operations room has the locations of the jamming towers marked. They didn't mark where the main headquarters is but I guess the tower positions are good enough." Coco revealed.

"Good, you kids get the airship ready to go while we get the necessary information out of our guest." Qrow ordered. He walked a few steps, turned and added to the rest of them, "You too, Ruby. If any of you hear any screaming, do not come into back room. I mean it, do you all understand me?"

The serious glare on her uncle's face told Ruby that he definitely meant business this time, so she nodded her head, and so did her other friends clustered around her.

"You got it, come on guys." Coco said as she led the way to the ship. Ruby followed her friends, but took one last look at her uncle and Sharp Strike as they ventured back into the outpost. She noticed that Qrow was eyeing the third sword that Sharp Strike had attached to his waist. Ruby had noticed the sword also when the Knight had made his first appearance, and judging from its plain and nondescript appearance she remembered that she had read about the design in a book of swords she had read a few years ago... and both mental images somehow matched in her mind.

"Ruby, come on!" Scarlet called, waving his hand to catch her attention.

Ruby shook the thoughts out her head and dashed over to catch up with the rest of her friends.

Once the Huntsman and Knight made it into the outpost, Qrow took another swig from his flask which had somehow miraculously survived the fall. He wiped his lips with the back of one hand, turned and asked, "Where did you get that sword from?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, I have three of them after all." Sharp Strike stated wryly.

"The one on your waist, shiny. I have seen that kind of sword before, a red and gold pommel and crossguard, with a sheath of black and gold. That's definitely a sword of the Promethean tribe, and they're all gone. Where did you get it?" Qrow demanded in a harsh manner.

Sharp Strike was silent for a few moments before he answered, "It has always been with me, Branwen."

"Funny, because from what I heard of that particular tribe, they only give their weapons they forged to their familial kin as family heirlooms. For someone else not of their tribe to possess such a remarkable sword, you must either have done something courageous to earn their respect, or defeated one of their warriors honorably in ritual battle... or you're a grave-robber." He leaned against the cluttered operations table, which was strewn with various White Fang articles and paraphernalia, "So... which one are you?"

"Neither of the choices you have presented me is the correct answer, but while I can assure you the third option is very wrong... judging from your words I personally think you have answered your own question." Sharp Strike looked at him solemnly, and before the Huntsman could come up with another retort, the Knight continued, "Perhaps I can indulge your curiosity at another time. Right now, let us get to work."

For a brief moment it seemed that Qrow wasn't going to comply without getting an answer, but then he sighed and relented, saying, "I have a feeling that working with you is going to be very interesting, kid."

"The same to you. I have heard quite a bit about your exploits, Branwen, and let me just say it's fortunate that I met you while you were sober." Sharp Strike snarked.

Qrow grimaced at him and asked "And what do you know about me?"

"Only what the little birds tell me." The Knight answered, making Qrow's red eyes widen considerably as he paused just as he was about to take another drink from his flask. The two stared at each other for a moment of silence before Sharp Strike added "What? Did you think you and your sister were the only ones with such Semblances?"

Qrow glared at him with narrowed eyes but answered, "I know there are others, but how did you know? Not even my family knows about my Semblance."

"We Knights have our ways, and let's just say I had worked alongside a few people who possessed the same Semblance as yours. It's simple enough to see the signs of such a Semblance user if you know exactly where to look. My superiors knew of your powers and told me of them, but how they know is a mystery to me as well." Sharp Strike pointed out thoughtfully, "Don't worry, I won't go around telling your secrets. My whole existence is supposed to be one, remember?"

Qrow still eyed him suspiciously before saying "Look, I'm grateful for the help and I'm in your debt for saving not just me, but my niece as well. I might not act like it but my family is what keeps me going, so you have my thanks. I'm sorry if I'm acting like an ass right now but it's been one hell of a bad night, so can I trust you to do your duty for the duration of the rescue mission?"

"Understood. Since my motives for this mission corresponds with yours, I will help your team as much as I can. Speaking of which, let us get down to business..." Sharp Strike said as he opened the door to the back room and the struggling occupant within, "How do you want to do this?"

Qrow capped his flask and put it within his trouser pockets, "You can appeal to his better conscience. I will put in the screws whenever he doesn't cooperate with us."

"I guess that's fair enough." Sharp Strike replied as they both walked into the room, watching the bound Hopkins struggling to get free and making little to no progress, since the net that bound him had the same effect when it captured Ruby and the additional ropes didn't help his situation.

"Settle down, you're not going anywhere." Qrow said as he placed a leg on Hopkins' lap to pin him down.

"You don't scare me, Branwen, I know you're still injured! You're too weak to do anything to me right now." Hopkins hissed in undisguised contempt.

"Wanna bet? I've had worse times than tonight, I've suffered injuries much worse than this and because of those experiences I'm a pretty fast healer, so while I'm still sore and a little dizzy I'm still strong enough to put plenty of hurt on you." Branwen warned, his red eyes glaring dangerously at the White Fang captain.

"Listen to him, Captain Hopkins. It doesn't have to end badly for you, just cooperate with us and you'll be fine. It would be in your best interests to tell us the location of the White Fang's headquarters, for starters." Sharp Strike explained, gesturing to Qrow, "And just a word of warning, you do not want to piss this man off."

"What? So the seven of you can go up against over a few thousand of my brothers and sisters? Maybe I should tell you just so it'll end in a bloodbath for all of you." Hopkins retorted darkly, shooting baleful glares back at them.

]

"You aren't in a position to threaten us, Captain Hopkins. I advise you not to make the same mistake again." Sharp Strike advised as he tiled his helmet a tiny faction, the light of the room refracting from its smooth surface, "And don't bother to reach for your hidden switchblade. I removed it the moment you were unconscious."

Hopkins snarled at the Remnant Knight in scorn before Qrow spoke up again.

"I will tell you what your choices are, and then it's up to you to make your choice. If you answer all of our questions right here and now, starting with the base's location your sentence probably wouldn't be as harsh as it would be if you cooperate with us, and that will look favorably upon you when you are in custody." The Huntsman pointed out as he stalked around the room like a predator looking at a vulnerable prey, "If you resist, however, it would only make things worse for you. I mean, working for a terrorist organization, attempted murder, not to mention attempting to kidnap my niece, all of which are pretty big offenses."

"And perhaps we should add refusal to cooperate willingly with an official Huntsman to the list?" Sharp Strike added a second later.

The White Fang captain knew Branwen had a point but there was no way he would willingly betray the cause. "Take your offer and shove it! I'm not betraying the Fang for you humans."

"Well then, we're going to have a problem, aren't we?" said Qrow with a fake sigh, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I suppose we will." voiced Sharp Strike, as though he was having a perfectly civil conversation over a cup of tea rather than an interrogation, "It's a pity another one of my fellow associates isn't here, or else we would have gotten the information out of him whether he likes it or not, but I suppose we can try to do this your way or my way, Branwen."

Hopkins laughed bitterly, "What is this? Good cop, bad cop?"

Sharp Strike leaned down until he's face to face with Hopkins and answered "No, I'm the bad but reasonable cop while Branwen is the worse cop who had just learned you tried to capture his niece for your less than desirable superiors, and was about to outright murder the rest until I came along. Not to mention the fact that he is fearing for the life of his other niece and is very desperate to get her and the rest of the team back safely, so he is not in a merciful mood." He let that knowledge sink into Hopkins' mind before asking calmly, "So will you willingly cooperate with us?"

Hopkins answered by spitting on Sharp Strike's face-plate. As the glob of phlegm slid down his armor plates, the Knight sighed and slowly shook his head, before looking to Qrow and nodding.

Within a second Qrow grabbed the fold-up steel chair Hopkins was tied on and threw it against the wall so hard it broke into pieces. Hopkins cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, still tangled up in net, ropes, and the remains of the chair when Qrow picked him up by the neck and tossed him into the wall again, the second gesture giving the uncooperative captain a bloody nose and more bruises.

"You wanna play rough?! You want to piss me off?! Congratulations, it worked!" The old crow shouted furiously before holding his hand out to Sharp Strike and adding "Give me a sword. Perhaps if we remove some of his fingers this guy's tongue will loosen a little."

Sharp Strike unsheathed one of the two swords on his back and handed it to Qrow, "Don't cut yourself."

The Huntsman rolled his eyes a little before picking up Hopkins by the back of his collar and held the given sword to the latter's chin, the gleaming blade bare centimeters from his quivering skin.

"You want to kill me, human? Go ahead! You'll be proving our cause is a just one!" Hopkins snarled, "Evil humans, doing whatever they want to us..."

"Shut up and listen to us!" shouted Qrow, furious anger evident on his face. "I don't discriminate. Humans, Faunus, half-breeds, it doesn't matter to me. If you were a human I'd be doing the same thing. If your cause is a just one then why are you willing to murder teenagers in cold blood? Teens who are friends with other Faunus? Hmm? Why did Adam amputate all of those Faunus who tried to escape or speak out against him? You got some self-righteous, preachy answer for that?!"

Hopkins remained silent, but his defiant attitude clearly slipped a little due to his limbs showing signs of shaking.

"That's what I thought." murmured Sharp Strike as he pretended to find interest on a piece of shattered steel lying a few inches beside his right armored boot.

"Now listen very carefully. My niece and her friends, some damn good Faunus among them, have been captured by Taurus and considering how obsessed he is with Blake Belladonna, my niece's partner, I am afraid of what he is going to do to her. My niece, her friends, and the rest of her team all need our help so we are going to save them, along with every villager in Oro and every prisoner the White Fang has. We need to save them and you are hindering us by refusing to help us do that, so you are making me very, _very_ desperate. And when I get desperate I do things I'm not proud of, so either you start answering our questions or you're going to be in a world of pain." Qrow said quickly and angrily, his death glare never faltering for a moment.

Hopkins was silent for a moment, but it was clear that he was very nervous despite his defiant appearance. Then he looked at Qrow and managed to say "Go to hell, you asshole."

Qrow looked to Sharp Strike and winked, "Coco told me you completely took out this guy's team so I take it you're not squeamish when blood is being split?"

Sharp Strike crossed his arms and inclined his head a little before saying "I have seen many things which I'd rather not say Branwen... so what makes you think I would bother if that man over there bleeds a little?"

Hopkins's face turned pale as Qrow grinned back at him. "Last chance, start tell us the coordinates of the base or you'll regret your silence."

Still the Faunus said nothing, but he was evidently shaking.

"Okay then..." Qrow muttered before he impaled Hopkins' hand with Sharp Strike's sword, making him scream in pain. The blade met a little resistance when it hit the captain's Aura, but gravity eventually won and it went through his hand in a loud squelch of blood.

"You son of a bitch! My hand! You stabbed my hand!" cried Hopkins before biting his lip so hard he drew blood, trying to do something to keep himself from screaming again.

"That's right and if you don't tell us where the base is now I'll stab the other one and then get to work on your feet and after that I will get creative, so who knows what body part you will lose next. Your aura can only do so much but you can keep yourself from suffering that pain here and now, and that's up to you. And don't try lying to us because believe me, we can tell." Qrow stated with a grim look on his features.

"So what will it be, Captain?" inquired Sharp Strike, showing his emotionless face-plate once again.

Hopkins seethed in pain as his aura slowly healed his impaled hand. He thought very carefully, and then finally gave his answer.

A few minutes later Qrow and Sharp Strike left the outpost, carrying the rolled-up map from the wall along with some additional ammunition and explosives from the basement. The Knight particularly had a large satchel of charges slung over his cloak even as he carried some other items.

"We got the coordinates, is the airship ready?" Qrow asked the assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"Yeah, it's good to go." Coco said as Ruby stepped forward.

"So what happened to Hopkins? We heard screaming in there." she pointed out, her voice trying to hide the nervousness she felt at the thought of her uncle murdering someone.

"Don't worry, we didn't kill him." Qrow said gently to Ruby, looking her straight in the eyes so she could tell he wasn't deceiving her. Despite everything he knew his niece still hated death and didn't want anyone, save maybe their most evil enemies to die. Qrow supposed this was because of just how good a person she truly was, something she took after Summer Rose, who saw good in just about everything. "We just... had to get a little forceful to persuade him a little to get the information we needed out of him, and we needed to be rough so that he wouldn't lie to us and get us all killed by sending us into a trap. He's still alive, we just tied him to another chair... I kind of broke the first one. We'll send someone to get him once we're done, okay?"

Ruby managed a small smile, relieved at this news. "You did good, Uncle Qrow." she told him while stepping closer to his side.

"Don't I always?" he replied with a smirk as he hugged her.

Sharp Strike drove his bike up the airship's ramp and parked it near the entrance, before securing it with straps which hung from the walls of the aircraft. "We need to think up a plan of attack, so let's get moving."

"He's right, we don't have much time. Let's get inside and plan this out." Coco agreed.

"Um guys, who's going to fly the ship?" Scarlet asked, his face showing concern.

"I will. I've done it before. Everyone ready?" Qrow asked as he and Ruby walked up the ramp of the airship.

"Ready as we'll ever be." stated Coco as she shook her head while she and Scarlet followed them into the vessel, with the ramp closing up behind them with distinctive clunks.

Slipping into the pilot's seat, Qrow waited for everyone to be seated and secured before he started flicking switches and punching buttons on the airship's dashboard, activating the engines which speedily whined into wakefulness. Leaves and loose branches scattered around them as the airship's engine roared throatily, lifting it into the sky before shooting off into the night, the red and orange blaze of dawn seeping across the lands of Vacuo.

* * *

Blake's ears twitched a bit at the sound of the workers outside of the ship, from what she had been told Adam was having a special airship constructed to travel around Remnant to spread the message of the White Fang. She couldn't put her finger on it but she had a strong suspicion that the ship wasn't just for 'spreading the word'.

Oh well, the ship was never going to fly becasue they were going to put an end to Adam's reign once and for all.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked her.

Blake looked to her human friend and nodded, "I could be much better but considering the circumstances I could certainly be worse." she said.

She looked about the room as the rest of the 'captured' members of Team Beacon got ready for the next battle they would have to face; fighting Adam once again, and this time with six more of their number gone in addition to Fox, Sage, and JNPR. Blake didn't know if Ruby and the others were alright out there or if they were injured and running for their lives from Adam's scouts, but she hoped they were alright and she wasn't the only one, as all of the others had voiced concern for their friends safety.

"I don't know what's worse; not knowing what's happened to them or the possibility of them being captured." Velvet stated as she allowed the healer from the standard White Fang troops that had been stationed on the Elite Guard's ship to heal her nose.

"Both suck if you ask me." Sun voiced as he loaded up Ruyi and Jingu Bang with Dust clips.

"Agreed." Penny chimed in as she flexed her arms, stiff after being paralyzed for the last few hours. She placed the deactivated and damaged collar back on her neck, turning it around so the damaged area would be hidden by her hair.

"They're probably going to be okay, I mean we don't know for sure but given her track record I'm positive my little sister is still out there fighting or getting help as we speak." said Yang as she loaded up her gauntlet with a new rocket, just in case they needed some heavy artillery which they probably would.

"Whatever their current situation we can do little about it for the time being, Miss Belladonna, are you sure we can trust the Elite Guard, can we be sure this is not some trick to break our will?" Winter inquired as she made sure her sword was in good order.

Blake and a few of the others glanced over to to the entrance of the room to see Kane and Morgan who were assigned to guard them just in case one of Adam's lackeys came on-board the ship.

She shook her head, "No, what Adam has done goes against everything Razor stands for, it goes against what the White Fang is meant to be. They're not deceiving us. We can at least trust them until Adam is dethroned." she said.

Claudandus nodded and spoke up, "After what they saw they will be confused but I think they'll be with us until they get some proper answers from Adam, answers they probably will not like."

"If this Razor guy is as honorable as he claims to be then why did he let you get kicked out and let Adam take over?" Yang questioned.

"She raises a valid point, why did he follow Adam?" Weiss concurred.

Blake looked to her grandfather and said "Razor was a fighter in the last great war thirty years ago, fighting for the old Faunus Liberation movement, when they lost the war he became just lost, becoming a pit fighter, allowing himself to be used and abused by humans who looked down upon him but when my grandfather found him he offered Razor a place among the White Fang and he took it."

Claudandus nodded and continued; "He recovered from his problems, studied the old ways of battle, became my bodyguard, but he was always more loyal to our race as a whole rather than just me, he saw the White Fang as a glorious cause that could lead to our race being treated with dignity and respect because the ideal behind the White Fang was bigger than just me, it was all of us. When Adam revealed what was under his mask to a crowd of our members Razor was shocked and a little bit angry that I had kept such a thing hidden from them for so long. When I left Razor stayed, because I was not the White Fang anymore, and his loyalty to the White Fang was one of the things he held dear, along with his honor."

"So where did the Elite Guard come from?" Sun asked.

"Well after Adam took over he and Razor didn't exactly get along, even back then." Kane said from the doorway.

Blake nodded and added "He started up his own command, with Adam's approval, a combat team that would have the freedom to fight the oppression of the Faunus without the increasingly violent reputation Adam and the rest of the Fang was getting. Razor is even considered a hero in Menagerie for freeing slaves and taking down hate groups."

"Sounds like a good guy, too bad he didn't see that Adam was off his rocker until recently." Yang observed.

"He and Adam have clashed before." Morgan said, "He objected to allying with Cinder's forces, he hated the mere idea attack on Beacon and the Vytal Festival which is why we had no part in it, but recently their disagreements have gotten more... frequent."

"Which is why the Elite Guard mostly worked alone, correct?" Winter guessed.

"Yeah, before he was happy to let the Elite Guard go around and do some good, make the Fang look better but after the little run-in at Hondyama he's been keeping us on a short leash." Kane told them.

"He wanted to use you all as a weapon to strike us a serious blow, it clearly worked." voiced Weiss thoughtfully.

"Well it's gonna backfire on him now that you guys are on our side." Yang said.

"We can only hope." Morgan said with a shrug.

"And the sooner we take Adam and his followers down the better, you can arrest them and the White Fang can get back on track." Kane said to Winter.

"While we will certainly try to take down Taurus, but the fate of the White Fang is uncertain, many of its members have done terrible things and have committed serious crimes, we can't just let most of them go with a slap on the wrist." Winter stated.

"I see your point, but its gonna be hard to get the ranks on our side with that logic." Kane stated as Misha came into view.

"You guys got your weapons ready?" she asked.

"Pretty much." Blake said.

"Okay, Razor contacted the command room and they say the cells are nearly finished. Apparently Adam wants a word with you guys before you're locked up so it now or never. Come with me." the Mandrill Faunus said as she entered the doorway.

Everyone looked to her and she nodded, giving a sign that she was with them and that she hoped things would work out.

"I sure hope this plan works, are you guys sure about this?" Thayer asked as he got up.

"No, but then again we've never been a hundred percent sure about any of our plans..." Blake said.

"But they usually work out okay in the end." Yang chimed.

"Mostly." Weiss stated dryly, it was true that their plans for dealing with threats were risky at best and would often have to be changed on the spot when dealing with said threat and she expected that this insurrection would be no different. They all knew it had little to no chance of going smoothly, but the main thing was that it would end in their favor with minimum casualties, because the only one they truly wanted dead at this point was Adam.

The group got up and allowed Misha, Kane, and Morgan to lead them all back to the bridge.

On that very location Razor observed the pair of Jinty and Babara, with Jinty's pet carrier pigeon Swoop, silently, his expression calm and stoic.

"Okay boss, so I figure you're right ticked but..." Jinty began before the older Faunus held up his hand to silence him.

Razor gave them both a grave look before he calmly said "Right now we have more important things to deal with, but I would like to know as to why you two betrayed us."

"Well we didn't really betray you sir, well it's all very technical but..." Babara said before stopping herself from droning.

"She's right, we're loyal to you Razor, not to Adam. Both of us signed up with the White Fang because we wanted equality, we wanted to do some good; and we all know that Adam doesn't want that at all so we technically didn't betray you at all, only our leader who's lost it." Jinty pointed out.

"This is true, but why did you operate your own agenda behind our backs? Why not voice your concerns to me and tell me your ideas?" Razor inquired.

"Because despite your differences with Adam you were still loyal to him because he was the leader of the White Fang, even when he had Claudandus arrested you didn't question it until recently when you began to doubt him. We began to have doubts when he arrested the old founder and after we heard of how he punished Kane." Babara stated.

"Yeah, and we wanted to do something about it, but we didn't know how you'd react so we decided to keep it to ourselves but once we heard about Blake, who we still considered a friend, and what her team had been through and what went down in Haven we decided that the best way to take Adam down without getting caught was to send messages to her via Swoop here." Jinty explained as he patted his bird's head.

"Before we even knew about the whole Vytal mess I had had contacted Claudandus, since I kept in touch with him, and told him that Jinty and me weren't happy with Adam's leadership so Blake knew we could be trusted... to a point." Babara added.

"So once we heard where Claudandus was being held we told her and the higher ups green-lighted it and eventually it led us here." Jinty finished.

"And you eventually knew that Adam allowed Claudandus' location to leak out to catch any traitors, so if you had warned them of this they wouldn't be here right now." Razor stated.

"Well that and we didn't know their exact location..." Babara muttered nervously.

Razor sighed before Jinty spoke up, "Look boss, I know you're probably pissed at us and you have every right to, but we care about the White Fang, we care about what it's supposed to be and it definitely isn't supposed to be what Taurus has twisted it into. We want it to be what you can make it, a group of heroes fighting for equality and the rights of our race, doing good for humans and Faunus alike. You know it and we know it, Adam needs to go down and if we really were out right traitors we would have snitched to Blake and the Atlas Military the location of every base and they would have put a rather big dent in the Fang's ranks, so we aren't traitors, we are loyalists."

Razor sighed and looked to Piper who was sitting on the floor nearby. She looked up to him with her bright eyes and she simply shrugged before he looked back to the two before him. "I suppose that while I'm not exactly pleased with your actions your hearts were in the right place and in the end you were proven right, but you're not getting off so easily but we can talk about that once this is finished." he said.

"If you want us to leave the Guard we'll do it, even if we don't..." Babara began before her leader cut her off.

"No, I will not force you to leave, you are a part of this command and part of my team. As I said we will discuss it later." he said firmly as Russell, Misha, Kane, Selena, Morgan, Kong, Teresa, and a few others arrived on the bridge with the captured members of Team Beacon a few of the White Fang troops.

"We're pretty much ready Razor, should we go on?" asked Blake.

He nodded and said "I have contacted the command room and Adam says the cells are just about ready, naturally he wants the chance to gloat. We walk out of this ship in ten minutes."

Blake grimaced as she handed Gambol Shroud to Misha while Yang did the same thing with the left Ember Celica before putting on the deactivated clamp device to make it appear that she was still helpless.

The plan was simple; the Elite Guard and the platoon of troops who knew the truth, led by a Lion Faunus named Leonardo, would march the seemingly captive 'prisoners' into the command room for Adam to gloat and for Razor to distract him while Kane, Piper, Misha, Russell and the others would carry their weapons as trophies for Adam so when it was time to spring into action they could take over the control room. While they did this Jinty would sneak into the communications/tech rooms and plug in the images Piper had taken of the prisoners and then transmit them, along with a speech Razor had recorded all over the base and to other White Fang outposts. Everyone knew it was risky, and there was a chance that some would remain loyal to Adam despite the atrocities he committed most would most certainly turn against him.

Blake thought that while it was obviously going to be incredibly dangerous, she felt that with all of the Elite Guard at their backs along with Leonardo's troops they had a good chance of pulling it off.

All of them Beacon handed their weapons to various members of the Elite Guard while Leonardo's troops began placing unsecured handcuffs on them so they could spring into action when the time was right.

Weiss approached Razor and said "Sir, I know this probably isn't the right time but I want to assure you I had no knowledge of my father's involvement with the slave trade. I used to not like Faunus becasue of my family's unpleasant history with them and the things I have witnessed but I have changed for the better and I realize now that a Faunus' life is worth just as much as a humans'. I don't know what's going on or if he truly is enslaving Faunus, but if he is I apologize for it on behalf of my entire family, and all of Atlas."

Razor looked at the teen girl, then glanced up to Winter who awaited Razor's reply.

"Miss Schnee, if you are wiling to change, if you want to make up for your family's past sins... then it gives me hope, so I thank you. We shall discuss your father's actions later but right now we need to go." he told her.

"Thank you." Weiss said gratefully to him.

Winter placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder and gave her a proud smile before she allowed the unlocked binders to be placed on her.

"Okay, everyone clear on what to do?" Razor asked.

"Yes." "Uh-huh." "Ready." "Locked and loaded." "Let's take him down."

"You hear 'em boss, they're willing to follow you into the fire." Russell said as he took up his weapon.

"Some of us might not be convinced we can do this, but we're willing to give it a good try." came Leonardo's voice.

"I know my part." Jinty said confidently.

"Whatever happens is up to us, if we work together, if we prove to Adam that humans and Faunus can work together to obtain justice, we can prove him wrong on his entire ideology." Blake voiced as she gestured to her human companions. "This isn't just for us, this is for everyone who has suffered because of the White Fang; the ones killed during the Fall, those prisoners, those killed for leaving or speaking against him, everyone. We're doing this to make the White Fang what it's supposed to be, we're doing this for equality, for Faunus everywhere! Together we will stop Adam Taurus and bring him to justice, together we will make things right, together we will make a difference."

Various people in the room cheered or applauded for Blake and her short but effective speech.

Yang nudged her partner and winked as she said "You've done good, kitty cat."

Blake smiled as Weiss said "You're a credit to this team, I can honestly say I'm happy we became teammates, it changed us both for the better."

Blake nodded as Sun kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at him and he didn't have to do anything except smile back.

Claudandus, who hadn't been cuffed yet, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and said "Blake, I am so proud of you, and I know your mother and father would be too."

Blake took the cuffs off for a moment so she could capture her grandfather in a hug which he gladly returned. Most of those in the room smiled at the scene as the two parted.

"Whatever happens, I forgive you for not telling me the truth, and I am proud to be your granddaughter." she told him with a smile as she cried tear of happiness. "I'm sorry I ever let you go."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Blake. I forgave you long ago, becasue I love you." the elder Cat Faunus said. Blake nodded at the sentiment, but she honestly didn't know if she could ever truly forgive herself, as there was still a part of her the blamed herself for what the Fang turned into, letting Adam go too far, Yang's arm, Sun's tail, the attacks, the amputees... if she had just left with Claudandus, if she hadn't thought he lover her, if she had just...

No. She couldn't blame herself, she knew that was wrong but it still felt like it was her responsibility to make Adam pay for his sins, and she was going to do her best to accomplish that. Maybe then she'd learn to forgive herself.

They arrived to the main entrance of the ship, which was still closed. Razor stood in the front of Team Beacon with various members of the Elite Guard and Leonardo and his troops flanking them, making it appear that they were still under subjugation.

"How long will it take you to upload the files to the main system?" Razor asked Jinty.

"Not long, few minutes tops. I can hack into it and transmit the images and your speech to everyone on the base, and maybe once we've taken him out we can send it to every White Fang base throughout Remnant." the Weasel Faunus said as he put the scroll carefully in his pocket.

"No turning back now." Razor muttered to himself, but those with good hearing knew what he said. Piper walked up and grabbed his hand to squeeze it, to let her surrogate father know she would be there for him, he smiled at her and squeezed back, letting her know he would be too.

"It's now or never, Razor. For the honor of the White Fang." Blake said quietly to him.

The large Faunus glanced at her and allowed himself a smile. "For honor." he returned before he opened up the door.

He stepped out of the ship, leading the group behind him, putting on a stoic face while the captured members of Team Beacon pretended to be wallowing in the misery of their defeat or have angry looks of defiance as they were marched out of the ship and into the docking bay, towards the entrance to the base itself. Leonardo and his troops had put their masks back on to keep up appearances while the various members of the White Fang tried to look serious and professional.

Jinty was sandwiched between Babara and Graham so he'd be able to slip out of the group and and into his own mission, which would be easy enough as long as he kept his cool and acted casually.

"Need some help escorting these prisoners sir?" an officer asked Razor.

"No, we're fine." Razor dismissed bluntly as they made it to the main entrance door.

They kept walking and had no interruptions except from other officers or guards who offered the same thing, but were turned down each time by Razor but aside from that no one tried to stop them and they were able to move deeper into the base, up towards the control room.

Sun, Weiss, and Yang decided to pretend to be rebellious to keep up the illusion so the various members of the Elite Guard played along by shoving them forward or prodding them with their guns.

"Wait until we get out of this, I'll..." Sun began before Leonardo shoved his rifle into him.

"Silence, traitor!" he snapped.

"You'll never get away with this! My father has powerful allies!' Weiss proclaimed, winking to the others.

"We'll see where your wealth and power get you now, Schnee!" spat Misha before shoving the heiress along.

"You guys won't be so high and mighty soon, we can still take you down!" Yang said, doing a decent job of averting the dumb blonde actress archetype.

"Whatever you say, top heavy." joked Kane as he prodded Yang in the back, giving her a subtle, and very brief, thumbs-up.

Before they went up a giant staircase Jinty quickly sneaked away from the group when he was sure no one else was looking. One of Leonardo's troops also broke off to go with him for protection.

"Good luck." Babara whispered to him.

"Thanks, I'll need it." Jinty muttered before he and the trooper set off, but the Weasel Faunus gave a hopeful look to the others as he did so.

As they walked up the staircase and Jinty and the trooper sneaked their way towards the tech room the two didn't notice that someone had spotted them... and was beginning to silently follow.

Blake remained silent, but so far everything was working out okay. If they kept it up they'd make it to the command room, pretend to be submissive captives or obedient followers and then they'd catch Adam completely by surprise. Hopefully no one would be killed in the process and they'd all get out of this okay, with Adam and those loyal to him rotting in a cell for their horrific crimes.

They kept walking up the stairs until they came to the top floor, and once there the command room was dead ahead. Blake glared at the large metal doors of the command center as they approached them, the quartet of soldiers standing guard outside opened the doors up to reveal a large two-story room with various computer terminals and banks along the walls with a large table in the center and a giant screen underneath a sealed window, obviously for communication purposes. Various White Fang officers of varying species either sat or walked about the room, doing their own duties.

In the center by the table stood Adam, talking with Hui, Emerald, and Mercury. "I assure you they're up for the task but it depends on what this Watts wants with them..."

"Adam!" called Razor, "We have brought the prisoners to you as requested."

Adam turned around, the mask hiding his eyes as they assessing the captives. He approached them with a serious stoic face that didn't give off any sign of either smug superiority to his defeated enemies or anger at his former lover like they expected, instead there was a calmness to him, an odd serenity that must have come with his apparent victory over Blake.

"Excellent work Razor, it's good to see you become a bit more understanding." Adam said to the larger Faunus before he eyed Blake and the other captured members of Team Beacon.

"We brought you their weapons." Razor said as he held out Gambol Shroud. "I thought you might like them as trophies."

"Not a bad idea, but I'll decide what to do with them later." Adam said before he turned his attention to Team Beacon. "I hope you all realize how utterly doomed you are. There will be no rescue, no salvation from your punishment. Our communications officers have been in tocuh with the hunting party and they are on the trail of your friends who will also be killed while the Rose girl is brought here as a present for our great ally. As for what will happen to you? Well the Schnees shall suffer for their crimes against our race, Wukong, and the Scarlatinas will pay the price for betraying our entire race, Xiao Long will know what happens when you try to attack me, this robotic abomination shall be handed over to our allies for experimentation, the one called Neo shall also be punished for betraying our allies, and you... my dear..." he cupped Blake's chin and made her look at him. "You will be put in your place once and for all. I will make you mine again, and you will pay for betraying me. No one is coming to help you, my love... oh no. Do you have anything to say to that?"

"You really do love hearing the sound of your own voice." Yang shot.

"Well duh, he probably gets off on it." joked Sun.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Adam harshly, trying to ignore the snickering from Mercury which was silenced by Emerald elbowing his gut.

"Actually I do have something to say to you Adam." Blake announced.

He looked to her, "And what would that be?"

"They're right. You do love the sound of your own voice, that's why you always forced me to be quiet when I still followed you. You always shut me up, ignored my suggestions and ideas, to you I was a trophy of your victory over Claudandus and I see that now. I was nothing to you but a tool! You're a pathetic excuse for a leader becasue you lead by fear and force when a real leader should lead by compassion, strength, trust, and wisdom. Sun, Velvet, her uncle, and I have not betrayed our race, you have when you used every Faunus in this organization for your own crusade for revenge. The real Adam Taurus died after his sister and he was replaced by this man in front of me, a cruel being who feeds off of hatred just like a Grimm, which I suppose makes your mask all too appropriate. I won't let you win because we have seen the terrible things you're responsible for and as long as I am alive I will make sure you pay for them, I will make sure the truth is known about you, the whole world will know what a monster you truly are... and I won't be alone, because I know my friends will be there for me." Blake said as strongly as she could.

Adam smirked and said "A good speech my love, but pointless. What did you expect? That my soldiers would turn on me because you said a handful of meaningless words? If you truly do expect to stop me then you're more pathetic than I thought."

"Want to bet? NOW!" Blake cried.

Razor tossed her Gambol Shroud, loaded with a purple Dust Crystal so she could send an arc of purple energy into him, slamming him into the wall.

Everyone sprung into action; Team Beacon caught their weapons from the Elite Guards and worked with them to take down any guard that tried to attack or restrain them. Guards and officers were sent flying, knocked to the ground, into the walls, while those who tried to attack from the second floor were shot down by Leonardo and his troops and the Elite Guard members who had guns.

Piper slammed Emerald and Mercury into the wall with a powerful sound blast and Penny kept them pinned there with her swords. "Going somewhere?" she asked with a smirk as she used her blades to close in on them, making sure they wouldn't even try to move, helped out by Piper aiming to blast them again.

Razor slammed Kill-Master into Hui's sword parrying a heavy strike. "What are you doing?!" Hui demanded.

"Making it right!" Razor answered before Velvet attacked the Bear Faunus from behind, punching and kicking him in rapid succession, striking at the right places that caused him enough pain to force Hui to fall towards Razor who sent him flying with a mighty punch to the face.

Adam snarled and tried to get his sword out only for Blake to hold her own weapon to his face.

"Surrender now." she ordered.

"Never! How did you turn them against me?!" he demanded.

"It wasn't hard, after they found out the truth about the prison. Yes, they know." she told him.

She got a small feeling of joy from the slightly fearful look on his face.

"Razor, what is the meaning of this?!" he shouted.

"She's right Taurus, we know what you've done. Piper saw it for herself and I want an explanation now." Razor said as he stepped forward.

More guards tried to rush in but Kane and the others shot them down as Razor and Blake both held their blades to Adam.

"You have no proof." Adam hissed.

Razor allowed himself a smirk and said "Don't worry, we do. As we speak one of my agents is in the communications room and is about to transmit evidence of your actions all over the base, which will lead to it spreading through the entirety of the White Fang's ranks. We give you this one chance to surrender unconditionally so you can try to justify your actions... and then we'll still have you thrown in a cell. I'm telling you Taurus, all my agent has to do is push a few buttons and..."

"Oh, you mean this skinny twerp?" asked the voice of Steppenwolffe.

Everyone looked up to see the Grimm Commander holding up a struggling Jinty with one hand while a large Beowolf dragged the dead body of the trooper who had gone to cover Jinty.

"Oh no..." Velvet said quietly as everyone on Blake's side began to feel very bad about their chances.

"Damn it." swore Leonardo and his fist clenched at the death of one of his soldiers.

"I was keeping to the shadows and I noticed this little sod sneaking off from your group. I thought I smelled a rat and sure enough I caught this little rodent meddling with the computer systems." he explained.

"Actually I'm a weasel, which is a mustelid not a..." Jinty didn't get to finish his correction as Steppenwolffe tossed him off the catwalk and to the floor below where Babara caught him.

"Sorry guys, I couldn't fight him." Jinty said ashamedly.

"Not your fault, hon." assured Babara as she glared at Steppenwolffe while more guards arrived at the entrance.

Weiss, Yang, Winter, Sun, Neo, the Elite Guard, and Leonardo's troops all kept their weapons up and ready for battle, which seemed imminent. Emerald took advantage of Penny's temporary distraction to slide through the blades and strings to freedom where she jumped up and kicked Penny away, freeing Mercury. Piper, however aimed her weapon right at Mercury, letting him know that she could make his deaf with a loud enough blast and Penny's arm quickly transformed into its cannon form and aimed it right at Emerald just as she got out her own guns.

The room briefly became silent as one side glared at the other. The massive standoff was essentially one big powdered keg waiting to go off.

"Uh, anybody got a really quick, magic way to get us out of here?" Kane asked as he aimed his bayonet/rifle hybrid at the guards and officers surrounding them.

"It doesn't appear likely." Winter said to him.

"Shit." was all Kane could say.

Blake looked around the room frantically, Yang, Weiss, Sun, Velvet, and Claudandus all shot her looks of worry as the guards took aim.

"Well, that little insurrection was short-lived." Adam observed as he got up, unsheathing Wilt. "Tell me Blake, how exactly are you going to win this? How will you save your friends?"

He held up his sword and moved to attack when Blake yelled out "Adam, wait! I have a proposal."

Adam stopped and stared at her, and so did everyone else.

"And what is this proposal, if I may ask?" Adam inquired.

"Blake, what are you doing?!" asked Weiss frantically.

"Trust me." Blake said to her teammate before she nodded to Razor, who returned the gesture. "Adam, I challenge you for leadership of the White Fang. A duel, whoever wins will be the leader of the White Fang and the loser will... die. If I win not only will I save my friends and these brothers and sisters who know the truth of your crimes but the White Fang become what it's supposed to be again, and you are spared the shame of living with the consequences of your actions."

"And if I win I get to have my revenge." Adam finished for her.

The was a few moments of silence as Adam considered the challenge.

"Blake, what is wrong with you?! I didn't expect something this crazy from you!" Sun said quietly.

"Yeah, I mean you can't beat him alone!" Yang reminded her.

"I agree with them Blake, that was rather foolish of you." Razor stated.

"I know, but I had to do _something_!" Blake whispered as she looked back at Adam, still thinking about it.

He opened his mouth to speak... but stopped as a grin spread across his face. "Very well, my love. I accept your challenge."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again this chapter was co-written by RelentlessCrusader aka Golden Crusader so thank him for his help. Also check out his story RWBY: Crucible, the prequel to Destiny of Remnant! It's avaliabe to read on both Ff . net and Archive of Our Own.
> 
> So Pyrrha killing that civilian finally came back after forty chapters, sorry it took so long to get back to it.
> 
> Also, new artwork! Deviant Art artist RindouShinichi who did some art of Cinder and Ashe, check it out!
> 
> Hey everyone, happy New Year! I hope you all had a great time this Holiday season with your friends and family like I did. I hope you all got great gifts, I got everything I asked for... except for the ability to become a good writer. Seriously though, it was great. I want to thank everyone who has faved and followed his story or left a kudos and a bookmark, you guys cheer me up when I feel down, I sometimes think this story isn't very good and that I'm wasting everyone's time but I'm overjoyed when I get a new fave/follow or a kudos, and I am always happy to hear that you guys enjoy the new chapter.
> 
> Sorry this took so long but things have not been good for me, part of the reason as to why this chapter was so late was because of two personal reasons; my grandmother had health problems and needed a heart surgery but she is recovering slowly but surely, pray for her please as she is an incredibly important part of my life.
> 
> And before that I was attacked on Deviantart by a RWBY fan who wouldn't leave me alone because I posted a rant on Pyrrha's death and he kept demanding I take it off but I refused so he posted it on the RWBY Reddit (without my permission) and basically had a bunch of fans insult and belittle me, telling me I don't deserve to live for 'attacking Monty's legacy' and that I will never matter and will always be alone and an idiot, that I will never be successful, and since I don't have the best self-esteem to begin with I couldn't take it so I broke down crying and nearly committed suicide but I was able to stop myself because I realized that I have a good life with a good family, home, and friends, and a story that I need to continue. And I nearly threw all of it away because someone wanted to silence my voice on Pyrrha's death. Luckily a kind stranger stood up for me and helped me through the night and got it taken off of reddit but the emotional damage is still there. Yeah, the RWBY Fandom attacked me and nearly drove me to suicide just because I wanted to voice my opinion on why I felt Pyrrha's death was a terrible mistake and why I didn't like the second half of V3. I am not making this up or trying to get attention, I am telling you all the honest truth.
> 
> Please if you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please let a review, or simply follow and favorite the story if you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback. Thank you all, once again.


	45. Duel for the White Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
> 
> Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Blake swung Gambol Shroud around rapidly, creating deadly blurs in the air combined with slashes and thrusts and defensive blocks. She rotated the Dust chamber quickly, setting each one up, checking to see how fast it could go for the duel ahead.

Currently the captured members of Team Beacon were in a locker room to prepare for the battle, the various members of the Elite Guard and Leonardo's platoon were on guard outside, making sure Adam didn't try to have Blake assassinated or that any overeager White Fang thug tried to pull anything before the duel. Back on the ship Troy and a few others who remained had locked it down so no one could get in with shields at maximum strength, just in case Adam tried to have the vessel destroyed.

While the others had questioned her about whether her challenge to Adam was a good idea or not, she was beginning to have second thoughts as well. In her defense it was a spur of the moment choice and a desperate one at that, made at the dead last second to keep them alive for as long as possible and so far it was working.

As Blake continued to practice her moves with assistance from Weiss she began thinking over the possible outcomes, but ignored those that ended in disaster in favor of ones that ended with them safe and Adam defeated.

"I can do this." she said quietly, trying to keep her confidence up.

"Let's hope so, but you'll need to be hard and fast on offensive strikes and firm with defensive block, don't expect Taurus to play fair or honorably. Back at Beacon he was willing to behead you and now he has you to himself in front of an audience. You'll need every ounce of strength you have." Weiss said to her.

"After what we were through just a few hours ago I wonder if you really have a chance at this." Velvet voice worriedly.

"Hey, Taurus is tired out too, after the beating we gave him together he won't be at peak performance either." Yang pointed out.

Blake nodded, "You're right; I may be recovering from the battle but so is he. The last few times we fought he was at full power but he doesn't have that luxury at the moment."

"It will be a stalemate." Penny observed.

"Correct, but hopefully Blake will be able to overcome Taurus and win. We can only hope." Weiss stated as she continued to show Blake some basic rapier stances to help her out in the battle, such as the broad and low wards and cuts. "Remember to use some feints, Taurus seems like the type of person who lets his anger get the best of him in the heat of the moment."

"You don't know how true that is." Blake said quietly.

"Apparently not. With feints you'll be able to manipulate him into a position of weakness and that's when you'll have the best chance to strike. I know our blades our different but hopefully it'll do." Weiss said as they gently practiced with her rapier and Blake's katana. While the two blades were obviously different and were used in separate styles they still served the same basic function in combat, so it would do.

"So even if you do defeat Adam, what do you think will happen?" Sun asked.

"Hopefully the White Fang will accept me as their leader for the time being, but its not a position I intend to keep. All I have to do is make them realize the error of their ways and hopefully they'll see Adam for what he is. Like I had to." Blake said bitterly.

"What do you mean?" asked Penny. "Didn't you leave him and the White Fang when you realized how bad they had gotten?"

As Blake kept practicing her forms she said "Not exactly. I mostly left becasue of Adam but I thought there was still hope for the White Fang as a whole, that's why when Sun and I encountered them working for Torchwick at the docks I tried to appeal to them first."

"You thought there was still some good in them." stated Velvet.

"I wanted to believe that. I desperately wanted to believe that. I didn't want to accept the fact that the White Fang was a haven for Faunus with hated for humanity and psychological issues that wanted to take them out on the world and hurt humanity. I even tried to believe Adam's own lies even when I knew he had gone too far." Blake said.

"What do you mean?" asked Yang.

Blake looked at Weiss and sighed before answering "Remember when you told us how friends of your family disappeared and members of your family's company executed?"

The heiress nodded, "Some good friends of my family, men and women I considered to be aunts and uncles. I saw the recording of several board members being execute by the White Fang and their ilk."

Blake winced but continued with "I knew about those things back when I was still apart of this, but I foolishly believed Adam when he said that they were merely ransoms gone wrong and they had fully intended to return the board members. That's why even after I left the White Fang I wanted to stick up for it, say that the cause was a just one. Not Adam, just the Fang, because I still believed that as a whole it was good and had the potential to help our race. But I was lying to myself."

"No you weren't." said Yang firmly, making Blake and the others look at her. The blonde brawler approached her partner and took her by the shoulders before gently adding "The Elite Guard are proof that you were right, there's still some good people left in the White Fang, Faunus who've been fooled into thinking that this is the right way. I think what those Faunus out there need is someone to set them straight and help them realize what they've been doing is wrong. I think you're that someone, Blake."

Blake looked into Yang's beuatiful lilac eyes for a moment before allowing herself a smile. "Thank you Yang, I'm lucky to have a partner like you."

Yang grinned and said "Same here kitty cat. Now get back to practicing so you can kick Adam's butt."

Blake smiled at her partner and the rest of her friends before getting back to practicing with Weiss.

Outside of the locker room Winter sized up the situation and knew the odds were very much against them.

"Are you sure we can't just fight our way to your ship and take off? I think with all of us we could pull that off." she said to Razor.

"It is a tempting option but not one I'd like to go with. I can't stand the thought of running and letting Taurus control the Fang for another day, besides he might have the villagers and the prisoners executed if we attempt to escape. So while our chances aren't exactly overwhelmingly positive I don't want to run." Razor said to her.

Winter nodded and admitted "Sound logic. Do you think we can band together and keep ourselves alive should we face an all out attack by the ranks of the Fang?"

"Possibly, but I don't think we'll have to. Adam is doing this to keep up the illusion that he still has honor, he wants the whole of the Fang to think that he is a leader to be both respected and feared, he wants them to see him take on the 'traitor' and win. However if it does come that, yes we will have to band together and fight our way out but I think Blake might just be able to beat him." Razor said to the elder Schnee.

"I don't know, I don't doubt the girl but I'm not too sure she can defeat him." Winter voiced.

"Well I am. We just have to give her a winning edge." Razor said as he looked to Kong. "Do you have some of your Aura enhancers?"

"Sure do, boss." the Gorilla Faunus confirmed as he took out some patches and tossed them to him. Aura Enhancers were a medical patch that restored the wearers aura, mostly used in battle after an intense and brutal fight or if one were to find themselves in the midst of a particularly resistant horde of Grimm.

"Blake will need every ounce of strength she can get to take him on." Razor told her.

"Good idea. Now Razor, I think we must discuss my father..." she began.

"Not now, we both know your father has things to answer for but that isn't a top priority right now." Razor said firmly.

"That's what I wanted to say. I want to tell you that despite our differences and my family's less-than-pleasant relationship with the Faunus race in the past I hope we can put aside any quarrels and work together to make sure this crisis ends in our favor and we can deal with my father and his dealings with the slavers later. Trust me I am just as curious as to what is happening with him as you are, especially after our relationship has become rather strained in the past few months but that can be dealt with later, we need to focus on the here and now." she stated.

"Agreed. I must admit Specialist Schnee that if you and your sister are a great improvement upon your ancestors and a credit to your family. Why if the Schnees that came before you were more like you and your sister than maybe things would be better." Razor voiced.

"Maybe, but my sister and I both had lessons to learn before we changed for the better and the mistakes of our family's past had a large part in those lessons." Winter admitted as she eyed a few White Fang troopers who were going by and giving them hateful looks.

"Mistakes of the past are often the first steps to making better choices for the future. It is just the way of things Specialist Schnee." Claudandus voiced as he leaned against the wall.

"True, but Adam's leadership is one mistake we are about to correct." Razor said confidently, with the members of the Elite Guard all cheering to voice their agreement.

In a combat training room elsewhere in the base Adam furiously slashed training droids apart, rendering them useless with swift, furious slashes and strikes of his sword. Their laser blasts sailed towards him but he deflected them with some effort. He was still tired out from the night's earlier battle but he was still standing, he could still fight and as long as he could fight his enemies didn't stand a chance.

According to some of the officers rumors were beginning to course through the base and the ranks, whispers of amputees and the Elite Guard's betrayal, rumors that he had gone mad and the Elite Guard were moving to stop him, rumors that he could lose the coming duel.

He'd show them all.

One training droid got in close and attempted to use its blade appendage to wound Adam's arm but he easily parried the attack and kicked the robot back before slicing its head in two. As it fell to the ground in a heap of scrap Mercury and Emerald entered the room.

"Working out your anger issues I see." remarked Mercury, bemused.

"Do not tempt me to make you the next training dummy, Black. What do you two want?" he demanded.

"We want to make sure you won't mess this up." Mercury said to him as Emerald stepped forward.

"We've told Salem about what happened and... well she isn't exactly pleased." The thief informed him. "This is way too risky, if Belladonna beats you it could jeopardize everything with the White Fang."

"Tell Salem she can tend to her own business in her way while I deal with this in mine." Adam snapped as he moved to go back to training.

"Taurus, you are her business. Once you become involved with her plans you belong to her, just like us." Emerald said darkly.

Adam stopped and glanced back at the thief. "Listen to me human, I am no one's slave. Not anymore."

"Oh really?" asked a calm female voice that Adam had come to recognize.

Oh no...

He turned around and looked into the unlit portion of the room and saw two blood red orbs with black dots in their centers looking right at him. From out of the shadows came Salem herself, emerging from the darkness like a swimmer from a lake. She moved past Mercury and Emerald slowly and gracefully, her blood red eyes and milk white face staring right into his very soul.

Adam gripped Wilt and Blush but he didn't dare move, he wanted to fight, he wanted to kill this thing for intruding on his base... but seeing her in the flesh for the first time was utterly terrifying.

"Adam Taurus, my dear, you have disappointed me." she said calmly.

Before anything could leave his lips Adam was levitated into the air and slammed into the wall, held there by an unseen force as Salem walked towards him.

"Adam, you should listen to Emerald, when she says that accepting this ridiculous 'duel of honor' or some such nonsense is a mistake she is correct. You should be a bit more open minded." Salem said to him as she got close. Very close.

She lifted her arm up to touch his face.

"No! Keep away! Don't touch me...!" Adam barked as she grabbed his mask and took it off, letting it fall to the ground so she could see his true face.

"Oh my, what an awful scar." Salem said condescendingly before adding "But what a handsome face if marks." She stroked his face, rubbing it gently, enjoying the feeling of Adam shuddering in fear under her touch. "Emerald told me about your story, she recorded it for future uses should we need to widen the gap in human Faunus relations." Adam looked to Emerald who nodded in confirmation before Salem forced him to face her again. "Understand this Adam Taurus, when you agreed to give Cinder, my disciple, aid you didn't just join her you joined me. If you think you can resist me, fight me, overthrow me..." she glared at him with sinister glowing eyes and a cruel face, "then you're sorely mistaken."

Adam couldn't stop himself from shaking with fear. Cinder was one thing but Salem was something else entirely. He tried to put on a brave, defiant face and said "I... if you kill me the White Fang will..."

"Will still be under my control. Maybe one of your underlings will be more obedient. Understand this, you are just another part in the machine of my grand designs and right now you're not working properly. I cannot have that. You need to understand your place, my dear Adam, while I have need of you and your organization you should know that you are ultimately replaceable. So will you fall in line?" she asked, her face so close to his, seeing the naked fear and hatred in his eyes.

"... yes." he answered, only for her hand to grab his throat and squeeze.

"Yes what?"

"Yes... my master." he said finally.

Salem smirked and leaned in. "Very good." she whispered before kissing him on the cheek. "Your fear feels so good Adam, it feels truly exquisite. I'm happy to know you understand who is truly in control." With that she finally let him fall to the floor. As Adam rushed to get his mask back on Salem turned around and moved for the shadows, both Emerald and Mercury watching in both awe and fear. "Adam, my two agents here have informed me what you plan to do to the captives but I want to hear it explicitly from you. What do you plan to do?" she asked.

Adam got back up, catching his breath before he answered "Kill Scarlatina and make an example of him for one, while his niece will make an attractive slave. The Schnees and the robot will be used to lure in their father and some Atlas soldiers and then we kill them all but we'll give you the android afterwards so your scientists can do what they please with her. Cinder can do whatever she wants with the Neo girl. The others will be hunted down and killed except for the Rose girl who I wll have delivered to you. What do you want with her anyway? I thought her powers were harmful to... your kind."

"She can harm me but only just, I have learned to deal with her 'kind', as you put it. She is another tool in my plans just like you Taurus, you will both serve your purposes and if you both serve me well I might spare you. That is all you'll ever need to know." she told him.

"Un-understood. As for Blake, Xiao Long, and Wukong... well I'll make Wukong regret ever laying eyes on Blake and Xiao Long is a rather attractive human, she'll be a good source of entertainment for my troops once she's properly broken. And as for Blake... she's mine and mine alone, once I win I will spare her to make it appear that I am merciful, dispelling the rumors of my viciousness. Then I'll make her mine once again, one way or another." he stated.

"Good. I will take my leave now, so not fail me Adam, and if you do... beg Blake to grant you the sweet release of death because I will not, I will make you the ultimate example of what happens to those who fail me and your pain... your suffering will be so horrible you'll forget all about the trauma of your past and you'll experiance a pain you never could have imagined. Good luck." she finished as she went back into the shadows.

Adam ran over to the wall and threw the switches on, lighting up the entire room, only to see that she was no longer there.

"You heard her horn head, don't mess up." Mercury warned as he left the room.

Adam growled at the grey haired thug before looking to Emerald who eyed him with pity. "She's not exaggerating in the slightest. Win this one Adam, for your sake." she said before following her partner out of the room.

Adam was left alone in the training room, trying to ignore the feeling of dread that flowed through his mind.

* * *

_6 Months Ago_

_Fotia dodged the spikes from the Boarbatusk and slammed her mace into it, sending it flying into the mouth of the Wyvern where it was crushed. Fotia whirled around and blasted away the Grimm that she and the Wyvern had been pitted against, helped out by her mighty dragon as it poured fire down upon them. She smiled at it, only for her attention to be ripped away by a large Beowolf as it jumped over the inferno and landed in front of her._

_It reared up its claws, ready to strike but she quickly slammed her spear into it, impaling its head._

_She looked up to see Cinder watching the training session from a chair with an interested look on her face._

_Personally Fotia couldn't help but feel that there was something very odd about this, fighting Grimm for practice when she was supposed to be controlling them. True Steppenwolffe had ordered them to attack her before he let them go about it on their own but she figured it was just a new step in her training, plus she had the Wyvern to control._

_Control..._

_She had an idea. She quickly ran over to the Wyvern and climbed on its back. It moaned in confusion but she gave it a gentle rub. "It's okay, don't worry. I have an idea." she whispered to it. She began to realize how surreal it was that not only had she been paired with a Wyvern, one of the most feared beasts in Remnant's legends but here she was treating it as a pet, as a friend._

_She shook that thought off as she reached out her hand to half of the remaining Grimm in the room, the other half kept back by the ferocious roars, snapping jaws, and swiping claws of the Wyvern. Fotia's eyes began to glow as she took control of half of the Grimm in front of her, mentally instructing them to turn around, making them face the other half of the hostile Grimm._

_"Attack." she ordered._

_The two sides of Grimm before her collided with one another, tearing, clawing, biting, stabbing, mauling, and roaring as they diminished in number until only one side was left standing. The side she had taken control over. She jumped off of the Wyvern and bowed to Cinder, who applauded her._

_"A magnificent performance Fotia, you have done very well. Not only did you ultimately come out victorious but you did so in a way that didn't destroy all of the Grimm. You're a very good learner. We'll need people like you in the new world." Cinder praised._

_"Thank you, Lady Cinder. I hope both you and Mistress Salem are proud of me." Fotia said as she bowed._

_"Oh I am, and so will my master." Cinder assured her._

_"Lady Cinder." said Lancaster, one of the guards as he approached her._

_"Ah, Lancaster. Have you heard anything about the location of Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, and the other two?" she inquired._

_"Nothing but rumors and hearsay. Nothing concrete I'm afraid but we have reason to believe that they are in the Kingdom." Lancaster said._

_"Hmm, I will need to consult my master on this." Cinder said._

_Fotia had a strange feeling when Cinder mentioned those two names, something about them was oddly familiar. She spoke up, "Excuse me Lady Cinder, but has anything happened? Who are Ruby Rose and Ja..."_

_"None of your concern for the time being Fotia. You are dismissed." Cinder said bluntly as she got up and made for the exit._

_Fotia sighed as the large doors in the pit opened up so Matilda and the other keepers could herd the Grimm back to their pens, sadly Wyvern had to go too._

_The Wyvern placed its head low so she could pet it and nuzzled her back, something that still weirded out every one of the keepers. As she pet the large Grimm Fotia couldn't help but wonder about those two names Lady Cinder had mentioned._

_Ruby Rose..._

_Jaune Arc..._

_The latter name gave her a feeling, one she couldn't describe..._

_"Are you alright dear?" asked Matilda, who was relatively nice to Fotia._

_"Yes, I'm alright, just a little fatigued from the battle. Take care of him." Fotai said to her as she rubbed the Wyvern affectionately and it nudged her in return._

_Matilda shook her head, still not quite believing the flat-out unnatural bond the girl had with the gargantuan Grimm._

_As Fotia left to retire for the night, she still couldn't shake that odd feeling about those two names. It felt like both of them meant something to her, especially the latter..."_

Pyrrha was shaken awake by Jaune. "Pyr, wake up, we're almost to the rendezvous point." he said as she opened her eyes.

Despite her nervousness and worry for her friends Pyrrha had decided she needed some rest before the battle so she needed a brief nap.

"Thank you." she said as she got up and stretched out in her new combat outfit. The Flagship of the Atlas Military, named the _Resolute_ , hovered high over the city nearest to the White Fang's captured territory, here was where they would meet up with the Vacuo Rangers to prepare for the strike against the White Fang's headquarters. She looked around as Ren, Nora, Fox, Sage, Taiyang, Oobleck, Port, and Crane all began to make sure their weapons were properly repaired while Glynda was getting ready to leave and join up with the rangers.

The Vacuo Rangers were the Kingdom's military force, serving as combat teams, terrorist response, and security enforcement but they started out as a way to patrol the vast jungles and deserts on the continent's wilderness but as they became bigger and bigger to properly patrol and secure the more wild parts of the Kingdom and their efforts to battle both Grimm, criminal organizations, terrorists, pirates, and other such threats became more well known they were upgraded into Vacuo's full time military, merging it the already existing forces. They had the typical vehicles for a military like tanks and jets, they also utilized ones such as armored jeeps and buggies with mounted guns to deal with the lands varying environments and specialized bullheads.

These men and women were trained to know the land well and know how to survive all desert, jungle, mountain sides, swamps, and other places, making them rather competent soldiers. With Glynda leading the mission to save Oro and the ones inside of the prison, the villagers and the prisoners were in good hands.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like Professor Port or I to accompany you?" Dr. Oobleck offered.

"No Bartholomew, the Vacuo Rangers will be more than enough to help me liberate the village and the prison. Besides, you're going right for the White Fang's headquarters, you'll need every fighter available." Glynda said to her colleague.

"We're not going up against the whole of the White Fang Professor, just about five percent of them, maybe six, give or take. There are still a lot of other White Fang agents littered throughout all four of the Kingdoms and various islands as well so it's not like we're going up against tens of thousands of Faunus, just a few hundred." Professor Crane surmised.

"But that's still a big number and these are people, not Grimm, they won't go down as easily and they can think." Glynda warned them.

"We know, and we know to hold back." Taiyang stated.

The blonde teacher nodded, "Correct, fatalities must be at an absolute minimum, wound and incapacitate only and only kill as a last resort." She looked to her students and said "That goes for all of you, try your best not to kill anyone."

All six of the students nodded, "We know, murder isn't exactly something we're rushing to do." Fox remarked.

"No killing, just incapacitate them. We got it Professor." Jaune said with a nod.

"Can I still break some limbs?" asked Nora, as innocently as she could.

"I suppose if that's what it takes to keep some of the more hostile enemies down. I just wanted to be clear with you. We'll be there soon so good luck to all of you." Glynda wished them before she left the room and made way to the landing platforms where she'd meet up and board a Ranger gunship.

A few minutes later the _Resolute_ and the other ships got moving again, heading towards the southwest.

As Pyrrha loaded up Milo with Dust she wondered to herself why she kept thinking about the Wyvern. She couldn't really deny that she and the dragon had formed something of a bond, she had been hesitant to tell the others of it becasue of how bizarre the mere idea of it was, but she told them, RWBY and the rest of JNPR anyway and while they did find it incredibly weird to completely impossible they did not think any less of Pyrrha for it, something she was grateful for, but it was still odd. The Grimm were supposed to be pure, unrefined, darkness and hatred given bestial form. They could think or feel real emotions, they could form bonds... and yet when she was Fotia she felt a genuine bond with the Wyvern.

Maybe that bond could still be there?

"You okay?" Jaune asked as he squeezed her hand gently.

She smiled and squeezed back. "I'm fine."

Nora smiled at the couple before she called "Hey Dr. Oobleck, how long before we get there?"

"Twenty-five minutes by my estimates, but we have to tank into account the fact that we need to wait for Team Beacon's signal before we move in and attack." Oobleck said to them.

The students nodded as Crane walked back to sit in the seat in front of Jaune and Pyrrha. "Hello Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos. We met before but we didn't really know each other back then, I'm Professor Crane." he greeted.

"We heard about you, but I guess you know who we are." Jaune said as he shook the thin man's hand.

"Well not everything but I do know the basics and Oobleck has told me a little about what went on in Haven. I'm so sorry for what happened to both of you." he told them as he shook Pyrrha's gloved hand.

"Thank you sir, do you wish to talk about something?" the Spartan inquired, getting to the point.

Jaune gave her a look and a smile as Crane sighed.

"I admit I do. I take it since you've heard of me you know of my passion for the myths and legends of our world." he began.

"Yeah, Professor Goodwitch even told me you signed up to take Professor Pine's place when he retires next year. So I guess you want to talk about the Aura Crystal." Jaune said openly. The group was currently alone in the room on the large ship, no soldiers or officers were there to listen in on them so they could be open for the time being.

"Yes. I confess that's what it is. I don't mean to be rude but it's just that..." he struggled to say.

"It's just that Nicolas has always loved learning about myths and legends and trying to prove they're validity. Once he talked our entire team into spending a shore leave on finding some scrolls hidden in the catacombs." Oobleck spoke up as he turned over to talk to them.

"Oh come on Bartholomew, don't pretend you didn't enjoy it too. You were the one who said yes right away." Crane reminded.

"Typical Barty." joked Port from his seat.

"We'll I have had worse nights out." Oobleck admitted, "But I can assure you my students; Crane is a trustworthy individual, he's a good friend and while I don't think it's wise to tell him everything I think you should tell him a little about the crystal."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at one another before whispering to each other.

"They need to think hard about this." voiced Ren. "The Aura Crystal is very important, and while I don't think you mean any harm Professor just let it be known that they aren't the only ones one would have to go up against should the Aura Crystal be threatened."

"Yeah, you'd have to go through us too." agreed Nora as she loaded up a grenade into Magnhild.

"Duly noted." Crane said with a gulp.

"Don't worry about her, she may act tough and seem weird at times but she's really sweet deep down." Sage assured him.

"Uh, Professor?" said Pyrrha, getting his attention. "We can tell you a little bit about it, but not much. Would it be okay if we got to know you a bit more, trust you, before we really tell you about it?"

Crane smiled and said "I've wanted to see the Aura Crystal in person for over thirty years, how hard could it be to wait for a few more weeks or months? But I hope we can come to trust one another in time."

"I hope so too." agreed Jaune.

"But tell me, if you're both here then who is guarding the Aura Crystal."

In truth the Crystal was being held in a vault in the hotel's basement guarded by highly-trained Atlas troops and Atlesian Knights programmed by Dr. Polendina himself, but they couldn't tell Crane that at the moment.

"Classified." Both of them said at once. They looked to each other and began to laugh together.

"Lovebirds." Fox muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, isn't it wonderful?" Nora asked cheerfully.

Jaune looked out the window, gazing at the clouds below. "I hope Ruby and the others are okay." he said quietly.

Pyrrha leaned into him and whispered "I know they need our help, but I'm sure they're alright. If they're in trouble we'll be there to help them."

The blonde knight smiled as his girlfriend as the _Resolute_ flew on into the night sky.

* * *

The White Fang scout ship slowly and silently flew as low as it could but still over the forest as they got closer to a safe landing site. They discovered that the ship was outfitted with a cloaking device that kept them invisible to radar and other such equipment, however they were still very much visible to the naked eye so they were still vulnerable.

Once the remaining members of Team Beacon and the Remnant Knight has finalized everything they need to know about taking down the jamming towers, each of them took to taking whatever they needed from the stash of probably stolen weapons on board. The passenger compartment of the airship was filled with activity as the various Huntsmen and Huntresses got into enemy attire, checked the reliability of their chosen weapons as well as loaded up on ammunition magazines and grenades.

Currently they were heading to an area not too far from the White Fang's headquarters where the main jamming tower was, along with two others nearby, according to the map. Destroying all three of them would be more than enough to get a signal out to Ironwood and put the White Fang in some serious trouble.

Coco walked up to the cockpit and asked "How are we doing so far?"

Qrow, operating the ship as carefully as he could, glanced back at her and said "So far, nothing suggests that they've detected us so that cloaking device works. I can see the main jamming tower."

Sure enough up ahead there was the primary tower, the largest of the towers that subtly dotted the land and it, like all the other towers, was camouflaged by leaves and vines to keep them hidden from enemy agents. "I think we can land on that grotto." Coco suggested. pointing to a small opening covered by trees but had enough room for them to move in and out if they were careful enough.

"Good eye. Okay everyone we've spotted a good enough landing site so we're gonna go down." Qrow called.

She nodded, besides an assault rifle and pistol, Coco has taken over the minigun of the airship just as Yatsuhashi mentally expected, whirling the barrels up experimentally once in a while with a small smile on her face. The aforementioned samurai Huntsman had picked the largest sword out of the bunch they had found, with was as long as his arms, in addition to a shotgun for close quarters combat. Scarlet had taken a pair of pistols with a handful of clips, and was rather happy when he saw that someone among the scouts had misplaced left behind a grappling hook gun, which he quickly took possession of. Neptune, while still hurting a little from his wounds, was given another sniper rifle with a machine pistol which he accepted gratefully from Ruby. Looking up through the door into the cockpit, she also saw that her uncle had taken a pistol and another shotgun.

The young hooded Huntress checked the sniper rifle she had taken from the White Fang weapons cache, and while it's no Crescent Rose, she was glad that she had at least a weapon she was familiar with to support her fellow friends with during the battle ahead. She personally missed the weapon she constructed herself back at Signal Academy, and personally hoped that later she would be reunited with it once more. Looking up, Ruby looked to Sharp Strike who was doing his own preparations, his gauntleted hands a blur of various movements as he prepared his bike for the main attack. Judging from its outward appearance, the Knight's bike was indeed combat capable and hence it would definitely be a great help to their mission.

Carrying the sniper rifle in her hands, she approached him and heard soft beeping sounds as the Sharp Strike tapped the various functions on the dashboard of his bike to check their functionalities, while loading up the dust-enhanced bullets into the side machine-guns. Watching the Knight continue to work on his bike, Ruby wondered if there are other built-in weapons within the overall deceptively simple design of the motorcycle itself. She somehow had a feeling that perhaps during the battle she might get a chance to see those weapons directly.

"So...you are a real honest to gosh Remnant Knight." She slowly opened up, and saw Sharp Strike's helmet lenses slowly meet her silver eyes. The rest of Team Beacon stopped in their pre-battle routine, listening to her words which echoed around the passenger compartment.

"Yes, that's true enough. I know it must be an intense day for you, experiencing one surprise after another, right?" The Knight replied calmly.

"I guess you could call it that, but ever since I got involved with this mess...starting with that night I met Professor Ozpin my life has been a series of weird but rather risky moments. While some of them are happy, others are...well, I think you would understand if I don't like thinking about some of the bad times in my life." She told him with a shrug as the airship began to descend, having reached their first destination.

"I understand what you mean, Ruby. There are parts of my life which I do not wish to remember, and you aren't wrong...sometimes it's best not to think or talk of them until you're ready." He remarked understandingly, and Ruby noticed that something in the tone of his voice told her that he knew exactly how he felt, "But you're lucky, since your actions have indeed saved more lives than you know."

Ruby was puzzled by his remark, "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"What I meant, Ruby, is that a lot of people know what you have done. Your speech was broadcast on the newsfeed of every Kingdom and outlying island, and your actions during the Fall were very much talked about so they know it was your powers that frozen the Wyvern and they also know that it was your determination, bravery and the love for your friends and family that led you to Haven and in doing so, saved the lives of not only Pyrrha Nikos, but also a lot of innocent lives who wouldn't be alive had no one intervened with Salem's machinations." The Knight explained as he finished loading up the external weapons on his got ready just in case they were spotted as Qrow began to land the ship, gently placing it down in the grotto.

"Well thanks, but I didn't do it alone. Weiss stopped Penny from being used as a bomb, Uncle Qrow found out General Ironwood was under mind control, Yang and Sun rescued Blake, Jaune himself brought Pyrrha back... I didn't really do much." She lamented, her gaze dropping to the metal floor of the airship.

"Oh really? Would Jaune have been able to bring Pyrrha's memories back if you hadn't led him to Haven?" Neptune spoke up behind her.

"And Weiss wouldn't have changed for the better had she not met you." came Yatsuhashi's quiet and sensible voice.

"And if it wasn't for you the Fang would have executed all of us." Scarlet pointed out clearly.

"Not to mention you slashed Cinder across the face with a flaming scythe, which was, no contest, the most badass thing I have ever seen." Coco praised, as she and the rest of Team Beacon looked at Ruby herself.

Ruby found a small smile coming onto her face, her cheeks blushing a little before Sharp Strike spoke up again, "Look around you, Ruby. Your friends not only admire you for your skills as a Huntress but they also treasure you as a loyal friend. While you remain in the light for everyone else to see, I must stick to the shadows and remain anonymous."

"So why do the Remnant Knights want to be a secret?" Scarlet inquired.

There was a brief pause as Sharp Strike considered his words and replied, "Let's just say our organization functions better without the interference of the military or politicians, and if our identities were public we would be vulnerable to infiltration and other such acts of subterfuge. My master once said that history is a heavy burden, as what was once viewed as a great thing may be seen as a terrible thing by others as the years go by... so while our ways combine both the new and the old, we still dedicate ourselves to the principles of the order and its original cause of protection, which has never changed throughout the ages."

"And what is the cause?" Yatsuhashi questioned with a bit of curiosity in his voice.

"To protect the innocent, survive whatever trials we may face, and to serve Remnant. The existence of the Remnant Knights has been a carefully guarded secret for so long was mainly due to the fact that we only trust those who had proven themselves trustworthy. This is to ensure that our organization don't come under the influence of people in positions of power, so that they would not be able to control us nor turn us from our true cause." Sharp Strike elaborated watchfully, "So if an unworthy person, say a corrupt politician or an irresponsible military official, is given power we will not have to obey him or her and instead adhere to protect the people of Remnant."

"So... if someone evil was put in charge, like someone who would act as Salem's puppet, you would do something about him or her?" Ruby asked.

"Normally we would leave that to the Templars and Revenants. We will definitely take action, but we wouldn't harm innocents or allow them to be harmed. Trust me." Sharp Strike said firmly.

Ruby nodded and put on a smile, looking into Sharp Strike's blank face-plate. All of a sudden her face lit up with an idea. "If you don't mind Sharp Strike, I got a little bet for you." she said.

The Knight tilted his helmet a little at the unexpected suggestion, "I'm listening, what is it?"

"Just hear me out. I want to trust you because you have helped us out so much, but you have kept your face hidden from us under that helmet even though you would have been able to face us eye to eye without it." She said, glancing around to see her friends looking at her and the Knight, "So if we pull this mission off, can you take your helmet off and let us see your face, so that we know who we actually worked together with. Deal?" she asked politely.

Sharp Strike was silent for a minute but as the ship gently landed on solid ground he gave his answer. "While I cannot show you my face, how about just my eyes instead? Since eyes are the windows to one's soul, and they help one to know who they are dealing with, I think that's a better compromise between us. However, you are correct when you say that I should be willing to trust you just as much as I want you to trust me, Ruby. Will that suffice?"

Ruby smiled and said "Sure."

"However, since this is already a bet, that means I am also entitled to something from you if the mission is a success." The Knight mentioned.

Ruby raised an eyebrow as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "Well what can I give you?"

The Remnant Knight gestured with his finger, pointing at the belt at her waist which contained cartridges in individual loops which led to a magazine pouch, "I would like to have one of those sniper bullets you carry with you, specifically one with a rose emblem engraving."

"It's a deal, Sharp Strike." She smiled at him and the Knight gave a nod of his head in agreement.

"Okay, let's get ready to move out. We don't have much time, so work fast and be careful." Qrow said as he opened up the ship's ramp.

"You think we can get out of here fast enough if we are discovered?" Neptune asked as he inspected the grotto a significant distance away from them. Qrow had landed them behind a rather thick bunch trees, hiding them from view but still giving them a line of sight to the grotto.

"I think we would have a decent chance. Okay, everybody clear on the plan?" Qrow asked, looking around the passenger compartment at everyone present.

"Yep, three teams; me and Yatsu, Ruby and Scarlet, and Sharp Strike take down three towers altogether. That will give the signal for Ironwood and his army to come in and kick some ass. So long as we just keep these uniforms and masks on and don't do anything too stupid we will be in and out before the White Fang even have a clue as to what happened because they will soon be getting wrecked." Coco surmised with a smirk on her face.

"Bingo, now move out." Qrow ordered them, "Neptune, you stay behind with me and guard the airship, got it?"

"Got it, old guy." Neptune waved his hand at them and sat up on his seat, his machine pistol resting on his lap against the open ramp.

Coco, Yatsuhashi, Ruby, Scarlet, and Sharp Strike all disembarked from the ship, the four students from Team Beacon armed with White Fang assault rifles and a few other weapons they had chosen from the weapons stash just in case they needed to put up a fight. After making sure they hadn't been spotted, the group of Hunters and the Knight moved on away from the grotto and towards the jamming towers to accomplish their mission.

* * *

The duel was going to begin in a matter of minutes.

Blake and the others stepped out of the locker room, seeing the Elite Guard on duty in the halls. A few White Fang troops were nearby, leering and glaring at Blake.

"Human loving whore!" called one.

"You're dead, traitor!" jeered another.

"Get lost!" snapped Russell as he pointed his sword at them, with Kane, Selena, and Teresa pointing their weapons in their direction as well.

The punks left as Yang growled at them. "They won't be such smart asses when you beat Adam." she said.

Blake looked at her with a worried expression but she said nothing.

"Hey, relax. You can do this, we all believe in you." Sun said reassuringly as he took her hand.

"Thank you, I just wish... never mind. Let's get moving." Blake said as she began moving towards the exit, the rest of her friends, the Elite Guard, and Leonardo and his troops flanking her like a convoy protecting precious cargo.

"I don't see why we can't just shoot this sucker in the back during the fight and be done with it. It's more than he deserves." Neo commented.

"Talking my language." muttered Kong

"That won't solve anything Neo, if we did that we'd be no better then our enemies and it would vindicate Adam's claims to those Faunus and we'd risk making him a martyr. For now we have to play by the rules." Weiss stated.

"That's fine and I gotta admit I don't want to sink to the level but I wouldn't put it past that creep to do something like that, so if he pulls anything I'm taking him out." Yang said defiantly as she cocked the Ember Celica.

"While I do not you're wrong I think that it's more important to adhere to our code of honor, that way the Faunus of the Fang can see that we are the right path, not Adam." Razor voiced.

"Let's just hope they're smart enough to make the right choice." Thayer remarked.

"I'm more worried about the fight, you sure you're up for this Blake?" Kane inquired.

Blake sighed and nodded, "The enhancers have done good work, I'm more than ready for a fight."

"Then what's wrong?" asked Yang.

Blake was silent for a moment before she replied "What do you mean? I'm about to fight Adam, possibly to the death and I hold our lives in my hands."

"It's more than that, what is it?" Weiss asked gently.

Blake sighed and looked to her friends and her grandfather before she answered "No matter what I can't get rid of this terrible feeling of guilt."

"What do you feel guilty over?" inquired Penny, curious.

"If I hadn't supported Adam all those years ago, if I had the foresight to see where he would lead us I would have left with Claudandus that night. For years I stood by him, stealing from and hurting humans who I foolishly believed were all the same because of how I was hurt by a few humans. I let myself be taken in by his story, I let myself believe that what happened to him would happen to all of us, he made me think that all humans were the same and that there was no chance for equality because of what happened to his family. When he began going too far I tried to stop him, talk some sense into him but he responded by slapping me in the face and insulting me. He apologized, said it was an accident but it kept happening over and over... and I kept letting it happen because I loved him and I thought he loved me." she told them, complete sincerity in her voice.

"But you left us." Kane pointed out. "You saw what the Fang was becoming, you made the right choice."

"She said earlier she mostly left because of Adam." Velvet informed him.

Blake nodded, "I left becasue I could see what Adam was becoming, I left because our relationship had gotten... abusive." At that Sun, Weiss, and Yang all looked furious. "But I thought there was still hope for the White Fang as a whole, that overall the whole organization still had a noble cause. That's why I defended them so vehemently when Weiss spoke her blunt opinion of them that why when Sun and I encountered them working for Neo's friend, the late Roman Torchwick, at the docks I tried to appeal to them first, I was confused as to why they'd ever work with human criminals but I learned that Adam had allied himself with people much worse than Roman. I had learned that the White Fang had more wrong with it than Adam and Weiss learned that she couldn't judge our entire race because of the White Fang's actions. But there was still a part of me that wanted to believe the White Fang was good, and I suppose I wasn't entirely wrong..." she said, looking at Razor, Kane, Piper, and the rest, "But I still feel guilty over all of this, like maybe if I hadn't ran away Adam never would have joined up with Cinder."

"Don't blame yourself, that lady tends not to leave you much of a choice." Neo stated.

"Plus, you were right to have hope for the White Fang, having hope is never wrong." voiced Claudandus sympathetically.

"And if you truly were a bad person, if you truly were to blame for all of this you wouldn't be with us, you'd be with Adam." Weiss pointed out.

"They're right, so do yourself a favor, heck do us all a favor and stop blaming yourself for this mess. You're here trying to make things right so that proves you're better than you think you are." Sun said to her.

Yang grabbed Blake's shoulder and made the Cat Faunus face her once again, making Blake think of how beautiful Yang was before the blonde said "Sun's right, don't doubt yourself because we know you're a good person, it's a fact. I'm happy to have you as my partner and I would have anyone else. We love you Blake and we're all rooting for you out there, we know you can do it."

With that Yang gave Blake a loving hug, which she happily returned. Weiss smiled and joined in, so did Sun... and so did Penny because she really couldn't resist a group hug.

Blake smiled and held back tears as she said "Thank you. I... I think I feel a little better now."

"Good, because you'll feel even better when you beat Adam." Sun said encouragingly.

"Speaking of which, we better get out there." Razor said. Blake nodded and the group continued on until they came to the exit where several White Fang guards glared at them, but let them pass into the courtyard without resistance.

The area was packed, all of the available members of the White Fang on the base were there to watch the duel, though not everyone was there as there were still workers and guards on duty inside and engineers still working on Adam's ship in the hangar. Many of the White Fang members were chanting Adam's name and upon seeing Blake they began to boo her.

Blake moved on, ignoring the hurtful jeers and insults tossed at her, the hateful names and threats, Faunus telling they wanted to see Adam defeat and kill her. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much hate was in their voices, she ignored them and moved on until she got into the center of the courtyard to wait for Adam.

Lights illuminated the area in the darkness, there were large cameras, transmitting to other White Fang bases throughout Remnant to show the whole of the White Fang the duel.

Hui stood before Yang, Sun, Razor, Weiss, Winter, Leonardo, and the others, flanked on both sides by a line of strong looking White Fang members.

"What's up with the blockade?" asked Russell.

"We're just making sure you don't try to interfere once Adam defeats Belladonna." Hui answered firmly. "We want to make sure you know your place."

Razor growled and spat "So long as you know yours, but I don't think Taurus will win, not without one hell of a fight."

"We'll see." Hui stated with a grimace.

Razor looked around the courtyard and saw many of the White Fang troops glancing or glaring at him. Some seemed to be furious, hurt by his betrayal, but others seemed to be thinking about it; the Elite Guard was always loyal to the White Fang so they knew that there had to have something to make them turn on Adam after so long. Razor allowed himself a small smile, if some were hesitating, thinking about this, then there might be hope for the White Fang after all.

Blake stood in the center and breathed calmly as the door at the other end of the compound opened up to reveal Adam. He walked out of the doorway and passed the cheering crowds as Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe followed him, but made sure to stay to the sides.

Adam went past the crowd and exchanged a short glance with Emerald before he approached the center. He and Blake were now face to face.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! We stand here today because I have been challenged for leadership by none other than the traitor Blake Belladonna!" he began, getting boos and jeers directed at Blake, but she did her best to ignore them. "She has accused me of killing and mutilating our own kind, she and her human friends have even done something to turn the ever loyal Elite Guard of this lie! Well today we are going to end our little relationship one way or another. Should I win I will continue to lead us and I shall punish these fools and end Blake's human loving life. If she wins she will murder me and take over, leading you all to an unknown fate." he declared.

"A fate of understanding, kindness, and redemption!" Blake shouted. "I don't want anyone to suffer anymore. I just want us all to be equal."

Adam smirked and said "How optimistic of you Blake, you never learn."

"Neither do you." she shot back.

The crowd died down, everyone from Team Beacon to the Elite Guard to the rank and file of the Fang watched with interest as the two duelists stared at each other.

Blake and Adam unsheathed their swords simultaneously and the blades clashed together as the battle officially began.

* * *

The fleet had made it to the stopping point. This put them close enough to the village and the mountain ranger but it was still far enough away to keep them from being seen on the Fang's radar, according the Vacuo Rangers who had scouted out the area and had deemed this to be the ideal spot. Glynda stood aboard a Ranger's gunship that was fast enough to get to the village quickly and the armor was thick enough to withstand laser fire, it and several others were appointed to help in the evacuation of the villagers. Down below the Rangers ground forces were already in place for the battle, they just needed the air support.

With the fleet in position everyone needed to get ready to strike one Ruby's team gave the signal. Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage followed Dr. Oobleck and Professors Port and Crane to the main hangar bay of the Resolute, only to fine the large room bustling with activity.

Throughout the hangar bays of the Atlas flagship, squads of Atlas Soldiers with Atlesian Knight-300s marched up their respective fighter-transports and carrier airships in impeccable and orderly lines.

"Over here!" called Chamberlain to them.

"Ah, excellent. This way." Oobleck said as he led the group over to Chamberlain as they moved to meet up in front of a specially-built VTOL transport, which was far more superior than the bullheads used by the various Kingdoms, and armed with highly advanced weaponry including magnetic blasters and tracking missile pods.

As Chamberlain made his way to them down the aisle through the rows of soldiers and android machines, the group of students couldn't help but notice two lines of troopers with very different armor configurations and markings walked behind him, making their way towards Team Beacon along with their Academy's teachers.

Unlike the other Atlas soldiers who wore armor with colors of blue, red, green and yellow on them designating their functions within the Atlesian military forces, these particular soldiers were clad in full body armor plates of black and grey, with the dark blue highlights along their helmets, forearms and legs. Their helmets covered their heads and faces entirely including the mouth areas, and they all looked pretty much to be of the same height. The black-grey armored troopers wore utility belts with pouches for extra ammunition and a variety of grenades, in addition to a pistol holster on the left, a inactive shock baton on the right, and another collapsed a laser sword in a sheath strapped to their lower backs. While the majority of them carried highly advanced assault rifles of different make and design, others carried a variety of weapons including submachine guns, sniper rifles, plasma repeaters and the last few at the back carried what look like bulky shoulder-held missile launchers.

What Jaune, Pyrrha, Fox, and Ren fount intriguing was that upon their left shoulder pad was the emblem of the gear and spear of Atlas, while the other shoulder pad displayed what department of the Atlas military the aforementioned soldiers belonged to. It was an insignia of a white Nevermore clutching a couple of thunderbolts in its claws in an inverted triangle, while cursive script spelled out the following words at the bottom, "Exitus Acta Probat."

Stopping in front of the assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses, Chamberlain smiled and said "Good to see you all in person again, though I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get to talk with you guys outside of a crisis."

"It is unlikely Colonel but maybe someday it will happen." Port greeted as he shook the man's hand.

"Who are those guys?" Nora asked, deciding to be bold and forego the pleasantries unlike her teammates.

Chamberlain smiled at her forwardness, he turned and gestured to the neatly ordered rows of specially-armored Atlas Soldiers behind him."Allow me to introduce Task Force Omega." Gesturing to one of the troopers who walked a few steps in front and saluted him curtly, "And Commander, code-named 'Central', who is the leader of this particular Strike Force who will be taking part in this battle."

"I believe we'll come in handy. We've heard a lot about you kids, took some guts to pull off what you did in Haven. Let's hope you'll keep it up here." Commander Central remarked.

"We certainly hope so." Pyrrha said, "But truth be told we're more concerned about our friends' safety then our combat performances at the moment."

Central nodded and gestured for his soldiers to move up the ramp of the VTOL transport, which had been specially refitted for their group.

Chamberlain looked to Central and began "So I take it that..." the Colonel stopped and looked at the teachers and students before finishing with "he will not be joining you."

As Central walked up the ramp he sighed and shook his head, "No. While I would like to have as much backup as possible, he's still not ready as the technicians haven't got his... teaching hasn't been fully ironed out yet. Plus they say he's just not ready for a battle on this scale yet."

"Understood sir. Perhaps next mission then." Chamberlain said before saluting the commander once more, which Central returned before the ramp of the VTOL closed off and the airship lifted off from its pad, its engines whining at peak efficiency as it powered up to join the rest of the deploying joint task force.

"We'll at least we're going in with a lot of firepower and troops this time instead of just a handful of kids and a few teachers and civilians." Sage observed.

Jaune nodded, "Yeah, hopefully this won't be anywhere near as insane as Haven."

"We can only hope my boy." Port agreed.

"The stakes are high, but I'm confidant that we'll succeed. I mean, look at all of this." Chamberlain said as he gestured around the hangar. "How can the White Fang hope to stop us?"

"Well they have some of our friends and a lot of other hostages for one, plus our whole strike relies on Coco, Ruby, and the others getting those jamming towers down." Fox reminded him.

"Don't worry about it Fox, we just got to have faith in our teams and do our best to help and hopefully this will all be over by sunrise." Pyrrha told him.

* * *

Blake and Adam kept on, their respective blades pressing against one another. Adam tired to surge on but Blake let go and spun around to meet another strike in a parry, only for Adam to hit her with an uppercut, sending her on her back.

"Hey, that's cheating!" shouted Weiss.

"No, in this kind of fight anything goes." Kane told her as Adam approached Blake.

Adam brought up his sword to slam it down but Blake jumped up and landed on her feet, just in time to strike Wilt and pin it down.

"It's not going to be that easy." she hissed as he glared at her from behind his new mask. Adam pulled back again and slammed down his sword again but Blake quickly parried it. The two went on, exchanging about nine blows in all before Adam held up Blush and tried to shoot Blake but she dodged both blasts before dropping, rolling beside Adam, and kicked up, landing a hit on his jaw.

Blake separated Gambol Shroud into both katana and cleaver forms and spun around, tearing a small scratch in Adam's robe as she drove him back.

Adam glared at her as he stepped carefully away but stood strong as Blake began to charge. She jumped up and landed behind Adam and attempted to strike him from behind but he blocked her attack expertly. The two opened up another volley of strikes, Blake with two blades and Adam with one, they clashed about six times before she unexpectedly changed in styles and she engaged his sword in a fencing style with her katana. Adam slammed it away and pulled back to quickly block Gambol Shroud's cleaver.

"Come on Blake!" Sun cheered.

"Kill the traitor!" yelled a White Fang thug.

The two exchanged blows thrice before Blake used the Dust crystal in Gambol Shroud's hilt and her Semblance to create a fire clone that got between the two combatants and exploded, sending them both back and giving them some distance.

Adam charged her and jumped, trying to slash at her head but she quickly parried the high attack before he landed behind her. Blake turned around and activated Gambol Shroud's kusarigama mode and the scythe's blunt end hit Adam in the chest and knocked him down.

Blake ran towards him but Adam used Wilt to shoot at Blake. She deflected it but the blast was powerful enough to nearly knock her down as he recovered.

Adam glared at Blake, determined to beat her. He couldn't lose this, he knew Salem was watching the battle, he didn't know how but he was sure she was observing them. He couldn't lose this, his life depended on it.

He rushed at her with a furious yell as she braced herself, the two clashed, he attacked both of her blades one before she struck back, forcing him to parry both weapons. The former lovers slammed into each other, exchanging blows mercilessly. Thrusts, parries, strikes, slashes, blocks, spins could all be seen as two figures of black and white and black and red fought on.

Blake ducked as he swung for her neck, allowing her to kick him the knee. He grunted as she brought both her blades at him but he quickly blocked again before retreating.

Blake gave chase, only for Adam to strike back with powerful blows and slashes which she managed to parry. He tried to strike at her legs and he chest but each attack was met with a parry. He held his sword low and swung it at her legs but she jumped up and as she came down he rose up his blade and aimed for her head but she quickly blocked that as well before she slashed at his chest but he easily leaned to avoid it.

"Tell me Blake, how long do you think this can last?"

"We'll find out." she answered as she lunged at him. She swung her katana at him and then her cleaver but he blocked both, she followed up with a plunge of her sword but he moved quickly so it missed. She attacked once more, a swing that he dodged and a strike that he parried before he used Wilt as a blunt instrument to hit her in the gut.

"Ah!" she cried out as she moved her sword to block, acting disoriented. Adam smirked and moved in to attack, to keep on pressing her back but as he neared her she suddenly struck back with both her blades, forcing him back instead.

"A clever feint." he admitted as he blocked her strikes.

"I learned it from a human." she said as she pressed on her attack.

She forced Adam on until he stumbled back and she changed Dust crystals within her sword's hilt and attacked him with an arc of purple energy, but his Semblance allowed him to use the energy of the blows he had endured to cut the energy arc down.

Blake grimaced as she put the cleaver away, leaving her with just the katana for the time being, deciding to put all of her energy into a single sword.

Adam rushed forward and attacked, striking at her four times but she was able to parry each blow and sidestep a thrust attack.

"I hope you made your peace with you friends, you'll never be with them again!" he barked as he opened up a wild barrage of attacks on Blake, forcing her to strengthen her defensive parries as quickly as she could.

"What's the point of this Adam? I know you don't want justice for what happened, you just want revenge like Velvet said. Even if you achieve it what good will it do you? In the end you will lead all of these Faunus to ruin, because now you are nothing but Salem's slave, you're just to blind to see that!" Blake shouted as she kept blocking and avoiding his attacks.

"Your friends are the ones who will be MY slaves!" he screamed furiously as he pressed on until he landed a slash against the side of her right upper-arm.

Blake cried out in pain as she just barley managed to knock away a stab from Adam. As he aura went to work healing her she jumped up and kicked him in the chest. He stumbled but didn't fall as he swung his sword to keep her at bay but she went after his legs and used Gambol Shroud's pistol form to shoot him in the lower leg.

Adam fell on his back but quickly parried Blake's next attack as she tried to strike his chest. "What do you hope to gain from working with these people?!" she demanded.

"A world of dying humans, for starters!" Adam snarled as he kicked her in the gut, forcing her back.

Blake recovered just as Adam did and the two charged each other again, Adam opened up with a swing that managed to score a small cut on Blake's cheek but went to attack his chest, forcing him to block but instead she jumped over him and scored a slash on his left shoulder before she landed behind him only for Adam to kick her in the center of her back and knock her down.

Adam whipped around and approached her fallen form. Blake began to get up only to realize how close Adam was to her so she dropped back down just as Adam slashed her across the back. While it wasn't a fatal blow, as she had dropped just in time so the cut wouldn't be deep at all but it was still painful.

Adam glared as he held his sword above her, ready to plunge.

"No!" Sun, Yang, and the others yelled.

Adam plunged, only for Blake use her Semblance and another Dust crystal within Gambol Shroud to create an ice double before she rolled away just in time. Before Adam realized what she had done Wilt was already stuck in Blake's ice duplicate.

Blake had Gambol Shroud transform into its kusarigama form and launched the weapon, the chain and scythe wrapped around Adam.

"No!" he cried as she hauled him down.

"Yes!" cheered Yang enthusiastically.

Adam growled and gripped Blush and aimed it over to the ice Blake and fired, shattering it and freeing Wilt. He aimed it up at Blake and fired, forcing her to block the blast with her cleaver so it wouldn't hit anyone in the crowd, this gave Adam a chance to escape so he reached out and managed to grab his sword and cut himself free of the chains.

He spun his blade around before he charged at Blake, opening up a relentless series of seventeen strikes, forcing her back more and more.

"Face it Blake, you're going to lose!" he hissed.

"The future isn't set in stone just yet!" Blake snapped as she pressed him back and engaged in another series of strikes and parries, eight this time. He tried to kick her but she responded with a punch to his foot. He swung at her head but she quickly ducked and ran to avoid the slash he followed up with before she created another fire clone that crashed into Adam, knocking him down.

Adam caught his breath as Blake approached him. "Surrender, it doesn't have to be like this."

"Yes it does!" he roared as he forced himself back up and attacked again.

* * *

A pair of White Fang Troopers hefted their assault rifles and eyed their relatively empty surroundings, save for a small shack that kept them sheltered from potential rain, as they guarded the gates that led to the main jamming tower. While the rest of their small platoon retired for the evening, both of them were apparently given the raw deal as they were assigned the boring task of guarding a small steel gate with wired fences stretching in two separate directions around the main tower, which was supplemented by two smaller towers on either side of it connected by large cables. Not too far away in either direction, about a few hundred meters or so, were other jamming towers, all of them working together to keep the communications blackout strong. They were all hastily constructed but they did their job decently and so far none of their captives within the territory had been able to call for help. Or so they thought.

Both troopers had heard about the skirmish with Team Beacon earlier over the radio and as much as they wanted to get a piece of the action by going out and help the scouting party deal with the ones that got away, orders were orders and they followed what orders their lieutenant had given them, even if it was to guard a gate while suffering from extreme boredom.

The taller of the pair looked at their sparse surroundings and grunted, shifting his grip on his assault rifle and adjusting the strap which connected the weapon to his shoulder. He privately wondered if he and the other trooper were given the thankless task just because they both lost spectacularly in the poker match three days prior.

The other trooper rubbed the side of his face of sweat with the back of one hand, and turned to his companion guard slowly, and posed a question out of boredom, "Hey, do you ever wonder why we're here?"

The taller guard grunted once more, "Oum knows and who really cares? I just find it stupid that we both are guarding this gate instead of doing something important like guarding those prisoners or searching for the ones who got away."

"Huh. I thought we are both here just because we played badly at the poker game a few days ago." The smaller guard let out a groan, "I can't believe the lieutenant actually cleaned us both out of lien!"

"And I had to scrub the floor of the restroom yesterday." The taller guard complained, "Just wait till I get into another poker game with him. I will make him regret it, even if it's the last - "

His companion abruptly held up a hand, "Wait, did you hear something?"

The taller guard frowned, and turned his head to follow where the shorter guard was looking at. In a short cluster of trees near their guard post, a group of four White Fang troopers came walking calmly out of the forest. They were all in standard issue uniforms and armed with standard assault rifles, the small group comprising of two men and two women by the looks of it.

"What the...? Halt! Who are you? State your business!" the taller guard demanded immediately.

"At ease soldiers, we just need some help." the tallest one, a male, started speaking. "We're members of Captain Hopkins' scouting party, and we have come to call the base for help."

"What happened?" asked the second guard a little curiously.

"The humans attacked our ship and sabotaged it, took out the radio so we can't call for help and our scrolls have ceased to work down in the jungle." The taller of the two girls answered.

The two guards glanced at each other before the taller one reached into the shed and took out a clipboard with several papers on it and demanded, "What's your clearance code?"

"4WDRX7FX-1928." The tall male answered.

The first guard looked at the list and to make sure it was the correct code. "They check out, sorry about this." he said as he took out a key and unlocked the gates. "It's just that we are so bored out of our minds here that anything out of the ordinary gets us excited."

"So you're looking for some action?" asked the smaller of the two girls.

"Eh, a little would be nice." remarked the shorter guard with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Well how about we give you some?" The taller girl replied.

"Wha... Ah!" cried the second guard as the hugely sized leader picked him up easily, squeezing his throat so that he couldn't cry for help. So instead he choked for air while struggling in the large man's unyielding grip.

The taller guard turned quickly, but the second male trooper whipped out a sword and swung it, slicing off the top portion of his assault rifle completely and rendering it useless. He tried to draw his own blade, only for the shorter one of the girls to grab him by the uniform and shove him into the large man's waiting hand where he was picked up and slammed into his partner's head with a painful thud, which knocked them both unconscious. Then they were shortly thrown into the small shack, with Yatsuhashi closing the door.

"Okay, the guards have been taken care of, come on out." Coco beckoned to the woods, and Sharp Strike emerged from the forest like a ghost, holstering his revolver and carrying the satchel that contained the explosive charges that would be used to demolish the towers.

"Excellent work." He placed the satchel down and opened it, handing the charges to the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses, "Now remember, all of these charges are timed to go off at the exact same time, so move quickly, plant the charges and put as much distance between you and the jamming towers as possible. I'm going to take the building and all the guards inside and make sure the security systems are down before we get to work. Once you're done make for the airship as fast as you can, because we need to get out of here before the other White Fang patrols are alerted. Everyone clear on that?" Sharp Strike looked at them and got acknowledgement nods from all present, "Now get to cover and wait for my signal!"

* * *

Adam kicked at Blake, forcing her back before he began to swing his sword at her. She parried five times before weaving right, left, and down to avoid swings and thrusts. He jabbed out Blush and fired but she avoided the gun and jabbed Adam several times in the arm before he forced her back. They reengaged in dealing sword blows, clashing about ten times before both of the duelists took a brief pause only to go at it again with eight clashes.

"You can't win this Blake. Surrender now and I just might be merciful." Adam offered, malice in his voice.

"Never!" Blake cried as she ignored the stinging pain of the healing gash on her back as Gambol Shroud turned to its glock form and she opened fire on him, only for Adam to deflect every single shot. She rushed forward, Gambol Shroud going back to its katana mode and she slashed at Adam who jumped out of the way.

He shook his sword at her, spinning it around in his hands, ready for the next fight.

The two met again, clashing violently and swiftly. They moved like dancers, engaged in a deadly duet as their blades kept clashing until they locked blades together.

"Even if you win they'll never accept you. The White Fang is mine." he spat.

Blake ignored him and fell back, kicking her legs up at she did so.

"Wha...?!" cried as her legs jabbed into him and tossed him over and behind her, landing on his front. "Ugh!"

Blake held her ground as he recovered and attacked with a plunge, locking them in another phase of the duel. Strike and parry, strike and parry, swing and duck, jab and block, it kept going on like that.

They continued to trade blows until they were in another blade lock, madly pressing against one another as hard as they could. And then Adam made a daring move; he loosened his hold on his sword and leg one hand free. This allowed Blake to press the blade against Adam's chest, slightly hurting him but he struck back by using that free hand to grab her by the neck and haul her overhead to slam her into the ground.

Blake rolled away from Adam's stabs, she tried to get up only for Adam to kick her in the chin, sending her into the air and on her back again.

"You are doomed." he said to her as he stalked towards her.

"I don't think so!" Blake cried as she opened fire with Gambol Shroud's glock pistol mode. Adam took five hits before he could block the last two and by then Blake had recovered and came at him with a jump kick, getting him right in the face and knocking him down.

Blake took a moment to breath and collect herself, wiping the sweat from her face as Adam got back up and slowly approached her, but kept his distance. The two gazed at each other warily as they both took careful steps with blades ready.

"Come on Blake, you can do it." whispered Weiss hopefully, it was more to herself but the others could hear it.

Adam jumped at her and landed, blocking her strike just as she made it, the two pressed against each other before Blake made a swipe at Adam's mask with her hand, causing Adam to draw back, giving Blake the upper hand.

She pressed onwards, the two engaging in an odd mix of sword fighting styles, with Blake using some of the fencing moves Weiss had shown her earlier, but the two had traded blows nearly forty times before Blake kicked Adam away again. As he landed he whipped out Blush and blasted Blake before she could deflect it.

"It's odd, you shouldn't be a match for me at all, and yet you're putting up a much better fight than I expected." he admitted as he held up his sword.

"I've had aura enhancers placed on me before the duel so I'd be up to full strength. I don't think you've done the same thing." she said as she recovered, ignoring the pain her body felt.

"True, but then again I suppose it's only fair, the only way you'd ever be able to keep up with me is if I were weakened." he shot with a sneer, ignoring the pain he felt himself.

"I'm not weak. Not anymore." Blake said bravely before she rushed at him furiously, striking him with such fury and strength that Adam was forced back more and more, nine clashes combined with multiple swings that were avoided until they became locked in yet another blade lock. Blake slid her sword down to the tip of Adam's and they engaged in a manner of sword fighting more akin to fencing until Adam pulled back and aimed to slash Blake's neck but she quickly ducked under the blade and slipped beside Adam, scoring a small slash on his side.

Adam pivoted around just in time to parry Blake's swing at his legs and the two began again clashing about eleven times before Blake feinted, making it appear that she was going for a lunge at his chest, which he moved to block, only to swing her sword at his face, knocking off his new mask.

Adam snarled as he forced Blake back, his branded face now bare to the world. "Look at me! Look upon my face, members of the White Fang! Humanity did this to me! They enslaved and murdered my family and marked me as their property! This is what she wants to do to all of us!" Adam ranted.

"NO!" screamed Blake furiously. "I don't want anything like that! It's horrible and no one deserves to suffer that, not even you. But I know what you've done Adam, and what happened to you doesn't justify your actions at all!"

She leapt to attack him but he fought on, fighting her back, their swords slamming together seven more times before they found themselves in yet another blade lock.

"I like this Blake, you've become much stronger than you were when you left me. I think I like it." Adam said sinisterly as he pressed forward, forcing Blake to surge against him as hard as she could as he glared at her before he drew Wilt back and then slammed it forward, forcing Blake to stumble back as he landed a hit on her shoulder.

Adam plunged forward, aiming to stab her upper right arm but she blocked it, he whirled around with his sword out to cut her left side but she parried it, both hands gripping the hilt strongly. Blake attacked next, he parried two of her strikes before she swept at both his chest and legs, the first he leaned away from and the second he jumped over. As he landed he slammed his sword down at Blake's head, aiming to sever her ears but she blocked it and the swords met in a mighty clash that created a small shower of sparks.

Blake pulled away and spun around, holding her sword out as she attacked him once again but he quickly, and desperately, parried they exchanged blows wildly, making no sounds except the clangs of metal and pants and grunts as they fought on.

Neither gave in, neither wanted to surrender, so both would fight on until they had been defeated.

Dozens of clashes were traded with strikes, slashes, jabs, thrusts, and parries, both of them growing more and more exhausted from the duel but they both had more than enough motivation to ignore any sense of being tired and fight on.

Adam kept slamming his sword onto Blake's who parried every strike until Adam held up Blush and fired at her half a dozen times but she ran, avoiding each blast as Gambol Shroud went back to kusarigama mode and she launched it at Wilt, it wrapped around the blade and she used as much of her strength as she could to pull Adam closer to her as her weapon went back to katana form just in time to swing at Adam who ducked the attack at plunged his own weapon at Blake but she easily avoided it.

* * *

At the building before the main jamming tower there were three loud knocks at the door. The lieutenant looked up from his chair and said to a guard "Go see who it is."

The guard nodded and got up from his seat to open up the door. He opened it to see no one there. "What the heck?" The guard looked out, expecting one of his two comrades who were outside for the night had decided to play a prank on them. He looked to the right and saw nothing, but when he looked to the left he saw a large armored figure pressed against the wall.

"Hello there." said Sharp Strike before he whacked the guard right in the face with the pommel of his sword, knocking the guard unconscious and breaking his nose at the same time.

As the guard fell Sharp Strike grabbed his assault rifle and quickly fired into the room, not shooting the guards but their weapons instead, blasting them out of their hands. He tossed the rifle behind his back and withdrew his sword to deflect a few blasts from a guard's rifle before he sliced the gun in two and kicked up to send the gunner into the lieutenant before whipping out his own pistol to shoot down a guard who was scrambling to sound the alarms.

The lieutenant approached Sharp Strike with a machete but the knight did a sweeping kick that knocked the legs out from the lieutenant which allowed him to punch the officer in both the chest and the stomach before grabbing him by the neck and slamming his head on the operations table.

A female Faunus charged him, and he leaned back just as her sword swung mere inches by his throat. Turning her sword aside, he fired his revolver at her kneecap, causing her to scream in pain before he shut her up with a fist to the chin and sending her flying across the room where she landed atop the guard who had tried to set off the alarms.

He went to work, dispatching the others with sharp gestures from his swords and careful shots from his revolver, and after making sure no one else was conscious in the room except him, the knight walked over to the lieutenant, grabbed him by the hair and dragged him over to a control console.

"Deactivate the security systems." Sharp Strike demanded.

"Go to hell!" refused the lieutenant before the knight slammed his face into the console a few times. He held up the officer and gently placed the sword underneath his chin.

"Do you really want to make this harder than it needs to be?" the armored knight asked the shivering Faunus.

The lieutenant shook his head and reluctantly muttered "Okay, I'll do it."

Sharp Strike let the lieutenant go and at first he moved to the console and pushed various buttons and entered the codes under Sharp Strike's careful watch, the screens on the consoles lighting up as the security systems deactivated. "There, it's done." said the officer, but then he punched Sharp Strike in the chest and moved for the alarm button only for Sharp Strike to kick his legs out, causing him to fall clumsily to the ground where he groaned in pain.

Walking in front of the officer, Sharp Strike kindly said "Thank you for your kind assistance" before delivering a kick to the lieutenant's face, knocking him out completely.

Sharp Strike went to the door and signaled to Ruby and the others who were taking cover in the bushes.

"Okay, let's go!" Coco said as she and Yatsuhashi headed for the tower to the left of them while Ruby and Scarlet went for the one of the right.

Sharp Strike began to work quickly, moving the unconscious White Fang members outside so when the tower came down they wouldn't be killed by the explosions and the debris. He didn't mind killing but he did want to avoid it when it wasn't necessary.

On the left tower Yatsuhashi began to plant the charges on the base and the lower levels while Coco climbed up the ladder, carefully planting charges as she went up the tower. She left the ladder and carefully moved one foot at a time across the beam like a trapeze artist, planting a charge on each horizontal beam until she went all the way around and reached the ladder once again.

"Are you alright up there?" Yatsuhashi called.

"I'm solid." Coco responded as she glanced up and sighed, deciding to get the highest level over with before she moved towards the top. "Next time Fox is coming whether he's sick or not." she muttered to herself as she kept on climbing. She quickly made it to the top of the tower, planting a charge right on the tip, making sure it would stay on. She smirked, admiring her handiwork before she let herself slide down to the middle before stopping herself and setting to work once more.

On the other side Scarlet aimed the scout's grappling hook and fired, snagging it on the top of the tower in one shot. "Here we go..." he said to Ruby as he had the grappling hook pull him up to the top of the tower in no time and soon he was busy planting the charges at the upper half while Ruby covered the lower half, using her Semblance to cover the base with charges in no time.

"Are all these charges really necessary?" Scarlet called down.

"Well we want to a big explosion for them to see, don't we?" Ruby asked as she made sure all the charges were set properly.

"True." Scarlet admitted as he lowered himself down to set some charges below the top.

Ruby was quickly done with the base and was currently setting up the charge on the beams above her, her Semblance and natural energy helping her to move the job along rapidly.

Meanwhile Sharp Strike had finished moving all of the White Fang guards outside of the compound to a safe distance from what would be the blast radius he moved back to the building to begin setting the bombs but first wanted to check that they hadn't set off any hidden security systems. Luckily they hadn't but he noticed something he hadn't before; one of the Faunus had left their scroll on the operations table, and it was showing a girl he recognized as Blake Belladonna fighting the leader of the White Fang.

Sharp Strike grimaced underneath his mask and knew they had to hurry before something bad happened.

* * *

Blake had Gambol Shroud turn into its gun-scythe mode and jumped over Adam's head and came down behind his back, slashing her weapon down length-wise before twirling around to blast him right between the shoulder blades.

Adam cried out in pain but forced himself to ignore it as his hand formed a fist and he threw it behind him, managing to hit Blake in the face. Blake withstood the blow and struck at Adam twice, but he blocked both attacks and sidestepped her thrusting stab. Adam threw himself at Blake and she caught him, the two stood face to face, hands in hands as they pressed against each other before Adam kicked her in the shins and cupped both his fists together to wham her on the head but missed, hitting her shoulder instead. He brought up his sword to finish her off but she created another clone and combined it with a rock Dust crystal to create an earth clone that Adam reduced to rubble as she got out of his way.

Blake struck back, throwing six slashes at him, all of which he parried before he managed to land a small cut on her left hand.

Blake yelled out furiously as plunged forward as fast as she could, Adam just barely got out of her way but still received a stinging slice across his cheek. He pivoted around to block Blake's next attack which she unleashed on his with as much power as she could must, striking at him hard and fast about a dozen times until Adam tripped over a rock and fell on his back, he held up Wilt to protect himself as Blake slammed Gambol Shroud down three times, weakening his grip before she used her left hand to shoot forward and grab Adam by the neck.

"I guess this isn't as easy as you thought it'd be." she shot.

"No." Adam admitted before he brought his leg up and kicked Blake in the gut hard enough to push her off of him.

Blake breathed hard to recover, rubbing her sore abdomen as Adam got back up and pressed his hand against his bleeding cheek as his aura worked to heal it.

"I have to admit Blake, you've put up an excellent fight. You were always so weak before, even earlier tonight you needed your friends to give me a real challenge, but again, I'm not at full strength which puts us on..." Adam was interrupted as he quickly moved to block an attack from Blake.

"Shut up and fight." Blake hissed as she pressed on.

The two traded blows furiously, moving so fast that they became blurry figures, even in the light. They traded blows about thirty times in all, clashing and striking their blades together until...

"AH!" Adam cried as Blake slashed him across the hip. He fell to his knees, snarling in fury as he began to channel his aura to heal the wound.

Blake approached him and said "Give up Adam."

"It's too late for that, my love!" Adam cried as he brought his sword up and swung at Blake's which she easily ducked.

Their blades clashed about ten more times before another swing from Adam and a duck by Blake, then another nine strikes and parries before Blake struck with her legs three times; Adam suffered one kick to the side of the head and two to the abdomen followed up by a palm strike to the face and a kick to the shoulder, but Adam lunged and grabbed Blake and forced her down to get a knee to her upper chest, followed up by Adam tossing Blake across the courtyard.

Blake used Gambol Shroud's pistol mode to blast Adam in his still hurting shoulder and then jumped on his back, punching him in the head five times before Adam grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. Blake rolled away to avoid both a stab to the gut and a stomp on her head and she sprung up to delivered two quick and painful punches to Adam's side before he swung Wilt at her but she quickly ducked and jumped up to punch him in the jaw only for him to punch her in the chest at the same time.

The two stumbled back from each other, both tired but both of them had no choice but to go on.

Elsewhere Salem watched with great interest, especially in Blake...

"You can't keep this up forever, Blake." Adam said as he approached her.

Blake held up her sword, grasping it firmly in her hands as she retorted "Neither can you."

Adam struck at her while she countered with a parry, the two stuck in another blade lock.

Adam leaned in and whispered "Once this is over, I'm going to have fun with your two blonde friends... and I'm going to make you watch what I do to them."

"NO!" Screamed Blake as she slammed her sword forward and forced Adam back. She slammed Gambol Shroud into Wilt over and over again, as fiercely as she could to drive him further back, not giving him any time to recover.

"Come on Blake! You can beat him!" Yang called.

"Finish him off!" cheered Sun.

"Don't give up!" encouraged Weiss.

Blake kept it on, striking faster and faster, making struggle to keep up with her to block her blows.

 _'Do it. Strike him down. Give into your hate for him. End him, cut him, kill him for everything he's done!'_ Said a smooth feminine voice in Blake's head. Blake was so into the duel that she didn't stop to wonder where that strange voice had come from, she just kept hitting away at Adam with everything she had.

Adam tried to use Blush to shoot her but she struck it hard enough to send it flying out of his hands. Adm cried out as he tried to push her back only for Blake to slam Gambol Shroud into Wilt so hard it fell out of his grip as well.

Blake swung her blade, driving Adam further back before she kicked him in the knee, bashed the hilt of her sword into his chest, and punched him with an uppercut to the jaw all at once, sending him down on his back.

"No, NO!" Adam shouted as he tried to crawl away, only for Blake to step on his chest and point her sword to his neck. "You have lost." she spat furiously, her usually serene amber eyes now ablaze with anger.

Adam panted and said "Then finish it. Kill me."

Blake was silent and still for a moment, but kept Adam down by gently pressing her sword to his neck.

"Kill him! He lost the fight!" cried a female White Fang Trooper.

"Yeah, do it! He lost to you so he's too weak to lead us!" called another.

"Kill him!" "Cut his head off!" "End it!" "Go for the heart!" "Kill him!" "He lost!" "Do it!"

Blake began to nervously shake as she realized she now had Adam's life in the palm of her hand, she could kill him right now and make him pay for everything he had done.

"Do it Blake, for everyone he has killed and maimed, for the sake of White Fang itself, for both Humans and Faunus, kill him!" Razor said.

"Blake, you don't have to do it!" Yang cried.

"... yeah! Don't sink to his level!" Sun pleaded.

Blake didn't know what to do. It would be so easy to just swing her sword, sever his head, and end it. She could kill him in a second... but what would that make her?

 _"Do it Blake. He hurt you and so many others, it's only fair you end him. So kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM NOW!"_ Came the smooth but sinister voice that invaded Blake's ears.

Blake brought up her sword and screamed as she brought it down...

* * *

Sharp Strike climbed further up the long ladder, not an easy task considering his armor but he managed. He soon reached the top and set up the charges at a decent pace and as he began to move downwards he heard a voice call "Sharp Strike!"

He looked down to see Ruby at the bottom of the tower, "Scarlet's finishing up on our tower and I was wondering if you could use some help?"

"Sure, take these charges and set them on those cables, those towers are just extra power for this one so if we sever the link they're useless." he instructed.

"Got it!" Ruby said with nod as she caught the bag of charges he threw down to her. She rocketed off with her Semblance, planting the charges on both sets of power cables.

Sharp Strike eventually got to the base of the tower and began planting the explosives as Coco and Yatsuhashi returned.

"Got it done, all wired and ready to blow." Coco reported as Yatsuhashi nodded.

"Good, Scarlet's probably done about now anyway. General Ironwood and the others are probably here now so all we have to do is get out of the way, blow this thing up, and go rescue the others." Ruby surmised optimistically.

"Maybe." Sharp Strike said seriously. "But we need to hurry, I saw something on one of the guards' scrolls, your friend Blake is fighting Adam, and it appears that the White Fang are broadcasting it like a sports tournament."

"Damn." Coco swore ruefully.

"We have to help her!" Ruby cried.

"And we will but we need to set off the bombs first." Yatsuhashi reminded her as Scarlet came up.

"Alright guys, everything's all set up." he said.

"Good, how's it here Sharp Strike?" Ruby asked.

"We just need to get the tower's base loaded and then everything will be ready." Sharp Strike answered as he jumped off the tower beams and onto the top of the building

"Take these and set them at the bases of the beams." Sharp Strike ordered as he threw a charge to each of them.

As the four went to work Sharp Strike set down the bag with the rest of the explosives and set them up, wiring them so they'd activate when he pressed the button on the detonator. Instead of sending a radio signal the detonator would send a specially modified electric pulse that would activate all of the explosives at once.

Soon everything was set.

"Alright, it's all done up here, what about down there?" asked the knight.

"All wrapped up!" called Scarlet.

Ruby got out her scroll and looked to the others. "I'll head on back to the ship so I can call the general!" She said before she dashed away in a blur thanks to her Semblance.

"Good thinking, now I suggest we make ourselves scarce." Coco suggested.

"As you said, good thinking." said Sharp Strike as he jumped down from the building and ran with the others away from the main jamming tower's compound.

Once they were far enough away Sharp Strike held out the detonator and pressed the button without another thought.

* * *

Blake let out a loud, powerful scream as she stabbed Gambol Shroud down... right above Adam's head.

She panted furiously, sweat dripping from her body as it subtly shook from adrenaline, and her eyes wild. She looked into Adam's eyes, and he looked right back. He had come so close to dying...

Everyone was silent until Adam spoke up. "I thought you were going to kill me. I would have."

Blake sighed and said "Killing you would be the easy way out, and you do not deserve it. Besides, I don't want to be a monster like you."

"You coward. You should have killed me."

"NO!" Blake shouted. She looked up and faced the crowd. "No more killing! No one is killing anyone tonight! Not me, not him, none of you! No one! I want all of you, every single one of you to listen to me!" She pointed at Adam and said "This man... if you keep following him he will lead you to straight to hell. He had aligned himself with not just Cinder Fall, but something much, much worse; something pure evil. Those three know exactly who I'm talking about." she said as she pointed to Mercury, Emerald, and Steppenwolffe. Blake looked back to the crowd and continued, "Adam is so obsessed with revenge and hurting humanity that he has gone out of his way to silence and punish anyone who opposes him, that's how corrupt he truly is! That why it wanted him, becasue of how far gone he truly is! He is going to let this thing destroy you, make us all destroy each other because that's what sh... what it feeds on."

Blake looked around, seeing looks of interest, confusion, and doubt. She looked to her friends who encouraged her to go on.

"Listen to her! She's telling the truth!" Razor roared.

"Can't any of you see what he's done? He's led you to attack and murder both humans and Faunus to create hatred between our races because that is what that thing wants and needs, it manipulates and turns people, human and Faunus alike, against each other, makes them all irrational and full of hatred! Look at yourselves, chanting for death and violence, is that who you really are, is that what any of you really want to be like?! You're all here because you never wanted to be treated like animals again, so stop acting like animals! I know you can do it, I think that deep down you're all better than this, you can all change! I know how you all feel, you hated being looked down upon, you hated being treated like 'the other' by some terrible examples of humanity, I know what that feels like! I got sucked in by his vision too, he tricked me, made me believe he loved me, so I believed him when he said there was no chance for equality and that the White Fang needed to become violent to get respect, I let myself be fooled by him! But I began to see him for what he truly is, that's why I left the White Fang. I know what happened to Adam was horrible and it should never happen to anyone but it doesn't excuse what he's done. How many people have you had murdered or butchered Adam? How many?!" she demanded furiously.

He remained silent, glaring at her with hatred.

Blake shook her head in disgust before going on. "We're all decent people, maybe some of you aren't but if you work to improve, to change for the better, you can all be redeem yourselves! We don't need to spread hatred or hurt people to get respect anymore, you never had to! Do any of you honestly think that helping attack the Vytal Festival helped you? Do you think that made people admire you? And yes, I know that many of you have suffered because of humanity, I know that you all have a reason to be here, but humanity isn't evil! You cannot judge an entire race on the actions of a few people, no more than all humans can judge the Faunus race on the actions of those like Adam Taurus! A Faunus who had murdered innocent people, led terrorist attacks and robberies, and killed or even amputated the animal parts of members of the White Fang that either left, tried to get away, or opposed him because they saw him for what he really is!"

Many of the faces in the crowd began to soften, some looked regretful, some looked unsure, some looked shocked, some looked guilty, some looked furious, some looked nervous.

"She's telling the truth! I saw the amputees! I saw their suffering!" Velvet declared.

"So did Piper!" shouted Kane as he gestured to the musical girl. "And Adam had the proof destroyed to save his ass!"

"He had former members like Tuskon, Nettie, Rusk, Fergus, and many others killed when they tried to leave!" Claudandus revealed as loudly as he could.

"The hybrid kill one of my troops because of what we discovered and Adam allowed it to happen!" added Leonardo.

"He cut off my tail!" yelled Sun, letting the crowd see what Adam had done, getting gasps of shock from the many Faunus there.

The crowd grew quiet, everyone looking either ashamed, angry, or nervous until Hui spoke up; "Do you really believe what she's saying? It's crazy!"

"Shut up!" yelled Babara, "Don't listen to him, he's Adam's crony. If you go along with these bastards they'll make you just as bad as they are!"

Blake shook her head before saying "Listen, you might not believe me about Adam's new master, but I promise you that it is real. I haven't seen it myself but my friends have! Friends who have suffered horribly because of it! It wanted Adam because he could lead you and he could help it exploit your weaknesses so it can feed off of your hatred, your greed, your prejudice, your fear, your lust, your grudges, your anger, and maybe even your desperate desire to be treated as an equal! It's the ruler of all Grimm!"

The crowd was silent.

"It feeds on hate, and it can use that to manipulate us all, no matter what race or gender, and turn us against each other. Yes, there is racism out there, there are some humans who hate us because we're different but it's a two-way street. I'm willing to bet there are a lot of Faunus out there, maybe even here, who hate humans and consider them inferior. Hate can feel good, it helps you vent your frustrations if they been held back for so long but its effects are not worth it. Hate blinds you, makes you not realize what terrible things you've done until it's too late. Don't give into the hatred, don't let people like Adam use you. I'm begging you to change before it's too late."

Silence again.

"Are you really going to believe this?" shouted Adam as he got up. "Some stupid, melodramatic, cliche-ridden speech about peace and love and equality?! This awful load of tripe wouldn't fool anyone with half a brain! If any of you listen to her, or have doubts about the White Fang, then you're just as stupid and pathetic as she is!"

"That's not up to you." Razor said, "The choice is up to them, each of you have a choice and no one else can make it for you, especially not you... _commander_." He spat that last word out sarcastically and scornfully before adding "In case you haven't noticed; Blake defeated you, so she is now the leader of the White Fang. Listen everyone, whatever happens next is up to you. The choice is yours. Blake or Adam.

One member in the crowd, a Husky Faunus, ripped off his mask and threw it to the ground. A Faunus near him did the same to hers. And another. And Another. And another until over half of the crowd was tearing off their masks. While there were a good number who were keeping their masks on, even some of them looked nervous.

Hui and the others loyal to Adam began to feel very nervous while Emerald, Mercury, and Steppenwolffe began to see that the situation wasn't going to please Salem at all. Many of those who still had their masks on began to move away from the others.

Adam began shaking with both anger and fear as he knew he had failed... and Salem was going to punish him.

"Don't! Stop! I order you to stop NOW! I am your leader! YOU WILL OBEY ME!" he screamed.

"They don't have to listen to you Adam. Not anymore." Blake said as she looked at him with a mixture of disgust, disappointment, and even a hint pity for what he was without his power; a sad Faunus who had let his tragedy and hatred consume and twist him into a monster. "You're going to pay for what you've done. You and everyone who believes in your insane ambitions will rot in a cell for the rest of their lives. These Faunus want to change, and you don't. You're finished Adam."

Adam began to seethe in fury as he looked to Wilt, still on the ground. He grabbed it and glared at Blake, "If anyone's finished here it's you!" he yelled as he charged at her.

Many people in the crowd gasped or cried out while a few cheered for Adam as Blake got ready for another bout when all of a sudden Yang jumped out of the crowd and slammed the Ember Celica right into Adam's face.

"You don't know how good that felt!" she quipped.

"GAH!" he cried as Razor grabbed him and sucker-punched him. "I've been needing to do that for a while." he remarked as Weiss kicked Adam in the jaw.

"That's for my team and everyone else you've hurt." she hissed as he staggered around.

He turned only to come face to face with Velvet who slugged him right between the eyes. "That really did feel good." she muttered as Sun knocked Adam down with his bo-staff.

Sun got on top of Adam and said "So, who exactly is finished here? Oh right! You. By the way, if you ever try to hurt my girlfriend or anyone I care about again I'll do the same thing you did to me!"

"Don't." Blake said as she placed a hand on Sun's shoulder. "Don't be like him."

Sun looked at her and nodded as Blake looked down at the defeated Adam and finally said with a tired but triumphant smile "I did it."

Then a loud explosion ripped through the air, making everyone look over to see the tall jamming towers about a mile away in the forest exploding.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to Golden Crusader for helping to write this chapter and check out his prequel to this story, RWBY Crucible.
> 
> Hey everybody, things are finally looking up for our heroes... not so much for Adam. Originally Pyrrha's flashback was going to be in the last chapter but I decided to save it for this one so it would have more meat to it.
> 
> I hope you guys liked how I wrote Blake in this chapter, I worked really hard to get her big scenes right because I love her as a character and I wanted her scenes in this chapter to be really top notch so I hope I was able to pull it off.
> 
> Important notice: This story will soon be upgraded to an M rating, just a heads up for you guys and those who have yet to fave and follow the story but still want to read it.
> 
> Please if you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please let a review, or simply follow and favorite the story if you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback. Thank you all, once again.


	46. War for the White Fang Part I

Ruby pressed the screen on her scroll as she dashed towards the ship through the thick and dark forest. She soon found General Ironwood's number and called him up, and was relieved that he answered so quickly.

"Miss Rose, we've see the explosions. Good work." Ironwood complimented.

"Thank us later General, Blake is fighting Adam and I think he's letting all of the White Fang watch! You've got to move now!" she exclaimed as she made it to the grotto where their ship was hidden.

"Of course Miss Rose, tell me the coordinates right now."

* * *

On the bridge of the _Resolute_ Ironwood spoke into a microphone, "We have the coordinates of the White Fang's base and we are transmitting them to your ships now. Good luck out there everyone, many lives are counting on us. Scramble and attack!" he commanded as the massive ship and the small armada behind it quickly moved forward at incredible speeds and to the White Fang troops below it looked like the ships had appeared out of nowhere.

To say that the massive ship known as the _Resolute_ showing up combined with the various bullheads and gunships that poured out of its hangar were pretty alarming sights would be quite the understatement.

"It's the Atlas army!" cried a guard.

"And the rangers! Blast 'em down!" ordered a captain to an operator of a weaponized vehicle.

All vehicles with weapons attached, and those with heavy caliber weapons, began firing on the ships as they flew overhead.

Ironwood watched as several ships got hit, but merely buckled and shook from the impacts. He grimaced and opened his mouth to speak an order only for a missile to explode harmlessly against the side of the _Resolute's_ bridge, doing little damage to the massive flagship. Ironwood shook his head and said "They're decently armed with competent aim... Rangers, attack now! Take their attention off our ships." he ordered.

On the ground below the land vehicles of the Vacuo Rangers came speeding out of the forest including armored bikes, buggies, and jeeps with either armed drivers or gun turrets attached to the top and sides.

Along the perimeter of the village over a hundred armed White Fang guards ran to and fro across the assigned areas, getting into their assigned positions under the braying orders of their superiors, while those in or near the village began grabbing a large variety of weapons from inside the ground-level armory rooms. Others simply took whatever weapon they could find from the nearest weapon racks on the sides of vehicles at the moment or simply used the standard assault rifles. Some, however, were silently sneaking off, as many of them had observed the fight via their scrolls and some were now ashamed of what they were a part of.

Huge twin-barrelled auto-cannons and machine gun turrets swiveled atop the White Fang's stolen vehicles, pointed outwards in the direction of the incoming enemy forces, while anti-aircraft cannons presenting their dangerous mouths to the dawning skies, ready to unleash their dangerous payloads at any moment. Heavy stationary artillery cannons and mortars cranked up on their elevating systems as their users slammed shells into breeches and primed them to fire. Among the many weapons they have either acquired by illicit means or stolen from military bases all over Remnant, the White Fang had amassed quite a large collection of stolen Atlas weapons. The irony of using Atlas's weapons against their own forces did not escape those who White Fang troopers who wielded them, and they look forward to killing the arriving strike forces' troops with advanced Atlas weapon technology.

And not a moment too soon, just as a huge opposing army appeared across the huge, dense forest that led up to the front lines of the Fang's blockade. At the front roared a large number of convoys consisting of Vacuo Rangers armored jeeps and buggies as well as armored trucks with additional weapons mounted on them, all decked in desert camouflage and armed to the teeth. The maelstroms of desert sand produced in their wake advancing across the plain was akin to a sandstorm that Vacuoans commonly experienced in their Kingdom, except this heralded an arrival of a massive military force.

In the airspace above the arriving ground forces was filled with dozens of Ranger Bullheads with yet more Atlesian gunships and Atlas Eagles, each sporting an array of formidable weapons and filled with squads of troopers and android soldiers. At the forefront of the aerial forces flew half a dozen advanced-looking black VTOL transports, each black airship far larger and armored than a standard Bullhead and much more heavily armed, their missile pods armed and ready while magnetic blasters and gatling guns tracked back and forth, already prioritizing various available targets by their threat levels.

Were it any other opposing force facing such a daunting army armed with fearsome firepower charging towards them, they would have thrown down their weapons and surrendered in short order. But to the White Fang, while a terrorist organization to some and freedom fighters to others, the approaching combined Atlesian and Vacuoan military forces were just more targets to be destroyed and so they opened fire with every single weapon they had on the perimeter vehicles once the enemy was in firing range, filling the vehicle and aircraft choked forest in front of them with countless bullets, and artillery cannon shells that would have been enough to take over a small city.

The gunners on the Rangers' armored jeeps, buggies and trucks retaliated with their own weapons, firing unending streams of bullets and auto-cannon shells at the blockade as they charged towards the White Fang perimeter, dodging artillery shells which sent plumes of dirt and grass flying in all directions. Desert-camoed buggies with missile launchers on their backs let loose salvos of high-explosive missiles which flew towards the rapidly approaching blockade, some detonating in bright orange explosions as they were destroyed by the White Fang forces stationed around the area, while others impacted and sent hot shrapnel into any unfortunate wall guards who didn't manage to get into cover in time.

Meanwhile in the sky, Vacuoan Bullheads and Atlesian fighter-transports helped out by firing their respective weapons while weaving through the flak and missile-filled skies, causing lines of explosions to appear in the forest while lending much-needed aerial support for the advancing ground forces. Here and there a Bullhead or aerial gunship took a hit from the White Fang's anti-air defenses, causing them to trail oily black smoke from their taxed engines or in some cases, and some were forced to prematurely land but other aircraft simply flew past the chaos towards the White Fang base, intending to deliver their troops to the assigned drop zones as safely as possible.

Task Force Omegas' VTOL led the small fleet while behind them was the ship which contained the rest of Team Beacon, Taiyang, Oobleck, Port, and Crane, and behind them was the group of Ranger ships that Glynda was in command of.

"We're over the village, we have to break off now. Good luck up there everyone!" Glynda said over the radio.

"You too Glynda, give 'em hell." Taiyang bid as Glynda's ship, along with over a dozen other Ranger ships, broke off from the group and dived towards the village below.

"Do you think she can do it?" Sage asked.

"You don't know Professor Goodwitch as well as we do, but she's got this. Trust us." Nora assured him.

"That she does!" laughed Port as he loaded up the bullets Crane had given him. "Now, are you sure these things will work?"

"Of course we are! Well they did in the labs anyway, but this was the perfect opportunity to field test them." Crane said.

"What are they?" Ren inquired.

"Well they're bullets melded with some the residual energy from Miss Rose's eyes we found on the Grimm she defeated with her powers." Oobleck elaborated.

"You harvested the silver energy?" Jaune asked, a bit shocked.

"Yes, but we can assure you we're not trying to take advantage of Miss Rose or the grief she must feel to produce this energy. That is the last thing we want." Oobleck promised.

"It's just another weapon against the Grimm, one that will help us learn more about them and maybe even give us a new way to defeat their mysterious leader." Crane said, giving them a knowing look.

The teens all looked to each other, and while some of them weren't exactly comfortable with it they understood where the teachers were coming from.

"I guess we can talk about it later when we get Ruby and the others back." Jaune voiced.

Pyrrha nodded and said to them "As long as Ruby's not hurt by it." Everyone responded to her with agreeing nods

"I promise, it will never come to that." Oobleck swore with sincerity as the ship flew on towards the base. They left it at that. Right now they had more urgent matters to attend to. Such as hanging onto anything they could while their ship swerved violently to dodge the White Fang's turrets.

In the ship Glynda was in her hand gripped tightly to the railing on the walls as the ship took a hit from the White Fang's heavy weapons from the village.

"All ships, form a circle around the village and surround it, land and attack but watch your aim and make sure your targets are hostiles, minimal damage and absolutely no civilian casualties!" she ordered over the radio. "Is that understood?"

"Affirmative!" came dozens of voices over the radio at once from the pilots and the rangers.

"Good. Those assigned to liberate the prison you have my permission to break off." she said. About six ships veered to the right and accelerated ahead towards the damaged prison while the others began to surround the village. "Pilot, take us down to the village, as low as you can so we can jump in." Glynda instructed.

"Yes ma'am." the pilot said as he had the ship dive down to the village until it was just above the buildings, hovering over one of the back alleys.

"Go!" Glynda ordered as she opened up the door and jumped out, landing easily with her Semblance. The rangers dived out after her, landing on the solid ground of the alley.

"Halt! Hands up now!" ordered a voice.

Glynda glanced backwards to see a few White Fang guards aiming their guns at them. "I don't think so." she muttered as she whipped around and with some quick, well placed and time waves of her wand she used her Semblance to block every single bullet fired before allowing the rangers to blast down the Faunus troops. They were soon down on the ground, knocked out and their guns damaged in the firefight, but they weren't dead.

"Move out, carefully." Glynda ordered as she led them into the village.

* * *

"You did good Ruby, bet those White Fang creeps aren't so tough now." Neptune said as they looked at the _Resolute_ through the trees, hearing the sounds of battle in the distance.

"Hey, I can't take all the credit, everyone helped out." Ruby stated as Qrow got the ship ready again.

"And we're gonna help some more. Once the others get back we're heading into battle with the army." Qrow called from the cockpit.

"Alright!" whooped Ruby, but Neptune looked unsure.

"Is that really necessary? I mean I know our friends need us and I want to help them but I don't think you or me can fight after what we've been through." Neptune pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'll be flying the ship and all you have to do is shoot. Can't be that hard." Qrow said, "Ruby and everyone else can fight so they will fight."

"You couldn't stop us." Coco said with a confidant smirk as she, Sharp Strike, and the others appeared through the forest. "It's done, those towers are for the scrapheap and it looks like we can say the same for the White Fang's luck."

"It's not over just yet, there is still a battle to be fought." Yatsuhashi reminded her.

"You got that right big guy, everyone on the ship now!" Qrow ordered, "Next stop: White Fang Headquarters."

"Do or die time." Scarlet muttered.

"Don't say die man, after the crud that's happened tonight I'm beginning to think that one of our Semblances brings bad luck or something." Neptune voiced as everyone ran up the ramp of the ship and got ready for another round of fighting.

"Don't be an idiot, kid." prodded Qrow humorously, shaking his head at the thought.

The ramp began to close as the ship lifted off and carefully managed its way out of the grotto but before they blasted off Sharp Strike took out his scroll and sent a message.

'Master, we've destroyed the jamming towers and the Atlesians have arrived. Shall I still help them?'

He soon got a response, 'Good. 'Operation: Fracture' has already begun across the Kingdoms, the White Fang may survive this night but they will be severely crippled. And yes, you may assist them, but do now draw attention to yourself. Once the battle is over leave as soon as you can.'

Sharp Strike nodded as the ship rocketed towards the White Fang's base and typed 'Understood master. Protect the Innocent, Survive the Trials, Serve Remnant.'

* * *

Back at the White Fang's headquarters alarms wailed throughout the compound the moment after the jamming towers went up in a cacophony of bright explosions in the distance, their shrill screaming nearly deafening the ears of every member of the Fang present in the arena. The majority of those present knew what the alarms meant once the towers collapsed, as that meant that the communications blackout, and by extension the radar scrambling that kept the mountain headquarters hidden from the authorities was gone as well. That meant a massive attack was imminent.

Within the courtyard everyone there was startled and stunned by the sudden appearance of the Atlesian military's flagship and the various ships that had poured out of it. There were cries of panic as some ran off to safety but most were too stunned to do anything.

"Wh... but how?" Velvet stuttered in confusion.

"... Ruby." Yang said with a growing smile.

Weiss looked to her and began to smile as well. "Yes, that's it, it has to be. They're alive!"

Blake smiled as well but she quickly noticed the worried look on the faces of the Elite Guard and the other White Fang members. She quickly realized that Ironwood and his troops didn't completely understand what was going on, they had no idea of what just happened! They didn't know that half of the White Fang members present weren't hostile anymore.

"Oh no... we have to call Ruby and tell her! We need to tell her what's happened." Blake cried.

Winter quickly realized what she meant, but her scroll was still on the Elite Guard's ship so she couldn't contact General Ironwood, but she knew someone who would...

All of a sudden Adam, seizing an opportunity, grabbed Sun's leg and threw him off. Sun landed on his back, made all the more painful because of his halved tail, as Adam jumped up and quickly retrieved his weapons, Hui and the White Fang bodyguards, also known as his Oblivion Vanguard, moved forward to flank their leader. The Oblivion Vanguard were all clad in black stealth-suits with belts with red buckles and black boots combined with armored kneecaps and elbows and gauntlets on their arms along with Grimm masks with horns similar to Adam's own as a sign of their loyalty to him. They were fiercely loyal to him and were willing to lay down their lives for him as they viewed him as a liberator of the Faunus race. Emerald and Mercury stepped forward as well, but Steppenwolffe has mysteriously slinked away.

"They've called on the Atlesians to destroy us! They are traitors! Will you join them in their betrayal of our race?! Fight with me! Fight for our freedom!" he yelled bravely, trying to rally the troops.

There were various mumbles of debate and hesitation among the large crowd, and thought there were a few cheers of agreement from those who still supported him Adam didn't have the whole of the White Fang behind him anymore. However he could hear the large turrets at the front of the base opening fire on the approaching ships, which meant either some didn't know about the outcome of the fight or that not everyone had betrayed him.

"In case your memory has gone to shit; Blake beat you, she's our leader now." Kane said firmly.

"She's too weak!" a bodyguard cried.

"He agreed to the duel, he knew what would happen if he lost, and he lost! He has to pay up!" Teresa snapped.

"We can deal with this later! Right now we need to talk things through..." Winter spoke loudly only for Adam to cut her off.

"There is no talking this over. We go to war now! Do you want to spend the rest of your lives rotting in a cell?! If you want to be free you will follow me, otherwise run while you can." Adam shouted to the crowd.

Some seemed to take his advice and began to leave, while others stayed, not sure of what to do.

"You don't need to be afraid! We can make sure you won't be punished too severely depending on what you did! We won't let you suffer for Adam's crimes! You don't have to follow him." Blake said to the members of the White Fang before looking to the Elite Guard. "Razor, anyone, give me your scroll, we need to call Ruby. She obviously had something to do with this, maybe she can help." Blake said.

"No need, I will contact Ruby and General Ironwood. I have a communications system built into me." Penny announced, making her friends give her weird looks.

"Why didn't you use it earlier?" asked Selena as she kept watch on the guard, making sure they didn't try anything, but it was hard as some Faunus were beginning to either get behind Adam in support or to get to their battle stations, or just plain running for safety.

"It was being affected by the jamming towers and now that they've been destroyed I can call for help." Penny said, right before dodging a kick from Mercury.

"Yeah right, you just want to tell 'em where to send their bombs!" Mercury accused.

"No. I..." Penny began to say when a masked White Fang trooper threw a rock at her head.

"Freak!" the trooper yelled.

"Hypocritical asshole!" Yang shot back as she blasted the trooper down, she looked to Penny and said "Call 'em Penny we got you covered."

The robotic girl nodded and her eyes went bright green as she began to call her friend and her general as masked White Fang members and bodyguards rushed to attack them, aided by Beowolves from Steppenwolffe who was controlling them from the sidelines. Leonardo and his troops took out their guns and began blasting away at the Grimm while Team Beacon and the Elite Guard fought off the Faunus attackers.

"Protect her, if she can contact Ironwood maybe we can stop this from becoming an all-out disaster!" Razor ordered his team, all of whom quickly got into fighting stances.

"Boss, what about us? They'll want to arrest us too." Kong reminded him.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now we need to deal with this... I have an idea." Razor said before shouting out "Everyone! All those of the White Fang who are with us take off your masks! Show us that you're on our side and that you stand for equality!"

"Join us and fight for peace!" Claudandus beckoned.

"And we will fight for you!" Blake declared.

They seemed to listen, those who had ripped off their masks cheered for Razor and chanted the names of Razor or Blake as the former took out his scroll.

"Troy, take out our ship, fight your way out if you have to, and have the others man the guns, give us some air support and help take out the turrets." he instructed.

"Got it boss!" said the old Cheetah Faunus, who was stationed on the Elite Guard's ship with Goddard, Johnny, Darla, Warwick, Miguel, Caitlin, Burton, and four of Leonardo's troops who had stayed on the ship for extra security, including those who had been temporarily thrown in the brig when Jinty and Babara made their move but were now on-board with their mission.

"Attack!" Adam commanded, the bodyguards and those still loyal to him surged forward to attack the group but their combined forced fought back with the help of those on who were now on their side.

"Down with Adam!" yelled a female Faunus as she slammed the butt of a rifle into a soldier.

"For our true leader!" yelled a trooper before he was kicked away by Mercury.

"Attack!" yelled a low ranking officer as he threw himself at one of the bodyguards.

Blake smiled as the Faunus of the White Fang began to fight for her, even though some ran it was better than joining Adam again. They still had hope. She yanked Gambol Shroud out of the earth and blasted down a Beowolf before parrying a strike from a bodyguard, who was blasted away by Yang.

Adam used Wilt to absorb a shot from one of Leonardo's troops before blasting at Razor, who easily blocked it with Kill-Master. Adam ran to avoid a barrage of bullets and took refuge inside of the main base, shooting back as much as he could. Once he took cover he whipped out his scroll and selected an the control room, most of the ones in there would still listen to him.

"All guns fire on those ships, start up the Paladins and send them out to do some damage on the invaders, Spider-Droids too, and while you're at it have someone contact the nearest bases for backup! We have a war zone here!" he ordered.

"But sir..." said an officer, "you lost the fight..."

"Do you think that will matter in the end? Do you think the humans will care? Do you think Blake can keep you all safe?" the Bull Faunus asked.

Silence.

"I didn't think so. Now launch an offense now! And... have the engineers load up the ship's weapons. It might now be all ready but it can fly. I want those missiles loaded up as soon as possible. And get all reserve troops off duty and have them surround the courtyard." Adam commanded.

"Right away, commander."

Outside one side clashed into another, bullets were fired, swords clashed, punches thrown... the civil war for the White Fang had begun.

* * *

The group inside of the stole White Fang ship had just finished discussing their plan of attack when Ruby's scroll began to ring. She held it up and was surprised by the name on the caller I.D.

"Who is it?" asked Scarlet.

"Penny!" Ruby answered before accepting the call.

"Salutations Ruby!"

"Penny, are you okay? What about everyone else? What happened to you guys? Is Blake..." Ruby quickly asked before Penny interrupted her.

"Miss Rose?" asked the voice of General Ironwood.

"General?"

"Hello General Ironwood." greeted Penny.

"What's going on?" Scarlet asked, confused.

"Penny called but General Ironwood is on the line too." Ruby explained, just as confused.

"To answer your questions Ruby; do not worry, I am unharmed and everyone is okay, and Blake managed to defeat Adam." Penny revealed.

"She did?! Oh that's great!"

"Good news, what is the situation down there Miss Polendina?" Ironwood questioned.

"Well that's the thing general, sir... we have noticed the destruction of the towers and the _Resolute's_ arrival and... General, Ruby, we have a problem." Penny confessed.

"And what is that problem, exactly?" Ironwood inquired as he massaged his temples.

"Earlier we managed to convince the White Fang Elite Guard that Adam Taurus wasn't a morally ideal leader, after they captured us their leader, Razor, sent one of his agents into the prison and they discovered what Adam did and they, along with some White Fang soldiers, have joined us and helped us confront Adam, which led to the skirmish between Blake and Adam for leadership of the White Fang." she explained.

"So does this mean Blake is the leader of the White Fang?!" Ruby cried, utterly shocked.

"Correct. Blake is now in command of the White Fang." Penny confirmed.

"Can she get them to stand down?" Ironwood asked.

"Well your sudden appearance has made that rather difficult sir, some believe you want to kill them or lock them up forever and Adam Taurus still has some supporters. Specialist Schnee ordered me to contact you sir, and I am to inform you that those White Fang members without their masks are not completely hostile and can be reasoned with. Please understand general, we don't want to make this situation worse." Penny pleaded.

Ironwood sighed and said "Very well Miss Polendina, it appears we'll have to work around this. I'll order all weapons set to stun. Tell Specialist Schnee and this Razor to capture Adam Taurus so we can bring him to justice, I give them my word that we'll sort this mess out later."

"I will sir!" Penny said eagerly. As Ironwood deactivated his line Penny continued with "Ruby, I'm glad you're alright, and so is everyone else, especially your team."

Ruby smiled and said "Thanks Penny, and I'm really happy you and everyone else are okay too. We're almost to the base Penny so tell them to save some of the butt-kicking for us."

Penny giggled and said "Will do Ruby. See you soon."

"Sure will, bye Penny!" Ruby said to her before shutting off her scroll and looking to the others. "Things have changed."

"Obviously." remarked Yatsuhashi dryly.

Ruby quickly explained how the situation had changed, which made Qrow smirk and shake his head.

"Looks like Razor pulled through after all. Took him long enough." he said with a laugh.

"Well we still have to fight, from the looks of things Adam still has friends inside." Coco pointed out as they could see the turrets firing at the military ships.

"Everyone hang on and get ready." Qrow ordered as Coco and Scarlet both grabbed the rocket launchers that had been left inside of the ship while Sharp Strike got his bike ready to go, the machine guns on either side of the front wheel loaded up and ready for action.

Back at the courtyard Penny snapped out of her communications mode and all of her swords ejected from her back just in time to parry the swings and slashes of multiple bodyguards who were trying to attack White Fang members who had sided with Blake.

"My turn." she said before she slammed the brunt ends of her swords into the bodyguards, sending them flying before she used the strings to bring her blades up into the air and she plunged them down, impaling multiple Beowolves.

Emerald, who had just shot down another maskless Faunus leapt up and tried to attack Penny with her bladed guns only for Penny to blast her down with her arm cannon.

"None of that, thank you." Penny said cheerfully before she used her swords to help the Elite Guards drive the opposition away.

"Good work Penny, did you get through to the general?" Winter asked as she deflected a shot from Mercury.

"Yes I did, they know to hold back. Ruby and the others are on their way here right now, we don't have to fight this alone for much longer." Penny announced.

"Thank goodness that dolt is okay." Weiss voiced as she sent some masked Faunus flying with a glyph.

"Knew she would be!" proclaimed Yang as she fired at Mercury.

Blake nodded with smile before she noticed some of the maskless White Fang members trying to run away while others looked scared or unsure. "Don't run! If we scatter they'll pick us off one by one but they can't take us all on if we keep fighting! Stand together, stand with us!" she called as loudly as she could. This seemed to work, as more of the maskless joined them while those who had previously been running had began to hesitate. Some turned and some didn't, but convincing some of them to help was enough for Blake as they fought on.

* * *

The White Fang's headquarters was built into the mountain out of an old mining facility, common since this part of the mountain range used to be rich in certain ores, which was why there were two facilities, one at the base and one in the mountains. The base was located where the mountains met the jungles, giving them good cover from the outside world. Several buildings could be seen from above such as the two main hangars (one large one at the front and a smaller one at the back where Adam's ship was being worked on), multiple barracks, the main building, and various other facilities, as well as a large and sturdy wall that stood in front of the base, from when it used to be a mine, but it now had a group of seven gun turrets built upon it that was firing at the approaching ships. There were several paths that served as an entrance to the base, the primary one led right to the main gate while a couple of others connected to the jungle, but right now the ships were focused on the main gate.

"E.T.A. to drop point in three minutes." The constant rattling nearly swallowed the voice of the Task Force Omega's VTOL gunship's pilot which was transmitted through the communication channel of the occupants sitting in seats on either side in the gunships' passenger compartment and to the ships behind them. From the shaking, loud booms of explosions, and the near-constant firing of the base's wall-mounted turrets as the ships shot back with gatling guns and rockets only for them to be caught by the relentless blasting of the turrets, which was why the E.T.A. was so long. It was clear that this drop zone was going to be a considerably hot one for all those landing, even for Task Force Omega.

Six matte-black VTOL transport gunships were the tip of the aerial spear that was thrust through the White Fang's aerial defenses with the other ships, including Team Beacon's behind them. The pilots of Omega's ship, known as Falcon One, had been pushed to the very limits of their piloting skills and beyond as they swerved sharply in midair to avoid being hit or crash into other airships all the while screaming through the unbelievable amount of anti-aircraft ordnance that was being pumped into the sky by every single functioning White Fang anti-aircraft device on the ground.

Central curled his fingers his personal customized assault rifle and checked the antique analog watch wrapped around his right wrist once more to make sure it was wounded tight. While everyone else had switched to digital watches or simply used the clocks on their scrolls, Central had chosen to retain old watch that was in all terms unable to measure up to the reliability and functions of the brand-new ones. It was a gift from his father long ago, and he had always kept it on his wrist as a way of remembrance. It has never failed to tell the time accurately since the day it came into his possession so Central valued the reliable item greatly.

He hoped the faith he had put in the two pilots he had personally chosen wasn't misplaced, since he was helpless but to rely on their piloting skills to get his task force and everyone else to the drop point in one piece. Central personally hated this feeling of helplessness, of putting his life in the hands of others, and wished that for a moment he was with the other Atlesian troops on the ground, probably riding in one of the armored transport carriers firing its weapon turrets at the visible enemies in front of him.

A loud but muffled boom echoed through the thick armored hull of Falcon One, signalling that the turrets had landed a hit and the twenty troopers of Task Force Omega cradled within the transport hold remained still, their armored helmets hiding all forms of their emotions to the outside world. The rattling got more frantic, and any loose items not properly strapped down was soon shaking in their given alcove placements.

Meanwhile in Team Beacon's ship, the group held on and hoped for the best as they followed Falcon One though the volley of turret fire.

"Man, I'd make a joke about their aim but I don't want to tempt fate." Fox stated as he saw a ranger ship, that had been hit multiple times, land on the ground to allow the rangers and their small attack vehicles out before the turrets blew the ship up.

"Attention all ships, this is General Ironwood." announced the general's voice over the communications system. "We have received word from within the White Fang base, those who were captured are alright and have allied themselves with the White Fang Elite Guard who have turned on Adam Taurus. A young Huntress by the name of Blake Belladonna has defeated Taurus is a duel and she is now the true leader of the White Fang. However, our sudden appearance has made things difficult, it appears that a rift has formed within the Fang and they are now fighting each other. We cannot risk making this situation worse, so I am now issuing this order; all weapons are to be set to stun or be changed to lighter caliber of bullets. Lethal force is prohibited in fighting the White Fang, only use it as a last resort in self-defense. Members of the White Fang without their masks may be dealt with peacefully. I know that makes everything rather complicated but we don't want to make this anymore chaotic than it already is. Do your best out there, General Ironwood out."

Task Force Omega grumbled but knew to follow orders and began adjusting their weapons while the Hunters-in-training weren't so happy.

"Oh that's just great!" bemoaned Nora.

"So what are we going to use to win this? Our snarky comments?" Fox asked.

"Isn't that how we usually fight?" joked Sage.

"I guess we'll just have to fight to disarm and knock out, I know we can all do that. Everyone understand?" Jaune asked, and they all nodded before he looked to Professor Crane and said "I guess you're calculations were off.

Crane looked embarrassed as he said "Well I admit math isn't my strong suit."

Just then another voice came over the radio. "A White Fang ship coming up from the left, at our nine o'clock! Someone blast it away!" said one of the pilots of Falcon One before another voice came on the radio.

"Negative, negative! This ship has been commandeered by friendlies, this is Qrow Branwen speaking, we're on your side!" Qrow shouted as he flew the ship up to avoid a few blasts.

"Hold fire! Ship is friendly, repeat; ship is friendly." the task force's pilot called.

Taiyang quickly walked up to the cockpit of their ship and took up the radio, "Qrow, you guys okay?"

"We're still up and kicking Tai, nice of you guys to show up." Qrow said as he swerved to avoid getting hit by the turrets.

"Qrow I'd be happy to talk to you later but right now we gotta make sure Yang and the others are okay. We need to get into the compound but those turrets are giving us a hard time and we can't bomb 'em without killing some Faunus and escalating this mess." Taiyang told him.

Qrow quickly replied "Now problem we already got an idea to deal with them so just hang on and we'll..."

Just then there was an incredibly sound of metal bursting and tearing as the Elite Guard's ship burst out of the main hangar, its guns assisting in its escape as it rammed its way through the metal doors.

"Whoa..." Ruby said, very impressed as she stood beside Qrow's seat.

Just then Qrow spotted some of the White Fang guards who had been operating the turrets rushing out and running for dear life, right before the Elite Guard's ship opened fire on the mounted guns atop the wall and reduced them to flaming scrap.

"This is the Elite Guard Ship, our leader is currently engaged in battle on the surface but he wants to make it known that we're with you!" said the voice of Troy over the radio's open frequency.

"Good to know, keep those turrets off of us so we can land." said Task Force Omega's pilot.

"We'll do our part, just... whoa!" cried Troy as the Elite Guard's ship came under fire.

"You've got ships coming out of the hangar, hang on." said a Ranger pilot as he and some others sped up and went ahead of the small armada to engage the hostile White Fang ships in a series of dogfights.

The ships zoomed up and down, left and right in a dangerous and harrowing series of moves as the two sides blasted at each other and narrowly avoided collisions high in the air.

The turrets of the Elite Guard's ship gave them some aid by blasting at their former allies while also keeping the turrets busy, blasting away as fast as they could.

"Now's our chance, follow us!" Qrow said into the radio as he flew the ship down and forward towards the gates. He almost at the gates when he swerved the ship around just as the ramp opened up. "Now!" he ordered.

Coco and Scarlet fired the rockets at the gate just as Sharp Strike rode his bike off of the ramp at high speeds into the gates, firing the dual machines guns to help blast the gates open. The combined force of the rockets, bullets, and the bike's front tires forced the gates wide open. The site of the magnificent bike bursting through the gates and the fearsome, armored warrior riding it left many of the White Fang troops awestruck.

As the Remnant Knight's bike hit the rough ground with a bounce, its tires bit into the ground easily and its engine produced a throaty roar as though like a beast ready for battle. Sharp Strike, already mentally prepared for the upcoming battle, spoke a coded command into the dashboard and activated the bike's secondary form which was more suited for battles like the one he was about to provide his assistance in. Ruby and the others watched in surprise as the advanced bike literally changed its overall form within seconds, with the front wheel pushing out and side fairings disengaging to reveal additional dual-front mounted cannons underneath its machine guns which pointed forwards, while grappling hooks slide out from hidden forward compartments. The windshield moved forwards and down a little as additional armor panels opened and shields extended to provide additional protection to its rider. The armored back of the motorcycle revealed a miniature missile array of sorts, probably to launch decoy chaff or mini-missiles to dissuade enemies from chasing after the Knight. Some components of the bike, especially the complex-looking engine and both identical front and rear wheels, glowed a subtle azure color, as though powered by some other form of energy generated by dust.

Everyone witnessing the unexpected transformation of Sharp Strike's high speed personal motorcycle into what could be described as a "Battle Mode" was simply stunned for quite a few seconds, and Ruby could have sworn the Remnant Knight turning his helmet a little for a glance back at them even as he rode a small distance ahead of them, adhering to the formation they have agreed. For all she knew, Sharp Strike could be grinning underneath that armored helmet of his, enjoying their brief expressions of surprise.

"Well, that's one thing you don't see everyday..." Scarlet muttered to Coco to himself as the ship went over the gates.

Putting an extra burst of speed, the bike spun around in circles, blasting down the masked White Fang guards with a lighter caliber of bullet until the bike skidded to a halt as Sharp Strike jumped off and withdrew his swords as he landed on the ground in front of a group of guards all aiming their rifles at him so he quickly swung his blades around and sliced the guns apart before he unleashed a mad volley of attacks, slamming the hilts of his swords into them, kicking, punching, elbowing, anything he could do that wasn't lethal he did as the ship made it over the entrance courtyard.

Ruby, Coco, Scarlet, and Yatsuhashi all jumped out to attack while Neptune acted as a sniper from the ramp, shooting down hostile Faunus with his rifle on the stun setting as more guards came out to fight them, two of which were rather large and had heavy armor on.

Ruby landed on her feet and quickly blasted away a guard who tried to attack her before she saw some maskless Faunus being corraled by guards with masks so she quickly zipped off and used her speed and the butt of her new gun to collide into the group of hostile guards, sending them all on the ground before knocking them out by blasting them while they were down.

She looked at the maskless Faunus and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." she assured them as Yatsuhashi sent a guard flying behind her.

"W-we don't want to fight..." said one of the Faunus before he got shot in the shoulder.

"Traitors!" yelled a guard as he and four others aimed their guns at them.

Ruby desperately wished she had Crescent Rose back, that would have this so much easier but she had to protect these defectors no matter what. Before they could shoot however they were blitzed up by Neptune, raining laser blasts from above. This was enough of a distraction for Ruby to make her move, she jumped forward and knocked out all five guards with quick and strong punches, jabs, and kicks, helped out by Neptune's shots.

She waved to him and he waved back just as Scarlet used the grappling hook to trip up a masked guard and hold him down so a maskless Faunus could knock him unconscious. Scarlet whipped the line away and snagged the hook on a piece of debris from one of the turrets and used that as a melee weapon, bringing up the cable to a shorter length and swinging the object around, hitting guards that were running about the place in the head and knocking them out.

"Not as good as mine but it'll do." Scarlet said before he shot a guard in the foot.

Coco dodged a punch from one of the big armored guards, he swung left and right hooks at her that would hurt like hell if she got hit so she had to keep avoiding them. She jumped over a sweeping kick and muttered "Okay, dodging got old real quick." She jumped away from him and hoisted up her minigun before letting lose an intense barrage of heavy fire, blasting the armored guard's body over and over again.

He fell to his knees and was finished off with a spin-kick to the head from Coco.

The fashionista smirked and blew on the smoke emitting from the barrel of her temporary weapon.

Just then laser blasts began to rain down on them from above. Coco and Scarlet took cover behind Yatsuhashi and Sharp Strike who were deflecting the attacks with their swords.

"Where's it coming from?!" asked Scarlet.

"Up there!" Yatsuhashi said, pointing to a crow's next tower on the other end of the courtyard.

"We gotta get in close and take 'im down. Maybe Neptune can shoot him down from above?" Coco suggested.

"Maybe, if I can get close enough..." began Sharp Strike but before he could say anything else the tower was blasted off of its base and it fell down with a loud creaking sound and landed with a crash as the sniper tumbled out of the post. They looked up to see that on of the gunners in the Elite Guard ship had been their rescuer so the three waved back as three more ships hovered over the entrance courtyard.

From one came Taiyang, JNPR, Fox, Sage, Port, Oobleck, and Crane. Fox landed in the middle of a group of masked guards, whom he disarmed by slicing apart their guns with swift and deadly carefully placed arm movements and he finished them off with quick and precise punches, kicks, and jabs.

Sage landed, whacking a guard out cold with the heavy hilt of his sword while Nora sent the second armored guard into a wall with a barrage of grenades and he was finished off with some shots from Ren who blasted a guard who tried to attack them from behind.

Taiyang, Jaune, and Pyrrha made their way to Ruby and the others, fighting the White Fang thugs almost casually as they did so.

As the seconds counted down from the corner of his helmet's holographic head-up display, Central readied himself for the inevitable moment when the restraints binding him to his seat will release and the side bulkhead doors will slam open to reveal the theater of war happening outside the transport gunship. He could feel each second that passed and knew a thousand different things could happened in that single second that had taken place in the battlefield.

With a stomach-plummeting lurch, the VTOL transport gunship reached the drop point, weapons still firing away at any enemy targets the pilots could find within range even as it switched from flight to hovering, air currents dancing around its shadowed form even as the other four sister aircraft formed up in a somewhat circular formation in the middle of the courtyard of the White Fang headquarters. Descending carefully, Falcon One spun around to strafe any opposing enemy forces with its external weapons before the pilots declared that the drop zone was secure even Team Beacon and the teachers began to fight the White Fang forces below.

"Exitus Acta Probat." Central intoned solemnly into the private communication channel, and heard the chorus of acknowledgements coming from the other nineteen Omega Troopers within the passenger compartment coming back to him, "For Atlas and Remnant!"

The internal lights of the passenger compartments switched from blue to red as the doors snapped open, revealing the deafening cacophony of war and finally the restraints holding him in place released with metallic clunks. Moving like programmed machines, Central and the rest of Task Force Omega grabbed hold of dropping zip lines dangling in front of them and attached their safety clips, rappelling down from Falcon One and already blasting away with their individual weapons at any moving figure with a White Fang mask within sight and reach.

As Central hit the ground in a crouch, he fired his advanced assault rifle at a group of armed White Fang members hiding behind a damaged truck and returning fire back at him. He managed to hit one in the arm and another in the chest, and he directed one of the Omega troopers carrying

He managed to hit one in the arm and another in the chest, and he directed one of the Omega troopers carrying a bulky shoulder-held missile launcher to fire at a target he tagged with a laser pointer. A second later the truck was blown into the air in a fiery explosion and flipped end over end before crashing into a nearby repair shop, but he was already moving onto shooting other more dangerous targets, all the while keeping track of his ammunition counter while running with the rest of Task Force Omega across the drop zone to link up with other elements of the Strike Force.

Taking a quick glance back, he saw Team Beacon fighting and smirked behind his helmet. He looked forward to seeing what that particular Team could do, and he had a feeling that they would be showing him their skills pretty soon.

"Ruby! Thank the gods you're alright!" Taiyang said as he hugged his daughter, who eagerly hugged him back.

"Thanks for coming dad." Ruby said with a happy voice.

"Sorry we took so long Ruby, I don't think we should split up the team in the future." Jaune suggested.

"Definitely not." Ruby said.

"Yo Pyrrha, nice outfit." Coco said as everyone moved to group up while Task Force Omega and Colonel Chamberlain and a squad of Atlas soldiers disembarked from their ships.

"Yeah, it looks awesome." Ruby agreed.

"We can talk fashion later, right now we need to get the others and figure out how we're going to resolve this peacefully." Pyrrha said, everyone nodding in agreement as Vacuo Ranger vehicles and soldiers marched in through the now open gates.

"Secure the area! Make sure you check your targets, remember that the masked ones are hostiles, unmasked ones aren't." Chamberlain called to his men as the went about securing the perimeter.

"You heard him. Move out!" called Central.

Fox fist-bumped Coco with a sly smirk. "Nice to see you're okay boss. You holding out alright big guy?" he asked Yatsuhashi.

"We're fine, but I'll feel better when we get Velvet and the others back." Yatsuhashi said before adding "But it's good to have you back."

"Same here, you wouldn't believe the crazy time we've had tonight." Coco said.

"Try me." Fox said dryly.

Sage and Scarlet shook each others hands before exchanging a small hug, the partners happy to be together again.

"So how bad is it this time?" Sage asked.

"Pretty bad but I think we'll have to wait until its over to rank it." Scarlet remarked.

Team JNPR were with Ruby but just as Nora began to hug her Sharp Strike approached them.

"Who's this?" Jaune asked.

"This is that Hunstman who saved us from the White Fang scouts..." Ruby began.

"Sharp Strike. It's okay Ruby, I know who they are; Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. It's a pleasure to meet you all." the Knight said, weirding Team JNPR out.

"We can get to know each other later because Pyrrha's right, we need to find Yang and the others and work together to end this before anyone gets killed." Taiyang said.

"Right dad." Ruby said before looking to the maskless White Fang members. "Do any of you guys know where Blake and the others are?"

"They're on the other side of the compound, you can still hear the fighting from here. What's gonna happen to us?" asked a female Faunus.

Ruby looked to Colonel Chamberlain who nodded. "We'll get you to a safe place, some of the ships are landing outside right now and I think as long as you don't try to attack us you'll be okay. Solider, take them to a ship and be sure to treat them properly." he ordered.

"Yes sir. Come on, we'll get you out of here." the Atlas trooper said before he and a few rangers led them away.

Sage spoke up, "Well let's get going before something tries to sto..."

Just then, as if on cue, a trio of Atlesian Paladin 290's, repainted with the color scheme and symbols of the White Fang, jumped over some of the nearby buildings and landed in front of the group. Standing tall and proud with their weapons ready to fire the pilot of one said "Surrender now or be destroyed."

"Paladins?!" cried Jaune as he got into a defensive stance.

"Oh boy, my favorite." Nora groaned sarcastically as she got ready for another fight.

"I wondered if Torchwick made good on those sales!" Ruby cried as she aimed her gun at them.

"Surrender to us now or die, you have no other options." ordered the pilot of the lead Paladin.

"Oh I beg to differ... GO!" Ruby commanded as she leapt into battle, the others quickly following her example. Ruby, Sharp Strike, Port, Coco, Scarlet, Yatsuhashi, and Taiyang took on the main one while Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Fox, Sage, Oobleck, and Crane took on the second and Task Force Omega attacked the third. Qrow would have helped via the ship but he was currently trying to avoid being shot down by a hostile White Fang attack ship.

Ruby circled around the main one in a mad dash, blasting as fast as she could while Coco fired away at its cockpit with another mad barrage of gunfire, helped out by Port who was shooting it with powerful blasts from his blunderbuss, their combined fire managed to make the battle-suit mech buckle under the impacts but it was managing against them.

Scarlet got up close and hooked up the grappling hook on one of its legs, ducking to avoid being both slammed and shot by the powerful arm. He followed Ruby's example and ran around the tank in a circle, trying to tie it up and trip it while Yatsuhashi began hacking away at the legs with his sword, which made him long for his proper weapon as the blade he was currently using wasn't anywhere near as good as the blade he had earned.

"I don't think that'll work kid!" Taiyang called as he threw fireballs at the battle-suit.

"Worth a try!" Scarlet shouted as Sharp Strike used a small remote and his bike went into autopilot and its guns began blasting away at the mech's arms, trying to disable it's main guns. The Paladin turned to the bike and fired the lasers from its shoulders but the bike swerved out of the way and began to ride around the Paladin, blasting at it to get its attention off of the others.

Scarlet got it nice and tied up around the legs and it began to trip. "Yes!" he cheered... only for the Paladin to use the small laser beneath the cockpit to destroy the cables. "Crap..." Scarlet moaned before he took out a gun and just started shooting at the mech.

Sharp Strike jumped up from behind and held up his twin swords to stab into the Paladins back, intending to go for the cockpit and take out the pilot, only for the rear shoulder lasers to fire at him. One got him in the abdomen while the other merely grazed his hip but it was enough to cut his fall short and he landed with a grunt.

Ruby ran over to him and moved him out of the way as it fired a rocket at where he had landed.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. We need to take out the pilot and then destroy its interiors." Sharp Strike said.

"Good idea, but it has rear sensors to detect sneak attackers. We need to give it something to shoot at..." Ruby said.

"Then let us supply that very thing!" Port declared as he, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Taiyang, and Scarlet ran over to them while the bike kept the Paladin busy.

"Ruby, Port, and me can keep the back lasers busy while your bike, Scarlet and Ruby's dad give the front some trouble." Coco said as the Paladin stopped firing at the bike.

"And then you and I get up on one of those buildings and jump onto the Paladin, take out the pilot and destroy the interior of the cockpit to disable it." Yatsuhashi finished.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do it." Ruby said eagerly.

"Okay, move!" cried Taiyang right before a cry of pain interrupted them.

Everyone looked around to see that a White Fang trooper had tried to hijack Sharp Strike's bike while they came up with a plan, hence why the Paladin had stopped firing, only to be electrocuted into unconsciousness when he got into the seat and was now lying on the ground.

"Your bike is electrocuted?!" Scarlet cried.

"For protection... only when its autopilot is activated in combat." Sharp Strike justified as the Paladin turned to face them.

"Whatever, let's go!" Ruby cried as she blasted at the mech, with help from the others. The Paladin raised up its arms to protect the cockpit from the heavy barrage of fire as Ruby, Coco, and Port ran behind it and began blasting away while Taiyang, Scarlet, and Sharp Strike's bike attacked the front while Sharp Strike and Yatsuhashi ran for it.

"Ha! Two of the cowards run, that'll make hunting them down more fun." said the pilot to himself as a fireball from Taiyang burst against the cockpit's armor. However his cockiness didn't last long. "Hey, stay still!" he cried as he and the suits automatic defenses struggled to keep all the attackers at bay, and to make matters worse the constant attacks were damaging the armor. "Argh!" yelled the pilot in frustration as he had the right arm come up behind him and fired at Ruby and the others as he brought up the leg and tried to stomp on Scarlet and Taiyang, who both quickly both got out of the way as the bike moved about, giving both their Paladin and the one JNPR and the others were fighting some trouble.

Scarlet fired his gun at a particular spot on the ankle and then Tiayang stabbed both of his gauntlets into that spot on the Paladin and let out a blast of fire into the open now open machinery, creating an internal fire. The two quickly got out of the way at the Paladin's gun-arms fired at them blitzing up the ground where they had been. It jumped around, despite the now damaged leg to face Ruby, Coco, and Port who were all shooting at it with everything they had.

It opened up fire, shooting rockets at them, forcing the three to run out of the blast radius.

"Oh man I what I'd give to have Crescent Rose back right about now." Ruby moaned as she shot at the damaged leg.

Up above on one of the nearby buildings Sharp Strike and Yatsuhashi came over to the edge, close enough to the Paladin to jump on it.

"You ready?" Sharp Strike asked.

"Always." Yatsuhashi answered.

The two went back before running forward together and leaping off of the edge and down to the Paladin. The rear lasers spotted them but before they could fire Sharp Strike stabbed his twin swords into the small cannons, causing an energy backlash that created an explosion within the Paladin. Yatsuhashi managed to land right atop the left shoulder, his sword stabbing deep into the mech's armor.

"Made it!" he called, only to get in the shoulder by a laser blast. He nearly fell off but he held his balance and looked up to see snipers on a catwalk between two buildings, opening fire on them, the Atlas Soldiers and the Vacuo Rangers.

Yatsuhashi grunted and tried to lift his sword out, only for it to break off. "Damn shoddy craftsmanship." he muttered with a shake of his head as Sharp Strike pulled himself up while tearing his swords out. The Paladin was now very damaged with an internal fire in both its back and right leg while Ruby and the others kept pouring on the attacks.

"Take this one." Sharp Strike said as he handed Yatsuhashi his left sword.

The large teen nodded in appreciation before the two walked over to the cockpit and slammed down their swords into the crevices of the cockpit's opening and used their combined strength to rip it open but even with their very considerable power it wasn't an easy task but they were getting it done.

"Let's crack this nut open!" Port declared as he ran under the opening cockpit while Ruby and Coco kept the weapons off of him, he hoisted up his blunderbuss and blasted the cockpit's underside, helping the two to pry it wide open and reveal the pilot inside.

"No, no!" cried the pilot at Yatsuhashi picked him up, punched him, and tossed him to the ground below. Sharp Strike stabbed his blade into the control consoles, causing them to spark and glitch out. He ripped it out as he took out his gun and shot the cockpit's interior up, finishing it off.

The two jumped off and landed safely as the Paladin topped over, the cockpit exploding and the steel body going limp.

While they had been fighting the lead Paladin Team JNPR and the others took on the second one with great bravado, but it wasn't an easy fight for them either.

"Ugh!" Jaune grunted as he used his shield to protect himself from a laser. He rolled out of the way of another one as Crane used his giant microscope/laser cannon weapon to blast at the battle-suit mech relentlessly. "Man I wish we had been fighting this thing at Beacon instead of..." he shook that thought away as he ran next to Pyrrha who was shooting at the Paladin's weapons

"Aim for it's cockpit, the sooner we take out the driver the sooner it goes down!" Oobleck called, quietly adding "Assuming he doesn't activate the auto-pilot before we get to him..."

Nora launched a bunch of grenades at the 'head' of the Paladin, all of the exploding against the war machine but the damage wasn't enough to slow it down. It tried to stomp on her but she back-flipped out of its way.

"Okay, let's see how you like it!" she cried as she hoisted up Magnhild and slammed the warhammer into the ankle of the Paladin, making it trip and lose its balance. "Oh yeah!" she cheered as she fired a grenade under its other foot. Ren shot the grenade and the resulting explosion sent the Paladin on its side, allowing Ren, Fox, Jaune, and Sage to wail on it with their weapons but unfortunately it quickly recovered and shoved itself back up, its arm knocking all four Huntsmen down with a powerful swing.

"Crud!" Nora cried as she dashed away to avoid being hit by a rocket.

"Are you all alright?!" Pyrrha shouted, concern in her voice.

"We're okay, I can personally say I've had worse." Jaune called as he shielded Ren and Sage from a laser blast.

"Good, don't give up! Keep at it!" Pyrrha called as she fired multiple Dust bullets at the gun-barrels of the arms, hoping to disable its weaponry while Crane attacked it from behind, blasting it with his laser and trying to avoid the lasers sent at him. Pyrrha used her Semblance to pick up a heavy piece of debris and she sent it flying at the the Paladin, which scored a direct hit. It stumbled a bit but managed to stay up right as it fell against a building and pushed itself back up.

"Pyrrha, can you use your Semblance on this thing?" Jaune asked as he gripped his sword.

"No, not the whole thing, it's just too big even for me." Pyrrha said.

The Paladin recovered from its near trip-ups just as Fox slammed his blades into its right arm and began to climb up towards the cockpit while Ren blasted its hips and Sage slashed his sword at the area Nora had damaged with her weapon.

"Distract it! Fox has a chance!" Oobleck ordered as he shot a fireball from his weapon at the cockpit.

Fox kept climbing but the Paladin's other arm reached around and aimed right at him.

"Crap!" he cried as he leapt off, narrowly avoiding being shot at an incredibly dangerous range but luckily it did manage to accidentally harm itself as the blast seriously grazed the armor Fox had been on.

Jaune, meanwhile, had been carefully assessing the situation, trying to come up with a plan. Pyrrha had said she couldn't use her Semblance on the entire Paladin, but she could still use it on parts of it, but the problem with that was she'd have to remove parts from it and with its weapons systems she would have to do it slowly but surely, taking bits and pieces of the thing off until it was an easier fight.

Jaune looked at Crane's laser and remembered how it had disintegrated Grimm in one blow in the retaking of Beacon. They had talked about it on the ship and the professor had mentioned that it had different settings for various types of combat, for fighting both Grimm and living creatures, or tasks such as cutting through objects...

An idea flew into Jaune's head.

"That's it! I know how to take it down!" he announced.

"Don't keep us in suspense fearless leader!" Nora called as she ran to avoid being crushed by the Paladin's arm.

"Nora, Pyrrha, Dr. Oobleck, keep that thing busy with your firearms. Sage, you and me keep them covered."

"Got it." the green-haired teen agreed.

"Professor Crane when I say go you attack its limbs. Ren and Fox, attack its back and keep its attention off of Crane!"

All of them nodded and got to work, Pyrrha, Nora, and Crane blasted away at the Paladin's front, with Jaune and Sage using their weapons to cover them, though Sage was beginning to have doubts.

How can I keep cover with just my sword?!" he cried as he swung to keep the laser blasts away. Just then he managed to deflect one and it hit the cockpit dead center.

"Does that answer your question?" Jaune said dryly as he kept his friends covered.

Fox and Ren attacked from behind, rushing to the Paladin and then running away from it in a series of hit and run attacks with Ren shooting and slashing at its legs with his StormFlowers and Fox slicing deep into the outer parts of the legs with his blades the rear laser kept firing at them to keep them at bay but missed every time.

"Now professor!" Jaune yelled, "Hit the joints where the limbs meet the body!"

"Of course! Brilliant!" declared Crane before he set the laser to 'high' and fired at the connecting points of the left arm and the body. A magnificent burst of sparks erupted from the front of the Paladin as its arm, while not severed, came loose from the body and the arm went limp, the weapons refusing to work.

"Pyrrha, now!" Jaune called.

Pyrrha nodded and used her Semblance to take hold of the now dead arm and ripped it completely off of the Paladin.

"All right! Way to go!" cheered Nora.

"We're not done yet! Duck!" cried Oobleck as he, Nora, and Sage jumped out of the way at a rocket the remaining arm fired at them.

"Professor Crane, don't give up!" Jaune called as he rolled away from the lasers fired at he and Pyrrha. Pyrrha looked over to see how their friends were doing just in time to see Yatsuhashi get hit by the snipers on the catwalks. She looked over to see that several rangers and Atlas soldiers had been hit as well, something needed to be done.

"Uh, right! All right you brute, let's finish this!" Crane said confidently as he fired away at the other shoulder, right before the ground in front of him was scorched by the rear lasers.

Another shower of sparks burst through the seams of the metal arm and Pyrrha acted quickly to rip the arm out of its socket with her Semblance. She smirked as she knew just the place for this. With a grunt and a medium amount of straining she tossed the heavy robotic arm away, towards the catwalks where the snipers had taken positions.

"Run! Get out of the way!" cried one of the snipers as the arm flew towards them. Before they could escape the arm smashed into the small bridge and the snipers went with it, landing in a great heap in between the buildings.

"Good job!" Jaune said, impressed by not just her quick-thinking as he looked at her beautiful face.

Pyrrha giggled and said "Why thank you, now let us finish this." she said.

"Right. You heard her! Take it down!" Jaune shouted.

Ren, Sage, and Fox worked together on attacking the mech's legs. Ren blasted away while the other two hacked and slashed with their blades. The Paladin tried to move away but Nora and Crane kept it still by firing their weapons at it to make sure it didn't get past them.

Pyrrha used her Semblance to grab the pole of the downed crow's next and she threw it at the Paladin, forcing it to fall backwards with a tremendous crash as the others scattered to get out of its way.

"Pyrrha, the hatch!" Jaune said as he got on top of the downed mech and stabbed the lasers on the shoulder with some help from Oobleck who had jumped up with him.

She nodded and used her Semblance to rip the hatch of the cockpit clean off. Jaune got in front of it and used his shield to protect himself as the pilot shot a gun at him.

"You won't take me, humans!" yelled the pilot.

"Too late." remarked Oobleck from behind the cockpit before he slammed his weapon down on the pilot's head, knocking him out. He looked to Jaune and said "Excellent strategy Mr. Arc, I can see why Ozpin made you a team leader."

Jaune smiled and nodded as he got down, looking over to see that Ruby, Taiyang, and the others had taken down their Paladin and Task Force Omega was returning from their own battle, however they had tougher going with theirs...

* * *

"We need heavy support, and we need it NOW!" Central shouted into the increasingly confused communication channel in his helmet as he dragged a groaning Atlesian trooper who had taken several gunshot to his armor behind the wreckage of a burning White Fang truck, while the other Omega Troopers around him fired their weapons at the White Fang Paladin which was smashing and killing its way through the other friendly forces in front of them.

It appeared that the White Fang's version of that battle-suit had been upgraded with different weapons tech, with additional armor plating as well as missile pods, cannons and to make it worse was the paint on the main chassis was in the shape of a mocking, grinning Beowolf face. The extra weapons grafted onto it made the battle-suit even more dangerous, and right now it was literally an unstoppable titan racking up large numbers of casualties even as other Vacuo and Atlas soldiers fired at it with everything they have as it followed them out of the gates.

Explosions from several missile detonations covered the White Fang Paladin for a brief few seconds, but an answering fire from its missile pods sent a Vacuo Ranger Bullhead spiraling from sky and crashing into the mountainside with a ball of flame, the operator of the enemy Paladin glanced to look at her handiwork before the mech turned its weapons towards the joint strike forces' soldiers and vehicles and continued its murderous rampage.

"All Task Force Omega forces in the vicinity, concentrate fire on that enemy Paladin!" Central shouted as a medic patched up the wounded Atlas soldier beside him as he ran from cover to cover, shooting at the heavily-armed battle-suit. An Omega Trooper with a missile launcher popped out of cover and fired his payload at the giant target, knocking it back a few steps even as others continued to pour more firepower into its armored frame, chipping bits and pieces out of the reinforced armor plating.

As though angered by the latest damage inflicted in it, the Paladin swung in the direction of the Omega Trooper with the missile launcher. The elite trooper quickly dropped his weapon, and ran for cover as missiles, energy blasts and countless bullets rained around him, diving into a nearby low wall just the weapons fire from the stolen upgraded battle-suit sent a Vacuo Ranger truck up in flames and killing its occupants within and those who didn't have time to get clear.

"This is Atlesian Armored Transport Kilo-5. I am going to ram it!" An angry voice came into the main communications channel just as one of the white-grey colored armored transport carriers roared into the compound, the driver within revving the vehicle to full speed before sending it charging straight at the enemy Paladin which was firing all of its weapons at the opposing soldiers surrounding it. The turret on top of the Atlesian armored transport carrier was firing away, its cannons blasting the Paladin repeatedly before colliding into it with a massive crashing. For a brief moment it seemed that the armored vehicle had nearly knocked the Paladin off its feet, but then one of its reinforced armored legs stamped down and crushed the entire front of Kilo-5, and then with a kick sent it crashing across the area into a pair of Vacuo Ranger buggies whose drivers abandoned their vehicles just in time. Without missing a beat, the mechanical titan blanketed those vehicles with multiple missile salvos and energy blasts, reducing them to burning wrecks.

"Cover me!" Central said to the Omega Troopers beside him and ran around to the back of the enemy battle-suit. He didn't wait for the trooper to protest before scooping a bandoleer of high explosive grenades from a dead solider on the ground, "Distract the enemy paladin! Call in the VTOL transport gunships if you have to!"

"What are you doing, commander?!" One of the Omega troopers hollered over the thunderous sounds of various weapons firing between Task Force Omega and the slightly-damaged battle-suit. How they wished they could do the crazy stunts Hunters and Specialists could.

Central prayed he didn't sound crazy when he replied, "I have an idea, but you aren't going to like it!" His latest plan was simply made up as he went along, and if that plan succeeded that stolen Paladin would be heavily damaged, maybe even incapacitated. But if his plan failed the next newly-promoted commander of the Task Force would be chipping his name on the Wall of Heroes back in the Atlas Military Academy, and there wouldn't be enough of his corpse for a proper military funeral.

After receiving acknowledgement replies from the other troopers in Task Force Omega, Central waited until the White Fang Paladin was receiving fire from multiple directions and properly distracted. Then he made his move by running around the wreckage of a burning Atlesian Fighter-transport and sprinted as fast as he could towards the rear of the battle-suit, even as explosions harried him every step of the way. Bullets stuttered past his head, shrapnel bounced off his armored form, and the shouts and screams of other soldiers fighting and dying rang through his ears as he continued to run, the bandoleer of grenades clinking against his armored vest.

Thankfully the enemy Paladin was too preoccupied to notice him coming and Central saw his opening just for a brief second as the attached weapons of the battle-suit paused to reload before unleashing more firepower against the military forces fighting against it. Jumping onto one of its huge legs, the commander of Task Force Omega scaled the battle-suit like a indoor rock climbing wall back in the Academy, grunting as he pulled himself higher and higher, and prayed that the enemy pilot didn't notice him for the next few seconds or that he wouldn't get hit by friendly fire.

A missile blast which impacted the battle-suit nearly caused him to lose his grip on both the mech and the bandoleer of grenades. He quickly caught the bandoleer and gripped tighter onto the main chassis, he quickly slung his advanced rifle and used a small laser tool to cut a rough hole into the chassis of the mech, exposing the cabling and energy core inside. The Paladin suddenly swerved to the side to avoid another missile blast, and the commander cursed as the grenade he was about to throw inside slipped from his gauntlet and bounced away from him. Freeing another grenade, he was about to toss it in when Central saw a better way of destroying the enemy Paladin hanging right above him.

One of the missile pods' catches was unlocked probably due to the mech being hastily deployed for battle, and the long thin missile was slightly slipping out of its launching mechanism. Allowing himself a smirk Central quickly reached up and pulled the black missile out of its pod. As the Paladin battle-suit swerved again he slammed the recently-acquired missile deep into its chassis, before pushing every single grenade he had with him into the hole he had into the hole he had cut. Then he primed the last grenade and threw it in before he let go of his grip on the Paladin and dropped to the ground only to immediately run for the safety of any cover he could find. The stolen battle-suit finally saw him in its weapon sights and started to fire at him, but the commander didn't care as the other Task Force Omega troopers as well as various Atlesian soldiers and Vacuo Rangers continued to empty their weapons into the constantly retaliating mech.

Central barely made it ten meters when he heard a massive explosion and felt extremely hot air lift him off his feet and tumbling end over end towards the firing line. Fragments of the enemy mech flew everywhere, along with flaming hot shrapnel which embedded itself on anything being used as cover. Central crashed to the ground and rolled for at least a dozen meters by the force of the blast which ignited the huge amount of ordnance the enemy battle-suit was carrying. He could feel the flames of the explosion scorch his back and shards of hot metal embed themselves into the armored plates covering his body. Even in his helmet his ears were ringing, and the commander felt other hands pulling him upright and behind cover, and muffled sounds which sounded like shouting were being directed at him.

Then his helmet was pulled off and he saw a number of Atlesian soldiers and Task Force Omega troopers around him, along with a medic who was making sure he wasn't too badly injured. Looking around, Central saw his handiwork: the enemy Paladin was nothing but scrap, secondary explosions still announcing its defeat. A pair of large metal legs stood like a pair of giant tombstones announcing the death of the battle-suit, which swayed for a brief moment before collapsing in a loud crash.

"That was either the most awesome or most insane way to take down a Paladin, commander." One of the Task Force Omega troopers remarked as others charged back to the compound to press on the attack.

"Just don't let me to do that again." Central forced himself up despite the medic's protests, and gestured for his advanced rifle to be handed back to him again, "The next guy who wants to replicate what I did just now would be welcome to show his or her skill with the next enemy Paladin that shows up!" He waved off the medic's arguments and slapped a medical patch over a slight bleeding wound in his abdomen that his aura tended to,

He checked his old watch again, it was somehow miraculously undamaged throughout the ordeal. That meant his luck was still holding, at least for now, "Well, what are you waiting for? Move out!" He shouted at the assortment of varied troopers around him and directed them back into the fray once more, returning to the compound to see that Team Beacon had destroyed the other two Paladins with much less hassle.

* * *

"Nice work Jaune." Ruby said as her group came over.

"You too, now let's go find Blake and the others before something else happens..." Jaune said before something fell from the sky right in the middle of the group. "Whoa!"

Everyone readied their weapons as the figure got up, revealing herself to be Darla the Flying Squirrel Faunus, who Coco quickly recognized. "Weapons down folks, this girl is part of the Elite Guard, who I think is on our side now." She said as she held her hands up, signaling for everyone to lower their defenses as Darla gripped the large box she had been carrying.

"Uh, yeah! We found out what that scum-sucker Taurus did. So sorry for fighting you guys... twice... uh, anyway we saw you guys come in and well... we decided you'd have a better chance of beating Adam with these." Darla explained as she opened the box to reveal Crescent Rose, Kyodiana Berudo, and all of the other weapons.

"Oh yes!" Ruby cheered as she quickly handed her rifle to Taiyang and hugged Crescent Rose to her. "I got you back! Oh I'll never let anyone take you away ever again!"

"Uh... she really loves that weapon, huh?" Darla said.

"You have no idea." Taiyang said with a smile as Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Scarlet reclaimed their weapons.

"Qrow and Neptune are still airborne and in no shape to fight, we'll have to leave 'em here." Scarlet said.

"Not out in the open, someone who isn't too fond of us could take them so that's a bad idea." Fox pointed out.

"We'll take 'em!" called a voice from above. Everyone looked up to see the stolen ship hovering abut twenty-five feet overhead. Neptune stood on the ramp and added "Toss 'em up!"

Yatsuhashi picked up the weapons and threw them high into the air, Neptune just barely managed to catch both items. "Whoa, thanks guys!" Neptune said gratefully as he activated his weapon.

"Alright, which way to our friends?" Ruby asked Darla.

"Back that way." Darla said, pointing in the direction they needed to go. "I got a glimpse of 'the fights when I came down. Just follow the noise, you can't miss 'em!"

With that she crouched down on all fours and used her Semblance to rocket back up to the Elite Guard's ship.

"Good, everyone ready?" asked Ruby, getting positive responses from everyone. "Then let's move out!" And with that she led the charge.

* * *

Neo ducked under the bullets Emerald shot at her.

"You're going to pay for trying to frame me for what you did, traitor." Emerald said furiously as she slammed her weapon into a maskless Faunus.

Neo didn't bother giving her former 'ally' a snappy retort or joke, all she did was lunge at her with her estoc.

"Roman got killed because of you people! Helping to take Cinder down a few dozen pegs was one of the best ideas he ever had!" Neo said as she she swung her blade to keep Emerald back.

Emerald shot at her and landed at hit on Neo's forearm. "Ah!" the multicolored girl cried before Emerald kicked her down. "Emerald, I think you're better than this. I know you're not in this for violence like that idiot Mercury, you genuinely want to make the world better. So why work for them?!"

"The world is too broken. People like Taurus and what happened to him? Only a fraction of what's wrong. The only way to fix it is to start over." Emerald answered before being knocked away by a blast from Yang.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Yang said as Neo recovered. "You okay short-stuff?"

"Just fine." Neo answered with a smirk before slamming her blade through the jaws of a Beowolf, impaling its head.

Blake parried a strike from one of the Oblivion Vanguard members before sending him, and several others, into a wall thanks to both Gambol Shroud and a violet Dust crystal.

"Commander Belladonna!" said a maskless White Fang member. "What are we going to do about the humans?"

"Help them if they need it. Today we're ending the White Fang's legacy as a terrorist threat. Speaking of which, where's Adam gone to?" she asked, but quickly remembered how dangerous he was and the damage he could do on his own.

"I spotted him go in there!" Jinty said as he ran up beside her, shooting at a Masked Faunus. He pointed to the building where Adam had taken refuge and added "He could have gone further into the building or he could have snuck off but either way it's not good."

"Agreed." said the voice of Razor as he sent a bodyguard flying. "We need to capture him and we can end this conflict."

As soon as he finished talking an Atlas Eagle crash landed somewhere outside of the compound into the mountain rock, exploding on impact. Several Atlas ships had tried to land but the White Fang ship had prevented them from helping out with the battle on the ground.

"Hopefully before too many people are killed." Blake said with a shudder before yelling out "Everyone! Group up and push on together! They're nothing but a distraction for Adam!"

Everyone gathered around each other into a large, well armed circle with Blake and Razor ahead of everyone. Yang, Weiss, Penny, Winter, Neo, all of the Elite Guard, and Leonardo's troops had their weapons out and ready to fire or stab while Velvet had taken up an assault rifle and was using that for the battle, even though she found it much less effective than her camera but she knew it was better than just relying on her fists and feet plus her Semblance helped her adapt quite easily. Claudandus stood in the middle of the circle with a staff as both a weapon and a cane, he was panting and very tired but he wouldn't give up. Dozens upon dozens of maskless Faunus stood about the circle, either armed or unarmed, but regardless they stood with Blake for the hope of a brighter future.

In front of them was Hui, the members of the Oblivion Vanguard, and a few dozen Faunus who had kept their masks on stood ready to end the battle even though they were outnumbered.

"Listen to me, you don't have to fight us anymore." Blake offered.

"Even if that were true, those humans leave us no choice." said an Oblivion Vanguard.

"We can..." Blake sighed, she honestly didn't know what to really do to end this peacefully. "We can try the peaceful way."

Before she could say anything else there was a harsh, but familiar, laugh filling the air as Adam exited the building and made his way to the front of his loyalists.

"You really believe that? Do you truly believe that Blake? It can't end like that. Many of these Faunus here, including some who have sided with you, have done things in my name, in the name of the White Fang. They have stolen and fought for me, engaged in acts of 'terrorism' against humanity so even if you do beat me they won't be released with a slap on the wrist!" Adam said scornfully.

Blake sighed, knowing that Adam was telling the truth, no matter how unfortunate it was.

"Well they'll get better treatment if they stick with us instead of keeping up with you!" Sun snapped boldly.

"We can help them get lighter sentences. The fact that they've chosen to turn against you and help us will make that easier." Winter said as she gripped her sword tightly.

"And do you trust them? Do you trust the word of a Schnee?" Adam asked the the group.

"I trust these two Schnees more than I'd trust you." Came the voice of Claudandus, which got various signs of agreement from the various maskless Faunus.

"Give it up Taurus, you're done for and we outnumber you. Blake beat you fair and square and she even spared your pathetic life even after all you did to her. So why don't you use some common sense and surrender before you dig your own grave even deeper than it already is?" Yang said, resisting the urge to just fire her rocket a Adam and end him then and there.

"She spared me, true... but it's proof that she doesn't have what it takes to lead the Fang." Adam argued.

"Wrong Adam, in sparing your life she has proven herself stronger than most of us here. It takes an incredible amount of courage and strength to spare an enemy, especially after what you did to her. She's more worthy than you will ever be!" declared Razor, who got cheers and whoops of agreement.

Adam scowled as Steppenwolffe and various Beowolves emerged from the surrounding area.

"You think you can beat us with Grimm? Bring 'em on!" Sun challenged.

"Yeah!" Yang chimed in agreement.

"No, not Grimm alone." Adam said before he clapped his hands together.

All of a sudden from the areas in-between the various surrounding buildings or from the entrances of said buildings came dozens upon dozens of masked White Fang soldiers, all armed with guns, blades, and other weapons. There were even a few Spider Droids repainted with White Fang colors stolen from various places.

"This is just not our night." Weiss muttered as she looked around, seeing that they were now the ones outnumbered.

Blake looked around at the Faunus that now surrounded them before looking back to Adam. "We're not giving up Adam. I'm not at least. I'll keep on fighting you with everything I have until you're brought to justice for what you've done." she said bravely.

"Courageous, but pointless. I suppose I could be merciful, after all I admit you did defeat me in combat but as you can plainly see; at the end of the day I am still victorious." Adam said smugly as he walked past Hui, Emerald, and Mercury. "So surrender and I will show all of you mercy."

Blake glared at him and said "If any of those behind me wish to go back to serving him, I won't stop you. As for me, as for my friends, for the ones I love... we know you're a liar and a cruel person Adam, we won't give into you and let you use us. We stand together against you."

A few of the maskless had begun to move away, but after hearing Blake's words they stopped and returned to the rest of the group.

"I believe she speaks for all of us. So if you want to lose to her again, then come on! Because this time we will fight with her." Razor said to Adam.

The Bull Faunus sighed and said "Very well, I can see you've all made your choices. Kill them."

The White Fang troops and the Oblivion Vanguards all raised their guns and took aim while Steppenwolffe got his Grimm ready to pounce and maul any runners. Emerald sighed and looked away while Mercury smirked, thinking he was in for a show.

Adam took out Blush and aimed it at Blake, who held Gambol Shroud tightly in a defensive position. Razor held out Kill-Master, ready to go as his loyal friends got ready for an intense battle. Yang held out both her gauntlets, Weiss and Winter created glyphs beneath them, Sun gripped his staff firmly, Velvet crouched down slightly as she waited for something to happen, Neo held her estoc tightly.

Adam stared into Blake's eyes. Red to Gold. Black and White to Red and Black.

"Ready..." Adam began when all all of a sudden a heavy barrage of lasers strafed the ground around the rebelling group, a few hits even knocking the masked Faunus down. "What?!"

Everyone looked up to see the Elite Guard's ship with its many guns approaching the area, along with the stolen ship piloted by Qrow.

"Shoot it!" Adam ordered. Several soldiers armed with rocket launchers fired into the sky and managed to hit the larger ship, but they didn't do much damage.

"Hey!" cried Cash before he blasted down one of the rocket users. "No one shoots at my home!"

Several troopers and Grimm approached them menacingly only to be blown back by a sound shockwave from Piper.

"Enough of this! Kill them now!" yelled Adam before there were cries of shock from the rear. He looked over to see Atlas soldiers and Vacuo Rangers firing into the ranks of masked White Fang troops, shooting them down, not killing them but stunning them unconscious. The Faunus in the back had turned around and were now shooting back at the invading humans, but they weren't the only attackers as just then White Fang troops all around the area were shot down from above. Everyone looked to see Atlas soldiers on a rooftop acting as snipers, shooting the hostile Faunus out cold.

"Shoot them down!" yelled Adam, causing the Oblivion Vanguards to open fire on the snipers.

"Ah!" cried Blake as she swung her sword at Adam, which combined with the crystal within sent a purple energy arc at him that knocked him into his troops.

"GO!" Blake cried as she ran forward and parried a strike from a bodyguard. The present members of Team Beacon, the Elite Guard, and various others all ran into the enemy crowds, fighting with punches, kicks, slashes, shots, jabs, everything they could do to fight they did.

A Spider Droid charged at Blake, firing missiles that were blasted down by Yang and Leonardo. The mech slammed its arms into a maskless Faunus and pinned her down with its heavy metal legs and aimed to shoot her to death, only for Penny to use half of her swords to slice its arm clean off before blasting it in the chest to force it off of the Faunus.

Penny said nothing, she simply grunted as she jumped towards the Spider Droid and sent all of her shining blades at its limbs, severing all of them from its body, making it fall to the ground, struggling to move with its legless nubs. Penny jumped up and kicked it in the chest, knocking it on its back. She stood atop its chest, charging up her arm cannon until it was powerful enough, using her swords to slash down Grimm as she did so. Penny fired at the droid's head, blowing it clean off and destroying it.

Penny gave a satisfied smile as she went back to help the injured Faunus girl, blasting down a White Fang thug that tried to attack her while she was down.

"Are you alright?" Penny asked as she helped her up.

"Uh, yeah... thanks." said the Faunus girl.

"No problem, now let's get you to a safe place." Penny said with a smile before sending two of her swords out in a stabbing plunge to impale a large Beowolf. Claudandus came over to her and took the girl off her hands.

"Help the others, I'll get the injured to a safe place." he told her.

Meanwhile Adam dodged multiple shots from Yang as he scrambled towards the entrance of the main building. "Hui! Vanguards! To me! It's time we left!" he called before he retreated into the building, the others following him while Emerald and Mercury kept on fighting and Steppenwolffe had jumped atop one of the nearby buildings to direct his Grimm in battle.

"Don't let him get away!" shouted Kane as he shot one of the Vanguards in the back which made him fall forward and slam his head right into the wall, knocking him out.

Blake, Kane, Sun, Yang, Velvet, Thayer, Selena, and the others all fired at their escaping foes but it was too late, as Hui closed the door and wired the panel to seal it shut. "No!" cried Blake as she slammed her fist into the closed door.

"Hang on, they're not getting away that easily." Razor said before he rammed Kill-Master into the door on chainsaw mode and quickly began to cut through before Penny tapped him on the back.

"Allow me." she said politely before she stabbed her swords into the door and ripped it out of the wall, just to toss it into a group of masked Faunus.

Razor smirked and said "Thank you. Come on, let's go after him! Russell, Morgan, you take command of the Elite Guard until I return!"

"You got it!" Russell shouted over the loud sounds of the crowd as he punched a masked Faunus in the gut.

Razor, Kane, Piper, Selena, and Teresa ran into the building after Adam. Blake was about to but she hesitated. "Go, we'll stay here and fight." Winter said to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Blake, go. We can handle this and I know you can handle Adam." Weiss said encouragingly.

Blake smiled at her friend, finding it... odd that two so different, from different backgrounds, races, upbringings, lifestyles, and ideals could become so close and help make each other better.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" cried Yang as she sent a Vanguard flying.

"We're coming too." Sun agreed.

"You don't have to." Blake told them.

"The hell we don't, he's made it personal." Yang said firmly.

Blake nodded, she knew they were right. "Let's move!" she said before leading the two blondes, as well as Velvet and her uncle, into the main building.

As soon as the small group had left the battlefield there was the tremendous sound of a motorcycle's engine. Masked White Fang troops were either knocked to the ground or sent careening out of the way as Sharp Strike's bike plowed through the crowds, forcing them to get out of his way as Ruby and the others followed, thinning out the ranks of Masked Faunus as best they could with Yatsuhashi hitting them away with his huge sword, Coco shooting out the armored ones, Crane using his laser to render guns and rocket launchers inoperable, Nora sending masked Faunus flying with her hammer, Ren blasted down masked thugs to the best of his abilities, Fox cutting up weapons and cutting off armor with quick slices while Scarlet and Sage helped him out by taking down those he had disarmed, Oobleck, Port, and Taiyang fought together to take a good number of the forces out, Jaune and Pyrrha were fighting back to back, keeping the enemy busy while taking down as many as they could, and Ruby was dashing energetically though the large crowds, shooting Grimm into oblivion and knocking people out with the blunt end of Crescent Rose.

"What the hell?" cried Morgan as Sharp Strike's bike zoomed past him, the machine guns blasting away at one of the remaining Spider Droids.

"It's them." Emerald hissed as she shot an Atlas Soldier off one of the buildings.

Ruby ran into the center of the group and tackled Weiss with a hug. "Weiss! I'm so, so, so happy you're okay! Where's Blake and Yang?" she asked as she released her partner from the hug and tripped up a White Fang thug who had tried to dart past them.

"I'm happy you're okay too. Blake and Yang just went inside with Sun and some of the Elite Guard to stop Adam from escaping. I think Velvet and her uncle went with them." The heiress elaborate as she parried a strike from an attacking sword wielder, who was blasted away by Ruby.

"So, who exactly is that fellow on the bike?" Weiss asked as she created an ice patch that caused a few Oblivion Vanguards to slip up so Cash, Penn, and Misha could finish them off as they fell.

"Long story, trust me." Ruby answered as she shot off a Beowolf's arm.

"One of those 'Ruby Makes a Friend' stories?" Weiss guessed as she created a massive glyph beneath her.

"Yeah." The silver eyed girl said with a giggle before inquiring "So how bad do you think the situation is so far?"

"It's like an airship spiraling out of control, about to crash and explode." Weiss answered.

"So pretty much business as usual for us?"

"Pretty much!" Weiss replied as she poured her aura into the glyph to create her Knight Summons once again. The Knight slashed apart a group of half a dozen Beowolves before kicking an Oblivion Vanguard into the distance.

"Weiss!" called Morgan as he knocked the head off a Beowolf with his mace. He came over to them and said "Claudandus has gotten the wounded and those who don't want to fight to a storage building for safety but they're coming under attack. Think your big knight there can lend a hand?"

Weiss nodded and pointed to the storage building and her summon marched over in long strides, stepping over the crowd., as Penny joined up with them and hugged Ruby from behind.

Sharp Strike, meanwhile, drove his bike towards the Spider Droid and made it lean down as low as it could go before he jumped off. The Spider Droid spread is legs out, its gun arms were up and ready as Sharp Strike flew towards it. The robot fired at him but Sharp Strike deflected every shot and sliced apart the droid's torso as he went over it and his bike went under it.

His bike came to a stop as he landed right in front of it and quickly got it up on both wheels again before jumping back on and blasting away at the other Spider Droid.

"Whoa." muttered Sage as he parried a strike from a masked Faunus.

"Yeah, I'll fill you in on him later." Scarlet said as he used his grappling hook to tie up a large member of the Oblivion Vanguard and pulled it up tight to trip up a group of charging troops who were moving to attack Ruby and Weiss. "Where's Sun?" he asked them.

"Going to catch Adam with Yang and Blake. Velvet's with them too!" Ruby called to not just Scarlet and Sage, but the other three parts of Team CFVY.

"So we come to rescue her and she's off kicking the bad guy's ass." Fox observed.

"I'm so proud." Coco joked as she blasted away a gather of Beowolves.

"I just hope stays safe." Yatsuhashi muttered, loud enough for Coco to hear him.

"Come on Yatsu, you know she'll be okay, she's one of us after all." she said to him.

The large teen nodded as she bashed a Masked Faunus on the back with the hilt of his sword. Despite his own personal worry for his partner he knew Coco was right, she might be shy and look fragile but she could take care of herself.

* * *

Adam, Hui, and the remaining twenty-two members of the Oblivion Vanguards who had followed him inside ran down the length of the main hallway, occasionally blasting at Razor and the others who had been pursuing them when they came close to a fork in the road. At the end of the main hallway was a grand staircase which split into two directions, with the left leading to the control room while the right led to the rear hangar which contained Adam's ship and faced away from where the combined forces of the Atlesians and Vacuo Rangers were attacking from.

Before they could make it to the staircase, Adam's group came under intense fire from Blake, Yang, Velvet, Kane, Selena, Teresa, and Thayer at the other end of the hallway, forcing them to take cover in either both sides of the hallways or behind thick wall pillars even as they returned fire on the pursuers.

"Keep shooting, we need to keep them pinned down!" Blake said as she led the others down the hallway, shooting the whole time to keep driving the hostiles back. Razor, Sun, and Piper followed them, waiting to get close enough to strike with their own weapons.

"Return fire!" Adam ordered his followers who peeked around whatever cover they could find to shoot back, forcing Blake and the others to take cover as well. Seeing the return fire intensifying, Sun quickly pulled Yang behind a pillar just in time to avoid a powerful blast from a rifle which took a large chunk of concrete from the cover they just managed to hide behind. Fragments of concrete and dust pattered over them as more gunfire punched pieces of concrete from their slowly crumbling cover.

"You okay?" The Monkey Faunus asked the bombshell.

"You bet, thanks for the save." She said to him before shooting back at the Oblivion Vanguards, managing to land a hit one in the head, who toppled over and slumped to the ground.

Velvet helped out by firing at the Oblivion Vanguards clustered at the far side of the hallway, shooting back at them along with Selena and Teresa while Thayer paused to slam a fresh magazine into his assault rifle, discarding the empty one which clattered to the ground.

Sun saw the rabbit girl duck back as bullets peppered the pillar area above her head, her hands covering her sensitive ears even as her uncle pushed Velvet back into cover even as he raked the Vanguards with assault rifle fire, dropping one while forcing the others to slide back into cover. "Velvet, why did you come?" He called over the continuous sound of gunfire.

"Because I want to help stop him from hurting anyone else." Velvet answered with fierce determination in her brown eyes even as she popped out again and took single shots down the hallway, bullets pock-marking the pillar she had used as temporary cover.

"And I'm not letting her fight alone without me." Thayer stated as he pulled his backup pistol to shoot at his former leader the moment his last magazine for his recently-acquired assault rifle emptied itself. He tried to aim for Adam's head but a Vanguard with a bulletproof shield was blocking his shots while returning fire with his own rifle.

As he hid behind a pillar near the grand staircase, Adam took out his scroll and called up the control room, "Are you reading me?"

"Yes sir, we've gotten... Well about those reinforcements..." The deck officer at the other end of the line tried to say.

"I don't have time to listen to your stammering, out with it!" Adam snapped as he fired at Yang, who was trying to blast any enemy she could within range. Those that were hit by her shots never rose from where they fell, either knocked out or groaning in pain from wounds they have suffered from the yellow bombshell.

"We've contacted the nearest two bases but they are both under attack! We have also gotten reports from the primary bases in Vale, Mistral, and Atlas, and they are also all under enemy attack sir!" The deck officer blurted out the words as fast as he could.

"WHAT?!" shouted Adam, his eyes widening even as his hand clenched around his scroll, almost crushing the communication device in his grip

"We're receiving a message from a base in Vacuo, it sounds... well listen to it sir!" said the frightened officer before connecting Adam to the transmission that the former had received.

A static-laced voice of a White Fang commanding officer even as screams and explosions could be heard in the background as he said "We need reinforcements now! These warriors, Huntsmen or mercenaries, or... I don't know what they are! We managed to slow them down but that's it! We can't... they're unstoppable!"

* * *

Heavy artillery shells flew out of the heavy snowstorm from unseen cannons and bombarded the secret White Fang base in Atlas which was made from a derelict military base, built into the shadowed side of the mountains, showering the base's occupants with snow and rock fragments even as dozens of vehicles shot across the barren ice plain, their weapons already emptying precise missile shots and energy blaster fire at the substantial wall defenses of the White Fang base. One by one those defense emplacements either blew up in fiery explosions or were put out of commission, and even as the base's forces scrambled to counter the heavy firepower being leveled against them it was already far too late to make a difference.

The great metallic doors of the White Fang base was soon blown off its hinges and crushed underneath the grinding treads of a massive armored tank whose twin huge cannons roared its deafening sound of war, causing the command tower in the middle of the base to suffer catastrophic damage to its structural support and collapse shortly after. The enormous fighting vehicle, emblazoned with a mysterious emblem on both of its thick armored sides, continued to fire shells into the flaming base, while its secondary weapon arrays including grenade launchers, energy blaster turrets, missile launchers and twin-linked gatling assault cannons discouraged any White Fang forces from approaching it, all the while shrugging off massive amounts of intense enemy fire like a unstoppable giant.

In the wake of the giant tank, warriors clad in thick-plated white-silver armor and helmets sprinted across the snowy landscape, firing their energy weapons as well as using their long thin broadswords to cut down anyone who stood in their way.

The attack was akin to a wrecking ball, smashing into the unprepared defenses of the secret White Fang base with unparalleled ferocity and crushing every defender within underneath its unyielding fist of iron. Soon the base was in flames and the remaining meager number of survivors immediately surrendered upon seeing the gaping barrels and blades of those armored warriors being pointed at them.

They could only watch in trepidation and relief as the white-silver armored warriors pause for a few moments as they received fresh orders, before turning and vanishing back into the heavy snowstorm along with their powerful vehicles and transport gunships, leaving for destinations unknown, while also anonymously transmitting their coordinates to the Atlas military.

* * *

In a remote section of Vale a series of abandoned storage facilities served as a covert base for the largest White Fang cell operating in the continent, since it was far enough to avoid any detection by law-enforcement authorities and their quiet 'handling' of any unwanted curious onlookers. They thought that no one would discover their concealed base, but that belief was proven wrong when a simultaneous attack blew up the entire row of storage facilities, just as they came under fire from battle tanks and a few gunships.

Transport Carriers rolled into the open area in front of the hidden White Fang base, disgorging ranks of thickly-armored warriors armed with a variety of unique firearms and close-range combat weapons who charged towards whoever was left reeling by the explosions, while their tanks and fighting vehicles continued to unload shell after shell into the collapsing buildings. Meanwhile in the sky, heavily armed drop-ships provided much-needed air support by firing salvos of missiles and streams of shells to destroy any stationary defenses and enemy vehicles as well as armor.

The remaining White Fang troops fought back the best they could, but were quickly wiped out and within mere moments the largest underground base of the White Fang stationed in Vale was reduced to flaming rubble and collapsing ruins. When the Vale militia received word of a massive fire outbreak, they arrived to find a scene of utter devastation with shell-shocked White Fang members who were only too happy to be taken into custody, although none of them could say who were the mysterious warriors that attacked them.

* * *

The secondary bases of the White Fang located in Vacuo were hit in a sudden and synchronized attack by armor-clad warriors riding on bikes with damage-dealing weapons mounted on them. The warriors struck quickly and with frightening speed after taking out the surrounding radar-jamming towers, wiping out as many White Fang troops, vehicles and aircraft as possible before they can coordinate a response and send reinforcements for their main headquarters when the joint Altas-Vacuo Strike Force makes their move to attack the aforementioned location.

While armored warriors crashed their bikes through the main gates and firing their weapons at everything wearing a White Fang uniform, but they were careful enough to not kill unless they had no other choice. Multiple gunships and drop-ships dropped additional armored warriors who took to the fray wielding swords and axes, hacking apart any opposition they found while shooting others with uniquely-designed rifles and pistols. The remaining troops of those White Fang bases simply wasn't able to mount an effective defense against such a sudden and inexplicably efficient strategy, and were soon wiped out in short order, with both bases completely destroyed and rendered useless to the overall fighting strength of the White Fang organisation, it had all been made easier by the infighting caused by Adam's defeat.

Once they made sure there's no way for the White Fang cells to recover from their unexpected yet frighteningly effective attack, the armored warriors disappeared back into the brewing sandstorms of Vacuo once more on their bikes and airships like desert ghosts, leaving no trace of their existence behind.

* * *

The largest White Fang cell in Mistral has managed to convert a series of abandoned offshore mining platforms into a base with its own reasonable fleet of ships and accompanying attack craft, and they thought themselves invincible since the Mistral government's naval forces wasn't able to take them on in an extended fight.

However, on a rainy night their considerable defenses were put to the test when a huge armored battleship with air support in the form of heavily armed gunships rained untold amounts of firepower against the seaborne platforms. Massive explosions showered the installations, sinking one after the other even as the battleships and gunships unleashed their weaponry again and again, blasting large pieces out of the mining platforms until they fell into the oceans, crushing the escaping White Fang ships and attack crafts by the dozens.

Those that managed to escape the destruction of the mining platforms could only watch in shocked silence as flaming buildings fell into the oceans amid repeated blasts from the battleships' cannons as well as their escort ships.

Within moments the entire series of re-purposed mining platforms were wiped from existence, leaving a considerable fleet of floating wreckage and detritus behind. The survivors of Mistral's main White Fang cell watched in fearful silence as the battleships turned round and vanished into the dark night along with those accompanying gunships, and when the Mistral Naval Forces found them about an hour later they promptly surrendered without word, fearful of the warriors' return.

* * *

"Do something about it! Get some of the smaller bases..." Adam began to speak when the officer cut him off mid-sentence.

"We've tried sir, but there's trouble. It seems that the matter of your broadcasted defeat has created a problem for others, and there seems to be a schism within our ranks sir. There have been mass defections to Belladonna's side as they believe that you are unfit to command after watching you being defeated by Belladonna. Also, those still believing in you are currently fighting those who oppose you. And there are other bases which are just too far away to send help, it appears that we are on our own for the time being." The officer reported in a slightly cracking voice.

Adam let out a furious growl as he realized that the whole White Fang was collapsing around him, everything he worked for and set out to do was being undone right in front of him. He couldn't let that happen, at least not without a fight. Not without doing some major irrecoverable damage to humanity before he was finally beaten. Something to make Blake regret fighting him.

He needed to get to the ship as quickly as possible, but he couldn't do that with Blake, Razor, and the rest of those pests keeping him pinned down. Any member of the Oblivion Vanguard who left their cover or tried to get close either just barely made it to a new cover or were shot down by the members of Blake's group. Already a few were lying unmoving on the ground of the hallway, aura glowing from their sustained wounds.

One of the Oblivion Vanguards who managed to tumble out of the line of enemy fire settled next to Adam. He looked at Adam as if asking him for fresh orders and the Bull Faunus simply looked up to the staircase, the desperation to reach his destination written clearly on his face. Maybe if he managed to get the ship in flight and launch some bombs at some human cities to do some widespread damage Salem would see fit to spare him. The chance was slim, but at least it was a chance, but first they needed to get out of here.

"Any ideas to get us out of this?!" Adam shouted to his followers over the escalating firefight.

"Well sir, I've got some flash-bangs, will that do?" shouted one of the Vanguards while others continued shooting down the hallway.

Before Adam could answer he heard Kane shout "Blake, don't!" He lifted his head up just in time to see Blake dodging gunfire coming down the hallway as she ran forward to attack in a uncharacteristically brazen move.

"Fire!" yelled Hui as the members of the Oblivion Vanguard opened fire on Blake, riddling her with Dust bullets, making her flicker out of existence as they did so and revealing it to be a shadow clone.

"Oh no..." Adam muttered before he turned his head quickly and brought up Wilt just in time to block a strike from Blake, who had snuck by against the walls while her Semblance distracted them. He kicked her back and jumped up to strike against her next blow before yelling "Do it!"

The Vanguard took out two flash-bangs and violently threw them to the ground, making them go off with incredibly bright flashes that forced everyone to shield their eyes and cover their ears. Unfortunately for Blake and her group the Oblivion Vanguard's masks were enough to protect them from the visual effects of flash.

"Not again!" moaned Velvet as she wiped her eyes and pulled down her ears, while other members of Blake's group blinked their eyes furiously to clear away the effects of the flash-bangs.

"Move, move, move!" Adam shouted as he led his followers in retreat, running up the grand staircase.

"Don't let up!" Yang shouted as she wildly fired back. Selena, Kane, Teresa, and Blake, despite the light, managed to pour more gunfire at the retreating Faunus, managing to injure and take out a couple of them as Piper used her Semblance to cancel out the flash-bang's auditory effects.

As the effects of the flash-bang wore off Blake and the others quickly recovered and began to move ahead as fast as they could, firing a lot lesser now to conserve ammunition and realizing that they were merely delayed for a few minutes or so. But enough for Adam to have a head-start in getting to his destination.

"Come on, let's go!" Sun shouted as he dashed ahead to be alongside Blake, with Yang close behind and Velvet, Razor and the others following at a fast pace.

"Which way do you think they went?" Velvet asked as she reloaded her gun.

"Well we need to go to the hangar, we can't risk letting him escape." Razor voiced quickly.

"The hangar sounds most likely, but he could have gone to the control room to call for help from other bases." Kane replied after some thought.

"Then we might have to split up." suggested Teresa, looking at everyone in the group as she mentioned her suggestion.

"No, it's too dangerous, if he went to the control room we can go back and catch him but right now we need to make sure he can't get away." Blake said firmly as they made it to the split in the paths ahead.

"She's right, hangar's the best bet." Yang agreed with the black cat.

"Very well, commander." Razor said to Blake, giving his assent with a nod of his head.

Blake smiled, but wasn't sure she deserved the title. She might have won the duel, but she didn't really feel worthy of it.

"Let's quit wasting time and move!" Sun shouted before rushing down the hall, Blake and Yang alongside him.

"Now you're talking my language!" Yang exclaimed eagerly.

As they ran down the hallway Kane spoke up. "And if he went to the control room instead of the hangar?"

"Then we double back and go there, if he's scurried off we force the information we need out of the officers and techies there. And then we transmit a message to the other White Fang bases." Razor said.

"What kind of message, sir?" Selena inquired with curiosity in her voice.

"To stand down." That was all Razor said as they focused on getting to the hangar, their running steps pounding along the steel walkways.

* * *

Glynda waved her wand, expertly deflecting every single Dust bullet shot at her as she strode proudly forward. Her Semblance lifted up a piece of wood laying against one of the buildings and it flew into the head of a White Fang officer, knocking him out.

The battle for Oro wasn't as difficult as she feared it would be; not only were most of the White Fang's forces busy fighting the forces at the perimeter but the Fang themselves were in disarray as half of them seemed to be fighting each other instead of simply fighting her and the rangers, which gave Glynda hope for the mission's success.

Just then she saw a group of masked White Fang agents holding a group of villagers hostage, they were human and Faunus, young and old, and all afraid eith the guns pointed at their heads. "Stop or we shoot!" yelled a masked White Fang operative.

"Let them go, do not do something you will regret." Glynda told him calmly.

"Then take your rangers and leave!" yelled the Faunus.

"I cannot do that, but if you release them and all of the other villagers I will make sure your sentence won't be too harsh." the blonde teacher promised them.

The Faunus sneered at her and said "No dice. Kill... AH!"

Glynda used her Semblance to rip the weapons out of their hands, turned them around in midair, and made them fire at the ones who had been holding them seconds ago, shooting them all down but she made sure to only shoot them in legs or shoulders, so as not to kill them.

"Find shelter, quickly!" Glynda told the hostages who thanked her before making their way to a safe place.

Glynda looked up to the mountains and could see the smoke from the explosions at the White Fang base. "Be safe." she muttered, hoping her students and friends would be alright. She could only hope for now, as she had work to do.

* * *

Pyrrha shot down an Oblivion Vanguard who was brutally attacking one of the maskless and sent him out cold with a hard kick to the head before she elbowed a Faunus who was about to attack her from behind right in the gut before whirling around, grabbing him by the head, and smashing his face into her knee before tossing him into a charging Oblivion Vanguard.

She helped the beaten Faunus up and directed him over to a small group of maskless that Jaune was covering, Pyrrha quickly helped out by shooting down a sneak attacker who tried ti jump Jaune from behind, to which he waved in appreciation before pointing behind her. Another White Fang trooper leapt at her and tried to stab her with a machete, but she whipped around right in time and knocked his legs out from beneath him with a sweeping kick and then slammed Milo into his face when he tried to get back up before transforming it into gun mode to blast a female Faunus' gun in half when she tried to execute a former comrade.

"What the...?" The Faunus questioned before Pyrrha sent her sprawling on the ground with a swift punch to the side of the head. Pyrrha directed the nervous Faunus she had just saved to Jaune's group before she quickly blasted away a few Beowolves that were charging at Jaune

Jaune, meanwhile, was fighting for all his worth, cutting down Beowolves and knocking out White Fang troops. He swung Crocea Mors, decapitating a Beowolf before ducking the swing of a Masked Faunus' blade, whom he then delivered a powerful blow to the gut with his shield powered by his Semblance. He then used his Semblance to shield himself and the several injured Maskless White Fang members from gunfire. When they stopped shooting he lunged forward and attacked brutally, striking with his shield and Semblance enhanced kicks and punches that sent them into unconsciousness.

As a few of Leonardo's troops quickly took the injured and helped them to the storage building one of them called to Jaune.

"Thank you!" she said.

Jaune smiled at her, only to be floored by a mighty punch from an Oblivion Vanguard. Jaune tried to get up but the assailant stomped on his chest, right on top of the armor plate, a gun pointed at his face should her try to use his sword.

"Heh!" laughed the bodyguard as a Beowolf prowled behind him, eyeing Jaune darkly. "What're you gonna do now, blondie?"

Pyrrha, who had just taken down a trio of White Fang thugs, saw what was happening and was about to rush to her partner's aid when she gave her a look.

Jaune smirked at the Vanguard "Improvise." He answered as his eyes faintly shone red for a second.

"What the... AH!" screamed the Vanguard as the Beowolf suddenly attacked him from behind. The vanguard cried out in panic as the Beowolf reared up to sink its teeth in only for Jaune to ram his sword through its head, killing it. He looked down at the injured Vanguard as he tried to recover only to kick him in the chin, knocking him out.

Pyrrha jogged over to him and gave him a look, to which he shrugged and said "Had to do something, can't let you save me all the time, plus I don't think anyone noticed."

"You two!" shouted out a voice.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned about face just in time to see Steppenwolffe appearing out of the crowd, riding atop a large Beowolf. Pyrrha quickly held up Milo and fired five quick shots, hitting the Grimm in the torso and head, killing it before it could reach them. As the beast died Steppenwolffe leapt off of it and landed in front of the couple, his weapon drawn.

"The traitor and the failure, I've been looking forward to this." he said darkly.

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other before Pyrrha's hand shot up towards the Grimm Commander and various guns from the masked White Fang soldiers went flying out of their hands and into Steppenwolffe, battering him over and over again with the buts of the guns but he managed to block some of the now floating guns before dodging them and rushing forward and striking at Pyrrha but Jaune parried his strike right before Pyrrha grabbed him and tossed him overhead, slamming him into the ground.

"Ugh!" he grunted as he kicked her in the gut before jumping back up, only to get Jaune's shield to the face. He growled at the blonde and plunged his blade forward, managing to land a cut on Jaune's shoulder while also punching him in the face. Jaune recoiled and sidestepped a slash from Steppenwolffe before suffering a jab to the abdomen but he quickly managed to grab Steppenwolffe's hand and pull him in close to headbutt him and use his shield to ram the Grimm hybrid in the gut at the same time.

Steppenwolffe stumbled back just as Pyrrha used her Semblance on a long rifle to twist it into a circle around Steppenwolffe before shoving him against the wall of a building.

Pyrrha held him to the wall and said "You're not walking away from this."

"Well that's wrong, as that's exactly what I'll be doing. _Fotia_." he sneered.

Pyrrha glared and punched him in the face before saying "I'm going to ask you a question and for your own good answer it: what became of the Wyvern?"

The elder Grimm hybrid snorted and said "So you still care for the beast? I always have found your bond with it to be most curious and it was... rather unhappy to lose you, but you won't be getting any answers from me." Just then his eyes began to glow as he summoned his Grimm to come to his aid.

The Grimm charged them, ignoring Atlas soldiers and the White Fang alike as they rushed to aid their commander. Pyrrha glared at him before turning around and shooting away at the Grimm while Jaune cut them down, the two fighting together perfectly against the surge of Grimm, not noticing Steppenwolffe using all of his strength to pry the gun open enough for him to get free.

He reclaimed his blade and quietly moved to stab Jaune in the back, preparing to plunge the blade and twist it harshly, but just as he raised his blade Pyrrha whipped around and blocked his stab.

"Don't even try to touch him." she spat before engaging him in a brief duel, Pyrrha's raw talent against Steppenwolffe's years of experience made the two equally matched with over a dozen strikes, parries, swings, and blocks before, seemingly out of nowhere, Sharp Strike brought his bike to a halt and jumped off, kicking Steppenwolffe in the face.

"Thank you." Pyrrha said to him as Sharp Strike withdrew both of his blades.

"Help Jaune and the others, I'll keep him busy." Sharp Strike told her as he approached the rising Grimm Commander. "So what are you? A new version of a Sin Commander?"

"Sin Commander? Those chaps are things of the past. Who the hell are you?" Steppenwolffe demanded as he got ready for another bout.

"Come and find out, abomination." Sharp Strike dared.

Pyrrha watched the two begin to fight as she winced at the harshness of Sharp Strike's words when he called Steppenwolffe an abomination.

Jaune gently grabbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry, we can try to find out about your Wyvern later but right now we've this mess to worry about." he said, gesturing to the chaos around them before casually bashing a masked Faunus in the face with his shield as he did so.

The Amazon nodded and said "You're right, let's get to work."

* * *

Adam and the rest ran into the the rear hangar, it was slightly smaller than the main one at the front, catwalks flanking the sides and going above the hangar door, the large room was mostly taken up by the ship that Adam had commissioned to achieve his goal. The ship itself was average size for its purpose, a rebuilt cargo freighter that was slightly larger than a bullhead, with various guns and catwalks attached to its sides, and the engineers had made sure that the engines were fast enough to outrun attacking ships. The ship's armor wasn't quite finished yet, but that would have to wait.

More members of the Oblivion Vanguard had made it to the hangar, a few of them stayed by the door to keep watch for Blake and Razor while Adam made his way to the ship and the various Vanguards and other masked White Fang troops got into position around the room to defend the vessel.

"Lieutenant Hui, I leave you in command of the evacuation, get everyone still loyal to the cause out." Adam said.

Hui nodded and gestured for half of the Vanguard to follow him to the control room while the other half continued to follow Adam. "Good luck." He whispered to his leader, knowing that he would never see Adam again.

Adam nodded to his lieutenant, one of the few people he could genuinely call a friend. Hopefully he'd make it out of this.

"Engines prepped?" Adam asked one of the engineers as he began climbing up the stairs for the catwalks that led to the ship.

"Yes sir, and the weapons are fully loaded and armed, the missiles you wanted have been loaded up as well, we're ready for takeoff. ...Uh, sir, are you sure this is a good idea?" The engineer asked.

"We have no time to reconsider. Either we strike now or pay the price." Adam said as the launch crew opened hangar doors.

Adam made it onto the ship noticing that the few crew-members aboard looked uneasy and wary of him. "Is there a problem?" he asked, an edge to his voice.

"Uh, no sir... well it's just that... this might be too risky and considering the fact that you lost..." said an engineer who Adam silence by grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up.

"I haven't lost to her. Not yet." Adam seethed furiously.

"Un-understood sir!" The engineer rasped out before Adam let him down.

Just then there was an incredibly loud clash of sound as the few Vanguards who were guarding the door shouted in alarm before being sent flying across the hangar by a powerful sound blast, courtesy of Piper. Yang and Sun rushed in, the former blasted away at everything she could while Sun slammed the combined form of his weapons into every Vanguard he could before taking them apart and blasting them off as he used them to hit the ground crew.

Hui growled and ran to slash Sun down, only to be parried by Razor.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we insist you stay." the large Boar Faunus quipped before surging against Hui and pushing him backwards. Razor began forcing Hui further away from the ship, relentlessly striking against him with Kill-Master and taking time to cut down or destroy the weapons of anyone who tried to attack him from the side and rear, slicing apart guns and slashing masked White Fang members to the ground.

Teresa used her claws to slash up those on Adam's side who didn't have thick armor while using every move she had to keep they at bay while Velvet, Kane, Selena and Thayer fired on the ship. A large armored Vanguard member charged Kane, avoiding his blasts and got close enough to slam his sword down but the Flying Fox Faunus jumped up, aided by his wins and fired at the brute from above before coming down feet first, knocking the guard to the ground where he was finished off by Selena.

Kane smirked as he fired at Adam, nearly hitting him. His former leader glared down at him and tired to shoot him with Blush but the winged Faunus easily dodged it. "You don't know how good this feels, Taurus!" he shouted as he blocked an attack from another thug, who Selena shot down.

"Less talking, more fighting." she told him as she opened fire on another guard.

Adam growled and lifted his gun to fire on them, only for a Dust bullet to graze his shoulder. "Ah!" he cried. His aura worked to heal the minor wound as he looked down to see Blake.

Blake kept her focus on Adam, who was atop the ship, and fired on him while dashing to avoid being hit by his own blasts. She saw the metal staircase that led to the catwalks as she blasted down a guard who was trying to block it.

Velvet saw what she was going to do and pointed it out to Kane.

"Go for it! We'll cover you!" Kane called to her as he and Selena fired on the Vanguards.

"Good luck!" Velvet shouted.

Blake nodded and ran for it, ignoring the thug who tried to jump her only for Teresa to slam into him, burying her claws into his side.

The Cat Faunus used Gambol Shroud to deflect the shots being fired at her from above, running as fast as she could but soon she had Yang and Sun running beside her.

She smiled at them both, knowing she could count on them.

A group of four guards from the catwalks scrambled down to block it, firing on them but Sun didn't stop for an instant. With his Semblance he created two clones that dashed ahead. One jumped over them, landing behind the group while the one in front slammed into them and burst just as the second one did, the force of the attack sent the guards tumbling over the railings and onto the ground just as the trio made their way up the stairs.

"Take off now!" Adam yelled to the pilot, who quickly obeyed and began to slowly fly the ship forward.

"Hurry!" cried Velvet as she kept shooting at the ship, hoping to do some damage to it.

"Aim for the engines!" Thayer said as he and his niece began to shoot at the rear of the ship.

Velvet looked over and saw an Oblivion Vanguard hoisting up a rocket launcher and aiming it at Kane, so she quickly whipped around and blasted him or her in the chest. Velvet had an idea and dashed over to the downed Vanguard and took up the rocket launcher and aimed it at the catwalks at the front of the hangar and fired, the recoil knocked her off her feet but the rocket hit its mark, the catwalks were badly hit and they fell atop the ship, forcing it to slow down.

However, large parts of the scaffolding fell down to where Razor and Hui were dueling, both of them jumped away from each other before the debris came crashing down, separating them both.

"Next time traitor." Hui said before retreating out of a side door.

Razor revved up Kill-Master's chainsaw mode, but stopped when he heard Kane scream. He looked to see that Kane had been stabbed by one of the Oblivion Vanguards, who was quickly blasted away by Selena. Razor shook his head and ran back to help the others fight off the guards. "Your time will come, lieutenant." he whispered before sending a guard flying with a mighty punch.

Meanwhile, up above the part of the catwalk that led to the ship had disconnected, and was now blocked off by six Oblivion Vanguards who let lose a wild barrage of fire to keep the trio at bay. Blake created an earth clone of herself to take the shots for them.

"Yang, can you use your rocket?" Sun asked as the blonde brawler fired back.

"Not at this ranger! It'd kill them and knock out the bridge!" Yang justified as a bullet went flying past her face.

Just then the six Vanguards all cried out in pain and moved to cover their ears from a sound the trio couldn't hear. Blake looked down and smiled as she saw Piper using a sound bubble isolated around the group of guards to disable them with a sonic attack. She smiled back and waved as Blake and Sun used their Semblances, Blake's clone was on fire thanks to the properties of a Dust crystal, and they sent the clones charging forward to collide with the guards and blow them off the bridge and to the ground below or onto the ship.

Yang as she rushed forward to the end of the platform and with great effort jumped onto the ship's side as it began to exit the hangar, getting free of the catwalk debris.

"Come on!" she called as she held out her hand.

Blake ran back and dashed forward to jump, landing safely in front of Yang who grabbed her to make sure she was steady.

"You good?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded, blushing slightly when she realized their close proximity.

Sun jumped over the gap as the ship was almost out of range, but he managed to just barely make it, he landed on the side platform, only to stumble back into the railing which hadn't been properly secured. He nearly fell backwards before his hands were caught by Blake and Yang.

"Gotcha!" Yang said as they pulled him to safety.

"Whoa, close call." Sun muttered as he took Ruyi and Jingu Bang's combined form off his back.

As the ship took off into the night and away from the battle, Blake looked down at the battle below. She could just barely see the courtyard where her friends still fought on, she could see the Atlesian soldiers and the Vacuo Rangers fighting with everything they had, she could see the dogfights taking place, she could even see the _Resolute_ about a mile or two away. This had escalated into an all out war, and she couldn't help but blame herself for it.

Yang, seemingly sensing her partner's distress, placed a loving hand on her shoulder and whispered "It's not your fault Blake, you've did everything you could. A lot of people will know what a hero you are for this."

"I don't feel like one." Blake admitted.

"You're a hero to me." Sun said.

Blake looked to him, seeing nothing but love for her in his eyes despite everything that had happened.

"You're one to me to, and to Ruby, Weiss, and everyone down there who sided with you because you want to do the right thing. That makes you a hero in my book." Yang said honestly before hugging her partner.

Blake returned the hug before giving Sun a kiss before they all got their weapons ready.

One way or another, they were going to make sure Adam Taurus would be defeated before sunrise.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again this chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader, who created the Remnant Knights and Task Force Omega and has begun to write a prequel to this story called RWBY Crucible, check it out!
> 
> Please help me continue this story and give me some feedback. Please fave and follow this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.
> 
> I want to thank all those who faved and followed this story as I have finally reached 200 followers on ff . net! I hope to get more soon, as I hope more readers will come to enjoy this story. I am so sorry to leave you guys on another cliffhanger, but this is the last one for a while. Also, I'm sorry if this chapter sucked or if you don't enjoy this story. I know a lot of people tell me its good but I'm just nervous I guess, the lack of faves, follows, and kudos have made me question its worth.
> 
> Big announcements: Beginning next chapter this fic will be rated M and after chapter 50 I will be going on month and a half long hiatus after burning myself out on this fic again and plan out the next arc, while attending to personal things.
> 
> My grandmother, despite some issues, managed to make it through the open heart surgery and is currently recovering and will be able to go home in a month.
> 
> Also I want to say Rest In Piece to John Hurt, my personal choice for Claudandus' voice. He was a wonderful actor, I loved him whenever I saw him in anything. Kane, Hazel, Mr. Olivlander, The Elephant Man, The War Doctor, Harold Oxley, these are just some of the roles he's lived in his wonderful and unforgettable career as one of the finest actors alive. Also because I forgot last time RIP Carrie Fisher, to us Star Wars fans she was royalty, and will always be our Princess of the Stars.


	47. War for the White Fang Part II

Ironwood watched as the battle raged on, dogfights occurred about the Resolute while below the Vacuo Rangers warred with the perimeter guard, who were losing the fight. He used a pair of binoculars to peer ahead towards the base and could see a White Fang ship sneaking away

"General, incoming message from Colonel Chamberlain." said a deck officer.

"Put it though." he ordered.

A hologram of his loyal comrade appeared before him and said "We're making progress General, Team Beacon has mostly reunited and with all our forces combined we're putting up quite a fight. I expect this will be over by sunrise."

"Excellent." Ironwood stated, "The technicians are almost done putting together the footage of Norvik, in a few minutes we'll transmit it to you and you can upload it into the base's main computer and broadcast it around the base while sending it to other White Fang bases."

"Ensuring that the Fang's ranks turn on Taurus. I need to get back to battle sir, but just a minute ago we received word from Velvet Scarlatina, it appears that Taurus is on a ship that just departed from their rear hangar but Belladonna, Xiao Long, and Wukong are aboard that vessel so we can't fire on it." Chamberlain reported.

"Then we might have to board it." Ironwood considered.

"I think those three have a chance of doing this on their own sir, but Miss Scarlatina assured me that she and her uncle we're already on it while the one known as Razor and a few others are on their way to take control of the command room." Chamberlain revealed.

"Wonderful news, that will make getting the truth out all the more easier." Ironwood voiced.

"Indeed. Sir... what do we do with the Elite Guard and the maskless Faunus who turned on Taurus? I mean we can't just let them go." The Colonel pointed out.

Ironwood shook his head and grimaced. "We'll think about that later, right now we can't be hasty. For now they're on our side and it's good enough for me. Talk of punishment can come later." He said.

Chamberlain nodded as the hologram dissipated. Ironwood sighed, knowing he'd have to do something about them, but he'd have to make his choice carefully and one that wouldn't lead to rebellion.

"How much longer on that video?" he asked a technician.

"A few minutes sir, not long." she said before getting back to work, making sure the disturbing footage and the proof of Taurus' cruelty was ready...

* * *

_The first part of the video shows a dark hallway, the camera was that of a scroll as it moved down the dreary halls. "Where the hell am I?" says the voice of a Faunus named Vincent as he walked down the darkened tunnels of old mines. "I think I'm lost..." he mutters as he leans against the wall to take a break, hoping that the Grimm creature wouldn't happen to come at him from either side._

_"Hey guys! Some of these doors ain't workin' properly! I think we should rethink this thing!" shouts King from somewhere in the tunnels._

_Vincent sighs as he sits down, only to stop and look up. "Wha... OH SHIT! AH!"_

_The Grimm Hybrid known as The Chimera, once a man called Norvik the Hunter, drops down on him, his claws digging in._

_"Help me! Ah! Get off! Get this fucking thing offa me! AHHH!" screamed Vincent before his body goes limp, his severed head tossed away from the body as blood covered the scroll's camera._

_Norvik the Chimera went to work, mauling the dead body, resulting in bones popping and snapping until a voice muttered "Oh shit..."_

_The beast looked up and the camera could just barely see Seeley who then yelled "Come on! Try and catch me!" before the monster gave chase._

* * *

_Another one of the survivors, Stine, walks about confused in the tunnels. "King! Seeley! Carpenter! Where the hell are you guys?" he half whispers/yells._

_He sighed and breathes heavily, hinting he has been running around. He holds up his torch and rounds a corner only for the Chimera to appear right in front of him and roar._

_Stine screams as it lunges for him._

_The scroll is flung off his chest and lands nearby, recording the mauling as it happens, the hunter digging into its prey's chest._

* * *

_The Scroll that belonged to Toro had faced the door for a long time as it user peers through the thick, but very dirty, window in the mine tunnel. He's breathing hard as he keeps a lookout, he had just barely made it as he had shut the door. Once they had closed the doors behind them they were supposed to move on but Toro was simply to scared to move._

_Just then a shadow slowly drops down from above._

_Toro whips around to see the beast._

_He screams as it leaps at him, slamming into him before he can pull out his gun._

_A second later blood cascades down upon the scroll, along with an eyeball._

* * *

_Samara came around the bend to see Toro's dead body, his head ripped asunder._

_She gasps, failing to hold back her tears at the horrific sight, as well as her lunch as she leans over to the corner to vomit._

_She stumbles away and falls against the wall, still weeping for her dead friends. Just then she hears a growl. She looks up and without another second it grabs her and pulls her up, biting and clawing away, ripping flesh and tearing into her tail and bones as she screams.  
_

_Styles comes running and shoots at the creature. "Alright, let go of her!" she screams as she shoots the creature in the arm, forcing it to loosen its grip on Samara. Styles then lurches forward and grabs the younger girl to pull her down._

_"Come on, stay with me Samara!" Styles pleads as she drags the grievously injured girl away. The beast jumps down and slowly stalks after them, licking its lips._

_"Styles... please he-llllp... I... I don't wanna diee..." Samara rasps as the beast jumped forward and bites Samara on the foot before jerking her out of Styles hold._

_"NO!" Styles screams before the Chimera runs away, dragging the screaming Samara behind, even as he scroll comes loose and is left behind to be collected by Styles._

* * *

_Winston and Romero walk down the tunnels together, listening to the distant screams of their comrades. Both remain silent and vigilant as they keep their guns ready._

_They come to an intersection, where from out of the darkness comes the Chimera. In lands in between them, using the scythe-like stinger on its tail to impale Romero who screams bloody murder as the tail digs further into his body._

_Winston unloads a heavy round from a shotgun into the creature's side, making it roar in pain before aura begins to heal it._

_"Aura?! That's impossi..." Winston begins to say before the creature uses a foreleg to swat him down, clawing his side. Winston fell to the ground, he tried to crawl away as the dying Romero was continuously slammed from side to side. The creature slashed Winston across the back before barreling down on the Bulldog Faunus' head and biting in, as seen by Romero's scroll._

* * *

_Shiraishi runs for his life, desperate to get away from the Grimm hybrid chasing him. He had tripped and dropped his ammo, leaving him empty after a few shots._

_"No, no, no, no, no, oh shit! Someone help me! Someone please!" The technician pleads as he runs as fast as he can. He tries to close a door but it stops halfway and the creature slides under it easily as Shiraishi keeps sprinting for all he's worth._

_At the end of a tunnels stands Seeley. "Shiraishi!"_

_"Help me!"_

_"Don't look back! Just run! Run! Run as fast as you can!" Seeley yells as his comrade runs towards him. Thanks to Seeley's scroll the Norvik the Chimera could be seen scaling the wall, but still running as fast as ever._

_All of a sudden, no one can tell what happens; Norvik attacks, bites hard with great strength and Shriashi's body seemingly explodes in half, the legs and groin landing right in front of Seeley as blood pools out while Norvik feats on the head, arms, and torso. Seeley, horrified, slams the doors shut._

* * *

_Seeley runs for his life, trying to get the hell away from from Norvik, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure there's nothing to shoot at._

_The sound of tearing metal signaled the door being ripped open by the beast's claws, which encouraged Seeley to run faster still._

_He rounds a bend and slams right into Carpenter, causing both of them to fall to the floor._

_"Yo... you... Oum above, you scared me shitless!" scolds Carpenter, laughing at the insanity of it all as he put the grenade he had to throw at Norvik down._

_"You and me both mate!" Seeley laughs. "Come on, let's go..."_

_"Okay, okay... oh shit!" screams Carpenter as he notices Norvik racing towards them._

_Norvik slammed into Carpenter, his claws ripping open his neck, causing blood to splatter on Seeley's shocked face. Carpenter falls into the wall, a look of pain and horror upon his face as he slid down. Norvik seized the body and began to feast, ripping open the rib-cage and digging in._

_Seeley, shocked and afraid, scrambled back before getting up and running away, seeing Styles not too far away._

_"Come on, to me. Come and get us you bastard!" she yells._

* * *

_Styles and Seeley run down the corridor to where Poe, Medak, Amenabar, King, Craven, and Shelley are all waiting with guns drawn and ready to fire._

_"It's coming!" Seeley cries as he gets his gun ready._

_Sure enough Norvik's roars can be heard, getting closer and closer to them. Everyone readies their guns, aiming at the dark hallway where the beast is sure to come from._

_All of a sudden something small rolls out of the darkness; King's grenade._

_"Shit!" screams Seeley._

_They all run for it but the grenade goes off, knocking most of them down._

_Before they can recover Norvik appears, leaping through the fires, crashing into Amenabar and biting his head off while his tail impales Shelley's leg and drags her beneath his heavy body where the claws of his feet stab into her as he stomps her to death._

_Styles, Seeley, Poe, Craven, King, and Medak, now the only ones left, all open fire on Norvik, blitzing him up. Norvik roared in pain as the blasts hit him. The beast jumps off of the walls and lands right in the middle of the group before attacking furiously; violently eviscerating Poe while his tail impales Craven though the head._

_Seeley and Styles get in a few shots that manage to really hurt Norvik, which causes him to let out a disturbing scream like nothing they have ever heard before he slashed out, gashing Seeley violently against the chest before the face pincers dig into his stomach, exposing his intestines._

_Seeley lets out a pain-filled scream as Styles pulls him away before shooting Norvik right in the face. Norvik recoils in pain as King jumps on his back, taking out a dagger to stab him repeatedly._

_"Take him and go!" he yells._

_"King..."_

_"Everyone else is dead doc! We've failed! Go!" King shouts as he keeps stabbing the beast._

_Styles watches as King holds off the creature as she helps Seeley and reluctantly leaves as fast as she could._

_Norvik runs back into the tunnels, King fighting him the whole way, even as his scroll falls off and is left behind._

* * *

Styles had patched up Seeley to the best of her abilities and had given him a gun to protect himself with as she went back to the tunnels to recover the scrolls and try to see if any of the others had survived.

None of them had.

She found King, his body a broken, torn apart husk in a bloodstained corridor.

But she managed to recover the scrolls.

She came back to find that Seeley was gone, his gun and scroll left behind. He was dead too.

Styles cried for her comrades, her friends. She quickly got to work, making sure they wouldn't be forgotten. She would make sure Adam wouldn't get away with this.

* * *

Mercury stood atop one of the buildings and kicked up his legs into the air rapidly, blasting off dozens of Dust orbs into the air before he jumped back onto his feet and controlled them to slam down upon the crowd like rain, but they moved like guided missiles into maskless Faunus, Rangers, or Atlas soldiers.

The grey haired teen smirked before an Atlas soldier on the roof yelled out as he charged him, followed by about five others, all armed with considerable weapons. Mercury, however, was never one to back down from a challenge.

"Bring it on!" Mercury beckoned as he rushed towards the foolhardy trooper, jumping up and unleashing a series of hard kicks to the chest and face, which sent him flying into one of his comrades. Mercury jumped over the bulk of them and slammed his feet into the last one, shooting him as he did so. Mercury stood atop the downed soldier who was trying to reach his weapon only for Mercury to lift up his foot and shoot the man right in the face.

Mercury grunted as he took some hits in the back, his aura allowing him to withstand the pain before he pivoted about face and rushed into the remaining guards before jumping high up into the air and sending down another torrent of energy orbs on them before he landed behind one of them, punched her half a dozen times along the back before grabbing her arms and pulling as he placed one leg in the small of the trooper's back and let off a powerful Dust blast, making the female soldier cry out in pain as he released her, only to spin kick her into a wall.

He whipped around and fired three more Dust orbs, hitting two of the three remaining troops, but one had avoided being hit and fired a shotgun at Mercury. The son of Marcus Black ducked the shotgun's blasts as he rushed forward, punching a female soldier in the gut to keep her down as he did so, and he grabbed the barrel of said gun and forced it forward, slamming the butt of the weapon into the user's face a couple times before kneeing him in the gut, punching him in the jaw, and ripping the weapon away to leap over to another soldier, bash him right in the nose with the blunt end of the gun before firing into his chest and sending him flying off of the roof.

Mercury got behind the shotgun wielder and slammed his fist into the back of his head, sending the trooper into the sole remaining Atlas soldier, who caught her friend before setting him down as she took out a large knife combined with her pistol.

Mercury gave off another smirk before launching forward, dodging her shots before jumping up to kick her in the chest and knock her into the wall, while she managed to slash open his boot with her blade. She tried to get back up but Mercury grabbed the shotgun and began using it as a melee weapon, slamming it into her back over and over again before she managed to shoot him in the shoulder with her pistol, forcing him to drop the gun as she recovered and began slashing at him with her blade, managing to scratch his shirt here and there, and try to blast him. Mercury snarled before he lurched forward and pounded his fists into her torso furiously, hitting her chest, collarbone, gut, and ribs before he grabbed her by the helmet and slammed her down into his metal foot, which he kicked up at the same time, resulting in a great amount of pain for the soldier.

She staggered as he released her, she tried to regain her senses but he finished her off with a mighty kick to the head, which sent her head slamming into the wall.

Mercury let out a whoop of victory while going over to the edge of the roof as he grabbed some of the weapons from the downed soldiers, and then he opened fire on the enemy soldiers below.

On the building next to his a small squad of four Vacuo Rangers got ready to attack from the side, ready to let loose everything they had into the assassin's son, but they never got the chance as Emerald carefully came up behind them. Over the months she had gotten much better with her Semblance, now she was able to trick influence three people at once with moderate effort, and with great effort she could deceive about five, but it would take up a lot of aura and she couldn't afford that at the moment, so one or two would do.

She focused on one, changing his vision to see nothing but Grimm Knights in the place of his comrades, which went into effect the moment the ranger blinked.

He looked around and cried out in shock, shooting down one of his teammates, resulting in his team breaking out in a panic before they opened fire on him, taking him out with a stun setting.

Now that they were too busy wondering what had happened to attack her partner, Emerald stuck. She came out of her hiding place and slashed a Ranger across the chest with both of her bladed guns, creating two rather nasty gashes in his uniform with two lines of blood marking his chest before she kicked him down, while shooting the one her target had already injured to make sure she wouldn't be a problem.

The remaining ranger blasted at the thief, who elegantly and effortlessly dodged the bullets before she used the sickles of her weapons to cut apart the ranger's gun before going at him with three sweeping-kicks, all three of which hit. He fell down on his butt before Emerald stepped on his gut and finished him off with a shot to the chest, which didn't kill him but was enough to remove him from the fight.

The dark skinned thief looked out to the battle, all in all it didn't look good, as the Faunus who had sided with them were now clearly outnumbered and outmatched, plus Adam and his lieutenant had run off into the base and were obviously on the ship that had just taken off, which was luckily being ignored due to the dogfights keeping the Elite Guard's ship and various other ships busy. She could see her enemies down there; Ruby and Weiss fought together with the Schnee heiress' summon to protect Claudandus and the injured Faunus, or those of the maskless who didn't want to fight.

Emerald didn't know either girl well at all but she did know that they weren't exactly a perfect fit a first. And yet there they were, working together flawlessly to protect Faunus, something most people would have never believed a Schnee would do. She then looked to see Jaune and Pyrrha, the ones who got away, the ones who survived, fighting back to back to protect each other and those around them, working together nearly flawlessly.

Emerald would have been lying is she were to say she didn't feel a little happy for them, but what was another little lie in a lifetime of them? After all, these people had been through hell and she had been a part in that. She had helped make the Fall of Beacon possible, she had helped torture Jaune, she knew of the terrible things Ruby had been through, she helped frame Yang... Emerald wanted to make the world a better place, and while she had no choice but to follow orders or risk Salem's punishments, she didn't feel pride in what she did most of the time.

She looked down to the fight and could see Neo, slashing down a White Fang thug and her face became hard. Torchwick's henchgirl had set her up and had nearly got her killed and while she couldn't really blame her for her betrayal, she could blame her for trying to frame her.

Emerald jumped down and landed with a roll before she cut down and shot an unlucky maskless Faunus, dodged streams of bullets before jumping over a downed Oblivion Vanguard as she spun around with her guns expanding into kusarigama mode to cut down a bunch of Atlas soldiers as she began to make her way to Neo. She looked up and signaled to Mercury, who nodded, jumped down, landed atop an injured Atlas soldier when he came down, and made his way to join his partner.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, Winter parried a powerful strike from a dual-wielding swordsman. He was a powerful Faunus and was able to put a great deal of strength into his strikes but Winter was no push over, quickly parrying and withstanding every attack before she brought her head forward, headbutting his jaw before kicking him in the groin and bashing him on the head with the hilt of her blade before deflecting a shot meant for her and backhanding a sneak attacker.

"Good to see you in action again Specialist!" said the familiar voice of Colonel Chamberlain, who was currently engaged in a duel with a White Fang officer.

"It's a pleasure to see you here as well sir, hope the entrance wasn't too bad." she said to him as she slashed at another Faunus.

"It could have been better." Chamberlain remarked as Jinty and Babara fought on together near them.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We had proof of Adam's crap and we almost got it uploaded and we probably could have had all of this finished before you got here but that Grimm guy got the drop on me." Jinty said to him as he shot a Beowolf.

Chamberlain looked over to see Sharp Strike and Steppenwolffe dueling, the two powerful warriors were trading blows so rapidly one could barely keep up as they parried each other's strikes or punched and kicked at one another.

"Who is that?" Chamberlain asked, pointing to Sharp Strike.

"Don't ask me, apparently Miss Rose and those who escaped earlier made an ally." Winter said as cut an Oblivion Vanguard across the legs, making him fall to his knees so she she could kick him in the face.

Chamberlain nodded and managed to watch as Sharp Strike avoided multiple slashes from Steppenwolffe before blasting the Grimm hybrid down with a powerful looking pistol before taking out two of his three swords again to engage him in combat, striking relentlessly against the Grimm Commander.

Chamberlain had many questions, but they could wait until this mess was over. However, the Weasel Faunus who had just spoken to him had caught his interest. "What do you mean you had proof? You're on our side, correct?" he inquired as he ducked a swing.

"That's right, we're the Elite Guard, plus me and my girl here have been helping out Blake for a while." Jinty confessed as he dodged a bullet.

Chamberlain nodded just as his scroll rang. He took it out and could see that the data file of Norvik's slaughter, along with Adam's message to the ones he had condemned to death at the mines, had been sent to him.

"We have proof right here! I need to get inside so I can..." Chamberlain before he took a powerful Dust blast to the shoulder that knocked him down. He tried to get up only to be stabbed in the upper leg by a Faunus, forcing him to cry out in pain.

Before the attacking Faunus could do anymore Winter sent him flying via a glyph before she looked at the injured Chamberlain. "That's don it." she muttered. "Let me help you..."

"No, I'll be fine." he said defiantly as he handed her his scroll. "You got to get this into the White Fang's communications system or video system or whatever, and transmit it. The file I just received contains irrefutable proof of Adam Taurus' madness."

"We've got some too, Piper should still have a backup of the prisoners in her scroll. We would have gotten it out but they kept us on a tight leash after what we pulled." Babara informed as she knocked down a guard with her axe.

"I'll do it sir, just get yourself to safety." Winter said to him as she placed the scroll in her pocket. She looked to Jinty, "Can you take me there?"

"I'll help you out, I know the where and how to get it out there." Jinty said to her before pointing at a giant screen on the side of a building. "We can show everything on that screen, maybe it will stop the fighting. It's a long shot but I think it'll be worth it."

Winter nodded and looked to her injured superior to say "Go to where my sister's summon is. She and Miss Rose are working together to protect some injured, you'll be alright there."

Chamberlain nodded as he got up. "Will do, but I won't stay out of the fight, I can still help."

"That's the Atlesian way sir." Winter said with a small smile, before looking to Jinty who was kissing Babara.

"I'll be back, promise." he swore to her.

"Make sure of it." she said sternly as she went to help Chamberlain cross the battlefield.

Winter struck down a few White Fang thugs before pouring a lot of aura into her Semblance to create a series of glyphs that led directly to the main building's entrance. She grabbed Jinty and said "Hold on" before the glyphs rocketed them across the battle, knocking down hostiles or sending them flying as they went, before arriving right in front of the main entrance.

"Whoa!" cried Jinty in shock as he realized what had just happened, stumbling around before he regained his balance.

"Come on, show me the way to this communications room." Winter said as she took him inside, just narrowly avoiding a trio of laser blasts that nearly hit him.

Jinty nodded and quickly began to move into the building with Winter running alongside him as she used Chamberlain's scroll to contact Ironwood, who soon answered.

"Colon... Specialist Schnee? While it's good to see you're alright I'd like to know what happened to Chamberlain." Ironwood stated.

"He's been injured, nothing to serious but I'm in better shape to get this proof transmitted. Now tell me what's on this scroll." she said to him.

"Proof of Taurus' treachery against his own, evidence that he murdered Faunus within his own organization who dared to question him." Ironwood explained.

Winter nodded, "Understood sir, I'll get it transmitted as soon as I can."

"I know you will, Oum's speed." The General wished before he ended the call.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the ship, Blake quietly led Yang and Sun up the platforms. So far they hadn't seen any guards and to their knowledge no one had spotted them. It was entirely possible that Adam and the few others on board were unaware of their presence. By their count only about six or seven Oblivion Vanguards had made it onto the ship with Adam, a few of whom had to have been injured by the firefights, and they needed to account for crew members as well, which meant they could be facing up to twenty enemies including Adam.

"So what exactly do we do to get off of here?" Sun asked quietly.

"Well we didn't have time to think of that before we got on. We need to stop doing that." Yang admitted.

"They might have some escape pods, if they don't we'll just have to take control of the ship and fly it back." Blake whispered.

"Well it won't be easy but it's worth a try." Sun said with a shrug.

They were heading to an entrance that was just up ahead when a crew member exited and turned around to see them.

They stared at him and he stared right back.

He tried to turn around and run but Sun jumped up and landed behind the Faunus and grabbed him by the head, covering his mouth so he couldn't yell. Sun would have used his tail to help keep the guy in place but that wasn't an option anymore thanks to Adam, but still he managed enough for Yang to rush forward and slam her gauntlets into his torso several times before hitting his face, knocking him out.

Sun let their first victim slump to the catwalk-like platform unconscious and grinned at Yang who returned it.

Blake went between them and entered the interior of the ship, the two blondes silently following her.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the main room of the ship; the weapons room. Lines up on each side were four tube-like structures loaded with large and powerful looking missiles. Below them was a chute that would open up and drop them on an unsuspecting city or village below. Blake, however, had seen enough and had read enough about various types of weapons in her time to know what kind of missiles these were; guided ones.

Homing missiles that had a decent built-in computer system that would lead them to an assigned destination to explode. And based on the size of them they looked like they could devastate a small village while doing considerable damage to an average one. What was worse, however, was the fact that there were about a few dozen unloaded missiles in large containment devices along the sides of the room, ready to be loaded up when a missile was fired so if Adam went unopposed he could do some serious damage.

There were about three Oblivion Vanguards in the weapons room, along with seven crew members who were making sure the bombs were ready for deployment.

The three kept to the shadows to talk.

"We can't shoot, we'd set off one of the missiles." Blake whispered.

"Chances are they're smart enough to know that too, we'll have to use physical attacks only." Yang observed.

Sun nodded and quietly said "I got an idea."

His female companions looked to him, "Let's hear it." Yang said with a smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, up on the ship's bridge Adam sighed in relief as an aura enhancer did its work. He was utterly exhausted after the night's events and had barely had time to rest when Razor betrayed him and the duel with Blake and the ensuing battle made it even worse, quite frankly it was unbelievable that he could still stand. But that's why he led the White Fang, he was strong and didn't give in, no matter how tired he was. Luckily one of the guards had an aura enhancer on him just in case, and it proved to be something Adam needed.

He looked outside of the bridge, which was surrounded by catwalk-like platforms, back at the base, still engulfed in the chaos of the battle. He sighed, hoping his followers would make it out alright. They were the strong ones, the ones who deserved to live.

Humanity called them animals, but in the wild, the world of animals it was survival of the fittest and when it came to that the strong, such as himself, would win while the weak would always lose and pay for it with their lives.

Adam knew he had done terrible things, things he would one day have to pay for and he probably wouldn't survive the punishment. He knew he was a hypocrite, he knew that Blake was right and he had become a monster, but he was a monster made by humanity and Faunus who wanted to forget the blood soaked past, to ignore the Faunus blood humans continued to spill.

If humans can commit atrocities and get away with it, then why shouldn't he?

Deep down, however, he knew this wasn't what his family would have wanted. They would be ashamed of him, but this was what he had to be, this was what he had to do to make it right.

Wasn't it?

Well he had no choice now, if he didn't do something Salem would destroy him for sure.

He sighed and said "Navigator, take us around the battle but keep enough distance so we're out of sight. If the first village we come across has a mostly human population then that will make for an adequate target."

The bridge crew consisted of about five Faunus crew of a total fifteen with two Oblivion Vanguards of the six that made it on board acting as his bodyguards. The navigator nodded before his leader added "Oh, and I just remembered the village Wukong lived in; Hondyama. Make sure we hit that one eventually."

"But sir..." said a crew member nervously, "Hondyama's population is half Faunus..."

Adam glared at the underling, the brand on his forehead served to make him look all the more intimidating. "And?" he asked as he gripped Wilt.

The crew member, shuddering slowly backed down and said "And nothing sir, just thought I point it out."

"Good for you." Adam spat quietly before looking out the main windshield. "But first, get us far enough away and then target the mountain, target the Atleisan's flagship and the village of Oro."

The crew were nervous and unsure, but they had no choice so one simply, but reluctantly, said "Yes sir, Commander Taurus. Setting targets now."

Adam looked out at the scenery and the horizon beyond. He knew he would suffer for this, be in by the hands of his enemies or at Salem's, but he was going to make sure he wouldn't go out without a fight.

* * *

Back in the weapons room, the attention of all the crew members and the guards within was caught by a cocky whistle as Yang strolled out into the open with Sun and Blake flanking her.

"Yo!" she said, putting her hands on her hips, "What's up?"

Two of the guards withdrew their blades while the third took out a bow and arrow, aiming it at Blake's head.

"No guns, smart." Yang admitted as the blade users carefully approached her.

"So you know you can't shoot, 'cause if you do you set off this whole place, killing all of you with us." said a Vanguard, keeping his distance so Yang couldn't attack him with her gauntlets. Yang nodded as Sun and Blake remained completely silent.

"Correct, we just decided to show ourselves and give you this one chance to surrender." Yang stated boldly, not backing down for an instant.

The three Vanguard members laughed, as did some of the crew. "You've got some nerve, human. Why aren't you two talking? Shouldn't you be trying to talk us into joining you, Belladonna?" A Vanguard asked Blake mockingly.

"Well they decided to let me do the talking, I'm that good with people." Yang defended.

"We'll you better hope you're good with Adam, because we're taking you to him." said the bow and arrow user.

"Oh I don't think so." Yang said with a confident smirk.

Just then, from the other side of the room, Blake and Sun dropped down from above and took out two crew members easily, with Blake bashing the blunt end of Gambol Shroud into the side of one's head while Sun attacked the other by using the staff form of Ruyi and Jingu Bang to hit his knees, elbows, shoulders, and finally his forehead to slam him into the wall.

The Semblance generated copies of Blake and Sun faded before the crew's eyes and before the two front Vanguards could attack or decided what to do Yang grabbed them both by the neck and slammed their heads together several times until they were out cold before throwing their bodies into one of the crew members who tried to raise the alarm.

The bow and arrow user fired two shots at Blake, both of which she cut down before Sun jumped up and sent her down of the ground with a powerful kick before he landed in a crouch and used his staff to spin around and take out the legs of the nearby crew while Yang rushed forward and aided him by punching them in the faces to render them unconscious.

Blake, for her part, finished off the bow and arrow user who got up and took out a blade, she tried to slash at Blake but her weapon was forced out of her hand by a powerful parry from Blake who kicked her opponent in the chest and finished her off by launching the blunt end of Gambol Shroud's clever right into the Vanguard's forehead hard enough to knock her out.

She turned around to see Yang and Sun, working in unison wonderfully, to knock out the remaining crew.

"Well that wasn't such a chore." Sun commented as he dusted his hands off while Yang finished off the crew member who had been pinned under the bodies of the Vanguards.

Blake nodded, "It isn't done yet, we haven't even gotten to the heard part."

"Adam's still weak from the duel, we can take him easy." Yang promised.

"Let's hope so." Blake worded before looking around the room and adding "Now we have to figure out how to unload these missiles before he has a chance to use them."

Just then the door at the front of the room opened up to reveal a crewman looking at a chart before he noticed the scene before him.

Time stood still for a brief moment before the Faunus tried to book it, but Blake rushed out of the room and used Gambol Shroud's kusarigama mode to ensnare him in the chains as she ran up and pushed him against the wall.

"Where's Adam?" she demanded calmly.

"Don't... don't hurt me." he pleaded.

"I won't. Just tell me where Adam is and how many of you we're dealing with." she said to him as Sun and Yang made their way out of the weapons room.

"T-t-taurus is on the bridge... there's about six Oblivion Vanguards and fifteen crew members, counting me." he said, shaking nervously.

"So we've already taken out half of the bodyguards and eight of the crew." Sun surmised.

"Nine with him." Yang corrected, making the Faunus squeal in fear.

Blake sighed and shook her head. "We don't have to. I'm giving you a chance to help us." she said kindly to the Faunus, "We'll let you get the other crew members into an escape pod and leave if you tell us how to get to the bridge."

Sun and Yang glanced at each other, a bit unsure, but the Faunus sighed and nodded. "I'm tired of living like this, I'm tired of helping these psychos hurt people." he voiced.

Blake smiled at him and said "Then you're on the right path." She looked back to Yang and Sun who smiled at her, as they understood that her compassion was a strength people like Adam could never understand.

"Alright, halfway down this hall is a staircase that leads to the bridge. The escape pods are between the engines and the weapons room." he revealed.

"Sounds easy enough..." Yang before before a shot rang out and hit the crewman right in the head, killing him.

"No!" screamed Blake in horror as she turned to see one of the remaining Oblivion Vanguards pointing a sniper rifle shotgun hybrid at them.

"Death to traitors!" he declared before Sun created a clone with his Semblance and sent it crashing into the murderer.

Blake, furious, ran forward and slammed her fist into the gunman's face, managing to briefly draw blood from the nose before his aura healed him up.

Yang looked at the steps that led to the bridge and could hear movement within. "So much for the element of surprise! Now or never guys!" she called before she ran up the stairs and slammed the door open and ran inside.

* * *

In the control room of the White Fang base, things weren't exactly chaotic as things were nowhere near as intense as they were outside, but things could be better all considered.

"Getting all available ships ready for emergency take off... should be good to go..."

"Setting all remaining turrets to auto..."

"Transfer the data and then purge it from the systems..."

Orders were shouted and jobs were called out as the officers and technicians went about their work for their escape as quickly as possible. Everything seemed to be going smoothly when all of a sudden all of the noise just stopped, as if someone had pressed the mute button.

Many of them looked to each other, trying to talk or shout but nothing came out. Even the sounds of the battle outside had seemingly vanished.

Then, without warning, came a horrible, ear piercing high-pitched screech that assaulted the ears of every Faunus in the room, even those who didn't have animal ears, making them cover their ears in a futile attempt to block out the horrible sound.

Razor, Kane, Selena, and Teresa ran into the room and began to take down all of the downed guards, officers, and technicians with punches, shots, slashes, whatever they could do to render them unconscious. Piper skipped into the room, happy as could be, keeping her friends deaf to her sonic attack while she focused on those who were trying to fight it and poured it on, making it worse for them and easier for Razor and the others to take them down.

Kane blasted a guard who tried to shoot Piper, before he nearly tripped on someone. He looked down to see the room's lead guard, who just happened to be the Porcupine Faunus who stabbed needled into his back when Adam wanted him punished. The Faunus looked up as Kane smirked before knocking him out via boot to the head.

Once nearly everyone was out cold Piper ceased her attack while Razor grabbed a high ranking officer and held him up with one hand.

"Where's Lieutenant Hui?" he demanded.

"I... I don't know, he came by and told us to start evac procedures and ran off." The officer said nervously.

"Typical. Anyhow, you're going to cancel those evacuation orders..." Razor began before the officer stopped him.

"Too late! We've already sent out the order to every high ranking officer or warrior in the battlefield and the ships are ready to go! You might win this battle but you won't..."

Razor silenced him by smashing him into the wall. He looked up to the catwalks and called "Is the room secured?"

"All good boss." Selena called from above, "I took out everyone up here."

Razor nodded in approval as Piper came up alongside him. Kane took a seat at the consoles and quickly pressed on the keyboards, knowing his way around the systems due to his time as a field commander. He brought up the security monitors, looking at the rear hangar. "Looks like Thayer doing his part." he stated before looking through the various other feeds. "I'll try to find Hui on here, he couldn't have gotten far. Cameras in the communications room are out, weird. Wait a minute... that's Jinty! And Schnee!"

Razor looked at the monitor and told Kane "Enlarge it."

Kane did so, making the feed expand to most of the screen to show Winter and Jinty running down a hallway. "What are they doing in here?" Kane wondered aloud.

"Let's ask 'em. What sector they in?" Teresa asked as she made it to the P.A. system.

"Uh, not too far. Sector B-7." Kane replied.

Teresa flipped the switch and said "Hey guys, where you heading?" she asked.

In the hallway Winter and Jinty were currently running down they stopped at hearing her voice.

"Teresa?" Jinty asked.

"Got in one, we've taken over the control room. I think Razor wants to chat." she said before letting Razor take over.

"It's good to see you both alright, but I'd like to know why you're in here instead of in the battle." he said to them.

"We've received data from Atlas, proof of Adam's crimes, one we didn't know about apparently. We're going to the communications room to upload it." Winter elaborated.

"The more the better. We can help with that, we'll make sure its transmitted to every base in the Fang, including this one. Would you like us to send the data we have? Piper kept it on her scroll." Razor stated.

Jinty took Chamberlain's scroll from Winter and connected it to Piper's, who transferred the a copy of the data on her scroll to theirs. "Perfect, hopefully this will be enough to turn most of those knuckle-heads out there against Adam for good." Jinty voiced.

"We can only hope. Thank you Razor, what of my sister's teammates? Are they alright?" Winter inquired.

"They managed to get on Adam's ship before it took off, but don't worry, we have a way to get them back. And thank you for your help, Specialist Schnee. You have my respect." Razor said to her solemnly.

"You're a very honorable person, Razor. More so than many humans I've known over the years." Winter said before giving a salute to the security cameras.

"And you're much better than I thought you'd be. I have learned from this experience, as I hope others will. Now get moving and upload that data." Razor ordered good-naturedly. "But be careful, Kane said the cameras are out in that room, so keep an eye out."

Winter nodded and quickly followed Jinty to the communications room, which they arrived to within a minute. The room was large and quite impressive considering the White Fang, the walls were all covered with bits of computers and tech with the main console being in the back of the room, mounted on the wall.

Jinty jogged towards the console. "Okay, now let's get this plugged in and everyth... AH!" he screamed as Hui jumped out from the shadows and impaled Jinty's leg with his sword.

"Weakling!" The Bear Faunus snarled as he ripped his large sword out before punching Jinty across the room.

"No!" cried Winter as the lieutenant took out his own scroll and pushed a button, causing the door to seal shut. Winter withdrew her sword as Hui held a gun to Jinty as the Weasel Faunus moaned in pain.

"AHH! Oh Oum!" Jinty screamed before seething in pain while he held his bleeding leg. His aura was beginning to heal him, but it still hurt like all hell.

"Weakling." Hui scolded as he aimed his gun at the scroll, only for Winter to slice it in half before he could fire. Hui tried to strike at her but she parried with ease. The two glared at each other before Hui voiced "I've always wanted to kill a Schnee, and I now I'll achieve that goal."

"Quite the fantasy." Winter said before she pushed Hui back. He yelled as he jumped at her, bringing his sword down, aiming to slam it on her head but she parried and surged forward to push him back, she struck him but he parried before she swung her sword at his chest, which he leaned back to avoid. The elder Schnee sister swung her sword about three or four times, forcing Hui to back up before she kicked him in the knee. He nearly fell but he struck back with a sweeping swing of his sword that Winter jumped to avoid.

She landed some meters away from him and landed gracefully on her feet as he charged. They traded strikes and parries three times before Hui spun around with his sword held out, aiming to decapitate her but Winter jumped over head and kicked him in the back, nearly making him fall but he recovered and turned around to face her.

Winter slowly began to step forward and Hui moved to strike, so Winter quickly held her sword to parry, only for Hui's hand to shoot out, grab her arm and flip her over head.

Winter landed roughly but quickly began to crawl backwards, holding up her sword to parry Hui's next three strikes before she used her Semblance to create a glyph beneath her which allowed her to jump over Hui's head via backflip. Hui whipped around again and struck swiftly, but she managed to parry all five close strikes he threw at her before she ducked a deadly swing, which allowed Hui to kick her back.

Winter flipped over again, landed on her hands, and then pushed herself up so she landed on her feet, gripping her sword firmly as she held it in a defensive position. Winter launched herself at Hui via a glyph and their blades met in a mighty clash. The two pressed against each other hard, neither one giving in.

Soon enough, however, both of them were forced to pull back before engaging in a quick, but deadly, series of attacks. The two blades clashing over a dozen times, the blades swinging around in deadly blurs before they were stuck in a sword lock. Hui glared at him human enemy before pulling back and then slamming his head down onto Winter's.

Winter grunted in pain as she stumbled back, only for Hui to grab her by the throat, with the strength of a bear he squeezed tightly as he kneed her in the gut, forcing her to drop her weapon, before he lifted her off the ground with his left hand while his right held his huge sword, ready to stab her in the neck and behead her. Winter brought up her legs and kicked him in the chest hard, making him drop her. Winter fell to the ground and quickly grabbed her weapon just in time to block Hui's next strike.

Winter allowed herself a smirk as she used another glyph to jump over Hui again and as he turned to face her she scored a nasty cut across his face, knocking his mask off in the process.

"Ah..." Hui seethed as his face, dark skinned with bright brown eyes and a few scars, looked at Winter.

Winter didn't back down under his hateful glare and the two began trading blows yet again.

As the two fought on, neither of them noticed the injured Jinty crawling towards the console.

* * *

At the same time the battle raged on outside, but things were not looking too good for the White Fang, as many were either surrendering to the invading forces or were hopping into vehicles that were making a run for for it. With Adam gone no one was there to lead those who had sided with him, so they were in disarray.

Central and the rest of Task Force Omega entered the battle with gusto, taking down as many hostiles as they could be they Grimm or Faunus, choosing targets carefully and being sure to inflict non-fatal wounds at all times.

Central looked over to see a group of maskless Faunus, a few injured with aura glowing in their wounds, as a large Spider Droid cornered them, its gun reloading to execute them.

"Oh I don't think so." he muttered before calling to his troops, "Open fire on that robot! Draw it away from those maskless!"

"Yes sir!" someone shouted before multiple laser blasts slammed into the back, legs, and arms of the Spider Droid, making it turn its attention to them as Central snuck around it. The Spider Droid began to shoot at the Atlesian task force, only for Central to jump up on its back and jam his assault rifle into the back of its head before letting loose, blasting the head right off in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

The headless Spider Droid stumbled around mindlessly before other members of Task Force Omega began to fire on its legs and arms while Central shot it through its back. "Escort them to safety! Get them some medical attention!" Central commanded one of his underlings, pointing to the injured Faunus. The trooper saluted before rushing to help as the mech was finally felled.

Elsewhere, Ruby and Weiss fought alongside Taiyang, Colonel Chamberlain, Graham, and three of Leonardo's troops to protect the storage building where the injured or afraid maskless were taking refuge as various members of the Oblivion Vanguard and other masked White Fang troops tried to attack, but were quickly repelled by the combined power of the eight fighters and Weiss' Knight Summon, which was a towering presence not to be taken lightly.

Ruby slammed down a trooper before she noticed a group of others hesitating to move in to attack. "Yeah, you want some too?" She asked innocently as she aimed Crescent Rose at them, making them run off to find easier targets, only for Kong to collide into them and begin pounding away with his fists.

Weiss smiled at her partner, who smiled back before saying "Spider-bot incoming!"

Weiss nodded and had her Knight plunge his sword down into the ground, impaling the Spider Droid. Ruby dashed forward, using the deadly blade of Crescent Rose to slice the robot's head and gun-arms clean off. Weiss then had the Knight toss the ruined form of the Spider Droid into another that was terrorizing some maskless, who were then guided to safety by Misha.

"It seems we have this under control, this won't last much longer." Weiss voiced.

"You think Blake and Yang are okay?" Ruby asked, she had seen the ship leave earlier and was nervous, as she didn't know where her sister and friends currently were.

"I think they can take care of themselves. Your new friend seems to be holding up." Weiss said, pointing to where Sharp Strike fought Steppenwolffe and his Grimm.

Sure enough the Remnant Knight and Grimm Commander were charging at each other, their blades a deadly dance of parries, clashes and strikes even as both of them tried to counter the other with everything they had. While Sharp Strike's bike was on auto-pilot, keeping the Grimm busy, both fighters struck at each other with relentlessly, Sharp Strike's firm and precise cuts easily cutting through Steppenwolffe's defenses while avoiding his heavy-handed and forceful blows. Dodging and weaving just as quickly, the knight deflected and turned aside every single attack from the Faunus even as he tried to hit the armored warrior, only finding frustration and anger when he could not do so.

Sharp Strike nimbly avoided a blow which cleaved the ground where he had just been a second ago, delivering a punch with his sword-wielding gauntlet into Steppenwolffe's face which sent the Grimm Commander's abruptly face to one side, making him spit out dark blood. Snarling, the agent of Salem wrenched back out his sword and narrowly deflected another precision strike which would have removed his head from his shoulders had he not blocked it in time. The knight followed it up with a sharp jab and then an overhead slash which sent sparks flying out from the clash of their blades from such close range, before Steppenwolffe lunged forward, both clawed hands pushing the pointed edge of his sword sharply towards the Remnant Knight.

He was a little surprised when his opponent swerved agilely, moving under the dangerous end of his sword fluidly like water in a river, sliding under his guard and delivering a forceful kick with an armored boot to his abdomen which knocked Steppenwolffe back a few crucial steps. He looked up just in time to dodge a silver curve of a sword arcing horizontally towards him, but not before Sharp Strike sliced off a piece of his external armor, along with some hair from his head as he leaned back instinctively from the latest sword blow. Thankful that he wasn't wounded, Steppenwolffe adjusted his grip on his sword and met the knight's twin blades once more.

Steppenwolffe moving quickly to block Sharp Strike's rapid double attacks due to the dual blades. Whenever Steppenwolffe's openly attacked him the knight was able to parry quite easily. Steppenwolffe plunged his blade at Sharp Strike's head, missing by mere centimeters as the Knight moved to the right to avoid it. Sharp Strike swung around both his swords to force Steppenwolffe back before stopping and holding his blades akimbo, showing one had a red gem and the other a blue one.

"I've never fought a Huntsman the likes of you." Steppenwolffe admitted as he collected his breath. "Your swordplay skills are impressive, your head will be a worthy gift to my master."

"I'm no Huntsman." Sharp Strike snarled before attacking.

They exchanged several more blows with each other, before the knight stopped Steppenwolffe's vertical slash with a cross-parry that had them briefly jostling against each other for the superior position, the Grimm commander's terrifying visage reflecting the smooth face-plate and lenses of the Remnant Knight's helmet but he pushed back against the hybrid, straining against the Grimm Commander even as other battles raged viciously around them, "And as for taking my head, I would like to see you try." With an sudden azure blur, he vanished from Steppenwolffe's view and the Grimm warrior was cutting through empty air. His eyes widen as he saw the rapidly disappearing afterimage, the Grimm Commander felt a sharp blade slice into his thigh as he whirled around, trying to hit the knight but missing him again.

His enhanced senses strained to find any presence of the knight, but was unable to do so since the latter was too fast to be tracked by even his own sight and hearing. Steppenwolffe only caught brief glimpses of moving azure figures, and then what looked like a pair of silver blurs, one of fire and one of ice coming for him. He tried to block the incoming blows as best he could, but every time he managed to block one, the rest of the blows dealt by the knight smashed through his hurried defenses and delivered pain of both flaming hot and freezing cold when the blades cut into him relentlessly.

There was no way for him to counter such swift attacks, which hindered his movement and leaving him unable to effectively see where the next strike was coming from. The blades of flame and ice were merciless, leaving large gashes and deep cuts on robes and body and had he not moved quick enough his arm would have been severed at the shoulder. Another sharp blow knocked his sword out of his hands and sent it skidding across the raging battlefield, just out of his reach. Just as quickly as the semblance-enhanced attack had begun, it had ended and the Grimm Commander felt a quick slash which opened up a sizable wound on his cheek which bled black blood as well. His strength left him and with a punch from the knight Steppenwolffe fell to his knees.

Coughing out blood and raising a clawed hand to clutch at his chest, he was vaguely aware of the armored knight standing in front of him, both swords of flames and ice at his sides and the emotionless face-plate gazing down at him, as though ready to deliver the final blow that would end his life. Forcing himself to lift his head up and glare at the knight with all the defiance he could muster, Steppenwolffe snarled, "You think you have won? This is not even the main event. This is merely just a skirmish..."

The knight took up the flaming sword and brought it dangerously close to Steppenwolffe's neck, the raging orange-red flames coating the long thin silver blade lapping painfully against it, and felt his eyes look up into the impassive face-plate which reflected his visage back at him, the azure lenses boring into his blackened soul, "You will deliver a message to Salem for me. Tell her this: The Remnant Knight Order still lives, and we have returned to bring justice to her and all who serve her. Tell her that we will never give up the endless struggle to save Remnant from her wicked machinations, and her reign of evil will not last much longer now that we have joined in the fight."

Sharp Strike leaned down a little, the flame-coated sword in his grip never wavering from Steppenwolffe's neck, "Take that to Salem and tell her!"

"So you know of my queen? Interesting..." Steppenwolffe said before his eyes shone blood red.

Sharp Strike was suddenly attacked from all sides by a pack of Beowolves, biting, clawing, and slashing at him as Steppenwolffe plunged forward and punched Sharp Strike in the face before retreating into the shadows, beckoning all of his Grimm to attack Sharp Strike all at once.

Sharp Strike let out a yell of defiance as he began striking with his swords wildly, decapitating, severing limbs, cutting them in two, eviscerating, anything he could do he was. He slammed his fire blade through the head a rather old Beowolf, setting and head and the rest of the body ablaze before he whipped around and used his ice blade to freeze another Beowolf, with its claws and spikes ready to dig in. He then shattered the frozen beast, sending icy projectiles into many of the surrounding Grimm, killing about eleven of them.

Sharp Strike plunged both of his swords behind him to impale another large Grimm, making it implode from the combined powers of fire and ice. He spun his sword out, decapitating twelve Beowolves within thirty seconds before he began violently hacking and slashing the charging Grimm apart to the best of his abilities. Many Grimm fell to his blades, falling and disintegrating around him but they just kept coming, eager to please their commander. Sharp Strike growled, getting annoyed but he decided to take them out quickly, so he used his Semblance to run into the pack, obliterating a great many of them, afterimages of his poses left behind before fading as many Beowolves were killed by slashes in a variety of places.

Sharp Strike came to a stop and tried to collect his breath when a Beowolf attacked from behind, slashing his back. Sharp Strike grunted in pain as he turned around and sliced the beast's neck open, deep enough to make the head lean off of the body, but as he did that ten Beowolves attacked at once, overwhelming him and knocking his swords out of his hands.

He did his best to hold them off of his face as they bit into his armor, but to no avail. A large Beowolf stepped on his chest hard, its claws digging into the chest plate. It's red eyes looked down at Sharp Strike's face-plate and it roared as its claws and spikes prepared to dig into the knight... just before a shot rang out and its head exploded.

The Beowolves turned around to face the one who dared to interrupt them, but they were obliterated and wiped out with a quick and brutal series of perfect shots. Sharp Strike forced himself up to see Ruby smiling at him.

"Looked like you needed a hand." she said before she nonchalantly blasted another Grimm out of existence.

"Thank you." Sharp Strike said in a voice that made Ruby know he was smiling under that helmet. Sharp Strike pushed a button on his right gauntlet and summoned his bike, which blasted its way through a trio of Beowolves before stopping in front of them. Sharp Strike mounted his vehicle so fighting the Grimm would be easier, pnly for one of the nearby Beowolves to be hit with a powerful shot from Professor Port's blunderbuss, but something happened, or rather didn't happen, the dead Grimm didn't turn into black ash.

Ruby was amazed at the sight, as was Sharp Strike but his mask hid it. Ruby looked up to see Professor Port, his clothes a bit ruffled from the fighting, a few tears here and there but his face remained the same.

"Ah, Miss Rose! I neglected to greet you when we landed, let me say how wonderful it is to see you and the others made it like the true Hunters you are!" he declared before he whipped around and conked a White Fang trooper on the head with the butt of his weapon.

Ruby allowed herself a smile. "Nice to have you professor... so what's up with the Grimm you just shot?" she asked as she bashed another masked Faunus in the face with the blunt end of Crescent Rose. To her knowledge there was only one way to preserve a Grimm's body like that; the power of her silver eyes.

"Oh, that. Well my dear, it's a type of new weapon Oobleck and Crane whipped up..." he began before sighing and admitting "And it does have something to do with the power of your eyes."

Ruby frowned, but shook her head and assured her teacher "Don't worry, I'm not mad, just kinda confused. I would like an explanation."

"You can discuss it later, right now we have bigger problems to worry about!" Sharp Strike alerted, as three more Paladins rampaged their way into the battlefield.

From somewhere in the war zone Nora yelled "Oh come on!"

One Paladin fought its way to the middle of the battlefield while another charged towards the storage facility and the third went to guard the main building.

"We have to help them! Those things will kill people!" Ruby cried.

Sharp Strike nodded and said "Get on!" Ruby quickly took his advice and jumped onto the bike... and so did Professor Port.

"Tallyho!" he declared as Sharp Strike road the bike towards the Paladin. At the front of the bike, above the wheel and below the headlight, emerged a large, powerful looking harpoon. They moved forward, trying to get past the hordes of Grimm that were blocking them from getting to it.

Sharp Strike got out his swords again and said "This might take..."

He was cut off by Coco blasting away half a dozen Beowolves at once with her minigun while Yatsuhashi cut three in half with one swing of his sword, before cutting another one in half lengthwise. Fox helped out by using his blades expertly to sever arms, heads, and legs from the Grimm's bodies with help from Sage who impaled two Grimm on his sword at one, making a Beowolf-kabob and Scarlet wrapped a Beowolf's neck with his grappling hook before yanking it back to stab it through the neck.

"Get moving and that that thing down!" The former pirate cried.

"We got these things, this is what we're trained for!" Coco agreed as she fired away at more Beowolves.

Port laughed as he jumped off the bike to aid his students, blasting the head clean off a Beowolf with a normal round. "Best of luck!" he said to them.

"Thanks!" Ruby said as Sharp Strike drove towards the Paladin.

Meanwhile at the storage facility Weiss, Taiyang, Colonel Chamberlain, Graham, and the others had been fighting off what few White Fang forces that dared come near them but they were all shock when the Paladins arrived, and couldn't help but look on in horror as one of them charged towards them.

"Not this shit again..." muttered Taiyang, both annoyed and worried, but was more than willing to go another round.

Weiss glared at it, but an idea popped into her head. She quickly instructed her Knight to look down at the Paladin while she began to march out towards it. She looked back at the adults and said "Hold your fire. I know what to do."

"Miss Schnee?" Chamberlain asked, concerned.

"Trust me." she assured him before turning to face the battle-suit head on, Myrtenaster in hand. The large mech stopped right in front of her, keeping its guns trained on her.

"Well, well, well... a Schnee. My lucky day." Said the voice of the operator from within, not realizing she was creating a glyph beneath the mech.

"You couldn't be more wrong." Weiss said as she activated the glyph and used the Dust crystal in her rapier to encase the Paladin's legs in ice. She dashes out of the firing range, but was still knocked down by the impact of the blast.

The mech looked down and began struggling, trying to get out of the ice when the shadow of the Knight Summon loomed over it. The Paladin looked up to see the Knight.

"Shit." Was all the pilot could say before firing everything he had at the Knight. While it was doing a very good job at weakening the summon, Weiss put her creation to good use before it could really defeat it. She mentally instructed her summon to slash sideways two times, severing the arms from the Paladin's body and the body from the legs. The pilot cried out in surprise as it the limbless torso of the mech fell to the ground and tumbled in front of the storage building, where the Knight stepped on it and asserted enough force to make the pilot eject before it was crushed.

The pilot tried to get up, only to come face to face with Taiyang who knocked him out in a single punch.

Weiss dispelled her summon before breathing deeply to regain energy, her aura exhausted by the battle. Chamberlain helped her walk to the building, saying "Well done Miss Schnee! Your sister will be so proud!"

Weiss nodded before Taiyang called "Weiss!" She looked back to her partner's father and he said "My daughter's lucky to have a partner like you."

Weiss smiled and said "And I'm lucky to have her."

At the same time the third Paladin attacked the main bulk of the Elite Guard forces, sending them diving for cover behind the wreck of a Spider Droid. Russell, Morgan, Misha, Bbara, Cash, and Penn all took cover from the the Paladin which began marching towards them, ready to blow the wreckage away before a rocket exploded behind it. The Paladin turned around to see Leonardo, nervous but determined, as he held out several powerful blasters at it.

"Come and get me!" he dared before he ran out of the way of its lasers, blasting back at it the whole time, helped out by some of his troops who gave their captain some covering fire.

Behind the wreckage the members of the Elite Guard discussed the situation with the time Leonardo was giving them.

"We are _so_ slagged." Moaned Penn.

"Shut up." Scolded both Misha and Babara before the former looked to the others and asked "Anyone have a good idea on how we take that down with minimum casualties?"

Russell and Morgan looked at each other, but remained silent.

"We come on! You two've worked for Razor for years! Shouldn't you have learned a trick or two from him?!" cried Cash as he fired at the Paladin from their cover, doing little damage.

The two older Faunus looked at each other once more and Morgan gave a grin. "Airstrike?"

"Possible, but we'd have to get everyone clear and keep it in one spot." Russell pointed out.

"We can do that, we just need to help Leonardo and then run for it." Misha voiced.

The Polar Bear Faunus and Hyena Faunus glanced at each other before the latter laughed. "Screw it, let's go for it!" He said before jumping over the dead Spider Droid, Cash, Misha, and Penn joining him while Russell made the call.

Morgan slammed his mace into the Paladin's heel before ripping it out and firing the spikes into the back of the torso before running away to avoid the lasers, Misha, Penn, and Cash all shooting it at once to make sure they had its attention. Sure enough they did as it turned around and began firing on them, Babara used her battle axe to deflect the shots away, but it didn't do much good, forcing them to keep running.

"Come on!" Cash called to Leonardo and his troops. The Lion Faunus nodded and ran with his troops to join up with Morgan and the others, shooting at it to keep it coming at them. They lured it to the right corner of the main building, running as fast as they could to avoid being hit by its weapons. Just then a laser burst through its left lake, making it trip and fall to the ground. Morgan and Misha looked back to see that Russell had wired up the gun arm of the dead Spider Droid to blast it.

"Get clear! They'rte about to strike!" he shouted.

Leonardo looked up to see the Elite Guard's ship was moving overhead, its largest turret moving to aim directly at the Paladin.

"Move! Go, go!" He shouted as he dashed off, leading the others out of the blast radius. As the Paladin forced itself up it aimed at the retreating Faunus, only to be destroyed in a mighty blast by the turrets of the Elite Guard's ship, the power pf the blast forced it to explode, reducing to a smoking pile of charred metal.

"Well that's one of those things down." muttered Misha.

"Yeah, let's hope we don't have to fight the others." Agreed Leonardo before he looked to see Sharp Strike and Ruby on the motorcycle, rushing towards the last, and largest of the Paladins.

Sharp Strike's bike opened fire on the mech, blasting away at it but the Paladin's armor easily withstood it as it fired rockets at them. "Hang on!" Sharp Strike cried as he forced the bike to swerve violently, just barely missing an explosion. The bike circled around and then zoomed forward, managing to avoid nearly everything the Paladin shot at them save for a few bullets that hit the bike's armor.

Sharp Strike pushed a button on the dashboard and the harpoon fired out of the ship and impaled the leg of the Paladin. Ruby carefully used Crescent Rose in a compressed form to begin blasting at the mech but as she did so she could see Team JNPR, Penny, Dr. Oobleck, and Professor Crane all charging to help. "Sharp Strike, I'm going to join them, good luck!" she said before launching off and landing with a roll on the ground in front of her friends.

"Having fun?" Ren asked dryly.

"You know it. We need to keep that thing's attention off of Sharp Strike." Ruby said before she began to snipe the Paladin's joints while Sharp Strike began to circle the Paladin, the cable on the harpoon

"Happy to help!" voiced Nora as she began firing grenades at the battle-suit, making it stumble back while Ren and Penny opened fire on its weaponry and Pyrrha and Professor Crane helped Ruby out by taking shots at the Paladin's armor and joins.

The Paladin shielded itself from one of Nora's grenades, which bounced back towards them. Jaune quickly grabbed it and threw it into the air where it exploded harmlessly. He and Dr. Oobleck were working to get others out of the way of the Paladin, even though some of them were maskless White Fang members who were trying to help take it down, who Penny kept covered via her swords doing their best to deflect attacks.

The Paladin began firing wildly, Jaune quickly used his Semblance to shield Ruby, Pyrrha, and Crane from its rockets, which was no easy feat. Ruby waved with a cheer as Pyrrha gave him a loving smile, while Crane grinned at him.

Sharp Strike zoomed by Jaune, winding the cable around the Paladin even more, restricting its movements. It moved to shoot the cables off when Oobleck shot a fireball at the guns a split-second before they went off, making the payload explode prematurely and the arm became crippled.

The Paladin did not give up however, using the other arm, the shoulder cannons, and the small laser under the cockpit worked to its advantage, forcing its attackers back. A rocket went off a few meters in front of Ruby, Pyrrha, and Crane, nearly blowing them down. The Paladin swerved and fired at one of the maskless Faunus, who was saved at the last second by Jaune jumping in front of her and using his shield to protect them, they were knocked back a few feet but still alive.

The cockpit was strafed over and over again by Ren's guns, which Penny helped out by plunging all of her swords into the front of the Paladin, she ripped it out just as Nora did some real damage by launching herself up with a grenade to the ground and she slammed down Magnhild on the Paladin's crippled arm, knocking it off. The limb fell with a loud 'thud' to the ground as Nora landed beside Ren, who smiled at her in admiration.

Just then more blasts hit the Paladin from behind as Commander Central led a group of Omega Troopers, all firing at it. "Task Force Omega, attack!" he ordered as he kept shooting away, weakening the mech more and more.

Sharp Strike brought his bike to a screeching halt and jumped up high into the air, withdrawing both of his swords as he landed on the top of the Paladin. The powers of both swords activated; one ablaze with fire, the other freezing with ice. Sharp Strike yelled in exhilaration as he stabbed both blades into the Paladin, one sword shooting fire into the mech and the other freezing its system.

The Paladin began to shake violently, sparks and small explosions erupted from the armor, the remaining arm flailed wildly.

"Whoa..." Nora murmured.

"Keep it up!" Ruby cried as she opened fire again, with Pyrrha and the others helping her, damaging the battle-suit even more.

Sharp Strike pulled his sword out of the Paladin and jumped off, right before more sparks flew from its systems as it gave in and fell to the ground with a tremendous crash.

Everyone kept their guard up, just in case it moved again, but all it did was shudder loudly before smoke burst from an exhaust port. The final Paladin was defeated.

Ruby let out a cheer as she jumped up into the air, Nora did the same as she grabbed Ren in a hug and spun around. Penny clapped while a recovering Jaune smiled at Pyrrha as she helped him up from the ground. They looked around at the battlefield, much less chaotic than it had been. Many masked White Fang troops and Oblivion Vanguards were retreating or surrendering.

Sue to their Grimm powers they could feel various emotions throughout the area: anger, fear, sorrow, regret... but there were other emotions, ones that signified happiness, relief, reassurance, and hope. It was positive emotions like these that helped them, as they canceled out the negative ones that fed the inner Grimm, but they had it under control.

Sharp Strike nodded to Ruby as he walked over to her. "You did excellent my friend." he told her as Coco led the other to regroup with them.

"Thanks, you did too." Ruby said to him before she looked around. "Everyone okay?"

"A little scratched up, but I can handle it." Jaune said.

"We're good." Nora assured her.

"Much worse scuffs than this." Port asserted.

"Just fine." voiced Yatsuhashi.

"Fully functional!" stated Penny cheerfully.

Ruby smiled and said "Good, I gotta check on my team." And with that she ran off, leaving behind some rose petals.

The girl in the red cape appeared before the storage facility, a sight that made her dad grin. "Nice work out there sweetie." he said.

"Thanks dad, is Weiss okay?" she asked, a little worried as she hadn't seen the Knight since she got on Sharp Strike's bike, but the sight of the ruined Paladin made her feel a little better.

"I'm just fine." said the heiress as she stepped out of the building, sweaty and tired, but still as graceful as ever. Ruby smiled and ran forward to hug Weiss. "Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you're alright too."

Ruby released her partner and asked "Have you heard anything about Yang or Blake? Or Sun and Velvet?"

Weiss shook her head, "Nothing yet, but I'm sure they're all alright. Wait... have you seen Neo?"

Elsewhere on the edge of the battlefield a White Fang thug turned to run from the giant monster before him, only to run right into a pole, knocking himself out. The beast vanished as Neo dispelled it. She smirked at the sight before taking a rest by leaning against the wall. So this mess wasn't the disaster it had shaped up to be, well it could have gone way better but still, they were alive.

As the sounds of battle had gotten quieter Neo decided she was safe to rest for a moment or two and considered her next action. Would she let them take her to Vale or would she go off on her own? Probably the latter, since she worked better alone... she had ever since Roman...

She sighed sadly, when all of a sudden she heard a voice.

"I'm happy I know what you sound like now, can't wait to hear you scream." said the familiar voice of Mercury.

Neo bolted up as she drew out her estoc, ready to fight Cinder's thug. He attacked first, opening with a high kick and three sweeping kicks that the multi-colored girl managed to dodge before he jumped up and kicked her in the head, knocking her down. He tried to stomp on her but she rolled out of the way, got up, and stabbed him right in the gut.

She looked Mercury in the face as she twisted her blade around. Before she could say anything she felt two blades touching her neck as Mercury faded away, nothing more than an illusion. She glanced back to see the jade haired thief, her weapons ready to stab if Neo moved.

"No..." Neo silently whispered as the real Mercury came in front of her, flanked by three Oblivion Vanguards.

"Oh yes." he said cockily, before slammed his fist into her face.

* * *

In between the buildings, concealed by shadows, Steppenwolffe took out a communications device and activated it and within seconds Salem's face appeared on the tiny screen. "My Mistress, I assume you know our situation."

"Indeed I do, you are to retreat. Tell Emerald, Mercury, and those White Fang still useful to us to be prepared for retreat, have some ships ready to take off and tell Emerald to contact me via her device and will will aid their escape." She instructed.

"Yes my Mistress, what of Taurus?" The hybrid inquired.

"He has failed. He will pay for that with his life." She answered.

"One last thing... I was battling a strange warrior, he told me to tell you that something called the Remnant Knight Order still lives and will stop at nothing to defeat you. He knew of your name." He told her, and did not miss the intrigued look on her face.

"Interesting. I will have to consider this, tell me about it in greater detail once you've returned." She said before cutting off her transmission.

Steppenwolffe used his communicator to call Emerald, who quickly answered, "What is it?"

"I have consulted with Mistress Salem, she had ordered a retreat. Get all the White Fang forces you can to the ships and get out of here, then call to our Mistress and she will transport the ships to safety."

"Right away. You riding off yourself?" The thief asked.

"Indeed, good luck." the Faunus said to her.

"Thanks, we'll need it." Emerald said before they ended the call.

Emerald looked to Mercury and the nine Oblivion Vanguards who had joined them, Neo was now bound with rope to prevent her from escaping and her mouth was stuffed with a torn piece of clothing. "Get everyone still on our side to the ships, order them to go to the landing zone behind the main hangar, that's where the ships will be." she said, remembering the evacuation plan Hui had told her, which reminded her... "And be sure to check inside the buildings, we know Adam's on the ship but Hui might be in there."

The Vanguards nodded and ran off to preform their appointed task.

Mercury smirked as he looked to Neo. "We're finally gettin' out of here, and you're coming with us." He said to the girl as she glared at him.

* * *

Yang slammed open the door and with the Ember Celicias blazing, she fired all over the room; cracking the windshields open and knocking down the two remaining Oblivion Vanguards while also forcing the crew to duck for cover.

Adam whipped around and snarled upon seeing her. "What do I have to do to get rid of you?!" he growled as he took out Blush and fired at the blonde brawler but she easily dodged it just as Blake and Sun came rushing into the room. Adam glared at Blake and she glared right back as she used a purple Dust crystal in combination with a swing of Gambol Shroud to send a purple energy arc at her former lover, who used his Semblance in combination with Wilt to absorb the attack.

While Yang and Sun made sure everyone else in the room was staying put, the two Faunus leaders approached each other, Adam attacked first by swinging at Blake but she parried it before pushing him forwards and then pulling back as Gambol Shroud went to pistol mode so she could fire at him, but he managed to deflect every blast, even at close range.

"Give it up Adam! Don't make it worse!" she snapped as she used the blade on the gun to slash his hip.

Adam grunted as he elbowed Blake in the cheek while kicking her back with a powerful foot to the gut. "I can't give up Blake, there's no turning back for me now!" he ranted furiously as he slashed at her while she parried.

He kept striking at her over and over, but she either parried or struck back, Adam subtly using his Semblance so his sword would absorb the energy from each strike. They fought swiftly and furiously, their blades little more than blurs in the air followed by the clangs of metal striking metal.

Sun, using his weapon to keep on guard pinned beneath the now opened window, looked to the crew and said "There are injured in the weapons room and outside of it, if any of you want to survive this then get everyone who's out cold to the escape pods and get outta here!"

The five crew members looked to each other, seeing that both of the remaining Oblivion Vanguards were pinned down and Blake had Adam busy they had a chance of escaping.

The first three ran for the door, and the other two, nervous and unsure, followed.

"No! Come back you cowards!" Adam screamed in fury, this was enough of a distraction for Blake to slash him across the chest and hit him with an uppercut to the jaw which knocked him against a control console. She placed her sword to his neck.

"Don't make me hurt you anymore than I have to. Please." she said, calm yet clearly willing to fight on if she had to.

Just then the Vanguard Sun had pinned down grabbed the Monkey Faunus' staff and flung him overhead and out the window.

"Sun!" Both Blake and Yang cried in horror, which gave Adam the opportunity to punch Blake in the face, sending her to the floor. The Vanguard Yang had been watching jumped onto her back from behind and began punching her in the face, unwittingly giving her more power due to her Semblance.

The Vanguard who had thrown Sun moved to help his leader but Sun popped back up and pulled him out the window onto the catwalk-like platforms with him.

Adam kicked Blake while she was down, he kicked her several times before grabbing her by the neck and setting her up right so he could punch her in the face hard enough to send her flying across the room.

"I'm finally going to put an end to this my love." Yang pointed her robotic hand at Adam, intending to blast him but the Oblivion Vanguard who rode her leaned backwards and they both tumbled out of the broken window. Adam smirked as he approached her. "These two fools can't help you. And I know what they mean to you and what you mean to them. They both love you and I know you love them both, don't you?" he asked as he lifted her up by the chin.

Blake was so tired, but with tears in her eyes she answered "Yes, I love them both so much."

Adam glared at her before slamming her to the ground. "Well they can't have you! If I can't have you no one can!" he ranted, completely mad. Just then he screamed in pain as Blake used the scythe-like blade on the end of Gambol Shroud's gun form to stab Adam's left foot.

"Adam... SHUT UP!" she shouted. And with that she jumped up and slammed a mighty fist into his face to force him back before unloading an entire clip onto him, most of which he was able deflect via wildly swinging Wilt, but a few did hit him.

Adam lurched at the buttons on the console, aiming to launch the missiles but Blake ran into him and pulled him down. "I know what you're trying to do, and I swear as long as I live you'll never do it!"

"Then we'll just have to fix that..." Adam hissed as he elbowed her in the gut, forcing Blake off of him. Adam began to get up but Blake used Gambol Shroud's Kusarigama to trip him up as she recovered.

"We're not going anywhere." she said as she reached the navigation system and quickly went about altering the course.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Adam demanded as he got up.

"Crashing this ship." Blake replied as she ducked a shot from Blush before she gripped the hilt of Gambol Shroud's katana form and plunged it into the computer console, following it up by using the last purple Dust crystal she had within the hilt to destroy it, causing it to spark and shut down before exploding once she got out of the way.

"No!" cried Adam as he grabbed Blake by the ear, kneed her in the face, and threw her to the ground. He inspected the wrecked operating system, seeing it was beyond repair. "You idiot! You've doomed us all!"

"You already doomed yourself Adam." Blake retorted as she got back up, Gambol Shroud in hand.

Adam screamed as he rushed her, the two entering yet another duel while the ship turned around.

While this had been happening both Sun and Yang had been fighting their own Oblivion Vanguards.

On the right side of the ship Sun constantly ducked the attacks of his Vanguard, because he was armed with an odd axe that had a very good length and a sharp blade that the leader of Team SSSN wouldn't want touching his body. He swung hard as Sun, who bounced away, which allowed the Vanguard to cut loose the handrail on the side. He swung and missed again, which helped Sun manage to get in close and score a few decent punches on the Faunus' arms and chest before ducking to avoid getting a blade in his head. This worked to his advantage as he was able to punch his enemy in the gut, but at the same time the Vanguard kneed Sun in the gut hard.

Sun doubled over before being floored with the hilt of his opponent's axe bashing into his back. Sun opened his eyes just in time to see the Oblivion Vanguard raise up his weapon, ready to murder Sun right then and there but the Monkey Faunus curled up and jumped up at the very last second, allowing his enemy to get his weapon stuck in the platform.

Sun grabbed Ruyi and Jingu Bang's combined form and slammed them into the Oblivion Vanguard's chest to knock him down. Sun blasted the Vanguard in the knee when he tried to get up, which gave Sun enough time to rip the axe out of the catwalk and toss it over the side and into the jungles below as the ship changed course.

The Vanguard managed to roll away from Sun before springing up and taking out a gun, which was quickly shot out of his hands by a shot from Ruyi Bang as Sun separated them back into their nunchaku forms.

The Faunus snarled before retreating down the catwalk, with Sun in hot pursuit, but as he ran forward Sun noticed that the segment of the platform that his opponent had slammed his axe into was now loose.

That probably wouldn't matter for now, right now he needed to do his part, so he raced after his guard to the rear of the ship where the platforms went above the engines.

On the left side of the ship Yang blasted away at her own Vanguard, who was of average size but due to his heavy armor he was protected from the shots, no matter how powerful they were. Yang threw wild punches which he quickly sidestepped as many of them as he could before he swung his sword to drive her back. He leapt forwards and slammed his blade downwards, intending to cut her front open but she quickly caught it, the metal palms of her gauntlets protecting her hands.

The two wrestled with the blade, even as Yang got a brief glimpse of a couple escape pods ejecting from the ship.

At least that evened the odds for them. Yang kicked the Faunus in the groin to drive him back, but he kept a grip on his sword and slid it against Yang's robotic arm, cutting her mechanical pinkie finger off.

"Ah! Dick!" Yang said the severed mechanical finger sparked.

He charged and took a few more swings at her, all of which she dodged before slamming a fist into his gut while also shooting it off, sending him on the floor of the catwalks, dropping his sword as he fell. He tried to reclaim him weapon but Yang stepped on his hand before picking him up and sucker-punching him hard enough to send him flying down the platforms.

She shook her head as she marched towards him, ready for another bout as he got back up and withdrew a gun to begin shooting at her, but she either dodged every bullet or shot it down with a blast from either of the Ember Celicas.

The Faunus snarled furiously as he realized he had wasted all of his bullets and before he could reload Yang grabbed the gun from him and used a considerable amount of strength on the Ember Celicas to crush its barrel, rendering it useless.

Yang smirked as she could tell, even behind the mask and with a dagger in his hands, that her enemy was panicking.

* * *

Glynda wiped the sweat from her brow as she stood atop a building, looking at the slightly battle-damaged village of Oro. Despite the challenge the battle was nearly over, only a few of the hostile White Fang troops remained, the others had surrendered, been captured, or sadly killed, but the village was nearly liberated and with only a few civilians being injured with no fatalities, which was definite plus for her.

Using her powers she pulled a large piece of debris out of a hole in the wall before placing it on the ground before she looked back at the site of the prison. She took out her radio and said "This is Professor Goodwitch, what's the situation at the prison?"

"Everything's under control Professor! Looks like they weren't ready for a direct assault after what happened earlier with those kids. The prisoners are alive but we'll get 'em out once we've made sure it's safe." said the voice of a ranger.

"Very good, proceed." Glynda said to him before switching off her radio. She looked back down at the town when she spotted one of the remaining White Fang running towards a building, carrying an explosive device in one hand and a bag in the other while Rangers chased after him.

Glynda jumped down from the building, landing gracefully before the criminal. "Stop right there." she commanded as he skidded to a halt.

The rangers aimed their guns at him, the Faunus glanced around nervously, seeing that he was completely blocked off.

"Surrender now, please do not do something everyone will regret." Glynda pleaded with him gently, hoping to talk him down.

"Too late! It's all over now!" shouted the Faunus as he set the bomb ready to blow.

"Get back!" Glynda shouted to everyone who could hear her as he threw it to the ground, but it never touched the earth.

Glynda acted quickly, using her Semblance to take hold of the bomb and contain the explosion, but it took a great deal of effort and put a lot of stress of Glynda's aura. With a yell she used her Semblance to launch the bomb into the air where it exploded harmlessly, even though it would have been devastating had it gone off on the surface.

The Vacuo Rangers moved in and tackled the bomber to the ground, cuffing him. A captain helped Glynda up, asking "Are you okay Professor?"

She nodded, "I'll be fine, keep checking for hostiles, we don't want a repeat of that." She instructed.

The captain nodded and walked off as a tired Glynda looked about the damaged town, feeling somewhat proud that her actions had saved several buildings from being destroyed. Hopefully the people would recover from this soon. Only time would tell.

* * *

In the communications room Hui and Winter still fought on, their blades clashes again and again until became engaged in another blade lock.

Winter glanced over to see Jinty, about to make it to the main console. Hui, wondering what she was looking at, saw Jinty grab the edge of the console and hoist himself up.

"No!" the Faunus cried, he tried to get away from Winter to attack Jinty, only for Winter to slash him across the chest, making him cry out in pain.

Jinty leaned against the console, accidentally pushing a button that reopened the door as he took out the scroll. Hui blocked Winter's next attack, the two traded blows three more times before Winter slashed him across the hand, making him drop his sword. He yelled in fury and tried to punch her, only for Winter to grab his fist, haul him in close, and bash his face with her elbow to knock him back, and then jumped over to kick him onto a series glyph she had quickly created. She then sent him flying into the wall across from the open door, slamming his head into the wall hard enough to knock him out.

"Jinty?" she asked.

"Got it! The data's uploading!" he called before pushing a button. "We ran into a little trouble boss, but it's ready! Transmit it!"

"Gladly." said Razor, before gunfire erupted in the room. Winter jumped in front on Jinty, using a glyph to protect both of them from the bullets. She could see that there were two Oblivion Vanguards in the doorway while another helped Hui to his feet. They kept firing until it was Hui and the other one were moving, so they moved with them for protection.

Winter sighed as she dispersed her glyph, she was too tired to go after them for the moment. Besides, they had already lost.

* * *

Out in the courtyard a maskless Faunus was finned to the ground by one of the Oblivion Vanguards, who held his axe aloft, preparing to bring it down. "Death to traitors!" the Vanguard cried.

"No!" cried Babara, as she, Misha, and Russell rushed to stop him.

All of a sudden the big screen attached to the wall of the main building came to life, and the voice of Razor got everyone's attention. "Stop fighting now! All of you! NOW!" he screamed through the P.A.

The Vanguard glanced to look at the screen, long enough for Babara to knock him to the ground and place her axe over his chest, daring him to make a move. Everyone on the battlefield stopped and looked to the screen, their attention taken by the picture of amputated Faunus Piper had taken.

Razor's speech he had recorded began to play. "You know who I am; Razor, leader of the Elite Guard. I am not loyal to any one leader, I am loyal to the White Fang itself and what it stands for. I am loyal to the cause of Faunus equality and I was willing to do whatever I thought necessary, but I can no longer allow Adam Taurus to lead us. The pictures you are seeing, disturbing as they are, are proof of Commander Taurus' crimes against our race. Deny it thought he will, we know for a face that he and those loyal to him are responsible for the mutilation of Faunus who did not want to be a part of this life or follow his violent whims. Faunus who saw what I was blind to."

As he said this more images and some footage began to appear on the screen, from that data Ruby had sent to Ironwood and was uploaded via Chamberlain's scroll, showing more up-close and unnerving, and horrific images of the mutilation the pictured Faunus had suffered through, making most of the Faunus in the area feel sick to their stomachs, and many of those who had still sided with Adam over Blake were horrified.

"I know you may think we faked this, but someone I'd trust with my life verified that it was true, she saw it with her own eyes. The 'traitor' known as Blake Belladonna tried to warn me and my team, she and her friends tried to tell me the truth. I didn't listen to them, and I am dishonored because of it. But I am doing this now to make things right. Adam Taurus has betrayed the White Fang, he has allied himself with humans, Faunus, and other... things that threaten our very existence. He had murdered and butchered his own kind to silence anyone who dared to oppose him. Will you let him do the same to you? I ask you, my brother and sisters, to stand with us! Help us take back the White Fang so that we can redeem it and make things right! Help us stop Adam Taurus from damning us all!" Razor's voice pleaded. "The choice is yours, but we will not stop until the White Fang is set on the right path. The White Fang will no longer be what Adam has twisted it into, it will be what it was meant to be, a symbol of hope for Faunus and humans' chance to live together in peace and equality. Will you help us achieve that? Or will you side with Adam and try to stop that? Like I said, the choice is yours."

The speech ended and a new voice came on. "This is General James Ironwood, over a week ago Team Beacon interrogated a White Fang agent who had been ordered by Adam Taurus to go to a remote White Fang facility in the middle of Vacuo's great desert. Our forces went there and discovered a site of pure carnage and death, caused by a Grimm abomination that was working for the enemy of all life, who Adam Taurus had allied himself with. He sent a platoon of White Fang soldiers there, led by Captain Matthew Riley, to die because they had all, at one point or another, spoken out against him. We have proof of it thanks to the efforts of a medic named Ginger Styles, who managed to record proof of Taurus' crimes before she died in that terrible place. Watch and listen."

What followed was an edited montage of Norvik's rampage, showing the deaths of King, Vincent, Stine, Samara, Carpenter, and the rest at the teeth and claws of Norvik. All the while new audio began to play over it.

_"...hear me? This is your leader."_

_"Commander Taurus!"_

_"Oh thank Oum..."_

_"We're saved!"_

_"Sir, you have to get us out of here... there's some kind of monster in this base and... we've lost Captain Riley and many..."_

_"I know Styles. While it's surprising to hear that Riley is dead so early, everything else seems to be going according to plan."_

_"Wh... what?"_

_"What the hell?!"_

_"Oh shit..."_

_"Riley was right. You did send us here to die, you murdering piece of shit!"_

_"Correct, he was a smart one. Too bad it didn't get him anywhere."_

_"You smug totalitarian fucker!"_

_"No need for insults, it's unbecoming of a medical officer."_

_"What...? Why? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?!"_

_"Samara..."_

_"No, let me answer her. Because at one point or another you have all openly voiced doubt about our cause or opposed me. You doubt me, you doubt the Fang, and if you doubt the Fang... you jeopardize the future of our race."_

_"Bullshit!"_

_"You said it."_

_"When we get out of here..."_

_"Oh, but you won't. There's no escape for any of you. We've made sure of it. You are all going to die in that facility but you will be remembered as martyrs, victims of human brutality. Once you're all dead it will be set up to look like humans attacked your base, left no survivors, and destroyed it, with a few dead Vacuo Rangers as evidence of this, of course."_

_"... You're a monster Taurus."_

_"To people like you Styles... yes. I suppose I could be seen as a monster. Maybe I am. But I'm a necessary evil, a monster forged by humanity's cruelty to bring about their reckoning. Other refused to see this, so I need to push them in the right direction, and your deaths are the means to do that. I thank you for your services and I hope your deaths aren't too violent."_

_"You son of a bit-"_

The audio cut off as the video ended, showing King sacrificing himself to distract Norvik.

The battlefield was silent, most of the White Fang present, especially those that had sided with Adam, were utterly shocked, disgusted, and furious at this revelation. Many of the masked Faunus began to throw down their weapons and their masks. They either surrendered or ran in shame. The same thing happened all around Remnant, as Razor and the others in the control room had sent the evidence to every base they could.

Those who, despite everything they had seen and heard, still sided with Adam were few, most of them were Oblivion Vanguards who had known the truth all along but there were a few average troopers and officers among them.

"Retreat! We must retreat! The White Fang will live to fight another day!" Shouted one of the Oblivion Vanguards. They began to run, even as they were being shot at by Task Force Omega and the other forces, which forced them to shoot back when some of their number were shot in the back as they ran.

"We did it! They're retreating!" called Penny as as she deflected a shot at Chamberlain.

"It's finally over." muttered Claudandus with a bittersweet voice.

Emerald and Mercury stood off to the side with Neo tied up and one of Emerald's guns to her head. "Well, looks like this keeps getting worse." Emerald voiced.

"You got that right, let's get on a ship and get the hell out." Mercury said.

"Not happening." said the voice of Ruby. The duo turned around to see Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Jaune all armed and ready for another fight. "Let Neo go."

"You gotta be kidding us, what makes you think you can stop us?" Mercury asked mockingly.

Emerald rolled her eyes, knowing the these four were a serious threat apart, but combined it meant they might not make it out of this.

"We got you outnumbered and outgunned, there's no getting away this time." Jaune hissed.

Pyrrha transformed Milo into rifle mode and blasted at the rope holding Neo, freeing her from Emerald's hold before she jumped forward, punched the thief away, and used Milo's xiphos form to cut her petite friend free. Mercury tried to kick at her but Jaune bashed him down with his shield, shaking his head.

"You just don't learn." The blonde remarked with a smirk.

Emerald grimaced as she assessed the situation, and knew they only had one way out, even if it took a lot of her aura. She looked to Mercury and made a small signal with her hand and he nodded. She looked back at them and said "You got us. We surrender." She took up her gun and fired at Mercury, riddling him with bullets and stunning the five before her.

"Y-you... killed him!" Ruby cried in horror.

Emerald didn't respond the way they had expected her to, she simply said "See you later." And with that her form and Mercury's body faded away.

"Her Semblance!" Ruby stated in shock, she looked over to the edge of the building, just barley getting a glimpse of someone retreating.

"She must have gotten good if it can affect five people at once, before she could only do one or two." Pyrrha said worriedly.

Ruby nodded before she said "Well come on, let's stop them before they get away." Everyone else nodded and dashed off with Ruby in the lead.

Soon enough they came to the area where a dozen White Fang ships were preparing to take off, many Oblivion Vanguards, masked Faunus troops, and officers were rushing to get aboard. Mercury was helping Emerald up the ramp of lead ship, as using her Semblance to project an illusion on five people had drained her. Hui, holding an ice pack to his head, stood atop the ramp, beckoning to them.

"Come on, our ship will lead the way. Your leader better keep her word on our escape." he said to them.

"Oh don't worry about that." Mercury muttered before Ruby and the others began shooting at the ships. Mercury looked back and snarled furiously, "Those idiots don't know when to quit!"

"Stop them!" Hui ordered, and a group of Oblivion Vanguards opened fire on the group with heavy caliber guns, making them run for cover. Ruby and Pyrrha acted as snipers and tried to shoot out the ships' engines and cockpit windshields, but they weren't doing any major damage.

The ramp to the lead ship drew up and the engines roared to life as it began to ascend.

"Get to the ships now!" Commanded Hui via a speaker on the ship. As the soldiers ran to get on the ships Hui looked to Mercury and said "Call her now."

Mercury nodded and took the communication device of Emerald's pocket and activated it. "Mistress, we're leaving now. I beg of you to open a portal for us to escape." He said in an incredibly uncharacteristically humble voice.

"Of course." Said Salem's smooth voice. Once the ships were all of the ground and taking off into the air, blasting away, Ruby and the others came out of hiding, Ruby still trying to shoot the ships.

Weiss sighed and placed a calming hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, it's alright." she said gently.

Ruby sighed and said "We could have stopped them Weiss."

The Schnee heiress sighed as well before looking up and saying "With a little luck they won't." She lifted Ruby's head up to see several Atlas Eagles, Vacuo Ranger gunships and the ship she and the others had stolen, giving chase after the ships.

Ruby couldn't help but crack a smile. "Go get 'em Uncle Qrow." she said quietly.

The White Fang ships had to swerve and pivot wildly to avoid the enemy fire being hurled at them, but it was odd to see one of their own seemed to be leading the charge after them.

"This is Qrow Branwen to all fleeing White Fang ships, you can't keep running forever." Qrow announced over the radio as the Atlas Eagles zipped ahead and turned about face to block them off while the Ranger's gunships began to circle around, guns trained on them. "We have you surrounded, land and surrender now."

On the lead White Fang ship Mercury smirked as he said "I don't think so old man."

As if on cue a huge, swirling vortex opened up in midair, like a tear in the sky, catching Qrow and the others off guard.

"Forward!" Hui ordered. The pilot obeyed and flew the ship into the portal, signaling the others to join them.

"No, no!" Qrow groaned as he opened fire on them, and despite the face that he and the other ships landed a few hits, it was too little too late. The ships all made it into the portal, which instantly closed as soon as the last ship made it through.

Qrow sighed and muttered "Damn it."

"There's always next time." Neptune offered sincerely.

Qrow glanced at him, but before he could respond something very loud and very bright got everyone's attention; the top of the mountain exploded.

* * *

Blake and Adam kept dueling, their blades clashing and striking together in a frantic battle to the end. She wondered why he hadn't used his Semblance yet, as he had absorbed enough energy for one mighty strike that could finish her off, which she tried to diminish by avoiding his swings.

She stood against a wall, waiting for him to attack. He charged forward as fast as he could, screaming as he prepared to plunge Wilt into her, but once he did she flickered away.

"Not again!" he muttered as he scolded himself for falling for another trick of her Semblance.

The real Blake came out of the shadows and hit his forehead with a palm strike, driving him away from his sword as she shot his thigh with Gambol Shroud's gun mode. Adam whipped out Blush and blasted it at her but she quickly ducked before aiming her own gun at his head but he knocked it away.

The two engaged in an up-close fight, with the two aiming their guns at one another only for both of them to knock each other's respective firearm away. They came up together, their arms striking each other at once with both guns pointed their heads only for both of them to duck as they fired. Blake moved her hand with Gambol Shroud in a circle motion around to aim at Adam's head but he knocked it away just in time to avoid getting shot.

The two enemies kept striking and shooting at each other, but they missed every time due to their respective speeds before Adam headbutted her back. He aimed Blush directly at her head, aiming to murder her, but she quickly transformed Gambol Shroud into both it katana form and cleaver mode and captured his gun in a cross lock before forcing it up so the blast wouldn't hit her. With that she used as much of her remaining strength as she could to use her two weapons to cut Blush in two.

Adam screamed it fury as Blake kicked him back, but as she recovered Adam slammed the now useless Blush into her head to knock her down before he ran back to the wall to rip Wilt free. He turned around to face Blake, who was bruised and tired but wasn't about to give up.

Adam twirled his sword around in his hands as he eyed her. Blake paced carefully, ready for the next strike.

Meanwhile on the back of the ship, just above the engines Sun battled his opponent, who was now beaten and exhausted. The Monkey Faunus stood in front of the staircase that led to the left side of the ship as he pointed his staff at his enemy.

"Come on man, you can't keep this up. Don't make this harder." Sun said to him gently.

The Oblivion Vanguard hissed at him as he crawled backward and took something from his belt; a grenade.

"No! Don't do it!" Sun cried.

The foolish Vanguard ignored Sun and tossed the explosive at him, but Sun quickly knocked it away with his staff, which caused it to go flying over the side where it exploded right in front of the one of the engines, causing it to explode as well.

The Vanguard screamed as the engine erupted right beneath him, killing him quickly. The blast knocked Sun down the staircase, he tumbled down and nearly fell over the edge but managed to hang on as the explosion rocked the ship.

Down the platform Sun was now currently on Yang wrestled with her own Vanguard, who was desperately trying to slit her throat with the dagger. However, the explosions were causing the ship to shake and buck violently, and forced both Yang and her opponent to fall against the handrails, but the one that caught the Vanguard wasn't properly secured so it gave into his weight, and he fell off of the ship and with a scream he plunged to his death below.

Yang's eyes were wide as she watched him disappear from sight, horrified that she didn't move quick enough to help him.

Yang looked over to Sun and called "You okay?"

He gave her a smirk and a thumbs up and said. "I'm solid. Been better, but I'm still alive."

Yang nodded but then realized that now they could help Blake defeat Adam. Just then she heard something that made her blood and aura run cold; Blake was screaming in pain.

"No..." she said as she forced herself up and ran back towards the bridge, Sun forcing himself up despite the pain as he moved to help the girl he loved. As Yang rushed forward she saw the now dead Vanguard's sword she had ripped from his hands and picked it up, just in case.

As the explosions continued to rock the ship Blake wasn't doing hot at all, Adam had landed a painful cut on her forearm when an explosion knocked her off balance which gave Adam the perfect opportunity. He lurched forward and grabbed hold of her, headbutted her, ripped Gambol Shroud out of her arms, and finally picked her up to throw her out of the shattered window. Adam looked over the consoles and quickly pressed a few buttons, launching all escape pods. He wanted to die, and make sure everyone else died with him. He strolled forward and jumped out of the broken window to see the injured Blake lying on her stomach as she tried to crawl away.

"No Blake, you won't win. It ends here, my love!" Adam shouted as he began to stomp on her, making her scream in pain. He brought his foot down on her back, over and over again before the segment's Blake's lower body was on gave way due to one of Adam's heavy stomps. Both of them cried out in surprise as the segment of the platform began to hang in the air, the lower half now hanging dangerously in the air. Blake leapt forward and gripped the bars of the next segment, while Adam jumped over to the same one.

"We took off too soon, the ship isn't ready..." he muttered to himself before he looked back to Blake who was trying to pull herself onto the more secure segment of platform. "No Blake." he said as he pressed his foot down between her shoulder blades. He held up his sword with his right hand and said "It ends here!"

Blake looked up at Adam, at the man she used to love. "Adam... please stop this! Don't do this!"

Adam looked down at her with eyes that were angry, regretful, and crazed. "I'm sorry... my love." He began to move his sword to decapitate Blake, when all of a sudden Yang came out of the shattered window behind him, armed with the sword, and screamed as she used all her might to slam down the blade on his right arm, severing it at the elbow.

Adam screamed in pain as he fell on his rear, leaning against the wall as he held his stump, with aura glowing to stop the bleeding that still got through, while his severed forearm landed beside him, Wilt still in hand as blood oozed out on the catwalk.

Yang hopped out to the catwalk and looked down to Adam. "It's like Uncle Qrow says: PAYBACK'S A BITCH!" she screamed before she kicked him in the face.

"Yang!" Blake said, very much relieved.

"Hang in there kitty." Yang joked.

Blake rolled her eyes but managed a smile... before the segment her lower body was on fell off completely, making her cry out in surprise as she hung on for dear life. Yang quickly moved to help, using her robotic hand to grab onto one of Blake's. "I gotcha!" she cried, before Adam brought up a leg and kicked the blonde brawler down as he pried Wilt out of his severed arm and got back up. He looked over to see that they were heading towards a mountain, where they would crash and explode. A fitting end for all of them.

"Why won't you just fucking die?!" Yang shouted angrily before he slammed down Wilt into Yang's robotic arm, making it short out.

Adam glared down at them as he ripped Wilt out of Yang's robotic hand and said with a weak voice "I'm going to die... but I'm taking all of you with me!"

"Not happening!" yelled the voice of Sun, who jumped down from the roof and slammed his weapons' combined form into Adam's forehead, sending him over the edge of the platform.

Adam screamed as he fell but reached out and grabbed Blake's foot as Wilt flew past him towards the ground below. The extra weight nearly caused Blake to fall but Yang held on to her for dear life while Sun took her other arm to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"Hang on! We won't let go!" Sun promised her.

"Never!" added Yang as she held onto Blake's left hand with both of hers.

Blake looked down at Adam, hanging onto her left leg desperately. He began to climb up but Blake shouted "No!" and kicked him in the face, hard enough to make him slide down. She kicked him again and he nearly lost his grip, holding onto her foot for dear life.

He looked up just as Blake was about to delivered one final kick. "Blake! Stop! Please! I loved you!" he begged pathetically.

Blake looked down at him, seeing fear and anger in his eyes. "I loved you too, but I loved the real you, not the monster that replaced you Adam! The Adam I loved is dead... and now so is the monster." she said before landing one final kick on his forehead, right on the brand, and with that Adam Taurus fell.

Adam let out a loud, high-pitched scream of fear as he fell to his death. Blake kept looking until Adam was out of sight and his scream became harder and harder to hear.

With some effort Sun and Yang, tired tough they were, pulled Blake to safety. Both blondes ensnared the Cat Faunus in a hug as they saw tears falling from her eyes.

"Don't worry Blake, everything will be okay." Yang promised her as she kissed her head.

"You did it! You finally beat him once and for all!" Sun cheered as he hugged her tighter.

"I... I killed him..." Blake whispered, horrified.

"Blake, it was you or him. You had no other choice." Yang said quietly before a metallic groaning could be heard beneath them.

"Oh crap!" gasped Sun before the trio quickly moved up and through the window, before the segment of platform they had been on gave way and fell off of the ship.

"This whole thing is falling apart, we gotta turn it around!" Yang said.

"We can't!" Blake cried as she picked up Gambol Shroud. "I reset the navigation system and then destroyed it so Adam couldn't attack any villages."

Yang and Sun glanced at each other, they knew Blake's choice to do that had been a hasty one, but it was made during an intense battle so they couldn't blame her.

"No prob, we just get to the escape pods and..." Yang began before Sun stopped her.

I saw all the escape pods launch. Taurus must have done it to kill us all." he said gravely.

Yang's eyes were wide with dread as she realized their situation. They couldn't stop the ship, they couldn't jump or get in an escape pod, they couldn't call for help, none would get there in time. They were doomed.

"Ruby... Weiss... dad... Uncle Qrow... I..." she said in horror as she knew what would happen.

"Mom, Haulan, my team..." Sun voiced sadly as he sat down. "I'll never see them again..."

Blake buried her face in her hands, ashamed. "I'm so, so, so sorry, this is all my fault." she sobbed. "I..."

Yang jumped up and grabbed Blake, "Stop blaming yourself! None of this is your fault! Everything you've done you did because you thought it was right. Sometimes that turns out to be wrong, but no one can fault you for doing what you thought was right! If you hadn't sabotaged the systems Adam would've been able to murder innocent people! So stop blaming yourself, damn it!" she scolded as she hugged Blake tightly, crying as well. "No matter how many wrong choices you've made, you've done your best to fix them, because that's the kind of person you are! That's why I love you!"

Blake's teary eyes widened in surprise before she hugged Yang back.

Sun, tears pouring from his eyes, joined the two girls in a hug as the ship got closer and closer to the mountain.

Yang sighed as she hugged both Faunus to her before plucking up the courage to do something she had been wanting to do, as it was now or never.

"Guys..." she began, making them both look at her. What surprised both Blake and Sun was Yang bringing their heads together in a surprise three-way kiss, something neither Faunus had expected... and yet they enjoyed it. Both of them leaned into, all of them kissing one another, just one last thing before they died.

They all pulled out of the surprise kiss and looked at each other, everyone sharing a look of surprised and sad, but love filled eyes.

"I love you both." Blake said.

"I do too." Sun admitted as he gazed into the eyes of both of the beautiful girls before him.

Yang allowed herself one last smile. "I guess we really went out with a..."

Just then, out of nowhere, a White Fang ship pulled up alongside them, the ramp open with Velvet standing on it. "You're all okay!" she cried, surprising the trio.

"Velvet?!" Blake cried in disbelief.

"Oh man I don't believe our luck!" Sun cheered.

"Talk later, now come on!" Velvet ordered.

Yang nodded and helped Blake up with some help from Sun. Blake got onto the ramp first, helped out by Velvet, and then Yang who jumped across as they got closer and closer to the mountainside. Sun jumped across, landing safely on the ramp as it began to rise.

"Are we good to go?!" Thayer called from the cockpit.

"Everyone's on Uncle Bigwig, punch it!" Velvet shouted.

The ship whipped around and sped away from Adam's ship as it got closer still to the mountains.

Thayer poured power on the engines, making the ship he and Velvet had taken go as fast as it could, wanting get out of the blast radius asap.

A very tired Blake sat on the floor, leaning against the wall next to Yang while she leaned against Sun. The Cat Faunus looked up to Velvet and said "Thank you for saving us."

"Anytime." Velvet said with a smile.

Just then there was an incredibly loud and powerful explosion as Adam's ship crashed into the mountain, setting off all of the explosives inside. The top of the mountain went up in a dazzling burst of red, orange, yellow, brown, and black as fire, Dust, steel, rocks, and smoke went everywhere due to the force of the mighty blast.

"Hang on!" Thayer called as he controlled the ship as best he could as the shockwave from the explosion caused it to shake violently, but he soon got it under control.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, knowing the worst of the night was finally behind them.

"We did it." said Blake quietly. "We won."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Golden Crusader for writing Sharp Strike and Steppenwolffe's fight scene.
> 
> Please help me continue this story and give me some feedback. Please fave and follow this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.
> 
> So... SunnyBees finally happened and Adam's finally dead, hope you're all happy!
> 
> Originally Adam was going to succeed in launching a missile at Oro, and Glynda was going to have to stop it, but this didn't make the cut, so it was changed to a desperate Fang soldier. Also Weiss was going to be the one to fight Hui, but I wanted to give Winter more to do. Also the opening stuff with Norvik was supposed to happen in both of the last two chapters, but I kept pushing it back so as not to make either of those too long. I also toyed with having Merc and Em succeed in capturing Neo, but Golden Crusader talked me out of it, so I wouldn't have a repeat of Foita in the first arc.
> 
> Well Volume 4 happened, and while I'm not watching it I will be using some the characters and Grimm, and Ren and Nora's backstory (although slightly altered), due to the fact that it's the one positive about V4's story that people keep telling me about, and I haven't heard much else about V4's story that sounds good to me personally, (notice the dig at Qrow's Semblance in the last chap?) but I do plan on using that.


	48. Fate of the White Fang

It was a calm clearing about a mile or so from the village of Oro. It was usually serene, one children would come to play and where deer, rabbits, and other animals would graze for food. But right now there was a horrific sight that marred the center of the peaceful meadow. The body of Adam Taurus had landed on the ground with a sickening crunch and smashing sound, ending his life.

His body lay on the ground, mangled and broken by the impact he had made after his long fall. Bones were sticking out of the limbs, his remaining arm, legs, and spine were all bent up in painful and unnatural positions, one of his horns had nearly been twisted off his skull, and his head had nearly been knocked off so it was disturbingly moving towards the left, leaving a good portion of his neck sticking out. Bloody cracks created by the sudden stop covered his skin, causing blood to pour from them, as well as his nose, mouth, head, and other places on his body. His dead eyes stared up to the sky, but his dying moments of anger and overwhelming fear had been imprinted on the red orbs as they stared up into the sky.

No one was there to look over the body, well no one living anyway.

The spirit of Adam Taurus looked mournfully over his corpse, and he could do nothing but look at it and regret the terrible choices he had made and allow himself to be overcome by the realization of his sins. He just sat there on his knees, looking at his body as the reality of his new situation became apparent.

He was dead.

Just then there was the sound of wings flapping, but Adam didn't bother to turn around until a firm hand grabbed his shoulder. He glanced up and saw a woman that looked like Yang Xiao Long, but with raven black hair and red eyes, with a matching color scheme on her outfit. "Adam Taurus." she said.

He nodded. "So I'm clearly dead. What is this? What are you? An angel of death that took the form of Xiao Long to torment me further?" he inquired with a monotone voice. He wasn't even angry anymore. What was there to be angry about? He was dead.

"No, but that would be appropriate after everything you did to my daughter." The woman voiced.

Adam looked back at her, realizing who she was; the woman Cinder had slain in Haven, Xiao Long's mother.

"So whatever this afterlife is sent you to collect me. Fitting I guess." He sighed as he just kept staring at his body.

"That's a bit complicated, but I do consider myself lucky I got to take you." She said as she looked at the ruined body. "You deserve what sentence you were given; The Nothing, an endless void of nothing, where you will be alone for the rest of eternity, along with your sins and the memories of them."

Adam sighed and said "Makes sense. After everything I did I guess it's fair. Murder, theft, mutilation, abusing the girl who loved me, betrayal, terrorism, arson... I could go on, but that's pointless. Normally I would fight it... but it doesn't matter, does it?"

"No." Raven confirmed.

"Figured. There's no coming back from this, is there?" he asked, his voice raspy and hollow.

"No. There are some people who get a second chance at life because they earned it, but you aren't one of those people." Raven stated.

Adam nodded and rose up, his eyes never leaving his ruined body. He reached up and touched his forehead, feeling the brand was still there. "All of this happened because of the cruelty of humanity... but I suppose that in the end I became just as bad." He said, his voice filled with regret.

"Yes, you did." Raven said with a nod. "Come on Taurus, you have a long..."

Just then a vortex opened up before they. Raven quickly turned back into her avian form as Adam looked at the portal, as an all too familiar figure emerged: Salem.

The Mistress of Grimm looked down at the broken body and shook her head. "Such a waste, you had such potential Adam. You will, however, still serve a purpose. I'm not done with you yet." She said as she picked his body up effortlessly and began to head back to the portal.

Adam's spirit and Raven kept watching her, waiting for her to depart, but she stopped and looked back. She stared right at where Adam's spirit was before glancing down to where Raven was in her animal form... and she smiled. Despite the fact that she was technically dead Raven's blood ran cold under the stare of those red and black eyes the bore into the soul of whoever they gazed upon. She was in her animal form, which should appear as just another raven to anyone living, but then again it made sense that Salem would know about these things.

"Hello little raven. I didn't think Adam's sins were that bad, but after a while I stopped caring about such things when I knew I was safe from any afterlife. Enjoy the Nothing Adam, you served me adequately and your body will continue to do so."

Salem walked into the portal which closed behind her, leaving the two alone in the clearing with nothing but the trees, the grass, the air, the sounds of animals, and the bloodstained impact zone where Adam's body had landed.

Adam looked to Raven as she went back to human form and said in a defeated "Let's get it over with."

"Don't you care what she'll do to your body?" Raven inquired.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Adam replied.

Raven looked at him, and as much as she hated him for what he did to Yang, she couldn't help but see something of herself in him.

There was the sound of flapping wings, and the meadow was empty of both spirits, as Raven took Adam to the Nothing.

* * *

As the dawn of a new day appeared on the horizon, the first rays of sunlight illuminated the partially destroyed White Fang Headquarters and the bleak results of the battle. Trails of black smoke from smoldering wreckage of various vehicles and airships rose to blacken the blue sky above the Vacuo mountains, while the sounds of the joint Atlesian-Vacuoan strike force's military troops filled the surroundings around the captured headquarters within the mountains.

The _Resolute_ floated above the White Fang Headquarters, sunlight glinting off the plated armor hull of the massive airship. A short distance away from the flagship a few other Atlesian airships slowly moved around in a standard patrol formation, ever watchful for any remaining White Fang forces that hadn't surrendered despite the broadcast of Adam's crimes and the change of leadership within the Fang. In addition to the warships in the sky, several Atlesian Transports and Ranger Bullheads or landed to drop off their cargo of supplies and receive troops and wounded Faunus, after which they lifted off to take the passengers to the _Resolute._ In addition, Atlas Eagles hovered at strategic locations around the White Fang headquarters, their weapons armed and ready while troopers and rangers walked through the forested areas in complex sweeping patterns looking for any remaining survivors and stragglers, including the ones from the escape pods of Adam's ship.

In the large area of the base where the battle for the White Fang took place, smoke wafted from the burnt-out wreckage of destroyed White Fang Paladins and various ruins of Vacuo Ranger buggies and jeeps, as well as quite a few Atlesian transport carriers and Eagles which had plowed deep furrows in the hard concrete surface of ground when they crashed. The souvenirs of war were everywhere; patches of spilt blood, spent bullets, shell casings, energy cells and various discarded and broken weaponry lay strew about the place.

Squads of Atlesian troopers and Vacuo Rangers ran to and fro across the courtyard, moving to whatever locations to finish their assigned tasks by their superiors, while others tended to the injured troopers and the deceased in a make-shift medical facility set up at the far side of the courtyard. Heavy mobile cranes assisted the military forces to remove the burnt-out wreckage of White Fang Paladins and their vehicles, while the bodies of both White Fang and join strike force troops were being removed and zipped up in black body bags to be identified later.

In the middle of the courtyard, lines of masked and unmasked White Fang members who have been taken into custody were handcuffed by Atlas soldiers and Vacuo Rangers, checked one last time before telling them to walk up the ramps into the large passenger compartments of those drop-ships to be taken back to their respective Kingdoms for summary trial and imprisonment. While the majority of White Fang members knew about the consequences of their actions and had accepted their punishment, some rather reluctant masked members had to subdued with a small amount of force before they were taken into custody. But whatever the case, they were all to be treated fairly and equally as agreed by General Ironwood and the Vacuo authorities. Once the ships were filled up, their ramps closed and they took off up to the Resolute, where the prison cells there would temporary house the White Fang members until they could be transferred to the proper prisons later.

Razor had been worried, but both Chamberlain and Ironwood assured him that the Faunus who had sided with Blake would be treated fairly and get lighter punishments, but they would all get fair trials.

Off to the side Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi, Sage, Neptune, and Scarlet all sat or stood in a spot where the rubble gave them decent seats and a place to rest. Various members of the Elite Guard like Kane, Selena, Piper, Misha, and Cash had joined them and Babara was also there, watching over a medic tend to Jinty's injuries.

Just then Coco nudged Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet before pointing at the sight of Hopkins among the prisoners being marched up to the transport ships.

"Hope he regrets not helping us." Neptune muttered.

"I have a feeling he does." Coco stated before Jinty yelped out in pain as the medic tried to heal the wound.

"If I ever see Hui again I'll make him beg for mercy." she promised as she held Jinty's hand and caressed his face.

"Don't worry, I'll make it." He promised her as he seethed in pain from the treatments.

"Sure you will, you managed to keep your secrets from us for months, you'll make it." Misha said confidently.

"But will we?" Kane asked.

Everyone looked to him, some confused and others concerned. "What do you mean by that?" Yatsuhashi inquired.

"Well, despite everything we're still White Fang. We attacked you and we've stolen shit from the Atlas military and we've destroyed some property in the past. I mean I don't think we're getting away with a slap on the wrist." Kane elaborated.

The others knew it was true, things did't bode well for them.

"Hey, it won't all be bad. I mean they're letting you walk about, that's gotta mean something, right?" Scarlet pointed out.

"Things change." Misha stated glumly.

Piper sighed before she used her instrument to 'speak'; _"Hey... don't worry. I've known Razor... for a long time... he's never let me down."_

"Well you're like a daughter to him, that probably has something to do with it." Selena voiced.

 _"True, but Razor... considers all of us family. He won't let... anything happen to us... I know he won't. He has a plan."_ The Mouse Faunus promised before shutting off her instrument and taking a breath, as her way of 'speaking' was a bit hard on her aura.

Despite Piper's confidence the other's weren't so sure, as the chances of them being let go or getting away seemed to be slim.

Coco sighed before saying "Relax. If it gets bad, we'll have your back."

"You mean it? After all we did?" Kane asked, doubtful.

"You were deceived and used by a sick mind, you were just doing your jobs as we were doing ours." Yatsuhashi worded, "You discovered the truth, and helped our friends, even risked your lives to stop Adam. That is enough to earn respect in my book."

"Yeah, so we'll do our best to help." promised Neptune.

Kane smiled, but knew it wasn't likely that they'd get away from the too easily. He looked out to see Razor and Leonardo, kneeling over the body of one of Leonardo's troops who hadn't survived the fight. Razor currently had a comforting hand around the solider, apologizing for everyone they had lost during the night.

The Boar Faunus sighed, he didn't know how but he knew he would somehow get his people out of this. Chamberlain had promised him fair treatment for his actions, but he was still uneasy about the fate of the many maskless Faunus who had sided with Blake and his own Elite Guard. He shook his head, knowing that the Atlesian forces could only be trusted to a point, and they really wouldn't let them get off without some kind of punishment.

"What's going to happen to us?" Leonardo asked suddenly. The two Faunus looked at each other. "We're hurt, we're tired, and we can't run. I know we did the right thing by turning on Adam... but what will they do to us? I've got my team, you got yours Razor, what are we going to do?"

Razor didn't have a real answer, but said "We'll do everything in our power to protect them, I'll make sure of it."

After he finished consoling Leonardo, Razor made his way to the forward operating base of the joint Atlesian-Vacuoan strike force, which was set up in one of the unharmed buildings at the front of the compound, it was a medium sized grey cubed structure with a few guards armed with heavy weaponry to guard a series of radar dishes upon the roof that had been re-calibrated to communicate with the military forces in the surrounding area. Even after the battle at the White Fang headquarters, a number of mop-up operations were currently taking place in the surrounding valleys and towns to flush out the remaining White Fang members who have escaped the major battle, and apparently quite a number of them had been arrested so far.

Inside the temporary base every wall had many blue holographic screens while consoles and workstations with keyboards populated the areas underneath the screens. Atlas technicians and Vacuo Rangers sat at those consoles, their hands dancing across the keyboards while talking to operational forces in the field while officers walked around the perimeter from one console to another, monitoring the developing situation in the aftermath of the battle with the White Fang. Situated at the various entryways and exits were heavily armed Task Force Omega troopers, their black helmets revealing none of their emotions, giving off an intimidating look while they stood guard.

In the middle of the temporary base, Chamberlain, Qrow, Winter, Oobleck, Port, Crane, Central, and a high ranking ranger were all clustered around large metallic table with holographic functions, the surface of the table displaying a complex hologram in the form of a terrain map of the White Fang Headquarters and the other mountains around it along with the valleys and waterways which led out of the immediate surrounding area, gathered by Vacuo Ranger scouting maps and the data the Atlas Eagle from earlier had gather with its advanced recon gear.

Holograms of Ironwood, Goodwitch, and Ozpin emanated from the table, joining their companions in analyzing the situation.

"How are the prisoners? What's the situation there?" Port asked.

Glynda answered "Under control. The guards have surrendered and the ones who were in on Taurus' contemptible mutilation plot have been captured and forced into submission. The prisoners have been freed and are being returned to the village while the ones who need medical attention are getting it, while the Faunus..."

"Yes, are they alive?" Razor asked, making his presence known as he entered the room. The Omega Troopers prepared to move but Central nodded, telling them Razor was a friendly.

"Yes, despite their injuries and trauma, both physical and metal, they will live. We're having them checked over by our medics to the best of their abilities and while they cannot undo the damage they will do what they can." Glynda said sadly.

Qrow approached Razor, smirking. "Y'know, I thought I had you pegged. I thought you were another stooge, one who used the whole 'honor' bit as a way to look good. But I was wrong. You helped my niece and her friends, you saved their lives. I owe you for that." he said as he held his hand out.

Razor accepted the hand to shake it before saying "You helped me see the light, Branwen. Your words helped me realize the dishonor I brought to myself by following Adam."

Qrow nodded before looking to the others and Winter spoke for him. Razor, This is General Ironwood, Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port, and Crane, Dr. Oobleck and Commander Central of Task Force Omega. Everyone, this is Razor, leader of the White Fang Elite Guard, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude."

"We spoke earlier via radio but not personally. Specialist Schnee has told me that we owe you thanks not only for helping defeat Adam Taurus, but also for shutting down several slaver operations around Remnant."

"We do our best." The large Faunus stated.

"She's also told us that you've gathered evidence that links her father to a slave trade, can you transfer this evidence to us?" Ironwood asked.

"That I can." Razor said, before gathering up the courage to ask "What will become of my group and I?"

Winter and Qrow both glanced at the trio of Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch. Ozpin sighed before saying "You and your team, as well as this Capatain Leonardo and his troops, have earned the right to be free for now, but we will have to decide what to do with you at a later date."

"Yes, Specialist Schnee has made it abundantly clear that jailing you would be a grievous error. We can't judge you too hastily, as you saved the lives of many civilians and our operatives and we are indebted to you for that but unless the councils agree to it we can't give you a full pardon either." Ironwood voiced.

Razor nodded understandingly.

"Hey, come on, there has to be something we can do for all they've done." Qrow voiced.

Glyda glanced at Qrow before looking to Razor and saying "Rest assured, we will do all we can to make sure your team and the Faunus who sided with Miss Belladonna are treated fairly, we promise you."

The Boar Faunus nodded again and bowed his head, "Thank you, I just needed to make sure we would get fair treatment. Now I need to help my team calm down the maskless prisoners, they need to know they will get fair treatment." he said.

"Speaking of which..." Qrow spoke up, "How about we let Razor's ship transport some of the maskless?"

Everyone looked at Qrow and Port inquired "Why?"

"Well the maskless will be a hell of a lot more cooperative with them and they'll trust their own kind more, especially heroes like the Elite Guard, plus I think it'll be easier on all of us. Let's just place a dozen or so guards on their ship to ensure they don't try to run and they can use the various rooms on the ship to keep the prisoners in and together we can move 'em to Vacuo with minimal fuss." Qrow explained.

Winter raised her eyebrow, but saw the logic in his plan was sound, even if the plan was risky. Razor nodded, "I think that would work, and we'd be alright with your guards aboard to supervise."

Ironwood, Glynda, and Ozpin all glanced at each other, but Ozpin nodded. "It's a sound strategy, but we'll have to make arrangements for it to work."

"I can have some of my troops go aboard to you them guard the maskless and to assure that you won't try to run." Ironwood stated.

"We will not run, we will face whatever judgement you have for us with dignity." Razor said proudly.

"Good to know. I'm not entirely convinced but it could work, if done carefully." Glynda voiced.

"Well you can tell me your decision later, I must go back to work." Razor said respectfully before he left the building.

"I'll talk to him." Qrow said suddenly before following the Faunus out. Ironwood, Ozpin, and Glynda all looked to each other, wondering if they should do something, but decided to let Qrow handle it.

"Are you sure Razor won't betray us?" Ironwood asked Winter.

"No." She answered, "He is a good warrior, loyal to his people. As long as we keep our word he will keep his."

As Razor walked away from the building he took out his scroll and was about to call Troy when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around, about to reach for Kill-Master, but when he saw it was Qrow he eased up. The Huntsman gestured to follow him to a more secluded area and Razor followed.

"So, you thinking of running?" Qrow asked in a whisper as they walked together.

"Not to escape, but to begin anew. We deserve a chance to redeem ourselves, and the White Fang for the atrocities that have been committed in its name. I want to start over and fight for equality, fight tyranny, I want to make up for the past." Razor said honestly as they entered into a thin alleyway.

Qrow nodded, "I think they'll go along with letting you take the maskless, but how do you plan on getting away?"

Razor looked at Qrow and bluntly asked "How can I trust you?"

"Like I said, you saved my niece and her friends, I owe you one." Qrow stated.

"As do I." said a woman's voice.

The two men turned to see Winter approaching them.

"What are you doing here?" Qrow demanded.

"Ironwood wanted to make sure Razor wouldn't try anything, and from what I just heard... nothing will happen." Winter stated.

"You won't stop us?" Razor said.

"Qrow isn't the only one who owes you. Had it not been for you willing to work with us we wouldn't have won this night. You knew Adam was going to far and your suspicions paid off. I am free once more because you made the right choice, and so is my younger sister. I will not do anything to harm you." Winter said firmly.

Qrow smirked and nodded. "You're slowly but surely eliminating any reason for me to call you Ice Queen, aren't you?"

Now it was Winter's turn to smirk before she looked to Razor and asked "How do you plan on escaping?"

"Our ship's engines have a special setting, if we pour fifty percent of our energy reserves into them we can blast off and be fifty miles away in a second. It puts a lot of strain on the engines and we need to factor in the calculations to make sure we don't run into another ship, but it can work." Razor said.

Winter and Qrow looked at each other and both nodded. "I will tell General Ironwood that letting you take the maskless prisoners is a good course of action." she said.

"So doesn't this count as treason?" Qrow asked teasingly.

"Treason is aiding an enemy, I am helping an ally." Winter said, matter-of-factly, which made Qrow's smirk grow.

* * *

In an isolated part of the large compound where the strike forces had not been able to reach nor clear up the detritus of battle, a lone armored figure walked slowly, the rhythmic steps of his boots echoing around the devastated surroundings. The lenses of his face-plate turned slowly from left to right, taking in the scenes of carnage and destruction left behind by the battle and leaving no detail unseen. While the Remnant Knight knew that despite the victory Team Beacon has managed to wrestle with the help of the combined forces of two Kingdoms from the White Fang, there was still a heavy price to pay once the assault on the headquarters was over.

The White Fang was simply too large an organization to be fully brought to heel, and despite being severely crippled without their headquarters and many bases throughout Remnant, there were still some personnel that slipped through the cracks left in the aftermath of the battles worldwide, disappearing when chaos erupted due to the awful truth of Adam's actions being broadcast to all known White Fang bases.

The knight's motorcycle was parked a small distance away, its systems constantly scanning for any trace of life in the vicinity and its weapons were alert for anything that might think that the lone knight was easy prey and open to an attack. Despite knowing that the battle was over, Sharp Strike was nevertheless watchful for anything that might come at him from the shadows despite the fact that the sun was already breaking over the peaks of the Vacuoan mountains.

Walking by the wreck of an Atlas Eagle, he could still see the black acrid smoke billowing upwards and curling into the sky from faint fires scattered around the battlefield, most burning themselves out while others continued to blaze stubbornly. The main building of the White Fang Headquarters had also suffered significant damage during the battle, sporting gaping holes from missile salvos and exposing the contents of some of the rooms inside, ranging from barracks to operations. There were still sounds of squads of Atlesian soldiers clearing the whole building level by level, and sometimes occasional gunfire was still heard as they neutralized the remnants of those White Fang who stood by Adam despite learning the truth, or because they had known the truth.

His gauntlet-clad hands resting on the belt at his waist, yet quick enough to draw either his twin swords from their scabbards or his revolver from its holster, he continued his circuit around the derelict wrecks of various armored vehicles. His midnight-blue cloak, which was torn in some places during in battle with the Grimm Commander and his Beowolves, fluttered around him in the morning breeze, and Sharp Strike made a mental note to repair it once he returned back to the Order.

Coming around the crashed wreck of an Vacuo Bullhead airship, he witnessed quite a number of bodies of both White Fang and of a group of rangers lying around the area of a slightly-destroyed modified Spider Droid, with spent bullets and various other used weapons scattered around the dormant mech. The Spider Droid had apparently crashed into a concrete wall and was lying on its side, its severed arm lying a short distance away, the mechanical limb still leaking engine oil in a black puddle. One of its legs was heavily damaged, with many pistons and gears missing. There was a particularly large hole in its chassis, no doubt the result of a severe missile strike which punched through its weakened armor plates.

In another life, the finished droid would have seen service in the Atlas Military or served some private security firm, but it was stolen by unscrupulous individuals and sold to the White Fang, who had less than noble intentions, like killing good soldiers who gave their lives to serve and protect their Kingdoms.

He stared at the wreckage for a silent moment, and was about to turn and leave when he heard the painful gasp of someone close to death, yet still living. It was faint, so soft and easily covered by the other sounds of the surrounding forces going about their assigned duties, that it could be easily missed if no one was paying attention or listening hard enough to identify that particular sound from the countless other noises happening in the surrounding area. Following the weak gasping sounds, Sharp Strike walked closer to the source of the sounds, he walked past the mech and finally saw the mortally wounded Faunus who was making those pained noises.

It was a White Fang scout, one who looked to be in his teens. He was unmasked, his black hair having grey streaks and eyes that looked like chips of flint and his ears showed that he was a Wolf Faunus. Dressed in the same outfit as the rest of the White Fang, the dying Faunus gasped for breath while a slowly growing pool of red blood formed around him, his aura spent and what was left was trying to heal him but to no avail. The Knight let his gaze travel to the right and saw the reason why: The scout was pinned from waist down by a huge slab of debris and the additional wreckage of the destroyed Spider Droid, and his legs were completely crushed and one of the Spider Droid's legs had stabbed into his body. Also, it seemed that he had also taken quite a few gunshot wounds in his chest and stomach, where more blood flowed and without pause and the Remnant Knight knew that those wounds were fatal, as his aura was barley shining. It doesn't take all his medical training within the Order to tell him that the scout was beyond saving.

The scout look at him with pleading eyes of grey, pain and shock from blood loss written clear on his features. A painful wheeze came from his lungs while more blood bubbled out of his throat. The scout's mouth flapped like a fish deprived of water before the wheezing came again, unable to form words in the face of such unendurable agony flowing through his fatally wounded body. His right arm and hand, covered in his blood, rose and reached out towards the knight, those grey beseeching eyes never leaving the armored warrior.

Sharp Strike was by the scout's side in an instant, so quickly that it could have been the trick of the light itself. He knelt by the dying Wolf Faunus, and took the hand which rose towards him in a firm grip. The young scout gasped again, and the Remnant Knight realized that he was trying to say something, and so he leaned down a little to listen more clearly to the Faunus' final words. There was another thought in the knight's mind that he should use his sword to give the dying scout a quick and painless death, but he forced himself discard that thought and listen carefully to the rasping noises coming from scout's mouth.

"What do you wish to say?" Sharp Strike whispered softly.

He felt the Wolf Faunus' grip tighten before he forced barely-coherent words out of his bloody lips, rivulets of red blood flowing from the sides of his mouth as he spoke slowly and painfully, "Go to... Ishimura. Tell... my... family that... I... love... them." He pressed something into Sharp Strike's grip and with a final choking rattle his grey eyes remained wide open and his chest stopped moving. The hand in Sharp Strike's gauntlets slipped from the knight's grip and splashed onto the puddle of red blood, causing a few droplets to land on the armor-plated boots of the Remnant Knight, but he ignored it and slowly placed the Wolf Faunus' hands on his chest, before reaching out and gently closing the the deceased's eyes.

"May the gods guide you to eternal rest." Sharp Strike intoned solemnly as he stood up and looked at the item given to him by the now deceased Faunus. It was a simple grey-colored pendant necklace, and since it was slightly open the Remnant Knight could see a family picture within, with the teenage Wolf Faunus standing with what presumably was his younger sister and parents, all four of them smiling in front of a simple village home in the desert outskirts of Vacuo. How cruel a fate has befallen such a kind individual, and the knight wondered how different his life would have been if he hadn't joined the ranks of the White Fang.

Closing his fingers around the pendant and then tucking it into the depths of his scratched Aegis armor, Sharp Strike turned and walked away from the dead body, but not before directing the first Atlesain soldier he had come across to find the body of the White Fang scout and give him a proper burial. The soldier complied after reporting it to his captain, and the knight made a note on his scroll to pay a visit to the village of Ishimura on his journey back to the Knight Order, to fulfill the Wolf Faunus' final wish.

Sharp Strike sighed sadly as he walked farther away from the area. Despite his, at times, violent actions, he truly did hate to see lives extinguished, especially when they had potential to go on and do so much more. That was why he never killed unless he had to, and even then he took no joy in doing it, no matter how stoic he may have seemed at times.

He looked around at the Atlas soldiers and the Vacuo rangers who were hard at work securing the area and making sure the various Faunus who had sided with Adam over Blake were being arrested and marched into the ships for transport, while many maskless Faunus stood by, nervous and unsure of what would happen to them.

Whatever would happen it was clear that the main threat of the White Fang was over for the time being, as the ship crashing into the mountain most assuredly signified the death of Adam Taurus, so it was clear that it was now time for him to leave. He made his way to his bike, wanting to get away before he could be questioned by any authorities, but he knew there was something that needed to be done before he left, and a voice calling to him enforced that fact.

"Hey, Sharp Strike!" Ruby called as she jogged towards him, with Weiss being dragged along by the hand and Penny following closely behind them.

"Hello Ruby. Have you gotten word from your sister and the others yet?" The knight inquired, using a piece of cloth to wipe away a few droplets of blood from his forearms and gauntlets. He was finishing up on the final checks on his motorcycle, which had returned to its standard mode since the battle was over, the knight paused in his actions to regard them politely.

"Yeah, Velvet and her uncle got them off the ship before it crashed, they are all okay and also on their way back now." Ruby informed him with a relieved smile.

"And what of Adam Taurus?" Sharp Strike asked quietly.

"He didn't make it." Weiss replied quickly, a small frown on her face at the mention of former leader of the White Fang.

The knight nodded, "I see. I presume you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Ruby nodded back and said "This is my partner, Weiss Schnee."

Weiss stepped forward and nodded to him. "Thank you for saving my friend, she might be a pain at times but I honestly don't know what I would do if I lost her." The younger Schnee said with clear gratitude in her voice. She offered her hand out to the Remnant Knight who accepted with a nod of his armored helmet, and both shook briefly for a moment.

"Love you too Weiss." Ruby teased, and that gesture made Weiss blush slightly as she released the knight's hand. Ruby turned to Penny and said, "And this is my good friend, Penny Polendina."

"Salutations Sharp Strike! I must say that your armor is some of the most advanced and impressive I've ever seen! Atlas could learn a lot from whoever designed your gear. But thank you so much for helping Ruby, she's my best friend and I... well, I also don't want to lose her." Penny said simply, her face briefly going sad for a moment before she went back to being happy. Ruby smiled and gave her robotic friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, letting the android know that she was always there for her.

"Penny, Miss Schnee, your gratitude is much appreciated. You are both quite welcome, but I was only doing my duty, just as you three were doing yours. It's an honor to meet you both, and I am glad to see that you are all safe and unharmed. Ruby was very worried about you while we were in the jungle." Sharp Strike elaborated as he produced his scroll and tapped some of the functions, making sure that his bike was still functioning properly after the recent battle.

"Guilty as charged. You guys have worried about me, and I can safely say that I am also worried sick about you." Ruby mentioned to Weiss and Penny before she turned and looked at Sharp Strike. Seeing him swinging one leg over his custom bike once more, she quickly realized what he was doing, "Are you leaving?"

He nodded and slowly replied "Very soon, I cannot afford to be questioned by any official, as you know that I still need to remain a bit of a mystery due to my identity. I trust you know what to tell them about me?"

"Right. I will say that you're a Huntsman who happened to be nearby when you saw what happened to us. After rescuing us, you listened to our situation and decided to help us out." Ruby explained quickly. "Also you're kind of shy and that's why you didn't stick around." She finished with a grin on her face.

The Remnant Knight gave a small shake of his head at the Ruby's small joke, and answered, "I guess that's good enough."

"So who are you really? Why do you need to be so secretive?" Weiss questioned the knight, her light-blue eyes slightly inquisitive.

"Well he has his reasons. I'll tell you later, okay? It's probably not a good idea to say it out in the open." Ruby said quickly, looking around to make sure no one was trying to listen in. Thankfully they were at the far end of the courtyard, and the various Atlas and Vacuo military forces around were too occupied to pay any attention to the two Huntresses, an android and the Remnant Knight. Weiss looked a little skeptical about it but nodded and Penny accepted it without another word and just smiled.

Just then Ruby's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot." she said as she took out Crescent Rose, pulled back the breech and took out a bullet with her rose emblem carved on it. She handed it to Sharp Strike and said "Like we agreed."

Sharp Strike held up the bullet in his gauntleted fingers, examining the beautiful carving of Ruby's emblem upon its metallic surface. The small, simple object in his hand made him smile behind his mask, not that Ruby and her friends could see it due to his helmet. He then slipped Ruby's bullet into one of his waist pouches and replied, "You have my gratitude, Ruby Rose."

"What's all this about?" Weiss asked, a little curious as she crossed her arms.

"I made a deal with Sharp Strike just before we came to help you." Ruby elaborated, smiling at the ice princess, "Sharp Strike said he wanted me to trust him, so I made an agreement with him that if we managed to pull this mission off he will show me his eyes and I will also give him one of my special bullets in Crescent Rose."

She looked to the knight and reminded him, "You still have to live up to your part of the deal, Sharp Strike."

The Knight gave a nod of his head, and replied, "That I do, Ruby Rose. But only to you, and not your friends, as that was the condition we have agreed on."

"Seriously?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Do you have to be so secretive?" The Knight glanced at her with those azure lenses of his helmet and she quickly changed her tack, "Not that I am interested anyway, and you have already made an agreement with Ruby. Penny, can you also avert your own eyes elsewhere?"

"Of course! I am already looking away." Penny replied as her head swerved to the right, already looking away from Ruby and the Remnant Knight.

Ruby watched as Sharp Strike reached up to both sides of his helmet, and disengaged some kind of locking mechanism with his gauntlet-clad hands. There was a soft hiss of air as the armored plates of the helmet split apart a little, revealing a thin line between the higher and lower parts of the emotionless face-plate that she was familiar with. With a soft click the Remnant Knight unlocked his visor and removed it, and Ruby Rose felt her silver eyes widen at the sight of Sharp Strike's real eyes, not the azure lenses of the helmet that covered them.

The eyes of the Remnant Knight were the colors of the ocean, deep cerulean blue that reminded her briefly of the azure seas that surround the island of Patch. They were rather beautiful, easily putting the most sapphire jewels or even blue Dust crystals to shame, and they briefly sparkled a little in the morning glow. The Huntress also noticed that there was a hint of vermilion red in the deepest recesses of Sharp Strike's eyes especially in the region around his pupils. Ruby almost wanted to ask the knight if he was related to Jaune by chance since their eyes were somewhat similar, but she remained quiet as she tried to identify Sharp Strike's character by looking at his eyes.

There was determination and a sense of duty in those blue eyes, as well as a conviction to protect anything that was important to him. They were also quite piercing and seemed to house pure and untainted emotions, and Ruby realized that the Remnant Knight was like her, kindred soul with a strong sense of justice and unshakable belief. However, she also knew that those eyes could also become those of an emotionless and perfect killer just as easily, seeing how quickly the armored knight dispatched any Grimm or those who would harm others for their own amusement.

And after what seemed like a long moment of gazing into each other's eyes, a thought came to Ruby's mind that the knight was also using this chance to look into those silvery eyes of hers. Like her, Sharp Strike was also trying to read her personality and character through her eyes, and if the knight had divined anything from that brief moment of eye contact with the silver-eyed girl, he kept it securely to himself like a forbidden secret.

Then that surreal moment had passed, and the Remnant Knight replaced his visor once more, the removed piece of his helmet sliding smoothly into place above his lower face-plate and both separate pieces locking back together with a pair of sharp clicks, hiding his deep blue eyes from the outside world. Ruby tilted her head before saying, "You have wonderful eyes."

"And yours are the most beautiful silver I have ever seen." The knight politely answered, "It has been my honor to fight by your side, and you have my sincere gratitude for saving my life from the Grimm during the battle."

"You are welcome, Sharp Strike." Ruby replied with a smile on her face.

Ruby walked over to Weiss and Penny, who had moved away so as not to disturb them. "Well, the deal done." Ruby said simply.

Weiss looked at her partner and hesitantly asked "So... are you attracted to him?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to blush. "What?! No! I mean he's nice and all and his eyes are pretty but I'm pretty dang sure I don't have a crush on him or anything!" She denied.

Weiss let out a sigh of relief before quickly recovering and putting on a face of neutrality. "Well that's good."

There was an awkward silence between the three for a few moments before Weiss sighed and said "Ruby, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Weiss sighed again and said "When we first met I thought you were a complete and total dolt, someone who was at Beacon by mistake or by luck. I didn't think you'd make it past initiation. When we became partners I was further baffled and somewhat annoyed with you, but your talents in fighting Grimm impressed me. When you became our team leader I was stunned, as I thought you were too naive and not experienced or mature enough to lead us, and yet you proved me wrong over and over again, as you showed time and again you were a capable leader and a strong person."

"Thanks." Ruby said with a smile before asking "Where are you going with this?"

"Hold on. After the Fall of Beacon I thought it was all over, that if I ever saw you again it would be a miracle, but I still wanted to help. I didn't want to be some spoiled rich brat who had to be protected while the world fell apart and when I decided I needed to help and when I found out what happened to Penny I knew I needed to help her, not just for her but for you as well. When I discovered you had been captured by Cinder not only was I worried out of my mind but I was determined to get you back safely no matter what. And despite everything that happened in Haven it worked out alright, I had you back and we were a team again. And then this mess began, when you went over the cliffs with Qrow and the others I felt my heart ache, as I thought I had lost you for sure." Weiss confessed, holding back tears.

Ruby was stunned, she had never expected Weiss to open up like this. When they had first met Weiss was so stuck up and snooty, even a bit pretentious, but as time went on she toned it down and began to realize she wasn't above everyone else, and what had happened with Penny in Atlas had proved that, as the old Weiss would never put her life on the line for something like that.

"Weiss?"

"Ruby let me finish!" The heiress scolded. "I was worried sick about you, I was afraid I'd lost you for good and I... I don't think I could have handled it. I had to hide my feelings as I couldn't show weakness in the presence of the enemy, but I never stopped praying that you were alright. And when the jamming towers went up, I knew you were behind it and that, against all odds, you had made it. And then when the battle began and you came charging out of the chaos and hugged me I was so happy I would have hugged you back had it not been for the war around us. What I'm trying to say is..." She stopped and sighed again before coming forward and capturing Ruby in a hug. "I am so proud of you."

"You are?" Ruby asked with wide eyes.

She nodded, "Yes. You proved my initial judgement of you so incredibly wrong, and I can honestly say that I am proud and grateful to have you as my partner, and I would never want anyone else but you." She said, her voice nothing but honest and sincere.

Ruby's eyes began to water as she hugged her partner back. "Thanks Weiss! I'm happy I have you as my partner too!" she declared. She opened her eyes to look at Penny, who was happy for her friends but Ruby could tell that the robotic girl felt a bit left out. "Hey Penny, come here, we can't leave you out!" Ruby invited.

Penny beamed as she rushed over and captured both girl in her arms and gave them a mighty hug as she lifted them both off the ground, giggling excitedly, happy to know she wouldn't be forgotten by her friend. Ruby laughed and Weiss struggled to breathe.

"Hey girls!" called Taiyang, "You might wanna put the group hug on pause for now, Yang, Blake, and the others are back."

"They are?!" Ruby cried. Penny quickly dropped the two, with Ruby dashing off and Weiss breathing in deep before running after her partner with Penny close behind.

They met up with Team JNPR, who had been assigned to guard Claudandus while the medics tended to him, since he refused to leave until Blake returned. Overhead the White Fang ships began to descend upon an area that was cleared for landing. The ship touched the ground and the engines powered down as the ramp opened up to reveal Yang, Blake, Sun, and Velvet as the other members of Team Beacon rushed towards the ship.

Ruby couldn't hold her excitement in, as she ran forward to jump into her big sister, capturing her in a hug, which Yang quickly returned.

"You made it!"

"Well no duh we did, lil' sis!" Yang said as she hugged Ruby back and spun around.

Blake and Weiss smiled at the scene before looking to one another. "I'm glad you made it, and congratulations on defeating that abominable man." The latter said as she placed a comforting hand on the Cat Faunus' shoulder.

"Thank you Weiss, I'm happy everyone made it out alright." Blake said, before Ruby pounced on her to give her a hug.

"I didn't forget you Blake! You did it!" Ruby cheered as Blake hugged her back.

"And you made it, you're a survivor like me. Against all odds..." Blake said.

"Hey, odds don't mean jack to us." Ruby reminded her, and Blake could only smile in agreement at that.

Taiyang came up and hugged both of his daughters, "I am so proud of both of you, but could you please stop making me worry?" He asked.

"No promises dad." Yang chuckled as she and Ruby hugged him back.

Velvet hugged Yatsuhashi, the sight was almost comical considering the size difference between the two, but the large teen leaned down to hug his partner. "I was so worried about you..." she said with a teary voice.

"So was I, but we knew you'd make it." Yatsuhashi said as he gripped her tightly.

"Damn right you would. We're proud of you long ears, not only did you help take down Adam, but you did it without your weapon!" Coco said as she slapped her teammate on the back.

"Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself." Fox voiced as he gripped Velvet's hands affectionately and smiled in approval before hugging her.

Sun high-fived Neptune and Scarlet. "Guys! Awesome to see you both made it in one piece." he said as he withstood a hug from Neptune.

"Well it wasn't easy!" Scarlet voiced.

"Yeah, we made it but just barley, and I'm still smarting a bit but I'll get over it." Neptune said as Sage came up.

"Oh man boss, you had no idea how worried I was about you guys, I am never letting you go on a mission without me again." Sage said firmly before shaking Sun's hand.

"I think that's a good idea." Sun agreed, before he noticed the troubled look on Sage's face. "What?"

"Your tail..." Sage said quietly, which was enough to get the attention of the others.

Sun sighed as what was left of his tail drooped in sadness.

"We can fix it, right?" Sage asked.

"Well it was left behind in that clearing, and it's a good bet some animal has already gotten it."

"Do Faunus parts grow back?" Penny asked innocently.

"I'm afraid not, it's like when Yang lost her arm, it doesn't grow back." Velvet informed her sadly.

"Oh..." Penny said, reality sinking in. "Perhaps we can get you a robotic tail built, like Yang's arm?"

Sun smiled at her but said "Penny... I'll have to think about it, okay?"

"Well... if you ever need the money for one, I'll help you with it." Weiss volunteered.

Sun smirked and said "Never thought I'd hear that from a Schnee. You really have changed."

"She sure has." Yang said confidently as she rubbed Weiss' head, before a thought occurred to her; "Hey, where's Neo?"

"She took off after the Fang surrendered." Jaune stated.

Pyrrha nodded and said "She's a thief at heart, and they never like to stay in a places where so many law enforcers are, but I have a good feeling we'll hear from her soon."

"Heh, we better." Yang murmured.

"Blake?" asked Claudandus' voice. Blake turned about to see her grandfather approaching, supported by a cane.

Blake walked over to him and asked "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm alive after all! But, I survived unscathed, just a few scratches, nothing my aura and the medics couldn't fix." He said, before asking "Now, are you alright my dear? I'm just an old cat, and I wasn't the one who fought Adam several times last night!"

Blake looked down before smiling and saying "Despite everything, I'm fine. I'm alive, my friends are alive, the White Fang has been stopped, and Adam is gone for good. While I need, _really_ need, some sleep, I'm okay... grandpa."

And with that she lurched forward and captured her grandfather in a hug, which he was all too happy to return, as he could finally call her his granddaughter without fear of rejection.

As her friends watched the happy scene Jaune whispered "So, she didn't say he was her grandfather back when this mission started. What's the story to that?"

Ruby smiled and answered "Jaune, it's a long trip to Beacon. I think we'll tell you on the way."

The blonde smiled and said "Good enough for me."

As the two Cat Faunus parted from their hug Claudandus said to Blake "I am so, so proud of the woman you've become, Blake. I know wherever your parents are, they are proud of you as well. You saved many lives from the monster that Adam became, and that makes you more worthy of being the White Fang's leader than he ever was."

Blake smiled, but she wasn't too sure about remaining the leader of the White Fang, after all it was just too much for her. Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted by Coco.

"So, speaking of that psychopath, what happened to Adam? I mean you said over the radio that he was dead but you didn't say how." Coco pointed out, curiously.

"That is something I would like to hear as well." said the voice of Razor, as he, Qrow, Kane, Piper, Russell, Selena, Misha, Teresa, and Morgan all approached the group while Thayer disembarked from the ship.

"Well he nearly killed me, he almost threw me off of the ship but Yang saved me at the last minute, she cut off his arm." Blake revealed.

"Whoa." Misha muttered.

"Damn." agreed Kane.

"An arm for an arm. Nice." Qrow said as he high-fived his niece.

"Do not encourage her to maim people." Taiyang scolded, which made his daughter giggle. "No, I'm being serious." he added.

"Anyway, Yang caught me before I could lose my grip, but despite losing an arm Adam got right back up and tried to kill us both, but Sun knocked him over the side but he grabbed my leg, refusing to go out so easily." Blake continued.

"Whoa, so what happened? Did he slip? Did you kick him off?" Ruby asked, stunned.

Blake nodded, "I had to kick him off, he wouldn't let go and he still wanted to kill us. I could see it in his eyes." She confessed, remembering the look in his eyes of both fear and hatred.

"Well, you did us all a service by eliminating him, he was a threat to us all. I am happy to call you my leader, Commander Belladonna." Razor said before kneeling before her, the other members of the Elite Guard following his example.

Blake looked around to her teammates, her grandfather, and her friends. She sighed as she knew she couldn't lead the White Fang, it just didn't feel right. After everything that had happened she didn't feel like she could, she had a duty to Team RWBY, to Team Beacon, to her friends who had become a family to her. She looked down at Razor and made a decision then and there.

"Razor, please stand up." She ordered, and he did so. "I'm sorry, but I cannot lead the White Fang."

"Huh?" whispered Misha in surprise.

"What does this mean?" asked Morgan quietly.

"It means that the burden of leading the White Fang is too great for me, I'm not ready for it. Besides, I have a loyalty to my team, they're like family to me and I cannot abandon them. And as for my replacement; I can think of no one more qualified than you, Razor. As Leader of the White Fang, I hereby step down and name Razor, as my successor." She told him proudly.

"Blake... are you sure?" Razor asked, stunned.

"Despite what Sun, Yang, and everyone else might say, I'm just not cut out for leadership on this scale... but you are. While I will do everything I can to make sure you are all treated fairly by General Ironwood, I think those Faunus will trust you more than they will me. I know you are the perfect choice for the new leader. Lead our people well, Commander Razor." Blake said with a small smile on her face.

The large Faunus smiled. "I will do my best, Blake." he said as he gave he a bow.

Piper, using her Semblance to make happy, celebrational music, tackled her adoptive father with a hug as Qrow patted him on the back. "Well, this will either make things easier or harder."

"We'll have to see." Razor said as he shook Russell's hand.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"It means we don't really know how things will turn out for the Elite Guard or those who sided with Blake." Qrow answered.

"Well they can't just lock 'em up, after all they did to help. Right?" Nora voiced, unsure.

"We... honestly don't know." Razor confessed. "But that doesn't mean we'll give up and let them jail us."

"We're with you boss, all the way." Kane volunteered bravely.

"You got that right." agreed Selena.

Razor smiled at them and said "Thank you." He turned to speak to Claudandus. "Sir, I need to say this; you were our founder, and I betrayed you and stayed with Adam. Had I not been so foolish none of this would have happened..."

"Oh nonsense! While it did hurt at the time, I know that you are loyal to the White Fang, not its leaders! You have honor, something Adam abandoned years ago. And because you chose to stay you created this fantastic team of yours, this Elite Guard, and they're exactly what the Fang needs. Because you sided with Blake it made those Faunus doubt Adam, and all of those who tore off their masks it is proof that the White Fang isn't beyond saving. I think it can be fixed, and you're just the Faunus for that job, old friend." Claudandus said to the larger Faunus.

Razor smiled and said "Thank you, both of you. I will do my best to live up to your legacy and redeem the White Fang. We just need to figure out how..."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be alright. We won't let them imprison you after everything you did for us last night." Blake assured him.

"Minus the beatings of course." Coco muttered jokingly.

"Sorry about that." Kane quickly said to the group.

"Some of us have had worse, trust me." Ruby said to him.

"Speak for yourself." Joked Neptune, his body still a bit sore.

"It will heal in time Mr. Vasilias." Said the voice of Winter as she marched to the group. "Now if I overheard you all correctly I believe that Blake has made Razor the White Fang's new commander?"

"I did." Blake confirmed.

"Well, it's probably for the best. General Ironwood has agreed to allow you to transport over a hundred maskless Faunus to Vacuo, under the escort of a squadron of Atlas Eagles and a small platoon of twenty Atlesian soldiers to supervise, of course." Winter told them.

"What's this about?" Blake asked.

"Qrow proposed that we could transport a majority of the Faunus who sided with you to Vacuo, since they'd be more cooperative with us. It seems we've been given permission to do so." Razor said with a smile, before turning to his group. "Make sure everyone's on the ship, Leonardo and his troops as well. Get your rooms prepared to hold the various maskless we'll have to take. Get moving."

Everyone quickly ran off to do their jobs and get everyone ready for take off, but Razor stayed to talk.

"We've already sent troops to your ship, ready to go aboard." Winter said, gesturing over to where the ship had landed outside of the compound, "General Ironwood has placed me in charge of them, we'll accompany you to Vacuo."

"Understood." Her said with a nod before looking to Thayer. "Well old friend, do you wish to come with us?"

The Rabbit Faunus sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm staying with my niece, sir. I... I want to see my family before I get any kinda trail, I need to talk to my brother." He said.

Razor gave him an understanding look and nodded. "I see. Good luck, old friend." The two shook hands before Razor turned to face Blake and the others.

"Thanks to you the White Fang is no longer a tool for evil, and I will work to assure that it will never be again." He promised them before bowing once again, a gesture that Blake, Claudandus, Yang, Sun, Velvet, Qrow, Weiss, and Ruby all returned.

"Oh, and before I we go, I've arranged for a ship to take Team Beacon to Oro." Winter told them.

"Really? Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"According to Professor Goodwitch the villagers want to see the team that saved them." Winter said before following Razor to the ship.

The members of Team Beacon were slightly stunned before Coco broke their silence by saying "Well how about that? Some recognition!"

Before anyone could say something to that everyone's attention was stolen by the sound of Sharp Strike's bike as he drove towards them while Taiyang and Thayer went to get on the ship Winter had secured for them and Qrow and Claudandus headed for the forward operations base.

"Holy... look at the beauty..." Yang said, in awe of the bike.

"Knew it." Ruby whispered to Neptune, who smiled in agreement.

Sharp Strike brought his bike to a halt before he looked to all of them before settling on Ruby. "It's time I left, before anyone tries to stop me." He told her.

"Who's this?" Sun asked, a bit confused.

"This is Sharp Strike, a friend who saved us out in the jungle." Scarlet explained.

The knight nodded again before saying "Team RWBY, you have a good leader."

"Obviously." Yang said, as if it was as obvious as the sun being yellow.

"It was an honor fighting alongside you all, I hope we meet again." He said to them. "Especially you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby smiled and said "Same to you."

Sharp Strike then looked to Team JNPR, or more specifically at Jaune and Pyrrha. "So you two are Ashe Kasai's replacements as Guardians of the Aura Crystal?"

The couple's eyes widened in surprise, as did those of the others who weren't familiar with Sharp Strike. "Y-yes... how did you...?" Pyrrha began.

"He chose well. Goodbye." The Knight said before speeding off, rushing past patrols and Atlas Paladins. Jaune and Pyrrha looked on as he departed, stunned.

"Wa-wait a minute! How the heck did you know that?!" Shouted Jaune, but he got no answer from the knight as he drove away out of the compound and into the Vacuo countryside at high speeds.

"Yeah... turns out he knew Ashe..." Confessed Ruby sheepishly. "Can I explain it to you guys later?"

"You can tell us later Rubes, and did he tell you where he got those sweet upgrades for his bike?" Yang inquired, as she was now hoping to do some major upgrades to Bumblebee.

"Nope." Ruby answered bluntly.

"Crap. Next time." The blonde remarked.

"Okay, you can tell who that guy really is on the way to town, because I really want to know." Jaune said to his friend.

"As would I." agreed Weiss as they began heading to the ship.

* * *

A little while later Razor and Winter stood on the bridge of the Elite Guard's ship, the former was typing finishing up with the transfer of the data to the _Resolute_. Around them Troy, Miguel, and Graham were making preparations for take off, as well as making the proper adjustments to the ship's forward scanners.

"There, that should be everything we have on Willow Schnee and the slave trades. In these documents are links to other potential leads on other slaver organizations and potential slave buyers, you might want to look into them." Razor suggested.

"We will be sure to put this to good use. The United Anti-Slavery Organization will be happy to get these." Ironwood said as the data was received on his end.

"Excellent." Razor said as the transmission ended while Babara entered the room.

"Jinty's in the medbay, he's gonna need a crutch for a month but he'll be okay." The Elephant Faunus reported. "Leonardo and his troops have all made it inside, the the Rangers are starting to march the maskless in now."

"Are the rooms prepared?" Razor asked.

"Just about from the looks of it, I told Leonardo about the plan, he's in. His troops and ours are a little weirded out by working with the Atlesians, but they're willing to do it. Uh, no offense Specialist Schnee." She said quickly.

"None taken." Winter said before looking to Razor. "Have Kane kick be out just before you blast off, you swear not to harm those troops?"

"On my life. They'll just be knocked out and placed into an escape pod, we'll make sure they'll land in a safe area as well. Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her.

Winter stared into his eyes and said "While there are some nagging thoughts in the back of my head, I do not doubt that you're intentions are good and that you are honorable. I know you have a history, one that will warrant jail-time even after you helped us... but I think letting you go won't be a mistake. I think you will do more good than harm out there."

Razor sighed in relief and said "Thank you. I gotta admit, this is pretty surreal. A Schnee is helping us escape from the Atlas Military."

"Well, experience has taught me that doing my duty isn't always the right thing. If it was Penny would have been used to bomb Haven." Winter said before she shook Razor's hand. "Are you sure your plan will work?"

"About seventy-five percent. We've used a similar tactic to escape a few times before but this will really put stain on the engines, but with a little luck we'll be alright."

"Good, I'll be off to oversee the positioning of the prisoners." Winter said, going back into her 'professional' mode before she strolled out of the room.

"Boss, are you sure we can trust her?" Graham inquired.

"After what we've been through together... yes." Razor answered.

* * *

As Team Beacon disembarked from the bullhead they were met by Professor Goodwitch and several rangers. "Children, it is good to see you all unharmed." She greeted warmly.

"Nice to see you again too Professor." Ruby said with a smile before looking back to Jaune and Pyrrha. "Okay, I swear, next time we meet Sharp Strike we'll make him tell you what went down between he and Ashe in more detail."

"We better, I'm worried about what those Knights want with the Aura Crystal, I mean it sounds like they're the good guys, but I just want to be sure." Jaune voiced.

"And we'll be sure to get some answers from them. Perhaps they can even help us with it." Pyrrha suggested before she looked around the village.

"Looks like everything worked out alright here." Sage remarked, as they could see the many happy reunions among the villagers.

"Indeed." Glynda said with an nod as she led them into the town. "These good people want to thank you for your efforts, especially the team who infiltrated the prison to spread the truth about what Adam was doing in there."

"They won't attack us will they? Some of us are still wearing our White Fang disguises." Velvet pointed out.

"Relax, I think we're safe." Coco said confidently as the town's mayor approached them. As Glynda walked forward to talk to him Coco looked over and smiled at the sight of Maria the innkeeper hugging her rescued husband. Maria spotted them and waved at Coco, somehow recognizing her without the wig and Coco waved back.

The mayor approached Team Beacon and said "We understand that you young Hunters are responsible for saving our village from the White Fang."

"Well is wasn't all us." Ren pointed out, only to be nudged by Nora.

"True, but after we were liberated Maria told me three of you risked your lives to infiltrate our village and all of you clearly fought for our freedom. On behalf of my village and everyone in it, we owe you, Team Beacon, our lives." He said gratefully.

"Hey, its just part of the job." Sun said lightly.

As the various members of Team Beacon went about the town and talked to the people, many of whom thanked them for their heroic actions, Ruby simply stayed put and surveyed the town, a look of pure happiness on her face but there were also tears in her eyes.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Blake asked. Ruby shook herself out of it to see the rest of her Team, JNPR, and Penny around her, looking a bit concerned.

"I'm fine guys, it's just... stuff like this is why I wanted to be a Huntress." She said simply.

"To help people?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, but more than that. I wanted to save people, dedicate my life to fighting evil. This is what happens when we fight evil." Ruby said to them as she watched a woman who had been freed reunite with her son. "We help peoples, save lives, make the world a little better. This is what I've always wanted to do, and now that I'm doing it feels..." Ruby struggled to find a word.

"Good?" Penny suggested.

Ruby smiled and said "Well, better than just good... but it's a start. I mean after all we went through, Vytal, Haven, this... I feel like we can take whatever they throw at us, you know? It just feels good, like Penny said."

"Well if you want to feel more of that, come on, we'll hear the town sing our praises." Weiss invited before they went further into the town.

* * *

"We're preparing for lift off now, General." Razor reported as he stood up from the captain's chair on the bridge while the other members of the Elite Guard sat at their posts, making sure the ship was ready.

"We read you, the squadron of Atlas Eagles are getting prepped for the trip to Vacuo, once they're in the air you can move out of the area." Ironwood said to through the view-screen. "How are your... people?" The General asked, deciding that 'prisoners' wasn't a good word to use.

"They're wary of your troops, but we have assured them that they will be safe with us, I've promised no harm will come to them on our voyage to Vacuo. My entire team is on board as are Cpatain Leonardo's troops, combined with your forces we have have more than enough to keep them in line should anyone try anything." Razor told him.

"Good. I've scanned over the documents you've sent us, I'll pay a visit to Mr. Schnee once I return to Atlas, as I trust his daughters will want a few words with him. I'll contact you when the Eagles are ready." Ironwood said before smiling. "Miss Belladonna placed you in charge of the White Fang, while I don't know you I think you'll do alright. Good luck, Commander."

"And to you, General." Razor said before he ended the call. He turned to Troy and asked "Are the engines ready?"

"All fueled up and I've done my best to prepare them for the sudden jump, but are you sure this is the right idea?" The elderly Faunus asked.

"The councils will doubtlessly have most of us jailed despite whatever protests Blake, Branwen, Specialist Schnee, and the others will have. And even if they let some of us go they will never allow us to act as a team again. I'm not entirely convinced this is the best course either, but it's better than being separated and imprisoned." Razor said the the crew. They all nodded understandingly, knowing that now matter how stupid this might seem it was their best bet. Razor then took out his scroll and called Kane, who was with Winter.

"Yeah boss?" Kane answered.

"Let me talk to Schnee."

"Got it." Kane said.

Winter's voice then came over the scroll; "Yes Razor, all of the maskless have been secured and everything's in order. We can lift off whenever you're ready."

"Excellent, once the Atlas Eagles are up we can being our trek to Vacuo." Razor said, being sure to sound innocent just in case any Atlas soldiers were near Winter. "Just close off the main entryway and we'll be set."

"Understood, allow me to see to it." Winter responded.

About a minute later, their escape began. Kane and Winter arrived to the main entry way, which was being guarded by two Atlas troopers. Winter acted casually and moved to close the door, but all of a sudden Kane opened his wings and he flapped them hard using them in combination with his Semblance to create a sudden, powerful gust of wind that sent Winter and the two guards flying out of the door and onto the ground.

As Winter recovered, a surprised look upon her face, Kane shut the door and the engines of the Elite Guard's ship roared to life and it began to lift up into the sky at an alarmingly fast rate.

'Just as planned.' Winter thought as the ship went higher and higher, causing alarms to sound off and troops to shout.

"Stop that ship!" She shouted to the troops, many of whom began to open fire on the vessel, but it was too late, as the Elite Guard's ship blasted off in an amazingly fast pace, disappearing from sight within seconds.

Down in the village the escape did not go unnoticed as the loud boom of the ship's engines blasting off caught everyone's attention to see the large ship rocketing away at incredible speeds until it was out of sight, heavy gusts of wind from the ship's sudden blast off drafted through the town, but did no damage.

"Hey, was that the Elite Guard's ship?!" cried Velvet.

"Yeah, it was..." Thayer said, stunned.

Blake smiled to herself and whispered "Good luck Razor. Lead them well, I know you can." She continued to stare at the part of the sky where the ship had blasted off, knowing that the White Fang's rebirth was in good hands.

In the forward operating base the screens were lit up with warning notices and the klaxons blared. Ironwood had been talking to Claudandus and Qrow when the alarms started sounding off. "Turn those things off!" Ironwood commanded before he shouted "Status report! What the hell happened?!"

"It seems the Elite Guard ship just took off at their ship's highest speed sir!" A female technician informed him.

"Blast! Specialist Schnee and twenty of our men were aboard that ship! Try and track it right away!" He ordered sharply.

"Sir, we've just received a message from the one known as Razor, it appears it was sent right before they escaped!" Said a Faunus technician from the rangers.

"Put it onscreen!" Qrow said. Qrow resisted the urge to smirk, as their plan had worked. He had been trying to keep Ironwood busy so he wouldn't notice the ship taking off until it was too late, and he had done his part with ease.

The figure of Razor appeared on screen, a serious look on his face. _"General, this is a recorded message so don't bother talking to me. I sent you this message seconds before we took off, and I am sorry for the deception. Do not worry about your troops, they will be unharmed. We have no plans on harming them or ransoming them, so they're free to go. We will simply knock them out, place them into an escape pod and drop them off near the first village we come across."_

"Generous of him, but why the hell did he run?" Qrow wondered aloud, trying to keep the rouse up.

"Good question." muttered Ironwood in agreement.

_"As for the most obvious question in the room; we mean you no harm and I apologize for what you will probably consider a betrayal, but I simply couldn't let these Faunus be imprisoned after they turned against Adam, that was proof that they knew right from wrong. It's a naive way to look at things, yes, but I believe there is good in them. I simply couldn't let my team be torn apart and thrown in prisons, they trust me with their lives and I can't allow myself to let them down, surely you feel the same way about the people of Atlas?"_

Ironwood's face softened slightly at that, knowing that was true.

_"You serve your Kingdom, as I serve my team, my family. What I intend to do is to start over, create a reborn White Fang, not one that fights just for the Faunus race, but one that fights all forms of racism and tyranny. I now realize that humans can be oppressed just as Faunus can, and I will no longer stand for it. I will lead a White Fang that fights for equality for all races, but we will no longer operate like Adam. What I want to do General, is to redeem myself, to redeem the name of the White Fang. I hope you can understand that."_

Ironwood sighed and absentmindedly nodded. He knew what it was like to seek redemption, after he had been freed from the mind control he had began to undo any harm he might have done while under Salem's influence.

_"And so General, the old White Fang, Adam Taurus' Fang, died with him. Their ways are no more. As of now a new White Fang will rise, one that will fight for all races and against all forms of oppression. We are no longer your enemy, but your ally. If you wish to hunt us down, then we will fight back, but only if forced to, as we do not wish to be your enemy. If any of the maskless with us have murdered in Adam's name then we will turn them in, but I feel that many of them want to do good, they were just misguided. Again, I am sorry for running, but it is not out of cowardice, but more out of a need to redeem the White Fang and so I can keep my team... my family together."_

Claudandus smiled at that, knowing that while he didn't exactly approve of them running, he knew they were doing a rather bold thing. He had a feeling that the White Fang's legacy would be vastly improved with Razor in charge.

Qrow, for his part, tried and failed to look stoic, but he couldn't suppress a grin as Winter entered the room.

_"So you need not fear us, as I will never let the White Fang go down a dark path ever again. There might be a day when we need to fight together, and when that day comes; you can count on the new White Fang for help. This is Razor, new commander of the White Fang, signing off."_

There was a brief silence in the room before Chamberlain asked "What are your orders General? Should we try to pursue?"

Ironwood considered, but sighed and shook his head. "No, but keep alert for our troops' tracking beacon when they land so we can pick them up. Put them on the watch list and tell all bases to keep an eye out for them... but I don't think they'll be a threat."

"Sir, are you sure that's a wise course of action?" Winter inquired.

"Maybe not, it does seem irresponsible, but I think they'll do more good than harm. After all, most people, be they human or Faunus, deserve a chance for redemption." he said.

"Well said Jimmy, well said." Qrow agreed before taking a swig from his flask.

Ironwood sighed and said "I just hope this will not come back to haunt me."

"Sir, with all do respect, I think you're right when you say they will do more good than harm. In times like these we need all the allies we can get, and I am confidant that Razor and this new White Fang will be a great ally in the future." Winter assured him.

"Only time will tell, Specialist Schnee. Let us hope we've made the right choice." Ironwood said with a serious voice.

* * *

Hui looked around at the hundred or so members of the White Fang who had escaped with him, they were all tired, their faces made that obvious, but also upon their faces were looks of defeat.

They had arrived at this... place hours ago. Where it was he couldn't be sure, there were barren looking lands with large rock formations surrounding them and any plant life was large and twisted, looking incredibly old. And then there was the palace; huge, the size of Beacon Academy, and it looked absolutely ancient, with faded stones, large towering spires that added to the foreboding aura of the castle, large windows that offered small peeks into the gargantuan structure but no one dared look inside.

The giant doors had remained closed ever since Emerald and Mercury went inside, telling them to remain outside until they were sent for, and that had been nearly two hours ago.

They had tried to contact other White Fang bases, but there was no signal, no reception for their scrolls, no way of contacting anyone... nothing.

Hui didn't know where they were, but he didn't like their situation at all. The whole thing made him feel more nervous than he had in years, and their current defeat made it even worse.

Before he could consider his next action a large metallic groaning sound could be heard as the doors opened up, revealing a large, tanned, bearded, and muscular human man. "Lieutenant Hui." He called.

"What?" Hui asked.

"My name is Hazel Rainart, I am one of Master Salem's disciples. She wishes to see you and your high ranking officers, follow me." The man, now identified as Hazel, ordered.

Hui hesitated for a second, but he decided they had no other choice, so he beckoned some of the officers and members of the Oblivion Vanguard to come with him.

They followed Hazel into the main entrance hall, a towering, gothic looking room that was illuminated by candles on the walls. It just seemed to give off a strange, threatening, but at the same time strangely inviting atmosphere. It was bizarre, and Hui couldn't put it into words, but that what it made him feel.

Hazel didn't say another word, and when Hui asked "What does this 'Salem' want with us? What is she going to do?"

Hazel glanced at him, and simply said "Patience."

They soon came to a medium sized room with a table in the center, but what was on the table shocked all of the Faunus to their core. Laying upon the table was the broken, bent, and ruined corpse of Adam Taurus.

"My gods..."

"Commander!"

"He's... he's dead..."

Hui, seething mad, grabbed Hazel roughly and demanded "Who did this to him?!"

Hazel responded by grabbing Hui's arms and forcing them off before grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him off the floor with little effort, quite impressive considering Hui's muscular build. "Do not annoy me." Hazel growled before he threw Hui to the ground. Hui looked up to see Hazel glaring down at him, a look in his eyes that made it obvious that he wasn't one to be trifled with.

"Calm yourself, Lieutenant, this was not our doing." Said a powerful, but elegant voice. Hui forced himself up just in time to see the legendary Mistress of Grimm, Salem, emerge from the shadows.

"Wha... what happened to him?" Hui asked carefully, his voice made it clear he was nervous.

"He was sent to his death by Blake Belladonna. She, along with Xiao Long and Wukong, murdered him by throwing him off the ship, thousands of feet in the air. He had already lost an arm to them, but that wasn't good enough." Salem said as an odd looking Grimm, that seemed to be an orb with long, rope like tentacles coming out of the bottom its hovering body, came out from behind Salem.

"This is a rare type of Grimm known as a Seer, it has the power to read the minds of its prey and some of the older ones can even gleam at the memories of the deceased. I used to it to observe Adam's last moments among the living." She explained as the Grimm hovered tamely by her, not even making a move for the nervous group before it.

"So... you saw how he died? Belladonna kill him?" Hui asked.

"Correct. He nearly defeated her, but Xiao Long severed his arm and Wukong knocked him off the side of the platforms where Belladonna was hanging, but he grabbed onto her. He pleaded them not to kill him, but it was there that Belladonna kicked him off, sending him to a cruel and painful death without any remorse." Salem said, bending the truth a little to get them in her hands.

The present members of the old White Fang were shocked with either grief or anger at the death of their leader. Some of them had only joined the White Fang because of Adam, he gave them purpose, the gave them motivation to make this world a better place for Faunus kind, no matter who tried to stop his vision. In their eyes, his murder was Blake Belladonna's ultimate betrayal of her race, but not just her's ever single Faunus in the who sided with her and her foolish beliefs, be they White Fang traitors like Razor or mere civilians.

The loss of Adam was a devastating blow and none of them knew what to do.

Hui fell to his knees, his fingernails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. "What will we do? Without Adam... we're lost! We can't survive this!" He shouted furiously.

"No, you will survive this defeat and you will continue to fight." Salem said to him.

Hui forced himself to look up to her. "What do you mean?"

"Your era of the White Fang is over, but you can begin anew. You will dedicate yourselves to serve my cause as warriors in my army, and in return I will help you avenge the crimes humanity has committed against you. You will be able to avenge Adam and the other Faunus lives claimed by humanity's cruelty, not as the White Fang, but as the Red Fang. Red for the blood of your noble people that is on the hands of humanity. Blood, letting them know you will never forget their crimes against your race." Salem said , her voice firm and authoritative.

Hui was silent for a minute before he said "We have no choice. We will serve you... Mistress Salem."

He bowed down to her, and the others, not wanting to invoke her ire, followed Hui's example.

Salem watched the scene before her and allowed herself a smirk.

Up above on a gated veranda, Emerald and Mercury watched as the Faunus bowed down to Salem. "Well, Cinder probably won't be too pleased with how this turned out." Emerald muttered.

"Well, true we didn't come out on top, but things could be worse." Mercury said to her.

"He is right, Emerald." said a voice from behind, causing the pair to turn around to see Cinder, her face hidden by the shadow of the hood draped over her head, standing behind them. "Things can always be worse..."

She stepped forwards and looked down upon the escapees from the White Fang, now rebranded as the Red Fang. She looked to Emerald and said "Tell me what happened."

* * *

Later that day, sometime after noon, the residents of the town of Hondyama were surprised to see the flagship of the Atlas Military flying by the town, and even more surprised when it came to a halt. Soon enough a small drop-ship ejected from its hangar bay and flew down towards the town.

Gina Wukong was surprised to see said ship land in her street. She opened the door to go outside, and there was an odd, sinking feeling in her gut that told her this had something to do with Sun. Sure enough the ramp lowered to reveal her son, looking bruised and weary, but he still had that cocky aura of confidence about him, but at the same time he looked a bit sad as he walked towards her.

She soon saw why.

She saw that half of his tail was missing, completely severed from his body. Amputated. One of the worst things that could ever happen to a Faunus.

Her eyes were wide and teary, her arms and tail limp, her legs were shaky but she managed to walk forward and capture her eldest child in a powerful, comforting hug. He leaned into her, and despite his pride and his effort to hold it in, he began to cry too.

Blake, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage watched from inside of the ship but quickly disembarked to let Sun know they were there for him.

"Sun?" Called the voice of Haulan. They looked up to the house to see the youngest member of the Wukong family. She walked off the porch but stopped and gasped when she saw what had happened to him. Without another word she dashed over to her big brother and hugged him tightly, crying with him.

Sun's Team and Team RWBY watched the sad scene as Sun's family wept for what happened to him.

About an hour or so later Yang stepped out of the ship while the others waited on the porch. Inside the house Sun was telling his mother and sister everything that had happened on his mission, how he lost his tail, how Blake had beaten Adam more than once, how they stopped the ship from bombing villages, as much as he was allowed to say. While Chamberlain stayed behind to look after the cleanup operations General Ironwood took care of the official dealings with the councils and the public and he had stopped the _Resolute_ to drop off Sun so he could be with his family after losing his tail and before that a bullhead, containing Team CFVY and Thayer had left also so Velvet's uncle could make amends with his family before he was put on trial. All the while Ironwood and Glynda, along with Ozpin via hologram, discussed the situation with the councils.

Neptune was currently on the scroll with his parents, telling them he was alright. Despite everything most of their stuff in from the wrecked R.V. had been left relatively intact and they were now able to change into their own clothes again, and their scrolls had been returned to them before the Elite Guard took off, along with Velvet's weapon so she could fix it.

"Love you too mom, bye." Neptune said before he shut off his scroll and looked to Yang. "So what's up?"

"Just got off the radio, they found those Atlas Troopers, Razor kept his word and all they have are headaches." She said, flexing her robotic hand which had been mended on the way.

"I knew he wouldn't hurt them." Blake commented.

Yang nodded and said "They want to head for Menagerie soon so you and your grandpa can talk about what happened to the public. How much longer do you think we'll have to stay?"

"Don't know, but I think we'll stay here, for Sun." Neptune said as he gestured to Sage and Scarlet.

"Are you sure about that?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty sure, he's our leader, like a brother to us." Sage voiced.

"Right, we gotta stick with him through thick and thin." Scarlet chimed in.

"And I... I want to make sure he'll be alright before we leave." Blake said quietly.

Ruby nodded, "Sounds good to me, we won't leave until you're ready Blake so the General is going to have to wait."

"Ruby... that's not how that works..." Weiss moaned. She had come to love Ruby, but the girl could still get on her nerves at times.

Yang noticed a worried look on Blake's face and knelt down before her. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Blake looked her in the eye, blushing briefly as she remembered the three-way kiss they had shared with Sun, but answered "What if they blame me for what happened to him? What if they think it's my fault?"

Yang placed both of her hands on Blake's shoulders and made her look her in the eye. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault but Adam's, and you took care of him permanently. You should know by now the Sun loves you, and he will make it clear that they can't blame you for what happened to him." She assured her partner.

Blake smiled and said "Thank you, I know you're right... but I can't help but worry." Just then her ears twitched and her head jerked up. "They're coming out."

As if on cue the front door opened the the Wukong family came out of the house to join their guests on the porch.

"So... Sun told you guys what happened?" Ruby opened up after a brief awkward pause.

"Yes... I think he might be sparing us some of the more gory details, but he told us the basics of what happened." Gina said.

"How do you do it?" Haulan asked.

"What do you mean?" inquired Weiss.

"How do you keep fighting after everything that happens to you guys? I mean, I always imagined being a Hunter would be awesome, but after what I just heard it sounds hard and... well scary." The young Faunus confessed.

"It is sometimes, sometimes the Grimm aren't the only monsters we have to face." Blake said to her.

"Like that Adam guy?" Haulan asked.

Blake sighed and said "Yes, like him."

Just then Blake felt another hand on her should and she looked back only to be hugged by Gina, which startled her. She noticed Yang smirking, as if to say 'See? You were worried about nothing.'

Blake plucked up her courage and said "Mrs. Wukong?"

"Sun told me what happened, including what happened to you. I am so sorry dear, no one should ever go through what you kids have had to. He told me you'd be afraid of me hating you for what happened to him. I swear to you that I don't blame any of this on you, he's told us that all you ever wanted was equality and Adam used you for his own ends. He told us about the... the amputations and how he wanted to bomb villages... you did us all a favor by killing him." Gina said.

Blake looked down and said "Did I? Or did I just sink to his level?"

"No." Sun and Yang both said sharply at the same time, making her look up at them.

"You are nowhere near his level and you never will be." Sun told her.

"It's like you said, the real Adam died years ago and was replaced by the monster he became. If you hadn't kicked him off he would have taken you with him, maybe all of us. You're a hero Blake, so please get that through your pretty little thick head." Yang said seriously.

Blake smiled and looked to Sun's family. "So... you're alright with me?" She asked.

"More than alright, I'm happy my boy found someone like you. What happened to him isn't your fault, and you avenged it when you beat Adam and took away his control. I'd love to have you as a daughter-in-law." Gina said cheerfully.

Blake blushed as Haulan said "Yeah, I think you're pretty cool, all of you. I mean fighting bad guys, killing Grimm, sneaking into prisons... it sounds awesome!"

"Just stop and think before you decide it's what you want to do with your life, squirt." Sun said to her jokingly.

Haulan giggled and said to Blake, "But you... you took that creep down. I don't think you're a bad person for that. I mean look at all the things he did, like holding me and mom hostage, hurting all those people, wanting to bomb towns... I mean, he was nuts and needed to go down. Mom's right when she says you did everyone a favor."

"Thanks, your acceptance means a lot to me." Blake voiced.

"After all you've done for not just my son, but for our race, your team, for everything... how couldn't we accept you?" Gina asked before giving Blake another hug.

"So, you guys are staying here, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I need some time to rest, be with mom and Haulan. And... adjust." Sun said as he looked to his halved tail before he wrapped his arm around his little sister. "Don't worry, I promise you we'll be back in a week or two."

"And we're staying with him, hope you guys can hold up without us." Sage stated.

"I think we can handle whatever happens in the next few days." Weiss remarked.

"Yeah, after everything we just went through, a couple of public addresses to explain what happened should be a walk in the park." Yang voiced. "Nice to see you again." She added before she gave Sun a sly look and went back up the ramp of the ship,

"Yeah, take care! Hope you feel better soon Sun!" Ruby wished before she followed her elder.

"Take care, and remember; my offer to pay for a mechanical replacement still stands." Weiss said to him.

"A robo-tail?! Cool!" Haulan declared.

Sun chuckled and said "Thanks Weiss, I'll think on it."

Weiss nodded before smiling at the other members of Team SSSN and saying to Neptune "And you get better too, I imagine you still feel sore?"

"Better than I was last night, buy yeah, still a little sore. I'll be okay, see you later" The bluenette said before Weiss shook his hand and followed Ruby back onto the ship.

Sun got up and walked over to Blake to hug her. "So I guess I'll see you later too, huh?"

"Yeah... Sun, thank you, for everything." Blake said before she captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Gina and the other members of Team SSSN smiled at the sight while Haulan made a face. As the two parted for air Sun said "If you need to talk just call me, okay?"

"I will, and the same goes for you. I love you." Blake said to him.

"Right back at ya." Sun said with a smirk.

Blake walked up the ramp, her teammates saying their goodbyes to the Wukong family and Team SSSN. The ramp closed up as Blake gave her boyfriend one last smile. As the ship began to rise up Blake and Yang traded looks, knowing that sooner or later they'd have to talk about what had happened on the ship, but not in front of the younger members of the team.

For now, they were content to rest up some more as the _Resolute_ continued its journey to Menagerie.

* * *

Blake shifted nervously in her seat between Claudandus and the rest of Team RWBY as General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch stood in front of them on the stage, before a large crowd of reporters, news anchors, and citizens of Menagerie, all listening to Ironwood's report on the fall of the White Fang. Her old home of Menagerie was just a beautiful as she remembered it; lush trees, small but comfy homes, and a sense of peace, despite the occasional dust up with White Fang protesters, most of who had fled the town or had been jailed.

"...And while there are some stragglers and escapees out there, including several high ranking officers, we have defeated them for the most part. The ones who got away are now running and hiding. Over two thousand arrests have been made today, many of the voluntary from White Fang members who discovered the truth about Adam Taurus' crimes. Now I know that despite the progress there is still some tension between humans and Faunus, but I assure all of you, that the legal systems of all of the Kingdoms will work hard to make sure that every one of the arrested Faunus are given fair trials, and those who sided with Miss Blake Belladonna after learning the truth about Taurus will be given lighter sentences for their actions. We cannot simply let them go, but their punishments will be much less severe than those who knew of Taurus' horrific crimes and willingly allowed them." Ironwood said into the microphone on the podium.

"Excuse me, General!" Called a reporter, "I was wondering if you could tell us exactly what happened to Taurus? We know he's dead but how?"

"Taurus tried to escape on an specially built airship for himself, loaded with missiles to attack villages or areas with mostly human populations to create a schism in race relations. However, thanks to the efforts of Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and Sun Wukong, he wasn't able to fire any of his weapons. He nearly killed them, but in the end Taurus fell off of the ship and tried to take Miss Belladonna with him, and so she was forced to kick him off, sending him to his death." Ironwood said.

Camera lights flashed as they took pictures of Blake and the others, more questions were called out: "Could he have survived?" "What happened to those missiles?" "Where's his body?"

"Silence." Ironwood said powerfully, making everyone quiet down. "As for some of those questions I heard; No, he couldn't have survived a fall from that height, the missiles were destroyed with the ship when it crashed into the mountain, and while Ranger scouts found where his body landed, the body was taken. Most likely by his followers. Rest assured, that the White Fang have been defeated, and they are no more. I now wish to let Claudandus Pirincci, the original founder of the White Fang, who was rescued from captivity just the other day, a chance to speak."

Ironwood took a seat as the elderly Cat Faunus came up, supported by a cane. Glynda stood still, her stern glance was making sure the ones in the audience didn't do anything to rash.

"So, why were you imprisoned? Did you oppose the direction the White Fang took?" Asked a female reporter from Mistral.

"Yes, I left years ago when it was clear my goals for equality were being thrown out the window for a more violent direction." He answered. "I was imprisoned about five months ago when I helped my granddaughter, Blake. It turns out Adam Taurus had been spying on me, waiting for a reason to have me arrested for... betrayal."

"What do you think of the White Fang troops that escaped? Should we be worried?" Asked a Faunus reporter from the local news.

"Well... I don't think so for the time being. They're beaten and tired, maybe even scared and ashamed. Some of them are still threats, but others might be... helpful." He said cryptically.

"What do you mean by that?" Questioned another reporter.

"A group of White Fang members, known as the Elite Guard, turned on Adam when they discovered what he had been doing. They worked with my granddaughter and her friends to defeat Adam, and we owe much of our victory to them. They escaped with another group of soldiers and a great many of the Faunus who turned of Adam after Blake defeated him in combat." Claudandus explained.

"Is this true?" Asked yet another reporter.

"Yes it is true." Ironwood said, getting back up. "They said they want to redeem the White Fang for what did, for make up for past sins. While they will be wanted for various crimes and resisting arrest, I do not think we should consider them a threat. I have talked it over with the councils, and while they're still wary, they agree that the Elite Guard are not an intimidate threat. As for the ones than can be considered threats, rest assured that they will be dealt with. Not all of them are accounted for, but the reveal of Taurus' crimes has caused the White Fang to turn on itself, a schism between those who still believe in Taurus' cruelty and those who oppose it. The infighting has gotten these bases noticed and they are being captured by the law enforcement of each Kingdom. They are either surrendering or being forced to give up. As the rate of their defeats, the White Fang of Adam Taurus will be gone for good. Back to you, sir."

"Thank you General." Claudandus said before addressing the crowd again. "As for the Faunus who have been arrested, I can tell you that things have changed a lot in the years, so I am confidant that the ones who have been arrested will be given fair sentences and the ones who turned against Adam will be given shorter jail time. Now, I would ask for my granddaughter, Blake, to come up if she has anything to say."

Blake was uncomfortable for a second, but she took a breath and rose up to make her way to the podium. "Yes, I do have something to say. I was once young and foolish, I thought that the world could be judged and divided easily; humans hated Faunus so we had to fight back. That's how I used to think, and Adam Taurus was the reason for that. When I was very young I lost my parents in a riot, they were killed by human officers and when I met Adam I listened to his story of how he and his family had been enslaved and forced to work in a mine and how he was the only survivor. As the years went by Adam's hatred for humanity became more violent and eventually I couldn't ignore it, I thought he loved me, but eventually I saw the truth, he only wanted to use me as another soldier in his private war against humanity, so I left him and the White Fang. In doing so I made him angry, angry enough to align himself with Cinder Fall, so he aided her attack on Beacon just to get at me and the people I cared about, cutting my partner's arm off and eventually he imprisoned my grandfather for months and severed the tail of the boy I love, Sun Wukong."

This caused some gasps in the crowd.

"Yes, the leader of a 'Faunus Freedom Group' severed a tail from a Monkey Faunus, but Sun wasn't alone, as many other Faunus suffered the same fate as they opposed him or tried to get away. He even allowed Cinder Fall's allies to murder those who opposed him as well. I was forced to kill Adam Taurus to save myself and my friends. Do I regret it? I honestly cannot say, while a part of me is glad that he's finally gone another part of me hates the feeling of killing another, even if they did deserve it. I want to tell everyone I can that; Adam was a victim too, a victim of humanity's cruelty, but in the end he became a monster, just as cruel as the ones who ruined his life, so he might not deserve your sympathy, but do not forget him. He is what anyone will become if they let racism and lust for vengeance consume them. We must put an end to hatred between our races, as people like Adam Taurus don't need to be any specific race to spread hate. A kind of hate that isn't just annoyance or anger, but pure, vile loathing, and that is not good for anyone. My only hope is that one day humans and Faunus can live together in peace, and that the grudges of the past and racist people like Adam are forgotten and only remembered as examples of what you should never be. I hope everyone that hears this will take from this and learn. Thank you all." Blake finished before letting Glynda take the podium.

Blake sat down with her team, all of whom looked proud of her.

* * *

Later that night Blake and Claudandus walked together towards Menagerie' cemetery along with two other Cat Faunus, her father's brother Ghira, the mayor of the town, and his wife Kali, who not only looked like her mother but had apparently been her childhood friend. Ghira had become a member of the White Fang along with Kurt, but unlike Kurt he didn't seek quicker solutions. He had left the Fang to enter politics but supported them until Adam's takeover. They had agreed to keep the fact that Claudandus was Blake's grandfather a secret from her out of respect for him, and they even had custody of her for a few years until she demanded to become a member of the White Fang full time, so they had been very close to Blake until she ran off with Adam.

"I have to say it was quite the surprise to see you after all these years Blake, you've grown up into a fine woman." Ghira praised.

"He's absolutely right dear, your parents would be so proud of you." Kali said to Blake with a kind voice.

"Thank you Aunt Kali, people keep telling me that, so I hope it's true." Blake said as they walked towards her parents' graves.

"On our lives it is, the things you've done would have amazed them." Ghira told her.

Blake looked at Kali and said "It's weird, you actually kind of look like my mother.

"Oh yes!" Laughed Claudandus, "When they were young people were surprised to find out they weren't sisters."

"In all seriousness Blake, you shouldn't worry so much. You've made all of us proud, so trust us when we say Esther and Kurt would have been too." Ghira swore.

Blake nodded and said "Thank you, Uncle."

They soon arrived at the shared headstones with the names of Blake's parents carved into them. Blake took out the bouquet of flowers she had purchased and placed them before the graves.

"Look at your little girl, guys. All grown up. She's beautiful and a hero..." Kali said with teary eyes as Ghira hugged her.

Claudandus looked down at the grave of his daughter and said "I hope you can forgive me, I hope I did what was right."

Blake said nothing, she just looked at the graves of her parents, but then she suddenly had a strange, comforting feeling, one that told her that she was loved.

Somehow, she didn't wonder if her parents would have been proud of her, she knew they were.

After saying goodbye to her Aunt and Uncle they walked back to the pickup point to be greeted by Ruby, Yang and Penny, and discovered that Weiss and Winter had taken a ship to get them back to Atlas, as they had some... personal business to attend to.

Blake wanted to ask about it, but she was far too tired, as she hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, so on the way up to the _Resolute_ she fell asleep, leaning against Yang, who carried her bridal style to their room they were sharing with Team JNPR.

For Blake, it was the end of a very long and emotionally draining ordeal, and her rest was oh so deserved.

* * *

The door to the Scarlatina family's average sized home opened up to reveal the daughter of the family, Velvet, smiling as her parents approached her. Her mom, Margery, caught her in a hug and held her close and tight.

"Oh Velvet! Let me kiss you!" She said as she began to place kisses upon her daughter's head.

"Mom!" Velvet cried, a bit embarrassed as Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi stepped in scene, the last of whom having to duck down through the doorway. Coco snickered at the sight while Fox and Yatsuhashi just smiled. Margery noticed them and said "Oh hello dears! So nice to see you all again, and safe and sound too!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Scarlatina." Yatsuhashi said, giving a slight bow while Fox nodded.

"Good to be here Mrs. S." Coco remarked.

John, Velvet's father, took her aside and hugged her, petting her head a bit. "My gods, I never imagined my little girl would have to live through something like that."

On the way there Velvet had told them what had happened via scroll, telling them the events of the night and how she had miraculously ran into her uncle, who had become part of the White Fang Elite Guard. John had wanted to talk to Thayer, but the latter declined so they could speak face to face.

"Well, I made it out okay, didn't I?" Velvet replied with a smile.

John smiled, "I guess you did. You make us both so proud." He said before he kissed her forehead.

"John?" Said the voice of Thayer, announcing his presence.

John and Margery both looked to the front door at the man they had not seen in four years. Thayer slowly walked into his brother's home, slowly and nervously, his gaze never leaving his brother.

John looked at his older brother for the first time in years and let Velvet out of his grip before beginning to slowly walk towards his brother.

"Thayer..."

"Hi John. Long time no see, eh?" Thayer opened, awkwardly.

Margery, deciding her husband and brother-in-law needed some space, quickly gestured to the teens to follow her in the kitchen. Coco nodded and snapped her fingers to get the message across to her male teammates, Velvet however stayed behind.

"Velvet..." Her mother said quietly.

"Mom, I need to be here for this." Velvet said firmly. Her mother wanted to protest, but she simply sighed and nodded before giving a loving look to her husband and going into the kitchen.

Velvet looked to her father and uncle, neither saying anything to break the dreadful silence, so she took it upon herself to do the deed.

"Don't either of you have anything to say? You're brothers who haven't seen each other in four years, you have to say something." She voiced softly.

The two adults looked at her, and knew she was right.

"John... I'm going to admit it; you were right and I was wrong." Thayer said bluntly. "I was going too far, putting us all at risk because I was so tired of the inequality and I was so enchanted by the idea of fighting back that I... I just... I don't why I..." He struggled to find the right words to say before sighing in defeat and admitting "I understand if you never want to see me again."

"Thayer... shut the hell up." John said before he stepped forward and hugged his brother. Thayer was stunned for a moment, but slowly returned the embrace, leaning into his brother. Tears began to fall from their eyes as John continued talking; "Velvet told me about what happened, she told me how you risked your life to save her and her friends, how you even tried to shoot the leader of the White Fang. You were risking your life for her, I can't thank you enough!"

Thayer's tears kept falling as he hugged his brother tighter still. "Well I... I couldn't just... I couldn't let her get hurt without fighting. While joining them may have been selfish, I joined them so my family could have a better future, I couldn't let anyone hurt her." He said.

The two parted, John saying "I'm sorry for what I said all those years ago, I was just angry and I wasn't... I just wasn't thinking about what I was saying."

"No," protested Thayer, "you were right. I was putting us all in danger by aiding them. I wasn't thinking either.

"Actually, I don't think either of you really did the right thing, but what's done is done and right now the only thing we can do is try to make amends for it." Velvet said to them with a calm voice.

John nodded and said "Well I still have to apologize for what I said..."

"No, you were right for saying what you said. I went too far saying Velvet's safety didn't matter to you, because kicking me out probably was the best for this family in the end." Thayer said quickly.

"Kicking someone out of the family is never the best move, and I regretted it more and more as the years went by." John confessed. "I missed you Thayer."

"I missed you too little brother." Thayer said with a sad smile.

They spent the hours telling each other what had happened during their separation, with Thayer speaking of his experiences with the Elite Guard, John telling him about the grocery business and how he had been given several promotions, and Team CFVY spoke of their various adventures such as the Battle of Haven.

But all things must end, and later that night, the a quartet of police officers came to escort Thayer to the jail cells where he would await trial. While none of the Scarlatina family, nor Team CFVY, were comfortable with letting them take him, he did not resist nor try to escape.

"Are you sure there isn't something we can't do?" Margery asked Thayer as she hugged him.

"Character Witness, show up for the trial, I dunno really. We'll just have to wait and see." He said before looking to Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. He smiled and nodded to them, "I gotta admit, I was skeptical when I heard Velvet wanted to be a Huntress. A part of me was always afraid she'd get saddled with a team of racists... I'm glad I was wrong. You lot did fantastic out there, thank you for being there for her."

"She is a wonderful friend and a great Huntress." Yatsuhashi said.

"We wouldn't be as good a team without her." voiced Fox.

"You got that right, and we're proud of her." Coco said as she patted Velvet's shoulder affectionately.

Thayer looked to his brother and said "I'm happy for you, John. I could have had a life like yours but I went off to be a 'freedom fighter' and while I don't regret the good I did under Razor, I wish I could have been here more."

"Do you regret not going with the Elite Guard when they escaped?" John inquired.

"A little, but I think it was worth it, just to be with my family again." Thayer confessed before hugging his brother one more time. "See you later."

He then looked to Velvet, who he had held when she was a newborn, played with when she was a child, and now could only look on at the beautiful, strong girl she had become.

"I'm so proud of you Velvet. Never give up, never stop making us all proud." He said as he hugged her and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Velvet leaned into the hug and whispered "I love you too, Uncle Bigwig. Goodbye... for now."

Thayer allowed himself to be cuffed and read his rights by the officers. He gave his family one last look before he was led out of the door... only for a winged figure to drop down upon the police officers, bringing his full weight down on the leader to knock him out, starling them all. Velvet and the rest of Team CFVY ran out, ready to fight, only to be surprised at the sight of Kane fighting the three remaining officers while a confused Thayer lay on the ground.

"What the hell? Should we do something?" Fox asked Coco.

"Nope." She answered simply as she saw Selena come out of the woods. The Raccoon Faunus blasted down the three remaining cops with a rifle set on stun, knocking them all out.

"Hey Thayer, thought we'd leave you behind?" Kane asked as he helped the Rabbit Faunus up.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Demanded John.

"This is Kane and Selena, two members of the Elite Guard who were friends of mine. Guys what are you doing here?" Thayer asked, baffled.

"Rescuing you, Razor remembered where you lived and said we couldn't just let you go. He wants to offer you another chance to join us." Kane said.

"Join you?" Velvet repeated.

"Yeah, the new White Fang! A new, better, and way less crazy and evil version. What we're meant to be." Selena explained.

"Just like Razor said, huh?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, this time the White Fang are going to be the good guys for real. So what do you say man? You in or out? It's your choice." Kane said to him.

Thayer thought about it for a minute and looked to his family once again.

Velvet smiled and said "I'd rather you be out there doing good than rot in prison."

John stepped forward and added "She's right Thayer, if they're serious about starting over..."

"We are." Selena swore.

"We're going to do everything we can to redeem ourselves." Kane assured him.

John nodded and continued "Then maybe you going with them isn't such a bad thing. If you want to go out there and redeem yourself for anything you did wrong, then we won't stop you. Now you better get moving before I come to my senses."

The two brothers laughed together, as Thayer began to cry bittersweet tears of joy. "So... what are you gonna tell the cops?"

"We'll just tell 'em that the attackers were too fast and only knocked them out and took you, then vanished." Fox said.

"Sounds good enough to me." Coco said with a shrug.

Velvet hugged him one last time and said "Make us proud."

"I'll do my best." Thayer promised before he followed Kane and Selena into the woods, but he stopped and turned around to give them one last wave, which they all returned.

"Goodbye." He said before he turned around, and with a heavy heart, followed Kane and Selena to their ship.

* * *

Weiss and Winter led a squadron of Atlesian Troopers up the large, elegant stone steps that led to the front door of the Schnee family mansion. It was already morning in the Kingdom of Atlas and the two sisters had gotten some rest on the Bullhead ride over to their family home, as they needed to be prepared for anything. Their father had private guards employed and over the years he had become a competent fighter as well, one they could take together but if the need arose they'd be ready. Qrow had offered to come but Winter refused, saying this was something they needed to do alone.

The large doors opened up to reveal a middle aged man with balding, brown hair and a mustache, their butler who was named Klein Sieben. "Ah! Miss Winter! Miss Schnee! So good to have you home at last! We've heard about the terrible mess with the White Fang, are you both alright?" He asked, his voice genuinely concerned.

The pair allowed themselves a smile, as the man had always been kind to them and supportive in their endeavors outside of the family business, but never openly lest he invoke Willow's ire.

"It's good to see you again Klein." Winter said as she offered her hand out for him to kiss.

Weiss did the same and said "We're both fine, just tired and in need of some rest, but we have something to do first."

"Yes, I'm aware that your relationship with Master Schnee hasn't been quite... positive in the last several months, Miss Winter... may I inquire as to why those soldiers are here?" He asked.

"We've discovered our father was involved with some rather... malicious individuals." Weiss said, "We have proof of it and General Ironwood allowed us to see into it personally before legal action is taken."

Klein's eyes widened and he said "Oh... I see. Your father is in his office. I will not tell him you've arrived."

"Thank you." Winter said to him before she looked to the soldiers and said "Wait in the foyer, if we need help we will call."

"Understood Specialist Schnee." Said a sergeant that led the troops.

As they walked towards the grand staircase Klein called "Winter, Weiss!" Sounding incredibly odd to be speaking without using the proper honorifics. "I'm happy to see you're both alright, good luck up there."

The two sisters smiled down at him and Weiss said "Thank you." The do continued their ascent up the steps and once they made it to the third floor they began walking towards their father's office.

Willow Schnee was currently busy going over various documents about the acquisition of a shipment of new materials for the company when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." He said, expecting to see Klein.

"Hello father." Said the cold voice of Winter. Willow's head jerked up to see both of his daughters with stoic, yet judgmental looks written upon their faces.

"Winter! Weiss! I... I wasn't expecting you." He said as he placed his papers away and rose from his chair. "I've heard about the defeat of the White Fang, heard you were both involved in it. What brings you here after such an ordeal?"

The sisters glanced at each other before Winter stepped forward. "Willow Jacques Schnee; in the name of the Four Kingdoms, you're under arrest." She said before she drew out her sword. "Do not resist."

"What is wrong with you?!" Willow demanded, a shocked expression written on his face. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Some information has come to our attention, documents that say you bought a rather large amount of slaves from a highly illegal organization." Winter told him.

Willow looked even more surprised at that, but asked "And where did you find these documents?"

"From the White Fang's Elite Guard, who became our allies and helped us overthrow their cruel leader. Some time ago they liberated many Faunus, and even some human, slaves from an underground slave trade and when they downloaded the leader's data-banks they discovered that one person had purchased all of them, and your name was on the buyer's documents." Weiss revealed as she subtly gripped Myrtenaster's hilt.

"You said you got these documents from the White Fang, a known terrorist organization that you just helped defeat? Are you two that naive to believe you can trust them?" Willow asked incredulously as he moved to push a button on his desk that would summon security, only for Winter to stab her blade into the desk, warning him away from it.

"They helped us, they discovered the truth about what their leader was doing and helped us defeat him, they spared our lives. You should be grateful." Winter hissed.

"General Ironwood wondered the same thing, so he had his data analysts look into the documents, and they verified that they were not forged or fake. Your signature is on those papers via touch-screen pen and the meeting place for the trade off was even at one of the companies' sites." Weiss said to him.

"And we know our family has a history with Faunus slavery, even after it was made illegal across all the Kingdoms." Winter pointed out.

"Don't deny it father, Adam Taurus was enslaved in our mines on the mountain Ausz just over a decade ago." Weiss added.

"Ausz?! Who was enslaved there?!" Willow asked in bewilderment, his shocked reaction appearing genuine.

"The leader of the White Fang, former leader now that he's dead. His entire family was killed by that place, his face was branded with our family's emblem, and when he escaped he was so overwhelmed by anger and sorrow and hate that he became the monster who waged war with our company, the same one who had board members execute was created by our family's company." Weiss said to him.

Willow was quiet for a moment before he muttered "My gods..."

"You didn't know about Ausz, did you?" asked Weiss gently.

"No. I thought that place was abandoned decades ago."

"Adam said the overseers and guards began to execute the workers when our grandfather retired." Winter stated, "You didn't like the 'unofficial' operations, ones that had connections to criminal activities."

"No. I had all of them shut down or halted when I took over. He never told me about any slave mines..." Willow said. "It's more than likely one of the old board members had the mine shut down and all documents pertaining to it destroyed before I could find out."

"So do you deny your connections with the slave trade? With the late Madame Fatalea?" Winter inquired.

"Fatalea? Oh Oum... this isn't what it looks like." He denied.

"Then explain!" Winter demanded, her voice unusually harsh.

"... Very well. After what happened five months ago, when you were released from prison, Winter, I apologized but you refused to accept it. You made it quite clear that a simply apology couldn't fix the damage I had done, heal the wounds my harsh words had inflicted. You made it clear that my disregard for my daughters and other races of life... like the Faunus, was unacceptable in your eyes. You saw me as a horrible person who wanted to control his daughters and step over everyone I thought was beneath me. You made it very clear that you wanted nothing more to do with me for the man I was... and so I wanted to change."

Both sisters were taken aback by that answer.

"You? Wanted to change?" Winter asked in disbelief. Her father was rarely ever one to second guess himself, especially about major things like an outlook on life.

"Yes. Being in the business I've always heard rumors about underground slave trades, so I contacted the United Anti-Slavery Organization to plan a way to capture one of the most notorious slavers in Remnant; Madame Fatalea. Using some... undesirable connections I managed to contact her and negotiated the purchase of every slave she had, human and Faunus. When she and her thugs came to the meeting place they'd be surrounded by the UASO's private task force, as well as my own private guards, and would be arrested and the slaves set free. That was the plan until two weeks ago, when their base was obliterated by parties unknown, who I assume were these 'Elite Guard' Faunus." He said, Weiss nodding in confirmation.

"Do you have proof of it?" Winter asked, her voice calmer now, thoughtful.

"Allow me to call Inspector Kim, she will confirm it." He said.

Winter knew of Inspector Kim, a woman in her forties who was dedicated to fighting any form of human or Faunus trafficking and was one of the United Anti-Slavery Organization's best agents. She had even worked with her several times in the past. "Very well, contact her."

He did so, and soon a holographic screen emitted from the table, showing the visage of a pale skinned woman with dark hair. "Mr. Schnee, I just now made it to work, what is it?" She asked.

Winter told her of the situation and Kim confirmed that her father's story was indeed the truth, that they had collaborated in an effort to ensnare the now dead slaver, and that the slaves would be set free once the slavers were captured.

"Is that all? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"... Some things need to be dealt with, but I expect you'll be getting some new documents and leads on various slave trades and slave buyers soon. Good day inspector." Winter said before the screen deactivated.

The sisters looked at each other before they looked back to their father who had taken his seat again. "You did that, just to make amends for Winter?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, but that wasn't the only reason. I knew she was right about me, I had let my pride and my own arrogance blind me to what I was doing to my daughters and to... other people by considering them lesser just because of genetic and physical differences. I shouldn't hate the entire race because of what a few did to our business or how the Rabid Ones took your mother from us..." He took a moment to collect himself and Weiss wiped away some tears as she thought about her late mother. Willow looked back to the his elder daughter and continued. "Winter, I know you have every right to hate me for what I said and did all those months ago, for leaving you to rot because you did what you thought was right, for ignoring your warnings... I just hope that someday you will be able to forgive me." He finished, with a tired voice that sounded older than he really was.

Weiss was stunned, shocked that her father could ever do something like this just to make amends with Winter, shocked that he could swallow his pride and try to change for the better. She looked to Winter and asked "Winter? What now?"

The elder Schnee child sighed and said "We'll tell General Ironwood about father's dealing with the UASO and that things weren't what they seemed."

"No, what about us? What about our family? What happens next?" The heiress inquired, her voice unsure and emotional, making her happy Ruby wasn't here to see her like this.

Winter sighed and sheathed her sword. "I'm sorry for disturbing you like this father. I... I honestly don't know where to go from here. What you did for those slaves was noble, as is your desire to improve... a part of me wants to forgive you, but half of me is still resentful for you leaving me in that cell without any words of comfort. I don't think I can forgive you yet... but I think someday I will." She said.

"I am sorry Winter, I hope one day we can be family again." He said to her.

"I do too. Good night, father." Winter said before leaving the room.

Weiss remained, trying to think of something to say. She walked over to her father and said "I'm sorry for thinking you were guilty, I didn't want to believe it but... everything I had learned..."

"It's all right Weiss, I understand. While I am proud of our family's company, I am not proud of some of the things in its history. I am sorry for everything." He said to her.

And for the first time in a long time, the two hugged as father and daughter.

A few minutes later Weiss found her sister sitting on side of the fountain in the family garden, staring at the fish that swam through the water. Winter sighed as she looked out at the rising sun.

"Winter?" Weiss called, making the elder Schnee child look to her. "Do you think you'll ever forgive father?"

"I don't know. But I hope I will be able to someday." Winter answered quietly before she looked down at the fish and allowed herself a smile as bittersweet tears fell from her eyes. "I remember when we were young, before mom died. We used to play in the garden and you... you loved to watch the fishes with us... I miss her Weiss."

Weiss hugged her sister from the side, and Winter instantly returned the gesture. "I miss her too Winter, but I want you to know that you'll always have me." Weiss promised.

"And you will always have me, little sister." Winter said as she hugged Weiss tighter.

Winter didn't know when she could forgive her father, but she knew the day would come eventually. For now, she just hugged her sister and enjoyed the feeling of being home.

* * *

Razor stood on the bridge of the ship, looking out to the formerly abandoned town in upper Mistral, he had stumbled upon it some years ago, and read that a terrible Grimm attack took place there that forced the residents out. Eventually the Grimm left with no prey, which left it ripe for the picking. Nearly all of the maskless Faunus had agreed to be a part of the reborn White Fang, and were currently using some old construction vehicles and parts of old cars were to work on the ship and to build upon it, expand it, make it a mobile base with enough room for everyone. Those who had declined would be taken home in time, but for now, everyone was helping out on creating the base for the new White Fang.

Piper stood beside him and smiled as a ship landed just outside of town, the ramp descending to reveal three familiar figures. About ten minutes later Kane, Selena, and Thayer arrived on the bridge to see Jinty, Babara, Russell, Misha, Morgan, and Kong had all joined Razor and Piper in looking over the sight.

"Good to have you back Thayer, I'm glad you agreed to return." Razor greeted.

"Well, I'd get bored without you lot." Thayer joked.

"So what is this place boss?" Kane asked.

"Our new base, a new start for us all. We'll lay low for a couple of months, and once we're safe we'll begin doing some good work. As for now; we're movin' in." Razor answered with a smile on his face.

The old White Fang was no more, but the new White Fang, a better one that would stand against all forms of tyranny, was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader for co-writing this chapter and creating the Remnant Knights.
> 
> I hope this chapter is okay, I was suffering from some weird writer's block and I'm not sure if it's a good chapter or not, but I'll let you decide. This isn't the end of the Schnee family drama, but for this 'season' the White Fang's arc is done. I hope you all enjoyed it.
> 
> I have now been writing this story for over a year, and I honestly never thought I'd come this far. I originally envisioned this fic as a one-shot about Cinder's brother in the events of V3 out to stop Cinder, he befriends Ruby as the events play out and he dies to save Pyrrha, which activates Ruby's eyes, but it evolved into so, so much more than that. I also never planned for it to go beyond the first arc, all of the White Fang stuff was simply going to be a two part chapter about Blake, Yang, and SSSN fighting the Fang alone but I scrapped it since it made more sense for them to go help Ruby and so I could get to the big battle of Haven part, and that eventually led to the White Fang arc and plans for more arcs.
> 
> I want to thank each and every person who has contributed to this story's success, thank you so much to all of those who have faved and followed and those who have left a kudos and bookmarked it, thanks to all the reviewers and thanks to all the readers. Special thanks to all the friends I have made in the year since this fic began like RelentlessCrusader and smstanton, both of whom have helped co-write this fic at one point or another. They have both helped out so much and shaped this story into what it is now. As odd as it sounds, I guess Pyrrha's death in the show, a move so awful, contrived, insulting, and stupid that I became determined to write a fic to fix it, actually did one good thing; it gave birth to not only this fic but so many others that have been great.
> 
> A lot has happened to me in the past year: I became an uncle, I nearly lost my grandmother (the most important person in my life), my old computer died and I had to get a new one, I've made a lot of friends, I nearly killed myself due to the awful hostility of some toxic RWBY fans, but I think I've been able to come out of all of it as a better, wiser person with more friends, thanks to all of you.
> 
> Please help me continue this story and give me some feedback. Please fave and follow this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	49. Love in the Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains smut... and fluff.

Blake opened her eyes, while her vision was blurry she could tell that they were still in the _Resolute_. She felt much better after a good night's, or day's as she didn't know how long she had been out, sleep. Feeling lazy, and like she deserved some more rest after the madness she had just endured, she snuggled deeper into the covers and the pillows of the room she and her team had been given. She nuzzled her head into a pillow and mentally noticed that the pillow felt weird but incredibly comfy and soft. It felt so good against her head that she decided she'd take it with her, as this was an unusually good pillow.

As she snuggled her head deeper into the pillow she heard a familiar voice say "So, you like this bed and these 'pillows'?"

Blake's eyes snapped fully open as she realized that she wasn't lying her head on a pillow, but on Yang's breasts.

She bolted up, with a shocked and apologetic look on her face as her partner sat up as well.

"Yang I am so sorry! I didn't realize..."

"Hey, relax." Yang said before gently, lovingly, caressing her face. "After that kiss it's only fair that you get to enjoy my assets."

Blake blushed a bit before she before stretching out her body as far as she could and opening her mouth wide enough to give a big, powerful yawn.

"Hey, a sleepy cat." Yang joked with a smile as Blake groaned while rolling her eyes.

"Yang, seriously... what about that kiss we shared with Sun? Did you... did you really mean that?" Blake asked.

Yang was quiet for a moment, a serious and thoughtful look upon her face before she answered "Yes. I started to have... feelings for you during the school year, around the time you became so obsessed with the White Fang. When we shared that dance it was... like magic to me. When I saw you in danger during the fall I was so afraid I'd lose you and never get to tell you how I really felt. When I lost my arm and you ran I became so depressed and bitter I began to repress my feelings but when we got back together they started to... well come back, but I didn't want to do anything because I didn't want to hurt you and Sun, even though I started to feel something for him too."

Blake nodded, touched by what Yang was telling her. "I... I know how you feel. I love Sun, but there's been a... a part of me that feels attracted to you."

"R-really?" Yang asked hopefully.

Blake nodded, "For a long time now, ever since you told me about how you wanted to find your mom so badly... I knew that you and I were more alike than I thought. I still had those feelings for you when I ran, I ran so I wouldn't hurt you anymore, because I thought you hated me... and then you came to rescue me..." She said as she looked into the blonde's beautiful lilac eyes.

"So... you find me... sexy?" Yang asked, using the word she thought suited her best.

"I... yes. Anyone would. When all three of us kissed on the ship it was... wonderful." Blake confessed as Yang scooted closer to her. "Do you think... do you think it could work? The three of us?"

"Well I do find Sun pretty hot with those pecs and abs... but you, your eyes, hair, your face..." Yang said as she caressed Blake's cheek lovingly. "You're beautiful."

Blake, blushing, asked "So, what do we do?"

"We can talk to Sun about it when he gets back, but personally I don't think he can turn down the offer to join two gorgeous girls like us. For now... come here." Yang said before she placed her robotic hand behind Blake's head and closed the distance between them, their lips uniting in a kiss that had been waiting so long to happen.

Blake's face was blushing blood red as she kept kissing Yang back, grabbing onto her partner's strong body while Yang grabbed her and began rubbing her affectionately. It felt... it felt amazing to finally get it out, feeling Yang's face and lips against hers was utterly fantastic, and the gentle caresses Yang was giving her body felt wonderful after the trying ordeal they had shared.

Blake, feeling nervous but daring, had her tongue gently prod Yang's lips, asking for entrance which the blonde quickly granted. Their tongues intertwined as the make out session between the two became more heated, Yang reached behind Blake and brought both of her hands down to the Cat Faunus' rear and brought her closer, making Blake let out a small yelp of surprise before Yang intensified their kiss, but Blake wasn't one to be undone, as she used one hand to reach around Yang's head and bring her closer while she gently placed the other atop her one of partner's large, lovely breasts.

Yang mentally grinned and drew back from the kiss to say "Oh, getting frisky, eh kitty?"

"Am I... am I going to far?" Blake asked, unsure of what she was really doing.

"Not far enough." Yang joked before she captured Blake in another passionate kiss, bringing her body close so their attractive bodies pressed together as the heated series of kisses continued.

Before long they parted for air, they looked deep into each other's eyes, with loving and yearning gazes.

"I... that was... good." Blake panted as she breathed in and out.

"Sure was." Yang said with a smirk before she pecked Blake on the cheek. "Let's go meet up with Ruby and JNPR and get some chow, I'm starving."

"Let's... let's just rest for a minute, don't want to see us blushing like this." Blake pointed out.

Yang nodded and said "Good idea, so you want to just wait here for a minute?"

The blushing Blake nodded before she turned around to get up and stretch some more, still stiff from her long sleep. Suddenly Yang wrapped her arms around Blake's waist and pulled her down on her lap before kissing her on the cheek.

"I love you Blake." Yang voiced, finally saying something she had wanted to say for a long time.

Blake smiled and as she leaned into Yang she said "I love you too."

* * *

In the week following the success of Operation Fracture, the heavy push by the Remnant Knights against the White Fang order, crippling their numbers severely, Sharp Strike had made his way to the place the knights called home, a large hidden fortress that served as their headquarters known as Tintagel.

Currently the knight was giving his report on the events of what happened to someone he knew very very well, as he had practically been family to the warrior over the years.

"...and after completing all available mission objectives for my part in Operation: Fracture, I parted company with Ruby Rose and the rest of Team Beacon, returning back to the Order as soon as I am able, while following standard eclipse protocol to ensure that I wasn't followed or tracked by anyone. That concludes my report."

The sort yet firm voice of Sharp Strike echoed around the massive chamber like the deepest thunder, and silence accompanied the echoes of his voice which reverberated into the depths of the corridors leading to the other adjacent halls. The cathedral-like hall he was presently in had a barrel-vaulted roof which extended high above his head, held up by huge pillars made of stone and masonry with exquisite carvings of ancient armored warriors imprinted on them. The ground beneath his armored boots was smooth concrete and stone, with grey and white tiles placed in complex patterns that run into one another until they form a huge version of the Order's emblem, which he was presently kneeling with one greave on the ground, and one gauntleted hand on his chest .

Flickering illumination came in the form of flaring baskets of fire mounted in iron-wrought brackets mounted on the pillars themselves. Between the pillars were plinths on which various stone statues of renowned Remnant Knights who had served the Order in the past stood in various stances, with their Knight names and epitaphs engraved into the hardened material of the stone slabs that were mounted at the base of those plinths. Sharp Strike can recall almost all of their names and heroic deeds, although there were a still a couple of scattered knight statues with no names nor words, their secrets forever unknown to him until such a time his master or superiors deemed it necessary for him to know. Long banners of past campaigns inlaid with ancient script hung from long poles of polished steel, emblazoned proudly with the emblems of the various Knight Legions of the Order who have undertaken them and won significant victories during those past battles.

He kept his head low in respect to the silent individual who he had immediately reported to once he returned back to the Knight Order, his tone carefully controlled and deferential in the exchange of formalities and throughout his comprehensive verbal report given to the aforementioned veteran knight, only pausing when the armored entity standing in front of him gestured for him to pause and pose any questions of importance. Clad in expertly crafted armor plates of far more elaborate design and decked in silver-grey colors with black highlights with a cloak of silver with gold trim, his master was truly a majestic sight to behold. This was Argentius.

Throughout his debrief, Sharp Strike had dutifully recounted his travels throughout the continents of Remnant as a Knight Errant, and made mention of his actions which included his careful interventions in saving the inhabitants of outlying villages from the Grimm, as well as a particular incident in which he fought a sea dragon Grimm during his journey to Vacuo on a passenger transport ship with assistance from the captain and his crew. He also detailed how he had tracked down Team Beacon's whereabouts after receiving Shadow Reaper's message, following their journey discreetly throughout the deserts of Vacuo until they reached the White Fang-held village of Oro. He made mentions of his rescue of Ruby Rose and her fellow teammates from the White Fang, the sending of a distress call and his eventual role in the attack on the White Fang headquarters which tied in to the overall mass assault on White Fang bases around Remnant in Operation Fracture by the Remnant Knight Order.

The master of Sharp Strike had remained silent even when he heard the mention of the Grimm Commander with the ability to command Beowolves from the former's account, his stern gaze unflinching. He gave a slight nod of his helmeted head after the younger knight mentioned he had managed to subdue the Grimm Commander and told the agent of Salem to deliver a message to her that the Remnant Knight Order still lives, and they are joining in the battle once more to save Remnant from her sinister machinations. The senior knight did not seem surprised to learn that Adam Taurus had died in the ensuing battle, instead paying more attention to the details of Team Beacon's role during the conflict with the White Fang, especially those of Teams RWBY and JNPR. However, he did show a little amusement when Sharp Strike mentioned he managed to acquire one of Ruby Rose's special bullets through a small bet with her, and acknowledged the younger knight's explanation that he made a detour to fulfill the final wish of a young White Fang member to his family during his journey back to the Knight Order.

"That was a very kind thing to do, my apprentice. And an honorable choice on your part; delaying your return just to fulfill a promise to a dying enemy? That is the kind of nobility all the Knights of our Order should have." Argentius said before he silently regarded Sharp Strike with his helmet lenses, as though searching for anything else his protege had not mentioned to him. After a few moments he took a breath and nodded, gesturing Sharp Strike to be at ease while he absorbed and mentally noted the gist of the events that had happened in the past week or so.

The youthful Remnant Knight had remained stoic, his facial expression never changing from its serious outlook throughout his recounting, and his piercing deep blue eyes continued to return his master's stern gaze once he had removed his helmet and held it under one arm. Few individuals, including the Remnant Knights themselves, could hold their own gaze against Argentius, and it was rumored that despite his master's incredible combat skills with the latter's personal hybrid weapon, the veteran knight had more than one occasion single-handedly wiped out entire mass swarms of Grimm with nothing but a single glaring look from his un-helmeted face. That alone spoke volumes of Argentius's combat prowess.

"I see you have obtained a new trinket for your personal collection." Argentius observed as he noticed the small compass clipped to Sharp Strike's belt, a bronze-coloured hexagon-shaped measuring tool made of brass and smooth metal, its dial and needle moving in different directions, "I take it that's a memento of your battle with the Grimm sea dragon?"

"Yes master." Sharp Strike replied, "It was given to me by the captain of the passenger ship as a sign of his gratitude after I saved the his ship and all the crew and passengers aboard from the Grimm sea dragon during my journey from Mistral to Vacuo." There was a pause, and he asked, "Does this personal habit of mine displease you, master?"

Each Remnant Knight had their own unique personality quirks which had remained with them despite the induction and stringent training into the Knight Order, and apparently Sharp Strike's own peculiarity was that he collects small items throughout his various journeys on Remnant. Each unique object or token holds some significance to the young knight, either representing one of his hard-won victories or memorable experiences that he had seen when serving his duty as a Knight Errant of the Order.

"I don't see any problem with that particular habit of yours, Sharp Strike..." Argentius waved a dismissive gauntleted hand slowly, "...as long as it doesn't compromise your sense of duty or have any adverse effects on your overall combat effectiveness."

"I understand your concern, master." Sharp Strike answered earnestly, "My duty to the Knight Order always come first, of that you can be assured."

"And the bullet given to you by Ruby Rose?" Argentius questioned, and watched as Sharp Strike reached down into one of the pouches on his belt slung at his waist and unlocked the bronze buckle there. He then reached in and removed something with one of his gauntleted hands, before presenting it to Argentius reverently and respectfully, opening his closed gauntlet to reveal the single bullet round he had obtained from Ruby Rose which gleamed in the illumination cast by the two rows of baskets of fire on either side the massive hall.

"I take it that you have spoken to no one since your return from your mission?" The master of Sharp Strike inquired in a strict tone, picking up Ruby's bullet from the other knight's open hand. "I reported directly to this hall once I received your summons, and other than the usual formalities with the other senior knights I have encountered along the way here, I did not so much as speak a single word to anyone else."

"I see you have at least understood the value of discretion, Sharp Strike." Argentius nodded as he held up Ruby Rose's bullet and turned it slowly within his own gauntleted fingers, scrutinizing the special projectile that the red-hooded huntress used in her weapon. He regarded it at length, marveling at the perfect skill in the general craft-work of the bullet, the smoothness of its surface and especially the way the engraving of the silver-colored rose emblem gleam with tarnished light as he continued to examine it through his own helmet's lenses.

"The amount of skill put into making these bullets seemed to be quite meticulous." The elder knight remarked as he examined the aforementioned bullet with clear approval in his voice, "It's as though I am seeing Summer Rose reborn in another individual. Few people I have personally known have the skill of crafting such exquisite ammunition for their weapons, and I presume Ruby Rose uses a scythe?"

"Yes, Master." Sharp Strike gave a nod of his raven-haired head. Thin streaks of flaming red colour could be glimpsed among the predominantly black strands of his hair as he did so, "Although her weapon can transform into high impact velocity sniper rifle, complete with customizable bullet cartridges."

"Fitting for such a young Huntress. Since you have witnessed her in battle and have also spoken with her at length, what do you personally think of her, Sharp Strike?" Argentius lowered the bullet and regarded the young knight he had mentored ever since the latter had been recruited into the Knight Order.

"Master Argentius." The young knight's civil tone attracted his master's attention once more, "May I humbly request permission to speak freely?"

Gesturing with a gauntleted hand, Argentius gave his assent, "You have my permission, but speak with reason within your own words."

"From my interactions with her, I have noticed that Ruby Rose has a benevolent and caring personality, especially towards her teammates. She cares about them, but her emotions can sometimes get the better of her and cause her to slip into panic easily. She has the tendency to speak out whatever was in her mind at the moment, and she also has a certain streak of impulsiveness and battle-eagerness when it comes to combat situations." Sharp Strike said slowly.

"And her combat skill?" His master posed a question, which the Knight Errant promptly answered, "She has shown remarkable skill in using Crescent Rose, which is the name of her high-caliber sniper-scythe hybrid weapon. Her strength, agility and adaptability when wielding her weapon is pretty impressive, and from what I have witnessed her talent with her semblance is quite noteworthy too. In fact, I could say her semblance is similar to yours, Master Argentius."

"I see." Argentius considered Sharp Strike's words for a few moments before posing his next question, "You also mentioned that you came into contact with the two new guardians of the Aura Crystal, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, briefly during the battle taking place at the White Fang headquarters. What kind of first impression have they both given you?"

"With Pyrrha Nikos, I can see why the Aura Crystal has chosen her." Sharp Strike answered, "She displays not only strong combat abilities but also quick-thinking skills when it comes to a battle. She's quite powerful in her own right, and she works well with her other teammates. Jaune Arc has shown some considerable leadership qualities in his actions during battle, and cares for those under his command, and while he's still has some rough edges to iron out, I believe with the proper training and field experience he has the potential to become a strong warrior in his own right."

The elder knight gave a nod as he acknowledged Sharp Strike's opinions with regards to those physical encounters and said, "Your candor precedes you, Sharp Strike. Ruby Rose has indeed proven herself to be an interesting Huntress, and I am certain Soul Seer and I would look forward to meeting her and her team once we meet with Ozpin and the rest of his organisation. The same goes for the two new guardians of the Aura Crystal, and it seems Ashe Kasai has indeed chosen well." The master-crafted helmet regarded Sharp Strike with its emotionless gaze once more, "You have once again served the Knight Order well, brother. Your dauntless valor and diligent actions in assisting Team Beacon during Operation Fracture have been noted, and would not go without a reward."

Argentius slipped Ruby's bullet into a pouch at the side of his waist, and gestured for Sharp Strike to rise. The master of Sharp Strike brought his gauntleted fist to his chest in the iconic salute of the Knight Order, a gesture in which the young knight mirrored.

"I will bring up your encounter with the so-called Grimm Commander agent of Salem to the Grand Knight Master's attention once I manage to get an audience with him. In the meantime, report to the apothecarium to get yourself a clean bill of health before getting yourself some much-needed rest. Speak nothing of our conversation here and none of the Order's warriors would inquire about your whereabouts, nor of the service you have done for the Knight Order. Am I understood?" Argentius spoke softly, although the implications were clearly visible in his tone.

"Yes master Argentius, I understand." Sharp Strike bowed his head in respect, "Protect the innocent, Survive the trials, Serve Remnant."

"Protect the innocent, Survive the trials, Serve Remnant." Argentius intoned the Order's creed as he watched the young knight turn on his armored boots and walked to the end of the giant hall, putting on his helmet which locked onto his Aegis armor with a soft click even as a colossal pair of ornate doors with magnificent frescoes depicting the Remnant Knights fighting in the Three Great Wars slowly groaned open to grant him an exit.

Sharp Strike was about to step out of the hall and into the endless corridors beyond when Argentius's voice spoke again, "And one more thing, Sharp Strike..."

The Knight Errant paused at the doors and turned back, his azure lenses meeting those of his master, "Yes, Master Argentius?"

"It might be prudent for you to pay a visit to Forge Smith in the Order's weapon forges. It seems that he has finally accepted your petition...and has crafted both Hong Long and Lan Feng for you. Be sure to thank him for his commendable efforts, so that at least you are on good terms with the current forge master of the Knight Order." Argentius mentioned slowly, and Sharp Strike nodded his head in response, a small smirk appearing behind his helmet's face-plate.

"You have my sincere gratitude, Master Argentius." Sharp Strike replied with clear appreciation in his voice before the huge ornate doors closed behind him with a loud echoing boom, cutting off his view of his master.

A few long moments passed as Argentius waited for the echoes of the doors' closure to fade into the background. As silence descended once more in the massive empty hall, he produced Ruby Rose's bullet from his waist pouch, contemplating about what to say when he finally met the Silver-Eyed daughter of Summer Rose as he turned the projectile over and over between the fingers of one gauntlet-clad hand.

"It seems that your clairvoyance has come through once more, Soul Seer." He spoke as an individual clad in a white hooded cloak with gold trim appeared out of the surrounding darkness and strode to his side, the eyes of gold within the hood glinting as she regarded the bullet crafted by the daughter of Ruby Rose. In one hand she held a long highly-wrought staff inlaid with gently glowing arcane symbols, as benefiting her status as a skilled mage of the Remnant Knight Order. The opening at the front of the cloak revealed a little of her own customized Aegis armor and robes, both also showing tiny intricate script carved into the surface of those plates and woven into the silken cloth. She wore no helmet at the moment except during the various missions she undertook in the field, unlike Argentius who tend to keep his face covered behind an impassive face-plate most of the time.

"Of course, Argentius. Have they ever been otherwise?" The female prognosticator spoke in a whisper, tucking a few wayward strands of platinum blonde hair back into the depths of her hood. They both stood in silence for a few moments, admiring the craftsmanship of the bullet Sharp Strike had obtained for them, before Soul Seer spoke again, "I see your young apprentice has brought you a little something from his little adventure in Vacuo. A gift from the daughter of Summer Rose and..."

She trailed off upon seeing Argentius's helmet face-plate moved from the bullet to regard her in one swift motion. She managed a small shrug of her cloaked shoulders and raised an eyebrow on her face, "Certainly a unique gesture, and fitting considering what Sharp Strike tends to collect while on his missions. So, does she use a scythe-like weapon?" Argentius gave a nod in return and the ends of Soul Seer's lips curled upwards a little.

The female knight's face turned slightly more serious as she looked at Argentius in the eyes, "There is another thing that concerns me at the moment. You do know that by sending Sharp Strike out there on various missions as a Knight Errant operative, the risk of him dying to either the Grimm or facing imminent capture by the Dark Queen's agents increases significantly? And should his true identity be compromised, Salem will send her various subordinates to capture him...which is an outcome we must avoid at all costs."

"A significant risk, yes... but as Remnant Knights, we have to cope with that kind of risk when performing our duty to protect Remnant." Argentius said calmly, his helmet lenses meeting the other knight's golden eyes, which were narrowed a little at him as he spoke, "The entire Promethean Tribe has already been wiped out quite some time ago, Soul Seer...but at least they managed to complete their end of the agreement they have made with the Knight Order. What I am doing now...is merely honoring an sacred oath I made to the Chieftain of that tribe a long time ago, nothing more."

The taller male knight considered for a moment and replied, "I know your concerns will be alleviated if I re-task him to an active knight team once more, but we both know Sharp Strike can do the most amount of good on his own outside the Order, since he excels as one of our best Knight Errant operatives." The prognosticator instead slowly gestured with a robed, clearly feminine hand with smooth, supple skin which emerged out of her white cloak, "I can only see so far in the future with my semblance, honored warrior. But are you sure what you are doing right now will eventually work out when the time comes?"

"I have already consulted with the other prognosticators of the Knight Order, and from what divinations they have managed to obtain up to now...it corresponds with what you have personally gleamed when you used your own semblance, Soul Seer. We will be undoubtedly making some hard choices ahead, and some of which will concern Sharp Strike. But when the time comes, I trust that he would do what needs to be done, whether or not his true identity matters by that time." Argentius remarked, "Because I know he has already chosen the path he now willingly walks on ever since the fateful day I recruited him, and as long as there's a single breath left in him, he would continue on till the end."

"I certainly hope so, Argentius...because if you are wrong, our trump card might be in serious jeopardy in the crucial battles we may need to fight in the future." Soul Seer said as she fixed the elder knight with a stern look.

"Your concern is noted, chief prognosticator. I shall keep it in mind." The exceptionally skilled warrior agreed, "By the way, I heard Shadow Reaper and Eagle Eye have also both returned from their respective assignments in Vale and Mistral. Now, shall we both stop the conversation here and report to the chambers of the Grand Knight Master? I heard he's a hard taskmaster when it comes to punctuality."

"Yes, but you and I are going to have a long, excruciating talk about your own actions once the report is given." Soul Seer replied and Argentius gave a faint chuckle in return, "Of course, I would be disappointed if you didn't furnish me with one such intelligent conversation."

The chief prognosticator sighed and rolled her golden eyes at Argentius's somewhat rare display of grim humor, before both of them walked down another hallway leading from the current hall, the sounds of their armored boots echoing into the distance.

* * *

One Week Later

It had been a couple of weeks since the defeat of the White Fang and the members of Team Beacon were recovering quite nicely. After a week or so to rest and spend some time with their families the group returned to Beacon, which was almost fully school rooms were repaired and cleaned, as were the buildings where the students lived. The main tower and a few other buildings had yet to be finished but it looked way better than it had for the last nine months.

The Grimm were now keeping their distance, knowing the had been officially pushed out but Hunters still patrolled the area just to make sure they didn't try anything against Beacon or Vale.

As for Vale, the town itself was now once again a beautiful place to behold as people, human and Faunus alike, went about their lives among the rebuilt city, enjoying the efforts of the workers who had worked so hard to repair the city which served as their home.

Everyone still resided in the hotel for the time being, until Beacon was ready to serve as living quarters for everyone again, and Team Beacon was spending the day to themselves as they didn't need to join the patrols today.

It was early in the morning, so most of them were either relaxing, or getting breakfast in Ren and Nora's case, but the other half of Team JNPR had already eaten and were attending to something much more important. Jaune and Pyrrha sat around the case that contained the Aura Crystal, which was floating in the air as the two meditated in peace.

Meditating with the Aura Crystal came a bit more natural to Pyrrha than for Jaune, as she had learned meditation to relax her body and mind back when she was a tournament fighter, but she had taught him how to do it and while he struggled with it at first he eventually got much better at it and found meditation to be quite relaxing.

The two sat and breathed in and out together, synced up as their minds became open to the power within the crystal. Slowly and patiently the couple reached out with their aura and connected to the crystal in another attempt to communicate with it. The two shuddered a bit as their own auras connected to the aura within the crystal, as they felt a subtle but noticeable rush of power in their own aura.

Jaune grunted but stayed focus, Pyrrha smiled, proud that he was doing well on his own but she remained silent as they began to use their aura together to reach out into the crystal.

'Hello? Is... is anyone there? Is the Avatar there?' Jaune mentally asked.

'Jaune?'

'Pyrrha? Are you talking?'

'Yes, but... not really, mentally. I think we're communicating via our aura.' Pyrrha explained.

They used their senses to look around the place and could see strange crystallized shapes and odd but beautiful dances of light that looked and moved as though they were alive. One of the smaller shapes flew in front of the them, hovering about the couple playfully before it nuzzled up to Pyrrha in a friendly manner.

'Well aren't you nice.' Pyrrha 'said' in kindly before the small thing flew away to join the other flying shapes of light.

'What are those things?' Jaune mentally asked.

'I think they're the aura of the people who died in the shattering, pure aura itself. Just like in the books Ashe gave us.' Pyrrha said, remembering what she had read in the notebooks and journals.

Jaune nodded and moved forward closer to the lights of aura. 'Hey there, I'm Jaune Arc, that's Pyrrha Nikos. We're the new Guardians for the Aura Crystal... I was wondering if we could talk to somebody?' He 'said' to them.

The beings of aura all seemed to look to each other before moving together, forming one big orb of aura before breaking back apart into separate pieces.

'Uh... okay...'

'Jaune, I think they're trying to tell us what to do. We need to combine our aura together, to become one.' Pyrrha said to him as her form offered her hands out to him and he accepted them without hesitance.

Then something happened. Jaune could see visions; visions of an adorable little girl with green eyes and red hair playing, then getting older and beginning to train, and then the heart-wrenching sight of that girl being alone while the other kids played. He quickly realized the girl was Pyrrha, as he saw her win tournaments, become a celebrity, suffering even more loneliness, entering a school, developing a crush on an all-too familiar dopey blond that she couldn't being herself to confess her true feelings too... and then he saw her fighting an evil, powerful woman clad in red, being teleported and brainwashed, flying with a magnificent dragon, being forced to fight the boy she loved to the death before he freed he and restored her mind. He could see Pyrrha looking to Jaune, Ren, Nora, Ruby and the rest of her friends as they were formed into Team Beacon... but he also saw something rather disturbing; he could see Pyrrha isolated and alone, begging for someone to be with her but everyone looked at her like she was too good for them. He saw her weeping over his broken body. He saw Fotia standing in a ruined, burning city with Grimm rallying around her. He saw visions of things that hadn't happened; the two standing in a temple, with her in a beautiful dress and he in a fashionable tuxedo with all of their friends and family before them, he saw them dancing, he saw them in bed... naked, and saw them sitting by a tree with several adorable children.

Pyrrha had visions as well; she could see a cute little boy she instantly knew was Jaune playing with his sisters, going through life watching action and adventure cartoons and films wanting to be one of the heroes, hearing about the Grimm attacks, getting picked on at school for his aspirations, getting bluntly rejected by every girl he ever had a crush on, faking his way into Beacon, meeting up with Ruby, getting flung into the air and being saved by her, left behind by Weiss before she got him down, unlocking his Aura, becoming the leader of Team JNPR, Cardin blackmailing him, trying to court Weiss, being shoved into the locker, thinking she had been killed, watching the video she made, going with Ruby, Ren, and Nora, meeting Ashe and telling him his tale, being captured by Ante, the torture, fighting her when she was Fotia, freeing her, shoving her out of the way of the arrow, being revived and kissing her passionately... and then she saw things that made her heart ache: She saw him fail to save her, Ren, Nora, Ruby, Velvet, and the others over and over again. She saw him hold her glowing body slowly breaking apart. She saw words that described the things he feared he was: loser, failure, parasite, undeserving, pathetic, idiotic, blind, never good enough... but then she saw something that made her heard glow as she saw an image of the two in bed, moving quickly under the covers, she saw them fighting back to back, taking out a legion of Grimm together, she saw them getting married in a gorgeous temple with all of their friends and family in attendance, and she finally saw herself in a hospital with happy tears in her eyes as she held a newborn infant and Jaune was kneeling next to her, crying tears of joy.

In the real world, unbeknownst to them, their bodies had moved and were making physical contact via holding hands to strengthen their connection.

Within the Aura Crystal, Jaune and Pyrrha became separate once again, both a bit put off by what had just happened.

'Did you... see anything?' Jaune asked her.

'Yes, I saw you... your childhood, your time at Beacon, meeting Ashe... I saw your fears and your...' she blushed slightly, 'desires.'

'Same here, but it was yours instead of mine.' He told her, 'I think when we shared our aura we shared our minds, and we saw our pasts, fears, desires, everything.'

She nodded, 'You're right, I must admit it felt... strange but nice.' She confessed.

Jaune blushed as well, remembering the vision of them in bed without clothes. 'Yeah.' He agreed. 'Really nice...'

'Well done.' A voice said to them. The two looked over and saw another figure of light forming into a humanoid shape, transforming into a woman with hazel eyes and pale skin with long black hair.

'Uh... who are you?' Jaune asked.

'I don't think it's anyone in particular Jaune, I think this is the avatar of the Aura Crystal, the books Ashe gave us said it could take many forms.' Pyrrha reminded him.

'Correct, Pyrrha. We've noticed your effort to connect with the essence of the crystal, and your efforts are not in vain. When you combined your auras into one it allowed us to fully asses you both at once, and to see that your auras blend together quite naturally. We can now fully trust that we are all safe in your hands, and despite the doubts you may have, Jaune, we assure you that you are quite worthy. Ashe Kasai made the right choice giving the crystal to you.' The avatar said.

'Thanks... speaking of which, is Ashe here? Didn't a piece of his soul get taken in here?' Jaune pointed out.

'Correct, but you may speak to him later. The first merging of aura and probing of the crystal will often leave new Guardians drained and tired. We'd suggest you'd both relax for a while and talk, as merging auras will often reveal things; wants and desires, fears and secrets... but we trust you two to handle it. Have a good day.' The avatar said to them before their auras were flung out of the crystal and back into their bodies, where their eyes opened in a shot.

"Whoa!" Jaune cried as he shivered, he hoped the feeling of leaving his body and being brought back wasn't one he'd have to do many more times.

"Ah! What... a feeling..." Pyrrha said as her inner-most aura returned to her body.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes Jaune, I'm okay..." Pyrrha said, fading off when she realized they were clutching each others' hands. They released each other, both blushing a bit as they began to feel tired.

"Man, that avatar thing wasn't kidding, I do feel winded." Jaune remarked, Pyrrha nodded before she remembered what she had seen of Jaune's past, and blushed at his desires, more specifically at the thought of them making love, something she had wanted to do for a long while now.

Jaune began to blush as well, remembering seeing her desires and fears as well. "So... we both saw... things when we shared minds, didn't we? I know we saw our pasts, but I saw..."

"Things I desire, things I fear." She guessed and he nodded. "I saw yours as well... I saw us getting married... having children..."

"Making love." He added for her, causing both of them to blush furiously.

"Yes... did you...?"

"Yes. I saw something a lot like what you saw; us... in bed... naked." He confessed.

Pyrrha's face was as red as her hair at the thought, but she did want such a thing to happen so very badly. "I... saw something similar." She confessed as he sat against the bed.

She joined him, sitting next to him and setting her head on his shoulder as they once again joined hands. "We saw our fears as well. You're still afraid of being alone, afraid of becoming Salem's tool again, aren't you?" Jaune asked her.

The Spartan sighed and nodded, "Yes... meeting you, Ren, Nora, all of the others... it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Before I met you all I was alone in a very terrible way, a kind of alone I never want to feel again."

"And you never will as long as we're with you. I promise." He swore to her as he gripped her hand tightly. "What about... Fotia? I saw her and the Wyvern in your fears too." He reminded her.

Pyrrha was quiet for a minute before she said "I was a tool for Salem's evil. I tried to kill you, I nearly did... I wanted to do so many terrible things... I did terrible things just because I trusted her. I was convinced she loved me... and then you showed me the truth. But I'm still afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of being turned back into Fotia, back into that witch's tool... I'm afraid of hurting you and everyone else I love." Pyrrha said, her voice shaky.

"We won't let that happen, none of us will, including you. I would fight until my dying breath to get you back if they ever brainwashed you again." He promised.

"Don't say that. I nearly lost you once because you saved me, I can't stand the thought of it happening again." She said as she nuzzled into him.

"Um... wrong choice of words, but I still meant what I said, Pyr. I love you, and if you ever need to talk about it I'll be here for you." He said in a soothing voice.

Pyrrha smiled before she kissed his cheek and said "Thank you so much, Jaune. And you know the same applies to you, if you ever need to talk about your fears I will listen. I understand you fearing my death, but I saw words, hurtful words you were thinking about yourself; blind, undeserving, failure, and parasite. What were those about?"

Jaune nodded, and said "Despite everything... there's still a part of me that worries I'm not good enough. I mean, the rough time I had after I got into Beacon I felt like a parasite leaching off of you, Ruby, and the others to get ahead. After the... after I lost you I had some serious issues, I hated myself for not realizing your feelings sooner. And I still wonder if I deserve the life I have now?"

Pyrrha grabbed Jaune's chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. "Yes. You deserve this life. You deserve your family, your friends, and me. I love you Jaune and nothing will ever change that. And while it is true you had to... lean on us to keep up in Beacon, that doesn't change the fact that you didn't give up. You kept fighting, you improved, you struggled after I was taken but you still didn't give up, and you saved me. In my opinion, that makes you worthy of not just being with me, but leading us and you have yet to prove me wrong on that and I doubt you ever will." She said before kissing him on the lips.

Jaune smiled and kissed her back, happiness abound in his eyes. Once they parted Jaune sighed and said "I think we should... address something else. We both saw visions of our desires... and we both want to... want to... uh..."

"Make love." Pyrrha finished for him quietly, still blushing.

Blushing as well, Jaune nodded. "We both want it... but are we ready for it? I mean I'd love to... but if you don't want to do it, that's fine by me I can wait, whatever you're good with..." He said, beginning to speak quickly, sounding just as nervous as he felt.

Pyrrha silenced him by placing a finger to his lips so she could say, with shimmering eyes and a kind smile, "Jaune, it would be a dream come true for me." She lurched forward and hugged him before she added "Remember what Ruby told us yesterday?"

"About that movie marathon in CFVY's room tonight?"

"Yes, we'll have to decline the invitation... but make sure that Ren and Nora go, while we treat ourselves." She told him.

"So date first? Dinner? Just in case one of us has second thoughts the night won't be wasted, and we can still be together?" He asked.

"That would be lovely." She said.

* * *

Sun sat in one of the chairs in Team RWBY's hotel room as his girlfriend and her partner stood before him, an awkward feeling was thick in the air.

"So... have you thought about your tail?" Yang opened up, trying her best not to sound nervous.

"Yeah, I'm kinda leaning on getting a robo-replacement like you did, I mean Weiss said she'd help pay for it but I'd have to make sure it could work and not... you know, malfunction when I'm hanging from it." Sun said.

Blake nodded and said "There's something we all need to talk about, we can't keep avoiding talking about what happened on the ship. This kiss..."

Yang sighed and nodded as Sun said "Yeah, I remember it. I guess we should have already talked about it."

"Yes, we should have. It wasn't just her, both you and I returned the kiss. It was mutual from all three of us, I think we all have feelings that we need to talk about." Blake voiced as she sat on the foot of the bed. "And I'll go first."

She told Sun what she had told Yang in the _Resolute's_ sleeping cabin, how she had developed feelings for both of them over their time together and how she had come to terms with realizing that she did. "I didn't want to hurt either of you by choosing one over the other, it just feels... wrong to me." She said before continuing with "Sun, I really do care about you, and I love you after everything we've been through and everything you've done for me but Yang... would it be okay if..."

"We shared." Sun said for her as he got up and sat down next to her. "No, not share, more like a relationship between all three of us?"

Yang allowed a small smile creep onto her face as she said "Yeah, that way everyone's happy. It might sound like a total compromise and maybe even a little perverted, but I'd be all for it."

Sun looked to her and asked "So... how do you feel about me?"

Yang looked down and said "Well, I really like you. You're a great guy, good fighter, a pretty good team leader, you care about the people you love so much you put yourself in harm's way just to help them like how you lost your tail to save Neptune, and how you went through so much for Blake because you love her makes me think you're a pretty good guy. And as for us... I mean, I do think you're pretty hot with that body you're always showing off."

Blake let a smirk grace her lips while Sun chuckled and remarked "I try."

Yang went on, "Well Sun, how do you feel about me?"

Sun looked at the blonde brawler for a moment or two before answering "Well I think you're pretty awesome. I mean, I've seen how you handle any punk who tries to mess with you, I know you care for your team just as much as I do, you love Ruby like I love Haulan, and we both love Blake. We've both given everything we have to fight for her, and I know you don't want to hurt our relationship since you're coming to me like this..." He trailed off for a minute before he finished with "I'd be open to it."

Blake looked at him, "You would?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'd have to be an idiot not to say yes to being with two incredibly beautiful women like you." He said with a slightly cocky smile.

Blake returned the smile and playfully smacked him as Yang sat down with them. "Okay, so you're in. Are you okay with it Blake?" She asked.

Blake nodded, "It... it would be really... nice. I mean it sounds like something out of a 'Ninjas of Love' book..."

"Like the ones you read?" Yang quickly said, making Blake blush madly. "What? I've seen 'em, nothing to be ashamed of." The blonde brawler added as Sun looked at his girlfriend with surprise.

"So... are you up for it Blake? I mean if you want to do it I will, but it's up to you. I know Yang and I both love you and maybe we love each other through that. What do you say?" He asked her gently.

"Yeah, if you're up for it we can work together to make it happen, but if you don't want to do it, you and Sun can stick together and I won't be hurt." Yang promised her.

Blake thought it over for about a minute before she smiled and said "I think it can work."

Yang and Sun smiled at her and then to each other before Yang suggested "How 'bout we go out on the town tonight? Just the three of us? A date. No fancy dinner or anything, just go around town and have fun."

"That sounds good to me." Sun said.

Blake smiled and said "I'd like that. So, I guess it's a date."

* * *

Ruby hummed a little them to herself as she walked down the staircase of the hotel, Zwei trotting alongside her as they followed Weiss down to the first floor to meet up with Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Scarlet, and Sage. Team SSSN had just returned the other day and had agreed to join up with their friends in a training battle to test out how Velvet's newly repaired camera would do in a full on battle, while Zwei would sit on the sidelines and watch.

"'Bout time you showed up." Scarlet greeted as they finally came off the steps.

"Yeah, we were about to go ahead without you." Velvet teased.

"Weiss needed to look 'prim and proper'!" Ruby said, doing her best 'fancy' voice, getting a laugh out of the group, though Yatsuhashi merely smiled. Weiss pouted at first, but eventually allowed herself a small smile.

"So, are you guys still up for the marathon tonight?" Velvet asked.

"Sure are!" Ruby told her, "What we watching?"

The Rabbit Faunus shrugged, "I don't know, Coco and Fox are in charge of getting the movies and they tend to be jacks of all trades when it comes to tastes in movies." She explained before she looked up and smiled "Hello Jaune, Pyrrha."

Ruby and the others looked up to see the couple coming down the stairs together, with Jaune wearing a his usual hoodie and jeans combo and Pyrrha wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans of her own, with her bracelets, necklace, and singlet still decorating her body.

"Good day everyone." Pyrrha greeted as they made it to the first floor.

"Hey guys, Ren and Nora said you guys were working with the crystal," Ruby said in a hushed voice, "any luck with it?"

"We've made progress, I don't totally understand it but we're doing pretty good." Jaune said.

Pyrrha nodded and added "Yes, it was quite... extraordinary, but it was helpful. Have any of you seen Ren and Nora anywhere?"

"They went with Coco, Fox, and Neptune to the main lounge to relax while they can." Sage told her.

"Where's Blake, Yang, and Sun then?" Jaune inquired.

"There still on our floor, apparently they got something to talk about in private, something about what happened on Adam's ship. It's best to give them room until they're ready to talk." Yatsuhashi said.

Jaune nodded before saying "Hey guys, sorry but we can't make it to the marathon tonight, we've decided to have a date tonight."

"Oh, well that's nice. I hope you two enjoy yourselves." Velvet wished them kindly.

"Thank you and we will, I'm sorry we can't come but I hope you'll all enjoy yourselves." Pyrrha wished them.

"We will, see you guys later." Velvet said to them.

"Later." Jaune said to them before he and Pyrrha walked off to the main lounge.

Ruby and the others waved or said goodbye to them before they exited the hotel and moved to the training grounds. Ruby took one last look at her friends, and smiled, happy for them.

Jaune and Pyrrha soon arrived at the main lounge to find that their friends were the only ones there, with Nora laying on her stomach and kicking her feet up in the air while she played a video game with Coco, who was surprisingly very good at it, while Ren and Fox acted as their cheerleaders, the latter of whom trying to read as he did so. Neptune just sat off to the side, drinking a soda, not really cheering for anyone as he simply enjoyed the show.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" Jaune asked as they sat down next to Ren.

"Coco and me are playing Ultra Crush Sisters, she is way better than I thought she'd be!" Nora declared as pressed buttons and performed combos wildly.

"Hey, I have my hobbies." Coco joked as she calmly played with relative ease. "If a team leader can't even conquer a video game how can they crush Grimm?"

"How long have they been doing this?" Pyrrha asked Ren.

"For the last hour." He answered dryly.

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she said "That's..."

"I know." Ren agreed.

A few minutes later Coco's character defeated Nora's, who went flying off the screen with the sound of an explosion.

"No!" cried Nora.

"Aw yeah!" Coco shouted, "Another round Nora?"

Nora planted her face into the carpet in defeat and said "No, you win. You are the champion."

Coco smiled before grabbing Nora's hand and shaking it. "Good game, you should be proud, no one's ever lasted against me that long."

Nora brought her sweaty head up and said "Thanks. You too." The energetic girl rolled herself up in a ball and rolled over to her team where she popped up and sat down with them. "So what's shakin' guys? Have a good morning?" She asked Jaune and Pyrrha, as if she forgot about her defeat mere moments ago.

"Our morning was fine, we made some progress with the crystal." Pyrrha said, chuckling at her teammate's antics.

"Yeah, we went inside of it, talked to the avatar for a minute, but it kinda left us winded." Jaune added.

"Hm, I hope you'll be careful, we don't fully understand that relic, not even Ashe did." Ren pointed out. "I trust you both to tread carefully."

"We will. We merged auras while we were within the crystal and after seeing some... things in each other's minds, things like fears and... desires. So we decided to go out on a date tonight." Pyrrha told them.

"What kind of date?" Coco inquired, as she and the others had all noticed Pyrrha's wording of 'desires'.

"Well, dinner, a walk about the town... and a night... alone..." Pyrrha said nervously, both she and Jaune beginning to blush.

While it may have went over Nora's head, the message was clear to Coco, Ren, Neptune, and Fox.

"Oh... so you two need clothes?" Coco asked with interest.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt..." Jaune said before he cried out as both he and Pyrrha were taken by the hands by the fashionista who was grinning.

"We'll get you both ready, come on." She said before she led them out of the room.

"Oh boy." Fox said as he closed his book.

"We're going to have to help out, aren't we?" Neptune guessed.

"Nailed it." Fox confirmed as he got up.

"Come on Nora, it looks like they need our help to set up a date." Ren said.

Nora gasped as she now realized what Pyrrha had implied by her and Jaune being alone for the night. "It's happening!" She cheered as she hugged Ren before dragging him off.

Neptune and Fox glanced at each other before they followed their friends out of the lounge.

Once they reached the main foyer of the hotel they met Blake, Yang, and Sun, who had all come down from the floor where they resided for the time being.

"You guys, what's up?" Yang asked before Coco released Pyrrha and Jaune from her grip.

"These two have a big date tonight, need the duds and the arrangements to make it happen. You want to help out?" The leader of Team CFVY inquired.

The trio looked to each other, "I don't see why not." Blake said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I'd like to help out P-money and Vomit-Boy." Yang agreed as she patted Pyrrha on the back in a friendly manner.

"Yang, that was one time, nearly a year ago! Could you please stop calling me vomit boy?" Jaune pleaded.

"We'll see Jauney." Yang said playfully.

"Relax, it's just her way of letting you know she cares. So you need to get some clothes?" Sun asked Jaune.

"Yeah, and make the arrangements for a restaurant." Jaune said to him.

"Oh, don't worry Jaune, I can..." Pyrrha began to say before Coco cut her off.

"Nope, let him do this Miss Spartan, it's probably something he has to do. Neptune, Sun, Ren, and Fox, you help Jaune get ready for tonight, I want you to pick the clothes Nep since you're clearly the smart one in that area." Coco said to him.

"Thanks!" He said in appreciation.

"And we'll make sure Pyrrha is even more gorgeous than usual for tonight!" Nora announced as she hugged her taller teammate from behind, making Pyrrha laugh.

Jaune and Ren smiled at the scene before Ren shook his hand. "Are you worried?" Ren asked his leader.

"A little..."

"Don't be, we'll make sure everything will be perfect."

"Dang right we will, come on Jaune, time to get you looking presentable for your lady." Neptune said jokingly before he led the group of men off.

Sun looked to them and gave a salute, "Don't worry Miss Nikos, he's in good hands."

Pyrrha giggled and said "I'm sure he is."

Sun, Ren, and Fox followed Jaune and Neptune off, but the blond looked back to his girlfriend and smiled at her, and she smiled back before he exited the building.

"Okay, now that the boys are gone we should get moving and make sure you're gorgeous enough to rival my mom in the prime of her runway days... and so you can tell us some juicy details." Coco said, making the Spartan blush.

"Oh this is gonna be good." Yang said.

"Sure will!" Agreed Nora while Blake just chuckled.

Despite how nervous she was feeling, Pyrrha put on a smile and said "I hope it will be..."

* * *

Qrow tipped his drinking flask and poured the latest batch alcohol down his throat while making his way to Taiyang's hotel room. He had been drinking at a newly reopened bar when his scroll received a message from his brother-in-law, and after he had finished a few more glasses of drinks he paid for refill for his flask too, and had been taking sips as he walked to his destination. He came to the door of Taiyang's hotel room and knocked until his brother-in-law answered it. "Come on in, thanks for showing up Qrow." Taiyang said.

"You called, I came. Okay Tai, what is it?" Qrow asked as he walked into Taiyang's room, looking around at the neat, but clearly lived-in room. On a small table was his signature flamethrower gauntlets resting on a piece of yellow and brown cloth, clearly in a state of quick maintenance check. It looked to be freshly reassembled, its carefully oiled parts glinting in the lights of the room.

Taiyang slowly paced around the room while Qrow laid Reaper against the wall. The blond Huntsman rubbed his palms together as he felt the raven-haired scythe user regard him, "It's... well it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. It's.. well it's complicated. I really don't know how to really talk about it, hell you'll call me crazy if I... I've wanted to tell you about for two weeks now and I want to get it off my chest after thinking about it, but..." The Huntsman mumbled, his voice clearly unsure with a twinge of emotional pain.

"Taiyang, I've known you for over two decades now. I've stayed with you when my sister left, when Summer died, I stayed to help you with the girls, we were there for each other when Fall killed Raven. After all that, we can tell each other anything. I'm here for you, because you're like a brother to me, so if you need to talk, just spit it out." Qrow said firmly, secretly acknowledging the irony that he told Taiyang that they could talk about anything, when he still hadn't told him about his transformation Semblance. Ozpin knew, Summer had known, but Qrow and Raven had never told Taiyang about it because Raven didn't want him to think she was a freak and Qrow wasn't sure how'd he'd react, so it was kept a secret for all these years, a move Qrow had begun to regret.

"It... it has to do with Raven." Taiyang said as he sat on his bed, his blue eyes giving a somewhat faraway look.

Qrow sighed as he sat down next to his brother-in-law and asked "Regrets? Nightmares?" The dull ache in his heart was still there, even though it had been six months since Raven's death.

"Both, but neither are what this is about. Those I can deal with because I have you and the girls, but... something happened before we left for Vacuo a couple of weeks ago to save you all. Before we got the call from Ruby I was trying to get some sleep when I... when I heard her voice." Taiyang confessed.

Silence filled the room as Qrow stared at Taiyang, wide red eyes staring into tense blue ones.

"What?"

"This isn't a joke Qrow, I know what I heard and it was her. It wasn't a nightmare because I was only half-asleep..."

"Were you drunk?" Qrow asked him sternly, secretly bemused by the reversal of positions.

"Yes, but that's besides the point, I never get drunk enough to hear things, even when I'm grieving. That window over there was open, even though I remember it being closed before and Zwei acted like he had seen something." Taiyang said, telling him everything he remembered.

"So what? My sister came back as a ghost?" Qrow asked incredulously.

"... Maybe." Was the only word that came from Taiyang's mouth.

After that, Qrow went silent for about a minute before he inquired "What did her voice say?"

"She told me that Ruby was alright, but you were injured and Yang had been captured, but I still had a chance to help you. This was before we got Ruby's call." Taiyang reminded him.

Qrow nodded, thinking about what Taiyang had just told him. "Well... I've heard that dreams sometimes predict the future. And if you weren't asleep then, hell, maybe... maybe her aura was reaching out to you, like Nikos' did when she was brainwashed and, they said some of her aura was in Arc's. Her aura or her spirit or something. I honestly don't know what to think." He confessed.

"But I don't think a part of her is within me. I mean it was a miracle when it happened with Jaune and Pyrrha, what are the odds of it happening again?" Taiyang pointed out.

Qrow nodded, "A good point, but that still doesn't explain how her voice told you what happened to us pretty accurately."

"So you don't think I'm making this up?" Taiyang asked hopefully.

The surviving Branwen sibling looked at his brother-in-law and shook his head. "Tai, I known you long enough to know for certain you're not the kinda guy to make something like this up, especially about someone we both loved." He said.

Taiyang nodded in appreciation before asking "So what do you think about this?"

Qrow considered telling Taiyang the truth about the Semblance he and his sister shared, for years they had lied to their friends and family, saying their Semblances were pure talent with a blade to keep their bizarre powers of transformation a secret. He remembered when they were young, part of the bandit clan their parents ruled over, before one of their underlings led an insurrection and tried to take over, which led to their parents being killed and them running away for saefty. Before they died their parents told them tales of people with special Semblances that allowed them to transform into animals just like them, but they were shunned and hated by many, because of how unusual their powers were, and how they bridged the gap between man and animal even more than the Faunus did. The legends told that some of these people who became birds would become the Guardians of the Dead when they passed on, but Qrow had never really known if he believed them or not, but this made him wonder if it was true

"I don't know what I really think." Qrow finally voiced. "We can figure it out later, but since I'm already here you should know that Ozpin wants you to attend a secret meeting tonight at Beacon."

"Me? What for?" Taiyang asked, puzzled.

"To discuss the Remnant Knights." Qrow answered promptly, "That Sharp Strike guy was the genuine article, just like that guy we met all those years ago when we were students."

"Just like Argentius?" Taiyang inquired, and Qrow nodded.

"Ozpin thinks we might have to meet up with the Knights and discuss how to handle Salem, but he wants to talk to the ones he trusts. You in?" Qrow offered.

Taiyang nodded and said "I'll be there."

* * *

"So where did Sun go? Once we got here he just kinda took off." Jaune said as Neptune went about the men's clothing store, getting various articles of clothing he thought would suit Jaune.

"He didn't say, but I have a feeling what he'll be getting is important." Fox told him as he kept reading his book.

"Like, what exactly?" The blond asked as Ren sighed.

"Jaune... as awkward as it may seem I think he might be getting some... protection." Ren informed him, making Jaune nearly fall over in surprise, but the green clad ninja caught him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just... just surprised is all. I mean... condoms? Right?" He said quietly, hoping no one would hear them.

"I suppose so." Ren stated with a nod.

"I... well it might go that far but..."

"But what?" Asked Fox, "You were just gonna pull out?"

Jaune blushed even harder but answered a stammering "Well... maybe... I guess I would have gone to get some myself?"

"Jaune, let Sun do it. He's much more brazen than you are, plus he's doing this for you as a friend. We all are." Fox said to him, his usually monotone voice sounding just as friendly as it had when he and Jaune had talked in the hallway the night before the Grimm control test.

The blond smiled and said "Thanks Fox."

"Jaune, the implication Pyrrha was making when she said your aura merging within the Aura Crystal allowed you to see each other's desires made it quite clear. So what did you see?" Ren inquire carefully.

"Well we saw things were afraid of, like I saw her fears of being alone and being Salem's tool, and she saw my fear of losing her and being a failure. But we had similar desires, we both want to get married, have kids, and... well you know..." Jaune said bashfully.

"We do, and it's nothing to be ashamed of." Ren told him.

"It isn't?"

"No Jaune, you two are clearly madly in love..."

"Understatement." Fox deadpanned.

"True, but you two love each other and if you want to... express that physically, then we have no right to judge you for it and you two should be free to do so." Ren told him.

Jaune smiled at his teammate before hugging him, making Ren's eyes pop in surprise.

"Thanks man, I knew I could count on you." Jaune told him.

"It's nothing, you two deserve the happiness you bring each other." Ren said.

"Same to you and Nora." Jaune returned, which made Ren smile.

"Okay, not that I don't enjoy a good bromance, but I think I got enough clothes here Jaune, and I made sure they were all in your size, so pick 'em out." Neptune said as he laid out multiple shirts, pants, and jackets out on the shelf tops before Jaune.

Jaune nodded and looked at the various articles of clothing, surveying them and trying to decide what would fit him best. He selected a collared, button-up, short-sleeved dress shirt that was the same color as his hoodie and looked rather nice, so he picked it up. "This will do." He said. After that he selected a fashionable pair of navy blue trousers, and a while blazer jacket. "What do you guys think."

"I think it'll work, trust me, I'm the only one on my team who has both sleeves and a closed shirt." Neptune quipped.

"It will work just fine, but Pyrrha doesn't care what you wear as long as you're the one she loves." Ren told him.

"Ditto." Fox said, half interested.

Jaune nodded before he moved over to the changing rooms to try the clothes on. As he changed Jaune wondered if tonight would be the night. He remembered the night he had nearly died, the night he got her back, the night they officially became a couple, he remembered wanting to just show her how happy he was but was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. All those months they were a couple he had her to himself but was never brave enough to ask her for... that. And now that he knew she wanted to make love too, they were going to try it tonight, if they were both brave enough. Maybe.

While Jaune was a little worried if he was ready for sexual activities, he had seen... dirty videos before, he was a teenage boy after all, but he was still concerned if he could truly please her. He wasn't, however, worried about losing her, because he knew without a shadow of a doubt the she loved him beyond just that, she loved him because of who he was and what he had done for her and what he meant to her. He trusted her enough to know that.

He stopped and looked at himself in the mirror, seeing the developing muscles that had improved greatly from when he first came to Beacon and he said to himself "It's alright, you can do this. You're good enough for her and she loves you. I can do this."

A few minutes later Jaune stepped out of the changing rooms to let the others see how he looked. "Well guys?"

"Looking good Jaune." Neptune praised.

"Indeed, I trust that Pyrrha will be most pleased." Ren agreed.

"Yeah." Fox said simply, keeping true to his 'man of few words' image.

"Well, I hope she'll like it. Now I just have to pay for it and find out what restaurant to go to." He said as he took out his scroll. "I got enough money for a decent dinner at a good restaurant..."

"Jaune, we can help pay for the clothes." Neptune volunteered.

"Seriously?" The blond asked, a bit stunned.

"Sure, I can at least." The bluenette said.

Jaune smiled and as he took out his scroll he said "I owe you one, man. Let me call Pyrrha and see where she wants to go."

Once he was done discussing where they'd go that night, a fancy but not too fancy kind of eatery, he turned off his scroll and said "It's all set up, it's not even that expensive of a place. I can afford these on my own."

Neptune nodded as Sun jumped into view. "What up dorks?" He asked as he handed out a small box to Jaune. "Got 'em."

Jaune carefully took the box of condoms from Sun and inspected them, seeing there were only about three within and they would most likley fit him. Jaune smiled at his fellow blond and said "Thank you Sun, I'm going to owe all of you once this day is over."

* * *

"Yes Jaune that will be just perfect, it's not too expensive and stuffy or too cheap, it's just right Jaune. I know, love you too. Bye." Pyrrha said before she shut off her scroll and looked to the four other girls. "He's already picked out his clothes and here we are still stuck here."

Pyrrha had never been fond of clothes shopping, usually letting her image consultants and wardrobe people pick out her clothes for her but she usually got to have some say in her own personal outfits, but she always found shopping for clothes dreadfully dull, but Coco seemed to be in her element.

"I just want to make sure you look perfect." Coco assured her as she carefully went through clothes in her favorite store in Vale that had recently reopened. As Coco walked over to another Yang's voice came up.

"How about this backless sweater? It's called 'The Virgin Killer'." She said as she held up a beige sleeveless and backless sweater that would have been particularly revealing on Pyrrha or herself, considering their bust sizes.

"No! I couldn't wear that in public!" The Spartan cried. Her large breasts were both a blessing and a curse, a blessing in that they added to her beauty and sometimes when she had a male opponent they'd be somewhat distracted by them but they had made it difficult to find clothes that fit her chest, but due to her wealth she usually managed, but it would often make boys leer at her in lust or girls glare in jealousy... and sometimes even lust. One of her consultants had suggested a breast reduction surgery but she refused to have her body changed with like that, a sentiment that was enforced by Giger's meddling.

Yang just shrugged as Nora asked "Well what about this?" She holding up a hoop skirt with a V-neck that went down to the midriff.

"Alright, the V-neck? Maybe if it was just me and him, but the hoop skirt... just no." Pyrrha told her.

"How about something like a masquerade dress?" Blake asked.

"No, that's too much. This is just a simple date, I don't want to over do it." Pyrrha declined.

"Nikos... I think I got it." Coco said confidently as she held out both her arms to display a long goldenrod skirt and a beautiful crimson asymmetric dress that left one shoulder bare, the one thin strap had a small line of decorative beads that would loop around the shoulder, and it was long enough to halfway down the thighs.

"Let me see the dress." Pyrrha said, so Coco handed it to her. Pyrrha pressed it against her body and looked to the other girls. "What do you think?"

Yang gave a thumbs up while Nora squeed out "It's perfect!"

"It does fit you rather well." Blake remarked.

"It should, I made sure it fit her measurements perfectly so you can really show those curves off to Arc and make him drool." Coco teased as she took out a strapless bra and added "And this is to help you keep your girls up."

Pyrrha blushed but caught the bra when the fashionista tossed it to her. "I'll go try it on..." She said before taking off for the changing rooms. Once she went inside the three girls looked to each other.

"You think they'll be okay?" Blake inquired.

"Together? Oh yeah. They're made for each other, they just gotta relax and act natural." Coco told them.

In the changing room Pyrrha looked into the full-length mirror and sighed. Her body would be, to many, the very picture of perfection; large breasts that could simply be described as magnificent, curves in all the right places, taller than most girls, muscles that were quite noticeable like her arms, legs, and the soft six-pack on her stomach, but they weren't overly large which worked to her advantage so she could make an enemy think she wasn't as strong as she really was. The abs on her stomach weren't hard but not too soft either, just the perfect blend of both. Her beautiful scarlet hair had regrown from her time as Fotia and had returned to its normal length over the past sixth months since her return. She had often received comments on her face and her eyes, so she should have had more confidence... but she couldn't help but be nervous.

What if he had second thoughts? What if he didn't find her naked form attractive? What is she shied away from his touch? Her breasts were sensitive after all...

No. This was something she wanted, something she deserved. She wanted him, deserved him, and he deserved her. She wasn't going to let her stupid self-esteem issues take this from her. She looked in the mirror and gave herself a determined look before she began to dress herself.

One way or another, they were going to enjoy tonight.

A few minutes later Pyrrha exited the dressing room to display her new outfit for the other girls.

Coco whistled and said "Nice. Jaune's gonna gonna be stunned silent when he sees this."

"Knowing my fearless leader, I can tell you that's a fact." voiced Nora.

"A plus, ten outta ten." Yang said with a grin.

"Jaune is one lucky man." Blake agreed.

Pyrrha's dress was beautiful to behold but even more so on her; the dress and the skirt worked together to compliment her wonderfully and the outfit showed off her curves generously, is showed the perfect amount of cleavage; not too much but not too little. The top of the dress worked well to show off her curves of her hips and breasts, not to mention it was just perfect from behind, decently tight on her back, the dress ended halfway through the thighs and if one were to look closely they could see the top of the skirt hugged her waist tightly and could give one a tantalizing glimpse at the shape of her rear.

Pyrrha smiled and said "Thank you all so much for helping me. I'm know he'll love it, and I must say I do too."

"We're happy for you Pyrrha, you deserve this after everything you've went through, so I hope you have a good time tonight." Blake wished her.

"Yeah, I hope fearless leader lights up the night like he lights up your life!" Nora rhymed cheerfully.

"And light up a few other things..." Yang joked cheekily, getting another blush from Pyrrha, who secretly hoped so as well.

She was eager and nervous for the night's events, but she wasn't worried, because come what may, Pyrrha knew Jaune wouldn't fail her, and that if they decided not to cross that line tonight they would still be together, and they would always love each other. Of that she was certain.

* * *

Ruby's feet skidded on the training grounds before she flipped over and came to a stop as she breathed hard to recover. Currently Weiss, Scarlet, and herself were fighting Velvet's team, which consisted of the Rabbit Faunus herself, Yatsuhashi, and Sage. The terms of the fight were no guns, only blades so Ruby and Scarlet had to rely on her scythe and his sword respectively. So far Velvet's camera seemed to be back in perfect working order, as she had blocked and parried every attack thrown at her by the rival team.

Off to the side on the bleachers sat Penny who had Zwei in her lap, Dr. Polendina was letting Penny stay with Ruby tonight for the marathon since he was needed in Atlas for a consulting job and was more than happy to let Penny stay with Ruby and the rest of her friends.

"Come on Ruby!" Penny cheered as Ruby dodged Velvet's copies of the robotic girl's blades.

Weiss used a glyph to send Sage crashing into the wire fences to keep him out of the fight for a brief moment while she aided Ruby in her attack on Velvet.

"Okay Velv, I think it's fair to say your camera is better than ever!" Ruby said as she and her partner swung and struck at the Rabbit Faunus, who kept protecting and deflecting perfectly.

"Thanks Ruby! I worked really hard on it!" Velvet said as she let the copies of Penny's swords and replaced them with a copy of Crocea Mors to slam into Weiss, sending the heiress flying.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried as she blocked Velvet's strike.

"I'm fine..." Weiss said as she got up, before she looked over to see Scarlet be knocked out of the fight by Yatsuhashi.

"Ow..." The redhead moaned as he laid his head on the pavement in defeat.

"You fought well, sorry if I was too rough." Yatsuhashi apologized, before he whirled around to block a strike from Weiss.

"Scarlet's out, can we trade in for Penny?" Ruby asked as Sage got back up and joined in Yatsuhashi in fighting Weiss, overwhelming Ruby's partner.

"Sure..." Velvet permitted, and within seconds Penny jumped over the fences and landed into the battlefield, blades withdrawn.

"Penny, can you keep Velvet busy while I help Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Absolutely Ruby!" Penny answered as Velvet once again created copies of Penny's swords.

Velvet smiled and said "I think this is going to be fun."

"I hope so." Penny voiced before the two ran at each other and clashed their swords together.

Ruby, meanwhile, ran over to Weiss and blocked Sage's attack before he could land it. "Need some help partner?"

"No." Weiss said, before adding with a smirk "But it couldn't hurt."

As the fight went on Scarlet limped over to the bleachers and petted Zwei's head. "Let's just sit back and enjoy the show, eh boy?"

Zwei heartily barked in agreement.

* * *

That afternoon Jaune stood at the bottom of the stairs, still a little nervous despite the fact that everything had been arranged; reservations were made at the restaurant, Pyrrha had arranged for a private taxi to take them there, the Aura Crystal was safely secured in their room, he had gotten enough money from his parents to pay for their meal so he wouldn't have to make Pyrrha pay for it, his clothes were on and he looked rather handsome, according to his sisters who he had called and asked for an opinion.

"Aw, our little brother's all grown up!" Said Shani with adoration.

"Doesn't it bring a tear to your eye?" joked a recovering Violet.

"The boy becomes a man." Deadpanned Sienna.

"Totally, mom just finished shedding happy tears." Azure revealed.

"Thanks, but you seriously think I'll be okay tonight?" He asked them.

"Jaune, relax, you look wonderful and we know you'll sweep Pyrrha off her feet. Remember; don't try any fancy moves, don't go overboard trying to impress her, just be yourself, because that's who she loves." Bianca told him.

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks, I hope this works."

"We know it will. Good luck Jaune." Bianca told him, and the other sisters all echoed the sentiment.

"Thanks, love you all. Bye." He said before he shut his scroll off. He looked over to Ren, Nora, and Team SSSN and said "Well, I'm definitely taking their advice. No trying to be fancy, just being myself tonight."

"Excellent advice." Ren said approvingly with a nod.

"Yeah, you're you Jauney, so you don't have to worry about losing her. You got this." Nora stated, giving him a thumbs up.

Sun looked over to the door and said "Taxi's out there, and it's a good one, not one of those common types you see on the street everyday." Jaune looked over to see the vehicle, which was a darker shade of yellow than most taxis and seemed to be quite nice from the outside.

"So is it taking you back here?" Scarlet asked him.

"Nope, we'll just walk back and enjoy each other's company. No one will try to mug us since the town just got rebuilt, and if anyone tries we can take care of 'em." Jaune said simply.

Ren and Nora smiled at him before Ruby's voice spoke up from the second floor. "Ahem! May I present, the lady of the hour... Pyrrha Nikos!"

Jaune looked up and was absolutely stunned by the vision of beauty that was his girlfriend. To him she was always beautiful, but seeing her in that dress just took his breath away. Pyrrha walked down the staircase, slightly blushing as she got closer and closer to Jaune. Team RWBY, Penny, Coco, and Velvet watched from atop the stairs, all smiling proudly at the sight. Jaune scanned her body up and down, taking in how the dress showed the curves of her upper body before he met her eyes and couldn't bring himself to tear away from her loving gaze. For her part Pyrrha thought Jaune looked wonderful, he truly did look handsome and like such a gentleman that Pyrrha had to hold back her overwhelming joy so she simply let a radiant smile grace her face. She had taken off her bracelets but still had her circlet on, in addition to a necklace that went down to cover up her scar.

Pyrrha finally made it down the stairs and walked over to Jaune. "You look wonderful." She told him.

"S-so do you..." He said, still stunned by the beautiful woman before him.

She giggled and closed the distance between them, hugging him. "Well, shall we?" She asked, holding her arm out.

Jaune nodded, swallowed and said "Let's." He hooked his arm around hers and escorted her to the door.

"I'm really happy for them, they deserve to have this." Ruby said to the others, who nodded in agreement as they went down the stairs to see the couple off.

Jaune opened the doors for her and let her get into the taxi first before climbing in after her and closing the door behind them. The rest of Team Beacon waved to their friends as the cab drove away.

"Good luck!" Ruby called. "You think they'll be okay?"

"Oh yeah, they're made for each other." Nora assured her.

"Arc might be a dope at times, but even I have to admit he looked good in that, I'm sure tonight will go over wonderfully for them." Weiss voiced.

"I hope so." Velvet said with a happy sigh, hoping this would be a wonderful night for her friends.

"Well, we better get moving. You girls ready?" Sun, who was now wearing a tank-top along with his coat, asked Blake and Yang.

"You bet." Yang answered, while Blake nodded.

"I'm ready." She voiced.

"Have fun out there tonight, too bad you won't be staying for the sleepover." Ruby said to her sister and friends.

"Hey, we won't miss all of it, we'll be back and we'll join you later tonight. Promise." Yang said to her sister, "We just need to go out and bond, okay?

Ruby nodded, "I get it, it's fine with me. Just don't go leaving me behind, deal?"

"Deal." Yang swore as she high-fived her little sister.

With that, Yang followed Blake and Sun out of the hotel and into the city. She took in a breath of the city's air as the sounds of traffic and construction work could be heard in the distance, but the city was still at peace.

"So where do you guys want to go first? I know a certain night club that will probably let us in for free if I promise to behave..." Yang said, remembering that Junior's club had recently reopened.

"I want to stop by the book store, see what improvements they've made since the reconstruction." Blake suggested.

"That sounds good to me, you Yang?" Sun asked.

The blonde brawler nodded and said "Sure, but remember my idea if you want some real fun."

Blake chuckled and said "I'll be sure to... and it doesn't seem like a such a bad idea anyway."

* * *

As night fell upon Vale, a certain couple were having a nice and peaceful dinner date in the Amica Morea, a rather well known and highly regarded restaurant in the city, that had only reopened last week. The place wasn't too crowded, thankfully, and that allowed Jaune and Pyrrha to be served relatively quickly, with Jaune having lasagna while Pyrrha had baked chicken with a side of salad.

The two ate in peace, happy together, ignoring the occasional looks they got from other patrons at the sight of the 'Invincible Girl' and her partner out on a date. Some of the people around their age looked on in jealousy, but their leers went unnoticed by the happy couple, who had better things to look at.

At first the two had talked, vaguely in case any one was listening, about the Aura Crystal and decided that it would be best to wait a few days before attempting again. As they ate they also took time to tell one another about how they prepared for the date, Jaune blushing at some of the outfit ideas Yang had proposed as jokes.

"And then she took out one of those... sling swimsuits, you know the ones." Pyrrha said.

Jaune nearly choked on a piece of his foot at the thought of her wearing one of those, but he quickly recovered. "Well... it would be a gorgeous sight." He said.

Pyrrha smiled, blushing a bit and said "So how did your family react? Did you tell them?"

"Yeah I told them, my mom wants pictures and my sisters squealed for five minutes straight." He said to her, making the Spartan giggle.

"My parents were the same, they both shed tears and my mother wants pictures as well."

"Then we'll have a waiter take a few, just to make them happy, does that sound good?" He asked.

"It does indeed." She said before she took a large bite out of her chicken. Once she swallowed it down she said "Oh, sorry. I haven't eaten since..."

"No, it's fine. It doesn't bother me at all." He assured her, before he took a huge chunk of his lasagna and scarfed it down before grinning, making her laugh.

As they finished with their food Pyrrha signaled the maitre d' to come over to them. "Yes Miss Nikos? I trust you dinner was satisfying?" He asked.

"Quite so." Pyrrha confirmed.

"Yeah, our compliments to the staff." Jaune added.

"Sir, I came here some years ago and they had the overhead speakers play one of my favorite pieces of music, would it be alright if I requested it to be played?" She inquired.

"But of course Miss Nikos." the man said.

She told him the name of the music piece and asked "Oh, and one last thing, is the balcony open?"

"Yes, no one is using it at the moment so you're welcome to it." He said before giving them a bow.

"Thank you. I think it would be nice to enjoy the music out there, is that alright Jaune?" She asked.

"Your wish is my command, M'lady." He said politely before offering his hand out to her, which she instantly accepted.

"Why thank you." She said to him before telling the maitre d' "We'll return soon and pay for our dinner then."

"Understood, Miss Nikos." The man said before he signaled for the waiters to begin cleaning up the table for them for them they came back.

The couple headed out to the long balcony that looked over the city, the lights shining in the buildings throughout Vale gave them a beautiful view of the landscape at night. Pyrrha sighed in content as she leaned against the stone railing, looking out into the city. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, to think there are people who want to destroy a place like this." Jaune said as he stood next to her.

Pyrrha nodded with a frown and said "Well we will never let that happen again, will we?"

"Never." Jaune agreed as he placed his hand down on the railing next to hers. Pyrrha noticed this and smiled as she placed her hand atop his before leaning into his shoulder. "So... is everything okay? Am I doing everything right?" He asked.

"You're doing wonderfully. Let's just... stay here." Pyrrha said before she kissed his cheek. Jaune smiled and leaned into her as well, just letting the moment stay for as long as possible.

Pyrrha then went over to a small ledge on the wall and set up her scroll to take some pictures. "This way it will be just us." She explained. They took three pictures; one with them looking directly at the camera and holding hands, one with them facing each other, still holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes, and a third one of them closing the distance and their lips uniting in a kiss.

"That should make 'em happy." Jaune remarked as the final flash went off.

"Let's hope so." Pyrrha agreed as music began playing. Pyrrha gave a wide grin before saying "They're playing it! Would you care to dance?"

Jaune was nervous for a few seconds, but forced it away as he held his hand out to her. "It would be my pleasure."

The music piece started off very slow, and so did they; with their hands of each other's body they moved slowly to the melodies of violins and the brass section, as the music went from sounding serious to sounding bright, relieved, and bittersweet yet victorious. The couple leaned in, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes meeting in an intense gaze as flutes, clarinets, and similar instruments began to sound off as well.

At that moment all that mattered to them, was each other. With their right hands grasping each other while his left hand placed upon her hip and her left settled on his shoulder they began to perform a slow and careful waltz as the violin music playing softly as an oboe began to play it's little solo, added on by the soft sounds of a harp.

As the oboe stopped the violins took over, picking up the pace of the waltz, and Jaune used every bit of knowledge he knew about dancing from his sisters, who he knew he needed to thank tomorrow. Pyrrha was a little nervous, but Jaune held her close as they kept moving in circles with the music as it sped up, sounding oddly bittersweet, but as they kept moving together it sounded more and more cheerful, added by the flues, oboes, clarinets, and the brass section joining in before it came to a stop with the harp's strings being pulled and a piccolo subtly adding a little tune to the end.

Jaune looked to Pyrrha and saw tears in her eyes. "Are you okay? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"No. It's just... perfect. I always hoped to have a night like this, and you made it a reality." She said as drums began playing on the piece, with the flutes and it's familiar instruments joining in for sudden surges. "Still want to dance?" She asked.

"You don't even have to ask." Jaune said as he smiled at her while a clarinet played a tune, and as it played a small reprise Pyrrha smiled back at him, happy as she could be before violins escalated suddenly in short, quick bursts, with french horns adding on. The flutes, clarinets, oboes, piccolos all copied the short but sharp bursts of the violins with the trombones mimicking the french horns' tunes.

The couple copied the motions, dancing in short quick bursts before the main theme erupted with all the instruments playing it together. The two went on dancing to the music, waltzing on the balcony and savoring every second of it.

* * *

Blake looked into her handbag and inspected the books she had purchased, about six paperbacks and three hardcovers, which made her happy as she had been meaning to catch up on her reading. She looked at the spine of the new 'Ninjas of Love' volume and smiled to herself, hoping Yang and Sun hadn't seen it.

They had, but decided not to say anything.

"That must be heavy, you want me to take it for you? Must be heavy." Sun offered.

Blake smiled and allowed him to take it for her. It wasn't very heavy, but she appreciated the gesture.

"There it is!" Yang called as they crossed the street to the other side of the bridge. She pointed over the lower street to the large building with pounding music coming out of it. Yang led the others to the stone staircase that led to the ground.

"So you sure this guy won't mind us coming here? I mean, Neptune said he's not fond of you and remember how Jaune had to scare him into letting them in that club in Cadia was because he didn't know where you really were?" Sun asked as they got to level ground and walked closer to Junior's newly reopened club.

"Hey, if he bares his fangs, we bare ours and he'll know ours are bigger." Yang assured him before walking with a sway in her hips and a confidant aura about her.

Blake and Sun looked to each other and they both smiled, deciding to let Yang lead the way.

The doors slid open to allow the three entrance and they walked into the club, with strobe lights blaring on and off and loud music filling the air and forced Blake's ears to flatten. A crowd of a few dozen people filled the dance floor, moving and shaking their bodies wildly in crazed dance moves.

"Neon would be right a home here." Blake deadpanned, getting a laugh out of Yang, who was scanning the bar area and spotted her target.

"Found him." She said before she moved towards Junior.

Junior downed a shot glass when one of his men tapped his shoulder. "Boss, it's her!"

The bearded man nearly spit out his drink when he saw who he was talking about. "You!" He snarled as he slammed his shot glass down on the counter.

"What up?" Yang asked cockily as she stepped forward. Junior got up and snapped his finger, causing Melanie and Militia to emerge from the crowd and head toward them.

"I just now reopened this place, blondie, so if you want to start anything you'll have a fight on your hands." Junior threatened as he took out his bat while some of his henchmen reached for their guns.

"Relax big guy, me and my friends are just here to have fun." Yang said to him, "We don't want a fight and I just wanted to thank you for helping my friends out in Cadia a few weeks back."

Junior gave a look and asked "Really?"

"Yeah, honest. Cross my heart, scout's honor and all that." Yang swore.

"If you're a scout than I'm a senator." Junior deadpanned before asking "But you're not looking for info this time?"

"Nope. Just a fun time." Yang answered honestly.

Junior eyed Yang, and then Blake and Sun, before saying "Okay, but if you so much as punch one person we're kicking your butts out. Got it?"

"We understand." Blake said politely.

"Crystal clear." Sun stated.

"No funny stuff, just a fun time." Yang promised.

Junior nodded slowly and said to the twins "Escort them to a table and... keep an eye on them."

Both of the girls nodded before they led the trio to a table by the dance floor. As they made their way both of the girls eyed Sun's body.

"Hey, nice muscles..." Melanie complimented as she took hold of Sun's arms.

"Uh..." The Monkey Faunus said before Militia took the other one.

"How about the ones on your chest?" She asked, before Blake hissed at them, getting their attention and making them look at her and come under her furious glare.

"No touching." The Cat Faunus hissed as she came up next to Sun and took his hand, making the twins back off.

"Don't mind her, she's just catty!" Yang joked, making Blake and the twins groan while Sun snickered.

"Okay, we get it, not on the market." Melanie said as she let go and drew back with Militia.

They soon came to the table and the three sat down. "Enjoy the club." Militia said dully before she and her sister drew back.

"Weird girls." Sun muttered.

As the music kept blasting off from the amps and speaks Blake was forced to cover her ears and say "Uh, Yang... could you get them to tone it down a bit?"

Yang smiled and said "No problem. Either of you want to dance?"

"I'm up for it." Sun volunteered, only for Yang's robotic hand to grab one of his.

"Then let's go out and turn down the volume." The blonde brawler said with a smirk before she tugged him out onto the dance floor as she moved her body wildly but gracefully in an alluring way that made many people glance at her, including Sun and Blake who both blushed at the sight of her smooth and sexy movements.

Blake kept staring at Yang as she danced through the crowd and absentmindedly muttered "I am so lucky..."

Sun stumbled at a bit at first but soon caught up with Yang who told him "Don't just stand around Monkey-Boy! Shake it!"

Sun laughed before he began to use what little dance moves he knew to blend into the crowd. Yang got closer and closer to the DJ's booth, the the DJ wore the large bear mask and was too busy rocking out to notice them until Yang was right in front of him.

"Oh no, I remember you!" he exclaimed.

"Relax, I just have a request; turn it down a bit, you're hurting my partner's ears." Yang said to him.

The DJ looked behind Yang to see Melanie and Militia behind her. "Like, is there a problem here?" The latter asked.

"No problem, just requesting to tone it down a bit..." Yang answered before she winked to the DJ who, wanting to avoid a fight, dialed down the volume.

"Yeah, no prob here." He said.

The twins shared a glance, as if they could read each other's mind, and they backed off as the music went down to more acceptable levels, not that the crowd seemed to mind as music was music.

"Nice." Sun complimented as they danced their way back to Blake, who seemed to be most satisfied with how Yang's idea went off.

"Good job, thank you." Blake said to her partner.

"No sweat, care to dance?" Yang asked.

"Love to." Blake said with a smile before she looked to Sun to say "Will you look over my books for me?"

"Sure thing, I need to rest after that anyway." He joked as he settled in.

Blake got out of their table booth and Yang took her by the hand and led her out to the dance floor where she let go of her hand and picked her up by the hips.

"Whoa..." The Cat Faunus said, noting how good Yang's hands felt on her hips before the blonde tossed her up into the air. Blake landed gracefully and twirled around to face her partner. She moved to Yang with her lithe body moving in a natural, smooth, and not to mention alluring way with quick movements that showed off enough of the Cat Faunus' attractive body under her clothes just enough to tantalize anyone who got a good look at her. "So you want to dance, do you?" She said before she grabbed Yang by the hand and pulled her close. "Then let me show you how we Faunus dance."

"I can't wait." Yang said eagerly. Sun rested up in the booth, watching at the impressive, not to mention sexy, moves the two girls were pulling off. He wanted to join in, but decided the two deserved a few minutes, so continued resting for the time being.

Blake and Yang got closer, before taking hold of each other's hands and moving in quick waltz, allowing them to look into their partner's eyes as the dance went on. Blake sent Yang spinning but the blonde came to a stop and dripped down, only to be caught by Blake, whose head ended up rather close to Yang's cleavage.

"Enjoying the view?" Yang teased before coming back up and taking control, dipping Blake down.

"Very much actually." Blake responded before they went back up to continue their dance.

* * *

Currently in Team CFVY's room an action movie by the name of 'Bullet Storm' played on the TV as the various members of Team Beacon sat around the room, with Ren sitting on the large, comfy chair with Nora curled up in his lap while she cheered as a large ship exploded on screen.

"Wasn't that awesome! Oh man, here comes the crash, here comes the crash and... oh yeah! Total bad guy devastation!" She cheered enthusiastically, making Ren smile before Nora accidentally slapped Scarlet who was sitting next to them on a hassock next to them. "Oh, sorry!"

Na, it's alright, I've had worse." Scarlet assured her as he bit down on a chip he was sharing with her.

On Coco's bed sat Neptune laid on his stomach while Ruby and Weiss sat against the headboard together and shared a bowl of popcorn. The Schnee heiress watched as the gun battle onscreen went on and she couldn't help but comment "You know, when you live through something like this, a film version loses its impact a bit."

"A little, but that doesn't make it any-less cool!" Ruby said as she gobbled down some popcorn.

"Ugh, at least chew slowly you dolt." Weiss muttered.

"Yes dear..." Ruby jokingly said through a full mouth, causing Weiss to blush. Next to them, with Zwei on her lap, sat Penny in a wooden chair, happily enjoying the movie. Ruby looked to her and asked "You like the movie Penny?"

"Affirmative! It is most exciting, if a bit unrealistic, but I'm still enjoying it." Penny told her as Zwei leaned up to lick her chin just before he hopped off of her lap and snuggled next to Ruby.

Coco smirked at their antics as she sat on the floor between the beds on a large collection of pillows with Fox while Sage laid out in front of them.

"Whoa, that guy got owned..." Sage muttered as a villain's thug was blow up with a rocket launcher at a rather close range.

"Weird how there's never as much blood as there would realistically be, even with aura." Fox observed.

"Hey, if everything was realistic there'd be a lot more X rated flicks out there." Coco said.

"Eh, true." Her partner admitted.

On the other bed sat Velvet and Yatsuhashi, simply enjoying the movie in peace, with the Rabbit Faunus happily contently cuddling into her partner who smiled down at her.

"Nora, could you get off of me? I'd like to get some water from the fridge." Ren requested.

"No, too comfy." She refused.

Ren smiled and dryly said "Someone help, I've got an adorable girl on me and she refuses to move."

"I got it man." Neptune said as he got off the bed and went to fetch some for his friend.

"Thank you Neptune." Ren called.

Ruby giggled at the scene and whispered to Weiss "Are you happy?"

Weiss gave her partner a look of confusion before answering "Yes, are you?"

"Of course!" Ruby declared, overjoyed to just be here, safe, with her friends, and with the exception of the absence of Yang and the others, Ruby thought this night was absolutely perfect and she wouldn't let anything ruin it, not even if Cinder herself showed up. Tonight, Ruby was truly happy as she leaned back into the pillows and smiled at the crowd of her friends.

* * *

The members of Ozpin's secret group took the recently-rebuilt elevator at Beacon tower into the mysterious depths of famed Huntsman Academy, into places where few knew and fewer have seen outside of those within the group itself. Although the elevator was a bit shaky and it produced quite a few grinding sounds and loud shrieks during its journey downwards it was more than enough to hold the occupants present inside.

Along with him were Glynda, Qrow, Councilor Henry and Taiyang. Ironwood, due to his substantial duties in Atlas and dealing with the consequences of the hard-won battle of the White Fang, was represented through a small crab-like robot which emitted a life-sized hologram of him. While no one spoke of what happened down in the vault during the Grimm invasion of Vale as they walked through its cathedral-like halls, they knew it was the place where everything had gone wrong.

As far as the council of Vale was concerned, other than their own sanctioned clean-up crews were allowed down here, the whole place was off-limits to the average construction workers working on the levels above.

"According to the overseers the repairs of the main building should be completed by next week, which is just right for the date of the Academy's reopening." Glynda explained to the two survivors of Team STRQ. "Finally, after all that has happened we can go back to some measure of normality."

"That's a relief, but anyone mind explaining why are we going down to the underground levels?" Taiyang asked as he gestured around them, "I mean, shouldn't we be in a proper meeting room right?" Just moments before he remembered taking an oath of secrecy in Glynda's relatively intact office with the members of the secret group in attendance, before heading down into the vault.

"Like the half-wrecked, half-finished remains of my office, Mr. Xiao Long?" Ozpin asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.

The blond Huntsman gave a nod when he realized Ozpin had a point, but Qrow himself had another question on his mind, and it couldn't wait as far as he was concerned.

"Oz, why are we coming down here again? Shouldn't this place be off limits after all the shit that happened?" The red-eyed Huntsman inquired.

"Because Amber's life support machine is not the only things that lies within the vault." Councilor Henry answered as the elevator began to slow down.

"What do you mean by that?" Qrow asked, his voice intrigued.

Ozpin looked to Glynda, Henry, and Ironwood, all of whom nodded their heads upon meeting his eyes. "After all Qrow has done for us he deserves to know, as does Taiyang, since this concerns Ruby." Glynda voiced.

"Ruby? What about her?" Taiyang asked, his voice slightly worried.

"Relax Mr. Xiao Long, she's not in any danger." Henry assured him gently.

"Indeed. Allow me to explain..." Ozpin began as the elevator came to a halt at its intended destination. The doors opened up to reveal the vault where Amber had been kept... and murdered by Cinder Fall. As they walked into the vast hallways which were dimly lit by wall-mounted torches which cast a pale green light, Taiyang could not shake the feeling that there was a certain foreboding atmosphere in the air, since the underground surroundings look more like a place for a secret cult of sorts than a place of storage.

The father of Ruby and Yang looked around, both impressed and cautious at the others walked ahead of him. "I trust you remember Sharp Strike, the Remnant Knight who helped your daughter after the mission went south?" Ozpin asked. Taiyang nodded positively and the Headmaster continued, "Before Team Beacon infiltrated the White Fang prison, Councilor Henry arranged for me to meet with another member of the Knight Order, a knight by the name of Shadow Reaper."

"I am their official liaison to the Vale government, to make sure both organizations are kept in check. They also have significant ties to the other three Kingdoms as well." Henry revealed to Taiyang and Qrow, both of whom were a bit surprised but they nodded all the same.

"So where have these Remnant Knights been all this time?" Taiyang asked, holding up one hand, "Why didn't they help us out when Vale was invaded or when we have to take back Beacon?"

"They did have an operative here during the Vytal Festival, but Cinder Fall dealt with him before he could make a move. As for the whole Order, they had other more imperative matters to attend to. Remnant's a large world, Mr. Xiao Long, and they have been fighting the enemy on other fronts to keep all of Remnant safe." Councilor Henry informed him.

"Quite. We spoke of the other three Maidens, who thankfully have remained safe for the time being." Ozpin said.

"Should we really be talking about this in front of Taiyang?" Glynda inquired, crossing her arms and looking at Ozpin with a precautious look on her face.

"He has done more than enough to earn our trust, so we should grant him that. Besides, he has also sworn the Oath of Secrecy." Ozpin said to her, and the blonde witch nodded in agreement.

"So not only do we have operatives watching over the Maidens, but there are also Knights too. That will make it harder for Salem to get her paws on them." Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask.

"Yes, we've been checking in with our operatives, Elsa is safe in the Atlesian Mountains, empowered by the ice and snow elements." Ironwood said.

"And the Spring Maiden; Amethyst, the wild spirit she can be, is moving throughout the Mistral countryside under several pairs of watchful eyes." Henry stated.

"And the Summer Maiden, Heliosia, is being safeguarded at Shade Academy at Vacuo's capital. " Glynda revealed. "She's not injured and with as many powerful teachers, students, and her own guards they'll be more than a match for anyone who dares try and move against her."

"And as long as both the Kingdoms and the Knights do their part, Cinder Fall will have a hard time getting the power of another one of the Maidens. As long as we can help it no Maiden will have to suffer Amber's fate..." Ozpin said with a grave tone in his voice as they all saw in the distance the life support pod where Amber had been kept, the shattered glass scattered around the floor and the ground still scorched from the devastating battle between the Headmaster and Cinder.

Glynda placed a hand on his shoulder and said reassuringly, "You did the best you could."

"My best wasn't good enough. Too many mistakes, I missed the obvious too many times..." Ozpin stopped himself and said, "No, we aren't here to talk about me. We need to talk about the Knights."

"Yes, would it truly be prudent to bring them into this? I appreciate their aid and they will doubtlessly help make the Maidens safer, but we need to be careful since we can't risk anything going wrong." Ironwood said, his voice a little distorted by the hologram.

"Agreed, but the Knights have since proven themselves to be incredibly helpful, I think we can trust them to help us in the fight against Salem." Ozpin said as they began walking down another section of the vault through a perpendicular corridor.

"As do I, they have never done us wrong before." Henry said firmly.

"I think we can work with them. As much as I hate to admit it that Sharp Strike kid saved my ass out there, so we can at least cooperate with them." Qrow stated simply.

As they turned yet another corner to enter an additional hall Glynda nodded, "We will have to be careful around them, but I do not think they mean us harm. I think we'll be able to work with them since our goals are the same."

The hologram of Ironwood considered before saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the old sayings often ring true. Very well, I am also willing to ally with them."

"That's great and all, but what does this have to do with Ruby?"

Ozpin turned to the blond Huntsman to address him and said "Yes, I see no point in delaying it. Do you two remember the Remnant Knight you both encountered in your youth when you were still Team STRQ?"

They both nodded their heads. "Argentius." Qrow said with something like respect in his voice, his flask pausing on its way to his mouth.

"Yes, Shadow Reaper told me that he wishes to meet with Miss Rose. He did not say why, but he did say it had something to do with her abilities with the Grimm, so I assume that it does involve the power of her silver eyes." Ozpin told them.

The two men looked at each other. "I'm not sure how I feel about this." Taiyang said doubtfully, as he wasn't too sure he could trust his daughter's safety if the mysterious Knights were to get involved. What if they wanted to take advantage of her powers?

"Me neither, but if we were to be there, or maybe have the other members of her team go with her, maybe that will make us feel a little better." Qrow looked around at the other members and then at Taiyang. "Maybe they could help her understand her powers better, hone them in, help her in ways we can't."

Taiyang considered what Qrow was proposing and said, "It's not a bad idea... but I still want myself, Qrow, and the rest of RWBY to be there with her just in case."

"I think that would be the best for everyone." Glynda agreed, giving Ozpin a look.

The Headmaster nodded and said "Very well. There's also the matter of Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos, apparently many in the Knights' order, including their leader, Seraph and the one you encountered, Sharp Strike, are interested in the relic they guard. They wish to speak to them as well."

"Yeah, Ruby told Jaune and the rest of us that Sharp Strike and a few others tried to take the crystal from Ashe Kasai years ago, but he somehow managed to hold them off and they decided to let him keep it. And if what they told you is true now that those kids have it they might want it again." Taiyang surmised, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Possibly, but that is yet to be seen." Ozpin answered.

"I'm not so sure, they knew of its power and yet they let Kasai keep it after he defeated a few of them once? Did they ever tell us that he had it?" Ironwood asked Councilor Henry.

"No, they didn't." The Councilor shook his head, "The Knight Order guard their secrets vigilantly."

"Then how can we be sure they can be trusted?" Ironwood put out to the others. "I know it would be best to have them on our side, but this alliance feels desperate."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, old friend. I have something that will help us when we meet the Knights." Ozpin told him as he pressed a panel on the wall the group has stopped at, causing the overhead lights to illuminate the corridor they were in and reveal a massive door with the emblem of the Remnant Knights upon it. Qrow mentally noted it was the exact likeness of the emblem seen on Sharp Strike's right pauldron and the side fairing of his bike.

A small lock appeared as a section of the wall slid back to reveal a small keyhole with intricate gear workings. Ozpin brought up his cane and slid the lower tip into the hole with a sharp click which echoed in the silence, and turned his cane in a series of deft movements as though entering a secret code. The massive entrance groaned open and lights flickered on at both sides of the floor, revealing stone steps leading downwards into another secondary basement.

"What is this place?" Qrow felt himself asking as they all walked down the stone steps.

"A place where my predecessor made an oath with the Remnant Knights, and he entrusted its existence to me when I took over from him some years ago." Ozpin replied as the group followed the curve of the tunnel as it led to another massive chamber with circular lights emanating from the ground in two neat rows towards a black pedestal on an upraised dais in the distance. As they neared the pedestal the group saw that the subterranean chamber had four different life-sized stone statues of armored knights standing at the four points of the compass, their large swords held upwards in salute with their faces hidden behind helmets, while the emblems of the four Knight Legions were emblazoned proudly on their chest-plates. The same pale green glow from the corridors upstairs were also present here in the form of glowing crystal globes attached to the pillars around them.

Resting on top of the pedestal was a simple looking box, yet the design pattern upon it could only be crafted by master artisans with crafting techniques long lost to Remnant. The glow from the crystal globes reflected off its surface and cast small gleaming lights when the eyes of the small group laid on it. The headmaster walked up to the pedestal in front of the others, and tapped his cane on the ground. A small key popped out of its gears near the handle and Ozpin removed it, sliding the key into the lock which was shaped in the emblem of the Knight Order. With a click he opened the box and removed a plain scroll sealed with melted wax.

"Within this scroll are the sacred oaths sworn by both parties to safeguard Remnant." Ozpin returned to the group and revealed the scroll in his left hand, "As long as we have this, the Knights will honor their alliance with us. It also contains instructions to directly contact Tintagel, the Fortress Headquarters of the Remnant Knight Order."

"And where is Tintagel?" Taiyang posed the question in everyone's minds.

"That, Mr Xiao Long." Councilor Henry replied, "...is a place of legends. No one except the Knights themselves know of the location."

"While the Knights have their own secrets and we have ours... there is one thing that remains constant. Without their invaluable assistance in the Three Great Wars, Remnant would have been a far darker place today." Ozpin spoke, and everyone looked at him, "But there is a question we must ask ourselves is this: If the current developing situation is so serious that the Remnant Knights are mobilizing every available Knight under their command..."

"...and everything we've faced thus far pales in comparison to what is coming" Ironwood finished.

Silence met their words, and everyone in the chamber felt a deep sense of trepidation. They may have won a few small victories, but the outcome of the larger conflict was still far from certain. The stakes were higher than never before, and defeat meant the complete extinction of every living thing on Remnant.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha had returned to their hotel room, they had made their way back through Vale Center Park, which had an entrance near the hotel. Their walk had been peaceful and uneventful, as it had mostly been the two enjoying each other's company.

Jaune had locked the door while Pyrrha had gone into the bathroom to change, her face had been one of pure happiness. "So, did you have a good time?" He asked.

"A wonderful time. It couldn't have been better." Pyrrha answered from behind the bathroom door as he took off his blazer jacket.

"Thank you, I'm glad I was able to make you happy." He said.

"You always make me happy." She called to him

"Well, I guess I'll just... keep making you happy? I don't really know what to say." He admitted as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Pyrrha laughed and said "You don't have to say anything, you just have to be you." Inside the bathroom Pyrrha put on her bathrobe and sighed as she looked in the mirror, deep into her own eyes. "Tonight will be the night... if he wants to..." She whispered to herself.

Outside Jaune opened the drawer in the nightstand and took out the box of condoms. He didn't know if they'd really have sex tonight, it was something he wanted for sure, but only if she was ready. Regardless, it had been a wonderful night so it didn't matter if they had sex or not. All they needed to be happy was each other.

Jaune's head jerked up at the sound of the bathroom door opening and Pyrrha exited clad in a long peach-colored bathrobe. "Jaune... today when she shared minds... we both each other's desires, so be both want to... be intimate..." She said, obviously nervous.

Jaune, naked from the waist up nodded. "Yeah, and I... I know it's a big step, but I think I'm ready for it. If you're not, then that's okay with me, I respect your choice and all that ma..."

"Jaune, make love to me." Pyrrha said suddenly as she undid the belt of her bathrobe and let it fall to the floor as she stood naked before him. There wasn't an inch of clothing upon her magnificent body that was perfection in his eyes; her legs were looked powerful, long and mesmerizing, leading all the way up her womanhood which was shaved and there for him alone to see. Her upper-body had an hourglass shape, making her hips stand out a bit, her muscles stood out quite a bit, but they weren't hard. Instead they were a mixture of hardened muscle and soft skin, as evidenced by the six-pack upon her stomach which was noticeable, but not distracting in the slightest. His attention was then caught by her perfect breasts which hung freely in the air with rosy pink nipples erect for attention, they were huge, bordering on E-cup. Above her bosom was the scar from Cinder's arrow still marked her, still perfect in his opinion, skin, along with a few other old bruises and marks, but they didn't bother him in the slightest, doing nothing to distract from her beauty. Her elegant, but powerful, arms no longer had the bracelets upon them, and her neck was bare as well, leading up to her beautiful face with deep emerald eyes and scarlet hair, still held up in the usual long ponytail style, but without the circlet.

All in all, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, no competition, and he knew nothing would ever top the sight of a naked Pyrrha Nikos.

"Jaune?" She asked, despite the fact that he loved her she still worried if she wasn't appeasing to his eyes at first, but the tent in his pants proved otherwise. "Are you alright?

Jaune tried to speak, but at first nothing came out but eventually he managed to utter "I... I... oh gods you are... there aren't... I... oh for the love of...!" The blond suddenly shot up, closed the distance between them as he wrapped his arms around her, and brought his face to hers as they united in a powerful, love-filled kiss. Pyrrha leaned into it, returning the kiss as much as she could as she used her arms to feel and grope Jaune's attractive body, she felt his muscles all over his torso and she loved what she felt. She reached up and buried her hands into his messy hair as she pulled him closer, their kiss becoming more heated. Feeling daring he moved his hands from her back and moved down to her bottom and groped her shapely, round ass that felt wonderful against the palms of his hands.

Pyrrha moaned as he squeezed her butt and, feeling a bit playful, decided to pay him back by moving her hands down to the front of his pants and quickly undoing the belt buckle before yanking down his pants and groping his groin through his boxers, making him moan in response, their lips never parting the whole time.

They eventually separated for air, but their eyes never left each other. Both of them breathed in and out deeply before Jaune said "That was... that was awesome..."

"Yeah... I think we both needed that." Pyrrha said with a smile and teary eyes.

"So, I guess I'm doing everything right?" Jaune said as he wiped the joyful tears away, kissing her cheek.

"Of course." Pyrrha assured him as she tugged as the waistband of his boxers. Jaune got the message and removed his underwear, showing her his manhood for the first time. She didn't know what to expect, but he was clearly bigger than the average man, as her eyes widened upon seeing his seven inch erect length.

"It's... it's not too small is it?" Jaune asked nervously.

Pyrrha answered by taking his length into her hand and whispering "No." She began assaulting his head and neck with loving kisses. Jaune smiled before he decided to get a little more playful and bowed his head down to bury it in her breasts, kissing and licking the glorious orbs and making her moan in ecstasy as she held his head and pressed him against her chest, smothering him in her glorious mounds as she used her free hand to gently grab his thick member and stroke it lovingly.

"Oh man..." Jaune groaned, loving the feeling of her hand upon him before she grabbed it and slowly began to pump it. "Eager?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She whispered to him, overcome by the feeling of his face against her breasts.

"Then I should stop dragging my feet and focus on pleasuring my goddess." He said as he took one breast in his mouth and sucked on it while his right hand went down to her sacred place and began to massage it, making the Spartan gasp before crying out in pleasure, making her glad that the rooms of the hotel were soundproofed for privacy. Jaune flexed his fingers against her quim, feeling the juices beginning to flow as he teased her, getting more moans from her.

"How am I doing so far?" He asked in a voice that was muffled by her breasts.

"Wonderful..." Pyrrha answered.

"Then I better work harder." Jaune quipped before he knelt down and swept Pyrrha off of her feet, and picked her up bridal style, Pyrrha cried out in surprise at first as she felt his strong arms holding her close, but when she collected herself she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips again. "I hope you're ready, because I'm going to worship every inch of you." He said as he turned around and stepped up onto their bed. His Emotion Semblance, powered by the sheer love and affection coursing through his body, helped him do these feats with relative ease.

He made it to the middle of the bed and smirked as he dropped her onto the comfy mattress, making her laugh as she landed with her breasts jiggling wildly. He smiled down at her as she crawled back until her head was on the pillow and said "Do you want me, brave knight?"

"Oh yes, fair maiden..." Jaune answered before he dropped down on all fours, lifting himself above her on his hands, his face above hers, "and I intend to make you feel exactly what you deserve to feel... wait, is that too corny?" He asked.

She laughed again and said "Who cares? Come here!" She knocked him off his hands, causing the distance between them to close as his lips met hers yet again and they engaged in another series of mad and desperate kisses, Jaune loving the feeling of her breasts against his chest while she felt his hardened cock rubbing her between her thighs.

After another make out session that left the two breathless, they parted, gazing into each other's eyes. "Now, allow me to go down." Jaune said suggestively, before he slid down Pyrrha's body, planting three kisses on her neck. He made it to the scar that Cinder had left on her body and he placed a gentle, but very loving kiss upon it, to let her know that he would always be there for her. He crawled down a little bit and began to kiss and play with her remarkable breasts, kissing, groping, and massaging the plentiful globes while taking turns sucking on both nipples, making her moan and occasionally squeal in pleasure. Her breasts had always been sensitive, but now she was grateful for it as he worked his magic on her.

"Jaune... how are you so good at this?!" She cried pout the last word as he playfully began to pinch and tease her nipples while bouncing the globes in his hands.

"Well... I wanted to do the best I could, so I watched some videos so I'd know what to do. Let me tell you; not one of the women in those things can compare to you." He promised her as she groped and rubbed his back.

"Flatterer." She said with a smirk.

"Any flattering I make is an understatement." He added before he planted a kiss upon both of her nipples and began moving down, stopping briefly to admire her strong, but elegant six-pack that adorned her belly before kissing it as well, but soon enough he came to her most sacred and private place, her womanhood. He sat so he was right in front of it, the stare made Pyrrha blush.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, a tad nervous.

He looked up to her with a reassuring smile and shook his head. "Just a little nervous, I've never done this before so I don't want to mess it up." He said.

"Well, I've never done this either, so we'll just have to learn together." She told him, reaching out to rub his sun-kissed hair affectionately.

He smiled up at her before he took hold of her powerful thighs, took a deep breath and plunged in. Pyrrha shirked out in pure pleasure as his tongue entered her and began to lick wildly, made all the better by him kissing vulva. His tongue moved about inside her pussy, licking everything he could, savoring the wonderful taste and scent of Pyrrha. He switched between quick, teasing licks or long, erotic ones that drove Pyrrha nuts with the pleasure they were giving her. Pyrrha brought her hands down on his head and brought him forward to get him closer to her core, her thighs tightened around his head to keep him in place.

"There! Keep doing that! Oh gods! Oh yes!" She cried as she bucked forward to help him out. Jaune kissed her vulva once again before removing his hand from her thighs and sneaking them down to her soft rear, which he groped and massaged at both sides, making her emit a sweet, content sigh as she massaged his head.

Jaune's tongue moved every way he could make it; left, right, up, down, in circles, straight... anything he could do to her womanhood he did with gusto and it was driving her closer and closer to the edge.

He looked up at her and she met his gaze, giving him a look of pure love, desire, and happiness. "Jaune... tha-thank you!" She said to him before moaning again. Jaune smiled in victory, he was actually doing it! Now all he needed to do was push her over.

Pyrrha was puzzled as she felt him shifting beneath her and she yelped out when his grip on her ass tightened. "Jaune? What are you...?"

All of a sudden Jaune sat up on his knees, his Semblance helping him to hoist her up with him, making her wrap her legs around his head as she yelled out loud as she grabbed his head, holding him tighter to her pussy as his tongue alternated between slow and quick as he teased her pussy relentlessly. The Invincible Girl held on to her love for dear life as she felt the heat within her grow, the pleasure getting more intense by the second. Something felt like it was going to burst.

"Jaune! I... oh my gods! Oh Jaune! Keep... Oh! Ah! There! OH!" She cried out. Jaune kept it up, probing her more and more until...

Pyrrha let out a loud scream of passion as she came. Jaune's face became covered in her juices, which he lapped up eagerly until he felt his lover go limp. Moving quickly he placed his hands on her hips and shouldered her legs off as he helped her down, her eyes glazed, her face one of pure bliss.

He laid her against him body, holding her gently in his lap, which meant his cock ended up sandwiched between the rounded cheeks of her rear which of course felt very pleasant, but that wasn't the main thing on his mind right now. After he turned around to face the bed properly, he licked her cum off of his face while he focused on gently rubbing Pyrrha's back as she slowly breathed in and out to come down from the sexual, and emotional, high she had experienced.

As she recovered she began to hug him, nuzzle her head into his neck before drawing back to look him straight in the eyes. Blue met green as they stared as each other, her orbs full of emotion, desire, and, above all else, love.

"So, did you enjoy it?" He asked with a small smile.

Pyrrha answered by surging forward and slamming her lips into his, initiating another make out session, but one that was more passionate than any they had shared before. He fell backwards to the bed and held her tight as she kissed him desperately, which he was happy to return. This make out session was particularly amorous, as it was three minutes before it properly ended with the two gasping for air.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said as he cupped her face.

She giggled before smiling at him and saying "Jaune, thank you so much. This is... this is a dream come true for me. This is my first time and you're making it so wonderful." She said to him as she rubbed his chest.

"I'm honored to be your first." He told her, "So you've never came before?"

She shook her head, "No, that was my first orgasm, and it was amazing."

Jaune smiled before asking "So... do you want to keep going?"

"Yes." She answered right away as she sat up on him. He nodded and reached over to get out a condom from the box and place it on his manhood.

"It's supposed to hurt the first time so..."

"Relax Jaune, my hymen was stretched out a long time ago. Just a little side-effect of my training." She explained to him. He nodded, remembering hearing about that kind of thing could happen when a woman undergoes rigorous training like she did. "I'm ready."

"So am I." He said, and with that Pyrrha lifted herself up and moved down Jaune's body to perform one of the ultimate acts of love and trust. Jaune's hands took hold of hers and she gave him a loving look before she slowly and carefully lowered herself onto his erection. She grimaced in slight pain, her hymen wasn't as issue, but she was still a virgin, so this was still a somewhat painful experience at first and Jaune could tell, so he sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm here."

Pyrrha smiled through the pain to caress his face as she kept going down until his entire length was sheathed within her. She was about to scream out in pain, but he quickly sealed her lips with a kiss, muffling it. She wrapped her arms around Jaune's naked torso, groping and squeezing his body as hard as she could while Jaune returned the motion and rubbed her back soothingly, occasionally squeezing her attractive bottom and all the while their tongues danced about in their connected mouths.

Eventually Pyrrha drew away from Jaune, still gasping in pleasure occasionally. Jaune looked her up and down, seeing her sweaty, sexy body. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah... It... it actually feels really good..." She said.

"You feel amazing to me. It's tight, but it's so warm and so good." Jaune told her as he lifted his hand around to play with her breasts.

Pyrrha smiled and said "I think I'm ready." She suddenly forced Jaune down on his back, making him yelp out in surprise before he looked up at the indescribably beautiful sight of a naked, sweaty, and happy Pyrrha Nikos. She smiled down at him and said "Jaune... thank you... for everything."

Before he could respond he moaned in pleasure as Pyrrha slowly began to move up and down on his cock, the Spartan moaning with him. Her motions were slow at first, careful, but gradually they became faster, with him helping by bucking his hips up with her, making her gasp the first time he did so. This felt so good, so amazing, it was hands down the best feeling Jaune had ever experienced. "Oh gods Pyr! I love you so damn much!" He cried, which earned him one of her beautiful smiles in response.

The couple worked in unison, Pyrrha going up and down and Jaune bucking his hips forward, and soon it enough it became faster, causing Pyrrha's large breasts to bounce wildly. Jaune looked up at those wonderful globes and reached to grab them, but Pyrrha caught his hands and teasingly said "Not yet."

"But they're so soft and feel so good! It feels like heaven to bury my face in them!" He declared.

"Tell me how much you love me Jaune! Tell me what I am to you!" She demanded as she leaned over, breasts still bouncing and body going up and down.

"I love you unlike anything else! You're the most wonderful person I've ever met and I hate that I was so stupid when we first me! Oh Oum, you are the love of my life!" He declared.

"What else?" She demanded as she went up, juices overflowing from her womanhood and coating his cock.

"More than just my girlfriend. You're M'lady, my beloved!" He cried.

She kept pumping up and down, panting and gasping with glistening sweat covering her entire body, a look of love and lust in her eyes. "What else?!"

"My mistress! My angel!" Pants and moans followed as both of them approached their climax. "My princess!" He reached his hands up on both sides of her body and rubbed slid them up and down. "My queen!" Pyrrha gripped his shoulders hard, holding on as she bounced more and more, their moans getting louder. "My empress!" He reached up to her face and made her look him right in the eyes in another love-filled stare. "My goddess!"

Then it happened.

They both cried out in pure bliss as their orgasms hit at the same time, it was the most amazing thing either of them had ever experienced.

Pyrrha managed to hold herself as she threw back her head while Jaune, working as hard as he could to focus as his condom held in his cum, moved his hands to massage her breasts, driving her pleasure up even further, making her feel like she knew what heaven felt like.

In their post-orgasmic bliss Pyrrha's arms nearly gave out, but he caught her and gently helped her down to lie on his chest while his cock withdrew from her sex.

For a few minutes they didn't say anything, they just laid there together, breathing to regain energy and enjoying the physical and emotional sensation of making love for the first time.

Eventually they had regained enough strength, as Jaune removed his condom and tossed it into the trash, Pyrrha's love-filled eyes looked at her lover and she asked "Jaune, did you mean everything you said?"

He looked at her and answered "Every single word. You are everything to me, Pyrrha. If he ever had to live through my... imprisonment at Haven again, go through all the torture and pain just to be with you, I'd do it without a second because getting you back, sharing my life with you, being with you, and making love to you made all of my suffering worth it."

For Pyrrha Nikos, those words were the most loving and kind she had ever heard. Overwhelming happiness took as tears began to flow and she kissed him passionately once more, letting him know how much she truly loved him. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much Jaune. I love you just as much. I can't put it into words how much I love..."

"You don't have to." He told her before quickly initiating another exchange of kisses.

After yet another make out session, Pyrrha nuzzled her head into Jaune's neck as he pulled the covers over them, after which he slinked his arms under the covers and wrapped them around her to hold her as close as he could while she wrapped her arms around his back and head.

"I love you." She said as she kissed his neck.

"I love you too." He returned as he rubbed her back.

After a night of dining, dancing, and love making, the two fell asleep in each other's arms, tired, but oh so very happy.

* * *

Yang smiled as she and Sun supported a very tired Blake with her arms around their necks. Currently they were in the elevator of the hotel, heading up to the floor where they lived for the time being, and Blake had gotten a bit to into dancing with her two partners and was currently half-asleep.

"I honestly had no idea she could dance like that." Sun said with a grin.

"She's a party animal!" Said Yang, getting a small chuckle out of him.

"I'm eventually gonna stop finding those funny." He said.

"Then I'll just make worse puns." Yang shot back, which made Blake stir.

"Don't encourage her Sun..." She said groggily as she tried to stand up.

"Got your books right here." Sun said as he lifted up the heavy bag in front of her.

She smiled and thanked him as the doors opened up to reveal the hallway.

"Ugh! Finally, we're so close to bed I can feel the pillows." The Cat Faunus moaned.

"Well if you want some pillows that badly my boobs are right here." Yang joked, making Blake shoot up with wide eyes and a deep blush as they came out into the hallway.

Sun laughed hard this time, which made the Cat Faunus blush even harder... but she secretly knew her partner's assets were just as good as any pillow.

"So, did you have a good time out tonight?" Sun asked Blake, who nodded.

"It was... fun. I'd like to do it again sometime." She said, her voice tired but happy.

"Me too, just the three of us and a night on the town." Yang said as the trio arrived to the door of Team CFVY's room. Yang used her robotic hand to make a particularly loud knock as she drummed on the door to announce their return. "Hey, we're back! Hope we didn't miss to much."

There was about two minutes of waiting, during which Blake began to lean on Sun as Yang tapped her foot impatiently. "I can here the TV in there, what's taking them?" Blake wondered drowsily.

"Probably tired like we are." Sun guessed as the knob to the door began moving, signaling an unlocking.

The door opened up to reveal a sleepy Neptune in his sleepwear. The bluenette smiled and said "Hey guys, come on in."

"Tired bro?" Sun asked as he took Blake's bookbag for her, following the two attractive girls into the room where most of Team Beacon were currently in... and most of them were currently asleep. Ren was awake, but dozing, with Nora fast asleep and cuddled up in his lap with Scarlet resting his head on the hassock beside them, snoring lightly. In the middle of the beds Coco, Fox, and Sage were still awake, but Fox was laid out between the beds with Coco resting her head on his midsection while Sage, still lying on his stomach, looked up and nodded to his leader, who nodded back.

On the second bed were Yatsuhashi, who was awake, and Velvet who had fallen asleep and was currently cuddling up to her large partner as he placed the blanket on her. Yang, Blake, and Sun couldn't help but smile at the sight. On the first bed was the truly adorable sight of Ruby, Weiss, Penny, and Zwei; with the still awake Ruby in the middle with Weiss sleeping against Ruby's shoulder and Penny laying her head on Ruby's lap while Zwei was curled up behind Penny and next to Ruby.

Ruby looked up and smiled at them, "Hey guys, you're late."

"Sorry Rubes, had too much fun. Hope you did too." Yang said as Neptune took up his sleeping place on Penny's chair and Blake dropped her bag full of books next to the bed before settling down for a good night's rest.

"We'll tell you all about it in the morning Ruby, right now sleep is priority." Blake told her leader as she began to close her eyes while Sun sat down as well, stretching and yawning, shaking his head.

Yang removed her boots and jacket, leaving clad in a tank-top and she allowed herself to fall backwards onto the bed, grabbing Sun by the back of the neck to take him down with her. Once they landed she wrapped her robotic hand around Blake and dragged her over, having the two lay atop her, with both their heads upon her assets.

Sun, blushing, looked to Blake and asked "So... should I just get used to this?"

"Yes." Blake answered with a sly smile before she leaned forward to kiss him. "Thank you for tonight."

He smiled and nodded and Blake leaned up and sneaked a kiss from Yang. Yang smiled and winked before laying her head down while Blake went back to rest her head on her new favorite pillow.

After a while, everyone in the room went to sleep together. All in all, it had been a good day for everyone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader aka Golden Crusader and smstanton for helping to write this chapter. Also let's thank Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov for putting this fic in the TV Tropes fanfic recommendations section on TV Tropes, since I forgot to thank him last time.
> 
> Also, if you want to know Team STRQ's past with Argentius, all will be revealed in Golden Crusader's prequel fic RWBY Crucible!
> 
> Also for the music to Jaune and Pyrrha's dance, search for MOE AMIT DE and it's the first video result.
> 
> Sorry this chapter took so long, but it needed to be delayed for personal reasons, as my grandmother finally returned home and I had to stay with her to make sure she was going to be alright, and she is recovering nicely, so thank you for all your kind words. Another reason is that this was my first lemon so I wanted to take care and make sure it was good. Also I'm sorry this chapter is so long.
> 
> I hope you lovers of Arkos are happy, and I hope that my first lemon was good enough! Now, there's only one more chapter before the end of this 'volume; or 'season' or whatever you want to call it, so I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll help me make this fic more popular so it can keep going.
> 
> Please help me continue this story and give me


	50. The Beacon Lights Again Part I: Meetings

A pair of Templar Guardians swung open the great double doors leading into the inner sanctum where the meeting between the various Knight Legions of Remnant was supposed to take place, clapping their gauntleted fists to their chest-plates in salute as Argentius walked through those doors with Sharp Strike a few short paces behind him.

The massive hall in which the Round Table was located, with thick pillars rising up towards the vaulted roof which was prevalent in the overall architecture of Tintagel. The walls of the hall were covered with banners denoting the campaigns and missions worthy of remembrance in the past history of the Knight Order, each depicting a major confrontation against the Grimm or the agents of darkness, with the personal emblems of the Knights who took part in those engagements. The largest banner of all which was placed upon a flag stand made of carved black obsidian marble was that of Lord Emmanuel, one of the previous Grand Knight Masters, wielding the legendary Excalibur against the Dark Queen.

As his master took his given place at his assigned throne-like chair, Sharp Strike watched as he gave a nod of greeting to Soul Seer who was seated just a few meters away from his right. She acknowledged his greeting with a small hand gesture, before turning her attention to the other Knight Castellans who have already arrived in the chamber. While Soul Seer had a pair of prognosticators dressed in similar robes over their Aegis armor standing at both sides of her own chair, Argentius only had Sharp Strike standing on his right. The young knight knew that his master had trained many of the other Knights besides him, but none of them were currently present at the moment, so he accompanied his master instead.

As the lenses of Sharp Strike's helmeted face traveled across the wide expanse of the Round Table and the warriors present, they have answered the call of the current Grand Knight Master, and whatever that would be spoken here would only be for the ears of those who have attended. The hall in which the Round Table resided in was also protected in a incredible variety of ways both physically and magically due to it being one of the most important places stepped in the rich history of the Knight Order, dating back to its formation an unfathomable number of years ago. Once the great doors were closed, they would not open until the arranged meeting is adjourned by the Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights.

The Winter Templars of Atlas stood ramrod straight as though at a military inspection, their polished white and silver armor plates glinting subtly in the illumination cast by the light globes mounted on the ceiling high above. The Knight of Air, Knight Castellan of the aforementioned Legion, was a huge eight feet tall individual clad in overlapping armor plates of a partially cybernetic armor crafted with advanced technologies that would make even the top scientists of Atlas green with envy. In the spaces between the thick armor plates cables and other mechanical parts could be seen, and his complex helmet cut an impassive and threatening outlook at anyone who so much as glanced his way. Soft whines of gears and a low steady breathing sound could be heard as the leader of the Winter Templars fixed everyone present with a steady and emotionless gaze, his thickly armored arms and hands resting upon the surface of the table. He was accompanied by a pair of honor guards, one carrying a huge banner with the emblem of the Winter Templars, the other holding a large laser-tipped halberd with its blade pointing upwards.

The Steadfast Sentinels of Vale stood in stark contrast to the Winter Templars, their gunmetal grey and green armor plates. The Knight of Earth, while a little smaller in stature to the Knight or Air, gave a nod of respect to Argentius when he entered the room, and Sharp Strike could see that he was also accompanied by a pair of honor guards from his own legion. One carried the banner of the Steadfast Sentinels Knight Legion, while the other had stood with his broadsword pointed downwards in ceremonial formation, the sharp tip of the thick blade in contact with the stone floor. The Knight Castellan of the Steadfast Sentinels tapped a complex rhythm with the fingers of his gauntleted right hand on the table's surface, while his slightly larger and more elaborate left gauntlet was clenched into a loose fist.

The Relentless Crusaders of Vacuo wore armor of gunmetal grey with red highlights in specific areas on their helmets, body and limbs. Unlike the other Knights who carry swords with straight edges, the Relentless Crusaders commonly carried swords with curved edges to them, in addition to axes that could generate an energy field that can cut through virtually anything. Most of the ranks of the Crusaders were made up of Faunus, but humans were also present within their number. The Knight of Fire who oversaw command of the Knight Legion was a Lion Faunus, as his helmet had openings around the edges for a lion's mane to spill out, and his personal Aegis armor had several masterfully-carved images of predatory animals crafted into the various armor plates. One of the honor guards of the Crusaders held a rather large ceremonial cup between his gauntlet hands by the thick handles with a considerably bright fire burning within, while the other carried the flag of the Knight Legion.

The Eternal Warriors of Mistral's armor of silver and blue gave them their own unique place among the Knight Legions of the Order. Their Aegis armor suits were highly polished and shone brightly in the reflected light of the crystal chandeliers above the table, and if one were to look closer at their intricately-crafted plates of armor, one would find that every inch of those plates were covered in spidery, incredibly detailed and illuminated text extracted from the various famous tomes found in the Knight Order's archives. Upon the pauldrons of the Eternal Warriors various delicately-faceted gems could be seen inlaid in them, along with the signature emblem of the Knight Legion. The Knight of Water, Knight Castellan of the Eternal Warriors, regarded the other Knight Legions present in the manner a warrior would analyse his opponents for any strengths and weaknesses, as it was said that the Knight of Water was a fierce warrior who had never lost an honor duel, except to Argentius and the Grand Knight Master himself.

And there used to be a fifth knight legion as referenced in the Knight Order's archives, but something rather terrible happened to that particular legion which necessitated its disappearance and wiping of all mentions save for the battles they took part in The Second Great War. Sharp Strike had asked his master about this before, but was informed that only the most senior of Knights knew the truth, but they were also forbidden to speak about it. The only clue the twin sword-wielding knight found in the extensive archives of the Order only came up with two words: Shadow Revenants. Looking around the large table, Sharp Strike had the impression that a long time ago the there would have been more of the Knight Order's warriors, as there was quite a number of empty spaces at the Round Table. But time, various trials and attrition in the various battles the Order had taken part in during the Three Great Wars took their toll, resulting in those various Knight Legions being broken apart, reforged or absorbed into the other remaining legions until only four legions remained. And while their numbers weren't as many as before, the Remnant Knights remained vigilant in their protection of the people of Remnant, countering the forces of darkness wherever they might be so that innocents would not be harmed.

Sharp Strike sensed another presence beside him, and turned in time to see Shadow Reaper emerging out of the darkness a short distance behind Argentius's chair as though the black shadows unveiled him like some kind of magician's trick. The gun-sword-wielding Knight bowed a little in respect to Argentius before taking his place at the left of the honored warrior's throne chair, while Sharp Strike occupied the right. The young knight heard a soft murmur of a few words passing between Shadow Reaper and Argentius, and his master gave a grave nod after listening to Shadow Reaper's latest report. The Beowolf-shaped helmet turned and regarded Sharp Strike for a fleeting moment before turning back to focus on the stone table in front of them.

"All rise for Grand Knight Master Seraph Pendragon." The Templar Guardians around the chambers all spoke in one voice at the same time and every Remnant Knight present either stood up or stilled their movements. The massive doors behind the head of the table opened and the current Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights walked into the chambers, his silver-grey elaborate armor suit glinting in the lights. He wore a helmet with three metallic wings extending from either side, while the azure lenses that took in every available detail in a stern countenance regarded every other Remnant Knight in the meeting chamber. The sound of the doors closing behind him thundered through the room once he made his way to the seat at the head of the Round Table.

"Fellow Remnant Knights, we meet again." The Grand Knight Master spoke in a calm and measured tone, and there was several echoing clacks as the knights of the four legions all brought their gauntleted fists to their chest-plates in salute, while the Knight Castellans all drew their own swords and brought it to their face-plates as Seraph drew the legendary sword of the Remnant Knight Order, Excalibrius from its scabbard and held it aloft in front of him. It was, according to legend, older than the Knight Order itself, and given to the first Grand Knight Master when the aforementioned Order were first formed, and was passed down to every succeeding new leader the Order had until present day. Long lines of tiny script were set into the lengthy silver blade, tapering down to an ornate hilt of gold inset with the words, 'Caliburnus Rex' fashioned into the material itself, "Protect the innocent, survive the trials, serve Remnant."

"Protect the innocent, survive the trials, serve Remnant!" The shouts of every knight present echoed throughout the meeting chambers like thunder and echoed up into its vaulted roof. Seraph brought down his sword and slowly sheathed it, the four Knight Castellans doing likewise while the rest of the knights stood at attention again, "Be seated. I hereby declare the meeting in session."

A feast of rich conversation immediately descended among the gathered Remnant Knights, as intelligence on various operations undertaken by the different Legions as well as various Knight Errant operatives were reported, analyzed and sifted thoroughly for every small piece of useful detail. The group of figures clad in a variety of distinctive archaic suits of Aegis Knight armor engaged in deep discussion even as they traded and compared the different pieces of crucial information they had individually gathered over time.

"Grimm attacks on the other Kingdoms have intensified considerably as of late, Grand Knight Master." The Knight Castellan of the Steadfast Sentinels reported grimly, his own fingers producing a faint tapping sound on the table's surface.

"And how did the other Kingdoms fare besides Vale?" Seraph replied, steepling his armored fingers slowly with his elbows set on the table.

"The Kingdom of Atlas has been able to weather the storm due to its advanced automated defenses and extensive military forces. Our agents in Atlas have also reported that they are currently holding the line on all fronts for now." The Knight Castellan of the Winter Templars replied in a near-robotic voice, the horizontal visor slits of his helmet regarding the leader of the Remnant Knights calmly.

"Our Knights operating in Vacuo have reported that they have encountered a significant increase in swarms of more powerful Grimm in the outskirts areas." The Knight of Fire mentioned with a straight and serious face, "However, the capital of Vacuo is relatively peaceful and they have increased the Vacuo Rangers' frequency of patrol as well as stepping up on their security to counter those Grimm threats, as several Hunters are being assigned to protect villages instead of one."

"The Mistralian military forces are stretched thin across their continent, Grand Knight Master." The Knight Castellan from Mistral reported gravely, "While the capital of Haven has significant military forces to protect it, the same cannot be said of the settlements of Kuchinashi and Windpath. Our Knights stationed in that Kingdom had to secretly intervene a few times in those outlying towns."

The Grand Knight Master gave a nod as he absorbed the latest updates of relevant information before speaking, "I have listened to the after-action reports of Operation: Fracture. The White Fang's overall fighting strength has been severely crippled, and since the death of Adam Taurus there wasn't a strong enough figure to hold them together, so while most have been captured while, there are still several sizable cells unaccounted for despite the mop-up operations by the various military and law-enforcement agencies of the Four Kingdoms, and despite our best efforts they seemed to have gone to ground for the moment."

"Operations Whiteout, Desert Strike and Wave Ride have also met with success as they have also crippled the White Fang operations in the other continents." Soul Seer said, her golden eyes looking at the Grand Knight Master calmly as she rested her hands on top of each other, "All mission objectives have been met, and all evidence we have gathered so far points to the fact that the White Fang in which Taurus controlled will never recover from the simultaneous blows we have struck, not to mention the main assault by the Altesian-Vacuoan forces at their headquarters."

"So it would seem, and that's a significant victory as we have effectively cut off a significant amount of troops for The Dark Queen." Seraph gave a nod of acknowledgement before turning to Agentius posing a question, "What new information have we received from Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon and Councilor Henry of the Vale Council?"

"Professor Ozpin successfully led a counterattack to retake Beacon Academy with considerable military assistance from the Atlas Military as well as several hundred Huntsmen," Sharp Strike's master replied slowly, "However, judging from the collateral damage Vale has suffered, the Kingdom would need a number of months to fully recover from the... incident that happened there several months ago."

"Vale will recover in due time. However, the current situation facing Vacuo and Mistral might tip the battle in the enemy's favor should any of the other Kingdoms suffer an overwhelming Grimm attack." The Knight Castellan of Vacuo stated carefully, "Another important concern is that Vale might not be able to weather another Grimm invasion since it has only barely recovered from its previous incursion."

"You have a point there. Have our Knights stationed in Vale continue to gather more information on the developing situation, and tell them to keep their guard up." Seraph replied, and the Knight Castellan of Vale nodded his head in agreement. "And what of the Aura Crystal, has there been any news?"

"We have fresh news on that front. Shadow Reaper has spoken with headmaster Ozpin and he has informed us of the new guardians that are currently in possession of the Aura Crystal." Argentius spoke, his voice echoing around the meeting chamber, "Apparently the relic has chosen them to be its new bearers since Ashe Kasai is no longer alive."

Seraph nodded, considering this information as the Knight Castellan from Mistral asked respectfully "Are we going to take back the Aura Crystal from its new guardians, Grand Knight Master? It would make sense for us to take and protect such a important relic from the agents of Salem."

"No. We would need to see if the new guardians are worthy of protecting the Aura Crystal for ourselves." Seraph answered carefully, "I am sure we will see to that matter personally once we meet those guardians at the secret meeting Headmaster Ozpin has arranged for us. I do not want a repeat of the incident with Ashe Kasai again." Sharp Strike could feel Seraph glancing at him when he said that. No one argued it, they all nodded at Seraph's decision. The leader of the Remnant Knight Order spoke up once more, his stern voice echoing around the chambers as he inquired "Has the Headmaster of Beacon Academy mentioned anything else, Argentius?"

The warrior gave a nod of his head, "Yes, Grand Knight Master, mere hours ago, in face. Headmaster Ozpin and his group have obtained permission from the councils and they are formally requesting for an alliance with the Remnant Knights, considering the... exceptional circumstances facing us now."

There was a brief murmur of voices around the Round Table, which was quickly silenced as Seraph held up one gauntleted hand for silence, "I see. Remnant Knights, it seems that we may have to change our rules of engagement soon in order to fight our enemy more effectively, and we need all the allies we can get."

"Grand Knight Master, are you sure that's sensible for us to do so? Our Knight Order has maintained its existence in secrecy for several generations to safeguard Remnant by fighting the Grimm whenever and wherever we are able to do so, but if we reveal ourselves now we might become potential targets for Salem or her agents." The Knight Castellan of Vale pointed out selflessly.

"The enemy has made their move, and if we don't match them blow by blow we would be eventually beaten back continuously until we have nothing left. I will not let that happen... not when I have sworn an oath to The Wizard to prevent the cataclysm from happening ever again." Seraph answered, the last few words invoking a momentary sense of trepidation among the Knights present, as there were more than a couple sharp intakes of breath at the mention of the costly battle which nearly ended all life on Remnant several years ago. It was won at a heavy cost, and the effects of that battle were still affecting the Knight Order even until today, albeit on a smaller scale.

"Should the worst happen, wouldn't that be the appropriate time to summon Avalon?" The Knight of Atlas said in an emotionless tone.

"Avalon is only an option when all others have failed." Seraph remarked sharply, his helmeted head turning to regard the large white and silver armored knight, "At the moment we are coping with the obstacles the agents of Salem have thrown in our way so far, and countering them effectively. But should the worst happen and not even our alliance with Ozpin's guardians could stop what's coming, Avalon might be our best chance to avert disaster."

His statement received grim nods from all the Knight Castellans present, and they all knew about the consequences of using Avalon. The Promethean Tribe assisted the Knight Order in the creation of Avalon, and even though the tribe of exceptional weaponsmiths have fallen to the Grimm some time ago, they have managed to complete Avalon and entrusted it to the Remnant Knights, telling them to use it in their time of greatest need. Throughout the Order's history it has never been used, but should the time comes it would mean that something cataclysmic would befall Remnant that necessitated its use.

"And the status of the remaining Maidens?" Another question left the lips of the Grand Knight Master.

"The Winter Maiden Elsa is currently being watched over by the Atlas Military as well as a significant detachment of the Winter Templars." The Knight of Atlas reported.

"The Spring Maiden Ameythst is being tailed by some of our best Knights within the Eternal Warriors Legion." The Knight of Mistral replied, "So far she hasn't detected any of them yet, she only know of the Hunters guarding her, but we are keeping a careful eye on her."

"The Relentless Crusaders report that Heliosia the Summer Maiden is currently at Shade Academy in Vacuo. She's safe there and her identity is a carefully guarded secret from the students and certain staff there." The Knight of Vacuo mentioned, "As long as she doesn't use her powers no one would be the wiser about her presence."

"Good. We would need to watch over them carefully, since Salem will probably be sending her agents to seek out the rest of the Maidens for their individual powers." Seraph observed, "And after what happened to Amber, Ozpin's slight overconfidence might just become his worst enemy."

"What are your orders for us now, Grand Knight Master?" The Knight of Fire asked.

There was a pregnant pause as Seraph remained silent, the azure lenses of his winged helmet regarding everyone present as he dealt with whatever he had listened and discussed right down till the latest moment. After a while, he placed his gauntleted hands on the marble table and replied, "Continue with the orders I have given to each Knight Legion for the moment. Also, inform the other Remnant Knights out in the field that their assigned missions have been slightly altered. They are hereby given new orders under the authority of Grand Knight Master Seraph to protect the Maidens at all costs."

"As you command, Grand Knight Master." The Remnant Knights present all intoned solemnly.

"Good. Until we meet again, Remnant Knights. Eternal Vigilance!" Seraph stood up and clashed one hand to his chest-plate which had the impression of an angelic figure wielding a long spear carved into its surface.

Immediately, all the Remnant Knights within the meeting chambers drew their long weapons in response and pressed them to their faceplaces, shouting the credo of their ancient Order loudly and powerfully. "Protect the Innocent, Survive the Trials, Serve Remnant!"

"Dismissed."

Within moments the various Remnant Knights vanished into the darkness, leaving the marble table and chairs the only object illuminated by the ethereal light in the empty cavernous chamber.

All except for Argentius, Soul Seer, Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper. With a casual gesture of her fingers, Soul Seer dismissed her accompanying prognosticators who bowed respectfully and left as quickly as they came. Before the meeting, each of them have been informed that they would need to remain with the Grand Knight Master after everyone has left, and all of them knew what he would be speaking to them about.

"I am sure you all know the reason I have called you all to remain?" Seraph spoke in a low and measured tone. Slow nods coming from the small remaining group of Knights answered his question.

"Good. I will be brief then. Councilor Henry and Headmaster Ozpin have agreed to a secret meeting with us at Beacon Academy to speak about certain matters regarding our alliance as well as bringing to us the current guardians of the Aura Crystal. The time and location has already been set, and you will all accompany me to the meeting they have arranged for us." The leader of the Knight Order continued, "And Argentius would also be meeting someone particularly important once we were there."

Sharp Strike saw his master give a curt nod in response at the last sentence, his gauntleted hands resting atop each other. Seraph turned and looked at Soul Seer with a sharp look, "I am requesting your presence to make sure that everyone there is who they say they should be...and also to identify the Aura Crystal to be the authentic one. We have chased enough phantom leads with regards to that relic in the past, and so we must be cautious."

"Of course, Grand Knight Master. I would perform my duty as ordered." Soul Seer remarked in a cautious yet firm tone in her usually gentle voice.

"We will be taking the stealth prowler Andromeda for the journey to Beacon Academy in Vale. Forge Smith, Iron Fist and Eagle Eye will join us at the Tintagel airship docks at the appointed time before we leave. The council of Vale has already secured safe passage into the Kingdom as per our agreement." Seraph added in his gravel voice once more, "Report to the departure bay at the given time, and be prepared for...anything. Am I clear?"

"As you command, Grand Knight Master." The remaining Remnant Knights stood up and saluted the leader of the Remnant Knights, before turning and vacating the chamber as well, leaving Seraph alone with whatever thoughts that occupied his mind after the conclusion of the latest meeting.

* * *

Claudandus sighed to himself as he rested in the bed in the guestroom of Ghira and Kali's home. Kali, ever the caregiver, insisted that he stay with them in their home until he was feeling better, just in case any White Fang escapees wanted revenge. A part of Claudandus wondered what would have happened if he had died at that base, what if Adam had rammed a sword through his torso. He wouldn't put it past Adam to do such a thing, as it would be just more blood upon the dead Faunus' hands.

A part of him pitied Adam for what cruelty and racism had done to him, but he knew that in the end Adam's death had been earned. Still, the thoughts of who Adam could have been had hatred not consumed him made the old cat wonder. Adam had died with the old White Fang... and Claudandus wondered if he should have died with it too.

No. He... he deserved to be alive. To spend his last years with his family, with Blake knowing who he really was. After so many years in self-imposed exile, he deserved to be among his family again. He was happy being in Menagerie, and while there were very few humans living there he had noticed something the other day that warmed his old heart; a happy family of a human male and a female Fox Faunus with several children running ahead of them as they walked by. A family like that, one of two species, proved that there was a chance for true racial equality and it wasn't a far away dream anymore.

A knock on his door got his attention. "Come in." The door opened up to reveal Kali, a kind smile on her face as usual, coming into the room.

"Blake's on the scroll, she wants to check on you, you up for it?" She asked.

The old Cat Faunus smiled and said "Always" He got up and accepted the scroll from his in-law and looked at the screen to see his granddaughter's kind face.

"Hello Blake."

"Good morning, grandpa." She said with a slight smile, "I don't think I'll ever really get used to calling you that."

"Neither will I, but it's something I've always wanted to hear." He said warmly.

* * *

As Blake talked to her grandfather on the scroll the others were all getting ready to go down stairs and get some breakfast while some of them were getting a morning shower and the others were waiting for their turn. In Team CFVY's room Velvet was currently taking hers after Coco had her turn while Ren and Nora were waiting for their turns in Team RWBY's, since Ren knew that Jaune and Pyrrha probably wanted some early morning privacy and he did not want to risk walking in on the sight of the two in an undressed, possibly amorous state.

Indeed, Pyrrha was the first to awake, and when she did she smiled and happily snuggled into Jaune's chest, but doing so caused him to stir. She climbed up until her head was before Jaune's and when he opened his eyes he met hers.

"Still the most beautiful thing to ever wake up to." He said as he brought his head up to kiss her. "You sleep alright?"

"More than alright." Pyrrha said as she got off of him, allowing him to sit up and stretch, yawning as he did so, while Pyrrha admired his back muscles. Jaune tried to get up, only for Pyrrha to grab him from behind and bring him down on her chest, making him giggle.

He looked up to her face and lifted himself up to kiss her. "I could get used to waking up like this." He remarked, personally he would have been completely fine with just laying in bed with Pyrrha all day, just the two of them, not even clothes between them. But he knew that they wouldn't be able to do that with all their friends around, but hopefully that could happen in the future when they were... well married. "A part of me wonders if this is all a dream. That I broke down and I just dreamed all of this to cope with losing you. A part of me is still afraid I'll wake up in some horrible reality where you're gone for good and no matter what I do I'll always lose you. And that whenever I open my eyes I have to live with the fact that I lost you." He confessed to her as he held her tightly to give himself some comfort.

Pyrrha hugged him back, leaning into him. "A part of me is still afraid I'll wake up as Fotia Drakos, still Salem's slave... still trying to kill you. But here were are. This, the love between us. Just the two of us together... that's real, and that's all that matters. Forget whatever worlds there may be where I die or you die, the only thing that matters right now is that we're together. Thank you Jaune, for never giving up." Pyrrha said as she hugged him and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"And thank you for loving and never giving up on me." He said gently. He would be aroused by the feeling of her gorgeous naked body against his, but sex didn't really matter. Having the woman he loved was what really mattered to him. "Want to take the first shower?"

"Want to shower together?" Pyrrha asked, a slight boldness in her voice.

"That would be perfect, my Goddess." Jaune said, leaning up to kiss her again.

Outside of their room everyone was getting ready for the new day. While Team SSSN got dressed and showered in their own room, their leader was elsewhere. Sun, who was looking rather nervous for some reason, came up to Yang. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" He asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Um... in private." He added.

Yang noticed how nervous Sun looked and nodded, allowing him to lead her into a secluded corner on the other side of the floor they were on.

"Sun, what's up? Why do you look so down?" Yang asked, currently only dressed in a tank-top and her bike shorts, making for a very pleasant sight but Sun didn't seem to have her good looks on his mind at the moment. "Didn't have fun last night?"

"No, last night was awesome. The best time I've had since... well, y'know." He said, gesturing to his tail. Yang nodded, giving him a sympathetic look. "It's just that... well I'm worried about... well us. Can the three of us really work together?"

"Hey, I think we all knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I think it's going pretty good so far. What's wrong?" Yang inquired.

Sun sighed and said "I'm worried if I'm getting in the way of you guys." Yang's eyes widened and she gave him a look. "Blake loves you and you love her back, you even lost your arm trying to save her. I'm worried that if it's the three of us you'll feel like nothing but a consolation prize, like a third wheel. I don't want you to feel like that."

"I don't." She said firmly, placing her arms on his shoulders. "I don't think you're in the way and I don't feel like I am either. We both love her and she loves us back, and with some time maybe we'll be able to feel the same way about each other."

"Yeah, but..."

"But nothing. Remember what I said to you on Razor's ship? I know how you feel about losing your tail," she flexed her robotic hand, "you have me here for you. We both love Blake and nothing can change that. I don't want you to give her up just because you think you're in the way of us, you're not in the way, you're a part of this." She said to him both firmly and kindly. "Look, if you ever want to talk about this Blake and me are here for you, we always will be, so will your team and the rest of us. Alright?"

Sun smiled at her, feeling better. "Alright. I just want you to feel like an equal in this."

"I feel like I am. You get to kiss Blake, I get to kiss Blake, and we..." She surged forward and kissed him on the lips. He was a bit surprised at first, but returned the kiss just before Yang pulled away. "We can kiss too." She finished before winking at him. "So, don't feel down, don't feel like either of us are in the way. We're all in this together, okay?"

Sun smiled and nodded. "Got it. I'm gonna go join up with my team, see you downstairs."

"Good." The blonde brawler said before walking away, putting a noticeable sway of her hips as she did so and Sun couldn't help but stare at her backside.

Ruby walked down the hallway with Penny, just pacing as she waited for Weiss to finish up with her shower. "Does she usually take this long bathing?" Penny inquired.

"Weiss? Oh yeah." Ruby confirmed with a smile as the door to Team JNPR's room opened up to reveal Jaune and Pyrrha, both freshly showered, having showered together, and freshly dressed, stepping out of the room together. "Hey guys!"

"Hi Ruby, Penny." Jaune said with a smile.

"Good morning to both of you. Did you enjoy the sleepover?" Pyrrha asked them.

"Absolutely!" Penny declared.

"Yeah, it was fun, but I wish you guys could have been there." Ruby said.

"Next time for sure, promise." Jaune swore, holding his fist out which Ruby bumped in return.

"I'll hold you to it. So how was your night?" She asked.

The couple glanced to each other and lightly blushed as Pyrrha leaned into Jaune and said "Magical."

"Oh brother." Fox muttered as he and Coco walked by.

"That's his way of saying 'congrats'. Way to go you two." The fashionista said with a sly smile before following her partner down the hallway.

Ruby and the others smiled at them before the silver eyed Huntress put forth "Well I'm happy for you too, you deserve it. Mind if I use your shower?"

"Go right ahead. Could you tell Ren and Nora to lock it when you're done?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'll do it." Penny volunteered as she whirled around and made her way to RWBY's room.

Ruby thanked them and went into JNPR's room and Pyrrha and Jaune headed for the elevator "See you downstairs." She said before she closed the door.

Yang leaned against the wall by the room her team was in and while Penny went inside Blake was coming out.

"How's Claudandus?" She asked.

"He's doing good. Healing up just fine and feeling a lot better now that he doesn't have to live in hiding anymore." Blake said.

"Why did he go into hiding anyway?" Yang wondered.

"After Adam began to get violent, after a few people were killed, he fled to the Mistral Countryside as a punishment on himself for letting Adam take over, and so no one would blame him." Blake told her sadly.

Yang patted her back and said "Hey, relax. Don't blame yourself for what happened okay? I don't want to keep going over this."

Blake shuddered a bit at the feeling of Yang's robotic hand on her back, a reminder of what Yang had lost because of her, before voicing "I know, you're right. A part of me still wishes I had tried harder to stop Adam before he turned into what he was in the end."

Yang had noticed the shudder and gently took Blake's hands into her own, it was an odd sensation for Blake, feeling a slight coolness of the robotic hand along with the comforting warmness of the flesh hand. "You did try and he wouldn't listen, nothing he did was your fault, that includes this." Yang said nodding to her robotic hand. "So don't blame yourself for what he did, got it?" Yang asked.

Blake smiled at the warmth in Yang's eyes and voice, and felt a little better. "Understood." She said with a nod as Nora came stomping down the hall to JNPR's room.

"How do you live with someone who takes showers that long?!" The redhead cried.

"Weiss?" The duo guessed in unison.

"Weiss." Ren confirmed as he came up from behind his girlfriend.

"Well don't worry Ruby's showers are pretty quick, she likes to use her Semblance to get cleaned up fast." Yang told them. Ren nodded and decided to go back to RWBY's room and let Nora go after Ruby while he waited for Weiss.

"Hey, where's Sun?" Blake asked.

"With his team, decided to get a shower too. He and I had a little chat a few minutes ago."

"About what?"

"Us. Don't worry, everything's good now. He just wanted to be sure all three of us are in this and that we're all gonna be equal in this relationship, no one's a spare or in the way." Yang explained.

Blake nodded, "Good. So... how are we going to tell the others about us?"

"Good question, lets figure it out later." Yang said quickly, wondering how her dad and uncle would feel about the trio's relationship, after all Taiyang had had two marriages, even if they weren't at once. Ruby would probably be okay with it, after all she knew whatever made her sister and friends happy wasn't all bad. They'd have to just wait and see.

Eventually everyone made it downstairs to the dining area of the hotel and they were all having breakfast. Nora, of course, had pancakes and shared them with Ren, Ruby and Yang shared a large plate of scrambled eggs, Weiss, Coco, and Velvet all had a crepe, and so on. Jaune and Pyrrha both had a plate of waffles with some eggs, though Jaune had gotten some bacon as well. Penny didn't need to eat so didn't partake, but she did sit at the table with Zwei in her lap, occasionally sneaking food with Ruby to give to the little dog who ate it heartily.

Ruby looked around at her friends, all eating and enjoying their meals in one way or another and she smiled to herself, hoping peaceful moments like these would last.

* * *

Ziz was dozing off upon the top of a massive Goliath, which was in the middle of a herd of the Grimm marching through the Vacuo desert. She had some headphones upon her ears and she lazily hummed along to a song as her wings stretched out from under her, her hands under her head. While Ziz wasn't one to demand total loneliness she did like having time to herself. Nearby, a Griffon she had rode on perched atop the back of another Goliath, its claws barely being felt by the huge beast.

However, her time alone was short lived as she heard the unmistakable sound of a portal opening. She sighed and glanced over to see a large Saber pounce atop one of the nearby Goliaths with Sheer Kaa riding upon it.

"Here you are, we wondered if you've forgotten." He said calmly as he dismounted the large Tiger Grimm and leapt over to the Goliath she was laid out on.

"About the meeting? No, I didn't forget, just needed some downtime before I called for a portal. Y'know, I like these guys." She said, gesturing to the Goliath herd around them. "Too big for anyone to mess with and they only get riled up if there's a lot of fear and hate, but for the most part they're just calm. I dig that."

"They are quite different from the usual Grimm." Sheer Kaa agreed with a nod before asking "Is something wrong? You've been... off ever since Haven. I've noticed it, but I've wanted a chance to wait until we were alone."

Ziz shook her head and said "It's about Fotia... Nikos, I mean. Before all the crazy shit went down I told her about my old team, BLTZ, how I got left behind. I was an orphan you know? Grew up a loner in the orphanage, guess that's why I became a Huntress, no real family so if I died no one would miss me. Then I got teamed up with them. Jack Boulder, Lana, Tom... We got assigned to help a village in the middle of the desert about to be over run by Deathstalkers and Tarantula Widows. The rangers would perform the evacuation while we kept the Grimm at bay. There were too many of them and we had to leave early... but I got left behind, stuck in Tarantula Widow webbing. I screamed for help, but none came. I saw the ships take off and I was so scared and angry... I guess that's why Salem chose me. I heard my team died a few months later, and I never bothered to figure out what happened, until Nikos suggested I find out for closure. I figured 'what the hell?' and looked up the battle reports on the local servers. They hadn't known I wasn't on the ships, since I was the fastest of them and usually the first one out, and they couldn't hear my voices over the screeches of the Grimm and the screams of the villagers."

"And how did they die?" Sheer Kaa inquired.

"Looking for me. Jack was convinced I wasn't dead, so were the others. They went back into that desert to look for me... and they found Grimm." Ziz told him with a dry, monotone voice.

"And they died there."

"Yeah. They called for help, but it was too late. The report and the news coverage says they all died trying to rescue me. Mistress Salem never told me that." Ziz said to her fellow hybrid.

"And so what now? Your team was the target of your hatred, now you have nothing." He pointed out, "You'll be weaker with nothing to hate."

"Wrong, I got something new to hate now." Ziz said, clenching her fist a bit.

Sheer Kaa smirked and said "I think I can guess, our Mistress?"

"Yep." Ziz said simply.

"Well, keep it to yourself. We don't want her getting wind of your newfound hatred and the others might not be as forgiving as I." He told her.

She glanced at him and asked "You're not snitching? Funny, I thought you'd be the loyal one."

"Oh I am, but you're a good Grimm Commander, would be a waste to dispose of you. Besides, she might not even care, sometimes there's no figuring our master out. Now come on, we've got a meeting to attend." He told her.

She nodded and stood up, her wings flapping a bit before she flew over to her Griffon and Sheer Kaa jumped back onto his Saber. The portal reopened and the two jumped through it.

As they came out in a large corridor in the Grimm Queen's dark palace they saw a young figure, only sixteen years old at the most. She was thin and sickly looking, she was shivering noticeably, her white skin was shining with a wet sheen and her long, soaking black hair was dripping. She nodded to them as she brought up a water bottle to her neck where if one were too look closely they could see a thin slit that slightly opened and closed like a gill on a fish, opening up a bit as she poured the water onto her neck.

"Hey Ziz, Commander Kaa." The young girl greeted.

"Hey Mavis, you doing okay?" Ziz asked as she dismounted.

"Yeah, I'll feel better once this meeting is over and I can get back to the pools." Mavis said. Mavis was the newest, and youngest, Grimm Commander, genetically engineered by West and Dr. Watts to replicate the late Dr. Giger's work. She was to control the aquatic Grimm and despite a few problems adjusting to breathing in water she was holding up alright so far, one major drawback to her Grimm modification, however, was that she couldn't last very long outside of the water, but Salem felt that simply meant Mavis would be better suited for leading attacks on seaside towns, ports, and harbors of major cities.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn to handle dry land better soon." Ziz said as she ruffled the girl's dripping hair.

"Th-thanks." Mavis said. She had been discovered by Salem when one of the Sea Dragon Grimm attacked a small yacht outside of Atlas, Mavis herself had been a daughter of one of the servants and had been one of the few survivors. What made Mavis noticeable to Salem was her resentment towards the rich and upper-class of Atlas who looked down upon others not wealthy enough to live a life of luxury. "Steppenwolffe and the others are waiting for us with Mr. Rainart"

"Well, let's not keep them waiting." Sheer Kaa said before he walked ahead into the hallways, the two females following behind.

Forked lightning crashed through the dark skies while the damning howls of various Grimm beasts echoed throughout the shattered landscape that comprised of Salem's domain. From the spawning pools of inky black liquid scattered around the massive and foreboding palace of the Dark Queen, more hideous and monstrous Grimm creatures climbed, crawled, slithered or flew from those black pits, announcing their birth to the tortured heavens with chillingly horrifying cries of unbridled rage and killing frenzy.

Within the sinister-looking edifice, the sounds of footsteps and soft conversations echoed throughout its gigantic hallways, when normally deafening silence save for the crackle of flames burning in their wall brackets dominated the interior of those aforementioned gloomy hallways. However, if anyone was brave enough to explore the empty chilling halls and venture closer to the source of these sounds, they might just have seen a hooded feminine figure walking at a fairly brisk pace down the main hallway thoroughfare with Emerald and Mercury following closely behind her.

"Just asking, does anyone have any idea what's this meeting we are attending is about?" Mercury asked as he walked, looking to Emerald who simply shrugged her shoulders, "If it's just another boring meeting, you can probably count me out because I am just itching to get back at that yellow bombshell for what she did to me last time in Haven."

Cinder Fall turned sharply, her amber eyes glaring at Mercury who stopped on his tracks and swallowed a little, "You might get your chance soon, Black. And one doesn't refuse Salem's request when she informed that everyone to be present, and you wouldn't want to displease her, do you?"

The silver-haired assassin held up his hands and shook his head before turning a little to see Emerald slowly shaking her head with her arms crossed over her chest, "Hey, I am just joking. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side anyway...because I can get the idea what she can do to people who displeased her. In fact, I am cool with it."

The Fall Maiden's glare focused on him for a few seconds more before she regarded Emerald briefly, her face somewhat hidden underneath the shadowy hood she wore, "To answer your earlier question, yes I do know what this meeting is all about. It concerns about our next move in Salem's great plan, and what our parts are within it."

Then she turned and walked onwards through the side door, with Emerald and Mercury following her through it and into Salem's extensive and windowed throne room. In the center of the chamber stood a long, marble table in the colors of purple and black with a dozen chairs made of purple crystal positioned on each side and a much larger and intricately-fashioned one at the head of the table. Behind the aforesaid seat which was undoubtedly Salem's, a large stained-glass window divided into sections of complex patterns rose high up into the ceiling and allowed the light of the shattered moon to shine down upon the room at regular intervals.

"You will stand behind me, and speak only when I or my master has given you permission to do so." Cinder spoke in a voice that brooked no argument as she made her way to a chair which was near the top. Neither the illusionist nor the assassin argued and they obeyed the Fall Maiden without a word.

Just as Cinder took her seat, there was a noise that sounded like a quick burst of air and a slightly husky female voice asked in a slightly mocking tone, "Well, hello there Cinder. How have you been after all this time?"

Both Emerald and Mercury turned their heads to regard the new arrival while Cinder sighed as she saw a tall, pale woman with nearly shaved off dark brown hair strut up to them and sat next to Cinder. She wore a long and flowing black jacket with a white shirt underneath, in addition to dark trousers and combat boots. The other female human adjusted the cuffs of her jacket as she shot a mocking smile at the Fall Maiden and her followers.

"Thorn." Cinder greeted neutrally as she looked at the pale woman in the eyes.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your students? I haven't had the chance to meet them personally until now." Thorn said with a smirk crawling across her face.

"These two accompanying me are Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black." Cinder mentioned to Thorn slowly, "And this is Thorn Branch, one of Master's students like myself, and she would be either the new Spring or Summer Maiden." She informed her followers while gesturing to the lady beside her.

"So that means only one person can hold the power of only one Maiden at a single time?" Emerald spoke softly, looking down at the seated Cinder.

"Give the Emmy here a cookie. That's correct, and no one thus far have even attempted to absorb all the powers of the maidens one after another. After all, too much power can destroy one's body completely." Thorn's mocking tone coated her words as she raised a finger to prove her point, "You know...originally I thought I will become the Fall Maiden and you, Cinder will become the Summer Maiden, but I guess the name was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Anyway, it's nice to finally meet you both by the way."

Emerald and Mercury simply looked back with what looked like slight aversion on their faces.

"I take it you still resent me for going after the Fall Maiden?" Cinder asked in a calm voice.

"Nope. I am not one to hold a grudge, not most of the time anyway. I just thought being the Summer Maiden would suit you more." Thorn chuckled as she leaned back on her chair just as the main door opened and a large, muscular man with short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes walked in with the various Grimm Commanders following him. Hazel Rainart walked calmly and slowly into the room, surveying the others carefully as he did so, while Sheer Kaa walked with the agile grace befitting a large cat. Steppenwolffe walked briskly behind his commanding officer, the recently-healed scar from his battle with a Remnant Knight showing clearly on his chest. Ziz walked in behind them with the Grimm Siren Mavis trailing close to her for safety as Anansi clacked in behind them, his long spider legs lifting him up from the ground to make himself appear more intimidating. Then came Norvik, his horrific Chimera form lumbering in at the end, and everyone in the room eyed him with both fear and disgust even as they made sure he wasn't about to try anything.

Hazel took his seat directly opposite Cinder Fall with Sheer Kaa beside him while the Grimm Commanders arrayed themselves behind him in short order. Cinder gave them a nod and they returned the motion silently. Hazel had been placed in command of the Grimm hybrids to make sure they were kept in line, but he had come to see Sheer Kaa as a good ally and worthy comrade during their assignments together, so he had little reason to distrust the Tiger Faunus. Norvik snarled a little and corrosive saliva dripped from his fanged maw, but Hazel simply crossed his arms and closed his eyes momentarily.

A smartly dressed man with short black hair that was graying at the sides and a large mustache upon his face came in next, and he wore a gray overcoat with yellow linings and a large collar, along with a yellow dress shirt and a black necktie. His pants share the same gray color as his overcoat, and his yellow-buttoned undercoat was of the same color as his finger-less gloves and cordovan shoes.

"Greetings, Mr Rainart, Commander Kaa, Miss Branch, and...Miss Fall." The man spoke, putting clear emphasis on Cinder's name with some disdain.

"Hello to you too, Doc. What's up?" Thorn fixed the mustached man with a grin while Cinder simply glared daggers at him.

"Everything's fine and dandy at my end, Miss Branch." He adjusted his tie about his collar, "However, that cannot be said of our dear Fall Maiden." At this comment, Mercury grunts and makes a move towards Watts, but Emerald grabbed his hand and holds him back, slowly shaking her head.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve? My sincere apologies. You would do well to keep your posse in check." The man made a mocking bow while Hazel gave him an unimpressed sideways glance.

"Watts, do not antagonize the Fall Maiden. She has faltered for now, but everyone does. Even you will one day." Hazel said with a subtle ire in his voice, looking at the doctor with hard eyes that shared his namesake.

Dr. Arthur Watts sighed and sat down as Dr. West, Dr. Sherizawa, Keeper Matilda all entered the room to stand behind him along with another man, a portly fellow with wild dark hair and deeply tanned skin. Dr. Isiah Cadmus was Salem's other robotics expert who had worked with Sherizawa and Watts to design and create the Grimm Knights. He had not been around much, as he had been stuck at several different factory sites to oversee the production of the robotic army. He had bags under his eyes and a slightly tired look upon his face, giving off the feeling he hadn't slept much. Sherizawa had grown a beard over the past few months and West's hair was noticeably longer, but they still retained some sense and nodded to the Fall Maiden, with West's nod being slightly apologetic for Watt's behavior.

Arthur Watts was Salem's head of science and technology, overseeing the Grimm hybridization process, the construction of the Grimm Knights, and many other things she required in the upcoming conflict, his high ranking and intelligence combined with a privileged life of the Atlas upper-class made him rather arrogant and judgmental to those he felt were beneath him. He was also very wealthy, having a series of dummy companies with legitimate businesses around Remnant providing him with much-needed funds and resources to assist the overall efforts of Salem's inner circle.

"He's right Arty, and when you do screw up, I hope we're all there to point and laugh!" A cackling voice echoed throughout the room from above.

Everyone looked up to see a thin man with a wild face and demented yellow-gold eyes, with long black hair formed into a long ponytail crouched upon one of the taller pillars like a gargoyle. He wore a white sleeveless jacket that left his prominently scarred chest bare along with white trousers with a large black, lumpy belt wrapped around his midsection. His arms are covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces covering the area above his elbows, plus brown gauntlets that went up to his hands. He also wore brown combat boots that covered his entire shin with knee guards.

"Callows." Hazel said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Hey Hazel." The man named Tyrian Callows greeted, putting a mocking emphasis on his comrade's name. He jumped down and landed atop the table, doing a bow as if he expected applause. He straightened up and looked to the door and whistled, while beckoning someone to come forward with an open hand.

Entering through the doors were Lieutenant Hui of the recently renamed Red Fang and his new second in command Ilia Amitola. The latter was a muscular looking Faunus girl with brown skin and light brown hair who had been assigned by Adam to lead a small task force of White Fang loyalists to join Salem's faction on a special mission along with some... experiments by Watts and West. The experiments had been a success for the most part, and the thing around Tyrian's waist was proof of that, as he had been born a human but genetically altered to be something else. Ilia was a different story; she had been born a Cheetah Faunus, as evidenced by the large dark spots on her body, but with some biological tinkering she had become something new. When they had reunited with Hui and the others, Ilia and the task force she commanded had been horrified to learn of Adam's death and the fall of the White Fang, and so they had dedicated themselves to be part of the newly reforged Red Fang.

Tyrian hopped off of the table and into a chair next to Thorn, sitting on his haunches and bent over, letting everyone see the crazed look in his yellow-gold eyes. He cackled to himself after a brief glance in Cinder's direction, rubbing his palms together like a mischievous child about to play a prank on his teacher.

"Tyrian, you showed up on time for once." Watts commented blandly.

"Wouldn't want to disappoint my master." Tyrian stated as he looked over to Cinder again and spoke, "Hey there Cinder. Still hiding your face in shame I see. Too bad that ice cream looking girl isn't with you any more, or she could easily cover up that ugly little scratch with no problem!"

Cinder only stared at Tyrian until she heard Emerald growl and clutched the handles of her sheathed guns. Quickly bringing her hand up, she turned to regard Sustrai, "Don't give in to his foolishness, Emerald. Tyrian loves to antagonize his would-be victims most of the time, and he is actually more dangerous than he acts. If you fight him, you will be giving him exactly what he wants."

Both teens nodded as Tyrian cackled a bit more before turning his attention elsewhere. His crazed eyes looked to the Grimm Commanders while Lieutenant Hui sat down next to him, "Well, well, well...they even brought out the freakshow too! This meeting really is important."

Sheer Kaa scowled and stood up, holding his clawed limbs out as Ziz and Anasi snarled at the man, getting ready to swipe at him. "I would be careful calling anyone here a freak, Callows. If anything's a freak in this room it would be unquestionably you, the one whose body was genetically altered to be like us. You may be a Faunus now, but I have known many Faunus over the years, and you will never truly be one of us." Sheer Kaa said as he glanced to the other Grimm hybrids to add, "Cinder's right, don't let this fool vex you." The others nodded and reluctantly lowered their Grimm appendages.

"Well, my good ole' charm still works." Tyrian said to himself, his damnable smirk occupying his face as he pressed his fingers together, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You're about as charming as a dead rat." Ziz remarked with clear contempt in her voice.

"And your 'charm' works about as well as that ponytail." added Mavis, getting a few sarcastic chuckles out of a few of the Grimm Commanders.

Tyrian scowled a little but before he could retort Cinder said, "Not another word Tyrian, we wouldn't want the master to walk in on us giving into our natural impulses to shut you up permanently."

Tyrian thought about her words for a moment and decided to remain quiet, although he still stuck his tongue out at Mavis, who returned with a significant hand gesture that didn't escape the minds of everyone present in the throne room.

"Gods help us if that creep ever meets Ante." Mercury whispered to Emerald.

"Don't tempt fate..." Emerald warned him, only for the footsteps of more people entering the room to reach their ears, causing them to turn their heads to see Damien Ante and his enforcers arriving. "...damn it."

For his part Ante looked uncharacteristically serious than his usual conceited self as he sat down at the end of the table, with some of his enforcers looking on edge at the sight of Norvik so they made sure to have their weapons ready just in case the unpredictable murderer tried anything at all. He looked down the table to Cinder who gave him a small nod and he nodded back in return. From among the enforcers, Trooper looked to Ziz and gave her an acknowledgement nod as well and she answered back with a small wave of her hand.

Another figure soon entered the throne room in the shape of a woman who looked to be in her twenties with dark blonde hair and dark blonde eyes, and a decently-built physique with average looking arms and legs that were actually much more powerful than they appeared, like Cinder and Thorn themselves. Her face had a slight tan and there was a little flower planted in her hair to match with her sundress and long skirt which painted a deceiving outward look of an average peace loving girl.

The new girl regarded both Cinder Fall and Thorn Branch with an oddly kind smile and a bowing nod before she sat down next to Hui, placing her hands upon the tabletop, the rings she wore on all of her fingers making a slight clattering sound as she did so, "It's good to see you again, Thorn...and I see your usual fashion sense haven't changed since last time. Pity." She shook a head a little, and regarded Cinder slowly, "Ah, Cinder...I trust you have been well, or at least as well as someone could be with a scar like that on your face. I heard you have been quite busy after what had gone down in the city of Haven."

Cinder chose to ignore that thinly veiled insult and instead directed Emerald and Mercury's attention to the new arrival, "The lady who had just spoken is Anastasia Bloom, and like Thorn and myself she is my master's choice for one of the Maiden's powers. Spring in this case."

"As if the name didn't already give it away, Miss Obvious." Tyrian said snarkily, but he was ignored by everyone else.

Emerald and Mercury both nodded to her, but saw Thorn lean close to them and whisper, "Don't be fooled by her innocent outlook. Anastasia might act sweet, but Cinder and I have seen what she can do personally, so don't ever underestimate her."

The illusionist and assassin nodded, and looked at the newly arrived lady, who briefly shot Thorn an amiable look before saying, "I might say the same about you Thorn, since you are not so trustworthy yourself. Just like your namesake, whenever one gets too close to you...blood gets drawn. Often in large amounts." That earned a glare from Thorn herself, but Anastasia simply returned her glare with a smirk playing about her lips.

A few minutes went by and other people arrived, most of them keeping hoods over their heads like Cinder, as they wished to remain anonymous for now. Cinder, Hazel, Watts, Tyrian, Thorn, and some of the others knew what they were; criminals, pirates, immoral business executives, spies, assassins, corrupt politicians...it didn't matter about their gender or race, they all had one thing in common: allegiance, whether willing or not to Salem, the Dark Queen of Grimm.

They passed the intervening time with casual conversations, discussions of what they'd been up to, and so on, all the while patiently waiting for their dark leader to appear.

"So Cinder, call me curious... but what have you been up to all this time?" Thorn asked carefully, tilting her head a little in questioning.

"Attending to whatever tasks my master has given me." Cinder replied in her usual tone, "There are quite a few significant operations that I am overseeing that would greatly benefit us when it's time to strike against the other Kingdoms."

"And I thought you are training with our master to get stronger. She must have taught you some new skills right?" Anastasia said, toying with a lock of her hair, "...or else you won't be keeping the power of the Fall Maiden for long."

"Cinder has also been training with her master to gain better control of her maiden powers, unlike you." Emerald spoke up, shooting a glare at the Dark Queen's candidate for the Spring Maiden.

"Of course she would, or otherwise why would our master waste her time on someone who was defeated by a Silver-Eyed warrior and allowed a pair of potential Grimm Commanders to defect?" Anastasia waved a dismissive hand while Cinder grit her teeth in anger about the stab at her failure.

"In time I will fix those mistakes and make them pay for what they have done to me." Cinder snapped at her, and Anastasia simply raised an eyebrow in return, "And you will do well to remember your place." The girl with dark blonde hair simply shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands in a conciliating gesture, knowing that she had pushed Cinder Fall a little too far, before turning her head and looking somewhere else.

The conversation at the marble table abruptly died away when the main doors at the head of the room opened of their own accord, and emerging from the darkness behind those doors was the sight of the dark queen herself. As the doors closed behind her she opened her eyes of red irises and black scleras, surveying all of her subordinates who have gathered before her, and all of them stood the moment she entered the throne room. "I see everyone has arrived, excellent." Salem moved to her purple crystal chair and as she sat down she held her hands out and all the other doors closed on their own, "Now, let us get down to the matters we have gathered here to discuss. I trust that everyone who needs to be known has been named?"

Everyone within the room nodded their heads, deciding to remain respectfully silent.

"Good. Now that we have gathered, all that remains is informing you all about the roles you would play within my plan. However, there has been a significant setback: The White Fang has fallen, and Adam Taurus is dead." She spoke while resting her deep red and purple veined hands on her lap. At the mention of Adam's death, Ilia clenched her fists while lieutenant Hui simply gave a scowl. "His death and the loss of the majority of the White Fang's resources and troops is a blow to us, but one from which we can recover from. It is unfortunate that we have lost him, since he has showed much promise," Salem continued, "Nevertheless, we have a replacement in the form of the Red Fang which is still loyal to us, and have placed them among our ranks once more."

She looked at Hui in the eyes and added, "From now on, the Red Fang will be led by Commander Hui, who will in turn answer to Tyrian." None of the Red Fang members were happy about being under the command of someone who's clearly some cards short of a full deck, but they didn't question Salem's order.

"The White Fang fell because of the conceited efforts of Team Beacon and military reinforcements from Atlas and Vacuo, but the crushing blow was dealt by one of their number, a huntress known as Blake Belladonna who defeated Taurus, but they were not the only ones involved in the attack." Cinder noticed that everyone paid slightly more attention at the last sentence, "According to Steppenwolffe's memories which I have gleamed with the help of my Seers, and the sworn testimonies of Emerald and Mercury who have witnessed the entire fight scene, they claimed to have seen a mysterious armored warrior who identified himself as one of the Remnant Knights, and I have heard the delivered message... that their order still lives."

At the mention of the Remnant Knights, Salem instinctively raised her hand to her cheek as she remembered the unforgettable battle at The Endless Gorge a long time ago, the battle in which a previous Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights known as Lord Emmanuel inflicted a painful wound there moments before she killed him many years ago. Until today, she still experienced phantom pain coming from that wound even though it has already healed, and she wondered about the final words Lord Emmanuel told her before delivering the blow that wounded her across the cheek.

"Highly improbable! We haven't encountered the Remnant Knights in over a decade! It must have been some Huntsman claiming to be one." Watts put forth, waving a dismissive hand.

"I have considered that explanation since the last time a Remnant Knight has appeared was nearly twenty years ago, but that doesn't mean they have been inactive. Several operations have either failed or have been crushed by unknown enemies, and they have all the handiwork of the Knights all over them." Salem pointed out, "And while the warrior Steppenwolffe fought took part in the battle at the White Fang headquarters, the other White Fang bases around Remnant have also been wiped out swiftly by unknown hostiles simultaneously at different positions. Only the Remnant Knights would be organized and powerful enough to coordinate such a massive worldwide operation."

"I have suspected that they have been the constant thorn on our side, attacking both our less important operations as well as thwarting the more...essential ones." Hazel spoke up, his voice always in a calm tone.

"Yeah, sure. As if they could do any proper harm to us." Tyrian rubbed his head while rolling his eyes.

"And that may explain why some of my secret projects have been... erm, delayed..." Watts muttered to himself, averting his eyes when Cinder looked in his direction.

"If I may speak, Mistress?" Steppenwolffe spoke up. She nodded and he continued, "This knight I fought was one of the most capable fighters I have ever met, and he said that the Knight Order will never give up and that they would be joining in the fight against us."

"That means the Remnant Knights will probably ally themselves with the Huntsmen academies, maybe even the councils of the Four Kingdoms." Hazel surmised.

"So what, they didn't work with the academies and councils before?" Ante asked, while tapping a finger against the surface of the marble table.

"From time to time, but only briefly to suit their operations and never a full-fledged alliance. They prefer to be independent of the Kingdoms so as to be free of outside interference." Salem explained softly and Ante nodded his head, so did some of the other hooded figures.

"If the Knights form an alliance with the academies and councils, they would be making themselves a much bigger threat to our plans." Cinder gestured with a finger, "And Ozpin's guardians might just have gained another advantage over us."

Salem was about to reply when Tyrian slammed his hands on the table and ranted crazily, "I still want to know why we haven't just gone over to Beacon Academy, dump swarms of Grimm over their toy soldiers and meager defenses, take it over again once more, kill Ozpin and make an example out of him to show others what happens when they mess with someone the likes of us!"

"Because your reckless ways would lead to catastrophe." Salem scolded, and that made Tyrian recoil like a reprimanded child before his mother, "Allow them this minor victory for now, and let it bring them into a false sense of security. It would be all the sweeter when we crush their fragile sense of hope when the time comes." She turned her head to regard the Beowolf Grimm Commander once more, "Tell them what else you discovered when fighting the Remnant Knight, Steppenwolffe."

The Wolf Faunus nodded and continued, "The warrior I fought mainly used two swords to fight, but he had a third belted to his waist which he did not use throughout my battle with him. I noticed the hilt and vaguely recognized it, and so I searched through the books in the archives here and finally found a match within one of the ancient books of weapons. The hilt of the third sword is unmistakably of the Promethean Tribe's craftsmanship, and it is one that can only be possessed by a member of that tribe."

There was a brief silence in the room which Watts broke, "The Promethean Tribe? We wiped them out ages ago!" Hazel remained silent, while Cinder raised a hand to her chin in thought, amber eyes widening.

"Indeed." Salem said with a nod, while her eyes looked to the more recent additions to her faction, "As you all know, the Promethean Tribe was one of the oldest tribes on Remnant. They were a clan of renowned weaponsmiths who crafted some of the finest weapons in all of Remnant's history, including many famous blades and swords. A long time ago, word of a clandestine deal struck between the elders of that tribe and the Remnant Knights reached my ears, and I had already suspected that they made an agreement to craft weapons for the Knights to wage their war against me. I learned of this and offered them a choice to aid us instead by telling us where the Knights resided, but the tribe elders refused. And so I offered them an ultimatum: Their tribe will have a chance to survive if they become my weaponsmiths, or else they would all die. Still, they refused. To show my displeasure, I arranged for four of my most trusted disciples: Cinder, Hazel, Dr. Watts and Tyrian to attack their village and wipe them all out as punishment for their arrogance in defying me, and also to show that my apprentices could work together, proving their worth to me."

"We destroyed the entire village that day, and no one survived." Hazel stated solemnly, "The Grimm picked off the remaining survivors, and all of their warriors were slaughtered."

"Well, apparently someone did survive." Ante remarked, "...or how would that sword exist?"

"There are a couple possibilities I can see here," Watts proposed, a twinge of nervousness in his voice, "It is possible that the tribe elders gifted one of their finest swords to the Knight Order, or the knight that Steppenwolffe faced had somehow gotten his hands on one of the crafted Promethean swords...or one of the tribe's children had already joined the Remnant Knights and took it with him."

"Steppenwolffe, the warrior who fought you, how old would you say he is?" Salem asked.

"Most likely in his twenties, my lady." Steppenwolffe reported.

"We wiped out that tribe out more than fifteen years ago, meaning this warrior would have been a child at the time." Cinder said, her mind connecting the dots together.

"Correct. That means it is possible that a child has managed to evade dying by your hands and escaped. He could be probably recruited by the Remnant Knights, and thus becoming the warrior Steppenwolffe faced." Salem said while considering the possibility.

"So ma'am, what will you do?" Watts asked, his green eyes showing a gesture very similar to fear.

"Do what exactly, Watts?" Salem returned his gaze calmly, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you punish the four of us for this failure? Evidently we failed in our task and there's always the possibility that it may come back to haunt us." Watts explained, ignoring the annoyed looks from Cinder and Hazel and the furious one from Tyrian. "After all, failure shouldn't be tolerated, not from anyone nor for any reason."

Upon hearing Watt's words, Salem leaned back on her throne and laughed, her strangely silky yet sinful voice echoing around the throne room. The sound of her laughter made everyone draw back instinctively, as it wasn't something many of them expected to hear and hence they were caught off guard by her brief display of amusement. "Advocating a zero tolerance for failure? If I adopted that arrogant rule, everyone present in this room would already be dead. While there are often times when certain failures needs punishing..." She said, glancing at Cinder who lowered her head, "...but not in the way you propose, dear doctor. If I punished you for every mistake you have made, every little failure you think only you know about, you would be dead and gone like a speck of dust in the wind."

Watts adjusted his tie nervously and nodded, his face slightly pale at the thought. He glanced down to the surface of the marble table in slight embarrassment before looking back up only to see the mocking visage of Tyrian and a shadow of a smirk upon Cinder's face. Even Hazel had a rare fleeting faint smile on his lips before it vanished.

He returned those looks directed towards him with a scowl of his own.

"The Remnant Knights do pose a threat to us in the long run through their actions, as they have been a thorn on my side for centuries now. If they are indeed planning an alliance with Ozpin and his group of guardians we shall all have to accelerate the progress of our other... more unconventional plans." Salem decreed, gesturing with her fingers at everyone present.

"Do we actually know where these Knights operate from?" Sherizawa inquired.

"Their citadel, known as Tintagel, is just as well concealed as the castle in which we are presently in. The Knight Order only entrust that piece of information to a handful of individuals across the Kingdoms to ensure that location remains a secret." Salem said, "However, we shall wait for them to make the first strike and overreach themselves, which in turn makes them vulnerable to our own attacks."

"Would that course of action be...practical?" West asked carefully.

"An opening salvo does not determine the outcome of the overall battle. Let them wear themselves out fighting the small battles, while we prepare to deliver the killing blow when they finally have exhausted themselves." Sheer Kaa growled and Steppenwolffe nodded in agreement.

"Technically they have already stuck quite a blow by wiping out our...White Fang bases." Ilia pointed out boldly.

Salem nodded at that comment, "A valid point Lieutenant Ilia, but the Knights have withdrawn for now. We shall wait for our next chance to strike before we can take our revenge, and deal a terrible blow to them in which they would probably never recover from." She smoothed her dark robes and continued, "Now, we shall go over the topic of acquiring the powers of the remaining Maidens."

"Finally." A small voice muttered down the table, one that sounded suspiciously like Anastasia's.

"I have received fresh information that has narrowed down the current location of the Winter Maiden, but Ozpin's group has made it quite difficult for us to identify the current locations of both the Spring and Summer Maidens at the moment." Salem explained to her gathered subordinates.

"And considering that Elsa and her guardian keep moving about the various mountain ranges in Atlas it is highly possible that the other Maidens are also constantly on the move in the other Kingdoms as well." Sheer Kaa voiced his opinion.

"An acute observation." Salem agreed with a nod.

"Damn, that just makes things a little more difficult." Anastasia muttered to herself.

Thorn rolled her eyes in response and asked, "Master, I propose we redouble our efforts to discover their whereabouts. It feels like we got lucky with Amber."

"Maybe so, but we will not give up on those fronts. We have been able to confirm that the Spring Maiden is in country-sides of Mistral while the Summer Maiden is currently in the capital of Vacuo." Salem stated, "And my spy in Shade Academy is still active, gathering further information for us."

"So, we will have to keep looking for them on our own then." Thorn surmised, a few other hooded figures around the table nodding their heads.

"What about the Winter Maiden?" Emerald asked suddenly. "I mean, Cinder's the Fall Maiden, and these two will be Spring and Summer, but who will become the Winter Maiden?"

Salem allowed a smile to grace her bone-white face before answering, "There's no need to worry. I already know who is getting the powers of the Winter Maiden."

"So once we find them, we are allowed to use all necessary force to get their powers?" Anastasia asked hopefully.

"By all means, once any of them are found I am sure you are more than capable of killing them and taking their power for yourself, my dear." Salem promised, Cinder wincing a bit at those words, "Now that we have gone over some recent developments, I think it's time we should mention one of our triumphs. Tyrian, would you please present your new powers to everyone here?"

"As you wish, my wonderful goddess." Tyrian answered before jumping up onto the table and the lumpy black belt-like thing around his waist unwound and revealed itself to be a deadly looking scorpion tail, shocking anyone who hadn't known about it already.

"For those of you out of the loop, allow me to explain. Tyrian and a handful of Adam Taurus' most trusted warriors agreed to be a part of a series of genetic experiments conducted by Dr. Watts and Dr. West, which consisted of surgical procedures and ground-breaking experiments that transformed dear Tyrian, who was born a human, into a hybrid, and one of the first with a non-mammal trait at that." Salem elaborated.

"Were they all successes?" Thorn inquired, eyeing Tyrian's scorpion tail carefully.

"Not all, there have been a few... mishaps, but for the most part those experiments were mostly a success." Watts confirmed as he nodded his head towards Salem.

"I think it suits me perfectly." Tyrian said as he wrapped his tail around his body, his eyes briefly turning violet. "It also gives me a bit of a poisonous sting, which will help out a lot in fights. Hey Kaa, you guys aren't the only fancy freaks around anymore!" Sheer Kaa glared at the man in return, but said nothing.

"As for the White Fang volunteers, Lieutenant Ilia, would you please demonstrate?" Salem asked.

Ilia nodded and stood up from her chair. "I am a different story; I was born a Cheetah Faunus," She said as she indicated the large dark spots on her body, "but I am no longer just that. Thanks to some biological tinkering from the doctors my DNA was spliced with that of a Chameleon, giving me the ability to camouflage myself." With that she changed her skin and hair color at will, changing into several glaring colors until she practically became invisible to those present.

"A Cheetah and a Chameleon, fast and invisible, that makes for a really deadly combination." remarked Mercury.

"Got that right, she and the others are what I like to call the Fusion Faunus." Tyrian stated as Ilia's skin color returned to normal. Tyrian looked to Salem, only to see her give him a stern look that clearly meant he should get off the table now, which he did rather promptly by jumping back into his chair.

Salem turned her head from Tyrian to the others and said, "And now that we've gone over this new advantage we must discuss something else, which is the one sure way to ensure that we will be victorious in the oncoming war. The Relics of Remnant."

"Yes, the Relics needed to attain your ascension to godhood, my goddess." Tyrian stated with a toothy grin.

"What are the these Relics?" Mavis asked, her finned ears flicking this way and that a little nervously.

Salem acknowledged Mavis's question with a nod and began, "For those of you like young Mavis who have never heard of this particular tale, I shall give you the condensed version. Many legends of Remnant say that some time after the Great Shattering of the moon, there existed four gods. These gods, which consisted of two brothers and two sisters, came to Remnant to ensure the survival of humanity and make sure that they would rise from the ashes of an apocalypse. Each of them bestowed one gift upon mankind to ensure the race wouldn't die out, and thanks the power of those four Relics humanity managed to survive and rebuilt whatever they lost after the Great Shattering. The four gifts given to mankind by the four gods are named Knowledge, Creation, Destruction and Choice, and they aren't just metaphorical words. They all apparently exist in physical forms, and each has immense power individually. If someone were to wield all four Relics at once they would have the power to change the world however they see fit."

"So... what happened to those Relics?" Ante asked, "I take it that Ozpin's group of guardians don't leave them lying around for anyone to pick up and use at will."

Salem paused for a moment as her eyes flicked to Ante who immediately clamped his mouth shut, and then continued, "Due to the enormous power the Relics held, they were split apart by an old religious order so that no one could use their powers for their own...undesirable purposes. After some centuries passed and before the religious order's members died they reached out to the fledgling Huntsmen Academies and passed a Relic into the custody of the four main Academies on Remnant, informing them to protect the Relics at all costs. Things change throughout the years however, as over time my...predecessors attempted countless ways to obtain the Relics, but they were thwarted repeatedly and as a precaution the Relics given to the four Kingdoms were secretly moved elsewhere to unknown locations to further keep them out of my reach. However, one of my spies in Vale informed me that Beacon Academy kept its Relic, which was Knowledge. I conceived a plan to acquire that relic, and my previous disciples carried it out."

"What happened to those disciples?" Sheer Kaa questioned.

"Some years ago, when Ozpin became the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, I had my disciples attempt to infiltrate the Academy and abscond with the Relic, but Ozpin defeated them after a great battle. He then contacted the Remnant Knights and entrusted the Relic of Knowledge to them, and knowing how the Knights operate there's a high possibility they are safeguarding the relic in their hidden fortress Tintagel ever since." Salem finished and placed her hands from her lap to the surface of the marble table gently.

"So, we wait for the chance to fight these Knights, capture one of them and obtain the location of their secret fortress, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. We then lay siege to their stronghold, obtain the Knowledge Relic and use it to locate the other three remaining relics." Cinder proposed.

Salem considered it before speaking again, "Possible, but it won't be easy, the Knights are well trained to fight against us and will rather die than betray their Order. Besides, an all out assault on them now, when they are still strong and ready for us, would be too costly and we would need to pull additional operatives from other essential operations around Remnant, which would in turn endanger the success of those concurrent operations."

"However, I have one more bit of advantageous information with regards to the Relics." The Grimm Mistress added, "According to what I have gathered from the old tomes, if a person were to find a single Relic, the relic in his or her possession can be used to identify the location of another."

"So all we have to do was find one, and it would lead us to another quite easily. Then at some point we will no doubt encounter the Remnant Knights once more, but we need not defeat them, but merely track their movements to discover the location of their hidden fortress." Watts slowly laid out his own opinion.

"Correct. Once we have taken the powers of both the Spring and Summer Maidens, combined with the Relics we have found, we would have a distinct advantage over Ozpin and his guardians. With the powers of the four Maidens on our side, we would be able to destroy the Remnant Knights and take the Relic of Knowledge, which would in turn lead us to the remaining final Relic." Salem said, "And once we have the powers of the Four Maidens and the Four Relics, and possibly even the Aura Crystal, we will destroy everyone who opposes us and have the darkness dominate Remnant forevermore. When I finally become a goddess, you all shall be rewarded for your loyal servitude to me and together we shall reshape this world as we see fit."

"So, that is our endgame." Hazel grunted.

"Indeed." Salem confirmed with a dark smile, the realization of her grand plan feeling closer than ever before, "I trust that everything has been going well with regards to the imminent invasion of Atlas?"

"Yes, ma'am...of course." Watts coughed politely, "Everything is proceeding to plan and I have already put in place additional agents to make sure that when the time is right, the Kingdom of Atlas will fall according to our plans."

"Good." Salem nodded her head, "I take it that similar operations are already in progress in Vacuo and Mistral?"

"The outlying tribes of Vacuo have already swore their allegiance to us in secret." Hazel replied, "Their chieftains have thrown in their support with us after the example we have made of the Promethean Tribe. They will answer your call once the invasion of Vacuo is underway."

"My goddess, what shall we do with the Remnant Knight who has the sword of the Promethean Tribe?" Tyrian asked with a freaky smile on his face, "Shall I seek him out and kill him?"

Salem placed her hand to her chin in thought for a few moments, "Not at the moment, Tyrian. I want you to continue your search for the Summer Maiden."

"As you command, my master!" Tyrian cackled manically.

"What about the Silver-Eyed girl, Ruby Rose?" Cinder spoke up, and everyone turned their heads to look at her.

"What about her? We have dealt with Silver-Eyed warriors before." Hazel grunted, "She will meet the same fate as the rest of them in due time."

"And what about Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, do we still capture them or... kill them?" Steppenwolffe posed his next question.

"The order for their capture still stands." Salem replied, "Under no circumstances are you to kill them, but if they suffer wounds during the capture, that's acceptable to me as long as they are returned to me...alive."

"Understood, master." Hazel, Dr. Watts, Cinder and all the Grimm Commanders replied.

"What we have now is opportunity." Salem continued, and her sinister eyes gleamed with malice, "Once we crush Ozpin's guardians and the Remnant Knights, there would be no one else on Remnant who will have the power to oppose us effectively. We all know how it would end eventually, so I trust everyone knows their roles in the grand plan now?"

Heads nodded around the table silently, save for the soft growls of Norvik.

"Very well." The Grimm Mistress stood up and swept her hands in an encompassing gesture, "Let it be war, chaos and ruin."

"War, Chaos and Ruin!" everyone at the marble stood up and echoed the words of their dark queen, "All Hail Salem!"

* * *

Ruby hummed to herself as she loaded up Crescent Rose's chambers with several different kinds of bullets. Currently Team RWBY were in their room, preparing to take on the patrol duties for the day

"Man, I never thought I'd say this, but patrol duty feels really good and simple." Yang announced as she loaded up her gauntlets.

"I suppose a very close call with death makes smaller tasks seem more appealing." Blake mused.

Yang nodded as Weiss finished loading up Dust crystals into Myrtenaster. "Well, it won't last. I talked to Professor Goodwitch the other day and she says Beacon will be ready for reopening by next week."

"It'll be weird going back to classes after everything we've gone though. You think we'll have to start all over again?" Ruby asked as she patted Zwei's head.

"I don't think so, we've gone through more than some seniors have!" Yang reminded.

"I don't think they'll hold us back, after everything we've done, learned, and accomplished I think they will let our group proceed. However, I think they'll just give us more work to do to catch up on what we missed." Blake suggested.

"More homework?! Oh man..." Ruby whined.

"For goodness sake Ruby, homework is nothing compared to what we've been through!" Weiss challenged.

"What about a ten pounds of homework?" Ruby shot back, smiling when she saw her partner falter.

"Ten pounds? Surely there won't be that much..."

Ruby and Yang laughed, even Blake let out a chuckle as the heiress began to wonder how their education problem would be dealt with.

Just then there was a knock at the door and Yang went to answer it, "Yeah guys, we'll be out... oh! Hi dad." She said, seeing it was her father.

"Hey sweetie, have fun last night?" He asked her as he hugged her.

"You know it." She said as she hugged him back.

Taiyang moved into the room and smiled upon seeing Ruby. "There's the other light of my life." He remarked as Ruby ran to hug him.

"Hey dad, were you lonely last night?" Ruby asked.

"A little, but I'm alright. Have fun with your friends?" He asked as he smiled to Weiss and Blake who returned the gesture.

"Oh yeah! We had a great time just lying around and watching movies together." Ruby confirmed, before she looked into his eyes and frowned. "Dad, are you alright? Do you need anything? You look a little... off."

"Are you going with us on patrol today?" Blake asked, as he had done so from time to time after they had taken back Beacon.

"No, Ozpin and the others assigned me to come and tell you and your friends in JNPR that you won't be on the patrol today. They want to see all of you and talk about... everything you've gone through." He explained.

"Is it about my eyes? I already to Dr. Oobleck and Professor Crane I was okay with my eye-energy being used for their special bullets as long as they don't overuse it or try to force it out of me." Ruby said, remembering how horrified the two teachers seemed at the very thought.

"Kind of. You'll find out once we get to Beacon." Taiyang said to her.

"Beacon? But it's still under construction." Weiss pointed out.

"Yes, but we're going to one of the completed areas. Don't worry, me and Qrow will be there." He assured them. "Oobleck, Port, and Crane will be joining the others on patrol today, so the rest of Team Beacon will be fine."

"We know they will. Dad, what's going on?" Ruby asked calmly.

"I can't tell you, but it's not dangerous, I promise. You'll find out what's happening once we get to Beacon. I love you both." He said to his daughters.

"Love you too dad." Ruby and Yang both said at once.

"You want us to tell Jaune and...?" Yang began before her father cut her off.

"No, it's okay. I'll tell them myself. See you downstairs." He said before making his way down the hall.

Ruby looked to her team and asked "You think it's something serious?"

"Without a doubt." Weiss stated bluntly.

"Definitely." Blake agreed.

Yang considered, "Dad seemed a little worried, but I could tell he wasn't lying when he said it wasn't dangerous. I say we just go along with it and see what happens."

"Not the best of ideas, but we can't refuse to go into Beacon. We should stay alert and be ready for anything." Weiss suggested.

"Good idea, but Yang's right; dad wasn't lying and he'd never put us in danger. Whatever's happening we'll be ready for it." Ruby decided firmly.

A few moments later Pyrrha appeared in the doorway. "Ruby, Yang, your dad just came and told us to join you in going into Beacon... and he told us to bring the Aura Crystal." She revealed.

The members of Team RWBY all looked to each other, if their collective curiosity hadn't been piqued before it was now.

"Did he say why?" Inquired Blake.

"Yes, he said that Ozpin, Goodwitch, Councilman Henry, and General Ironwood want to talk to us about it, as well as our experiences in Haven. He made it clear they didn't want us to surrender it to them after Jaune asked but we're still not sure what to really say about it." Pyrrha elaborated.

The girls all looked to each other before Weiss asked "And are you going to take it?"

"Well... Jaune and I both feel a little anxious about talking of our experiences with the crystal, but he was more hesitant than I was. I told him I think we're up for it as long as we hold our ground and answer any of their questions to the best of our abilities. Once I told him that he seemed a little more open to taking the Aura Crystal to them and explaining what we can." Pyrrha told them.

Ruby and the others nodded, "Seems reasonable." Stated Blake.

"Well I for one can't wait to find out what they're up to and why they're being so secretive about it." Ruby voiced, a sentiment the others readily agreed with.

Pyrrha went back to JNPR's room to see Ren and Nora helping Jaune close up the vault beneath the bed where the Aura Crystal's case was contained. "Jaune, if you don't want to do this..." She began.

"No. I'm okay with it." Jaune said. "I trust Professor Goodwitch, and Ruby's dad and Qrow, don't know Councilman Henry that well but he seems alright..."

"And Ozpin and the General?" Ren asked.

"Despite their failings and... what happened to us because of them I don't blame them. After I brought you back and they tried to freeze you I said some... pretty cruel things to Ozpin." Jaune said.

"Hey, past is in the past, right?" Nora said as she patted Jaune on the back. "Ozzy isn't one to hold grudges, I think he's alright."

"Ozzy?" Deadpanned Ren.

Jaune looked to Pyrrha and asked "What do you think?"

Pyrrha considered and responded "Well, even if something is up I don't think Professor Goodwitch would let anything happen to us, or Qrow, or Taiyang. Besides, it would be the eight of us as well."

Jaune smiled and nodded, "That's right. Eight of the most powerful Hunters-in-training Remnant has ever seen."

Soon enough the seventeen members of Team Beacon left the hotel and went to the landing pads in the back, where a Bullhead was waiting to pick them up with Taiyang already on-board. They boarded the ship and it took off towards the nearly finished Beacon.

Velvet smiled at the sight of Jaune and Pyrrha leaning against each other after they had made sure the case was secured. She could guess what had happened last night and she was very happy for them. She looked over to Taiyang and asked "How's the construction on the school going?"

"Pretty good, most of the school itself is done. Today they're putting their efforts into finishing up the dorms so you kids and the other students will have your rooms back." Taiyang answered.

"Man, it's been so long since the fall, it'll be nice to have the dorm back." Nora voiced.

"I don't think you guys will get your old dorms." Said Taiyang, "Ozpin's having a special section just for you kids, so Team Beacon can be together and help each other with school work." The Blond Huntsman explained.

"All right, special treatment." Said Coco approvingly.

"I like this school already." Agreed Scarlet.

"Let's fix our new room up like our old one! Bunk beds and all!" Ruby suggested to her team.

"Hopefully with some proper ones this time." Weiss mumbled as the ship began to approach Beacon.

"You guys sure you'll be okay without us today?" Yang asked, the others had been told that RWBY and JNPR were needed for something within the school by Ozpin and the others and that SSSN, CFVY, and Penny would be working with the teachers on patrol, but they didn't mind.

"We'll be fine." Coco assured her.

"Yeah, if anything I'm more curious about what's going down in the school. Hopefully you'll be able to tell us later." Sun stated.

"Hopefully." Agreed Blake, "It's best not to keep the the rest of you in the dark about whatever's going on, I'm sure Ozpin will let us tell you."

"I hope so." Ruby said quietly as the ship began to land.

The doors opened up to reveal Qrow, along with Dr. Oobleck and Professors Port and Crane. Taiyang exited first and went directly to Qrow who whispered "They're here." Which wasn't something missed by Blake and Velvet as the group disembarked from the ship, Jaune and Pyrrha carrying the case together.

"Good day my students! Glorious day for a bit of Grimm Hunting, eh?" Port asked with his usual jolly voice.

"If there are any left. By now they should know their boundaries." Yatsuhashi said.

"Well then, we'll just push the boundaries a little further." Coco suggested confidently.

"Ah, excellent!" Port declared.

"It is good to see you all again, I trust you are all well?" Oobleck asked, to which everyone nodded. "Good." He looked to Ruby gave her a smile, which she returned.

"Hey squirt. Hope you don't mind sitting out the action to do something for us." Qrow said as he ruffled her hair.

"Nope, don't mind one bit. I'd just like to know what's up." Ruby told him.

"You'll find pretty soon. You kids ready?" The red eyed Huntsman asked.

"As we'll ever be." Said Yang while the others nodded.

They said their goodbyes to the other members of Team Beacon with phrases like 'bye', 'see you tonight', or 'catch you later'. Once the three teachers led SSSN, CFVY, and Penny to the Emerald Forest to ensure the Grimm were keeping a good enough distance Qrow said "Okay kids, let's go."

Qrow and Taiyang led Teams RWBY and JNPR, making their way through the recently repaired pathway that led to Beacon Academy, they noticed that the repairs on the Huntsman Academy was mostly finished and the magnificence of the whole school was also mostly restored. The bulk of the castle-like academy was almost fully rebuilt and ready to take in the student population once more, while the main tower still needed work even though the Cross Continental Transmit System had already been repaired to full functionality, with the exterior of the tower still having some additional components that needed to be cemented back into place.

They came across a few groups of construction workers who were still doing repair work around the school, but those workers did not notice the passing group of students and adults as they were simply too focused on their tasks at hand, patching up the considerable wounds suffered during the Grimm attack on Beacon such as replacing the missing glass panels in window frames and pouring concrete and cement into various large craters and holes in the other more damaged sections. The broken sections of the amphitheater in the main avenue have been also repaired, in addition to the circular pond that encircled the reconstructed Huntsman and Huntress statues and main fountain of Beacon Academy, and the impressive aqueduct-like features as well as archways that marked the avenue were also painstakingly restored to their former grandeur, showing that the overall repair work had been wonderfully pulled off for the reopening ceremony taking place later in the day.

The group made their way along the main pathway towards the Academy, noticing that all round them were newly-built sidewalks, repaired benches and lamp-posts, in addition to a wide variety of freshly transplanted plants and trees, hence giving everything they saw a splendid overall outlook. Ruby gazed up at the main tower as they approached the school, allowing her a smile as they walked towards the main building and entering the tall entryways which were wide open and leading to empty and spotlessly clean hallways.

As Qrow and Taiyang led the way through the hallways, bypassing crates of building supplies and steel scaffolding, Blake beckoned her friends to come closer to her. Closing the distance, the other three members of Team RWBY managed to subtly move towards the Cat Faunus and once they were close enough and out of an earshot of others, she whispered softly, "I overheard something when your uncle is speaking to your dad, and he said that 'they are here'."

Everyone glanced at each other even as they continued to walk, with Weiss quietly asking, "What do you suppose that means?"

"Yeah, who are 'they' exactly?" Nora inquired in a uncommon whisper which briefly surprised everyone for a few seconds that she could actually speak in a quiet tone.

"I think we are about to find out." Ruby replied softly as the group reached the end of a long corridor leading to a junction which had other hallways leading in three separate directions, where they saw four figures standing there already waiting for them: Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda, General Ironwood, and Councilor Henry.

"Well, Glynda... I have to admit you do clean up rather nicely." Qrow commented with a smirk on his face as the eight students felt their eyes widen at the variant of the clothing that their teacher normally wore in class. Her clothing was like a cross between a priestess and an evening gown, colored predominantly in white, purple and black. Long white robes flowed from her womanly figure, with cut slits that ended at the knees and a long sleeved, white pleated top that ended with a choker that enclosed a flawless round emerald. The robes ended at her feet, but the feet of her boots were still visible to everyone present. Her cape wrapped around her shoulders and enclosed her front, and at the cape's both ends were additional emerald gems, with the cut of the cape stylized to end in flames and arrows, and diamond-shaped bronze beads hung from those ends. Her personal emblem that was seen normally seen on her cape was also shown on the robes she wore, woven into the cloth in a similarly stylized manner, with her riding crop attached to a holster at her right waist. Finally, a purple tiara with sharp ends and additional gems decorated the top of her head whose hair had been let free of the tied bun, giving off the impression of either a regal queen, or a powerful sorceress. Perhaps both.

Glynda shot a glare at Qrow who shrugged his shoulders and nudged Taiyang, the latter raising an eyebrow. The female professor turned to regard both teams and opened her hands in a courteous manner, "Teams RWBY and JNPR, I know you all have questions as to why you are called here away from the rest of Team Beacon, but I can assure you that answers will come in due time. I can tell that you are all a bit confused, and maybe even a little hesitant, but we are still the same headmasters and teachers you met when you first arrived at Beacon, and we wouldn't do anything that will bring you harm."

She paused for a moment, briefly looking at Pyrrha with regret, and saw her holding hands with Jaune. She had good cause to be suspicious of them, Glynda reminded herself, after what had gone down in the hidden vaults underneath Beacon Academy. "Now, we have some very important guests who have arrived from a faraway place awaiting us in the meditation chambers, and while they have requested to only speak to Miss Rose, Miss Nikos and Mr Arc, but after some discussion we felt it would be best if all of you are to accompany your friends so that these three feel safer."

The eight teens nodded their heads, even though they aren't exactly sure of their current situation, but feeling assured that nothing dangerous would happen to them since they were armed with their signature weapons, and the authority figures they had come to respect were also trying to make them feel safer.

"I guess we are not going to know who these guests are until we meet them in person?" Ren speculated.

"That's correct, Mr Lie. However, I must warn you that these visitors are legends to the majority of people on Remnant, but to a chosen few they are quite real, and before we go any further we require you to swear an oath of secrecy." The female professor informed them.

"Are you serious?" Yang asked incredulously.

"She sure is." Qrow confirmed, "Because these guests who we are meeting value their secrecy very seriously."

"The oath of secrecy ensures that all participants know the importance of those details only they are privy to." Ironwood mentioned, "It's the very foundation of the secret guardians who protect Remnant."

Ruby turned and looked at the others before saying, "I think our other friends in Team Beacon should know too. It's only right since they're part of our team, and we make them swear to keep it a secret too. They deserve to know or else we can't really trust each other."

"Ruby's right. If we are going to be a real special unit together we can't keep whatever this is from the rest of them." Jaune agreed, his voice bold as he spoke.

Glynda looked to Ozpin and meeting his eyes, before turning to look at Qrow and Taiyang. The headmaster took a step forward and addressed the eight teens, "I will speak to the...leader of our guests on this matter, but I would caution you that certain...things that you witness or hear today are not to be spoken of anywhere else, or there will be...severe consequences."

"That's right." The blonde witch professor added, "While we humbly ask for your trust, and it's only fair for us to place our trust in you all in return. We will allow you to tell your friends within Team Beacon about this, but they must agree to be sworn to secrecy the same way as you did." Her expression turned slightly serious, "Are we clear?"

All eight teens nodded and Ruby replied, "So we can tell our friends as long as they promise to keep it secret too, right?" Glynda nodded her head slowly, and the red-hooded girl answered, "Okay, crystal clear. That's a relief."

"So... what's this oath? Is it like a promise?" Nora inquired.

Glynda addressed the students of both Teams and instructed slowly, "Huntsmen and Huntresses, place your hands over your chests and atop your hearts." The eight students did so obediently, "Now repeat after me: In the illuminating light of day, in the shrouding dark of night, this oath of secrets will bind us tight. For those who would betray this sacred right, beware of Remnant's Guardians might."

Teams RWBY and JNPR dutifully repeated the oath in unison. As they finished reciting the oath they looked up to the gathered adults, and the blonde Huntress nodded to Ozpin, who picked up his cane and gestured, "Follow me."

The group followed the group of adults through the grand hallways after taking the corridor that led to the right, their collective footsteps lightly echoing throughout the building as they walked together. They soon entered another new corridor which was blocked by a heavy wooden gate barred with a steel signboard which read 'Area Under Construction - Keep Out.'

"Wait, I thought this section of Beacon Academy has already been repaired?" Weiss asked slowly.

"The repairs are nearing their final stages, Miss Schnee. Nevertheless, we have chosen this area to ensure our privacy." Glynda informed the ice princess as she drew her riding crop and used her powers to lift the gate open, allowing the group to pass through before placing the gate and signboard back where they were just moments ago. They continued walking for a few more moments until they arrived at the entrance to the meditation chambers, its doors crafted from fine wood and inlaid with swirling gold patterns.

"Well, I guess there's no turning back now..." Ruby muttered to herself, but everyone within an earshot had heard her. Jaune and Pyrrha felt their hands close around each other, and so did Ren and Nora.

"Don't worry Ruby, we're with you." Yang said reassuringly as she placed her organic hand on Ruby's shoulder while giving her a comforting smile. Weiss and Blake both nodded their heads and Ruby returned their assurance with a small smile of her own.

Ozpin and Glynda opened the door to the meditation chambers, which was a large room with soft carpeted floor and a grotto-like recess in the center of the room with many pillows around it for meditation and relaxation purposes. Equally carved stone steps led down to other curved sections and the recess at the bottom. All around the circumference of the chambers circular stone pillars led up to the dome-shaped roof of the room, where soft lights shone down on a group of nine armored visitors who stood at the other end of the room, the illumination from those lights glinting from their elaborate suits of armor.

There were nine of them in total, and no two armor suits were the same. A grand and powerful-looking warrior with gunmetal-grey and white plated armor stood in the middle, his long white cloak flowing from his large shoulder pauldrons which had metallic feathered wings fashioned onto them. His helmet had an azure T-shaped visor, with a curved top that was split into a distinct V, and had three smaller wings sprouting from the sides of the helmet, pointing slightly upwards as though about to take flight. A sizable sheathed sword with a pommel of gold was strapped to his left side, and it looked far larger and thicker than any other sword that the eight students have ever seen, and yet to the great knight it looked like he could wield it like any other normal swords, unaffected by its seemingly heavy weight. He seemed to be the leader of the Remnant Knights as he stood in the middle, studying the new arrivals with a careful gaze through the visor of his multi-winged helmet.

The leader was flanked by two knights each on either side of him, with the ones on the left being a male that was wore an elaborately-crafted suit of armor, its silver-grey plates having some black highlights near the edges of the individual armor plates, and the cloak worn around his shoulders was clearly silver in color with gold trim. The other knight was a clearly a female, who wore a white hooded cloak with gold trim over her head and flowing white robes which covered her armored body. The robes and armor plates seemed to have an odd language inscribed onto their surfaces, and there are also some designs on the robes which resembled glyphs. Her weapon was clearly a golden staff with a head that was shaped like an open flower, and similar word inscriptions could be seen adorning the long handle of her staff.

Both knights on the right appeared to be male with the first being a tall and muscular figure clad in gunmetal-grey armor with black trim highlights and wearing a black robe that seemed to share the same color as the dark between the stars. He also has a hood over his head but one could vaguely make out a helmet fashioned in the likeness of an alpha Grimm Beowolf underneath. The other male knight was slightly taller than the leader, but was clearly wider due to the different configuration of armor he wore, which made him look like some sort of giant juggernaut warrior. His armor suit was just as elaborate, with heavily armored pauldrons that were fashioned in the shape of snarling predatory beasts, and on the back of his left clawed gauntlet was a golden griffon head with red inlaid gems in its eyes. Emerald laurels circled the winged breastplate which had a smaller griffon head jutting out from it, and silver lightning bolts decorated his forearms and thigh armor plates, and a tabard with his personal emblem flowed from his armor's lower half. His personal armor had thicker plates and looked even more sophisticated than the others, colored mostly in gold, brown and silver, in addition to a helmet fashioned in the face of a Grimm Goliath with a similar V-shaped curved top and a T-shaped visor like the leader. Within his large gauntleted fists the giant warrior held an mighty rectangular-shaped warhammer, with its gold-trimmed ornate head adorned with snarling drakes and beasts as well as swirling ancient script on its metallic surface, and it looked far too big and heavy to be physically lifted by any normal humans.

There were also four other armored figures in the chamber besides the five Remnant Knights who stood at the far end of the room. The first was a feminine knight clad in gunmetal-grey armor plates and an emerald green cloak, with a rapier sword in a sheath strapped to her belt, and the green lenses of her helmet studying the group of new arrivals carefully as though searching for any threats before focusing on Ozpin himself, giving him a nod of respectful acknowledgement which he returned slowly in her direction. The male knight standing a short distance behind her had the build of a brawler, and he was clad in armor plates of similar grey colors with an orange trim, with a brown cloak flowing from his own pauldrons. Unlike the other knights who had lenses of blue, his lenses were blood-red in color and he clearly had the build and posture of a Tiger Faunus. Ending at both sides of his arms were elaborate gauntlets of gold and orange which looked like a far more advanced version of Yang's Ember Celias with thick-plated arm guards that had swirling red-orange flame patterns on them.

Standing at the right hand side of the chamber was another female Knight who was decked in armor plates of grey with red trim highlights, and her cloak was white with a distinct red trim. She carried a long complicated-looking rifle in her gauntleted hands, clearly designed for sniping from long distances due to its customized scope and additional silencer screwed onto the already lengthy barrel. Her helmet was fashioned in the likeness of a Grimm Nevermore, and crimson lenses regarded the arriving group closely even as she stood at attention with her fingers resting lightly on the trigger guard while the other cradling the lower receiver to support the long rifle. And finally there was a familiar knight figure who was dressed in gunmetal-grey armor with blue trim, plus a midnight-blue cloak which flowed from his own shoulder pauldrons. Two long swords were mag-locked to his back, and an armored helmet with a V-shaped component and azure lenses covered his face, but everyone in the group instantly recognized him due to the fact he was the first Remnant Knight they had met and provided much-needed assistance to Team Beacon during the White Fang mission.

"Sharp Strike!" Ruby cried out in surprise even as Glynda closed the doors behind them.

The young Remnant Knight turned his helmet in her direction and said in a warm voice, "Hello Ruby, it's good to see you again."

"Sharp Strike..." The deep gravel voice of the lead knight echoed throughout the room as he turned his helmet in Sharp Strike's direction. The other knight nodded his head quickly and stood at attention, going silent as ordered by his superior.

The group of six adults and eight students walked down to the grotto-like recess where the Remnant Knights presently waited, with Ozpin stepping forward to face the leader of the Knights. He was taller than Ozpin by at least a full head, and the headmaster had to look up at the grey and white armored warrior even as he held an ancient paper scroll in his hands. The leader of the Remnant Knights looked down at Ozpin and continued, "I take it those eight students are the young warriors I have heard and read so much about from the reports you have given me? Teams RWBY and JNPR?" The winged helmet turned and regarded the female knight with the flowery staff for brief moment as though asking her an unseen question. Only when she gave a slight nod did the lead knight turned back to regard the Beacon headmaster once more.

"Indeed, Grand Knight Master. We have brought them as promised." Ozpin confirmed.

"Have they taken the oath?" The rumbling voice of the Remnant Knight's leader came again.

Glynda walked forward and spoke up, "Yes, they have all taken the oath. However, they have requested us to tell the other members of their special unit of what they have seen here today, which I agreed on the condition that I will also make sure those members are sworn to secrecy as well."

The T-shaped visor of the Remnant Knights' leader looked at Glynda for a long moment before he sighed, and it sounded as though a giant was taking a breath, "Very well, but make sure that no one other than their special unit knows of our existence, as once a secret is known...it cannot be unknown." The large winged helmet shook slowly, and then turned to regard Ozpin, "This is a highly unusual meeting for our order, William Ozpin, as we do not come out into the open in such numbers lightly save for significant missions, nor do we allow this many individuals to know of us at once." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Have the ruling members of the Kingdoms' councils approved of your proposal for allegiance with the Knight Order?"

"I can assure you that our request for an alliance is genuine, Grand Knight Master Seraph." Ozpin nodded as he replied, "I have spoken with the heads of the councils and they have agreed to this alliance. As proof of my words, I present to you this scroll." The headmaster then held his arm forward, revealing the paper scroll sealed with wax which had the imprint of the Remnant Knight Order.

The Grand Knight master took the scroll from Ozpin delicately, breaking the wax seal and held it up to his helmeted face, reading the cursive script written in neat lines on the aged material of the paper scroll carefully for a few long moments. After he had scanned through everything, the knight leader released a heavy sigh and said, "The last time a full-fledged alliance was needed, the world of Remnant was on the brink of a Great War that would have left nothing but ashes and ruins in the aftermath. We have suffered greatly in that particular conflict, but we managed to snatch victory narrowly from the jaws of defeat, and yet we still paid a terrible price for winning that battle. If things have become so calamitous that the scroll of alliance is needed once more, we may be facing another Great War against the forces of darkness."

The headmaster gave a grave nod, "As bad as things may seem now, there's still the possibility that they might get much, much worse if proper action is not taken. By forming an alliance between our respective organisations, we would stand a better chance of stopping them together as it's the best possible way to ensure our success in that endeavor, like what your Order and our Kingdoms did in the years long past. We require the aid of the Remnant Knights once again, and I hope you will give it to save Remnant."

There were a few moments of silence before Grand Knight Master Seraph spoke, this time with a softer tone in his deep booming voice, "And we shall. An alliance between us will be formed again, for the sake of Remnant's people. We shall seal this with an oath." Glynda and Forge Smith both stepped forward, and the giant heavily-armored Knight took the paper scroll and placed it on a lectern pedestal nearby. From a hidden pocket within the confines of his armor, Seraph withdrew a simple ceremonial blade and unlocked one of his gauntlets, while Ozpin received an identical ceremonial blade from Glynda who passed it to him reverently with both hands.

"I, William Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, hereby seal this sacred oath of alliance with the Remnant Knights on behalf of the Kingdoms' councils, and I will honor this alliance till the end of time itself." The silver-haired headmaster spoke solemnly as he swiftly performed a small cut on his palm and allowed his hand to bleed a little, before pressing his palm onto the left-hand side of the paper scroll.

"I, Seraph Pendragon, Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights, hereby seal this sacred oath of alliance with the four Kingdoms' of Remnant and the Guardians, and I will honor this alliance till the end of time itself." The leader of the Remnant Knights intoned as he slit his unarmored hand and pressed the bleeding palm onto the right hand side of the paper scroll. After both individuals removed their hands, the words on the surface of the paper scroll showing the previous word oaths briefly flashed a glowing blue before returning to its normal state once more, surprising the eight students slightly, and they just managed to keep their surprise under control.

"So witnessed." Glynda and Forge Smith both spoke in unison, and Seraph turned towards Ozpin offering one of his large gauntleted hands out to the headmaster, who gratefully accepted it and shook.

Turning to the eight teenagers of Teams RWBY and JNPR, the leader of the legendary Remnant Knights regarded them all with the majestic regal visage of his winged helmet and spoke, "Young Hunters, we have a lot to talk about."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so, so sorry this took so long, I was a bit lazy recently and I've been rather burned out on writing which is why I need a break. I also wanted to make this chapter very good, since it will be the last one for a couple months. Also Golden Crusader (my friend and co-writer) had work to do at his university, which took a lot of time and I needed him to make sure the Knights were portrayed as he wanted them to be. The wait would have been longer, but I decided to split this chapter in two so the chapter wouldn't be so long. The next chapter will be up within the next few weeks.
> 
> The reason Tyrian, Ilia, and the other White Fang members are genetically altered is because in this universe, Faunus can only be mammals, therefore they needed to be mutated in order to match up with their traits in canon, plus I thought genetically re-engineered Faunus traits was an interesting idea. I also did consider having Claudandus die by Adam's hands during the war for the White Fang, but I decided it would be unnecessary as Adam had already dug his grave deep enough by that point. Also, we finally see Mavis, the other new Grimm Hybrid and revisit Ziz and peak back at her character arc.
> 
> Voices
> 
> Sharp Strike: Troy Baker
> 
> Argentius: Ewan McGregor
> 
> Soul Seer: Renee Faia
> 
> Sheer Kaa: Idris Elba
> 
> Selena: Grey DeLisle
> 
> Commander Central: David Harewood
> 
> Thorn: Jordan Reyne
> 
> Mavis: Melissa Fahn
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	51. The Beacon Lights Again Part II: Roses

Silence descended in the meditation chambers, and there was a certain tension in the air once the Grand Knight Master had spoken. It wasn't as intense as one would expect in the moments before a huge battle was about to take place, but it did resemble the period of time before a judge would give his verdict in a courtroom. And for a brief moment, the spacious chambers housing everyone within seemed somehow a little less accommodating and giving off a more serious atmosphere simply with the sheer presence of the Remnant Knights.

The leader of the Knight Order turned his head and looked at Ozpin as though in questioning when the eight teens did not speak so much as a word for several seconds, instead staring at the eight other Knights who stood at the other end of the meditation chambers, "I take it that I haven't accidentally frightened them into silence?"

"They're still young, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin gestured as he spoke, "And to them you are probably legends made flesh, it takes some time to process information like that, even after all they've dealt with."

Seraph nodded while one gauntleted hand reached up to touch the lower end of his winged helmet, "I suppose you're right. To see a single Remnant Knight is a rare enough occurrence, but to see more than one, much less nine in the actual flesh? That's an encounter worthy of a place in a history book if not for the oath."

"It would be, and I am sure this particular encounter would remain with them for the rest of their lives." Glynda replied as she bandaged the headmaster's hand, while the female Knight with the staff passed a bandage to Seraph who tied it around his bleeding palm, before locking his gauntlet back into place with an echoing click.

"So... what do you wish to talk with us about?" Jaune slowly found his voice, his blue eyes looking from one Knight to another.

"Yeah, some answers would be nice right about now." Ruby added, her voice soft and a little nervous.

"That is the least we can give you." The robed female Knight replied in a soothing voice, "However, we ask for a little more of your patience, as some of the details we are going to tell you later might be a little too much for you to accept all at once, so we are taking this one step at a time." She regarded them kindly and gestured with an open hand, "There's no need to be so tense around us, young Huntsmen and Huntresses. Please be at ease."

The eight teens' overall postures relaxed a little, but their facial expressions were a mix of awe and bewilderment. Ozpin coughed politely and said, "Perhaps our honored guests would start us off with a small history lesson of sorts with regards to the Remnant Knights?"

"That would be an excellent idea." Councilor Henry replied, and Ironwood nodded his head in agreement. Glynda gestured for the Teams RWBY and JNPR to come closer, and they took a few steps forward and somehow felt the T-shaped visor of Seraph's helmet carefully scrutinizing them as though like a biologist with an interesting specimen. One could only wonder what he truly sees in each and every single one of them, and even if he did the leader of the Remnant Knights did not see fit to share with anyone else at the moment.

The Grand Knight Master eventually took a breath, and began his story, "Ages and ages ago, before even the outbreak of the first Great War, a gathering of powerful warriors from all four Kingdoms and across Remnant gathered at a place known as the Ocean Spire. They answered the call of the Warrior King of Vale and The Wizard in secret, and heard the King's proposal to form an Order of exceptional warriors to fight the Grimm and counter any other threats that would destroy the peace on Remnant. From those assembled warriors twenty individuals with varying but essential skills were chosen, and four of them were christened by The Wizard to become the first Knight Castellans. The King of Vale then chose another warrior by the name of Vorlois Bornstellar to become the first Grand Knight Master of the Knight Order, and bestowed the sacred blade known as 'Excalibrius' to him. The twenty gathered knights then swore their first oaths to both The King and The Wizard, and under their precise commands the Remnant Knight Order was forged."

"According to the earliest legends, the Remnant Knights separated themselves into various Knight Legions with each given a task of protecting a certain area of Remnant, concentrating especially on the individual territories of the Four Kingdoms." Ozpin continued, his gaze shifting from Ruby to Yang, and then from Jaune to Ren, "The Knight Legion of Atlas was known as the Winter Templars, and the Legion of Vale became the Steadfast Sentinels. The Knight Legion of Vacuo took on the name of the Relentless Crusaders, and finally the Knights of the Mistralian Legion named themselves the Eternal Warriors."

Councilor Henry then spoke up once more, "The Knight Order operates through the aforementioned Knight Legions in absolute secrecy, protecting the innocents of Remnant by fighting countless unseen battles across Remnant for many years while the Huntsmen and Huntresses stood in the light for the public masses to see."

"Why must the Knights remain a secret?" Ren posed his question quietly.

Seraph brought up one of his gauntleted hands and answered, "We remain secret because of the freedom it grants us when conducting our own missions of importance. Because of that we are allowed to move unseen and unhindered both inside and outside the Kingdoms, and our autonomy aids us in protecting the innocents by seeking out and preventing any major catastrophes from happening, adhering to the credo of the Knight Order."

"So other than the Huntsmen and Huntresses, the reason why most people on Remnant sleep a little better at night would be due to these noble and courageous warriors who put their lives on the line to protect those who can't." Qrow quipped, "And just so you know, the Remnant Knights have encountered and vanquished many dangerous Grimm creatures which would have wiped out entire populated cities on their own if left unchecked."

"Then why didn't you guys come to help us during the Fall of Beacon, or when we needed to retake Vale from the Grimm?" Ruby inquired softly while looking at Seraph.

"Yeah, we could've used a few helping armored hands." Nora chimed.

"The world of Remnant is a rather big place, young ones." Seraph replied, his deep voice echoing around the chambers, "There are a great deal of other matters which needed the attention of the Knight Order, and while we know of the incidents that had happened to Vale, there were many more significant events that demanded our attention." He looked at Ozpin and Ironwood, "And seeing how the military forces of Vale and Atlas have cooperated together to reclaim Beacon Academy from the Grimm, I can safely say that they have managed to secure a clear victory over the Grimm."

"It wasn't easy, but we managed to do so with significant help from the Atlas Army that General Ironwood had graciously provided." Glynda replied, and Councilor Henry nodded, "They have been instrumental in providing security for Vale while the Kingdom builds up its military forces once more to reinforce and secure its borders"

"And besides, if the Knights come out in force certain people would be bound to ask some rather uncomfortable questions." Qrow added shortly, "And it would be quite... disadvantageous to them since they don't like to come out in the open, even though they have worked with the Kingdoms from time to time."

"Few people know of the existence of the Knight Order," Glynda spoke up, "and fewer knew that they were actually real and not just fanciful legends passed down through the ages, as many of those tales have been so embellished that the real truth has been distorted behind a thick veil of fiction."

The eight young Huntsmen and Huntresses nodded their heads in response to Glynda's words before Jaune looked at Seraph and said, "So in short, your organization is kind of like an elite, secret version of the Hunters, made up of highly experienced and formidable warriors to fight the Grimm and other threats, and the Remnant Knights all fight against them in secret to protect all of Remnant?"

"Yes, that basically sums up what the Knights do." Seraph replied plainly, "Because some conflicts have to be fought in the shadows."

"But those battles in the shadows might be dragged out into the harsh light of day. We think Salem wants to ignite a war, and much more important and deadly than one between nations." Ironwood stated carefully.

"A war for the very existence of all life on Remnant." Pyrrha answered quietly even as heads of both Knights and other individuals of Ozpin's group turned in her direction.

"Yes, and the Knight Order was founded upon the very principle to protect the people of Remnant from the wrath of the Grimm Queen." The large armored knight agreed, "...and various other threats that may come from without and within. In any case our methods of fighting may differ from yours, more brutal perhaps, but our existence is a necessary one."

Nods of acknowledgements greeted the words of the Grand Knight Master once more.

Turning her head slightly, Ruby noticed her uncle approaching one of the Knights flanking Seraph, and the other individual in clad in ornately-crafted armor plates turned his helmet in Qrow's direction before moving towards her uncle. They stopped a few paces from each other, and Qrow allowed a smirk to form on his lips, "Argentius, I see you haven't changed your armor much from the last time we met. It's been what? Twenty years?" They shook hands slowly while the veteran scythe wielder ran his red eyes over the Argentius's armor.

"You are one to talk Branwen, the only things I noticed about you is the height and a five o'clock shadow." The silver-gray knight said humorously as the female knight holding the long staff with a flowery head design approached them as well. He paused for a moment and turned his head to see Taiyang standing a few steps behind Qrow himself, before continuing, "Taiyang, it's good to see you again. I have heard a lot about your daughters, and you should be proud of what they have achieved as Huntresses."

"Oh I am proud of the Huntresses they have become. It's good to see you again, Argentius." Taiyang shook hands with the Remnant Knight as the female knight removed her white and gold hood to reveal silky locks of platinum blonde hair framing a face of extraordinary beauty, with eyes of purest gold, well proportioned cheekbones and a smooth nose. Underneath those features was a sharp chin with thin lips that seemed to curl upwards a little when she looked at Taiyang. For some reason, she seemed to be remarkably beautiful and seemed to radiate both extensive experience and quiet power from those golden eyes alone, "And you too, Soul Seer."

"The feeling is mutual here, Taiyang Xiao Long. You have also grown up quite a bit after so many years." The female knight remarked before embracing him in a pleasant manner, surprising the eight teens slightly. Ruby and Yang both noticed their father had a smile on his face in particular during the brief embrace.

"You have barely changed, still as beautiful and ageless as you were when we first met. Though I always preferred girls with dark hair." Taiyang joked dryly.

"I guess that's pretty obvious with whom you have married, Taiyang." Soul Seer replied as she gave a small chuckle, her gold eyes sparkling a little.

"Dad, ew." Yang bemoaned as she shook her blonde head slowly, her organic hand meeting her forehead.

"What's going on?" Ruby queried, amazement clear on her face, "Dad, Uncle Qrow, you know these people?"

Qrow nodded his head while folding his arms, "Remember the time you came back with Sharp Strike during the White Fang mission in Vacuo? When I realized that he was a Remnant Knight I mentioned I didn't think I would see one again."

"Meaning that you have met one before, or more than one apparently." Blake observed sensibly.

"Bingo. When Team STRQ were a grade or two above you kids, we got wrapped up in a mission involving these guys and Salem." Qrow revealed, snapping his fingers, "It was the first real glimpse we all had at how big the outside world really was and that mission was also why Ozpin over there trusted our team so much. It's also why Taiyang, Raven and I were all in the loop when Beacon fell, other than the fact I was right there when things got really bad in Vale."

"Well, at least it makes a bit more sense now. I have always wondered by Professor Ozpin trusted you so much." Weiss stated, placing a finger on her chin.

"Right of the money, Ice Princess." Qrow said before he looked to Ruby and Yang.

"Would that particular mission, by any chance, have inspired some of the bedtime stories you used to tell us?" Yang wondered, casting a glance at Taiyang who smiled a little, "Really? Is that true, dad?"

"Well... other than the fact we have to change a few details and cut out the really intense parts, not to mention ignoring the Knights completely, but yeah... a couple of those stories are based off the mission we took with the Remnant Knights." Taiyang admitted and winked at Qrow who chuckled a little, and Ruby noticed a familiar knight she knew very well make his way over to her.

The young hooded Huntress saw him look over to Argentius exchanged a look with Seraph before giving him a nod, before he turned his head to regard Ruby. "Greetings, Ruby Rose. I honestly didn't expect to see you again so soon." He said as he offered his hand to her.

"Neither did I, Sharp Strike." Ruby grinned as she high-fived his hand instead of shaking it, causing the knight to tilt his head a little, "Do you remember my friends?"

Sharp Strike nodded a greeting to Weiss, Blake and Yang as well as Team JNPR, briefly pausing to look at Jaune and Pyrrha before saying, "Indeed I do, Ruby. It's good to see you all again."

"That's nice to hear." Ruby said with a smile before asking, "But what's the reason for bringing all eight of us here? Is there something else me and my friends should know about?"

Sharp Strike looked at her for a moment and replied, "My superiors within the Remnant Knight Order actually would like to discuss matters involving the Aura Crystal, so we only require Jaune and Pyrrha to be present."He glanced at Jaune and Pyrrha, and the duo noticed that the ornately-armored male knight and the female knight with the flower staff were gazing in their direction. "Your presence is also requested, Ruby, because my master and mentor wishes to speak to you." He finished.

The couple looked at each other for a few moments, with Pyrrha giving voice to the thought running through her mind, "What do you think?"

The blond knight thought back to what Ruby had told him about the Remnant Knights, especially the parts where she shared with him with regards to Sharp Strike's past with Ashe. While a part of him was rather ecstatic that the old legends were true, he still wondered what exactly they wanted with the crystal and what Ashe had to do to keep it away from them. He thought carefully before looking into Pyrrha's eyes, the deep emerald orbs of his partner, girlfriend, and the love of his life, the strongest woman he had ever known, the one he had made love to the night before, the person he trusted with anything, and the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and replied, "Well... if these knights decided to let Ashe keep it after he had fought hard enough to prove himself worthy... I guess it's only fair that we hear their side of the story. What about you, Pyrrha?"

"I personally think that we should give them a chance, since we have already come this far." Pyrrha voiced her own opinion, "If the Remnant Knights have any additional useful knowledge about the Aura Crystal aside from the notes and books Ashe had left us, hopefully they will help us gain a better understanding of it." Jaune gave a nod of his head, agreeing with his partner and significant companion.

Both of them turned and looked at Sharp Strike and the rest of the Remnant Knights, and Pyrrha replied while holding their hands together, "Alright, we are open to discussion."

Seraph and the other Knights gave nods of their helmeted heads as Ruby looked to Sharp Strike and politely posed her question. "Since you already know our names, care to introduce us to the rest of your fellow Knights here?"

"Yeah, it would be nice to actually know your names too." Nora piped up with a small smile on her face, "I am sure you all have really cool ones, like those superheroes in comics."

"Nora, don't be rude." Ren chided his partner and Nora quickly mumbled a brief apology when Glynda looked sternly in her direction. Ironwood simply raised an eyebrow while councilor Henry coughed a little to the side. If the assembled Remnant Knights felt any offense at Nora's remark, they gave no sign of it and instead remained silent as usual.

Sharp Strike turned to face the other Knights and gestured at both teams. "I was planning to do so anyway. Fellow Remnant Knights, it is my pleasure to introduce Team RWBY, which is led by Ruby Rose. Her teammates are Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. Beside them is Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc with his teammates Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren. We have heard of how both your teams have overcome incredible odds to save the lives of innocents and your friends with courage and sacrifice, ways worthy of our own Order, and as I have personally seen most of them in action during my mission in Vacuo I can assure you that those reports are quite true."

There was a pause as Sharp Strike directed the view of the eight teens while he looked reverently in the direction of his leader Seraph, "Teams RWBY and JNPR, the Knight standing with your headmaster Ozpin is the leader of the organization I serve, whose full name is Grand Knight Master Seraph Pendragon. He has led us for many years through the countless battles we have been through, and his exploits were legends even among the Knights. He's the current wielder of Excalibrius, which is both his weapon of choice and sword of office."

Teams RWBY and JNPR both bowed respectfully to the Grand Knight Master who inclined his head in return.

Sharp Strike then gestured to the other knights flanking Seraph on the right, one of which who pulled back his hood to reveal a helmet carved in the likeness of an alpha Grimm Beowolf, "The Knight clad in gunmetal gray with black trim highlights is named Shadow Reaper. He's a fierce and noble warrior, and a honorable one at that. I was serving with him when I first met your friend Ashe Kasai."

"You met him too?" Jaune asked suddenly, his eyes widening a little.

"Yes, Jaune Arc. I met Kasai along with Sharp Strike, and I was the one who felt that he was worthy of keeping the crystal." Shadow Reaper revealed slowly, his smooth voice made even more prominent by the slightly ghoulish helmet he wore.

"The slightly larger knight with the huge warhammer is named Forge Smith. He's a veteran of many battles with the Grimm, more than he can remember in fact, and his knowledge and ways to kill Grimm effectively are second-to-none. I served under him for some time in the crafting of weapons back at our organization's headquarters. His tutelage had been invaluable when I first crafted my very first pair of swords." Sharp Strike gestured to the two swords mag-locked to his back, and Ruby noticed that those two swords looked slightly different from the ones he had used for the duration of the Vacuo mission. There seemed to be some kind of firing mechanism built into the pommel and grip of the pair of new swords, and they were slightly longer than the pair the young Knight had previously used.

"Well, I do like the design of his warhammer a lot." Nora quipped, her lips curling upwards.

"Then perhaps you would wish to see it in battle?" The force of huge knight's deep voice nearly startled them all, and it felt like as though the raging thunderclouds could speak, "A word of advice then: Pray that you don't, because what comes after isn't pleasant."

Nora quickly gave a nod in reply and Forge Smith sighed in his thundering voice again, and Ruby saw her holding hands with Ren and squeezing his hand a little, and she wondered if the hammer-wielding knight had just given Nora a small warning of sorts.

"The female knight with the rapier is named Tranquility." Ozpin added, "She's handles most diplomatic matters between the Knight Order and the Kingdoms, as well as Huntsmen Academies when the situation calls for it. She's a very experienced warrior, and her personal sword dueling skills are second to none."

"I think Winter would like to challenge that claim." Weiss murmured.

Ruby smiled at that and whispered "Now that would be something I would love to see."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The aforementioned female knight gave a slight nod of her helmet in response, the green lenses of her helmet meeting the faces of the eight teens.

"The male Tiger Faunus knight beside Tranquility with the heavy gauntlets and thick-plated fire-themed arm-guards is named Iron Fist. He hails from Vacuo, and is a fearsome warrior in his own right as he was considered to be among the best knight fighters with regards to various close range combat and brawling skills. He has also developed certain alternative methods to a variety of fighting techniques, with his enhanced reflexes easily helping him during battles with the Grimm or other human opponents." Sharp Strike continued, gesturing at the knight clad in gunmetal gray armor with orange trim.

Yang noticed that particular Remnant Knight looking in her direction, before his red lenses traveled down to Ember Celia on both her robotic and organic hands. He regarded the eight teens for a brief moment and spoke, "Greetings, young Hunters, remember to always keep your emotions in check, for anger without focus is no weapon at all."

Ruby looked to her sister, and wondered momentarily if the dispensed pearl of wisdom given from Iron Fist was directed towards all of them or at Yang herself. The yellow bombshell's normally smiling face faltered for a moment as she processed the last sentence, and Ruby wondered what kind of thoughts were running through Yang's mind at the moment. She was always burning like a raging fire, be it her smile or in battle, but she was undeniably stubborn, and inherited their father's personality of being straightforward and blunt when facing every single obstacle in life. She noticed Yang rubbing her two different hands together, and knew that her sister was probably thinking about how she wasn't able to keep her personal emotions in line in the past, often allowing anger and frustration to get the better of her.

"Yang, I think he means all of us." She tried to soothe her sister's troubled expression by holding onto her hand, the one made of flesh and blood.

"I.. .I think so too." Yang managed another smile, but it seemed a little forced, "I have gotten past my depression. Besides, I have you, Weiss and Blake... and I couldn't ask for better teammates than you three." She looked up and saw her father smiling warmly at her, and returned his smile as best as she was able.

"Thanks, sis." Ruby grinned back, Blake and Weiss smiling as well.

Sharp Strike gestured at the female knight with the Nevermore helmet and clad in a white cloak with red trim over her own personal suit of armor. "The female Knight with the heavily customized sniper rifle is named Eagle Eye. She's the best sharpshooter among the Knights I have known, and she can hit any target from incredible distances, no matter what natural obstacles she faced. She provided crucial cover fire with her incredible sniping skills during most of the Knights' operations in the field, and saved the lives of many Knights, including mine on a number of occasions."

Eagle Eye nodded in appreciation and shifted the grip on her weapon as she said "I am the knight who can put a dust bullet between the eyes of my enemy from many kilometers away. And I never, ever miss my chosen target."

"Well Ruby, looks like you got some competition." Weiss leaned over and whispered to Ruby.

The red reaper simply crossed her arms with a small huff, "I'd like to show her how good my own sniping skills are if I get the chance!"

"That may come sooner than you think." Blake replied in a soft voice.

"And this..." Taiyang spoke up, taking over for a moment as he directed the attention of the eight teens at the female knight with the flower staff, "...is Soul Seer. She was one of the knights who teamed up with us back when we were Team STRQ many years ago."

Soul Seer smiled warmly at them all before focusing her golden eyes at Ruby and spoke, "Hello Ruby Rose, I have heard so much about you. Your father was right, you look just like Summer Rose."

Ruby smiled back at her and nodded, "Thanks, Soul Seer. I get that a lot whenever I meet someone who knew my mom."

Soul Seer stepped forward and leaned down a little to regard Ruby as she continued speaking, "I have seen you in my dreams, Ruby Rose. You are Summer's mirror image, just with red in place of white. From what I have heard of your personality and actions I can tell you are a lot like her as well. Kind, caring, headstrong, and very proficient with your own personal weapon... you are Summer Rose's daughter through and through." She assured the scythe-wielding Huntress, "You and your elder sister are both living up to her legacy wonderfully."

Ruby held back some tears at the heartfelt compliments, "Thank you."

Yang beamed at the older woman as she put a reassuring hand on Ruby's shoulder and replied, "Yeah, thanks. It means a lot to the both of us."

"I have heard about Raven's fate in the battle which took place in Haven." Soul Seer turned to face both Qrow and Taiyang, her voice sorrowful, "You have my sincere condolences... and my deepest apologies for bringing it up."

"It's alright, Soul Seer." Qrow's face was also saddened for a moment, as with Taiyang himself, "Raven loved us and her daughter, and she went out fighting for what she believed in. We should all be so lucky."

"She may not be the best mother... but she's still my mother." Yang spoke, her lilac eyes shimmering a little even as her smile suddenly vanished, "And I know she always loved me, no matter what had happened between us."

"Again, my deepest apologies." Soul Seer replied as she placed a gloved hand on Yang's shoulder, "It wasn't my intention to cause you any pain, and I hope you can carry on her legacy as well."

"I will." Yang looked at the female Knight in the eyes with determination, "And you can count on it." Soul Seer gently gave her a reassuring smile

Sharp Strike spoke up again to introduce the last member of the knights' delegation even as Seraph gave a series of quiet orders for Eagle Eye and Iron Fist to move about the chambers, keeping a lookout while still remaining hidden, "May I introduce my master and mentor, Argentius."

Ruby and the others looked to the powerful-looking knight clad in ornately-crafted gray armor plates with certain black and blue highlights who stepped past Soul Seer towards her. Both huntress and knight regarded each other for a few moments silently before Ruby decided to go with it and opened up with, "Hello, I'm Ruby Rose."

"Greetings Ruby Rose, I am Argentius, and I have heard a lot about you." Argentius spoke in a gracious voice, "I have been personally looking forward to this meeting ever since I have heard of what your actions during the Battle of Beacon."

"You mean what I did with my eyes?" Ruby inquired, her silver eyes taking in the exquisite details of Argentius's meticulously crafted knight helmet, and the firm gray lenses which looked back at her.

"Yes, freezing a Grimm as powerful as a Wyvern is no simple feat... ever since I heard about you I have wanted to meet you in person." Argentius continued speaking, his gauntleted hands resting on his belt pouches which were fastened around his waist, "Soul Seer's words are right, you look just like your mother. I have worked with her through some missions together, and your mother was an exceptional Huntress... and a good friend to all who knew her."

"Back when Team STRQ were working with the Remnant Knights together on a secret mission, we got separated after suffering a sudden ambush attack from a nasty horde of Grimm. Summer Rose and Argentius were on their own for a couple of days, fighting together until both they were reunited with us once more." Taiyang mentioned, and Qrow nodded his head, "He worked very well with your mom, Ruby. Together, they were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with."

"Ah, compliments, as if I didn't have enough of those." Argentius answered humbly, his armored head briefly turning to Qrow and Taiyang before focusing on Ruby again, "While we were separated from the rest of Team STRQ and other Remnant Knights, your mother saved my life when I was incapacitated by the Grimm. I wouldn't be here speaking to you if not for her intervention, and I am eternally grateful for that. In the considerable times we have worked together I came to respect her as though she was a fellow knight, with her magnificent fighting skills and gentle nature at odds with the hidden fiery soul of a warrior she demonstrated in battle." He paused for a moment, took another breath, and continued, "When I heard she had died... it was a sad day for all those who treasured her. I can't imagine how you and your family felt, but you have my deepest condolences. No one should ever have to lose their mother at such a young age... although there are many more children orphaned by the Grimm all across Remnant."

Ruby noticed Argentius's gray lenses briefly glancing at Sharp Strike who bowed his head a little, "My protege, Sharp Strike told me about how you performed in your battle with the White Fang, and after seeing you fighting alongside your friends in the battles of both Haven and the retaking of Vale, I can assure you that you have made the spirit of Summer Rose very proud. Which reminds me, I have something that you gave to my protege after the battle with the White Fang." The ornately-armored knight produced something from a pouch on his belt and opened his gauntlet, revealing the rose emblem-engraved bullet that Ruby had given to Sharp Strike, and the round glinted in the soft lights of the meditation chambers.

"Hey, that's the bullet I gave Sharp Strike. Is that why you wanted it?" Ruby felt her eyes widen and looked to Sharp Strike before returning to his master, while Weiss, Blake and Yang went to the side and sat down after seeing Glynda gesturing for them to do so until they were needed. Team JNPR did the same, although Jaune had noticed Shadow Reaper eyeing the case containing the Aura Crystal with his azure lenses, and his gauntlets were straying close to the handles of his own weapons.

Argentius's helmet turned in Sharp Strike's direction, the young knight opening his hands as he explained, "I tend to collect mementos from my missions, to remind myself of those lives I have saved, the places I have been. My master wished to see something from my encounter with you, so I gave him the bullet I you gave me." He gestured at his belt, and Ruby saw a couple of other interesting objects attached there: A compass made of brass and bronze, a winged sword pendant with silver chain-links threaded through with its top, a chained glass vial of luminous grayish-white liquid, and a few other intriguing items that probably would have its own story to tell with regards to how Sharp Strike obtained them.

Sharp Strike's master waited patiently for Ruby's eyes to turn back to him, and asked, "I have seen video footage of you in action and have heard a good many things about you, Ruby... may I take a look at your weapon?" The silver-eyed girl's face looked unsure for a moment as she still didn't really understand why a veteran Remnant Knight would want to see her weapon. She glanced at the rest of her team who returned her gaze supportively, especially Yang who even giving her a thumbs-up with a smile, and she felt her confidence return once more. Turning back to face Argentius and taking out Crescent Rose, transforming it from its inactive form into its scythe mode which she commonly used when facing down Grimm on missions.

Argentius watched the transformation of Crescent Rose with interest before holding out his gauntleted hands, and Ruby placed the scythe-sniper rifle hybrid weapon in them after a bit of hesitation, "This is Crescent Rose. Please be careful with my sweetheart, would you?"

"Of course." Argentius's gauntlets moved slowly before becoming lightning-quick over Ruby's personal weapon. The gray lenses of his knight helmet glinted as he considered the weapon, checking the firing mechanism and the sharpness of the scythe blade, and noting Ruby's crest engraved onto the circular swivel frame of the weapon, "I take it you crafted this weapon yourself?"

"Sure did, all by myself." Ruby said proudly, her face beaming with a radiant smile.

"Well done. I can see that you have put a lot of work into creating it." The senior knight's armored fingers tweaked the scope and tested the trigger before moving up to check the hook-like jagged blade at the other end of Crescent Rose, "I suppose your Uncle Qrow helped you with the overall design?"

"Yeah, she wanted a weapon that had literally everything on it at first, but I managed to talk her down to just a sniper rifle and a scythe." Qrow commented, chuckling a little.

Argentius nodded as he stepped back a small distance from Ruby with Crescent Rose in his hands, testing it with a series of speculative flips and whirls. The hooded huntress felt her silver eyes widen at the ease the elder knight was handling her weapon, as though he was the one who crafted it. Her weapon moved smoothly within his gauntlets as though being performed by a magician, for all those nearby who managed to follow the various complex movements with awe clearly on their faces. Qrow, who was a master scythe-wielder himself, was grudgingly impressed by a brief showcase of Argentius's perfect skill. Even Ozpin watched with silent appreciation in his brown eyes even as he stood beside Seraph.

"Good for throwing, and made of fine metals too. A very well-crafted and impressive weapon." Argentius remarked as he gave one last twirl of Crescent Rose before holding it out for Ruby to take it back from his gauntlets, "Although it's slightly a few grams heavy on the front end, but I am sure your Semblance can more than compensate for it, Ruby."

"It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle." Ruby grinned, "I used it mostly to scout and pick off Grimm from long range when I am not slicing through them on the ground."

The master of Sharp Strike nodded and replied, "Your weapon looks similar to my own, which was named Iconoclast. Would you like to see it?"

"Sure, I would love to! It's always nice to meet another scythe-wielder." The Silver-Eyed girl said with curiosity clear in her voice. Argentius reached to his lower back and produced a metallic weapon which looked like a rather large double-edged broadsword which could rival in size to Qrow's Reaper. He twisted the haft which unfolded out into a long pole with two small orbs at both ends, the broadsword splitting in half and extending in opposite directions. Tiny intricate script wound across the black surface of the entire pole in silver inlay, written in the same language that could be seen adorning the armor plates that he wore. Then with a single hand he twisted the haft one more time and a series of sharp clicks were heard, like a dozen locks being simultaneously turned at once. Suddenly with a wild movement that was faster than a blink of an eye, two large curves jolted out of the side to reveal they were large but thin deadly looking blades, as did additional smaller blades jutting out from the small orbs atop either side of the long pole. Once the transformation was finished with a final sharp echoing clack, the sharp blades at both ends revealed Iconoclast to be a double-bladed scythe. The whole transformation process took only less than five seconds to complete.

"Whoa!" Jaune cried out in astonishment.

"Holy Oum!" Nora muttered as she felt her jade eyes becoming as big as dinner plates.

"Well, that can't be safe." Ren observed while cupping his chin, leaning forward a little.

"Just when I thought weapons couldn't be more over-the-top." Weiss murmured to herself.

"Looks like Crescent Rose and Reaper has some serious competition!" Yang chuckled, sharing a knowing look with Blake.

"I don't doubt that." Blake replied with a smirk playing about her lips.

"Showoff." Qrow griped a little as he rolled his eyes while Taiyang gave a good-humored chuckle.

Argentius turned the scythe blades to either side to avoid any unintentional accidents, and regarded at the amazed look on Ruby's face. He tilted his helmet a little and asked, "So Ruby, what do you think?"

The black and red haired girl practically had stars in her silver eyes as she quickly went into geek-out mode, and words began to tumble out of her mouth swiftly, "Oh my gosh! It's fantastic! I mean, it's like a bigger Crescent Rose, so beautiful and deadly! I mean, you have to be really talented to use something like that because you could easily cut yourself in half or cut off your own head or something gory like that, but it's just so..wow! Does it have any other modes besides broadsword and dual-scythe forms?" She shifted her weapon in her hands and reached out to touch Iconoclast's haft, "It doesn't look like it has a gun mode so I think I got you beat there... but still, wow! This weapon can really dent the Grimm population during any mission, did you make it yourself? You have got to tell me how..."

"Calm down, Ruby... before you run out of breath." Argentius spoke gently as he laid one gauntlet on her left shoulder, "You are right, Sharp Strike. She is easily excitable." The younger knight gave a small shrug of his shoulders, and Ruby wondered if he was smirking behind his helmet.

"Ruby, I think there are more important things at hand than talking shop about personal weapons." Yang gently reminded her younger sister even as the former's chuckles slowly finished.

"Oh right! Well... your weapon's really cool! I hope to test it out one day." Ruby mentioned, blushing a bit as she tried to save face, "So... does it have any other modes?"

"It's also a high-caliber double-barreled assault rifle capable of rapid-fire and single-shot configurations." Argentius replied, and held up a hand to quiet Ruby down once more as she squealed in delight.

The daughter of Summer Rose took a few moments to calm herself, and then queried, "So... why did you want to meet me exactly?"

"This question has been running around my mind for quite some time ever since Shadow Reaper told me that you want to meet Miss Rose specifically. While I understand why you wish to speak with Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos due to their newfound positions as the Aura Crystal's guardians and while I may have a theory, I still feel the need to press Miss Rose's question." Ozpin said cordially.

"Don't get us wrong. It's nice to see you again Argentius, but I am a little protective of my daughter. So giving us some answers would be nice." Taiyang stated with Qrow nodding in agreement.

The dual-scythe wielding knight looked to his superior, their eyes meeting behind their helmet lenses and after a few moments the Grand Knight Master nodded and said to everyone in the room, "I guess this cannot be avoided for long, but since everyone has taken the oath... I hope you all know that you will be seeing one of the Knight Order's greatest secrets."

Argentius turned back to Ruby and said, "Very well... I think it's time you should know who I am... or what I am." With that he reached up with one gauntlet-clad hand and unlocked the neck seal of his armor, before removing his helmet to reveal an fine-looking adult face which stunned most of the group. He had closely cropped platinum blonde hair, but the most striking feature on his bearded face were his own pair of remarkable silver eyes, similar to Ruby's but slightly older and wiser, and somehow having a bit of tiredness in them.

Gasps of surprise echoed from the other members of Teams RWBY and JNPR, while the adults simply bowed their head in respect to Argentius.

"You... you're like me..." Ruby felt her voice stuttering out, amazement saturating her words.

"Yes, I am a Silver-Eyed warrior. Like you and your mother. I have never met another with our gift before her, and never again until you. When I heard about the daughter of Summer Rose during the Vytal Tournament I was intrigued, and when I saw footage of your skills and close-ups of your face I noticed a distinctive color that I haven't seen for ages. It wasn't until I heard of how you froze a Wyvern atop Beacon Academy that I realized I wasn't alone anymore." Argentius explained himself to her.

"So that explains why you were so eager to see her. Are you sure there aren't any other people with Silver Eyes living around Remnant?" Taiyang questioned.

Seraph shook his head as he spoke, "Sixteen years ago, the Knight Order received scattered reports of certain individuals with silver eyes being picked off one after another in far off settlements and villages, either dying to horrific murders by strangers or poisoned under mysterious circumstances."

Argentius looked at Qrow carefully, "The last Silver-Eyed individual that I have seen in the flesh is Summer Rose. While operating in the battlefield I have to be very careful, because if my presence as a Silver-Eyed warrior be discovered by the agents of Salem, they would expend every resource at their disposal to ensure my demise."

"Salem and her ilk undoubtedly have their hands soaked with the blood of those people." Glynda mentioned cautiously as the rest of the teenagers looked horrified at the idea that Ruby was a target marked for death to those who serve the Grimm Mistress. Taiyang was especially uncomfortable when he reached the same conclusion as the other individuals within the chambers.

"Hey, relax. Salem's not getting to Ruby if I can help it. Not as long as we are all here and she can put up a quite a fight." Qrow argued as he waved his flask in his hand, "Besides, that Grimm witch already knew what Ruby's eyes could do, so if she wanted to have Ruby killed by any of her agents she would have done so already."

"A decent point, but we shouldn't let our collective guard down." Glynda voiced carefully.

"Got that right." Yang said, her voice a little on edge at the thought of Ruby being captured again.

"Yes, but you are forgetting one thing." Soul Seer pointed out as she gestured with a gloved hand, "The Grimm Mistress might have other plans that might involve Miss Rose one way or another. She might not want to kill Ruby now, but that doesn't mean she won't change her mind when Ruby becomes a significant threat to her."

"My thoughts exactly." Argentius nodded at Soul Seer appreciatively before looking back to Ruby, "We could very well be the last of our kind, or the only ones actually able to do something when it comes to fighting the Grimm. Tell me Ruby, what have you been able to do with your eyes?"

"Well, not that much... since, well... I know that when my eyes shine they do a lot of damage to the Grimm, freeing them or causing them pain... but usually the power of my eyes comes when I am feeling awful, sad or angry or helpless... and when my emotions just take over it kind of activates on its own..."

"I see. It isn't far from what I have experienced myself when I first began to know the powers my own eyes contained." Argentius replied as he retracted Iconoclast back into its storage form and mag-locked it to the lower back of his masterfully-crafted armor, "A long time ago, my hometown came under attack from the Grimm after those soulless creatures breached the wall surrounding the village. They killed everyone in the vicinity even as my family tried to escape the ensuing chaos. Just when they were about to kill me along with my family, my powers suddenly activated and in a white, burning flash all the surrounding Grimm were either frozen or dissolved into ash. I still wondered if my emotions played an active role in the unwilling activation of my silver eyes during that most crucial moment, and the teachings of the Order taught me that I was correct." He paused for a moment as he looked Ruby in the eyes, "So like you I had little control over the strange effects my eyes held in the past, but when I was recruited into the Remnant Knight Order I learned from the senior Knights how to properly control my powers. In time you will learn to control your powers as I have, and make appropriate use of it during combat situations to decimate hordes of Grimm within mere moments."

"So you can actually control your powers and use them whenever you want?" Ruby asked

"After my recruitment into the Knight Order, I was taught by my predecessor who was also a very powerful silver-eyed warrior in his own right. He guided me through my training where I learned to control my emotions during stressful situations, to properly channel them and in turn control the powers of my silver eyes. It's not unlike the Semblance of your friend Jaune." Argentius explained to her, "Perhaps I can show you, but not here."

"Then where?" The scythe huntress raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Argentius slowly spread his gauntlet-clad hands, "In the mindscape, of course."

"Wait, I thought you can only go into the mindscape when you are, well...asleep?" Ruby scratched her head a little, while seeing her friends all having similar looks of incomprehension.

"There is another way to do so, and you will need to listen and do exactly what I tell you." Argentius replied as Soul Seer walked up to the both of them, the fingers of her gloved hand moving in an unseen magic circle.

The dual-scythe wielding knight turned and looked at Qrow and Taiyang, "Do I have your permission to bring your daughter Ruby into the mindscape? I swear on my life and my honor as a Remnant Knight that I will bring her back safe and sound."

"I trust you with my life, Argentius." Taiyang spoke carefully while crossing his arms, "So you better make good on your promise or I will make sure you will regret it."

"What he said." Qrow added, sipping from his flask "Just do what you have to, but makes sure she comes back to us."

"That goes double for me." Yang chimed in, her fist noticeably clenching.

"And me as well." Weiss added.

"They speak for all of us." Jaune finished firmly.

"You have my oath." Argentius said as he sat down with Ruby on the soft carpets in the grotto-like recess located in the middle of the meditation chambers. With them facing each other, he placed his ornate helmet by the side and gestured for the red hooded huntress to extend her hands, and slowly took them within his. Sharp Strike retreated back several paces, and so did Taiyang, Qrow and the rest as Soul Seer conjured up a number of glowing azure magical circles above and around them with her staff and gloved fingers which caused a transparent beehive barrier bubble to slowly spring into being around the senior Knight and Ruby themselves. Once it was done, she bowed her head and murmured some kind of additional incarnation to protect the two individuals within the bubble shield who were preparing to enter the mindscape.

"Are you ready, Ruby?" Argentius asked while looking at the daughter of Summer Rose in the eyes.

"...Yes I am." Ruby replied and nodded her head.

"Now repeat the words I speak together with me, and we will be transported to the mindscape." Argentius continued before telling her the appropriate words to speak, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I do." Ruby answered once more, her hands tightening a little onto Argentius's gauntlets

"Good." Argentius nodded, "Now, let us start our journey."

They spoke the words of power together, and both of their consciousness slipped smoothly from their physical bodies and into the mindscape beyond the corporeal world.

**_"Ruby, can you hear me?" The voice seemed to come from a little far away._ **

**_Ruby opened her silver eyes and found herself seeing nothing but white. Pushing herself up from the white ground, she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, blinking a few times to make sure that what she was seeing was real. She was lying in the middle of a huge expanse of empty whiteness as far as the eye could see. Looking up, she saw Argentius clad in his detailed knight armor, extending his gauntlet downwards which she took and he promptly pulled her upright with a sharp tug._ **

**_"Where are we?" She inquired as she smoothed the skirt of her Huntress attire and checked that everything was as it should be, save for their surroundings which was completely devoid of anything except for the color white, "Are we in the mindscape?"_ **

**_"Yes, we are." Argentius replied as he looked down at Ruby, "What do you think of it?"_ **

**_"It's... kind of empty." Ruby looked around before turning back to face the elder Remnant Knight._ **

**_"The mindscape is always empty at first." Argentius spoke as he began to walk away, gesturing for Ruby to follow him and she trotted slowly beside him, with both of their individual cloaks flapping gently behind them, "However, if you want something to appear in here, it would come into being as long as you can visualize it in your mind."_ **

**_"So, if I want my home in Patch to appear here and it would just pop up?" Ruby asked and Argentius gave a nod._ **

**_"All you need is the memory, and the will to make it real in this place." He explained._ **

**_"Okay, I think I understand. Can I try?" Ruby queried only for Argentius to shake his head._ **

**_"Perhaps later. But first, don't you think we need a change of scenery?"_ **

**_"I guess so, since there's nothing here!" Ruby gestured at their surroundings with both her hands, where complete whiteness existed and seemingly nothing else._ **

**_"I agree." Argentius nodded his head, and closed his own pair of silver eyes for a moment and tapping into his memories, before opening his eyes again, "How about now?" Ruby blinked and looked around her, only to find herself and the senior knight standing on a pavement made of stones which was threading through gray forests stretching in all directions. Small piles of fallen leaves and white snow surrounded their feet, and the sky was light-blue with an occasional cloud moving at a snail's pace across the heavens._ **

**_"Wait, this part of Patch's forests." Ruby observed._ **

**_Argentius gave a small smile, "Well, I started off with someplace familiar for you to recognize, since familiarity breeds comfort. Now come, let us both take a walk."_ **

**_The snow covering the stone path crunched underneath Ruby's red-soled black combat boots and Argentius's silver-black armored boots as the two silver-eyed individuals walked along the winding path through the grey forest. An occasional chilly wind blew past them, ruffling Ruby's hair and her red hooded cloak, and she adjusted her cloak around to wrap around her neck while noticing Argentius to be seemingly unaffected._ **

**_"Tell me, Ruby; what do you know of the Silver-Eyed Warriors?" Argentius turned his head to look down at her even as they continued walking._ **

**_"Well not much, only what Uncle Qrow told me." Ruby answered, remembering her uncle sharing with her the legend after she had woken up after the fall, "I know that they were a bunch of powerful warriors who existed before Huntsmen, Huntresses, and the Kingdoms. They are able to strike down Grimm just by looking at them, and those soulless creatures fear them because of their silver eyes."_ **

**_"Do it's all true?" Argentius mentioned and the teenage huntress nodded her head, "Good, since people like you, me and your mother exist, as real as life, there were also many others who came before us, a lineage of warriors dating back to the ancient times who fought the Grimm to protect those they loved and cared about."_ **

**_"How many of those warriors are there?" She asked as they continued to walk, making their way through the grey forest._ **

**_Argentius stroked his bearded chin for a moment before replying, "I don't think we'll ever really know how many there have been. In its long history, the Order's history only recorded a very scant few Silver-Eyed warriors who served within the Order or with the Remnant Knights themselves. One of them, named Emmanuel, served as one of our previous Grand Knight Masters of the Knight Order before Lord Seraph Pendragon succeeded him."_ **

**_"So this Emmanuel was a Silver-Eyed warrior too? He must be a very smart and powerful warrior to command all of the Remnant Knights." Ruby commented, rubbing her hands together to keep warm in the chilly, but accurate, illusion of Patch's forests._ **

**_"Lord Emmanuel was a shrewd and courageous Grand Knight Master." Argentius spoke as he continued walking, "He was in turn my master who trained me when I was recruited into the Order. He also gave me a title taken from the many legends of Remnant, Grimmslayer, after I defeated a Grimm Kraken terrorizing the coastal settlements during a rather... difficult mission in Mistral many years ago."_ **

**_"Grimmslayer? Tha'ts kind of cool, is that a nickname like Sharp Strike's?" Ruby asked._ **

**_"No, and it's not a code name in that sense, young one." Argentius answered slowly, "From what I do know, the very first Silver-Eyed Warriors were given the name of Grimmslayers by the grateful people they have protected and saved from the Grimm, as a way to pass on the many tales of their valiant actions. These tales of boundless heroism and steadfast determination against the evil of the Grimm was passed down through the ages in the form of either oral or written histories, eventually inspiring the creation of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the later times."_ **

**_Another question came from the red-hooded Huntress, her breath misting a little from her mouth as she exhaled slowly as she asked "So what happened to Emmanuel?"_ **

**_Small snowflakes drifted down from the light-blue sky around her and Argentius, and for a brief moment Ruby wondered why it would snow in the mindscape. Argentius sighed before answering in a respectful voice "Lord Emmanuel gave his life to make sure that the Knight Order lived to fight another day. He battled bravely against the Grimm Mistress in a place known as The Endless Gorge, and heroically fought on till the end against the Grimm until his last breath. And it was said that he actually managed to wound Salem before she killed him, fulfilling his sworn oath before he passed on."_ **

**_Ruby nodded her head, and then looked at Argentius in the eyes, "Uncle Qrow told me that those people with Silver Eyes are destined to live the life of a warrior. Seeing that you are already a powerful warrior yourself, what do you think of those legends?"_ **

**_They continued along the stone pavement for a few silent moments as Argentius considered her question before answering, "Ruby, it doesn't matter how I feel about the previous Silver-Eyed Warriors who came before me. While I respect them for their brave and selfless actions, the fact doesn't change that they have already passed on, and the most we can do would be to honor their sacrifices and learn from the lessons they have imparted to us through those legends so that mankind would continue to exist on Remnant." He took a small breath and continued, "I may be a powerful warrior yes, but that doesn't make me invincible. I am still human after all, and even the most experienced of Huntsmen and Huntresses will also fall prey to making certain mistakes at some time during their lives. The most important point is that don't try to be something you can't, but be yourself... because only you know what your strengths and limits are."_ **

**_The hooded Huntress hung her head a little bit at Argentius's reply, feeling as though she had been chastised by armored silver-eyed knight's words. She felt a gauntlet resting gently on her shoulder, "I know that you must have wondered if you can measure up to your mother, as well as to the legacy of those renowned warriors, but the events in the past has already happened. Your actions in the present, as well as those of Team Beacon's, will determine the future with its consequences, so remember to think carefully before you act on something."_ **

**_"I understand." Ruby managed a small smile which was returned by the senior warrior even as they reached a fork in the grey forest, with two separate paths leading in separate directions, "Wait, I don't remember this part of the forest to have a fork in the road..."_ **

**_"It seems that we have a choice to make." The knight mentioned thoughtfully and looked at the daughter of Summer Rose, "Where would you like to go, Ruby?"_ **

**_"Well, someplace warm for starters." Ruby quipped, blowing into her hands again, "I just didn't know it can become so cold in the mindscape!"_ **

**_"It's only cold because you think of it that way." Argentius spoke, tapping the side of his head with the armored fingers of his left gauntlet, "But you have a point there. Perhaps we should have another change of scenery?"_ **

**_"That would be good." Ruby agreed and Argentius nodded his head, taking the path to the right. After walking for a couple of minutes, they reached an archway with a somewhat oriental design, which comprised of curved white walls with red ribbed roofs. However, the circular opening of the front wall doesn't show anything beyond it and the gateway of the portal seemed to shimmer, distorting everything behind the entryway in a dense fog._ **

**_Taking Ruby's hand in a firm but gentle grip, Argentius took the leader of Team RWBY through the oriental archway portal and into the world beyond. There was a brief sensation of falling, before they both landed boots-first on another stone pavement with soft green grass on both sides of it. Bright sunlight shone down on both of them as Ruby held up a hand to shield her eyes as she took stock of their surroundings._ **

**_"What... what is this place?" She eventually asked Argentius, "It's so beautiful!"_ **

**_"A pocket reality in the mindscape formed in the likeness of a treasured memory of mine." Argentius replied as they followed the pavement made of smooth cobbled grey stones. Lush green trees and cherry blossoms populate the lands around them, and as Ruby looked around she could see a bridge of red and brown extending over a smoothly flowing river into a large lake in the distance, and brightly colored flowers bloomed among the various bushes which decorated both sides of the stone pavement. Birds flocked over the surface of the water, and a few small transport boats with white sails could be seen bobbing on the lake itself._ **

**_They passed over the bridge and the young Huntress saw a number of orange and white colored fish swimming within the river waters, and moments later they reached a brownish-red-roofed villa with white walls. Entering through the main gates which were already opened, they proceeded through the corridors of the villa until coming into what could be described as the private study of a cultured warrior. The walls were as white as snow, and a series of sliding wooden doors opened to the main corridor and silk curtains hung from both sides of open windows. Intricate paintings and ancient maps of Remnant covered were arranged neatly on one of the walls, hung from wooden hooks by the metal rings at their sides. Another wall was covered with shelves filled with thick tomes of books and rolled up paper scrolls sealed with wax, which Ruby wondered what interesting knowledge could be gleamed from their pages. A large but narrow desk of dark brown occupied the space in front of a mountain painting, and a thick tome could be seen placed in the middle of it, along with various writing implements arranged neatly on either side of the desk's smooth surface._ **

**_Pushing open the sliding wooden doors, Argentius led Ruby to an open-air area of the villa with a wonderful view of the lake beyond. Curved red railing circled the entire area, with a carpeted dais of sorts dominating the place. As she neared the dais, Ruby could see there was a ceramic tea set on the table with two tea cups, along with a small cooking stove and a container presumably containing tea leaves. There were pillows for people to seat themselves, and Argentius gestured for her to take a seat while he brewed some tea. Pouring the gently smoking tea into one of the two ceramic tea cups, and the knight passed one to Ruby as he took his seat on the opposite side of the table, and watched as Ruby hesitantly took a sip._ **

**_"Wait, if this is the mindscape then why can I still feel the taste of this tea?" Ruby asked, a puzzled look on her face._ **

**_A smirk appeared on Argentius's lips, and he replied, "It's all in your thoughts, Ruby. You can taste the flavor of the tea because you think of it. How about trying to form your favorite food here and now?"_ **

**_The young Huntress gave a nod, and closed her eyes, thinking of her favorite food. Soon enough, when she opened her eyes again a plate of freshly baked cookies with a nice aroma that she knew which could only be baked by her mother Summer Rose. She picked up one of them and took a bite, feeling the wonderful flavor on her tongue, "It's just like Mom's!" She nearly cried with delight at the taste._ **

**_Argentius waited patiently for Ruby to finish eating the plate of cookies, the amount of time it took her to eat them all surprised Argentius , as he sipped his own cup of freshly-brewed tea. Once he had her attention once more, the elder knight commented kindly, "Not bad for a first try." Ruby beamed back in response._ **

**_"Anyway, it's time for us to return to our previous conversation." The Remnant Knight mentioned as he poured some more tea for himself, "It is believed by many individuals of the Knight Order as well as other Guardians of Remnant that the power of the Silver-Eyed Warriors is a literal example of light vanquishing the darkness. We are candles in the night. The very same power that came from our eyes act as a form of offensive counter mainly against the Grimm, but the full extent of our abilities have yet to be known."_ **

**_He took a sip of warm tea and continued, "Due to the rare trait of having silver eyes in the present day, coupled with the legends of the Silver-Eyed Warriors, many people came to think of them as powerful fighters who could easily defeat swarms of Grimm. While the claims are somewhat true, the origins of how those powers are granted to certain people like us and your mother is still shrouded in mystery."_ **

**_"Then... shouldn't there be some kind of reason for us to have those kind of powers?" Ruby asked slowly._ **

**_"I have often asked this question myself, Ruby, and I sought out the oldest history archives located throughout Remnant, drawing upon the resources of the Knight Order and the Kingdoms to find any clue as to why certain people are granted the power of the Silver Eyes." The elder knight answered, "From what records I have found, there are many legends pertaining to the origins of the Silver-Eyed warriors, some vague and some fanciful, but the most consistent legend I have found in my studies speaks of people with good souls who were granted these powers by the gods of Remnant to ward off evil and protect the innocent, and that the powers were passed down through the generations through bloodlines, but there are still too many unknown gaps to form a reasonable conclusion."_ **

**_"Which means you aren't sure of it either." The hooded Huntress said._ **

**_"Until we discover something else which gives us fresh information or a new perspective, yes, I don't know much either." Argentius agreed._ **

**_"And where would we find the answer?" Ruby queried._ **

**_"There are numerous secrets in this world, Ruby." Argentius replied as his own silver eyes looked down into the warm tea in his own tea-cup, "...and they are hidden for as many reasons as one might think. The reason for certain individuals to have Silver Eyes may exist somewhere out there, and perhaps one day we may find out what it is."_ **

**_A few moments of silence passed between them, punctuated by the soft chirping sounds of birds flying over the lake and the soothing flow of water into the lake that encircled the outdoor dais area._ **

**_"Now, l think it's time to get to the reason why I brought you into the mindscape." The knight replied as he finished his tea and placed the tea-cup on the table, with Ruby doing the same, "The power of Silver Eyes is a very potent force, and should one lose control of it in the real world it would have perilous consequences on your friends as well as your opponents."_ **

**_"I... don't like the sound of that." Ruby said, with a troubled look on her face._ **

**_"Indeed. That is why I will teach you how to properly control the power of your Silver Eyes to avoid such occurrences." Argentius said as he stood up, his knight armor producing soft clacks as the lacquered armor plates rub against each other, and gestured for Ruby to follow him, "And perhaps after that I can give you some pointers on how to fight more effectively with Crescent Rose."_ **

**_"Sure, I don't mind learning some new skills, especially from someone like you." The scythe-wielding huntress answered, remembering the skills Argentius had showed off earlier._ **

**_A small smile appeared on Argentius's face as he tilted his head a little, "You remind me again of your mother, Ruby Rose... and I am sure you will go far in this chosen path of your life."_ **

**_"Funny, Uncle Qrow told me the same thing... the part about me going far in life." Ruby chuckled a little, "Guess you two think alike."_ **

**_"I may have been a little influenced by him during our missions together in the past." Argentius admitted. "But, from what I understand, Qrow's methods are a bit more... headstrong than my own. Now, let's begin."_ **

**_Reaching a huge green field which was right outside the brownish red-roofed villa, the elder knight gestured for Ruby to follow him into a kneeling meditation pose with them facing each other, "First, close your eyes and clear your mind of any distraction. Then concentrate on activating the power of your silver eyes."_ **

**_"...and what happens should I lose control?" Ruby looked at him in the eyes._ **

**_"That's why I am here." Argentius replied, and a moment later he added, "There's no need to worry, just remember my instructions and you will be fine. Now close your eyes and focus."_ **

**_"Uh, one last question, how do I address you?" The young Huntress asked._ **

**_"For now, Master Argentius would do." The older knight told her._ **

**_Ruby nodded and replied, "I will try my best, Master Argentius."_ **

**_"I have heard that from Sharp Strike quite a few times in the past." Argentius's lips curled into a smirk, "Now, shall we begin?"_ **

**_Following the aged knight's instructions, Ruby put aside all other thoughts as much as she could before slipping into a meditative trance even as her training began in earnest._ **

* * *

Forge Smith turned Magnhild in its hammer form slowly within his absurdly large armored gauntlets, examining Nora's personal weapon carefully like a jeweler would analyze facet-cut gems and diamonds. His personal warhammer was placed head-down by his side, the extended leather grip pointing skywards while having some additional thick armor plating covering around its lower end. The T-shaped visor set in the eyes of the Goliath-shaped helmet glinted a little as the armored helmet moved every few seconds, travelling up and down Magnhild while the thick fingers caressed the weapon with the skilled care of a weaponsmith.

Nora waited expectantly in front of him, with Ren by her side while she watched the huge Remnant Knight examine her weapon, turning it this way and that before changing it into its grenade launcher form. The giant armored warrior looked like an adult holding a child's toy, and after a few moments he switched Magnhild back to its hammer form and handed it back to her.

"Hmm... good overall construction, smooth transformation sequence, and powerful payloads. The recoil from the payload can also enhance the hammer impacts for maximum damage." The large imposing knight eventually mentioned as he looked from the weapon to Nora, "I would grade Magnhild a reasonably well score for its especially distinctive weapon design."

"I used it to defeat a Death Stalker back in initiation." Nora replied with a smile on her lips, "By sending it into the chasm with a loud wham!"

The weaponsmith of the Remnant Knights looked at the orange-haired girl and gave a nod, "I see you have added some kickback cushions inside your weapon to deal with the recoil. That's good thinking on your part."

Nora nodded her head, "Thank you sir, I never thought I would receive a compliment from a Remnant Knight."

"That is something Forge Smith rarely bestows on others." Shadow Reaper said as he stood beside the heavily armored knight, "I can assure you he genuinely means it."

"Then may I ask what's the name of your warhammer?" Nora requested politely, Weiss was a bit surprised at how restrained Nora was acting, but Ren, Jaune, and Pyrrha had seen it before.

The tall and heavily plated knight picked up his warhammer again and turned it slowly within his large gauntlets, "My weapon is named Mjolnira. I used it to forge many weapons for the Knight Order, as well as bearing it in battle against many dangerous types of Grimm."

"Mjolnira, that's a very nice name." She said, looking at the various inscriptions on the metallic surface of the knight's warhammer, "It looks like it can dish out some major damage."

"Trust me, it can. I have personally seen it in action." Shadow Reaper said before turning back to face Ren, who remained silent as he observed the grey and black armored knight rotating StormFlowers in the latter's own gauntlets.

"Lightweight, strong melee blades, and extended magazines for larger carrying ammunition capacity. Fully automatic firing mechanisms with good-tensioned pin locks. Good for quick-draws and throwing." The covert knight errant operative remarked slowly, "Can also double as spontaneous melee defense."

The green ninja nodded and replied "Yes. I used it to defend myself by holding off enemy attacks when they get in close, such as the time we fought Team BRNZ at the Vtyal Festival."

Shadow Reaper spun StormFlowers smoothly in his gauntlets, before returning both weapons to Ren grip-first, "I used similar weapons myself, except mine is a pair of dust-enhanced gunswords." He gestured at the holsters at both sides of his belt, and Ren noticed the handles of the two aforementioned gunswords protruding from them.

"And what are their names?" Ren inquired, sliding Stormflowers back into his long-sleeved tailcoat

"ShadeSlayers." Shadow Reaper stated simply, "They earned their names from my first mission, where I used them to kill over a hundred Geists."

Ren gave a nod of acknowledgement when a soft and melodious voice came from behind them. "Is it true that you two came to Beacon Academy together?" Shadow Reaper turned and bowed a little, revealing Soul Seer who looked at Ren and Nora with her golden eyes.

"Yes, we did." Nora answered, placing both hands in front of her abdomen, "Ren and I vowed to keep each other safe, so we entered Beacon together."

"It seems that both your paths are inexplicably intertwined with each other, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Soul Seer said as she looked at them both, "I am sorry to hear what had happened to both of you in the past, and I hope one day you both can find some closure for the pain in your souls. Maybe one day you will be able to destroy the monster that took your families."

Both Ren and Nora's eyes widened as they looked at each other for a few brief moments, their reaction caused the others to wonder what Soul Seer meant by that and why their friends had reacted so strongly. Ren looked to Soul Seer and asked, "How did you know?"

The flower-staff wielding mage inclined her head, "Your Auras told me, and forgive me for the blunt mention of your past. I can perceive emotions by looking at the Auras of others, and while you two keep your emotions under control... there's still a flicker of unease in your hearts."

She paused for a moment and then continued, "Remember your vow to keep each other safe, because there are still yet more trials for both of you to overcome in future."

"We will, thank you." Ren replied as he extended a hand which Nora took, and they both bowed respectfully to Soul Seer who smiled gently at them and nodded her head, before turning her attention to the beehive barrier bubble which enclosed Argentius and Ruby Rose.

* * *

**_A certain period of time has passed since they had both knelt in the wide expanse of grassy land in front of the clearly Mistralian-influenced villa, with Ruby following the meditating instructions Argentius had taught her. She didn't know how much time had passed, since they were in the mindscape and not the physical world, but it felt like they had been here for at least a number of hours. The pocket reality of the mindscape they were presently in looks so real to her, but there was a certain... unsettling feeling that unsettled her that the surroundings both looked real and false at the same time._ **

**_"You are slowly improving, Ruby... now close your eyes again." Argentius instructed and she complied, "Let your body relax and be comfortable, not hungry or full, not hot or cold, not tired or energetic. Let your mind be clear and your thoughts drift... and then let it go free."_ **

**_Ruby briefly felt a temperate breeze caress her face and caused her red cloak to flap a little, while also feeling a calm sense of serenity slowly come into her mind as she did so._ **

**_"Reach out to the sky and the stars, feel the sparks of life all around us, the aura of humans and Faunus, animals and plants, all the living things of this world. Reach out to your surroundings, and feel their aura flow around you and your own aura within yourself." His gentle voice came again to her ears._ **

**_"Can you feel it?" He asked and Ruby felt herself nod._ **

**_"Yes, Master Argentius... I can feel it... there's so much aura around us..."_ **

**_"Good. Now, with your mind at ease... slowly release a little of your power, Ruby." Argentius instructed as he watched the meditating Huntress in front of him begin to crease her forehead in concentration, "Focus, calm yourself. Don't let any unwanted distractions break your the calmness of your mind."_ **

**_"I am trying, Master Argentius." Ruby's reply came as she subtly curled her hands into small fists, "I can feel the energy flowing within my eyes... but it's so hard to get them to come out..."_ **

**_"Don't rush the process, Ruby." Argentius soothed, "Control your emotions and maintain a serene mind. Then tap into the power of your Silver Eyes and gently release a little of it."_ **

**_"It seems so easy when I see you do it." She answered, her youthful face scrunching up a little more in an effort to perform the same action he had demonstrated a short while ago, "Why is it so difficult for me?" After failing to do so again, she then opened her eyes and looked at Argentius, who stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully._ **

**_"Well, first of all... I sense that your heart and mind are troubled." The aged Remnant Knight stated, raising a hand to forestall any questions coming from Ruby, "Second, you need to understand that there are no quick paths to control the power of your Silver Eyes. If your emotions are in turmoil, there's always the chance of losing control of your powers, and that isn't something you want to happen when you are fighting a battle."_ **

**_He regarded Ruby, their silver eyes meeting across the short distance between them, "So, what troubles you, young one? I think it would help if I understand what's disturbing your concentration."_ **

**_The young scythe wielder thought for a few moments, while listening to the soft sounds of the water flowing in the lake a short distance away from them and the chirping of the birds in the air, before replying, "I... I fear killing other people, Master Argentius. I remembered killing two thugs back in Haven. I can still remember them so vividly... I'm afraid it could happen again." For months, she had told others, and herself that she was over it, but it was nothing but a lie, one that she had come to believe._ **

**_"Ruby, I understand your feelings." Argentius opened his hands in a friendly manner as he knelt in front of her, "But you must know that sometimes things will happen and they are completely out of your control. Especially when you become a full-fledged Huntress, there will be sacrifices to be made, and not all of them are easy to dismiss. You would have to eventually come to terms with them, before moving on."_ **

**_"And... what if I could have prevented those things from happening?" Ruby queried, feeling her eyes misting a little, her tear ducts slowly beginning to leak, "What if I could have stopped Pyrrha and Penny's fight in time? Or if I had gotten to the top of the tower sooner? What if I had been able to prevent Adam from cutting off Yang's arm? Or stop myself from killing those men? I don't think I would be able to forgive myself for those failures."_ **

**_Argentius laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Ruby... the act of taking lives is indeed a painful one, but you must understand that not all things happen because of your involvement with them. There are times that you would have to make hard choices to save the lives of your friends and loved ones, and in the process your actions would often result in the injury and death of others, especially those of the enemies you face. Remember that in their eyes you are merely another opponent, and they would have no qualms killing you to remove another obstacle in their plans. What you did does not make you an evil person."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Sharp Strike said something like that to me too._ ** **_.. I think I understand..." Ruby slowly said._ **

**_"Do you?" Argentius continued, "You are the leader of Team RWBY, and leaders would have to make difficult decisions. There will be losses, inevitable and painful ones. You would have to experience that kind of pain in future, and yet be prepared to take risks and make sacrifices to save those you wish to protect. That is part of the duty of being a Huntress, by making sure that your actions actually mean something, and always protecting those who cannot protect themselves."_ **

**_A few seconds passed before Ruby answered the great knight once more, "Yes, Master Argentius."_ **

**_The master of Sharp Strike gave a nod of his head, "Think about what I have said, Ruby... and I am confident someday you will understand what I have told you."_ **

**_He looked at Ruby directly as she absorbed what he had just told her and noticed that there was a kind of far-away look on her face. There was also a faint glow of silver energy coming out of her eyes, and the knight was about to inquire if she's feeling alright, as the mindscape can have certain effects on newcomers, unlike him who have spent countless hours meditating and contemplating in the pocket reality which was considered a safe haven of sorts._ **

**_A warning thought surfaced through his thoughts as Argentius reached forward to touch Ruby's cloaked shoulder when the leaking silver energy coming from her eyes grew stronger and brighter, and suddenly the wayward energy lashed out towards him, causing the veteran knight to leap back abruptly and put some distance between himself and the young Huntress. The tendril of silver energy briefly clipped him on the left pauldron, sending Argentius to the ground on one greaved knee, and he looked up just in time to see more silver energy coming out of Ruby's eyes, manifesting into blinding streams of light which looked like a pair of majestic wings._ **

**_A great gale whipped up almost immediately around them, scattering leaves from the nearby trees and every bird in the vicinity fled into the horizon. Thinking quickly, Argentius swiftly drew Iconoclast and slammed its blade into the green grass ground to keep himself anchored as his silver and gold-trimmed cloak flapped like a flag in the strong winds. His mind searched through his experiences speedily, looking for the appropriate memory to put into context what he was seeing. It wasn't long for him to realize that Ruby Rose has accidentally latched onto a memory which caused the power of her silver eyes to activate, and if he didn't put a stop to it in time both Ruby and himself risked mental trauma, not to mention that the pocket reality of the mindscape might suffer severe damage or complete destruction._ **

**_As the strong winds continue to batter against him continuously like hammer blows, the aged warrior saw Ruby float to a standing position of sorts with her hands by her sides, while her head was looking at the sky even as her silver eyes continue to bleed more silver energy. He had experienced something similar on his own when during his training within the Knight Order long ago, and that particular memory had remained with him even after so many years had passed as a warning of what would happen should an individual with silver eyes lose control of his or her power. The consequences down that path were something he hoped that would never come to pass, because the guilt of carrying the burden of those actions would be incredibly taxing on his old soul, much less a young one like Ruby Rose._ **

**_Remembering his sworn oath to both Qrow and Taiyang to bring Ruby back from the mindscape safe and sound, Argentius began to move forward one laborious step at a time, stabbing Iconoclast into the grassy ground to prevent himself from being carried off by the dangerously powerful winds. Another lashing blow from Ruby's silver eyes knocked him back a few steps, but he steeled himself and started forward again, his own silver eyes glowing and forming a winged shield of sorts against the forceful mental elements and Ruby's growing power._ **

**_"Ruby, listen to me!" Argentius shouted against the howling winds, his voice almost lost to the white noise generated by the elements, "What you are seeing isn't real! Don't allow yourself to be pulled into the memory! Find my voice!" Seeing Ruby's head turn slowly in his direction, the knight reached out a hand once more, "Listen to the sound of my voice, Ruby! Focus on it, and take my hand!"_ **

**_Another powerful blow slammed into him, both silvery wings crashing into his own pair which formed from his silvery eyes, and the knight grunted in an effort to maintain stability. If his concentration so much as slip for a single vital moment, the pocket reality in the mindscape would be open to the larger field, and who knows what kind of additional damage Ruby's power could wreak there. While there was a bubble shield of sorts protecting them both from the other gathered students, adults and knights, a single tendril of silver energy escaping into the physical world can still cause damage, no matter how small.' Sometimes, it's the smallest things that cause the biggest damage.' Argentius thought to himself even as he hauled himself forward again._ **

**_Suddenly, Ruby raised one of her hands and flying debris whipped towards him, which the knight quickly deflected while others simply clattered off harmlessly off his Aegis armor, but that unexpected action caused a hairline fracture to appear within his concentration, and a stray tendril of silver energy shot towards him and ricocheted off the gleaming blade of Iconoclast, sending it arcing skywards. Argentius watched with what looked like stunned trepidation on his face as it disappeared into the swiftly gathering grey clouds above them, and knew that everyone outside the protective bubble shield would be given a clue to what's happening inside._ **

**_"Oh Oum, that's not good." He murmured to himself, before switching his attention and efforts back to calming Ruby down, and hoping that he wasn't too late to avert any catastrophe._ **

* * *

"Hey there, shiny." A gruff voice with the nearly intoxicating smell of someone who had too much to drink caught the attention of the Remnant Knight with twin swords mag-locked to his back, interrupting his quiet observation of everyone and everything that happened within the meditation chambers.

Sharp Strike turned his helmet-covered head and regarded Ruby's uncle, his armored form also turning to face Qrow even as he instinctively felt his gauntlets rest on his customized revolver and personal relic sword. Blood red eyes met azure helmet lenses as veteran huntsman and young knight slowly regarded each other once more, "I sure didn't expect to see you again so soon, and with so many of your brethren."

"Nor did I, Branwen." Sharp Strike replied as he noticed Taiyang leaning against a pillar a short distance behind them, arms crossed and his blue eyes firmly focused on the bubble shield which encased both Ruby Rose and his master Argentius. Out of the corner of his lenses he could see the headmaster of Beacon Academy talking to Seraph and Tranquility, with Glynda, Ironwood and Councilor Henry listening to the overall conversation about the terms of their cooperation as stated in the scroll of alliance.

While he knew that the rules of engagement against the Knight Order's foes would change in terms of their alliance with the Kingdoms, Ozpin's guardians and Team Beacon, he wondered momentarily about his continued role of being a knight errant operative for the Order. No doubt it would change too, but he's adaptable after receiving training from his master for quite some time. And perhaps working with Team Beacon might be a refreshing experience, even though he preferred to be a loner most of the time.

"So Argentius is your master, huh? And here I thought he wouldn't be the type to take in an apprentice." Qrow chuckled a little as he took a sip from his flask, "Did he fill your mind with all those grand tales of being a hero in shining armor?"

Sharp Strike cocked his head a little at Qrow's jibe, and replied, "Yes, he's my master and I respect him for his skill and his commendable efforts in teaching me the ways of the Remnant Knights. He taught me how to fight, to survive and adapt to various situations at hand, and that has kept me alive so far, but yes, he has quite a few tales to tell if you ever find him in the mood."

The older scythe wielder shook his drinking flask and regarded Sharp Strike, "So a warrior teacher and storyteller huh? I once joked that I might see him enjoying retirement somewhere in a nice remote mountain cabin, but it seems that he has proven me wrong. It seems that you can't seem to catch a break in a chaotic world like Remnant. So how was it like to have a master like him?"

"I would say the same about you Branwen, since you are working for Ozpin's guardians." Sharp Strike said as he glanced back again at the bubble shield in the middle of the chambers, "Master Argentius has been a strict but reasonable teacher to me, and I am grateful for him to teach me as well as many other knights within the Order... but I guess this is where his skills lie, in saving lives and passing his experiences to future generations of warriors." He looked back at the old crow again, "I am sure he would help Ruby in any way he can."

"That sounds like the Argentius I know." Qrow mused to himself, before looking at Sharp Strike again, "Anyway, you still owe me an answer from the question I asked of you back in Vacuo before the assault on White Fang headquarters."

"Is this about the sword of the Promethean Tribe I have been carrying?" The knight said slowly, returning Qrow's careful glare, "I have already given you an answer, Branwen."

Qrow capped his drinking flask and continued, "Yes, but I find that answer vague and unconvincing, not a fan of either. You said that the sword has always been with you, so that rules out only a few options from what I have narrowed down, you had some relation to that tribe, or you defeated someone from that tribe to gain that sword, or you had pretty good relations with them to be given that sword. The only others I have seen are either really good copies or a random few in the prized collections of certain individuals, but yours seemed to be more ornate than any other blade I have seen."

Sharp Strike thought carefully before speaking again, "Yes, the sword has always been with me, but it has been with my family before I was recruited into the Knight Order. I know it was crafted by the weaponsmiths of the Promethean Tribe due to the intricate details and craftsmanship of the sword. When I became a Remnant Knight, I brought along this blade to remind me of my parents and the life I had before I joined the Order."

"The way I see it, it looks like someone within your family must have been on very good terms with the elders of that tribe." Qrow remarked, rubbing his chin a little, "For a person to possess a genuine sword crafted by the Promethean Tribe today is extremely rare, and you are one lucky swordsman to have such an exquisite weapon."

"I shall take that as a compliment, Branwen." Sharp Strike replied, and Qrow was about to say something else when a strong silvery glow from within the bubble shield sprung into being, causing those closest to the shield to hold up their hands in an effort to protect their eyes. If one squinted at the transparent barrier separating them from Ruby and Argentius, he or she would have noticed the silver energy leaking from her open eyes, which were glowing brightly. His master was also showing the same effect with his own eyes, but Ruby's was far brighter than his, and certain energy tendrils were slowly caressing the inner surface of the bubble shield, producing soft crackles as thought someone had turned on an electricity generator.

"What the heck?" Cried Jaune in surprise.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Ruby?" Weiss asked, a very nervous edge to her voice.

"Sis?!" Shouted Yang. "What's happening?!"

Taiyang took a few steps forward and looked into the bubble shield, and so did Qrow who glanced at the other Remnant Knights and Ozpin before walking back to his brother-in-law's side. No doubt his mind was racing about Ruby's safety in the mindscape, and so was Yang who stood up from her seating position with a worried look on her face too. Another spasm of silver energy brushed against the bubble shield's interior, and Taiyang turned and shared an anxious look with Qrow, "Her silver eyes are leaking energy! We need to get her out of there now!"

He made to move for the bubble shield, concern for Ruby's safety clear on his face, and this was coming from a Huntsman who normally solved anything with a punch to the face in his youth.

"Is Ruby in danger?" Yang demanded as she clenched both her robotic and organic hands, her lilac eyes showing anxiety for the well-being of her younger sister. The male blonde Huntsman was about to draw back his gauntlet-clad fist to break the integrity of the bubble shield encasing his daughter and the senior Remnant Knight when he felt Qrow holding him back, while Soul Seer was instantly by their side, with Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper behind him.

"Taiyang, please restrain yourself." Soul Seer said with a careful, yet serious tone, "Ruby and Argentius are both at a delicate stage at the moment, as he's teaching her how to control the power of her silver eyes. What you are seeing is possibly a fragment of silver energy coming from her eyes, and the bubble shield I have conjured is what's protecting us from any other effects that kind of energy may cause when released."

"She's right, control yourself." Qrow looked at Taiyang, before turning to Soul Seer, "But that doesn't change the fact that Ruby and Argentius are both in danger. What will happen if the shield is breached by the silver energy?"

The mage with the flower staff glanced at the flaring bubble shield which was flaring brightly with the streams of silver energy coming from both silver-eyed individuals within it for a few moments, before replying, "I have put my strongest shield wards in the creation of this bubble shield, so it would hold for quite some time. However, should its integrity be compromised, the unstable silver energy released would cause significant damage to the surroundings and anyone close enough."

Glynda, who was holding the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR back with a raised hand, felt her face slowly slip into shock at Soul Seer's words, "Shouldn't you have shared this piece of important information before with us before Argentius took Miss Rose into the mindscape?"

"Glynda, we know very little about the capabilities and powers of the individuals with Silver Eyes." Soul Seer answered, gesturing with her flower-shaped staff, "Although we have gathered some information from Argentius's personal abilities and skills with his own silver eyes, there's still many unknowns that we are still finding answers to. Nonetheless, I can assure you that the knight who is with Ruby now is the best chance we have to help her control the power that existed within her own eyes."

She turned from Glynda to Taiyang once more, "Taiyang, you once trusted Argentius with your life, so please place that same trust in him again and trust in Ruby's power as well. He can guide her through the ways to control her power properly, and he has already given you his oath to bring her back safely." Her voice softened a little, and she looked into Taiyang's eyes imploringly, as though asking him to see sense.

"Taiyang, I think it's best to leave this to the professionals." Qrow pulled back Taiyang's arm and looked at him face to face, "Argentius has promised us to bring Ruby back, so let's give him our trust since he has given us his oath. Soul Seer has also vouched for him, so that's good enough for me. So... let's just calm down and see what happens?" The father of Ruby and Yang looked at his brother-in-law for a long moment, before taking a breath and stepping back, his hands dropping to his sides.

"I trust you, Soul Seer." He spoke slowly before looking up at her golden eyes, "But you had better make sure Ruby comes back to us safe and sound, or you will regret losing the trust I have given you all these years."

"I understand completely, Taiyang Xiao Long." Soul Seer inclined her head in respect, "I assure you that everything will work out eventually. Trust in both Ruby and Argentius, that's all I ask."

At her words, Qrow and Taiyang reluctantly agreed even as the former Huntsman guided the concerned father away from the bubble shield containing his younger daughter in a somewhat uncertain situation.

* * *

**_Ruby didn't even know how she got to this dark place. One moment she was with Argentius meditating in the green field, and the next she was somewhere else after she briefly closed her eyes. Someplace, where darkness was absolute and the only illumination were tiny pinpricks far above her showing glimpses of an equally black landscape with odd, lumpy mountainous shapes. Her boots trudged through scattered pools of splashing black liquid which flowed around them, and the smell of death was everywhere._ **

**_Fear seeped into her being as her heart hammered against her chest, and the silver-eyed girl instinctively reached for Crescent Rose when she heard the distant moans of pain. Looking around, she realized that the 'mountains' that she had been walking past weren't natural formations, for they had heads and limbs sticking out at unnatural angles, while streams of blackish-red fluid flowed from wounds on their bodies, collecting in streams which led to the dark pools at her booted feet._ **

**_Pointing the sniper muzzle of Crescent Rose protectively in front of her as she continued along the path treading through the mounds of corpses, or at least what she thought was a path, Ruby's eyes flicked left and right frantically searching for a way out of this hellish landscape. What little light she could see was red in color, and the sticky, mucus-like black liquid that should have been blood slowed her footsteps and clung to her boots, making the hooded Huntress tug hard to even pull herself free for a few brief moments._ **

**_"Come on..." She mumbled to herself as she pulled at her left boot which stubbornly refused to free itself, "I shouldn't even be here... why would I think of such a scary place like this?" Ruby was tempted to use her Semblance to put as much distance between herself and the dreadful surroundings around her, but her efforts were for naught as she could hardly move in any direction before getting her boots stuck again in another patch of black fluid._ **

**_Suddenly she yelped as her left boot was suddenly freed, her balance put off center and as Ruby tried to regain her balance she accidentally pulled the trigger of Crescent Rose by reflex. The weapon fired with an echoing thunderclap of a noise as the discharged round shot into the distance and impacting somewhere very far away, and as she pulled herself upright Ruby became conscious of the fact that she might have gotten the attention of whatever entities were living in this part of the terrifying landscape._ **

**_Her fears were proven right very quickly._ **

**_The dead came for her, relentless and unforgiving. Their cold, lifeless fingers reached for her, while their equally dull eyes bored into her own, as though accusing her for the gruesome fates they were given. They wore the faces of those people she knew; such as Tom and his sisters, Sun's mother, and Hopkins, but there were those she didn't recognize, but nonetheless they all have the same deadened zombie-like expressions, and their moaning voices were utterly horrifying._ **

**_Scrambling back from the nearest mountainous pile of dead bodies whose hands reached for her, Ruby shrieked in terror when she saw the faces of the dead thugs she had killed by shooting the tire of the vehicle they were driving in, as well as the one she accidentally impaled on the blade of Crescent Rose._ **

**_"Murderer." They chanted monotonously, "Killer. Slaughterer."_ **

**_"No... no! Not this again! This can't be real!" Ruby cried to herself as she turned and sprinted away from the mountains of corpses on both sides, using her semblance to dash with unnatural speed through the hellish environment. As she ran she remembered the horrible nightmare she had suffered from when she was Cinder's captive. "This is not real! I must be dreaming again!"_ **

**_She burst out into a slightly bigger area, and looked up to see the shattered moon shining down at her, but it's glow was no longer white, but a deep red that reminded Ruby of visceral blood. Casting her gaze down, she saw steep yet broken stone steps cut into the ascending mountain which laid in front of her, and it was far larger than the mountains of corpses that surrounded it. There was an ominous and dreadful feeling emanating from the mountain, but despite feeling fear Ruby still felt herself inescapably drawn to it._ **

**_And her next breath caught in her throat when she saw the corpses which lay on those jagged broken steps. It was like a sicker, much worse version of the previously mentioned nightmare._ **

**_Among the various corpses Ruby saw the broken and bruised bodies of Team CFVY, Team SSSN, Professor Oobleck, Professor Port, and various other Teams which she recognized from the Vytal Tournament. As her booted feet carried Ruby up the mountain as though by an unspoken command, her silver eyes were treated to a parade of horrors: Professor Goodwitch was lying on her back, her limbs stuck out at unnatural angles while her body was completely covered with bruises and bleeding wounds, as though she had been tortured and thrown from a great height. Ozpin laid a short distance from her, slumped on his knees with several thick black swords impaling him through his chest, his head bowed as though in prayer. His shattered spectacles somehow still remained on his emotionless face, and that only served to make the sight even more frightening._ **

**_She forced herself to walk further on, seeing the twisted and broken bodies of Ren and Nora, their hands somehow managing to hold onto each other despite being literally torn apart by some kind of freakish Grimm creature. Ren's body had been skewered on a black lance of sorts, with him leaning forwards and yet unable to lay on the ground due to the long lance holding him upright. Rivulets of blood oozed from his lips and the visible wounds, and StormFlowers laid broken on the ground before him. Nora laid beside him, equally bloodied and wounded, and for some reason her right arm and legs were only bloody stumps, with Magnhild broken into two separate pieces right by her side. Their fingers were intertwined, as though they entered the afterlife together as one._ **

**_Looking to her right, Ruby saw the body of Jaune slumping on Crocea Mors which somehow held him upright even as he died. Dozens of arrows and swords stuck out of his entire body, and red blood flowed like an endless river from his wounds and broken armor. Stifling a gasp of shock, she stumbled back and nearly tripped over the lifeless body of Pyrrha, her severely damaged body also shot through with several arrows, her dead green eyes somehow glaring accusingly at Ruby as Milo and Akouo laid destroyed in several severed pieces. Both guardians of the Aura Crystal did not speak a word, but their glaring, dead eyes told Ruby how much she had failed them._ **

**_That wasn't the worst sight yet. Then came the severed parts of Penny with deactivated eyes, her damaged and rusted body lying in many pieces and looked no different from scrap metal. Her orange hair was disheveled and her clothes were covered with dirt and grime. Her swords laid all around her like some kind of demented offering, and they didn't have any glow of electric life in them either, with torn strings coming out of their ends._ **

**_The next new steps seemed to add untold amounts of additional weight on Ruby's limbs and soul as she let Crescent Rose drop to her side and dragged the weapon along with her, the scythe blade scraping against the dark stone steps, "No... I don't want to see anymore... please let me go... let me out of this place!" But whoever or whatever was control of this part of the mindscape wasn't yet done with her, and it showed Ruby another sight that turned her blood as cold as ice._ **

**_"No... NO!" She whimpered and moaned, clutching her face as tears poured down her face like glittering pearls as she witnessed the sight of her dead teammates, with Blake lying on her side and having Gambol Shroud and even Adam's Blush run through her abdomen, her hand seemingly reaching out towards Yang's one which still wore Ember Celica who was covered in blood and grime, her bright yellow-gold hair dulled with muck, her robotic hand torn off and leaving a sparking stump. Weiss was pierced by several ice spikes, which held her up even as her crimson life fluids flowed down those white-colored spikes in a brutal and cold display while Myrtenaster lay before her, split in half. Uncle Qrow had somehow been slice in half with Reaper stabbed into what remained of his torn chest, and her father was so severely burnt that Ruby wouldn't have recognized him if not for the remains of his tattered clothing and dirty blond hair. Zwei was right with them, the corgi's body twisted horribly with its face in a slack expression, its tongue flopped out as blood poured from a large wound in its stomach._ **

**_"NO!" Ruby screamed to the black heavens, fearing what else she would see after witnessing so much death, and she heard the dead voices steadily rising in volume around her, "Why didn't you save us, Ruby?" The legion of accusing voices rang through her ears, and poured lead into her limbs and unfathomable cold into her heart._ **

**_"I... I want to!" She cried to the dead corpses scattered around her, "I care about all of you! I love you all! I want to save all of you! Oh, Oum..." She wept as she pulled herself upwards towards the summit of the mountain, "...please don't die... please make it stop... this has to be a dream... I never wanted all of this... no, no more!" Somehow she still managed to hold onto Crescent Rose as she pulled herself onto the very top, and slumped forward onto her knees in front of what looked like a large throne made of purple crystal. It was empty, and looked like it was waiting for her to seat herself upon it._ **

**_"I have been waiting for you, Ruby Rose." A soft silky whisper echoed around the mountain top, and Ruby looked up to see a black figure emerging from the darkness. It's entire form flowed and moved like liquid darkness, and its face a mask of swirling red lines around a single golden orb. Long black tentacles extended from the circumference of its face, twitching with life in separate directions while two open clawed hands extended in front of it, a gesture of friendliness which Ruby knew was anything but, "Welcome to my humble domain, Silver-Eyed Warrior."_ **

**_"Who are you?!" Ruby wiped her eyes free of tears and brought up Crescent Rose in a quick flourish, aiming the muzzle at the entity's mask-like face, which cocked its head as though in puzzlement._ **

**_"Hmm... a good question, but I think the proper query should be, what am I?" A cackle of laughter emanated from the dark entity, and it moved through the short distance between them, coming right in front of the silver-eyed Huntress, "Hmm... you're a feisty one. I haven't have many... guests in my domain for quite some time."_ **

**_Ruby eyed its twitching claws, "You haven't answered my question... whatever you are!"_ **

**_The masked face studied her for a few more seconds, and then retracted one of its clawed hands to tap at its face, "If you want an answer, you could have just asked. I am a servant of darkness, and I have a generous offer for you to consider. I don't do this often, but then again... not many people enter the mindscape and accidentally end up in my domain."_ **

**_Ruby's mind raced as she glanced around, searching for anything resembling an exit. The way down the mountain was tempting, but the undead-like zombies will overwhelm her when she eventually tired herself out. The wasn't anything in the area at the summit of the mountain which looked like a way out, but if she could delay the Grimm-like entity and buy some time, Argentius might be able to find her and get her out of this horrid place. Keeping her weapon aimed at the dark being in front of her, Ruby said, "If you so much as twitch the wrong way, I will put a bullet through your face!"_ **

**_"My my... what a temper you have, little one." The red lines on its white mask changed direction like a person who constantly changes expressions, "I am being polite to you, and it's only right you be polite to me in return. Even if you are going to kill me, which you seem very eager to do..." Ruby stopped at that and lowered her weapon. "...and you could have done it after hearing about my generous offer. I promise you, you will be very intrigued with what I am offering you."_ **

**_Despite her distrust of that creature, Ruby felt her mouth move a little, speaking a few words, "What's the offer?"_ **

**_"That's the spirit." The humanoid dark being rubbed its clawed hands together as though in prayer, before steepling them in front of itself, "You want to save your friends and loved ones right? I can give you the power to do so. With this power, you can vanquish any enemy who faces you in battle, and become the most powerful Hunter in existence. That's what you want, isn't it?"_ **

**_The red hooded Huntress's fingers tightened on the trigger of Crescent Rose, but she knew that she was playing a very dangerous game of words with the malicious entity of this domain, she was trapped in it with this creature, and she had a bad feeling about whatever it was offering her. Ruby pretended to think about it, and then looked back at the dark being, "And you are giving me this power, just like that?"_ **

**_"Let's just say I am in a rather generous mood today." The red lines rearranged itself on the white mask again and Ruby swore the golden orb blinked a few times, "After you accept my offer, you are free to leave this place as you wish. I will even show you the way out if you want. Imagine it, Ruby Rose... the power over life and death, to keep your loved ones alive and kill those who wishes to inflict evil on the world, isn't such a power wonderful to be within your control? No more death... forevermore."_ **

**_"And how would I know that you will keep your promise?" She glared at the shadowy creature, whose coiling body twitched and writhed as its tentacles extended towards her, "You must want something in return from me."_ **

**_Elsewhere in the mindscape, after expending much effort in getting close to Ruby through the howling gales and battering organic debris around him, Argentius managed pull himself right up to her side and wrapped one armored arm around her. Through his glowing silver eyes he managed to see that Ruby's own eyes had dimmed a little, and her wing-like appendages aren't fighting him as much, and knew that her mind was somewhere else. He glanced around and saw the villa behind them already half-destroyed by the strong winds, and the water of the lake was already swirling like a huge whirlpool, sending water spiraling into the sky. He had maybe minutes to save both Ruby and himself._ **

**_Grunting as he stabbed Iconoclast into the ground to prevent any dislodging of his current position. Argentius heard soft whispers coming from Ruby's mouth, as though she was talking to another person. Through the white noise and crumbling landscape around him, the elder knight managed to catch a few words and felt his own eyes widen. Thinking quickly, he placed his other gauntlet hand on Ruby's forehead, taking care not to bruise her delicate flesh, and murmured an invocation, and almost immediately a bright silver glow appeared on his gauntlet._ **

**_"I am the master of this domain, Ruby..." The smooth voice came again as the entity loomed over her, and Ruby aimed the muzzle a few inches higher, following the masked face, "...and I control everything within it. You would have to trust me."_ **

**_Concentrating on reaching Ruby in another part of the mindscape, Argentius focused on his sacred vow and spoke, hoping Ruby would hear him._ **

**_"Ruby, don't trust it! I am almost there!" A small voice which was distinctively Argentius's echoed in Ruby's thoughts, and she looked back at the grimm-like being which opened its long clawed fingers as a hideous lipless grin with sharp teeth split its mask-like features._ **

**_"So, what would it be, Ruby Rose? Yes or No?" It asked._ ** **_This mysterious entity had been dwelling within the mindscape for who knows how long, and in a moment of weakness she accidentally entered its realm and now the dark creature sought to ensnare her within its grasp._ **

**_The answer was simple, and Ruby knew it. She gave it by_ ** **_pulling the trigger of Crescent Rose, the blast echoed loudly around the dark mountaintop._ **

**_Praying that he was in time, the Grimmslayer spoke another incantation and joined with Ruby's consciousness, slipping into the frightening mindscape which Ruby had accidentally found herself in._ **

**_As the dark being screeched in rage and pain, its clawed fingers cupping its smoking masked face which had taken the direct hit from Crescent Rose's discharge, Ruby turned and quickly sprinted down the mountain, its haunting cries chasing her as she activated her semblance, dashing down the mountain and ignoring the familiar bodies which laid in her way. Those were probably conjured up by the dark entity to make her more easy to manipulate once she reached it at the mountaintop, so she would accept the so-called generous offer without much thought, falling into its trap forever... but she had been able to resist it._ **

**_Her boots splashing through deep red pools of blood, she hurried through mountains of dead bodies and jumping over any zombie-like corpses that had come to life, no doubt called by the creature to delay her so that it could catch up and exact its revenge. She ran in a zigzag pattern, taking alternate paths whenever and wherever she could, jumping over crawling corpses and those which reached for her legs. More than once she had to Crescent Rose to either slice through multiple dead bodies hindering her way, or put down shadows which looked suspiciously like the Grimm-like creature which was the master of this horrifying place._ **

**_Skidding to a halt at the end of the mountains of corpses which opened up into a muddy and bloody plain, Ruby saw a bright figure of silver light waving to her just a few hundred meters away. She recognized Argentius, and quickly sprinted towards him even as she caught a glimpse of what was chasing her. It was the servant of darkness she shot mere moments ago, and there was large crack on its mask near the golden orb, and its clawed hands reached for her even as she leaped forward across the muddy plain, expending the last of her semblance as she did so. Landing a few meters away from Argentius, she saw the Remnant Knight hurrying towards her, pulling her up and checking her over quickly, "Come, Ruby. Let's go!"_ **

**_"You don't have to tell me twice!" Ruby shouted with urgency as she followed behind Argentius, eventually reaching a white gate made from carved onyx at the extreme end of the dark domain of death. Looking up at Argentius who nodded at her, she made to follow him when she slammed face first into the gate's opening, falling onto her rear with a loud thud, "I can't go through!"_ **

**_The Remnant Knight reached over and pulled Ruby towards him, but as soon as Ruby touched the white gate she was repelled once more, as though there was a force-field preventing her from leaving. As the darkness rapidly crept up on them both, Ruby felt despair worm its way into her heart as she saw the dark Grimm-like entity opening its fanged mouth as it savored the opportunity of devouring her mind. Just before its clawed-like hands reached her, it was hurled back by bright steams of silver energy, which formed a protective bubble of sorts around them both and the gate. Argentius held one hand with its palm outstretched towards the screeching shadowy creature which battered itself against the bubble of silver energy, but with no visible results._ **

**_"Ruby, listen to me! I know why you are here, and I know what memory you have accidentally triggered to get yourself here." Argentius grunted as he hurled back the creature of darkness once more, "You have accidentally killed people, and you fear the death of others, especially those of your friends and your loved ones. I know of what you did in Haven, and I know you killed out of self-defense."_ **

**_The young Huntress wiped her silver eyes of fresh tears and looked up at Argentius, the latter giving her a careful but understanding look, "I didn't mean to kill them! I want to protect my friends and family, because I don't want to see any harm come to them!" She clutched at her black and red haired head as a choked sob escaped her throat, "I want to save those who I love, that's all!"_ **

**_"And you can!" Argentius's face hardened a little as he pushed the screeching dark servant back once more, "You need to become stronger, and to attain that kind of experience you need to train yourself." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Just because you killed doesn't make you evil. You are only evil if you enjoyed it, relished it, and want to do it repeatedly without thinking of the consequences. The way you took a life doesn't make you evil, it makes you a complex person. As long as you only kill in self defense or to save the life of another, you are not evil. And as long as you feel guilt for your actions, you are still a good person, just a complicated one. Not evil at all."_ **

**_The knight's silver eyes glowed brighter, "You have done many good things Ruby; you got your team to work together, you reunited your best friends Jaune and Pyrrha, you helped Ashe to see the brighter things in life by talking with him, you were there for Penny who just wanted a friend, you bravely joined in the battle to stop the breach on Vale, you managed to reunite Team RWBY once more, and you delivered a punishing blow on Cinder, and you saved more people than you know by fighting the White Fang and Cinder Fall in Haven. You have to come to terms with your own actions! You need to forgive yourself, and continue to move forward into the future you want!" He unfurled Iconoclast and switched it to its assault rifle form, while the shining silver scythe blades unfurled from the muzzle with a pair of sharp clicks, "I know you can do it, Ruby! Take my hand, and show me that you are a true Huntress!"_ **

**_The young Huntress looked up, and through the hot tears leaking from her eyes she saw Argentius extending a hand towards her, and thought about all the good she had done. He was right, of course, and she knew now why everyone within Team Beacon trusted her with their lives and look to her for leadership. She had come a long way from her impromptu fight with Roman Torchwick which led to her enrollment in Beacon Academy, making friends and received training to become a Huntress, before getting tangled up in all the White Fang business and meeting Penny. She had persevered through the Fall of Beacon despite Team RWBY's break-up, choosing to follow the remnants of Team JNPR on a crusade to Haven to bring Cinder Fall to justice. Then came the meeting with Ashe, who she managed to convince him that there's still good in him, and that's still hope out there despite everything that has happened in his life. She had been there for every single one friends, and they all reciprocated her kind gestures in return with strong friendships and unshakable faith in her. While there was remorse, regret and sorrow in her heart every single time she relieved the disturbing dream of her untold amounts of deaths, and she broke down every single time in it, Ruby knew that if she didn't gather her courage and wits to move on she would never be free of it._ **

**_She then knew what she needed to do. It was so simple that she chided herself for not seeing that option sooner._ **

**_Reaching up with one delicate hand to clasp Argentius's outstretched gauntlet, Ruby wiped the last tears from her reddened eyes which had wept many tears. With her other hand clutching onto Crescent Rose, its weight and heft assuring her that it would always be the weapon that she could rely on, she looked up at the formidable knight and said, "I'm with you, Master Argentius. Just tell me what to do."_ **

**_"Good." Argentius racked the slide of Iconoclast's assault rifle form, and pointed it at the huge Geist-like creature outside the silver sphere that was protecting them, "Remember my training, and follow my lead. Once the shield drops, we go in separate directions while attacking it. Once I have immobilized the dark servant, aim for the masked face and unload everything from Crescent Rose into it. Can you do that, Ruby?"_ **

**_A nod of determination and a calm tone came from the young Huntress, "Yes, Master Argentius."_ **

**_"Here we go..." Argentius took to a running stance, and so did Ruby herself, and both warriors took a moment to compose themselves. The silver shield shimmered as the ghostly servant hurled itself against it again, and then dropped away completely, with the Remnant Knight and the Huntress running in opposite from each other, firing their personal weapons all the while. The many blasts from both weapons hammered the dark creature continuously, making it screech in pain and annoyance. Switching Iconoclast to its dual-scythe form, Argentius dodged a clawed hand and ran up the nearest incline in an incredibly steep angle, then leaping forward in with the weapon raised high above his platinum-blonde haired head, and with a shout he sliced through both arms of the dark servant as it raised its clawed hands to defend itself. A deafening howl of the damned echoed through the dark landscape as Argentius landed smoothly behind it, turning around and firing once more at the murky entity, "Now, Ruby! Finish it!"_ **

**_The daughter of Summer Rose sprinted towards the shuddering shady creature with Crescent Rose swinging behind her, and she felt her silver eyes glow bright than ever before. While anger still existed within her, it was more of a controlled fury than the other times she got stressed or felt awful and helpless. Her mind was only focused on vanquishing the creature which sought to trick her, and she was nearly deceived by it. Racking the slide to chamber a fresh round, Ruby shot towards the creature made of darkness in a whirlwind of rose petals, and just as she closed in she leaped upwards and spun Crescent Rose in front of her, her silvery eyes now shooting flaring bright streams of light just like Argentius. Crescent Rose glowed brightly in her hands, and changed its form rapidly into a huge silvery scythe which flared with power, and as the creature looked up to face her with what looked like pure, undiluted fear on its masked face, Ruby unloaded everything she had in her weapon, firing repeatedly as she dropped vertically towards the dark minion who was kept in place by Argentius who had bound it with streams of silver energy that formed a glowing circle around it, which kept the aforementioned entity from escaping._ **

**_Unable to withstand the silver-energy enhanced rounds, the masked face of the dark creature shattered and it screamed in pain and anguish, its ghostly form collapsing and black smoke billowed from its disappearing form in all directions. The shattered pieces of the mask flew everywhere, and once they hit the muddy ground the various shards vanished into curls of thick smoke. The headless body hit the ground and also faded away, the echoes of its death cries permeating the desolate landscape before silence blessedly returned. The red-cloaked Huntress landed beside Argentius in a crouch, and looked up to see him giving her a warm smile, "Excellent work, Ruby Rose. You have learned well."_ **

**_Ruby felt a small smile come to her lips, before a deep rumble nearly knocked her off her feet as the ground shook beneath her and Argentius. "I think it's time for us to leave." Argentius observed as they saw this particular part of the mindscape crumbling apart, the mountains of corpses in the distance collapsing in huge avalanches, and the dark sky breaking apart._ **

**_"Wait! Where are we going next?" Ruby asked as they both ran for the white gate which was just a short distance away, while deep cracks appeared throughout the crumbling ground beneath their boots._ **

**_"You know where to go next, Ruby." Argentius replied cryptically and Ruby gave a him a puzzled look, before they both dived into the white onyx gate and vanished from the dark realm._ **

**_The next few moments were a blur of half-destroyed scenery and brief flashes of scattered memories that Ruby could not make any sense of, so she closed her eyes and felt only the pull of Argentius's gauntlet hand as they ran through another rapidly disintegrating landscape, following the warm feeling she had in her heart which seemed to tell her where to go. They stopped at the edge of a high cliff, and after seeing the glowing silver portal below which seemed to call out to her, Ruby somehow knew that was the right way to go._ **

**_And so without hesitation, she leaped off the cliff and into the portal along with Argentius, both of them falling through the glowing circle just as the pocket reality they left behind collapsed onto itself. They dropped for some time, eventually falling into a landscape filled with grassy hills and numerous flower patches of various colors. White fluffy clouds moved sluggishly across the clear blue skies and there was a gentle breeze of flower scents filling the air._ **

**_Picking herself up from the flower bed and dusting off flower petals from her clothing, Ruby looked around her and then looked to Argentius who had straightened after landing in a crouch, "Where are we now, Master?" She especially noticed that both of their silver eyes have stopped glowing and returned back to normal._ **

**_The veteran knight stroked his chin a little as he looked around them, before turning to regard Ruby, "This isn't a memory of mine, Ruby, it's yours."_ **

**_Ruby nodded and looked around, taking in the surroundings._ ** **_"I didn't know such a beautiful place existed. But I..._ ** **_I sense something calling me here, Master Argentius." The young scythe-wielder mentioned._ **

**_"This place seems... a little familiar to me." Argentius observed considerately, "It vaguely resembles a place I have visited in the past, but the name still eludes me."_ **

**_"Look, there's a path!" Ruby pointed in front of them, and a path made of red bricks and cobblestones was seen leading through various flower beds, before vanishing into the distance, "Perhaps it will take us to the place we need to go."_ **

**_"Follow your heart, Ruby." He pointed to the right side of her chest, "...and it will lead you to the destination that's calling out to you."_ **

**_The young Huntress gave a nod, and followed Argentius as they both climbed out of the flower bed and followed along the path of brick and cobblestone which threaded through the various fields of flowers and over the grassy hills. She led the way, and the armored knight walked by her side as they both reached a junction that was shaped like a cross, where she took a few moments to identify the correct path they should take. Then they set off once more down her chosen path, and after a few minutes of quiet walking, Ruby decided to speak up once more._ **

**_"I want to apologize for what happened, Master Argentius." She looked up at him even as they continued walking, "I didn't mean to destroy the place of your treasured memory."_ **

**_"It's all water under the bridge, Ruby." The knight spoke kindly, "It's just a memory, one I still have, and I am sure I can reconstruct it in my mind if given enough time. I know you briefly lost control of your own power and torn apart that place, and I am thankful that you didn't come to any harm from that dark creature whose realm you accidentally entered."_ **

**_"What was that thing?" Ruby inquired, "It looked like an Super Geist Grimm!"_ **

**_"That... was a Dreameater." Argentius replied, "It's an intelligent elder Grimm which dwelled within the mindscape preying on the negative emotions of those who enter it. I think it was drawn to your sorrow and regret when you felt within you, and hence it sought to trap you within its realm. I noticed the signs that you are in a separate part of the mindscape and hence I quickly searched for a way to find you, and it was by Oum's grace I made it in time."_ **

**_"So is it dead?" She asked._ **

**_"I think it's safe to assume so, since you shattered its face and its realm has been destroyed." He answered as they trudged up a grassy hill, "But there are still many others hidden elsewhere, waiting for their time to strike. Salem the Dark Queen probably planted them as traps within the mindscape, and you are quite lucky to survive an encounter with a Dreameater, much less defeat one._ ** **_That is no easy feat, Ruby... so you should be proud of yourself. You have successfully conquered your fears and resisted the temptations the Dreameater had tried to offer you. Your spirit has been tested, and has not been found wanting."_ **

**_"Thank you, Master Argentius." Ruby answered as she cupped her hands together and giving a nod of her head._ **

**_"I think we are nearing your destination, Ruby." The Remnant Knight gestured with a outstretched finger and Ruby's silver eyes widened as she followed where he was pointing as they descended from the last of the grassy hills and into the gorgeous landscape beyond._ **

**_The path cut through flower beds of both red and white roses as far as the eye could see, leading to a pavilion of sorts, with pillars holding up arches with rose emblems that looked exactly like the silver brooch she wore on her clothing. The path eventually led to a main street where a slightly larger arch with a church bell at the very top, and curling patterns of plant stems decorating those huge pillars that supported that main arch._ **

**_Passing through the arch, both Ruby and Argentius saw a statue of a Huntress carved out of grey stone, and she was wearing a hooded cloak with an open front, while holding a flower pot of roses within her two hands. Her head was bowed, and she stood upon a pedestal in the middle of the pavilion surrounded by red and white roses, and upon the plinth was an oval-shaped stone slab which proudly declared the words, "Thus kindly I scatter." The likeness of the Huntress carved in stone was of no doubt to Ruby as they neared it, and it was carved in the image of her mother Summer Rose._ **

**_"Mom..." She whispered, feeling fresh tears come to her eyes. Looking beside her, she noticed Argentius bowing his head in respect as he murmured a prayer for Summer Rose, his hands clasped together._ **

**_Turning to look at the statue again, Ruby noticed that there was a single rose sticking out of the flower pot which was filled with blooming roses. It wasn't red or white like the rest, and it stood upright on along stem with some leaves coming out of its stem. The most obvious feature was that it was fully made of silver energy, and it glowed brightly among the pot of roses that the statue of Summer Rose held in both hands._ **

**_"Should I... take it?" Ruby felt the question leave her mouth and she turned her head, looking at Argentius who simply gestured with a gauntleted hand at the rose made of silver energy, while giving her a warm reassuring smile._ **

**_Reaching outward with her right hand into the statue's flower pot, Ruby fastened her fingers around the rose made of silver energy and slowly pulled. It came out easily, its warm glow filling her with a blissful warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature around them. As she retracted her hand and stepped back, a brilliant flash of light heralded an arrival of someone she knew very well._ **

**_Blinking her silver eyes, Ruby felt her breath caught in her mouth as she saw the ethereal form of her mother dressed in her white hood appearing in front of her, the kind, loving, motherly smile she knew so well visible on Summer's face, "It's so good to see you again, Ruby."_ **

**_"Mom?" Ruby asked quietly, her eyes full of tears as Summer nodded. Ruby lurched forward and hugged the ethereal form of her mother, who wrapped her arms around her mother, tears of happiness leaking from her eyes as well. Argentius stood silently by the side, watching the emotional moment with a caring smile on his face._ **

**_When they separated, mother and daughter looked at each other with beaming smiles, and Ruby felt Summer reach up and wiped away her tears, "It seems that you found your way into my sanctuary within the mindscape, my daughter. You have also become a powerful Huntress yourself... well done, my little Ruby."_ **

**_She kissed Ruby on the forehead as the young teenager looked her mother in the eyes and said_ ** **_"Thank you so much, Mom!" From an outsider's point of view it looked like as though a pair of sisters of different ages were reunited with each other, rather than a mother and daughter reunion since they looked almost exactly alike._ **

**_"Argentius." Summer Rose turned her head to look upon the Remnant Knight who bowed his head and clasped one hand to his chest-plate in an honored salute, "You have my deepest gratitude for bringing my daughter to this place of sanctuary."_ **

**_"It's the least I can do for you, Rose Blades - I mean, Summer Rose." Argentius answered with respect clear in his voice, "Consider it my own way of repaying you for saving my life all those years ago. Your daughter actually found this place on her own, while I merely followed and ensured her safety to reach this place."_ **

**_"Ever so humble, Argentius." Summer Rose smiled at him, "I always cherished the times Team STRQ had worked with you and Soul Seer on those missions... and the blessings both of you gave for the wedding of Taiyang and Raven."_ **

**_"The feeling's mutual here as well, Summer Rose." Argentius' eyes met her own as he spoke, "I am sure your daughter has made you proud of her."_ **

**_"I hope she hasn't been giving you any trouble?" Summer chuckled a little, "She can be quite a handful at times."_ **

**_"She's... a little rough around the edges." Argentius looked at her daughter and winked, "I am sure with the proper training and patience, Ruby Rose can go incredibly far in her life as a Huntress."_ **

**_"Thank you for your honest opinion, Argentius." Summer Rose smiled at him, "Do you mind if Ruby and I have a few moments to ourselves?"_ **

**_"Of course, as you wish." The armored knight bowed again, "I will be admiring the wonderful mindscape surroundings." He glanced at Ruby Rose and added, "Just inform me when you want to leave."_ **

**_"One more thing... Argentius." Summer Rose spoke as she placed one hand on her heart and then moved it outwards, the palm outstretched towards him, "Thank you for all the wonderful adventures we have shared together."_ **

**_"It's was my pleasure to have those adventures with you, Summer Rose." The Remnant Knight replied, his hand mirroring the Summer's gesture. There was a moment of melancholy which appeared on his bearded face for a brief second, and it vanished just as quickly, "May the gods of Remnant protect your kind and gentle soul in the afterlife."_ **

**_And then he gave them the space they needed, walking to a respectful distance and stood as still as a statue, his face looking out across the fields of red and white roses._ **

**_Ruby looked at her mother who turned her head back to her, and holding onto her mother's hand she asked, "Mom... why did you call me here?"_ **

**_Summer Rose sighed gently, and reached out one hand to hold Ruby's cheek, "My beautiful daughter, I brought you here because I have something to tell you. Before I left that fateful night to fight the Grimm swarms that were attacking Patch years ago when you and Yang were still very young, I... transferred a bit of my life essence to you so that I will always be there to watch over you and protect you whenever possible. I learned this skill from an elderly mage during my travels across Remnant, and I used it to implant a bit of my own soul into your Aura... but it's not fully completed due to the lack of time."_ **

**_She gestured to the glowing rose of silver energy within Ruby's right hand, "And so I created this sanctuary within the mindscape, and left directions for you to find your way here to complete the process. The rose you hold in your hand is actually a fragment of my aura, when it joins with you it will complete the process and I will be a part of you forever."_ **

**_"I missed you, mom." Ruby felt fresh tears come to her eyes as she leaned into her mother's touch, "So does Yang and Dad and Uncle Qrow... we all missed you."_ **

**_Her mother smiled her radiant smile and replied, "All of you will always be within my thoughts and heart, and I love you all, now and forever. Can you pass on my love to Yang as well as your father and uncle, my little Ruby?"_ **

**_"Sure, mom... I can do that." Ruby answered and brought up the rose crafted from silver energy, "I think I understand the purpose of the silver rose you created for me, but how do I merge my Aura with yours?"_ **

**_Summer Rose inclined her head as she gazed at her daughter, and said in a benevolent voice, "It's very simple, Ruby: you hold your hands together with the silver rose between them, while I hold onto your hands with my own. Then repeat the same words I speak with me, and I will join what's left of my Aura with yours."_ **

**_She then leaned up and kissed Ruby lovingly on the forehead, "Remember my love for you, Ruby. Don't ever give up and always keep moving forward, no matter what happens. Remember that when even if it's the darkest hour of your life, there's always hope that there will be a light at the end of the darkness. Follow your heart and do what you always do, and know that you are never alone, because your friends and your family will always be there for you."_ **

**_Summer gently guided Ruby's hands to cup the rose of silver energy between her own, and then looked into her daughter's silver eyes, "I will always be with you, my dear daughter. You will always be my sweet little Ruby. I love you."_ **

**_"I love you too, mom." The red-hooded Huntress embraced her mother one last time before they spoke the words of power together which initiated the Aura combination process, and finally after so long Summer Rose was reunited with her daughter in spirit._ **

**_Argentius raised a gauntlet to protect his eyes as a bright flash of light enveloped them both, and Ruby floated a short distance off the ground as the energies from the Silver Rose merged with her Aura, and the ethereal form of Summer Rose flared brightly before dissolving into bright silver dust which was carried across the flower beds of red and white roses in the huge pavilion. The great warrior went down on one knee, bowing his head to give the due respect he should to Summer Rose as a fellow warrior and close friend. When he looked up again, he saw Ruby landing down on her booted feet and she slowly opened her silver eyes which glowed a little before returning back to normal._ **

**_"How do you feel, Ruby?" He inquired politely._ **

**_Ruby pressed a hand against her chest, feeling a little warm and fuzzy, so overall: "I feel great!"_ **

**_"That's good to hear." The senior knight nodded as he laid a hand on her shoulder, "You are off to a good start, Ruby Rose...but our time in the mindscape is coming to an end."_ **

**_"Will I be able to come back here one day?" Ruby asked him as they both walked underneath the arch leading out of the pavilion._ **

**_"As long as you remember this place, you can come back anytime once you enter the mindscape." Argentius mentioned as they reached the outer archway where there's nothing beyond its opening, "Now it's time to go back to the physical realm."_ **

**_Extending his hand towards Ruby, the young Huntress took it and both Silver-Eyed Warriors vanished through the exterior archway in a brilliant flash of silvery light, leaving the rose-filled pavilion and returning to the world of Remnant._ **

* * *

Soul Seer waved her flower-shaped staff, dispelling the bubble shield which thankfully held the wayward silver energies in check and by now those very same energies have dissipated, leaving both Ruby and Argentius both alive, unscathed and well. Once the bubble shield was dropped, both Huntress and Remnant Knight released each other's hands, and the mage of the Knight Order held up a hand to stop anyone from interrupting any final words Argentius needed to speak to Ruby about before Yang, Weiss, and the others could swarm around Ruby and make sure she was okay.

"Ruby Rose, you have the potential to become more powerful than I am... and maybe even more powerful than your mother, but that same strength your silver eyes give you can also be dangerous. The greater the power you have, the greater the temptation to do things that you shouldn't." He told her with a stern look on his face, "From what we know of Cinder Fall, she wanted more power, and she let that lust for power consume her. You must learn from her failings, Ruby. Be right where she was wrong, and be responsible of the power you wield. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Master Argentius. I understand." Ruby replied and Argentius gave a nod, before gesturing for Taiyang and Qrow to come forward, and watched as both father and uncle checked Ruby and asked her various questions on her well-being as well as what happened in the mindscape. Yang also came forward as well, pressing a small water bottle into Ruby's hands as the latter drank slowly to quench her thirst before answering their questions. But before that, she hugged each and every one of them as tightly as she could.

Argentius pushed himself upwards in a clatter of armor plates, picked up his helmet and locked it back onto his gorget with a click, and felt a hand touch his elbow. Turning around, he saw Soul Seer looking at him with concern clearly writ on her features, "You have been in the mindscape for quite some time with Ruby... how do you feel, brother?"

"I am fine, just a little fatigued." Argentius replied in a low voice, accepting a flask of cool water from Sharp Strike which he sipped slowly by disengaging his lower face-plate, "Your concern is much appreciated, sister. It has been some time since I have entered the mindscape for such a long period of time, so my skills have been a little rusty."

Seraph politely excused himself from Ozpin and Glynda, and marched over to where Argentius stood with Soul Seer and Sharp Strike. In a low whisper which others would have thought impossible for someone with such a deep gravel voice, the Grand Knight Master posed an important question, "So, is she the one?"

Argentius thought for a long while before finally giving Seraph an answer, "Yes, Grand Knight Master. She is."

The Grand Knight Master gave a momentous nod, and Argentius knew nothing else needed to be said.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader for writing this with me (seriously, he wrote the bulk of this, give him special praise). Also, check out his commission of Argentius and Soul Seer on Deviant Art by Manu-chann, it's pretty good!
> 
> I am so sorry, but I needed to split this chapter up... again, it was just too long. So stay tuned in a week or so for the third and final part of this small story arc, and the final chapter in the second 'volume/season' of Destiny of Remnant... I promise, this time it really will be the last one!
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	52. The Beacon Lights Again Part III: Legacies

Jaune's eyes followed every gesture and action of The Remnant Knights even as he heard Ruby was promising to fill her team, as well as her father and uncle, in on what happened in the mindscape with Argentius. Currently, her father and sister had both captured her in a mighty hug, after she told them about Summer Rose. The family of three just stayed there, together, as a true family, with Taiyang and Yang both shedding tears of happiness for Ruby and knowing that Summer truly loved them all. Jaune looked back to Argentius and Soul Seer, who both stood beside their leader once more, and Sharp Strike had returned to his master's side as usual. He heard them talking softly amongst each other, and momentarily wondered what other topics they could be discussing about.

He had a feeling they were discussing Ruby's Silver Eyes, or maybe they were talking about his and Pyrrha's roles as the new guardians of the Aura Crystals. Perhaps both.

"Jaune? Are you alright?" He turned his head and saw Pyrrha looking at him, with the Aura Crystal case resting on her lap and holding his right hand in hers, "You seemed to have drifted off for a moment."

"Is it that obvious?" Jaune rubbed his head, "I was just wondering when we will be called up by the Remnant Knights."

"Well... since they are already finished whatever they need to do with Ruby, I think they will want to speak to us soon." His lover assured him as she looked at him in the eyes, "Do you think that you are ready?"

"Honestly? Even though I have prepared myself... I still feel a little uneasy." Jaune replied, "...but there's always a first time for everything."

"You aren't the only one who feels uneasy... those knights look like they are armed to fight a war." Pyrrha pointed out, "But at least we will be meeting them together right?"

Jaune gently squeezed her hand in assurance, "Of course. I am glad to have you here with me, Pyrrha." The kind smile she returned reassured him that everything would be alright. There had been times when Pyrrha woke up, looked around, and just cried in happiness, just happy that she was alive, happy to have her life, her family, and friends back. Some mornings when she was at home she'd just hug her parents as tightly as she could, others she would snuggle with Jaune and just lay there with him, savoring the joy she felt from being with him. She would sometimes hug Ren and Nora, and just thank them for being there, as she wanted her friends to understand how much she truly loved them, how much she appreciated being herself again. She considered Fotia Drakos, and mentally thanked her for making the right choice.

After exchanging a few more words with Argentius, Seraph nodded to Soul Seer and then looked to the eight teens of Teams RWBY and JNPR, "Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, please come forward with the Aura Crystal."

The two guardians looked at each other before getting up and slowly approaching the center of the chambers as Ruby, taking one last look at Argentius, moved to join the others.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Blake asked her as she came towards them.

Ruby nodded and said "I feel better now."

Once she sat down among her other teammates she felt Weiss and Blake place their arms carefully around her while Yang held one of her hands, all three of them letting Ruby know that they were there for her.

They placed the Aura Crystal's case on the floor and when both of them looked up Pyrrha noticed Soul Seer's golden eyes were focused on her and Jaune, and so did the rest of the Remnant Knights. Feeling something amiss, the red-haired Huntress asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"I sense a certain darkness within both of your Auras." Soul Seer closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "There actually is essence of Grimm within your bodies!"

At the mention of Grimm essence from Soul Seer, every Remnant Knight in the meditation chambers sprung into immediate action so fast their speed and precision would have shamed even the most highly-trained soldiers of the Atlas army. Forge Smith quickly brought up his warhammer while Shadow Reaper pulled his ShadeSlayers gunswords out of their holsters but Tranquility, ever the peacekeeper kept her rapier sword in its scabbard as she hesitated, while Sharp Strike himself had drawn his sword, but wasn't pointing it at the two, he was looking from side to side.

Their actions didn't go unchallenged, as Qrow drew out Reaper in a guard stance, while Taiyang brought up his gauntlets. Glynda drew her riding crop while Ironwood and Councilor Henry have already drawn their individual revolvers. The rest of Team JNPR and Team RWBY also got up from their seats, drawing their respective weapons. Yang heard a pair of sharp clicks and turned her head, seeing the knight Iron Fist disengaging his own gauntlets which unlatched to show a glimpse of revolving firing chambers with dust shells of various colors even as two long sharp blades slid out above his fists, while Ruby noticed Eagle Eye was already aiming down her sights with her sniper rifle from the other side of the chambers, no doubt already chosen her targets accordingly.

The whole standoff scene had happened in the span of a few seconds, with both Jaune and Pyrrha having barely able to draw breath. The silence in the meditation chambers was so absolute that one could hear a pin drop.

"Hold! There is no need for hostilities here." Ozpin looked at Seraph even as he spoke firmly.

"Headmaster Ozpin, you have some explaining to do. Knights, stand down. They are not a threat." Seraph held up a gauntlet-clad hand and the other Remnant Knights all lowered their weapons, with Forge Smith exchanging a silent look with his leader before giving a small nod and put away his warhammer.

It was a while before Jaune found his voice again after the tense moment passed, "Since you can sense the Grimm essence within the both of us, I take it you guys don't know about what happened to us?" He noticed that Argentius and Soul Seer both had not made any threatening movements, although Seraph had a firm grip on the handle of his huge broadsword which hung at his left waist.

"I believed that Councilor Henry has already forwarded everything with what happened in Haven to the Knight Order?" Ozpin mentioned carefully.

Henry nodded, "I did, and I'm sure I mentioned Arc and Nikos'... predicament in those reports."

"It seems that we have misunderstood some details of the reports you gave us, Councilor Henry." Seraph mentioned, and looked to Soul Seer who spoke in an honest and sympathetic voice as she looked at them.

"From the reports he provided we knew of what had befallen you, and I must say that we are so sorry for what has happened earlier since we thought the Aura Crystal has already cured you of your... afflictions. No one should ever have to suffer what both of you have."

Her golden eyes looked from Jaune and Pyrrha to both Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR, "The rest of you aren't immune either, as I can also sense the pain and hardship you all have gone through. To withstand such anguish and emotional hurt and yet still find the strength and conviction to fight on, you might be some of the strongest Huntsmen-in-training we have seen so far."

"So Salem's reach cannot affect you like how she can control the Grimm?" Tranquility inquired.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha shook their heads, and the blonde knight answered, "No, she can't. When the Aura Crystal deemed the two of us worthy and accepted us as its guardians it restored our bodies back to normal... or as normal as possible. I guess during the restoration process it also did something to prevent Salem from extending her control over us through any psychic ways."

Seraph's winged helmet turned to Soul Seer whose golden eyes glowed vibrantly for a few moments and then she nodded back at him, and the leader of the Knights released his grip from the pommel of his sword, "I see, and that's indeed a good thing. You both have sworn to protect the crystal and in return the crystal has found a way to protect you." The T-shaped helmet still hid his true expression from both Jaune and Pyrrha, although his posture had relaxed slightly.

"We won't fail in our duty." Jaune said.

"No, we will protect the Aura Crystal like Ashe and all the rest of those guardians before us." Pyrrha added.

"See that you do, because failure to do so will result in disastrous consequences for everyone." Seraph's gaze regarded them carefully, before turning to meet Pyrrha's green eyes, "We have also come to know of these Grimm Hybrids from the reports on the battle taking place in Haven, as well as during the battle with the White Fang. They were somewhat similar to something that warriors of our Order have encountered in the past on many occasions. Do you by chance know any of their names?"

"Yes, I do." Pyrrha replied, "While they can all control all types of Grimm, they take command of certain types over others: there's a Saber commander known as Sheer Kaa, Sharp Strike fought Steppenwolffe, who commands the Beowolves, and there's Ziz, a with Nevermore wings grafted on her back, she can commands the flying Grimm."

"Oh, and don't forget that disgusting freak Anansi!" Nora joined in while waving an outstretched hand a little, "We fought him back in Cadia, and he look like some kind of creepy Spider Grimm Hybrid, and had a lot of small spiders covering his body!" Her body clearly shuddered a little at the memory.

"Still glad we missed that." Weiss muttered as Ren has nudged Nora back into silence with his elbow

"I feel that I should add to this by mentioning Novik." Ozpin spoke up, "An associate of General Ironwood's has recovered reliable information that I failed to kill him at Haven, and his soul has been transferred into the body of a Grimm hybrid known as the Chimera, he also has the ability to control the Grimm."

"Novik? As in Novik the Hunter?" Eagle Eye's voice traveled across the chambers, "That serial killer who died decades ago? He escaped justice too any times, even we tried to apprehend him, but how? You killed him yourself Ozpin."

"Or so we all thought. Salem rescued him and he has sworn himself to serve Salem and in turn she kept him alive and allowed him to become a Grimm Commander, with a new body to keep him alive, even if the monstrous form he has now wasn't quite what he was expecting." Ozpin mentioned, gesturing with his cane, "It's a mistake that I have tried to fix repeatedly, but it still comes back to haunt me every single time."

Glynda placed a gentle hand on Ozpin's shoulder, "There's always a way, Ozpin. You may not find it now, but there might be one in future."

"Your aide speaks true, William Ozpin." Soul Seer replied, looking at the Beacon headmaster in the eyes, "There's always a solution to any problem, it's just the process of finding it that is difficult. Don't give in to despair and you will find the resolution soon enough."

"I thank you for your advice, Soul Seer. Illuminating as ever." Ozpin said as he nodded his head.

"There only makes five, and while Jaune and Pyrrha have been somewhat cured by the Aura Crystal, but they have been included in the group before, so that makes seven." Argentius tapped his chin in thought.

"And we do know there's at least one more we have yet to encounter, but there could be more that haven't been mentioned to us yet." Glynda said.

"A fine point, but I have a feeling we might meet the remaining Grimm Commander or Commanders sooner or later." Qrow mentioned as he crossed his arms.

"Whatever the case, we would need to be prepared to meet them in battle," Seraph surmised, "Miss Nikos, while you were still under Salem's influence as Fotia Drakos, did any of her subordinates ever mention the Sin Commanders?"

"No, that term doesn't sound familiar, and I don't think I have heard those words in any conversation Salem had with me." Pyrrha answered after thinking for a few moments.

"Erm, what are the Sin Commanders?" Ruby raised her hand and asked.

"And why are they called that? I mean, isn't that a little too on the nose, even for a twisted group of villains?" Nora added.

"They were named Sin Commanders because they embodied the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath and Sloth." Soul Seer answered, "As Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, Salem sought to create commanders who were more intelligent for her tasks in arcane, sinister secrecy. Each of them controlled a specific Grimm creature tailored to their needs, and each Sin Commander was a formidable fighter in his or her own right despite their dangerous and unstable nature. Salem used them to carry out her dark deeds, ranging from assassinations to acts of sabotage to terrorist bombings, to leading full scale war against the Kingdoms. The Sin Commanders were apparently a precursor to the Grimm Commanders you spoke of, warriors or Hunters who fell to the darkness and were corrupted with some of the worst aspects of free will. They were utterly loyal to Salem, and were able to control the Grimm through those beasts' essence which were esoterically transferred into them, although that also made them rather unstable individuals." Seraph explained slowly, "They were all destroyed a long time ago, through the efforts of the Knight Order with assistance from the Guardians of Remnant."

"One of them tried to infiltrate Beacon Academy by shape-shifting itself and blending into the crowds..." Ozpin nodded as he informed the eight teens, "...but thankfully we were vigilant enough and managed to contain and defeat that Sin Commander before it could do any damage. Though sadly, I wasn't vigilant enough to see through Cinder."

"And now it seems that Salem wanted to expand upon that idea further." Seraph's visor turned to Jaune and Pyrrha again, "Can you still control the Grimm?"

"Yes sir." Jaune confirmed, nodding his head.

"Does your anger ever get the better of you?" Soul Seer asked, "Because if that happens you might become vulnerable to the remaining darkness which lay within yourself."

"Sometimes... when my friends of family... or when the people I love are threatened or their safety is endangered I kind of snap and my eyes glow red." Jaune admitted.

Argentius and Soul Seer both shared a look, and the male knight gestured, "Did you feel a dark voice calling to you when that happens? Something in the darkest part of your mind pulling at you into its embrace?"

"No, that hasn't happened to either of us." Pyrrha quickly stated, "While we have used our powers to control the Grimm from time to time, Jaune never lets it control him, and he is quick to snap out of it. Our eyes also become red when we control the Grimm."

Soul Seer narrowed her eyes a little at Pyrrha's answer, and the female Spartan momentarily wondered if the mage was discerning whether she was telling the truth. Then she nodded again and Seraph spoke, "I see. Beware of the dark power you wield, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, it can be helpful, but it could possibly lead you down the wrong path, so remember to be careful."

"Thank you for the advice, Grand Knight Master." Both guardians of the Aura Crystal replied together, before bowing their heads respectfully.

"Sir!" Called Blake, making everyone look to her. "They probably didn't hear any voices calling to them, but I did."

"What?! When?" Yang asked, surprised.

"When I was fighting Adam, I heard a cold voice calling to me, urging me to kill Adam. I ignored it, and it went away." The Cat Faunus elaborated.

"It's possible that Salem saw that you had a good chance of defeating Adam, and was going to cast him aside in favor of you. You made the right choice in ignoring her." Glynda said.

"Yeah, but you probably should have told us about that." Yang scolded her partner.

"Sorry, I just... didn't want anyone to think I was going insane. I wanted to brush it off as my own anger towards Adam nearly getting the better of me, but when they told Jaune and Pyrrha about that I knew I needed to talk about it." Blake said softly.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one to hear voices in your head nor are you the only one Salem has tried to get to." Pyrrha said to her reassuringly.

"And we're a team, no more hiding stuff okay? Seriously, how many times do you need to learn that?" Ruby joked to her friend, making Blake smile a bit,

"I know, and no more, I promise." Blake swore.

Seraph turned his winged helmet to face blonde knight, "Jaune Arc, did you know that your family has a history with the Remnant Knights?"

"Not of I know of." Jaune answered, surprise evident in his voice, "But my parents have told tales of you, or at least warriors like you, to me and my seven older sisters."

"Your ancestor, Luc Arc, was a honored ally of our Order, and also an honorary Knight. He was there when the previous Grimm Queen fell and when Salem, a former Winter Maiden, allowed anger and resentment to darken her soul and she took the place of the Mistress of Grimm. She had grown too attached to her power and refused to relinquish it, despite what your ancestor advised to her." Seraph revealed, watching Jaune's eyes widen and his mouth drop a little, "He fought alongside many Remnant Knights within the Order, and was honored for his heroic actions in the Knight Order's archives."

"That's right! Remember what I told you about what Cinder told me while she had us captive?" Ruby spoke up, her question aimed at Jaune, "Cinder told me about Luc Arc, which Salem had mentioned to her. The fact that she had it in for Luc Arc probably explains why she also wanted you hurt." Jaune looked at her, nodding his head. He did remember that small detail, as they both shared quite a few conversations with each other during their capture in the CraftTech factory located in Haven.

Seraph continued once Jaune turned back to face him, "Lorenzo Arc, son of Luc, became a Remnant Knight and was one of the most revered knights of the past, but his descendants chose to take up the profession of Huntsmen to better serve the people. Out of respect, the Order honored his wish and allowed him to leave. Many years ago, when you were merely an infant, we approached your family with an offer to make either you or one of your older sisters a knight, as we know that the Arc bloodline had the potential to help save many lives on Remnant, but your family politely refused." Argentius stated, with Seraph nodding his winged helmet.

"What?! Why didn't my mom and dad ever tell me about that?" Jaune brought up both of us hands as though in questioning.

"Because we erased their memories of that secret meeting." Soul Seer spoke again, "We did not want them to fear us or to tell the world that we exist, and while they were understanding and agreed to swear an oath of secrecy, we decided it was best they didn't remember the truth. The Remnant Knight who met with your parents is a prognosticator, and those knights have the skill to extract and erase memories among their considerable abilities. We meant them no harm, and we do not erase the memories of others lightly but to ensure the secrecy of our Knight Order some actions have to be taken. The tales your parents told to you and your sisters might be the legends of the Knights which had been passed down through generations within individual families."

"Oh... well, I guess that makes sense." The Arc son said, although his voice sounded a little unsure.

"So have you been able to communicate with the crystal?" Seraph asked the new guardians another question.

"Not much actually, but we have been meditating with it as much as we can. During some of our more intense meditations I have heard a voice or two from within the crystal." Jaune responded, "And together we've been improving."

"And just the other day our auras managed to enter the crystal." Pyrrha added, "Our auras merged and we could... sense each other's thoughts and feelings on a level we couldn't before. We saw figures made of pure aura inside and we heard the voice of the crystal's avatar. It told us that our merging had allowed the collective aura within the crystal to assess us and it assured the both of us that we are worthy."

"Such a daunting task must have taxed your strength greatly." Soul Seer observed quietly, "I take it you are both quite tired after cutting off the link with the crystal?"

"Yes. The avatar of the crystal also advised us to rest since the merging of auras left our bodies quite exhausted and we needed to talk to each other, because the merging allowed us to see each other's memories, thoughts, fears, and desires." Pyrrha mentioned to the knights standing in front of her and Jaune.

"And so what happened after that?" Argentius questioned the both of them.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha felt their cheeks flush red briefly, and the Spartan answered, "Well, we talked about what had happened during our meditations before deciding to go out on a date and enjoy each other's company."

The knowledgeable mage of the Knights thought for a moment and then stated, "That is often what happens after the auras of the two appointed guardians merge for the first time, according to the texts we have of the Aura Crystal at least. I trust you will both work diligently to communicate with it more in the future?"

They nodded their heads simultaneously and Jaune said, "We will, Soul Seer. We just decided to take a couple of days off after... yesterday's events."

Soul Seer looked at them closely for a moment when she noticed their blushing cheeks, and then as though knowing a personal secret, the ends of her lips curled upwards and she returned a nod of acknowledgment to both guardians of the Aura Crystal. When Argentius turned his helmeted face to look at his sister she merely gave a nod as if she already answered his unspoken question.

"Now, if you would be so kind, please show us the Aura Crystal." Seraph spoke in a respectful but commanding voice.

Both guardians looked at each other and nodded before they pressed their respective fingers on the case's security system and two soft clicks echoed through the meditation chambers. Lifting the lid of the case with both of their hands, Jaune and Pyrrha turned the open case to face the Remnant Knights.

Once the Aura Crystal was revealed to be within the case, glowing faintly with the power within it, there were a few gasps of surprise coming from the various Knights who had been stationed around the edges of the chambers. Pyrrha noticed that Seraph's head bowed a little, and so did Argentius and Sharp Strike, while Soul Seer's face broke into a serene smile of someone who had finally found what she had been looking for after quite a long period of time.

"Soul Seer, can you authenticate the crystal?" Seraph gestured and the mage knelt down in front of the case and extended an outstretched hand, an golden magical circle springing into being around her wrist, "With your permission, crystal guardians?"

They nodded and Soul Seer murmured an incarnation and more golden circles appeared around the case, before moving above the Aura Crystal and reconfigured themselves into hexagon with gold lines joining the circles together. Complicated words written in ancient script spread along those gold lines, and then the golden hexagon dropped down into the case with the Aura Crystal in the middle of it.

Then came a glow which caused the Aura Crystal to flare brightly, and Soul Seer's eyes flared vibrantly as she continued to speak more words of power. Her other gloved hand tightened on her flower-shaped staff which also caused the yellow crystal set at the top of the staff to glow brightly. Her facial expression was blank, indicating that she wasn't not in the same place as everyone else, spiritually anyway, once her aura connected with the crystal and felt the considerable rush of power from it.

Then the process was over and the Aura Crystal's radiance returned back to its faint glowing state, and the mage's eyes stopped flaring once the golden hexagon and circles lifted from the crystal and dissipated themselves. She took a calming breath to steady herself before looking up and nodding at Seraph and Argentius, "Just as we thought, it's the real Aura Crystal, no mistake or hoax at all."

"And the worthiness of the current guardians?" Seraph inquired as she stood up.

Soul Seer nodded, "Yes, the Aura Crystal has indeed deemed them both worthy. I have communicated with it and was informed of its choice. We must honor both it's choice, and the choices of its new guardians." She gave the two a smile before Seraph spoke again.

"It would appear that the Aura Crystal has deemed you worthy without any doubt, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos." Seraph said, "That is truly a wonderful thing, because the Knight Order have been wary of the Aura Crystal's safety ever since we were unable to acquire it from Ashe Kasai's possession. With you two as the crystal's new guardians, this gives us one less thing to worry about."

"Grand Knight Master Seraph, according to what Sharp Strike has told Miss Rose you knew Ashe was in possession of the Aura Crystal and after he defeated a group of knights they allowed him to keep it." Ironwood asked as he brought up a white-gloved hand, "May I ask why?"

"It would be wise to illuminate us on this particularly... interesting choice, Remnant Knights." Ozpin remarked.

"I think it would be best to hear from the Knights who undertook the mission to retrieve the Aura Crystal from Ashe Kasai." Seraph mentioned as he gestured for Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper to come forward, "They were there, and would give you a detailed account of everything that happened."

Everyone else in the room turned to regard both said Knights, and while Shadow Reaper remained straight and tall, Sharp Strike's helmet lowered a tiny faction.

"Well... it was actually a matter of honor." Shadow Reaper explained as he spread his hands, "As the Aura Crystal's location was lost to the Knight Order, and after we received information from an operative that the relic that Ashe Kasai was carrying was indeed the Aura Crystal, Grand Knight Master Seraph assigned myself, Sharp Strike, and... Wood Cutter, a knight who is no longer with us, to take the Aura Crystal from him. We initially didn't think of Ashe as worthy or capable of protecting the crystal, but we were proven wrong when he revealed himself to be most resistant and in the end he also proved himself to be quite capable of the task of protection."

"So...what happened?" Jaune asked, eager to know a bit more about his departed friend.

"Yeah, he was our friend... I would like to know too." Ruby added softly

Shadow Reaper and Sharp Strike looked to Seraph and Argentius as though for confirmation. Both of them nodded their helmeted heads, permitting the two Remnant Knights to tell the tale.

_10 Years Ago_

_In the south-east of Vacuo a lone man no older than twenty, walked down a long winding path in the middle of a heavily forested area. Sporting black hair and amber eyes, he wore simplistic dark green camo pants in addition to a black shirt with a grey jacket, with a heavy backpack on his back and a sword sheath upon his belt. Unlike the majority of Vacuo which has become a harsh and inhospitable climate, the southern parts of Vacuo still retained some of its greenery and therefore included quite a large number of scattered towns and settlements._

_Trees that lined along the path cast long shadows, but it was still mid-day and hence the sun was still bright, its rays of sunlight shining down as if to make up for the previous night's heavy rain. The nearest town wasn't too far, and according to the map on the man's scroll all he had to do was follow the path until he heard or saw signs of the logging camp near the town of Aberdena where he could be able to rest for the night before continuing on his journey across Remnant._

_He continued ahead in silence, but as the man climbed over a steep hill he saw three cloaked armored figures standing still at both sides of the path which led down the hill and past them, as if they were on guard at a checkpoint. Mentally checking that there were Vacuo Ranger guard-posts in the vicinity, the man stopped and looked down at them before carefully moving ahead. As he neared the three figures, he asked casually, "Excuse me, is the village Aberdena close by?"_

_The tallest of the three armored figures lifted his cloaked head and revealed a Beowolf-like helmet covering his face, his black robes parted a little to show a glimpse of the masterfully-crafted suit of armor he wore, and answered, "Yes, it is indeed, Ashe Kasai."_

_At the mention of his full name, Ashe stopped and his hand moved instinctively to his sword, "How do you know my name?"_

_"We know who you are, and we also know that you are the current Guardian of the Aura Crystal. As for our purpose, we've been sent here to relieve you of the duty." The leader of the three warriors spoke while his other two companions moved to either side of Ashe, their own robes rippling a little with their movements._

_Ashe drew out his sword and got into a battle-ready stance, "Like hell you will."_

_The other two armored figures gripped their weapons firmly, while the leader carefully stepped forward with his armored gauntlets coming out in a cordial gesture, "Your parents are gone, your sister is missing, and you are the last of your family. You do not understand the importance of what you have in that bag._ _In that regard, it means that you are not prepared for the responsibility of protecting that relic, and therefore you cannot remain as its guardian."_

_"I don't understand why... Yes, I am not prepared... but I am not just going to hand it over. This relic was protected by my family and I will continue to do so." Ashe said as he began to survey his surroundings, mentally searching for an escape route should a fight erupt between him and the trio of armored warriors, "I have done pretty okay for the last ten years, so I don't see why you are bothering to take it now. Speaking of which, how did you find me?"_

_"Ashe, we have been searching for the Aura Crystal for a long time across Remnant. We only recently discovered that you were alive and that you were in possession of the Aura Crystal through some close associates of ours." The leader took a step forward, "We thank you for protecting the relic, and you have done your family proud for protecting it till now, but it is time to surrender it to us."_

_"Not without one hell of a fight." Ashe snarled, his drawn sword pointed at the leader, "You have no idea how many people and Faunus I have fought to keep this thing safe, thinking it was just some hunk of diamond, and I won't let you take it without giving you a few bruises and scars to remember me."_

_"Enough of this! You are outnumbered three to one, Guerrilla Hunter, so surrender the Aura Crystal or face the consequences!" The clearly younger knight in gunmetal grey armor with a blue trim shouted, losing his patience._

_"Sharp Strike, you will stand down!" The leader barked sternly._

_"Shadow Reaper, why are we tolerating his arrogance?" Sharp Strike's helmet turned in the his commanding officer and asked, "Why don't just dispatch him and leave?"_

_"Because Kasai has protected the Aura Crystal for a decade, perhaps more, and he deserves a chance to surrender it peacefully." Shadow Reaper answered as he held up his hand, staying Sharp Strike's aggressive movements._

_"Who are you?!" Ashe demanded angrily, his ember eyes moving between the three._

_"Who we are isn't important right now, but we can give the Aura Crystal the protection it needs. Our organization knew your parents Ashe, we also knew of the existence of the crystal, and we can protect it better than you can." Shadow Reaper said calmly while looking at Ashe directly, "Please give it to us."_

_"It's my duty to protect this crystal just as it was my family's. If you want it, come and get it." Ashe dared._

_Shadow Reaper looked to Sharp Strike and the third knight who both nodded back at him and then sighed to himself, "Very well." Faster than the eye could blink, all three armored figures withdrew their own weapons from within their robes; Shadow Reaper has two gun-swords, Sharp Strike had an impressive looking red and gold sword with an ornate hilt, and the third warrior brought out a powerful looking shotgun-axe._

_Ashe struck first by suddenly jumping towards them, landing right in the middle of the three warriors, and with a powerful kick he hit the warrior with the shotgun-axe in the chest hard enough to knock him back. Sharp Strike swung his sword at Ashe's back but he brought his sword behind just in time to parry it. Within moments, Ashe began trading blows and parries with Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper, their blades swift and deadly arcs of metal which met with clangs and sparks._

_Ashe drew back, still fighting to fend them off as he moved swiftly towards the forest. Sharp Strike launched himself forwards and struck Ashe's blade so hard that the Guerrilla Huntsman was sent backwards over a fallen log, but he quickly scrambled up again just in time to bring his sword up to parry the young warrior's next strike._

_Shadow Reaper came up over the log, with the third warrior close behind. Glancing around, he saw the third warrior racking his own weapon to chamber a round, "Are you alright, Wood Cutter?"_

_"I am unharmed." The third warrior said when he saw Ashe taking out a gun, "Sharp Strike!"_

_Sharp Strike deflected and parried away all the shots that Ashe fired at him, but soon he realized that Ashe wasn't shooting at him anymore when the Huntsman pointed his weapon upwards. He glanced up quickly even as Ashe walked backwards briskly while opening fire into the trees overhead, his bullets cutting through heavy branches causing them to fall down from above._

_"Scatter!" Shadow Reaper ordered as he opened fire at Ashe who dodged his shots which impacted into the nearby tree trunks. Sharp Strike moved swiftly and nimbly to avoid being hit by the thick branches, occasionally slicing a few down just to be sure. When the young warrior looked up again Ashe has already moved into the dense forest as quickly as he could._

_"After him!" Sharp Strike shouted as he ran after their quarry._

_"Reckless and always on the move." Shadow Reaper sighed as he and Wood Cutter dashed after the young warrior, "How in the world does Argentius even put up with him?"_

_"I guess that's the reason why Argentius has a squire apprentice instead of you." Wood Cutter replied as he sprinted alongside the commanding warrior, "He can tolerate recklessness more than you can."_

_"If it were up to me, Sharp Strike would be serving guard duty with the Winter Templars in Atlas!" Shadow Reaper mentioned while reloading his gun-swords._

_They caught up quickly with Sharp Strike, who was standing in a small clearing with his helmeted head looking from left to right. "Wait, where did he go?" Wood Cutter asked._

_"He's here somewhere, I know he didn't run ahead." Sharp Strike said assertively as he gripped his sword in a guard stance, "And I can tell he's still in this clearing."_

_"Patience. Wait for him to make a move, then we will have him." Shadow Reaper advised them both. There was a quick whooshing sound, and he was struck down from behind as a pair of booted legs smashed into his back with a sharp clang. Turning quickly, Sharp Strike and Wood Cutter looked up to see Ashe swinging from a thick vine._

_"Thanks for waiting!" Ashe taunted them as his vine wrapped around a large tree and he came at them again. Quickly trading blows with both warriors before going upwards, he let go of the vine and landed on a heavy branch where he caught his balance. However, his high ground wasn't held for long as Wood Cutter threw his shotgun-axe, which slashed through the base of the branch and sent Ashe dropping to the ground where Sharp Strike attacked with quick and furious blows that the amber-eyed traveler desperately defended himself from. After turning aside his opponent's latest blow he kicked his attacker in the knees and gut before trying to run for it, only to be blasted in the back by Shadow Reaper's gun-swords._

_Shadow Reaper ran forward and began trading blows with Ashe, and as they fought he forced the Guerrilla Huntsman up a rising on the forest ground. He managed to land a cut on Ashe's left arm and sliced open his shirt, thankfully missing the skin by mere inches. Ashe drew back as fast as he could, only for Shadow Reaper's gauntlet-clad hand to land a palm-strike on Ashe's face as he kicked him in the gut which sent Ashe down upon a large rock. Jumping over with the intent to kick him in the chest, the warrior with the Beowolf helmet missed as Ashe rolled out of the way at the last second, parrying a sweeping strike just as he scooped up a handful of dirt and threw it into Shadow Reaper's ghoulish helmet._

_Ashe attacked with his sword, not allowing Shadow Reaper to wipe the dirt off his visor, but despite his sight now being impaired the commanding officer of the three warriors still managed to parry and dodge Ashe's attacks. Ashe knew he had to end the bout quickly or he would be gradually tiring himself out and yanked out his gun, opening fire at Shadow Reaper's torso, knowing that the warrior's armor would help his aura protect him from any fatal injuries. The warrior suddenly let up and before Shadow Reaper could bring his gun-swords down Ashe bashed him in the helmet with the hilt of his sword, making the leader of the group stumble back. Ashe then struck him in the legs, causing the warrior to fall before grabbing his helmet and smashing it into the ground with a loud clang._

_He released Shadow Reaper and narrowly dodged a shotgun blast from Wood Cutter which impacted into the tree right beside him. Shielding himself from the flying wooden splinters with one hand, Ashe began to move once more just as Sharp Strike leaped over his superior and attacked again, "You will pay for that!"_

_"Oh for the love of... just give it up!" Ashe groaned as he parried Sharp Strike's attacks, while going up the increasingly steep incline of ground. The two fighters eventually came to some trees where a large group of logs was placed against them to prevent them from rolling downhill. The grey and blue armored warrior jumped upon it and swung his sword vertically at Ashe, but he blocked it and ducked under the next swing, before climbing up onto the log on his stomach and performed a sweeping kick which impacted on the warrior's torso which took him by surprise, knocking Sharp Strike down and causing him to drop his sword._

_Ashe grabbed the ornate sword, and heard the furious growl as Sharp Strike pushed himself upwards from the ground. "You are not worthy of that sword, give it to me!" He demanded angrily, pointing a finger accusingly at the surviving Kasai, whose_ _amber eyes ran over the length of the red and gold sword in his hand. It had complex, cursive script written in an ancient language along the length of the long blade on both sides. It was far lighter than the sword in his other hand, yet it doesn't seem give any vibration when the sword clashed against Ashe's own, while his was already chipped in a few places after taking quite a few blows. It looked very intricately crafted, with any sunlight that touched the sword's surface was immediately reflected as though casting an ethereal glow over the blade, and it wouldn't look out of place if wielded by the heroes in any of Remnant's many legends._

_"I said, give it to me!" The young warrior shouted, his entire form trembling with barely-controlled fury._

_"If you leave me alone, sure!" Ashe bargained while hearing the warrior's companions catching up. The armored warrior remained silent as he dove at him with his gauntlets outstretched with a snarl in his voice. "Well, I tried to be nice..." Ashe muttered to himself as he threw himself back into the fight. Now armed with two swords and a gun in his backpack, the Guerrilla Huntsman attacked with a volley of strikes and swings at Sharp Strike, who somehow managed to dodge and jump over every attack. Ashe thrust the two swords towards Sharp Strike, who sidestepped the blow and landed two punches into Ashe's abdomen and knocked him back a few steps._

_The lone warrior brought both hands together to use the swords to drive back his attacker, only for Sharp Strike to grab his hands and the two began to wrestle for control of the swords in Ashe's hands. "This sword is mine... it's my family's..." Sharp Strike snarled as he struggled to rip the red and gold sword away from Ashe._

_"And the crystal belongs to my family!" Ashe shot back before the other warrior kneed him in the groin and ripping the ornate sword away from Ashe. He then followed up with a punch into Ashe's chest and tried to slash him as the former was stunned, but the unofficial Huntsman blocked the strike and hissed, "Okay, now I am mad." His Semblance activated and powered him as he surged forward suddenly, striking over and over again with many quick and well-placed attacks, eventually driving Sharp Strike back against a tree where Ashe swung above his helmet and scored a deep gash in the trunk._

_"Don't mess with me, whoever you are... I don't want to harm anyone if I can help it..." Ashe warned the young warrior nervously._

_"Says the one who attacked first!" Wood Cutter shouted as he attacked speedily from behind. Ashe quickly moved to parry the slam of the shotgun-axe, only to turn about and try to fend off Sharp Strike who struck out once more. The Guerrilla Huntsman quickly pulled away and beat a hasty retreat, only to be grabbed by many long shadowy shapes and then slammed into the ground. He tried to get up, only to be kicked down by Shadow Reaper's armored boot. He apparently used his Semblance, which allowed him to use the surrounding shadows to assist him in battle, to hold Ashe down._

_Ashe swung his sword as a last resort but Shadow Reaper used his twin guns-words to parry every strike until he stepped on Ashe's arm hard enough to make the former warrior drop his sword._

_Sliding one of his gun-swords into its holster at the side of his waist belt, Shadow Reaper traced the large scrape down his silver-black chest-plate and eyed Ashe while speaking, "You have fought well, my friend... but you are defeated. You fight well for a Guerrilla Huntsman, but your moves are still a bit clumsy and unrefined, if not a tad predictable. You will have to do better." His torn cloak flapped a little behind him in the dry breeze._

_Instead of looking defeated, Ashe smirked and said, "How's this? Haakskeekah!"_

_A sudden erupting burst of energy sent Shadow Reaper sprawling onto his back a short distance away, crying out in surprise. The black tentacles and appendages holding Ashe down loosened and retreated back into the shadows, freeing him and Ashe reclaimed his sword and hurriedly ran towards the top of the hill. As he reached the summit he discovered that it was a sheer drop with a fence around the peak for safety purposes. Looking around quickly, he could see that they were on currently one of the plateau levels above the logging town, with the one below him to be the first as it was where the quarry was. Beyond the quarry were the dam and accompanying reservoir, and further beyond that was the final stretch of the path to the town of Aberdena._

_He looked down the fence to see that there were two rickety wooden and rope bridges that led to two towers overlooking the quarry, which was conveniently closed for the day. Hearing the sound of armored boots, Ashe whipped around to see the trio of warriors approaching him with their individual weapons drawn. "How did you learn such an attack?" Shadow Reaper's voice carried over the distance between them._

_"My mother taught it to me, and I am not going to let her down by letting you take the Aura Crystal." Ashe retorted boldly._

_"We cannot leave without the Aura Crystal in our possession, I am sorry for this..." Shadow Reaper mentioned before he and the other two warriors jumped to attack. Ashe moved as fast and as wildly as he could, all the while deflecting shots from Shadow Reaper's gun-swords and blocking strikes as well as slashes from Sharp Strike and Wood Cutter even as he moved towards the bridge the whole time. He cried out in pain as Wood Cutter inflicted a small slash across his back which his aura easily healed, but it distracted him enough for Sharp Strike to slash his jacket open sideways. Ashe growled even as he struck back, deflecting Sharp Strike's latest blow and waited for Wood Cutter to overextend himself. He ripped off his jacket and flung it over Wood Cutter's helmet, and then used a Semblance-fueled fist to sucker-punch him across the helmet, which resulted in a piercing clang and painfully bruised knuckles on his right fist._

_"Ow! Note to self: never punch someone with heavy armor." Ashe muttered as he shrunk back automatically against Shadow Reaper and Sharp Strike's continuous attacks. The younger warrior jumped up and kicked Ashe in face, knocking the latter off his feet and crashing into the posts of the second and taller bridge. Ashe recovered and jumped onto the bridge just in time as Sharp Strike slashed off the very top of the post with his sword. As the youngest of the three warriors pursued Ashe across the long bridge, Wood Cutter managed to pull off Ashe's jacket from his helmet and moved to follow, but Shadow Reaper stopped him with a mailed gauntlet across the other warrior's chest-plate._

_"We will keep him busy. Get across the other bridge, gain access to the other tower and cut him off!" He ordered._

_Wood Cutter nodded and dashed across the lower bridge while Shadow Reaper ran to aid Sharp Strike who was still clashing swords with Ashe without pause. Retreating several steps towards the forest, Shadow Reaper then turned about and dashed towards the bridge, using his semblance to create an steadily elevated arch from the shadow of a tree that allowed him to make a high leap, sailing smoothly overhead and landed some meters away from Ashe on the other side of the bridge, making it shake and buckle violently._

_"Are you nuts? That could have taken out the entire bridge!" Ashe cried as he parried another vertical blow from Sharp Strike, the blade mere centimeters from cutting his face. The senior warrior knew Ashe was right, as the bridge was shaking wildly due to the fight and his additional weight, so he began moving forward as briskly and carefully as he could. Ashe noticed this and waited for Shadow Reaper to get close enough, and then he kicked Sharp Strike in the torso before whipping around and sliced the wooden board he was standing on in half. Shadow Reaper nearly fell but held on a safety rope just in time, and he brought up his gun-sword and fired at Ashe's shoulder, scoring a hit which set caused Ashe to cry out while red blood began to bleed from the most recent wound, aura glowing brightly._

_Sharp Strike took advantage of the distraction and punched Ashe in the chest before elbowing him in the head and sent the latter warrior over the side of the bridge, but the Kasai brother luckily fell onto the lower bridge with a cry of pain._

_"Be careful! You could have killed him! Not to mention you could have damaged the Aura Crystal!" Shadow Reaper admonished the younger warrior who bowed his helmet apologetically in return, but this allowed him to see something just in time._

_"Look out!" Sharp Strike shouted as they both saw Ashe took out his gun once more and opened fire on them from below, shredding the remaining ropes on the right side apart. The wooden roped bridge rapidly collapsed section by section, causing Shadow Reaper to lose his balance and fell off the bridge while Sharp Strike held onto the other side, before dropping down to join Ashe on the lower bridge. Shadow Reaper quickly used his Semblance in combination with the shadows of the nearby rocks and trees to help him land in relative safety. Gazing up at Ashe at the other side of the second bridge, he began to sprint once more while Ashe caught sight of Wood Cutter guarding the entrance to the tower, with his shotgun-axe weapon leveled at the Guerrilla Huntsman._

_"Ah crap..." Ashe muttered to himself as he assessed the deteriorating situation. Then a smirk grew on his lips as an idea came to him which can probably tip the odds in his favor. "Well, I hope this works..." He then brought his sword down and severed both ropes, cutting the already collapsing bridge in half._

_Sharp Strike quickly jumped to the other end and grabbed the ropes securing the planks as the entire bridge fell in a swinging motion towards the tower, while Ashe did the same thing since he wasn't able to make it to the other side in time._

_Shadow Reaper moved quickly, using his Semblance which caused the shadows of the surrounding trees to create two thick shadowy tendrils which caught the two combatants on the collapsing bridge and sent them over to the top of the mine's incline, which had a set of winches. One was connected to a trio of small and empty narrow gauge railway carts, which miners at the quarry would load up with rock and send down while the other winch was connected to the other carts at the bottom, with the weight of the loaded carts pulling the empty ones up. Ashe managed to recover but Sharp Strike didn't give him any time to catch any respite and attacked once more, the two duelists trading blows about a dozen times before the young warrior grabbed Ashe's shirt and punched him hard in the face, stunning him for a brief second. The armored warrior then dodged Ashe's return punch before grabbing him by the neck and slamming Ashe's face into his armored knee and the sweeping his knees out, slamming Ashe into the rocky ground._

_"Do you submit, Kasai?" Sharp Strike asked with a hint of smugness in his voice._

_Ashe didn't bother to answer the warrior's question. He just kicked upwards into Sharp Strike's gut and groin, abruptly hoisting him up and over into the empty mine cart. He then hopped up and swung his sword swiftly to sever the winch's chain, only to be grabbed by Sharp Strike from behind the very instant he severed the chains. Crashing into the cart in a tangled heap, the severed rope snapped free and the freed carts began to speed dangerously downhill with the two warriors still regaining their bearings._

_"Well, that's certainly resourceful." Shadow Reaper observed as Wood Cutter got down from the tower, watching as Ashe managed to wrestle free from Sharp Strike's grip and climb into the next cart even as it picked up speed._

_"Can't argue with that." The other silver and brown-armored warrior admitted, "But what good will it do for him if he gets himself hurt?"_

_"I guess we shall see soon enough." Shadow Reaper answered as they both sprinted down the hill after the runaway carts._

_The mine carts leveled out as they reached the ground, but their speed didn't slow down in the slightest. Ashe looked around just in time to duck a swing of Sharp Strike's sword, the blur of red and gold whistling past the top of his head._

_"Dude, come on!" Ashe cried as he lowered himself into the speeding cart as it shot towards the end of its track, "I sure hope you appreciate what I am doing for you." He muttered to the Aura Crystal, even though he knew he would get nothing in the way of thanks._

_"Accept your defeat Kasai...AH!" Sharp Strike yelled in shock as the carts became derailed by the trap points, which sent the mine carts onto the gravel and earth and hence slowing them down. The silver and blue armored warrior had fallen onto his back by the sudden jolt, while Ashe jumped out just in time to dodge another shotgun blast from Wood Cutter and blew him away with a Haakskeekah. Spinning around, he sidestepped a pair of blasts from Shadow Reaper's weapons and sliced through a support pole which held in a thick steel chain in place, releasing it and making the chain snap back suddenly, slamming into Shadow Reaper which sent him crashing into the rocky ground of the quarry in a clatter of armor plates._

_Shadow Reaper recovered quickly, but as the trio of warriors picked themselves up they looked up to see Ashe already running out of the quarry, "It seems that we have underestimated him, I didn't expect a mere Guerrilla Hunter to put up this good of a fight."_

_"How can this be?" Sharp Strike inquired hotly as he climbed out of the cart, "How can he defeat us? We are Remnant Knights, scions of the Knight Order! We should have easily defeated him by now!"_

_"True, but Ashe Kasai is no ordinary warrior. He is a Guardian of the Aura Crystal after all." Shadow Reaper stated as the three knights recovered and began to chase after Ashe again._

_"But he hasn't been trained like we have been! He should have fallen to us by now!" Sharp Strike argued brazenly, which was a sure sign of inexperience and immaturity, "Face it, he's inferior to us!"_

_"No!" Shadow Reaper turned his helmet and barked sternly at the younger knight, "You mustn't think like that. We may be powerful, but that doesn't make us invincible. Ashe is a wildcard, and hence he still has a chance to defeat us, however slim it may be. Your behavior is unbecoming of a knight, Sharp Strike, do you understand me?"_

_Sharp Strike looked down to the ground and then nodded, "Yes. I apologize for my disrespectful words, shadow Reaper. I... I don't always think before I speak." He replied as they ran out of the quarry after Ashe._

_"Beware of hubris and guard against it appropriately. You have great potential in you, Sharp Strike, just don't let your ego get the better of you, as pride and self-confidence are often what caused the downfall of great warriors." Shadow Reaper lectured sternly._

_"I understand, Shadow Reaper." Sharp Strike said as they saw Ashe come to an abrupt stop up ahead. While Shadow Reaper used his Semblance to block Ashe's path once more, the lone warrior had made it to the middle of the dam overlooking the reservoir and the river it fed. Two wooden bridges, one a civilian bridge and the other a road bridge, connected the distance between the dam and a waterfall that dropped down to a lower river in front of the logging town. Many old trees had fallen along the river banks, some dangerously close to the edge, and there were even some lined up along the dam's walls. In the reservoir there were thick piles of fallen logs, branches, and even a tall tree that had been taken down by the previous night's storm._

_Ashe turned around and got ready for another fight, while taking something out of the side pouch of his backpack and placed it into his pocket. "Who the hell are you?!" He shouted._

_Shadow Reaper lowered his gun-swords and glanced about to make sure no one was within a earshot. Thankfully, the only ones he could see were some children playing around the river banks and on the bridge with some adults watching over them, and some of their heads turned in Ashe's direction when they heard his shout, Ashe Kasai, we mean you no harm."_

_"Coulda fooled me." Ashe snapped as he pointed his sword at them, with Sharp Strike and Wood Cutter tensing a little._

_"Very well..." Shadow Reaper sighed and revealed their collective identity, "We are the Remnant Knights." He then pulled back his black cloak to show Ashe the Knight Order's emblem displayed on his right pauldron._

_Ashe was honestly surprised as he felt his eyes widen, but he kept his guard up, "I thought you were just a myth..."_

_"To most people we are, but there is always a bit of truth in legends. We have come to you seeking the Aura Crystal to give it the proper protection it needs, and you are not enough for that task. You have fought very bravely, and even taught one of us a thing or two..." Shadow Reaper said as he glanced at Sharp Strike, "But I can tell that you are tired, and your aura has been dangerously drained. Ashe, you don't have to be the crystal's guardian anymore. Give us the Aura Crystal, and we will part ways without incident. You can find a real life out there." Shadow Reaper spoke diplomatically while keeping his gun-swords lowered._

_Ashe let out a heavy sigh before replying, "A part of me would like that... but I can't do it. Guarding this relic was my family's duty, and therefore it is mine as well. It is their legacy, and I won't let them down... I will not let my mother down. I don't know if I can trust you at all, so you'll have to take it from my dead body."_

_"It doesn't have to be like that." Wood Cutter said carefully._

_"No, it doesn't. So get lost." Ashe said firmly._

_"We cannot leave until we are sure the Aura Crystal is in the right hands." Sharp Strike stated, raising his sword again._

_"It already is. I am its chosen guardian, and I will not let you take it without a fight." Ashe said, all the while getting ready to grab the Dust-charged grenade in his pockets._

_Shadow Reaper sighed and said "So be it." The three knights drew their weapons and got ready to attack once more. Ashe reached into his pocket and took out the grenade, aiming to throw it behind them to send them flying, but Sharp Strike saw it and used his Semblance to rush forward and slam into Ashe who thumbed the grenade by reflex, knocking the now active grenade out of his hand and over the side of the dam, landing into the reservoir with a splash._

_"You idiot!" Ashe cried. "It's going to..."_

_A mighty explosion blew a manhole-sized gap in the dam and sent a wayward log flying out of the water and impacting into Wood Cutter, which sent him flying onto his back. "Oh hell..." Shadow Reaper muttered as water began to surge wildly from the reservoir, tearing bricks and bits of shattered concrete from the small dam's interior. The large log was dragged by the current and smashed through the top of the dam, with both Ashe and Sharp Strike jumping atop of it as it fell a short distance into the river, landing with a mighty splash as the gushing water from the reservoir poured out into the river beyond, flooding it drastically._

_The log was swept along the river by the now raging tides, while the water level of the whole river began to rise alarmingly. On the aforementioned log Ashe and Sharp Strike dueled each other, their swords exchanging blows several times with strikes, slashes, parries, swings and blocks, trying to keep their balance as the drifting log whirled around in the wild river._

_Ashe stopped fighting when he heard the fearful sounds of people, mostly children, screaming close by. He looked ahead to see that the sudden and powerful surge of water had knocked the left side of the civilian bridge off its boards, and the swollen river now threatened to sweep it away towards the waterfall. The few who were still on the bridge, mainly comprised of children and a few adults trying to get them to safety, nearly made it before another log smashed into the other side and sent them off down the river, crying out for help._

_Ashe looked to Sharp Strike and shouted, "Truce!"_

_"What?" The young warrior tilted his head a little._

_"We need to help those people first! This is our fault!" Ashe explained quickly._

_"You are right." Sharp Strike lowered his ornate sword as he remembered the true purpose of the Remnant Knights was to protect the innocent, "Do you have a plan, Kasai?"_

_"We get close and jump onto the bridge, and then get them up to the riverbanks!" Ashe said as he began to use his sword as a paddle to speed the log up. Sharp Strike shook his head at the thought of his cherished sword being used like that, but he didn't argue and began to help out from the other end of the traveling log, making the log go faster until they were alongside the bridge. The two warriors speedily jumped on and Ashe shouted, "Don't worry! We are going to help you get to safety!"_

_Nobody seemed particularly convinced at first, but many of the children who saw two fierce warriors fighting earlier stopping in their personal battle to help them and their simple but clear minds guided them to accept that fact while the older civilians just went with it seeing that they had no other choice. Better a slim chance of survival than drowning in the river._

_"We are heading right into that huge bridge!" A teenage fox Faunus who was holding her little sister close cried out in fear._

_"You think that will stop us?" Ashe asked, turning to face Sharp Strike's emotionless face-plate._

_"Or more likely break the bridge we're on apart." Sharp Strike pointed out as they got closer to the suspension bridge, and by extension, the raging waterfall. He looked over and could faintly make out Shadow Reaper and Wood Cutter running towards the riverbanks at the far side of the river. He waved to them for help as they got closer to the bridge but it was clear the other two knights wouldn't get there in time to stop them from crashing into the bridge, "We'll have to go under it, then my companions can help us get to safety."_

_Ashe nodded, "Sounds good to me! Okay, everyone on this side! We are going try to direct the bridge and control it through!"_

_The civilians, deciding they had no other option, obeyed Ashe's commands immediately and stepped over to the side, making the floating bridge straighten up. "Stand in the middle and grab both rails, then lean from side to side so we can go straight through!" Ashe yelled as they kept surging towards the slightly larger bridge, with the civilians followed his instructions as much as they could, and they managed to go under the bridge with inches to spare and between the powerful support beams that kept it safe from being swept away. They came out of the other end, some of the younger children crying out in terror as the waterfall was now only a few hundred meters away._

_"Kasai!" Wood Cutter shouted. Ashe turned to see the knight on the riverbank with the bottom of his weapon's handle pointed at the bridge, "Catch!" He pressed a button on the side of his shotgun-axe and a small grappling hook shot out and snagged itself onto the railing of the bridge. As Ashe made sure it was secured Shadow Reaper used his Semblance to use the surrounding shadows to create shadowy black tendrils that shot into the water and took hold of the bridge._

_Working together, the two knights pulled the bridge to safety onto the riverbank until it was safely lodged into the muddy sand. "Everybody off!" One of the adults on the bridge hollered, making the civilians scramble for solid ground, and Ashe quickly guided the pair of fox Faunus siblings off the bridge and into the waiting hands of an adult who thanked him profusely before running to safety._

_Shadow Reaper eyed Ashe and said, "That was quick thinking, you did well, Ashe Kasai."_

_Ashe nodded and said, "Well Hot Head here helped, speaking of which..." He drew out his sword again and asked "I guess the truce is over?"_

_"I suppose so." Sharp Strike replied as he took out his own sword in response._

_"Let's not fight near the kids..." Ashe said quietly before he violently threw himself against the side of the bridge, sending it into the raging river yet again, with the two combatants going at each other one more time with their swords and everything else they had._

_"He's going to get himself killed." Wood Cutter said, his gauntlet hand meeting his helmet face-plate._

_"I don't think so, he's smarter that I thought..." Shadow Reaper stated before he began to run across the road bridge, with the other knight following him._

_As they approached the waterfall Ashe and Sharp Strike continued to fight fiercely on the bridge, their blades engaged in a deadly dance once more. Ashe dodged the knight's rapid blows before he grabbed the railings and hoisted himself up to kick Sharp Strike down, and then dropping back onto the bridge. He spun about quickly and letting out another cry of "Haakskeekah!" to send the bridge flying across the river and ran itself aground on the muddy banks, just a few meters away from the sheer drop of the raging waterfall._

_Ashe jumped over Sharp Strike and landed into the mud and as the knight got up the bridge slipped away from the bank and made the rest of its way to the waterfall. Just before it tipped over Sharp Strike jumped as high as he could, performing a perfect somersault and landed right in front of Ashe even as the bridge went over the falls and was smashed to pieces by the sharp rocks below. Both sword-wielding warriors sized each other up for a single second, but Ashe turned and ran, trying to make a break for the road leading to town. If these were Remnant Knights they would probably want to stay a secret and after what he had been through in the past fifteen minutes he was in a snitching mood._

_Sharp Strike sprinted forward and came up alongside Ashe, body-slamming into him, forcing him down into the large roots of an old tree that was dangerously close to the raging tides, which were eating away the softening earth that kept the tree rooted. Ashe jumped up to avoid being hit by the young knight's highly-wrought sword, which severed the tree from some of its roots, forcing it to twist over and be carried away by the river currents. Ashe turned around and tried to run again, only for Sharp Strike to sever his backpack strap and rip the bag away from him._

_"NO!" Ashe shouted as he lunged for it, only to meet Sharp Strike's gauntlet fist which sent him sprawling._

_"Enough of this, Kasai. You have lost." Sharp Strike spoke firmly while breathing hard behind his face-plate._

_"Not yet... I am not giving up, I can't. Do you have any idea what it's like to lose your family?" Ashe asked darkly._

_"...Yes, I do." The young knight confessed, and the tone of his voice gave Ashe the impression that the armored warrior had gone through something similar._

_"I lost mine, and so the duty of guarding the Aura Crystal falls to me. It is my responsibility and I will not fail my family!" Ashe cried as he leapt at the knight, unleashing a furious series of sword attacks which Sharp Strike could only defend against. He tried to press back but Ashe's blows were too hard and fast, catching him off guard. Sharp Strike was forced to drop the backpack containing the Aura Crystal to properly defend himself, but it was no use against Ashe's relentless volley of fierce strikes._

_In a matter of moments, Ashe disarmed Sharp Strike of his own sword and then hit the armored fighter in the chest-plate hard enough to knock him on his back. The Guerrilla Huntsman then stepped on his chest and held his sword to the knight's neck._

_"That's enough, Ashe Kasai. He is beaten." Shadow Reaper said as he and Wood Cutter arrived on the scene, carefully moving towards him. "There is no more need for fighting."_

_"Is that so?" Ashe asked, his chest rising and falling while adrenaline still flowed within his veins, sweat covered his body and hair, his eyes were wild._

_"Yes. You have proven yourself quite worthy, and you may keep the Aura Crystal." Shadow Reaper said as he sheathed both of his gun-swords._

_"What?!" Ashe, Sharp Strike, and Wood Cutter all asked at once._

_"But... but our mission... the Grand..." Sharp Strike stammered, his voice unable to form words._

_"I will speak to him. He will understand. Ashe Kasai has bested us and also given us a run for our money, and if he could fend us off then he should be an adequate match for anyone who wants to take the Aura Crystal for their own ends. We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience we have caused." Shadow Reaper stated with a slight bow. "We will not pursue you any further, so please release the boy."_

_"No bullshit?" Ashe asked, still holding the sword to Sharp Strike's neck._

_"None. On my honor and life, I swear it." Shadow Reaper answered as he reached to his belt and tapped a button on a thin remote-like device attached between the brown pouches there._

_Ashe looked to Sharp Strike and carefully removed his foot to let him up. "Sorry about that, I couldn't let you take it. You're a pretty good fighter, probably one of the best I have faced."_

_"As are you, Ashe Kasai." Sharp Strike replied as he got up, clutching his chest as his aura healed the slight bruise he had received. Wood Cutter allowed the young knight to lean on him for support. "You have... you have given me a lot to think about. Thank you."_

_"Uh, you're welcome, I guess. So... what now?" Ashe looked to Shadow Reaper who inclined his helmet in respect._

_"Now, Ashe Kasai, we take our leave. We wish you luck in guarding the Aura Crystal. Farewell and safe travels." Shadow Reaper mentioned before turning on his armored boots and marched away, with the other two knights following him._

_In the distance, Ashe heard the distinct sound of powerful but near-silent engines on a fast approach. As he watched, the trio of Remnant Knights walked toward the plateau drop as a thin, sleek ship adorned in grey-black livery, no doubt summoned by the button press, partially de-cloaked and opened its ramp which the three knights stepped onto and before the ramp closed fully Shadow Reaper, Sharp Strike and Wood Cutter clashed their gauntlets to their chest-plates in salute to him. With a whine of its engines, the ship cloaked itself once more and vanished into the distance, leaving no trace of the Remnant Knights' presence behind._

_Ashe picked up his backpack and walked back up the riverbanks until he reached a large shady tree, slumping down against it in exhaustion. Moments later he heard the screech of tires and turned his head to see a couple of Vacuo Ranger jeeps with mounted weapons arriving a short distance away from him. As other rangers alighted with assault rifles and shotguns in their hands to secure the area and inspect the damage done to the reservoir and accompanying dam, a female commanding officer of the rangers who's clearly a deer Faunus approached him,_ _noticing his various cuts and bruises_ _"Sir?_ _Do you also require medical attention? And would you_ _mind telling us what just happened?"_

_Ashe let out a tired smile and replied, "I'll let you know as soon as my brain catches up. Right now I need a hot shower, a decent bed, and a long drink of cold water."_

"Once we returned back to Tintagel we weren't exactly seen as heroes. My decision to let Ashe keep the Aura Crystal was met with skepticism by our superiors at The Round Table. Sharp Strike in particular received several lectures on his reckless actions, accidentally causing collateral damage, and how he had to be more restrained with regards to his actions in the future." Shadow Reaper finished.

"I literally have some of those lectures practically memorized." Sharp Strike deadpanned, slowly shaking his helmet-covered head.

"As you should, my protégé." Argentius joked lightly.

"Lectures on one's reckless actions?" Qrow chuckled at that, "That reminds me of the time when Yang accidentally set the family house on fire with her Semblance."

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again?" Taiyang shared a look with his brother-in-law before draping one hand over his face, "I can never get the soot stains off the carpet."

The rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR turned their heads towards Yang who chuckled nervously and shrugged her shoulders, "Hey, it's not my fault since I was still a kid!"

Seraph then spoke up, "However after hearing their report, I was intrigued by Ashe Kasai's fighting skills and his fierce determination to keep the Aura Crystal safe, as well as honoring his family's memory at all costs. I trusted Shadow Reaper enough to at least give him a chance, but I still had him secretly observed. The Knight Order watched as he stayed in Aberdeen and helped them recover from the bursting of the dam. Even though the village's people blamed the mysterious 'bandits' he fought, Ashe still insisted on helping them, and he also kept the secret that those who fought him were actually knights."

Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren, the ones who had known Ashe longer than the others, all smiled at that.

"Ashe Kasai taught me that no one is invincible, not even a Remnant Knight. I had become overconfident in my ability and I thought a mere Guerrilla Huntsman was no match for us, yet he held his ground and fought us no matter how tired he became. He defeated me in combat and I learned that just because I am a knight I am not above everyone. He even reminded me that one of our main causes was to protect the innocent when he insisted that we stop the fight to save the bystanders on the bridge. I only met him twice, but he had a great effect on me." Sharp Strike said earnestly. "I still have a bruise on my chest from that fight."

"So... what happened the second time you met him?" Jaune asked.

"They met at Mila's grave." Ruby answered, remembering what Sharp Strike had told her in an earlier conversation with him.

The aforementioned knight let out a sad sigh and replied, "Yes. I had requested a chance to observe Ashe once more, but by the time I arrived it was over. Saul Jade had fallen, his gang had fled and the town was saved. But a heavy price has been paid..."

_5 Years Ago_

_Ashe sat before Mila's grave in silence, alone again because of his own failure, "I am so sorry... I failed you Mila...can you ever forgive me?" He spoke sadly as he placed his hand on the grave, with tears streaming from his ember eyes._

_As expected, there was no answer. Ashe's arm fell limp as he cast his head down, but soon glanced up as he heard the thudding footsteps of armored boots coming from behind him._

_"Who's there?" He turned his raven-haired head a little to the side._

_"We have met before, Ashe Kasai...at the dam in Vacuo..." A calm voice reached his ears._

_Ashe turned around fully to see the armored form of Sharp Strike standing behind him, the weak sunlight reflecting off the smooth silver and blue plates of his personal suit of armor. He rose to face the new arrival and replied, "I remember you...you are the knight who I fought on the log, and the one who caused the dam to burst when you knocked the live grenade out of my hand..."_

_"Yes, it is. My knight name is Sharp Strike. I don't think I have properly introduced myself the last time, considering the circumstances under which we met." The young knight said as he lowered his helmet a little, "I have been in the village, and I have heard about what has happened. I...I am so sorry for your loss, Ashe Kasai."_

_Ashe suppressed a sob and whispered, "Thank you."_

_The two stood in silence before Ashe finally asked, "So why are you here? If it's regarding the Aura Crystal, my answer's still no."_

_"That's not the actual reason I am here." Sharp Strike raised a placating gauntlet, "I am here instead to observe you, and to make sure you are keeping the Aura Crystal safe. The Knight Order has observed you from a safe distance over the years and I requested to be the one to do it this time. I wished I had gotten here sooner...and maybe all this could be averted." The knight said to him while glancing down at the new backpack that contained the Aura Crystal within a brand new case._

_Ashe didn't reply, he just nodded as he looked back to the grave of his wife._

_"What was she like?" Sharp Strike asked sympathetically._

_"She was beautiful. Kind, smart, gentle, and so loving...I don't deserve someone as good as her." Ashe said as fresh tears began to flow down his cheeks again._

_The armored knight put a comforting hand on Ashe's shoulder and said, "I am sure she loved you just as much, from what I understand she died to save you and you managed to avenge her."_

_"It doesn't matter, I still failed to keep her alive." Ashe shot back quietly, and Sharp Strike removed his hand._

_Silence reigned once more before Sharp Strike spoke up again, "Ashe, the day we met you humbled me, and taught me a lesson that I needed to learn, and I thank you for that. I have also come with an offer for you from my superiors, one that could help you find solace as well as protect the Aura Crystal. Would you be interested in joining the Remnant Knights?"_

_Ashe looked at Sharp Strike's helmet for a long moment before shaking his head, "No. It's an honor...but no. I think I am better off alone for the time being. I...I can't stay here, I just need to go...somewhere else."_

_"Then where will you go?" Sharp Strike inquired._

_"Out there in the world of Remnant, my sister's still alive. I can feel it in my heart. Maybe I can find her and reunite with her, and maybe get something resembling a happy ending." Ashe answered, and extended a hand towards the young warrior, "Thank you, Sharp Strike."_

_"You are welcome, Ashe. I hope you find what you are looking for." Sharp Strike returned as he shook the offered hand._

_"Do you mind if I ask a question of you before I leave?" Ashe looked at the azure lenses of the knight's helmet, "Did you lose someone close too?"_

_"I did, but unlike you I haven't found the people responsible...yet." Sharp Strike replied in a soft whisper, "But I know I will find them one day."_

_"Then I hope you find them too, and gain some closure." The lone warrior said as he shared meaningful look with the Remnant Knight._

_Ashe picked up his backpack and began to walk away when Sharp Strike's voice called out again, "Ashe...are you sure you won't affect my offer?" The Guerrilla Huntsman shook his head again, "What happens when you cannot find your sister?"_

_Ashe considered and answered, "I think I will someday. Until then...well, this world is filled with shadows. One more won't make it any darker."_

_The knight remained silent as he watched Ashe Kasai, Guardian of the Aura Crystal, disappeared into the distance. As the cool wind blew the brown leaves past his booted feet, Sharp Strike stood alone in near silence before vanishing into the trees._

Ruby hung her head at that, saddened by the knowledge of just how lonely Ashe had been before meeting them, and know she knew for a fact that it was self-inflicted, a punishment for failing the woman he loved. Jaune shed some tears as well, but found comfort in the warm, loving grasp of Pyrrha's hand. They gazed into each other's eyes, and Jaune briefly remembered how similar he and Ashe had been: he had lost Pyrrha and Ashe had lost Mila, but he had managed to get his partner back and make things right... Ashe didn't get that chance. He leaned into her and planted a loving kiss on her cheek. Ruby began to shed a few tears of her own before he hand was taken by Weiss, followed by Yang's arms wrapping around her waist and Blake placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

"We're here for you sis, if you need to talk, we're always here." Yang reminded her.

Ruby smiled before Seraph spoke up again.

"Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, and Pyrrha Nikos, please come forward once more." The Grand Knight Master beckoned, gesturing to them with his gauntlet-clad hand, and the Hunters-in-training in question looked at their fellow teammates before standing up and moving in front of the group of Remnant Knights. Pyrrha closed the lid of the Aura Crystal's case and the locks immediately secured the important relic within the case once more, until such a time it would be needed again.

Coming to stand beside the blonde knight and the spartan, Ruby shared a confused look with them even as they turned back and regarded the leader of the Remnant Knights with Argentius, Soul Seer and Forge Smith flanking him. Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper had moved off to the side, standing at a respectful distance after telling the tales they needed to tell.

"There's one more thing we need to speak to the three of you about." Seraph said as he looked at the Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha by turning his wing-helmeted head slowly to regard the three of them with his T-shaped visor, "All three of you have shown remarkable skills in fighting and Rose and Arc have done commendable jobs in leading your teams in addition to exemplary courage and resourcefulness while facing impossible odds. For you three and your teams to come out of the battle which took place in Haven alive and well is an achievement that even experienced warriors would have difficulty to properly pull off."

"That's true, sir... but we wouldn't have done it without the help of our other teammates." Ruby replied as she turned her head and looked at Weiss, Blake and Yang who nodded back at her with smiles on their faces, while Jaune and Pyrrha did the same with Ren and Nora, "...and all our friends who pitched in during that battle."

"And Ashe as well." Jaune added, "He knew he would be going up against his sister Cinder, but he still put in all of his efforts to make sure that Cinder's plan in Haven for her dark master wouldn't succeed. While he's already gone now, we still remember what he did to help us."

There was a moment of silence as the Remnant Knights exchanged looks with each other, and Jaune wondered what could be going through their minds since it looked like as though they were bewildered by the revelation he had just spoken. He breathed a little and continued, "You all do know that Ashe Kasai was Cinder's brother before she became Cinder Fall?"

"We had our suspicions, but we cannot confirm them because we didn't know that Cinder Fall was Ashe's sister, as we thought Cinder Kasai was either dead or in training to be a warrior. However, that would explain why the Kasai family was so brutally murdered." Seraph replied, sharing a look with Argentius, "You have our deepest gratitude."

"We will honor Ashe Kasai in the Archives of Tintagel." Soul Seer mentioned, "As a brave guardian of the Aura Crystal and as friend who gave so much to save those he treasured despite what obstacles he had faced in life."

"Nonetheless, while you had a large group together in battle against Cinder Fall and the rest of the dark forces, it's you three who overcame those powerful agents of Salem under brainwashing, physical and mental torture, and emotional suffering, and yet did not give up, even in face of death." Seraph said, "From what I have heard and seen of your abilities out of the countless Huntsmen throughout my years of service as Grand Knight Master, the three of you have shown remarkable leadership and resilience in the face of adversity. The world of Remnant would benefit greatly from your talents, if we can hone them further and forge the three of you into formidable warriors with proper training and weapons. We want to give you a choice, a very important one."

Everyone quickly caught on to what the grand warrior was proposing.

"You can't be serious." Taiyang felt his blue eyes widen.

"Wait, you can't be possibly thinking of recruiting them into the Knight Order..." Qrow spoke up, "...are you?"

"We are offering them a choice, Qrow." Argentius mentioned as he looked in Qrow and Taiyang's direction, "A chance to serve all of Remnant by becoming knights that would fight against the forces of darkness to protect the innocents from harm. It's an honor we rarely extend to Huntsmen and Huntresses as young as these three, but exceptional talents such as theirs' are difficult to identify so easily."

"Breaking free of Salem's control, resisting her torturous ways, resisting her dark seductions, and becoming the guardians of the Aura Crystal. Fighting the a fallen Maiden and even managing to scar her face during the heat of battle." Seraph stated plainly, "These are no easy feats, and even we Remnant Knights respect that kind of sheer will and incredible fighting skills to stand against those dangerous opponents. Skilled warriors like Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos are exactly the kind of recruits the Knight Order is looking for."

"Hence the offer to join the Knight Order." Glynda murmured softly, "I can see what you mean. But what about Ruby Rose?"

"Her noteworthy skills as a Silver-Eyed Warrior more than qualifies her for a chance." Argentius spoke gently, opening his gauntleted hands, "As people with silver eyes are extremely rare in the present day, and even though I have given Ruby some pointers during our shared time in the mindscape, she possesses enormous potential that could be brought out with the proper training. If she chooses to join the Remnant Knights, she will become my apprentice and I will teach her all that I have learned during my time in the Knight Order and outside on various missions. Of that you have my word."

"That means we have to leave our friends and family behind." Jaune spoke up, before looking at both Ruby and Pyrrha separately in their eyes, "We would have to leave everything we know and love behind to become true Remnant Knights. Am I right?"

"I am afraid that will be true if you accept our offer." Argentius gave a nod of his master-crafted helmet, "The oath that you swear upon Excalibrus will bind you to uphold your duties till your passing, and you will be serving a noble cause that will call upon you to make choices and sacrifices that would be far beyond anything you would ever encounter, even as experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"There you have it, young ones." Soul Seer mentioned gently, "We have given you a choice, and we only ask for your understanding and that you think carefully before giving us your answer. Whatever your answers would be, we will honor and respect them."

Silence met the Remnant Knights and they remained still, watching Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha look at each other as they ran through what the knights had told them. It was an offer that came so suddenly and unexpectedly that none of them had any preparation for such a chance. To join the Remnant Knights was an incredible offer few would refuse, but like what Jaune mentioned they would have to leave everything behind. Their friends, their families, and their lives in Beacon Academy for a higher calling. And as ridiculous as the thought may seem, each of the trio have already done something similar in their lives...

Ruby Rose left Patch to become a Huntress just like her mother Summer Rose. She left everyone she knew at Signal Academy, her father Taiyang and her uncle Qrow to join Beacon Academy. Jaune left Cadia to become a Huntsman and fully realize and live his dream like his ancestors who came before him. He left his parents and seven older sisters and his previous life behind to become the best Huntsman he could at Beacon Academy. Pyrrha left Sanctum Academy and the lonely life of a celebrity in Mistral to start a new life in Beacon Academy. While she's already an extremely talented Huntress, she left her parents and her old life of fame and tournaments to become someone simple again, and she found it in Beacon, and with it she found the best friends she could have ever hoped for and the love of her life.

But to do it again once more? None of them would be able to bear the emotional pain that stems from leaving everything they have ever known and loved behind, and the Silver-Eyed girl as well as the two guardians of the Aura Crystal knew it.

There was a long pause as the trio of students put their deep thought into making their final choice, and the rest of their teammates in both Team RWBY and JNPR kept quiet out of respect and some uneasiness, despite the fact that Yang, Nora, and even Weiss were very tempted to shout their objections. Even the rest of the adults remained silent as their own eyes regarded Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha closely, while the assembled Remnant Knights remained as still as statues, patiently awaiting the trio's answers.

Finally, the scythe-wielding Huntress, the young knight and the highly-talented spartan exchanged one final look with each other and turned to regard the quartet of Remnant Knights in front of them and gave their answer together in unison.

"No."

If any of the Remnant Knights present registered shock on their faces, they hid their reactions to the three students rejecting their offer while standing opposite them remarkably well. Sharp Strike exchanged a glance with Shadow Reaper, while Iron Fist rubbed his gauntlets together. Tranquility looked in Ozpin's direction and received a small shrug from the headmaster of Beacon Academy that was barely more than a subtle moving of his shoulders.

"I have been with Beacon Academy since I have arrived in Vale..." Jaune explained when he noticed the azure T-shaped lenses of Seraph's helmet looking at him, "...and I have been the leader of Team JNPR ever since. Sure, we have faced many hardships while working as a team, but we eventually grew to match each other's strengths and limitations. I don't think I can leave my team now after everything we have been through, and what kind of leader would I be if I abandoned Ren and Nora?"

"While it's an honor to be given the chance to join the Remnant Knights..." Pyrrha added politely while looking at Soul Seer, "...I have to decline too. My team also needs me, and since Jaune has chosen to stay, I shall do so as well. They are my friends, practically family to me, I couldn't leave them again. We may not be the most experienced guardians the Aura Crystal has in its long line of protectors, but I can assure you we will do our best to ensure its safety. The crystal has judged us worthy enough to be its new chosen guardians, and we will not let you nor the Aura Crystal down."

"I am sorry to say this..." Ruby held her hands together and fidgeted a little, looking downwards for a moment before tilting her head up at Argentius's helmeted face, "...but my answer is also no. I can't leave my teammates behind, because they have chosen to believe in me and my actions, despite how young and inexperienced and reckless I could be, and I think I work far better with them than with other people I have never met. We have been through so much together, fighting in many battles and sometimes we have to work together to face even everyday problems. As weird of a team we were at first, we're a great team, like Pyrrha said, we're family. They are my true friends, and I won't abandon them too...I hope you understand."

After hearing their answers, Seraph shared a look with Argentius who nodded his head, and then with Soul Seer and Forge Smith who also gave nods in his direction. Then he gave a subtle nod of his winged helmet as though answering an internal question, and then lowered his hands to his sides, "Are you sure you are confident in your choice?"

"Yes." All three students answered together at the same time, as if they were answering as one.

The Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights lifted his winged helmet and replied, "If that is your wish, then we shall honor it." He looked at Soul Seer who said, "Thank you for coming to meet us today, Team RWBY and JNPR, it has been a pleasure to meet all eight of you."

The eight teens gathered in their respective teams once more, and bowed politely to the reassembled Remnant Knights in front of them. "Before we take our leave, I would remind you that the oath of secrecy you have all sworn will bind you until the end of time. Please exercise caution with who you speak when it comes to everything we have divulged here in this meeting." Seraph cautioned carefully, turning his head to regard all eight teens who nodded their heads in return, "Good, Headmaster Ozpin, you have our deepest gratitude for your kind assistance and time."

"You are quite welcome, Grand Knight Master. And we are all most grateful to have you bestow us with your visit." Ozpin inclined his head while shaking hands with the Grand Knight Master along with Ironwood and Henry, while Glynda exchanged a friendly hug with Soul Seer. Qrow shook hands with Argentius once more while Taiyang simply bumped his gauntlet fist with a small grin on his face, the three of them exchanging kind farewells with each other even as the other Remnant Knights gathered behind their leader once more.

"Wait, Master Argentius!" Ruby cried out in which the knight with elaborate armor looked in her direction as she rushed over to him, "Is there something else you would like to speak with me before I leave, Ruby Rose?"

"Um... you mentioned to me that I still require some more training, Master Argentius." Ruby asked politely, "...but since I won't be seeing you again, when will my training continue?"

Laying a hand on Ruby's shoulder, the Silver-Eyed master inclined his helmet a little and the grey lenses of his helmet glinted briefly, "What you needed to know, you already have it after what you have obtained in the mindscape. For now, think on what you have learned so far and remember what I have taught you. There's no need to worry, you will see me again soon enough."

"But when?" Ruby looked up at Argentius even as Soul Seer stepped to his side, "When will I see you again?"

"Don't worry about it, Ruby." The silver-eyed knight said kindly while the mage simply smiled, "You will know when the time comes once again." He patted her gently on the shoulder and then nodded at Taiyang and Qrow, "Take care of yourself, Ruby Rose. Be well, Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen, and may we meet again in future."

"You too, Argentius and Soul Seer." Ruby and Yang's father and uncle replied, "Until we see each other again."

As they watched the Knights depart Blake quietly said "We'll have to tell the others about this, they'll need to know."

"Agreed. Call Sun or Coco, let them know we need to talk once they get back tonight." Jaune said to her, getting a nod in return.

* * *

Night was already falling across the darkening sky when Teams SSSN and CFVY followed by Penny returned to the hotel in Vale where they were greeted by Blake and Yang, as they had been waiting at the entrance for them.

"Hey guys, I take it all of you have a busy day?" Yang asked with a bright smile on her face.

"Well, if you would count killing sixty-five Beowolves, thirty-seven Creepers, twenty-three Scavengers, eight Ursa, four Death Stalkers, and one Nevermore busy, then I guess we were." Coco listed off with a victorious look on her face while patting her handbag.

"There's a part of you that wants to claim those Grimm are just the ones you have killed, isn't there?" Fox asked as he looked at Coco.

"Maybe." The fashionista Huntress answered with a slight smirk, "Anyway, you should see how Yatsuhashi went through a group of Beowolves and Ursa with Kyodiana Burendo. Never even stood a chance against him."

"But the real star is definitely Velvet, if you must know." Sage gestured over to the rabbit Huntress who felt her cheeks flush briefly, "That camera of hers allowed her to easily wipe out an entire horde of Grimm. You should have seen Port and Oobleck's faces!"

"That's not the best thing." Neptune gestured at Scarlet who sported quite a few bandages, "You should see what happened when Scarlet tried to take on a couple of Beowolves all by himself!"

At this, the bluenette and the Monkey Faunus both burst out laughing while Scarlet just looked miserable, "You two aren't going to live this down, aren't you?"

"Nope!" Sun chortled while Neptune wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, "I hope you learned your lesson, pirate boy!"

"Interesting, it looks like you have turned the mission into a contest of sorts." Blake looked at both Teams and Penny, "Let me guess, the team who loses buys dinner?"

"Something like that." Coco beamed at the black cat, "And let's just say a certain Team's wallet is going to hurt a lot later tonight..." She looked over and saw Team SSSN groan in exasperation, at which both Blake and Yang shared a good-natured chuckle with each other.

"So what happened at Beacon when we were gone?" Sun asked as he leaned close and kissed Blake on the cheek, earning a soft affectionate purr from the Cat Faunus, "From how your voice sounded when you called me, it must have been something major."

"Indeed, when we heard the call I detected an increase in pitch and tone with regards to your voice, friend Blake." Penny mentioned innocently before looking at Yang, "And yours too, Yang. I think that you both have encountered something significantly important to have such tonal changes in your voice patterns."

Blake and Yang shared a look with each other before Blake looked at the gathered group and replied, "Let's just say that something big had happened while you are gone, but we can't talk about it here. Can you all come with us please?"

Coco and Sun nodded to their teams before following the two Huntresses up the hotel's grand staircase to the lifts, where they took to another floor and then down another hallway which ended at one of the meeting rooms which the hotel would use for formal gatherings. Knocking on the beautifully-crafted oak doors, it was opened by Professor Goodwitch to reveal the rest of Team RWBY and all of Team JNPR, as well as the veteran Huntsman Qrow Branwen who was nursing a small glass of iced whiskey, seated around a large meeting table the color of brown autumn leaves. It appeared that they have been all waiting for them, and had also prepared some food and drinks for the returning members of Team Beacon.

"Nice to see you all again. So what's up?" Sun asked as he and the rest of Team SSSN took their seats beside Team RWBY, while Coco's team sat beside Team JNPR. Blake and Yang rejoined their team while Qrow simply sipped his iced whiskey and remained silent.

"Salutations everyone! I hope you had a good day, my friends!" Penny greeted as she came inside as well, with Ruby pulling up a seat for the android girl beside her.

"Our day was... complicated. How was yours?" Ruby asked as she took the hand of her robotic friend who tilted orange-haired head and smiled back at the red-hooded huntress.

"My combat swords made efficient work of all the types of Grimm I have faced, and I suffered no damage whatsoever in the latest combat situation. I also used the alternate firearm function of my swords to take out any remaining Grimm that both Team SSSN and CFVY missed during the battle, and I also worked with Yatsuhashi to terminate an Alpha Ursa, he threw me at it and I tore through it, leaving a me shaped hole in body before it disintegrated." Penny answered smoothly as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She nearly began listing off the long string of gory ways she killed Grimm, before Weiss cut her off.

"So, I guess it's business as usual." Weiss deadpanned, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I am glad you enjoyed yourself, Penny." Ruby smiled at her android friend who returned it warmly.

"Wait till you all know about the incident Scarlet brought onto himself during our mission." Neptune mentioned as Sun began to snigger again, "You all look like you could use a good laugh!" Scarlet simply buried his face in his hands in response with a groan while Sage rubbed his back sympathetically.

"Perhaps later you can swap stories between yourselves." Qrow mentioned as he set down his drink again, "You all might want to take the food we have prepared for you, since you will be here for quite some time. Your fellow teammates have quite a few things to share with you, considering who they have met today."

"So, what's so important that you have to tell us here instead of anywhere else? It must be very serious." Velvet asked politely while the rest of Team CFVY gave similar nods of their heads, and Coco especially looked rather captivated with the priestess-like clothing that Glynda wore, and judging from the fashionista's expression she could probably be mentally taking notes on the cloth material and accessories.

Glynda made one last check that everyone of Team Beacon was present before shutting the doors and locking them with a loud click. She then walked back to Qrow's side and looked at everyone present calmly, pushing up her glasses with the fingers of her right hand, "Since everyone is present now, I suppose we can begin?"

"All right kids, now be quiet while your friends here fill you in on what happened while you are all away." Qrow began as he nodded over to Jaune and Pyrrha and quipped "The standard classroom rules applies here, by the way."

The other members of Team Beacon nodded their heads, and Pyrrha looked at Velvet and replied, "It is serious, trust us." She had placed the case containing the Aura Crystal on the table, with Jaune sitting beside her.

The blonde knight stood up and regarded the members of Team SSSN and CFVY as well as Penny, and explained to them, "Listen guys, what we are going to tell you now is top secret. You cannot speak to anyone else about what you hear here, and whatever you know doesn't leave this group. You have to take an oath not to tell anyone as well."

"What?" Scarlet spoke in a stunned voice, clearly a bit taken aback.

"You can't be serious..." Sun shared a look with Neptune who shrugged.

"Wait, if it's so secretive shouldn't Ozpin be telling us himself?" Coco added.

"Whatever we're going to hear must be serious enough to warrant an oath of secrecy, but I believe I speak for my friends there must be a good reason as to why we must do this." Yatsuhashi mentioned.

"There is. Several good reasons, in fact." Weiss confirmed.

Qrow's face turned severe as he said "The headmaster has other matters to attend to, so Glynda and I would have to do."

"Just repeat after me, students." Glynda said as she instructed the newly-arrived members of Team Beacon to perform the same posture as the other two Teams did before meeting the Remnant Knights, and began to recite the oath.

After the blonde-haired professor had made the nine students repeat the same oath Teams RWBY and JNPR had taken hours ago, swearing them to the same secrecy, their fellow members of Team Beacon began to tell them what had transpired at the meditation chambers earlier that day. They told their friends of the momentous meeting with the Remnant Knights, and the reunion with Sharp Strike once again, as well as getting to know a few of more other knights who accompanied their leader to the aforementioned gathering.

Taking turns, each member of Team RWBY and JNPR told of their individual perspectives of what exactly happened at the meeting. Weiss and Blake told their teammates of the brief history of the Knight Order, about the different Knight Legions which protected the Four Kingdoms, and their purpose of protecting the innocent from the Grimm and other forces of Darkness. Yang told them of the meeting with Seraph, Argentius, Soul Seer, Forge Smith and the rest of the Knights, and the fact that Team STRQ had worked with the Knights years ago on a secret joint mission. Ren and Nora told of how the Knights have examined their personal weapons and have given some pointers on how to improve upon them, but kept Soul Seer's observations to themselves. Ruby told them about the reveal of Argentius's true identity as a Silver-Eyed Warrior and her experiences in the mindscape. She kept the encounter with the Dreameater brief, and also mentioned how she encountered her mother. The disclosure of another legend actually being true did cause the rest of Team Beacon to give more than a few shocked gasps, and they did also look distinctively uncomfortable when Ruby spoke about the Dreameater Grimm and how it looked eerily like a Grimm Geist. Then Jaune and Pyrrha told them about the tale shared by Sharp Strike and Shadow Reaper in which the Knights had tried to take the Aura Crystal from Ashe and how the Guerrilla Huntsman had fended them off after a intense battle. Then came the heartrending tale in which Jaune recounted Sharp Strike's second encounter with Ashe at Mila's grave, in which Velvet shed some tears and had to be comforted by Coco and Yatsuhashi.

That was when Qrow finished his latest glass of whiskey, rubbed his chin and said, "Really? No questions? I know there's no exam later, but I frankly expected more of a reaction from you all hearing about the legendary Knights of Remnant."

"We do have questions." Neptune replied while placing his hot drink on the table, "But this is just... a lot to take in."

"I mean, a secret Order of powerful warriors forged by a King and a Wizard, and they have been working behind the scenes to counter the forces of darkness?" Sun held up his hands, "Have I just jumped into an fantasy movie script for a moment here?"

"No, the Remnant Knights are quite real." Qrow elaborated, "And they are all incredibly formidable warriors who fought a shadow war for many years against the those who threaten the peace on Remnant to protect the innocent and the helpless."

"And the reason why they work from the shadows while Huntsmen and Huntresses fought openly and visibly is mainly to maintain the secrecy of their operations and their existence." Sun said quietly, "So there is indeed some truth to the legends after all."

"That's how they want to keep it, so yes." Qrow nodded his head again as he drank the last of his whiskey.

"And this Remnant Knight known as Argentius is another Silver-Eyed Warrior, just like Ruby?" Yatsuhashi passed a piece of tissue to Velvet who sniffed and wiped her teary brown eyes.

"Yeah. That's right." The old crow nodded as he produced his flask and poured some brown alcoholic fluid into his glass, while ignoring a stern glare from Glynda beside him.

"And he uses a double-bladed scythe?" Scarlet questioned, "Which can also become a broadsword and an assault rifle of sorts?"

"Right again." The veteran Huntsman slowly sipped his alcoholic drink, "Guess someone did pay attention."

"And this mage known as Soul Seer... does she has similar skills like Professor Goodwitch?" Coco asked slowly.

"Soul Seer is the Chief Prognosticator of the Remnant Knights." Glynda answered carefully, "Her skills with magic glyphs are... significant, and she's well-versed in both defensive and offensive spells. Her abilities are somewhat different from mine since she's kind of exceptional in her own way."

"She can form magical glyphs just by waving her magical staff." Ruby gestured with her hands, "I wonder if that was her Semblance or something?"

"No one really knows, squirt." Qrow looked over to his niece, "But she's one unique mage with remarkable skills."

And finally, Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha told them about the Knights' offer to join their Order, which came across as a quite a bombshell for the other members of the special team that they were stunned for several seconds before finally beginning to respond.

"Well, are you going to take them up on the offer?" Neptune asked a little hesitantly.

"We did consider it..." Ruby answered, "...but we turned them down in the end."

"R-really?" Velvet asked with surprise in her voice, "Why would you do that?"

"Are you sure about your choice?" Fox inquired, his white eyes widening a little and showing a bit of surprise himself.

"Yeah, we are." Jaune said confidently as he looked back at their surprised faces, "We turned them down, and the Remnant Knights honored our choice."

"I would just like to point out one thing." Yatsuhashi pointed out with an upraised finger, "The Knights could be of great help to the three of you, by helping you all become stronger and perhaps give you a better understanding of your... gifts." The green-armored samurai pointed out, struggling to find the right word for a second.

"That's true, but all three of us feel that it wouldn't be right to leave all of you behind after all we have been through." Pyrrha explained before turning her head to smile at Ren and Nora, "Before I came to Beacon, I never had friends like you all back at Sanctum Academy, and now I have worked alongside everyone in Team Beacon... I couldn't stand to leave."

Nora smiled before pushing her chair close to Pyrrha's and leaning over to hug her, surprising the spartan slightly, "Same to you, Pyr!"

"I mean, while it's a big opportunity..." Jaune admitted to the other members of Team Beacon, "...and I never even thought I would be given an offer to join the Remnant Knights, me of all people, but I knew I couldn't leave. Otherwise I would be abandoning all my friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin."

Ren placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder and gave him a warm smile, which the blonde knight happily returned.

"And neither would I." Ruby added as she gestured at Weiss, Blake and Yang, "I wouldn't abandon my own team or anyone else from Team Beacon, and honestly it feels wrong to me just thinking about leaving all of you guys behind. And I am sure I can find another way to control my Silver Eyes in future."

"I see. That's very kind of you to stick by your friends, Ruby." Penny quipped as she beamed at the red-hooded Huntress.

"Well, I for one am grateful you decided to stay with us." Velvet said with a smile.

"Yeah, I mean...it just wouldn't be the same without you three with us." Sun added, "Not with Team JNPR missing Jaune and Pyrrha and Team RWBY missing... well Ruby."

"You have a good point there Sun." Ruby agreed with him, "Although I thought we have split up before during missions? And you managed to fight well in your own Team."

"True, but splitting up during a mission is a totally different matter from flat out leaving." Coco replied while removing her pair of black wire-rimmed sunglasses to show her dark-brown eyes. Both her face and voice showed how serious she was even as she glanced at Ruby, Jaune, and Sun before speaking again, "I have been a team leader longer than the three of you have, and one important thing I know is that working together as a team is better than working alone. The point is when we split up during a mission to pursue different tasks we are still pretty much working together for the same goal." She noticed she had everyone's attention, and continued, "For a special team like Team Beacon, that's even more important. A team can still work when one of the teammates is sick or injured because they can depend on the others for help, but if valuable members of the team just up and left, it would result in the overall effectiveness of the team to decrease significantly. While each of us contribute our own abilities to the team, we still need to work together to be as good as possible. Losing the three of you would have seriously diminished our fighting strength, not to mention morale. So, I am personally glad all of you have decided to stay."

"That's an excellent way of putting it." Glynda agreed and looked at the various members of Team Beacon clustered around the table, "Think of each smaller Team within Team Beacon as an individual finger of a single hand. When you all work together, you form a whole hand. However, should one or more fingers be missing, the hand cannot perform any task successfully."

"My sentiments exactly." Yatsuhashi said as he nodded his head, "I personally think you three have made the right choice."

"Yeah, we would be in quite a lot of trouble without you, Ruby." Yang told her younger sister.

"You really think so, Yang?" The Silver-Eyed girl asked slowly.

"Ruby, we wouldn't have lasted one semester as a team without you leading us. And even if we did, we wouldn't have come so far, and we certainly wouldn't have changed for the better." Weiss said to her partner, "I know that I have come very far from the pampered girl I used to be, and I don't think I would be who I am now if it weren't for your kind nature and proving to us that you have put in all of your efforts into being the best leader we could have for Team RWBY... and by extension, Team Beacon."

"Aw, thanks!" Ruby said before leaning into Weiss and hugging her affectionately, the said gesture getting a slight blush out of the Schnee heiress's cheeks.

"She's right, Ruby; you are the one who held Team RWBY together." Blake voiced graciously.

"Yeah, just think of where we would be without you." Jaune spoke up as he looked at the scythe-wielding girl, "Ren, Nora and I probably wouldn't have made it to Haven."

"And I would still be Fotia Drakos, doing the bidding of Salem without any memory of my previous life." Pyrrha reminded her.

"Some of us could very well be dead." Fox stated dryly, but there was no hint of a deadpan joke like there would normally be in his voice.

"And while I don't have the memories of the original human Penny, I can honestly say I don't think I could have asked for a better friend." Penny said to Ruby with her green eyes shining with genuine joy, and she promptly received a warm hug from her human friend.

"The same goes to you, Jaune. We owe a lot to you too." Sun reminded his fellow blonde who looked puzzled for a brief moment.

"He's right. You might have started out as a massive dork, which you can still be from time to time, but you have changed a ton since we have met you back at initiation." Yang told him encouragingly before giving Pyrrha's partner a playful slap on the back, which caused him to wince a little.

"Thanks a lot, Yang."

"Yup, and without you and Pyrrha, Ren and I wouldn't have been so close to anyone else except each other. You guys are like family to us." Nora told the duo, her eyes bright with happiness.

"That's true. Jaune, you have become quite a leader to our team, and Pyrrha...after our parents were taken from us, Nora and I had never felt close to anyone else. But everything changed until we met you and Jaune." Ren agreed sincerely.

"On a positive note, you've become one of the best fighters on the team." Sage stated with a nod.

"Thank you, I appreciate all of your kind words. It's a bit... stunning to see how long it has been since the school year first started and how far we have come, as well as how much that has happened to all of us." Pyrrha said while she thought back to all of the insane events that had happened in the past year.

"You aren't the only one who had experienced massive changes. A lot of things have indeed happened to us. Some good, some bad, and yet we have managed to survive them all, even against all odds." Blake mentioned honestly, remembering her personal experiences with the White Fang after the Fall of Beacon.

"And look at us now. We are not just normal teams anymore... now we're Team Beacon. I don't think there's ever been something like this, has there?" Velvet turned her head to ask both Glynda and Qrow.

"No, Miss Scarlatina, there hasn't. While Huntsman teams have worked together in the past depending on the circumstances, to my knowledge there has never been a massive unit like this." The blonde professor informed the large group of Huntsmen and Huntresses at the table.

"So count yourself lucky, because Team Beacon is definitely one of a kind." Qrow told them before taking another sip of whisky.

"So that must make us pretty special." Scarlet stated openly, receiving a few nods from other team members across the table.

"Oh yes indeed, Mr. David. One of the main reasons Ozpin named your group Team Beacon is because together you all are the best Huntsmen and Huntresses Beacon Academy has to offer, even when Team SSSN has willingly transferred from Haven Academy to fully form the entire team. This team embodies many aspects of what Beacon Academy stands for, especially in your incredible teamwork and bravery which have made it clear that everyone present here will definitely live up to its growing legacy and become credible and respected Huntsmen and Huntresses." Glynda said to everyone in the room with a hint of pride in her usually serious voice.

The seventeen students, human, Faunus, and android alike, all smiled at the blonde professor. "Thank you, Miss Goodwitch." Nora was the first to reply, her voice swelling with happiness.

"Yeah, it means a lot to us... all of us." Jaune agreed as he held hands with Pyrrha.

"I am just glad I have been serving in this team with you all!" Penny said with a beaming smile on her face.

"Wait, what will happen with Team CFVY graduating ahead of us?" Blake pointed out, "I mean, they are our seniors by a year."

"That's a good point." Scarlet admitted, scratching his head, "I don't think any of us thought of that."

Quite a few heads turned in Coco and her teammates' direction, and the fashionista considered before speaking, "Well, even though we still have some options I personally think that it would best for me and my fellow teammates to just hang around until you guys catch up with us."

"You mean, stay in school with the rest of us?" Neptune inquired as he adjusted the yellow-tinted goggles which laid on his forehead.

"Not really, I think what Coco means is that while we will be staying on campus grounds and going on missions every now and then, we will still be staying with the rest of you." Fox corrected the bluenette boy.

"Are you sure about that?" Weiss asked with a bit of an incredulous look on her face, "I mean, we would technically be holding you back."

"Hey, I don't mind hanging around here with you all and I don't think the rest of my team will either, right?" Coco asked while looking at Fox, Velvet and Yatsuhashi.

"Not at all. I think it's best we stay with the other Teams, because it would be difficult for the others if we are separated, since we make up part of Team Beacon." Velvet reminded her leader, "...just like what you said earlier."

"My thoughts exactly. While it may be a temporary inconvenience I also wouldn't mind staying." Yatsuhashi replied in a calm voice, "Perhaps we would be assigned to other missions while the rest of you are still in school.

"As for me, I would rather stick with my teammates and those I have fought alongside with. Besides, I also think it's best not to leave you guys on your own." Fox finished, nodding his head to signify his agreement.

"Then it's decided. I will talk to Professor Ozpin about your choice, and I am sure he would be more than happy to allow Team CFVY to stay on the academy grounds until the rest of Team Beacon graduates." Glynda spoke to them.

"That's great, thanks GG." Coco said appreciatively, smirking at Glynda who looked at the leader of Team CFVY with a raised-eyebrow. Qrow gave a small chuckle at the nickname, but when the blonde professor regarded him he quickly turned his attention back to his drink.

"So it's settled then. Team Beacon is staying together, no matter what happens." Ruby declared as she looked around at her sixteen other teammates, each with varying individual skills and abilities, and a chorus of agreements sounded off across the table. She trusted each and every single one of them with her life, and they returned her trust with absolute faith in her actions.

Ruby looked to Jaune and smiled before raising her hand palm out into the open air, and Weiss placed her hand on top of her leader's. Blake got the massage right away and placed hers atop Weiss's, prompting Yang to do the same with her organic hand, followed by Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Sun, Scarlet, Sage, Neptune, Coco, Fox, Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Penny.

"So, we're all agreed; we're in this together, right?" Coco asked, getting a positive response from everyone.

"And also, no talking about what happened today to anyone else unless it's among ourselves, does everyone understand this?" Pyrrha reminded those present and everyone nodded their heads in response.

"Then it's official, we are stuck with each other 'til the end, no matter what happens." Yang voiced while smiling.

"Through thick and thin, and all the trials ahead hopefully." Velvet added and everyone chorused their agreement.

Ruby grinned and said, "Couldn't have said it better myself. Long live Team Beacon!"

Qrow and Glynda both smiled as they watched the various members of Team Beacon lift their hands together into the air in a lively and energetic cheer.

Moments later, as the various Teams exited the meeting went back to their own respective quarters, Weiss asked Penny as they walked alongside each other, "Penny, is your father still in Atlas?"

"Yes, the Special Research Robotics Branch still need him to oversee a top secret project." Penny answered, "I will be returning to the _Resolute_ for a full system maintenance check, but... I'll ask if I can stay with you tonight. Would you mind?"

"Not at all, Penny." Blake told her.

"Yeah! We'd love to have you stay with us some more!" Ruby assured Penny by placing an arm around Penny's shoulder and making the android smile. Nonetheless, she wondered just what project her father was advising the Atlas Military on...

* * *

The large white blast doors to the interior of Atlas's advanced research laboratories slid open silently as an old portly man with hair and beard removed his eye and palm from the security scanner. He then walked into the highly secure facility built within the depths of Atlas's Military Headquarters with the blast doors closing behind him, making his way to his personal labs, his white formal shoes made echoing taps as he walked through hallways filled with various high-tech machinery and gadgets on both sides as seen through transparent protective glass panes.

Producing a white key-card which he inserted into the security terminal at the side of a large metal and glass door, another layer of security was removed as arrays of multi-barreled energy blasters retracted back into their hidden alcoves as the final security door unlocked itself and admitted the Doctor Joseph Polendina into his personal, brightly lit workshop. He had just came from a meeting with the Atlas Council, and they had been satisfied with his latest work with the Altesian Knight-300 model and witnessing Penny's abilities through video footage collected by Atlesian military forces during the battle with the White Fang. They told him to continue with his work, and promised to fund more of his projects in the weapons and robotics field for the foreseeable future.

Polendina thanked them politely, of course. While it rankled him to be subjected to the Council's beck and call at every turn, and put his considerable skills into creating technological weapons for the Atlas Army, he bore it all stoically as they gave him the necessary resources to build the android Penny. He was just another important asset to the Council after they have discovered his talent, and despite the fact he disliked his scientific genius being used to help in the creation of weapons such as the Atlesian Knights and Paladins he had soldiered on, hoping that the other weapons he'd help make would ultimately help to save lives instead of ending them after what had gone down during the Fall of Beacon Academy.

Sitting down in front of his table which was cluttered with various tools, blueprints and scattered parts of machinery, the robotics scientist sighed as he took off his spectacles and pinched his temple. He had put all other projects on hold so that he could finish up this particular one, and spending what felt like weeks of sleepless nights with synthetically-produced coffee he had finally managed to complete it. Blue holograms of various mechanical machines and weapons flashed above his personal workstation, but Polendina ignored them all as he placed the shoe-sized white box he had been carrying with him on the table's surface.

After two full weeks with various paperwork and the calling in of some favors, he had finally gotten the remaining parts to complete the finishing touches on his latest creation. Ciel Soleil intercepted him the way back to his research labs in person, greeting him politely before passing him the white box emblazoned with the emblem of Atlas, mentioning that it was sent with the best regards from General Ironwood.

His old green eyes looked to grey metal circle on the right hand side of his desk, before he picked it up and activated the hologram with a click on the buttons which decorated its sides. It was the picture of fifteen-year-old Penny Polendina, the original one. She was smiling like the brightest sun while holding onto her father while he held her in his arms, back when she was still alive. Before her life has been so brutally cut short by a Grimm attack. As a grieving father he did all he could to resurrect her, even as an android built with cutting-edge Atlas technology. It was difficult work, but he never gave up and was rewarded with a curiously bright android built in the image of his daughter.

"I hope you are doing well, Penny." He murmured to the hologram, "I built you out of my deepest love for you, and I hope you will continue to see the world, make new friends, discover what it truly means to be human, and maybe discover your true purpose. Or am I just a dim-witted old man asking for the impossible?"

The good doctor's green eyes misted briefly before he committed the image into his mind, then the intimate moment was gone. He deactivated the hologram and slipped the grey metal circle into the pocket of his equally white lab coat.

Pushing himself up from his padded chair, the director of Atlas Special Research Robotics picked up the white box and made his way down a nearby corridor, until he entered another room which looked like a copy of Penny's living quarters, but slightly larger in size. As usual, the walls and floor are white and grey in color, in addition to a steel table that looked like a cross between an operating table and bed sitting in the middle of the room, with thick black power cables and additional colored wires currently disconnected from a complex partitioned computer server that was as big as a refrigerator which hung from the ceiling. A curved table with a number of books and data tablets stacked neatly on its smooth surface along with a chair occupied the right side of the room, and small couch was placed beside the table at a perpendicular angle. The room was kept at cold temperatures at all times and as the doctor exhaled his breath he could feel the glasses of his spectacles misting.

He looked around the rectangular room and realized that the individual who lived within this room was finishing up his combat training, and mentally scolded himself for forgetting about it. Turning around, he made his way into the combat training chambers. The sound of training machines being tested to their limits met his ears as the doors swished open, and he found a taller and older looking masculine cybernetic android with closely-cropped black hair and cold blue eyes decimating the latest batch of training robots based off the Atlesian Knight-200's.

As the last training robot crashed to the ground with a loud clang in three separate parts, a robotic female voice announced, **"All opposing targets eliminated, training simulation terminated."** The cyborg retracted his twin swords back into his arms while turning his head to inspect his latest handiwork. More than two dozen training robots laid wrecked and destroyed around him, their mechanical arms, legs, and heads lying separate from their bodies the stumps sparking. When his machine blue eyes caught sight of his creator, the male android turned and made for the exit of the aforementioned chambers with a calm face.

"Good afternoon, N1CK3L." Joseph greeted the android who brought his right hand up in a proper military salute.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Polendina. Correction: Father Polendina." He dropped the salute smoothly as the doctor and robotics scientist gestured to a large steel bench beside the combat training chambers. His voice was cool and nearly emotionless, his face blank. "I did not expect your visit today."

"Nor did I, but I have something for you." Polendina sat down with N1CK3L supporting him carefully with a strong shoulder and hand. Once they were seated the creator of the android looked into the mechanical eyes of his latest creation, while the android returned his gaze with an expectant expression which resembled that of the first Penny when she was first activated.

N1CK3L cocked his head a little, "May I ask what is it then, father?"

The robotics scientist proffered the white box with the emblem of Atlas towards the male android, "This just came in today. Consider it my gift to you since your training is finally complete." To be honest, Joseph felt both pride and trepidation like any other parent when their child would be leaving the only home they ever knew while venturing into the big dangerous world out there, but he also felt a bit odd, as he didn't truly think up N1CK3L, the scientists of the Atlas military had, but they had needed his help to make this new android a reality. Nevertheless, he felt that N1CK3L had potential, and hopefully would become more human in the way Penny had.

He watched as N1CK3L opened the box slowly, lifting the lid and seeing the insignia of Task Force Omega, with the white thunderbolt-clutching Nevermore spreading its wings within an inverted triangle set behind a black featureless shield, while the motto of that division was spelled out in brilliant silver engraving at the bottom: "Exitus Acta Probat." Beside the emblem was the insignia of Petty Officer First Class of the Atlas Army, and an active data tablet with the relevant mission files already inputted inside.

"It's official now, you have been assigned to Task Force Omega of the Atlas Military forces, and serve under Commander Central." Polendina mentioned as he watched the android reached in and took out the metallic emblem, turning it over in his hands delicately like a priceless gemstone, "You will follow his orders like you did in the training programs, and while your programming is to ensure all data acquired through your assigned missions are to be preserved and stored for further analysis, I hope you can protect those people who you will eventually establish interactions with, expanding upon your parameters and create new directives in future."

"Thank you, father." N1CK3L nodded his head as he attached the metallic emblem to the upper right arm of his navy blue skintight combat suit. A faint smile appeared on his face for a moment before his expression switched back to its uncompromising and serious form once more, "I will perform my duties to the best of my abilities in Task Force Omega, and put what you have taught me into proper use."

Joseph nodded again as he laid a hand on N1CK3L's forearm and felt the strong steel alloy which had been used to craft the enhanced tactical android's body, "Just be careful. I am sure you will make me very proud of you, just like your sister Penny."

The male android's head nodded once more as he looked at his creator, "Speaking of my little sister, I haven't heard any further updates on her. Has she been damaged?"

"On the contrary, she's just fine. She's currently in Vale with her friends and has engaged in several battles since her reconstruction. She still doesn't know about you yet." Polendina answered,

N1CK3L's cranium cocked to one side as his internal processors searched for the appropriate information, and then he answered, "I have looked through the relevant after-action reports, and results indicate that Penny has been performing well within established parameters. I am gratified to hear that she is still active, and I look forward to meeting her."

"You may just get your chance, N1CK3L. It looks like you two have quite a bit of catching-up to do." Polendina mentioned as the android picked up the data tablet and thumbed the switch, displaying the mission info to his whirring mechanical green eyes, "Report to hangar Alpha-113 at the given time for your first deployment, and it seems that you would be using Hyperion One as transport for your mission."

"The construction for Hyperion One has been completed?" N1CK3L turned his head effortlessly to regard Polendina who nodded as he stroked his white-bearded chin, "The Mobile Airborne Command Ship would be a great help for aiding Team Beacon's response time in their various missions around Remnant in future."

"That's why General Ironwood commissioned the creation of the MACS." Joseph explained, "It's to allow a substantial number of combat-capable forces to be deployed quickly and capably into battle while providing significant aerial support in the surrounding airspace."

"A logical statement." The android remarked, "Active teams would require quick transport to get to the places they needed the most in order to counter the enemy effectively and efficiently. I also look forward to test my combat capabilities in the field soon."

"I am sure you will." Polendina agreed while patting the android's right shoulder gently, "Good. Anyway, it's time for your final system diagnostic checkup and firmware update before I can clear you for active duty. Can you help me up?"

"Of course, father." N1CK3L stood up and extended a hand downwards to his creator, gently helping the old portly man upwards out of the combat training chambers. As they walked slowly back to the main research laboratories, the android felt a brief sense of elation rising in his core as he noticed the new emblem on his right arm glinting in the white lights of the corridor.

He has been built for a purpose like his sister Penny, and he vowed to discover his purpose in this world on his own. Of course, that may take quite an unprecedented amount of time, but the Enhanced Tactical Android known as N1CK3L was in no hurry.

* * *

A little over a week later, the final repairs were finally complete and the distinguished academy was ready for its official reopening. The main venue grounds before Beacon Academy were fully packed with people of all races and genders, from Valeans along with various important delegates coming from the other three Kingdoms to witness the grand historic moment.

Airships of all kinds landed at the circular aerial docking bays at the top edge of the cliffside while sea-going surface vessels made port at the docking area located base of the cliffs, bringing a steady stream of people intent to see the fully repaired Huntsman Academy. The Atlesian flagship _Resolute_ floated a safe and respectful distance from the educational building, protected by its accompanying sister airships and several armored Atlas Eagles and Dropships as escorts. The personal airship of General Ironwood stood like a huge silent sentinel watching over Beacon Academy, as though daring the Grimm to try and invade Vale again.

Security was tight, as dozens of Atlesian Soldiers and the AK-300 models doing patrols and performing security checks at various checkpoints located throughout the entire venue, supplementing the considerably depleted but slowly replenishing ranks of the Vale Army and Militia. They were generously provided by Ironwood to the Vale Council for a temporary measure of increasing security for the reopening, to avoid any incidents like, Oum forbid, the Fall of Beacon a little over a year ago.

The various members of Team Beacon stood in the crowd with their families, with Taiyang behind Ruby and Yang, Blake with Claudandus, Kali and Ghira, Jaune with the entire Arc family, Pyrrha with her parents, Sun with his mother and Hualan, and so on with the other team members down the front few rows. Weiss in particular was with her father who was flanked by several bodyguards with the Schnee Dust Company Security logo on their armored vests and shoulder pads, in addition to a few squads worth of Atlas troops stationed around the representatives from the SDC's board of directors.

At the forefront of the Atlas delegation, Penny stood with Doctor Joseph Polendina who was bordered by four smartly-dressed Atlesian soldiers from Task Force Omega, their matte blue-black military uniforms contrasting sharply with the white formal wear of the other people from Atlas.

Ruby had taken a look around and she saw many of her fellow students of other Teams who studied in Beacon also in attendance, even though she didn't know most of their names despite being in the same year intake. She also saw the surviving members of Team CDRL, which made both her and Jaune wince as they wished that Cardin could have been here as well.

A large stage has been built on the stairs that led to the main entrance, with a large backdrop which comprised of Beacon Academy's emblem that had been placed behind the stage. Flags with the emblems of the Four Kingdoms stood on tall metal poles which had been placed around the circumference of the main avenue, flapping cheerily to the cool wind breeze. Councilman Henry, representative of the Vale Council, was currently giving a speech about the all the hard work and dedication that had been put into rebuilding the school and restoring it to its former glory. General Ironwood, Colonel Chamberlain and Winter all stood to the left side with several Atlesian captains and lieutenants while the other side was occupied with Ozpin, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, Crane, Peach and various other members of Beacon's faculty, along with Qrow who had to be up there no matter how much he would have preferred to be in the crowd with Ruby and Yang.

"...and now, despite all that has transpired, Beacon stands tall again. It will carry on its operations as the top Huntsman Academy in Vale, and continue to bring more experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses to the world, protecting the innocent from the perilous forces of the Grimm. Yes, we have suffered many tragedies during the Fall of Beacon, and it pains me to say that while those victims are no longer with us, we have not given up on our duties to protect Remnant." He looked to the crowds assembled in front of him, as well as the hundreds of flashing cameras and hovering newscaster drones which were no doubt broadcasting Beacon's reopening live to other Kingdoms and various smaller towns and settlements throughout Remnant, "We have instead recovered from our defeat, taken back Vale, and have restored Beacon Academy back to its former magnificence. We will show our enemies that we will not back down from the fight at hand, but instead we will continue to beat them back at every turn! We will go on, and like Beacon Academy, we will survive."

There was a loud, long round of applause, the duration of which Glynda leaned over to Ozpin and whispered, "I can't help but notice you seem to be a little nervous, Headmaster."

"You aren't wrong, Professor Goodwitch. Even after everything that has happened, I still wonder if I am up for this." The silver-haired man confessed.

"Well, there's no need to worry. Remember that we are all here for you." Glynda told him with a supportive look on her face as the ringing sounds of applause died down.

"Thank you, old friend. I know that I can always count on you." Ozpin said to her, with a tired but content smile on his face.

"And now, it is my pleasure to present my honored associate and good friend, the Headmaster of this prestigious Huntsman Academy, Professor William Ozpin, to make his speech." Councilman Henry announced, while gesturing with one outstretched hand as a signal for said headmaster to stand up and approach the speech stand.

As Ozpin picked up his cane and strode forwards there was another round of applause, but not as enthusiastic as the last one. After he shook hands with Henry and took to the stand, the Headmaster looked out into the crowd and was not surprised to see that some of the people before him had glaring expressions on their faces, looking at him with doubt as well as disappointment. They weren't wrong to feel that way after what he had done, and Ozpin knew that he still needed to earn back the trust of many people.

Perhaps he should start with the inhabitants that made up the Kingdom of Vale.

He lifted his chin to the assembled microphones, took a deep breath and began to speak, "Good morning to everyone, and greetings to our honored guests from other Kingdoms. I am very thankful that so many of you chose to come here today for the grand reopening of Beacon Academy. This is a day of new beginnings, a day where we show our enemies that we are not afraid of them. While they took this historic academy from us and ruined it, we managed to take it back with our combined efforts and made it whole again. We have shown our enemies that we are strong, we are brave, and we are not so easily defeated."

More applause sounded out as he paused for a moment, and that brief display of encouragement invigorated the headmaster to continue.

"Thank you, but this victory was not without sacrifice. The Fall of Beacon, and the tragedy that occurred at the Vytal Festival weighs heavily on me. The lives of many civilians, soldiers and even some students were lost in that disaster, and it was because of my lack of foresight. Because I had been looking at the shadows so much that I couldn't see the obvious which was in front of me." The headmaster paused again even as a few cameras flashed, but this time there was no applause, "I would like to extend my deepest apologies to Miss Yang Xiao Long and her family, for not seeing the truth when she was framed by injuring Mercury Black, who we now know is a criminal and associate of Cinder Fall. I also want to extend my sympathies and apologies to the Winchester family, though they are not here today, for the loss of their eldest son Cardin Winchester, who had died in the Battle of Haven to heroically save his friends."

Ozpin sighed as his head lowered a little for a moment, and then he looked up again, "The list of people I would need to apologize to would be far too long, as I have made too many mistakes in my long life. While I still have to make amends for my actions, I would also want to ask for forgiveness from Miss Pyrrha Nikos, who I had shared certain... conversations with which made her confused and stressed up to the point where she was thought to have given her life out of surrendering herself to a higher purpose and a vague sense of destiny... all because of me."

The spartan looked to Jaune, who held her hand when she reached out towards him. Pyrrha sensed him squeeze her hand gently in return, and slowly felt herself being reassured by the gentle smile that Jaune gave her, even though not a single word has passed between them both during that moment. She then looked up to see the headmaster turning his head in her direction from the speech stand.

"She is with us today because of the efforts of the rest of her team, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, along with Teams RWBY, CFVY, CDRL, SSSN, and various other Teams from Shade and Haven Academies who have fought so hard against Cinder Fall and her associates to stop their plans which would have thrown the safety of Haven Academy and Mistral into serious jeopardy." Ozpin continued looking at Team Beacon as he spoke, "While I am glad to see that she's back with her friends and family, I cannot help but be reminded of the fact that I have unintentionally inflicted upon all of my students including them, both physical and emotional, and I sincerely apologize for my actions in that regard. When I was finally rescued from the clutches of evil, I considered stepping down... I wanted to step down, but I was fortunate enough to have my acquaintances talk some sense into me and realize I would be making a far worse mistake if I have resigned my post as headmaster."

His brown eyes traveled over to the group of Beacon Academy teachers, with Glynda and Qrow sitting closest to him. The former gave him a supportive smile, while the veteran Huntsman simply gave him a firm look as befitting his coarse nature. Ozpin would have expected no less coming from both of them, since he had worked with them long enough to know about their individual personalities. The many glares he had received earlier were lessening now, but there were still scattered people among the crowds who were still unhappy with him.

"And perhaps some of you might have thought that would have been the better option, that my mistakes were far too appalling and egregious to forgive, I can assure you that thought had indeed crossed my mind. However, by the grace of the courts and the Councils of the Four Kingdoms, I have been given a second chance and I intend to make use of it to do as much good as I can so that I would earn back the trust I have lost from my many mistakes. I understand that there will be still many people who think that I am also undeserving of a second chance, but I humbly request that you at least let me prove to you through my future actions that I am still worthy of your trust. I will not be alone in presiding over this educational institution, however, as my closest acquaintance and colleague, Professor Glynda Goodwitch has been made my equal in terms of running the Academy by the Vale Council. For that I am very grateful, as I know she is quite capable, possibly the most capable teacher I have ever known." He spoke in a slightly firm voice.

Glynda, with a slight blush on her face that very few noticed, stood up and bowed politely to the massive audience in front of the stage as they clapped earnestly for her.

"I hope that with advice coming from her and many other teachers, I would be able to make more informed decisions in future. I hope that you can put your trust in her until I can prove myself trustworthy once more. As for myself...I will continue to run this Academy to the best of my abilities, but I will no longer allow the lives of so many innocents be placed in my hands alone. I will also seek out the opinions and deliberations of others before I make any important commitments in future, as no longer will I let anyone threaten Beacon Academy and the students who come to view this place as a place of learning and valued home." Ozpin announced, his voice clearly carrying his conviction in his tone, which earned more applause from the crowds.

Elsewhere, various people of all races around Vale and the other Kingdoms watched the reopening of Beacon Academy on television through a special report by Lisa Lavender, or on livestream through their computers and scrolls. One such person, a certain Winter Maiden, watched on a large flat-screened television in a simple and utilitarian cabin high in the mountains of Atlas.

Once the applause died down again Ozpin composed himself and continued speaking, "Thank you. I... I honestly do not know what else to say. Forgive me, I am usually more adequate at speeches. All I can say now is that I am indeed grateful for this second chance, and it fills me with joy to see so many of Beacon's students back here again, and I am saddened by the deaths of all those who had perished in the Fall of Beacon, because they are no longer with us. I promise I would not let anyone down again, and I, Headmaster William Ozpin, offer sincere apologies for every single one of my failures to everyone who I have let down, and I will strive to regain your trust once more through my future actions. I can say no more other than to echo what Councilman Henry has said, despite the efforts of our enemies to lay us low, Beacon still stands tall and strong, and it is ours again. We will use this triumph as the first step in our battle to push back the darkness and secure our eventual victory."

"Let us hope so, Ozpin." Elsa said quietly to herself while her guardian Kaifin stood beside her, silently nodding his head in agreement.

Back at the stage in front of Beacon Academy, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy looked out to the thousands of people in the crowd, and the dozens of cameras and drones all looking at him. He carefully took another breath before clearing his throat and speaking once more, "I have a legacy to live up to, the legacy of this renowned Academy and all those who held stewardship of it before me, as well as those who came from it. All of those good Huntsmen and Huntresses who graduated as brave warriors from this school and all those selfless teachers who taught them. I know I have failed all of them and by extension their legacies, but now I have been given another chance, to save the legacy of this Huntsman Academy and to redeem my own actions, which is made up of very single student and teacher who had trained and taught at this school during my time here. They are my legacy, and I will personally make sure I would never let them down again."

He then steeled himself and stood tall and proud, looking at the massed crowds and cameras before the speech stand and adding, "Now, since I do not know what else to say, I shall say only this: Welcome back to Beacon Academy."

As Ozpin finished his speech, the massed crowds broke into deafening applause along with the various Kingdom delegations and everyone on both sides of the stage as well. The headmaster nodded his head in thanks and bowed politely, before turning and walking side by side with Councilman Henry to unveil the rebuilt Beacon Academy statue, all the while a combined flight of Atlesian Eagles and Valean militia Bullheads flew across the sky in formation, trailing green and white smoke to signify the reopening.

The top of Beacon's tower began to shine like a lighthouse, announcing to the world that the proud light of Beacon had once again been set alight, and it would never be put out again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader aka Golden Crusader for writing this with me.
> 
> I wan to thank you all, everyone on both sites this story is featured on, so, so, so very much for reading this story. I thank you for being so supportive and patient with us as we worked hard to finish up this chapter and the arc itself. Thank you all of those who faved and followed this fic or gave a kudos and made a bookmark, from the bottom of my heart thank you, to all of those who read and enjoy this fic that I have poured my heart and soul into. I have had my doubts regarding this fic and myself, my ability to write.
> 
> And I apologize to all those people who have unfaved and unfollowed my story, I am sorry you didn't enjoy it, but I hope you'll read again sometime. I've had a lot of ups and downs and I've had a lot of tough times dealing with my depression, but this story and all of you have helped me through it. I still doubt myself at times, as this story isn't very popular, and no matter how hard I work it seems like it's never good enough, and yet I have all of you, reading this right now, eagerly awaiting an update for the each chapter. And while there aren't as many of you as I'd like, I appreciate each and everyone of you so much, so thank you again, and please help me make this fic more popular. Thank you all again, for helping me get this far, and I hope you'll help make this story more popular. It might not be the best, hell it might suck, but I'm very happy with it and I hope you are too. Thank you all so much.
> 
> See you in a couple of months for the third arc, which will be the biggest yet.
> 
> Also, here's some songs to go with this fic.
> 
> Main Theme: This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars
> 
> Ashe's Theme: Millennium Theme by Mark Snow (51 second version)
> 
> Dark Theme: Alien 3 Suite by Elliot Goldenthal
> 
> Action Theme: It's Our Fight by Steve Jablonsky/ 9 Trailer Soundtrack / Avengers Unite by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman/ I am A Leaf on the Wind Watch How I Soar by David Newman
> 
> Ashe's Death: Return to the Grave by Graeme Revell
> 
> Ruby's Theme: This Will Be The Day - Casey Lee Williams
> 
> Jaune and Pyrrha Accepted as the Guardians Theme: The Crystal Made Whole by Trevor Jones
> 
> Adam's Theme: Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann
> 
> Triumphant Theme: The Abyss Finale by Alan Silvestri
> 
> The Chimera/Norvik Theme: Explosion and Aftermath and Candles in the Wind by Elliot Goldenthal
> 
> Sad Romance Theme (For Arkos and SunnyBees): I Never Even Told You by Tia Carrere
> 
> Jaune and Pyrrha's Dance: Google Search MOE AMIT DE, first video result
> 
> Jaune and Pyrrha Theme: It Can't Rain All The Time by Jane Siberry
> 
> Blake's Theme: Teotihuacan by Noel Gallagher
> 
> Duel Theme: Duel of Fates and Battle of Heroes by John Williams and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 10 Minute Version from Kill Bill
> 
> White Fang Theme: The Hunt and The Raptors Appear by John Williams (From The Lost World Jurassic Park)
> 
> Yang's Theme: Test Drive by John Powell
> 
> Weiss' Theme: Mirror, Mirror (From the show, obviously)
> 
> Friendship/Love Theme: Reprise by Joe Hisaishi
> 
> Team Beacon Theme: Now That We've Come So Far by Jeff Williams
> 
> Also, I'm sorry but I have to bring this up: I made it clear some chapters ago I think that the revelation about Qrow's Semblance bringing bad luck was stupid, so much so that I made fun of it in this story itself, and a thought just occurred to me: Qrow's Semblance brings bad luck and Raven's brings good luck, it's stupid but it'd make way more sense if they were reversed. I mean, if Raven's Semblance brought bad luck that would make a lot more sense as to why she left Taiyang and Yang, so her Semblance wouldn't affect the ones she loved and would also explain her dark outlook on life. And if Qrow's Semblance brought him good luck, that would explain why he stayed and why Ozpin gave him so many important missions, but the way it is in canon it just makes Ozpin look even more incompetent as he gave a guy whose Semblance brings bad luck very important jobs and kept him around during a delicate time where they didn't need any bad luck at all. I mean, it would have made much more sense and would have been a bit better, in my opinion anyway.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	53. Return Part I: Going Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Ready for a third 'season' of action, romance, tragedy, and fun? I know I am.
> 
> Special thanks to Golden Crusader, Akashi2712Samurai, and Leaf Ranger for helping out with this chapter, plus a special shoutout to the RWBY Alternate History Community here on the site, do yourself a favor and check 'em out, and even add yourself to their followers. And most of all, thanks to every person who has ready this story, thanks to everyone who has faved and followed it. We wouldn't be here without you guys!
> 
> Theme for this Chapter: This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars

The night was about to end on Shion, a pleasant tourist destination in the Kingdom of Mistral. The village was decently big, but not large enough to be labeled a city or town, but the people were friendly, the surrounding scenery was beautiful, and it was far away from large cities full of crime and business, so one could truly take time to appreciate life out here. It was altogether a wonderful place.

And yet nothing prevented a vicious horde of various Grimm species from attacking.

Screams, gunshots, and roars pierced the normally serene air as innocent people ran for their lives, holding their children close as armed men and women, led by several Huntsmen and a Huntress fought back against various different creatures that all shared the same pitch black fur with blood red eyes and bone while faces and armor. Some fell, others were not deterred by the counter attacks, and kept charging, revelling in the fear that drove them on. Fear was everywhere, and that assured the creatures of Grimm that they would enjoy this feast. It was an absolute mess in the village's main square, as all manner of Grimm teeming through the rubble-strewn streets, seeking prey to rend and tear apart in their carnivorous frenzy. Beowolves, Ursas, Boarbatusks, Beringels, Creeps and Tarantula Widows stalked amongst the burning rubble, ripping apart corpses and gorging themselves on the ones who hadn't been lucky while a pair of Deathstalkers screeched as they smashed apart everything that stood in their way, scattering rubble and bodies everywhere. Flocks of bat-like Vampires, vulture-like Scavengers, and even some Nevermores dominated the skies, swooping down on their chosen prey and carrying them off the ground to their deaths.

A grenade went off inside of the village, and now several buildings were in flames, only adding to the growing panic. Chaos reigned everywhere, with columns of thick grey smoke now reaching up into the skies as various kinds of Grimm rampaged through the burning buildings, destroying everything in their path and going after the hapless innocents who were struggling to escape. Despite the brave efforts of the Hunters and armed villagers they knew they couldn't hold out forever against the beasts and would soon be overpowered by the Grimm hordes and many would be killed before back up from the Mistral Defense Force arrived.

While there were a few still trapped in their homes, most of the villagers were now outside and had merged into a large group that was running for the safe area, a large fenced off compound with a shelter inside, was not too far from the village. It was closed off from the Grimm as it had a special electrified barbed wire surrounding it to keep the Grimm at bay, but it was a tough slog for some of the villagers, and the stress of the evil predators close behind them was making the situation worse. Not helping was the fact that it was late winter, and while the snow had melted, early morning frost covered the ground, and the air was very chilly, making it worse for the scared townspeople.

One man became too nervous and split off from the group, trying to make a run for it into the forest, where one could hide among the trees, but he wasn't even close to matching the speed of the Grimm, as a large Creep dashed after him and jumped, the claws of its powerful hind legs digging into his back. He fell to the ground and began to scream, only for the Creep to silence him as it's mouth bit down on his head and with a mighty rip, he was dead.

As the main group kept running, only a few of them daring to look back at the man as he died, an ear-piercing screech alerted them all to duck down to the ground as a Nevermore swooped down, it's sharp talons clawing open the clothes of several people, creating slashes that spilled blood that were quickly healed by aura for the most part. The winged beast pivoted around and landed on the ground and began to swiftly flap its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that knocked many people down on their backs.

A man armed with a gun quickly jumped up used a heavy rifle to shoot at the giant bird, but it swiftly brought it's head down and its sharp beak bit the gun in two, knocking the man down and the force of its sudden attack had broken his arm. The crowd of people tried to scatter, only for Vampires to dive bomb and land atop of several people, and other Grimm began to surround them. The Nevermore brought up its head, raised its wings, ready to use them to cut through the crowd as the smaller Grimm kept them in place. It let out a screech, and then a single bullet ripped right through its eye.

The gunshot echoed around as the Vampires and the other Grimm attacking the group all looked up to see an airship approaching the village, the back ramp was open and standing in the lit area of the ship's entrance was a sixteen year old girl with shoulder length blackish-red hair, dressed in a grey shirt and black and red corset, a cape covered her neck and fluttered down her back, a necklace hung down her neck and body ending with an old whistle, she also had a low-thigh length skirt that had an ammo belt over it, lightish stocking with a black rose on them covered her legs, and her feet were covered by black and red boots, but the most noticeable thing about this girl was her stunning silver eyes, and the massive scythe-sniper rifle hybrid weapon she held in her hands.

This girl was known throughout Remnant as the one and only Ruby Rose.

Ruby took up the whistle and blew into it, getting the attention of the rest of the Grimm as the rest of Team Beacon appeared around her.

"You just have to shoot first, didn't you?" Weiss said to her.

"Yep." Ruby answered simply as the Nevermore let out a blood-curdling scream before it and the vampires were bombarded by a flurry of heavy bullets from Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren, obliterating them and saving the civilians. The Nevermore wasn't finished yet, it took off and flew right at the ship, until Ruby switched the ammo chambers in Crescent Rose to a more explosive caliber of bullet, and when she fired at the Nevermore's other eye its whole head exploded in a small cloud of black dust. "Alright Team Beacon, let's get down there and save the day!"

"But it's the night hasn't ended yet, Ruby." Penny pointed out as the ship lowered towards the ground.

"Uh… let's go anyway!" Ruby declared.

"Good save." Coco deadpanned with a smile before they all jumped out, landing perfectly on the frosty. Yang, however, landed fist first on top of a Creep, her metallic hand slamming through its head.

"Incoming Grimm from the woods. On our seven." Fox reported.

Coco whirled around and transformed her purse into a minigun before opening fire into the forest, which resulted in the roars and cries of the charging Grimm. Some managed to make it out of the woods, only to be cut apart by Penny's swords as she sent them flying forward.

"Ross! Get back in the air, open fire on the Grimm and lure them away from the people!" Jaune ordered as he moved with the rest of his team to go help the civilians. From the cockpit the middle-aged man gave a thumbs up and the ship rose up, blasting down some of the flying Grimm nearby.

Pyrrha, still outfitted in the armor her parents had gifted her, jumped up and slammed Milo through a Boarbatusk as she came down before using Akouo to decapitate the pig Grimm before she turned Milo back into gun form and brought it around to shoot down charging Beowolves. She saw the villagers getting up, some cheering but most of them were still clearly afraid.

"Get to safety! Ren, Nora, make sure they get to the shelter!" She called to them, her breath visible in the cold air.

"You got it! Come on everyone! Let's go, last one there's a rotten egg!" Nora coached as she, Velvet, Ren, and Scarlet helped the people up.

"Penny, how many Grimm are we looking at?" Jaune asked as he severed a Beowolf from his legs and expertly blocking a blow from an Ursa, using his shield to bash it towards Pyrrha who shot its head off with Milo's gun form. During the past several months Jaune had decided to upgrade his family's weapon, and now Crocea Mors was a bit heavier, with a more elaborate cross-guard and hilt. With some input from Pyrrha, the shield was now accented with gold, since he was her 'golden knight' as she put it, with a hybrid of Pyrrha's emblem and his own painted onto the shield. Due to the modification the sheath now possessed the ability to become a wider blade for the sword, via extending the sharpened edges of the shield, doing so added to the weight of the shield's blows, making it more handy in a fight. When he showed it to everyone Ruby had joked to him about betraying the 'old fashioned' ways, only for him to reply that 'everyone needs to change sometime'.

He slightly seethed in pain as his aura quickly healed him, but ignored it as Pyrrha gave him a concerned look. He nodded to her and gave her a smile, which she returned before impaling a swooping Vampire.

Penny answered him with, "I got an adequate look at the Grimm horde, and judging by my estimates of what we saw from above my sensors indicate that there are no less than four hundred Grimm attacking the village. But that number has already begun to decrease, of course." She informed him as she used her swords to rip a Beringel and several Creeps to shred.

"Four hundred? That's a lot, even for us." Neptune commented as he helped Coco shoot down the Grimm.

"Eh, we've faced worse odds than this." Coco said as she climbed atop a stump to mow down the oncoming Grimm hordes, that had taken notice of the newly arrived Hunters.

"I hope that doesn't jinx us." Blake voiced as she sliced down a Beowolf with Gambol Shroud, back-flipping away from the clawed swipe of a second one, and decapitating the attacking Grimm, her buttoned up white coat fluttering in the wind.

"That's weird coming from a black cat." teased Yang as she slammed her fists down on Boarbatusk, caving it's head in.

Blake rolled her eyes as Ruby cut down a trio of Beowolves before jumping up and spinning around in mid-air to open fire on a pair of Scavengers who had attempted to swoop down at her. "Don't worry guys, we can take these 'em!" She said bravely.

"Who said any of us is worried?" Sun asked as he jumped on top of an Ursa and slammed Ruyi and Jingu Bang's combined form down and through its chest.

"If anything, it's the other way around!" Yang declared as her eyes and hair began to shine. She ran forward and slammed her fist into a large Ursa with enough force to send it flying into a tree hard enough to uproot it.

"Don't get cocky, we've attracted some company." Yatsuhashi stated, gesturing to the oncoming surge of Grimm.

"How many?" Weiss asked Pyrrha.

"I don't know, but I can tell it's the bulk of them. There's something else off in the woods, but it's not attacking. Something different from the rest of the Grimm…" Pyrrha said as she tried to get a good read on whatever she was sensing.

"A hybrid?" The Heiress asked.

"No, something else… maybe an elder Grimm." The Spartan replied.

"We'll see what it is later, right now it's keeping its distance and we've got to deal with the horde. Everyone get into position. Let's go with one of Professor Port's old battle maneuvers, Round Top." Jaune suggested.

"Good idea. Weiss, can you slow them down?" Ruby asked her partner.

The white haired girl scoffed and said "Of course." She walked forward and calmly created a rather large glyph and doubled it outward, creating more of them before pouring an adequate amount of her aura into them, creating thin, but slick patches of ice that stretched out into the field, making the Grimm slip and fall, some were trampled over by their fellow dark creatures.

All seventeen members of Team Beacon lined up, forming a barricade as the rest of the villagers got inside of the sheltered area.

"The villagers that made it out are alright, they lost one or two and many are injured, but they're inside for now." Ren reported as he got the StormFlowers ready.

"Good, once we wipe out this bunch my team will stay here to protect the villagers and make sure no Grimm get inside of the Shelter, I can sense a lot of fear in there, so those things are going to try to break in." Jaune said as he gripped his sword tightly.

"We're not letting them get through. Not one." Ruby said with determination. Not bothering to ask Jaune or Pyrrha if they could control the horde, as they had learned from experience that neither of them could control this many Grimm.

"Here they come! Brace yourselves!" Coco shouted as the Grimm hordes got closer and closer, some still slipping on the slick ice while others smashed the patches with heavy claws.

The seventeen young Hunters held their position, not firing a single shot or swinging a blade once as the horde got closer and closer, making the villagers watching from within the confines of the fenced off shelter wonder what they were up to or if they knew what they were doing.

The members of Team Beacon waited until the horde was mere feet in front of them. And then they launched their attack.

Ruby, Blake, Yang, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Coco, Sun, Scarlet, and Neptune all fired off a massive barrage of gunfire, various types of bullets or Dust based projectiles blasted off into the collective of Grimm. Within seconds dozens of the dark creatures were blasted into oblivion in the frenzied storm of firepower. Coco let out a small laugh as she decimated a dozen Grimm within a few seconds, reducing the fearsome creatures to black clouds of dust, while Nora fired off grenades with Magnhild's grenade launcher mode, firing towards the back of the horde and creating small but effective explosions that eliminated more of the dark creatures.

Blake, Ren, and Neptune worked together, firing into the horde, picking off multiple Grimm; While Blake was more careful, making her shots count and hitting the Grimm in weak spot, Ren let loose a bit more, but was still aiming at the right places, shooting the oncoming Grimm in the heads, necks, feet, and midsections to do very effective damage, and Neptune was letting out short but effective Dust bursts with his weapon's rifle mode, blasting the Grimm two or three times each to make sure they were either turned away or shot down, with the tech in his goggles helping him spot weak point on the creatures.

Sun had separated Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and was firing them off as he swung them around, bashing the faces of any Grimm that got too close, while adding insult to injury by shooting them down immediately after. Yang helped him out by shooting down the charing Grimm and punching away any that got too close, since the faster ones were good on dodging bullets at times, but weren't too lucky at avoiding her fists, or the weapons of the others. Yang got a particular kick out of punching a Boarbatusk that jumped at her so hard it went flying into the night sky.

"If anyone could make a…" She began, only for Sun to cut her off.

"Yeah, pigs fly, we saw it." He said as he bashed down a small, pitch black Beowolf that lacked the white bone armor.

"You don't need to spell it out for us." Blake added as she shot an Ursa dead on in the eye socket.

"My comedic talent is so unappreciated." The blonde brawler lamented with a smirk.

Ruby and Pyrrha worked together, using the rifle forms of their weapons to shoot down the larger, older Grimm, taking special care to shoot them in weak points such as heads, necks, and feet, so as to immobilize them. Pyrrha shot one right through the head as it roared at them, making it stumble around before it fell over and began to dissipate. The Champion of Sanctum kept firing off into the diminishing horde, shooting off legs and arms, blasting through heads and necks, and when one got close enough to her, it was instantly impaled by Milo, and decapitated by Akouo.

Ruby blasted down as many of the Grimm as she could before she changed the ammo chambers to a new, bigger type of bullet. "Let's see how you work…" She said, hoping this new type of bullet her dad had given to her was as good as he said it was. She aimed for an older Ursa, which was charging on all fours towards them, it's red eyes showed it was driven by the fear of the villagers not too far away.

Ruby fired and the bullet went soaring out of Crescent Rose and into the head of the elder Ursa, which dropped to the ground and within a second the head exploded and smaller bullets went flying out of the head and into the surrounding Grimm, ripping them apart like a nail bomb.

"Yes! Thank you dad!" Ruby cheered.

Those who tried to get around weren't successful in the slightest, as Weiss, Jaune, Penny, Yatsuhashi, Fox, and Sage all used their blades to cut down the attacking Grimm. The creatures of darkness were shredded and reduced to fading black dust clouds at the hands of their blades, and Ruby saw this.

"Hold fire, we've shot 'em down enough, now let's do some cutting!" She suggested, a slight silver shine to her eyes.

The guns stopped firing as Weiss, Jaune, and the others stepped forwards. "Think they're smart enough to back off?" Velvet asked.

"Not a chance." Sage remarked as they got ready.

"Some of them are, the smart ones anyway." Jaune corrected, as he pointed to some of the Grimm retreating towards the village, as they were clearly thinking that the armed defenders within weren't as strong.

"We're going to have to make this quick and get to the villages before those things kill the survivors." Sun said to Ruby, Jaune, and Coco, all of whom nodded.

"We'll wipe out the one's still coming and once they're done for the rest of you go the village while we protect the shelter." Jaune said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Okay, everyone, let's go!" Ruby shouted, and with that everyone ran forward.

Velvet used her weapon and Semblance to create a massive copy of Crescent Rose and she gestured for Yatsuhashi and Fox to get ready. Both boys nodded and hopped into the air and she swept the blue facsimile of Ruby's beloved weapon outwards, slicing the bodies of many Grimm into various pieces, and Yatsuhashi and Fox both jumped off of her creation and landed into the fray, with Yatsuhashi using his mighty sword to decapitate seven Beowolves in an instant. Fox landed atop a Boarbatusk and used his arm blade to slice it open lengthwise before separating a Beowolf from its legs and then stomping on its head one it landed on the ground. He noticed a small pack of four Creeps charging at him, but he didn't worry in the slightest. He jumped over the first one, landed in the middle of them, squatted down and expertly began to maneuver his arms about, cutting them apart and reducing them to fading slices of black body parts.

Nora slammed her war-hammer into a Creep, sending it flying into a large tree branch, where it was impaled, she sent a Beowolf flying towards Ren, who used the blades of his guns to slit its torso wide open. Nora smiled at him before turning her head to see a medium sized Tarantula Widow crawling towards them on its eight legs. Nora launched herself up into the air with a grenade from Magnhild and came down atop the giant spider with her war-hammer slamming down on it's back section, causing the creature to collapse and screech in pain. It struggled to get up, but it was put down with several shots to the fact, courtesy of Ren. Nora gave him a thankful smile, only for a Beringel to jump behind her and raise its arms to attack, only for Milo, in its javelin form, to impale its fist. Nora whirled around and slammed Magnhild into the Beringel's head, smashing it off.

"Thanks Pyrrha." Nora thanked her friend as she reclaimed Milo and turned it back into its rifle form.

"Any time." Pyrrha said happily before aiming Milo up and shooting down a Scavenger.

Jaune, Weiss, and Sage ran ahead, attacking any Grimm they could with their swords; Weiss gracefully moved about, running her sword through the thin bodies of Beowolves, running through their torsos, arms, and legs. She ducked down as a large Boarbatusk charged at her and ran Myrtenaster through its underbelly and out its back as it went over her. She quickly got up and slammed her sword backwards and upwards, impaling a Vampire that had tried to dive bomb her. She twisted her rapier around and it burst into black smog, she then brought it forward and activated the red Dust crystal within the hilt to incinerate a trio of Beowolves that were charging her.

Sage slammed his sword right through the open maw of an Ursa, and then yanked out and used his weapon to slice open the Ursa's stomach. As the bear Grimm fell, a large Beowolf took it's place, its boney claws flew at Sage, who parried the strike with his sword.

The sharp claws got close to Sage's face, but he pressed back. "Not happening." He snarled at it before he performed a sweeping kick, knocking its legs out from under it, allowing him to slice off its arms and then its head.

Sage allowed himself a smile of pride, before he quickly turned about to avoid getting his head impaled by the stinger of a Deathstalker. He swung his weapon quickly to keep the stinger at bay at the giant scorpion Grimm made its way closer towards him. All of a sudden Scarlet's grappling hook wrapped around the tale, managing to hold it in place.

"Cut the stinger, mate!" Scarlet called to his partner. Sage did so without another word, destroying the Grimm's main weapon of attack.

Sun jumped on top of it and used Ruyi and Jingu Bang to shoot its legs, weakening it even further, and distracting it enough for Sage to kill it via his sword to its face.

"Thanks for the help guys." Sage said gratefully.

"Anytime, bud." Sun replied before back-flipping into the air to wrap one of his weapons around the neck of a Vampire and the other to shoot its wings, making it fall to the ground dead.

Jaune ducked under a swing from an Ursa's arm before bringing Crocea Mors ups and severing the limb from the large Grimm before pivoting around and plunging his weapon into its back to finish it off, and after that he swung it around to cut a Beowolf in half and then impaling two more Beowolves with his sword. He rammed it through them, killing them instantly before he stopped, he had learned from Pyrrha how to detect negative emotions much better than he previously had, and there was something very… wrong coming from the forest, something that didn't sit right with him at all. It was moving away, but that made it all the more curious… Whatever it was they could handle it, especially after they had been given a bit of energy from the Aura Crystal before exiting the ship, but still… he wondered what exactly was out there.

This distraction ended up costing him, as he was knocked down by something powerful.

Jaune quickly recovered and looked to see a Geist in a solid Petra Gigas, a stronger physical form made up of inorganic material such as rocks and bits of metal from the village.

He ignored the pain in his side where it hit him as he got ready to move. It slammed down a stone fist, only for Jaune to roll out of the way and jump up onto its arm, which was a metal support beam connecting the rock hand to the main body and swung hard to sever it. He didn't succeed, but made a deep enough cut that the Gesit would have to repair it. It let out a ghastly scream and tried to smash him with its other hand before Neptune began shooting it from behind.

"That's right big guy, right here…" The bluenette said as he kept shooting at it. The Geist took the bait and swung its unharmed hand at the well dressed member of Team SSSN, allowing Jaune the opportunity to climb up its body. He made it to the top where he slashed its sword down across the top of its head, making it reach up to grab him, doing what he wanted it to do. Jaune jumped atop the hand, which suddenly began to drop, so as to slam him into the ground, but Jaune jumped, sword held out, and plunged it right into the Petra Gigas' eye, making it cry out in pain as it began to fall apart. Jaune landed on his feet and moved quickly to avoid the falling rocks and steel.

Neptune shot the frail legless form of the ghostly Grimm into oblivion as it tried to fly away as Jaune got ready for another bout. "Thanks." He said to the bluenette as he cut down a rather skinny Beowolf.

"No problem buddy." Neptune returned as he shot an approaching Creep.

Penny had used all of her swords to impale Grimm of various species, and she brought them up into the air and then slammed them forward once again, using the bony spikes and claws of the fading Grimm to do more damage to the now greatly diminished horde. Suddenly Ruby called to her.

"Penny look out!"

Penny quickly looked up to see a Tarantula Widow jumping towards her. Seeing a giant spider Grimm is not a pleasant sight, even seasoned Huntsmen aren't used to it, but Penny saw this as a perfect target.

She aimed her swords up and stabbed them into the air as the spider came down towards her and all seven of them slammed through it, making it screech in pain before she made them move in separate direction, cutting it to pieces, making the legs of the Tarantula Widow rain down from above.

"Gross, but kind of awesome." Ruby praised.

"Thank you Ruby, I do my best." Penny said with a happy smile.

The duo's attention was quickly stole by the voice of a certain older sister shouting "Oh yeah!"

They turned to see Yang as she ran towards a pack of twenty Grimm on her own. Yang used one Ember Celica to blast the head off of a Beowolf before running forward and punching off the head of another with her metallic arm. Another Beowolf tried to bring its claws down on her but she grabbed its arms and suplexed the wolf Grimm, slamming it into the ground before grabbing another Beowolf and tossing it over to Ruby, who quickly blasted it away.

Yang then jumped over a Creep and then stomped on its head before grabbing its leg and getting off of it, she swung it around, slamming it into the ground before tossing it into two other Grimm, and she finished them all off with several blasts of her gauntlet, adding to it as she jumped over them. As she came down another Creep jumped towards her only for Yang to kick upwards, making it fall flat on its back where Yang landed atop it and shot it in the head. Yang jumped off and came down next to another Beowolf, which she killed by ramming her gauntlet-clad fist through its head, only to be hit by arm of a bigger Grimm of the same species. Yang got up, her hair and eyes glowing thanks to her Semblance as she fired at the Grimm, getting it to duck before she ran up and unleashed a furious volley of punches at it head, which was soon reduced to nothing.

Yang allowed herself a smile before backhanding a smaller Beowolf into a tree, shattering the Grimm.

"Okay, allow me to show off my new toys." Yang said as she activated her metallic hand's recent upgrade, activating a blade that came out of the top of her robotic wrist. She jabbed her arm out and impaled a younger Ursa in the eye and finished it off by using her organic hand to punch its head off.

More came at her, which she only welcomed. Yang back-flipped, kicking a Beowolf down and as she landed on her feet she blasted it in the chest, killing it before another, much stronger Beowolf charged at her. She caught its clawed hands and managed to hold it back as its teeth chomped at her before she brought up her right hand and slit its throat open. She shoved it aside to deal with another charging Beowolf, which she utterly obliterated by stabbing it through the torso with the blade and blasting through it.

Yang looked over to the remaining five Grimm, 'tsk'-ing as they still came at her. "Oh well, more fun for me."

She ran towards them and ducked under the swinging arms to two Beowolves and sprung back up to blast both of them to death before ducking the lunging bite of a third. She swung around and used her gauntlet's blade to decapitate it

All of a sudden a Boarbatusk slammed into her, knocking her down, but the impact of the attack only added fuel to Yang's Semblance. The Boarbatusk tried to jump on top of her, but Yang punched it in the stomach with her wrist blade and then used her Semblance to fuel her strength, allowing her to tear it in half. She let out a shout of exhilaration before leaping out of the way of the final attacking Grimm, a rather old Ursa, which had longer, cracked bone plating and matted fur.

It lunged at her, but she quickly ducked away before it smashed into her, pinning her to the ground. She punched it in the fact several times while slashing at it with the right Ember Celica's wrist blade and kicking it in the gut, driving it off of her, and her hair shone a bright yellow as she landed a powerful uppercut on its jaw, knocking it down

It roared in anger as it reared up, claws out to slash her to pieces but used her Gauntlets to open fire on the large Grimm, blasting both of its arms off, it roared as it began to die, but not before Yang finished it off. She slammed her right hand into its chest and once she was in she forced it upward and opened fire, causing the Ursa's head to explode.

Blake watched as Yang finished off the Ursa, panting as she came down from an adrenaline high, and while the Cat Faunus could never deny that her partner was quite attractive, there was something about a sweaty Yang that made Blake get… excited.

She shrugged it off as she heard a loud screech from above.

"Nevermore incoming." Ruby said as she aimed to fire at the giant bird Grimm.

"I got it." Blake said to her leader as the avian predator came closer. Blake walked towards where the Nevermore would be and it swooped down to catch her in its beak… only for the Faunus to vanish once it snapped its beak down, and a weight to land on its back.

Blake had used her Semblance as a way to lure it in and now could get airborne. Blake stabbed the sheath into the back of the Nevermore and whipped out the katana/pistol body of her weapon and transformed it into the kusarigama-chain pistol form. Remembering what she had learned from Oobleck's lessons on Grimm anatomy, she twisted the cleaver sheath around in the neck of the Nevermore, forcing it to turn about and towards the other flying Grimm.

She used the glock pistol to shoot down Vampires and Scavengers, or used the kusarigama to sever their wings or cut open parts of their bodies, and soon the flying Grimm were falling from the sky and bursting into black dust on impact.

The Nevermore became harder to control however, and began flying towards a large tree. Blake slammed the cleaver sheath deeper into the neck and quickly jumped onto another tree before the Nevermore slammed into the giant tower of wood, impaling itself of several thick branches.

Blake glanced back at the Nevermore as it began to fade, only for a Scavenger to fly past her, and she wasted no time in hooking the string of her kusarigama around its neck. She jumped on top of it. She managed to control it for a bit, allowing her to use the cleaver to cut down several Vampires before the Scavenger fought for control. Blake looked over to Yang and signaled to her partner, and she nodded with a smile, giving her a thumbs up.

Blake stabbed the Scavenger through the back, dealing a fatal blow. She waited until it was closer to the ground before jumping off, allowing the Scavenger to collide into a Beowolf Sun had been fighting.

Sun looked over as Yang caught Blake in her arms, he shouted "Thanks! I owe you another one!" before he slammed the staff into the Beowolf's head.

Blake returned the smile before she realized she was still in Yang's arms.

"Comfortable?" The blonde asked with a smirk before she let Blake down.

"Good job everyone, they're running!" Ruby cheered as the now decimated Grimm horde ran back to the village, which now had several large holes of fire seared with Grimm dust outside of it, courtesy of Ross' ship.

"Yeah, but those defence guys won't be able to hold off against all of them. Time for you guys to get moving." Jaune said to Ruby, who nodded.

"Right, you sure you're okay staying behind?" She asked.

The blond knight smiled and said "Protecting people is something I love doing. Besides, there are still some Grimm around here, and we can handle them."

Ruby looked about, seeing about five dozen Grimm or so still creeping about the battlefield, but knew that Team JNPR could take care of them. "Okay," She said. "Alright guys, let's get to the village and wipe out as many Grimm as we can, we have to drive them off and keep the village safe."

"You got it, Rose. You heard the girl, people. Move out!" Coco commanded, leading Team CFVY towards the village.

"Nothing like fighting a Grimm horde at five in the morning." Velvet muttered as she yawned cutely while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I know, isn't it great?" Coco joked.

"You guy's sure you don't want to come with? Could use your help." Sun said to Jaune.

"We're alright, plus we can use our… gifts a little better now that there aren't as many Grimm around. Besides, I can see some people making their way here, we can help them." Pyrrha said, pointing to several small groups making their way past the retreating Grimm, kept at bay by Team CFVY.

The Monkey Faunus nodded before following his team and most of Team RWBY to the village.

"You still feel that presence?" Ruby asked the couple.

"No, it's leaving and getting further away, but I'm still curious as to what exactly it was." Pyrrha said to her.

"We'll figure it out later, go out there and kick some butt Ruby." Jaune said encouragingly.

Ruby smiled and nodded, before taking off, leaving a whirlwind of rose petals in her place.

Team JNPR went out to begin fighting off the remaining Grimm and making sure the survivors got to the fenced off area safely.

Ren helped out a group that had suffered heavy casualties, blasting away the Beowolves that were hounding after them. He helped the unhurt carry the wounded to the shelter, with Pyrrha keeping the Grimm off of them.

"We can't thank you enough for this, we would be dead for sure if you hadn't come along." A man said as he helped his injured friend to safety.

"We just happened to be flying by and saw what was happening. It's what we do, you don't need to thank us." Ren said kindly before he heard a roar. He whipped around to see that a Beowolf had jumped out of the woods and was rushing towards a woman, who let out a scream of terror. Ren dashed in front of her and slashed the Beowolf down, slicing open its chest and neck with the blades of the StormFlowers. "Hurry, get inside!" He shouted to the villagers.

"Ren! Hang on!" Pyrrha called as more Grimm began to charge towards the shelter. She threw Milo in javelin form into the back on an Ursa, adding to its death by ramming it further into its torso and suddenly ripping it off as she yanked it out, transforming it into xiphos form and slicing off the feet of a Beowolf.

Ren did his best, helping the civilians into the shelter, but his attention was captured by the sparks flying from the fence, as Beowolves were trying to tear their way through. The armed men inside took shots at them, but would accidently hit the barbed wire, weakening the main line of defense.

"Stop! Don't shoot! You'll let them in!" Ren shouted as he helped people get in. He made his way around and used his weapons to shoot the Grimm off of the fence, stunned that they were managing to bear the pain of the electric shocks. He noticed that the boney spines on their backs and arms were longer and sharper than those on the others, so these were clearly older ones, smart enough to sneak around them and let the other fall to Team Beacon.

Ren did his best to shoot them down, taking out several of them before the largest one dashed past him. Ren pivoted about as he saw the elder Beowolf smash its way through the guards that blocked off the entrance and made its way into the shelter area.

Ren ran as fast as he could to get inside as the Beowolf slammed its claws down on one of the guards, creating long bloody slash marks on his chest. Before the Grimm could do anything else, Ren unloaded half a clip of a StormFlower's ammo into its back, obliterating it.

Pyrrha looked over to the shelter, knowing that wasn't the end of it, as the remaining Grimm were now barging towards the shelter, towards the source of the screams and the fear.

"Ren!" She shouted, "I hate to ask this of you, but you need to use your Semblance!"

"She right!" Jaune added as he fought off an Ursa, "Get everyone inside and use your Semblance, it'll throw them off and make it easier for us to fight them."

"Are you crazy?!" cried Nora, "Renny can't cover that many people!"

"No, they're right! I'll do it." Ren said, before looking to the people around him and ordering "Get inside of the building, now!"

The frightened group of people did so without argument, even as more Grimm approached the fenced off area.

It wasn't long before everyone was inside of the shelter, with Ren being the last to go in. Once he was inside he looked around the crowded, panic-filled one room building and raised his voice. "Alright everybody, listen to me! My Semblance can hide us from the Grimm, but we need to be touching for it to work. Everyone grab onto one another." He ordered.

The frightened group of people did not argue, and while some of them didn't really believe he could do what he claimed, they were in no position to argue. Everyone began either taking each other's hand, placing hands on someone else's body, or simply leaning against one another as Ren took in several deep breaths. He gathered up his aura and got ready to spread it about the crowd as the roars of the Grimm got closer, but so was the sound of his teammates fighting them off.

He could do this. It would be a very draining experience, but he could do it. And then, with as much of his effort as he could, he activated his Semblance, spreading it across the room, shrouding the negative emotions that were attracting the Grimm, as well as making the color on all of the people fade away.

Outside the Grimm stopped, confused. The fear was gone. There was still the ones left back in the village as well as the other in the forest, but the massive gathering of fear that had been in front of them had instantly vanished without so much as a warning.

Jaune and Pyrrha quickly took advantage of the situation, reaching out with the abilities they had due to their Grimm sides to control the creatures of darkness. The creatures all stopped and turned around to face the pair, standing idly, almost submissive to them.

Nora stuck, slamming Magnhild down onto a Boarbatusk, crushing it flat, and then Jaune ran forward, cutting off a Beowolf's head before cutting a second one in half through the chest and then disemboweling another one. Pyrrha shot down several Grimm before controlling them to come towards her, allowing her to impale them with Milo and helping Jaune cut them down.

"I hope Ren's doing okay in there." Jaune said worriedly.

"We'll need to make this quick, for his sake." Pyrrha agreed as she stabbed Milo through the head of a Creep.

"Then let's hurry up!" Nora declared as she began firing grenades at the Grimm, the explosive devices went off, either killing the creatures of Grimm or knocking them off their balance, letting Jaune and Pyrrha finish them off with well placed slashes and stabs of their weapons.

"Careful Nora, we don't want to hit the shelter." Jaune reminded her as he sliced off a Creep's head.

"I know, fearless leader, I'm being careful." The energetic redhead assured him as she smashed a Beowolf into a tree.

Soon enough all the remaining Grimm were taken care of, and the other three members of Team JNPR ran into the shelter to check on Ren.

Once they made it inside they could see Ren on the floor kneeling and panting for breath as he poured all of his energy into his Semblance to keep the villagers shrouded from the Grimm's detection. The color of his skin, eyes, hair, and clothes had been washed out into a dull black and white monochrome, a side effect of his Semblance that spread to whoever was protected by it, so this left all of the gathered civilians rather confused as to what had happened to them, and several children were crying out of fear and distress.

Nora let out a small gasp at the strained look on Ren's face and ran to him while Jaune and Pyrrha made sure there weren't any Grimm following them.

Nora embraced Ren, and once he felt her arms around him he dropped, letting himself fall into her arms, letting his Semblance fall, therefor allowing the color to slowly but surely return.

Jaune and Pyrrha approached their friends as Nora lovingly rubbed Ren's hair. "You did a great job Renny, you did really good." She whispered to him.

"She's right. Thanks for going along with this, are you alright?" Jaune asked, the concern in his voice evident.

Ren nodded as he tried to gather his strength. "I'll be alright. It just took up a lot of my aura. I'll need some rest." He said.

"I'm sorry I suggested it Ren, but I just wanted to…" Pyrrha began, before her friend cut her off.

"Don't apologize, it worked didn't it?" Ren said to her reassuringly. "I'm exhausted, but saving all of these people was worth it. If I can prevent another village from suffering the same fate as mine, it's worth it."

The other members of Team JNPR smiled at their gallant friend and Nora hugged him even tighter, making him struggle to breathe for a few seconds as an old man, one of the town officials, approached them.

"We can't thank you kids enough for saving us, we'd be done for if it wasn't for you." He said.

"Just doing the right thing." Jaune said.

"Don't worry about the washed out color, it's just a side effect of Ren's Semblance, it'll wear off quite soon. Was a call to the Mistral Forces sent out?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yes, they said they'd arrive as soon as they could, but the nearest base if forty miles from here." The man reported.

"Then they'll be here soon. Our friends should have driven the Grimm off by now, so while your village is damaged, it can be fixed." Jaune said to him.

"I'm just happy that it's still standing and we're still alive." voiced a woman in the crowd.

"This is Shion right? The tourist camping place?" Jaune asked, getting nods in return. He smiled and added "My parents brought me and my sisters here when we were younger, I'm happy we could help."

"Speaking of which, do you think the others need our assistance?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune looked over to the village, seeing that the fires had been put out but sounds of fighting could still be heard. "I think they're okay without us, let's stay here and make sure no more Grimm try to make a move."

Pyrrha and Nora nodded, and after the latter made sure Ren was going to be alright, headed outside to guard the villagers.

Meanwhile, inside of Shion itself, Blake and Weiss had worked together to use their blue Dust crystals to extinguish the fires and prevent the buildings from burning while everyone else fought off the Grimm. Ross' ship was still the air, blasting away Vampires and Scavengers, forcing the sole remaining Nevermore away.

"This is the fifth Grimm attack in as many days." Blake said to Weiss as they worked in tandem, fighting the dying flames and reducing them to mere embers.

"I know, it's worrying for more than a few reasons." The Schnee heiress agreed and she easily stabbed Myrtenaster backwards, into the side of a retreating Beowolf that had tried to run past them.

"You think Salem's up to something?" Yang asked as she came up from behind them, sweaty and covered with soot from the flames, plus a few scratches from fighting the Grimm.

"Those monsters are always up to something, but this increase in Grimm attacks has me worried, but confused. They've only been attacking Mistral, Vacuo, and Vale, they've left my home country untouched aside from the usual skirmish." Weiss said to her.

"That is odd, so it means they're probably trying to start something." Yang agreed, "But we can worry about that later, Ruby, Coco, and Sun came up with a plan. We're gonna herd the Grimm into the center of town so Ruby can finish 'em off. Wanna help?"

"You don't even have to ask." Weiss said, and she and Blake put out one final flame, reducing it to mere smoke.

Ever since Ruby's experience in the mindscape with Argenteus and awakening the small piece of her mother's soul within her, Ruby had gained greater control over the powers of her silver eyes, and while she couldn't use them whenever she wanted, they rarely ever let her down when she was fighting a large amount of Grimm. She had learned to respect her gift and not use it more than necessary, so she only used it when they were facing something major.

An attack like this was certainly major.

In the town square Ruby jumped out of the way of a Beringel's fist as it tried to smash her into the ground. It roared in anger as she dodged its attacks over and over. She jumped over it, firing off multiple shots from Crescent Rose, but did little except enrage the large Grimm. It swiped at her, knocking her into a wall of a building.

Ruby grunted as she leapt away, narrowly avoiding the giant fist that smashed into the wall, creating hole. "Man I hope the villagers won't get angry." Ruby muttered to herself as she ducked under another swing of its fist. The hand shot out to grab her, but Ruby swung the deadly blade of Crescent Rose, severing the fingers from the hand.

The Beringel roared in fury as it jumped over Ruby and used its hind legs to kick her away, into the main street. The Silver Eyed girl quickly recovered and opened fire with her beloved weapon, creating multiple smoking wounds of the primeape Grimm.

All of a sudden a white blur streaked past them, and a razor-like cut appeared on the Beringel's chest, making it roar in pain. Ruby smiled as Weiss stopped, the glyphs under her granting her the speed needed to make the sudden attack.

"Are you alright?" She asked Ruby.

"A-okay. Thanks for the help." Ruby said to her partner with a smile. The Beringel roared at them, only to have its attention be robbed by Yang and Blake as they shot the large Grimm in the side.

Ruby saw her chance and took it, without another word she used her Semblance to dash towards and around the large Grimm, a whirlwind of black, gray, and red appeared around the Beringel, with rose petals swirling around like a tornado. The Grimm roared and tried to escape, only for Ruby to come to a sudden stop and slam the scythe blade of Crescent Rose deep into the creature's chest.

It's roar was cut off by Ruby blasting Crescent Rose at point blank range, obliterating its head.

Ruby took Crescent Rose down as the body of the Beringel dissipated and her team gathered around her.

"Nice kill, Rubes." Yang praised as she kept her eyes open for the coming Grimm.

"Thanks Yang, are the others making progress?" Ruby asked as she reloaded her precious weapon.

"Yeah, they're working with the local Hunters and the guys who are good enough to fight and are corralling them here for you." Her sister confirmed before jumping up in the air and using her cybernetic arm to grab the wing of a Vampire as it tried to dive bomb them. She slammed it into the dirt as she came down and Blake finished it off with a well placed shot to the head.

"Nice reflexes, Yang. You're getting better." Weiss said, rather impressed.

"Thanks, the more I train with this bad boy, the more it feels like a real part of my body." Yang replied.

A loud roar sounded off as a Beowolf went flying out on an alleyway, and was then recieved a hole in its chest courtesy of Penny's arm cannon. About a dozen or so other Grimm stormed out between buildings and out into the open, where Team RWBY quickly took them out.

"Looks like Penny's doing her part." Weiss commented.

Said robotic girl appeared atop a building that flanked the alleyway, jumping onto higher ground as she fought off several Beowolves with ease.

"Need some help Penny?" Ruby offered.

"Thank you Ruby, but I am doing exceptional at the moment." Penny reported as her swords ripped through the Grimm. "The others are making their way here, Coco and her team are coming from the east side while Team SSSN are driving the Grimm from the north side of the village. I just handled the south and I think the four of you have done quite well clearing the west."

Ruby and the others knew she was right, they could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the north and the east, and could see bursts of Dust energy as well as dust kicked up by the fighting.

"Almost ready, you better get into position Ruby." Blake suggested as she sliced a Creep's tongue off.

The leader of the team nodded, and said in a voice rich with determination "Now let's finish this!"

Weiss created a series of glyphs leading up the tallest building in the town square, allowing Ruby to get to the top with ease. She took out Crescent Rose and looked through the sniper scope to get a look on her friends' progress. Sure enough Team CFVY and the local defense groups were working in tandem to force the Grimm towards the town square, with Velvet using copies of melee weapons to fight the Grimm before her to prevent property damage. When a Deathstalker came at the Rabbit Faunus, she created a copy of Crocea Mors to sever its tail, and then used copies of the StormFlowers to slice off its legs, and then impaled its head with a copy of Sage's sword.

Coco was using the same tactic, not using the minigun form of the purse, and instead just slamming the bag into the Grimm hard enough to either destroy them or make them run. Yatsuhashi demolished any Grimm he could with his sword, slashing the beasts into fading pieces. Fox was quicker than the others, darting about with his bladed gauntlets out, landing carefully placed, fatal cuts to the Grimm that severed limbs and slashed open gaping wounds that either killed them instantly or weakened them enough for the other members of Team CFVY to finish them off.

To the north came Team SSSN, with Scarlet cutting and shooting down Grimm with his weapons, while occasionally tripping them with the grappling hook for his teammates to finish off. A sneaky Beowolf tried to attack Scarlet from behind, and just when Ruby was about to help him out by shooting the Grimm, the pirate boy whipped around and slashed it across the chest while shooting it in the face at the same time. Ruby made a mental note to congratulate him on the nice moves later.

Neptune currently had his weapon in its Guandao form, and he moved about as quickly as he could, cutting the Grimm off from their feet and legs, or cutting their sides wide open, or even landing a good slash on the neck to decapitate them. Sage put his sword to good use, slashing Grimm apart this way and that, all the while driving them further towards the town square.

Sun, however, was the most effective, using his weapons expertly as he blasted Grimm in a variety of ways while sending his Semblance created doubled to either explode against the Grimm or lure them towards the town square. Ruby watched as he used Ruyi Bang's connecting chain to wrap around the neck of a Beowolf while also shooting the nunchaku off into a Boarbatusk before finishing off the wolf Grimm, and then pivoting about to blast up an Ursa that had tried to maul him from behind, getting help from Neptune who stabbed his weapon right into the Ursa's neck.

While Ross piloted his ship about the area to shoot down or drive away the flying Grimm, the local Huntsmen helped her friends in driving the ever diminishing horde of Grimm closer and closer to her, but Ruby knew the end was near as she heard the sounds of airships not too far away. She looked up to the north and sure enough half a dozen Mistral Defense Force airship were incoming, all ready for action.

"Looks like the MDF finally got here." Yang voiced, "Better late than never. Whaddya say Rubes? Should we let them take it from here?"

Ruby shook her head and said "No, I want to make sure these Grimm get the picture and don't try to attack again."

Her teammates all nodded. "We'll shout when the time's right." Weiss said to her. With that the three young women, and Penny, quickly went to hide among the buildings, getting ready for the right time to strike.

Ruby closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths as she felt a warmth cover her entire body, an empowering feeling surged through her, her aura began to subtly glow, and the older Grimm that were unfortunate enough to still be in the village all looked up in alarm, this distraction allowed the members of Team Beacon and the local Hunters a chance to kill them, cutting down the Grimm's numbers even more.

Ruby's aura began to swell within her as she gripped Crescent Rose, waiting for her friends to get the Grimm in the right place. She felt a comforting presence around her, something she felt every time she used the powers of her eyes since since she had merged her aura with the portion of her late mother's own, which had laid dormant within her ever since her mother died.

She had gotten better at controlling her powers in the recent months, but she knew she still didn't have a complete grasp of them nor their full potential, but she was getting better. At first there had been a slight issue with Jaune and Pyrrha, since they still had the essence of alpha Grimm within them and her aura, now that it had merged with the more heightened aura of Summer Rose would sometimes perceive Jaune and Pyrrha as threats, which put them very much on edge due to their senses of their Grimm essence. Eventually, however, they had managed to work together through various missions and group meditation to make sure none of them saw each other as a threat, but Ruby couldn't afford to think about the past right now. She needed to keep her mind in the present for the sake of the village and victory over the Grimm.

On ground level, most of what was left of the Grimm horde flooded into the town square, driven further in by Teams CFVY and SSSN, as well as the local Hunters and armed law enforcers. Some of the Grimm tired to run, only to be blocked off by Weiss, using her glyphs to create ice blockades to bar them within the town square, aided by the other members of Team Beacon standing their ground to prevent them from escaping. Yang, Blake, and Penny all jumped out to join in, shooting or stabbing any Grimm that made a break for it.

"Now Ruby!" Weiss shouted. She looked up to see her partner begin to open her eyes… just as a large Beowolf appeared behind her. "Ruby! Look out!"

Ruby whipped around and smashed her fist right into the Beowolf's midsection, mortally wounding it. Her eyes opened and a brilliant light shone out of them, Ruby used her Semblance and her gift to smash through the Beowolf, reducing it to mere dust.

She looked down upon the Grimm below her, the light of her eyes freezing some of them. Ruby whipped out Crescent Rose and jumped to the ground.

Her attack had begun.

Ruby moved like a speeding bullet, her eyes freezing the Grimm in place while the blade of Crescent Rose cut them down to size; heads, arms, legs, torsos, and the like went everywhere as Ruby destroyed what was left of the Grimm Horde. The blade went this way and that, arcs of steel easily sliced through the Grimm, and those that had managed to miraculously avoid her silver eyes were blasted or cut down by the other members of Team Beacon.

Within twenty seconds, all of the Grimm were dead, either fading away or frozen due to the power of the silver eyes. Ruby stood triumphant, holding Crescent Rose upside down, behind her as a flurry of rose petals came to rest near her.

"Way to go little sister!" Cheered Yang as she rushed over and slapped her on the back, the silver light of her eyes dimming. "We totally kicked their butts, but you kicked 'em to the moon and back!"

Ruby smiled and said "Thanks Yang, everyone alright?"

"Team Beacon is all good." Sun reported. "Don't know about JNPR, but knowing them I don't think we got much to worry about."

"I'll go check on them, just to be sure." Sage volunteered. Sun nodded and the green-haired Huntsman took off for the shelter as Ross' ship came to land close to the shelter, as the MDF airships landed much nearer to the village

"Ruby Rose, correct?" Asked a man, the local Huntsman. Ruby nodded and the man smiled, before bowing his head to her. "We owe you and your team a great debt, Miss Rose. We wouldn't have lasted this long on our own. Some good people lost their lives tonight, but more would have died had it not been for all of you. Thank you all."

The other local Hunters and law enforcers bowed their heads as well, showing respect to the Hunters-in-training.

Ruby and the others smiled, but Coco was the one to speak up with "No need to bow, we're just doing our jobs, and we're happy to have helped."

"What she said." Agreed Ruby, blushing slightly, "But thanks for the gratitude, and I hope your village can recover from this."

"Don't worry, the physical damage can be mended, but thanks to you kids our home is still standing, and most of us are still alive. Thank you once again." The Huntsman said gratefully.

Team Beacon nodded back, before Blake used a red Dust crystal within Gambol Shroud to melt down the ice barricades Weiss had created, and the MDF troops came in to secure the town.

"Hey, sir." Ruby spoke up to the Huntsman, "We're uh… kinda friends with General Ironwood and he's kinda made it a thing that whenever I freeze Grimm like this a ship from the Atlas Military has to come and get them, so can you make sure no one messes with them until an Atlas ship shows up?" Ruby asked.

"She's right, we better call Ironwood's office and make sure they know we've got some Grimm specimens for 'em." Coco agreed.

The Huntsman nodded, and said "Understood, I'll talk to the MDF guys, and make sure the townspeople don't come near them, and I'm going to have them send their medics with you to check up on the townspeople. And one last time, for all of Shion, thank you, Team Beacon."

Ruby smiled and bowed her head to him. "You're welcome. Good luck." She wished him.

Ruby followed the others to the shelter and Ross' ship while the Huntsman and the other defenders met up with the MDF, and Ruby couldn't get rid of the proud feeling inside of her, knowing that they had saved lives. It was a feeling she always loved to experience.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Nora were currently approaching the opening of the forest, after spotting a pack of seven Beowolves moving through the trees. Nora had launched a grenade, but wanted to make sure she had eliminated them.

"The trees look scorched, and most of the tracks stop with the blast radius." Pyrrha said as she carefully observed the ground.

"Can you sense the rest of them?" Nora asked.

Pyrrha closed her eyes, using her Grimm senses to try and detect any others. She nodded to Nora, signifying she did. She slowly got up and took out Milo in rifle form, she took aim carefully and fired three times. Two roars went off, only to be suddenly silenced, while a third went on and got closer.

The last Beowolf jumped out of the foliage, only to be smashed into a tree by Nora.

"Got 'em!" Nora cheered. Pyrrha smiled as she put her weapon away. An old part of her would have felt guilty about this, but she had learned that the Wyvern she had been partnered with was a higher species of Grimm, to the point where they could be considered real animals with Grimm traits, therefore she had no guilt when it came to taking out normal Grimm.

Just then her scroll rang. She quickly answered it to hear Jaune's voice. "Hey Pyr, Sage just got back. The battle's over and the MDF got here, but Ruby and the others took all of the Grimm out and they're on their way back. Did you get the Beowolves?"

"Yes, we just finished up." She told him.

"Okay, just in time. Ross' ship has landed, I'm going to help Ren aboard." Jaune said to her.

"We'll be right there." Pyrrha replied.

"Good, be safe. Love you." He finished.

"Love you too." She returned before ending the call. "Ruby and the others have won and the MDF has arrived, so it's about time we left. We better get back and help Jaune get Ren aboard. Nora?"

Nora wasn't paying attention, which wasn't too unusual, but what was unusual was what she was looking at. "Hey Pyrrha, look at this." She beckoned, gesturing to a tree that had been uprooted, with several long claw marks slashed across its bark.

"What in…" Pyrrha said quietly before she walked forward to get a good look. "What could have done this?"

"Maybe a super old Alpha Grimm." Nora suggested.

Some species of Grimm could generate their own negative emotions, therefore allowing them to lead entire hordes of Grimm, while others started out as normal Grimm and became more intelligent with age, and would gain new abilities as they grew older. It was possible, however unlikely, that the creature that had uprooted this tree had been such a Grimm.

Pyrrha considered it as she examined the claw marks. "That a good theory, and it would explain the presence Jaune and I felt earlier. I don't think I'll be able to identify its tracks though, your grenade destroyed them, and the tall grass up ahead makes it unlikely we'll find more." She pointed out.

Nora blushed, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Another mystery for another time. Besides, whatever it was it's gotten the message that this village wasn't easy to attack. We'll advise the MDF to keep on lookout." Pyrrha stated.

Nora nodded and said "Gotcha, now let's get back to Renny and the others."

The energetic redhead ran back to the shelter with her friend close behind. Had they ventured further into the forest, past the tall grass, they would have seen the tracks of the Grimm that had led the attack… tracks that resembled those of a rather large horse.

As the two returned they found Jaune helping Ren into the ship, while Teams RWBY, CFVY, and the rest of SSSN arriving with the medics brought by the MDF.

"The people are inside of the building, do you want us to have them bring the wounded out?" Sun asked the lead medic.

"No, we'll check on them inside." The lead medic answered before leading his teams inside of the shelter, the guards coming out to keep a watch for anymore Grimm.

As Pyrrha told the head medic, as well as the armed locals about the possibility of a large Grimm being in the surrounding area, Nora ran to Ren's side and helped Jaune carry Ren's weight. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" She asked.

"I'm alright, Nora. I just need some sleep, I burned my aura out, no different from when we have a tough match." Ren, whose color had now fully returned, assured her softly.

"What happened?" Questioned Blake.

"The Grimm started going after the shelter, so I suggested Ren use his Semblance to shroud the villagers' fear so the Grimm would become confused. Making it easier for us to fight them off." Pyrrha answered as the head medic called in her information to the commanding officer.

"He was able to use his Semblance on that many people?" Velvet asked, impressed.

Coco nodded, "Makes sense, he was able to spread his aura about over a small area, if only for short period of time."

"And thank goodness it worked." Pyrrha voiced, "I almost regret asking him to do it."

"I don't." Ren spoke up. Jaune and Nora helped him turn around to face Pyrrha. The usually stoic ninja smiled and said "Saving lives is always worth it."

Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement, with Ruby saying "That's something I know will always be true."

"So we woke up early, saved the day before the sun even came up, and killed who knows how many Grimm. Now I say we all celebrate this by posing and looking totally badass and sexy!" Yang declared before taking out a pair of sunglasses on her face. Ruby, Sun, and Nora laughed while Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Coco, and most of the others just smiled. Weiss and Fox, however, just rolled their eyes. The brawler then looked at Ruby, Weiss, and Penny. "Except for the three of you, you're not allowed to be sexy."

"Aw…" whined Ruby sadly.

"What?!" Weiss shouted, enraged. This got Fox to actually laugh, as it did Coco, both laughing at what Yang had just said and the furious look on the heiress' face while Velvet's jaw had slightly dropped at the sheer ludicrous nature of the scene before her.

"Well all three of you can kick ass, but my sister's not going to be considered sexy by anyone who doesn't want a piece of my fist, Penny's just too innocent, and you're… well kinda…" Yang struggled to justify herself.

"If you make so much as one mention of my chest size I will…" Weiss began when Ruby went over to her.

"She's just joking Weiss, you know Yang." The girl in the red hood said, trying to calm her partner down.

"You shouldn't worry Weiss, and neither should you Ruby, I think both of you are sexy." Penny announced, making everyone look at her and noticing that she now had on sunglasses identical to Yang's.

Sun, Neptune, and Scarlet all fell on their knees laughing at this and Coco, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora all had a hard time keeping their composure, Fox was openly chuckling, and even Blake and the tired out Ren were giggling along with Velvet.

Ruby glared at the smirking Yang and pointed at her accusingly. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"I did indeed dear sister of mine. I simply had to give Penny the bait, and wait for the right time to strike." Yang said proudly as her little sister let out a groan.

Weiss kept struggling, wanting to give Yang a very angry piece of her mind, but now Ruby had help from Yatsuhashi in order to hold her back.

"Weiss, you gotta calm down." Ruby said calmingly.

Weiss looked like she was about to say something when Jaune's oldest sister, Bianca, came out of the ship. "Everything okay out here?" She asked.

"Everything's fine Bianca, we're just messing around." Jaune said to her as he and Nora went back to helping Ren onto the ship.

Bianca nodded and looked out to the horizon. "Sun's about to begin rising." She observed, making everyone look or glance over to see it.

"Too early for these." Yang said as she took off her sunglasses, and then looked to Weiss. "Hey, sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was just joking around, so nothing personal, okay?" She asked.

Weiss gave her a judgemental look before sighing and saying "Very well Yang, just promise to lay off on the jokes."

Ruby nodded to Yatsuhashi, who then released Weiss.

"Hey, I didn't really mean it, I mean you still got beauty where it counts." Yang assured her teammate, and the white haired girl nodded proudly.

"I know, I'm just… sensitive about certain subjects." She admitted.

"Kiss and make up later you two, I think we should get moving. We still got a little ways to go." Coco said as she led her team up the ram, with Scarlet and Sage close behind them.

Weiss shook her head at Coco's bluntness before nodding before looking to Yang and saying "Apology accepted."

"Nice to know. Let's say we get aboard guys?" Yang asked the others.

"Sounds good to me." Sun answered as he walked up the ramp behind Pyrrha. Blake and Yang followed in suite, with the Cat Faunus whispering something to her partner.

"Hey, Weiss, don't let one of Yang's jokes get to you. You know she doesn't mean it." Neptune said to his one time girlfriend. "And besides, I know they're a lot of guys and girls who'd love to be in a relationship with you. I know I was lucky to be once."

Weiss smiled at him, "Thank you, it means a lot."

He returned the smile before going up the ramp with Bianca.

Ruby came up alongside her partner and said "He's right, you know. Well, not in a romantic way, but I know we're all happy to have you as a friend. And I know I'm happy and lucky to have you as my partner."

Weiss' smile widened before she said "And I feel the same way, Ruby. Thank you."

"Anytime. Now let's get on the ship, we still have a visit to make." Ruby said before she noticed Penny still had Yang's spare pair of sunglasses on.

"Penny, did Yang tell you to give her sunglasses back?" Ruby asked, a mischievous smile spreading across her lips.

"No she didn't. She just told me to put them on when she mentioned the words 'let's pose', though now I know it was so she could make another one of her jokes. Why do you want to know?" Penny asked.

"Well I'll take them and give them to her later, is that okay?" Ruby asked.

"Very well Ruby!" Penny said cheerfully as she gave the glasses to her friend.

Ruby then dropped them on the ground. A smirk spread across Weiss' face, while Penny wore one of confusion. She was about to ask why Ruby had done that, when she quickly understood.

"Oh, payback." She observed.

"It's a sister thing. I'll show her who's the cute one." Ruby said smartly.

"So you do not think you are cute?" Penny asked, confused.

"No… well I think I am… but not in… oh let's just get on the ship." Ruby said, finally giving up. Weiss smiled and patted her partner on the shoulder before grabbing her hand and dragging her up the ramp.

Penny shrugged and followed them into the ship, as she had learned that even her human friends didn't understand their own actions.

The ramp closed up and ship carefully rose into the air and took off into the early morning sky, just as the sun was beginning to glimpse over the horizon, leaving behind a village that was still standing because of Team Beacon.

* * *

_Cinder's eyes opened to see a ceiling that did not belong to her current bedroom, as it was white plaster as opposed to dark steel. Blinking quickly she shot up in the bed and observed her surroundings, seeing an ordinary living room with an average, if comfortable, couch that she had been sleeping on, a couple of recliner chairs, a coffee table, several bookshelves, a TV, as well as several pictures of..._

_She did a double take upon glimpsing her reflection in the glass of the photographs; the scar wasn't there, but that wasn't the only thing that caught her attention; the people in the photographs on the wall; it was her brother. And his lover… and a young girl she didn't recognize…_

_Suddenly she heard rushing footsteps approaching her, and in came the girl from the pictures. She was a bit skinny, with pale skin similar to her own, she was five or six, with dark black hair and had amber eyes similar to her own, but there was a youthful, with a bouncy energy and innocence to them._

_Cinder was speechless as the girl hopped on to the couch in front of Cinder's legs, saying "Aunt Cinder! You're awake!"_

" _Wh- what?" Cinder said quietly, utterly confused as she felt her face, feeling no trace of the scar Ruby Rose had given her._

" _You and daddy were sparring last night, and wouldn't stop until one of you won, so you fought all night and then you won, and then you went to sleep and now…"_

" _Jenny! I think you should let Aunt Cinder get some rest." Said the voice of a woman. Cinder looked up to see someone who was supposed to be dead standing in the entryway; Mila._

" _But mommy I…"_

" _No buts, come on, time for breakfast. Want some Pumpkin Pete's?" Mila asked her daughter._

" _Yeah!" The girl now identified as Jenny declared as she jumped off the couch, before whirling around to face Cinder and ask "You want some too Aunt Cinder?"_

" _I… I…" Cinder tried to say, utterly confused._

_Mila gave Cinder a concerned look before kneeling down towards her daughter and saying "I think Aunt Cinder's still too sleepy for breakfast, you can hang out with her later, okay? Once she's gotten some more sleep then she can eat lunch with you and then she can show you some of her fire tricks. How's that sound?"_

" _It's sounds awesome! I'll go start breakfast! See you later Aunt Cinder, love you!" The girl said before darting out of the room and into the kitchen._

_Mila chuckled before looking to Cinder, her face serious. "Are you alright?"_

" _You should be dead." Cinder said bluntly as she tried to think about her situation._

_Mla looked shocked by what her sister-in-law just said before walking over to her and placing a hand on her forehead. "Are you feeling alright? Did he land that many hits on you?" She asked._

" _He… Ashe… Where is he?" Cinder asked, her voice shaky._

" _Do want to have another spar? Because if you do I'm gonna have to…" Mila was cut off by Cinder grabbing her._

" _Where is he?" Cinder demanded._

" _Right here." Said the voice of her dead brother. Cinder turned around to see him, wearing a dark shirt with jeans, and his face looked… brighter, the look in his eyes he had when they had reunited in Haven, a look of sadness and numbness, of anger and violence was gone, now there was a lightness to him, as if the burdens he had bore for years were gone. He looked happy._

_She got up from the couch and slowly made her way over to him and tried to touch him, but once her hand landed on his face there was this odd sensation that was similar to touching someone, but it was… numb, like touching a solid shadow, there was something off, as though he wasn't real._

" _I'm dreaming, aren't I?" She said._

_Ashe's face darkened as he nodded. His eyes became dull and dark, tired and sad as he said "Yes."_

_Cinder turned around, only to now see Mila, a blade stabbed into her chest with blood pouring out of the wound and of her mouth, that was giving off a serene smile that was all too disturbing for Cinder to see._

_She looked around the room, which was beginning to blur and fade, twist and darken. The pictures, however, were all too clear._

_The photos had changed, now the faces of Amber, the Fall Maiden, Nikos, Rose, Arc, Raven Branwen, Roman Torchwick, and... her parents were all looking directly at her with hateful, accusing glares._

_Ashe came into her field of view, and now he was wearing the dark outfit he had in Haven, his face looked tired and defeated, with just a small touch of something resembling happiness. He went behind Mila's bleeding, pale form and wrapped his arms lovingly around her._

" _This home, this family was what Mila and I could have been had we gotten our happy ending." Ashe said to her as he became pale, his hair was now matted with blood and his face showed multiple bruises and scars as his jacket slowly disintegrated, showing off his his scarred and bruised body._

_Jenny now ran into the room and embraced her parents, and Cinder noticed the joyful, loving, and innocent smile on her face as she nuzzled into her mother's hip and her father's stomach. Cinder noticed she had a bright aura about her, in stark contrast to the grim scene before her._

" _Maybe this little girl would have been our child had Jude not killed Mila. Maybe it would have been a boy. It doesn't matter anymore." Ashe said with a pained voice as the young girl began to fade away._

_Both Ashe and Mila dropped to their knees and wrapped their arms around the girl, Mila coughing up blood as she did so. Jenny whispered something to her parents and then turned to face Cinder, tears pouring down her face and yet she still wore a pure smile._

" _Why?" She said to Cinder, before bursting apart into light, disappearing before her eyes._

" _I… I…" Cinder tried to say before she looked at Ashe, now holding a dead Mila in his arms._

" _You wanted more Cinder. More power, and she gave it to you. I hope you're happy." Ashe said hatefully as he rose up, carrying the dead body of his beloved in his arms and walking towards Cinder._

_Cinder breathed in and stood her ground. "Yes, I had to have more power. Our family could have shared in that had mother and father not been so blind."_

" _Who's really the blind one here?" Said the voice of Ember Kasai._

_Cinder jumped, and quickly looked around the darkening, fading room for the source of the voice, but saw nothing, except that the pictures on the walls were now blank._

_When her eyes came back to Ashe he was right in front of her… and her hand had pierced his chest._

_Now she could feel him. She could feel the bone, muscle, and flesh her hand had slammed through. She could feel his blood covering her arm. She could feel his heart in her hand._

_He dropped Mila, who faded into dust and scattered about the floor, and slumped forward._

" _You think you have power? You think you're a force to be reckoned with? No Cinder, you're nothing. Nothing but Salem's pawn." He said to her._

" _No!" Cinder yelled furiously as she sent a burst of fire into his body, which exploded out of his back._

_Her eyes now wide with horror, Cinder withdrew her arm from Ashe's body as he began to fade._

" _You must love killing me. You enjoyed it. You probably savored it when you killed me. Didn't you?" He accused._

" _No… no I…"_

" _Face it. You're nothing. You'll always be nothing as long as you serve her." The dream vision of Ashe said as he faded into nothingness._

_Cinder watched as the room around her came apart and fell off into a dark void, leaving her utterly alone._

" _I have to wake up. This is just a dream…" She said to herself._

" _Yes it is." Said the voice of her mother. Cinder turned to see a ghostly version of her parents standing before her._

" _A bit different from your usual dreams of power and destruction, isn't it?" Her father, Kojin._

" _Don't blame me for this!" Cinder shouted. "We all could have benefitted from this, if you two hadn't been such cowards! You could have joined her, but you chose the weak path!"_

" _No. You chose the weak path. Look at yourself, my daughter, you're nothing more than a servant to a great evil, who holds the real power." Ember told her._

" _And as long as you are subservient to Salem, you will always be weak." Kojin said to her bluntly._

" _You're wrong." Cinder barked._

" _No. We speak the truth, but your anger, lust for power, and arrogance have blinded you to the fact that whatever power you have is nothing compared to hers." Ember scolded._

" _She's using you, and you're letting her." added Kojin._

" _As long as you're her pawn, you'll never have true power." Ember said darkly as she began to fade away._

" _Lies. You just want to hold me back. You always did! That's why I had to kill you…" Cinder stopped herself. "It wasn't my fault…"_

" _Yes it was. Salem poisoned your mind with lies as she promised you power…" Kojin said as he faded._

" _A power that doesn't belong to you." Said a voice from behind her._

_Before Cinder could even begin to turn around a blunt object bashed her in the side of the head, knocking her down. She fell flat on her back, before she felt something being held to her throat. She opened her eyes and saw…_

" _Does the corpse wear a familiar face?" Asked Amber, the last Fall Maiden._

" _You're nothing! You're just a dream!" Cinder shouted furiously._

" _Oh yes, this is just a dream. But dreams can be dangerous. You dreamed of having power, and now look where you are." Amber said as the tip of her spear elongated, becoming sharper. "You're such a sad, pathetic person. It is unfortunate that Salem promised you a gift that was never truly yours. You never had a claim to this power, it's a gift that you have misused and corrupted."_

" _I use these powers better than you ever could!" Cinder yelled as she threw Amber off. Using her Semblance Cinder illuminated the area, only to see nothing but darkness._

 _Amber laughed at her, a laugh that was mocking yet pitying at the same time. "Misery. That's the path you've chosen." All of a sudden her voice had a powerful echo to it, as if many women were speaking through Amber. "_ _**And be afraid, because the things you did to me, are nothing compared to what's going to happen to you.** _ _"_

_Cinder let out a snarl of fury as she unleashed a barrage of fire onto Amber's body, destroying her._

" _I have to wake up. This madness needs to end." Cinder said angrily._

" _Does it ever?" Asked a voice she had not heard in a long time._

" _Torchwick." She said as she glanced over to see him, leaning on his cane._

" _I knew you saw me as the man of your dreams." He said cockily as he strolled over to her. "And best of all, you can't kill me 'cause I'm already dead!" Cinder raised her hand and lit a fireball, "Oh sure, that old song and dance. So predictable. They're right you know; as long as you remain the queen's faithful little pawn, you're not going to get much further in life. Take it from me, I learned it the hard way."_

_With that the late great thief vanished into the darkness, leaving Cinder alone once again._

" _This has gotten ridiculous. I don't feel guilty for their deaths…" She said to herself, but she knew she regretted killing Ashe. So maybe…_

_All of a sudden a ferocious, yet familiar roar echoed through the dark void. Cinder quickly looked up to see the shape of a large beast flying downwards right at her. She jumped out of the way as the massive form of the Wyvern slammed into the ground, bellowing out a roar as it crashed._

_Cinder created fires on both of her hands as she saw a figure riding atop the dragon Grimm rose up on all fours, maw open and ready to attack. Cinder looked up to see a rider upon the dragon, one she was all too familiar with._

" _Nikos." She hissed._

_Pyrrha looked down on Cinder and asked her a simple, yet familiar question; "Do you believe in destiny?"_

_Cinder let out a scream of fury as she unleashed a massive blast of fire that the Wyvern easily charged through. She tried to get out of the way, but it was no use, as her legs were caught in the mouth of the giant Grimm._

_Cinder's body was being tossed this way and that like a ragdoll, the teeth of the Wyvern biting down into her legs, yet she felt no pain from what should be an excruciating attack, another sign that this was a dream._

_The Wyvern threw her aside and Cinder went skidding across the floor of the void, that looked no different from the rest of the surroundings. She tried to get up but couldn't, she looked down to see her legs were ruined, yet she felt no pain from them. In fact she felt nothing but a numbness, an odd feeling like sand coursing through one's body._

_And yet she could still feel the odd sensation of touch as someone grabbed her legs and began to drag her away. She looked up to see Jaune Arc hauling her by the legs. He stopped and hauled her up so they were facing each other, he gave her an evil grin and said "Fully deserved."_

_He began to land a series of quick punches on her, but aside from brief flashes of pain, she felt nothing but the numbness, which quickly drowned out any harm she felt. Something was wrong about this numbness. It was like she couldn't feel what was happening to her body aside from brief flashes and yet she was seeing it, she knew what was happening._

_Jaune suddenly picked her up and tossed her over to another area, which was suddenly bathed in an all-too familiar silver light._

" _Hello, teacher." Said the taunting voice of Ruby Rose._

_Cinder looked up to see her enemy approaching her with Crescent Rose in hand. Ruby placed a foot upon Cinder's chest and held up her scythe. Cinder knew what was coming. She didn't fight it._

_Ruby slashed Crescent Rose down, and Cinder felt pain once again, but not just a flash, this time it was a hot, searing pain exactly like what she had felt when she had first gotten her scar. No matter how much she tried to hold it, her scream of anguish erupted out and echoed everywhere as the blackness surrounding her shattered like glass and began to fall around her._

_As Cinder clutched her face she could hear the taunting laughter of Ruby, Amber, and many others. She tried to block it out, and whispered a meditation mantra she had learned but the taunting, ghostly laughs became even louder, loud enough to force Cinder to cover her ears._

" _Murderer."_

" _Pawn."_

" _Puppet."_

" _Traitor."_

" _Liar."_

" _You're weak."_

" _And you killed your family because you were weak."_

" _Your fault."_

" _All your fault."_

" _STOP!" She screamed._

_And suddenly, there was silence._

_Cinder slowly uncovered her head and looked up, to see that she was now on a giant chessboard, surrounded by statute version of Emerald, Mercury, Watts, Hazel, Tyrian, Sheer Kaa, Ante, Ziz, Sherizawa, and others, while figures of Torchwick, Adam, and Giger, among others, had been tossed aside off of the board. The other side of the board had all of the members of Team Beacon, along with Qrow Branwen, Glynda Goodwitch, Ironwood, and many others._

_Suddenly a giant shadow loomed over her, and she knew who it was. A feeling of dread took over her body as she slowly turned around to see a giant Salem looking down on her with a calm, knowing smile._

" _Shall we make our next move, my little pawn?" The Mistress of Grimm asked as her hand moved towards Cinder._

_The current Fall Maiden tried to move, but found herself paralyzed as the white hand with dark veins approached her._

_One finger gently extended outwards and touched her on the head, and a great, burning pain enveloped Cinder's body and she let out a horrible scream once again._

_In a bright flash of light, a raven flew towards her._

Cinder shot up in her bed, clutching her face and letting out a gasp, as she finally woke from her nightmare.

She looked around her room in her current location, realizing she was alright and that everything she had just witnessed was nothing more than a dream.

A dream she wouldn't forget anytime soon.

The topic of dreams reminded her of what her master had said about Ruby Rose, as some months ago, shortly after the grand meeting, Salem had felt one of the oldest of the elder Grimm, the Dream Eater, perish at the hands of Rose and another warrior that she theorized was one of the Remnant Knights.

Ever since learning that the Knights had openly allied themselves with the Guardians of Remnant and the Councils yet again, Salem had ordered her forces to keep a low profile, while she had her pawns in high places begin to do their dirty work; threats of closing borders, taxation disputes, trade issues, and all the while she had the Grimm Commanders send out their hordes to attack villages in Vale, Vacuo, and Mistral, stirring up even more unease and negativity.

Cinder, Thorn, Anastasia, and the others were all ordered to train even harder, to prepare themselves for the coming battles, which apparently weren't far off. The Red Fang had been sent to cause chaos here and there, with Tyrian Callows overseeing their missions, and occasionally stepping in when he got excited.

Cinder herself felt like they were wasting time, they only had a year or so left before the seventh millennium began, which was supposed to be the beginning of the Age of Grimm, according to Salem herself, and yet they were still biding their time when they should be hunting the Maidens and the Relics down.

But they had no choice to do what Salem commanded. She could do nothing without her master's approval.

Just like the nightmares had said.

She got off of her bed and walked into the bathroom, turning on the light and quickly collecting some water from the sink to wash off her face, which had become covered with a sheen of sweat.

She looked into the mirror, the scar a distracting mark on what was otherwise a beautiful face. She lightly touched the scar gently, remembering the horrible pain she had been dealt that night; first by Ruby and then by her master, branding her with the scar as punishment for her failure at Haven. She remembered the humiliation of writhing in pain on the floor as everyone watched, without comparison the loss at Haven was the worst defeat of her life, she had never suffered such embarrassment before.

The more she looked at her reflection, the more Cinder began to think about her situation.

She thought about the Aura Crystal; if it truly was so powerful, than why hadn't Salem admitted as much when she first turned to her side? The Answer had been simple; pretending that the crystal was nothing more than a religious bauble that would hold her down was one of the main reasons Cinder had joined her.

Why did she kill her parents? Because they were holding her back. But was that the only reason? Salem had revealed that Ember had at one point been the Summer Maiden, who traded her powers away to another candidate for a peaceful life guarding the crystal. Ember had been a Maiden, and had a run in with Salem's forces and had bested them. She remembered what she told Salem about Ashe learning the Haakskeekah, her master had said that even in death Ember found ways to spite her.

Had Salem and Ember met each other in the past? Had her mother actually best her master in some way?

Was… was that the real reason Salem had chosen her? Was she chosen to be Salem's student as a way to getting revenge on her mother?

It had to be.

She then thought about her power. She was indeed a powerful warrior, but she should have been stronger. She needed to be stronger. She deserved more power.

She had the powers of the Fall Maiden… and yet it wasn't enough.

That arrow should have killed Jaune Arc. He shouldn't be alive. Neither should Qrow Branwen. Least of all  _her_... Ruby Rose should be dead.

And yet they all lived.

She thought about her master, and the moment she branded the scar onto her face, promising to remove it once she had redeemed herself. Cinder had groveled to her, reverted to a gutless student, when such a thing was beneath her.

She had been training for about a year now. She needed to train, to grow stronger, to become even more powerful. She had already been a deadly warrior, but now with all those hours, months of training, combined with her natural talents, Semblance, and the power of the Fall Maiden, she would easily rank among the most deadly people on the planet.

And yet Salem was having her go about Remnant and form alliances with bandit clans, anti-Kingdom rebel groups, surviving White Fang cells that wanted to merge with the Red Fang, gangs, pirates, among other such rabble.

This should have been left to Callows and Rainart once she had become a Maiden, yet she was still being forced to lower herself to the level of thugs and fanatics.

Did Salem truly think so little of her? Or was this a punishment?

Hadn't she already suffered enough? Wasn't this blasted scar enough? Wasn't being forced to kill Ashe enough?

Ashe…

His suffering wasn't her fault. No. It was Jude's. Had it not been for her, he never would have even met that Mila woman. Jude was the one who ruined their happiness.

And yet Jude wasn't the one to kill Ashe. He had beaten him, whipped him, nearly broken him, but he hadn't killed him.

She did.

His blood was on her hands. As was the blood of her parents, as well as Amber, Douglas, and others who didn't even matter to her. All off their blood was on her hands.

But it wasn't her fault. No. Salem made her kill him. She made her kill her brother! It wasn't… it wasn't her fault.

She needed to make all her suffering worth it. She would get more power. She needed more to accomplish her goals…

What goals?

She looked at her reflection as she came to a depressing realization. She had no true goals other than to become more powerful, but to what end? What was the use of wanting more power if she had no real ambition for it.

Her actual goals, missions, and battles were not her own. They were Salem's.

She held her hands against her head as a slight pain began to pulse about her scar.

"No… I'm not… I'm not just a… pawn." She said to herself before she backed up to the bathroom wall, and then allow herself to slide down to the tiled floor.

Slowly, the truth began to flood her mind. Everything she had done, taking the Maiden's powers, allying with the White Fang and criminals like Torchwick, the breach, the Battle of Beacon, giving Pyrrha to Salem, unleashing the Wyvern, capturing Rose and Arc… it had all been Salem's bidding.

The only things that had been of her choosing were her followers, Emerald and Mercury.

She remembered her dream. What Ashe had told her. He was right. She had been nothing but a pawn in Salem's game the whole time.

But no more.

Over the years she had learned a few things about Salem, such as she was actually the third Mistress of Grimm, and that she was always in a game against the world of Remnant. The Opponents changed over the years, but the final goal, the prize of victory had always been the same; the destiny of Remnant itself.

But if Salem had replaced someone else as the dark queen, then she herself could be replaced.

Cinder's eyes widened as her mind came to life with this revelation. If Salem could be replaced, then who better to replace her than her lead disciple?

She could not openly turn against her master. That would be suicide. Despite her position as the Fall Maiden, Salem was nothing if not patient, and would simply search for the next Fall Maiden should Cinder be killed in some way, or simply have her immobilized and make her useful again when the time was right.

And she couldn't betray her master and run, Ozpin and his cabal would only have her as a prisoner and execute her once her usefulness was done. And she could never ally herself with the likes of Nikos, Arc, and especially not Rose. She hated them with every fiber of her being. She'd never help them. Never.

So that left her with one option, the best option. Play Salem's game, and win it. She couldn't speak it out loud unless in total isolation, and if she were to give even a slight hint of betrayal away, she could kiss her freedom goodbye.

So if she were to work subtly, manipulate other pawns of Salem who had doubts or grievances, if she were to have her own pieces and pawns that could work with her, and appear to be loyal to Salem until the time was right…

Then they could strike. They could overthrow Salem, and then… she would take her rightful place, and the world would be hers.

Everything would be hers.

Cinder allowed a smile to grace her lips as a plan began to form in her mind. She just needed the right pawns that would ally with her. Emerald was an obvious choice, she had proved her loyalty time and again, but Mercury was… questionable. She needed to be smart and careful if she was to succeed with this.

She would win in the end. She would rule over Remnant, better than Salem or Ozpin ever could. Everything that had happened to her, ever life she had taken, every sacrifice she had made, everything would all be worth it in the end.

She stood up and looked at her reflection. She looked better already.

Yes. The world would be hers.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader with help from Akashi2712Samurai.
> 
> Check out the art for the fic done by jkphantom9 at Deviantart.
> 
> Also, this story now has it's own TV Tropes page! Feel free check it out or contribute to it!
> 
> Welcome my friends! To the 'Maidens and Relics' Arc! I hope this chapter was good, so please let me know what you think.
> 
> Sorry the hiatus took so long, and I hope that all of you can forgive me. But stuff kept adding up to my to do list, personal issues and life in general.
> 
> On the bright side I managed to get a lot of things done; I watched both Fullmetal Alchemist shows and both are insanely good and I ended up falling in love with the series (though I wish there was a third version that could combine both versions so we could have the best of both worlds), I watched all of The Muppet Show, played Red Dead Redemption, saw Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Kong Skull Island, and Transformers TLK and enjoyed them all (though TF5 clearly needs a director's cut...), haven't seen Spider-Man Homecoming or Wonder Woman but I'm looking forward to them. Red Vs. Blue Season 15 was also enjoyable, but easily the weakest season thus far.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	54. Return Part II: Going Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader, GojiGrimlockSaurus, and Leaf Ranger for helping out with this chapter, plus a special shoutout to the RWBY Alternate History Community here on the site, do yourself a favor and check 'em out, and even add yourself to their followers. And most of all, thanks to every person who has ready this story, thanks to everyone who has faved and followed it. We wouldn't be here without you guys!
> 
> Theme for this chapter: Going Home by Mary Fahl

Somewhere within the mountains of Mistral's southwest, the Kagayaku Valley, to be exact, a lone figure stood atop a protruding crag of mountain rock which extended from the wind-carved cliffs of Anima, watching silently as the radiant glow of dawn slowly rose across the horizon, banishing the black and dark blue colors of the night by peeking over the mountain tops and illuminating the valley.

The rising sun gradually revealed the burnt out ruins of a town which had fallen to further desolation after it had been reduced to rubble and ashes. The landscape which dominated the area between the high mountain cliffs on either side was bleak and dreary, with burnt-out trees dotting and nearly no vegetation save for patches of brown and green weeds. The ruined skeletons of houses stood up like tombstones alongside mounds of rubble, and in the middle of the circular town square was the collapsed remains of clock tower, the clock face smashed upon the ground with internal mechanisms and glass scattered everywhere. As years had passed since the town was destroyed, lichen and moss had covered almost everything, crawling up walls and infesting the abandoned houses.

He had been standing there since the night before, walking up the mountain after leaving his motorcycle out of sight in the dense forest a little way down the mountain yet still within sprinting reach, its systems on stand-by yet with its scanners and weapons activated in case anything posing a threat has been detected. It never hurt to be cautious, as the place he was currently present in was said to have ravenous packs of Grimm roaming in its vicinity.

The lone warrior had always made sure he returned to the Kagayaku Valley every year, and stand vigil over the decimated ruins from night till dawn, paying his respects until the sun rose again at which he would take his leave, the vigil successfully completed. He didn't know who created the vigil, but he was thankful that there was at least a long-established way to honor the dead since that was all he could do until he found those who were responsible for wiping out the town's population.

As he stood there with his sword free of its scabbard and buried tip-first into the ground, his helmeted head bowed and standing at attention, the armored knight hadn't said a single word since the beginning of his vigil when the night was absolute, with only the shattered moon for company. However, he had unlocked his helmet visor, removing it so that his cerulean blue eyes could see the town's devastation and the burnt out dark patches where the inhabitants must have fallen while still engulfed in flames.

Long ago, before he had been recruited into the Remnant Knights, the decimated town below had been his home. However, his recruitment into the Knight Order meant that he had left everything of his previous life behind, save for his memories as well as the ornate third sword he always carried with him. His past only existed in the memories within his mind, sometimes needing deep recollection in order to remember those fleeting pieces of his past, as if they at risk of slipping back into the depths of his mind.

He didn't have much time to reminisce about his past when he was performing his duty as a Knight Errant to the Knight Order he served for so long, since those subsequent years after his recruitment was unceasingly filled with long hours of harsh training and learning, sparring in various combat sessions against other veteran knights in addition to being deployed on a variety of scouting and combat-oriented missions after he was officially knighted and given his knight name: Sharp Strike.

It was only during quiet moments such as the vigil, or those brief, dreary moments of waiting for sleep to take him that he could remember things he usually wouldn't have time to, glimpses of his past before his induction into the Knight Order, before becoming the protégé of his master Argentius and later becoming the senior knight's best student. As he watched the ruins, Sharp Strike momentarily remembered a certain number of things…

_The warm embrace of his loving mother._

_The training he had received from his father in the form using wooden sticks to spar between them._

_The wondrous sight of shooting stars across the night sky with the shattered moon._

_Playing with other town children by running through the town's streets until they reached a nearby lake of blue and gold, capturing the sunlight from high above them in the sky._

_That girl… so kind and beautiful._

_And… the night it all ended… when he lost them all..._

He would search through his mind for those cherished memories as he maintained his silent vigil, recalling another memory if he thought hard enough and long enough, as if they were hidden treasures.

Each of those memories that returned to him brought forth a deep sense of longing and sadness, because the attached faces and events that had happened in those memories were years old, and the people those faces belonged to were almost certainly dead, their voices missing to him and their bodies long turned to ashes and dust by now.

However, the knight could not allow himself to forget them, even though he knew with silent apprehension that one day those treasured memories would disappear completely and never return. He had personally known other knights who had chosen to totally forget about their past, but Sharp Strike had resolved that he would never forget about the things that made him who he truly is, as those memories were all he had left of his previous life before the Knight Order took him.

The past six months after the sealing of the ancient agreement between the Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knights in Vale had been, for the lack of a better term, quite demanding in terms of activity. The various Knight Legions had become more active all over Remnant, stepping up in their various missions within each major continent to gather crucial information on the enemy and disrupting their operations whenever possible, from mopping up remnants of the White Fang which had slipped through the law-enforcement and military forces of the Kingdom and fighting Grimm hordes, to chasing down secret cells of spies and protecting the remaining Maidens from the clutches of Salem.

Sharp Strike was no exception, of course. The moment the knight delegation had returned back to their secret headquarters Tintagel, he was immediately given fresh orders to investigate possible insurrectionist sites with other Knight Errants already operating in the field. Soon the young knight was crisscrossing again across varied lands of Remnant in his movements under the orders of his superiors, gathering information on enemy activities while also saving innocents from the Grimm wherever he went. Over the past few months he had managed to destroy quite a few rebel groups singlehandedly, while discovering the locations of other hidden White Fang cells which he disclosed anonymously to the Kingdom authorities which resulted in their swift arrests.

His duties to the Order aside, Sharp Strike always made sure he returned to the Kagayaku Valley to pay his respects to the destroyed town below in a simple vigil, calming the sentimental part of his soul which hadn't been snuffed out by the strict training he had received. Sometimes, he wouldn't merely conduct a vigil, but walk through the uninhabited ruins slowly and carefully while allowing his mind to drift back to the happier days of his past and hopefully calm his uncertainties. As he derived a measure of calming peace from his former home, the knight also reminded himself that he would do all he can as a Remnant Knight to ensure that no other people of Remnant would have to suffer the same fate as long as he drew breath.

As the sunlight from the rising sun in the horizon caught the red and gold of his relic sword, Sharp Strike lifted his chin slightly and watched as the warm rays illuminated his faceplate and his cerulean blue eyes where he had removed his helmet's visor, and faintly he heard the morning songs of birds chitterling in the far distance, announcing the first light. He quietly said a prayer, "With the arrival of dawn, my vigil has ended. May the Gods of Remnant shelter your souls in the next world. For it is in passing that we achieve immortality."

Mentally thanking that he wasn't disturbed by any Grimm while performing his silent vigil, he knelt down on one knee and withdrew his relic sword, the red and gold blade catching the sunlight that gave it a gleaming sheen briefly before sheathing it smoothly back into its scabbard. As he stood up again and attached the relic blade to his waist belt once more thought back to other vigils he had performed.

One was when he had volunteered with a number of other knights to honor Wood Cutter's sacrifice, dying to stop Cinder Fall's attack on Vale, and guide his soul back to Avalon where he would rest with the greatest heroes and heroines of the Knight Order, the group of them standing in front of the deceased knight's stone casket deep in the Halls of Remembrance within Tintagel after the rites of passing for the honored warrior had been performed. He remembered standing in the circular hall where Wood Cutter's casket was placed in front of them, its surface covered with in a small, intricate language which displayed his achievements, triumphs and the many foes he had vanquished while in the service of the Knight Order. His emblem, two axes crossed in front of a lush tree, was engraved on his stone casket as well, while his personal shotgun-axe weapon was placed on the small altar at the front of the casket. After the vigil, Sharp Strike and the other knights who had served alongside Wood Cutter bore his stone casket on their armored pauldrons together and walked the candle-lit hallways down into the deep catacombs of Tintagel, laying the brave warrior at his final resting place alongside other heroic knights who had gone before them.

He had privately conducted another Vigil at Otium, standing before the grave markers of both Ashe Kasai and his beloved Mila. Their graves were simple, and had been recently cleaned by the burial ground custodians while fresh flowers had been placed at both grave markers by the inhabitants of Otium who had all kept the dearly-loved couple in their memories. No one disturbed the lone Remnant Knight while he performed his personal vigil there, and even though Sharp Strike had made his presence as scarce as possible, those who managed to see him all stood at a respectful distance.

Wood Cutter had died heroically trying to stop Cinder and the other forces of darkness, while Ashe had done the same and more to thwart the machinations of Cinder, his own sister, and deliver the justice Saul Jude so sorely deserved, and saved those who he treasured so much even after the death of his fiancé. While the world of Remnant had become a little darker due to the demise of such heroes, their actions were honored and inspired those who still lived to protect those who can't protect themselves.

Sharp Strike mentally vowed that he would not be found wanting in his duty as a Remnant Knight, and he will never stop searching for those who had destroyed his home and he would bring them to justice for their evil. He wouldn't let his home go unavenged, not when he still lived and breathed, and anyone who dare question his loyalty otherwise would be answered with the tip of the ornate sword.

A soft beep from within his Aegis armor which was slightly covered by the cloak of midnight blue attracted his attention as Sharp Strike replaced his visor piece of his helmet which covered his eyes once more, but not before taking one last look at what remained of his previous home. Then he produced his customized scroll from the depths of his knight armor and looked at the displayed information on its screen.

Another rendezvous and a fresh assignment which required his skills. Just another day of his eternal service to the Remnant Knights.

After making his way down from the forested cliffs and into the forested areas where his motorcycle was cleverly hidden from view behind a series of boulders and hills, Sharp Strike used his scroll to call his personal vehicle and watched as the gleaming silver-black bike with shining highlights roared out from the forest and skidded to a stop in front of him. Aside from some repairs he had administered to his mechanical steed, the knight had also added some additional upgrades to his motorcycle but he was still waiting for a chance to prove those upgrades useful, should any future missions call for them.

Settling onto his bike, Sharp Strike revved up the motorcycle's engine and turned the windshield to face the main path out of the Kagayaku Valley. Then he stepped on the accelerator and was soon vanishing into the distance in a streaking blur, leaving maelstroms of dust and scattered leaves in his wake as he headed towards the rendezvous point to meet with the other knights for his latest assignment.

However, if anyone else followed the deserted path in which the young knight had left they would find a fork in the road leading out of the same valley, and right at the area where the paths diverged was a shattered signpost, the words on it barely eligible and just barely conveying its intended meaning to whoever who came across it and stopped to take a closer look.

It was a simple blackened wooden panel with the name of the destroyed town carved onto its surface.

Himawari.

* * *

The village of Otium haven't changed much since the defeat of Saul Jude and the departure of Ashe Kasai. If anything else, it had returned to normal after another Huntsman had been assigned to protect the village, and aside from the construction of some additional buildings not much had changed.

The last time Team Beacon had been for Ashe's funeral a year ago, returning him to his rightful place besides his beloved Mila.

It had been one year since the Battle of Haven, one year since Ashe, Raven, and Cardin all died in battle. The other day the members of Team Beacon, along with Bianca and Ross, had visited the graves of Raven Branwen and Cardin Winchester to pay their respects to the ones who had given up their lives to save Jaune, Ruby, and Pyrrha from Cinder and Salem.

Yang hadn't said much at her mother's grave, since she would frequently visit it when she was home, she would only say that she wished that they had spent more time together. While they all paid their respects to her, it was rather awkward since Raven hadn't exactly made a stellar first impression since she said that she would kill Jaune should he be transformed into a Grimm hybrid and hadn't exactly been gentle with other things she had said, but still they all had respect for her, for all that she had done and how she died fighting Cinder.

Ruby had wished she had gotten to know her aunt, as she had never really met her in person at all, and had always wanted to know what Aunt Raven was like since one could never have too many family members. But now... she would never get that chance again. Still the scythe-wielding Huntress still felt as though she had an odd urge to keep an eye out for black birds for some strange reason.

When they had to leave, Yang had asked for them to let her just stay at the grave for a few minutes more which everyone agreed without question. All the members of their team quietly left except Ruby, who stayed with her older sister and they mourned Raven together for just a bit more.

So the two sisters had stood together on the cliff overlooking the sea in silence.

They then visited the Winchester Family tomb to visit Cardin; Velvet never thought she would have shed tears over her former bully, but remembering what he did for them on that night still made her heart ache with grief. Pyrrha hadn't been able to really get to know Cardin, due to his actions during their first year, but she knew he did not deserve the fate he had been given. So despite all he did to Jaune, and what he tried to do to her with those Rapier Wasps, she had forgiven him.

Ruby had felt guilty over his death, wondering if she would have been able to save him if she had been fast enough. She had learned that it was impossible to save everyone, but it wasn't a fact that she wanted to accept in the slightest, but reality didn't care what one wanted most of the time. But then again, their reality wasn't exactly predictable, so she had become determined to save as many people as she could.

Jaune, however, had been the first one to speak up, simply thanking Cardin for what he had done for them, and saying that despite everything that had happened between them during their first semester at Beacon, he had forgiven him. He added that Cardin's sacrifice had proven that he was a good Huntsman in the end, one who had tried to become a better person to make up for the past. If nothing else, he deserved their heartfelt thanks and respect for giving up everything so they could live.

Everyone agreed with that.

They had then flown over the ocean between Vale and Mistral overnight, and had stopped to help the village of Shion early in the morning. For the rest of the trip Ren, exhausted from using his Semblance on so many people, was fast asleep leaning on Nora's shoulder and had only been woken up when they were about to land.

Ross's ship had carefully settled down on the open field located at the other side of the cemetery, allowing Team Beacon and Bianca to disembark and go through the back entrance of the graveyard.

Yatsuhashi helped Bianca carry the portrait Bianca had made of Ashe, as the eldest Arc sister wanted to bring it to his grave for sentimental reasons. As everyone disembarked from the ship, with Jaune and Pyrrha carrying the Aura Crystal case, Ruby noticed that Ross wasn't moving to leave.

"Not coming Mr. Ross?" She asked.

The Valean military pilot slowly shook his head and told her "I… I stay away from graveyards. Don't go into them unless I have to for a funeral or something. Personal reasons. I have some respect for this Kasai fellow, but didn't know him personally. Seems like an alright guy though."

Ruby's natural curiosity made her want to ask him why, but she knew it was best not to pry into private matters. "Well… if you ever need to talk about it, I'm willing to listen." She told him graciously.

Ross looked at the young Huntress before smiling and letting out a chuckle. "Heh, if only there were more people like you kids. Thanks."

Ruby returned the smile before following her friends into the graveyard while the her uncle's friend sat down on the ramp of his ship, while taking off his pilot helmet and placing it on one knee. As they vanished from sight Ross took out a flask of honey-brown fluid and slowly sipped, while having a certain faraway look in his eyes.

The sun was now higher in the morning sky, and dew was still clinging to the grass as the group of eighteen made their way through the recently mowed yard. No snow was in sight as the frost had long since melted.

"Okay, so does anyone remember which grave is his?" Coco asked as the main entrance of the graveyard came into view.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know." Jaune said as he began to look around for it.

"Uh, guys...I think I know which one it is." said Velvet. She pointed over to a grave that had an unusual amount of decorations on its tombstone. Jaune and Ruby looked to each other before smiling, and Nora was the first to make her way over.

"Whoa. Where do you think all the decorations came from?" Scarlet pondered.

"Guessing by the drawings, and the fact that the banner says 'Thank You, Hero of Haven Elementary', I think it's a bit obvious." Coco said to him with a slight smirk.

Nora kneeled down in front of the grave and let out a happy squeak. "Aw! Hey guys, come look at this! It's from those kids he saved!" Nora announced as she looked at the laminated cards and drawings nailed to poster boards that were propped up by stands next to the grave, which had subtly changed over the year it had been there, as the tombstone had now settled into the ground with grass now covering it the small burial mound. Most of the art were done by young children, drawings of a crudely drawn version, sometimes even a stick figure, of Ashe fighting off bad guys in a rather cartoon-y fashion. Some were well drawn, however, and did look like Ashe himself with his sword and gun out.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at the sight, knowing that someone who had suffered like Ashe had was at least getting rewarded in the afterlife.

Two poles were stabbed into the ground flanking the two graves, and hanging above the poles was the banner that Coco had mentioned.

"Look at these, not just from the kids, but the teachers too." Jaune said, as he looked at cards and letters, thanking Ashe and saying that they hoped he was in a better place. Pyrrha kneeled down next to him, and one in particular caught her attention; a picture of a pretty woman in her late twenties, hugging an infant to her while her husband had his arm around her, beneath the picture was a note that said 'Thank you so much for saving me and my child. You're our hero. Rest in Peace - Victoria and Matthew Silvers, plus baby Ash.'

"Jaune, look." She said, pointing to the picture and trying to get her partner's attention.

Everyone either looked or glanced at it, and Jaune, Ruby, Nora, and Velvet could only smile and try not to tear up at the photo and the note beneath it.

"I wonder if he would approve of a child being named after him." Ren wondered quietly.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it's not like he can complain about it." replied a teary Nora as she looked at Ren who simply nodded his head.

There was a brief silence in the graveyard for a while, with only the sounds of the birds in the trees and the rustling wind to break it.

"Since we're all here, someone should say something." Blake suggested as she looked around, getting nods in agreement from the rest of Team Beacon and their companions.

"May I go first?" Bianca asked hesitantly.

"Sure sis, go right ahead." Jaune permitted as Yatsuhashi gently placed the covered up portrait before the grave.

Bianca cleared her throat and spoke, "Hey Ashe, been a while, huh? Well I just wanted to say, thanks for everything you did for my family, we owe you a lot for helping Jaune out so much and helping us save him. I uh… I hope you're alright, wherever you are, and I hope you and Mila are together again. I've been working on a little something. It's a painting of you, and it has been a work in progress for a while now and I've been making finishing touches to make sure it's all good and well. I know you can't give us your opinion, but I hope you can see it, wherever you are."

She took off the tarp that covered it which revealed a very well done character portrait of Ashe, showing him standing atop a building with his robe/jacket fluttering in the wind. In one hand he held his sword and in the other was the shotgun. The background was a dark cloudy sky, and in the background one could see some of the Haven buildings, all done quite well, so it was clear that Bianca had put a lot of care and effort into this art piece.

However the thing that she absolutely nailed, that she had worked the hardest on was his face, but more specifically the eyes. The artwork had, while not perfectly, managed to capture the triumphant, yet sad look he had in his eyes when the Battle of Haven had ended and Jaune and Pyrrha had become the new guardians.

"So, what do you guys think?" She asked.

"It looks great!" Ruby declared without hesitation.

"I'm no art critic, but I would say it's pretty good." Fox voiced while nodding his head a little.

"You did a wonderful job." Velvet assured the eldest arc sister.

"Pretty sweet." Yang agreed wholeheartedly.

"You clearly put a lot of effort into this, and I think it all paid off." Blake added while having a smile on her face.

"Yeah, it looks good. Better than some of the modern stuff in Atlas's museums." Neptune said.

"Not the best I've seen, but it is definitely a fine piece of art." Weiss stated, as she had a bit more experience with art than the others had due to attending various formal events back in Atlas.

"Well done!" Pyrrha congratulated the artist of the Arc family.

"It looks awesome!" Nora cheered, as Ren simply nodded with a smile, letting her know his approval.

"It's great sis, you did a fantastic job. I know he'd be happy with it." Jaune said as he hugged his sister. Bianca teared up a bit as she returned her little brother's hug as tightly as she could, but it unsettled her a bit to see that he was now as tall as she was.

"So what are you gonna do with it?" Ruby asked as she took a picture of the painting with her scroll.

"Mom and dad would like to hang it up somewhere in our home, as a way to honor Ashe for what he did for us." Bianca told them.

"Sounds perfect to me." Jaune said with a smile before asking, "Okay, who wants to go next?"

Velvet raised her hand up a bit and stepped forward. "Well… to be honest, I didn't know Ashe that well. He made a rather… unique first impression." She said, remembering how she first saw him hanging upside down right in front of her face. "And then when there was that… incident with Bianca…" Bianca visibly cringed at the mention of how she tried to attack Ashe when she found out who he was related to, "When I saw him just break down like that, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It was obvious to me that he had been holding that outburst in for a while, and he desperately needed someone to talk to."

She let her words sink in for the others before she continued, "So I let him know that I would be there if he needed to talk, and then he just poured his emotions out. It was pretty obvious he had held in those emotions for a long time, but that incident had broken the dam, so to speak. I wanted to be there for him, to help him. That's why I became a Huntress, to help people in need no matter what. I told him that he wasn't a bad person for what he had done, just a sad person and a complicated one at that. I didn't know him for very long, but I think that in the end he proved himself a heroic person, and a good friend."

Yatsuhashi placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a friendly smile as she wiped away the tears forming in her brown eyes.

Ren stood up next, surprising some of them, "I was the first among us to meet Ashe, I found him screaming in his sleep, waking up from a nightmare. I wasn't as trusting of him as the others were as I was never a very social person, but… well… I think Ashe ultimately proved himself in the end, and I appreciate everything he did, even if he wasn't exactly the nicest person we ever met."

Nora smiled and stepped forward. "I'm… not really good at this kinda thing. I liked Ashe, although I think he could be a real big jerk half the time, but I think he was also a pretty nice guy for the other half. I remember helping him out with something personal…" Nora stopped as she remembered what she had told him about Magnhild and encouraging him to listen to the message Mila had recorded for him, which had dropped a rather emotional bombshell on Ashe. "I had to tell him something about me, something really personal to help him out with something he really needed to do. So as much as he helped us, I guess we helped him out with a lot of stuff too… uh, I think I'm done." She wiped some tears from her eyes and added "Sorry, not good at speeches."

She stepped back, and Ren placed his arm around her, giving his best friend a tired, but reassuring smile. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Jaune and Pyrrha came forward, with the latter opening up the case, revealing the lightly glowing crystal to the world and everyone present.

"Ashe, I uh… want to say thanks for everything you did. You could be a bit of a jerk… okay, you could be a royal jerk and even overly violent at times. Heck that little incident with Pyrrha's circlet still sort of ticks me off, but I guess you wouldn't really have stomped on it. I hope not anyway. But you still helped me, gave me advice and the proper help that I really needed. And you… well, you really saved me that night. I think I would be dead if it weren't for you, and Pyrrha, and Ruby, and… well all of you. I owe everyone that helped me that night. But Ashe threw in everything you had just so I wouldn't die, he gave up his family's duty to save me. I hope we can contact your soul fragment soon. But… thanks for everything. I hope your pain has ended, wherever you are." Jaune finished up, before bowing slightly to his fallen friend and teacher.

"Oh yeah, that whole soul fragment in the Aura Crystal. Why is it taking so long for you guys to contact him?" Scarlet inquired with a puzzled expression on his face.

"We should be able to do so soon, we've been communicating with Ember's fragment and those of the other fallen guardians, and they claim that it takes about a year or so for a soul fragment to fully adjust to the crystal. We don't know why since what they've told us is rather vague... something about his soul's aura mixing in with the greater collective aura of the relic itself." Pyrrha explained, before realizing it was her turn. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize it was my turn."

She walked in front of Jaune who gave her a kind, supportive look. "Um...hello Ashe. I hope we're living up to the legacy of the Aura Crystal's guardians. We haven't had to defend it yet, but I can assure you when someone tries to take the crystal by force, we'll be ready. Actually, to be quite honest, I didn't know you very well in the brief time we were acquainted, but I do know you did a lot for my friends, and even if you had good intentions, your methods were… rather questionable at times. However, I truly appreciate how you helped my team, as well as Ruby, and how you have managed to help Jaune when I couldn't be there for him. When we escaped from that awful place and Jaune was dying on the floor of that ship, you made me promise that I will always be there for him no matter what. I was going to do that anyway, but I suppose you wanted to enforce it for me. I know you made that promise so we could be the crystal's guardians together, but even if we weren't I know I would never leave him. And you're one of the many, many people Jaune and I have to thank for our second chance at life."

She took a breath, and then added, "We've also met the Remnant Knights, and they known of your heroic actions. The senior knights and prognosticators have mentioned that they will honor you within their archives, so that your tale would be known to all who serve within their Order."

Pyrrha stopped speaking as she glanced around at the other members of Team Beacon, especially some of the other people she had to thank for her second chance. The ones she could actually make sure of knew how much she appreciated them and what they had done to save her. She stepped back to rejoin Jaune, who leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. They decided to close the Aura Crystal up, but both guardians had noticed that it had began to shine a little brighter than usual. They shared a knowing look, hoping that it was a positive sign from the relic, or a certain soul fragment that resided within it.

And finally, it was Ruby's turn. The little reaper stepped forward and glanced back at the encouraging looks from the rest of her team, so she gathered her breath and gripped the whistle which hung from a string around her neck.

"Ashe was my friend, and I could see that he was a lonely person, and I even asked him if he'd like to live on Patch when it was all over, just so he wouldn't be lonely. We didn't know Ashe for very long, but that time in Haven changed most of us. Physically, spiritually, and mentally. I never thought my life as a Huntress would be like this, I thought I would have fun adventures, save people, kill Grimm, and all the other hero stuff, and while all of that happened… so much more happened too. We are fighting a battle of save Remnant from evil. Ashe is dead because of that evil." Ruby said gently as she gripped the whistle tighter. "Ashe was one of the first people who helped me realize that good people can do bad things for the greater good. While he did some bad things, but I think he always meant well... because he did manage to do good after all, especially the way he tried to help us proved that, even if he did go a little overboard sometimes. I mean he even helped us fight his own sister that he hadn't seen for years because he knew what she was doing was evil, he could have easily joined her, but he didn't. He helped us despite everything that had happened to him, so I think that in the end, no matter what had happened...he died a hero, so I consider him to be a good person."

The female scythe wielder took a moment to compose herself, before finishing off with, "I… I don't really know what to say, other than Ashe was truly a friend to us all, and I won't forget him, or anyone else who have died because of Salem; Aunt Raven, Cardin, and even people like Torchwick. So I promise I will do my best to stop Salem and everyone who works for her. Who's with me?"

She held her hand out, as if to invite everyone in.

Almost immediately, Yang placed her hand atop her sister's, giving her a winning smile. Weiss quickly followed in suite, as did Blake. Jaune and Pyrrha smiled and added their hands to the hand stack, followed by Ren and Nora a mere two seconds later. Sun placed his hand in, as did Velvet, Penny, Neptune, Yatsuhashi, Coco, Scarlet, Sage, and finally Fox.

"We are all going to do our best to stop them, and we will make sure they will fail miserably at whatever they're planning." Weiss said boldly, her pale blue eyes looking into Ruby's fiercely

"So, how likely do you think it is that we will be the ones to stop her, and not Ozpin and his group or the Knights?" Fox inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"After everything we've been through, no way they won't let us get involved, and they know it." Coco told her partner.

"Besides, Salem probably still wants us for some evil plan of hers." Jaune reminded them carefully.

"And when the time comes, and her cronies come to fight us; bring it on." Yang voiced while a grinning face.

"Because we will defeat them every time." Sun added cockily, smiling at Blake who blushed a little.

"And we won't be alone, either." Pyrrha added, reminding everyone of their allies.

Ruby smiled, for a while the group either stood or sat around and just talked amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company, as they still had a while before they had to leave for Beacon.

"Yeah, the Remnant Knights, the Guardians of Remnant, our teachers, the Atlesian military and the armed forces of the other Kingdoms, not to mention the other teams like ABRN, FNKI, and NDGO, they will all fight with us." Jaune agreed.

"And we will never give up, no matter the cost." Blake added confidently.

"We won't let Salem win, as long as we are still alive." Yatsuhashi added.

"And that's a promise, right Team Beacon?" Ruby asked them all.

The voices of all the humans, Faunus, and the android that made up Team Beacon all answered her at once; "Right!"

"Long live Team Beacon!" Added Penny cheerfully.

"Yeah!" Chimed in Sage.

Ruby smiled, and for a while the entire group of Huntsman and Huntresses with an additional android either stood or sat around the pair of tombstones and just talked amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company, as they still had a while before they had to leave for the return trip to Beacon.

She looked at the drawings of Ashe, before remembering the art of herself and her friends that she had seen and how flattering it was to have art made in one's likeness, though she still never understood why so many artists saw fit to give Blake a dark skin color or why Yang's breasts were sometimes drawn as big as her head.

The art was kind of amazing at first, since she had never even thought about such as thing, yet Pyrrha and Weiss seemed to be used to it, which made sense given their lives prior coming to Beacon Academy, but it was still something incredible for her. She had personally saved some of said art from various net sites to her scroll's photo gallery, as a way of reminding herself that she was appreciated and looked up to. One of her favorites was one that she had gotten in the mail from a little girl, who had said, in crudely written crayon, that she wanted to be just like Ruby some day. Ruby had placed that one in her bed room in their dorm, to remind her of the people counting on them, and that she had to do her best to never let them down. As she looked around at her team and knew that as long as she had them, she would never totally fail.

* * *

The town of Higanbana was a decently sized and well protected town in the Mistral countryside. It has a considerable population due to the several dozen buildings that make up its overall townscape, in addition to an inn that also served as a tavern and local eatery, which was the most frequently visited building in town. While not a major town on the map, it was enough for the Mistralians who lived there to get by and live peacefully most of the time. In addition to its sturdy walls which were manned by a dedicated militia unit, there were also a sizable and well-trained police force to deal with any civilian matters while the several Huntsmen and Huntresses who lived there were diligent in their duty in repelling Grimm from their hometown.

Due to the average and peaceful nature of the town, it was the perfect place for someone to stop and rest in their journey to the capital of Mistral. Especially a certain someone like the traveler passing through the town at the moment.

The good-looking traveler was a youthful woman who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen with pale skin, and in spite of being a little on the short side, she was decently built with toned muscles. She wore a purple and dark indigo corset top that may tempt one to glance at her cleavage as well as a knee-length black combat skirt with its hem slightly hugging her somewhat wide hips, while her arms were covered by purple shoulder-length fingerless gloves. Her head and body was wrapped in a violet hood and cloak that had a black emblem of a sword piercing a gemstone, and laced purple-heeled boots covered her feet. She had a reasonably attractive face with a smooth nose and purple eyes, while her purple bangs were kept in check by a white hair band which arced over her head. She also wore an amethyst gemstone necklace shaped in the same emblem as on her cloak.

As it wasn't during the peak hours of the day, the dining section of the inn wasn't as crowded as it would be during the late afternoon or evening. The young woman sat alone at one of the tables near the back windows at the far end of the building, which were currently open and eating her lunch in peace. She was currently eating some fries and enjoying them very much. As she pushed her finished plate to the side, a decently waitress wearing a shoulderless red dress with a white apron tied around her waist and had her hair done up in an ornate braided bun style approached the table to pick up the finished plates.

"Would you like some more fries ma'am?" The waitress asked politely.

"You bet! Just make sure that there's some seasoning on 'em." The young woman said cheerfully. The waitress smiled and nodded before turning towards the kitchen, not noticing the flirtatious look the purple-clothed girl was giving her as she walked away. "Cutie." She murmured to herself before taking a sip of her drink.

"Another one of your crushes, Amethyst?" A distinctively masculine voice whispered from outside the window closest to her.

Amethyst Rilo turned her purple-haired head to glance out of the window to see who had just spoken, and saw a tall figure wearing a plain brown cloak and hood that covered his entire body, but his arms were crossed in such a way that she could catch a glimpse of the pitch black full-body glove in the cloak's small gap. He stood in the shadows cast by the roofs of the inn and its surrounding buildings, which rendered him unnoticeable to everyone else except Amethyst herself. The depths of his hood concealed the majority of his face, but if one squinted hard enough he or she would see the traces of a rugged face within, forged by harsh training and tempered in the fires of numerous battles.

"Not a crush, I was just saying she's cute. Plus, she'd never go for me, I look too young." The Spring Maiden replied before giggling, and gestured at the cloaked shadow outside the window she was sitting beside, "Man, you've stopped bothering to pretend you're not there ever since I let you guys know I knew you were shadowing me."

"As long as you are the only one who knows who I really am and no one else, that's acceptable to my given assignment." The hooded warrior said quietly.

"Oh Wind Runner, why be such a killjoy? You really need to relax and live a little! Come in and have lunch with me. I'd like to know you a little better and I bet you are also a real looker guy underneath that hood, plus burgers here are to die for." Amethyst beckoned in a hushed tone as she shifted her drink between her hands.

"While it is a kind offer, I'll pass." He said, giving a small shrug.

All of a sudden a small bowl of fries appeared in front of him out of the window, "At least have some fries, consider it a token of my thanks. You need to eat as long as you are shadowing me." She said perkily and shook the bowl a little enticingly.

Wind Runner sighed before taking the bowl of fries, allowing Amethyst's hand to shoot back inside. Luckily, no one noticed Amethyst's interaction with him for that few brief moments. "Thank you, Amethyst." He whispered to her, deciding to humor the girl he was assigned to protect.

Besides Wind Runner himself, there were also a number of other Remnant Knights hidden in the vicinity, either in the shadows of other dark alleyways or perched upon the rooftops, and lying prone underneath a chameleonic cloak on the rooftop of the building opposite the inn was his team's sniper Hawk Sight who was observing the town's surroundings through his sniper rifle's scope. All of them were exceptionally vigilant in performing their assigned roles, and each knight watched their surroundings closely for anything awry. Wind Runner himself had temporarily forgone his Aegis armor when they entered Higanbana so as to move around quickly, without the additional weight of armor. He had stashed it somewhere close and accessible, while maintaining a low profile while performing his duty to protect the Maiden. His personal weapon Cyclone Caress, a gunmetal silver-grey rifle with a revolving chamber capable of shooting a variety of customized Dust rounds under various shot settings, was mag-locked to his body glove's electromagnetic panels underneath his brown cloak.

"Dude, stop being so 'serious and edgy'." She said in a mockingly gruff voice in the hopes of lightening his mood before she heard him grunt indignantly, "Hey, it's not like I don't appreciate you, but you should lighten up. I mean, I know my current situation is serious, but I still try to make the best of it and enjoy my life."

"An admirable outlook for life, but I do wish that you would take it more seriously." Wind Runner commented softly as he raised his head a little, the shadows concealing his face withdrawing a little to show his sky-blue eyes.

"Who says I don't? That's why I am having lunch earlier than everyone else so there's fewer people to see me." The young girl said cheerfully before they both heard raised voices over in the main area of the inn.

"Sir, I will get to you in a minute, but I think you've had enough to..." The waitress who have served Amethyst earlier was currently speaking to someone else, and it was clear that she was a little distressed judging from her voice.

"Hey lady...I gotta say you're reaallly cute..." A clearly slurred voice then reached both of Amethyst and Wind Runner's ears. Amethyst looked over to see her waitress dealing with a reasonably good looking man who was clearly a bit drunk due to his slurred voice. He wore a black vest that covered a plain shirt, and there were clearly a number of loaded bandoliers on his chest. A weapon that looked like a sort of bo-staff was tied to his back, with gold-edged lining curling up and down the material of the said weapon.

"I... appreciate the compliment sir, and you're rather handsome as well, but I think you've had a little too much to drink, so I don't think we will be serving you anymore alcohol today." The waitress said politely, but her voice was clearly getting uneasy as she felt the man nearly grab hold of her wrist.

Amethyst watched the unfolding scene before her, and almost rolled her eyes when the less than respectable Huntsman laughed and said, "Well, that's alright baby, I got my own drinking flask, so no problem there!"

The Spring Maiden watched the scene with mounting interest, before casting a glance at Wind Runner who slowly shook his head, "Step in if he gets too rowdy, bt end it quickly and keep it subtle. We don't need you attracting unwanted attention."

All of a sudden the waitress let out a high-pitched squeak as she felt the drunk Huntsman put his hand on her rear and groped hard as he pulled her towards him, making her drop the tray she had within her hands in the process which hit the ground with a clatter.

"Sir! Please stop! This is...!" She tried to say something before he cut her off.

"Hey, don't fight it babe, they say you're flirty with customers, so why don't we..." The drunk Huntsman grinned as he looked at her suggestivley.

"Hey! Let her go and get out!" A stern voice which belonged to the cook of the inn ordered. He was a heavy set man who had just came out of the kitchen, brandishing a frying pan in hand with a cross look on his face.

The drunk man snorted before whipping out his bo-staff weapon which he pointed right at the cook. He pressed a small button on its handle and a small but deadly sharp blade slid out of the end of the staff, and with a lightning-quick strike the cook yelped as his hand had been cut, forcing him to drop the frying pan. The cook grasped his hand in pain even as his aura slowly healed him, but he could see that the blade of the staff was mere inches from his neck.

"Oh! you wanna make me, fatso?" The drunk man hollered darkly.

Amethyst grimaced and then muttered to Wind Runner, "That guy might be drunk, but he can still use his weapon decently. Ttime to move in." She stood up from her table and stretched her forearms by interlacing her fingers and pushing the palms out "This is gonna be good."

"Hey buddy, there's a bordello next town over, so why don't you go after those girls there?" The cook hurriedly said as he kept still while clutching his hand, not wanting to get his neck cut.

"That's tempting, but she looks rather tasty." The drunk said as he licked his lips at the shivering waitress who had a fearful look on her face.

"Hey, big boy!" A girl's voice rang out. The drunk, still holding the waitress to him and his weapon at the cook, turned around to see Amethyst coming towards him between the tables and chairs in the inn, swaying her hips suggestively, "If you want some fun, why not me? Am I not good enough for ya?"

"Well lookie here! Ain't this my lucky day? Two girls for the price of one!" He remarked, leering at Amethyst's bust, while the Spring Maiden came closer with a suggestive look on her face.

"There are an unusual amount of beautiful girls in this world." Amethyst agreed with a nod, "How about this buddy? Let the waitress go so I can kick your butt."

"Oh ho! A Feisty one huh? Wanna take me on, girlie? Try it!" The drunk shouted as he shoved the waitress to the ground, who cried out in pain as she dropped towards the wooden floor. With a sudden movement that seemed almost inhuman, Amethyst shot forward and caught the waitress, keeping her from falling while kicking upwards with her purple heeled boots, nailing the drunk in the gut and sending him onto his back a few meters away.

"You okay?" She asked the waitress even as she set the latter down on the booth. Amethyst quickly glanced around to see the cook scrambling for the phone while making sure that the rest of the place was empty, save the shadow beside the windows that was presumably Wind Runner who observed with silent detachment.

The waitress nodded, and Amethyst couldn't help herself and added, "I guess a kiss for your hero is a little inappropriate right now?" The waitress smiled, before sue gasped and pointed behind Amethyst to the drunk who was just getting up from the quick blow the Spring Maiden had given him with a grunt. Clearly he was tougher than he looked even when intoxicated.

"Alright, you wanna do this the hard way? Come on then, bitch!" He reached out and grabbed a chair in each hand and threw both of them at her. Amethyst quickly knocked one away with surprising strength before jumping atop a table to catch the other one, which she then placed on the floor before leaping down in front of the drunk, managing to land a couple of quick punches on his chest, knocking him back a step.

He growled at her angrily, and then quickly swung his weapon around pointing the sharp blade at the staff's end at her, all the while letting out sounds like a martial artist.

"I can drop him easily, Wind Runner. Just say the word." Hawk Shot's voice filtered smoothly into Wind Runner's ear through the communication device he had in place there.

The knight shook his head and replied, "Negative. Continue to maintain your cover. The Spring Maiden is more than capable of handling herself." A small grunt was his only reply, and he wasn't surprised to hear that given the sniper's somewhat stubborn personality, and returned his attention to the battle taking place inside the inn.

Amethyst rolled her eyes and gave him a 'bring it' gesture. He charged at her and opened up with a sharp jab of his weapon which she sidestepped, before swinging it horizontally at her which she ducked as the blade passed by her chin by mere centimeters. He tried to slam the staff down on her head but she expertly jumped out of its way, somersaulting over the drunk's hand and landing on the table behind him in a three-point posture.

He swung around and tried to take out her legs, but she easily hopped over the swings. After evading a couple of more attempts at hitting her legs, Amethyst stomped down on the bo-staff and kicked the drunk in the face, stunning him for a few seconds. She then jumped over his head, landing on a booth against the wall where she sat upright, her shoulder length gloved arms splayed out casually as though the fight was no big deal to her.

The man roared and tore his weapon into two, revealing a thick steel chain that kept the two halves together, revealing its secondary form to be a giant nunchaku. He came at the purple-clad girl, swinging the bladed end of his weapon at her. Amethyst suddenly attacked, whipping out her own weapon in the form of Gembreaker, a double-edged longsword that was three and a half feet long which ended with a straight-edged crossguard that led to a hilt wrapped in purple leather with a cap at the bottom.

She fought off his nunchuck attacks with ease, turning aside every single blow that came her way and smirked all of a sudden, a slight gust of wind came out of nowhere and knocked the drunk off balance, which she took advantage of and slammed the pommel of her sword into his side painfully, and sending him down on his hands and knees.

Amethyst stepped on his back and said, "Tell you what, I am feeling generous today. So make it easy on yourself and apologize to the nice waitress and cook. Because if you keep trying to fight me, I'm gonna have to get serious. Trust me, you won't like that."

The Huntsman simply snarled at her and backflipped off the ground, kicking his legs out, forcing Amethyst to jump away to put some distance between them. As she got up, she saw that he had already recovered, swinging his bo-staff, ready for another bout. He charged at her, thrusting and slamming his weapon at her while trying to land a hit on her body, but she kept expertly weaving away from all of his attacks, dodging the sharp blade with ease before she swiftly slashed out with her longsword and abruptly severed the chain of his nunchaku.

Her hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed him by the chin, and she pulled him close and jokingly said, "You know, there are better ways you could have gotten a date, but I guess this is fun." While she expected him to drop his weapons in defeat, Amethyst didn't expect him to bring his leg up high enough to kick her in the face, landing hard enough blow on her to send her tumbling face-first into the wall.

"You think this is a joke?! I'm not good enough to be taken seriously?! Someone's gonna have to learn a lesson today, you little…" The drunken man ranted as he gripped the bladed end of his weapon threateningly.

Amethyst pushed herself off of the wall, not letting him see her face as he came closer. Back in the corner of the inn, the shadowy form of Wind Runner had brought up his weapon, but just as quickly he lowered it, clearly knowing what was about to happen.

Just as the drunken Huntsman moved to cut her, Amethyst unexpectedly whipped around and swung her longsword out, severing the top of his weapon and removing the blade in one swift horizontal stroke. She then grabbed his wrist and twisted hard, making the man cry out in before she forced him to look her in the eye. He breathed sharply as he saw that something had noticeably changed with her eyes: they were no longer playful or full of energy, now they were stoic and cold.

"Very well, let me teach you." She said dryly before she attacked him with a series of quick but brutal punches and jabs on his arms, torso, and face. With a mighty uppercut he was sent down on his back upon the staircase that led to the second floor.

He looked towards Amethyst as she approached, glaring at him with emotionless purple eyes. The Huntsman laid there groaning painfully, letting her get close before kicking out in desperation at her, only for the purple girl to grab his leg before it could make it halfway to her!

"What the…?!" He cried before she hauled him upwards and then slammed him into the polished wooden floor. He weakly began to crawl away from her, and as he got up on his knees the drunk whipped around to see her directly behind him.

With his weapon now lost, the trouble-maker sent both arms swinging wildly outwards, trying to land a punch on her, but all his attacks were expertly blocked by the girl as if she knew where they would be before they even hit her. He then attacked with a desperate left hook that she effortlessly dodged, and without warning she landed a painful hit on him by kicking him directly in the crotch.

He doubled over, crying out in pain, but before he touched the wooden floor he was sent flying into the inn's counter by an uppercut once more from the young woman, with the strength that somehow didn't seemed physically possible to come from her.

He groaned as he pushed himself up, only to turn around and see her walking towards him.

"Don't, please! No more! I'm sorry!" He cried out agonizingly as he gripped the countertop for support. She said nothing, she simply glared at him as she came ever so closer. The agitator looked towards the waitress, who hadn't moved since the fight started, while the cook was speaking urgently into the phone in another corner of the eatery.

Knowing that he needed a distraction to make his escape, the Huntsman made as though he was going to move towards the shivering waitress, and then attempted to dart for the exit, but before he had taken a few steps he felt Amethyst grab him by his best and slammed her fist into his face.

The vulgar fighter didn't really see what happened next, as it all went by so fast. He could feel the punches landing on him, but they happened so fast that the pain didn't have time to register before another blow hit him. He then felt his body move very fast suddenly, and the next thing he knew he was on his back in the street outside of the inn. He had felt himself hit the ground, but it was just now registering in his mind.

Before the drunk could try and get up, he was roughly hoisted up to his feet and felt his hands being cuffed, his swelled-up eyes barely making out a pair of police officers who had arrived on the scene.

"Alright buddy, hold still. You have the right to remain silent…" One cop began to read out the rights while his partner walked into the inn to make sure that on one was hurt.

"We got the call and we rushed here as fast as we could. My partner is cuffing him now. Everyone alright?" He asked.

"We're fine officer, just a little shaken up." The cook mumbled as his aura stopped the bleeding, while the waitress slowly stood up from where she had been hiding.

"Who was the one responsible for taking him out?" The officer inquired, looking around the inn's eatery as though trying to find the person responsible for beating up the drunk Huntsman.

"She did." The waitress answered, pointing to Amethyst who sliding her longsword back into its sheathe.

"You did that?" The cop asked, surprise evidently showing on his features.

Amethyst looked up, her eyes a tad uneasy but recovering from the fight, "I am a trained Huntress, Grimm aren't the only things I can take out."

"Are you still supposed to be in an academy? You look a little young to be travelling alone." The cop pointed out.

"I've graduated, and I'm older than I look. Do you need me to come down and make a statement?" She asked while rubbing her face with the back of a gloved hand.

"Well, can you tell me what exactly happened?" The cop asked as he knelt down to recover the halves of the man's weapons, producing a transparent plastic bag to put them into.

Before Amethyst could answer, the waitress spoke up, "The man was drunk, officer. We'd given him some strong rum earlier and it went to his head, he tried to… make a move on me, and when my boss tried to stop him he took out his weapon to threaten us, but that's when this girl stepped in and stopped him. She really taught him a few things."

The officer looked at Amethyst. "Is that correct, Miss?"

She nodded, "Yeah, what she has said is true. I saw him harassing her and then when he pulled out that weapon I decided to kick his butt. Nothing else to it."

The officer nodded and looked towards the cook, "Yeah, that's what happened officer. Only after she started fighting him I called you guys. And during the fight he landed a hit on her and then she became a bit… harsh on him, but since he hit her on the face I guess it makes sense she'd get mad."

The officer nodded and replied, "That will do for now. We will take him in, let him cool his head in a cell for a few days while we slap a couple of disorderly conduct charges on him. Sorry for the disturbance."

As the officer walked out of the inn, Amethyst walked back to her table. As she sat down the waitress came over and gave her a grateful smile before saying "Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to be beaten up by that drunk, but I am so glad someone stood up for me." She looked around and then leaned towards Amethyst and whispered, "We are going to give you another meal with those extra fries, on the house."

"Heh, fighting always does make me hungry. Thanks." Amethyst said gratefully.

"No, thank you." The waitress said before bowing her head in thanks and walking back to the kitchen.

As Amethyst laid back in her chair she heard Wind Rider's voice from outside. "Impressive, you only had to use your Maiden powers once."

"I don't use 'em much on punks like him. I have more restraint than that." She whispered back at the shadowy figure outside the window.

"But you must never become too confident that you allow your opponent catch you unaware." The knight mentioned firmly, "I almost was on the verge of firing a silent round into him when he kicked you in the face."

"That was a lucky hit." Amethyst replied as she picked up her drink, "It won't happen again."

"Make sure it doesn't." Wind Runner continued, "Because those who hunt you for your Maiden powers are experienced killers, and they aren't above playing dirty if it means getting an advantage over you. Amber was overwhelmed by them in a sneak attack, and you have to be careful."

"I will, and thank you for your concern." Amethyst answered, sipping from her drink.

"Hmm. It never ceases to amaze me how your Semblance changes your personality so radically." He commented.

"I hate it." She raised her voice a little bit more, getting his attention. "I never liked my Semblance. I mean, it's helped me out a lot and comes in handy during a fight, but I don't like how it just… shuts off or blocks out my emotions. It's just not… me. It's like I become the opposite of who I really am and it… changes me. It just makes me lifeless and cold and that's just not who I am."

Wind Runner nodded and quietly responded, "I understand your concerns, and I don't think you're wrong for disliking it, but I personally think it shows how strong you are."

"Whaddya mean?" She inquired with a tilted head.

"Well, since you dislike your Semblance so intensely, you could simply just not use it at all. However, you still use it when you have to and yet you don't allow it to control you afterwards, and from my experience if someone has a unique Semblance he or she would take full advantage of such a power quite frequently to make sure they always remain strong and powerful until it burns them out, but from what I have witnessed you are far more restrained." Wind Runner pointed out and then added, " The fact that you dislike feeling cold and emotionless is an admirable trait."

She smiled at him from inside the building and said "I knew you were a big softie deep down." She reached out and playfully ruffled his head through his hood, making him shake his head while she began to giggle. He did, however, allow himself a faint smile.

* * *

"...and that's how we lost the fight against Team SSSN during the Vytal Festival." Nebula Violette, the leader of Team NDGO, finishing up before taking a gulp of her soft drink to wash down her latest meal she had eaten not too long ago. Beside her, with the rest of her teammates either looked a little crestfallen, except for Octavia Ember who had her head on the table beside her own finished plate. Gwen Darcy had her face in her hands groaning softly, while Dew Gayl simply patted Octavia's back sympathetically. "I mean, they're nice guys and all, even tried to make amends while we were at Haven, but still…"

The all female team were currently seated at the upper areas of the cafeteria within Shade Academy, besides the tall curved windows that offered a wonderful view of Vacuo's capital as well as the amber dust and the harsh, hot desert that stretched out as far as the eye could see outside of the city, save for some patches of palm trees here and there. Warm rays of bright sunlight pierced through the warm glass panels, casting shadows across the brightly-lit and crowded cafeteria where the students lined up to buy food from the variety of stalls present and consume their meals during recess time.

Since the Vacuoan Huntsman Academies didn't have a standard uniform like the schools of the other Kingdoms, their students were commonly seen dressed in an assortment of casual or the individual clothing of their Huntsmen and Huntresses' calling. The students of Shade populated the entire span of the massive domed hall, sitting in small groups or within their own Teams around both circular and long rectangular tables with benches, while engaging in their own conversations or wearing their fingers out on games in their personal scrolls, making full use of their free time before going back to class later.

The young woman with maroon red eyes and blackish-brown hair the color of baked coffee beans sat opposite Team NDGO gave a nod of her head, the small colored beads around attached to her two braids which occupied both sides of her face making soft rattling sounds as she did so. Both of her hands, which were clad in fingerless gloves with orange sigils, adjusted around the mug of warm milk tea which she had been sipping while listening attentively to the leader with indigo hair and olive eyes and mentioned, "You might not have won, but understand that the four of you have managed to give the Team SSSN a run for their lien by getting quite a few hits in return, however."

"I guess that's one way to put it." Dew replied as she regarded the listener's rather pleasant face, as the other slowly sipped her milk tea once more, savouring the taste on her tongue for a few moments.

The girls of NDGO didn't really know this woman, as she was apparently a visitor who had traveled across the desert and would be a guest of Headmistress Luna Aria for a while, but she had made a bit of a show after defeating several of the highest ranking seniors in the sparring hall with only what appeared to be middling effort.

She looked to be in her early twenties and she was well-built with lean and toned muscles on her figure compared to the other girls studying at Shade Academy. She wore a red sleeved jacket with a dark blue collar which was cropped off at the elbows and a reddish-brown inner-shirt in addition to knee-length greyish-white pants with a couple of thin red lines running horizontally and diagonally across the cloth covering her inner thighs. She also wore also practical white and red boots which were presumably to keep the sand out and protect her legs and feet from Vacuo's harsh deserts. There were a number of small pouches around her waist, as well as an image that was likely her personal emblem embroidered in orange thread at the back of her jacket: a circular sun projecting its flames outwards, with the curved flames at the both sides forming a pair of flaming wings. She possessed a certain sharp, angular beauty about her while her maroon eyes seemed to project a sort of intense and knowing gaze into others.

"You know… at first a lot of the students here criticized us and Team BRNZ for losing to other Kingdoms. It stopped after a while, especially after we helped out at Haven, but you're… different." Nebula pointed out as she gazed at the maroon-eyed girl who thought for a moment before replying.

"While I have seen the entire battle between your team and Team SSSN through the broadcast of the Vytal Festival before, your separate firsthand accounts also gave me some more details on why you have been defeated by them." She said.

"How so?" asked Octavia as she looked up, resting both of her hands underneath her chin, suddenly attentive while Gwen removed her hands from her face.

Their listener simply gestured with her graceful fingers as she placed down her mug of milk tea, "For starters, the four of you should have avoided the water areas, as Neptune Vasilias of Team SSSN would most likely have a weapon that can make use of the water bodies despite his obvious fear of water. While it was smart to try and take advantage of that, you should have anticipated he had a way around it. Dew could have used her staff to form multiple wind gusts and whirlwinds to separate the first two members of SSSN, or at least keep them at bay while the rest of your teammates engage the most isolated of their number."

"In other words, divide first and then conquer separately." Nebula remarked as she placed a couple of fingers below her chin, "I do see the wisdom of that strategy. That's why Dew hurled Sage out of the arena with her wind gusts."

The girl slowly tapped a finger against her mug of warm milk tea, producing a soft tapping sound as she recalled the details of the battle account, "Yes, but you let Octavia engage Sun, the most powerful member of the team, alone, the latter of which having support from Neptune who provided clear overwatch from above, and that resulted in your teammate being eliminated rather quickly. Perhaps Dew could have whipped up a small sandstorm to obscure his view, which may have allowed Nebula here to engage Sun since she's the most experienced in close range combat, with Gwen as her backup and support."

"You managed to come up with all those different strategies just by watching the entire battle?" Dew asked the girl with a slightly astonished voice, with the rest of her team showing similar expressions of admiration and amazement.

"Well studying what went wrong helps, but being attentive and aware of one's area and opponents is important. One of my old teachers once told me that in order to overcome your opponents, you first need to identify their strengths and weaknesses from their varied fighting styles, and use what skills you have to effectively counter them. While your team isn't lacking in speed or strength, perhaps the four of you should work on your cooperation with each other so that you can change fighting formations speedily according to the developing situations."

The entirety of Team NDGO lapsed into deep thought, looking at each other after absorbing what their listener had told them as they contemplated about what she had told them. While they have indeed become quite a formidable fighting force on their own with each member working with the others like a finely-tooled, well-oiled machine, their overall adaptability still needed some work despite the fact that they have achieved quite a renowned reputation among the Teams from Shade as a crowd favourite during the Vytal Festival Tournament.

After quietly exchanging words amongst themselves, Nebula turned back to face the woman who had been patiently waiting for them to finish their own conversation while sipping her mug of milk tea once more, "I suppose we should thank you for pointing out what our Team can improve upon. You have our most grateful thanks for your interesting observations. What's your name anyway?"

"It's Adara Aenia, and you are very welcome. I was only giving my personal opinions based on what I witnessed from your battle." Their listener gently smiled as she tilted her head a little, while adjusting one of the braids at the side of her face, "By the way, I would also like to hear about your participation in the Battle of Haven. That is, if you all have the time to share?"

A series of booming chimes announced the end of the lunch period, and crowds of Shade Academy students began to get up from their seats while carrying their trays to the cleaning and disposal areas, before making their way out of the stone-wrought doors towards wherever classrooms their next lessons would take place. "Sure, as long as you tell us how you managed to fight and then defeat all three of the most experienced senior Huntsmen and Huntresses in Shade Academy in the sparring halls on your own!" Nebula answered with a grin on her face, while Dew, Gwen and Octavia all nodded their heads in agreement as they all stood up, carrying their food trays.

"Well I guess that's fair, isn't it?" 'Adara' agreed with a warm smile as she waved, biding them goodbye, and watching as they vanished into the crowds of students leaving the cafeteria. She shortly placed her own food tray in the cleaning area for the cafeteria staff to clean, and then left through one of the side doors leading into the various sandstone and concrete hallways of Shade Academy, easily blending in with other Vacuoan students.

It wasn't long before 'Adara' reached one of the higher balconies which offered a nice view of the surroundings that extended outwards from Shade Academy itself. From the balcony at where she stood, she could see the topography of the Vacuoan cityscape, comprised of blocky stone buildings mixed with a lot of bigger, more modern looking ones, as well tarp-covered marketplaces full of activity, temples and places of worship, and a number of thriving black markets cleverly hidden among the bustling landscape, as well as the highways that helped connect the different areas of the city, all of which stretched out towards the reinforced and heavily guarded walls of the Kingdom. As the blistering heat and humid air hit her face, she wrapped the thick long brown hooded cloak she wore when crossing the deserts of Vacuo around herself and pulled up the hood to protect her face from the harsh weather.

She leaned against the balcony's edge while resting her elbows on the parapet, breathing in the warm air of the desert and feeling the slightly hot temperature of Vacuo caress her tanned face. She had arrived at Shade Academy and into Headmistress Luna Aria's protection a little over six months ago, after she had been abruptly diverted from her journey across the surface of Remnant as she performed her personal duty of being one of the Four Maidens. While she hadn't suffered from any attack like the one that had claimed Amber, she had been careful with her own personal movements by constantly staying on the move like the Spring Maiden Amethyst Rilo, taking odd routes whenever possible and sometimes walking through densely populated regions, while other times buying horses to travel through mountainous roads and treacherous areas as she passed through them.

'Adara Aenia' was just one of her many false names she had used to throw off anyone who might be searching for her whereabouts or trying to track her dowe, and that was another layer of precaution she had taken alongside many others to avoid an ambush by any assassins lying in wait. She knew all too well the consequences should her powers fall into the hands of those who would misuse it for their own selfish purposes, whereas that power was instead supposed to be used to do good for all of Remnant. After looking at the busy cityscape around the massive pyramid-shaped buildings of Shade Academy, the Summer Maiden turned and walked towards a stone bench underneath the shade of a few large palm trees planted in a circular opening at the middle of the sizable balcony.

As soon as she took a seat, 'Adara' felt the presence of an armored individual nearby, and though she had grown used to his presence since her arrival at Shade six months ago, she still didn't like the fact that her every movement was being watched, her personal safety notwithstanding. Her hand instinctively reached for the haft of her personal weapon, Flameguard, which was attached to a special holder at her waist, her heightened senses coming alive as though she was about to engage a foe. Only when she saw the intricately-crafted and detailed gunmetal-grey plated armor with red trimmings, along with a weapon of a double-bladed sword and shield, did she see it was Fire Walker, the Knight Vanguard assigned to protect her by the Relentless Crusader Knight Legion, she relax slightly and nodded in his direction, which slowly returned.

"You have been quite busy as of late, Heliosia Ainea." Fire Walker remarked as he stood a respectful distance beside the Summer Maiden, his grey and brown cloak rippling a little in the warm breeze that gusted around them under the shade of the palm trees.

"Is that so? I have no idea what you are talking about, Fire Walker." Heliosia remarked as she crossed her legs and produced her personal scroll from the pocket of her pants, glancing at the gently glowing screen of the communication device as she read the latest news reports coming in from around other parts of Remnant through her scroll's connection to Vacuo's CCT system, which had been further upgraded by Atlas as a gesture of goodwill for the Kingdom of Vacuo.

The knight tilted his helmet a little as he looked at her carefully, as though studying her intently, or he was just considering whether she was telling him the truth or not. Soft clacks were heard as he moved a couple of steps closer and loomed over Heliosia who looked up at him with what looked like an irritated glare on her face.

"Then how can you explain to me what happened in the slums area in the northern quadrant just five days ago? A number of thugs from the Black Vipers gang were found unconscious with injuries and what looked like burns on their faces and limbs, and then the temple's orphanage just so happened to receive a very generous donation from an anonymous donor? If you are trying to be discreet, Heliosia… then you are failing. You most definitely need to work your subtlety." He told her.

The Summer Maiden turned her head to look at the knight, maroon-red eyes meeting the red lenses of his intricately-crafted Crusader helmet and held his gaze for a long while before she replied, "I was just trying to perform my duty to help any body I can to the best of my abilities, and since the Black Vipers had been extorting from the poor and the unfortunate in the slums, I decided that I might as well start from there to thwart their operations and use their ill-gotten money to do some good. Besides, it's not my fault that they didn't take my advice to peacefully surrender when I confronted them, and they instead went charging at me with their personal weapons which I might tell you are coated with viper poison." She took a breath and then added, "But it all worked out in the end, right? Many members of the Black Vipers have been arrested by the Vacuo Rangers thanks to their raids, and those that managed to slip through the net were also caught shortly after, and the money they extorted was returned to the rightful owners. So given what has happened I personally doubt that they can ever recover from such a grievous blow to their criminal activities."

"It's not the results that concern me, but the way you go about performing your duty as a Maiden." Fire Walker remarked as he pointed a gauntleted finger at Heliosia, "Do you know that we have taken every possible precaution to make sure that you were safely hidden from potential assassins and agents of darkness here? While your actions have indeed changed some things for the better in this city, but rumors and hearsays can easily reach the ears of the enemy if they look and listen hard enough for those little bits of information and piece them together. You could have just given the locations you have stolen from the Black Vipers gang to the law-enforcement authorities and they could have handled it just as well without putting yourself in danger."

"And wait for them to respond oh so slowly, allowing that gang to escape into the shadows once more?" Heliosia replied crossly as she flicked a gloved finger to prove her point, "I saw a chance and I took it, and besides I wore a mask over my face and I managed to get one of the thugs to tell me the location of their hidden base, and then I told it to the Vacuo Rangers and the law-enforcement officers when I called them in." She sighed a little and continued, "And if you are worrying that I gave myself away by using my Maiden powers, there's no need to, because I didn't. I only relied on my personal fighting skills and my Semblance, which I also used sparingly during the battle with the Black Vipers gang cell."

"At least you know the meaning of restraint." Fire Walker said as he slowly crossed his arms while turning his Crusader helmet to look at the busy city of various inhabitants which spread out from the edge of the balcony he and Heliosia were currently having a conversation in, "But you still need to learn to keep a low profile. Need I remind you that you actually summoned a series of sandstorms to fight off that group of bandits trying to rob a public transport? And what's more, those civilians actually witnessed you doing it!"

Heliosia slowly shook her head when she remembered that particular incident during her travels across the seemingly endless deserts of Vacuo during her journeys, and at that time she was just another passenger in a hood who wanted to remain inconspicuous. But it was just her bad luck that the train she was riding on was stopped by a ragtag yet powerful group of desert bandits intent on plundering the passengers' valuables. At first she only thought the bandits were only interested in money, but the sight of the other passengers being ill-treated by the bandits told her otherwise and clearly weren't strong in the ways of moral principles.

When one of the more despicable bandits decided to take a Faunus teenager from her parents, she suddenly snapped into action and started taking the whole group of bandits apart with a mix of quick-thinking and her fighting skills with Flameguard in its retractable staff and kusarigama hybrid forms. After seeing that his fellow bandits were either incapacitated or injured, the leader of the desert bandits took a child hostage to secure his escape. Only through a last moment intervention in which the child bit the bandit leader's hand and escaped, Heliosia summoned the powers of the sands around them and created a powerful series of sandstorms which swept up all of the bandits and their vehicles, tossing them screaming into a considerable distance away.

When the storms died down, the stunned passengers all went down on their knees and thanked her gratefully, and she quickly told them to rise, as she didn't want to be worshiped despite being the Summer Maiden. After making sure both the Faunus teenager and the child were safe and were back with their respective parents, she then politely requested that the other passengers keep the encounter a secret before continuing on her journey to the Vacuo capital, where she met a group of Remnant Knights from Vacuo's Knight Legion, known as the Relentless Crusaders, when she introduced herself to Headmistress Luna Aria at Shade Academy, and was then introduced to Fire Walker and his fellow knights who would serve as her protectors.

"We're lucky Strider managed to track down all those people and swear them to secrecy." Fire Walker remarked.

"They already promised to keep it secret, and besides if I was given the choice once more, I would still do it again." Heliosia sighed as she leaned back on the stone bench, "I just can't bear to stand and watch when innocents are put in harm's way. Besides, those desert bandits totally deserve their current predicament."

"That they do, but I hope you don't use your Maiden powers again." Fire Walker said as he turned back to look at the Summer Maiden under his protection, "It will attract unwanted attention in which would bring down a lot of trouble upon us should your true identity be discovered by enemy agents."

Heliosia thought about it for a few moments, before grudgingly admitting that her assigned protector was right after all, since she couldn't afford to be a focus for any unwanted attention as it may unintentionally disclose her identity as the Summer Maiden to certain less-than-kind individuals. So she would have to be more careful if she was to keep her cover as a personal friend and guest of Headmistress Luna.

"I will try to be more careful next time, would that be acceptable to you?" She eventually spoke up.

"Just don't do anything that will draw the attention of others to you." The Remnant Knight warned her carefully.

"I will do my best. I promise that I will do as little as possible to give myself away." Heliosia promised the knight, who nodded before slowly walking away. Heliosia looked back out to the city, all the while toying with a simple necklace with a round shaped circular clasp inset with a shimmering sapphire around her neck, which looked like it's split in half and seemed to be part of a set. As her fingerless gloves caressed her necklace gently, she was reminded of her other personal matter which had seen her roaming the various continents of Remnant in search of what she was looking for.

The Summer Maiden hadn't deemed it necessary to tell Fire Walker or any of the knights since it was a rather personal matter, and she still held strongly onto that vow that she search to the ends of Remnant itself to find the entity of her search, no matter how much time it would take.

* * *

Originally built by the scientific branch of the Atlas military to monitor the climate conditions of the continent of Solitas, Watchpoint Glacies was a sizable research facility built some miles away from the Temple of Krystallo into one of the higher points of the Atlesian mountain range.

It was of relatively simple, practical design, consisting of five grayish-white interconnected buildings with a variety of communication devices built on them, in addition to a tall and sturdy steel perimeter wall that surrounded the entire facility, and offered a breath-taking view of the land of ice and snow that made up the Kingdom of Atlas which was separated from the research facility through an expanse known as the Borealis Tundra.

It played host to a number of Atlesian researchers and their security force in the past, but now its occupants had changed, to say the least. Watchpoint Glacies was said to have been decommissioned, but was secretly repurposed for the use of giving the Winter Maiden and her guardian another place to live in besides the Temple of Krystallo. Making it another one of several safe havens for the Maiden to live in along the mountainous region.

It was the former study room of Watchpoint Glacies's head scientist that Elsa Vorst now found herself in, which served as her new home after General Ironwood had advised her to relocate to a more defensible location. While she was a little reluctant at first, but then she does see that the general meant well since the research facility had been upgraded with additional defenses and had enough resources to house her Atlas security team as well as the Winter Templars detachment which was assigned by the Knight of Air to protect her.

Sitting at the curved desk, she looked at the collated reports generated on the holographic screen before her while her fingers slowly manipulated the holographic keyboard set on the desk's surface. Placing a hand beneath her chin, the Winter Maiden carefully took them into consideration while trying to ignore the heavy tread of the upgraded Atlesian Knight-400 androids that were marching on their patrol routes throughout the corridors of the buildings, while the Winter Templar knights were scattered around the wall perimeter of the facility, their silver-white armor easily blending in with the snowy landscape outside.

Over the past several months, Grimm attacks had become increasingly frequent, with at least one outlying city or town reporting a Grimm incursion or sighting almost everyday. While there haven't been any massive Grimm attacks like the level nine incident during the Vytal Festival which took place in Vale, the number of incursions and sightings which had been steadily growing as of late was quite worrying.

Ever since the defeat of the White Fang and the death of Adam Taurus six months ago, the terrorist organization had fractured with the majority of its cells around Remnant having been arrested by the various law-enforcement agencies and military forces of the four Kingdoms. The remaining cells of White Fang had quietly vanished, some regrouping with Razor's reformed White Fang, and those who refused to cease their attacks on humans were promptly handed over to the authorities, but some were teaming with the organization that had arose from the ashes of Adam's twisted philosophy which was known as the Red Fang.

From what discussions and information Elsa had gathered from General Ironwood and her assigned Knight Vanguard Snow Blade of the Winter Templars detachment, Salem's faction hadn't been as active in the way she had usually been, save for the Red Fang's acts of terrorism scattered around Remnant perpetuated by their cells which was similar to the actions of Adam Taurus's White Fang, but those were mostly hit and run attacks which didn't do much damage other than causing mild annoyance for the various Kingdoms and settlements, hinting that this new group of Faunus zealots were much smaller in scale compared to Adam's.

However, if someone with an eye for detail were to look past these frequent Grimm activities, it would become obvious that Salem and her Grimm Commanders were indeed orchestrating those attacks. But there was one clear oddity as of late, the reports from General Ironwood stated that the Grimm activity in Atlas was usual, no increase but no decrease either, while attacks in Vale, Vacuo and Mistral had substantially increased. With the other Kingdoms under threat, the worsening situation has forced Ironwood and the Atlas Council to send many of their aerial battleships and sea-based naval forces from the Kingdom to help their allies combat the Grimm threat on the other continents.

What puzzled Elsa was that despite the decreased number of Atlesian military forces in the Kingdom, Salem and her agents weren't making a move as far as anyone knew, and if they had the specifics of it hadn't been made clear yet, but it's just like nature of those individuals within Salem's faction to work from the shadows and use others to get the results they want. It had now been over a year since the tragedy of the Vytal disaster in Vale as well as the death of her friend Amber, and yet so far there also haven't been any major attack on her or any of the other remaining Maidens.

Both of the other Maidens were under watch as well and not just the protection of Kingdoms' local military forces, but the various Remnant Knight Legions as well. The Atlesian division of the Knight Order, known as the Winter Templars, had been assigned to guard her and had done so diligently for months now.

Elsa didn't know why, but all these unknown factors were making her edgy. In her mind, she supposed it was because Salem had been like her once in the past, a Winter Maiden. But whereas most Maidens had a selfless quality when it comes to using their given powers to maintain balance and serve the people of Remnant, Salem had instead become lustful for power and hadn't been willing to surrender the power she had been given, which was what allowed the Darkness to consume her completely and remake her as the third Dark Mistress of Grimm.

The very idea that someone like a Maiden, who was supposed to be pure, strong, kind and compassionate, could turn to darkness so easily when asked to give up their power or make a sacrifice for the good of the world was unnerving and unthinkable. But then again, harsh lessons had given the ancients sayings like absolute power corrupts, hence people like Salem.

Waiting wasn't making it any better since no one knew where Salem and those who served her would strike from. Elsa had expected there to be some kind of attack on her by now, at least in battle she would show Salem and her pawns that she wouldn't go down without a fight. But aside from some far-off Saber Grimm being spotted about the Atlesian Mountains near Watchpoint Glacies, nothing else out of the ordinary happened.

She sighed and closed the reports on the holographic screen and was about to shut it down for the night when she stopped and brought up the photo folder which she transferred from her own scroll after arriving. While many of the photos were of various breathtaking landscapes including lush forests, sweltering deserts and wide expanses of beaches so that she would have something to look at other than snowy mountains. Nonetheless, there was always one photo the Winter Maiden always love to look at, as it brought back so many memories about the times where the Maidens come together to protect mankind. She touched the image on the holographic screen which enlarged the picture, showing it to be a picture of Amethyst, Heliosia, Amber and herself in a desert area, all four of them standing triumphant after defeating a massive incursion of Grimm in the desert.

Within the picture, the energetic Amethyst Rilo leaned casually against the trunk of the desert palm tree with a victorious smile on her face and Gembreaker embedded in the sand beside her, while Heliosia Aeina had her arms crossed with a slightly determined expression on her face, while Flameguard on her back in its staff form while the red Dust crystal at its top shone in the afternoon sunlight. Amber was sitting down on a nearby boulder, her retractable staff on her lap while resting her hands on her lap with a small contented smile on her face, and finally Elsa Vorst herself stood beside Amber, her personal weapon attached to her winter-themed clothing and resting a hand on the Fall Maiden's shoulder, while having a content expression on her face.

The story behind the picture happened about three years ago, shortly after Amethyst had received her powers and become the latest Spring Maiden. There had been an invasion by a massive gathering of Grimm, easily in the tens of thousands, in the vast deserts of Vacuo, and they were slowly making their way towards civilization possibly with the intent to wipe out the half of Vacuo. While the military forces of Vacuo had dealt some damage alongside significant support by the Valean militia forces, they weren't doing enough to stem the tide of the Grimm. As the Atlesian military forces aren't able to arrive in time to join the battle, Ozpin had suggested to allow the Maidens to deal with them before they could get near populated areas

It turned out to be a wise decision, as the four women had worked together and had utterly wiped out the Grimm horde within an hour once the combined Vacuan and Valean military forces had forced them into a bottleneck, with Amethyst using her Semblance of heightened sense which made her an incredibly fierce fighter, helping her to devastate the Grimm, helped out by her bow and longsword hybrid weapon Gembreaker, in combination with her ability to control various plant life by bringing up thick underground roots to ensnare the Grimm and protect her allies by throwing up various shield barriers made of plants, as well as Heliosia who used her Maiden power of pyrokinesis to incinerate the Grimm while ripping through them like a hot knife through butter with Flameguard, her hybrid weapon which was made up of a retractable staff and a kusarigama

For her part in the battle, Elsa had tapped into the desert water supplies to create ice spears that impaled the Grimm which charged at her, while using her personal weapon Winter's Wrath, an auto-crossbow which can fire off two dozen arrows per minute to keep the Grimm swarms away from her, while every single Grimm she shot at dissolved quickly into dust as they died. Amber had used her own staff to excellent effect by being quick and brutal in her strikes, empowering the Dust crystals in her staff to decimate the creatures of darkness alongside her abilities of calling upon gusts of wind and lightning strikes, with her own fighting skills easily holding strong.

Elsa remembered helping Amber as they encased a number of rocks in ice and then Amber used the wind to send those boulders flying into the Grimm weakening them enough to be finished off by the supporting military forces of both Vacuo and Vale. The Fall Maiden would then dart across the battlefield with Amethyst, eager to keep the monsters away from innocent people.

The platinum-blonde Winter Maiden had fond memories of working with Amber, using the wind to force the Grimm towards designated areas where Valean Troopers and Vacuo Rangers would open fire and exterminate them completely. She had been surprised how well she got along with Amber, who showed a surprising amount of maturity despite her age and relative inexperience, and they found that they had more than a few things in addition, she had also gotten along surprisingly well with Heliosia the Summer Maiden, since they were the senior Maidens while Amethyst and Amber were the younger ones, and they had often spoken about a variety of different matters through their secure contact with each other.

One of the side effects of being a Maiden was aging slower than one normally would due to the gift of the Maidens. In reality Elsa was actually in her thirties, but she looked to be in her early twenties. She had once worried about her relationship with Kaifin as she knew that her condition would affect it, but he assured her he would still always love her no matter what.

The other three Maidens had similar issues with aging as well, as Amethyst didn't look a day over seventeen even though she was supposed in her early twenties and Heliosia had barely aged either looking around the same age as Elsa herself, and Amber... she hadn't gotten to truly see its effects outside of a few years.

The pleasant train of thought about her friends stopped instantly as Elsa began to ponder the report on Cinder Fall, especially on how it stated that she was actually in her mid-thirties while she looked to be in either her late teens or early twenties, but she apparently had this effect before she stole the Fall Maiden powers from Amber, though Salem's dark magic were clearly the answer to the question of how Cinder was able to stay young.

Elsa shook that thought off and her mind went back to remembering the aftermath of that day in the desert after all the Grimm in the surrounding areas of the desert had been destroyed, the four maidens had gathered together after receiving the heartwarming thanks from both the Valean Troopers and Vacuo Rangers. While Elsa and Heliosia were already acquainted, Amber and Amethyst were clearly new additions to Maidenhood, so they made the most of the rare meeting and became close friends before going their separate ways once more. They took advantage of their allotted time and had hung out together and had gotten to know each other quite well, afterward they would frequently communicate with each other, either in the Mindscape of the Maidens or through secure scrolls.

The Winter Maiden's hand gently touched the picture of Amber's smiling face on the screen as she whispered to herself, "I hope you are happy Amber... I know you're in a better place now." As she looked at the image of the deceased Fall Maiden, her mind wandered to Pyrrha Nikos who had nearly been her successor, the student from Beacon who had been chosen by Ozpin to inherit Amber's powers as the new Fall Maiden.

While she had never met the girl personally, Elsa had heard of Pyrrha Nikos before the incident at the Vytal Festival due to the spartan's celebrity status, but when she had heard of what had happened to Amber she wept not just for her dead friend, but also for the innocent people who had been killed by the Grimm and the White Fang. She came to realize that Cinder's plan to acquire Amber's power had succeeded, which meant another innocent girl had inadvertently been put in danger by Ozpin himself, one who had been murdered by the same thief who had killed Amber and also taken the powers from the new, rightful Fall Maiden - Pyrrha herself.

She had been just as surprised as anyone when the truth got out that Pyrrha wasn't actually dead but was under the thrall of Salem, Ironwood had been under mind control for some months, there were Human-Grimm Hybrids and Pyrrha herself had been one of them according to the reports she had gotten from Ozpin, Ironwood, and the Councils themselves. It was a definitely a lot to take in.

And yet, in all that time since Pyrrha Nikos had returned they had never met, when Elsa herself had so much to talk to the young woman about, even though the spartan warrior herself didn't exactly become the Fall Maiden as Ozpin had intended.

Elsa breathed a heavy, sad sigh as she looked at Amber's gentle smile on her kind face as seen in the picture, and began to wonder...

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the door to the study room slide open and was a little startled when she heard someone ask, "Are you alright?"

The Winter Maiden looked away from the picture on her holographic screen to see her lover and guardian walk into the study room, and she turned her head around to face him and nodded, a thoughtful look still in her eyes, "I am fine, Kaifin... I just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

The large bearded man nodded while giving her a kind smile, "I know that look. You are planning something, aren't you?"

"You know me all too well." Elsa admitted as she minimized the photo of the Four Maidens on the screen with a flick of her fingers on the holographic keyboard.

"You've been thinking about Amber again." He added, a concerned look on his features.

Elsa nodded again, knowing that if there was one downside to having Kaifin as her lover, it was that he could read people far too well at times. And since he had known her for so long, he had come to practically predict some of her actions, which made their sparring sessions run a little longer than expected at times.

"I have, but not just about her. It's about what Pyrrha Nikos had gone through that concerns me. I've read the reports but… what hardships she and her friends had endured… what those monsters did to them…" Elsa struggled to say. "Those poor children..."

"I know. It makes my blood boil." Kaifin said darkly. Elsa stood up from her chair and placed a calming hand on him, and with that he took her into his arms in an attempt to calm himself. "What do you wish to do?"

"I… I want to meet with Pyrrha, and her partner Jaune Arc. And that Ruby Rose girl as well. I think we could have some interesting conversations." Elsa said to him, while looking into her lover's eyes.

He nodded, "That isn't a bad idea. In fact, I think such a visit is long overdue. We'll need to call General Ironwood and Ozpin and see if we can arrange it."

"That's not all I want to do." Elsa stated as her expression turned slightly forlorn, "I haven't really talked to Amethyst or Heliosia since we found out that Pyrrha was alive. I mean, they've talked to each other but I… haven't really…"

"I understand your pain. Sometimes it hurts to face the fact that Amber's no longer with you." Kaifin finished for her while allowing the Winter Maiden to press her platinum-blonde haired head against his chest. One of the major conditions about being a Maiden was that they needed to be virgins. This was a big irritation for someone as flirty as Amethyst, but Elsa... she had wanted children for such a long time, but due to her condition they couldn't make love. Adoption was out of the question, as this life was too dangerous for a child, but it was a sacrifice the couple had been willing to make.

Elsa cringed briefly, but nodded and said. "I want to meditate, to meet them in the Mindscape of the Maidens, and share it with Pyrrha. She may not be one now, but she was the Fall Maiden, if only for an instant. I need to talk to her about this, to learn what she went through first hand. We all need to."

Her guardian thought about it carefully as he released Elsa from his embrace and asked, "Are you sure it's safe? Cinder might find some way to eavesdrop on your conversation within that mindscape, considering who her master is."

"Of course it's safe. Cinder can't get into the mindscape, if she could the others would have contacted me about it by now. Besides, the various rules that a Maiden must abide by to enter that particular mindscape makes it impossible that she could have made it through. Salem can't either, the darkness within her prevents that outright." Elsa gently assured him.

Kaifin nodded his head after considering her explanation, "Okay, I hope you know what you are doing." He paused for a moment and then reached for a communicator beside the holographic computer terminal, "Alright then. Let's contact whoever you need to talk to, and see if they'll, and Snow Blade, will allow us a trip to Vale."

"You really think Snow Blade will allow it?" She asked, referring to the Winter Templar Knight who had been assigned to them.

"We shall speak with him, and hopefully get him to see things from your perspective if possible." Kaifin gave the Winter Maiden a wink,

"Well... I suppose that can work." Elsa agreed and they gazed into each other's eyes, "Shall we get some coffee to warm ourselves?" She asked as she leaned up toward his lips.

"You read my mind." Kaifin grinned before taking her into his arms. After exchanging several heated kisses, he escorted her out of the study room, the computer terminal shutting down behind them as he closed the doors with a soft click which echoed throughout the room as they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader (who created the Remnant Knights and Heliosia)
> 
> Amethyst Rilo was created by Leaf Ranger and used with his permission.
> 
> Check out the art for the fic done by jkphantom9 at Deviantart, as well as a piece of Sharp Strike and Heliosia done by kats07!
> 
> Also, this story now has it's own TV Tropes page! Feel free check it out or contribute to it!
> 
> Sorry about dropping two chapters, but I decided that my readers deserved one after the long wait, and I hope you enjoyed it! We met the other two maidens, set up new character arcs, and I probably made everyone hate Ashe. I hope this chapter was good, so please let me know what you think.
> 
> Sorry the hiatus took so long, and I hope that all of you can forgive me. But stuff kept adding up to my to do list, personal issues and life in general.
> 
> On the bright side I managed to get a lot of things done; I watched both Fullmetal Alchemist shows and both are insanely good and I ended up falling in love with the series (though I wish there was a third version that could combine both versions so we could have the best of both worlds), I watched all of The Muppet Show, played Red Dead Redemption, saw Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Kong Skull Island, and Transformers TLK and enjoyed them all (though TF5 clearly needs a director's cut...), haven't seen Spider-Man Homecoming or Wonder Woman but I'm looking forward to them. Red Vs. Blue Season 15 was also enjoyable, but easily the weakest season thus far.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.


	55. Best Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, before we begin, check out Golden Crusader's one-shot fic, a character short on the Remnant Knights. It takes place between the second arc and this one and sets up certain events. I hope you enjoy, now on with the show!

The sun was gradually setting on the western horizon, coloring the skies an amberish-red while white clouds moved sluggishly above Beacon Academy. In the academy's breezeways and covered walkways, students walked either alone or in small groups to whatever destination they had in mind, with some students sat on the various benches scattered around the circumference of the courtyard and mingled around while others made their way back to their dormitory rooms.

Everything looked peaceful in the surroundings of the Huntsman Academy, with the CCT at Beacon Academy tower fully operational once more with the skyports bringing in returning teams that have been out in the field disembarking from Bullheads. Other than some minor Grimm incursions around Vale's border, the current situation at Beacon was as peaceful as one could hope for after the unfortunate events that had happened during the Vytal Festival more than a year ago.

While the students were more or less retiring for various rest and relaxation activities while trying to finish up whatever weekend homework was left, the same couldn't be said of the Academy's Headmaster and Headmistress. Besides the endless paperwork, they still had something much more important to deal with within Ozpin's personal office, away from the eyes and ears of the students and faculty.

The Headmaster of Beacon stood within his office that he now shared with his close friend and now partner in running Beacon Academy, Glynda Goodwitch, in the reconstructed Beacon tower which was still casting its shining light to all of Vale, living up to its name. He looked into the eyes of the holographic version of the Winter Maiden as he stood in front of his curved table with both hands resting atop the handle of his cane, absorbing all that she had just told him moments ago.

With the upgraded holographic Atlas technology that had been built into the office during its extensive repairs, which allowed for advanced holographic conferences, Ozpin was not only looking at Elsa but also a number of other important individuals as well. Alongside the Winter Maiden was a hologram of her lover and guardian Kaifin in addition to their accompanying Knight Vanguard from the Winter Templars Knight Legion known as Snow Blade. General Ironwood, Grand Knight Master Seraph, and representatives of both the councils of Vale and Atlas were gathered around the circular room, making the room seem a bit crowded.

Like the rest of the Remnant Knights, Snow Blade was similarly clad in thick detailed gunmetal-grey plates with white trim, with a cloak of white which hung from his pauldrons. He cut a thick muscular and formidable figure, evident with the thick double-edged broadsword that hung from its sheath which was magnetically locked to his Aegis armor. The emblem of the Winter Templars was emblazoned proudly on his chest-plate, and he wore a plain silver helmet with azure lenses that was devoid of dents or cracks, standing with his gauntlet-clad hands clasped behind his back like a Atlesian Trooper ready for his superior's inspection. Ozpin noticed that the Knight Vanguard bowed his head slightly in Seraph's direction with his gauntlet on his chest for a moment, before shifting into a more relaxed posture after the Grand Knight Master gave a barely perceptible nod of his winged helmet.

"Are you sure this is a wise decision, Miss Vorst?" Councilman Henry of the Vale Council pointed out, "Leaving the protection of Watchpoint Glacies could leave you vulnerable to enemy attack."

"We are always at risk of attack, Councilman." The Winter Maiden replied calmly, "That much had been clear ever since Amber's death. However, I do believe that an escorted trip to Beacon Academy would be no more dangerous for me than the usual trip to one of the other hiding places among the Atlesian mountains."

"Miss Vorst has a point, and if she were to come to Beacon Academy for a short time she would be equally, if not safer than she would have been at one of our isolated facilities." A cultured voice of an Atlesian councilwoman spoke from another of the generated holograms. From the image projected outwards by the holographic device, she looked to be in her late forties with locks of pale blonde hair on her scalp and icy-blue eyes that gave off the impression of deep wisdom and foresight. The councilwoman wore the standard white and grey clothing of the Atlesian council, immaculately free of microscopic wrinkles and spotlessly clean, and she had quite the poker face even as she regarded the other people present frigidly.

Her name was Alexandra Maximilius, the current Head Chancellor of the Atlas Council. Her voice was clear and sharp, probably due to years of experience dealing with various matters within the Atlas Council and the political climate, and it demanded the immediate attention of anyone who heard her. Ozpin, Glynda, Elsa, Kaifin, Seraph, Snow Blade and Henry all caught the small glare that Ironwood momentarily shot in her direction, but if the councilwoman noticed it she did not so much as show any visible reaction to it.

Shortly after the battle with the White Fang, Ironwood had been called back to Atlas to attend an hurriedly scheduled sitting of his Kingdom's Council with regards to certain matters that had been brought to their attention in the light of recent events. Despite having his hands full dealing with the fallout which stemmed from the defeat of the White Fang organization, Ironwood delegated as much of the mop-up operations to those under his command and attended the meeting in which he was faced with the consequences of his actions while under the subliminal brainwashing of the Grimm Mistress which was put in place by Ulysses Cy, albeit unwillingly since he was clearly under extreme duress while committing the act.

After a lengthy debate in which the general nearly stormed out of after answering countless questions and accusations, Ironwood had been forced to relinquish his post as the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, in part due to the increasing amount of attention he needed to place on Atlas's military efforts, but mostly due to the fallout of his time spent under Salem's influence which had damaged his renowned reputation. Even though the Atlas Council had tried their best, they still couldn't keep what happened to Ironwood a secret, and concerned parents who had their children within Atlas Academy were evidently wary of putting their children in the hands of a man who had been manipulated like a puppet for some time, even if it was no longer the case now. It was only through a vigorous public relations campaign and the testament of Ironwood's impressive personal service record that the Atlas Council had reduced his chastisement significantly, but he still had to shoulder some blame for what had been done.

And so Ironwood had, with pressure from Maximilius and other members of the Atlas Council, decided to step down as Headmaster of Atlas Academy while reassuring his students and the faculty staff of the academy that he had been given a clean bill of health by various medical experts and a new Headmistress would take his place soon. While he understood their reasons and held no ill will towards the parents nor the students, almost all of whom had saluted him when he announced his departure from the Huntsman academy, the general didn't appreciate Maximilius for pressuring him to resign his post, nor did he approve of some of the security measures she was proposing to the council.

Ozpin nodded at the head of the Atlas Council and said, "While we appreciate the vote of confidence Councilor Maximilius, I personally would like to know why exactly do you wish to talk to my students?" He gave Elsa a questioning look even as posed the question.

Elsa sighed, and she shared a brief look with Kaifin before speaking once more, "I have been curious about certain members of Team Beacon, especially Pyrrha Nikos, whom I've had an interest in ever since I read the detailed reports on the Fall of Beacon. While I have read about her return and the Battle of Haven in the incident reports, but… it's not enough for me personally. I need to speak to her, to hear the story from her lips as one who had lived through that nightmare." The platinum-blonde woman took a breath and continued, "She may not be a Maiden, but she had briefly received the powers of one, even if only for a brief moment. I haven't been there for her, none of the Maidens have. She might not be a part of our sisterhood, but she almost was, and she deserves our compassion and support."

"A worthy cause and while I understand your reasons, I share the same concerns as Councilor Henry. So are you sure about this?" The hologram of Ironwood inquired, "It has been well over a year since the enemy claimed the powers of the Fall Maiden, and while we haven't had any attacks on the other Maidens thus far, it doesn't mean they aren't waiting for a chance to strike at any of the three of you. The current situation is fluid, and the attack can happen at any moment.

"I am not ignorant of the dangers, General." Elsa voiced simply, "...but I am willing to risk it since there are some important things that I must talk to Pyrrha Nikos about. Things I must learn and things she must learn."

"And what of the other Maidens? Do they know of your plan to come here?" Glynda inquired while looking at the Winter Maiden in the eyes.

"Not at the moment, but I shall inform them. I am more than certain they will agree to it. After all, both Heliosia and Amethyst are kind spirits and they'll be eager to speak to Pyrrha." Elsa assured her fellow blonde.

"All of you meeting at once? I don't think we can risk having all the Maidens in one place." A hologram beside Ironwood spoke up, the image being that of a dark skinned woman in her early thirties who was less experienced in council business. This was Headmistress Jacqueline Mapel, a quite intelligent woman who had taken over from Ironwood as the new teacher in charge of Atlas Academy. With a commendable service record in the Atlas military forces due to her competent and effective leadership, as well as showing good rapport with both faculty teachers and students, she proved to be a worthy candidate for being Ironwood's successor and was his choice for his successor.

While she had been performing competently well as an academy Headmistress, Mapel was still a rookie in the field of council politics, as well as the more secretive things the various councils of the Four Kingdoms had to deal with at times. However, she was still capable of handling difficult matters on her own whenever necessary, and most important of all was that her diligence and trustworthiness was what assured Ironwood that she was the ideal choice for his replacement.

"There's no need to worry, since our powers eliminate the need for such a thing." Elsa told her, "The maidens have a shared mindscape that allows us to communicate with each other, and any of the rare former Maidens also have access to it."

"What about Cinder Fall or the Mistress of Grimm? Aren't they able to access that mindscape as well?" Jacqueline asked the next question with a concerned expression on her face.

"No, neither of them can." Elsa answered while gesturing with her hands, "The reason Cinder cannot enter is due to the way she became the Fall Maiden, as she stole the power rather than receiving it willingly from the Fall Maiden herself or earning it. Our predecessors from generations ago, as a precaution, used their combined powers to make it so that the mindscape does not allow one to enter if they have killed a previous Maiden or have evil in their hearts. The same goes of the Mistress of Grimm since she has merged with darkness itself, which is why she had not been able to enter the mindscape in the centuries since she lost her Maiden powers."

Jacqueline nodded her head understandingly as Head Chancellor Maximilius spoke up again, "Since all the proper precautions have been implemented and Headmaster Ozpin has made sure that everything is safe and secure in Vale as well, we still need to make sure that the Winter Maiden is not followed to or from Beacon Academy."

"For once, I agree with you." Ironwood gave a nod before looking to the Remnant Knight leader, "I will detail a protection force and a fast airship from my own troops for the Winter Maiden and her guardian, and can we rely on the Winter Templars to provide additional support, should the need arise?"

"Of course, the Remnant Knights will provide protection for the Maidens as agreed." The Grand Knight master confirmed with a nod, and looked to the hologram of Snow Blade, "Your men will be the Winter Maiden's visible protection, while Snow Blade and the Winter Templars will remain unseen."

The Knight Vanguard of Elsa Vorst nodded and answered, "I and my detachment of the Winter Templars will continue to guard Elsa and Kaifin with our very lives regardless of location. We shall join them on their journey to Beacon Academy."

"Very well, then I see no reason to deny the Winter Maiden her visit." Ozpin gave his agreement, "Are there any objections?"

"As long as we are quiet about this, a visit from Miss Vorst might do Miss Nikos and the other members of Team Beacon some good. I will not object to this as long as we take every possible precaution by keeping the meeting subtle and making sure that everything is secure." Glynda said, while thinking of her students' safety, which she had commonly made a high priority as usual, "I don't want to risk another attack on Beacon Academy."

"No one wants a repeat of what happened at the Vytal Festival, Professor Goodwitch." Councilor Henry agreed and then added, "You have my approval as well on behalf of the Vale Council. How long do you wish to stay, Miss Vorst?"

"No more than a day, I know it's risky to be in the open for so long I have agreed with General Ironwood that our visit will not be a long one." The Winter Maiden informed the gathering of physical and holographic individuals.

"If that's the case, I guess it's reasonable for us to allow it. I hereby give my approval as well." Jacqueline said as she received quite a few nods and voices of agreement from both representatives of the Valean and Altesian Councils. The hologram of Councilor Benedict shared a cautious look with Henry before giving his agreement in short order.

"I will assign a small brigade to guard Watchpoint Glacies and the Temple of Krystallo until your return, Miss Vorst. Just to make sure that no one attempts to break in during your absence and lay in wait for your return. My men will accompany you to ensure your safety during the journey to Vale, so you have my permission." Ironwood stated calmly,

"And mine as well." Maximilius informed Elsa, "Do what you need to do, but don't let the students of Team Beacon know too much beyond what's necessary, Miss Vorst." However, her voice briefly taking on a somewhat condescending tone unfortunately raised the ire of Glynda.

"Our students are quite trustworthy, I assure you." Glynda said with obvious disapproval in her voice as her fellow blonde glared in her direction, "For the past year and a half they have contributed more to the fight against Salem and her forces than most council members do in their entire terms, and their efforts have produced clear results that speak volumes of their effectiveness."

"I am just saying that we should take precautions over what was being exchanged in such conversations, since these information being mentioned shouldn't be known to just about anyone. And teenagers tend to gossip so..." Alexandra remarked slowly, "As an experienced teacher and member of the Guardians of Remnant Order, I thought you should know that better than anyone else."

Glynda was about to respond when Kaifin thankfully cut in, "I personally don't think we have much to worry about, since we shall have Ironwood's troops with us as well as the Winter Templars, both of those factors which will make the agents of the Grimm Mistress think twice about attacking should she somehow find out about this. Watchpoint Glacies will be guarded by a significant force while we're gone, and Beacon Academy has also undergone a substantial security upgrade since its reconstruction, so even if her agents do move against us, we will be more than prepared to give them enough of a fight to make sure they regret it."

Elsa gave him a small smile while the other members of the meeting eventually voiced their approval of the visit after hearing Kaifin's reassuring words.

"I shall approve of it as well," Seraph spoke quietly, but it was obvious that he was thinking hard about something, even through the hologram's audio transition, "Nonetheless, I do have a question to ask of you, Maiden Elsa." The Winter Maiden turned to face towards the Grand Knight Master's hologram and heard him pose the question, "Why have you waited so long to pay this visit? Why not do it after Nikos was recovered a little over a year ago in Haven?"

Elsa thought for a moment before giving a heavy sigh, and then answering, "While there were other contributing factors or things that demanded my attention, it was mainly procrastination on my part. The pain of losing Amber still weighs heavily on me. I've… I've wanted to visit Miss Nikos for so long, but that part of me which mourns for Amber keeps putting it off. I suppose I may be afraid of reopening a wound which hasn't fully closed." Seeing the Grand Knight Master giving a small nod, she continued for the benefit of everyone present, "Coming to terms with the loss of a friend is never easy, and there are times when we feel that we should have done more, or shouldn't have done something that that is already done. With regards to meeting her… I am not putting it off any longer. I need to talk to Pyrrha Nikos as well as her partner Jaune Arc, and Ruby Rose. I need to know what exactly those children suffered through firsthand, and they must know certain things in particular with regards to the Maidens."

The Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights exhaled slowly, "A fine answer. You have my approval as well. I think it would be acceptable for you to visit Beacon for a brief while, perhaps it will not only help you, but certain members of Team Beacon greatly." He looked to Snow Blade and some unspoken agreement passed between them, and the Winter Templar gave his leader knight a respectful bow.

"We are all in agreement then. The Winter Maiden shall be allowed this brief visit to Beacon and will return to her current sanctuary afterwards, protected by both Atlas troops and Remnant Knights at all times. Does anyone have anything else to add?" Asked Councilor Henry, looking around at the assembled individuals. When there was no answer, not even from Alexandra Maximilius herself, the representative of Vale's Council declared, "Very well, meeting adjourned."

Upon hearing his words, many of the holograms began to dissipate into nothingness as the people they represented returned to whatever matters that occupied their time, be it formal business or personal. Henry bid Ozpin and Glynda goodbye before his own hologram faded away, while Alexandra simply nodded and focused her glare at both Ironwood and Glynda before hers faded away as well.

"Well, that went better than I expected." Ironwood remarked softly as he crossed his arms, looking around at the remaining holograms of Elsa, Kaifin, Headmistress Jacqueline, Grand Knight Master Seraph and Knight Vanguard Snow Blade.

"James, is Maximilius still trying to get those new security measures passed?" Glynda questioned while taking a step forward.

"Unfortunately, yes. While I am not against putting in place additional security measures to protect Atlas or increasing security within the Kingdom itself, from what I have seen of her proposals it's clear that she's willing to go further than anyone, even an experienced council member like myself, expected." Ironwood replied tersely.

"I am afraid I haven't been paying that much attention to political matters, what kind of measures has she been proposing?" Elsa asked, although judging from her careful tone it was clear she knew that she wasn't going to like what General Ironwood was about to reveal.

"To put things simply, the Head Chancellor wants to discourage foreigners passing through the borders of Atlas, and judging from her actions I am positive that she might even want to restrict passage altogether. However she won't be able to do that without a majority vote from the Atlas Council, and while I no longer hold two seats I still have enough connections, influence, and allies to ensure that enough people will side against her to prevent these measures from going through." Ironwood explained, his gloved fingers twitching a little as he gestured before continuing, "She also wants me to increase the presence of the military forces on the borders of Atlas, and while I agree with her it would be considerably difficult as the Atlesian armed forces are stretched thin as it is due to the increasing Grimm attacks on the other Kingdoms. Admiral Nemo has reported to Atlas military headquarters that she had encountered a school of Grimm Krakens near the northwestern border of Mistral while on patrol just the other day, and from the direction they were heading it's very possible if they would have decimated the nearest port town had she not taken action. I feel that we might need to send even more support out to the other Kingdoms should there be no drop in recent Grimm incursions."

"That's indeed troubling." Ozpin observed as he tapped his fingers on the top of his cane, "What else can you tell us with regards to Atlas politics?"

Ironwood heaved a sigh and elaborated, "Maximilius is also proposing increased patrols in the surrounding Atlesian cities located around the continent of Solitas, increased production for all major Atlesian companies including the SDC, and various Atlas military technologies in particular which she has already announced to her own company, Omniscient Industries, and also enacting a blanket Dust embargo on the other Kingdoms, not totally cutting them off but limiting their supplies."

Upon hearing this, Glynda shook her head with one hand nearly covering her face, while Ozpin sighed as he looked downwards at the polished marble floor of his office, while Seraph gauntleted fingers twitched slightly even as he rested them on his belt. Elsa had the appropriate reaction of complete incredulity, "What? Why would she do that?!"

Ironwood held up his gloved hand to forestall any questions, "Look at it this way, although the Head Chancellor's ideas may seem harsh, maybe even risking alienating our allies, she insists that she had the best interests of Atlas at heart. During the Council session I have attended, she reasoned that if the Grimm Mistress makes a move Atlas needs to be ready, and that includes having as much Dust, troops and weapons as possible, and as many ways to keep the Atlesian people safe. And recently I have heard whispers that she might put into place the Fortification Act in which would levy all able-bodied men into the Atlesian military forces."

"A draft?" Kaifin asked, surprised. Ironwood confirmed this with a grim nod. "That hasn't been enabled since the Second Great War, it wasn't even done during the Faunus Right Revolution."

"It seems that her strategy hinges on the concept that the strongest defense is a swift and decisive offense." Seraph remarked quietly.

"As long as most of the Atlas Council repel her proposals in votes, we don't have much to worry about at the moment." Jacqueline added from her own hologram.

"Although judging from how the current situation has worsened in other Kingdoms as of late, it would be a matter of time before those proposals of hers might become reality despite my considerable efforts in repelling their adoption." Ironwood mentioned carefully.

"Well, it does sound like her heart is at least in the right place, but I do agree with you that her measures and methods are a bit extreme." Elsa said, "At least she isn't one of those Mantle loyalists."

"Indeed, Oum knows we need as few of those on the council." Jacqueline agreed before something attracted her attention from somewhere beyond her hologram's emission, "My humble apologies, if you will please excuse me, I still have quite a large amount of paperwork to handle and teacher reports to read. Good night fellow Guardians, Remnant Knights and good evening Maiden Elsa."

As her hologram dissipated Ironwood then turned to face Elsa and told her "I shall arrange to send you one of my fastest Atlas airships tomorrow night. That way you can arrive at Beacon Academy in the early hours of the morning so as not to attract any unnecessary attention, so that way fewer students will notice your arrival."

"Agreed. We need to keep your visit a subtle and quiet affair, and perhaps you can use the same entrance where the Remnant Knights used when they arranged a meeting with us half a year ago." Ozpin said to the Winter Maiden.

"Agreed. You all have my sincere thanks." Elsa responded with a nod of her platinum-blonde head, "It's getting quite late here, so we will be turning in for the night. Farewell for now, Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda, General Ironwood and Grand Knight Master Seraph." Kaifin nodded respectfully to everyone present while Snow Blade bowed his helmet towards Seraph and brought his gauntleted hand to his grey and white chest-plate as their respective holograms deactivated.

The Headmaster and Headmistress both looked to the Altesian general, with Glynda inquiring, "James, in your honest opinion...do you think Maximilius's proposals have a chance of being passed and enacted?"

"Some of them stand a chance, should the need for extra security arise for the kingdom, but I don't think a blanket embargo will happen as it would affect the Kingdom's economy severely and that would probably earn her quite a lot of opposition and has already been deemed far too risky by almost all of the Council. She may be my rival in the Atlas Council, but I do not see her as a threat… for the moment." Ironwood reasoned as he spoke, "After all, despite our disagreements Alexandra has never demanded that I relinquished my position as head of the military after my… unfortunate experience with the mind control tech, even though some of the council members called for my immediate resignation, she was chief amongst those who defended me, so I appreciate her for that. She means well, I think she's simply misguided."

"My thanks for informing us on the developing situation in Atlas, James." The Beacon Headmaster politely thanked his fellow Guardian who inclined his head in return, "And there is one more thing I feel that you should know as well before you leave."

Ironwood's face looked quite attentive as he said, "What is it, Ozpin?"

"Early last week Qrow took a leave of absence to be out in the field chasing down any leads that may give us an indication of where Salem and her agents will strike next, and according to his latest report he seemed to have uncovered a possible link which seemed to point towards the Kingdom of Vacuo." Ozpin explained while watching Ironwood place a gloved hand to his chin and supporting his right elbow with his other forearm.

"That would make sense since their operation in Mistral have been more or less fallen apart after the Battle of Haven, and Atlas is still on high alert at the moment with enough troops, armor and warships to repel whatever attack they could throw at us, Vale has already suffered a strike from her, and despite the loss of Taurus, Vacuo is still open to her operations, so that would be the next logical place they would attack." Ironwood carefully reasoned.

"I believe Summer Maiden currently at Shade Academy." Glynda looked at Seraph who responded with a nod of his helmet.

"Yes, she even has several of my Knights looking over her. She has been there for some time under the protection of the Headmistress Luna Aria for some months now. She has maintained a vigilant watch over the Kingdom of Vacuo, so the military forces there will be on their guard as well."

"Knowing her, Luna will probably have taken additional precautions after what happened to Beacon when Salem's agents attacked." Ozpin spoke reassuringly, "And besides, she has also pledged to protect any of the Maidens should they come under threat from the agents of the Grimm Mistress."

"The Knight Castellan of the Relentless Crusaders, the Knight of Fire, has informed me that his legions of knights are operating throughout the continent of Vacuo, and a small group of them are watching over the Maiden. Should any of those knight teams discover anything that requires your immediate attention, I shall inform all of you without delay." Seraph continued in his usual deep voice.

"What about Headmaster Jason Argo of Haven Academy?" Ironwood queried carefully, "We did not hear much from him in the past six months, if I recall correctly."

"Jason is currently busy handling matters with the Mistrialian Council at the moment, James." Ozpin answered as he regarded the hologram of Ironwood calmly, "From what reports he has sent us, he has been using whatever resources at his disposal to keep a careful eye on the Spring Maiden who was currently making her way through the lands of Mistral, but even he had reached his limits in terms of his official authority."

"Yes, Argo has worked with my Knights as well, helping them try to keep up with Amethyst Rilo." Added Seraph.

"What about Headmaster Leo Lionheart of Sanctum Academy?" Glynda asked hesitantly, "He previously had quite a network of varying contacts within the continent of Mistral, and it would be slightly easier for us to keep a close eye on the entire eastern region with his significant resources."

Ozpin sighed at the mention of Lionheart, before shaking his head hopelessly, "Leo has told us that he did not want to get involved in anything that relates to the Guardians of Remnant's role in protecting the Maidens and the Relics of Remnant. He has made his choice, and so we shall honor it as was his right when we called the secret council all those years ago."

Ironwood nodded his agreement. "Thankfully, Argo was eventually more receptive to your situation at that time." Seraph mentioned quietly, "Even though he had the same reaction as Leo at first."

"I will only ask Leo to assist us if there is no other choice to keep further tabs on Mistral, but I feel that we should focus our attentions on Vacuo first." Ozpin said and watched the holograms of Ironwood and Seraph nod their heads.

"Thank you for your kind attention, James. Good luck." Ozpin told the cyborg general who gave his old ally an appreciative look before nodding to the Beacon Headmaster, Glynda and Seraph before deactivating the hologram.

"Be safe, James." Glynda added and locked eyes with Ironwood briefly as his hologram dissolved into nothingness.

After the Atlesian general had left, the blonde witch looked to Seraph, "I have one last question, Grand Knight Master, one which I don't feel comfortable asking in front of the others due to its secrecy."

The hologram of the Remnant Knight leader simply tilted his helmet a little and gestured for her to continue, "It has been some time since Ozpin has asked this question of you: How goes the protection of the Relic of Knowledge?"

The Grand Knight Master regarded them evenly as he replied, "It goes the same as it has for the last thirteen years, Professor Goodwitch. The Relic of Knowledge is constantly protected and secured with the utmost attention and dedication within the vaults of Tintagel, guarded by numerous defenses courtesy of the Knight Order including a sizeable team of veteran knights at all times. There is nothing to worry about."

"Very well. Thank you for the reassurance. Salem and her agents have been laying low for months now, being suspiciously quiet with only a few scattered activities which makes it very difficult for us to link anything back to her. The lack of any activity combined with these increasing Grimm attacks is making everyone anxious, I dread what her next move could be." Glynda remarked.

"As do we all, fellow Guardian." The Grand Knight Master agreed, "The Remnant Knights will continue to protect the Relic of Knowledge as decided in our agreement, and it is just as safe with the Knight Order as it would be in a temple. Thank you both, and may you continue to stand against the encroaching shadows as the ever-vigilant Guardians of Remnant."

As the hologram of the large armored knight faded away Glynda turned to her fellow guardian and co-headmaster and said, "Ozpin...do you truly trust Seraph with the relic?"

Ozpin gave her a slight smile before saying, "Glynda, I would never let the Knight Order have the Relic of Knowledge if I didn't have absolute trust them in the first place. If they have given me good reason to doubt their overall trustworthiness, I would have just made sure that the relic would never fall into their possession. But I do trust Seraph and the order to protect the relic just as I would trust them with my life, since they have proven themselves and have earned my trust several times over."

Ozpin remembered when he had decided to give the Relic of Knowledge to the Remnant Knights after speaking with the other Guardians of Remnant, to make sure that Salem never attacked his school over the relic hidden within Beacon's vaults, even though one of her Sin Commanders very nearly came close enough to try. It had been a rather beautiful twilight some thirteen years ago...

_"Your coffee is getting cold, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin noted as he watched the tall and regal armored warrior clad in detailed gunmetal-grey and white armor plates looking at the distant mountainscape that surrounded Beacon Academy from the transparent-tinted windows of the headmaster's office._

_"Your hospitality is much appreciated, Ozpin… but I don't think I am in the mood for coffee today." The noble warrior turned from the windows' breathtaking view and regarded the grey-haired headmaster with the azure lenses of his knight helmet, his long white cloak slightly rippling with his skillful movements._

_"I don't presume to ask what's in your mind at the moment." Ozpin gave a nod and sipped at his own mug, "Since we both know about the hard-won victory we have managed to wrestle from the battle with Salem and her faction."_

_"We may have won the battle, but we have paid a high price for this victory." Seraph slowly spoke, his voice having a barely noticeable tinge of tiredness in its usual deep brass tones as though he had just completed an extremely tedious journey across the varied lands of Remnant, "A significant number of my brethren knights are still recovering from their injuries within Tintagel even as we speak, and there are also few who would never see battle again. And… I am dreading the final count of how many of my brother and sister knights have been lost."_

_"On that you have both my most sincere gratitude and deepest sympathies, Grand Knight Master." The Headmaster of Beacon Academy mentioned solemnly, "I promise you that the Guardians of Remnant will never forget the sacrifices that the Remnant Knights have made to prevent the Salem from nearly killing all life on Remnant."_

_"All seven of Salem's Sin Commanders have been vanquished, and the Grimm King in particular has finally met his demise at the blade of Excalibrus." The leader of the Remnant Knights continued, one gauntleted hand resting on the pommel of the mighty silver blade which was sheathed at his waist, "We have dealt quite a blow to her, most of her inner circle has been more or less decimated as for now, she will be severely lacking in terms of her cadre of agents and pawns."_

_"Agents in which Salem invested considerable resources and time in." Ozpin pointed out, turning his head a little to look at Seraph's winged helmet, and saw his own face being reflected back from its impassive visage, "She will certainly need more time to plan her next move, time in which we can use to further prepare ourselves for what new obstacles she would throw at us in future."_

_"Ozpin, we may have gained a relatively quiet peace, but this respite we have won is only temporary at best." Seraph spoke quietly to the headmaster, although his voice easily reverberated around the interior of the Headmaster's Office, nearly drowning out the sounds of various grinding gears which were turning right above both of  them. The knight took a step forward and looked down at Ozpin, "If we could find her hiding place I'd say we should not waste time and finish her off once and for all, but we are still recovering and haven't the faintest idea of where she could be. We have to keep watch for her return, it's only be a matter of time before she concocts some other devious scheme to get what the secret order has given you hidden underneath this school."_

_The headmaster sat at his curved desk, his fingers steepled while having a cautious expression on his knowledgeable features as he regarded the large armored knight standing a couple of meters away, "Of that I have no doubt." Ozpin replied simply, eyeing his slowly steaming coffee mug on the table briefly. "I sympathize with you, my friend, I too wish to end it once and for all, but until such an opportunity presents itself or we manage to find her, we will have to wait for her to make the next move. Like the previous dark queens before her, Salem will never stop coming at us until she had all the Maidens and the Relics of Remnant within her hands. Not until all of Remnant is under her power."_

_"Ozpin, as much as I find objectionable to admit it, you know you can't protect the Maidens and the Relics at the same time." The Remnant Knight leader pointed out, "Not to mention the Guardians of Remnant are already stretched thin in their duties to protect the four Maidens, no matter where they are."_

_"I am well aware of the danger, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin answered, "Which is why I proposed the moving returning the Relics to the various secret temples around Remnant they were originally hidden to keep them out of Salem's hands, Salem already believes them to be within our possession so if we were to return them without her knowing she'd never bother to look for them. That way we can focus our Order's efforts on protecting the Maidens from her agents as much as we can."_

" _Why return them to the temples?" Seraph inquired._

_Ozpin answered with "They were an extraordinary challenge to retrieve in the first place, lives were lost on both sides. She wouldn't think us foolish enough to return them. She knows we have them, she might attack the academies directly to retrieve them."_

_"Beacon Academy nearly being infiltrated by one of the Sin Commanders is already proof enough that she's willing to attack the schools for them. She's testing our defenses… and her pawns nearly succeeded if not for our vigilance." Seraph said while gesturing with his hand, "We may have thwarted the attempt, but the next encounter we may not be so fortunate."_

_"Indeed, the brazen attempt to infiltrate the school and abscond with the Beacon's Relic indicates that Salem knows that one of the four Relics has been hidden here, and despite our defenses already in place the Sin Commander came very near to getting into Beacon's Vaults." Ozpin said as he continued to rest his elbows on the table._

_The hard lenses of Seraph's winged helmet gradually focused on Ozpin's brown eyes, "Headmaster, you know as well as I do that in order to prevent another such incident from happening again, the Relic of Knowledge must not be kept at Beacon Academy any longer."_

_"I find myself reaching the same conclusion, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin responded grimly. "Sadly the mountain temple where it was kept was destroyed in a battle. We will have to think of somewhere else."_

_"Have you considered the alternate option I have proposed some time ago?" The Remnant Knight mentioned in a more cordial voice._

_The Headmaster contemplated for a few moments more before giving his reply, "I have spoken with Ironwood, the other Headmasters, Councilman Henry and the rest of the council during our previous meeting, and after much consideration, they have all agreed with your proposal, as well as my own. Knowing how well Tintagel is hidden from the rest of Remnant, it would be a more prudent choice to entrust the Relic of Knowledge to the custody of the Remnant Knight Order than hiding it elsewhere. The rest of the Relics will be returned to the temples, while additional security measures will be installed to assure their safety and to alert us should someone try to take them."_

_The Grand Knight Master gave a slight nod of his helmet as he agreed to Ozpin's choice, "A sound plan. You have my word that the Remnant Knights will protect the Relic with everything at our disposal. As long as a knight still draws breath, the Relic would never be claimed by Salem or any of her agents. We shall also do our part in helping you return the other relics as well."_

_"I will inform you of the time and place to officially exchange the relic shortly." Ozpin stood up and extended a hand towards the powerful-looking warrior, "And I will hold you to your oath, Grand Knight Master Seraph Pendragon."_

_"And I will hold you to yours for the Guardians to protect the Maidens of Remnant, William Ozpin." Seraph replied as he clasped Ozpin's hand in his gauntlets and shook firmly._

_"By the way, I haven't heard from either Argentius and Soul Seer for some time." Ozpin continued after retracting his hand, "I trust that they have both been well?"_

_Seraph nodded in agreement and answered "Argentius is currently on another mission for the Knight Order and Soul Seer is assisting her mentor in training more Prognosticators to serve the Order."_

_"In other words, they are both indisposed as usual." Ozpin picked up his cane once more and walked around the table, "While I had expected that, I wouldn't mind meeting them again some other time… and please give my regards to them as well as those of Mr. Branwen and Mr. Xiao Long."_

_"I shall convey your regards to them when I return back to Tintagel." Seraph said as he gave another small nod._

_"Thank you. Now, shall we go out for some fresh air? I have been cooped up in my office for far too long." The Headmaster gestured in the direction of the elevator, "Let's enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts."_

_The Remnant Knight looked at Ozpin for a brief moment before giving his assent, "Lead the way, Ozpin."_

The headmaster had a faint smile on his face at the memory as he sat back down on his chair and steepled his fingers upon his desk once more. A small beep attracted Glynda's attention as she looked down at her scroll tablet, before turning to look at Ozpin once more, "Headmaster, I just received a message from Qrow, he has arrived at his given destination in Vacuo."

"Good. Hopefully his meeting with Commander Strider's agent in the morning may provide us with some fresh leads on Salem's activities." Ozpin spoke softly, "Why don't you take the rest of the night off, Glynda? You look like you can certainly benefit from a much-needed break."

His assistant teacher adjusted her collar before replying, her dangling teal earrings tinkling a little, "I will be sure to do that after I finish reviewing the footage from today's combat lessons. Thank you, Ozpin."

Ozpin nodded to her and waited until Glynda left by the elevator located by the far side of his office before letting out a breath and massaged his temple with two fingers for a couple of moments to calm himself. Pouring himself another mug of fresh steaming coffee from his newly acquired ceramic kettle, the headmaster of Beacon returned to his own task of going over the varied reports collected from various members of Beacon's faculty, including from Professors Oobleck, Port, Crane, Peach and many other teachers.

As he sipped his coffee and sat back on his seat, the headmaster silently mused to himself that he might be in for a rather long night as well.

* * *

Team Beacon had returned back to Vale's Huntsman Academy late in the afternoon after a long trip back across the ocean and dropping Bianca off at her house. Upon their return to Beacon most of them used the remaining hours of the day to indulge in their personal interests or trying to finish up the last remaining parts of their homework before drifting off to sleep.

After the reopening of Beacon Academy, the combined team had been given a special section of the dormitory building which had been specially built and designed so that they could stick together as a whole and not be simply shoved into one large room. The entire section was made up of four normal student dorm rooms and a smaller version of one made just for Penny, and all five of the aforementioned rooms were connected to a decently-sized foyer that made up the common room which had an entry hallway that was connected to the main halls of the building.

The common room consisted mainly of a moderate kitchen, a living room area with a large television set in front of a pair of couches plus some additional chairs, and a dining place where the entire team can sit and eat together should they not be able to make it to the academy's dining hall. The four teams that made up Team Beacon, Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY and SSSN, were given one room each for their own use while Penny had the smaller room all to herself yet within easy reach of her friends.

Each team had made their own respective personal additions to their own assigned room, with Team RWBY having worked attentively on their own room to make it look as much like their old one as they could, and despite with the marked improvement of having actual bunk-beds this time, Ruby still put up a hanging sheet over her bed to make it feel just like her old one. The four desks for each of the girls were placed in similar positions just like their original room, with a new addition of a bigger shelf that contained all of their collective books though Blake's section was still the biggest by far. The new shelf also boasted colored plastic dividers to distinguish which books belong to which particular female member of Team RWBY as well. The bookshelf that had been placed beneath the window was replaced by a small couch, and dressers full of each girl's respective clothing had been placed on the sides of the room they inhabited, with Ruby and Weiss on the left in addition to Blake and Yang on the right.

Team JNPR's room had changed quite a bit with Jaune and Pyrrha's respective beds having been placed so close together that they were practically one bed, which was done so the two would be able to be there and comfort one another should any nightmares disturb their slumber. Despite the fact that the nightmares were no longer as frequent as they had once been, it wasn't uncommon every now and then that either one of them could be heard crying out in the middle of the night. Thankfully their close proximity had made them feel both safer and happier as Pyrrha would often wake up to find herself holding onto Jaune protectively, while he was holding her in his arms just as tightly. A certain bonus modification to their room by Ozpin and Glynda was that they had instructed the architects to install two hidden compartments for the Aura Crystal under room's floor as a way to ensure that the crystal would be safe. Jaune and Pyrrha had placed their beds above the main one, while the second one was right under Nora's bed. The orange-haired valkyrie and Ren's beds were up against the wall on the other side of the room, with Ren's dresser and his small bookshelf atop it that were the only things dividing them. Jaune and Pyrrha's dressers were close to their beds while Nora's was at the foot of hers, while their desks were all relatively close together towards the front of the room.

Team CFVY's room was done up to be like their own dorm as well, with Coco's bed in front of the window with several dressers, that naturally belonged to her, flanking her resting place with their desks all lined up along the walls, two to each side. Yatsuhashi and Fox shared a loft bed, with Fox sleeping on the top bunk since he was shorter than his fellow male teammate, while the giant teen slept underneath him on the floor, resting on a brown tatami that was laid upon the floor. Velvet's bed was across from her partner and Fox's shared beds, and hers in particular was flanked by the dressers of not only herself but Yatsuhashi and Fox's as well, giving her some privacy if she needed it, and additional bookshelves to stock her own wide variety of books on various subjects ranging from Remnant's history to geography and social studies. The young Rabbit Faunus had even put up a little tent made up of extra blankets to make it feel like her own bed at home. Back in their first year she had apologized to Yatsuhashi and Fox if she was initially coming off as antisocial or anything of the sort, but both of them had assured her neither of them were offended at all, and they didn't mind her initial bashfulness. The male members of Team CFVY simply accepted what changes she had made to her side of the dorm room, and felt it would help her get used to living in Beacon, and so Velvet decided to keep the blanket tent up as it felt quite cozy to her.

Team SSSN's room was made up to be similar to their old dorms back in Haven Academy, that is to say messy and a bit chaotic by the others' standards. Each boy had their own bed in a corner with their respective desks, dressers and belongings in their own little corner of the room. The dorm walls were covered in posters of various interest kinds, with the possessions of the four teenage students scattered about the place atop the dressers and desks. Their belongings ranged from memorable pictures of their families to various knick-knacks to assorted maintenance and cleaning tools for their weapons. While Neptune's corner was slightly more neater due to his Atlesian upbringing, while for Sun, Scarlet and Sage's corners it looked as though someone had actually ransacked thoroughly through their possessions.

Penny's room was narrower than the others, consisting only of a plain well-made bed with an electrical lap on a nightstand, a simple study desk, and an Altesian-made computer console for her various research goals. On the nightstand were a couple of framed pictures, including one of herself and her father Doctor Polendina as well as one of herself and Ruby taken during the Vytal Festival, one of her old team, among others which she had stored within her internal memory. There was no need for a dresser due to the fact there wasn't a need for Penny to change her clothes since she was a synthetic android, nor the need for her to use the bathroom as well. There was also a swivel chair right in front of her desk, though no one knew where and when got it ever since Ruby just noticed it one day.

However, right beside Penny's bed was a large box-like piece of Atlesian equipment which looked like a cross between a backpack and a transport crate, white and grey in colour with gently glowing green lines with her emblem imprinted on top. Doctor Polendina, whom Penny still called every night, had nicknamed the item 'The Toolbox', which served as a portable diagnostic and repair center for Penny so she wouldn't have to return to Atlas regularly for her maintenance while she stayed with Team Beacon. The Toolbox could unfurl itself to become a mobile repair bay for Penny to undergo minor repairs and even housed a few small replacement parts to keep her functioning until the Atlas military forces can get Penny to a full repair bay should the worst happen.

Due to her robotic nature Penny didn't sleep like the others, it was more like she simply entered into some sort of low power mode for the duration of the night, all the while being monitored by the Atlas-based equipment in her room. She looked relatively peaceful when she was recharging her internal batteries by sitting cross-legged on her bed, with her hands resting on her lap and going into "sleep mode" after plugging her portable charger into the wall recharge socket like any other electronic device.

The android girl was already awake and was currently sitting on one of the couches in the living room, doing some early morning reading on her own, while Jaune and Pyrrha just returned from their morning jog at the indoor gym's jogging circuit which they often did together to keep in top shape, though it was something that the blonde knight had struggled to get used to now that he had homework assignments to balance as well. Ren, who possessed admirable culinary skills, was making everyone a light morning breakfast while the other members of the combined team were slowly waking up at their own set times to prepare for the coming day ahead.

"Sun! Come on man, get up! Your clock went off ten minutes ago." Neptune said to his partner who still had his face buried in his pillow.

"Nep, do me a solid and...ergh..." Sun tried to speak, but he was still tired and was not in the mood to talk, so he simply pulled his covers to conceal his entire body from view.

"Hey, are you seriously doing this again?" Neptune groaned as he shook his head.

"He never learns." Sage muttered as he buttoned up his uniform's shirt. One of the things most of Team SSSN has struggled to get used to at Beacon Academy was the uniforms, and while Neptune didn't mind it the other members of his team didn't exactly like to follow the dress code, least of all Sun who had been the most vocal, but he still wore the uniform to avoid breaking any of the academy's rules.

Neptune sighed and then added, "Sun, do you really want me to get Yang to do the water bucket method to get you to wake up?"

The Monkey Faunus growled as he jolted up almost immediately, "Fine...fine! I'm up, geez man!" He complained even as he stretched out, his bare and well defined torso out for all to see.

"Stop showing off, Sun. Blake ain't here." Scarlet chuckled a little as he combed his hair out while in front of his own desk.

"Jealous much?" Sun teased jokingly even as he got up and went to pick up his pants from the chair beside his own study desk, and began to pull them on.

After he was mostly dressed, Sun went to retrieve his tail. Some months after the events in Vacuo and the defeat of Adam and the White Fang, Sun had agreed to have a robotic tail implanted on him to replace his old one which had been sliced off by the late White Fang leader. With offers to help pay for it from Weiss and Blake's family in Menagerie as a way of thanking him for all he did, Doctor Kimball performed the surgery. Kimball had been forced to remove the rest of the tail, something that the blond faunus had thought about very carefully in those months of consideration. After undergoing removing the rest of the tail, the Kimball had implanted a small port for the full prosthetic where the base of the spinal cord where the original tail used to be, so that the replacement could be attached and detached whenever necessary so that Sun wouldn't have to sleep with it or get it wet in the shower, just like what Yang had to do with her arm as well.

In the months after his operation Sun had been training vigorously in Beacon's gymnasium for a couple of hours each day, using the monkey bars (no pun intended), parallel bars and even the balance beams to work on his overall balancing issues, with Blake and Yang cheering him on whenever possible along with the rest of his team, even though that did attract quite a crowd of predominantly female students as well. While he had been working on his balance for the past few months, he still haven't perfected it fully yet which resulted in Sun being a little reluctant to rely on his prosthetic tail whenever in a combat situation at the moment.

With a series of soft clicks and whirs his robotic tail locked in and was attached to his body, and he took a few seconds to work the kinks out of the mechanical appendage before letting it drop. The robotic tail was mainly controlled through his brain signals being sent to it that were received by the advanced technology built into the port that delivered them to the aforementioned tail, making it move however Sun wanted it to.

"You alright?" Sage asked as he saw Sun sigh, a flicker of grief crossing his normally optimistic features.

"Yeah. I'm still trying to get used to this thing, it's still heavier than the real tail was." Sun answered as he had the tail move, stretching as he did so.

"It's only been a few months, just give it some more time, mate." Scarlet said to him encouragingly.

Sun smiled at him as he put some deodorant on before quickly buttoning up his shirt, checking himself over one last time before exiting Team SSSN's dorm room with the rest of his team members.

All of Team RWBY had already up and while Blake was waiting on Yang to finish her morning shower, Ruby and Weiss had already made it to the table in the common room, eating breakfast together. Weiss was having some eggs while Ruby ate pancakes with Nora, who was in one of her sharing moods.

"Hey, I'm sorry I needed your help so much last night, but those names are easy to mix up!" Ruby defended before putting another skewered section of pancakes in her mouth.

"I don't see how you could mix up General Calthrop with Admiral Cyanz, they didn't even face each other in the second great war!" Weiss pointed out grumpily after she swallowed down a bite of her egg.

"Eh, bunch of old people who have been dead for years. I know why we have to study them, so we know old strategies and possibly improve upon them and so we can avoid any mistakes they made, but do we have to remember each of their names?" Ruby asked.

"Eh, depends on how famous they are." Coco voiced from the other end of the table, finishing up her morning salad. "Another fine meal, Lie. If being a Huntsman doesn't work out, you'll always have the art of culinary." Velvet nodded happily as she ate some cereal while Yatsuhashi ate eggs and a pair of apples.

Ren smiled and said "I get that a lot, but thank you Coco. However, I have no plans on pursuing any other career."

"And if you did, we'd talk you out of it!" Nora declared, her mouth full of pancakes.

"Talking with one's mouth full…" muttered Weiss, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Don't bother Weiss, I've tried to break the habit for years but it never sinks in." Ren told her as he ate his toast.

"Good morning everyone!" Bid Pyrrha cheerfully as she appeared, dressed in the school uniform like the others.

"Hey Pyrrha, how was the jog?" Ruby asked.

"Same as always, a tad cold since it's still winter, but pleasant nonetheless." Pyrrha answered as she took up a piece of a toast and sat down to eat it as Yang and most of Team SSSN came out to join the others, Scarlet was still getting dressed.

"You made the bacon, right?" Sun asked Ren, who nodded.

"Alright, Ren's Beacon Bacon!" Said Yang as she grabbed a piece and shoved it into her mouth.

"Did you have to name it?" Neptune inquired as he took up a strawberry.

"Yes." Both Ruby and Yang answered at once.

Ruby looked over to Penny and asked "You alright Penny? Have a good sleep?"

"Yes I did, Ruby! However, I feel the need to remind you that you can always come to me if you need help with homework." The robotic girl told her.

"Oh, right." Ruby said, a bit embarrassed, "I keep forgetting you don't have trouble going back to sleep like the rest of us."

"Nope." Penny confirmed, "I can simply shut myself down whenever I need to, so do not hesitate to ask, because I think keeping Weiss awake will simply make her grumpy."

"Grumpier." Fox said dryly from the couch, having already eaten.

Weiss rolled her eyes while Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Sun all laughed. Jaune came out and said "Good morning," to everyone.

"Set the security systems in our room?" Pyrrha asked him as she handed him a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs.

"You know it, Pyr." He assured her as he accepted the plate, smiling at her. Ozpin had also installed security systems for Team JNPR's room, including a laser tripwire alarm that would alert them should anyone attempt to take the Aura Crystal.

"You should all eat a bit faster, the school day will officially begin in seven minutes, so we have a total of thirteen minutes to get to our first classes." Penny announced.

"That's just barely enough time." Jaune said as he began to eat a bit faster.

Yang shook her head and reached into her bag, only to notice that her homework papers for Oobleck's class were missing. "Aw crud…" She muttered. She turned to go back to RWBY's room, only to see Blake come around the corner with the papers in hand.

"Forget something?" The Cat Faunus asked as she handed her partner the papers.

"Oh you're a lifesaver!" Yang told her partner as she took the papers and quickly put them in her bag. "Where were they?"

"On your desk." Blake answered as she made her way over to the table. "It's no problem, I just saw them there and figured you forgot again."

"Ugh, weekend memory bugs. Sometimes the brain just doesn't work." Yang griped.

"I know that feeling." Sympathized Jaune as he continued to chow down on his food, getting some egg stuck around his mouth, making Pyrrha giggle before she reached over to clean it off his face.

Soon everyone was done eating, they were all dressed in the school uniform, and ready for the day to begin.

Ruby took out her scroll to check the time, and stopped a moment to admire the picture that served as the background; it was a photo taken the first time she had come home, with her mom sitting in a chair while her dad held a newborn version of herself, with Uncle Qrow holding a toddler Yang. Ruby smiled at the photo before looking at the time and saying "We'd better get going if we're gonna make it."

"Let's get moving boys and girls, don't want first class teachers to be all stuffy about punctuality." Coco voiced as she led her team out of the foyer.

"Okay, next stop; Professor Port's class!" Ruby declared as she darted out of the room, the rest of her Team and Penny not far behind her, because Penny was the most comfortable with Ruby, she had been assigned to classes with Team RWBY, since she was without a team, therefor she was essentially an extra member to the team.

Team SSSN went next, with Scarlet still trying to make sure his uniform was on correctly and Neptune assuring him it was.

Team JNPR was the last to leave, closing up the main door and locking it before following Team RWBY to their first class of the day.

* * *

Salem sat upon her throne, waiting for Watts to come in. At the moment she held a large scroll in her hand, looking over the data she had received from their ally within the upper ranks of the Kingdoms, that the Winter Maiden would be making a trip to Beacon Academy quite soon. It was a good opportunity, but not the one they were waiting for. The Knights would still be protecting her on the mountain facility and Beacon was too well protected now that they had rebuilt. They would be expecting some kind of attack, so she would be sure to let them down. She still needed to wait for the opportune moment to strike, and once she did…

Her train of thought was interrupted by the door opening. She looked up to see Arthur Watts approaching her throne. "Is he ready?" She asked.

"Yes, Mistress. Your newest servant has the refitted armor and his body is stable. And his training has made sure that he shall be more than ready should the need for a fight arise." Announced Dr. Watts pridefully.

"Excellent. It is nice to know that Adam's body will not go to waste." Salem said as she rose from her throne.

"Or the others." Watts added as a square shaped pit opened up in the center of the room, where a large marble slab rose up, guarded by a pair of Grimm Knights. Strapped to the slab was a well-build, masculine figure, his head covered by a mask and his body decked out in a black suit of armor that hugged his muscular form.

The figure was alive, as it was slowly breathing in and out, its form intimidating thanks to the armor of one of Salem's long dead servants, the Grimm King, refitted for his less bulky frame. The helmet was in the likeness of a Wyvern, similar to the one Fotia Drakos had worn, where the dragon's eyes would be there were darkened glass lenses, hiding his eyes from the outside world. Two horns jutted out from the sides of the helmet and the bottom of the headpiece ended with jagged teeth like spikes.

The armor was made up of a series of interlocking plates, painted black with thin red edges. Since the late Wrath had been far larger, the armor had been scaled down to fit the Son of Salem. The plates overlapped each other and upon them were small red shapes similar to the designs on Salem's robes, the shoulder pauldrons were curved yet slanted at the sides, and the beneath the armor the Son wore a dark-purple undersuit, covering the red veins, pale flesh, and scars he had been given during his creation.

As the rising platform came to a halt with a subtle noise, Salem walked towards the slab and placed her hands over his body, before placing one hand atop his head.

"Rise, my son."

The figure's body came to life as Watts pressed a button on his scroll, retracting the straps. The masked face looked up at her, his eyes weren't visible but Salem knew what was behind them; nothing.

No love, no hatred, no sorrow, no empathy, nothing. This was the result of combining Adam's dead body with several other corpses that she had preserved via freezing them over the years. After Adam's death she, Watts, and West worked to connect the suitable body parts that were still usable after death, there had been one in particular that had been used more than the others, however, so this was who the figure looked like more than any other body without the mask.

After using her dark magic to bring the amalgamation of body parts to life, he had begun an intense training regiment to hone his skills to make himself a warrior worthy of fighting for her, and his name; The Son of Salem.

But the reason there were no emotions at all, was due to one major thing not given to him; a soul. Without a soul, one couldn't think for themselves, or allow themselves to be ruled and manipulated by things such as love and compassion. No soul also meant no ambition, another plus for Salem, as when one took all of these things account he was much easier to control than the likes of Cinder and Tyrian, and the chances of him turning on her practically zero.

The only true problems experienced with the Son so far, was the fact that Grimm he was given to control, the Wyvern, refused to obey him or let him near it. Salem had grown frustrated with the dragon, Wyverns were always different from the other Grimm because of their half-breed nature, as they had originally, in fact, not been true Grimm, but the last of the dragons, tainted and transformed to a new species of Grimm by the original Grimm Queen centuries ago, and this made them different and harder to control than the others, in fact Salem knew that this Wyvern was still loyal to Pyrrha Nikos, despite everything that had happened and the amount of time it had been since it had seen her.

Before and after his 'birth', he had been kept an absolute secret, known by only a few of her other servants, such as Tyrian, Hazel, and Sheer Kaa, who had been instructed to train him, so while they knew him and had seen him, most of her disciples did not know he existed. This mission was to be his unveiling.

The reason for this, was because Salem did not want the Red Fang knowing what she had done to parts of Adam Taurus' body prior to burying it. Tyrian had actually managed to remain serious when he promised her not to tell them about what parts of Adam's body ended up in the son. She also didn't want too many of her servants to be familiar with him, just in case she needed him to fight them, should any of them, be they her Maiden candidates or scientists, ever think of betraying her.

The Son sat up and got off of the slab before standing still as a statue, he did not say a word as he could not talk. No soul, meant no true voice, and while he had vocal cords, he had no use for them, as he relied on his body language to communicate.

"Are you ready for your first mission, my son?" Salem asked him.

He nodded.

"Good." She said as Watts' used a device to project a hologram of a thin, middle-aged man in a business suit. Salem gestured to the man and continued "This will be your target, Charles Meredith, a mid-level business man in the Schnee Dust Company. Last year one of our associates, Damien Ante, arranged a deal with Mr. Meredith to supply us with five percent of the Dust from the SDC's Haven division, which he agreed to after some persuasion. After the incident in Haven, we rewrote the contract to make it appear as though business was being done with another one of the companies under our control. Recently, however, he has not lived up to his part of the bargain, maybe he thinks that since we no longer have a major presence in Haven we are not a threat to him, or maybe he thinks that since Ante is no longer there he's safe. I do not know why or care why he has done this, but I do know that he has slowly but steadily decreased the Dust supplies we were being given. We cannot let this arrogance go unpunished, and so you shall be the one to deliver him his sentence and a message to all others who think about backing out on us. Do you understand?"

The Son silently nodded.

"Excellent." Salem said with a small nod. "Now, listen to Dr. Watts, he shall tell you the details of your assignment.

The Son nodded again and looked to Watts, who stepped forward and began. "We have sent Meredith an anonymous message, instructing him to come to one of the lesser guarded warehouses the SDC has in Haven, alone. You are to take a dozen Grimm Knights with you to empty out the facility, save for the dead body of Meredith, and any guards he brings if he's foolish enough to do so. The Grimm Knights are to destroy any and all security cameras and all footage that proves you were there, all we need you to do is to eliminate this loose end and to make sure Mistress Salem's message is heard. Do you understand?"

The Son looked up to Salem and nodded obediently.

"Good." Salem said approvingly and gestured for a Grimm Knight to come forward. "Take your sword."

The Son of Salem turned and accepted his weapon the robot held, the Chaos Edge. It was a long, black, double-bladed sword that could slice through matter like hot knife through butter. Forged through Salem's dark magic and binded with the essence of an Elder Grimm, the blade had turned out completely black with small, vein-like red lines running along its length. The hilt was a pale while its sheathe was black as well, with a number of small red glyphs carved on its surface.

The Son gripped the hilt tightly in his hands, Salem gently grabbed his chin and brought his head up to look her in the eyes.

"Now go, my son. Kill Meredith and destroy that warehouse. Do not fail me." Salem ordered him.

He bowed to her, and rose up to turn and leave the room, a squadron of Grimm Knights following him.

As he made his way to his ship, Watts turned to the Mistress of Grimm and asked "Are you sure he was necessary? You already have the Grimm Hybrids, the Maiden Candidates, and many other servants, why bother making him?"

Salem gave him a small smile and answered "Well, I suppose every woman, deep down, wants to truly be a mother." She began to walk back to her throne and glanced back at him to add "Besides, one can never have too many aces up their sleeves."

Watts nodded and gave her a bow before taking his leave.

Salem sat back down on her throne and smiled. "Everything is falling into place. Soon this game will finally come to its end, and we shall stand victorious."

* * *

Qrow followed the Vacuo Ranger into one of the local stations within the city of Tarshta, a city that wasn't as large as the capital but was still considered a major city, with large buildings and some factories, as well as a thriving marketplace due to having some of the more successful farms in Vacuo in the surrounding area.

"So Lieutenant Santaro, what do you know about the Red Fang?" Qrow asked the ranger in front of him.

"They're an offshoot from the old White Fang run by that Taurus punk and they're not trying to get as much attention as they used to. And aside from the raids and murders committed by them, they've been lying pretty low so we don't know much about them, but we think we've managed to identify their leader, if the small bits of footage we recovered from their last raid is anything to go by." Santaro answered.

Qrow nodded, intrigued. "Who is it?"

"You ever hear of an assassin named Tyrian Callows, Branwen?" Santaro asked.

Qrow thought, and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. He was a student around the same time I was, injured another student and got sent to prison, then became infamous for being some big name professional assassin here in Vacuo, right?"

"Got it in one." Santaro confirmed.

"Haven't heard about him in years, why? He have something to do with the Red Fang?" Qrow inquired.

"I'll tell you once we get to my office." Santaro told Qrow as they entered the ranger's station. The building was average sized and didn't have much going on, most of the rangers were most likely out performing their duties.

They soon arrived to a medium sized room with a desk and chair before the window that allowed one to view the outside. Qrow sat down in one of the two chairs before the desk as Santaro typed something into the computer built into his desk.

"Tyrian Callows is, or was, a human Huntsman-in-training from this Kingdom." The computer brought up an image of a young looking man with pale skin, yellow eyes, and braided black hair. "Estimated age as of now would be thirty-seven years old. He was an orphan who had a history of disorderly conduct and a reputation for being difficult, but he was accepted into Shade Academy where he was trained for two years, but early into the third year, age nineteen, there was an incident with one of Callows' peers. Apparently the two had always disliked each other, but one day during combat training Callows became violent and used his weapons, a pair of wrist mounted blades, to fatally wound the student, nearly killing him." Images of the blood covered gauntlets, Tyrian in handcuffs, and documents of the court case and reports from a psychologist. "Shrinks marked him down as sociopath suffering from violent psychopathic tendencies. In the end he was permanently expelled from any and all Huntsmen Academies and sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder." Santaro finished.

"But that's not where the story ends, obviously." Qrow stated.

"Nope. In prison he ended up making friends with some thugs who had connections with Dominic Pariss, formerly one of Vacuo's leading crime lords. They saw his skills in the courtyard and when they made bail they managed convince Pariss to buy Callows' freedom as well." Santaro elaborated, bringing up an image from the newspaper, and the local public outcry against Tyrian's freedom. "From what we've been able to gather he trained for a couple more years to become a deadly warrior and assassin for the crime lord, and even took out some of Pariss' rivals' hired hands."

He brought up a picture of a bloody crime scene, chalk outlines detailing where the bodies had been. Blood was splattered about the walls and the floors, bloody handprints could be seen dotting the room.

"Couldn't tie the hits to him, right?" Qrow guessed.

"Not the first time, or the second, third, fourth times either. He became Pariss' top ranking assassin, he was hated and even respected by the rest of the crime syndicate, but they all feared him. For about five years he made a name for himself as a deadly assassin, known through the capital as a threat, but under protection of the syndicate, neither the Rangers or the cops could touch him." Santaro elaborated, showing a photo of Tyrian in a slick looking white suit at a nightclub, ladies in tight dresses draped on each arm.

"I remember hearing about him when he was the mob's killer who was hot shit. What happened to him?" Qrow asked.

"Well, it was something that happened gradually over four years, but the short version is: he got sloppy." Santaro stated as he showed pictures of increasingly bloody crime scenes, there were slash marks on the walls, brutal cuts on the corpses that exposes arteries, intestines, and muscles. Eyes had been gouged out, corpses tied to chandeliers, hearts left out in the open on dinner plates. "As time went by he became even more brutal in his killings. He became cocky, made some mistakes, left evidence behind. It was enough to land him in jail, and the bail Pariss had to pay didn't make him happy. From what we understand when Pariss lectured Tyrian, the psycho threatened his boss in front of his top lieutenants. It was clear to all of them that he was becoming a liability and a threat."

"I can see where this is going; they decided to take care of him before he could do any more damage." Qrow surmised.

"Yeah, but not right away. Pariss let Tyrian off with a warning, and the next morning invited him to come over for a meeting, some kinda 'forgive and forget' talk, was what he was supposed to have told Callows. Really he was setting a trap to eliminate Tyrian, but Callows was smarter than they thought, and already figured it out. The moment he stepped into their headquarters the slaughter began, took out the guards, the lieutenants, the armed servants, everyone. He used his wrist blades and some guns he managed to get from his victims, but in the end most of the people who tried to kill him that day ended up dead. Including Dominic Pariss." Santaro said before adding "We couldn't release most of these to the public."

The computer began to show pictures of the massacre, corpses of the guards and hit men lay all over the syndicate's headquarters. Limbs and heads were severed, blood had been plattered everywhere, bullet holes, blade slashes, and blast burns all marked the walls with shattered glass strewn about the floor.

Qrow's eyes actually widened upon seeing that horrific state Pariss' body had been left in. It was rare for something to actually bother Qrow after the living the life he had and knowing the things he now knew, but the images of what had been done to Pariss' body would induce nightmares in less-experienced people.

"Bad way to go." The Huntsman remarked.

"Pariss was a scumbag, but even he didn't deserve that." Santaro voiced.

Qrow nodded and said "So I take it Callows ran after that?"

"Bingo. Used what little connections and friends he had left to skip town, and since then he vanished. Over the past fourteen years there've been reports of killings that match his M.O., but nothing solid. Until a few nights ago…"

"And that's where the Red Fang come into the picture." Qrow said, before asking "Did Callows or Pariss ever have any connections with the original White Fang, or any Faunus extremist groups?"

"I don't think they ever dealt with the White Fang, Pariss was dead before that Taurus kid took over. They did have some dealings with some Faunus terrorists in Atlas though, mostly so they'd have something of a hold over the Atlesian businesses who came to Vacuo to do business. Since these guys were local boys they never had anything against Faunus, but we know zilch about Tyrian's relationship with 'em. Then we saw this footage. When the attack began the security systems transmitted the footage to this station since we're the nearest law enforcement base, it's a little security measure that helps us catch the perps. Watch." Santaro instructed as he began the video.

Qrow watched with interest as he saw footage of a Dust warehouse, the video feed changed to multiple angles from time to time, only for one of them to suddenly go out. This was followed by another, and another, and then all of a sudden a door on the second floor burst open, and standing there was none other than Tyrian Callows, dressed in a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, open showing his bare, scarred chest. He also wore white pants along with leather boots that went over his shins, ending in knee guards. He also had silver, ring-shaped earrings on each of his earlobes and another one near the top of his left ear. But what really captured Qrow's attention was the large, thick black belt around his waist.

In the footage, Tyrian went to work immediately, eviscerating a guard's torso before finishing him off with a well-placed slice to the neck. Guards opened fire on the assassin, only for a small group of Red Fang operative to rush in and begin fighting back. The other angles of the security footage were still being cut off, until only one remained.

Qrow leaned forward, and could just barely recognize the large shape of Hui, the White Fang lieutenant, among the Red Fang attackers. All of a sudden something took Qrow by surprise; a large, scorpion-like tail shot out of Tyrian's waist and impaled a guard through the stomach. Tyrian brought the guard forward and killed him by slamming both wrist blades into his chest. With that, the security feed went black.

Qrow was rendered speechless by the sight. Santar sighed and said "I know, now get a load of this, I'm going to go back and freeze-frame. There's something on the camera right before it cuts out." He reversed the video, and began to play it frame by frame. Slowly, the shape of a head began to emerge from nowhere right in the middle of the screen, a face with brown skin and freckles could be made out before the screen went black.

"There it is. They just popped out of nowhere. Possibly a camouflage Semblance, but it could be something else."

"After seeing what Callows whipped out I don't blame you. Any survivors?" Qrow questioned.

"None. Nine people were killed that night. We got the full reports if you want to look at them." Santaro stated.

"Yeah, I wanna look at 'em. Get me all the data you got on Callows and every scrap of info you got on the raids the Red Fang have committed around here. You were right to call us, I think we're onto something and I want to send the data to my superiors, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Ironwood, they're gonna want to see this crap." Qrow ordered.

Santaro nodded and asked "You think Callows is in league with that Cinder Fall lady? I mean… there hasn't been a sighting of her since that fight in Haven about a year ago."

Qrow sighed and said "Don't know for sure, but it's a safe bet they're acquainted. Go get those data files. I'm going to contact my boss."

Santaro left the room and went to get the files while Qrow took out his scroll. He stopped a moment to admire the picture that served as the background; the same photo Ruby had. He shook his head before he went ahead and called Ozpin.

" _Qrow?"_

"You bet Oz, I'm here at Tarshta, you ever hear of a killer named Tyrian Callows?"

" _...Yes. That name is all too familiar. I attended his trial and was one of the judges who decided to strip him of the Huntsman rank and privileges permanently. Some years ago I heard of his new ties to the Vacuo mob, but I understand that it didn't end well. I suppose you're going to tell me he has thrown his hat in with Salem?"_

"Give the man a prize." Qrow confirmed.

" _I suspected Salem would want someone like him. Over the years there have been reports of assassinations and killings that bear a resemblance to Callows' methods, but no solid evidence to prove he was there. I suspect Salem is using him as an supervisor of the Red Fang, but he's not a Faunus, so why-"_

"Funny thing, Oz. The lieutenant here showed me security footage of the Dust warehouse that was raided the other night. Callows is there and, get this, he has a scorpion tail!"

" _A scorpion tail?! Are you sure?"_ asked Ozpin, startled for a brief moment.

"I saw it on the footage, and the coroner report on the victim will probably confirm a giant scorpion stinger rammed through the poor guy's gut." Qrow remarked.

" _If Grimm-Human hybrids are possible, then turning a human into a Faunus, an arachnid one at that, is not impossible."_ Ozpin commented thoughtfully.

"Heh, Oz, I stopped counting on the word 'impossible' to apply to my life a while ago." Qrow snarked with a smirk on his face.

" _Maybe I should too. Collect as much of the data as you can and sent it to us, some of the footage as well so we can review it. Have a look around, Qrow. Maybe your gift will help you find a clue leading to Tyrian's whereabouts or a link to the Red Fang's operations at least."_

"You got it Oz, and we're already working on getting that data ready. Over and out." Qrow said before ending the call.

The rugged Huntsmen rubbed his chin for a moment as he thought about his current mission. Tyrian Callows didn't sound like a pushover. If he was going to confront him, he was going to need to be prepared.

"If only Raven… Stop it. Can't dwell on the past. I don't have Taiyang or the teen squads with me. These Rangers are good enough for now." He said to himself before taking a brief drink from his flask.

* * *

There are certain forbidden places throughout Remnant which few people know of, and fewer still dare to go. Those who do go are usually brave archaeologists or thrill-seekers, looking for ancient relics or adventure. However, one place in particular had been known to a select few for quite some time. It was now time for its treasures to be plundered.

Deep in the rocky mountains overlooking the Vacuo deserts, a large group had gathered deep into the rocky outcroppings and steep hillsides, sand and stone covered the land as the blistering sun above showed no mercy. The group was an excavation team, they had entered a large cavern and were currently digging away at the rock and earth, aided by holographic maps and data to guide them towards their goal, lights were hung up over the cave's ceiling to provide some light in the darkness.

Further in, the sounds of drilling and digging reverberated from the curved rock walls as the workers, people and robot alike, tried to uncover what was hidden behind the tons of near-solid rock and sediments before them. They did their jobs silently and methodically, fearing the consequences of what could happen to them should they fail.

A little back was a larger cavern within the cave, the main site of the mining operation. The large cavern was nearly the size of an Atlas Airship, and it was practically a hive of activity from the miners and excavation robots, frantically digging, axing, and drilling away at the walls. Long, thick power cables and generators took up some space of the cave floor, providing light for them. The air within the walls was stiflingly hot, the stenches of sweat, dust, and overheating machinery ruled the air. The workers did their best to carve away the walls and find the objects of Salem's desire, but progress had been slow thus far.

Dr. Yiro West wiped his face off with a rag as he looked back to the excavation efforts. One arm extended outward, a small scanning device in hand, showing off the latest deep tunnel scans delivered into the device by the larger, more advanced scanning devices about the cave. He usually had no interest in mining operations, but in this case he was very interested, as Salem needed him to find something for her.

He took a sip of water from his canteen before turning his eyes back to the flickering images of the scanner's screen, ignoring the activities of the miners around him. Formerly a second hand to the late Dr. Giger, he had been promoted after the Grimm expert's death at the… teeth of his own creation. While he was decently knowledgeable in robotics to help Dr. Sherizawa and Dr. Cadmus, he was more 'at home' in biological sciences, hence the success of the recent Grimm Hybrids, Anansi and Mavis. But because of his experience with technology, he had been chosen to oversee the operation, which he did so closely, helped out by the decent number of Grimm Knight provided by Sherizawa to ensure everything went smoothly and so punishments could be provided if any of the workers stepped out of line.

Those weren't the only things there to help him. Ziz, the winged Grimm Commander, had arrived that morning, after leading a swift attack on a Vacuo town in the desert. Salem had sent her there to help speed things up, and as a result a few Griffons were currently digging their talons into the dirt to help, she had to control them to make them ignore the fear and unease emanating from the workers around them.

"What do we do with these people after the job's done?" Ziz asked him as she sat atop a large rock, stretching.

"Assign them to work on another job. Our master always has something needing to be done." West answered. "How did your attack go?"

"Same as always. Fast and brutal, left 'em confused. Didn't count the casualties." She responded, leaving out the fact that she had only allowed her Grimm to claim a few lives. Ever since she discovered what really became of her team, her blood lust had diminished significantly, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by her fellow Hybrids. They did not question her on it, however, as she had proved herself just as capable in combat as she ever had. They knew she no longer hated her team, but some other things far more deserving of hate. "Real out of the way place, huh? I don't even think these mountains were on the maps."

"Not on most of the official ones, anyway. It's out of bounds for most people, who wouldn't dare come this far into the desert. We're practically in the middle of it." West told her.

"Heh, so far from civilization that the law doesn't even matter." She mused. "You've been down here for a week, how much longer will it take?"

"Don't know, maybe another week." West answered plainly. "According to these reading the rock surrounding our target is extremely dense and will take some more time to break through it."

"Spending all day in a dark, hot, dusty cave digging. Can't imagine anything more boring." Ziz remarked, as a foreman came running towards them.

He gave a nervous, unsure look up at Ziz, before looking to West. "Sir, we've found something towards the back of the new tunnel, I've sent some Knights ahead to guard it." He reported. He held up a broken pickax, the blade snapped in half after being worn out for untold hours of work. "It shouldn't have snapped so easily, I think we hit something."

West nodded, "Lead the way." He said as Ziz glided down from her perch.

The foreman nodded and took them into the tunnel, directing other workers to get back to work as he did so. Ziz gestured towards the Griffons and they turned to face her, only for the winged hybrid to order them outside for the time being, so the beasts opened up their wings and flew out of the tunnels, leaving the workers be.

They walked deep into the tunnel until they came to the area where the Grimm Knights stood guard, their red visors shining in the dimly lit cave, missing nothing, not even the uneasy glances of the workers. They parted for the three to get through to the small area.

"The rock is thick, but when we broke through the sound it makes when its hit is odd." The foreman exposited, taking a shovel and slamming it down into the rock, following it up by banging it against another, exposed bit of earth, and the sound of the impact did have a subtle difference.

"Interesting. Is there a scanner in this tunnel?" West asked.

"We're about to boot it up." The foreman confirmed.

As they waited for the scanner to come online, West consulted his scroll and made a fascinated sound."Very close to the location Dr. Merlot wrote about." he said.

"Merlot? That name sounds familiar." Ziz said, trying to recall who he was talking about.

"He should. Merlot was once Salem's leading scientists, formerly one of Ozpin's top students. Dr. Giger was Merlot's second in command of Salem's biological science division, just as I was once his. Before he allied with Mistress Salem Merlot wandered into this no man's land, and spoke of skeletal remains of monstrous creatures long dead, hidden in these caves, along with statues and machines. This intrigued Mistress Salem, but she would only let him return to this place once he was done with his Grimm hybridization experiments. Obviously that never came to pass after that… unsuccessful hybrid went mad. I recently rediscovered Merlot's notes on this place and Mistress Salem deemed it a worthy of investigation." West told her before the scanning machines came alive and began to transmit data to his handheld device.

"What kinda creatures was Merlot talking about? Dragons?" Ziz asked.

"Close." West answered with a nod before he looked at the new data. "The sensors indicate that it is in fact made up of something different from the rest of the rock. There is something beyond the wall. Will drills work?" West asked.

"Yeah, but it might take a while…" The foreman said.

"Hmm… the sensors aren't picking anything large on the other side of the wall… Will a controlled blast do the trick?" West inquired.

"Sure, if it's powerful enough to blast through and not powerful enough to bring this place down around us. We got just the stuff for it. You wanna go through with that?" The foreman asked, a little unsure.

"I'm afraid we cannot let this obstacle impede our progress for Mistress Salem, the fast we get these remains to her, the more pleased she will be." West explained carefully.

The foreman nodded and signaled to the other workers and gestured to a large wooden crate, a couple of the workers opened it up and took out several small explosive charges and got the tools ready.

"You, go to the main chamber and tell the others what's happening. Get them all ready for stand by and have them be ready for evacuation should the need arise." West ordered another worker, who nodded and eagerly ran off.

As the foreman began making sure these charges weren't powerful enough to bring the tunnel down he looked to West and questioned "Are… you sure about this sir? Using these explosives might be risky, we could damage a one of the specimens if they're behind the wall."

West nodded, but said "I know, but it is an even greater risk to keep Mistress Salem waiting. This is our first real lead since we got here, and we need to find out if its what Merlot wrote about. If there's nothing behind this wall we'll be forced to keep digging around these mountains for weeks. I'd rather us finish this project in a way that doesn't disappoint her."

"Listen to him man, the faster this goes, the sooner you'll get outta here." Ziz advised.

The foreman sighed and nodded. West turned and commanded "Grimm Knights, take the charges and plant them on the wall."

Upon receiving their orders, the robotic soldiers did as told, fetching the charges from the miners and moved to plant them on the walls. After that the workers filed out of the cavern, tools in hand, while West and the foreman moved back towards the entrance just to be on the safe side. Ziz stayed up with the Knights to make sure that all the connections were intact as they were placed on the proper places.

"Tell me again, why does Mistress Salem want those robots when she has all those Grimm?" The foreman asked, curiously.

"The Grimm Knights do not need to feed like the Grimm do. Besides, there are cases in which the Knights are better suited to a task than Grimm, need I remind you how uneasy the beasts make you and your co-workers?" The foreman shook his head, understanding what West was saying. "They're easier to control than either Grimm or living guards. No fear of death or injury, no ravenous appetite, no will at all." West finished.

Ziz finished keying the charges up to a remote detonator and returned to the two men, the Grimm Knights forming a protective barrier behind her. "Alright, we're set. Everyone take cover and enjoy the fireworks!" She held up three fingers and brought them down one by one before clenching her fist around the detonator and pressing the button.

Inside of the main cavern, lit up by generator powered lights, there was a sudden tremor that shook the room before a huge cloud of dust burst out of the tunnel caused by the explosives, which also sent small rocks cascading down the rock walls and made machinery shake as the crews ran to secure everything and make sure that there wasn't going to be a cave-in. Luckily, nothing of the sort occurred and none of the surveying equipment or scanning devices were damaged. The most that had happened was a few light bulbs bursting.

Inside of the tunnel the near-deafening boom of the blast had sent rocks falling from the walls and ceiling, but luckily the tunnel was still structurally stable and the Grimm Knights had protected the three from any harm, leaving them dusty, but unhurt.

As the dust settled, everyone in the tunnel was either wiping or waving the dust away from their faces. West was coughing a bit as he held the rag over his mouth.

"You okay sir?" The foreman asked, his voice a little raw from the dust he had inhaled. As Ziz, who had recovered just fine, flapped her wings, blowing the dust away from them

"Yes, I'm fine." West answered, waving his hand dismissively. "I am more concerned about what's behind that wall… I hope we didn't damage the specimen… Go get your workmen and come back, be prepared to enter the new opening."

The foreman nodded and ran back to the main cavern. West shared a look with Ziz before walking forward into the dusty opening created by the blast, the winged hybrid and the robots following him.

The duo and the small group of robotic warriors entered the dark cavern, illuminated only by the Grimm Knight's lights and visors. The wall had collapsed entirely, blown open to reveal an entrance to something Ziz hadn't expected; the second floor of what was unmistakably a rather large room.

Before them was an ornate stone barrier that only went up to their waists, and once they looked over it, they beheld the specimen they sought in all of its shocking, terrifying glory.

"Holy shit doc, what is that thing?" Ziz asked in a hushed voice, which still echoed in the large, dark room regardless.

"That… is a truly magnificent specimen. Merlot was right." West admitted, his eyes displaying a childlike wonder as he stared at the humongous fossilized skeletal form of a creature which towered above the bottom floor, standing over rusty metal bars and torn banners, dusty floors and worn support columns. Held up by steel rods, it was truly an intimidating, but awe-inspiring sight to behold.

Its skull, mouth filled with dozens of sharp teeth, faintly shone in the light of the Knight's flashlights, which combined with the clouds of thick dust and the look of a place that had been totally abandoned and lost to time, gave off a foreboding, eerie atmosphere, almost like the place should have been left hidden.

"Yeah, I get it, it's a nice skeleton, but what the fuck is it?" Ziz reiterated crassly.

"What we are looking at, is one of the greatest predators to ever walk the face of this world. There was a land that existed before Remnant did Ziz, one that ended with the shattering of the moon, and before that, creatures like this ruled the world. One can only imagine what it looked like in the flesh. No wonder Merlot was no fascinated with it. No wonder Mistress Salem wanted it found. I had my doubts, but oh, they're all gone now! This, my friend, is a Tyrannosaurus Rex." He answered, his voice filled with awe.

Ziz nodded and looked about the room, ancient and dominated by dust and decay. "I bet dust mites have been the only things living here for centuries. What was this place?" She asked.

"I believe this was a museum in the world the was. When the shattering occurred the world changed radically and quickly, it's likely that this place collapsed into the ground and by some miracle this skeleton has remained unharmed for thousands of years. The other specimens, were not so lucky, it seems." West observed, as he surveyed the rest of the room, seeing bones of other extinct creatures, long claws, a club-like tail, a head with three horns, a long series of spike-like vertebrae coming out of a spine...

The foreman soon arrived with a group of miners and workmen, and they were more than a little startled by what they saw when they entered. Some of them couldn't believe their eyes, many couldn't make a sound, allowing a stunned silence to take over as they tried to process the sheer size and monstrous majesty of the remains before them.

West turned to Ziz and said "Go tend to your Griffons, and inform Mistress Salem that we have found it, it's right where Merlot said it'd be. I am sure she will be be… delighted upon hearing some good news."

"You got it." Ziz stated, before taking her leave and walking out of the cave.

West turned to the Grimm Knights and said "Scan it and create a holographic reconstruction of it, we'll need to have sufficient data on its skeletal structure if we are to transport it. We'll have to put it back together for Mistress Salem."

The Knights flew up into the air and began to scan the Tyrannosaur from multiple angles, checking where the joins of the bones were connected.

"So we're taking the specimen out of here?" The foreman asked.

"Correct. We can't take it out in one piece, it's too big." West stated.

"I can see that." The foreman remarked nervously, his face tight with unease. "So… is this is it? This is what we're looking for? What is Mistress Salem going to do with it, exactly? Why have us come all the way out here for some giant lizard fossil in the middle of nowhere?"

West turned to face the man, a smug smile on his features as he answered "Because we need a new Grimm, something bigger, a new breed of Elder Grimm, and I believe this... Dinosaur, or lizard as you called it, is the perfect candidate. It was the greatest predator that ever walked the planet's surface, and now it can be reborn as the ultimate Huntsman predator."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader and Akashi2712Samurai with help from azndrgn thanks guys! Be sure to check these guys out.
> 
> I'm very, very sorry if I disappointed anyone with the last chapters, as barely anyone bothered to review them, but I will do my best to improve. I don't know why, but I still feel empty and I sometimes feel like nothing I do matters and that this story is just a waste of time, but I hope I am wrong. If I am, I wonder why it's not as popular as other fics. I'm sorry I'm being whiny, I just get sad sometimes, my own fault really. Not to sure about a certain scene in this chapter either...
> 
> I had already toyed with the idea of a Dinosaur Grimm, but when Akashi2712Samurai came to me with the idea, I decided 'why not?'
> 
> This is the first time members of the Atlas Council have been named, they've been mentioned but never named up until this point.
> 
> About Merlot, had I known about him prior to writing this story I would have had him in place of Giger, but what's done is done.
> 
> Son of Salem isn't Adam reborn, he's a new person entirely, a silent killer for Salem with no ambitions of his own, so Adam's still dead for good, only parts of his body were used, the rest was buried.
> 
> This story now has a TV Tropes Page! Please check it out and feel free to contribute!
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted.
> 
> Please guys, please leave a kudos, comment on, and even bookmark this story, if you would. Thank you all, once again.


	56. History Lessons

"...And that, dear students, is how Team RWBY and I spent a weekend hunting in the Emerald Forest, claiming the prizes you see on my walls." Port finished with his tale, gesturing to the stuffed and mounted heads of varying Grimm species such as a Beowolf, a Boarbatusk, a Beringel, and a Deathstalker.

Ruby smiled, blushing a bit as some of her fellow students looked to her, still in awe of her abilities to freeze a Grimm's body. The other members of Team RWBY rolled their collective eyes, as they not only lived through that hunt, but had already heard the enthusiastic professor retell the tale several times, even heard him practice it on the way back from the forest that day.

Several months ago, prior to the first snowfall, Professor Port had asked Team RWBY to accompany him on a hunting trip in the Emerald Forest to help Ruby use her powers, while under control, and claim some non-disappearing Grimm heads for him to get to his taxidermist friend, who had to have help from some scientists from the Vale government to do so.

Team RWBY and Penny were currently in the first class of the day, which they shared with Team SSSN. Team JNPR's first class was weapons training and maintenance, which was usually taught by Qrow, but since he was away, Taiyang had taken his place, and Team CFVY has survival class with Professor Peach.

"And so, what can you take from this story, my dear students?" Port asked.

Several hands shot up, and Port selected Sage's. "That there are multiple ways to destroy Grimm; brute strength, planning of both the in-advance and improvised kind, stealth attacks, carefully placed and swift strikes, Semblance-based attacks and so on. You cannot totally rely on just one kind of combat strategy, so you must try to change things up." He answered.

"An excellent answer Mr. Ayana! Be sure to take notes, as he is absolutely correct! There are wrong ways to vanquish Grimm, however, such as ways that endanger others, but if one is careful, swift, and precise, they can be an effective Hunter." Port stated as he strutted over to a corner of the room, which Sun bumped his fist against Sage's.

"As Mr. Ayana mentioned, Semblances are also important in fighting Grimm, if you paid attention to my story, you'll have noticed how Team RWBY used their Semblances to their advantages expertly several times. Now, we are going to go over how your Semblances can help in battle, and the ways you can use them to take out varying types of Grimm." The cheerful teacher announced, missing the hushed groans of a few students.

About half an hour later, both teams, as well as Penny, made their way to Dr. Oobleck's class.

"This is the third time he's told that story during our class." Weiss bemoaned as she walked next to Ruby.

"I don't think you want to know how many times he's told it all together, remember that he has like seven classes in one day." Ruby told her.

"Usually kids are happy when their teachers' brag on 'em." Sun observed.

"Well we would be, but it gets dull after a while." Blake retorted as leaned out of the way of another student.

"Add to the fact that their are several differences each time he tells the story. The first time Professor Port told this story two months ago he mentioned how Yang punched a Beowolf over to him so he could blast it with his blunderbuss but in today's telling he claims she sent three Beowolves his way." Penny stated.

"How would you notice that?" Neptune asked, a bit surprised.

"I'm very good at keeping track of things." Penny answered with a smile.

"Doesn't matter to me. Makes me sound more awesome that way." Yang voiced, before flexing her muscles and adding "Besides, I could totally do that."

"We know." Most of the group shot back.

"So Ruby, are you sure you're okay with those heads? I mean, one could say that Port used your powers to get those." Sage asked the girl.

Ruby shook her head before saying "Don't worry about that! He's wanted genuine Grimm trophies for decades, and I was more than happy to help him. Plus he even wanted to make sure I didn't feel like he was taking advantage of my powers."

"Professor Port is a lot of things, but a selfish person is not one of them. He's smarter than he lets on." Weiss agreed.

As the months went on, the members of Team Beacon had changed in appearances somewhat, but Ruby was the most noticeable, as her hair was now shoulder-length, she was now as tall as Penny was, and her body was maturing a bit, something Yang had been both proud of and eager to defend should any boy or girl make a perverted move on her little sister.

Weiss had also grown and filled out a bit, she was now only slightly shorter than Ruby, but was a bit jealous when she realized that Ruby had outgrown her in certain areas. Her hair was the same length as it had always been, as she had made sure it was never too long but never too short.

Yang's hair had grown a bit longer, but her real changes were in her prosthetic arm, which had been upgraded substantially; it now had a few more gadgets and tricks hidden inside, was easier to detach if need be, and was made of a stronger metal, which made it heavier but more effective in battle. Yang also had a spare arm made of a softer alloy for casual, easy going, average life situations, so her arm would be stronger than necessary. All it took to exchange the arms was to detach one and attach the other, and she had learned to withstand the modicum of pain that came with changing the arms.

Blake's hair had also grown a bit longer, and she no longer wore a bow on her head during the school hours, feeling no need to hide who she truly was anymore. Upon school starting up again she did get a few looks or surprised glances, but the clear support of the rest of Team Beacon put those to rest.

Sun hadn't changed much aside from his new mechanical tail, but Neptune was now a tad more muscular, but he was disappointed that it hadn't been noticed as much as he hoped. Scarlet's hair had grown back a bit, but his main scarlet lock was still very prominent. Sage hadn't really changed much, save for his hair growing slightly longer.

They arrived at Dr. Oobleck's class room, where they met up with Team JNPR.

"Hey guys, how's the day been so far?" Nora asked them as she plopped down into her seat.

"Just fine, Professor Port went on about the little hunting trip he went on, again." Blake responded as she took her seat.

"You know that means we're going to have to hear about it for the third time." Jaune said, shaking his head.

"At least Port integrates his stories into the lessons, Professor Crane just goes off on tangents sometimes." Ren stated as he got out his books and papers for the class.

Team JNPR had changed a bit as well, with Jaune becoming a bit more muscular, not overly so but he was nearly on par with Sun in terms of muscles and his hair was slightly longer as well. Pyrrha had barely changed, her hair was in a similar style and her muscles were only slightly larger. Ren had not changed much, save for a different hairstyle, but Nora had grown a bit, now matching Weiss in height.

"So give us a heads up, what can we expect in Port's class aside from the story?" Jaune asked Ruby.

"Another lesson on how Semblances and different combat forms and strategies can help you fight Grimm. It's a bit more advanced though, so you better take notes." Ruby advised them.

"Gotcha." Jaune said with a nod as Pyrrha sat down next to him.

"Do you have your papers?" She asked him.

"You know it." He said as he took his assignment papers out of his bag.

The bell rung, signifying the beginning of the period. "Right, come along. Sit down, sit down, students. Time for class to begin." Declared Oobleck as he surveyed the room, making sure all of his students had arrived or were arriving.

Once he was sure everyone was present he said "Very good to see everyone present. I trust you all had a good night's rest?"

He got a mixed response, with some like Ruby and Nora nodding positively while some didn't have such a bright outlook, with Sun muttering "I was until I was woken up."

"Ah, the usual answers then. I feel for those of you who wish for more rest, believe me, but time waits for no one. Now, please bring your papers up to my desk so I may go over them later." Oobleck gently commanded.

His students did so, some more nervous than others. Once everyone returned to their seats he said "Very good, all papers accounted for. Now, shall we have a brief reminder of what we went over yesterday?"

Doctor Oobleck was currently giving the second year students a history lesson about the three Great Wars, with the large academy board behind him fully covered with a huge map of Remnant, with slips of word and picture filled papers nearly covering the whole thing with red lines flowing to and fro in all possible directions and angles. To the untrained eye one would practically have to take several steps back to fully appreciate the scale and breadth of history the green-haired, fast-talking and coffee-guzzling professor was currently speaking about at the moment.

Since he had already covered the major events of the first Great War in the past week, in the current lesson they were now going over the events of the more significant second Great War since the events in that conflict shaped the fabric of Remnant's history socially, economically and politically for the many years which came after.

The first Great War had occurred nearly two thousand years ago, and while in the beginning it had been over territory and land disputes, but soon a host of other contributing factors such as Dust trades and economical contracts, army assignments, protection of various towns and cities from the Grimm and criminal groups and which took priority, the amount of taxes to be levied, and differing political differences eventually escalated matters into an all out war with dozens of individual factions all vying for control. The stronger factions defeated many of the less powerful ones before assimilating them into their own factions, some peacefully, other not so much. The process went on and on until only the strongest survived. The war lasted well over a century of bloody conflict and chaos, with many of those who fought not even knowing the real reason why the war was really being fought for. Many men and women rose and fell in power, with just as many lives lost, a good amount of them having died pointlessly. However, the Grimm thrived on all the negative emotions present among mankind while still remaining a perilous threat that opposed all sides of the conflict. Since the Grimm attacked all the factions and could not be reasoned with, fighting the horrifying beasts to protect whatever they had built was the only action all factions could agree on even as the conflict continued across Remnant.

When the fighting had finally died down there were only four major powers standing at the end of it all: Vale, Mantle, Vacuo and Mistral. The last ten years of the war were essentially an impasse, with the four great factions' armies and differing philosophical view on life and politics occupying whatever land they have conquered, yet all of them were still poised to clash at any moment. Tensions were high, and the situation was like a stack of dynamite ready to blow sky high. All it needed was a spark to set off the massive inferno.

Thankfully cooler heads managed to prevail as the leaders of Vale eventually proposed a meeting between them and the leaders of the other three major powers to settle matters peacefully. Mantle, Vacuo and Mistral carefully agreed, but not without hesitance and much deliberation with their own respective politicians and military leaders. The meeting was agreed to be held on a small island located at the north of Vale, and after a series of debates and discussions that lasted for two whole weeks, a peace treaty was finally signed and the governments of Vale, Vacuo and Mistral would reform into Kingdoms like Mantle was, with their leaders all becoming royalty to govern their individual Kingdoms.

One of the biggest things that had been decided out of that conference was the idea to create Huntsman Academies to train warriors to become Huntsmen and Huntresses to combat the Grimm that posed a threat to all life on Remnant, thus one academy was made per Kingdom, Beacon Academy in Vale, Atlas Academy in Mantle, Shade Academy in Vacuo, and finally Haven Academy in Mistral, all with the directive to train and prepare any and all students to become worthy Hunters.

Even though the first Great War was over there were still some debates to be had, such as the rights of the Faunus and the finalizing of Dust trades routes between Kingdoms, but the most important thing was that the fighting was over for the time being, which was something everyone was grateful for. After so much bloodshed, it was time for the four Kingdoms to heal their war wounds and rebuild what had been damaged by the conflict.

There had been some minor skirmishes and clashes since then, mainly between the different tribes and clans, but for the most part things were relatively peaceful, though not without shake ups every now and then. None came close to another full-scale Great War...

Until the second Great War erupted, which the entire class was currently studying. It began about two hundred and fifty years ago, and in the centuries leading up to it relations between the four Kingdoms were far from perfect. While Vale had maintained an overall positive relationship with all three of its fellow nations, Mantle and Vacuo were bitter rivals due to their many differences in the lifestyles of their people, ethics and even races, but it was mainly due to the fact that Faunus slavery was still legal, something neither of the other two Kingdoms were fond of either. Mistral, on the other hand, had a decent relationship with Mantle but a neutral one with Vacuo, as the two didn't care nor dislike one another too passionately. Nevertheless, Mistral maintained a strong alliance with Mantle, helping the northern Kingdom to settle the continent of Solitas while supplying them with much-needed resources which Mantle reciprocated by informing Mistral on how to settle the northern parts of Anima.

The Grimm, however, had become an increasing problem over the years, with untold numbers of people around the planet being injured or losing their lives to those monsters with each passing year, and it was all the Kingdoms could do to protect their people from meeting the same fate as those who chose to live outside the Kingdoms' walls. It was only a matter of time before drastic measures were undertaken, and thus the government of the Kingdom of Mantle, the richest and most militarily powerful of the four nations, put into place a way for their people to combat the Grimm in order to protect themselves after an unspecified incident involving those creatures.

The plan they devised was to force their people to suppress their emotions by abolishing the arts and repressing self-expression in its own Kingdom. Since negative emotions such as fear, anger and misery were what attracted the creatures of Grimm to its people, the King of Mantle decided that by controlling any and all emotions in their minds, even those positive ones that could lead to negative emotions like the love for one's child leading to fearing for that child's life should they be endangered, it would be safer from the Grimm. All works of art or entertainment that would encourage any kind of emotion were banned, and anyone who openly opposed these decrees were immediately arrested and locked away, and many of its population were forced to undergo special training or were prescribed a type of emotion-suppressing drug created by the scientists of Mantle, known only as Proziniumli which they have to take daily or be severely punished.

Naturally this was quite controversial to the other Kingdoms, especially Vacuo who was openly opposed to it and severed what little ties it had with Mantle. The Kingdom of Vale opposed it as well, but they were hoping that through further meetings and discussions it would resolve any difficulties it had with Mantle and hopefully seek less radical actions against the northern Kingdom, despite also having problems with the way how Mantle and Mistral run their Kingdoms.

Mistral, however, was split. While some of its people saw it as blasphemy and the elite of Mantle going mad with power and becoming tyrannical, others saw it as an effective way to keep themselves safe from the Grimm, since Mistral was larger than the other Kingdoms and therefore had, at times, suffered from more damaging Grimm attacks so they did not openly disapprove of the decrees of emotion suppression. There were those among the Mistrialians who felt quite unnerved by rumours of what was being done to those who resisted in Mantle, but since the eastern Kingdom didn't want to damage its alliance with Mantle who had graciously provided a large portion of their military to help fight off any Grimm incursions, they complied.

Two years went by until the King of Mantle officially went on a diplomatic mission to visit the Emperor of Mistral, and that was when Mantle made its opening salvo and its true motivations clear once it had sent enough of its troops to strategic locations all over Mistral and surrounding its capital, holding the entire place hostage by the legions of Mantle troops which were supposed to be there as a gesture of goodwill by Mantle. The other Mantle garrisons throughout the land also made their moves as well, swiftly turning against their Mistralian allies.

The royalty of Mistral were then given an ultimatum by Mantle: either follow the northern Kingdom's example by forcing the suppression of all emotions on their people, or refuse which would lead to the deaths of countless innocent lives that they were supposed to protect. The Emperor of Mistral, when faced with such a terrible choice, thought of his people and decided to save the lives of those under his rule and agreed with the King of Mantle, sealing his Kingdom's fate.

Needless to say, when both Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo learned of the drastic actions Mantle had done to secure the alliance of Mistral they were horrified, with the latter Kingdom moving its military forces into position and deploying its navy out to sea in preparation for any conflict to come from the Mantle-Mistral Alliance in spite of its neutrality. The Kingdom of Vale also made it clear that they were not at all pleased with the actions Mantle had taken, as they knew that if Mantle made its move on either of the remaining Kingdoms, a new Great War would begin.

A brief period of cold war descended between the four Kingdoms, until Mistral and Vale both set their sights on settling the resource-rich eastern islands on the continent of Sanus, with people from both Kingdoms establishing many settlements there and making use of the resources they found. Despite the outcries from the people of his Kingdom, the King of Vale decided that it would be for the best if they tried to share the land with the settlers from Mistral, unless they attempted something hostile. However, tensions soon rose between the settlers from both Kingdoms, eventually culminating into a riot between both bands of settlers. While no one knew who started the riot, it swiftly escalated into the first battle of the second Great War. Mantle, using the excuse that it was assisting Mistral, brought large numbers of troops onto those islands and soon terrible battles erupted on both Sanus and Anima's soil.

Meanwhile, the King of Mantle and his military elite paid the warnings from Vale and Vacuo no heed, and moved onto the next phase of their plans by taking minor islands under the control of Vacuo, which caused the western Kingdom's sizable navy to attempt to fend them off, and when met with little success, created blockades to slow Mantle's progress. It appeared that the Mantle-Mistral Alliance was preparing to invade Vacuo, and then surround Vale from all sides to conquer all of Remnant.

The King of Vale was not one to give up without a fight, but his forces were hard-pressed fighting both forces from Mantle and Mistral. Despite Vacuo's best efforts, they were posed to lose ground and troops to the opposing forces. The King knew they needed to form an alliance or become hopelessly outmatched by the Mantle-Mistral Alliance. All in all, the royalty of Vacuo didn't hesitate to join forces with Vale, when the King proposed an alliance to fight against Mantle's tyranny and the enslaved Mistral.

The two Kingdoms worked together to fight against Mantle and Mistral, and for a whole decade the war raged won. Many lives were lost, and the balance of power shifting between both sides countless times. At times, the Mantle-Mistral Alliance had the slight advantage, due to the Grimm attacking the more emotional side of the war, but the warriors of Vale and Vacuo were not deterred by this development despite the odds stacked against them.

And so the war continued. Food and Dust rations were put into effect, and the development of technology to defeat one's opponents accelerated. Humans and Faunus grew close on the battlefield throughout the battles they faced together, and Grimm attacks worldwide increased drastically. Eventually, things got so bad that whenever the Grimm invade a battlefield, both sides would call a temporary ceasefire long enough to deal with the Grimm, after which they went back to battling against each other once more. Many towns and settlements were lost to the Grimm, as their best warriors were off fighting in the war, and very few of those abandoned or destroyed settlements were reclaimed.

However, while the Mantle-Mistral Alliance was fighting the war from without, it was also fighting a war from within as well. It appears that there were people who were willing to stand against them from among the masses of Mantle and Mistral...

Weiss raised her hand, and Oobleck adjusted his glasses before selecting her, "Yesterday, we studied the underground resistance movements that fought Mantle's reign from within, groups from both Mantle and Mistral who resisted the suppression of their emotions and fought to bring freedom to their homelands."

"Correct, Miss Schnee. Now, can anyone elaborate more?" The bespectacled teacher asked.

Ruby quickly raised her hand, and he pointed to her, "The in-fighting the resistance caused was something that helped out Vale and Vacuo, as they managed to score some important victories against the enemy thanks to the distractions by the resistance. After capturing one strategically important city General Calthrop managed to establish an alliance with the leader of one of the leading rebel cells, which got him in contact with the leader of the Mantle Rebellion, Jonathan Ironwood."

Ruby looked to her partner who smiled and nodded, a slightly proud look in her eyes. Yang gave her little sister a thumbs up while Blake smiled in her direction.

"Very good Miss Rose! Now what did the people of the Mantle Rebellion call themselves?" Oobleck posed the question to the entire class once more.

Neptune raised his hand, and was promptly chosen, "They call themselves the Dreamers, because they held hope for a bright future no matter how dark things got for them within Mantle, and specialized in both direct action and unconventional warfare. They took part in various operations, such as disrupting major supply routes and feeding crucial information on troop movements from within Mantle and Mistral to Vale and Vacuo during the second Great War."

"Excellent, Mr. Vasilias! Now, we shall continue from where we left off yesterday, so be prepared to take notes!" Oobleck gestured quickly in a commanding voice, which got him quite a number students having looks of dread on their faces since they had trouble keeping up with his rapid-fire talking.

"Now, the war went on for a long, brutal decade of fighting, until one final gambit was cast. The King of Vale himself led a mighty campaign to liberate the Mistralian capital, bringing a good portion of the army that wasn't protecting the remaining free Kingdoms with him. This made the King of Mantle to send out a bulk of his forces to repel the attack and attempt to kill the Valean King at the same time, thus destroying the leader of the opposition. It was an incredibly risky, daring move which ultimately decided the outcome of the war.

"The King of Mantle was confident that this would be the final battle, and that within a few months all of Remnant would be under his rule. Little did he know that the King of Vale's attack on Mistral, was actually an elaborate distraction for a crack team of over fifty Huntsmen and Huntresses, led by his daughter, a Huntress he trusted above all others to perform a sneak attack. They quietly infiltrated the Kingdom of Mantle with the help of Ironwood's resistance, which created another distraction by attacking several outlying outposts, robbing the capital of its main reinforcements, and allowing the strike team and Ironwood's top forces to secretly enter the capital and begin their attack in earnest.

"It lasted all throughout the night, with low fatalities despite the number of casualties being quite high. In the end, the Princess of Vale led the charge against Mantle's palace and managed to storm inside, only to find that the King of Mantle was dead, having taken the coward's way out by committing suicide when all of his escape routes were cut off by Ironwood's forces."

Scarlet raised his hand and when Oobleck nodded at him, he asked, "What was the cause of death?"

The bespectacled professor answered with, "Well, no one quite knows the truth. From what records say there were no visible wounds on his body, nor did he hang himself and the official autopsy found no trace of poisons or drugs, but it is possible he took one of the rare, undetectable poisons that a person of his position could have easily purchased. His council of advisors and the remaining military generals were confused as well of his demise, but once they realized that they were surrounded and outmatched they promptly surrendered and passed down the order for all of their available forces to surrender as well.

"However, the war didn't just end like that since there was quite a number of Mantle and Mistral generals who weren't eager to give up just yet since they were invading Vacuo to cut off its Dust supplies from the mines within the Kingdom. The Vale King personally led a campaign against the remainder of those who refused to surrender, and led his army alongside Vacuo's, thoroughly decimating the opposing forces. The Vacuo campaign was among the bloodiest events of the second Great War, as it showed how powerful the Vale King was when in battle, so much that he was known far and wide as the Warrior King when it was all over, despite other accounts saying that Vacuo's harsh climate played a huge role in causing Mantle and Mistral's defeat.

"Faced with such fearsome power from the King of Vale, the remaining generals of Mantle and Mistral finally agreed to surrender, after it was clear that there was no way to win the war. We will go over the more important details of those waning months later, as for now I would focus on the reconstruction efforts after the Second Great War." Oobleck mentioned while waving a finger with his other hand.

Everyone in the class wrote down their notes dutifully and made sure to record all the important details of Oobleck's lecture. For some, like Pyrrha, Ren, Neptune, and Blake it came rather easily, while others like Scarlet, Sun and Nora had a hard time keeping up with everything that came out of Oobleck's mouth, and had to seek help from other members of their respective teams.

"The first task at hand was to dispose of all the emotion suppressing drugs and allow the people of Mantle and Mistral the right to express their emotions however they saw fit, and those were days of rejoicing and celebration, as well as reestablishing the arts.

"And after that came one of the most important acts of the reconstruction; the people of Remnant wanted the King of Vale to rule over them as an emperor, reestablishing the government of the world so it was under the control of just one person, but the King of Vale humbly turned down this offer, as war had proven to him that power corrupts and the absolute power they were offering him would corrupt even the strongest of wills.

"No, he decided to completely reformat the governments of Remnant, so he called for the leaders of all four Kingdoms to gather at the island of Vytal, where they created a fair and just treaty to plan for the future of Remnant. Many, many important things came out of that treaty, such as reestablishing the Kingdom of Mantle into Atlas, as it is known to this day, as you all know.

"One of the most important things to come out of the reconstruction besides redistributing territories and abolishing slavery was the King of Vale deciding to completely restructure the governments of Remnant so that no one would have so much power over a Kingdom. After turning the offer down he discussed matters with the other royalty of the Kingdoms, as well as the regional governors, dukes, duchesses, lords, and ladies, and came to the decision to dismantle the monarchy and establish a form of democracy, where each of the kingdoms would be ruled by a council that would do its best to serve the people. The Faunus were given equal rights, and were gifted the continent of Menagerie for their own use due to their contributions in the second Great War and to make up for their previous mistreatment they suffered, though it was not something that was totally settled, as we shall see when we cover the Faunus Rights Revolution.

"The Vale King also felt that more academies were needed, so he founded several other schools such as Sanctum, Signal, Mistral, Oasis, and others. He placed trusted friends in charge of each academy, and told the people of Remnant to fight against the darkness, but never against each other. He then stepped down as King, but was elected by the people to be the head of the council for Vale." Oobleck finished before taking a moment to drink from his thermos and allow his students time to catch up.

The class went on for the next hour, with Dr. Oobleck going over the reconstruction and the various trials Remnant went through after the second Great War, such as the skirmishes with certain hardliners who oppose the reconstruction and the outcome of Mantle after the northern Kingdom had been reformed.

"And so, with the remaining Mantle extremists arrested it was decided that Mantle could no longer keep its name as it was deemed egotistical and assertive, meaning that it was above all others. After much deliberation amongst themselves, the reformed council decided that they would be renamed Atlas after an ancient myth about a giant who held the world above his shoulders. That is why the Kingdom, now renamed as Atlas, remained the biggest and most advanced military power on Remnant with no plans to conquer or dominate, but to protect their allies and remain vigilant against anything that could threaten the peace and stability of the world. Under the guidance of Jonathan Ironwood, who had been promoted to Major General for his heroic stand against tyranny, the Kingdom of Atlas rebuilt itself into a Kingdom with spectacular innovation and far-reaching technological advancements. It is a legacy that we all know which still lives on to this day."

The teacher allowed his students the necessary time to finish jotting down their notes, just before he could launch into another of his lectures, the bell signaling the end of his lesson rang out.

"That time already? Oh well, remember to study up on the trials the Kingdoms have to face during the reconstruction period after the second Great War, students! Tomorrow, we will continue our lesson on that particular subject, as well as going back and examining how the surfacing of certain dangerous Grimm types, such as the Nuckelavee and the Leviathans, affected the overall conflict. Class dismissed!" Oobleck reminded his students as they packed up their writing materials and began to leave the lecture hall.

Ruby quickly dumped her supplies into her slingbag when she noticed something peculiar out of the corner of her silver eyes. The normally calm and stoic expression that could be normally seen on Ren's face fractured a little when he heard the word 'Nuckelavee', and the fingers of his hand unconsciously curled into tight fists on the surface of his table even as his face ran through a variety of emotions: sadness, regret, anger and a flash of steel within those magenta eyes of his. Nora, upon seeing this reaction from Ren, had placed her hand gently on his shoulder, making him look at the comforting and reassuring look on her face and the concern she had shown in her jade eyes. The red reaper wasn't the only one who had caught the look on Ren's face, as the other members of Team Beacon, especially the other half of Team JNPR were also looking to the pale teen as well.

The silver-eyed girl felt concerned for her friend as she remembered what he had Nora had told her about their past back when they were Team RNJR travelling to the City of Haven, and it had also been something that was brought up when it was decided that Team JNPR, Fox and Sage should share in their own pasts as well since Team RWBY, CFVY, Sun, Scarlet and Neptune had already done so during their mission in Vacuo.

Slowly, Ren's face slipped back to its usual calm before he managed a small smile and nodded to Nora, and then looked at Jaune and Pyrrha who smiled back at him. He gently reached up and squeezed Nora's hand gently, before picking up his belongings and following his team to the next class. As Ruby and the other members of Team Beacon left Oobleck's lecture hall behind and made their way to Weapons Maintenance class, which was usually helmed by Qrow but today was being taught by her father Taiyang while the scruffy Hunrsman was away, the plucky huntress thought back to the day after the fateful secret meeting with the Remnant Knights...

_Six Months Ago_

_"...and so, that's my story. Nothing else to tell really, you know the rest." Jaune finished, having finally fessed up the truth about his admittance into Beacon with fake transcripts with assistance from Bianca, as well as how he attempted to steal the family sword Crocea Mora in the middle of the night rather than buying and forging another weapon, and how his parents found him out, only to allow him to go and follow his dream, so with their permission and best wishes he Cadia in the middle of the night to the nearest airship docks to make the journey to Beacon Academy. Looking back, Jaune was incredibly happy that they had, and that he had taken that leap of faith in the first place he might never had made it to Beacon and got to know the friends who would become his teammates and lover._

_Before Jaune had started his tale, Pyrrha had gone before him and had wrapped up her tale of her celebrity life and her lonely time at Sanctum Academy. She had told most of them the tales of her horrifying experience while under the delusion of being Fotia Drakos, although she had left out the more gruesome parts so as not to scar them for life even though none of Team Beacon felt like reopening that particular painful wound. The majority of Team Beacon who had told their life stories on the train ride in Vacuo had repeated their accounts again for those who weren't there the last time, so that way all everyone within the combined team would have some understanding of one another._

_The entirety of Team Beacon was seated in the living room of their shared dorm, all dressed in their sleepwear while the steel and glass table in front of them was covered with hot steaming mugs of cocoa and various snacks that they have managed to purchase from a variety of stores in Vale and in some cases, pilfered from the cafeteria's vending machines. Team RWBY occupied one couch with Jaune and Pyrrha, while Team CFVY with Ren and Nora occupied the other. Team SSSN pulled up chairs and cushions to seat themselves around the said table, and Penny simply brought out her swivel chair for herself to join the rest of her new team. Out of courtesy for those sharing their stories, the rest of Team Beacon remained mostly quiet until the speakers have finished._

_"Okay, so that's Pyrrha and Jaune done." Coco stated and every else aside from the red-haired spartan and blonde knight nodded, now that they all know the truth about Jaune. It was only after some debating and a small argument before Pyrrha had convinced Jaune to finally decide on ultimately coming clean to his friends and teammates by telling them the truth about his entry into Beacon. Thankfully, they weren't hostile as he feared they would be._

_"I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we never realized that you faked your way into Beacon, it seems blindingly obvious in hindsight." Weiss mentioned to him with a slight look of disapproval on her face, while her hands were crossed in front of her snow white nightgown._

_"Yeah, it definitely explains a ton of things about how you acted during the first semester." Yang added with a small smirk on her lips, her yellow-black robotic hand clicking softly as she gently moved the individual fingers of the prosthetic. She was dressed in her usual yellow top and black shorts which had lengthened to her thighs but did leave a glimpse of her nicely-built torso to the rest of Team Beacon._

_Jaune slowly shook his head and covered his face, "I know, I was a total loser back then. I just hope I have improved slightly since I came to Beacon..."_

_"Not a total one." Velvet assured him kindly as she spread her small hands, "Anyone who could overcome such difficult odds with all of their available skills, hard work and determination isn't a loser." She was dressed in a nice, sleeveless brown nightgown which reached all the way to her knees._

_The fashionista nodded her head, "Listen to her Arc. I might not approve of forging transcripts or lying... but I won't argue with the results. From what I have seen of you, you've turned out to be a decent leader, and I'm sure that your team wouldn't want to have anyone else as their leader. So stop putting yourself down and buck up." Coco told him in a stern voice, but there was a reassuring look on her face as the ends of her mouth quirked upward. Clothed in a shirt with a cocoa-colored scheme as well as dark brown shorts just like her usual wear, she somehow looked a little like a model no matter what she wore._

_Jaune returned the smile to his fellow team leader before feeling Pyrrha place her hand atop his, "She's right, you know. We wouldn't want anyone else as our leader, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my... partner." She told him, a loving smile on her face._

_The leader of Team JNPR felt his cheeks flush a little red and he tried to say something, but before any word left his mouth he was interrupted by Nora who responded with, "That's our leader, he becomes kinda badass but is still our lovable dork."_

_The rest of Team Beacon, including Penny, laughed for several seconds before Jaune smiled and said, "I guess I'm happy with that description."_

_"So, I guess I now understand what you meant when you told me in the past that you knew what it was like to hide who you truly were." Blake said to Jaune, giving him an understanding look, which reminded the blonde team leader of what he told her when she revealed to Team JNPR that she was actually a Faunus._

_Jaune gave the Cat Faunus a small but thankful smile, which she returned._

_"Thanks for being so understanding, guys... to be honest, I was pretty afraid of how you would react, and I... I was pretty dead set against telling you all at first." He admitted while scratching the back of his head._

_"Is that what you and Pyrrha were arguing about a couple of hours ago?" Neptune asked, tilting his head a little. He was seated on a wooden chair, a white and blue checkered cushion between his hands._

_"Every couple has their spats." Pyrrha answered and the bluette gave a nod._

_"You two have been acting the perfect couple since Haven, so I was actually surprised that you two were capable of fighting." Fox commented wryly._

_Jaune nodded and replied, "Well, no one's perfect, especially not me. But you're right, that's what we were arguing about, but we eventually compromised between ourselves. I'm honestly surprised you guys aren't furious at me. I mean, I guess it makes sense for my own Team and most of RWBY..." he said, briefly pausing to look at Weiss who sighed and rolled her eyes. "...but I kinda figured that some of you would be so angry that you would want me kicked out of Beacon altogether."_

_"No way. After all we've been through together? After everything you've done and endured? Please. Even if you did lie your way into Beacon, I think you've more than earned your place here." Sun told the young knight, showing a rare side of maturity that surprised some of the teens present._

_"He's right. You have demonstrated pretty good strategic and tactical skills when you led the team in taking out that Paladin back at the White Fang base, plus everything else like looking into Ante's little scam in Cadia, and figuring out how to get Ren to call for everyone's help. I'd say that you are worthy of being a leader, and your team most certainly thinks so." Coco added confidently._

_"You bet your butt we do." Nora chimed in, getting some laughs from all of those present._

" _So no hard feelings? I mean we're all cool, right?" Jaune asked them._

_"While your past actions are morally questionable and not totally logically sound, I have learned that what's logical isn't always the correct path, so I have come to the conclusion that you are forced by circumstances which resulted in your actions at that point in time. Now that I have understood your reasons, I have accepted you as my friend, Jaune Arc." Penny told him and stuck out her hand for him to shake. Jaune accepted and squinted slightly in pain at Penny's powerful grip._

_"Well, it was kinda shady of you to hide the truth from us for so long, but you have done more than enough for us to trust you, but I think we can let it slide." Yang said before playfully punching him in the shoulder and knocking him into Pyrrha._

_"Ow..." Jaune muttered as he rubbed his shoulder._

_"Ah, suck it up. You've had worse." Yang told him before giving him a mischievous smile._

_"I'm completely fine with it." Velvet told him, hands resting on her lap, "I mean, it all worked out all right, didn't it? And yes, there's always the question of 'what could have been' but I think the important thing is that you did the best you could and you have come so far because of it. I, for one, don't think any less of you."_

_Jaune nodded gratefully at her when Yatsuhashi added, "Nor do I, Jaune Arc. You have endured much and recovered from tortures that would break a lesser person. That mere fact that you are willing to keep on fighting after the fall of Beacon is a sign that you are a worthy warrior to me."_

_"Ditto. A lot of people would have given up before then but you stuck around even when things went to hell. I don't see a problem with you staying around." Fox voiced casually, and nodded his head at Jaune._

_"Yeah, I mean while what you did is kinda dangerous and a tad on the... illegal side, I think you've proved yourself, like they just said. I've got nothing else to say except that I won't snitch on you, and I don't think the rest of my team will, right?" Neptune said, before looking over to Sage and Scarlet, the former nodding and the latter making a zipping motion across his mouth._

_"Thanks guys, I feel really relieved now. I've been pretty nervous about how you'd react for months. It's a big weight off my chest now that everyone's more or less fine with it." Jaune answered, his voice soft but happy. He looked to Weiss and asked "How do you feel about it'?"_

_The Schnee heiress sighed and said, "Were I a year younger I would probably have reported you without a second thought. But after everything that has happened, and not just to you but to Pyrrha, Ruby and all of us really... I don't think I can bring myself to do it. As much as a younger version of myself would have thought it impossible, you have earned my respect, so I will keep this secret as well." She looked to her team leader and said, "I still can't believe you knew about this and didn't tell us."_

_"A true friend never breaks a promise." Ruby said proudly as she beamed, before picking up another chocolate-chip cookie and munching on it._

_"Did you promise me that you wouldn't tell? I mean, when we talked about not telling anyone else we got interrupted and had to start running for our lives from Ante." Jaune said, trying to remember their conversation atop the skyscraper._

_"Well... little details don't matter. The most important thing is that I didn't want to betray his trust, so I didn't tell anyone about it." Ruby stated._

_"Anyway, now that Jaune and Pyrrha have told us about their pasts, who wants to go next?" Velvet inquired, looking at the other half of Team JNPR._

_Ren sighed and Nora quickly said "We… want to go last. Is that okay?"_

_Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby all gave the couple understanding looks while some of the others were slightly taken aback by the serious tone in Nora's normally cheerful voice. They all knew that when Nora got serious it was something quite personal, and they obviously didn't want to offend a person who wields a giant hammer._

_"I guess I'll go." Fox volunteered, sitting up from his seat on the couch he shared with his team. The rest of team CFVY looked at him with concerned looks, "Don't worry guys, I'm alright to talk about this. Well, I was not particularly special... I am just another Hunter-in-training like the rest of you. I grew up in a sleepy town in Vacuo on the desert border, and I lived with my family just like the rest of you, but my grandfather Todd Alistair was my hero when I was a kid."_

_He produced his scroll from his short pockets and presented it to everyone, letting them see the photo he had selected: the one which showed a young Fox, who noticeably lacked the scars on his arms, with his grandfather, a man in his late fifties with long hair that was very similar to Fox's own._

_"Aw, you look so cute!" Yang teased._

_Coco smirked while Velvet giggled and said "Isn't he?"_

_"But you didn't have the scars on your arms then. I know they weren't always there, but I never really asked where you got them." Blake observed, placing a finger underneath her chin._

_"Well... they kind of factor into this. You see, my grandfather was a veteran Huntsman, even when my dad graduated he didn't really pursue the active life of a Huntsman since he chose to settle down and protect our town. The arm-blades I wear actually belonged to my grandfather, and if you look closely you will notice he has scars similar to my own. My dad does too, as he trained with these things the same as I did." Fox elaborated._

_"So they're family heirlooms?" Ruby asked him._

_Fox nodded, "I guess so. Anyway my grandfather was a decent and well-regarded Huntsman back at home. I mean he wasn't some renowned legend but he did a good job in protecting the border town. One day when I was about ten and my family was visiting Grandpa at his home town, we were out for a walk when we heard people calling for help and the sounds of roaring Grimm, which turns out that there was an incident on a nearby farm that led to a Grimm attack._

_"My grandfather had his arm-blades with him, he was a bit paranoid when it came to Grimm, so he always insisted on keeping them when we went out to the surrounding woodlands for safety. They couldn't let them face the Grimm alone, so my dad and grandfather helped the farmers fight them off. Mom helped the injured people get inside the farmhouse, while I helped block the doors and windows, and I tried to watch my dad and grandfather fight them off. They called for help from the local Vacuo Ranger defense force but there were too many Grimm and my dad was injured. Grandpa ordered my mom to get him inside while he held the Grimm off for us and kept their attention on him. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary at that time since I honestly thought we were done for when the Grimm tired to smash through the barricades blocking the windows."_

_"But my grandfather managed to lure them all away. I guess he was afraid of losing us or angry at the Grimm... I don't know which, but it was enough to get their attention off of us long enough for him to kill a lot of them. After what apparently was only ten minutes, the Vacuo Rangers arrived and managed to mop up the remaining Grimm, but my grandpa Todd had taken far too much damage, and he had spent up all of his aura." Fox continued with a sad tone in his voice, "Then the Rangers came and said they found Grandpa, but judging from the Ranger sergeant's expression it wasn't good."_

_"He died to save you, your family and everyone else on that farm." Blake commented softly._

_"Yeah. We came out and let the medics tend to the wounded, but my dad ignored both the medics and his own pain to get to Grandpa. The Rangers brought him back and placed him on the ground, he was all scarred up with... more blood than I had ever seen at the time. The medics couldn't do anything for him. apparently there are too many deep wounds and they couldn't stem the bleeding in time. I... I honestly didn't see much since my mom turned my head away and covered my eyes so I wouldn't have to see, but I did get enough of a glimpse to see his bloody arm. My Grandpa Todd died so that his family and everyone on that farm, a bunch of total strangers, could live, and that's what inspired me to become a Huntsman." The most silent member of Team CFVY finally finished._

_Everyone present was saddened by his story, and felt sympathy for Fox who rubbed his hands together to calm himself, and Yatsuhashi placed a calming hand on his fellow teammate's shoulder to reassure him._

_"So you used his arm-blades as your weapons as a way to continue his legacy?" Pyrrha speculated, knotting her hands in front of her abdomen._

_Fox nodded, and Scarlet stated, "You must have worked hard to get good with those."_

_The copper-haired youth nodded again and replied, "Yeah. I had to practice hard with those things for hours on end, sometimes I'd be too tired to even walk into the house after training. I got myself hurt a lot, because sometimes I would train so hard and wear myself out to the point where my aura was drained, and when I slipped up… well..." He gestured to the scars on his arms and the one across his lips, "...these scars stayed on me, but luckily my mom is a healer so although the pain would linger at times my injuries were never life threatening. I went to school, chose to become a Huntsman and carry on the family legacy, got into Beacon and eventually ended with these three who became my teammates." He gestured to the other members of his team, "And that's all there is to it."_

_"I'm sorry about your grandpa." Ruby said sincerely, and soon enough many others also voiced their condolences to him._

_Fox gave them a small smile and replied, "It's okay. I came to terms with his sacrifice a long time ago. That's why I'm here, to keep protecting people like he did."_

_"I think he would be very proud of you, Fox." Velvet said to him._

_"Well I, for one, know he definitely would be proud of you." Coco corrected, giving her partner a proud look._

_Sage stood up from his chair and cleared his throat, "Well, I guess I'm next. Unless you have anything else to add?" He asked Fox, who shook his head._

_"I got nothing else for now. You can go on." He permitted._

_"Wait, what about your eyes?" Ruby inquired innocently, getting his attention. "No offense Fox, but I have always wanted to know if there's something special about your eyes, since they are all white. I have wanted to ask for a while now, but I didn't want to upset you."_

_Fox leaned back on the couch, a faint smile on his lips, "You wouldn't have, Ruby. I get asked this a lot. It's this hereditary trait from my dad's side of the family that affects our aura and Semblance, something that's kind of rare and not that many people are affected by it. My white eyes may give the impression to other people that some of our family is blind, but really it's a part of our genetic sight-based Semblance, which helps me to spot weak points on my opponents that I can exploit." He answered before looking to Sage and nodded, allowing him to take over._

_Sage returned Fox's nod and stood up from his chair, beginning to pace around the room as he began to speak, "Well... my story isn't as dramatic as most of yours and while I have lost people close to me there's honestly no big tragedy that happened to me. My father is a Huntsman and my mother is the head gardener at the greenhouses of our hometown in Vacuo, which is a pretty important job since we lived in a large desert town that needed all the produce we can get. Now, I always wanted to be a Huntsman like my father since he always told me tales of how Huntsmen saved lives and helped other people, so I guess I got pretty much influenced by him, but he wasn't the only one that influenced me to become a Huntsman..."_

_He paused for a moment before casting his bright yellow eyes at his audience, "When I was young I made a childhood friend who was a Muskrat Faunus named Sanjay. He was the son of one of my mom's greenhouse employees and I met him when my mother brought me to the greenhouse to help gather the latest batch of vegetable produce, and we became good friends after a pretty awkward beginning._

_"As you know, racism against Faunus in Vacuo was way less of an issue than it is in the other countries, no offense of course, but it does still exist. The hometown I came from was one of the richer ones in Vacuo, not a big town per say but still better off financially than other towns out in the desert, and for some reason it had more humans than Faunus so I wasn't all that used to seeing a Faunus up close... until I met Sanjay. He was a pretty shy kid and barely said a word to me when we first met and when I tried to talk to him or play with him he barely said anything louder than a whisper, and I was concerned that he didn't want to play with me because I wasn't a Faunus. So I decided to make him think I was one by tearing some long leaves off of a dying plant and..." At this point Sage couldn't help himself and laughed lightly, "...and I used some string to tie them around my head so that I would look like a rabbit."_

_Most of the other members of Team Beacon laughed heartily at this little revelation coming from Sage, with Velvet covering her mouth to stop her giggling._

_"I am curious, what made you think that was a good idea?" Penny asked curiously, "Surely Sanjay could tell the difference between leaves and real rabbit ears."_

_"I was five at that time Penny, and logic works differently when you're young." Sage replied to her, which made the android girl hum in fascination._

_"Ah, so the realization of reality isn't as obvious to a child. I understand now." She answered and the greatsword-wielder nodded._

_"Pretty much. Anyway, my plan... didn't work at all, and he just looked at me funny. My mom caught me and scolded me for being insensitive to others, since she saw it as being a bit racist and maybe even offensive to Faunus workers at the greenhouse. Thankfully, Sanjay's mother helped me out by saying that I was just an innocent kid and didn't know any better. My mother eventually let me off the hook with a scolding, but Sanjay eventually warmed up to me and we often played games together and pretending to be Huntsmen." The aforementioned member of Team SSSN added._

_"And I guess Sanjay is the other one that influenced you to become a Huntsman?" Ruby queried._

_"Yes. it was years later after I grew up and had some doubts about what I wanted to be when I Sanjay got hurt pretty badly when he ran into some Grimm on the outskirts of my town. Thankfully he was saved by my father and gotten to a healer in the nick of time, saving his mauled legs. He's mostly recovered but still walked around with a limp, and when I came to visit him in the hospital we talked about me pursuing my dream of becoming a Huntsman he convinced me not to give up. He told me that people like my father was the reason why the common folk of my hometown can live peacefully, and after speaking with my family about my choice I eventually got my confidence back as well. So that's why I decided not to give up and entered the Huntsman Academy in Mistral when my family emigrated to that Kingdom." Sage finished before sitting down again and crossing his arms, "My sword is also inspired by a weapon of my family's, it's based on the weapon my father uses, but with some modifications of my own."_

_"And we are happy he talked you out of backing out, because Team SSSN wouldn't be the same without you, man!" Sun said to his fellow teammate, and slapped Sage on the back._

_"That's right, my mate here is the guy with the most common sense, something the rest of us lack a bit." Scarlet admitted as he smiled at his partner._

_"Well, someone has got to be the sane one of the group right?" Sage grinned back at Sun and Scarlet, fist-bumping them both._

_"I understand why you are nervous about becoming a Huntsman, I mean we all have felt that at some point, but I am glad you eventually overcame that fear." Neptune congratulated his teammate, who nodded back at the bluette._

_After Sage had finished his story the others also gave similar compliments to the green-haired teen it was obvious who haven't shared their life stories with the other half of Team Beacon. Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby all looked at Ren and Nora who were seated opposite them, holding hands together._

_"Are you sure you want to go along with this?' Pyrrha asked the both of them, "It's a rather sensitive topic for the both of you..."_

_"We can do it." Ren stated firmly, "We have talked about it in the past, but Nora and I have decided that it's only fair to tell our past to others since everyone here has already shared their own."_

_Nora nodded and added, "Yeah, if Jauney here had the courage to admit that he lied his way into Beacon, then I suppose we can tell you all of the story of how we first met."_

_Their teammates and Ruby nodded, and none of them missed the sad look in Nora's jade eyes, nor the grim look on Ren's face. Many of the other more attentive members of Team Beacon, such as Blake, Coco, Penny, Yatsuhashi and Weiss also caught those dismayed looks, and they kept silent while waiting for Ren and Nora to tell their past together._

_"Before we begin, I have to warn you that it isn't a pleasant story." Ren said as his magenta eyes narrowed a little and his facial expression turned slightly solemn, "...since the circumstances of how Nora and I met are rather...complicated to say the least."  
_

_"I take it you two don't have the most pleasant backgrounds?" Yatsuhashi guessed as he inclined his head in the couple's direction.  
_

_"Not particularly." Ren confirmed, "I was born and raised in a town in the far east of Mistral named Kuroyuri. My father was a skilled archer named Lie Li, and my mother was named Lie An. My family wasn't particularly wealthy but we were content with what we have and lived a peaceful life. One day my mother sent me on an errand into town to buy a gift for my father when he returned from hunting and so I went to the roadside shops. I tried to get him something from the blacksmith, who jokingly said that he would only give a toy sword or a hammer to a boy my size. I tried to look for more choices, so I went to the nearby bakery to get him a pie or something. I was looking through the windows of the bakery when I heard some of the local bullies harassing someone behind the shop. Following the sounds I looked around the corner to see what was happening, and there she was." He pointed over to Nora, who took over._

_Nora began to speak of her own beginning, "I was really young when this happened, so I didn't really understand why, but my family escaped from Mistral's capital along with me. My daddy was named Oliver and my mom was Eleanor, we were... well, we weren't rich exactly, and since I was so young and my parents barley told me anything about their jobs, I don't really know why we were running away. From what mom told me, daddy's boss was getting involved with some very bad people and my daddy tried to talk him out of it. Then things got bad, and someone wanted to kill off my parents and me, so my daddy paid someone discreetly to sneak us out of the capital. We were on the run for a while, maybe a few months, when we arrived to a safe place where my parents were going to meet with a friend who'd smuggle us out of the Kingdom, the town was Kuroyuri._

_She paused for a moment before speaking again, "We spent a lot of money just getting there, and spent what we had on staying in the local inn, and daddy barely ate anything so that my mom and I would have enough. On the third day in Kuroyuri, I wanted to make sure he ate something so I stole a loaf of bread from the bakery and tried to escape with it once I made sure no one saw me, but those three bullies did. They surrounded me in the alley and tried to make me give it up, but I wouldn't so they started kicking dirt on me and pulling my hair. Then they started asking me questions like where I came from and why I wasn't dressed like them, and then one of them tried to take the bread from me, so I bit his finger."_

_The other members of Team Beacon, especially Velvet and Ruby, looked at Nora sympathetically, while Yang couldn't help but be a bit amused by the mental image of a cute, young Nora biting a bully's finger._

_Nora continued, "They kept making fun of me, calling me a dog and that I might have rabies..."_

_"Little brats." Sun muttered under his breath._

_"Some people..." Blake commented with a shake of her head._

_"But then I saw Ren standing behind them, at the far side of the alleyway." Nora said, speaking a little louder._

_"Did he try to scare them off or something?" Velvet asked softly._

_"Well, I was actually more curious to see what was going on than be a hero. I wanted to do something, so I started to sneak up on them, but Nora saw me." Ren said as he glanced at his partner, "Our eyes met and we looked at each other for a brief moment, and then the bullies noticed me. I was only seven years old at that time and I didn't know much about fighting, other than copying my father as he trained, so I began to back away fearing that the bullies would beat me up instead. I mouthed to Nora that she should run, and then I tried to run, only to bump into my father who had seen me when he entered the town and had apparently overheard the boys picking on Nora. He asked what was going on and before I could talk he the bullies tattled on Nora. He glared at them sternly before asking me to confirm it, and I told him I didn't really know, so he ordered the boys to leave and they immediately ran off, leaving Nora behind with her dirty bread."_

_Nora took over again, "Mr. Lie approached me and I tried to run, but before I could make a move he managed to catch hold of my arm and kindly asked about my name. Since I was told by my parents not to talk to strangers I kept quiet, but that was when my mom showed up. She scolded me for running off and stealing, but when I told her why I tried to steal the bread, Mr. Lie stepped in and gave me a piece of fresh bread from his waist pouch and said that everything would be okay. Ren and his father walked with me and my mom back to the inn, and along the way my mom told Mr. Lie that my family were travelers from the capital visiting our cousins. She mentioned that we are short on lien and Ren's dad was really nice, he pressing some lien into my mom's hands and said that it was the least he could do for someone who's clearly in nee. He... he was really nice to us." She smiled at the memory, small tears beginning to form at the corners of her jade eyes._

_Ren reached over to wipe away Nora's tears before taking over, "When I was walking beside my father, he asked me why I didn't do anything to help Nora, and was just standing there. I told him that I didn't know how to defend myself, and I was scared, but I wanted to distract them so she could get away. He didn't reprimand me for my actions, but he told me that sometimes the worst action to take is taking no action at all." Ren stopped, and allowed himself a small, bittersweet smile, "We went to the inn and our parents talked, even though Nora's own father was a little upset by her theft, but I think he was more touched by how much Nora cared about him than anything."_

_Nora smiled at Ren's kind words, her tears were more obvious even through her efforts of holding it in._

_"I waited by the door while she sat on the bed of the room her parents had rented. We looked at each other, but she actually smiled and waved at me, thanking me for trying to help her, and I waved back. After my father exchanged a few more words with Nora's parents and we both left the inn, he sent me home because he needed to talk to the mayor of Kuroyuri about something."_

_The couple looked at each other, before Ren let out a heavy sigh and continued with a sad voice as his expression changed suddenly, "However, both of our lives were torn apart during the next night." The drastic change in attitude and the distressed tone that was completely different from the usually stoic, quiet and reserved Ren caught the quiet audience's attention in a tight grip._

_"I was asleep in my room when my mother woke me up in the middle of the night, and I could hear people screaming and the roars of the Grimm coming from outside. The village alarm for the Grimm attack was shrieking its warning, and I could tell that although my mother was scared, she tried to keep her feelings in check, and told me that we have to leave as soon as possible. She then took me into the living room just as my father burst through the door, sweating and breathing hard. My mother desperately suggested that we go to the shelter, but my father said that 'the beast' had already demolished it and had killed any who tried to fight it off, and it was coming closer to the town. My father said he had seen it and they needed every Hunter available to even come close to fending it off._ _We ran out of the house and… I don't know what happened. I could see Grimm in the distance and my mother made me look at her as she assured me that everything would be okay, and then the roof of our home was smashed in by something that burst out of the wall that knocked my mother and myself down, and as I blacked-out I could hear my father shouting."_

_The ninja with black hair and a magenta stripe took a shuddering breath as his eyes turned misty. It was obvious that those awful memories were tormenting him at both psychological and emotional levels, but he managed to compose himself after a few moments and felt Nora hold his hands in hers, "When I came to I was being carried in one of my father's arms while he held his bow and arrow in the other, and he was bleeding badly from a cut above his left eye. Embers were falling from the sky, the people of Kuroyuri were screaming as they fled, and I slowly realized that my mother was nowhere to be seen."  
_

_"I began asking my father where she was, but he didn't answer me. The ground shook, and my father tripped and dropped me. I went to him and tried to help him up, but he ordered me to run and hide for my own safety. And then I heard the terrifying roar that came from 'the beast' that was destroying my hometown. It was a roar unlike anything I've ever heard, and when I looked behind me, beyond the running people and blazing fire and dense smoke I saw a Grimm unlike any I had ever seen... and I still haven't. I came later to know about its name with some studying, it is an Elder Grimm known as the Nuckelavee."_

_There was a deafening silence in the room once the Nuckelavee was mentioned. Most of the members who made up Team Beacon only heard of the Nuckelavee in whispers and rumors about the Elder Grimm. It was said that some Grimm arise... different from the others. They are more vicious, smarter, and deadlier, they manage to live longer and take more damage, so they become smarter, and they claim a very high body count every year, and were experienced and cunning enough to outsmart even veteran Huntsmen._

_"I looked at it. And those hateful eyes looked right back at me." Ren said quietly._

_Nora laid her hand over Ren's and squeezed it, "When the attack began, some Nevermore demolished the inn we stayed in, and we ran out into the streets. My mom used Magnhild to defend us, it used to be her weapon, and it took everything she had to fight them off, while my daddy carried me in one hand while using his twin-barreled gun to blast away Grimm in the other. We ran through the town and when we cut across the main street we spotted Ren and his dad. My mom helped Ren's dad to his feet while my dad shot at any Grimm that came too close for comfort, keeping them off our backs as we hunkered down behind some steps. Thankfully the Elder Grimm's attention was occupied with other people who were running for their lives, so we were safe for a few minutes. They came up with a quick plan, in which my mom and Ren's dad decided that they would work together to fight off the Nuckelavee, while my dad would get Ren and me to safety."_

_Ren then spoke with an unusually emotional voice, "My father gave me his hunting knife and ordered me to go with Nora's father. When I refused he grabbed me and told me that I have to be brave, that I needed to take action now more than ever. I was crying and begging him not to leave me, but he had to in order to give the villagers a chance to run and survive. He t-told... he told me that he and mother loved me, and implored me to run even as the Nuckelavee appeared at the far end of the street, roaring and screaming at us. I had never been so scared, and nothing else has scared me like that since that horrible night. I begged for him to come with us, but he simply yelled for me to run before limping with Nora's mother to distract the Nuckelavee with his arrows. Nora's father grabbed the both of us and led us away down an alleyway while I heard the shouts and screams of my father and Nora's mother fighting it..."_

_"I could hear my mom calling to me, telling me how much she loved me, and asking me to never forget her… I just… I just couldn't… I was so scared and so…" Nora stopped and began to cry, which made Ren comfort her by pulling her into his arms. Pyrrha walked over and wrapped her arms around Nora as well, trying to comfort her friend, while Jaune placed a firm hand on her shoulder, and Ruby placing one on her knee with a concerned look on her face._

_Ren continued once Nora had calmed down a little, "Nora's father managed to get us to the town square, where several buildings have been destroyed by the Grimm. He hid us in the blacksmith's ruined shop, which he made sure was secure enough. He told me to look after Nora and to use the knife I was given by my own father to protect her and myself. He was going back to help fight the Nuckelavee. Nora begged him not to go, but he reasoned that he couldn't let them fight it alone. I had to hold her back as he used his gun to distract the Nevermore that were circling overhead. Nora's father ran off into the town towards the main street, and after what felt like a long time I peered out of the blacksmith's shop to see that the Nuckelavee was still rampaging through Kuroyuri with no one fighting it, which meant..." He stopped himself with a soft sob, with tears forming in his eyes now. There was evidently no need to ask what had happened to his father as well as Nora's parents._

_"I don't know what happened, but at that moment my Semblance activated with my Aura shimmering and my color graying out. I saw a Nevermore had landed on a half-destroyed building before us, and Nora's fear and misery was attracting it to us. I grabbed Nora and told her that we had to be brave so that we could make it out alive. So that our parents wouldn't have sacrificed themselves for nothing. The Nevermore came closer, so Nora threw herself at me and we hugged each other, and my Semblance affected her as well, graying her out and rendering her invisible to the Nevermore, which became confused and looked around for a few seconds more before flying away, just as we heard heavy clopping footsteps as the Nuckelavee approached."_

_"We were both scared to death, as it came close to where we were hiding and it stopped for a moment, Nora whimpered, admitting that she was scared and I couldn't help but agree. I saw the little toy hammer on the floor, knocked down by the destruction of the blacksmith shop, so moved away to pick it up and gave it to Nora to comfort her. I tried to be as brave as I could, telling her that we would be okay because we had each other, and that we would keep each other safe. Thankfully, the Nuckelavee finally left, and we just stayed there together, alone in the destroyed ruins of Kuroyuri."_

_"About a day or so later, a rescue team from the Mistralian Defense Forces found us and took us to safety. Our parents were gone, but they managed to find Magnhild which had been buried under some rubble, which Nora swore to make her own someday. We knew that both of us are the only survivors, and since we had no one else Nora proposed that we stay together, no matter what."_

_"And to this day, we have." Nora finished as she remained cuddled into Ren's chest._

"Hello? Remnant to Ruby!" Weiss's voice suddenly came to Ruby's ears.

The red hooded huntress was snapped out of her memory as she realized that her body had been on autopilot the entire way to weapons class. Everyone had taken their seats, but the class has yet to begun. Taiyang was standing in front of them on the aisle and looking at his daughter with apprehension.

"You okay, sis?" Yang asked laid her organic hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry guys, just thinking about some stuff. When Dr. Oobleck mentioned the Nuckelavee it made me remember the time when Ren and Nora told us about how they met. You don't forget stories like that, especially not when you hear it twice." Ruby told her team.

"You had me worried there for a second, bright eyes. You sure you're going to be alright?" Taiyang asked with concern still written on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be okay dad, I just got lost in thought there for a minute." She assured him.

Her father gave her a small smile and said, "I know what you mean. And don't call me dad while we're in class, okay? I got to appear professional."

Both Ruby and Yang laughed, but agreed. "Sure, Professor Dad." Yang joked. Taiyang chuckled before heading out to the hall to greet the oncoming students.

"What happened?" Jaune asked Ruby in a soft whisper, "You looked like you zoned out for a while."

"When Dr. Oobleck mentioned the Nuckelavee I remembered what Ren and Nora told us about it." Ruby explained. She looked over to Ren and Nora, who gave her looks of understanding, "Do you guys think we will ever see it?"

Both the green ninja and the orange-haired hammer-user both looked at each other for a few moments, before Ren turned to face Ruby and answered, "I hope we do, just so we can make it pay."

"And we will be there to help you fight the beast if that day ever comes." Pyrrha promised, and Jaune nodded to his teammates, a confident look on his face.

Ren nodded silently, but they could all tell that despite Nora's bravado, neither of them were in any rush to face the Nuckelavee again.

As the bells rang and class officially began, Ruby remembered something else about Ren and Nora's tale that had been included when they told her the story during the time the four of them were travelling to Mistral as Team RNJR and Pyrrha had later been told the story as well. It was one small detail that had been left out from the version they told to the rest of Team Beacon.

Nora's mother had apparently said something about the Nuckelavee's attack on Kuroyuri being their fault.

* * *

Back at Tarshta, Qrow followed Lt. Santaro to the small two story Dust warehouse where the raid had occurred a couple of nights ago. The building was officially off limits to everyone except those involved with the case, cordoned off with bright yellow police tape and barricades, and several officers on guard.

"What company was hit?" Qrow asked.

"A local business, moderate size, this is one of the four warehouses they have in town. They'll survive this hit, but they're still pissed about it." the ranger related to Qrow, who nodded.

The guards opened up the door for them and they walked inside, allowing Qrow to survey the crime scene in person. In the main floor of the warehouse there were seven chalk outlines of the guards who had been killed, with the other three being in other rooms. There were still blood stains on the walls, as well as bullet holes and cuts.

"And no distinctive footprints were found?"

"Several faint boot prints were made out, but too light to make any real identification, they made sure to leave as little of a trace as possible." Santaro reported.

"And no fingerprints found or you're sure there was no DNA evidence?" Qrow asked the ranger.

"Not that we've been able to find. Altogether there were a total of fifteen Dust containers stolen, as well as several containers of uncut crystals. Dust theft is always a problem, but this has been the first one in this town for a long time to claim so many lives." The ranger lamented.

"It's sick, I know." Qrow agreed before asking "There's signs of the alarm system being cut before the attack began, right?" Santaro nodded. "Show me."

Santaro led Qrow up the stairs, where the outline of another body was marked, to the main control room that overlooked the rest of the warehouse. Two more outlines lay on the floor.

"Here." Santaro beckoned to Qrow, who knelled down to get a closer look at the thing the ranger was pointing at. Qrow saw the wires that activated the alarm had been sliced apart, totally disabling the alarm system.

Santaro spoke up again, "That's not the only one, the silent alarm was severed too. The Red Fang must have kept a tag on this place."

Qrow nodded before asking "How many people have been in here since the raid?"

Santaro considered, "Well, about seven officers and five rangers, three people from the company, and the six paramedics that took the bodies out, not to mention the four forensics guys who went over the crime scene. So about twenty-five altogether."

"How many of them were Faunus?" Qrow asked.

"Two Faunus rangers, three Faunus cops, two of the forensics crew were Faunus. Why? You think one of them could be collaborating with the Red Fang?" Santaro inquired.

"Not unless they were here before the crime was committed. Can you do me a favor? I need you to exit the building and make sure anyone else in here does as well." Qrow said.

"What for?" Santaro asked, a bit stumped by the request.

"Let's just say my Semblance might help me out, and it works better when people aren't around, 'kay?" Qrow lied. His avian form had better senses than his regular human one, but there was no way he was going to use his Semblance here with other people around, he couldn't risk being seen.

Santaro sighed, a tad annoyed by the request, but agreed, "Okay, I'll make sure the place is empty."

He left Qrow and a few moments later, the Huntsman heard the ranger call to him that the building was clear and he was going outside. When he heard the door shut, Qrow activated his Semblance and changed into his crow form and began fly around the place, and his senses quickly kicked in, his vision going crazy with traces of various beings.

'No kidding, a lot of people came in and out of this place.' Qrow thought to himself, 'Might make it a little harder to get a read on them… wait a minute.'

Thanks to the enhanced sight his crow form possessed, Qrow could see traces and that stood out among those of humans and Faunus, while normal traces depended on what gender and race a person was, it also was differentiated by their aura, the reflection of their soul. Two signatures he was specifically seeing weren't normal, there was something off about them.

The first, and less off-putting signature, was a dark orangish-brown that felt troubled, angry, helpless, and slightly conflicted. Qrow was put off by the strangeness of it, it felt and looked like a Faunus, but there was something wrong with it, as if it wasn't natural, like it had been tampered with.

'Wait a minute, is that… reptile I sense? The hell is going on?' Qrow asked himself mentally.

The main signature, however, was an incredibly one that gave him an uneasy feeling. The trace of aura was a very dark purple, there was an aura of menace, one of violence and bloodlust, but it too felt as though it had been messed with, as now it felt somewhat like a scorpion.

'No doubt about it, Callows was here. Now that I know what his aura signature is like I shouldn't have a hard time knowing it when I'm close to him in this form… wait a second, that feels familiar…'

Qrow looked at another trace of aura, a dark brown one, one that reeked of violence, anger, and vengefulness. It took him a few moments, but he realized who it belonged to.

'That White Fang Lieutenant, Adam's lackey who got away. He was here too, so that's proof that the Red Fang are in league with Salem. Gotta report to Ozpin and then try to fly over the town to try and track 'em down.' Qrow listed off before landing in the middle of the room and shapeshifting back into his human form.

"Being me has its rewards sometimes." He muttered to himself as he made for the door.

* * *

Presently, it was lunch period at Beacon Academy, the massive hall that served as the cafeteria was filled with the students of first, second, third, and fourth years, all mingling, eating, and relaxing before it was time for the next period.

Team Beacon was currently sitting together at one of the ten long tables that served cafeteria, which had been rebuilt to repair the damage caused by the Grimm that had nested inside of it during their occupation of the academy. The mood was the usual mix of bright and relieved chaos that always occupied the lunchroom, relief that they were temporarily free from school work and could get some food, but a small tinge of dread due to looming threat of half the school day still to come.

As the members of Team Beacon ate their food, they also took this time to chat, read, or get a head start on homework. While Velvet and Fox were doing some light work on the assignment Professor Peach had given then, Ruby was helping Weiss out on some of the smaller details for the assignment Taiyang had given them for the weapons class, since Ruby was a prodigy when it came to weapons. Penny gave some pointers and helped out on the subtle, technical details that would really help them all out on their class work.

Blake, meanwhile, was spending her time reading something she had never expected to become a fan of; comics. Sun, with a little help from Jaune, had convinced Blake that comics weren't simply books for kids, that they could have intelligent and sophisticated stories. Jaune had lent her one of his favorites, 'The Long Year', and she had been surprised to find that she enjoyed it very much, appreciating the smartly written story, three dimensional characters, and the well-crafted mystery of the piece.

When she and Team RWBY had taken a trip to the bookstore some weeks ago, she had sought out a series that Jaune had recommended to her, 'The Dream Master', a series collected in twelve volumes. Blake had bought the first two books in the series, just to make sure she enjoyed them before fully getting into it and spending her money on the full series. Sure enough, she came to love the series for its beautiful and smart writing, and couldn't thank Sun and Jaune enough for helping her realize what she was missing out on.

Currently Blake was reading the fourth volume of the series while she took bites from the fish she was eating while Yang devoured her chicken.

"It's still a little weird to see you reading out of a comic." Neptune commented to her.

Blake allowed herself a small smile before saying "I prefer to call them graphic novels. Each issue is like a chapter released individually."

"Eh, graphic novels, comics, sound like the same thing when you get right down to it." Sage observed before he continued eating his sandwich.

"I'm just happy I got you to try something new." Sun said to his girlfriend.

Blake nodded, "I admit they're far better than I thought they'd be. I didn't have that much of an opportunity to read many when I was a child, considering my situation, but I guess I can make up for lost time."

"What do you think about 'Dream Master', Yang? I've read it, and I like it but not as much as Blake does." Jaune asked his fellow blonde.

"It's fine, but a bit too wordy for me, I prefer action comedy stuff." Yang confessed, giving her secret girlfriend an apologetic look.

"No harm in having different tastes." Blake stated before biting off and savoring a tasty piece of fish.

Yang glanced over and said, "Oh boy, don't look now, but some others are coming our way."

"So?" Ruby quipped, "There are more than enough seats for..."

" _Those_  kind of others. You know..." Yang hinted while gesturing with her robotic hand.

"Fans and admirers." Weiss clarified for her partner.

"Oh, well that's not so bad." Ruby said optimistically.

"As long as they don't beg for autographs or attention." Sun sighed, with the rest of his Team agreeing with him.

"Trust me, I know the feeling all too well." Pyrrha shared a look with the rest of them, the look of experience from her time before Beacon plain in her green eyes.

Ever since the reopening of Beacon Academy, the very first unified team named after the academy had become a well-respected and admired group, with students ranging from the first-years up to the seniors calling them inspirational. Besides getting considerable attention from the student body, many of Team Beacon's followers would often request to hear about their adventures and missions, as well as asking for autographs in which most of Team Beacon's members had been happy to give, seeing as Pyrrha and Weiss in particular were quite used to the outpouring of attention due to their prior careers. Though to be honest, Ruby's hand had never been as sore as it had been the day she managed to sign a grand total of three hundred and eighty-six autographs.

Some of Team Beacon, especially Jaune, Ren, Blake, Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi had gradually grown tired of the attention, and Penny had been made uncomfortable a number of times by people asking too many questions about her robotic nature, and while Ruby, Weiss and Coco thankfully managed to put a stop to that quite firmly, the robotic girl still got sidelong looks and harmless questions from other students every now and then which she simply took in stride and answered cautiously unless they were too personal. While the initial storm of reverence and awe had died down in the following months since the school year began, they still had fans approach them nervously and politely requested to talk to them.

This was not one of those times, however. A small group of Huntsmen-in-training walked by, their expressions clearly showing how nervous they were due to their vaguely flushed cheeks. One brunette girl clad in a green and grey outfit in particular, who was about Ruby's age but was slightly smaller than the red-hooded Huntress was, noticeably looked at the red reaper with awe as if she was seeing a living legend.

Weiss gently elbowed Ruby and made a gesture towards the freshman, and the latter looked up from her meal, giving the young student a bright smile and a small wave, saying, "Hi there, can I help you?"

The brunette girl initially looked shocked, but slowly compose herself and raised her own hand to wave back, "H-h-hello…I'm s-sorry, I'm not good at this… socializing stuff."

The silver-eyed girl gave her fellow student a kind and understanding look and nodded her head, still maintaining a warm smile on her face. Ruby had gotten used to the slightly younger students, which were around her age as she had to keep reminding herself, looking at her like she was a physical manifestation of some divine being after they have witnessed what she could do during the battle to retake Beacon Academy from the Grimm more than half a year ago. It wasn't uncommon for her to get a lot of questions regarding her silver eyes over the many months, and due to the fact she wasn't allowed to share whatever things she had learned with Argentius due to the Oath of Secrecy she had taken along with the rest of Team Beacon, Ruby instead gave answers that either deflected those questions directed at her or simply mentioned that she wasn't quite sure herself repeatedly.

"Don't worry, I know what's it like to be awkward." Ruby assured the brunette girl.

"She most certainly does." Remarked Weiss with a small smirk.

 

"Well... thanks for all of your hard work and heroic stuff." The aforementioned freshman student managed to say awkwardly before returning the smile to Ruby and quickly following her friends to their seats.

Ruby sighed and said, "You know, I kind of wish being the clumsy girl who just got lucky getting a chance to join Beacon. I remember starting out just like that freshman student."

"With the friends you got? Who says you aren't lucky?" Yang teased her younger sister.

"And no one said you're not clumsy. Well, outside of a fight, anyway." Weiss stated.

"Oh cut it out!" Ruby said, "And you have to, I'm still your leader!"

Yang chuckled while Weiss gave her partner a look before asking "Is that an order?"

"You bet it is!" Ruby said boldly.

On the other side of the table, Pyrrha giggled at the scene, "It's amazing to me that after everything she's been through, Ruby still manages to be so… so…"

"Ruby?" Jaune finished for her, a smile curling on his lips

"I suppose that's a good enough answer." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"It is, and I don't think any of us would have it any other way." Weiss said sincerely, resting her hands on the table.

"And I'll take it as a compliment!" Ruby said to them, making her friends chuckle at her optimism.

Jaune smiled at his friend before something in the corner of his blue eyes caught his attention; a familiar team was sitting just a few tables behind them, one which he had suffered bullying from when he first came to Beacon Academy, Team CRDL.

After Beacon had reopened, Ozpin and Glynda were faced with the task of reassigning the teams who had lost their members for a variety of reasons, reorganizing and reforming teams wherever they could so that those reduced teams could be back to full strength once more. Due to Cardin's sacrifice during the Battle of Haven, Team CDRL was in need of a new leader, and there just so happened to be one available.

Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark sat with their new leader, a tall, pale but dark-skinned youth around the age of nineteen with very short auburn hair and sharp, dark brown eyes known as Cassandra Aguila. She had previously been the leader of Team CARD up until the Fall of Beacon, in which her partner had been tragically killed by one of the rogue Atlesian Paladins, and the other two members of her team were so severely injured by the Grimm as well as the hacked Atlesian Knights and they had become traumatized to the point where they decided it was best to abandon the idea of becoming Huntsmen, which left Cassandra the only one left.

Glynda had assured her that she wouldn't be alone, and reassigned her to join Team CRDL as their new leader and take Cardin's place. To say that it was awkward at first would be an understatement, not only did the rest of team CRDL have to cope with the fact that they had a new leader to replace Cardin, then there was the fact that Cassandra was slightly older than them as a senior student and she wasn't unattractive, while she didn't quite match up to the likes of Yang or Pyrrha.

Cassandra had her reservations about this as well, as not only would she be the only female but she was quite reluctant to get attached to another team after what happened to her old one. Additionally, she hadn't got out of the Vytal disaster unscathed either, as she had to go through grief counseling for months afterwards due to witnessing vicious Grimm attacks and people being shot by the robots and it took every ounce of her own courage not to follow her teammates' example and quit. It was only after much consideration that she eventually agreed to take Cardin's place on the team and do her best to lead them.

While the trio of boys had slowly warmed up to her presence and gotten used to the reality that a section of their room had been covered up with newly attached rods and curtains to give their female leader the privacy she needed. It had been quite uncomfortable at first, since Cassandra had never been a very social person and the awkward mood surrounding the team didn't help matters, especially for Russel since she was now his new partner. Things were strained between them at best, and while left unspoken it was clear that the remainder of Cardin's team were still unhappy about his death.

Jaune looked in their direction, while Pyrrha gave them a kind smile while waving to them. Cassandra, Sky and Dove all nodded casually back to acknowledge them, except for Russel who gave a small glare before turning his head away to look somewhere else.

Jaune sighed to himself as he knew what they were unhappy about. It had been a year and Russel still held a grudge against the couple as well as the rest who were there that night at the Battle of Haven for what happened to Cardin. Jaune couldn't bring himself to blame the mohawked teen, as he knew what it was like to lose a partner and there was still a part of him that felt like he should have tried harder or if he had done something differently, Cardin would still be with them.

Pyrrha gently squeezed Jaune's hand and whispered to him, "We know that look, don't blame yourself."

Jaune briefly wondered what she meant by 'we', that was when he noticed the other half of his team were looking at him with unease, and Nora had even stopped eating her latest plate of food.

"Jaune, what happened to Cardin wasn't anyone's fault but Ante's. While we all wish we could have saved him, there's no point in blaming yourself." Ren told his leader in an assuring tone.

Nora nodded, "Yeah, Renny's right Jaune."

"They are right, Jaune." Velvet spoke up and causing him to look at his Faunus teammate, "I feel just as bad over Cardin's death as you do, but keep in mind that the rest of his team are still mourning. Healing takes time, we all know that."

Jaune smiled and nodded at her, before glancing back to Cassandra who gave him a slightly apologetic look, and he remembered the first time he and Ruby had spoke with her...

_Six Months Ago, A Week After The Reopening of Beacon_

_It was a few hours after the school day had ended. Once they were dismissed Ruby and Jaune packed up their things and got up to leave the auditorium in which a seminar for all team leaders had been held in when they saw Cassandra sitting in an isolated corner with a look of uneasiness on her face, and both of them felt like they could perhaps lend some assistance if possible._

_"I can't believe we didn't try to do this sooner." Ruby bemoaned as she tucked her books away._

_"I know. I still feel bad about history that has happened between me and CRDL." Jaune stated as he zipped up his own schoolbag._

_"Yeah, but Cassandra didn't have anything to do with what happened between you and them, so I say we should at least talk to her." Ruby pointed out._

_Jaune nodded and then turned to see that the new leader of Team CRDL was gone from the auditorium, and he quickly gestured for Ruby to follow him out into the school grounds. It wasn't long before both of them found their target and quickly spotted her sitting on a bench in the corridor which had a nice view of Beacon's gardens. He nudged Ruby and gestured to Cassandra, who had a knuckle against her forehead as she slumped over in thought with her eyes closed._

_The silver-eyed girl took charge and approached the girl with dark skin, and quipped, "Hey there! Cassandra, right?"_

_Said girl looked up at Ruby with a dull expression, "Yes. You're Ruby Rose. Heard a lot about you."_

_Ruby chuckled and replied"Yeah, I'm really in the center of attention lately."_

_"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc…"_

_"I know, the boys of my new team told me a little about you when we began to share a room." Cassandra said as she adjusted her posture on the bench._

_"Oh... what exactly did they say?" Jaune asked while privately wondering if they let her know about his and Pyrrha's... unique condition._

_"Not much, apparently you used to be some dweeb that Winchester managed to get blackmail on and made you a lackey, until you grew a pair and stood up to him, and then he left you alone." She replied cordially._

_"Well, that's not wrong." Jaune admitted with a soft sigh and a shrug._

_"Russel still holds a bit of a grudge against you for Winchester's death. I don't totally understand it, but I know it has something to do with what went down in Haven." She said to Jaune before adding "I will do what I can to keep him in line."_

_Jaune nodded, "Thanks, and it does have something to do with the battle in Haven. Hey, we just wanted to talk to you, everything okay with your team?"_

_It was Cassandra's turn to sigh, and she averted her eyes before saying, "Honestly? Not so good. I don't blame them for not wanting to replace their friend, but it's obvious that they having a hard time accepting me as their new leader, and they act so nervous about it and they clearly don't want to say it, as if a girl can't take it."_

_"Well, you know how some boys are, no offense Jaune." Ruby said as she sat down next to her fellow team leader._

_"None taken, I'm not even gonna deny it." He replied with a small chuckle before he looked to Cassandra and queried, "Have you tried talking to them?"_

_"Tried being the key word. I tried to make them put more effort into their training and homework, but then Russel lost it at me and we got into a shouting match the other night. While I expected that leading them won't be easy, it honestly feels like I am hitting a paper wall that should be easy to break through, but it won't tear no matter what. Do you know what I mean?" She answered, holding up both her hands like a supplicant._

_"I think I might." Ruby said as she rested her hands on her lap, "Ever since I became the leader of Team RWBY, I've been in situations where I felt like I didn't know what to do. Sometimes I felt helpless when things got tough, but the rest of my team managed to guide me along the path to being a good leader. And trust me, we both know that it's not easy being a good team leader."_

_"Yeah, if this was easy we probably wouldn't grow as people or as better Hunters." Jaune told her with a faint smile on his face._

_"I know that, but I had it much easier with my old team than with Team CRDL, and now it's just... awkward." Cassandra voiced before sighing again, "I don't even know where to start."_

_Ruby rubbed her chin in thought, "Well, since our team team have been combined with a few others to become Team Beacon, we took time off to talk to each other about our pasts and that helped us bond and get to know each other better, which helps us to work together more effectively. How about you try it with them?"_

_She shook her head and told them "Been there, done that. Dove suggested something like that a few days ago. However, I wasn't really in the mood for it, neither was Skye and especially not Russel."_

_Ruby and Jaune looked at each other before the Arc brother confessed, "Well, I gotta admit that I didn't really know what to do when I first became a leader. I just kind of relied on the other members of my team to help me out so that I would know what to do, because I honestly didn't have a clue."_

_"And I wasn't exactly the best team leader either, but I did my best even though Weiss doubted me at first." Ruby added, "So I think you need to take charge with those guys, and get them to come to terms with having you as their leader."_

_"So you mean I need to get though with them?" Cassandra shook her head, "No, I don't think that's the best move. After I first met my partner in the Emerald Forest during initiation we talked to each other about ourselves and we got to know each other better over our first year and developed a solid dynamic but now… now she's gone and the rest just gave up. A part of me wonders if I made the right choice coming back."_

_Jaune and Ruby gave her a moment of silence before Jaune asked, "What was your partner's name?"_

_"Alexis Periwinkle."_

_"Cassandra, I don't think Alexis would want you to give up. I understand mourning her, trust me when I say I've been there, but you shouldn't give up. I once thought I had lost my own partner for a while when Pyrrha was taken by Cinder and her lackeys. She left me with one heck of a kiss, but then she was gone, and I felt lost for a while, like I just wanted to lay down and die." Jaune spoke gently, "But I knew I couldn't let her death go unavenged. I had to keep going for her, for my friends and family, and maybe even so I could redeem myself along the way. I hope you get the point I am trying to make."_

_"Yeah, but you got a miracle handed to you and your partner came back. Alexis isn't." Cassandra shot back._

_"No, I didn't get anything handed to me." Jaune answered, a small hint of anger seeping into his tone, "I got tortured physically and mentally, I was forced to fight against Pyrrha when she was brainwashed and nearly died in the process. I also got a flaming arrow shot through my chest when I threw myself in the path of the arrow to save her. Yes, Pyrrha coming back was a miracle, but getting it wasn't easy. I literally went through hell to bring her back to normal, I put every bit of effort I had in me to save her. I probably didn't deserve to be the leader of Team JNPR at first, but I know that I have earned that right by now."_

_"I'm… I'm sorry about what I said," Cassandra apologized, "I don't totally get what happened to you guys, but when I think about Alexis I just feel so… so…"_

_"Guilty." Ruby interrupted, "I've been there too. When I saw Penny get torn in half by Pyrrha's Semblance, I felt like I could have stopped it had I been faster. When I saw that Yang's arm had been cut off I also felt like it was my fault, since a team leader is supposed to take care of her teammates, and I failed. Then... when I saw Pyrrha dying right in front of me, or at least I thought she died, I was crushed by the sense of helplessness and guilt at that moment, and I felt that I was unworthy of being a leader. But I kept on going, and while I can't put away all the guilt, I handled it much better than I could before."_

_Jaune nodded in agreement, "But you can't let the loss loss of Alexis stop you, or the fact that your other teammates quit. You chose to keep going, so I think you at least want to try to start again. It's not easy, trust me when I say that both Ruby and I know, we had to become Team RNJR so we could keep going after the Fall."_

_"Yeah, since members of my team was either gone at that time or...not ready, I joined up with what's left of JNPR. It wasn't easy at first, but we did our best and in the end everything turned out to be okay. So I personally think that if you try a little harder to be their leader, getting to know them better instead of avoiding them. Maybe then things'll start working out for you." Ruby suggested with a smile._

_Cassandra was silent for a brief while, thinking about it before allowing herself a smile, "Okay, I guess I'll give it a shot."_

_Jaune and Ruby walked with Cassandra into the dorm building towards Team CRDL's room. There were muffled sounds coming from behind the door, which clearly meant that the rest of the team was apparently talking about something. When Cassandra opened it up, both Ruby and Jaune could see the three surviving members of the original CRDL turning their heads to look at the now open door, and while they weren't surprised by the appearance of their new leader, they sure weren't expecting Jaune and Ruby to be with Cassandra._

_"Crap! I knew we were running out of time." Dove muttered under his breath._

_"Time for what?" Cassandra asked casually as she walked inside._

_Russel looked past her at Jaune and Ruby who were still standing in the doorway. He shot them a glare and asked, "What are they doing here?"_

_"We met up after the seminar and had a little chat, they helped me out with something. Speaking of which... listen guys, we need to talk." Their new leader told them._

_"Yeah, we do." Dove agreed while he crossed his arms, before looking at the two visitors, "But not in front of them. Would you mind closing the door?"_

_Jaune gave a nod and pulled the door shut with a click. He was just about to make his way to the staircase when he felt Ruby tugging at his hand as she pulled him back._

_"Ruby, what are you...?" He began, but was interrupted by his friend._

_"Ssshhh! I want to listen to see if they're going to be okay." Ruby whispered to her friend before pressing her ear towards the door._

_"You know we're eavesdropping on a team who probably hates me for what happened to Cardin right?" Jaune whispered back even as he gestured for Ruby to release his hand._

_"Just a bit wouldn't hurt right?" Ruby argued softly, "Besides, I want to know if Cassandra took our advice to heart."_

_Jaune thought about it for a few seconds before relenting since his curiosity also got the better of him, "Okay, just for a couple of minutes, and then we are both leaving."_

_Ruby nodded and they both leaned their heads against the door, faintly hearing the dialogue taking place at the other side of it, "Okay guys, we've been a team for over a week now but I'm sure we all know there's still a divide between me and the three of you. We can't stay this way if we're going to make it to graduation."_

_Dove's voice was heard next, "You have a point there, Cassandra. While you were gone I talked with Sky... and we both made Russel sit down and listen to us. Speaking of which, I think he has something to say to you."_

_There was a deep sigh which was definitely Russel's, "Look, I am sorry for snapping at you the other night, and... the things I said. I was way out of line and it was really a dick move. I just... it's just so weird to have another partner after losing our leader Cardin."_

_"I know how you feel." Cassandra said, "I feel the same way about having you guys after I lost my team. But if we keep on acting like this, we will never work as a new team since we can't work together like a proper one. I don't know much about how Cardin ran things, but we're not going to do things like forcing others to do our homework or belittle and antagonize others which will destroy whatever reputation Team CDRL has left. I'm not asking you to accept me all at once, but at least give me a chance to prove to you that I can be a leader in my own right... and perhaps we won't act as though we're complete strangers to each other, okay?"_

_There were several moments of silence before the replies came._

_"That sounds reasonable to me." Sky voiced hesitantly._

_"Same goes for me." Dove agreed._

_Russel sighed again before stating, "You're right. I'll give you a chance, I can at least try."_

_"And we are going to try our best to restore this team and we're going to do it. I expect you three to put in actual effort to make this happen. Alexis wouldn't want me to give up, and I don't think Cardin would want you guys to either." Cassandra said, conviction clear in her voice._

_"No, he wouldn't have." Dove confirmed earnestly, "Now, we're... not the easiest guys to get along with, so this road might be a bit bumpy, so to speak."_

_"I've been on a ton of bumpy roads before, I think we will be alright on this one." Sky answered._

_"If you can prove that you're a good leader, I guess we can work with that." Russel eventually said._

_"Thanks for giving me a chance. Alright then, I guess we should start with getting to really know each other..." Cassandra began._

_Jaune and Ruby nodded at each other before drawing themselves away from the dorm door. "Well, that's one problem solved. Let's go." She smiled and quipped to her fellow team leader before taking off down the hallway._

_'You think they'll be okay?" Jaune asked her._

_"Well, if they work really hard together and bond with one another, I'm sure they'll be fine." Ruby answered optimistically._

Sure enough Team CRDL's performance had improved after that night, especially in their assignments and combat classes, and Cassandra seemed to be less distant with the rest of her team after managing to engage in some much-needed conversations with them.

Russel and her had slowly bonded over the pain of losing a partner, and it appeared that the both of them turned out to have similar taste in music, and she had also talked it out with Dove and Sky over the grief they felt about losing their friend and leader. She also helped Sky improve upon his combat techniques among other things, and though their behavior bothered her on occasions, such as the time she described the rest of Team CRDL to Coco as 'afraid to be normal horny teenage boys around me', and she didn't know whether to be happy or fuming mad with that fact.

Jaune felt pleased with the improvement, and was happy that their team dynamic had vastly improved, and was still hoping that he could someday be on better terms with them. After checking how much remaining time before he had to attend the next lesson, he put those thoughts aside for the time being and went back to eating his lunch, while listening to the rest of Team Beacon converse among themselves.

* * *

The remaining classes of the day flew by quickly, with Professor Peach's survival class going over the various situations that could befall Hunstmen and Huntresses in the field and went through lengthy and detailed lectures on what herbs that could be used for medicinal purposes in the wild. Professor Crane's science class went over the dangers of, and how to prevent, a Dust overload in weapons, in which he explained with large diagrams and various equations which nearly put most of Team SSSN to sleep, only to be awoken by Team RWBY.

The final period of the day was Professor Glynda Goodwitch's combat class, which she still managed to teach alongside her new tasks as the co-Headmistress.

Currently, Ruby was currently engaged in an intense match with Cassandra to demonstrate a lesson for Glynda about how two complex weapons would perform in a battle as well as about battle readiness. The students attending the combat class were seated as usual on benches around the circumference of the raised stage where the match was taking place, their faces focused intently on the two Huntresses battling against each other.

Alongside Ruby's Crescent Rose, Cassandra's weapon was a giant balisong knife that transformed into a hunting rifle with an additional underslung bayonet, which made it an adequate peer for Ruby's beloved weapon.

The new leader of Team CRDL, now in her combat gear that consisted of a dark brown t-shirt with camo-pants, dark combat boots and grey gloves, pounced off the ground and aimed to use the blade of her weapon to weaken Ruby's aura, but the silver-eyed girl parried her strike easily. As the older teen came down with a sweeping kick, Ruby ducked under the leg before using her Semblance to rush her opponent and knock her back a certain distance, before firing off a couple of rounds from Crescent Rose. Cassandra blocked the shots rather quickly with her knife, before transforming her weapon into its rifle mode and loosening a number of shots at Ruby who spun her scythe in a circular motion to deflect them.

Cassandra rushed forward and leaped into the air, transformed her weapon again and slashed down vertically at Ruby who managed to bring up Crescent Rose's blade in one swift motion to strike back, which produced a sharp clanging sound which echoed around the room.

"As you can see, the more complex weapons need to be quick in their transformations during a fight." Glynda spoke to the class, and a number of students were jotting down her words on their notepads or typing on their scrolls, "Otherwise, they would be useless as the enemy can use the precious seconds between the transformations to launch another attack. A smart Hunter needs to have both swift reflexes and a swift weapon. In this case, Miss Rose and Miss Aguila possess both."

CRDL's new leader leaped at Ruby again with a series of slashing strikes, forcing the leader of her to sidestep the attack while parrying or deflecting her strikes. Cassandra swerved around and leaned back as the sharp edge of Crescent Rose whispered mere inches past her throat, turning Ruby's weapon aside before landing smoothly on one hand and bringing her legs around to knock the red Huntress down. She then moved forward to finish the match by delivering a thrusting blow with her weapon's melee form, only for Ruby to expertly block her swing and then leaped back to put some distance between them with Crescent Rose held defensively in front of her.

"While being knocked down can be a fatal loss at times..." Glynda lectured while gesturing with the fingers of one hand, "...however, with careful timing it can potentially be used to one's benefit."

"Come on Ruby." Weiss whispered carefully.

"Score another win, lil sis!" Yang called out excitedly.

"Quiet down Miss Xiao Long!" Glynda scolded, "Distractions are not something Miss Rose needs right now."

The bombshell quickly apologized, and resorted to rubbing her robotic and organic hands together as she continued to watch the match. Blake laid a hand on Yang's shoulder and nodded at her while looking into those lilac eyes of hers, "Don't worry, Ruby's doing her best. We all know she can handle herself easily." Yang nodded and smiled to her partner.

Down in the combat floor Cassandra gave Ruby a small smirk as she brought up her weapon in a perfect duelist position, "You're living up to your hype, kid."

"I hate to disappoint." Ruby said cheerfully before she jumped upwards and opening up with a volley of attacks, driving Cassandra back as she deflected the shots coming her way.

She blocked the last shot and managed to parry Crescent Rose's blade as it slammed down on her weapon's haft, and grinned at Ruby, "Not bad, but I have a few nice moves of my own."

With a sudden movement, she kicked outwards which caused Ruby to jump back, and brought up her giant balisong knife and began to fling it about in a fierce and speedy display before charging forward and launching a series of rapid strikes which Ruby barely dodged even with her Semblance, and while the RWBY team leader dodged most of Cassandra's strikes she barely repelled the last one, which allowed the CRDL team leader to use one side of the massive handle to pin Crescent Rose's scythe blade to the ground while using the other side to hit Ruby in the chin, which caused her aura to flare for a split second before vanishing.

"Gotcha." Cassandra stated triumphantly as she levered the blade of her weapon dangerously close to Ruby's face, but for some reason the younger girl didn't look defeated, instead she had a small smirk on her face.

"Not yet!" She responded before pressing a button on the side of Crescent Rose's handle, and a thin bar shot out of her weapon towards her opponent's face, causing Cassandra to recoil reflexively. Ruby allowed herself a smile, pleased that her foot bar was more useful for more than just making Crescent Rose easier to hold onto while in a free fall.

Even as Cassandra jerked back, her weight pressing down on Crescent Rose loosened and Ruby moved quickly and adroitly, using the foot bar to knock her opponent's weapon out of her hand and sent it sliding across the floor. Spinning her weapon upwards, Ruby sent a quick jab to Cassandra's chin with the blunt end of Crescent Rose, knocking the CRDL leader down. Cassandra opened her eyes, but saw Ruby had already brought the sharp edge of her scythe blade to her chin.

"Sorry, but I'm not beaten easily." She told her, grinning in triumph.

"I can see that." Cassandra muttered, disappointed that she had lost, but nevertheless impressed with how someone who had just turned seventeen performed so well in battle. "Very well I surrender."

Glynda nodded approvingly and said to her class, "As you can see, Miss Aguila had the sense to know when to concede, rather than to grab Miss Rose's leg and flip her over, thus prolonging the fight and even risking harm to herself given the close proximity of the blade. You have no doubt noticed that while both combatants still have a decent amount of Aura left, so the fight could go on, but as an old proverb says, you must know when to fight and when not to, so one must be ready to make that choice in a real combat situation. Fortunately, Miss Aguila has demonstrated the appropriate time to make that choice. With that said, I hereby declare this duel over."

Ruby withdrew Crescent Rose from Cassandra's neck and offered her hand to help her up, which the leader of CRDL accepted while brushing dust from her pants.

"That was a good fight. Your weapon is also pretty great too, and the way you moved with it was..." Ruby began, only for Cassandra to raise a hand to cut her off.

"Thanks, and you weren't so bad yourself kiddo. Next time, I guess I'll have to try a little harder to beat you." She said to the younger girl before they took their seats even as the other students were turning their attention to Professor Goodwitch as she began to speak.

"Now students, before we are dismissed for today I would like you all tonight to go over and discuss with your teams about various possible combat scenarios, and how you would deal with them. There will be a test on this topic tomorrow, so be sure to study for it by going over some of the situations I have listed in your textbooks and discuss them among yourselves." Glynda instructed her students before the bell rang informing everyone of the end of her lesson, "And with that, you are all dismissed."

The students all poured out of the class and into the hall that was flooding with other students from other classes in the vicinity. Some of them were making their way to their lockers, some to various after-school activities, others to their dorms, but a few members of Team Beacon had one special destination in mind.

"You sure today's the day?" Ruby asked Jaune as she followed him and Pyrrha down a less crowded hallway.

"We're sure. It has been officially one year since he died and that means the fragment of his soul has joined fully with the crystal, which means we can speak to him according to what the avatar and the books tell us." Jaune replied to her, "If all goes well I'm sure we'll be able to talk to him."

"To be honest, I personally don't know what we would talk to him about, but maybe he can tell us more about the crystal itself and its abilities." Pyrrha suggested with a thoughtful look. "And perhaps he can tell us what he knows about the... those warriors."

"We can hope." Jaune agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

* * *

It wasn't long until Team JNPR, along with Ruby, Weiss, and Penny, had arrived at special section of the dorm building which belonged to Team Beacon. In accordance with the newly-implemented security measures, every student studying in Beacon Academy had been issued with their own security keycard to unlock their own dorm rooms. While it was a bit of a hassle at times, the members of Team Beacon accepted it since they know that it was to prevent another infiltration of Beacon Academy by those who had evil intentions.

Team CFVY were on their way back as well, but they weren't in as big as a hurry since they wanted to look up some information at the library for an upcoming test in Port's advanced classes. Blake and Yang were currently joining Team SSSN at the gym, where they were helping Sun strengthen his balancing issues with his tail so he could get back to using it as actively as he had when it was flesh and blood.

Jaune entered the security code to their room and the door unlocked, allowing him to open it. After taking some time to undress from their school uniforms and into more casual clothing, the four of them were finally able to get some much-needed rest after another busy school day. Jaune got into a gray sleeveless shirt and jeans while Pyrrha wore a black t-shirt and knee-length blue skirt over her black shorts. Nora had changed into her usual dark grey T-shirt with her hammer emblem and the word 'Boop' written on it and pink shorts patterned with white thunderbolts, while Ren had simply worn a long-sleeved dark green-shirt with his personal emblem on its sleeves, and white pants.

"Ah, another day over and done with." Nora sighed as she rested comfortably on her bed.

"But we still have homework to do and an exam to prepare for." Ren reminded her, causing his partner to let out a childish whine.

"Don't worry Nora, it can wait until we are done with this Aura Crystal session. Besides, we will have to wait for Sun, Coco and the others to get back." Jaune pointed out.

"Give that man a medal!" Nora declared in a faux-serious voice.

Ren smiled at her before asking Jaune and Pyrrha, "How long do you think this session will take?"

Pyrrha thought about it and answered "We don't know, it would depend on how quickly we can find Ashe and how long we talk to him."

"I don't see it lasting longer than a couple of hours, though time kinda passes differently within the Aura Crystal, but I want you two stay on guard while our minds are in there, okay?" Jaune requested as he looked at Ren and Nora.

"You got it, fearless leader!" Nora agreed, giving him a salute.

"We won't let you down." Ren promised even as Ruby, dressed in more casual clothing, pushed the door aside and poked her head into Team JNPR's room.

"Hey, are you guys about to start?" She inquired.

"Yeah, and with any luck Ashe will be ready." Jaune told her.

"I think he will, and he will probably want to hear about all the events and stuff we have been through since his death. Just... uh, can you guys do me a favor?" Ruby requested in a soft voice as she fidgeted a little nervously.

"Certainly Ruby, what is it?" Pyrrha asked kindly.

"Please tell Ashe that I, and the rest of us, all say 'hi', and that we all hope he's okay in there. I know it's only a fragment of his soul, but that still counts as Ashe in my book. Tell him...tell him that I miss him a little." Ruby said while gripping the whistle which dangled around her neck, "...well, actually more like a lot."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha smiled at their younger friend, and the former answered, "There's no need to worry Ruby. We will be sure to do that."

"You can stay and watch if you want, Ruby." Pyrrha told her, "Just don't make too much noise or you could break our concentration."

"I won't, I promise." Ruby assured the Mistralian as she sat down on the bed Nora was occupying.

Ren closed the curtains on both of the windows as Jaune and Pyrrha moved their beds apart, revealing a small, thin gap in the carpet. Jaune sat down, grabbed it, and slid it upwards and revealing the secret compartment the Aura Crystal was kept in. He keyed in a numerical code and Pyrrha followed suit, which unlocked and opened up the compartment to reveal the case in which the crystal resided in.

They removed it and placed it on the floor of the room, before they both pressed their thumbs on the case's print scanner, which unlocked with two soft clicks. They then used their own respective keys to unlock it and open up the case fully, revealing the Aura Crystal to the world once again.

Ruby went to the door and could faintly hear Weiss talking to Winter on her scroll in Team RWBY's own room, but she saw Penny sitting in the common room, and said to the robotic girl, "Hey Penny, Jaune and Pyrrha are going to start their Aura Crystal session. Can you make sure that none of the other's disturb us, okay?"

"No problem Ruby, I will be sure to inform everyone else of what they are doing and that they shouldn't be disturbed. You can count on me!" Penny stated while giving her best friend a thumbs up.

Ruby smiled and gave Penny a thumbs up gesture back at her, "I know I can." She said before she closed the door.

As soon as she closed the door Weiss exited Team RWBY's room in more casual clothing, but even her casual wear was clearly more expensive than what the others would consider casual.

"Friend Weiss, Ruby has told me to..." Penny stood up and started to speak.

"Yes, I heard, Penny." Weiss cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Very well, but friend Ruby told me to make sure that no one else disturbs them, so I must make sure that I inform everyone. Anyway, Jaune and Pyrrha are about to..." The Schnee heiress pinched her temple and let out a sigh as she sat near the robotic girl and let Penny carry on with her appointed task.

"Thank Oum that patience has become one of my talents since I came to Beacon Academy." Weiss mused to herself as she flicked on the television just to drown out Penny.

Inside JNPR's room; Ruby, Ren, and Nora all watched as Jaune and Pyrrha sat on the carpeted floor in the center of the room, with each of them on one side of the crystal which was now suspended in mid-air by the anti-grav system of the case. There was some quiet anticipation in the air, and the tension in the room increased substantially as the new crystal guardians prepared themselves to enter the Aura Crystal once more.

Over the months they had made great improvements on their meditation skills, so it didn't take as long to enter the Aura Crystal anymore. It wasn't long before their bodies relaxed, their breathing was steady and synced up, and soon their minds were open as Jaune and Pyrrha reached out with their aura to the crystal, which in turned opened up the aura within it to receive them.

Thin beams of light shot out of the crystal and ended at both Jaune and Pyrrha's foreheads, granting them access to the crystal. Their physical bodies slightly tensed at the sudden rush of power they felt from the opening granted to them by the Aura Crystal. Faster than any of them could have expected, their aura and their minds, possibly even their souls, went into the crystal itself, and the physical world fell away.

Inside, shapes of aura that took the form of Jaune and Pyrrha dropped through a seemingly endless abyss until they came to land gently on something that served as ground for them to walk on, but it was smooth, cool and bright. All around them various shapes of multi-colored light moved about, and while some were humanoid in form, others were simply shapeless things that moved about energetically, and there were also others that were slower and more concentrated. Some of the more opaque humanoid figures had distinguishing features, different shades of color on their bodies that resembled skin color, and flowing locks on their heads that represented hair.

One of the humanoid shapes which resembled a young boy, gave them a welcoming look as he flew past the couple as they walked down the never-ending pathway, and so they waved to him in return.

"I can never get used to this, it's kind of always similar but at the same time it feels different from the previous times." Jaune voiced mentally.

"I know, and everything in here seemed to be in a constant state of change. You never see the same shapes twice, but I suppose that since the since the aura of five billion people reside in here it only makes sense we get to see different things each time." Pyrrha replied back as she noticed some small bright lights hovering around them, as though inspecting them or playfully them out.

"I wonder if the aura of these people have just made do with their situation? Like maybe they've come to terms with this new life and made peace with it. "Which makes me wonder just how sentient these lights of aura are?" Jaune posed the question as he held his hand out, allowing for a certain blue light to land on his hand, only to take off a few seconds later and fly up to his nose like a firefly,

Pyrrha giggled at the sight of Jaune with a brightly glowing nose before saying "They certainly have enough personality to be people."

"That they do, Guardian Pyrrha Nikos." Said a voice.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha turned and saw it was the Avatar of the Aura Crystal who had appeared behind them and this time it had had taken the form of an old woman with dark skin and long, braided, gray hair and dressed in long, brownish-red robes.

"Greetings, it's nice to meet you again." Pyrrha greeted courteously, giving the figure a polite bow.

Jaune followed his girlfriend's example and bowed as well, "Avatar, we are here to reunite with a friend."

"'We know, Guardian Jaune Arc. The fragment of Ashe Kasai has joined the collective of the other Guardians long past. He has fully integrated himself into the essence of the crystal, mingling with the collective aura and learning of the world that was before The Shattering, listening to the tales of those people whose aura make up this relic. Now, he is ready." The Avatar told them in a neutral voice.

"May we please see him?" Jaune asked politely as he told hold of Pyrrha's hand for support.

Meanwhile in the real world, Ruby, Ren, and Nora all watched as Jaune and Pyrrha physically took hold of each other's hands.

"Is that normal?" Ruby asked in a hushed whisper, having never seen it before.

"Sometimes." Ren answered in an equally hushed voice, while Nora simply remained uncharacteristically silent.

Back within the Aura Crystal, the Avatar smiled and said, "You may."

The couple watched as the world around them began to turn and before they knew it they were standing on a new surface which resembled a rocky hill that ended at a cliffside. An never-ending expanse of an ocean made up of lights and shapes spread far and wide beyond the cliffs, but a single individual was sitting on the cliff looking out to the 'ocean'.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Pyrrha smiled and gestured for Jaune go ahead. He nodded in return and began to walk upwards to the cliffside. Once they were close enough, the figure sitting at the stone bench turned his head towards them, before turning around to reveal Ashe Kasai himself, looking exactly the same as he had during the night they became the Guardians of the Aura Crystal.

"Hey, kids." He grinned at both crystal guardians as they stopped a few paces from him, "What took you so long?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader with advice from jkphantom9 and additional edits by Akashi2712Samurai.
> 
> Next time we join a certain dead parent and get a glimpse of what exactly it's like to be a guardian of the dead.
> 
> It's Halloween time! For my favorite holiday, I'd like to offer you guys some good scary times: On YouTube, you can find an overlooked chiller from 1980 called 'The Changeling', I won't give the plot away, look it up, sit back and get spooked, I highly suggest you give this a shot. Other underrated horror flicks I recommend are 'Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight', 'Candyman 1 and 2', and 'Pumpkinhead'.
> 
> I want to thank those of you who care to review and comment for your reassurance and kind words. I'm sorry guys, but the fact is I'm afraid this story can't be that good. It'd be way more popular if it was and because of how low the faves and follows numbers of this fic are compared to others. Maybe I should have split the arcs apart into different fics, or something but I am still happy with my work and I will keep working on it and do my best regardless.
> 
> Attentive readers might notice that Ren and Nora's backstory contradicts how it was originally written in the first chapter. Well I think that Ren and Nora's backstory was one of the few things V4 did right, so I decided to alter it and have rewritten parts of the first several chapters. I wanted to flash back to the talk about the pasts of Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage, as I want to develop them. The problem with having a cast so big is that sometimes a writer could easily forget about someone or have some characters be a bunch of bland nobodies with nothing to do, which is something I want to avoid. I want to make Team Beacon, and most of the characters, be believable and likable people with strengths as well as flaws, but sometimes that's hard to do, but I hope I'm doing an adequate job. I also wanted to develop the backstory of Remnant a bit more, taking what the supplementary vids have told us and expand upon them.
> 
> Also, Team CRDL's back and with a new leader, hope you're all okay with that. They won't have a major role in the story, in fact I think they'll only appear a few more times after this.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted.
> 
> Please guys, please comment on and leave a kudos for this story. Thank you all, once again.


	57. Burdens of the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, wanna new chapter?
> 
> Theme for this chapter: Burn by The Cure.

**_Ashe was awoken by the sound of heavy rain pounding against the roof of Mila's loft. The fat drops of water fell from the sky rapidly and burst upon impact on any surface and had been doing the same thing unceasingly upon the town of Otium for some hours now. The room was dark as the curtains on most of the windows had been drawn closed, save for the octagon-shaped one above the bed. Since the dark clouds didn't exactly let much light to get through them, Ashe could only see the vague outline of objects around him as he looked around, and when he focused his attention over to the clock he noticed that it was just after seven, which meant the time for his regular patrol around the town was nearing._ **

**_He stretched out his arms, only to finally realize something that should have been quite obvious to him the moment he had woken up: There was a beautiful, naked woman upon his equally naked body, one hand on his chest while her entire body pressed close to his own._ **

**_He looked down to see Mila, her raven hair was rather messy as she cuddled into his chest. Memories of their... union the night before flooded back into Ashe's mind and he smiled at those cherished thoughts. It's not like one easily forgets his very first time with the woman of his dreams._ **

**_"Whoa." That was all he could say at the moment, as he placed his arms down his lover's back. They had been in a relationship for a couple of months now, but last night was the first time either of them actually had sex. He didn't know how to judge the experience since he had only heard about it from others, but he'd be damned if last night wasn't one of the best nights of his life, and possibly the happiest he had been in a very long time._ **

**_He gently petted Mila's bare back while using his other hand to carefully brush a few strands of wayward hair out of her face, allowing him to see her peaceful visage of a maiden in deep slumber. He smiled at the sight, but it soon dropped as some other thoughts slipped into his mind..._ **

**_Was he going to stay here? He had never stayed in one place for long, not since that night when he lost his parents and Cinder left to grow stronger. He had wandered the world with his mom's case ever since, training himself to become more proficient in combat, and spending whatever money he could scrape together by taking whatever jobs he could to improve upon the Aura Crystal's case to keep it secure. He had been in Otium for months now, which was something he hadn't done before, but the town and its people were nice enough and it was situated out of the way but was only twenty-seven miles from the nearest large town, which meant it was relatively safe from bandit tribe attacks and while Grimm incursions were always a possibility, it was nothing he couldn't handle._ **

**_But should he stay? On one hand, it might be best for the Aura Crystal to be constantly on the move so as to ensure its safety, since the less people who knew about its whereabouts the better. He had fought off bandits thinking he was carrying something valuable, and those Remnant Knights somehow knew about him despite the precautions he had already taken and they had managed to find him with apparent ease. Thankfully, they had allowed him to keep it for the time being, but Ashe couldn't shake that the feeling that agents of the Remnant Knights might be secretly observing him from afar. Then there was always the option to head for Vale and go to Ozpin, the man who he remembered visiting his family on several occasions when he was a young child to talk with his parents about the Aura Crystal, but he wasn't certain if Ozpin could be trusted to not do something rash like having him knocked out and simply taking the Aura Crystal for himself._ **

**_And then there was Cinder. He still wanted to find his big sister, even though it had been fifteen years since they last saw each other, and no matter where he looked there wasn't so much as a mention of her presence even at several of the major and secondary Huntsmen Academies he had checked out. Was she still alive? Was she a Huntress? Would she help him? He had a lot of questions to mull over, but there was a major one that had been occupying his mind for a few weeks now; should he do his duty and move on for the safety of the crystal or should he keep the relic hidden here in Otium and remain happy with Mila?_ **

**_He looked up to the ceiling, silently wondering if his mother would approve of his lover. He also wondered if the crystal itself would finally communicate with him and then give him something in the way of advice, but given that it had remained in a dormant state for such a long time, that possibility seemed pretty slim._ **

**_Personally however, Ashe himself was very much in favor of staying here and being happy._ **

**_He felt his girlfriend stir slightly atop of him, and she drew the blanket covers closer to her naked form, shivering a little. He smiled and leaned up to grab the other side of the blanket, which he pulled up to keep her from the cold and then snaked his arms under the covers to help her snuggle closer to him for further warmth. He leisurely rubbed up and down on her smooth back and hips, which got Mila to let out a small mewl which he found adorable._ **

**_The rain kept pounding on the roof like the endless beat of a drum, and thunder clashed as the rainwater flowed down without end. Curious as to what the outside looked like, Ashe decided to take a look out of the window across from the bed. He gently lifted Mila off his body, making her groan in protest._ **

**_"Ashe? Ugh, what time is it?"_ **

**_"A little past seven." Ashe answered as he pushed himself out of bed, slipped on his boxers and walked over to the opposite window. Pulling back the curtains, he peered out into the rainstorm battering the town of Otium._ **

**_"Too early, come back to bed." She said groggily as she glanced at his nearly naked form._ **

**_"I will. I just want to take a look outside to see how bad the rainfall is." He commented as he rested his hands on the window sill to keep himself steady, "It's really coming down."_ **

**_Outside he could see the leaf-covered branches of the trees shaking wildly in the howling wind as the heavy downpour kept falling incessantly. It wasn't total darkness out there, but it also wasn't easy to see anything more than a few town buildings in any direction. He looked down to see the street level, and was quite surprised by how much rainwater the street had collected, as the street now looked like a mini-river with scattered leaves and branches floating about. Ashe could see a few townspeople clad in their rain gear conversing at the small lobby of town hall._ **

**_He heard the whispering of blankets as Mila got out of bed, and apparently she had been crawling as soon enough he felt her grab his foot and then his knee, and soon enough he was a bit surprised to feel his girlfriend scaling him like a mountain. He felt her wrap her arms around his abdomen, and smiled as she rubbed her cheek against the muscles of his back gently. Soon enough Mila was hanging onto him like a cat would to a tree, with one arm around his chest and the other underneath his shoulder._ **

**_"If you don't mind me asking, how are you doing this?" He asked, trying not to laugh._ **

**_"My dad took me on a lot of camping trips when I was a kid, and I got pretty good at tree and rock climbing." She answered him, and tilted her head to see past his shoulder at the drenched sights outside the window, "Whoa, it really is pouring out there. You should come back to bed, stay in for today and keep me warm."_ **

**_"While I would love to, I still need to go out and see if they need help, plus I have a patrol to do." He reminded her, "Besides, it's my job to see if anyone needs my help."_ **

**_"Ashe, look outside. The rain's so heavy that not even the Grimm will come out of wherever they're hiding." Mila replied as her lover turned his head over his shoulder to look at her, "They may be mindless monsters but even they're smart enough to keep out of a storm like this."_ **

**_Ashe raised an eyebrow, "The older ones are strong enough to shrug it off if they get in the mood to go out and attack some poor soul."_ **

**_"You've taken care of the big Grimm around here, and what's left are probably hiding out in a cave or something." Mila said as she nuzzled into his back, "Now let's get back to bed, as I require your services right now, huntsman."_ **

**_"Catching Grimm in bed?"_ **

**_"No, your new job is to keep me warm in bed... the world's sexiest bed warmer." She said with a small giggle._ **

**_Ashe turned himself fully to face Mila and smiled down at her before saying, "Sorry babe, but duty calls and I gotta answer." He reached his arms under her and carried her back to bed, before walking over to the desk where his clothes were neatly hung._ **

**_"Always have to be the mysterious hero. Okay, but don't blame me when you get soaked to the bone and catch a fever. I mean, the rain's bad enough that you'll probably be back within half an hour." She told him as she wrapped herself up in the blankets to keep warm, "Oh, and leave the closed sign up, no one's going to buy books in the weather anyhow."_ **

**_"You got it, love." He told her even as he began to dress himself, before kissing her on the forehead. Once the bedroom's door closed and his footsteps retreated, Mila stay in bed, letting the sound of the intense downpour outside lull her back to sleep. She had considered getting out of bed and putting some clothes on, but she didn't really feel like it since today was the kind of day which you feel like just staying in bed and doing nothing else. So she instead smiled happily, reveling in the fact that she had finally made love with someone she truly loved, something she had waited since she was a teenager, and since her first time was with a rather handsome Huntsman didn't hurt either._ **

**_She found Ashe to be a mysterious person, but there was also a certain sadness to him, one which she had to persuade him to talk about. A few nights ago she had finally gotten him to come clean about his past and what exactly happened to his family, and just talking about it was enough to make him cry, Something she had never seen him do, so she offered him comfort in her arms and he accepted it without hesitation._ **

**_She wondered where his sister was, and how she could have left her little brother all alone and helpless like she did. Mila knew that if she ever met Cinder Kasai, she would demand a damn good explanation as to why she had abandoned Ashe. If the answer wasn't satisfactory, then Cinder was in for one heck of a speech, maybe even a punch in the face if the book lover got angry enough. The idea of a ten year old Ashe sitting alone before his parents' grave without anyone to comfort him, crying his heart out was enough to make her own heart ache. Mila had always been the protective kind, since she was someone who always looked out for those younger than her and the idea of abandoning a fellow sibling at such a young age was just rage-inducing and unforgivable._ **

**_She looked over to the closet, and since it was slightly ajar, she could just barely make out Ashe's mysterious case in the opening. She didn't know much about it since he never told her what was actually inside of it, simply saying that it was a precious family heirloom that needed to be looked after. Mila nevertheless could see through the lie easily, but she never pressed the issue to avoid damaging their relationship._ **

**_'But maybe I should...' She thought to herself. They had been sharing a bed for over a month now and last night they had made love, which was the ultimate act of trust in her eyes. Maybe it was time he should really trust in her. She mulled over those thoughts as she curled up in her bed, settling for the warmth of the blankets in place of her lover._ **

**_After what felt like an eternity, which in reality was a little over twenty minutes, she heard the door downstairs unlock itself and was opened, before it was shut again to keep out the roaring thunderstorm. Mila smirked and muttered to herself, "Called it."_ **

**_Soon enough the bedroom door was opened to reveal a completely drenched and shirtless Ashe, who was soaking wet from the terrible rain. She sat up, letting the blankets of her bed fall and expose her modest breasts and soft belly, while smiling knowingly at him._ **

**" _You told me so." He admitted as he walked towards her, "So, you want to just lay in bed all day?"_**

**_"Until I feel like getting up. Right now, I just want to keep warm…and have a little more fun." She said, winking at him._ **

**_Ashe smiled and undid his belt, allowing his pants to fall to the floor before he slipped into bed with her, affectionately kissing her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her body close to his own, nuzzling her and caressing her shapely body._ **

**_As he went about his new and much more pleasurable job, Mila managed to speak through her constant giggles and pleasurable moans, "Ashe, you truly love me right?"_ **

**_"Is this a good enough answer?" He asked as he kissed her deeply and lovingly._ **

**_They parted for air and she responded "I guess it is. And you trust me?"_ **

**_"With all my heart. Why the question? Ashe locked his eyes with hers._ **

**_Mila opened her mouth to pose the question in her mind about the mysterious case, but then her heart decided to override her brain at that particular moment. So she chuckled a little and replied, "It's something that can wait for later. Right now... I order you to keep me warm and make me feel good by any means necessary." She grinned as she turned about and sat on his lap, with her arms wrapped around his neck._ **

**_"Your wish is my command." Ashe smiled as he wrapped his arms around her belly, brought her closer to him, with no intention of letting her go. For the next few hours as the thunderstorm raged outside, the pair of lovers laid there on the bed, enjoying each other's presence and content with the fact that they made each other happy and complete._ **

Ashe snapped out of the pleasant memory and he took in his new surroundings; a cliffside before a sea of shining lights with strange, shifting shapes moving about above and beneath its surface. The facsimile of a sun in the sky shone down upon him, its rays illuminating his surroundings as though it was a bright afternoon back in the physical world. In his heart he knew what was coming, who he would finally see after spending so long in this place or this thing, whatever the Aura Crystal had conjured up within itself. He sat on the stone bench a short distance from the lip of the cliffside, and looked to the vacant spit before him, half expecting and half hoping to see her there.

He could hear the soft sounds of footsteps behind him and once they got close enough he glanced back and then fully turned around to see his former student and his partner, the latter being the one the Arc had risked everything he had to save. Ashe rose up, grinning as he regarded them and asked, "Hey kids, what took you so long?"

"Waiting for you, I guess." Jaune replied with a smile, looking at his dead friend's form as he shook Ashe's hand, "You look... good."

"Compared to the last time you saw me?" Ashe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jaune winced as the memory of Ashe's corpse momentarily slipped back into his mind. He hadn't meant to bring up the former guardian's fate at the hands of his own sister.

"Just joking with you, Arc. It's weird at first, but when you join with the collective aura of this crystal some of your knowledge becomes part of the collective." Ashe noticed his reaction and assured the blond, "I know what has happened to me, so there's no need to sugarcoat it."

"We...we're sorry about that." Pyrrha apologized earnestly.

"Don't be." Ashe continued, rubbing his hands together a little, "All things considered, I think I died a good death. I mean I don't exactly remember it, but it could have been much worse." He gestured towards the stone bench, and the three of them sat down with Jaune and Pyrrha occupying one end with Ashe on the other. "So...how bad was my body?"

"Well...aside from the hole in your chest courtesy of Cinder, you were pretty badly beaten by Jude. You had a bad bruise around your neck, and lacerations all over your arms, body and legs. Scars and a lot of other kind of wounds. Still from what the Haven Police could tell, you kicked Jude's butt pretty good." Jaune reassured the faintly glowing figure of Ashe.

"So what happened to Jude?"

"Lieutenant Morse said they found his body in an furnace within Ante's abandoned hideout during a raid. What was left of it anyway. All of his original organic parts had been burned away and the robotic half was ruined beyond repair. It's safe to say he's gone for good." Pyrrha answered gently.

"Oh good. At least I don't have to worry about that asshole ever again. I still can't believe he survived that explosion." Ashe said to himself, "Too bad I technically wasn't there to see him die."

"Right, you're not totally Ashe, just a fragment of him." Jaune reminded himself, shaking his head to loosen the cobwebs in his brain.

"So what do you remember?" Pyrrha asked the soul fragment before them.

"I remember most of what had happened in my life. The last thing I remember is saving Jaune from his chest wound and then... everything after that is weird, I was broken off from the rest of my soul. I've been in this place ever since, mingling with the aura of the people who died in the Shattering, and seeing visions of the world that was, which was actually an okay place. I saw the cities and landmarks around the world, and... I saw the moon whole." Ashe replied, his voice a bit distant.

"The moon whole?" Pyrrha repeated, clearly intrigued, "What it like before it was shattered?"

"Before it was broken by the war it was... beautiful, but never quite the same. It was changing all the time, turning around in the world's orbit. It could be crescent, waning, half or even totally hidden in an eclipse." Ashe said, his voice quiet before he noticed Jaune and Pyrrha staring at something behind them. He glanced back to see that parts of the aura collective had worked together to create a replica of the moon in the distance, and slowly began to show the moon in its various phases: full, waning, half, crescent and fully dark.

"It is beautiful." Pyrrha agreed, enamored by the sight of how the moon used to be.

Jaune nodded in agreement, reaching out and gently taking hold of his partner's hand, squeezing it gently and felt her return his affection. They sat together in silence as the recreation of the moon slowly began to break off into many pieces of light and shifted away.

"So what have you two been up to since Haven?" Ashe asked, getting their attention again.

The couple looked at each other before Jaune replied, "It's a long story."

Ashe smirked in response and made a circular motion with his wrist, signaling the duo to go on, "It's not like I am going anywhere, so enlighten me."

"Okay, but before we begin, Ruby wants us to tell you she says 'hi'." Jaune informed his dead friend and Ashe simply cracked a smile.

For nearly forty-five minutes the couple filled the soul fragment of Ashe in on the events that had happened after his death, such as Pyrrha moving to Cadia to be closer to Jaune and the Aura Crystal, Ozpin's trial and the subsequent formation of Team Beacon with the others, the retaking of Beacon Academy, Pyrrha helping Jaune with training to become stronger and keep the small portion of Grimm essence within him under control, the events of the White Fang mission and the defeat of Adam Taurus, the new Grimm hybrids, and their eventual meeting with the Remnant Knights.

"Whoa. Keeping busy, I see." Ashe commented, surprised at how much had occurred since his death, "And you met the Knights. Whew."

"Speaking of which, what do you know of them? Sharp Strike told us of your two encounters with him, but what do you honestly think?" Pyrrha queried politely.

The fragment of Ashe's spirit considered her question before giving an answer, "I don't really have that strong of an opinion one way or the other, since I had only heard legends about them. I mean, I had one hell of an time with them when we first met and I wasn't too happy with them trying to take the crystal from me, but after that day they kept their promise and left me alone, respected my family's right to the crystal as its guardians, and kept their distance. That alone probably means they aren't all bad, but I am not exactly sure I would totally trust in them."

Jaune shared a look with Pyrrha before asking "Why?"

Ashe got up from the stone bench and began to pace around, "Well, I did some research on the Knights after I encountered them, and some of the legends I found said that they are just a group of highly-skilled warriors who keep a careful vigil to protect Remnant and its people, but not all powerful or all knowing. While others say that they watch over all of Remnant with untold legions of warriors in hiding, fighting a secret war within the shadows. If those myths are true, then I think more people would probably know about their existence so the former legends seems to be a more likely truth since they didn't manage to find me for years nor were they doing much during the Fall of Beacon when Cinder and the White Fang attacked."

He reached up and stroked his chin a little, "...but then, how did they manage to decimate so many White Fang bases across Remnant like you say they did? Something doesn't quite add up here, and if I have to guess the Remnant Knights possibly told you only what you needed to hear and know, and not the complete truth."

"So you wouldn't trust them?" Pyrrha asked.

Ashe considered the question and answered, "Personally, I don't think the Remnant Knights are a threat and they could prove to be valuable allies to be relied upon to fight alongside you against Salem and my sister, just don't invite 'em over for parties and give 'em the spare keys. They will always be watching you, so it's only common sense that you keep your eyes on them too."

"That's good advice, and I think that you're not entirely wrong. I think they can be trusted and that we should cooperate with them as much as possible, but we should also keep our eyes open in the meantime." Jaune voiced, with Pyrrha nodding in agreement.

"Still, Sharp Strike coming to Ruby's rescue. What are the odds?" Ashe pondered with a smile. "Still, I'm happy he was there to save them, and I'm kind of proud that I did really make an impact on him." He sat down once more, took a breath and continued, "So, have you two been working on your Grimm halves?"

"Yes, we have. My half is still strong since my aura within Jaune had managed to stop most of the Grimm essence from taking root inside of him. But Jaune still has the abilities of a Grimm Hybrid, and we have been working hard to use that to our advantage during a fight, and it's proven useful whenever we fight the Grimm." Pyrrha informed him.

"I'm still not as good as she is." Jaune admitted, "She can control more Grimm than I do, and for a longer time too."

"But he's getting much better." Pyrrha interjected with a small smile on her lips.

"Okay, I get the picture and it's good that you are both coming to terms with your… situations. But there's one thing I feel you should know with regards to having an emotion-based semblance." Ashe's voice took on a more serious edge, "Jaune, I let my rage, sorrow, and pain take me over, which gradually led me to a dark place in life. So be very careful when using your semblance, and don't let your emotions control you, because it's like a double-edged sword."

The Arc brother was about to ask something but Ashe raised a hand to quiet him down and continued, "While your emotions empower you during battle, too much power will eventually corrupt you and once that happens you would be more susceptible to letting darker emotions control you. If you immerse yourself too deep within it, you would be fully overtaken and there would be no way for you to return. Same thing goes for you Pyrrha, your Grimm half naturally gives you an attraction to darker emotions." Pyrrha nodded intently as Ashe sighed, looking out to the ocean. "I've been there before, so take it from someone who has tread the thin line between sanity and madness... and went too far in the wrong direction."

"Thank you for the warning," Jaune visibly swallowed and nodded his head

"We promise we'll definitely be careful." Pyrrha agreed.

"Good. Anyway, how are your families' reactions, are they okay with this?" He asked, fixing them with a careful look.

"Yeah, my sisters and my parents have been really supportive and understanding, they were just happy I was alive and well." Jaune explained.

"The same goes for my parents. They were overwhelmed by joy that I wasn't dead after months of mourning me. Everything is going smoothly for us." Pyrrha replied, before adding "Well, there have been some bumps, the kind of trauma we both have from that terrible experience isn't something anyone gets over right away, but we've been working as hard as we can to overcome them."

"That's good. What about you two? I take it you're a couple now, right?"

Both teens blushed a bit before both saying, "Yes."

"We are, and we're just…really happy together." Jaune said, his hand lying atop Pyrrha's.

"We truly are. I couldn't ask for anything more." Pyrrha admitted as she leaned into Jaune, smiling contently.

Ashe smirked and asked, "Really? What about marriage? Or having kids?"

Both teen were now blushing madly at the idea, and Jaune tried to respond but it came out as gibberish.

Pyrrha recovered first and managed to say, "Well… both of those would be… wonderful. But I think we are going to wait for a while before the latter comes up."

"Y-yeah, especially the ki-kids part." Jaune stuttered, his cheeks red.

"Relax, I'm just joking." Ashe laughed, "Seriously though, I'm happy for both of you. After everything you two have been through, you're lucky to have one another."

"We know." The blond knight promised his former mentor as he scooted closer to Pyrrha, "I understand how lucky we both are. It's a miracle that either of us are still alive after what they did to us, and ever since we got together, we've more or less figured out that we need to cherish every moment we have together."

"Every single second." Pyrrha agreed, leaning further into Jaune's embrace, planting a small kiss on his neck.

"Good. As cliché as it sounds, love is a precious thing, and it shouldn't be squandered or ignored. A love like yours is… it's something wonderful, so I'm happy you're not wasting it." Ashe said nicely, his voice carrying a sadness to it that he didn't bother to hide.

"Is something wrong?" Pyrrha asked, concern visible on her face.

"Well I'm dead, so that's a good way to start the list." Ashe deadpanned with a dismissive face. Pyrrha looked sorry, fearing she had offended him, which made Jaune glare a little at the former guardian. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a jerk."

"That never stopped you before." Jaune replied with a small scowl on his face, he clearly didn't like someone making Pyrrha feel bad.

Ashe smiled at the sight and confessed to them. "Well, you're right. But to tell you the truth, it's because... well, it's actually kind of hard to explain. Sometimes I feel like a part of me is somewhere else, as though I'm in two separate places at once. I have asked around, and it seems that apparently all of the fragments of the guardians in here feel that way too."

"So what's the other place? If you feel like you're in two places at once then where else are you?" The knight inquired.

The soul fragment of Ashe Kasai lapsed into thought briefly before replying, "Somewhere in the middle. Neither good nor evil, perhaps a place for those in-between." His forehead creased as he struggled to put it into words so they could understand, "I can see it sometimes, just flashes really. The other guardians' soul fragments here have had similar flashes as well, some of them remembering similar places but others have seen have felt different locations. But I... I've been feeling something familiar... a presence, specifically of someone I loved."

"Mila?" Jaune guessed and Ashe confirmed it with a nod.

"Yeah. I... can feel her sometimes. Not like I'm actually touching her, but I can feel her. It's like kind of weird, but I guess that's what being torn between two worlds is like." The dead man before them related.

"Is it uncomfortable?" Pyrrha questioned, and Ashe answered with a shake of his head, "Then what does it feel like?"

The fragment of Ashe considered this and answered, "Well, in that world… there's a certain numbness to it, but it doesn't feel wrong. And the feeling of Mila's presence is like when you're really, really damn tired after working for a few days without rest, and you get into a bed that's not too warm, it's cool but not too cold, and you bring the covers over your body. It's like a hybrid of feeling warm and cooled off at the same time. I know that sounds weird but that's frankly what it feels like."

"But it isn't a bad thing, is it?" Jaune posed, "I mean, you can feel the one you love, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes I can feel her and even get flashes of her. That can never be a bad thing to me." Ashe told them sincerely, and his face grew slightly serious before he sighed and added, "Speaking of bad things, have you heard of anything regarding my sister?"

The couple glanced at each other before Pyrrha spoke up, "No. As far as we know there's been no word about anything involving her for almost a year now."

"We saw Emerald and Mercury during the fight with the White Fang, and if Salem is keeping them around then there's a good chance she still has Cinder working for her. I think the fact that we beat her at Haven might have gotten her on Salem's bad side, or she's training to get stronger. We don't really know." Pyrrha informed him.

Ashe said nothing, he instead simply sighed, "Worth a try. What happened to my possessions?"

"Well, you gave Ruby your whistle, she still keeps it on her person and apparently it helped her out during the White Fang mission." Pyrrha said to him, making him smile.

"I have your family sword, and it's on display in my family's living room with heirlooms from the past Arcs." Jaune continued, "My parents felt that it was only right after everything you did to help me, everyone saw it as a good way to honor your sacrifices."

"And the Remnant Knights also mentioned they would record your exploits in their Archives, so everyone in their organization will know of your heroism as well." Pyrrha mentioned.

"That's way too much. An ass like me doesn't deserve it." The soul fragment of the guerrilla Huntsman replied with a laugh, though he was rather surprised at both honors. a bit surprised.

"You were a jerk when we first met you, and that incident with Pyrrha's circlet confirms that, but there's always more to a person than their behavior." Jaune reasoned with him, "Besides, I don't think someone who was a total jerk would give me something like your wedding ring."

Ashe looked genuinely stunned for a moment, "I did that?"

"Yeah, you said you wanted me to have it..." The blond knight glanced at his partner and blushed a bit before finishing, "and that I would know what to do with it when the time comes."

Pyrrha smiled warmly at Jaune while Ashe's soul fragment nodded, his face looked surprised before a look of recollection replaced it, "I just remembered something."

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"On our way to the warehouse to save you, I made Pyrrha promise me that she would always be there for you." Ashe began.

Pyrrha nodded, "I remember, and it's a promise I've been doing my best to keep. Then again, it's something I would have done no matter what."

Ashe nodded back and said, "I don't know Pyrrha as well as you do, kid, but I can tell she loves you. Now, would you say yes to that promise if it was for Pyrrha?"

"For me, there's no other answer but yes." Jaune voiced firmly.

"Good. Because there's something I didn't tell you..." He briefly considered telling them that their task as the Guardians of the Aura Crystal had a technicality to it. Something that was very, very close to the bonds of marriage, to the point where it actually had been part of his parents' wedding ceremony. "Well, you see...being the guardians of the crystal isn't exclusively about protecting it. You have to take care of each other, and be there for each other since it's a special sacred bond that has to last no matter what, understand?"

They both nodded, and Pyrrha replied, "We understand, we managed to figure out from the journals and notes you left us, though I did notice that one particular page in that section was missing."

Ashe smirked at that, he had torn out the page about the technicality of marriage when it came to the crystal. He wanted the young lovers to figure out their future on their own, but it appeared that they were doing just fine. Perhaps soon enough they would piece together the answer on their own and there would be no need for him to tell them.

"That page? It was nothing, just a bit of technical crap, which got torn out during a run-in with an alpha Ursa." Ashe lied, waving a dismissive hand, before adding, "Bottom line is, I'm really happy for you two. You both have the perfect chance for the happy ending that was denied to me and a lot of other people over the centuries, so just keep loving each other and never give up. If you ever need advice, the other guardians and I are literally always here within the crystal, so don't hesitate to ask."

He paused for a moment to take a breath, and added, "Oh, and please tell everyone in Team Beacon; Ren, Nora, Velvet, Penny, Blake, Sharp Strike if you see him again, and especially Ruby that I said hello… and that I'm sorry." There was a distinct tone of melancholy in his voice as the last words left his mouth.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Pyrrha inquired curiously.

"Sorry that I am not there anymore." Ashe stated simply.

"You are, at least in spirit." Jaune assured him, "Kinda literally now."

Ashe shook his head and gave a chuckle, before saying, "Well then, I won't hold you up, it's probably a school day and you two probably have homework to finish."

"Well, that's true... but we can still talk if you have anything else to tell us." Jaune mentioned helpfully.

"Sorry guys, but I'm just not feeling it right now. It's been great seeing you again, and I'm happy to know everything is working out all right for all of you so far. Please give my regards to the rest of Team Beacon, especially Ruby, and that she, and everyone else for that matter, should never give up, and never let Salem come close to winning. Tell Ruby to give Salem exactly what she deserves for my parents and the other guardians of the crystal... and a punch in the face for me. I know you guys can beat her, especially when you have the Remnant Knights on your side, and we here within the Aura Crystal wholeheartedly believe in you." Ashe informed them as he got up to leave, dusting down his jacket with both hands.

"We?" Pyrrha repeated, confused.

"Everyone here in the Aura Crystal. Next time you come around, we will have something else to talk about. Good luck to all of you." Ashe said before walking towards the cliffside, before turning around and giving a small wave which the couple returned. Then, just as he placed one foot over the lip of the cliff, the soul fragment of Ashe Kasai faded away in swirling streams of bright orange-yellowish light.

Jaune and Pyrrha blinked, and before they knew it their vision was also clouded by a bright white light, feeling the rushing sensation of power that propelled their souls back into the physical world, just as the beams of light detaching from their foreheads and returning to the Aura Crystal itself. They both took deep breaths to steady themselves, before looking up to see the faces of Ruby, Ren and Nora staring right back at them with slightly inquisitive looks.

"So was Ashe there?" Ruby inquired eagerly.

"Yes, he was." Jaune confirmed, scratching an itch on the side of his face, "In a way..."

"We actually met the fragment of his soul that broke off the night we became his replacements." Pyrrha added as she stretched her arms out to get the blood flowing once more, "How long were we in there?"

"About an hour." Nora answered while shaking her legs a little before asking "So how was he?"

"Well, as good as he can be, considering...well, you know." Jaune answered.

"So what did you talk about? What did you see in there?" Ruby asked.

"It's a very beautiful place inside the Aura Crystal," Jaune replied, "Just as weird and wonderful as ever, those spirits inside even let us see what the moon used to look like before it was shattered."

"Really? What was it like?" Ren inquired, his curiosity piqued.

"Beautiful, and constantly changing depending on the phases you view it." Pyrrha replied before smiling at them, "By the way, Ashe also gave us a message."

"What was it?" Another question from Nora came.

"He said to tell all of you that he sends his best regards, and that he's sorry that he's not here to help us out." Jaune spoke solemnly. The three other teens looked a bit saddened by Ashe's message, and Ruby allowed herself a small smile.

"At least he's still with us in spirit." The crimson Huntress quipped.

Jaune smiled and nodded before saying, "We filled him in on what we've been up to since he died, and he told us about what it's like being technically dead. Apparently not horrible from where he is."

"I presume you told him about the Remnant Knights?" Ren posed, "What did he say about them?"

"He told us not to be overly trusting with them, but that we can rely on their assistance when it comes to fighting Salem and her agents." Pyrrha related smoothly.

"We already knew that much." The green ninja remarked, crossing his arms a little.

"Well, they are a secret Order, Ren. We knew what we were getting into when we took the Oath of Secrecy before to meeting them, and thankfully we know more about them than he did." Jaune said as he went to work putting the Aura Crystal back into its little vault after closing the case's cover, "But still, at least we know that the Remnant Knights were telling the truth about him."

"Have the others returned yet?" The red-haired amazon asked.

"Team CFVY just got back, but Yang, Blake and Team SSSN are still at the gym." Ruby provided as she checked her scroll's screen, "Yang just replied to my message, they'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Good, then we have a bit of time to rest before we tend to our homework." Pyrrha said, slightly relieved as she moved her bed back over the crystal's hiding place.

"You tired Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

"A little." Pyrrha admitted as she got onto the bed.

Ren nodded and got up to leave, "Well, rest up while you can. I have to get prepared to make dinner, and no Nora, I'm afraid if I let you help you'll eat all the batter, again." He shot a stern look in his partner's direction as he aimed an accusing finger at her.

"Aw." Nora whined, a pout on her lips.

Her boyfriend smiled, "But you can hand me things as I cook." He added as he unlocked the door and exited the room.

"Task accepted, Renny!" Nora declared happily, as she leaped off the bed and bouncily followed him.

The remaining three members of Team Beacon smiled before Ruby turned and noticed the way Jaune and Pyrrha were glancing at each other, "So...what's up? Cookie for your thoughts?"

"Nothing Ruby, why do you ask?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, no, it's just that you are both looking at each other all lovey-dovey and stuff… well that's kinda normal when it comes to you guys." The silver eyed girl admitted.

"Hey! We don't do it that often…do we?" Jaune asked, his blue eyes widening slightly.

"Not as often as the rest of us make it out to be." Ruby confessed, giggling a bit.

"Oh! Ruby, before I forget, Ashe said one other thing to us…" Jaune started, getting Ruby's attention as she gazed at him, "He said that none of us, especially you, should ever give up, and to never let Salem come close to winning. And if you get the chance, to give her what she deserves for the Guardians of the Aura Crystal and a punch in the face from him."

"And a shot in the chest for me." Pyrrha added, "Ruby, let's face it, there's a good chance we will have to face Salem again, and when that time comes..."

"We're going to have to give it our all and kick her butt to the moon and back." Ruby finished, her voice full of determination and confidence, but if one listened closely enough, they could hear a slight hint of nervousness as well.

"That's the spirit. If and when the time comes, we will be with you all the way." Jaune nodded at her, "Thanks for coming for this meditation session."

"Anytime. See you later at dinner." Ruby bid before she left the room, her face becoming a little unsure as she turned away from them and closed the door.

As she headed for her team's room she heard Weiss's voice behind her, "I overheard what both Jaune and Pyrrha had said, and they're right. Sooner or later we will run into Salem's forces again."

Ruby looked at her ashen-haired partner and nodded. "I know."

Weiss's icy blue eyes studied her partner carefully, and noted the slightly nervous look on her face before she rose up and walked over to Ruby. They regarded each other for a few moments before the Schnee heiress reached out and held Ruby's hands with her own.

"And Ruby, just remember that when that time comes, you will not be fighting alone. You will always have us, especially your team; Yang, Blake, and… me. I wouldn't be a very good partner if I didn't fight for the sake of the world with you, right?" Weiss asked, a small smile gracing her smooth lips.

Ruby's frown turned into a smile before she lurched forward and hugged her partner, "Thanks Weiss." She said appreciatively.

Weiss smiled and patted Ruby's back, "What are partners for? Oh, and can you talk to Penny?"

"Huh?" Ruby released her and looked at Weiss with a puzzled look before ice princess made her look in the direction of Penny who was still sitting on the couch, waiting for the others to return.

"I can see that the session has concluded, Ruby. I take it my mission is complete?" Penny asked.

"Yup, mission accomplished Penny." The red reaper confirmed as she saluted Penny, who gave a friendly salute back.

Back in Team JNPR's room, Jaune and Pyrrha laid together on their combined bed, with Pyrrha's head against his chest while he gently ran a hand through her crimson hair, planting small kisses on her forehead.

"Do you think that Ashe was hiding something?" Jaune asked.

"I do, but not about the Knights or Salem, but I think he was hiding something regarding our positions as Guardians of the Aura Crystal." Pyrrha agreed as she snuggled into him.

"Well, whatever it is I guess it can wait. The way he was explaining about the so-called sacred bond made it sound like we were already married." Jaune voiced, one of the few times he had been able to speak of marriage to Pyrrha without stuttering.

Pyrrha sighed and asked, "Jaune, do you think we will be married someday? With a home and children?"

Her partner blushed at the thought before saying, "I… I sure hope so. I'd love it."

"So would I." Pyrrha agreed, hoping that Jaune would say something in regards to the ring currently inside the drawer of his nightstand.

"One day, when I'm ready and I feel like I'm worthy, I will ask you." He admitted to her, while holding her a little tighter and closer to his chest.

"I think you're already worthy, so why wait?" The spartan amazon asked again.

Jaune considered it before saying, "Well for starters we are still second year students. I don't think we should to rush it, right?"

Pyrrha thought about what he had said and replied, "That's just fine, we don't need a ring to be in love. Our bond is already strong enough."

The Arc son nodded as he felt his lover's grip on one of his hands tighten as she said, "I love you, Jaune."

"Say it again." He pleaded, "I'm needy."

Pyrrha giggled before saying "Very well, I love you."

"And I love you too, Pyrrha." He responded in a voice full of affection.

The couple laid there together, content with each other and at that very moment both of them knew that they truly did make each other happy. Outside their dorm room's window, the white snowflakes of winter continued to drift down from the skies.

* * *

Like the rest of Beacon, the gymnasium had also been rebuilt. Being mainly rectangular in design, it occupied one of the slightly larger halls and boasted a wide variety of various workout machines and racks of weights, as well as multiple mat-covered areas for sparring between academy students separated by aisles in which others could rest after their own training sessions. Aside from the multiple exits from which students and teachers could come and go at both ends of the gymnasium, there was also the entrances to the locker rooms for both genders, and water coolers for users to re-hydrate themselves at any time. Benches made from gleaming plastic and metal were the new additions, situated off to the sides allowing for spectators and observers to watch without causing any disruptions.

It was late in the afternoon, so the gym wasn't as occupied as it was during the normal hours, and it was at this time that Team SSSN had chosen to do their own training sessions, with Blake and Yang joining in as they were helping Sun with adapting to his new mechanical tail.

From the sidelines, Blake watched with crossed arms as a shirtless, sweating Sun hung in the air, his muscular arms holding him steady as he gripped the metal pole above him. He had already managed to make his way up the first two levels of the tall gymnastic set that was off to the corner of Beacon's large gymnasium, and the third pole at the top was the final one. Droplets of sweat rolled down Sun's face as he cautiously positioned his mechanical tail to help him keep his balance, while his legs were some inches away from the previous bar.

"Come on Sun, it's just one more. I know you can do this." She encouraged him while wiping sweat from her brow with a towel after finishing up with her own acrobatic regime that would have taxed even the most agile of Faunus.

"I hear ya, Blake!" The monkey Faunus called back as he began to lift himself upwards, the muscles on his toned body rippling and sweating profusely as he exerted himself. It goes without saying that it was quite the sight for his girlfriend below, along with any other female student or gay male, who happened to be watching.

"Try a swing." Blake urged him, "If something goes wrong, we'll be here to catch you like always."

Sun thought about it, his hands keeping a firm grip on the metal pole above him. Then he glanced at the ground, some thirteen feet below him. Neptune wasn't far from Blake, a towel hung over his neck as he downed a bottle of cold mineral water as he sat on a nearby bench. Yang, Sage and Scarlet were also close as well, as they were all working with lifting heavy weights and other exercises in the weight training section of the gymnasium. Yang in particular was lifting one of the heaviest dumbbells on the weight rack, always pushing herself to get stronger and also to make sure her both of her arms were up to any challenge.

Yang stopped briefly to look up towards him, having been listening in to everything exchanged between Blake and Sun. She gave him a supportive look and winked a little, before lifting up the heavy dumbbell and showing off her noticeably muscular arms which Sun had to admit he found quite attractive.

"Go for it man, we are here for you!" Neptune called from the direction of the bench he was sitting on.

Despite his muscles screaming for a break, Sun ignored the slight pain, looked down at Blake once more before grinning, "Okay, here goes nothing!"

Gripping the bar firmly he lifted his legs and curled up his mechanical tail, swinging his body upwards and managing to hook his legs and tail onto the bar, before letting his arms go free and swinging upside down. He experienced a short-lived sensation of inverted vertigo and let out a yell of excitement as he hung there for a brief moment before he forced his legs and tail to pull him back towards the top of the gymnastic set. Once they were in reach Sun grabbed the two strong metal bars that flanked him on both sides, and when he made sure he was stable he slowly stood up, his feet finding a decent balance on the thin pole by spreading his weight evenly. While his mechanical appendage did its best to help him keep his balance, it wasn't perfect as he could feel his legs shaking a bit from the slight strain he had just put on them mere seconds ago. However, this was far better than he had done in a while, and though the last few attempts were successful he had been far more shaky then since he was still adapting to his new tail, but this time everything seemed to be doing just fine.

"Great job Sunny boy!" Yang called out, "And you're not shaking nearly as bad as the last few times!"

"I know, I'm definitely getting better!" Sun shouted down as he held onto the flanking bars.

"Do you need any help to get down this time?" Blake offered as Yang placed the dumbbell onto the nearest weight rack and walked over to them.

"Nah, I got this." Sun assured his girlfriend as he looked down from the top and began to judge a good way to get down.

He carefully lowered himself from the top pole, his tail curling around the long piece of metal to help him. The blond monkey Faunus then hooked his legs around it before he lowered himself, upside down, to the next pole. Once he had a firm grasp on the second bar, his legs and tail released themselves and his entire body dropped vertically, swinging downwards relatively smoothly until his feet collided with the bottom bar. Sun let out a small shout of pain and annoyance while his aura flickered, thankfully helping the pain and causing it to fade away quickly, but the distraction was quick and sudden enough to cause him to nearly lose his grip on the metal bars above him.

One hand dropped, but the other was able to stubbornly hang on as Sun managed to maneuver his legs to step on top of the final bar. Blake and the others watched intently, all of them ready to move to help him, but held back mostly just to see if he could recover.

Sun's feet managed to keep his body steady on the bar even though his legs were still shaking a bit, but he was still balanced as his tail jutted upwards to help him keep that. He took another breath to calm himself, and then adjusted his posture by allowing his hands to let go of the flanking metal bars and then standing on the pole six feet above the padded gym floor.

Once he has sure he was good, the Monkey Faunus allowed himself a triumphant grin before he knelt down and then leapt off the bar in one swift motion, spinning through the air gracefully and landing on the matted floor of the gym in a crouch with his arms splayed off on either sides like a professional gymnast. Turning his head, Sun noticed that his teammates as well as Blake and Neptune were both clapping their hands to show their support for him. Yang grinned as she came forward.

"Wasn't so hard." He said cockily before tripping over the mat's edge and stumbling forward a little, only to be caught by Yang.

"Don't get haughty." Yang warned him as she helped him recover his balance, "Karma's always waiting to strike."

"Yeah, you would think I'd have learned by now." Sun agreed as he parted from her, giving the blonde bombshell a warm, if flirty, smile, "Still, there's a big improvement to my speed, right?"

"It is. You have been getting better by the day with your replacement tail." Blake told him with a gentle smile on her face, "After another week or so of training you should be more or less back to normal."

"You got it, ninja of my heart." Sun quipped even as he leaned in to kiss her. Blake gladly accepted his affections, but she noticed that Neptune was looking at her, Sun and Yang carefully, a slightly suspicious look on his face.

After their session was over the six Hunters-in-training left the gym after dressing in their coats and jackets. They made their way across the snowy grounds to the dorm building. The sun was beginning to set now, creating a rather beautiful view of Vale for anyone looking to admire the sights despite the snow nearly covering everything and the icy gusts of wind. As they traveled along the pavement leading through the garden areas which would take them to the dorms, Blake was the only one who was taking the time to properly enjoy the winter surroundings as most of the group walked ahead of her.

"Hey, Sun, Yang, Blake, can we talk for a minute?" Neptune asked suddenly.

"About what?" Yang replied as she slowed her pace for Blake to catch up.

"Uh... it's about Sun's tail and his balance issues." The bluenette stated as he looked at the three of them, "It's something that has been on my mind for the past couple of hours."

The trio looked to each other, all of them easily seeing through their friend's excuse, and knew that Neptune had caught onto something personal for the three of them. "Sure, whatever you need blue." Yang replied as Blake and Sun nodded their heads.

Seeing Sage and Scarlet walking ahead of them, Sun signaled to them, "You both go ahead guys, we will catch up in a bit."

"Gladly!" Scarlet answered before rushing ahead to get inside. Sage nodded to the leader of his team before he followed his partner inside, but the brief look on his face when they locked eyes gave Sun the idea that he had an feeling that he knew what Neptune was going to talk to them about.

"Is there any reason you want to talk about this out in the cold?" Sun asked his human partner cautiously.

"No, not here." Neptune gestured for them to follow him to one of the newly renovated gazebo not far away from the dorm building, and after they have entered the bluenette leaned against the entrance, positioning himself between it and the trio. He then asked bluntly, "Now that no one else can hear us, am I wrong, or is there something going on between the three of you?"

The three were silent as they were a bit shocked by the question he had posed.

"What do you mean, Neptune?" Yang asked slowly, trying to sound confused.

"Come on, I may act ditzy sometimes but I'm not stupid. I see the looks you and Sun give each other, and the looks you give to Blake. Don't get me started on the other physical gestures." The bluenette stated as he gestured to each of them to emphasize his given points, "Time to spill."

"Neptune... we can explain..." Blake started but she was abruptly interrupted by her partner.

"Hey, I'm not gonna deny that Blake is a beauty, and I am a door that can swing both ways." Yang voiced while crossing her arms, earning an eye-roll from the Cat Faunus.

"And Yang's..." Sun looked to Blake who nodded to give him permission, "She's a knockout to say the least! And Blake is just perfect in a lot of ways..."

"Oh please, give me some credit here. When Blake goes to the bookstore you two almost always go with her, when Yang goes to the arcade you two also do the same even though it's clearly not Blake's thing, and not to mention the three of you also spent regular sessions in the gym lately... and Coco told me she saw Yang kiss Blake." Neptune revealed to them and watched the shock unfold on both girls' faces.

"What?! Coco saw us?!" Yang cried out before pressing her robotic hand against her mouth to prevent the rest of the words she was about to speak from exiting her throat.

Blake, blushing madly, buried her face in her hands while Sun looked a little uncomfortable, "Way to go, partner..."

"Aw crap." Yang muttered as she looked back up at Neptune, nervously fingering a lock of her blonde hair.

A few seconds of silence passed before Sun spoke up again, "Look man, I know this can be seen as weird and even wrong, but Yang and Blake are more than just partners and friends as there's real love between them. And I honestly love Blake... with all my heart."

"I know that, and I can never doubt you after everything you have done for her." Neptune agreed, and then looked at Yang momentarily before turning back to Sun, "But what I don't get is what happened with you and Yang? Where did that come from?"

"Well, we bonded a bit when we were both looking for Blake, and even more after that. Then when Sun got his tail cut off by Adam and I tried to comfort him since I know from firsthand experience what it's like to lose a part of yourself." Yang confessed while absentmindedly rubbing her mechanical hand as she did so.

Blake took over for her thankfully, "He was in a bad place, literally and figuratively, since we were locked up in the White Fang's cells at that time, and we don't even know if you and Scarlet were alive. I was in a different cell than he was, but Yang was there for him, to let him know that he wasn't alone and it did make him feel better. I did my best to help Sun as well, and it was clear that the relationship between the three of us was becoming... different."

Sun nodded as he continued explaining, "After we defeated Adam on his ship, it...well, it looked like we are all going to die on the ship we...kind of dropped everything and confessed to each other. Then Yang just..."

"I started up a three-way kiss between us." Yang finished and managed a small smile.

Neptune's only response was the slight widening of his dark-blue eyes. The area was silent save for the sounds of chilly wind blowing through the gazebo.

Seeing his reaction she continued, "It was a do or die moment, and since it looked like we aren't going to make it out of there alive... I figured 'why not?' I let my feelings control me, and it was..."

"Amazing." Blake provided, while blushing a bit.

"And after we dropped you guys of at Sun's home, we talked it over and eventually Blake and me had a moment of... intimacy." Yang informed them.

"Did you know about this?" Neptune asked Sun who gave a nod.

"Yup, Blake told me about it a few days after we have came back."

"A couple of weeks later during the day the three of us went out together for the night, we all sat down and had a talk about the future of our relationship and if it could evolve beyond just two and become a mutual relationship between the three of us. We wanted to be sure that all three of us have genuine feelings for one another, so there wouldn't be any jealously or bitterness and definitely no third wheels, so while it's an unusual relationship there's nothing wrong about it since we aren't hurting anyone." Blake pointed out.

"So now you know, Nep." Sun nodded in his direction, "...and I hope you aren't disgusted or anything?"

Neptune took a few moments for his mind to absorb everything he had been told, and after looking at his partner as well as Blake and Yang, he allowed a smile to spread across his face, "Since you three have got it all worked out and there's nothing wrong with it, I don't have a problem as well. In fact, I am actually really happy for all of you."

"You are?" Sun asked as he tilted his head a little, his mechanical tail slightly twitching.

"I mean it. A lot of men and women would give anything to be as lucky as the three of you." Neptune answered as he gestured a hand at the trio, "But why hide it? And does anyone else know?"

"As of now? Just the three of us, you... and I guess Coco." Yang told him.

"Not even your families?" He asked, disbelievingly.

"Are you kidding?! Dad and Uncle Qrow would probably freak out if they knew! Back when I was in Signal Academy I actually dated someone and Uncle Qrow literally never took his eyes off him when that guy was in his class and Dad himself has been protective of me and Ruby ever since Summer passed away." Yang explained as she waved her mechanical arm a little, "And while I trust and love Ruby I want to be careful about this, you know? I am actually nervous about telling her the truth."

"Well, if she managed to keep Jaune's secret for over half a year, I'd say she can be trusted." Neptune pointed out.

"I know, I know... I just want to be careful, as weird as that sounds coming from me." Yang said, scratching her head a little with her organic hand.

"What about you, Blake?" Neptune turned his attention over to Yang's partner.

"Claudandus and Uncle Ghira doesn't know about it, but I have talked with my Aunt Kali a lot so I think she may suspects. Knowing her, I don't think she will say anything though, or Uncle Ghira would have made his opinion known by now, trust me. My Aunt is a good person and knows a lot about relationships, and in the past she had warned me about Adam, and how it could never work between us. I wished I had listened to her back then." Blake voiced, her cat-like ears twitching a little.

"My mom and sister don't know either." Sun added when his partner looked in his direction, "I mean, Hualan can't keep a secret without some kind of bribe and while I don't think my mother would be angry, I am pretty sure she'd at least faint if she so much as heard that I'm in a relationship with two girls."

"So you want to wait a little longer before telling everyone?" Neptune observed.

"Just a little while longer, until we can figure out a decent way to tell everyone about this. I mean, I don't want to have both Qrow and Ghira eyeing me like I have got a target painted on my chest for dating both of their nieces at once." Sun voiced, shuddering at the thought. Qrow and Ghira were two men he did NOT want to be on the bad side of.

"So, does anyone else in Team Beacon know?" Yang asked the bluenette.

"Besides me and Coco, there are others who might suspect but they don't know for sure; Velvet, Ren, Sage, Weiss and Yatsuhashi." He revealed to them slowly, "I have talked to Coco about it and she's fine with not spilling the beans."

"That's good, we'll have to thank her for that." Blake commented as she shared a look with both Yang and Sun, "Look, I understand that the truth will have to come out eventually, but we will have to figure out a way that will work out for all of us. Until we can find a way that allows everyone to understand and accept our unique... relationship, I think it's best that we keep it a secret for now. Would that be alright?"

Everyone in the gazebo nodded in agreement. She smiled at them, shivering a bit from the chilly wind before she added, "Now, can we please get inside before it gets colder?"

"Best idea I have heard all day." Yang agreed as left the gazebo and began to walk towards the dorm building, all the while carefully avoiding the patches of ice on the sidewalks.

As Blake and Yang walked ahead, Neptune made his way close to his partner and said, "Dude, I'm not joking, consider yourself among the luckiest guys on Remnant."

"Right next to Jaune?" Sun joked.

"Well, his luck can't be disputed with all things considered, or else he'd be dead by now...but still, those two wonderful girls at once? Never forget how lucky you are!" Neptune told him with a friendly smile while nudging Sun in the shoulder.

"I'll never forget, I have got two wonderful girls who I love, and I'm really lucky to have them love me back." Sun answered before adding, "And... thanks for understanding us, bro."

"That comes with being an awesome partner." Neptune boasted with a grin, getting a laugh out of the blonde-haired Monkey Faunus.

Yang glanced back at both boys and smiled before she looked to her right to get a beautiful view of the setting sun and the winter landscape that accompanied it. She breathed in the cool air as something caught her attention as it entered her view, a flash of black amidst the mostly white surroundings. She tilted her head up to see a black bird flying towards them and then over their heads, landing to perch on one of the light posts nearby. Yang couldn't tell what species it was since she was never good with telling certain kinds of animals apart, aside from Grimm, but if she had to guess it could be a raven.

The raven cawed out before rustling its feathers in an attempt to get warm. Yang sighed sadly, ravens always naturally reminded her of her biological mother. Back when she was much younger and possessed a youthful curiosity, she had always wondered why her late grandparents had named her mother and uncle after birds Qrow told her that it was actually a family thing, as they had birds on their family crest, but was reluctant to say anything more than that. Yang never pressed him for more, since the old crow was never in the mood to explain anything further when the topic was brought up.

Yang continued on her way after giving one last glance at the raven, wondering why it would come to Beacon Academy during winter when it was supposed to fly to the warmer areas of Remnant. She looked up to the sky once more, and hoped that wherever her mother was, she was happy.

The group of students kept walking, unaware that the raven was silently observing with blood-red eyes them until they made it into the warmth and shelter of the dormitory building before closing the doors behind them.

The raven lowered its head, as though contemplating something, before it spread its wings and took off into the air. It kept flying until it neared a dense group of trees. Had anyone been paying attention to the bird's trajectory, even they wouldn't have seen it suddenly vanish among the snow-covered branches, leaving no lingering signs of its presence behind.

* * *

Some hours later, in a hospital in the Mistral capital, a family was gathered in an average sized hospital room where a frail and deathly pale boy of seven lay in the bed, his breathing slow and uneasy. Most of the family had already said their goodbyes to the poor dying child, leaving only his parents and his twelve year old sister in the room. Said sister was gripped her hands on the bars flanking the bed, tears streaming down her eyes like a waterfall as her little brother weakly turned his head towards her, forcing out a smile.

For the past year or so he had been forced with the terrible reality of terminal cancer. At first the boy, whose name was Zachary, had tried to insist that the doctors and their overly complex tests were wrong, but three tests and examinations all pointed to a cancer in his body that was slowly killing him, rotting his aura away. After this he fell into a bitter depression, he locked himself in his room, acted like an emotionally dead husk who refused to eat unless forced to. It had been two weeks until the initial shock of horrifying infection really set in; he was dying and there was nothing he could really do. His doctor had directed the family to a talented, and not too expensive, therapist in Mistral that could help the boy with his problems, and after several appointments, not to mention emotional episodes with his family and friends, he tried his best to live out the rest of his short life and make it a happy one.

It wasn't easy. As the months went by he tired more easily, lost weight, feared he was becoming a burden to his family, or that his sickness was hurting them far more than it could hurt him, as he feared his death could tear his family apart. Most kids his age would be too shy or too scared to really do something about this, but Zachary had nothing to lose. He talked to them as much as he could, did everything to bring them together so they wouldn't fall apart once he was gone.

And here they were in the hospital, his hair was gone, his flesh had lost its color, and his bones could be seen under the skin, and worst of all the doctors had surmised that he didn't have long left, an hour at best.

He reached out to his sister, placing a frail hand atop hers and he quietly said something to her. She cried out a response as she bowed her head to hide her tears. She continued through heavy sobs before he cut her off, coughing roughly in his attempt to speak.

The boy forced himself up and feebly hugged his older sister, who did her best to gently hug him back, even though he instincts were telling her to hug him as tight as she could as if it would stop him from leaving them.

He whispered into her ear, making her promise that she'd never give up on her own life and that she'd move on, but never forget him. She clung to every word promising she would live her life to the fullest. She kissed his temple and whispered to him a quivering "I love you."

She walked back a bit, her eyes never leaving her brother, as her father knelt down beside the bed, and apologized to his son for the thousandth time, talked about how this wasn't fair and how he wanted to do more, but Zachary, assured his father that nothing was his fault and he was happy for the times they had gotten to share together and making his father promise to do his best to help the family through such a horrible time.

Finally, his mother, the woman who had brought him into this world, came forward to speak to her child for what could be the final time. She sat on the bed alongside him and gently hugged her baby in her arms, planting kisses and petting his head as she whispered her love and her regret to the dying child.

Little did the family know that they were being observed. Outside of the window a dove had perched and silently watched them, not moving or making a sound.

The mother continued to console her dying boy, but deep down she knew this was more for her sake than his. He had already accepted his fate, something nobody as young as he should have to do, but she had been even more of a mess, as not a one day had gone by without teary eyes and prayers to Oum for some kind of miracle.

None came. They weren't rich enough for operations and treatments that could extend his life, or drag out his suffering, as a more cynical mind would say. Still, she wished she could have done something. They felt so helpless, as all they could do was help Zachary prepare for the end.

Zachary weakly hugged his mother back and smiled at her, telling her how sorry he was. This caused her to sob as she assured him he had nothing to be sorry for, that they were the ones who should be sorry. He told her they didn't have to be, that he was lucky to have a family like them, one who stayed by him in his dying days.

The heart monitor's rate grew weaker and weaker, the beeps coming slower now. The dove on the ledge was gone, not that any of them had noticed.

"I love you mom." He said, with a weak voice, his pulse growing fainter. Just then he noticed something behind his family in the corner of the room, a beautiful woman in a flowing white gown with long brunette hair, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Wh-who is that?" He asked quietly, feebly pointing to the corner. His family turned, only to see no one there.

"Sweetie, there's no on- oh gods!" His mother said with a gasp as his body went limp. His weakening eyes looked up at his family as his father and sister crowded around the bed. He was too weak to say anything, with tears in his eyes he managed to give them a weak smile as the heart rate monitor grew lower and lower, before finally…

It went flat.

The boy's eyes closed for the final time. As the father dragged his daughter, crying hysterically, out of the room, the doctor quietly entered the room solemnly recorded the time of death as Zachary's mother, still weeping, placed him back on the bed.

Zachary could still see his mother, and now he could see his own body. Shocked silent, the boy looked at his body and was surprised to see it looking healthier, and he could feel hair atop his head again.

The woman he had seen carefully walked over to him and knelt down before him.

"Are… are you an angel?" He asked her nervously.

"I supposed I am, my name is Samantha, and I'm here to guide you." She told him.

Zachary looked at his weeping mother and listened to the cries of his sister out in the hall.

"Is this really it? Is this all?" He asked.

"I'm afraid so." Samantha confirmed, with gentle, comforting hands on his shoulders. "I know it's not fair, and I'm very, very sorry."

The boy had held in all of his misery and fear for the sake of his family, and had openly cried with them several times, but now that it was finally over, he found he could do nothing else but weep.

Samantha sat down with him on the floor, holding him in her arms, letting him cry it out. After some minutes, as the nurses came in to carry his body away. He looked up to his crying mother who walked out to the hall to join the rest of her family, leaving her purse and other such things behind.

"Can I leave a message behind?" The dead boy asked, "I mean, I'm a ghost now, right?"

"Technically you're a spirit, but that can be considered a ghost. And… leaving messages is usually against the rules." Samantha told him.

"Wait, dead people have rules too?" He asked, to which she nodded her head.

"I'm afraid so… but a friend of mine has taught me that some rules are meant to be broken." She said, before flashing him a smile.

He returned it, and asked "Will I ever see them again?"

"You will one day." She said, before glancing at the dry-erase board on the wall. "Now, what kind of message do you want to leave?"

Some twenty minutes later, Zachary's mother came into the room to retrieve her things, only to stop dead in her tracks and stare at the dry-erase board in stunned amazement.

Written on the board, in Zachary's hand writing were the words 'Goodbye. I love you all.'

She managed to find her voice again and called for her husband to come into the room, and once he did he was just as shocked as she was. The doctors and nurses were just as surprised, assuring the grieving family that they had no idea how this happened and the security camera had mysteriously gone out.

Upon seeing the mysterious message, Zachary's sister managed to smile, and tell her family that somehow, someway, her brother's spirit had left them a message, and anyone who said otherwise was in denial.

Samantha sat with Zachary atop the large medical building, and the child asked "So, what now? Where do I go?"

"There are many names for the place you're going; the great beyond, heaven, Elysium, Valhalla, but it's all the same thing. A place where good souls go when their time on this world has ended." Samantha told him, reciting the explanation yet again. She had never bothered counting how many times she had done this. She didn't want to know.

"Can't I just stay? Like some kind of guardian angel for my family?" He asked, innocently.

"I'm afraid not." Samantha denied, before asking "Shall we go?"

Zachary's spirit sighed and looked around at Mistral one last time before nodding.

With a bright flash of light, invisible to all, they were gone.

* * *

Samantha returned to a special realm, one that was essentially a station, so to speak, for the Guardians of the Dead. It was a place that was odd, to say the least; trees grew around randomly, half-finished buildings served as shelter, and strange shadow shapes dotted the area.

She never understood this place, never cared to.

She saw a bench that was in front of an embankment and sat down on it before burying her face in her hands. She had been guiding the souls of children to elysium for years now, possibly decades. It was hard to keep track of time when you're dead.

"Samantha, are you alright?" Asked a familiar voice. Samantha turned her head to see Raven Branwen approaching her.

"I suppose so." She answered.

Raven frowned as she walked in front of her fellow guardian of the dead and looked down at her. Samantha flinched under the stare of the red-eyed Huntress, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"I can tell something is wrong. What is it?" Raven asked her. Samantha sighed and looked away, before she felt Raven sitting next to her and mused, "If I was alive I'd force the truth out of you, but since we're both dead I can't really force anything out of you."

Samantha nodded before glancing up and asking "So, you were out seeing your daughter again?" Raven nodded, "How is she?"

"She's been through a lot, but she's doing well, all things considered." Raven told her. "She even visited my grave a few days ago, stayed a while with my niece. It's nice to know I am missed."

"That's good."

"Though, I must admit I don't know what to think of her love life." The Branwen confessed.

"Really? She with a girl?" Samantha guessed.

"Yes. And a boy at the same time. They're in a three-way relationship." Raven revealed.

Samantha's eyes widened, she was silent for a brief moment before asking "He's not a pimp, is he? Or is your daughter…"

"No. The girl my daughter is involved with is her partner, a Faunus named Blake. I guess there was some sort of mutual attraction or something to that regard. My daughter lost her arm to defend Blake from a bitter man she had scorned, so their must have been more affection there than just being partners. Maybe they didn't realize it, but it was there, even if it was small. It might be why Blake ran off, she didn't want to know just how much pain she unintentionally caused Yang." Raven said as she thought about Yang's current romantic situation. She went on to explain Sun to Samantha and how Yang joined up with his team to find Blake, which led to a bond forming between them.

"I was watching over them this afternoon, and heard them explain to Sun's partner what happened between the three of them and what started this unusual romance." Raven finished.

"And do you approve? You are Yang's mother, you must have some kind of opinion." Samantha commented.

"I admit, I probably would have no opinion were I alive. Yang is her own woman, free to do as she pleases. But the mother in me is… happy for her. I've learned, too late, that love isn't something that should be tossed aside, Yang has a special kind of love with two people who love her in return. I am honestly very happy for them. Of course, knowing how protective of the girls my brother and my dear Taiyang are, it's no wonder they haven't told them yet." Raven mused before facing Samantha and saying "So now I'd like to know what's wrong? Don't try to hide it, I can see the pain in your eyes."

Samantha wasn't surprised by how blunt Raven was, she had gotten used to it over the last year.

"Come on, you've been acting a bit depressed for the last few months. Does it have something to do with that murderer?" Raven inquired.

Samantha shuddered at the thought. About a month ago, a serial killer in Atlas known as Melvin Ward, guilty of murdering and molesting children, was arrested, the Atlesian Justice System gave permission for him to be tortured until he confessed to every murder he committed before finally executing him, something rarely done anymore, except for the most heinous criminals.

Samantha nodded, "You took him to the nothing, right?"

"Yes. I must admit, I enjoyed… hurting his soul while I took him there. I've discovered that death has its little bonuses. I get to punish people that make the Grimm look civilized." Raven said, clenching her fist at the thought of that evil man.

"And you know what I do, right?" She asked.

Raven nodded, "You guide the souls of children to the afterlife. An easy task."

Samantha suddenly glared at the Huntress before standing up and snapping "Easy? Easy?! You think taking the souls of innocent children is easy?!"

Raven was taken aback by the anger in her cohort's usually calm voice, it was the first time she felt any sort of genuine negative emotion from her.

"You're the one who has it easy, you only have to take the scum of Remnant, the worst of the worst, like that monster, Ward! Me? I have to be there when innocent children die. I've even had to guide the souls of newborns! I have to be the one who looks into the eyes of those children and tell them their time is up, I have to be the one to break their hearts and tell them that they have to leave everything and everyone they loved behind. Sometimes children are all that's left for some people, families can fall apart, mothers and father can lose it when their child is taken from them and I have to be the one to take them away! I had to guide some of the children he killed, see the pain and fear that consumed them as they died! I had to see true suffering of the innocent first hand! That's not easy in the slightest!" Samantha ranted furiously before she stopped herself.

Raven looked at her passively before she decided to speak again.

"I'm sorry Raven. I don't know what came over me. I… I had to take a little boy dying of cancer tonight. A child shouldn't have to suffer through that. I'd no choice but to do my appointed task, but that didn't stop me from bending the rules a bit." The woman confessed.

"Really? You?" Raven asked, surprised. "What rule did you 'bend'?"

"She helped the dying boy contact his family after he passed." Announced the voice of Gabriel.

The two women turned to face the dark-haired man, looking at Samantha sternly. She looked away nervously as he walked around to get in front of them.

"You allowed the boy to leave a message. You allowed him to show that there is life after death." He scolded.

"So what?" Raven asked, unimpressed with the charges.

"We're not allowed to let mortals know what lies beyond the world of the living. The rule is that everyone has to find out for themselves once they crossover, we soul collectors cannot interfere." He explained.

"Who makes these rules anyway?" Raven asked.

"You know who." Gabriel said. Raven rolled her eyes at the cliched vague non-answer she knew she would get.

"So she let a child say goodbye, so what? There's no harm. It might be in the papers, but the skeptics always win out in the end." Raven stated. "Besides, what about ghosts? The stories have to come from somewhere."

"Ghosts are stubborn spirits who manage to resist our pull, but we enforce the rules that they cannot make themselves known, and some of them try to rebel, but they have to learn that it's just the it is." Gabriel stated, before returning his attention to Samantha.

"Am I to be banished?" She asked. Banishment to purgatory was the punishment for brazenly disobeying the rules. It wasn't the worst they could do, hell or the nothingness would be much worse, but purgatory was chosen instead as a way of compensation for a Guardian of the Dead's service.

He sighed and answered, "No, my dear. This is your first offense, and you're not the first to have done it. It's become expected that such a thing would happen eventually, considering what you have to do on a regular basis. Just don't keep it up, or at least be a bit more subtle about it

She gave him a smile, "Thank you Gabriel. It's nice only makes sense other besides myself have bended the rules to help the recently departed. But it doesn't make me feel that much better. Why is there so much death in the world?"

"Life is in constant flux, it's random and chaotic, there's no way one can predict every tiny little detail. Some souls will go quietly, not even understanding what has happened, while others will resist or just begin to weep. There are too many factors that come and go too quickly to make an accurate prediction." Gabriel told her.

"Like the chaos theory." Raven said with a nod. Samantha gave her a questioning look and Raven elaborate, "It's something I heard about during my time in Beacon, so long ago. In a ball game there are many players, all of whom have different skills, strengths, and weaknesses, some could be feeling ill or just fine, and that's not to mention other factors like how the flatness of the playing field or if there are potential obstacles or 'speed bumps' that could slow the ball down or trip up a player. Another good analogy is a fire fight during a combat scenario, where the outcome depends on the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of the fighters, with added factors such as the amount of weapons, reload times, the terrain, it's too much and its impossible to calculate and predict on a large scale. Gabriel is saying that life is like that, many variables enter the lives of various people, all with many outcomes. No one is immune to it, not even children."

Samantha nodded again before asking "But why are we needed? Can't souls just go where they're supposed to automatically?"

"No. Spiritual energy is chaotic, and the spirit, once the body dies the spirit is released and will naturally become confused and frightened. That's where the legends of ghosts came from. We psychopomps are the conduits that guide souls to their proper afterlife where they will find peace." Gabriel explained as he knelt down in front of Samantha and carried on, "I know it's not fair, and for… a very long time I have wondered the same things that you have. Why is there such a thing as death? Is it to punish evil? If so, then why do good people die? Why are innocent such as that child you just guided punished? Why do they suffer such pain? Why must there be such sacrifice?"

Raven and Samantha gave no answers to his rhetoric.

"That's because we don't know, nor will we ever truly understand. There are no promises when it comes to death. Some will be called and saved, other ignored and damned. Some will never know hardship, while others know nothing but." He went on, adding "Despite how far this world has come, very few things are certain, and one of those things is the fact that a soul is energy, and energy can not be destroyed, no matter what. It can, however, be transformed and transferred. That is what is important, our physical forms are not immortal, but our souls are. When one dies, the body is all that expires while the soul moves onto different planes of existence, and if you look at from a certain point of view, death is never truly absolute and the dead live on forever, in another place. That is why we are still here, to help these souls get to where they need to be, so they can, hopefully, live to the fullest in a better place."

"You sound like a preacher." Raven commented dryly.

Samantha ignored her and said "I suppose when you put it that way, it's fine, but I'm the one who has to look into the heartbroken eyes of children and tell them they can't be with their families for a long time, and sometimes they might never seen them again. A soul may be everlasting, but it can be broken."

Gabriel sighed and slowly nodded, "I understand, Samantha. I really do, but the important thing to remember is that while we do see their sadness, their heartbreak, their grief, it all works out in the end. We help them move on from their pain, and while we usually don't see it, they find peace and happiness in the other planes. In the end, all we can hope for is that someday those who die are reunited with their loved ones in the other worlds. Even those in hell might not be in total misery. Perhaps they suffer righteously, if they have someone to carry the burden with them."

"This philosophy and is all very well and good, but what's the bottom line?" Raven.

Gabriel looked at her and answered "The bottom line is that we need to have hope, we need to be strong, and we need to have faith that everything will turn out okay, no matter how dark or grim a situation seems, we need to have faith that in the end, good will prevail."

Raven and Samantha thought about his words, and Samantha was the first to speak up; "I guess... I feel a little better now. Thank you."

She managed a smile, which Gabriel returned before bidding them goodbye, walking away, transforming into his crow form, and flying off.

Raven observed her fellow guardian departing, his avian form served as an obvious reminder of her brother.

She said nothing, but the look on her face made it obvious to Samantha that she was thinking about something.

"Thinking about your brother?" She asked.

Raven glanced at her and nodded.

"You've been watching him too, right? How is he?" Samantha inquired.

"He's fine, I think. He's off in Vacuo at the moment, investigating a possible link to the Red Fang, which could link to Salem's faction." Raven elaborated. "I hope he'll be alright."

"Well, from you've told me of him, he'll be okay. He's like you, after all, if a bit… is nicer a good word to use?" Samantha asked jokingly.

Raven smirked and answered, "You're not wrong. When we were children Qrow was always the optimistic one. He got it from mother, she always had a bleeding heart, despite how strong she was. I suppose that's what led us to where we are now."

"What do you mean?" Samantha questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Raven looked at her cohort and sighed before answering "Our parents were Rook and Magpie Branwen, the leaders of one of the most powerful Bandit Clans in all of Remnant, made up of thieves, murderers, and sadists. We were raised with the philosophy that the strong survive while the weak suffer, and we were only to save those who were strong enough to earn a chance at survival. Our clan was feared by the world, and the number of Hunters killed by our clan was… let's just say we managed to put a dent in the Huntsman population."

"Why kill Huntsmen and Huntresses?" Samantha asked.

"Because bandit clans used Grimm attacks to their advantage. A Grimm attack sweeps a village like a terrible storm, forcing the people to abandon it to save themselves, allowing bandits to sneak in and reap the rewards by stealing what was left behind. We were trained to kill Hunters so that method of success could continue, and it created more fear, which led to more Grimm attacks. It all changed when our mother witnessed a team of young Hunters defending a group of settlers from a large Grimm horde. They could have ran, they could have left those people to die, but instead the four teenagers risked their lives to save those weaker than they. Their bravery and honor had a profound effect on mother, and she came to realize the truth; our unofficially beneficial relationship with the Grimm was a horrible thing and the beasts were far more dangerous than the rest of the clan thought. She convinced our father that the clan should be helping the Hunters kill Grimm, not the other way around.

"It didn't take long for her to show our father the effect Grimm attacks had on normal people, and while his heart was harder than our mother's, he was smart enough to see that she was right about the Grimm; helping them would lead to catastrophe. So he issued orders to the rest of our clan to kill Grimm on sight and only kill Hunters that were trying to fight and capture clan members. As time went on, my brother and I became talented at destroying Grimm, and my mother became more and more merciful towards our victims, letting them live and keep some personal items. This was a  _very_ unpopular choice among our clan, especially…  _her_." Raven spat that last word our scornfully, her fists were clenched tight, and her eyes were full of hate.

"Who was it?"

"...Vernal. She was my father's apprentice. She was practically family, I looked to her an an elder sister. There was always a darkness to her, a selfishness. She came to hate our mother for changing, she saw it as a weakling trying to weaken those around her. Our father stood by our mother's choices, leading to more than a few arguments which nearly turned violent. She was not alone in her opinion, she was gaining supporters who felt she would make for a better leader. The tension kept building until one night, she made her move.

"One night, Vernal led her followers, over half of the clan, in an uprising. I… I watched as she stabbed our mother to death with her sword. Father and those loyal to him pushed back, but they were substantially outnumbered, so he ordered Qrow and I to run, so we could live and one day return to make the traitors pay. We ran as fast as we could until we were out of sight, that was when we used our Semblances to take flight and escape. As we flew overhead, we watched as our father died at the hands of Vernal and the other traitors. We kept flying away until we found an old farm that could provide us shelter. We promised each other, and swore on the lives of our parents, that we would return to the clan, take it back, and make them all pay." She finished.

Raven stood up and began to walk away, looking down at the ground, a coldness in her eyes as she remembered that horrible night.

"And did you?" Samantha asked, hesitantly.

Raven turned to face Samantha and gave her an answer; "Justice was served."

* * *

Central walked along the steel-grey and white hallways of the Atlesian Airship _Spirit of Winter_ , his measured footsteps easily blending in with the sounds produced by other military personnel that populated the massive warship. While most of them kept their heads down or saluted as he walked past them, a certain few gave him looks that consisted of awe and admiration, maybe a small tinge of fear as well. They had good reason to, as selection for candidates to join the elite Task Force were stringent even among the cream of the crop from the Huntsman Academies within the Kingdom of Atlas.

Unlike the other Atlesian officers and soldiers dressed mainly in white and grey, members of the elite Task Force Omega wore the smooth black armor with navy-blue highlights to distinguish them from the rank and file. Their armored helmets cover their faces entirely unlike the standard soldiers with bare mouths, and provided an automated suite of electronic sensors for them to perceive their surroundings and protecting the troopers of Task Force Omega from any chemical or biological contaminants. That was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the highly-advanced armor worn by Central and his comrades.

A pair of heavily armed, armored Atlesian soldiers guarding the large reinforced heavy blast doors to the bridge of the  _Spirit of Winter_  stood at attention and saluted Central who returned the salute as he waited for the automated security system to run its identification routines after he removed his gauntlet and placed his hand on the scanning pad. After a series of quick beeps and allowing a number of red bars to scan him from head to toe, the security panel flashed green as its security protocols were sufficiently satisfied, opening the blast doors and admitting the commander to the bridge.

"Captain White, permission to enter the bridge?" Central spoke out in a voice benefiting one who had commanded an elite task force on a variety of dangerous missions.

"Permission granted, Commander Central." A gruff, somewhat fatherly voice answered him, easily carrying across the cavernous bridge of the warship and above the myriad of electronic sounds coming from countless computer systems that covered the bridge and the constant background hum of the warship's powerful working engines. If one looked sideways through the viewing screens around the circumference of the bridge, he or she would see the rest of the Atlesian Air Fleet flying alongside the impressive Airborne Assault Carrier, the flags and emblems of the Kingdom of Atlas emblazoned proudly upon their armored flanks.

Central marched towards the front of the bridge, where an aged and heavy-set but experienced man stood with his gloved hands clasped behind his back as he stared out of the _Spirit of Winter's_  large view-screens, which displayed high resolution images of the snow-covered surroundings of the Solitas continent, as well as several other smaller screens in which a large variety of other military-based information were displayed as well. He stood at the center of what could be described as the nucleus of his ship, and various diligent military officers and bridge personnel worked around him, occasionally passing him a data tablet which he would read silently before giving orders to be carried out.

"Commander Central of Task Force Omega reporting as ordered, Captain White." It was all cut and paste formality, which had been drilled into Central since the day he enrolled in Atlas's Huntsman Academy. He kept his eyes forward within his helmet, and watched as Captain Gregory White slowly turned his grey-haired and bearded face to regard him with shrewd eyes of indigo.

"At ease." The commander carefully let his gauntlet-clad hands move together behind his back as his feet shifted his weight into a more comfortable but still professional position. He looked right ahead at the enormous view-screens as Captain White covered the small distance between them. The captain stopped a few paces away from Central, and nodded approvingly to Task Force's commander, "It's good to see you again, Commander."

"The feeling's mutual, captain." Central replied as he retracted his helmet's face-plate and turned a little to the right to see the creases and aged lines on Captain White's face which displayed a faint wry smile. Being one of the most respected veterans of the Atlesian military alongside General Ironwood, Captain White was a man with a long, distinguished career that eventually saw him put in command of the renowned  _Spirit of Winter_. The commander of Task Force Omega had the privilege of studying under both the notable mentoring of the said captain as well as serving alongside the honored general back in his cadet days at the Academy.

"You wished to see me, sir?" He said to Captain White, with whom he shook hands with politely and firmly. The Task Force commander had just returned from another mission assigned to his elite team from Headquarters, and like all the other missions undertaken by his team it had been a success. A sizable secret cache of stolen military-grade weapons that would have been used to arm a number of Red Fang cells have been intercepted, tagged and destroyed, depriving the terrorists of yet another source of ill-gotten black market weaponry.

The astute captain of the  _Spirit of Winter_  nodded, and stepped over to the largest display screen a few meters in front of his padded captain's chair in the middle of the bridge where a series of complex deployment data were shown. He touched the green display screen, flicking away the irrelevant data and magnifying something he wanted Central to see. On the screen, a map with a highlighted section was displayed, showing grainy images of what looked to be significant Red Fang activity among the deep mountain ranges.

"This was brought to my attention by Specialist Blair, whose team managed to capture a Red Fang officer with important intelligence during Operation Cold Grave. After interrogation, he informed us that there is a significant number of White Fang agents within Atlas who are still loyal to Taurus, and they're regrouping to mount another attack as we speak." Captain White sighed, and continued as though he had seen it all before, "The captured officer had given us the timetable and rendezvous point, and apparently the Red Fang base is located in this mountain valley eighty kilometers southwest of Solitas. Intel Officers believe they're considerably well-armed with heavy weapons and may be in possession of a couple of stolen battle-suits, and they plan to use the old mountain tunnels to move troops and equipment into the northern kingdom, before vanishing into the population centers and then mount individual attacks from within Atlas itself."

"An airstrike from a squadron of Atlas Eagles can solve the problem, sir." Central replied as he gestured to the highlighted map with a finger, "They can come in from both sides of the mountain valley, boxing the cell in and wiping them out in one go."

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you." White took a small breath and nodded at a passing ensign who saluted him smartly, "But High Command has rejected that option, the Intelligence Branch have managed to obtain one further bit of information from our prisoner. They have someone designated as a 'strategic asset' which our intelligence agents can use to identify any other remaining Red Fang officers and their respective cells that have gone to ground within the Kingdom, as well as root out any remaining agents lingering elsewhere."

"Locate, neutralize and extract." Central nodded, "I presume that's the reason why you want my team to take charge of this operation. You could have told me this over a private communication channel, sir... unless there's something you wish to show me personally?"

A wry smirk tugged at the edges of Captain White's lips as he looked at his former student in the eyes, "Perceptive as always, Commander. Due to the nature of the cell's... capabilities and their very important target, the Special Research Robotics Branch has sent you a little help."

A black eyebrow raised on Central's face, "Sir? What do you...?"

Gesturing with his gloved hand at a tall and armored figure standing silently in the corner of the bridge behind a bank of electronic computer controls and holographic screens, Captain White replied, "Commander Central, meet N1CK3L, an Enhanced Tactical Android created with the help of the esteemed Dr. Polendina."

Central remained poker-faced as he watched the newly introduced android step out and marched towards him and the captain with carefully measured steps. He was clad in the same advanced black and blue armor that Central wore, except the android's suit was obviously specially made for N1CK3L in mind. Upon the top right hand side of the android's chest plate was the emblem of Atlas, while on his upper right arm was the signature emblem of the Task Force he was assigned to serve with.

Stopping a respectful distance from the both of them, the smooth face-plate and inner visor of the helmet retracted to reveal the android's face within, and N1CK3L's cold electronic blue eyes regarded them for a few moments as he brought up his right hand in a perfect salute, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Commander Central. Petty Officer First Class N1CK3L, reporting for duty."

Central returned the salute silently and gently shook hands with N1CK3L, and noted the tight but not crushing grip of the android's hand when he did so. The android's face was relatively human-like due to the smooth synthetic skin covering the entirety of his face and neck, but the bright azure glow of his electronic eyes gave away the clue that he was probably just a far more advanced version of android foot soldier that the Atlas military uses within its armed forces, "Likewise, N1CK3L."

"I look forward to serving under your command, Central." N1CK3L stated as he shifted in a clattering of thick armor plates, "I am sure my wide range of specialized skills and abilities would greatly benefit your team in any mission that has been assigned to Task Force Omega."

"What are your orders, N1CK3L?" Central queried slowly.

"I am assigned to the Strike Corvette Retribution, reporting to Commander Central of Task Force Omega." N1CK3L answered almost instantaneously in a calm and distinctly human-ish voice.

"He's fully programmed for combat?" The commander turned his head to look at Captain White.

"Completely and thoroughly." The captain of the Airborne Assault Carrier agreed, "While General Ironwood has kept the Enhanced Tactical Android project well under the radar in favor of the Atlesian Knight models, he still provided enough funding for the research and development division to continue with that project."

Bringing up his right gloved hand to rest it upon N1CK3L's armor-plated shoulder, Captain White continued, "N1CK3L here is a quite remarkable, a slight advancement, and obviously male, version of that Penny android, but he's designed to be faster, stronger and more durable than the Atlesian Knight models, and his A.I. core unit had been further improved upon by Dr. Polendina to make him near human in leaning capabilities, apparently the early versions of the A.I. program weren't exactly up to standard, Polendina insisted that there needed to be heart put into it," White shook his head, "Sentimental old man. I've seen N1CK3L in the training rooms, his combat skills are quite impressive."

"Why isn't there more like him?" Central asked with a tilted head.

"Because N1CK3L here costs as much as a whole fleet of brand new Atlas Eagles." Central's mentor replied, "He;s been built with everything the Special Research Robotics Branch has to offer, and he will serve alongside you on any further missions with the rest of Task Force."

He keyed in a series of commands on a computer panel and a thin rectangular grey flash drive ejected from the system, which he pulled out of an open slot and handed it to Central, "Here is everything the Intelligence Branch has given me with regards to your latest mission, plus the transcripts of the interrogation and some additional decryption codes that the Red Fang use to communicate. I advise you to brief your team on every detail before the mission... and introduce them to N1CK3L."

"Orders received and acknowledged, sir." Central slipped the flash drive into one of his waist pouches, stood at attention and saluted his commanding officer. Beside him, N1CK3L performed the exact same formality with uncanny human-like precision, his external armor doing little to impede his swift movements.

"That will be all." Captain White finished, "Go Commander. Do what you do best."

As the commander and android both left the bridge back to the Retribution, their swift and purposeful steps marching in rhythm down the hallways to the hangars, Central could feel the android's face looking in his direction as the latter maintained a few paces behind him. While he didn't know what to think of N1CK3L, perhaps he would have a more substantial opinion once he saw the android perform in the field and how he cooperated with the rest of the team.

Just before he reached the hangar bay in which the Strike Corvette was docked, Central stopped and turned to face N1CK3L who obediently stood in a non-threatening but prepared manner, the armored helmet looking down at his own, "Is there something else I should know, Commander Central?"

Central mentally composed himself before saying, "N1CK3L, you are now in Task Force Omega, and we specialize in specific missions in which we locate and neutralize anything and everything, anyone and everyone, who might pose a significant threat to Atlas. You will do as you are ordered without question. You will also be working alongside my hand-picked unit of Omega Troopers for the duration of this mission and any future ones as of now. When in battle I expect you to follow my orders, and there may be certain circumstances in which we would require your skills and abilities in our line of work, so it's imperative that you learn as quickly as possible how to work together with the rest of the crew smoothly and efficiently. You will have to earn your place among us, do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly clear, Commander Central." The android trooper nodded his head and Central's face gave a faint smile behind his helm.

Placing his hand on the security door which whispered open to admit them both into the hangar bay, the leader of the Task Force spoke up again, "I presume you know about the mission objectives and parameters?"

"I was briefed before I arrived on the  _Spirit of Winter_." N1CK3L replied calmly, "Due to the classified nature of the information I am privy to, I cannot speak of it until you have briefed your team on the same mission."

"Heh, Dr. Polendina and his scientists even programmed you with a smart mouth?" The commander gave a small chuckle.

"About six months ago Dr. Polendina integrated a personality construct based off a human mind, so as to make my interactions with other humans more human-like in nature." The android answered as his helmet lowered a bit. "He says it will make me feel more natural to others."

"Ah, that should make things a little more interesting when you join us." Central mused to himself.

"I am looking forward to it." N1CK3L turned to regard his leader, "And I can assure you I will live up to your expectations and more."

"I hope so, because I won't be pulling your shiny metal body out of an inferno if anything happens to you." Central nodded his head in the direction of the  _Retribution_  which sat facing the closed hangar doors, the sleek silver-grey Strike Corvette with black highlights easily standing out among all the other military airships and gunships already present there.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Commander Central." The newly-introduced android mentioned as he followed Central up the docking ramp of the Strike Corvette.

"So, speaking of Dr. Polendina, have you met his, 'daughter'?" Central inquired as they came into the belly of the ship.

N1CK3L hesitated for a second before answering "No, I haven't had that pleasure yet. Dr. Polendina has told me many things about her, however. I wish to meet her one day."

Central nodded as the ramp came up, "Well who knows? Maybe you'll get to meet your sister sometime."

* * *

Even though she had spent a considerable amount of time in Salem's domain, Emerald didn't like the overall atmosphere at all. The broken and shadowy landscape outside honestly gave her the chills, and the long, winding, maze-like corridors she walked through looked lifeless and foreboding.

Despite the light from the shattered moon, a certain kind of miasma seemed to shroud over everything in the palace. Everything from the curtains to the peculiar furniture all the way down to the marble and stone that made up the castle seemed to be tainted with... something that seeped through and poisoned its very essence.

She never believed in fairy tales, but after everything she had been through in the past two years, Emerald's opinions on the line between reality and fantasy changed drastically. Her talents as a thief made her alert to everything that happened around her, and the girl couldn't shake the feeling that her every action was being watched by entities hiding in the shadows. Entities that probably weren't human for all she knew, and it wasn't uncommon for her hands to slip to the handles of her revolver-sickles when her paranoia got the better of her.

Just like everyone else within the palace.

Despite her time here, Emerald had rarely seen anyone else in the great palace except for those who she had already seen. Sure she had seen multiple servants and even an occasional strange Grimm crawling around, which oddly enough kept their distance, but it seemed that the only people who lived in the palace were those who served the Dark Queen and her faction. While none of them paid any attention to Emerald, possibly treating her as though she was beneath their notice, the illusionist knew to stay clear of anyone if she had a bad feeling about them.

Her footsteps echoed lightly through the marble hallways as Emerald made her way towards one of the balconies overlooking the main hall. Cinder had summoned her to meet up there for a reason the thief didn't yet know, but was more than sure that it was important. As she made her way up the curling staircase it opened up into a wide corridor with several columns separated by rafters made from purple marble.

She could hear the thunderous noises of huge machines at work, with scores of servants shouting to be heard over the droning equipment as they went about their duties below. She didn't know what they were doing, but everyone had a role to play in Salem's great plan.

As she arrived into the main hall she looked down to see Dr. West overseeing the dozens of workers and several Grimm Knights as they moved several massive metal crates through the castle's massive open doors into the main plaza. The metal crates were suspended upon giant-sized pallets and secured with thick black chains to prevent them from falling off, and the thief within Emerald briefly wondered what could be hidden within them...

"No, the others we found can wait for now. They will go into the labs for future studies for the time being." West called to some workers who were grunting as they pushed at one of the smaller-sized metal crates with all their might, "And be careful with the arm bones! If any of them are broken, it'll be our heads! And I'll make sure you all go before I do."

Emerald wondered what was going on, but that thought was tossed aside as she noticed the current Fall Maiden standing at a near by balcony to see everything that happened in the main hall without being spotted, and discreet enough that she could make a swift disappearance if necessary by slipping into the shadows.

Cinder was wearing a new outfit, similar to her old one but with more than a few modifications, with a pair of elegant combat boots that went up to her knees which were covered by stockings, which were in turn covered by the skirt of her outfit which was the usual crimson with a gold and black trim with sparse white dots here and there. A black lace lining wrapped around the skirt and met the waist belt, which made the dress cling tightly to her shapely midsection. Above her abdomen was a keyhole that allowed her ample cleavage to be seen, and on the back was another moderate-sized keyhole that allowed the mysterious tattoo that had appeared once she had absorbed the powers of the previous Fall Maiden to be viewed by the world. The lace lining continued up the back and stopped at the keyhole, as if becoming one with the tattoo. At the top of her neck the red dress met with a black hood that was similar to a veil, which was draped over Cinder's now short hair. Her shoulders were covered by the dress and continued down along the length of both arms and stopped near her wrist, leaving her fingers uncovered.

"Take the pieces of this beast down to the pit one at a time." Cinder called down to West, who looked up at her from below, "If this discovery can be as powerful as you say, we can't risk damaging it."

"Lady Cinder, the remains of this creature survived being buried in the earth for millions of years and then survived the isolation of an underground for thousands more." West assured her while gesturing for the workers to proceed with their work, "I'm sure it will survive a simple trip down to the spawning pits."

"See that you do, Doctor or my Master will be extremely disappointed with you." Cinder replied before waving her hand for him to leave, and West walked off behind the metal crates with the Grimm Knights following him.

"Lady Cinder." Emerald spoke softly as she approached her savior, bowing her head in respect as Cinder turned to face her.

"Good evening, Emerald. So good of you to come." Cinder said as a faint smile graced her scarred face.

"I am at your beck and call." Emerald mentioned, and gestured to the metal crates as it disappeared down one of the major tunnels, "What's in those crates?"

"Some beast West discovered with the help of the late Dr. Merlot." Cinder answered as she rested a hand on the rafters, "Apparently it was a great, mighty predator many eons ago, driven to extinction before even the Shattering. My Master feels it could be of use to us."

Emerald noticed the grimace on Cinder's face, and a subtle clenching of her hand into a fist.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, hesitantly.

Cinder glanced at her and replied, "Observant as ever, Emerald."

"As an illusionist I have to be, since that way I won't fall for someone else's tricks." Emerald said with a shrug.

"A smart outlook on life." The Fall Maiden stated with a nod before her amber eyes focused intently on Emerald.

The dark-skinned thief resisted the urge to flinch under Cinder's stare, and hoped to Oum she wasn't sweating or blushing, "What can I…"

"Hush." Cinder said to her quietly, placing a finger upon the thief's lips before leaning in to whisper her next words, "We need to discuss an important matter in private. In my chambers, soon."

Emerald nodded and stood by Cinder's side, watching as the last of the metal crates filled with pieces of a once mighty creature were guided down to the spawning pits beneath Salem's castle.

Once they were gone Cinder turned and walked down an empty corridor, leading Emerald towards her personal chambers. The thief glanced around their surroundings and asked, "So what does Mistress Salem plan on doing with those bones?"

"She's planning on reviving the creature." Cinder answered softly but bluntly.

"She can do that?" Emerald asked, alarm seeping into her voice.

"Not fully. Not with a mere skeleton at least. It's not a true resurrection, more like a transformation. You will see tomorrow." Cinder added and Emerald nodded, remaining silent for the rest of the walk.

They soon arrived at Cinder's chambers, a decent-looking room primarily colored red. It could be described as luxurious, with a large bed against the wall at the back of the room. Within the central chamber were a couple of comfy looking maroon sofas, a moderate-sized desk with a number of stationary items arranged neatly, as well as several large wardrobes near the closed bathroom. On the other side of the central chamber, a pair of sliding opaque crystal doors led into an armory where a few vertical glass cases contained Cinder's weapons and several neatly arranged Dust vials, and a small glass panel concealed her personal sewing kit, with rolls of multi-colored Dust-woven thread and a number of thin needles.

"Take a seat." Cinder instructed the young thief. Emerald did as she was told, sitting down on the sofa as Cinder closed the door to her chambers and locked it.

"Is something wrong?" Emerald repeated as she rested both her hands on her lap.

"In a way." Cinder confessed as she looked her student in the eyes. She walked over to her,removing her hood, "Tell me, what do you think of my Master?"

Emerald was surprised by the sudden question, and said nothing at first. She remembered the first time she met Salem, Cinder had warned her and Mercury not to show any kind of fear in front of the Mistress of the Grimm. They had tried, but failed since it was as natural to fear Salem, as it was to breathe.

"There's no need to be afraid. You have earned my trust, so I hope you can trust me in return." Cinder told Emerald as she sat next to her, "Please, give me n honest answer, whatever is said between us will not leave this room."

"What if my opinion is…not exactly glowing praise?" Emerald asked, her voice clearly nervous.

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion." Cinder replied calmly, "Tell me your honest assessment of Mistress Salem."

Emerald took a deep breath to calm her subtly shaking hands before answering, "To be completely honest, I... don't think she's the right person to make the world a better place."

To her surprise, Cinder nodded and asked, "What makes you think that?"

Emerald paused again, her red eyes glanced around as though expecting Cinder's chambers to have hidden eyes and ears at every corner. "The way she punished you, branding that scar on your face. You didn't deserve that after what Rose did to you." She continued.

Cinder nodded, and managed to stop her hand from subconsciously reaching up to caress the jagged scar upon her face inflicted by the burning blade of Crescent Rose.

"And the company she keeps, especially those psychos like Tyrian and Norvik... you just know they're more trouble than they're worth, so I think that's a compromise I wouldn't be willing to take." The thief admitted, "I...I'm honestly doubting that someone as cold, and frankly, cruel as her should be in charge of making the world a better place."

The Fall Maiden nodded once more before saying, "I remember you stood up to my master after she did this to me," She gently traced the visible scar on her face, before adding, "I never thanked you for that."

"You don't really have to." Emerald said modestly.

"I feel like I should. You were there for me during the fight at Haven when no one else was. Despite everything, you were by my side, and for that I thank you." Cinder replied as she gave the mocha-skinned girl a rare, genuine smile, which the thief returned.

"I should be thanking you. You took me in, gave me a real purpose." Emerald looked at amber-eyed woman and inquired, "But why are you asking me this?"

Cinder held Emerald's gaze and spoke again, "I want to trust you, Emerald, so please let me know that I can absolutely trust you to never betray me."

"You have my word, Lady Cinder. If it wasn't for you, I would still be a pickpocket starving in the backstreets of Vacuo. I swear I will never betray you to anyone." Emerald promised.

"Even my master? Even Salem?" Cinder said carefully.

While the green-haired girl had a feeling where this was going, but she eventually steeled herself and answered, "Especially not her."

"Good." Cinder gave another nod before she rose up and began to pace around the room, "My master has been playing this grand game for centuries now, and the many years eventually twisted her into a very dark individual with even darker plans. From what I have witnessed, it's clear that she has become something that cannot lead Remnant to become a better world."

"Cinder, are you suggesting that we... overthrow Salem?!" The words left Emerald's mouth in a shocked whisper and she quickly placed her hands over her mouth as though she had uttered a curse, but thankfully her voice was soft enough not to alert anyone nearby.

Cinder was silent for a few moments as she continued to pace, "I have seen her make alliances with, as you said, psychopaths and monsters. While she told me that they were merely tools for her own ends, I have the feeling those words were simply to placate my curiosity. She deceived me, manipulated me into killing my family and abandoning my birthright which she also lied about, and turned me into something that I..." She abruptly stopped herself and glanced at the tattoo on back of her hand where she the Grimm parasite would emerge from. Her amber eyes lit up, taking the shapes of autumn leaves briefly as she continued, "She turned me into something I was never meant to be. Nikos once asked me if I believe in destiny, and now I don't know the answer to that. I used to, but now I wonder if I truly did, or if I only believed in Salem's destiny."

"And what does Salem think her destiny is?" Emerald questioned.

"Godhood." Cinder answered in a chilling voice, "You heard from the gathering of her inner circle. Her plan is to control all four Maidens and then use their powers to control the four relics, which in turn will allow her to become a goddess and conquer Remnant, with her leading it to a new 'golden age'. In the past she told me that the despicable people such as Tyrian, Ante, Norvik and the like were necessary evils that would be easily dealt with once their usefulness came to an end, but I have realized that with someone like her, one who feeds on the fear and suffering of others, cannot be trusted to rule the world and make it a better place. While that is our mission, but my Master is a very great threat to such a thing." She turned to look Emerald in the eyes, glowing amber to red, "So yes, we will have to overthrow her."

Emerald took in all this before saying, "How? The two of us alone can't do it, it would be impossible. If we so much as show any hint of rebellion against her we'd be destroyed, before we could even get close to killing her." Cinder remained silent and the thief continued, "If...if she were to find out that you and I are even talking about this, we would be dead, or worse."

"A likely outcome." The Fall Maiden confessed as she came to standstill, "After playing the game for so long, my Master has become quite a master manipulator, so we will have to be careful, and play just as cleverly as she does."

"So... do you have a plan or something?" Emerald asked nervously.

"Yes. We have to keep our eyes out for anyone within our faction that has grown frustrated or wary of my Master. Those who resent her, but are, rightly, too afraid to openly speak up against her. We need people we can trust." Cinder stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"What about Mercury?" Emerald suggested, "I was wondering why you didn't invite him here."

"Mercury is a talented fighter, but not particularly smart. After all, he was too stupid to remain in the hideout when he should have waited for my speech during the Vytal festival. Had he not gone wandering around Ruby Rose might have never figured out what we were up to." Cinder pointed out.

Emerald nodded, "Got me there. It's lucky the virus you installed at the CCT tower took out the security cameras too."

"Don't misunderstand me, I think Mercury can be counted on, but not until he begins acting more trustworthy. Until then, I want you to help me keep an eye out for anyone who isn't satisfied with how my Master runs this operation. Anyone who is disillusioned, anyone who resents her, and anyone trustworthy." Cinder went on until she once again took a seat.

"Why are you trusting me with this? Have I really proven myself to you?" Emerald asked softly.

Cinder looked at her student and gently took hold of Emerald's hands, looking into her eyes as she said, "It's like I said, when Salem branded this scar onto my face, you stood up for me. You stood up against one of the most, if not the most, powerful beings in the world, to defend me. After that, I don't think there's anyone else more trustworthy than you, my friend."

Emerald's lips began to quiver before she lurched forward and hugged Cinder.

The Fall Maiden was surprised at first, but Emerald quickly pulled away, "Sorry! Sorry, I… I overstepped my bounds, I'm so sorry, Cinder, I…"

"It's alright Emerald. It's fine. I understand. I doubt that the crowd you ran with before you met me was any better than this." Cinder said, gesturing around them.

"No, it wasn't. I had to keep an eye out on every single person I met, because everyone and anyone could be a thief or undercover cop where I came from. I…I didn't have any family before I met you," Emerald admitted.

Cinder smiled again before surprising the thief by gently embracing her back. Emerald held back her tears, as for the first time in a very long time, she felt truly loved.

As Cinder drew away, Emerald asked her, "So, what do you plan on doing, exactly? Do you plan on replacing Salem?"

Cinder smiled and said, "You are absolutely right, Emerald. Who better to take Salem's place than her apprentice?"

A wicked smile spread across the face of the Fall Maiden. "At the end of all this, there will be a queen ruling over Remnant, and her name will be Cinder Fall."

* * *

Charles Meredith was startled by the loud sound of breaking glass, so much so that he dropped his briefcase as he looked up to see the two dead guards flung through the window of the warehouse. The pair of fresh corpses landed before him in a twisted, bloodied heap. He had been instructed to come alone… and technically he was, he had left the two men outside of the building as a precaution, as he had a bad feeling about this meeting, but it was obvious now that was a fatal mistake, they had been no match for whatever Ante's employer had sent after him. Now he had no chance of making it out of here. Damn it, why did he go along with shutting off the alarms?!

As he reached for his scroll his eyes kept looking at the bodies before a new sound entered his ears and set off a mental alarm; someone else was in the building now. He could hear someone moving in the rafters above him, getting closer to him.

Meredith looked up into the darkness and called "I can pay you! I'm not a rich man, but I am well off and I can make you a generous offer!" He stumbled backwards, carefully kneeling down to grab the guard's pistol.

"Please I…" Something landed behind him, and he turned around to see a tall black clad figure with thin red lines scaring his body.

Meredith let out a scream as he pointed the gun at the intruder. "L-let's not b-be hasty... I know I was told to come alone, but you know how dangerous this part of town is these days… let's be reasonable! There's no need for violence!" Meredith babbled before he tried to get a shot off.

The gun fired, and the round missed as the Son of Salem moved faster than thought and drew out his weapon.

With a swing of a crimson blade, Meredith's hand was severed from his body, it landed on the concrete floor with a thud, the finger flexed against the trigger, making another round go off.

Searing pain shot through the body of Charles Meredith as his hand was separated from his arm. He tried to scream again but the attacker swiftly grabbed him by the chin and slammed him into a support beam, knocking him out and ending the cry before it could begin.

When the middle-class representative of the Schnee Dust Company woke up he was tied to a chair in the middle of the warehouse, the dead bodies of the guards propped against the chair. He realized something that filled him with dread; he had been covered in something all too familiar to anyone who worked for the famous Atlesian corporation; Dust.

He could feel his aura just barely working to stop the bleeding from the stump where his hand had been minutes ago. He looked around, the warehouse's small storage of Dust was now empty, the last of it being loaded into a ship that had landed across the street by what appeared to be repurposed versions of Atlesian Knights with darker color schemes.

The Son of Salem stood a few feet away from him, making sure everything was taken.

"I-I… It's not my fault! I had to cover it up! To make it look like I never had any dealings with CraftTech or that lowlife Ante! Please, don't do anything to me!" Meredith pleaded, struggling in his bonds, but it didn't do any good. The horrible pain from his handless wrist, dulled slightly by his aura, didn't help matters.

The mysterious man before him didn't make a sound and barely moved before a tall woman with a shaved head and pale skin teleported in front of them, making Meredith cry out in surprise.

"Okay new guy, everything's loaded, the poppers are set, and we checked out his briefcase and it seems he brought the documents that could link him to CraftTech." Thorn said as she held up Meredith's briefcase. She looked at him and smirked before sauntering over and placing her boot on his knee. "Tell me, little man, is this all of it?"

Meredith, shaking and utterly terrified, forced himself to nod. It wasn't the truth, he had left one small document in his desk just in case this went poorly for him, which it clearly was.

Thorn glared before pressing her boot against his groin. "No bullshit, pencil pusher? This is all of it?"

"Yes! Yes, that's all of it!" He cried out, hoping he was convincing enough. "Please just stop!"

Thorn smirked as she placed her boot back on the floor and turned to the Son of Salem to say "Well in that case, the job's about done. You take care of the rest."

The Son of Salem nodded to her, and with that, she vanished with a burst of air. The Son looked at Meredith briefly and then walking towards the door.

"W-wait! Wh-what are you going to do?" Meredith called, but he knew deep down what this unknown man had planned for him, the type of Dust he had been covered with was red Dust… fire Dust.

Once they were out of the warehouse and across the street, the Son was about to walk up the ramp when he stopped and turned around, facing the building and the bound Meredith.

He pulled out a rifle.

"No, no please…" Meredith quietly begged as he heard a small beeping sound that he hadn't noticed before due to his panic. He looked around, and noticed small explosive devices placed haphazardly about the warehouse.

"No…" He whined as the Son took the shot.

The gunshot hit Meredith, the impact of the bullet combined with the Dust to create a flame which engulfed his body. He screamed loudly, writhing in agony as the flames spread about his body and the building before finally reaching a detonator that was just behind him.

He let out the final scream as the explosive went off, blasting his body, incinerating his flesh within seconds. This blast caused a chain reaction that set off the other explosives, explosions burst out of the building and the support beams gave in, causing the warehouse to collapse in on itself.

The ship rose up in the air and blasted off, getting away from Haven.

Thorn sat at the pilot's seat and glanced back at the Son as he sat down.

"Not bad for a first run. Wait 'til the others get a load of you." She said to him before laughing to herself. The Son said nothing in reply as he sat in the wall-mounted seats. She glanced back at him before adding "Poppers make nice explosions, eh?"

Again, he said nothing. He just looked in her direction before going back to staring off into space.

Thorn smirked before commenting "Oh I can already tell you're gonna be a barrel of laughs."

She took a deep breath as she gripped the controls of the ship, extending her aura through the vessel, that way it would affect the whole ship and anything touching it. Once she felt she had exerted herself enough she activated her teleportation Semblance and the airship vanished in the blink of an eye.

About fifteen minutes later or so, Lt. Morse drove up in his squad car and parked before the charred husk of the building as firefighters worked to douse the blaze. The man shook his head and he signaled over to another police officer.

"Lieutenant." The officer said as he jogged over to him.

"Give me a sitrep." Morse ordered.

"Got the call about the fire fourteen minutes ago, cops and firefighters responded couple of minutes later. Obvious case of arson." The officer reported.

Morse sighed, his breath fogging up in the cold air. "Who owned the warehouse?"

"According to the records we got from H.Q., the Schnee Dust Company."

"S.D.C.?" Morse repeated, "Why the hell would they have a warehouse out here on the outskirts?"

"Apparently it was to keep a low profile. We contacted the people who are stationed here and apparently they all got sent home early before the night watch came around, which isn't supposed to be for another half hour. Apparently a couple other of guards sent 'em home, some office worker, who none of the crew saw, apparently had private business here." The officer related as they watched the flames die under powerful blasts of water.

"Were they still in there? Do we have fatalities on our hands?" Morse inquired.

"Afraid so sir. We've spotted one body in there, could be more but we won't know until it's safe to go inside. All of the Dust is gone too, so this might have been a robbery." The officer told the lieutenant.

"Probably, the fire would be a hell of a lot bigger if more Dust was in there." Morse agreed. "Question is how did they do it so fast? And why didn't the alarms go off?"

"Inside job gone wrong?" The officer speculated.

"Possibly, but from the looks of that fire we might have to wait for identification, a fire that bad usually leaves no options but dental records." Morse told the younger man before someone cried out in shock.

"Mother of Oum! Hey! I found something!" Called a female Faunus officer.

Morse and the other officer, accompanied by several others, ran over to her to see what she had discovered wasn't a pleasant sight.

On the cold, snow spotted ground was a severed right hand missing an index finger and above it, hanging from a street light, was a sheet of glass sliced out of one of the windows, chained to the lamp.

Upon the glass was a message, written in the blood from the index finger, which was inserted into one of the chain links.

It read: 'Let this be a warning to all those who even think of crossing or betraying the Dark Queen.'

The officer swallowed and made a poor attempt at a joke, "Well… on the bright side, identification might be a little easier, huh Lieutenant?"

Morse shot him a dirty look before saying "So much for getting home early. I gotta call this in, Commissioner's going to want to know about this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader, he also wrote N1CK3L's scene (as he created him)
> 
> This story has finally gotten 300 Faves and Follows! Thank you, every single one of you for your support and feedback.
> 
> So, so, so, so sorry this took so long. I've had a lot of things to do in my personal life, one morning I was woken up in one of the most terrifying situations of my life as my grandmother came close to death with a horrible bout with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. We got her to the hospital in time and she's recovering nicely, so I hope my family and I have your support. I was a bit sick as well when I was writing this, but I did my best to get this chapter done, I hope you understand the delay, thank you.
> 
> Also, I hope I haven't made Ashe into an unbearable mary sue, and for those of you wanting to know what Mila looks like, her appearance is based on Naomi from Death Note.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. I hope you'll give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! I very much appreciate your support, so please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted.


	58. Arrivals and Departures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated in loving memory of Jonah (2002 - 2017), a good cat who was always nice and gentle to everyone who came into our house and always wanted to be pet and have his chin and cheeks rubbed, I loved him for most of my life, he will be missed dearly by me and my family.
> 
> So with that in mind, the theme for this chapter: Pet Sematary by The Ramones

It was already past midnight in Vacuo, but the lateness of the hour didn't quite bother Qrow as he walked towards the main entrance of the Tarshta Civil Police Headquarters, with Vacuo Ranger Santaro following close behind him. Around them, officers and a few civilians populated the side corridors while yet more people waited patiently on neat rows of plastic chairs for their turn at the line of counters to make whatever reports or grievances to the police officers on duty. He was honestly glad to be out of the building's rather hot and stuffy confines, despite the large amount of fans already installed within the ceilings which did little to cool down the desert-dry atmosphere outside.

"Are you sure you have a good lead on their trail?" The lieutenant inquired as he and the Huntsman waded their way through the crowd in the main hallway.

"If my Semblance is right, which it usually is, I should have a pretty solid way to follow the perps to wherever they're heading and find out what they're up to. Once these assholes are caught the Vacuo justice system can try them for every crime they've committed." Qrow replied as he pushed open the main doors and began to walk down the stone steps leading to the main street.

"Well, it looks to me that you have pretty much planned your next move." Santaro mentioned, "...but what about backup? Are you really that good of a Huntsman or just arrogant?"

"Both actually." Qrow answered with a smirk on his face, "In all seriousness, I will get backup when the time comes to arrest and bring them in for questioning. First, I want to see what Callows and those people working with him are up to, and who they're working for."

"You think they're working for someone?" The Vacuo Ranger lieutenant said as they stopped at under a pedestrian bridge, while cars continued to drive by.

"Yep, I have a pretty good hunch that Callows works for the same individual that Adam Taurus answered to when he seized control of the White Fang, and same person the terrorist Cinder Fall works for as well." Qrow said while being as vague as he could. Only very few individuals know about the existence of Salem and her inner circle, and the majority of those very same individuals belong to the Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knight Order, and certain trustworthy members of the Kingdoms' Councils. The populace of Remnant simply weren't prepared to know that there's someone out there who can control the Grimm, and was actively seeking to destroy all life on Remnant by acquiring the power of the Relics.

The dusty Huntsman crossed his arms and continued, "Chances are that these Red Fang punks are still in league with this mastermind, and I'm willing to bet that Tyrian Callows is the link to finding exactly who that is. He wasn't a Faunus before and now he is, and an insect one at that, not exactly natural, right? Given how this unsavory group have dabbled in good old fashioned mad science, it's a sure bet they have something to do with it."

"That makes sense." Santaro concurred as he nodded his head, "I presume you have an airship? You're going to have to go quite far and fast to catch up with them."

Qrow gave the lieutenant a roll of his eyes and lied, "Of course I have one. What, do you think I walked here? I left it with an old acquaintance on the other side of town. Once I have checked through all the information you have transferred to my scroll I will get to it and be on my way. Don't worry, once I have a solid lead on their position I'll contact the Vacuo Rangers, and together we will bring them to justice."

"That's the best case scenario, and hopefully you'll pull it off without any casualties." Santaro voiced as he leaned against the metal framework of the bridge, eyeing the colorful cars travelling in both directions before turning his attention back to Qrow.

"Actually, the best case scenario is if they were to show up right in front of your police headquarters and surrender themselves, before giving away every little dirty secret they have in their heads, but I personally don't see that happening." The dusty Huntsman remarked dryly.

That earned a chuckle from the lieutenant as a grin cracked his features, "If only our jobs were that easy. I will make sure your backup is on stand-by and ready to move out once we get your message. Best of luck out there, and good hunting."

Qrow nodded in appreciation before shaking the Ranger's hand, before walking down to the street at the far side of the bridge and disappearing into the night

Once he had walked far enough away he turned into a dark and secluded alleyway, Qrow followed along the backstreets until he reached a relatively deserted area which faced a dead end. After making sure that no one was around, he promptly transformed into his avian form and spread his wings, taking off into the starry night sky in a matter of seconds. Thanks to the eyes of his superior crow form, he could easily see the slightly faded trails of aura heading north-west once he found what he was looking for.

His wings flapped rapidly as he flew out past the treelines that fronted the city and out towards the desert.

'Whatever they are up to, it's clearly not good. Stealing Dust and then stockpiling it, just like what Ruby and Yang said after discovering what that Torchwick guy was doing for them in Vale. Are they going to try another breach or something worse?' Qrow mused privately to himself, 'Maybe they are planning an anonymous terrorist attack on one of the Kingdoms, sowing chaos and leaving the public of that Kingdom pointing fingers at others to find out who did it, all the while creating mistrust and fear to attract enough Grimm to attack the innocent and create even more fear.'

He increased the frequency of his wing movements, and soon he began to cover more ground, with the various landscape of Vacuo ranging from buildings to desert dunes and the like zooming speedily by beneath him.

'I won't know for sure until I find them, since I only have hunches and suspicions at the moment.' Qrow thought to himself as he kept flying into the Vacuo night. 'Can't get distracted, I have to keep moving so that I can catch up with them.'

As Qrow kept flying towards his intended destination, his mind began to wander, thinking of his family.

Family.

For a long time he had no other family but Raven, but when they both came to Beacon he became partners with Taiyang while Raven had gotten herself paired with Summer Rose. From then on the blond man and the silver-eyed woman had stuck with them through thick and thin, and they both reminded him what it was like to trust others and to form bonds, something he had been afraid of doing ever since Vernal turned the the rest of the Clan on his family.

The bonds became so great that he chose to stay with Taiyang and Summer after Raven left, leaving the blond Huntsman alone with a baby girl. He couldn't leave Taiyang, especially not now that he had Yang, the first blood relative he had besides Raven in years, and there was no way he would be abandoning her.

Qrow remembered the first time he saw Raven again after she ran off, which had been in Ozpin's tower nearly a full year later. He managed to punch her right in the face during that reunion, and it had been the only time he had ever actually managed to hurt her. Had Ozpin not been there to stop them, their fight would have easily torn apart his office, and possibly the whole tower as well.

He remembered playing with Yang when she was a toddler, he treated her like a gift from Oum, babysitting her when Taiyang and Summer took on a variety of missions to pay the bills. He had been overjoyed when Taiyang and Summer revealed how serious their relationship was becoming, with new wedding rings on their fingers and a new life forming in Summer's belly.

That life turned out to be Ruby Rose, one of the most precious people in Qrow's life. Despite the fact that Ruby wasn't blood-related, he still considered her to be. She had always been close to him, close enough that some people actually thought she was his daughter, which only escalated when she created Crescent Rose and learned how to use it by training with him.

He remembered Ruby's first birthday, Summer had baby Ruby in a high-chair and was trying to feed her bits of the birthday cake, only for the little one to get some right on her mother's nose. He mentally laughed as he remembered how the three year old Yang would run from person to person and beg to be held, and then run to the next before anyone could even try to. When he had managed to eventually get a hold of her Qrow decided to tease her by eating some cake in front of her and not letting her have any, Yang refused to cry and instead just gave off the most adorable pout and then hid her lilac eyes in her hands, pretending to cry and looking through her fingers every moment or so to make sure they were paying attention to her. Qrow put an end to it when he began to feed her some cake, which she ate up heartily just like her father would.

How he wished Raven had been there to see treasured moments like that.

Instead, Summer had been there, treating Yang as if she were her own daughter, loving her just as much as Ruby. He remembered how Summer would sing to the two young girls every night, her melodic voice lulling them to sleep. She would play with them, and would do her best to follow along with little Yang and Ruby's energy as they learned to speak for the first time and try to understand what they were saying.

He sighed inwardly, and wished Summer was still here, and while a piece of her soul was within Ruby, it wasn't the same as having her there in flesh and blood with all of them. Maybe if he and Taiyang had gotten back sooner…

' No, it's all in the past, there's no point in blaming yourself anymore.' He thought to himself. He had gone over that terrible day in his head more than a thousand times. Taiyang would have sacrificed himself for her, and so would he since he loved Summer like another sister, a bond that became even stronger after Raven took off.

It was no good wondering about the 'ifs' and 'what could have been', as he couldn't change the past. However, he could still change the future, and by that it meant what was currently happening in the here and now, and right now he needed to go faster to catch up with his 'prey'.

And so Qrow discarded his thoughts and instead focused his attention on finding where the agents of Salem have gone to, and perhaps he just might thwart another of their disastrous plans before it causes any irrecoverable damage to innocent people in Vacuo.

* * *

Meanwhile, a great many miles ahead of Qrow was a moderate-sized supply ship slowly flew over the deserts of Vacuo towards the capital. On the outside, it looked normal like all the other generic supply ships that come and go through the western Kingdom's secure borders, but within the airship were several dozen large containers filled with numerous Dust crystals which were stolen right from a local Tarshta Dust supplier. The pilots were dead, their bodies stashed in a forgotten alley with knives embedded on their backs while their identities and access codes were utilized for the Red Fang's purposes.

Within the cramped cargo hold of the ship, a certain freckled girl dressed in a navy-colored form-fitting sleeveless stealth suit laid upon one of the large containers, ignoring everything that was happening around her since it would be a few hours before the airship would reach the capital. Her legs were dangling over the edge and hung in the air, while her red and white Grimm Mask with chameleon horns was placed beside her head as she read off a news report on her scroll. Chancing upon one of the latest headlines, she grimaced as she read one in particular for what felt like the hundredth time; 'Another Drug Bust by the Reformed White Fang!'

The tanned brown skin of Ilia Amitola briefly changed color to a dark green as she read about the efforts of ex-Elite Guard commander Razor and some of his crew, apparently having exposed another large drug operation in the seedy Mistral underground, resulting in more drugs taken off the streets and several dozen drug pushers arrested, with more solid leads on other drug suppliers as well. The Fusion Faunus silently read the descriptions of Razor's team, recognizing most of them; Kane, Selena, Teresa, Russell and many others. However, in one description the report mentioned in particular was someone else who was familiar to her but wasn't part of Razor's crew: A certain feline Faunus that led the raid was said to have orange eyes and a pair of Bengal Tiger ears atop her head, with dark skin and complexion plus wild black, chin length hair with an asymmetrical bob-cut style, her tattooed body clad in a complicated black and red outfit.

It didn't take much for a bell to ring in Ilia's mind as she instantly recognized the described Faunus as Sienna Khan, one of the highly respected leaders of the White Fang's many sub-factions who served as the public face for the White Fang in Menagerie to appear amicable to its Faunus population. She had never been overly fond of Adam, even less so after the Fall of Beacon, which led to her distancing herself from the bulk of the White Fang but not totally severing ties with them. This led to Ilia suspecting that Sienna had been cautious due to the fact she was indeed wary of Adam and what he was capable was doing. Though, if Riley and the others who spoke out against Adam and were sent to die in that doomed desert outpost were anything to go by, then Khan was right not to put her trust in him.

"Amitola, what are you looking at?" A deep voice caught her attention and she pushed herself up and glanced over the edge, seeing the muscular form of commander Hui looking at her from below.

Ilia sat up and looked back down at Hui, once the faithful lieutenant of Adam Taurus, and was now the newly promoted commander of the reforged Red Fang, though he was little more than a figure head, as Salem held the real power, and they all knew it. "I noticed another news article about Razor and the reformed White Fang, it seems that they've taken down another drug operation in Mistral in their efforts to change the public perception of them." She reported, her skin changing back to its normal brown and added, "Looks like Sienna Khan had recently joined up with them."

Hui growled when he heard Sienna Khan's name being mentioned, "I wondered what happened to that traitorous bitch after she began to put some distance between her cell with the rest of the White Fang. She never trusted Adam, so it's not surprising that she allied herself with Razor and his pack of cowards."

The Fusion Faunus nodded in reply, "I wonder if we'll ever run into them, since we're all that's left of Adam's White Fang."

"Not exactly, as I have managed to track down quite a number of White Fang cells who escaped, Faunus like Fennec and Corsac Albain, and they have were eager to join us since they want revenge for what happened to Adam." Hui answered before his fists began to clench incredibly tight and he swore furiously, "And I hope we do run into them, because when that day comes, I vow it will be a day of reckoning for them."

Ilia nodded again, not bothering to argue with the Bear Faunus. She thought for a moment, and simply added, "And I guess that goes for Blake too, right?"

Hui stared at her before confirming, "She will suffer the most of all, but are you willing to help defeat her?"

She gave one more nod of her head, "I will help fight her, and make her understand the gravity of what she did to us."

No sooner had the words left Ilia's mouth, they both heard a mocking snicker coming from nearby. The cargo bay wasn't brightly lit since all available power had been channeled to the engines, so there were some noticeable shadows in the vicinity of the two Red Fang members. Their heads turned to see the form of their 'leader', Tyrian Callows, using his scorpion tail to hang from a steel support beam while his long pony-tail hair hung down as well, swinging in the air as he giggled. His usual insane grin was plastered on his psychotic-looking face, making it look like everything that happened in the world was just a dark but hilarious joke to him.

"Why do you guys take everything so seriously? Come on, lighten up a bit." He cackled at them, "So what if the big piggy and his band of do-gooders are going around and 'fighting for righteousness and justice' and all that shit?"

"If you haven't noticed, Callows, Razor and his reformed White Fang are a significant threat to us." Hui stated blandly, "We're basically a mess they want to find and clean up."

"Right. They won't exactly be in a listening mood if we do run into them, since they've already captured several Red Fang operatives and turned them over to the authorities." Ilia reminded Salem's assassin as she jumped down from the large transport crate, her simple black boots ringing on the metal decking.

"Who are all in prison now and they won't say anything because they are far too scared of what we will do if they do rat us out." Tyrian shot back, swinging his arms out to either side, "Besides, I figure you guys would appreciate this little crusade they're on, 'a heroic team of Faunus fighting against evil and crime wherever it may be!' That's actually doing your kind some favors!"

"Spare me, Callows. Don't forget that you are technically one of us now, as much as I hate to admit it." Ilia sneered at Tyrian, as he released himself and landed on his feet after performing a somersault through the air, his scorpion tail curling up behind him.

"Oh my, I can totally feel the 'brotherly love' coming off of you guys." Tyrian chuckled snarkily as he stretched his arms out.

"You weren't born a Faunus, you were altered into one. That makes you unnatural, so you will never be one of us." Hui remarked darkly as he crossed his tattooed arms.

"Unnatural? That's probably the three-hundred-and-eighty-sixth time I have heard someone use that word to describe me. Never gets old." Tyrian commented with a roll of his eyes, "Anyway, we are halfway to the capital by now, and once we get this Dust to Ante we can begin our search again."

The atmosphere in the cargo bay changed slightly once the search for the Summer Maiden was mentioned, and both Ilia and Hui straightened a little while Tyrian merely rubbed his hands together in glee.

"Do you really think the Summer Maiden is there?" Ilia inquired carefully.

"Correct, Spots. Ante reported that one of the major gangs under his control ran into a little... trouble with a rather powerful fighter, one whose fighting skills and powers match those of the Summer Maiden. It's a lead that's too damn good to pass up." Tyrian said as he began to walk away.

"So this little Dust delivery mission is just a bonus gift for Ante when we get there?" Ilia questioned with a tilt of her head.

"More firepower for him. If she's there, then we're going to need all the help we can get to defeat her, and for that to happen we are gonna need a whole shitload of Dust." Tyrian elaborated as he spread his arms theatrically, "Makes a really fun mid-day firestorm, doesn't it?" Both Ilia and Hui remained silent as they stared at him.

He then turned his head and looked at Ilia, and a lecherous smirk appeared on his face as he sauntered over to her, "Like all great predators, Mistress Salem is just waiting for the right moment to strike and land a fatal blow that will cripple the enemy, or the prey. Since you're a Faunus, you should know that principle." He stopped once he was right in front of her and then suddenly reached up to cup the Fusion Faunus' cheek, "So don't go around questioning her if you know what's good for you. It never goes well for anyone who does."

Quick as lightning, Ilia's hand shot up and grabbed Tyrian's arm tightly, forcing it away as she backed away, "Keep your hands off me, creep." She snarled as she pulled out her weapon, a lengthy grey-colored rapier-like weapon with twin chambers positioned near the handle. The entire length of the sharp blade was covered with sharp segments spaced at regular intervals, and it crackled with lightning energy as she thumbed its extended mode.

"Shit, I'm never able to keep up with how many times someone has called me that." Tyrian remarked dryly as he shrugged his shoulders candidly with a humorous grin. "Relax, Spots. You're way too young for my taste, but since you're going to be sticking with me for a while, I want you to know that if you ever pull your weapon on me again..." The scorpion-tailed man lurched forward suddenly and got up into Ilia's face before Hui could react, his voice now furious and raising as his face turned excessively unhinged, "I will teach you a harsh lesson in how I am NOT the man to fuck with!"

He grabbed Ilia by the chin, and lifted her up with little effort, "So from now on, let's just do our best to not get on each other's nerves, 'kay?" His voice softening a little as his scorpion tail moved up to point at Ilia's face.

"That's enough!" Hui shouted as he brought his fists up in a battle ready stance, but his only answer was the tail moving towards him.

"All right." Ilia managed to spit out as she glared at Tyrian.

"Good." Tyrian said before he dropped her to the floor, casually walking away as if nothing had happened. A beep caught his attention, and after flicking open his own scroll he continued, "Mistress Salem needs to see me, I'll be in the communications room for the next hour or so. Bother me at your own risk." He turned around at the cargo bay's exit, sticking his tongue out at them as he executed a theatrical bow before saying, "Later!"

As he vanished behind the closing cargo bay doors, Ilia rubbed the underside of her chin and said, "I really, really hate that man."

"As do I, but we must put up with him for the time being. Hopefully Salem will understand that he is not the one to lead us." Hui replied as he adjusted his mask.

"And who should be leading the Red Fang?" Ilia questioned, her eyebrow raised.

"Adam-"

"Adam's gone, Hui. I don't like it anymore than you do, but in the end… in the end I think he became something horrible. I never doubted him or his vision, but I think he went too far with how he wanted to achieve that vision." Ilia said firmly as she looked up at him.

Hui heaved a sigh as he leaned against the opposite crate, "I... understand that Adam eventually became obsessed and he did actually do some terrible things. I helped do some of them after all, but I told myself that it was all for a good cause because Blake and Claudandus' methods would never producing any effective results."

"And did it work out in the end?" Ilia asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Hui glared at her before turning and walking away, exiting the cargo bay and leaving the girl to stew in her own thoughts. Once he disappeared down another hallway, Ilia backed up against one of the large Dust containers and slowly slid down to sit on the cold steel floor.

"Damn it Blake, why did you have to screw everything up for all of us?" She asked herself bitterly. "Why did I have to volunteer to get experimented on? Why didn't I just stay with Adam and the others?"

She began to wonder, did Blake ever really care about Faunus like herself? The ones who had everything taken from them by humans? Did she care about all the Faunus who were rotting in prisons because of her and her human friends? Did she even care about justice for her own parents who were killed during the riots?

Ilia didn't know, but what she did know was that Blake was responsible for the White Fang being destroyed and reduced to a small group of freedom fighters, while the rest of them were imprisoned, on the run, or part of the Red Fang like herself.

She didn't like her current position, it was just so messed up and difficult, and the future didn't look like it would be getting any easier.

Ilia sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the airship, a hard scowl forming on her face. She wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for Blake. She could be working a job in some town or a beggar girl, or anything else except what she was now; a fugitive, an accessory to horrific crimes, and a freak.

"Damn you." She muttered to herself, though if she were honest with herself, she didn't know who that was directed at.

Elsewhere in the airship, Tyrian locked the door to the communications room and walked over to the computer banks and activated the system, stepping in front of the screen and the hologram transmitter so he could bear witness to whatever his venerated leader was up to.

* * *

Deep within Salem's palace, there was a lower level audience chamber that viewed the dark inky pools of the Grimm Spawning Pits. On the flat plateaus before those pits, Dr. West and the Grimm Knights worked to get the massive crates into place while up above, the Dark Queen was having a conversation with Hazel, Dr. Watts, Sheer Kaa, Anastasia, Matilda as well as several other Grimm Keepers, when they were interrupted by Tyrian's hologram appearing as from a portable holographic generator held by a Grimm Knight standing nearby.

"You summoned me, Mistress?" Tyrian asked with a subdued voice while bowing to her.

"I did Tyrian, so good of you to join us. How goes your journey to the capital?" Salem asked softly.

"Smoothly, Mistress. Nothing out the ordinary and we'll be arriving at the city by morning. The Amitola girl found another news report about that new White Fang group. Apparently, they're making trouble for the hard working crooks in Mistral, and they got another big name figure from the old Fang to join them on their little crusade. Name was Khan or something." The Human-Faunus hybrid recalled, noting Sheer Kaa's ears perking up at the mention of the name.

"We will deal with them when the time comes. For now, we have other matters to attend to. I have been telling Hazel and Sheer Kaa about the progress of my newest pupil." Salem informed her assassin.

"Is that what this is about? Has he already gotten his first mission?"

"He has, and we shall see him soon enough, but he is only part of this meeting. Our leader has another sight for us to see." Hazel told his cohort.

"Ooh, all sorts of surprises! Mistress, you spoil us! What is it?" Tyrian asked Salem with a horrible smile on his face, while the others rolled their eyes.

"You'll find out soon." She promised him as the ornate door to the side opened, allowing Cinder with Emerald and Mercury, as well as the Grimm Commanders Anansi, Ziz and Mavis to enter the sanctum. Salem looked to them and smiled warmly, "Ah, good evening my young friends. So good of you all to join us."

"You summoned us and we answered, Master." Cinder said as she bowed her head, "I presume you have an announcement to make?"

"Indeed I do, apprentice." Salem's smirk grew on her bone-white face.

"And while I'm in the dark about what it is, I can guess it still has nothing to do with the Maidens." Anastasia commented bitterly.

Salem shared a look with Watts and Hazel before she lectured her student, "We do have a lead on the Summer Maiden's location, and we know of several places in which the Winter Maiden uses as her sanctuaries. I am simply waiting for the right moment to seize the opportunity. Patience, Bloom. You will get what you desire soon enough."

"And here I thought you would have understood that patience is a virtue by now, Anastasia." Cinder remarked, eyeing the Spring Maiden candidate.

"Easy for you to say, you already have your maiden powers!" Anastasia shot back darkly.

"Because the time was right and the opportunity presented itself. One of Cinder's many qualities is patience, something you could learn from her." Salem told Anastasia as she sat back on the throne, "As for what I am about to reveal to you all tonight, I shall announce it once the others have arrived."

It wasn't long before Steppenwolffe entered the audience chamber, and the holograms of Dr. Sherizawa and Dr. Cadmus appeared as well. They greeted their powerful leader respectfully, bowing to her.

"Ah, Doctors Sherizawa and Cadmus. How goes the production of the Grimm Knights?" Salem inquired in a soft yet authoritative voice.

"The production is on schedule, ma'am. The additional upgrades are in place and all the factories' outputs are operating at the expected parameters." Cadmus reported cautiously, "As of the present, we have enough Grimm Knights to take five major cities, if you wish it."

"As tempting as that sounds, I will wait until the time comes to make appropriate use of them." The dark mistress remarked before switching to another subject, "Norvik, are you still here?"

"Yes, Mistress." A deep, wet and garbled voice of Norvik's monstrous form announced his appearance as he lurched out from a shadowy alcove off to the side, which was located just before the cliff that overlooked the main spawning pit.

The others tensed slightly, and Mavis visibly flinched upon seeing the grotesque thing before her. She could never stand to see Norvik in the flesh, and quickly moved behind Ziz and Sheer Kaa, both of whom gave her small reassuring looks before returning their gazes to Salem. Mercury and Emerald both looked uneasy at the sudden emergence of the chimera beast, but they also knew that he wouldn't try anything in the presence of Salem.

"Excellent. Now that we are all in attendance, let us get down to business." Salem began as she looked at the assembled group.

"Uh, excuse me Mistress... but what about our other allies, like that Ante guy? And what about Thorn?" Mavis queried, plucking up her courage to speak.

"Ah. Very observant, dear Mavis." Salem's lips curled into a small smile as she looked at the youngest Grimm Commander, "Ante and his Enforcers don't need to see the first subject of this meeting as they will all know soon enough. And as for Thorn, she will show up any moment now."

True to her word, at that very moment Thorn appeared via her teleportation Semblance, with a fearsome figure clad in thick dark armor standing beside her.

"Someone say my name?" She asked cheekily as she let go of the Son's arm.

"I take it you planned that little entrance, Master?" Cinder asked Salem who gave a nod.

"I do have a sense of humor, despite my usual demeanor." Salem replied with a gentle smile on her face as the Son moved quietly towards his 'mother' and stopped to stand beside her throne in silence, taking up the position of a sentinel, "Now, some of you may be wondering who this armored man is."

"The question has probably crossed everyone's minds." Sherizawa's hologram voiced quietly as he eyed the Son, especially the helmet which was shaped like a Grimm Wyvern's.

"He is the result of something Dr. Watts, Dr. West and myself have been working on for some time, with some aid from the departed doctors Merlot and Giger. By taking the recently deceased bodies of talented fighters and warriors and keeping them in stasis to prevent decay, and fusing them together with experimental science, we have managed to craft a formidable fighter from those usable body parts that were still usable. He is a fierce, powerful warrior who is more than capable of dealing deadly blows to our enemies even while they are still at full strength," She paused for a moment and added, "His creation is not to reflect negatively on any of you, as you have all done commendable jobs for the most part... but I feel that we need every advantage we can possibly have in our struggle to liberate Remnant from itself."

Cinder was intrigued by the Son, she walked forwards a few paces to get a better look at him. She had to admit he looked quite impressive and intimidating. This new development could prove both interesting, but dangerous to her position within Salem's faction, so she made a mental note to watch the Son carefully along with the rest of Salem's associates.

"I assumed he's been trained in combat?" She asked quietly and Salem responded with a nod.

"He was brought to life about six months ago, and we have subjected him to an intense training regime ensure that he is ready to serve our leader. Hazel, Tyrian, and Sheer Kaa have all assisted in this endeavor to make sure he was everything Mistress Salem wanted." Watts said, adjusting his coat.

"And how does he perform?" Cinder questioned, sizing the Son up with judgmental eyes.

"Quite well, just ask him." Hazel grunted.

Cinder exchanged looks with Emerald and Mercury before she looked to the Son and asked, "So, are you truly worthy to join us? Are you good enough to fight alongside us?"

There was a soft clatter of armor plates as the Son's Wyvern-shaped helmet turned to focus at Cinder, his face hidden behind the blank mask. The dark warrior said nothing, he merely breathed.

"My apologies, but you won't get anything out of him. While his vocal cords are still in place, there's still a little something missing." Watts began as he cupped his chin.

"A soul." Salem finished for him and everyone looked to her.

"Without a soul he cannot be persuaded or distracted by any sort of emotion. He is simply a living killing machine who will follow any task we give him to the letter, without any deviation. He has no ambition, no fear, no love, no empathy, nothing that can get in the way of his mission, and nothing that can free him from our control." She finished as she gestured and the Son knelt by her throne, allowing her to place a black-veined hand atop his head almost affectionately.

"We've kept him a secret for months now, to keep it a surprise I suppose." Sheer Kaa remarked, "Tonight was his first true mission, and how did he perform in the field?"

"The task he was given was to eliminate a loose end tied to CraftTech. A simple assassination, plus a little robbery as a bonus. Thorn was also there to assist him. So how did he do, my dear?" Salem asked the pale woman.

Thorn smirked as she began, "He did a pretty good job, granted you gave him the easiest mission possible, but he did what was needed pretty flawlessly. Meredith was stupid enough to bring bodyguards, which is exactly what he was instructed not to, but Sonny boy here took care of them easily. The loose end known as Charles Meredith is officially tied, or to give it a more accurate description, reduced to a freaking piece garbage from a barbecue that got out of hand. There were no survivors and the warehouse was emptied, and the message was deliberately left behind, which is going to make certain things very clear."

"What message?" Mavis asked.

"A message to those who serve us; the criminals, the corrupt business-people and politicians, we have so many underlings working for us that some of them are bound to get cold feet and attempt to betray us. Meredith was a loose end left by Ante, but one that was used greatly to our advantage. It will make all who serve us, no matter how minor they are, understand that attempting or even thinking about betraying us, would be the worst, and likely the last, mistake of their lives." Salem finished, looking at the Son with an expression that echoed pride.

"Still, killing a couple of sloppily trained guards and a defenseless businessman doesn't automatically make him a competent fighter." Steppenwolffe commented, arms crossed.

"I personally helped oversee his training," Sheer Kaa spoke up, "I watched as he took out several squadrons of Grimm Knights on the highest settings. As for to his combat prowess in battle against our enemies, we simply need to wait for the right time to unleash him on a target. It's as Mistress Salem said; patience."

The Grimm Commander nodded to his old comrade and stood down as Salem rose from her throne.

"Now then, onto the other topic for tonight... many years ago when I was still human, I learned of the world before Remnant, before the moon was shattered. Before even that, the world was primitive and wild, ruled over by giant beasts known as Dinosaurs that eventually died out, giving rise to mammals and, eventually, mankind. I had forgotten about them until the late Dr. Merlot, an associate no longer with us, discovered this as well and saw potential within these long dead creatures, and so I gave him permission to search for them. Sadly, he never got to fully examine his findings before his life was ended at the teeth and claws of another of his pet projects, the mutant Grimm."

"Mutant… mutant Grimm?" Mercury repeated, a bit lost and a little fearful.

"Yes, he wanted to create a serum that would empower the average Grimm and make them even more dangerous. It was a mistake and in the end I had to clear up the mess myself. Merlot was once an important figure in my organization, but in the end his ambition was his undoing; a moral you should all take to heart. However, all was not lost. Dr. West recently uncovered Merlot's records of these creatures, and an underground location where we could find them. Dr. West, if you would be so kind?" Salem spoke as she gestured to West, who was returning to the plateau after making sure everything was in place.

West bowed and began, "It would be my honor, Mistress. Now, within these crates are the remains of a mighty creature we found thanks to Dr. Merlot's notes. From what I can gather, the name of its species is known as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, or 'Tyrant Lizard King', and prior to its extinction, it was the greatest predator to ever walk the planet. We found the skeleton in an underground chamber, in what we think was a museum of old world, and in remarkably good shape considering how long it was buried underground. It's appearance is everything we hoped it would be, and everything Mistress Salem needs for a new creation."

"A new creation?" Cinder murmured, very much intrigued.

"Indeed. You are all about to bear witness to the new birth of a new type of Grimm, and an Elder Grimm at that. Salem replied.

"Whoa, I saw that thing in that cavern, and you're gonna turn that thing into a Grimm?" Ziz asked and shared some concerned looks with the other Grimm Commanders.

"Must I repeat myself?" Salem said sharply and Ziz immediately looked uncomfortable, before she stood and walked down the steps of her throne, until she was overlooking the balcony which extended from the plateau, seeing the gleaming white bones in the now open crates. Everyone else, save for the three represented by holograms, gave in to their curiosity and looked over the rock as well, looking at the bones of the Tyrannosaur.

"It's everything Merlot hoped it would be." Watts commented, impressed.

"It looks ferocious, and the transformation will multiply that substantially. I must admit it will be a great threat to our enemies, but what if it goes rogue? Large Grimm are always unpredictable when they're first spawned." Hazel said to Salem.

"There's no need to worry, Rainart. I will make sure it doesn't get out of hand." Salem assured him before looking at Matilda, who nodded and signaled to her fellow Grimm Keepers, who then checked that the power cells of their rifles were set to stun and their long cattle prods were at maximum setting.

"Just asking, which of us will control it?" Mavis questioned hesitantly, "I mean, none of us have been given control of an Elder Grimm, but since this one is just being born..."

Sheer Kaa provided the answer to the Siren, "The Elder Grimm can only be controlled by Mistress Salem. We can guide them, point them in the right direction, but not fully control them."

Mavis nodded as West took out an electronic tablet and pressed the screen several times activating a tiny hologram transmitter that began to project life-sized holograms of the bones all around them. He then manipulated the controls which caused an animation to run and show how the separate body parts all fit together and where they specifically connected.

"Now everyone, please step back. I think it's better for our safety that we give Mistress Salem room." Watts suggested as he moved towards the throne. Cinder was among the first to do so, giving the Mistress of Grimm a wide berth as she went to the edge of the plateau.

Salem looked down to the bones, and then looked at the animated holograms that surrounded her, observing them silently to take in all of the details. She looked down once more and held out her hands palms out, a dark energy pouring out from them and gently dropping down to surround the remains, covering them fully and then carefully lifting them up into the air.

The look on Salem's face was one of pure concentration as the bones began to come together, the individual sections of vertebrae; cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal, were all reunited as the ribs were reattached to the dorsal portion. The feet reclaimed their sharp claws as they was rejoined with the fibula, which were in turned attached to the femurs, which united at the ilium. The small, clawed hands met the arm, and then the sternum while the skull and the powerful jaw were reconnected, all of the teeth being carefully placed into their proper positions.

Salem's disciples watched in awe of the sight before them. No one said anything as they witnessed the sheer power of their Dark Mistress. They simply couldn't find the courage to break the silence. Soon, all the bones were back in place, and the magnificent specimen was whole again.

"It looks far more impressive whole than in pieces." Watts commented to Salem as he admired the finished skeleton.

"Indeed, dear doctor. Now, onto the next step." Salem mentioned as she used her powers to levitate the reconstructed dinosaur remains over the inky black pit. The Dark Queen then lowered the bones into the pool of tar-like liquid.

Once it was fully submerged into the Spawning Pits, Salem crossed her black-veined arms and said, "Now, we simply wait a few moments, and see the results."

The Son of Salem moved towards his 'mother', with Hazel and Dr. Watts following close behind. Cinder looked to her students, giving them a look that told them to stay while she went ahead, while Thorn and Anastasia walked right beside her.

"Should we…?" Mavis began to ask, only for Sheer Kaa to shake his head. It was clear he didn't want to be too close to the beast when it was awoke.

No one, however, even tried to intervene when Norvik began to move forward, his chimera body making heavy thudding sounds as walked out.

"I don't know which would be worse, Norvik or that big lizard thing." Anansi whispered to Ziz, who smirked and nodded in agreement.

West stayed behind as he had seen the remains up close and knew that whatever would come out of the pits would be truly monstrous, but said nothing as Tyrian whined about not being able to see it. Meanwhile, Matilda and the rest of the Keepers joined the others in looking over the parapet to see that the inky black fluids of the pool was now beginning to bubble and shift as though violent torrents were moving underneath it. Small waves began to clash against stone walls as the oily substance bubbled more and more furiously.

Soon, movement could be seen beneath the waves, and then something else could be seen taking shape. It was vague, but they all knew it was the birth of a new breed of monster, a massive creature of Grimm was coming to life right before their eyes.

Two red lights appeared in the pitch black pool...two red eyes.

Finally, it began to surface from the bubbling surface of the Spawning Pit. Salem smiled darkly as the head of the creature emerged, and differences could be seen instantly between the Grimm version and the original dinosaur. It had enlarged teeth and large white bone plating masking the skull, and lines of small horns emerging at the crown. Echoing cracking sounds could be heard as the spinal vertebrae elongated, becoming sharper and emerging out of the regenerating black skin all the way down to the tail as additional bone armor spread out along the back with a spike-like stinger at the end of the tail. The arms and the sharp claws connected to them began to enlarge unnaturally as the spikes like those of a Beowolf began to emerge along the arm.

The beast emerged from the pool, its gigantic legs lifting its body out of the pit as it walked towards higher ground, the black liquid dripping off of it in long rivulets. Its legs were now much thicker thanks to the armored bones, and the bird-like feet were slightly bigger with sharper claws.

Cinder's eyes widened upon seeing the full and terrible sight of the massive Grimm, ignoring the startled exclamation of "Holy Shit!" from Mercury. Tyrian, however, just had a look on his face that told them this was the best thing he had ever laid eyes on.

The newly-born beast breathed out, steam bursting from its nostrils before its massive, fearsome head lifted up to look at them, its blood red eyes staring right at them. It opened its mouth slightly, lowered its head before bringing it up and letting out an incredibly deafening roar of primordial fury, thick slimy saliva flying everywhere.

Everyone flinched or drew back, most covering their ears as the terrifying sight of the Grimmified Tyrannosaurs came up to the balcony-like structure of the plateau, it's menacing visage was enough to make Cinder, Watts, Hazel, and Anastasia wisely back away while Thorn simply teleported to the far side of the room.

The Son of Salem, sensing a threat to his 'mother', withdrew Chaos Edge and moved to defend her by stepping in front of the Dark Mistress, the resurrected Grimm Tyrannosaur snarling angrily at him. Cinder silently observed the intimidating warrior, seeing how he moved in between Salem and the beast without even the slightest hesitation or concern for his own safety and thought to herself that he would be an obvious 'no' for a list of potential traitors, and could be a great threat to her interests. She would have to watch him closely... and make certain adjustments to her plan to deal with him if necessary.

Norvik placed his forelegs on the parapet and looked directly into the eyes of the enormous creature, which stopped looking at Salem and moved its head slightly to observe Norvik for a few moments. The two monsters gazed at each other before the newborn Elder Grimm let out another mighty roar and snapped menacingly at Norvik. The Grimmified dinosaur's heavy jaws slammed down on thin air as the Grimm Chimera leapt back just in time.

"Magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. I can't wait to see it kill." Norvik said to himself, as the beast kept snarling at him.

"Should we attempt to tame it, Mistress Salem or do you want to do it yourself?" Matilda asked her master cautiously as the resurrected Tyrannosaurs abruptly swerved its head back to them, making the head of the Grimm Keepers jump back in fright.

The Son of Salem got into a pose that made it look like he was about to leap into the air, his sword ready to strike the beast, before Salem gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head to look at her, they shared a brief look before he nodded and seemed to relax, stepping aside for his 'mother' to walk forward while he kept his sword unsheathed, guard up.

One of the Grimm Keepers made sure his electrical prod was at maximum setting as he began to slowly walk forwards, only to trip over a rock and fall forwards onto the parapet, accidentally attracting the newly-born Grimm's attention. Its head lurched forward without warning as he forced himself up, but it was already too late for him.

Before he could scream the reborn dinosaur swung its head with its powerful jaws open and caught him, lifting the unfortunate Keeper off the ground into the air. The other Keepers began to fire their stun guns at the beast, electric blasts sparking off its thick hide while their comrade screamed and begged for help before the Grimmified Dinosaur began to shake him wildly, like a dog would with a raggedy old toy. His screams became louder as the beast bit down, its sharp teeth severing the right arm and leg from body instantly, and the violent shaking caused those body parts to go flying onto the ground of the plateau with red blood spattering onto the smooth black marble. The sight alone was enough to make almost everyone recoil, and more than a few of them gave out gasps of shock and terror.

Ziz immediately covered Mavis's eyes and extended her wings to their maximum length, looking as if she were ready to shield the girl, while Emerald and Mercury got ready to fight.

The chilling screams of the unfortunate Keeper continued for several seconds until the beast bit down again, weakening his cries as it slammed him down to the ground and began to rip him apart. Its sharp fangs tore out chunks of the Keeper's body within its mouth, reducing the flesh to ragged pieces and cracking bones apart as it ate its first meal.

After devouring the ill-fated Grimm Keeper, the abomination raised its head once more, letting bits of gore drop from its mouth and blood drop from its horrifying jaws. It's mouth was now covered with what remained of the Keeper, torn flesh stuck in between the teeth, but none of these factors seemed to bother Salem as she stood serenely before the monstrosity.

"A truly marvelous creature, don't you think?" She spoke as she walked past the Son, ignoring the fearsome snarls of the monster. It moved as though to attack once more, only for Salem to hold out her hand and place it atop the snout of the beast.

"Sleep." She commanded.

The giant Grimm pulled back from her, its eyes looking right at its creator as it slowly calmed down and lowered its head. Soon enough the Elder Grimm had laid its entire body down on the ground before the Spawning Pits and promptly fell asleep.

"An acceptable field test, Dr. West." Salem announced as she turned back to face said Doctor who was standing a respectful distance from her, "I am not disappointed in the slightest, this creature will indeed be a great asset to our future plans."

West bowed to her as he came forward, a look of pride written on his face as he tried to ignore the spattered bloodstains at his feet.

"Its name means Tyrant Lizard King, correct?" She asked him.

"Uh, yes it does, my queen." West confirmed.

Salem hummed and said, "An appropriate name, but I think I shall name it the Tyrant."

"An excellent choice, Mistress." Watts praised, while Hazel merely nodded in agreement.

"Hell yeah! When are we gonna let it loose?" Tyrian's shimmering hologram asked her.

"When the time is right, dear Tyrian. I think a creature as powerful as the Tyrant deserves a worthy target. I shall make my choice in due time." Salem told him.

"I honestly feel a bit sorry for whoever or whatever it attacks. I mean, if that thing were out in the wild there would be no stopping it." Mercury voiced nervously.

"Indeed, it would take more than a few Huntsmen to bring it down." Steppenwolffe agreed.

Norvik crawled over to the severed arm and leg and asked, "So, anyone want a piece?"

Almost everyone shuddered or cringed at the thought, and Sheer Kaa spoke for everyone when he bluntly stated, "You're disgusting."

"I still can't decide which one is more disturbing." Anansi quipped as his extended spider legs clacked around himself.

"And that says something coming from a guy with spiders living in his shirt." Ziz remarked dryly.

Salem shook her head before saying, "Now that the demonstration is over...Sheer Kaa, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, I want the three of you to keep watch on the Tyrant. Thorn, I require you to help Matilda and the other Keepers transport the Tyrant to the resting place I have chosen for it. Mavis and Anansi, you two can keep the other Grimm calm for the time being, the birth of a new Elder Grimm can be a bit exciting."

Thorn and the Grimm Hybrids set to work, and eventually the Tyrant was teleported to its chosen prison for the time being, awaiting its chance to be unleashed again.

Cinder, however, was more preoccupied with looking at the Son of Salem, "Master, I think Steppenwolffe raised a valid point earlier about the Son. Stealth and assassinations are one thing, but full on combat is another. When the time comes for a full scale battle, will he be of use?" She asked while gesturing to him.

Salem turned her head slightly so that she was looking at Cinder from over her shoulder, giving the Fall Maiden a smile as she answered, " I assure you that in time he will prove to you how capable he truly is, my disciple. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with him. You are all dismissed for tonight. Thank you for joining me and may you all have a pleasant evening.

With this, the Mistress of Grimm walked towards the largest door leading out of the Spawning Pits which opened automatically to admit her into the darkness beyond, and closed it behind her, leaving her underlings to disperse at their leisure.

As the Grimm Keepers went about their assigned jobs, Cinder instead crossed her arms as her amber eyes focused in the Son's direction. He seemed to be looking back at her, but it was hard to tell due to the mask concealing his face. Eventually, he was led out of the room by Hazel while Watts began to speak to West and the holograms of Sherizawa and Cadmus, and a bored Tyrian simply deactivated his hologram and left.

Norvik took his leave, the severed limbs still dangling from his mouth, while Anastasia walked away muttering in a whiny voice as she made expressive gestures with her hands, "'Wait, all in due time, have patience'. Gods, I am probably going to have gray hair by the time I get my Maiden powers!"

Exactly what Salem saw in Anastasia Bloom, Cinder didn't know. She simply shook her head at her petulant whining, but still...

"So what do you think?" Emerald's voice snapped her out of deep thought.

"About what exactly? The Tyrant or the Son?" Cinder queried as she led the thief and assassin out of the cavern.

"Both, I guess." Emerald answered with a shrug.

"The Tyrant will undoubtedly make a very useful tool of destruction, and by creating such a creature it tells me that my Master is planning to strike at one of the Kingdoms soon. I can't tell when, but a battle is coming, there's no mistaking that." Cinder surmised, placing a gloved hand beneath her chin as her amber eyes narrowed a faction.

"And what about zombie boy?" Mercury inquired, "I mean, stringing a bunch of dead bodies together to make a super soldier? Where do I even begin to describe how messed up that is?"

"I admit I'm curious about him, why make something like him? She already has more than enough servants that could serve as assassins, so why does she want him? As a bodyguard?" Cinder reflected, sharing a brief look with Emerald who gave a shrug in return.

"Yeah, why would she need a bodyguard?" Mercury pointed out, "She's so powerful, all she needs to do is look at something and wham! Instant pain."

"True, but a bodyguard would probably give an enemy a false sense of security. We shall have to see how he performs before we judge the Son." Cinder said thoughtfully before adding, "Still there's something else..."

While she noticed the concerned looks that her students were giving her, the Fall Maiden couldn't bring herself to say anything that would alarm them. She struggled to find the words momentarily, but couldn't in the end, "Never mind, it's nothing."

She then turned and walked down the hallway back up to the higher levels of the castle in silence, with Emerald and Mercury looking at each other in confusion.

* * *

If there's one thing the continent of Solitas had in abundance, besides snow, it would have to be mountains. The various sharp-edged ranges and peaks stretched away to the horizon, clustering themselves close to each other as though they were huddling together for warmth. Numerous valleys and gorges were carved into the lower regions over long periods of time naturally by the unforgiving weather.

While a few wider valleys have been remade into major transit pathways for the extensive Atlesian train transport network to connect between various major cities, many were left untouched due to the risk of avalanches, ice, and significant concentrations of Grimm which many would do well to avoid. While expeditions had been launched in the past, the few brave souls had to bring experienced climbers and security forces, lest they fall prey to accidents or worse.

And where the majority of Atlas' population avoided or shunned the area, the very same mountains could also be used by certain individuals to run their own operations away from prying eyes.

In the shadows of a hidden crevice that offered an unobstructed view of the sharply-curving valley below, a pair of operatives from Task Force Omega silently observed the activity within the moderately-sized Red Fang base below. Thick white snow fell around them and freezing gusts of wind blew past them and disturbed the external crystalline panels of their advanced full-body armor suits. The two were hidden by the crevice even as they rested on their front, the electronic sensors of their armoured helmets set at maximum to make sure they didn't miss any crucial detail.

The Omega trooper on the left cradled a heavily-customized and scoped sniper rifle pointed down into the valley, slowly panning from left to right while his female companion had two armoured fingers at the side of her helmet, tuned in to the same view he was seeing through the scope. While their helmets concealed any noise from the outside world, the quick movements of their helmets signified unspoken responses to each other even as they relayed intelligence through a heavily-encrypted channel back to Commander Central.

The sniper, known as Javelin, and the spotter, known as Jammer, were both chosen by Central to join his hand-picked cadre of elite Atlesian soldiers because they were highly trained in their respective specializations. Others that made up the team were also chosen for their skills, courage, initiative and resourcefulness they had exhibited within the various branches of the Atlesian military before they were recruited.

Below them the valley curved sharply to either side, with a roughly square-ish base sitting at the foot. In the snow-covered courtyard small ships sat idling underneath white tarps to protect them from the harsh weather, along with an assortment of a few tanks and assault tech. At the other side of the base were the hulking forms of extensively-modified mechanical Paladins, possibly stolen from Atlas by Torchwick and then smuggled away after the death of Adam Taurus. Sentries wielding assault rifles were stationed all over the temporary Red Fang base, and regular patrols walked in circuits outside its low walls.

"Omega One, are you seeing this? Target area looks hot." Javelin murmured to himself as he increased the magnification, seeing a number of Red Fang soldiers unloading thick crates containing ammunition and weapons, "I count quite a number of heavy armor including transport trucks, a troop carrier, one battle tanks, and at least four stolen modified Paladin units."

"And it seems our suspicions were confirmed, they did repurpose that abandoned outpost from the Second Great War." Jammer added while zooming in through the suite of sensors within her helmet, "Our target is probably hiding in one of those buildings, we might him there if we move quickly."

"Acknowledged." Central's voice came through the communication channel,"We'll make those command and control buildings our main objective once we land boots on the ground."

"Wait, I see something happening near the base." Jammer's companion sighted down his scope at the couple of trucks parked near an opening carved into the rock of the mountain. It looks like a rather deep cave despite the falling snow hampering his view a little, and it seemed to burrow deep into the roots of the mountain, "I don't remember such a tunnel opening here."

"Many people don't." Jammer offered helpfully beside him, "Back in the Second Great War, tunnels like that one were used by the resistance to travel freely in and out of Mantle. While a few of them were created through artificial means, the majority are caused by natural erosion over long periods of times, and sometimes have concentrations of Grimm living within. After the war, the government sealed off most of them to prevent further Grimm incursions to the Kingdom's borders, but I guess this one escaped notice."

"And do we know where this particular tunnel leads?" Central asked.

Jammer thought for a moment before continuing, "Not without a thorough scan through the cave network. Which we obviously can't given the circumstances and mission parameters. We have to find another way to close that tunnel."

"A strategic airstrike would have been ideal." Javelin commented as he shifted his sniper rifle slightly to the right to look at something else, "They're all bunched up inside the confines of the base, just asking for it. We could also seal off that tunnel entrance at the same time. Two birds with one stone."

"Negative. You know the objectives of the mission, Omega Four." Central reiterated while Jammer turned her helmet slightly to the left to glance at her fellow Omega trooper carefully, "High Command rejected the airstrike option as they want the primary target alive. Apparently it's so important to the intelligence branch that they sent our team to handle it personally."

"Actually the primary target is not an inert object, Commander." N1CK3L's cool, modulated voice smoothly cutting into the channel as his identification icon chimed with Javelin and Jammer's helmets' retinal displays, "It is actually an individual, or more specifically a high-ranking White Fang officer who served Adam Taurus in the past and joined the Red Fang after its collapse."

"Draco Sanguine, right?" The sniper grunted as he adjusted the scope of his sniper rifle to focus on the cluster of pitted concrete buildings within the base, watching the small groups of Red Fang soldiers go about their business.

"Correct, he is a Vampire Bat Faunus who was in charge of Blood Reavers gang in Vacuo makes it clear he was a threat even before he joined the White Fang." N1CK3L informed them. "Draco was a staunch loyalist to Adam Taurus, and was considered the one of his most dangerous Oblivion Vanguards due to his handling of certain sensitive matters for the ex-leader of the White Fang. After the main White Fang faction fell, he was among those that escaped capture and disappeared, until the Red Fang began to surface, and then the Special Operatives Unit managed to obtain some information as to his whereabouts and what he had been doing. From what the intelligence branch have pieced together, it seems that Draco has made a new Blood Reavers gang within the Red Fang, in preparation to perform attacks or whoever's in control of the Red Fang at the moment."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Javelin quipped and then added a few seconds later, " I have a feeling that he isn't going to surrender without a fight, but I don't see him within the Red Fang base anywhere..."

"He's probably in one of those buildings." Jammer replied as she looked through the three-dimensional hologram of the Red Fang base crafted by her suit's high-tech sensors, "Most likely the large one in the middle of the base, with the tower, it would provide a good vantage point to see the entire cell assembling and make a quick getaway, there's an adjacent landing pad with a heavily armed Bullhead on it."

"Good eye, Omega Three." The commander acknowledged, "We'd have to disable or destroy it before he tries to make a getaway when things go south. There's also a secondary objective for you once you gain access to their command center, are you clear on that?"

The tech ops specialist gave a tiny nod of her helmet as she sent a signal of acknowledgement, "Hacking their systems to find out if they're are other active cells hiding in Atlas? Just give me two minutes, and I can get you all the information you need to burn them out of their hiding places."

"Just do what you do and we'll be fine." Central answered and began to deliver precise reminders to each respective Omega Trooper with regards to their role within his team, but for some reason he had left out what role N1CK3L had to play in the upcoming mission. None of the members of his personal team questioned him, since they knew that Central often keeps something in reserve so that he doesn't commit everything at once, and it has paid off in the previous assignments they have been tasked with.

"...after we have captured Draco and sliced into the Blood Reaver's computer database to get whatever we can on their operations, we will make for the primary extraction site and Raider will drop in with  _Retribution_ to pick us and our target up. Omega Six will then blow the explosives he planted at the tunnel entrance once everyone is on board. Everyone clear?" Central finished as though he had rehearsed the briefing countless times before, his voice carrying his orders smoothly to every single member of his team, who all gave out signals of acknowledgment. "Good. Task Force Omega, move out."

Javelin and Jammer both cut the communications link and slowly lifted themselves from the snow, their armour suits' external panels camouflaging them in the mountain surface behind them. Moving with care, the two began their silent and careful descent downwards to the Red Fang base, with the rest of their team doing the same thing from other separate locations.

"What's your opinion of the robot?" Javelin suddenly spoke up as he lowered himself slowly onto the ledge below him, "I don't quite like how his voice can suddenly cut into our communications channels."

"Strangely, I find N1CK3L interesting." Jammer answered as she adjusted her grip and dropped down onto the ledge with her fellow Omega trooper, "He doesn't behave like any of those Atlesian knight models we have seen marching around headquarters, and he makes valid points and observations, but also seems to be trying to display emotions, though from what I understand he's still more robotic than that Penny android."

The sniper grunted as he and Jammer inched their way onto another lower ledge, "I still don't know why we need an enhanced tactical android attached to our team, we pretty much have every available role already filled."

"He's fully programmed for combat, so I think he could be our emergency backup." Jammer guessed and glanced at Javelin, tilting her head a little, "Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us."

"We'll see." Javelin sighed as he continued his downward climb, "Let's just hope he doesn't end up like those disposable Atlesian Knights."

"Somehow, I doubt it." The tech specialist replied as they both reached another lower ledge which sloped steeply downward before evening out onto solid ground. Jogging through the snowstorm towards the Red Fang base in the distance as flakes of snow whipped into their faces, the two Omega agents gave one last check of their respective weapons and nodded at each other with a couple of quick hand gestures.

"Okay, let's get to work."

The moment the flash-bang grenade, thrown by Central himself, detonated within the command center of the base, there was only screams of shock and confusion following the bright searing flash of light within the confines of the compound. Moving quickly, with Jammer taking the left and another Omega Tropper, Shocker, taking the right, Central entered the facility and began to neutralize every single Red Fang soldier and officer he could see, the targets already tagged within his helmet's electronic display.

With his customized assault rifle braced against his shoulder, Central speedily shot the first Faunus clad in red and black, who was struggling to see as he brought up his own rifle to return fire, causing him to drop his weapon and tumble to the ground groaning in pain. Spinning around, he nailed another Red Fang grunt who was hiding behind a desk and was trying to draw a bead on Shocker who was grappling with another what looked like a burly-looking… Lizard Faunus?

This odd sight nearly allowed another Faunus to get the drop on him, but Jammer was covering him, her energy rifle sending blasts of blue energy across the length of the room, dropping any remaining enemy who couldn't find cover. Central signaled, thanking her as he snapped back into the here and now.

As the next enemy soldier fell backwards, clutching a shoulder wound inflicted by Central, Shocker dropped one hand and disengaged one of his twin shock batons, thumbing it to crackling life. He waited for an opening, then bashed the Lizard Faunus in the face with the butt of his assault rifle, before slamming the dangerous end of it into the Fusion Faunus' chest causing him to dance momentarily with his mouth open in a muffled scream as he began to visibly smoke due to the high voltage, the masked faunus slumped forward and collapsed with a loud thud once Shocker withdrew his sparking shock baton. As he brought up his assault rifle, he glanced down at the strange anomaly of a reptile Faunus once more before adding his gunfire to Central and Jammer's fusillade.

In a span of a few moments the unyielding floor of the command center was littered with groaning and unconscious Red Fang soldiers and officers. Marching over to the largest computer console in the room, Central picked up the hand of a high-ranking Red Fang officer who was knocked out cold from the ground and placed it on the scanning panel. Once the security system flashed green, he moved aside and nodded to Jammer, who was already jacking cables in through multiple open external cable ports and typing rapidly on the glowing electronic screen displayed on her forearm-mounted dock, already hacking through the base's firewalls and searching for whatever intelligence she could find within reach. The whole engagement took less than five minutes, and hopefully no alarm had been raised.

"Omega Five, watch the door." Central ordered as he saw the various wall-mounted computer screens displaying various scrolling data on other Red Fang operations scattered around Solitas, all of it being transferred to Jammer's mobile tactical database system within her suit and deleting everything from the Red Fang's systems, including all of their backups. True to her impressive hacking skills, the tech specialist of the team cracked the security mainframe within thirty seconds and quickly began her download, while attaching and priming a couple of EMP grenades to knock out the every piece of electronic hardware within the temporary command center.

"Omega One, we've checked the other rooms on this floor, no sign of Draco Sanguine." Javelin reported as he and two others, Invictus and Fieros, walked through the damaged doors of the command center, with Fieros bringing up his energy rifle to deliver a blast into a masked Red Fang soldier who was slowly crawling towards his discarded weapon, "Looks like the three of you have been very busy."

"Indeed." Shocker turned his helmet towards Javelin who shrugged his shoulders a little, "It must be really comfortable for you to sit somewhere high and snipe away at targets while the rest of us get dirty with enemy forces on the ground."

"Well, you know me, I always enjoy a view from above." The sniper gave a small chuckle as he chambered another round into his personal sniper rifle, and was about to say more when Central spoke up.

"Our secondary objectives have been completed, but we still need to capture Draco for the intelligence branch so as to ensure that our mission is a success. He must be in the vicinity of the base somewhere, since he isn't here in the temporary command center."

"He's likely in the tower overseeing the activity of his cell." Invictus, the heavy assault trooper mentioned as he shifted his portable multiple-missile launcher which was locked to his back, to which Javelin shook his helmeted head slowly, "I checked the tower on my way here with my rifle's scope. There's only a couple of grunts having a smoke up there, nothing else."

"Actually, why don't we ask someone around here?" Shocker dragged the Red Fang officer that Central had 'borrowed' his clearance to bypass the computer systems' security upright and zapped him awake with a small charge from his shock batons, "Rise and shine, Red Fang. We would like to ask you a few questions."

The masked Red Fang officer, a Jackal Faunus, glared hatefully at the melee specialist as he found himself handcuffed to one of the intact chairs, "You can do whatever you want to me, but I'm not saying anything to any of you."

"You might want to rethink that." Javelin snarked a little at his defiant outlook, "Because once my fellow agents here get to use their special talents, you're gonna regret saying that."

"If you want to skip all the unnecessary trouble, start by telling us where Draco Sanguine is." Central posed, his customized assault rifle lowered while giving orders through hand signals for Javelin, Invictus and Fieros to watch the doors.

Instead, the Faunus spat at Central's boots, the glob of phlegm spattered across the floor. The Task Force Commander gestured to Shocker who toyed with his collapsible laser sword which was held in a holster at his lower back, "Omega Five, think you can get him talking in the next two minutes?"

"I can make him sing soprano in one." Shocker said, stepping towards the terrified Red Fang officer.

Central watched him pull out the laser sword before turning to regard Jammer who was flicking through the immense amount of data she had transferred from the hacked computer systems. "Omega Three, I need a sitrep now."

"Almost done. Just leaving some surprises for the Red Fang should they somehow manage to access the computer mainframe after we leave." The tech genius was smiling behind her helmet as she tapped a few final commands and heard a series of soft beeps echo from her forearm-mounted dock's blue screen, "I've been coding and devising security measures since I was thirteen, commander. Their security systems are child's play for me. There, that's everything I have data-mined from their servers, I also erased everything from their computer systems too." She then detached the cables from the main computer console and checked the remaining charge on her energy rifle.

There was a brief scream as Central turned back to Shocker who was calmly wiping blood off his gauntleted fingers as he walked back to the commander's side and pointed at the wall-mounted display screens, "Looks like Draco had left to inspect the modifications on his personal Paladin battlesuit just a while ago. It's the closed hangar displayed at the top right hand screen."

"Are you sure, Omega Five?" Central checked his ammunition count for his assault rifle, and eyed the unconscious Red Fang officer being dragged away by Fieros, "Did that officer lie to you?"

"Well, he did at first." The melee specialist answered coolly, "But after I nearly chopped off his fingers with my sword, he told me the truth. Didn't stop me from punching him in the face again."

"Good work. We need to move quickly before any lingering patrols return and sound the alarm." Central spoke to the rest of the assembled team, "Let's go get Draco and finish this mission."

Within seconds, the elite team vanished down the darkened corridors of the Red Fang's base, heading towards the hangar where they would find their primary target and leaving a whole room of unconscious Red Fang personnel lying on the cold floor.

* * *

Stationed a short but safe distance away from the base and cloaked from all kinds of detection by its unique stealth technology, the  _Retribution_  floated smoothly between two mountain peaks, occasionally releasing small, short blasts from its maneuvering thrusters as the Strike Corvette maintained its current position without alerting the enemy of its presence while its main engines remained hot.

Despite the Corvette's smaller size compared to the other airships of the Atlesian military, it was nevertheless quite dangerous in its own right due its ability to carry a small army within its hangar bays and its formidable complement of armaments which included point defense gun turrets, concussion missile pods and a pair of twin mass-rail-gun cannons. Additionally, the  _Retribution_  also boasted its own barrier shields and its trio of primary engines were powered by an experimental dust-fusion reactor. Commissioned by General Ironwood for Task Force Omega, it served as the commando unit's main source of transport besides their advanced VTOL gunships and mobile bases.

Fast enough to surpass the speeds of other airships built by the other Kingdoms, yet capable of packing a fearsome punch with its powerful weapons whenever the need arose, the ship assigned to Central's team was crafted with the very best Atlas technology through and through. Of course, it was unique enough to have only have a very small number produced, and all of them were given either Atlesian specialists with stunning records, or commando units which have proven themselves many times over like Commander Central's.

Within the confines of the standing-by  _Retribution's_  bridge, the main pilot and engineering specialist of Central's team sat at the extensive navigation console, his helmeted face lit by the glow of many blue and green screens displaying a wide range of technical information which jockeyed for his attention all the way from left to right. Raider's, better known as Omega Two, hands were holding a large complex-looking joystick and dancing across the length of a complicated keyboard as he maintained the ship's position cautiously, waiting for the signal from the rest of Team 113 to execute a hot pick-up when they completed both the primary and secondary objectives of the mission.

A skilled pilot would still have some trouble moving the sleek Corvette through the narrow valleys between the massive mountains, but Raider was glad he had some assistance from the ship itself. In addition to its advanced stealth cloak, the  _Retribution_  had something else that has not been fully-implemented in other Atlesian airships: an Electronic Versatile Agent unit, a highly advanced battle interface pseudo-artificial intelligence that monitored critical information and coordinates overall tactical operations for the Task Force and could even auto-pilot the Strike Corvette whenever necessary.

Currently, the EVA unit was assisting him in keeping an eye out on the team's progress through their video and audio pickups, as well as on the status of N1CK3L, who was currently standing-by in the main hangar bay. Raider didn't know what role his commander has designated N1CK3L, but judging from what the 'brother' of Penny was packing within the massive metal crate which had been brought on-board along with him from the Spirit of Winter, the Task Force's pilot had a feeling that N1CK3L would be fully capable of dishing out a lot of damage should the need arise.

Such as the current situation the team was facing at the moment.

"Warning: Additional enemy forces inbound ." A cool female voice resonated within the Task Force pilot's helmet, and he sat up while changing the screens to show the muted video links from what the rest of his team was presently seeing. The situation facing them at the moment had deteriorated with every passing second, and it appeared that the entire Red Fang base had noticed their infiltration and were raining untold amounts of gunfire in their direction. Raider's hands clenched on the navigational joystick as he watched the battle unfolding from his team members' perspectives, and he forced himself to steady his breathing as he awaited the confirmation that he was to uncloak and rush in to pick up his team from the hot war zone.

He blinked away anything that was not relevant to his current situation, shuffling them away to the side or closing additional screens completely as he focused on the main screens showing the battle unfolding within the Red Fang base, explosions tearing through various parts of it at separate intervals. Thirty seconds, that was all he had to uncloak and deploy from the far end of the narrow valley and be directly over the outskirts of the base to pick up Central and the rest, before turning around and blasting off and re-cloaking the  _Retribution_  to prevent being followed.

The constant vibration of the engines informed Raider that it was ready to go once the order was given, but something began to bother him the longer he looked at the screens showing his other team members in combat. Normally, it would be that the enemy would be retreating from the Task Force, but this time it was Central and his team that were being gradually boxed in, with massive amounts of firepower hammering them from all sides even as they returned fire whenever they could, but it was clear they were fighting a losing battle.

He was about to tell the EVA unit to open a channel to Central when he saw the icon of his commander blink urgently. Looking at the video links, Raider could see that his leader was hunkering behind a barricade while firing his customized assault rifle at the incoming Red Fang soldiers who were firing so much ammo that they were punching large amounts of deep holes in the wall behind the commander himself.

He switched to audio, and Central's voice came over the deafening roar of weapons fire and several explosions. " _Retribution_ , we have positive confirmation of Draco Sanguine, but we cannot get to him due to us being pinned down." His voice was nearly swallowed in static before it came back slightly clearer than before, "Omega Two, area is far too hot for you to attempt a pick-up."

"Omega One, I can still strafe the Red Fang forces with the  _Retribution's_  weaponry, buy you all some breathing room and perhaps allow you to still capture Draco. Then make your way to the extraction point and I'll be there to extract you." Raider answered as he adjusted the communication channel, watching Invictus's video feed as he fired his missile launcher which hit a Red Fang tank head-on, causing it to blow up in a spectacular fashion and sent hot shrapnel flying everywhere while a large fireball mushroomed into the air.

"Negative." Central's voice was hard as he continued gunning down any threat he could while running from cover to cover, avoiding missile blasts and the hailstorm of assault rifle fire coming his way, "We're switching over to the contingency plan. Patch me through to N1CK3L now."

"You sure, Commander?" Raider's gauntlet-clad fingers was already shifting to another holographic keyboard on his console as he connected the Task Force commander to the android once he received confirmation from Central. He could overhear everything Central said to N1CK3L, although it was rather short and straightforward since there wasn't much to say when one was fighting for his life against heavily-armed enemies who were actively trying to kill him and the rest of his team.

"Omega Two, do exactly what Omega Eight requests of you, our lives depend on your piloting skills once again."

Raider managed a small chuckle, and shook his head a little in response, "I may be a daredevil, but deploying an android into the battlefield in the midst of battle? Oh ye of little faith... I won't fail you."

"See that you don't, or we'll all be dead." Central managed a terse reply before cutting the communication channel, at which Raider switched over to N1CK3L as he brought the  _Retribution's_  engines and weapon systems online.

"Omega Eight, are you ready for your special drop? It's your first big engagement, right?"

"Affirmative." N1CK3L answered coolly from the  _Retribution's_  hangar bays, "I am aware of my primary and secondary targets. Mark II Full Armour Defense System online and operating at maximum efficiency. I am am prepared to engage enemy forces."

"You better be. Get ready to deploy once I open the hangar bay doors!" The pilot nodded to himself as he tapped multiple keys speedily and brought the experimental dust-fusion reactor to full power once more and waking the airship to full readiness in the span of a few seconds. The entire deck of the bridge rumbled as massive amounts of power was fed to those important areas of the ship, launching it quickly into the frenzy of the ensuing battle nearby.

He mentally prayed he would make it in time, because otherwise the consequences would be... horrifying.

* * *

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. That was a harsh lesson from the many battles that had taken place in the Three Great Wars, and many other conflicts that had ravaged Remnant in the past had taught. Of course, he should have expected it, but apparently things don't always go the way Central plans and sometimes, one has to improvise instantly during a battle to achieve victory.

Central ducked back behind the battered snow-covered emplacement walls as streams of bullets flew past him from the weapons of several Red Fang soldiers, striking the walls with percussive bangs and showering him with chips of concrete and flakes of snow. A lucky round bounced off his shoulder-plate, scattering tiny plumes of smoke into the cold air and ricocheted into the frozen ground a short distance away where it began smoking.

Poking his helmeted head out a little, he caught a glimpse the masked shooter who had scored the lucky shot, and when that particular Red Fang trooper paused to reload when his subordinates continued to open fire at him, he leaned out quickly, aimed and pulled the trigger, sending out a short burst from his customized advanced rifle, the armor-piercing rounds forming a neat formation on the shooter's chest which took him out of the fight.

The commander of Task Force Omega then pulled back again to avoid taking too much enemy fire, trusting in his teammates around him who were returning fire with their respective weapons against the steadily encroaching Blood Reavers. Despite the heavy snow fall around them, the air was punctuated with the shrieking sounds of missiles and what felt like a hailstorm of indiscriminate gunfire battering their steadily shrinking defensive perimeter.

His plan was going smoothly so far, after they left the cleared command center towards the warehouse where the leader of the Blood Reavers was said to be at the moment. The entire team of elite Atlesian troopers were moving silently and carefully across the vicinity of the base when they suddenly heard the wailing alarm which was somehow been triggered much earlier than any of them had expected it to. Within moments, every Red Fang soldier within the base went to full alert, and the next thing Central knew they were facing down massed gunfire from nearly every direction, with more enemy reinforcements coming with every passing moment. A few seconds later, the conversation of exchanging fire began with no signs of stopping.

The entire team, save for Raider and N1CK3L, was fighting by his side as they shot at whatever targets they could see. Off to his left was Shocker who was emptying his twin machine pistols methodically into enemy soldiers who dared to charge their defensive position, while on his right Fieros was bracing his heavily-modified plasma repeater rifle on a low wall and laying down intense blasts of scorching blue plasma energy at any available targets. A little bit further back firing his multiple missile launcher was Invictus, his large armored shape easily distinguishable from the rest of the team even as he slipped back into cover while Jammer covered him by adding her energy rifle's fire to the combined barrage. Somewhere out of sight, Javelin was sniping away at any target he could find as Central could see certain charging Red Fang soldiers suddenly jerking and then falling flat on their faces, or slumped to the ground wordlessly as Javelin's armor-piercing bullets found their targets unerringly.

Despite the amount of enemy forces they neutralized, yet more of the cell were still on the way. The Blood Reavers cell numbers must have increased drastically, as their number was much higher than previously believed, and as Central adjusted his helmet's magnification he saw two more battle tanks rumbling into attack formation, and behind them were the heavily modified Paladin battle-suits lumbering out of the warehouse hangars into battle as well. With their current weaponry at the moment, the team could only take out a small number of those targets, perhaps one of those Paladins, at best. If they were to run out of ammunition, which wasn't too far off from happening, the Blood Reavers would probably annihilate his entire team without a second thought.

"Omega One, we're getting hammered out here!" Shocker ducked back as he ejected his spent magazines from his twin machine pistols and slammed in fresh clips while Jammer covered him, "Is the coming to get us?"

"Not at the moment, Omega Five." Central fired off another burst from his assault rifle and ducked back just as a pair of shrieking rockets slammed into the ground a few meters in front of him, sending plumes of dirt and snow flying into the air, "I have called for reinforcements, they'll be here in four minutes."

"Four minutes?" Shocker did not keep the alarm from his tone, "We may be killed in half that!" He fired a burst from his twin machine pistols, knocking a shouting Red Fang soldier from his rattling machine-gun post. A hail of bullets and rockets answered his defiance, causing the Omega Trooper to seek cover once more or be reduced to bloody chunks by the ensuing shrapnel.

"Omega Three!" Central shouted into the channel as he gunned down enemy targets left and right while moving from cover to cover, "Can you take control of one of the enemy Atlesian paladins? We could buy ourselves a few more minutes by turning them against each other!"

"I've been trying," Jammer ejected a spent energy cell from her rifle and rapidly slid in a fresh one, and added more firepower to the team's return fire once more, "The Red Fang must have modified the control systems of those Paladins, because they have somehow managed to counter my remote hacking."

"Wonderful." Central muttered to himself as his rifle spat armor-piercing rounds continuously, holes appearing in the body armor of various masked Red Fang members as they fell, "Looks like we may have to get in close and take them out with EMP grenades then."

"Central, I gotta be level with you." Javelin's barely coherent voice somehow made it through the storm of static and weapons fire, his sniper rifle bring down target after target from his hidden position, including one Red Fang soldier who was about to throw a grenade but was shot in the shoulder and caused him to accidentally take out his group of allies as well.

"Javelin, if you crack another joke, then so help me..." Central was about to rebuke the sniper when he heard him reply.

"It's going to be a long four minutes." He simply grunted his answer and returned back to putting down as many enemy troopers permanently out of the fight as possible. "Oum, how many of them are there?!"

"Heads up, twelve o'clock!" Invictus fired another barrage of missiles from his missile launcher before pointing in the direction he had just said, "Looks like the leader of the Blood Reavers has joined in the battle, in a customized Paladin!"

Central risked a look out at the raging battlefield and felt something he hadn't felt in some time: dread. What strode out of the open doors of the warehouse was a massively modified Paladin that had far too many additional weapons and armor plating bolted onto its frame. One arm ended in a pair of multi-barreled gatling guns while the other arm had heavy energy blasters. Racks of missiles were mounted on its shoulders and the cockpit had a terrifying red grinning skull painted on it, while smears of red paint could also be seen on its expanded shoulders, reinforced torso and legs. At both sides of its shoulders were yet more guns and what looked like a twin artillery cannon protruded from its back.

"I think we can make a good guess as to where Sanguine is now." Shocker shared a look with Central who was slamming a fresh clip into his customized rifle, before the commander shouted for his team to scatter as the Red Fang cell leader's battle-suit unleashed its payload of massed missiles and artillery rounds. Central grabbed Shocker's arm and threw themselves behind a low wall as the whining sounds of missiles screamed through the air and detonated behind them, hurling both of them into the snow and showering them with clods of dirt and a mist of vaporized snow.

A second later the both of them were up and firing once more, with the rest of the team recovering as they staggered behind whatever cover they could find while pumping more lead and energy blasts in the direction of the enemy. It was clear that they needed heavy support, and fast. Bullets ricocheted from around them while more missiles and shells slammed into their increasingly decimated perimeter, fired by the incoming Red Fang forces as they continued to surround the elite team, cutting all avenues of escape.

"Omega Eight, please tell me you're close!" Central shouted into his communication channel, before he heard the deafening roar of airship engines and a rather large shadow fell upon them. He looked up, and saw the  _Retribution_  streak down from the snowing skies like an avenging angel, decloaking as its weapon ports opened and unleashed barrages of missiles and streams of shells into the Red Fang troops who were stunned at the vessel's sudden appearance.

As explosions blanketed the entire swathe of the base, the Strike Corvette banked around and its hangar bay opened and a figure leaped out with twin flames roaring from its jetpack. Slamming into the hardened ground in front of Central and other members of his personal team in a cloud of white snow and choking dust, cratering the ground upon which it stood. When the smoke cleared, it revealed the newcomer; N1CK3L had arrived, armed and ready for combat.

The Enhanced Tactical Android was wearing looked like a far smaller, but slightly more advanced version of the Paladin battle-suit, which was surprising for both sides. Clad fully in thick layers of titanium alloy plating and nanocomposite titanium fibers, the newest member of Task Force Omega was clearly designed for warfare as he straightened out the knee-guards of his Mark II Full Armour Defense System. A twin arm-mounted double-barreled gatling gun was mounted on the combat synthetic's right arm, while a huge twin beam rifle occupied his left, a series of thick missile pods was mounted on its right shoulder, while a huge gauss cannon protruded from its left shoulder pauldron plate. On both sides of its skirt-plated thighs were large tube-shaped claymore mines which had the ability to magnetize themselves onto potential targets to ensure their demise. The Android's head was protected by an additional helmet with enhanced communication capabilities and a motion sensor that can detect enemy forces across several kilometers of terrain and across flat surfaces with minimal destruction, complete with electronic map sensors and a myriad of other detection modes.

He looked more like a experimental bipedal armor defense system exoskeleton than a Paladin battle-suit, and its thick armor plates gleamed smoldering fires even as hot steaming smoke dissipated from a wide circle around its landing site. As the ventral and dorsal stabilizer thrusters finished stabilizing the android, the additional equipment folded smoothly into slots built within in the powered exoskeleton suit and its blue visor gleamed with bright electronic light as N1CK3L assessed the situation.

"Significant enemy presence detected. Combat mode initiated, executing secondary objectives." The newest member of Task Force Omega promptly activated every available weapon system available to him and announced the counter-attack by opening fire with its twin arm-mounted double-barreled gatling gun and twin beam rifle, reducing Red Fang armored vehicles to shattered wrecks torn by mass explosions and flying shrapnel, while enemy fire bounced off its thick armor plates harmlessly.

Shrugging off shells and armor-piercing rounds from the Red Fang soldiers as though they were harmless rain, N1CK3L sprinted towards the larger of the Red Fang tanks, dodging the high explosive shell that flew at him. The Red Fang soldier in its cupola howled in frustration as the combat android nimbly jinked from his line of machine gun fire, his thrusters throwing off the aim of his opponents before planting a claymore mine on the turret of the tank which detonated, tearing the cannon from its mount.

The double-barreled gatling gun roared furiously as its 20mm high explosive rounds reduced any Red Fang soldier who couldn't find cover to fresh corpses, while glowing beams of azure light shot across the battlefield, punching deep into the second tank, causing it to explode in terrifying massive explosions and even reducing one of the less heavily-armed enemy Paladin battle-suits to a smoking wreck. Missiles launched from the android's powered exoskeleton suit slammed into the Red Fang's airships which tried to chase after the  _Retribution_  or suppress the rest of Team 113, knocking them out of the sky to slam down in the midst of the war zone or explode into clouds of razor-sharp shrapnel in mid-air.

All the while, Central and the rest of his team watched from behind cover, their stunned and shocked faces concealed behind the blank face-plates of their armored helmets. The weapons that N1CK3L was wielding with him were designed for heavy combat in mind, and it showed with terrifying clarity. What they were witnessing was a literal near-unstoppable war machine in combat, with the firepower of an entire Atlesian army unit yet with the flexibility of a single combat android.

"I never thought I would say this..." Jammer stated as she stared at the flaming wrecks before them, "...but I kind of almost feel sorry for the Blood Reavers."

"Permission to pray to Oum that thing doesn't turn on us sir?" Javelin's voice came over the communication channel as he witnessed the carnage unfolding right in front of him, watching as N1CK3L dodged weapons fire from two separate Paladins before blasting one in the engine compartment with his shoulder-mounted gauss cannon, causing the enemy battle-suit to crash into the ground with thick black smoke wafting from its severely damaged engines.

"Feel free to, Omega Four." Central murmured as he watched the combat android systematically eliminating every threat he could find in the vicinity, leaving shattered wrecks of enemy vehicles and scattered bodies behind him. He was definitely glad N1CK3L was on their side, but the amount of force the synthetic was expending on neutralizing threats honestly seemed like overkill.

Reducing another Paladin to scattered pieces of flaming metal, N1CK3L staggered as a couple of missiles slammed into its front and covering it in explosions and grey smoke. A duo of Red Fang members cheered momentarily to see that they managed to damage the powered exoskeleton suit, but when the smoke cleared and it showed that it was encased in a shimmering shield, their cheers became gasps of shock before a retaliatory missile strike demolished the structure they were hiding in.

Jinking to his right to agilely avoid a pair of high explosive shells from a newly arrived tank, the combat android lifted his fist and extending a pair of open ports above his armor-plated wrist. A pair of missiles burst from those ports, slamming into the Red Fang heavy tank's armor and N1CK3L turned and walked away, his suit's heavy steps crunching into the snow as the aforementioned tank blew up in a spectacular series of explosions.

"Secondary objectives achieved. Proceeding to primary objective." The combat android strode into the middle of the burning Red Fang base, marching towards the remaining enemy Paladin battle-suit which presumably belonged to Draco Sanguine. Central could only imagine what the enemy commander was thinking, presumably unable to accept the fact that an android clad in a powered exoskeleton suit had single-handedly decimated his entire Blood Reavers cell. His battle-suit wasn't in good shape either as most of its weapons had been expended fighting N1CK3L, and what remained wasn't even enough to do any significant damage to the android.

The leader of the Blood Reavers must have realized this, because the next moment he simply charged towards N1CK3L in his battle-suit, intent to stamp the combat android to bits with the Paladin's clawed feet, but an answering fire of the suit's weapon arrays blew off one arm and reduced another leg to a smoking wreck, and the enemy battle-suit tumbled awkwardly in the last few steps before crashing right a few meters in front of N1CK3L, who brought up his twin beam rifle in salute to the rest of Central's team.

"Primary objective achieved, Commander." The combat android reported as he waited for Central and the rest of Team 113 to arrive at the severely damaged Paladin, and the commander of the Task Force watched as Invictus and Fieros blasted the cockpit's hatch and pulled it open, revealing a male winged Faunus dressed in the uniform of the Red Fang with dark scales on his face and exposed arms. He glared hatefully through yellow eyes at the gathered elite Atlesian troopers who had their weapons aimed at him, including N1CK3L who had also pointed the barrels of his smoking gatling gun at his head.

"Draco Sanguine I presume?" Central spoke as Invictus hauled the Red Fang cell leader out of his cockpit while Jammer slapped electronic hand-cuffs on his wrists which locked automatically with a sharp click, "You are under arrest for theft and possession of military-grade weapons, grievous assault on operatives of the Atlesian military forces and conspiracy to commit mass terrorism on the Kingdom of Atlas."

"You can do whatever you want with me, but I won't tell you anything." The Blood Reaver commander snarled defiantly, "You may have stopped me, but others will still succeed. It won't matter to me but it would make your precious Kingdom pay for what they have done to the Faunus race in the past. One day when the Faunus overthrow your corrupt government and you humans would serve us like the slaves you should be!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the interrogators from the intel branch when you wake up." Javelin snarked, enjoying Draco's brief look of puzzlement before Shocker jammed his shock baton into the latter's chest, causing him to collapse in a bunch of twitching limbs while the rest watched impassively, while Jammer gave a small chuckle in response.

" _Retribution_ , we're ready for pick-up. Mission accomplished." Central spoke into his helmet's communication channel as he looked at the blazing Red Fang base around them, torn bodies of Red Fang soldiers lying on the blood-stained snow and wrecked armored vehicles scattered everywhere. Some distance away, the severely damaged command building collapsed in a mushroom cloud of dust and crumbling concrete, "Tranquilize heavy. I don't want Draco waking up anytime soon until we can pass him over to the intelligence branch."

"Yes, Omega One." Jammer said as she produced a thin cylinder from her waist pouch and placed it on the unconscious Faunus' forearm, injecting the tranquilizer while reading something from her external scanning device.

He heard machine sounds and turned to see the N1CK3L stopping beside him as they watched Jammer go about her work while other members of his team kept watch for any remaining stragglers among the burning wreckage and falling snow, "Commendable work, N1CK3L. You have definitely proved your worth to us."

"Thank you for the compliment, Commander. I trust that I have performed amicably to your expectations?" The Android inquired.

"You saved our lives, N1CK3L, so I'd say you've performed very well." Central opened his helmet visor to take a look at the smoking battlefield around them as the Strike Corvette appeared in the distance, coming to hover above them as its hangar bays open once more to admit them into the military airship, "Next time, try not to be so... extravagant in your deployment, if you get what I'm trying to say."

"I see. I will try to match your expectations in future, Commander." N1CK3L replied before an urgent communication chimed in Central's helmet and he activated the channel between he and Jammer.

"Omega Two, what is it?"

"Omega One, you might want to see this." Jammer ran up towards him as Invictus carried Draco over one shoulder bodily like a sack of potatoes, "I have run a scan on Draco's entire body and I've, uh... identified something peculiar: He had two animal traits instead of the usual one."

Central took the scanner from his tech ops specialist, scrolling through the information displayed on the scanner's blue screen, "I thought a Faunus can only have one animal trait?"

"That's right... but the evidence from the scanner shows that Drago is... different, sir." Jammer added as she walked beside her commander, with N1CK3L bringing up the rear in his heavy combat suit.

"Plus there was that one Faunus, he was a lizard, sir. That's not possible." Shocker reported.

"I'll bring this up with the intelligence department once we get back to the Decagon." Central viewed the rest of the information before returning the device to Jammer as he marched up the ramp of the  _Retribution_ , "Compile a full report and send it to me when you're done."

"Acknowledged, Omega One." Jammer nodded her head as she followed her commander up the ramp as well. When the entire team had embarked on the Strike Corvette and it lifted to return back to base, Central watched silently at the burning Red Fang base below even as Invictus triggered the explosives that will blow up the tunnel entrance and bury it under tons of rock, sealing that tunnel forever and rendering it useless to the Red Fang.

As he contemplated Draco's words even as the Blood Reavers' leader was put into a secure containment room for the duration of the journey, the Commander of Task Force Omega knew that they had only taken down one cell of the Red Fang, and unless the intelligence branch can extract any useful information from Draco Sanguine, the rest of the Red Fang would still continue in their acts of terrorism somewhere else in the continent of Solitas.

Somehow he could not shake the feeling that they may have won this battle, but something much bigger was imminent on the horizon. But what?

As the ramp closed and the  _Retribution's_  engines picked up its volume as it powered towards the borders of the Kingdom of Atlas, Central silently vowed to himself that he would make sure that no matter what happens, he would not allow the Red Fang to succeed, no matter the cost.

* * *

It was close to midnight in Atlas. The freezing wind blew fiercely to the west, taking drifts of snow with it. When one looks across the landscape of the Northern Kingdom, the high, snowy mountain ranges that covered the Solitas continent were the famous and distinctive features of the mighty Kingdom.

On one of the higher points of the Atlesian mountain range, upon a large flat land of stable rock which was covered by layers of snow and Frost, was Watchpoint Glacies. Within the compound, the entire facility was buzzing with activity as they prepared for the Winter Maiden's impending departure.

Meanwhile, General Ironwood's personally chosen elite Atlas Troopers and advanced Atlesian Knight-300s stood guard around the facility, even as the Winter Templar Knight Legion guarded the perimeter with them, they themselves ever vigilant by making sure that the Winter Maiden was properly protected.

Snow Blade made his way across the steel walkways behind the reinforced walls of Glacies's compound, making his way over to a fellow Winter Templar and asked, "Any sign of enemy activity?"

"Other than the wind and cold, nothing to report Knight Vanguard." The similarly gunmetal grey and white heavily-plated knight answered professionally, bringing one fist to his polished chest-plate, "The mountain patrols haven't reported so much as a single Grimm."

"Good, let's hope it stays that way. Carry on." Snow Blade replied before returning to his circuit around the perimeter of the facility, checking in with other Winter Templars stationed around the entire place at regular intervals as was his duty as the assigned Remnant Knight to Elsa Vorst.

The heavy blast doors to the main command center of Watchpoint Glacies opened once he had waited for the security systems to scan him fully, and the Knight Vanguard marched into the spotlessly white and grey control center and approached the Atlesian military officer in charge of the armed division which was deployed to garrison Watchpoint Glacies as well, "Has anything changed on the radar scans, Commander Antos?"

The armor clad Atlesian commander looked up from his surrounding bank of instruments and holographic screens, "Nothing to report on the radar scans at the moment. We've been using multiple scanners on a variety of frequencies and settings, so if anything is actively spying on us they will have to be beyond the range of our scanners and too damn far to see anything in the base, or they could be incredibly well hidden."

"My thanks for the update. I will inform the Winter Maiden about her airship's arrival. Carry on, commander." Snow Blade told the Atlesian officer who returned his salute before walking up the equally spaced steps up to the second floor of the main building.

Meanwhile, in the primary living quarters of the base, Elsa sighed as she packed in a change of clothes into her luggage. Due to where she had been living since she had inherited the Winter Maiden powers, there wasn't much variety in her usual clothes save for the ones that kept her warm and allowed her to move around comfortably when performing her Maiden duties. While she would be staying in Vale for a day or so, she would very much to be less thick clothing or she would be sweating buckets in warmer temperatures.

By the gods, how she wished she could visit the sandy beaches of Menagerie, or even the temperate areas of Vale where one could take long walks in the forest areas and enjoy the fresh warm air there.

"Kaifin, I wish it would be spring or summer, then I could at least enjoy a change of weather." She commented to her guardian who was closing another luggage case and placing it in the metal arms of a service bot.

"Winter in Vale is a far cry from here in Atlas. I'm sure it will be just a light breeze to you, my dear." He informed her as he made sure that his personal weapons were functioning properly before placing them within their respective holsters, just in case anything happened to them during the journey.

"You have a point. But still, I wish we have decided to take this journey when Vale has a decent temperature. A trip to the beach would do wonders for my skin, for example." Elsa mused to herself as she picked up her own crossbow weapon, which she had decided to bring as well.

"Perhaps once our lives aren't being threatened, that will be the first thing on our list." Kaifin replied and shared a warm smile with her, their eyes meeting each other as he saw her nod in agreement.

He also noticed Elsa checking over her weapon one last time and nodded in approval, happy that she was being cautious as well. Both of them had been on their guard as they were not taking a chance that Salem's forces would just leave them be.

"Ready?" He asked as she came over to him after allowing the service bot to pick up her luggage as well.

"Ready." Elsa confirmed as she leaned up and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

Her muscular guardian opened the main entrance of their living quarters to reveal the corridor outside was guarded by a quartet of Atlesian Knight-300s, half a dozen Atlesian soldiers armed with assault rifles, and a pair of Winter Templars. The Remnant Knights bowed in respect to the both of them as Snow Blade appeared around the corner, the lights built into the ceiling causing the segmented plates of his Aegis armor to glint slightly.

"Ah, Snow Blade. We were just about to ask for you. Is the coast clear, and has our transport airship arrived?" Elsa queried politely to her Knight Vanguard.

"With regards to the surroundings, I can assure you that there has been no Grimm activity as of yesterday, and the perimeter of Watchpoint Glacies has been completely secured, my lady. Your transport is prepped and ready, and all of its systems are fully operational." The commander of the Winter Templars informed her, "I have also received permission and the relevant clearance from General Ironwood and the Atlas Council, so we may leave whenever you wish."

"We leave right away." She told him.

"Very well then, maiden. Follow me." He replied before leading the way down the hallway. The Winter Maiden and her guardian followed him, with the two other Remnant Knights in tow, while the others marched slowly behind them.

The group proceeded to leave the interior of the main building and crossed the compound, before climbing the stairs that took them to the landing platform where a luxurious but well-shielded airship armed with substantial and capable weapon systems was waiting for them. It was just the type Elsa had requested, the outlook of which was shaped vaguely like a sideways L, with the pilot's cockpit at the top of the tower and the engine room at the base, which led to the long 'arm' of the 'L' where they would be residing within. At the end of the arm was an open observation deck, with the primary guns nested right below it. The ship was painted in a dark, midnight-blue color scheme with dark gray highlights. A pair of powerful Dust engines stood out from the rear of the vessel, not particularly large but reliable enough that would give the ship the speed it would need in order to make the journey on time.

"The _Moonlight Serenity_  is ready for your use, and it's fully prepped with all systems ready to go. General Ironwood's military personnel are already on board, and my detachment of Knights are boarding even as we speak." Snow Blade reported when she looked at him in askance, extending a finger to point to several of his Winter Templars boarding the ship, "We would be taking a specially assigned route once we are on our way to Vale, to avoid any unwanted attention."

"Your concern for my safety is appreciated, Snow Blade." Elsa assured him with a smile, "I feel utterly safe and secure."

"I should hope so, my lady." He said as he led the way to the main boarding ramp and into the  _Moonlight Serenity_.

It wasn't long before both Elsa and Kaifin were sitting within the first-class suite on the ship, and Snow Blade was with them to make sure they were settling in nicely. The Winter Maiden admired the view of the balcony-like viewing deck right in front of them, but those thoughts soon fell away from her mind when the  _Moonlight Serenity_  began to slowly rise into the air. With subtle, gentle movements, the lavish airship lifted off and accelerated smoothly into the relatively clear night.

"We should be reaching the Kingdom of Vale by early morning. If either of you need anything, please don't hesitate to inform the airship's officers or myself." The Knight Vanguard informed the couple.

"We are quite alright, but we'll keep that in mind." Kaifin answered with Elsa nodding in conformation.

"Very well. If you need anything at all, simply ring the assistance bell. If you need to inform me about anything, I'll be on the bridge. May you both have a good night, Maiden and Guardian." He executed a polite bow before he left the room and the suite's automatic door quietly shut behind him.

Once she was sure that it was safe to be out on the viewing deck, Elsa left the suite's confines and walked over to the edge, looking out and admiring the beautiful night sky filled with shining stars that stretched from horizon to horizon, as well as the broken moon. She breathed in the cool fresh air of the night in and out, her breath appearing before her in small clouds as her lover came up behind her to wrap his strong arms around her body and hold her close to his chest.

"You're happy to get away from the mountains." He observed.

"Of course. They're lovely, but a change of scenery, even for a brief time, is going to be wonderful." She replied in a content voice. Left unsaid was the fact that being cooped up in the mountains felt a little too much like she was imprisoned, and the armed forces guarding her felt more like jailers than protectors.

"I don't really care where I am, as long as I'm with you." He whispered back as he kissed her neck.

Elsa smiled happily as she began to sing a wordless melody to him, her beautiful voice a constant reward for his complete dedication to her. She nuzzled into his well-built body and raised her arm up to stroke his dark grey hair as she kept singing to him while he simply embraced his lover to keep her warm in return.

As the ship sailed away into the night sky towards the direction of Vale while being escorted by a number of Atlesian Eagles, Watchpoint Glacies was being systemically locked down by the military forces of Atlas, as well as a couple of Winter Templars who elected to stay behind to watch over the base.

Unbeknownst to everyone aboard the  _Moonlight Serenity_ , their departure was in fact all witnessed by a certain something. A couple of miles away, hidden in a small alcove among a number of mountain peaks, a Grimm Knight with advanced surveillance gear laid silently buried in the snow while still in stealth mode, its red optics being the only relevant parts exposed to the freezing cold so that it could observe the surroundings discreetly.

There were others of course, all cleverly hidden to keep track of the Winter Maiden's whereabouts, but this particular Grimm Knight recorded the departure of the said Maiden's airship when it left the mountains. After collating the newly-obtained information, the Grimm Knight activated its built-in data transmitter and sent the data back to its masters, who would be very pleased with this recent development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader (who wrote the whole Task Force Omega sequence) with help from Akashi2712Samurai.
> 
> I'm sorry I've been taking so long, but with my cat passing, I needed time to myself and I'm afraid I might not be on top of things anymore. This will be the last chapter due to the Christmas hiatus, but in January, we'll be back with more chapters, and see Pyrrha meet Elsa and the other Maidens. And that's a promise.
> 
> Here's the crew of Task Force Omega:
> 
> Central - Commanding Officer "Omega One"
> 
> Raider - Pilot/Engineering Specialist "Omega Two"
> 
> Jammer - Tech Ops Splicer/Electronic Warfare Specialist "Omega Three"
> 
> Javelin - Sniper/Sharpshooter/Gunslinger "Omega Four"
> 
> Shocker - Melee/Knife/Shock Baton Specialist "Omega Five"
> 
> Invictus - Heavy Weapons and Explosives Specialist "Omega Six"
> 
> Fieros - Heavy Warfare Specialist (Plasma Repeater) "Omega Seven"
> 
> N1CK3L - Enhanced Tactical Android "Omega Eight"
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. I hope you'll give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! I very much appreciate your support, so please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted.


	59. A Meeting of Maidens Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year everyone. Sorry this took so long, but I had the Christmas fallout to deal with as well as suffering a terrible illness that will not go away, but the main thing is we're back.

 

In a moderately-sized air base sitting beside a section of Vacuo City that had seen better days, with abandoned brick and sandstone buildings, rusted radio masts and an equally rusty water tower, this area of Vacuo's capital had once been used to house sizable airships for repairs, now the base was just another part of the 'nowhere' that the outskirts of Vacuo City was, only an occasional patrol by the Vacuo Rangers ever came by and the gangs were free to roam about and vandalize the abandoned buildings, and those innocent few vagrants who did live here only had the sand and desert wind for company.

Vacuo's capital, a massive city that sat in between the vast deserts and the cool forests and jungles of the Kingdom, with a large valley off to the west of the town that had a mix of both environments. The city was massive, with many buildings made out of sandstone blocks, to some made of bricks to those made of steel, looked over by several massive structures; Shade Academy, the 'holy city' district, and the central government building. The air base was out in the ghetto area of the city, with many old and abandoned buildings around it, not to mention streets covered with sand from the nearby dunes.

Near the wide open doors of the main hangar, Damien Ante stood in the shade and out of the blistering heat caused by the scorching rays of the rising sun and the barren surroundings. After wiping his sweating dark-skinned face for the umpteenth time, he produced his scroll from his trouser pockets and looked at the digital clock on its screen while tapping his foot impatiently, as he and his Enforcers waited for Tyrian's stolen supply airship to arrive.

"Hey boss, how much longer do we have to wait?" Tom-Tom whined to his leader as he fanned himself.

"You can't cross the entire Kingdom with the snap of a finger. Quit your whining." Lao told the younger enforcer as he lightly stabbed the blade of his sword on the surface of a nearby wooden table, producing sharp thudding noises that echoed in the silence of the empty hangar.

Ante ignored Tom-Tom's question, and was glad that someone had asked the swordsman to shut up before surveying his Enforcers to make sure they were standing at their sentry posts, keeping a lookout for anything that might accidentally or purposely discover their presence. He walked to the edge of the hangar's open doors and poked his head into the hot rays of the sun, and was satisfied to see that Merrick was up on the metal walkway of the rusted water tower, keeping watch of their surroundings with his sniper rifle to make sure they were alone and to also looking for any sign of the stolen supply ship.

The notorious crime lord then turned back and looked into the hangar once more, running his eyes over Little Steve, Tom-Tom, Lao, Fireball and Trooper who all stood around the inside of the hangar with him. He then turned his head a little to the right and took in their new recruit, Executioner.

The absence of both Zhan and Douglas had been felt, and while they had made due despite the missing manpower, it was obvious they needed more members to replace their fallen comrades, and so after running it by Salem, they had inducted Executioner into their ranks.

He was a towering man, well over six feet tall. From what Ante could gleam of his past he had been a Vacuo Ranger who would take joy in taking part in executions when the need arose for them, or just flat out killing unimportant prisoners when they wouldn't be missed. Eventually one of his would-be victims fought back, managing to badly injure Executioner's face with a broken blade before his life came to an end in a disturbingly grisly death which got the attention of his fellow Rangers and his superiors, ultimately leading to his arrest. This led to Executioner being dishonorably discharged from the Rangers and placed in prison, where he eventually managed to escaped. After that he became a mercenary and took to hiding his scared face by wearing an old hood to appear like an ancient executioner and live up to his new name, killing targets in various gruesome ways.

And of course the whispers of Executioner's work reached Ante's ears, so the dreadlocked crime lord knew he had to hire Executioner into their ranks, especially when he learned about the murderer's little signature, of only showing his face to the dead bodies of those he killed or to people he was murdering, allowing them to see his fearsome face before they left the world of the living. That, along with the uncanny skill in which Executioner was able to kill using a wide assortment of knives and blades, was more than enough for Ante to be sure he was both dark and crazy to join his Enforcers, and by extension their alliance with Salem.

Executioner sat on a upturned crate off to the side, clad in dark clothes with grey chainmail hidden underneath his outerwear to protect himself. He looked up through his hood, cold and empty black eyes glaring at Ante as he asked, "Do they always keep you waiting this long?"

Ante was about to answer when Trooper sat up from the crates he was resting on and replied, "It depends, you can never tell with these people."

"Who are they exactly?" Executioner crossed his chainmail-plated arms, his voice deep and rasping, "I know they're the ones behind all the disasters like Beacon's fall, the thing in Haven, and that mess with the White Fang, but you never told me who they are, exactly."

"Let's just say they're proof that Oum has either abandoned us or never existed to begin with." Lao answered bluntly, his voice dripping with cynicism.

His words caught the attention of Fireball, who looked up from the little game he was playing on his scroll to look to focus his gaze on Lao. "You don't believe in Oum, Lao?"

"Not really," the enforcer answered with a shrug "Never felt the need to really question it. Salem spoke of gods and such, but they were most likely just powerful beings like her, who died long ago. Do you believe in gods?"

Fireball sat up so that his eyes could be seen through the goggles of his bodysuit, and one look at them could make anyone flinch away from his unnerving gaze.

"Yes I do believe. I believe in Oum, because I met him once." He got everyone's attention with that.

"What do you mean by that?" Trooper found himself asking, and genuinely stunned.

"Well, I didn't really see him, but I  _felt_ his presence. I felt him when I was burning all those years ago." Fireball explained, having a distant look in his eyes as he remembered that fateful day his flamethrower malfunctioned and exploded, engulfing his entire body in terrible flames, "I could feel him when I was lying on that operating table, while the medical staff struggled to save what remained of my flesh. I guess you could say I saw him through the pain, through my own suffering. If anyone wants to see Oum, all they have to do is suffer. Suffer like I suffered, or even worse."

He paused and took off the black glove of his right hand, revealing the horribly charred flesh, disfigured by the inferno that nearly took his life so long ago. It was a miracle that he yet lived, and neither Ante nor his Enforcers had any desire to see what Fireball's face was like behind his protective mask, "You see, my friends… through the fire I found a way to see Oum. You can see the tiniest glimpse of him in the flame of a lighted match, and all you have to do is to let the flames consume you."

As he put the glove back on, he continued. "You can do so much with fire; you can use it to create and destroy. Save lives or end them. I've seen a lot of death and suffering in my time, and I have learned that we all see Oum through our suffering, we can either embrace him or deny him. And that is why I decided to become a mercenary, that's why I hurt people, to make their suffering go by quicker. Because life? It's not truly living, life is just another form of purgatory. It's another form of suffering, but through horrible, searing pain, but by a dull form of pain that lasts longer, and takes the shape of meaningless lives. Pain, true pain, is our reprieve, it is the only way to glimpse a better form of existence, known to us as death. The only thing is that most people don't understand it, and think death is something to be avoided at all costs, when really, it's your best friend. Pain is the demons of hell and the servants of Oum fighting over you, and in the end, if you've earned it, you'll be in Oum's grace. I pray to Oum to help the suffering ones, I even prayed for that Arc kid and the Rose girl back in Haven, as I knew their suffering could help them, and I was right. But… sometimes the best way to help suffering people is to get it over with. I don't simply burn people to hurt them, I make them experience the burning pain to help them get closer to Oum."

Silence hung in the air. Everyone stared at Fireball with a mixture of expressions such as creeped out, weirded out, or cold inferrerence to his little sermon.

"That's, uh... quite the philosophy you've got there." Trooper began awkwardly, "Do you think suffering is that important?"

"I suffer everyday. These old burns still hurt, but I endure it, endure my suffering, because I know that one day in the end I will be rewarded by Oum with an end to my pain." Fireball finished.

Trooper didn't truly know how to respond to any of this, so he kept silent instead and nodded his head. Turning his head around, he could see the variety of expressions on the faces of others such as the unnerved look written on Little Steve's face, the rather freaked-out look Tom Tom wore, while Lao didn't look convinced in the slightest and Ante didn't seem that surprised to hear about this. However, he found something slightly odd, and that was the slightly interested look in Executioner's eyes.

As the silence grew uncomfortable, Trooper decided to be the one to give some kind of response. He looked at his leather-clad comrade and said "Well… I don't really know what to believe. Maybe there is an Oum, after all the insanity we've been through in the past few years, I don't think I can just say it's all logic and science, so maybe there is an Oum or some other deity watching over us. So, I hope things work out for you."

He tried to put some earnest emotions into his reply, but it was rather difficult when Fireball's eyes looked like they were boring into his very soul, before simply giving a grateful nod.

"Still, do you think Oum would really approve of you working for Salem?" Trooper asked, a bit curious about that.

"I don't know. Salem is a dark one, no doubt of that, but darkness is an essential part of life. Maybe, if I make the right choices, I will be forgiven in the end."

Just then Merrick slid down the steel ladder of the water tower and came into the hangar. "Boss, I saw 'em." He announced, "A supply airship's coming right here." He walked over to Ante and pointed to the south-west, and soon in the distance they could see the small shape of a cargo carrier airship flying towards the hangar.

"About time." Ante muttered, "All right boys, get ready to help with the cargo."

"Cargo? I thought we were here to stand guard." Executioner voiced as he got off the crate.

"You multitask, guard and help with loading the cargo. The less outsiders involved in this the better." Ante explained as the ship drew closer, the sounds of its engines filling the area.

They all stepped back as the cargo airship flew into the spacious hangar, gently coming in to land on the sparsely cracked concrete flooring. The engines produced some whining sounds before finally dying down, and the main ramp at the rear disengaged, dropping to the ground of the hangar with a loud clanking sound. Once it was low enough the thin form of Tyrian Callows could be seen walking nonchalantly down to greet them with a cheeky and insane grin on his face.

"Ante! Good to be here." Tyrian greeted the crime lord.

"Good to have you, Mr. Callows." Damien returned as he and his Enforcers came forward, "So how much Dust did you manage to get?"

"Eh, a couple of thousand pounds of powdered Dust plus some several dozen crystals as a bonus." The Human-Faunus hybrid told him before he tilted his head and looked at the Enforcers, "Now, from what Cinder has told me, these men of yours are Trooper the ex-Atlas soldier, Little Steve the main muscle, Tom-Tom the scout and fast hitter, Merrick the assassin, Lao the right-hand man and sword wielder, Fireball the guy with the literal firepower, and… who's the new guy with the hood?"

"Didn't Mistress Salem tell you we have a new member?" Ante asked.

"She might have mentioned it, I tend to forget unimportant details. Who is he?" Tyrian repeated, smirking at the ire in Executioner's eyes.

"This is Executioner, a mercenary we hired a few months back. Ex-Vacuo Rangers, and he's been handy in helping us avoid trouble with his former buddies." Ante explained while gesturing at the Enforcers' recent addition.

Tyrian nodded before gesturing to Hui, Ilia, and the other members of the Red Fang standing at the lip of the cargo airship's main ramp, "Okay, these are my guys, a couple dozen members from the Red Fang. The big guy with the chainsaw is Hui, used to be Taurus's second-in-command, the girl with spots is Ilia...and I don't know nor care who the others are."

The small group of red-masked Faunus all groaned or growled in anger at their 'leader', but Tyrian took no notice.

"So while your people help mine with unloading the cargo, I want you to tell me about this 'local hero' that's been giving you trouble." Tyrian spoke to Damien who nodded and gestured for his Enforcers to begin unloading the large containers filled with many boxes of powdered Dust.

As Damien led Tyrian up the steel steps to the upper floor of the hangar, Merrick and Lao both went to move the large trucks which were parked in the adjacent shed while the others all went into the ship and began to unlatch and unbuckle the containers.

Trooper kept glancing at Fireball, still unnerved by what he had spoken about earlier, "Hey, Fireball."

"Yes?"

"What you said… you meant every word, right?" He asked calmly.

"Every word." Fireball confirmed, his voice as calm as though it was a casual conversation.

"If you ever need to talk about it, I'm…" Trooper began before he was cut off.

"Spare me. I've heard it before. I got those same sentiments from my old Huntsman team fifteen years ago, and that didn't stop them from just replacing me with someone else and leaving me behind." The burn victim said harshly as he unhooked some chains that held a large container to the floor of the ship.

Trooper wasn't surprised by the bluntness of the statement but that didn't stop him from trying to saying something to one of his partners.

"That's...uh…that's pretty awful." He managed to say.

Fireball nodded absently, "It was. I was an orphan, a ward of the Kingdom so I didn't have anyone I loved to keep me company or to comfort me. It's why people should appreciate family with the time they have."

Trooper flinched at that sentence, and Fireball knew he had hit close to home. The leather mask turned slightly in his direction and spoke, "I take it you agree with me?"

"Yeah…after I was dishonorably discharged my marriage fell apart, and it only got worse when I turned to the mercenary life. My wife divorced me, and she got the custody of our son too. I…I haven't seen them in years." Trooper confessed as they secured the large Dust container to the chains and pulleys overhead, "I came close to eating the bullet, but I kept soldiering on, to prove everyone that I wasn't a failure."

"I don't think you are one. I too, considered suicide when I was lying in that hospital bed, but I endured the pain, as I knew I could help others with their own pain and help them get closer to Oum." Fireball stated simply.

Trooper didn't know what to say to Fireball about his faith, so he elected to say nothing else on the topic to avoid offending him.

"So, if you ever need to talk about anything, just come to me, okay?" He told the leather-clad Enforcer.

"Same to you, if you ever need to talk about your own pain. And don't worry, I won't burn you or anything." Fireball said in a voice dry enough to make it clear that he was joking.

Trooper smirked as they pushed the grey container towards the rear opening of the cargo airship and managed to haul it over just as a forklift being driven by one of the Red Fang faunus came by to collect it.

Fireball moved on to help Little Steve and Hui out with carrying one of the smaller cargo crates, and Trooper was just about to follow when suit when he noticed he was being observed. He then saw a Fusion Faunus girl leaning against the steel walls of the cargo airship, her grey eyes staring at him, "Hey, Ilia, right?"

She nodded.

"Um, any reason you're staring at me like that?" He asked carefully.

"Huh? Well it's just that I overheard what you said about how you and your friend ended up here." She said a little hesitantly.

"Let me guess, you got a story?" He voiced before standing aside to allow another Red Fang member carrying a large Dust crystal crate to step past him.

"We all do." She stated, " I'm an orphan like him."

"You never had a family? I gotta be honest I didn't know what that was like until eight years ago. Everything went to hell and I…I just had no one with me anymore." He told her quietly.

"I…had something I thought was like a family. The White Fang used to be my family until it just…fell apart. I never knew it could get so bad or out of control, but in the end I'm still here, and I don't think I can really call the Red Fang a family." She voiced softly as she rubbed her arms, even as she watched the forklift loading a number of Dust crates onto the transport truck driven by Lao. "He just messed it all up."

"Let me guess again, Taurus?" Trooper speculated with a raised eyebrow.

Ilia nodded distantly, "I used to look up to him, I admired him a lot, but I never thought he would ever go so far as doing those awful things the others told me about. He was one of the main reasons it went so wrong, but I…I don't think he would have turned out so bad had she not abandoned us."

"Who?" The Enforcer queried.

Ilia's grey eyes narrowed, and her skin turned to a dark red color as she angrily muttered, "Blake Belladonna."

"Well, if you find her you can perhaps talk to her or something?" Trooper offered.

"I am going to talk to her repeatedly...with my weapon." Ilia hissed her reply through gritted teeth, her fingers straying to her electric whip.

Up above on the catwalks, Tyrian and Damien both watched as the stolen cargo was being loaded up into the trucks to be taken to hidden staging areas within the city

"This is quite a good haul, Callows. If the Summer Maiden is here, this extra Dust ought to help us level the playing field." Ante commented as he placed his hands on the rusty railing.

"Maybe." Tyrian shrugged his shoulders, "Anyway, tell me more about this vigilante do-gooder. So these Black Viper punks who got away, they're sure it was a woman?"

"Oh yeah. They told me they wouldn't forget getting their asses handed to them by a bitch that sexy." Ante turned his head and looked at the man beside him.

"So? Just because it was a woman doesn't mean it was the Maiden. Are you sure it's not just some rookie Huntress who got bored with fighting Grimm?" Tyrian scoffed.

"Nope, the damage dealt to the Vipers matches the description Mistress Salem gave me of what the Summer Maiden can do." Ante assured him, "Plus, from what I heard the cops still haven't figured out who wrecked the Vipers. Most teenagers can't resist the attention and glory that taking down such a gang brings, and a Huntress-in-training wouldn't have much of a reason to remain anonymous since they wouldn't be punished too harshly by the Academy staff. Maybe a harsh scolding, but nothing more."

He then handed Tyrian his scroll, and the assassin held it up to his gold eyes as he examined the pictures displayed on it closely, which showed the defeated Black Vipers all looking thoroughly burned and beaten. Some even have limbs stuck out at unnatural angles which spoke of broken bones, while others sported quite a few knife cuts and slashes to their bodies.

"Hmm...interesting." Tyrian muttered to himself, gently stroking his chin with two fingers, "Very interesting."

"That's not all. Word on the streets was that Headmistress Aria has a special guest in Shade Academy, one who isn't seen often by the students." Ante continued.

"Have you found a way to get into the Academy?" Tyrian turned his gaze to the crime lord.

"Way ahead of you. There are ways for sure, but the main problem is that Luna Aria isn't an idiot, she clearly knows what she's doing. She's upped security significantly ever since that Beacon mess, so you can't just walk on in like you could a couple of years ago. Security checks, a few Vacuo Ranger stationed there, clearance codes for certain areas, all that shit and more. There is, however, the old tunnels." Ante said with a smirk forming on his face.

"Go on." Tyrian beckoned while wearing his own smirk.

"You see, thanks to Mistress Salem's spy within Shade Academy I've found out that there's an old network of tunnels that run underneath the city and come to a hub at its three major buildings. And one in particular leads directly to the sub-basement of the academy. The entrance is hidden behind a bunch of old storage stuff, and since it has been forgotten there's no major security within those basements. It's so obscure and blocked off that the authorities don't bother trapping it and even if you do get through you would still have to get past the security measures already in place within the academy itself, but it's still a good way." Ante finished.

"Hmm, a good find. I'll consult with Mistress Salem and my 'buddies', see what they think about all this. Still, it looks like we have a solid lead on the Summer Maiden, and a possible way of ambushing her and Thorn getting those powers." Tyrian said as a dark grin spread across his maniacal features.

"Now the only thing left is that we only need to confirm if the Summer Maiden even there." Ante posed the problem, "I suppose you have anyone who can help with that?"

"I do. We can send Spots down there to do the job, she has the ability to camouflage herself." Tyrian said.

"Works for me." Ante agreed, "And she might just gather more information for us while at it."

"Speaking of your 'buddies' and Thorn, will they be joining us?" Ante asked.

"Why of course! The other Red Fang members have, under my express orders, snuck into the Kingdom of Vacuo for the upcoming attack." Tyrian cackled gleefully, "Besides, I don't think any of them would want to miss the explosion once the fuse is lit, yes?"

Ante tilted his head before saying, "You know, Callows...Cinder once told me about you, she said you were one of those men who wants to watch the world burn. Any truth to that?"

Tyrian faced Ante, an over-the-top, melodramatic hurt look on his face.

"She said that about me?!" He began with a hurt voice, "I never thought she was one for clichés! It's so insulting to hear such a simple phrase used to describe me. No, Mr. Ante. I don't want to watch the world burn…" Tyrian stopped and got closer to Ante's face before guffawing, "I want to beat the shit out of the world, rape it, stab it, choke the life out of it, rip its heart out and then watch it burn!"

By now Tyrian was mere centimeters away from the crime lord's face, and the crazed look in his gold eyes would be more than a little creepy to most people, but Damien Ante wasn't most people. A lifetime as a criminal had given him the experience of meeting what amounted to truly insane individuals who would be better off in a maximum security asylum, so meeting Tyrian Callows was honestly no big deal to him.

He smirked and replied, "You're a crazy motherfucker… I think I'm gonna like working with you."

Tyrian leaned back and gave his new associate a genuine, if psychotic smile, "Finally, someone else who recognizes my talents!"

From below, both Trooper and Ilia observed the exchange before looking to each other. They didn't need to say anything, their eyes told each other that they both knew that putting those two together was a disaster waiting to happen.

The big question was if it was a disaster Salem was counting on when the attack on the Summer Maiden began.

* * *

The sun had just begun to show its rays over the horizon, announcing the arrival of dawn as it continued its ascent near Beacon Academy, illuminating the tall structures and the main tower. While most of the student body were still asleep within their dorms, a handful of students had woken up early to either get the constant annoyance of homework done or to perform their daily exercise routines. Everyone in Team Beacon was no exception either as they were also among the sleeping ones, with Penny in her recharge cycle, getting as much rest as possible for another busy day at Beacon.

Glynda Goodwitch walked down one of the empty main halls, her shadow following behind her clacking heels. It was still a couple of hours before the rest of the faculty staff would be up and about to prepare for yet another day of educating and training the new generation of Hunters, not all of whom would be grateful for the lessons they would learn. As she strolled past the teacher's lounge she found it a bit odd to see it empty, since normally it would be common to see Doctor Oobleck sharing small talk while drinking large thermoses of coffee with Professors Port and Crane, and Professor Peach would be trying to catch some extra sleep using her binder of papers as a pillow. Glynda allowed herself a smile at that memory as she adjusted her long-sleeved, plated top and walked in the direction of the elevators. Ozpin had informed her that the Winter Maiden's airship was on its final approach to the academy and she needed to get to the secret platform as soon as she could.

She walked across the snowy courtyards of the academy and soon found herself at the landing platforms in front of the school, where Ozpin, Councilman Henry, and a few top operatives of the Valean Military. The  _Moonlight Serenity_  could be seen in the distance, gracefully approaching the school, the dawn just behind it.

So instead of making her way across the snowy courtyards of the academy and finding herself at the landing platforms in front of the school, she went towards Beacon Tower and went inside, scanning her security pass at the elevator which opened to admit her. She pressed the elevator's panel that contained additional buttons with symbols only known to the Guardians of Remnant and pressed the appropriate one for the secret tunnel that lead to the hidden airship platform built separately from the cliffside's aerial docking bays. It was where they watched the Remnant Knight Order's stealth prowler  _Andromeda_ de-cloak itself and land to reveal the visiting group of Knights, and now it would be used again to receive the Winter Maiden and her entourage.

The secret platform was built within a natural cleft at the very western side of Beacon, and was cleverly camouflaged from sight by the surrounding cliffs that only the most skilled airship pilots could make it through. It was another one of Beacon's secrets, only a small number of individuals knew about the platform's existence, and they were either within Ozpin's order or close associates of those members. After reaching the end of the dimly-lit tunnel which opened up into a yawning cavern that opened up to reveal the sizable platform with slowly flashing lights which stretched over the space above the gently sloshing water.

It was there she found Headmaster Ozpin and Councilman Henry both waiting at the edge of the platform, and the silver-haired man turned to regard her even as she walked up the steps to join them, "Ah, Glynda. As punctual as always."

"Good morning gentlemen, I trust you're both well?" She asked as she came up alongside them.

"Professor Goodwitch, it's good to see you again." Henry greeted her politely.

"Good morning Glynda, I trust you slept well?" Ozpin asked as he took a sip of coffee.

"As well as ever, Headmaster. And it's good to see you too, Councilman. Are you alright? You look tired." Glynda observed as she crossed her arms a little.

"Let's just say that when Councilman Benedict got so fed up with paperwork and proposed a law to ban it, I was incredibly tempted to go along with it." Henry said with a growing smile.

Glynda shook her head before dryly commenting, "You'd have my vote. Some days I'd rather fight Salem's minions alone that deal with paperwork."

The sound of Dust-powered engines caught their attention and soon the shape of  _Moonlight Serenity_  could be seen in the distance gracefully approaching the academy, the yellow light of dawn framing it beautifully from behind.

"I take it the captain knows about this hidden platform?" Glynda inquired and the representative of Vale's Council nodded his head.

"Yes, General Ironwood has informed the captain of this place, and he's trustworthy enough to be entrusted with this bit of information, and everyone working on board the airship have also been personally vetted by Ironwood himself." Henry confirmed, to which the blonde professor nodded in understanding.

Slipping smoothly through the narrow cleft in the cliffs, the  _Moonlight Serenity_  flew forwards smoothly before hovering the large platform with room to spare, buffeting the trio and the water below with its sleek and powerful engines for a few long moments as it turned slightly to present the side which the boarding ramp would unfold itself. The luxurious Atlesian ship then came to rest gently and its engines died down, near-silence returning throughout the cavern.

There was a series of clanking sounds as the ramp came down, revealing the brightly lit and smooth white walls of the  _Moonlight Serenity's_  interior and the armored silhouettes of the Winter Templars standing near the top of the ramp. Once the wide ramp of the airship reached the ground a dozen of them marched out in perfect synchronization with their long halberds held across their chests, their heavily booted feet producing thudding sounds against ground. Arranging themselves smoothly into two straight lines, they slammed the ends of their halberds all at once to announce the arrival of Snow Blade.

The leader of the Winter Templars walked down the ramp to meet the trio, his exquisitely-crafted silver helmet and gunmetal-grey armor reflected the landing pad's lights as he moved, while his head turned slowly around to survey the area through the azure lenses of his helmet. The thick double-edged broadsword that was his personal weapon hung diagonally across his back, and his gently flapping white cloak hung from his pauldron-clad shoulders.

Snow Blade eventually stopped in front of the trio and brought up his gauntleted fist to clash it against his gleaming chestplate in greeting. "Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Councilman Henry, thank you for being here to greet us." He said, "May you all continue to serve with honor and courage."

"It is good to see you as well, Snow Blade. It was an easy journey, I hope?" Ozpin asked as he shook the knight's gauntleted hand, followed by Glynda and Henry.

"Indeed. Smooth sailing, as one might say. We've gotten the all clear message from Ironwood's men back at Watchpoint Glacies, they've informed us that there's been no suspicious activity since we left there." Snow Blade reported before asking, "I take it that the areas we'll be passing through are all cleared?"

"Of course. We've placed additional guards around the school and the Valean military have also stepped up their patrols around the borders to make sure we're secure, and any student awake this early isn't likely to notice us." Ozpin assured him.

"And if anything does come up, we've also taken precautions against it." Glynda added shortly.

Snow Blade gave a nod of his helmet, "Very well, let us get on with it." Turning towards the exit of the airship, he spoke into his communication device within his helmet, "Maiden Elsa, it's safe for you to come out."

They all looked to the top of the ramp, and soon enough the Winter Maiden and her guardian disembarked onto the platform that had been cleared of snow and ice, accompanied by a quartet of Atlesian military soldiers.

While the cold was clearly a bother to Ozpin, Glynda and Henry, all of whom were either shivering or keeping warm bundled up in their coats, but to Elsa, her guardian, and the Winter Templars, the winter season in Vale was a mere breeze compared to the harsh winters the unforgiving mountains of Atlas could dish out all year round. Elsa herself had the advantage of being both born and raised in a cold climate in Atlas as well as the Winter Maiden powers that had been bestowed upon her, so the cold never bothered her in the slightest. She wasn't even bothering with a coat, and was wearing a midnight-blue long-sleeved gown with a near-transparent blue cape which flowed from her shoulders. On her chest, cape and rims of her outfit small snowflake-like designs could be seen, and her flowing platinum-blonde hair was kept neat with the help of a small silver-white winter berry wreath-pin.

"Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Councilman Henry, good to see all of you again. My sincere apologies to get you all up so early." Elsa spoke gently, her voice a bit soft, and her blue eyes made it clear she was still a little tired and her hair looked like it had been speedily brushed despite its somewhat neat outlook, which was an obvious result of a rather quick awakening.

"It is good to see you again as well, Elsa." Ozpin echoed and bowed courteously, doing his best to be pleasant with her, given their less than stellar history together. Elsa nodded, giving him a somewhat sympathetic look that told him that she would do her best not to snap at him.

"It is an honor to have you with us, Maiden Elsa. Beacon is at your service." Glynda told her kindly. She had considered saying that it was always an honor to have a Maiden at the school, but the sorceress felt that it was best not to mention that, given what had happened with Amber.

"You don't have to do that much for me. Being away from those mountains, if only for a day or two, is good enough for me." Elsa said as she shook Glynda's hand as Kaifin merely nodded to them.

"It is indeed a blessing to have you visit our city, Miss Vorst, I trust your trip was a pleasant one?" Henry asked as he also bowed to her.

"It was quite peaceful, and it was a wonderful change of pace to see the oceans and your Kingdom's forests." Elsa said before Kaifin spoke up.

"Yes, she enjoyed the sights so much she could hardly sleep." He stated before shooting a smile at his beloved who gave him one in return.

Elsa then noticed Councilman Henry's shivering and the large clouds of breath coming from him, Ozpin, and Glynda. She gestured towards long tunnel that led away in the direction of Beacon and suggested, "Shall we move this conversation inside? The cold might not bother us Atlesians, but I can tell you're more susceptible."

"A good idea. Will you be joining us, Snow Blade?" Ozpin asked the Knight Vanguard.

"Not at the moment. For now, I will join my fellow knights in making sure the academy grounds are secure." The leader of the Winter Templars declined before he spoke into his helmet's communication device, and immediately a group of five Remnant Knights stepped out from the dozen that were standing at the base of the ramp, "Spirit Dreamer, and the four of you, however, are to accompany them and guard the Winter Maiden at all costs, and stay out of sight."

"Yes, Knight Vanguard." The five of them said, with Spirit Dreamer, the detachment's assigned prognosticator in front. She adjusted her grip on her staff as she inclined her hooded head before turning to follow the other knights assigned to protect the Winter Maiden.

A few Knights went ahead of the group, while Ozpin and Glynda led their guests into the tunnel back to the school.

"How much longer will it be until the students are awake?" Elsa questioned the Headmaster and co-Headmistress of Beacon.

Glynda, knowing the schedule of the school by instinct, was prepared for such a question and she answered with, "Around another two hours I'd say. When would you wish to meet Miss Nikos and the others?"

Elsa turned her head slightly to let out a yawn, before replying, "I suppose I can wait until it's after school hours to meet them, since Ozpin and I need to have a little talk between ourselves. There's no need to wake them up so early since they probably need all the rest they can get. Besides, I could go for a little extra sleep myself."

Kaifin allowed her to lean into him as they walked, guiding her along the tunnel's main path, circular lights set in the ceiling passing by them every ten meters or so.

"We have made the appropriate accommodations in the academy's guest rooms." Glynda mentioned, "I hope you will find our facilities adequate to your needs."

"I'm sure, Professor." Elsa voiced wearily.

"I apologize for the weather, Elsa. It must be disappointing for you to come at a time when our climate is similar to yours." Ozpin remarked.

"It's quite all right. A little change is better than none." Elsa voiced as they reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into the elevator.

As they reached the ground level, the walkway that connected the extension to the other buildings of Beacon they were walking through had tall windows that granted the newcomers a wonderful view of the courtyard. Elsa's eyes widen a bit as she briefly admired the statues in the courtyard, as well as the snow-covered landscape that stretched as far as she could see. She glanced over to see various large flower pots made of stone, the plants now devoid of leaves and covered with snow and frost.

She let out a sad sigh from her mouth and lamented, "Still, I would have loved to see some flowers."

"I take it you're fond of them?" Glynda asked.

"Oh, I love flowers!" Elsa confirmed contentedly, "It's just that there are hardly any in the mountains. The most beautiful flowers in Remnant couldn't withstand the harsh environment. It's actually been two whole years since I've actually gotten to even touch a marigold or other kinds of flowers."

Kaifin nodded solemnly as he whispered to Glynda, "Marigolds and Freesias are her favorite."

Glynda nodded before looking to Ozpin, who smiled and nodded back. The combat instructor looked to the Winter Maiden, but saw that she was close to falling asleep. She looked up to Kaifin instead and said, "You know what, I think we can work something out with regards to Elsa's interest flowers. Her meeting with Ozpin can also wait a few more hours, since it's obvious that she needs her rest."

He smiled back and whispered, "You have my thanks." in a grateful voice as he guided the dozing Elsa towards the academy after Glynda passed him the keycards to the guest rooms, the Winter Templars following them in their perfect marching steps.

Glynda knew that Professor Peach would be up in an hour or so, and said fellow teacher had a perfectly functioning indoor greenhouse used to preserve various plant species for her classes. In addition to various medicinal plants, it also held a variety of beautiful flowers within it as well...

* * *

A couple hours later, the bright sun had fully climbed over the horizon and was shining down upon Vale, Beacon Academy, and the Emerald Forest, gracing them with its warm light and making the snow sparkle.

The alarm clock in Team RWBY's room went off, awakening all four girls in various moods. Ruby's silver eyes popped open and she quickly sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She then sat up and pushed aside her blankets, stretching her arms and legs as she yawned before she pulled back the blankets that covered her lower body, and turned her head she looked to her side and downwards to see that her teammates were still in bed.

"Morning everyone!" She announced as she hopped off the top bunk and onto the floor.

Weiss sighed as she rose from her blankets, her white hair just a bit messy. She looked to her partner and said, "One day, I'm going to find out how you always manage to be so energetic."

The red reaper giggled as Yang swung her legs over the bottom bunk, retrieving her detached robotic arm from the bedside table and attaching it to her arm socket, powering up and flexing its fingers to loosen up the gears.

"Weiss, I've known Ruby my whole life and trust me when I say that the source of her energy is an unsolvable mystery." Yang quipped as she grabbed a brush and began to tend to her beloved bright gold hair.

Ruby went over to the window and pulled the curtains open to look out at the snow-covered grounds of Beacon, which allowed dazzling sunlight to pour into the room harshly. Blake, being the last of the four girls to wake, flinched away and buried her face into her pillow to shield her eyes.

"Another beautiful day." Ruby said to herself as she continued to look at the snowy landscape.

"It can't beat the beauty of a warm bed and a blanket." Blake argued as she tossed around in her bed to turn away from the light.

"Or you." Yang whispered so quietly that Ruby and Wiess couldn't hear her, but Blake's ears allowed her to hear the Yang's comment easily, which caused her to blush brightly under her blanket. Yang didn't have to see Blake's face to know her reaction, so the blonde brawler simply grinned as she got up and moved to the bathroom for a quick shower, only to be beaten to the punch by Weiss who closed the door in her face and locked it.

"Hey! What gives Snow Queen?" Yang called, placing her varied hands at her hips.

"You know I don't like a pre-wet shower, Yang." Weiss's voice came from behind the door as she started up the water in the shower.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Ruby's elder sister objected before throwing her hands up in the air in annoyance.

"Look, just let me have the first turn today and I won't get in your way tomorrow." Weiss said through the door and over the sounds of pouring water.

Yang sighed and shook her head before saying, "Oh well, this gives me a chance to work out without worrying about sweat."

The blonde went to the center of the room and dropped down on her hands and feet, ready to do some early morning push-ups. "Rubes, mind being extra weight?"

"You got it, Yang." Ruby answered as she gently stepped up onto Yang's back to give her elder sister more of a challenge. Yang wasted no time and began to push both her and Ruby's combined weight up and down on her arms and legs.

As Ruby went up and down, easily maintaining her balance, she turned her head to see Blake finally rising from the covers, pulling a few loose strands of black hair from her mouth.

"Hope you don't get a hairball!" The silver-eyed girl lightly teased.

"Ha Ha." Blake managed to smile back at her before glancing down to admire Yang's attractive, powerful body as it rose and fell, but was careful not to let Ruby catch her looking before climbing off the top bunk.

Meanwhile in Team JNPR's room, the clock had already gone off, but Pyrrha had already silence it via her Semblance right away so she and her team could get a few minutes more sleep before they began their day. The other reason was because the last time she didn't do it Nora's fist nearly shattered it.

The Spartan smiled as she felt Jaune snuggled into her back, the lower half of his head against her shoulder blades as most of his eyes was covered by her flaming red hair as he breathed steadily. One of his arms was wrapped across her midriff while she laid on his other arm which grasped her right arm, their fingers intertwined with each other.

Pyrrha loved moments like this, and she wouldn't mind a day when she and Jaune could just lay in bed together and enjoy each other's company and did other… activities, but it would probably be quite a while before a day such as that would come to pass.

She looked around the dorm room to see Ren sleeping calmly and peacefully while Nora was lying on her front and snoring loudly, a thin trickle of drool pouring from her lips and onto her pillow as she leaned ever closer to the edge of the bed.

When Pyrrha heard the other members of Team Beacon moving outside their room, she knew it was time to get up and apparently she wasn't the only one as she heard Ren rising from his bed, carefully taking his covers off as he woke up.

"Jaune, time to get up." She whispered to her love as she turned around in his arms.

Jaune awoke with a small groan as he took his head out her back and shook it a little as he pushed himself up, withdrawing his arms from her. He wiped the sleep from his eyes before looking at her and smiling.

She returned the smile, not needing to say anything else as she leaned in and gave him a good morning kiss, which he lovingly returned.

Ren got out of his bed and walked over to Nora, preparing himself for his daily task of waking his girlfriend up. To avoid being hit by her hands and legs by reflex, he maintained a safe distance as he took a piece of kleenex from his desk and carefully wiped her mouth of saliva, gently saying, "Nora, it's time to get up."

"Eh..." whined, trying to hide herself with her covers, "My biological clock disagrees."

"Nora, we've been over this, that's not what a biological clock is, you're talking about your circadian rhythm." He corrected her gently.

"Yeah, cicada rhymes… that's what I meant…" Nora finished with a snore.

Pyrrha giggled at her friend's sleepiness while Ren looked over to Jaune, who was reaching for the alarm clock, and nodded to him. Jaune sighed before turning up the volume and bracing himself as he pushed the button.

The alarm blared, and Nora woke with a start, and would have fell of the bed completely had Ren not caught her in the nick of time.

"Not messin' around, huh?" Nora asked him with a cute pout, and he managed a smile as he shook his head.

"We do it because we love you." He told her as helped her up on her feet, patting her gently.

"I love you guys too, can't help it." She admitted as she cracked a bright smile.

Pyrrha made it to the shower first, and while the others waited for their turn Jaune decided to get himself a morning snack. He left their room and made his way to the kitchen, and saw Blake, Penny, Coco, Fox, Neptune already up and about.

"Morning everyone." He greeted, getting a chorus of echoes in return.

"Good morning and salutations, Jaune! Would you like some toast?" Penny offered kindly as she stood in the kitchen, pointing to a large plate of toasted bread.

"Hey, thanks Penny!" Jaune said gratefully as he accepted a couple pieces.

"My pleasure. I may not be able to consume food, but I can still make it!" Penny replied before asking, "We are still on for sword practice after school, correct?"

Jaune, Weiss, Blake, Penny, Sage, Scarlet, and Yatsuhashi, regularly got together at one of the school's training halls once a week for sword practice, to keep their talents with their weapons sharp.

"You got it Penny," The blond knight confirmed before he chowed down on the toast.

"You might want to work on waking up, it's unusual for your team to be the last ones up." Coco commented to Jaune as she took a sip of her cup of freshly-brewed coffee. She, being the leader of the eldest team in the group, was usually the first one up and almost always the first to shower since she always wanted to look as good as she always did.

"Sometimes Pyrrha likes us both to get a little extra rest, and I'm fine with that." Jaune defended politely as he took another bite out of his toast.

"More like she wants extra cuddles." Coco shot back with an understanding wink, causing a slight blush to come to Jaune's features. Neptune chuckled behind his hand while Fox gave Jaune a knowing nod in return.

"Well, that too." He confessed with a shrug before looking around and smiling at Ruby as she exited Team RWBY's room."Well, that too." He confessed with a shrug before looking a smiling to Ruby as she exited Team RWBY's room.

She waved to him as she looked to Blake and said "So Weiss got out of the shower, but you know my sister…"

The Cat Faunus nodded with a smile, knowing how Yang could obsessivley tend to her golden locks, but was content to wait while eating her breakfast of scrambled eggs while Ruby took in the smell of toast and rushed over to Penny.

"Good morning and salutations, Ruby! I can tell you've noticed the toast. Would you like butter or jam?" The android girl politely asked.

"I'm feeling like both today." Ruby said eagerly as she licked her lips, patting her friend on the shoulder and adding, "You're the best." as Penny handed her both jars.

Penny's smile widened somewhat at the compliment as she watched Ruby take a small knife from the kitchen counter-top and set about to fix up the toast for herself.

Jaune returned to Team JNPR's room, just in time to see Pyrrha exiting the bathroom, her school shirt already hastily buttoned on her upper body along with a pair of gym shorts as she walked out. Ren was next in line, so he began to move forward as Nora spoke up.

"You know what? I think some coffee might help me in the mornings…" She began, only for everyone present to answer her.

"No!" They all shot down immediately.

"Spoilsports." She said with a sly smile, trying not to laugh at how scared her fellow teammates looked at the idea of giving her coffee.

Back in the commons room, Ruby and the others were joined by Velvet, fresh out of the shower and already dressed in her school uniform, sans vest, and brushing her long hair. All of a sudden her long ears twitched and she said, "Guys, I think someone's approaching the main door."

Sure enough, there were several knocks came from behind the main entrance to Team Beacon's little section of the dorm building.

Ruby, always the quickest, shot over to the door and quickly unlocked it, and was surprised to see who was waiting for her on the other side.

"Professor Goodwitch?" She voiced in surprise, getting the attention of Blake, Penny, Velvet, and the others in the commons room as their heads turned and saw Professor Goodwitch standing at the door dressed in her usual teaching wear.

"Good morning Miss Rose, nice to see you and the rest of Team Beacon already awake. I apologize for coming here unannounced like this, but I have something to inform you, as well as Miss Nikos and Mr. Arc." Glynda said calmly to the young woman.

"Um, is it urgent?" Ruby asked carefully, wondering if something bad had happened.

"In a way, but it's not too urgent. And don't worry, nothing bad has happened nor are any of you in any trouble." Glynda assured Ruby before she could ask another question.

As Velvet called for Jaune and Pyrrha to come out, Ruby attempted to ask the combat instructor a question, "How did you…?" Luckily, Glynda had it covered and easily cut Ruby off with the answer with a raised hand.

"I have been a teacher for a long time Miss Rose, and I've seen the look you just had in your eyes more than a few times." The blonde teacher explained to Ruby, who nodded in return.

"I guess that makes sense." She replied as Jaune and Pyrrha arrived at the scene.

"Professor Goodwitch? Is something wrong?" Jaune asked her cautiously.

"No Mr. Arc, there's nothing wrong, aside from your state of undress." Glynda remarked, eyeing he and Ruby's pajamas. She came inside and closed the door behind her so that no one aside from the trio would know of what she's going to tell them, "I apologize for coming so early, but I need to inform the three of you of something."

"And since this isn't about something bad, I guess it's safe to assume it doesn't involve Salem and her group, right?" Pyrrha guessed softly.

"Correct, Miss Nikos. Beacon Academy has received some very important guests, and all of them will remain a secret from the bulk of the student body. One guest in particular, wishes to meet with the three of you this afternoon once school is out." Glynda informed them.

"Erm, who is this guest?" Jaune inquired, glancing over to see the heads of Velvet, Coco, Fox, Neptune, Penny, Blake, Ren, Nora, and Sage all watching them from the kitchen's entrance.

"Let's just say she is a very important figure who wants to speak with you about certain things you have experienced." The blonde sorceress said vaguely.

"So she's a therapist?" Ruby asked with a curious look on her face.

"No, Miss Rose. Nothing like that. You'll see once the time comes. This afternoon you will remain with me after your final class and accompany me to Headmaster Ozpin, understood?" She asked them.

They all nodded, whatever this was about was obviously quite important, so none of them felt any desire to question their combat instructor any further. By now they all knew Glynda Goodwitch well enough to know she would never do anything to lead her students to harm.

"We'll be there, Professor." Ruby promised her.

"Very good, I must be going now. I will see you all later, have a good day." She said to the present members of Team Beacon before she opened the door once more and took her leave, gently closing the door behind her.

Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha all looked to each other with slightly puzzled looks but they didn't say anything.

"Penny, I guess I won't be able to show up to sword practice. Do you mind covering for me?" Jaune asked the android girl once he got her attention. Penny was so powerful and skilled with her many blades, so much that she often had to dial it down just so she wouldn't overpower the others.

The robotic girl smiled nonetheless and gave him a thumbs up, said, "No problem, Jaune!"

"What was all that about?" Weiss asked as she came out of Team RWBY's room, fully dressed in her uniform.

"Professor Goodwitch wants the me, Jaune, and Pyrrha to stay after class with her and meet up with Ozpin. I don't know why, but something must be up." Ruby informed her partner.

"Obviously." Weiss agreed with a nod of her head.

"Can any of your team go with you?" Blake asked Ruby carefully, while accepting a mug of coffee from Coco and thanking her.

"I don't think so, Professor Goodwitch said only the three of us are summoned by request from these visitors, whoever they are. She would've mentioned it if we could bring someone else with us." Ruby answered the Black Cat Faunus.

"Well, hopefully you will be able to keep us informed, I don't like to be left out of the loop." Weiss remarked as she sat down at the table.

"I'll do my best to keep you guys in the know." Ruby agreed as she sat next to the Schnee heiress, while Jaune and Pyrrha headed back for their room. "But don't worry, I can handle it."

Weiss gave her partner a look, her eyebrows raised on her face.

"What? I can!" Ruby said, getting a smile out of Weiss, as well as Blake.

"I know you can, Ruby." Weiss relented as she chuckled.

Ruby pouted cutely and muttered, "So now you have a sense of humor." That earned her a small bump on her elbow from Weiss as she gave a small chuckle.

"So Ruby, Weiss, want some coffee?" Coco shook the steaming glass pot of coffee in her hand at them.

"No." Ruby declined.

"Just her a glass of warm milk." Weiss quipped as Coco turned towards her, "Ruby never takes coffee without blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar."

"Wait, won't that cause her to get diabetes?" Sun announced his presence as he joined them at the large table, planting an affectionate kiss on Blake's cheek.

"One can only wonder why she didn't get it yet, considering all the sweets and cookies she eats." Weiss sighed as Ruby laughed a little, and thanked Coco for her mug of hot coffee.

"My Semblance is speed, I burn the weight away before it can set it." Ruby explained before adding "Thanks for ordering milk. Nice Weiss strikes again!"

Weiss's gave her a small, stern glare and said "Tone it down, Ruby. I will pour this mug of coffee on you and it will burn." The snow princess gestured with her coffee mug and Ruby squeaked in fear for a moment.

"Now be quiet and drink your milk." She took the mug from Coco and passed it to the leader of Team RWBY who accepted with a placating smile on her face, which earned a couple of humourous chuckles from the other members of Team Beacon seated around them, "After all, you still have lots of growing up to do."

"You have no idea how true those words are." Blake sighed from behind her own cup of coffee, and Ruby stuck out her tongue in response.

* * *

Once the school day had officially begun and all the students were starting their first classes for the morning, the headmaster of Beacon made sure that he had finished up all the essential paperwork before informing his secretary to hold his calls and messages. After he had locked his table-computer system with a new password he picked up his cane and made his way to the guest room areas of Beacon where Elsa and Kaifin were staying at the moment.

As his footsteps proceeded down the hallway, Ozpin's mind was filled with thoughts concerning the upcoming conversation he'd be having with the Winter Maiden. He had thought for a long time about what he would say to Elsa, and also wondered what she would say to him. While he didn't show it to others, a part of him dreaded another speech about how inept he was, but after so long he had learned that there were still quite a number of people who didn't trust him and had petitioned to have him removed from Beacon, and in all honesty he felt that they weren't entirely wrong to have that opinion. Elsa least of all, as she had lost a close friend due to his failures.

And there were times that certain insightful individuals that he had met before in the past who warned that he was merely a pawn trying to wear the crown of a king, and inevitably found it that heavy is the head that wears the said crown.

He sighed and tried to put the creeping feeling of self-loathing that threatened to poison his mind every so often behind him. As long as there was life left in Remnant, there was hope. He could make things right again, he just had to make use of the time he had been given to lead the others effectively, and hope that Elsa wanted to have a normal conversation instead of giving him a harsh rant.

Ozpin eventually arrived at the area of Beacon where the guest rooms in which Elsa and her guardian were staying, and after making the appropriate greetings with the vigilant Winter Templars who were stationed at various major hallways, he entered his clearance code into the keypad at the door that led to hall with the rooms reserved for important visitors. Once it opened he walked down the empty hallway, his echoing footsteps the only noise aside from his balanced breaths, but they came to a sudden stop as he arrived at the door to Elsa and Kaifin's guest room. Another pair of knights standing at both sides of the door saluted him, which he returned the gesture before gently knocked on the door while looking at the security camera hanging above it.

The small light above the doorknob turned green as the door opened up to reveal Kaifin, who nodded his head he spoke, "Please come in, Headmaster Ozpin. Elsa's awake now."

Ozpin nodded graciously to him as he stepped inside the luxurious hotel-like room with its carpeted floor and comfortable furniture, walking towards the living room section to see Elsa sitting on the main sofa, her hands on her lap as she enjoyed the smell of a couple of vases of marigolds and freesias in front of her. There were varying types of marigolds, although most of them were primarily yellow with bits of orange and red, as well as the shades in-between, and they all looked rather beautiful. Though Ozpin would be lying if he said he didn't resist the urge to wrinkle his nose a little at the smell of them, but luckily the freesias' strawberry-esque scent canceled the bitter smell of the marigolds out. Compared to the marigolds, the freesias had a more colourful variety of colours including yellow, red, violet, white and pink, and were much more pleasant to the senses.

The Winter Maiden opened her eyes and took notice of her visitor, and so she stood up to greet him, "Greetings, Headmaster Ozpin, good of you to join us."

He nodded, returning "Greetings Elea. I hope you're enjoying the flowers."

Elsa smiled and said "Very much so."

Ozpin nodded at her once more before saying, "Elsa, I think it's time we address the Goliath in the room."

Elsa gave a nod and her sky-blue eyes looked over to a corner of the room, where Spirit Dreamer stood on guard in silence. She turned her cowled head towards the Winter Maiden, who gestured for her to leave them be. The armor-clad woman bowed her head with respect and made for the door, with Kaifin seeing her out, and remained out of sight to give Elsa and Ozpin the time they needed. Elsa's guardian shared a look with her before she gave him a smile and he returned the gesture, and took his place by the windows which showed the snow-covered landscape outside, giving them a wide berth.

The Winter Maiden took her seat again, with Ozpin sitting on the couch next to her. "So… how long had it been since you had a personal heart to heart with a Maiden?" She asked him softly.

"A year and a half ago I thought I was having one with the girl who I thought would accept the responsibility of becoming the next Fall Maiden. Now, looking back at what I did… I can't believe just how blind and foolish I was." He said darkly, resting both hands on the top of his cane.

"Don't beat yourself over it, Headmaster. I'm sure you've had your failures brought up repeatedly and listed to you over and over again by the Valean authorities and those who want you removed. There's no need to keep reminding yourself of them." The platinum-blonde woman spoke softly to him.

Ozpin's silver-haired head lifted a little, and he glanced at her as he mentioned, "If I remembered correctly, you were one of the more… vocal people angry with me, and yet here you are trying to comfort me?"

The Winter Maiden replaced the Marigold flower back in its vase as she sighed and admitted, "I admit that I was rather harsh on you, but it was… coming from a rather personal pain, and sometimes one's grief and anger over a loss can just override one's senses. I took a long reflection and I eventually realized that I shouldn't have ignored your suffering just because I was angry over what happened to Amber."

"But you had every right to be," He told her, "But it wasn't just Amber, nor was it what happened to Pyrrha, or to all the innocent people killed by the Grimm and the White Fang. It was that horrible disaster and all my other previous failures in retrospect that made me come so close to quitting before Glynda and Qrow snapped me out of trying to abandon my responsibilities. My heavy burdens. I have made many mistakes in my life, Miss Vorst, and I have failed so many students over the years, not just Miss Nikos, but students who trusted my judgement and died under my watch. Names like Hiro, Tull, Rainhart, and even my old team from my student days, Team WZRD. What kind of Huntsman am I when I couldn't even properly avenge them?"

"I heard about what happened. How you were locked up with that psychopath, and I honestly can't imagine how horrible that must have been." Elsa told him sympathetically.

"It was quite the shock, I can't deny it. I… I never felt the urge to murder another person as badly as I did when I faced Norvik again, not even when I fought Cinder Fall in the Vaults." Ozpin confessed, his fingers trembling a bit on top of his cane.

"I don't fault you for that, and I don't think anyone would." Elsa remarked understandingly, "But I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

Elsa's eyes had a certain distant look before she continued, "You actually met Salem face to face, not through some message, but actually saw her in the flesh. What was she like?"

Ozpin turned his head away for a few moments, presumably thinking about what to say, before turning back to look at her with a dark and utterly bleak look, and it was what she saw in his eyes that told Elsa everything she needed to know.

She slowly nodded her head understandingly and quietly commented, "That terrible?"

"Pray that you never have to meet her." Ozpin said ominously, "She's not to be underestimated."

Elsa glanced at Kaifin by the frost-coated windows, whose face remained stern but he had a worried look in his usually calm eyes. She gave him a reassuring look before returning her gaze to Ozpin.

"And to think that she used to be like me, a Winter Maiden. I know her lust for power and greed eventually turned her into what she is now, but I can't imagine becoming that twisted and evil." She mused quietly.

"You will never become like her, because I can tell you are different from how she once was." Ozpin told her, before continuing, "I also hope you can understand my reasons for turning down your plan to heal Amber. It's just that..."

"I know," She raised up a hand to stop his explanation, "All the Maidens in one place would have been an incredibly risky move, and it would have painted a giant target on Beacon if Salem or her agents learned about or felt our presence. If that happened, she wouldn't have stopped at anything to get to all of us, so many people would have died. You made the right call ignoring my plan. At least this way she'll have to take us all one at a time."

"But the fact that she has yet to make a move against you three, as far as we know, is extremely worrying." Ozpin remarked and Elsa nodded her agreement, "We'll just have to be vigilant and prepare ourselves as much as possible before meeting her in eventual battle."

"But, to go back to what we were talking about, Ozpin, I do forgive you." She reached out and touched Ozpin's hand, "I have spent a lot of time in the past few months thinking and mulling over what happened, and while I think that you could have certainly done better, I don't think it's fair for everyone to blame you for everything that went wrong. You weren't the only one to not see what was going on right in front of you, and we have all been deceived by evil more than once in our lives." Elsa pointed out to him.

"But I've been deceived too many times. It wasn't until Beacon was overrun by the Grimm, a Maiden was killed and her powers stolen, and I myself was captured by Salem's forces that I truly understood the scale of my failures. And if I hadn't made the decision to give the Relic underneath Beacon to the Remnant Knights, Salem could possibly have obtained one of the four main sources of power on Remnant. Despite my resolve to improve and redeem myself, I can't help but be haunted by the chances I will fail again." Ozpin said as he placed his cane aside and looked at his hands, momentarily feeling older than he ever had before.

Elsa, sensing that he still had more to say, decided to remain silent.

He took a breath and continued, saying, "I've even had dreams, dreams about me continually making mistakes and failures, that the gods of Remnant damned me to some everlasting life where I must battle Salem eternally, and since she knows to exploit mankind's weaknesses and the fact I never learned or improved upon my mistakes I always fail against her. And even when I am killed, my spirit moves on to another body, possessing and assimilating them to start anew. And yet I fail and die again. My spirit the takes over another body, and then the cycle repeats endlessly. Never learning from my mistakes, always failing to save the those people who put their trust in me, and never able to stop her."

Elsa placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to console him, replying, "Nightmares like those will never come true. You are not doomed to failure, not as long as you rely on people you know you can trust. From what I have seen, you have many trustworthy friends and allies who can and will help you in this battle. You're not alone in this, none of us are, and as long as we are together, we will eventually find a way to defeat her once and for all."

Ozpin turned his head to look at Elsa and managed to give her a genuine smile.

"I know I'm not." He said, "And while I will do all that's within my power to prevent another disaster, it is as you said, as long as I place my trust and listen to the right people, and I have people who like Glynda, Qrow, Ironwood, Seraph, and even Team Beacon who support me in return… then I know I am on the right path. And I will follow the path I've chosen till the end, because deep in my own heart I know I am right. "

Elsa returned the smile and offered her hand to him, "So, all is forgiven?"

Ozpin placed his aged hand into hers and gently shook it, and said, "I suppose it is."

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, where will I be meeting the students? I need a place to perform a ritual to enter the mindscape of the Maidens?" Elsa said.

"There's no need to worry." Ozpin answered, "I have already set aside the meditation chambers for your usage as long as you need, and the Winter Templars will guard the perimeter as ordered. You will have no disturbances when you enter the mindscape with Miss Nikos."

"I appreciate it." Elsa said as she placed her hands on her lap again, "You have my thanks."

"You're welcome." Ozpin said as he stood up and bowed his head.

* * *

Vacuo was always buzzing with activity whether it was the bright sweltering afternoon or the darkening cool dusk. Its marketplaces and streets were densely populated, and the sounds of daily life accompanying the flow of innumerable feet moved in every direction.

A pair of individuals clad in desert shawls made their way reasonably easily through the crowds, blending seamlessly into the diverse population of the massive Vacuo capital. The sound of constantly shuffling foot traffic, the bellowing of merchants selling their wares, the monotone chanting voices of monks and pilgrims, the hum and roaring sounds of machinery and vehicles reached both pairs of ears as they walked among the population.

They casually walked through the great plaza where the Kingdom's largest marketplace was located, leaving the safety of Shade Academy behind them as they proceeded through the market district to reach the huge sprawling temple built out of immense sandstone blocks. It was second only to Shade Academy in its overall size and magnitude, and the district that had sprung up around the said temple was commonly known as the "Holy City", where humans and Faunus of varied faiths from all over the continent of Sanus and beyond gathered to seek spiritual enlightenment and peace.

The Grand Temple of Vacuo was also home to an extensive library of sacred texts and tomes, many of which was believed to have dated back to the ancient past, which made them incredibly precious and invaluable that the collection was lovingly kept and protected by a holy order of monks and priests, and the temple itself even has its own assemblage of vigilant Guardians who were formidable warriors in their own right. It was rumored that the high priest or priestess was granted a seat in the Vacuo Kingdom's Council as well due to their influence.

As the duo threaded their way across the temple district, they also picked up the sounds of increased security measures which had been implemented by the Council after the massive attack on Beacon Academy: Vacuo Rangers armed with assault rifles and shotguns stood at designated street checkpoints conducting random checks on the common people, armored truck patrols moving down through the busy traffic streets with their occupants alert for anything, an occasional argument breaking out between contesting shopkeepers which were abruptly broken up by law enforcement officials, and the echoes of what sounded like gunfire coming from somewhere far away.

After what happened to Vale, the Vacuoan Council had stepped up its security significantly, or as much as could be done within the walls of the Kingdom since enforcing their stipulated laws would be extremely difficult once out of the vicinity of the Kingdoms' walls.

After walking down a curved stone staircase leading down towards the main street, leading to the Grand Temple of Vacuo, the pair were greeted with an enormous pool of sparkling clear water which occupied the entire frontal side of the temple, housing thousands of gallons within. In the middle of the oasis was a many-tiered dais in which a beautifully carved series of white marble statues depicted a number of scenes: The Guardians of the temple in battle against the terrifying Grimm creatures, the monks and priests educating the people with the valuable lessons they learned from the temple's archives, and a certain hooded and robed female statue holding hands with a pair of children, one human and the other Faunus, while other statues of children were clustered around her. The feminine one of the duo stopped to look at the statues for a brief moment, bowing her head in respect before moving with the flow of the crowds with her companion again, bypassing pilgrims and civilians who were filling their drinking containers from the smaller raised pools studded around the spring.

The Solaria Crescent Orphanage occupied a significant portion of the Grand Temple's precinct, since it was brought into existence by one of the temple's original founders long ago, High Priestess Maria Solaria. Originally founded to take care of the orphans whose parents had been killed fighting the bloody battles of the Great Wars, its purpose soon expanded to taking care of children who lived on the streets and in need of better homes. Before the orphanage was founded the orphaned children were normally cared for by the various religious communities that occupied the scattered buildings around the temple or by civilians who had come on pilgrimage in the "Holy City" district. Between the populace who made up the communities of faith and the community of the Grand Temple, there had always been people willing and able to assist in taking care of orphans.

However, due to the large number of gangs and other criminals that prowled the many dark alleyways and backstreets of the city who wouldn't so much as bat an eyelid at doing unspeakable things to castaway children, the temple's orphanage was eventually considered a safe haven of sorts since it offered food, shelter, clothes and a basic education to those young troubled souls until they were old enough to either join Shade Academy or find work.

Taking a left turn from the Path of Prosperity, which was occupied by scores of vendors trying to sell customers trinkets from their stalls, a pair of assigned temple guardians clad in blood-red robes and grey lacquered armor plates, spears held in their hands, stood at the sizable gates of the orphanage which was crafted from hardened stone and gilded steel that shone in the glaring sunlight. Their faces were hidden behind red cowls, but enough could be made out to know that they had been standing vigil at the gates for some time, enduring the scorching heat of the sun while performing their duty. Only upon seeing the two shawl-draped individuals coming towards them did the temple guardians lift their cowled heads and eyed the newcomers carefully.

Standing a respectful distance from the guardians, the duo paused for a moment before slowly producing their identifications. The taller masculine figure lifted up his hand and turned it to show the back of his gauntlet to display the emblem of the Relentless Crusaders Knight Legion, while the shorter feminine figure produced a beautiful jade cartouche with was etched in gold and bearing the emblem of the Kingdom of Vacuo which could only be given by the Headmistress of Shade Academy. Upon seeing these, the guardians brought up their hands to their chests, slammed the haft of their Guardian Spears on the grey flagstones twice and bowed their heads in respect to the Remnant Knight and honored guest of the Headmistress Luna Aria, allowing them to pass.

It was only when they were both within the inner courtyards of the orphanage did Heliosia Ainea pull back her hood to reveal their head while her Knight Vanguard Fire Walker kept his up. He had forgone his double-bladed sword and shield in favour of a pair of twin blades attached to his waist belt through their scabbards, but Heliosia still carried her personal weapon Flameguard on her belt's special holder in its inactive form, as she knew that despite the heightened security it pays to be prepared for anything.

The sounds of children met their ears and Heliosia allowed herself a small smile. After the murder of Amber, she didn't smile as much as she used to, but innocent children always managed to bring one to her face, even when a pair of children, one a human with dark skin and coppery hair and the other a Desert Wolf Faunus, darted out in front of them, playing a chase game. "Sorry!" The called.

"It's all right!" Heliosia assured them as they proceeded through a long wide corridor filled with devotional papers and neatly arranged pictures depicting the orphanage throughout the years with its colorful cast of attendants, caretakers and supervisors. Her maroon eyes eventually saw the common room, where children, dressed in either casual clothes or the red clothing supplied by the orphanage, talked, played, and laughed together without a care in the world, not caring if they were human or Faunus and ignoring, or just not knowing about, the dangerous world that existed right outside the walls of the orphanage.

They walked out to the courtyard where a middle-aged caretaker sat with a group of children at a pair of stone tables under a large palm tree, teaching them writing and spelling. She noticed them and summarily detached herself from the group and walked the new arrivals.

Stopping in front of them and bowing her grey-white hair courteously, she spoke in a well-mannered voice, "My name is Carolyn Pearl, assistant caretaker of the Solaria Crescent Orphanage. My sincere apologies for not greeting you both at the main courtyard, I have been a little occupied."

"It's perfectly understandable, Sister Carolyn." Heliosia waved dismissively as she allowed her eyes to take in the peaceful, if slightly boisterous, atmosphere of the orphanage's inner workings. Her eyes lingered briefly on a small gurgling stone fountain in the main courtyard with the statue of High Priestess Solaria sitting under a tree with a large book in her hands, while a number of children statues sat beside her on the stone bench as though listening to her telling them fairy tales to entertain them. The Summer Maiden made a mental note in her mind to pay her respects to the orphanage founder's shrine before she left the place before regarding Caroyln again, "We all have our duties to perform."

"Of course. We received a message from Headmistress Aria and Sister Rosea is expecting you." Carolyn inclined her head a little and her sky blue eyes seemed to sparkle a little in the bright sunlight, "Please follow me." She gestured to another corridor leading away from the common room, before informing another of the orphanage's attendants to look after the group of children she had been in charge of.

As they both walked beside the assistant caretaker along the gently curving corridor, passing other orphanage personnel and their child charges on their way to the main office, Carolyn whispered, "It's been some time since an honored guest has graced our orphanage. You must have quite the history with our head caretaker, it's been years since I have seen Sister Rosea perk up that much as she did when your name was mentioned."

Heliosia nodded, careful to remember that she was using her cover identity. After her little act of vigilantism against the Black Vipers had been brought to the attention of Headmistress Luna Aria, the Summer Maiden had been given a polite but stern lecture about the great lengths the Headmistress of Shade Academy and the Relentless Crusaders had taken to ensure her safety and that no one outside of a mere handful of trustworthy people knew about her true identity. Reluctantly leaving the mop-up operations against the Black Vipers to the Vacuo Rangers and other law enforcement officers, Heliosia had instead busied herself with reading in Shade Academy's libraries and sparring in the training halls against students of the academy, although she had been careful not to reveal any hint of her powers and only relied on her natural skills to outwit and outmatch her opponents.

Her visit to the orphanage was one of the few times she could freely step out of the fortress-like walls of Shade Academy with her Knight Vanguard as an escort. While the academy's headmistress has given her an exceptional jade cartouche which bore the emblem of Vacuo's Council that would pretty much allow her to go anywhere within the kingdom if she wished, Heliosia knew better than to go anywhere on her now own despite the fact she had been exceedingly careful with her movements since the day she had reached Vacuo from her travels across Remnant. However, there was only so much she could take before boredom eventually set in, and hence she tried to do some good out on the streets discreetly despite Fire Walker's reservations.

Eventually Heliosia worked out a compromise with Headmistress Aria and the Knights assigned to protect her in the sense that she would inform them of where she would be going, and at least have a group of knights following her discreetly to ensure her safety, in addition to any visits to the various places of interest within the Kingdom of Vacuo to be cleared in advance by Luna herself and Fire Walker. It wasn't to her liking, but considering that the enemy had yet to make a move against Shade Academy nor the Kingdom as a whole, it seemed that her cover identity was holding for the moment.

But that didn't mean it would hold forever, and it she knew it was only a matter of time before additional measures would be put in place to protect her despite her insistence that she could handle herself should things go awry. So she had decided to enjoy her freedom while it lasts.

Carolyn proceeded down another corridor which overlooked the various different levels, dormitories, and study rooms of the orphanage where human and Faunus children slept, played and studied, before leading them up a spiral staircase and eventually entering a waiting room, until they came to an open set of oak double doors which was set with carved images of the Vacuoan landscape and Grand Temple of Vacuo. It was already open, and the current head caretaker, an elderly Caribou Reindeer Faunus could be seen, leaning on her wooden walking staff, as she looked out the window to the streets below.

Carolyn knocked on the door gently and the old woman looked up and her emerald eyes saw her assistant caretaker with the two new arrivals waiting patiently outside her office, "Ah, hello Carolyn, who are these two?"

Carolyn curtised and said "You have visitors, Sister Rosea. This is Adara Aenia and her associate."

The head caretaker of Solaria Crescent Orphanage allowed a warm smile to grace her elderly features as she rested both hands on her walking staff as Heliosia and Fire Walker bowed respectfully to her, "Adara...it has far been too long since we last met. Look at you, all grown up and so beautiful!"

The Caribou Reindeer Faunus came closer, and her distinguishing features came in the form of tall sharp and curved antlers which sprouted from both sides of her head, right above her ears. Deep folds of skin could be seen below her eyes and her hair had turned pale due to age, unlike the picture of her youth set into the wall of her office along with her predecessors in which she had long curly rose-colored hair. She was a little hunched as she leaned on her walking aid, her aged red and white-coloured robed body shuffling forwards as she shared a pleasant hug with the Summer Maiden. However, a strange vitality glowed within her deep emerald eyes, and she carefully appraised the Remnant Knight before bowing her head politely to him, which the Remnant Knight returned with a gauntleted hand to his chestplate in return.

"I will leave you with your guests." Carolyn bowed again politely to her supervisor as she slowly left the spacious office before gesturing for Fire Walker to close the door once she had left, which he did so gently before taking his place beside the grand double doors of the orphanage's main office where he had an ideal view of everything that was taking place within the office.

"I see you have a new caretaker, Sister Rosea." Heliosia said as Anna released her and took to holding onto one of her gloved hands instead.

"You mean Sister Carolyn? Ah yes, she and the other sisters have been a tremendous help to me with the various problems I have to deal with, especially since these accursed legs of mine have gotten so weak I haven't been able to move around very much without a wheelchair." The young maiden with blackish-brown hair could only nod her head sympathetically as she held Anna's gnarled hand within her own youthful ones.

Gesturing for Heliosia to take a seat at a couch, she continued speaking, "Make yourself comfortable, my dear. I will go brew us some tea." She then shuffled over to a portable tea stove set between a pair of tall thick bookshelves filled with books written in many different languages and symbols, put the teapot on the stove and poured some crushed tea leaves into it once she filled it with water, "So what do I owe this visit, Adara Aenia? If memory serves me right, that's the current name you go by, Maiden of Summer?"

The Summer Maiden had been looking around the head caretaker's office, trying to identify what has changed since the last time she had visited years ago. Most of the walls were occupied by either shelves of books and pictures of hundreds of children. Over at the far end of the room was the large mahogany desk where Anna sat when she was dealing with any administrative and financial paperwork for orphanage, while a couple of simple couches and a few timber chairs surrounded the small metal and wooden table occupied the carpeted floor in the middle of the entire office. Circular lights were built into the ceiling, and behind the main desk circular glass windows with complex inlaid patterns offered a breathtaking view of both the Grand Temple of Vacuo and the surrounding Holy City, along with Shade Academy.

Heliosia noticed Fire Walker visibly tense up as his hands slipped down to the twin swords sheathed at both sides of his waist, and promptly raised her hand in a small gesture pleading for him to stand down.

"How do you know that she's the Summer Maiden, Sister Rosea?" The Remnant Knight spoke softly, although the barest hint of threat could still be detected within the tone of his voice.

"You should know that rumors travel quickly throughout the Kingdom, and my ears may be old but their sharp enough to pick up stories of a young vigilante single-handedly fighting against the notorious Black Vipers and returning the money they have extorted back to their rightful owners, not to mention making a rather generous anonymous donation to this orphanage." The senior matron replied as she waited for white smoke to come out of the teapot's lip before she picked it up and poured the freshly-brewed tea into a number of tea cups, "Besides, Headmistress Aria and I go way back even before I met Adara, and it wasn't difficult to piece together what actually happened in the past few weeks since I know exactly who to ask to confirm my personal suspicions."

She placed the filled tea-cups and teapot on a wooden tray with a bowl of sugar cubes before turning to face the Knight and lowered her voice slightly, "So yes, I know that the young woman in front of me is the Summer Maiden, and I know how to keep a secret to myself. That's why Luna trusts me with this information, among a great deal of other things. Now my dear, do you mind giving me a hand?"

"Of course, Sister Rosea." Heliosia got up from the couch and took the wooden tray from Anna, before making her way back to the couch and placing the tray on top of the metal and wooden table, while Fire Walker gave a cautious nod and eased his gauntlets from his swords. The elderly Faunus sighed as she sat down on the couch opposite Heliosia and accepted the steaming mug of tea from her even though her wrinkled hands shook a little, "Are you feeling well, Sister?"

"I am fine, Adara." Anna inclined her head in an equivocal gesture, "It's just that my body is catching up with my age, and I can't do the same things I could when I was as young as you, obviously." She slowly sipped her brown tea and watched as Heliosia picked up a cup, walked over and offered it to Fire Walker who accepted it out of courtesy, before seating herself on the couch opposite Anna once more, "Now then, is this just a social call, or something else?"

"As you said, it's been a long time since we've seen each other." Heliosia spoke calmly, "I'm not the same young woman you once knew, as I have received the powers of the Summer Maiden. The world out there is different now, and I trust you've heard about all the fighting and attacks that have been happening in the last year-and-a-half?"

"Of course, dear! I'm not so old that I'm oblivious to the world around me. I've been saddened by the loss of life and the damage done to that fine city, but I have heard that the terrorists behind these nefarious schemes have been dealt serious blows since then, and that's good news, isn't it? " Anna answered as her shrewd gaze looked from Fire Walker to Heliosia.

"It is." Heliosia admitted as she brought up her own cup to take a sip, "But I was out there in the wilderness between the Kingdoms, before Headmistress Aria put me under her protection. I can tell you that things are undeniably different outside the walls of the four Kingdoms. The things I have seen out there… they're things that would haunt the nightmares of Faunus and mankind alike."

"My dear, to feel fear is to be human, but unless we master fear we will always be within its shadow." Anna gestured with a thin finger, "The Grimm may be varied and dangerous, but as long as one knows to counter them effectively, they won't cause much trouble to the Kingdoms or the major settlements."

"We can only keep them at bay for so long." The Summer Maiden answered hesitantly as her own fingers tightened on the tea cup, "One day those soulless monsters could eventually find a way to invade the Kingdoms either one by one… or all at once." At her words she noticed Fire Walker's helmet turning in her direction, but she gave no indication that she noticed him.

The old matron sighed to herself as she looked into her own cup of tea, "I can't fault what you have said, Adara, but you have to see what's happening at the moment. The Vacuo Council and Luna have already taken additional precautions to secure the kingdom's borders to protect us from outside threats, while the Vacuo Rangers have been stepping up on their daily patrols to ensure that nothing goes wrong within the kingdom itself." She paused and then added, "...and thanks to your heroics, the civilians of Vacuo can sleep a little easier with the Black Vipers completely wiped out by the law enforcement."

She coughed a little before wiping her worn lips with a simple handkerchief she produced out of her robes, and then leaned close to Heliosia, "I know you are worried Adara, but you need to trust in Headmistress Aria's actions. I can safely assure you that she knows what she's doing, or else the Vacuo Council would never have chosen her to be in charge of Shade Academy."

"I understand, Sister Rosea." Heliosia acknowledged the old Faunus's advice with a nod of her head, the colored beads on her black and brown braids rattling softly as she did so. One of her hands unconsciously reached up to touch her round-shaped circular clasp necklace, a small gesture that Fire Walker noticed whenever the Summer Maiden was deep in thought about something, or when she's having troubled thoughts.

"You've become sensible and strong, Adara Aenia." Anna placed down her tea cup and reached out to hold Heliosia's smooth-skinned hands within her coarse-skinned ones, "I can tell you're shouldering the mantle of the Summer Maiden as best as you can and you're helping the world of Remnant by giving it your all. I am sure that your parents are very proud of you, and so am I. Don't be too worried about your role, we all have our own to perform in life. For now, let others do their jobs and when the time is right, I'm sure you'll know what to do as the Summer Maiden."

She gave the current Summer Maiden's hands a motherly pat, and Heliosia almost felt her eyes tear up at the evidently heartfelt gesture while looking into Anna's deep emerald, maternal eyes, "You're still looking for him, aren't you?"

The sudden question caught Heliosia off guard, and she reflexively reached for the simple yet precious necklace that hung around her neck, nearly hidden by her outer jacket's collar and her reddish-brown undershirt. After assuring herself that it was still there, she gave a nod, "I'm still searching, even though it's been over fifteen years since that fateful night when the Grimm attacked his hometown."

She then turned her head slightly to see Fire Walker tilting his head to the side, shifting a few steps towards the windows and whispering under his breath, and guessed that he could be talking through his helmet's personal communication device to the other Remnant Knights. She thanked Oum that he didn't hear what Anna had just told her, as she didn't want anyone else to know why she was so obsessive over her search for a certain someone which took her across the various continents of Remnant while she had been travelling as a Maiden.

"My child." The head caretaker reached out a hand to grip her shoulder gently but firmly, "The tribe he belonged to was wiped out by the Grimm. There's no way he could have survived that kind of attack, and even if he did, I'm sorry to say that his chances of continued survival seem highly unlikely."

"We made a vow with each other." Heliosia replied stubbornly, and her gloved fingers caressed the necklace tenderly as though it was the most precious thing to her in the world, "And until I see his body with my own two eyes, I refuse to believe that he's gone. I… I have this feeling that he's still out there, and I hope that one day I may be reunited with him once more."

"I can tell you've already set your mind to it." Anna whispered before gripping Heliosia's hand tightly and shaking it, before leaning upwards and placing a kiss on her forehead, "Then go with Oum and all the other gods of Remnant, my child. I hope one day you will be reunited again with him, and live a long, eventful and happy life once you have accomplished the role you play in the grand tale of fate."

"My humble gratitude for your blessings, Sister Rosea." Heliosia said, bowing her head, however, her own smile turned melancholy as she knew that if she were to perform her role as the Summer Maiden, there was a good change she wouldn't survive whatever battles the future held for her. "I will never forget your kindness and generosity."

"Nor will I forget about you, Heliosia." Anna Rosea whispered to the Summer Maiden as they shared a brief but important moment of understanding between them,.

All of a sudden Fire Walker spoke up, marching towards them and bowing politely "Forgive me, but I just received word from Headmistress Aria, she requests our presence right away. Your friend's ship has landed in Vale."

"I nearly forgot about that... " Heliosia muttered before looking back to Sister Rosea. "It seems that our time together has come to an end. Thank you for the enlightening conversation and the wonderful tea, Sister Rosea."

She stood up and executed a perfect bow as the Faunus caretaker stood up slowly as well, nodding her antler-covered head in acknowledgement.

"It has been my pleasure to entertain the two of you." A warm, loving smile was displayed Anna's worn features as she regarded the Summer Maiden and the Remnant Knight while leaning on her walking staff, "Perhaps one day we may meet again. Stay safe out there."

She waved to them as they left her office, although in her old heart she knew that the path ahead of the Summer Maiden was a difficult one, holding the power of one of the Four Maidens was never an easy task, and always came at some price in the end. Anna Rosea personally dreaded what the final price would be for Heliosia.

* * *

Somewhere among the mountains of the Mistralian countryside, the medium-sized town of Amuburoshia was built upon the steppes on the upper valleys, and since it was a town with a significant population and close to the outskirts of the capital, its people enjoyed the protection and hence were less likely to become the victims of Grimm and roaming bandits.

At the highest point of the town was a renowned monastery with impressive architecture, whose inhabitants were devoted to the worship of the gods of nature which were reverend by the people of Mistral. It was also where the Spring Maiden Amethyst Rilo most recently stopped on her journey throughout the continent, along with her hidden bodyguard of Eternal Warriors Knight Legion. Since the monks and priests of the monastery were reasonably gracious and sensible, it wasn't hard for Amethyst to get a place to stay before continuing on her journey.

She also noticed that the head priest might had some kind of history with the Knights, since he greeted Wind Runner courteously and generously offered the Spring Maiden to stay as long as she liked once they had entered the gates and into the protected inner sanctums of the monastery.

Of course, since her mind was occupied with other matters Amethyst didn't give it much thought, and left her protection to Wind Runner and his detachment. After practicing her combat skills with her sword Gembreaker in one of the empty chambers of the monastery set aside for her use, she had retired to her given quarters and easily slipped soundly into her dreams, comfortably bundled up in her bed.

However, as the sun crested the horizon to the east and slowly illuminating the chambers of the Spring Maiden located near the top of the main building, it was clear that not all was well with her as she mumbled audibly in her sleep about things and soon enough her movements became more frantic, and she began to toss and turn.

Amethyst woke abruptly from her dreams, pushing herself from her bed and causing the blankets covering her to bunch up before falling away as she wiped her face with the back of her hands to wipe away the cold sweat. Her purple bangs were disheveled, and clear droplets of fluids leaked from the sides of her eyes, and she was panting while half-formed images from her dreams continued to float through her mind.

She took a few moments to collect herself, turning her head a little to look at the crown jewel of Anima in the distance nearby, since the monastery was built upon a mountain slightly to the south of the City of Mistral, the capital of the kingdom. The stunning city, which laid on a pair of gigantic mountains within the land, gleamed in the rising sun's rays, she could see the extensive collection of varied buildings which housed a massive population of humans and Faunus with varied cultures and talents. It was a breathtaking sight that she allowed her eyes to roam over the many styles of architecture displayed in the distance, and if she squinted a little she could also see long stone stairways zigzagging their way up towards the twin mountains.

She felt her breathing slow and become calm once more. She turned her head when she heard knocking on the door of her guest chambers. Adjusting her posture to look as though she had just woken up, she call out, "Come in!"

The door opened and Wind Runner entered, his customized revolver rifle magnetically locked to the back of his detailed armor, he looked around the room carefully before focusing on Amethyst as she got up from her bed.

The group of Knights assigned to protect the Spring Maiden had stationed themselves around the monastery, hidden away at carefully considered locations while maintaining clear lines of communication with each other. The monastery, while receiving a steady stream of pilgrims and worshipers every day, was mostly quiet with regards to its inner sanctums which were protected by the monastery's watchful guardians. And since the head priest was among the handful of trustworthy individuals who know about the existence of the Remnant Knights and knew to keep the knowledge of them a secret as well as ensure that no questions were asked with regards to the knights or the peculiar maiden who accompanied them.

Throughout the time spent in protecting Amethyst along with his fellow Remnant Knights, Wind Runner had learned that the Spring Maiden was an energetic girl who didn't usually fall asleep easily. It wasn't uncommon for him and the others to put up with her long nights since she normally fell asleep just before four in the morning.

He noticed her sweaty face and a bit messy hair and wondered what had caused her to become that way. He waited patiently as Amethyst, who wore only a large T-shirt which went down to her thighs, began rubbing her face with the heel of her right hand.

"Good morning, Amethyst." Wind Runner spoke quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.

"Hey, Wind Runner. Oh man, what time is it?" She asked him a little groggily, but didn't quite manage to keep the troubled look on her face out of sight which he noticed almost immediately.

"It's just after twelve." He replied as he took a few steps to stand beside her, "Are you all right?"

Amethyst stretched her arms out and shook her head a little to get the cobwebs out, answering "I'm fine."

"You looked like you were having another bad dream." He mentioned to her.

"You aren't wrong." She turned her head slightly to look at him.

"That has been the third time this week you've had a bad dream. Is it the same as the others?" The Remnant Knight asked cautiously.

Amethyst thought for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I saw the same scenes happening again."

"Can you describe what's happening in these dreams?" Wind Runner requested softly.

"I'll try." She told him slowly after sipping her teacup once more, "Most of it was kinda weird, and it's also quite difficult to make out all the details. I saw some city by the desert being invaded by swarms of dark roaring shapes which looked a lot like Grimm. I think I saw you as well as many other knights in battle as well against the Grimm."

"That's not an unusual sight, we face those mindless beasts regularly." The knight remarked.

"Yeah, but my dreams have feet different. It's hard to describe but it just felt… bad." Amethyst said darkly, a far cry from her usual personality which made Wind Runner listen carefully to her, "Near the end of my dream, I saw someone lying in a bed, covered by a sheet. I couldn't tell who it was, but it felt like I know who it was… someone very close to me, like… another maiden." At that she brought her knees up to her chest as she shivered a little, although it was quite warm in the bedroom. Wind Runner absorbed the details and thought it over, before she spoke up again, "And I… I think I saw someone else there, it looked like that Ruby Rose girl."

"Are you sure it was her?" Wind Runner quietly prompted.

The Spring Maiden nodded, "For some reason in that part of my dream, she looked just like the pictures and the videos from the Vytal tournament."

"Did she say or do anything?" The Knight Vanguard reached up and tapped the chin-edge of his faceplate with a pair of gauntlet-clad fingers.

"She was standing next to me, holding my hand for some reason even though neither of us said anything. She had a sad but reassuring smile for some reason." She paused for a moment and looked at Wind Runner directly, finishing with, "It can't be just another weird freaky dream, can it?"

"In other words, you dreamt of a Grimm attack on Vacuo which possibly led to the severe injury or death someone important, possibly a Maiden." Wind Runner summarized and watched the Spring Maiden nod her head.

"You believe me right?" She looked at the emotionless faceplate of his helmet.

There was a pregnant pause between the Maiden and her Knight, who eventually gave a nod and replied, "I'd need additional advice before I can make an informed decision. I believe you, but I would feel more confident if you speak to a prognosticator about your dreams, since they can often have deep meaning behind them, maybe even be premonitions."

As she gave a nod he continued, "Please don't speak of your dreams to anyone else. I will inform my legion and request them to send a prognosticator to speak with you personally." He then watched as the purple-haired girl walked over to her briefcase on the floor, kneeling down to get to it before pulling her item out of its alcove, "Our own prognosticator is indisposed at the moment but I will request that she come as soon as possible."

"We'll see, I don't like to have someone poking around in my head unless I really have to." She opened her briefcase and got out a fresh set of her Huntress clothes, "I presume the meeting's happening soon, right?"

"Yes, I've received confirmation from both Fire Walker and Snow Blade." Wind Runner gave a nod of agreement, "The head priest of this monastery has already set aside the private meditation chambers for your usage. You may use it for as long as you need without any disturbance."

"Hey, I'm the Maiden here, so I know what to do." She told him with a smirk, her usual positive personality surfacing again before adding, "I'm gonna get dressed, so scram, unless you'd like a peek at pure naked beauty."

She giggled at the thought of what kind of expression was on his face, although judging from the tilt of his helmet it seemed that he might be giving her an eye-roll, "Oh well, your loss."

The Knight Vanguard instead bowed to the young Spring Maiden before spinning around to take his leave.

* * *

The bells marking the end of the school day chimed out, and so began yet another rush of students leaving their seats from the various classrooms, with their respective teachers calling out to remind them of any homework assignments or to notify them of what to expect for tomorrow's lessons.

In Professor Goodwitch's combat class, the various teams of teenagers left as quickly the blonde sorceress would allow. However, both Teams RWBY and JNPR lingered behind the rest, waiting and watching as Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha got up and walked towards their teacher, who gathered up her scroll and files before nodding to them in acknowledgement.

"Please wait for me while I get a few final things sorted out and we will be on our way." Glynda told them as she made her way to a desk that overlooked the combat pit.

They waited until they were the only students left in class. She gestured towards her own team and asked, "Professor, are we going to be able to tell our fellow team members about this when it's over?"

Glynda considered the question carefully before saying, "I'll have to speak with Headmaster Ozpin about it. Despite everything Team Beacon had accomplished, we can't just tell you everything, I hope you understand."

"Of course, Professor." Ruby and Jaune spoke together, before looking at their respective teams.

"You sure you guys will be okay?" Yang asked them as she took Ruby's sling bag for her.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. It's not like Ozpin has ever invited us to some secret meeting that ended badly… and I'm just going to stop talking." Jaune silenced himself quickly once he realized what he was saying, and quickly gave Pyrrha an apologetic look. The red-haired girl beside him winced slightly, but managed to give him a small smile.

"It's okay, Jaune. All is forgiven." She told him while glancing up to see Glynda's fingers dancing across the desk's glowing screen, entering her notes on how students of her class had performed combat-wise during the final period.

"Well, Headmaster Ozpin hasn't kept us in the dark that much now, and hopefully we'll soon be able to know about whatever this meeting is about." Ren stated calmly, getting nods from the others.

"I certainly hope so." Blake commented calmly as she crossed her arms.

A couple of minutes passed, and once Glynda finished entering her notes and scores into the academy's database, she logged off the computer before walking down to meet them, "Wet, let's not waste any more time. Follow me you three." She said to them, looking at Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha.

The combat instructor of Beacon Academy, plus the eight Hunters-in-training, left the room and as Glynda locked the double doors behind them her students exchanged some words and parted ways, with the other members of Teams RWBY and JNPR heading back towards the dorm.

"Be careful." Weiss bid Ruby as she held the silver-eyed huntress hand briefly.

"We will be, and don't have too much fun while we're gone!" Ruby told her partner.

Weiss rolled her light-blue eyes while Yang cracked a grin. "Same goes for you, little sis." The blonde brawler replied before waving as she followed the rest of the teams down the hallway, with Nora also waving goodbye to her fellow teammates who also returned the gesture.

"All right students, please follow me." Glynda instructed the trio, who nodded obediently and followed her without objection.

They walked deep into Beacon Academy, up curving stairs and through long hallways past other students who were eager to get back to their dorm rooms or custodians wanting to get their final tasks for the day over and done with. It wasn't long before they found themselves approaching a section of the academy that looked familiar.

"Hey, I recognize this place. This hall leads to the meditation chambers." Jaune observed as he looked around.

"Correct, Mr. Arc. That is where our honored guests will meet us." Glynda informed them as they walked around a bend and came to the last stretch of hallway that led straight to the meditation chambers. For some reason the security panels had come down over the glass windows, which made the hallway seem rather dark, and inside of that darkness armored figures could be seen standing guard.

"Are those Remnant Knights?" Ruby asked Glynda, who gave a nod, "So is Argentius here? Or Sharp Strike?"

"I'm afraid that none of the Knights you are familiar with are here. The person who wants to meet you isn't one of them. She's… well, you'll understand soon." Glynda informed them before proceeding down the hallway.

The two knights guarding the hallway nodded to them, and stood aside once Glynda presented her identification, "Your fellow knights are quite commendable, the students didn't even notice the others guarding this section of the school." She remarked to them.

"Wait, there are others back there?" Jaune asked while glancing over his shoulder, with Ruby and Pyrrha doing the same.

"Indeed, young Huntsman." The knight with a long battleaxe on the right spoke, whose armor-clad figure and voice were both feminine, "Our warriors know how to remain hidden from untrained eyes such as yours."

Jaune nodded and gestured to his eyes, offering a comeback in the form of, "Well… they are getting better." Ruby began to giggle while Pyrrha also couldn't help it but smile at her boyfriend's attempt at humor.

Glynda unlocked the doors and gently pushed them open, revealing the meditation chambers the trio of students had visited six months ago. It was very much the same as they had seen it the last time, aside from some new vases of flowers on stone plinths that looked like they had been placed there recently. Ozpin was already inside of the room, along with a quartet of people they didn't recognize: A rather beautiful woman with pale skin and platinum-blonde wearing a flowing dark-blue dress, a large muscular and bearded man with tanned skin dressed in a heavy blue jacket and thick pants, and two more knights clad in gunmetal-grey armor plates with white trimmed around the edges, one armed with a double-edged broadsword while the other held a long force staff with a diamond-shaped piece of white crystal embedded at its upper tip.

Ozpin took notice of them and offered a pleasant smile, "Ah, Miss Rose, Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos, welcome." He greeted them as they walked in, while Glynda closed the door behind them.

"Hello again, Headmaster Ozpin." Pyrrha replied as she greeted Ozpin along with the others until she met the piercing sky-blue eyes of the platinum-blonde woman. Something about her felt… familiar.

"So… why are we here again? Who are they?" Ruby asked in a kind but slightly blunt manner.

"My, she doesn't waste any time, does she?" The woman in the dark-blue gown observed with an amused voice.

"I'd be surprised if she did. Well, my young friends, there's no point in keeping you in the dark any longer. These are our guests, and as you can see two of them are Remnant Knights from the Winter Templars Knight Legion in Atlas. This is Snow Blade, leader of this current knight detachment, and this is Spirit Dreamer, a prognosticator." Ozpin made the appropriate introductions while gesturing to the respective knights.

The trio of students nodded respectfully to the two knights, who inclined their helmeted heads in return. After a few moments, Ruby's sense of smell took in the musky but sharp smell of the marigolds mixed in with the sweetness of the freesias from the flower pots scattered around the meditation chambers.

Ozpin gestured to the woman clothed in dark-blue and said, "This is Elsa Vorst, and she is the guest who wished to meet you three. This man is her guardian, Kaifin."

The three teenagers looked at them in silence, and while Kaifin simply nodded to them, Elsa walked towards them and gave a warm and welcoming smile before saying, "It's so wonderful to meet you all at last. I've been meaning to do this for a long while now."

"Really? Why?" Ruby asked curiously before sniffing the flowers' scent in the air again.

"I have the same question, and... why do you feel so familiar?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean, Pyr?" Jaune asked his girlfriend as she stepped closer to Elsa who simply smiled.

"I don't know why, but I feel like I have seen Elsa before." Pyrrha managed to say, but her mind was still unable to place the memory of the woman before her in focus.

Elsa maintained her smile and said, "That's because we've never met, but for a very brief moment, we were sisters."

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"I am the Winter Maiden." Elsa calmly revealed to them.

"Whoa, seriously?!" Ruby cried out in surprise, as Pyrrha's hands came up to her open mouth.

Elsa turned her smiling face to Ruby and nodded, "I am. And I'm here to speak with the three of you, to tell Pyrrha about the Maiden she could have become, and to learn about the trials you three have faced."

"Why now, after all this time?" Pyrrha questioned doubtfully.

Elsa's smile dropped unexpectedly as she sighed and answered, "Because I have neglected helping you for too long. For the brief moment you held the power of the Fall Maiden within you, you became a part of our sisterhood. I am truly sorry that I didn't come to see you sooner."

Pyrrha looked into Elsa's sky-blue eyes and saw no ill will or no hint of deceit, just genuine concern and compassion. The Spartan then saw something that reminded her of herself, a kind of loneliness she knew all too well.

She allowed herself a small smile before looking to her lover and her close friend.

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked the Spartan.

"I personally think she's all right. There's something about her, something… kindred. We can trust her." Pyrrha replied honestly.

Jaune nodded at his girlfriend and spoke, "Good enough for me. Ruby?"

Ruby nodded and said, "All right, I have only known one Maiden, and if I can already tell Elsa's probably not going to try and kill us like Cinder." She noticed Elsa wincing at that, and quickly apologized, "Oh! No offense."

Elsa shook her head and chuckled, "Very well, my young friends. May we sit down?" She asked, gesturing to the meditation pillows set in the grotto-like recess on the floor of the meditation chambers. The three students nodded and took their seats, with Elsa and Kaifin sitting down as well. Ozpin, Glynda, and the knights moved off to the side, with the headmaster and sorceress discussing the day in whispers. Snow Blade and Spirit Dreamer stood together, observing the proceedings silently.

Ruby looked at the vases of flowers around them and said, "Um...nice flowers. They look nice, but the smell is a little…"

"Odd?" Elsa offered, and Ruby nodded, "It is understandable. Marigolds have an odd bittersweetness that I like. Don't ask me why, it just works for me. I understand that many don't share the fondness, so freesias are often my second choice, since their scent isn't unlike perfume. Together, they create an odd but interesting mix. I always have had a fondness for Marigolds, ever since I was a second year student like yourselves."

"They might smell a little funky, but I can't deny that they're pretty." Ruby said as she admired the colorful flowers.

"I remember that marigolds are a popular flower in Mistral's southern regions and that you couldn't go far without seeing quite a number of them, even in the countryside." Pyrrha commented.

Elsa nodded, "Southern Mistral is where I gained my fondness for them. When I was on a mission there during my second year as a student, I learned that these flowers were often used in ceremonies to honor the dead, their bright colors are supposed to be some kind of light to guide souls to where they're supposed to go." She explained slowly to them.

Jaune nodded solemnly, "I remember the some of those flowers were used in bouquets for Pyrrha's funeral, back when we thought she was dead." He spoke while giving his partner an apologetic look for bringing up such a terrible thing. Instead, she simply smiled back at him and took his hand into hers.

The Winter Maiden smiled at the young lovers before saying, "I don't know if I believe it, but it's a comforting thought, nonetheless . Their smell doesn't bother me either. Crisp and clean mountain air is nice and all, it eventually gets boring after a while."

"You have been in the mountains for a bit, huh?" Ruby guessed.

"More than a bit actually, nearly two years. All to stay hidden from our common foe." Kaifin said in a deep voice, speaking for the first time since they entered the meditation chambers, "We move from outpost to outpost in the Atlesian mountain range, so Salem won't be able to catch us."

Elsa nodded at her love before facing the three students once again and saying, "You can learn more about us later. I have heard so much about the three of you and the rest of Team Beacon. I've read the reports and the files given to me, but I don't think it's enough. So I want to hear the story from your mouths. I want to understand what you have been through personally."

Ruby looked into Elsa's eyes and saw an unmistakable, genuine kindness in them. The silver-eyed girl smiled and said, "Well, I hope you like long stories as much as you like flowers."

Elsa gave a polite chuckle and leaned towards Ruby a little, "I do."

And so they began.

**To Be Continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader.
> 
> We've officially reached a million words! Next time we'll cover Pyrrha's trauma, I planned to do it here, but with how long its been and how long GC made Heliosia's scene I decided to save it for now.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment.


	60. A Meeting of Maidens Part II

The hours went by quickly, and soon it was nearing sunset in Vale when the three students finished telling the Winter Maiden and her guardian their long stories. They had each explained to Elsa the circumstances of their own beginnings; Ruby as the daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang, who wanted more than anything to be the best Huntress who ever lived, Jaune to overcome his weaknesses and be a hero like his ancestors, and Pyrrha for her life to mean something other than being famous and to forge real friendships. They had told the platinum-blonde of how they came to Beacon, their first adventure together in the Emerald Forest during initiation, their misadventures in the months between their teams' formation and the Vytal Festival, and finally the utter disaster Cinder Fall had wrought. Telling her of what had happened to them during the fall of Beacon, the physical and emotional pain that came with the fallout.

Ruby and Jaune told Elsa and Kaifin about the grief they suffered from losing Pyrrha and seeing Beacon fall to the Grimm, while Jaune admitted to the self-loathing he suffered and how he blamed himself for Pyrrha's death and how he ignored her feelings for him. Pyrrha told them what little she remembered about being transformed into Fotia Drakos, the excruciating pain from being pierced in the chest by Cinder's arrow had nearly killed her and left her body and mind so weak that she was malleable enough to Salem, Giger, and Kaa's manipulations, allowing them to transform her into someone she wasn't.

They explained to the guests what happened leading up to the climactic battle in Haven, with Pyrrha recounting what she remembered from Fotia's harsh training while Ruby and Jaune recalled their journey to Haven as Team RNJR, since they all wanted to hunt down Cinder and get justice for Pyrrha and all the people who suffered in the attack. They told their guests how they met Ashe, their eventual capture by Cinder and her underlings, which led to them being her prisoners and eventually meeting Salem face to face. Out of the corner of Jaune's eyes, he noticed both Snow Blade and Spirit Dreamer both slightly tense up at the mention of Salem, but remained silent and seemed to quietly conversed with each other in barely-heard whispers.

As Jaune forced himself to tell them about the torture he suffered, Ruby looked over to see Ozpin and Glynda also talking among themselves, and that Professor Goodwitch now had a dreadfully serious look on her face. She momentarily wondered what they were talking about before Jaune snapped her out of it by reminding the red-hooded girl that it was her turn to tell their guests about being Cinder's 'pupil' for a short period of time.

Off to the side, Ozpin had been telling Glynda about the private communiqué he had received from General Ironwood several hours prior.

"So what did James want?" She asked.

"He contacted me after my meeting with Miss Vorst, apparently something has happened in Haven." He explained quietly.

"Not an attack I hope." She responded in a hushed tone.

"Not exactly. Apparently there was a murder last night, a medium level employee of the Schnee Dust Company who the Haven police have identified him as Charles Meredith, was found dead in a destroyed Dust warehouse with a pair of dead guards. The explosion unfortunately reduced them to charred-up husks, but his severed hand was left behind to confirm his identity. He has reason to believe this particular murder may be the work of our enemy." Ozpin whispered to her.

"How so?" She inquired.

"I'm sure all will be made clear when Ironwood elaborates upon the case once we're done here. Specialist Schnee will be present as well, and perhaps President Schee too." Ozpin explained before gesturing to the small group currently in the center of the meditation chambers while quietly adding, "It can wait for the time being, I don't wish to alarm them."

Glynda nodded in agreement, her face easily slipping into a casual expression so as not to give anything away.

The three students continued with their tale, telling the two visitors as much as they could about the things they'd gone through in Haven. Jaune informed them of the varied forms of torture he endured and how he discovered Pyrrha was still alive and the Mistral champion in turn told them of her relationship with the Grimm Wyvern and how Neo secretly helped to turn her back to the light by dropping hints about her true identity. Ruby also told them of her brief tutelage under Cinder before all three students recounted of the harrowing duel between Jaune and Fotia which directly allowed him to free Pyrrha and eventually led to the daring attack pulled off by their friends and allies. Finally, the blonde knight spoke of his close call with death and how Ruby scarred Cinder with Crescent Rose, before escaping to heal Jaune by which they traded places with Ashe as the new guardians of the Aura Crystal and his eventual death at the hands of his sister.

There were a few moments of silence as Elsa absorbed what she had been told, and she say, "My that's certainly quite… quite the tale." She had visibly tried to hide her tears at some parts of the story such as Jaune's physical and emotional torture he had suffered and how someone as kind and innocent as Ruby had been forced to kill in self-defense at such a young age, "Still it's quite extraordinary to me that you actually managed to meet Ember Kasai when you are in the presence of the Aura Crystal."

"You knew her?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Not personally no, but I knew of her. Many years before I came into the picture, she used to be the Summer Maiden." Elsa revealed to the trio of students.

"Wait, what?!" Ruby cried before she noticed Jaune and Pyrrha's unsurprised expressions, "Wait, you both knew?"

"Yeah, we knew." Jaune answered as he looked at the red reaper, "She told us about her past during one of our meditational trips into the Aura Crystal. I thought we already told you."

"To be fair we learned of it during a very long session… and we didn't have the time to tell everyone until the next morning. Also, I think you are also too tired to be paying attention to what we were talking about due to your sparring sessions." Pyrrha guessed before adding, "Sorry, Ruby."

Ruby waved her hand glibly, smiling to let Pyrrha know she was accepting her apology before her face turned a little serious and thinking aloud, "So, if Ember was the Summer Maiden that means Salem must have tried to get to her at some point. If so, how did she manage to live a life with her husband and have kids while being a Maiden?"

"She didn't." Pyrrha answered, "After overcoming Salem's attempts on her life and powers, Ember felt that she no longer wished to be the Summer Maiden, and so she passed on her power to another. In other words, she retired from the Maiden role."

"Maidens can actually do that?" Ruby queried in a surprised tone, to which Elsa nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, we can. All we have to do is peacefully transfer our powers to whoever the Guardians of Remnant have chosen to be our successors. There were two more Summer Maidens prior to the current one. You see, in her travels with the Remnant Knights, Ember met the Kasai family and learned of the history of the Aura Crystal, and it was there that she met the one whom she fell in love with, Kojin Kasai. Her love for him, as well as the growing threat of Salem and her desire to live a normal life, eventually one of Salem's attempts on her life nearly made their mark and it became too much for Ember, and so she made it known to the Guardians, the Knights, and the other Maidens that she wished to retire. So while she recovered from her injury, she transferred her powers to her replacement Maiden, which was a intensely complicated and exhausting ritual, but soon enough she was restored to her normal self and eventually returned to the Kasai family, where she married Kojin and became his partner in guarding the crystal." The Winter Maiden elaborated for the three students seated in front of her.

"I used to think that the powers of the Maidens only leave the host once they passed away and the last person they thought of would be the next holder of the powers." Pyrrha began while thinking back to Amber.

"Yes, that can happen. However, if a Maiden is killed and the assailant, say someone like Cinder, doesn't act fast enough, then the Maiden's powers will leave her body and seek out a new, random host that they deem worthy. But it's still possible for a Maiden to transfer her powers to another through rituals, so as to keep one step ahead of the enemy in emergency situations." Elsa told them carefully before adding, "It goes without saying that Ember managed to escape Salem's grasp several times, and those close calls were enough to convince her to give up her powers. It's also highly possible that's why Salem targeted Cinder specifically to become her disciple."

Jaune nodded and said, "That's what I gleaned from what Ember's spirit fragment told us. Salem wanted Cinder as a way of getting a potentially powerful pawn as well as getting revenge on Ember. It obviously worked."

"Indeed, but we're lucky that Cinder still had some compassion within her at the time, and Salem wasn't truthful with her about the Aura Crystal's power. Had she murdered her brother, there wouldn't be anyone to get the crystal away from Salem's clutches." Elsa remarked.

"Keywords being 'at that time', she still murdered him in cold blood." Ruby said darkly, thinking back to the night when she saw Ashe's badly damaged corpse laid on a bench.

Elsa nodded grimly, "Yes, from what I have seen and from what you all have told me it's obvious that we won't be receiving any acts of mercy from her in the future."

They all nodded in agreement and turned as Kaifin spoke up, "I can't imagine fallout was easy to live with. While you all got away alive, it wasn't without any physical and psychological scars."

"It wasn't, for any of us." Pyrrha said dryly, "We were all traumatized by the events at Haven. I mean… for all intents and purposes I was brainwashed into thinking I was someone else, someone who was willing to do horrible things while thinking they were right. Jaune and I have suffered from nightmares for over a year now. While they've become less frequent now... I feel that you're right Kaifin, the scars, both physical and emotional, still linger. The pain might have dulled, but it's still there."

Elsa gave another nod before looking to Ruby and asking, "What about you, Ruby? Have you suffered any nightmares or anything of the sort?"

Ruby hesitated to answer but managed to say, "Well, yeah, kind of. Looking back, I didn't have it as bad as Jaune and Pyrrha but… it wasn't easy. I accidentally killed two people, but I've come to accept that it doesn't make me a bad or an evil person. With the help of my family, my friends and the knight Argentius, I was able to get over a lot of what happened. But that doesn't mean I'm immune to it either. A part of me is still afraid…"

Her voice trailed off, and Elsa gently asked, "Afraid of what?"

"Of facing Salem alone, and having to fight her." Ruby confessed.

"That will never happen!" Jaune said firmly.

"We won't let it. None of Team Beacon will, and neither will your family or any of our allies." Pyrrha promised her younger friend.

"I know you guys won't, but I can't help but...well, dread the possibility." Ruby admitted.

"I don't blame you. You have every right to be afraid." Elsa told her gently, "You saw the Mistress of Grimm in person, and you also saw her use her dark powers and lived to tell about it. Not many people who oppose her can claim that."

"Indeed, but I'm curious as to why she allowed you to live." Kaifin voiced, earning a short-lived glare from Jaune and Pyrrha while Ruby visibly flinched.

"Kaifin…" Elsa began sternly, and her guardian lifted up his hands in apology.

"What I meant is, Miss Rose's silver eyes pose a great threat to Salem, so why would she want her as a prisoner? I meant nothing by it, I'm just curious as to Salem's motives." Kaifin explained cautiously.

"I don't think we'll ever truly understand that witch and what she does, but now that you mention it, it is indeed odd that she would want Ruby as a prisoner. In all honesty Ruby, your powers could do serious damage to Salem if given the opportunity, and she clearly knew this, since you were bound almost every time you were in her presence." Elsa voiced while focusing her eyes on the daughter of Summer Rose.

"Maybe she wanted to corrupt me, like what she did to Pyrrha?" Ruby speculated.

"Can silver eyes even be corrupted like that?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know. If they can then Argentius hasn't told me so." Ruby stated, before offering the Maiden and her guardian a smile and saying, "And I guess no offense taken Kaifin. Trust me when I say I'm doing a lot better now than I was back then. But like I said, what happened to me wasn't as bad as what happened to Jaune and Pyrrha."

"It wasn't as easy as she makes it sound." Jaune spoke up, "Over the months she had a really hard time getting over what has happened to her, and what we went through made her even more afraid of losing her friends or seeing any of us hurt."

Ruby sighed and confessed, "He's right. That's one fear I don't think I can really get over."

"And no one can blame you for it." Kaifin announced, "I can relate, Miss Rose. I have worried myself half to death over Elsa throughout the years."

Elsa nodded again and consoled Ruby, "It's a perfectly rational fear to have, and no one would think any less of you for it. But from what I've seen and read of your companions from Teams RWBY, JNPR and the rest of Team Beacon, you have nothing to worry about as long as you trust your friends and do your best."

Ruby gave the Winter Maiden a smile, which Elsa returned before looking over to Pyrrha and Jaune and saying "Now, tell me about how the two of you dealt with the fallout. Quite frankly it seems to me that the three of you may have suffer from some form of PTSD so please, tell me as much as you can."

The couple shared a glance before Pyrrha nodded and began, "Well, returning to a normal life after nearly dying and being brainwashed by Salem, all the while being declared legally dead wasn't exactly easy. After we were permitted to leave Haven I was allowed to return home, and it had also already been decided that my family would move to Cadia so that I could be with Jaune and perform my duties as a guardian of the crystal. This required my parents to call in a favor with an old friend in Cadia's neighboring cities, where I had competed in a tournament once. This woman allowed us to stay in her hotel for a period of time until my parents looked for a house they felt was right. The days leading up to the move weren't very eventful, though my father and mother had been devastated by my apparent death, and were overcome with relief and happiness to know I was alive, and so they spent as much time with me as they could, which I was more than happy to do.

"My friends and family know about what has happened to me. We don't like to talk about it since it's clearly an uncomfortable memory, but I see no point in ignoring it." Seeing both guests listening intently, Pyrrha continued speaking, "One night, when I was packing away my clothes for Vale… it happened."

_Eleven Months Ago_

_The pile of neatly-folded clothes dropped from Pyrrha's hands to the floor of the bedroom as she saw the figure looking back at her from the full-body mirror which was placed against the wall directly opposite her. A messy jumble of emotions welled up within her chest as she stood still as a statue, not daring to move an inch or make a single sound as she stared at her reflection in the glass._

_It was Fotia._

_What looked back at Pyrrha from the mirror was a grimmified version of herself, sporting milky white skin with dark veins showing here and there on her limbs with glowing eyes the colour of blood._

_The eyes of the twisted reflection gazed back at her, and Pyrrha felt the urge to run but she somehow continued to remain still, a strange numbness overcoming her entire body as though it wasn't hers anymore. Despite herself, Pyrrha felt her arm act on its own accord and reach out to the reflection, which naturally did the same._

_"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha heard her voice, but she wasn't sure who was really saying it, is it herself or her Grimm alter-ego?_

_"It's all right, you have nothing to be sorry for." Her voice came again. She felt a bit certain that she, the real Pyrrha Nikos, had been the one to say that._

_"But we - I did such terrible things… I killed a man, I tormented and even nearly killed Jaune!" Pyrrha heard the reflection speak, which she hoped that it was, and she knew she was guilty of those things._

_"It's true. We did do terrible things." She admitted while thinking back to when she murdered an innocent man as Fotia under the orders of Salem, "But we were manipulated, forced into a thrall by Cinder and Salem to do whatever they want us to do, it's… what happened to us isn't fair."_

_"Nothing is." Pyrrha responded to herself, as she just realized that she was right in front of the mirror now, her hand inches away from the reflective surface, "We were… what am I doing?"_

_"The question you should be asking is; what are you going to do with me?" The reflection of Fotia Drakos asked._

_Pyrrha stopped and snatched her hand back, before falling to her knees. She then placed her hand over her perspiring face and murmured to herself, "Am I going insane? How could I still be sane after all I've been through?" Her mind was everywhere at once, while a torrent of mixed emotions coiled in her chest and bombarded her thoughts with constant feelings of sorrow, guilt, regret, shame, and anger._

_She remembered killing an innocent, she remembered the brutal battle to the death between her and Jaune, she remembered every detail on Jaune's face as he took Cinder's arrow for her, and she remembered how stunned her parents were when they both saw that she was alive and well. A part of her wanted to beg everyone she knew for forgiveness while another part of her felt that she belonged to the deepest, coldest prison on Remnant, and yet another part of her just wanted to hunt down Cinder Fall and tear her apart with her bare hands._

_Tears streamed from her eyes as she fell forward, catching herself by placing her hands on the floor of the bedroom, before forcing herself to look up to face her alternate self who looked back at her with equally sad eyes._

_"Are you really here? Or am I just imagining you?' Pyrrha asked the reflection, hoping to get an answer, "I thought you would be gone after Jaune freed me from Salem, or when the Aura Crystal restored my appearance."_

_There was no answer, just as she had expected. Pyrrha looked sadly at her reflection and watched as 'Fotia's' skin faded to a more natural colour while losing the Grimm-like protrusions from her flesh. A eye blink later she noticed the reflection's eyes also changed from blazing red to tranquil green. Through her blinking and teary eyes, the champion saw that within a span of a few seconds her reflection was once again normal, but this did little to console her as she couldn't stop the stream of tears flowing._

_"Pyrrha, honey, are you all right?" Hera Nikos asked as she opened up the door to her daughter's room, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her daughter on her knees and weeping her heart out._

_She didn't waste any time and quickly ran over to Pyrrha, dropped down on her knees and embraced her from behind, gently holding her child's head to her chest. Pyrrha didn't object and instead allowed herself to collapse into her mother's embrace, while letting it all out._

_Hera rubbed her child's back to sooth her as she cried it out, patiently waiting for Pyrrha to collect herself enough to explain why she was crying. It wasn't long before Zeus also came to see what was happening, and he immediately joined with them without a second thought, hugging his daughter from behind as the parents encircled Pyrrha in a comforting hug to let her know they were there for her._

_Eventually she calmed down, her sobs replaced by quite sniffles as her eyes became red and puffy from all the crying._

_"Pyrrha… what happened?" The dojo master asked gently._

_Pyrrha knew that there was no way to avoid this that that it was better to just confess, "I...I don't know what happened. I was packing my clothes when I looked at the mirror and saw… Fotia."_

_The room went silent, and her parents looked at each other with grim expressions etched on their faces._

_"Honey, did you see her in the room physically?" Hera asked carefully, her voice clearly showing that she was worried that her daughter's trauma was worse than they initially feared._

_"No, I didn't see her in the real world. Only in the mirror for a couple of moments." Pyrrha answered honestly as she shook slightly._

_Both of her parents breathed sighs of relief, as they thought at least it wasn't that bad. Left unspoken was the thought that they both feared that their daughter would be haunted by memory of the ghost-skinned servant of Salem._

_"Mom, Dad… I'm so, so sorry." The Spartan said, her voice sounded tired and drained, full of sadness and regret._

_"You have nothing to be sorry for." Her father began, but she stopped him with a hand to grip onto his wrist tightly._

_"Yes I do! I ran up to that tower alone to fight Cinder, sending Jaune away without thinking what would happen if I died and what my death would do to you or my team or anyone else who cared about me! I was was stupid and careless and selfish and… I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha cried as her tears began to flow again, "I hurt you both so badly, I don't deserve to be your daughter…"_

_"Stop it." Hera said firmly as she reached down with one hand and gently pushed her daughter's face upwards, aligning her daughter's face with hers, "I won't deny how awful I felt when we were told you had been killed. I thought I was going to lose my mind when I heard. I honestly thought the pain of losing you was worse than any wound I've ever had."_

_Pyrrha watched as tears began to fall from her mother's own eyes before she added, "I even saw you around the house during those times, I was so out of my mind with grief."_

_"I was the same." Zeus confessed, "I screamed my throat raw while beating my fists bloody against the walls of the dojo. Losing you felt like… like a part of myself had been ripped out and all I could do was only to let the wound bleed."_

_Pyrrha leaned against her father's muscular chest, muttering quiet apologies. He shushed her, gently kissing her head before saying, "It's all right, it's all right, it's all in the past."_

_"B-but that doesn't excuse the pain I caused everyone." Pyrrha managed to say, her voice dripping with regret._

_"Honey, your choices might have led to some terrible things, but that doesn't matter anymore. You need to understand that your father and I love you, and we always will, and we've already forgiven you." Hera said as she caressed her daughter's beautiful face, gently wiping away her tears._

_"Y-you have? But after all the suffering I made you go through…" Pyrrha tried to point out, but Zeus halted her with a look of fatherly kindness._

_"All in the past, and it's like your mother said, it doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that you're back and you're safe." Zeus told her, even as he failed to hold back his own tears, "It's true that we suffered, but I think it's obvious you've suffered just as much, so blaming yourself isn't going to do you any good. Just know that despite everything that happened, we forgive you and we will be here for you no matter what."_

_Pyrrha struggled to come up with a reply, but finally managed to rasp out a small, relieved, "Thank you."_

_They sat in silence for a few minutes, a reunited family sharing a tender moment before Hera gently cupped Pyrrha's lowered chin and lifted her head up so they could look at each other again._

_"Pyrrha, I think the problem is within you. What I mean is, while we've forgiven you and it's safe to say that your friends have as well, you may still need to forgive yourself." She told her daughter, who slowly nodded._

_"I think… I think I understand." She managed to say before looking to her father again and asking, "Have they taken down the my gravestone yet?"_

_There was a dark silence between the family before Zeus finally asked, "Why?"_

_"I need to see it, before they tear it down. I don't know why, but I just feel like I need to see it for myself. I deserve to." She said to them, trying her best to sound firm._

"My parents stayed with me for the rest of the night, my mother even held me in her arms as I slept because she didn't want me to be alone. Nonetheless, I had decided to cover up the mirror just to be on the safe side. My father and I went to the grave site the next day, and it was… well, an unnerving and surreal experience. While I was there I couldn't help myself and I just broke down again. My father was there to comfort me, but the fact remains that I had been dead to the world, and yet I was back. I honestly don't know if I should be thankful for being saved or… or…" Pyrrha's face turned slightly depressed as she struggled to find the words.

"I know I am." Jaune voiced as he looked at her with concern, "Having you back with us makes all the suffering I went through worth it."

"Same goes for me." Ruby chimed in, "What they did to you was horrible, but at least they saved you instead of letting you die. Plus, it's their fault you were hurt to begin with, so if anyone's to blame for what happened it's Salem and her goons, not you."

Pyrrha nodded her head before speaking, "I suppose you're both right."

"They are, Pyrrha." Elsa spoke up before adding, "It's no wonder you suffer from such trauma, and I assume you're still not completely over it?"

"No. It's not possible for anyone to get over something like that so quickly. I have talked it out and poured out my heart to my friends and family, but it's still not so easily dealt with. We tend not to bring it up so often, but I have faced my own demons and have done my best to conquer them." Pyrrha explained.

"So what happened after that? Did you see Fotia in the mirror again?" Elsa questioned softly.

"Yes. I saw her a few more times, but only briefly out of the corner of my eye when I passed a mirror. I've also talked to the rest of my team, as well as Ruby's and the rest of Team Beacon to see if it would help, and it did a little. But the dreams...that's when they began." Pyrrha stated darkly, and there was a hint of fear in the tone of her voice.

"You mentioned nightmares before, may I ask what are they like?" Kaifin inquired.

"Both Jaune and I have rarely ever had the same dream. It's kind of hard to explain, but the dreams that tend to plague us both tend to be a subtle kind of disturbing with a few good ones sprinkled in, but when they were bad they definitely live up to the phrase 'the stuff of nightmares'." Pyrrha explained as evenly as she could, "The first truly awful nightmare I experienced was when my family and I were on a private ship heading for Vale to prepare for the move. I...I honestly don't want to go into too much detail about it."

"You don't have to," The Winter Maiden said kindly, "Giving us a basic description would be enough."

Pyrrha let out a small sigh before continuing, "In that dream, I dreamed that I looked like a Grimm Hybrid again and that I was in a large cage that was moving towards a light. All around me I could see people that I love, the people that I have come to see as friends, who were all glaring at me with pure hatred on their faces and shouting terrible things at me. I saw people from various Teams, like CFVY and SSSN, and people I recognized from the past as dedicated fans when I was the reigning Mistral Champion, as well as Jaune's family who were blaming me for all that had happened to him and how much he suffered. The worst part of it was seeing my own family looking at me with hate in their eyes and not saying anything, it honestly felt as though a knife was being driven into my heart. Everyone were glaring and scolding me, including Ren and Nora, and so was Team RWB and… Jaune. I saw him with pale skin and red eyes that were filled with both hate and sadness. What chilled me were the few words he said to me, 'Look what you did to me.'"

She stopped and placed a hand against her mouth, trying to collect herself even as her eyes misted. Jaune reached over and placed an arm on Pyrrha's shoulder while Ruby likewise placed a hand on her knee, letting the red-haired girl know that they were there for her.

"I'm so sorry for bringing this up." Elsa voiced regretfully as her eyes gave a melancholic look, "Perhaps it was wrong of us to..."

"No, no… it's all right. Avoiding it only makes it worse." Pyrrha replied as she wiped a few stray tears away, "Anyway, the dream went on, the cage I was in eventually reached some horribly bright room that looked like the vault Amber was placed in under Beacon. Instead of a medical capsule, there was a operation table in the center of it. I saw Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood among the dark figures observing me, even as I was carried out of the cage by more dark figures who strapped and bound me tightly to the operation table. Then I saw the mad doctor Giger, who had his head reattached by crude stitches, holding up a terrifying sharp blade to cut me open and dissect me...and that was when I woke up screaming." She stopped once more to breath before adding "My parents were there to console me, but it clearly wasn't enough so they were understandably worried despite their best efforts. My mother decided to call Jaune and have him come over to the hotel to visit me and hopefully help me. It was perfect timing, since Ren and Nora were still staying with his family and his elder sister Indigo agreed to drive the to the town my family was staying at..."

_Eleven Months Ago_

_A dark blue car sped through the streets of the town of Noetremir, loud music blaring from within the car made it vibrate loudly as it drove past buildings and other vehicles. Jaune's head was leaning against the window, keeping an eye out for the hotel while his musician older sister drove. In the back seat, Nora was evidently enjoying the music, headbanging to the beats of the song and pretending to 'sing' along while Ren simply covered his ears with a deadpan expression._

_"Not much farther little bro, I'll get you to your soulmate in no time." Indigo promised him teasingly, hoping to get some response out of him, but to her surprise his face remained serious when he looked at her. She said no more, and although she was more daring and outgoing than the rest of Jaune's sisters, she knew when to be serious._

_It wasn't long before they arrived at the hotel, which was a rather fancy and aristocratic-looking building. After finding a spot to park Indigo's car, they headed inside the main lobby where they were greeted by Zeus Nikos._

_After introducing him to Indigo Arc, Zeus shook Jaune's hand rather tightly and said, "It's good to see you kids here, Pyrrha could really use your company."_

_"It's only right for us to be here for Pyrrha, she's practically family to us." Ren stated politely as the Pyrrha's father led them to the elevator._

" _And anyone who cares for my little brother as much as she does counts as family in my book. So she's havin' nightmares?" Indigo commented as they got inside the lift and Zeus pressed the button for the appropriate floor._

_Pyrrha's father nodded and replied, "She had a terrible one during the night we were on the airship. She didn't want to talk about it in detail to us, and only gave brief and vague descriptions of her dream. My wife thinks that she will be more willing to talk about it to her teammates."_

_"I hope so." Jaune murmured to himself._

_They soon arrived at the large and well-appointed room where the Nikos family was currently staying in where they were greeted warmly by Hera, "Thank you all for coming. Pyrrha could use some friends right about now."_

_"Just point us to her room, and we'll make her feel a hundred percent better!" Nora proclaimed enthusiastically._

_"Thank you." Hera remarked as she led them to the main hallway, pointing out which room was Pyrrha's._

_Indigo sat down on the wonderfully comfortable sofa in the living room and said, "I'll just wait here. Your fair lady is waiting for you, Jaune. She needs you."_

_Jaune shared a look with his older sister and nodded before replying, "I think we need each other." The three members of Team JNPR proceeded to Pyrrha's bedroom door, and Jaune gently knocked on it._

_"Pyrrha, it's me… us, your team. Your parents told us you had a pretty bad dream and you don't want to talk about it. They're both pretty worried about you, so they called us over to talk to you." Jaune said to the thick wooden door, but there was no answer._

_They waited for a few moments, and Nora knocked this time much louder than Jaune had, " Pyrrha! Come on! Let us in to help you!" She called out in a slightly worried tone._

_"I… I don't feel like seeing anyone right now." Pyrrha's quiet voice came from behind the door._

_"It sounds like she's been crying." Ren observed, and Jaune's face turned grim._

_"Pyrrha, please let us in. We want to help you, we want to be with you." He pleaded._

_"Jaune, please don't. I… I just want to be alone." She came again, and her voice seemed to be cracking._

_"You were alone at Sanctum Academy, and you were lonely because of my stupidity. Pyrrha, I don't want you to be alone ever again. None of us do." Jaune called out to her with an emotional voice, making him sound like he was about to cry._

_There was no answer._

_Jaune sighed and looked back to Ren and Nora, asking, "So… any ideas?"_

_"We can break the door down." Nora suggested plainly._

_"Nora, that's a terrible idea." Ren shook his head as he gently rebuked her, but then he noticed a look on Jaune's face, "Jaune, I know that look, it's your 'planning' face. What do you have in mind?"_

_"What Nora said, let's break the door open." He said simply before lowering his shoulder and slamming into the door._

_"I can't believe… Jaune, this isn't a good idea!" Ren objected harshly. "It might make things worse!"_

_Jaune turned around and looked at Ren. "I have to be with her. I'm not going to let her isolate herself." He said firmly before ramming the door again._

_Ren watched in disbelief as Jaune slammed into the door a few more times. "Has he gone completely mad?" Ren asked aloud._

_"Love makes us do crazy things, Renny! How else do you explain some of the things I normally do?" Nora joked before she joined Jaune in trying to knock the door open._

_"What the hell are you kids doing?" The voice of Zeus asked as he came into view at the end of the hallway, with Hera and Indigo poking their heads from the living room._

_"She won't let us in, so we're gonna barge in!" Nora declared, pausing from slamming her body against the door. "This would be a lot easier if I brought Magnhild…"_

_"No." Ren said bluntly, and his face was enough to convey how absolutely insane he found the situation._

_Jaune didn't give up, he kept hitting the door. He considered using his Semblance, the concern he felt for his girlfriend was enough to power him up and maybe even break the door down after a few hits, but that wasn't his plan._

_Before he could ram again the door opened up to reveal Pyrrha, her red hair a messy from remaining in bed with subtle bags under her eyes._

_"Jaune, I know you mean well, but please stop. I don't want you getting into trouble." She said to him._

_" I don't care, you need me I'll do anything to be there for you." He responded boldly with a small smile on his face, knowing that his plan to get her to open up had worked._

_Pyrrha sighed and replied, "I can tell that I can't get you to leave, and I can't stand any more banging, so come in."_

_Jaune nodded and looked to Ren and Nora, who followed him inside. Zeus let out a sigh of relief before returning to the living area with his wife and Indigo._

_Taking a look around Pyrrha's room, Jaune could see that everything was neat and tidy as usual with her luggage and briefcase containing her Huntress armor and weapons placed in a corner, and for some reason the mirror was fully covered with an extra blanket. The bed's blankets were knotted, it was clear that she had been tossing and turning around. As she climbed back onto the bed, Jaune took his seat next to her while Ren and Nora opted to sit on the couch a few meters in front of the bed._

_"So, what exactly did you see in that nightmare?" Jaune whispered to her, taking her hand after she propped herself up and braced her legs to her chest._

_Pyrrha sighed, knowing there was no escape from what she was about to tell them, so she filled her team in about the terrible nightmare she had._

_The other members of Team JNPR were silent for several minutes after she finished recounting the horrible dream to them. Pyrrha then buried her head in her hands and wept, moving away from Jaune but he moved over to be as close to her as possible._

_"Your nightmares are tearing you up inside, so why did you try to keep us out?" He inquired gently._

_"B-b-because I don't deserve you. Any of you. Not after what I did." Pyrrha said through sobs._

_"Don't talk like that!" Jaune snapped, a bit harsher than he had intended to._

_"What in Oum's name would make you think that?" Nora asked from her seat._

_"I went up that tower, knowing full well I could die. I threw away everything you gave me; your friendship, your trust, everything! I was willing to throw away my life for foolish reasons, I took everything I had for granted, I finally had real friends and yet I decided to go on a pointless suicide mission! I… I don't know if I even deserve to live." The redhead champion wept._

_This left her team speechless, none of them ever expected her to say something like that. However, Jaune quickly snapped himself out of his stupor and reached to hold Pyrrha by her shoulders, pulling her around to face him._

_"Never say that. Never." He told her firmly, "You do deserve this life Pyrrha, you hear me? You deserve it! Never say that you don't. I have my inner conflicts, I've done things I am ashamed of, and I blamed myself for your suffering so much after I thought I lost you. I told you how I had considered throwing myself off a cliff because I felt so horrible, but I kept moving on for you, and for our friends. You made a mistake that night, a terrible one that hurt us all, but you know what? I made more mistakes than you, and maybe I'm responsible for what happened to you because I didn't see how much you really cared for me until it was too late because I was so stupid. We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should just give up. I learned that we can't let our mistakes and our guilt swallow us up, and our mistakes didn't stop us from doing what was right. We went after Cinder because of what she did to you and many other people, to make things right. I went for a lot of reasons, most of which were because of you, so I could make everything up to you and try to make up for my own mistakes."_

_He glanced at Ren and Nora who gave him encouraging looks, and continued, "But the important thing to know is that our mistakes are all in the past, and we have you back now, and our team together again. That's what matters. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"_

_"W-what?" Pyrrha asked through sniffles._

_Jaune took her hands and held them tight as he began to use his emotion Semblance on her, channeling his memories of her into her mind, allowing her to see what he saw._

_"I see an incredibly strong and beautiful girl, who is kind and generous, helpful and brave, so brave that she was willing to risk her life for a destiny she wasn't completely sure about. She's also very lonely, but she cares about others so much that she would rather suffer alone than make her loved ones share in it. I see someone who taught me and did everything she could with my best interests at heart, even though I didn't understand your feelings. I see a wonderful girl who needs and deserves our help, our friendship and our love. I see a powerful woman who… who I want to be with. I see someone who made a mistake, but never gave up no matter how bad things got. So I won't let you give up now. I love you, Pyrrha… so please, please let us help you."_

_Jaune's Semblance flooded visions into Pyrrha's mind, memories of her unlocking his Aura, training him in secret, kicking CRDL's collective butts, dancing with him, fighting in the Vytal Tournament, and kissing him for the first time before going off to face Cinder alone. She saw glimpses of their mental reunion, their duel, and him freeing her from the persona of Fotia Drakos. She saw him push her out of the way of Cinder's arrow, becoming a guardian of the Aura Crystal with him, and the two of them standing on a balcony at Haven as the sun set in the distance._

_"Your choice did hurt us, but it doesn't matter. I forgive you." Jaune told her before he wrapped his arms around her body and hugged her to him._

_Pyrrha briefly debated with herself whether she would return the hug or not, but when she felt Nora calmly hug her from behind, her face wet with tears._

_"Don't push us away Pyrrha, please. We already lost you once, we can't lose you again just because you feel bad." Nora said desperately, "You're like a sister to me, please just listen to us when we say we forgive you."_

_Ren came next, placing a gentle hand on Pyrrha's shoulder as he sat on the bed, the other one resting on Nora to comfort her, "No matter what pain you have caused us we've already forgiven you. And we will always be here for you." He swore to Pyrrha as he joined the group hug._

_Pyrrha looked at all three of her team members as best she could from her now confined, surrounded position. She felt nothing but love, care, and concern radiating off all three of them, especially Jaune._

_"You helped me so much Pyrrha, you helped me learn and discover what I can become, you saved my life more than once, and I honestly haven't done enough to pay you back. I've had my own nightmares too, and I felt terrible things, hated myself… so now I want you to let me help you, so we can make it through this together." He told her thoughtfully._

_She erupted into tears yet again and allowed her friends and her love to comfort her, managing to thank them as she sobbed her heart out once more._

_The door to Pyrrha's bedroom opened a little, with her parents observing while standing in the hallway. Apparently Hera had been too concerned about her daughter to let this go unheard. They were tempted to come in, but Zeus held his wife back, softly telling her that their daughter needed this time with her friends._

_They were just glad that she had such loyal friends who will be with her right till the very end, no matter what happens in the future ahead of them._

"After that, I spent a few days talking to my friends as much as I could. I called Ruby and the rest of her team, Team CFVY, even members of Team SSSN. I have also talked with Jaune's sisters and spent time with some of them while my parents were dealing with the business of the move. Weiss even put me in touch with her sister Winter, and she was able to assist me in dealing with trauma." Pyrrha finished.

"And what did she say?" Elsa asked while wiping some tears off her face, evidently saddened by the story.

"She said that I was suffering from a form of P.T.S.D., and that my main problem was that I was struggling to forgive myself. She informed General Ironwood shortly, who sent a therapist from the Atlas military who specialized in such cases, after swearing her to secrecy she met with Jaune and I. She taught us that we need to accept our past mistakes and do our best to improve and that avoiding the trauma only makes it worse and surface in other, darker ways." The red-haired champion explained.

"And have you learned to forgive yourself?" The Winter Maiden inquired.

Pyrrha thought for a few moments before giving her answer, "For the most part, yes. I have accepted my mistakes and their consequences, and I have done my best to look on, but some of the pain still lingers. It's not easy to just dismiss it and I can't instantly heal old wounds, but I'm doing my best to forgive myself, and the fact that I now have so many friends to help me is making that process easier."

She smiled at Jaune and Ruby who beamed back in return. Elsa nodded, content that her young friend was managing to recover from what she had endured, "And what about you, Jaune?"

Jaune told Elsa and Kaifin about how he dealt with the trauma in his own way, how he suffered from horrible nightmares and a few rare bursts of anger, mostly due to the fear of losing the people he cared about again, and fear that his now half-Grimm nature would lead people to hate him but he was managing to deal with it thanks to his friends, fellow teammates, his family, and especially Pyrrha.

"I am glad to hear that you are all managing to cope, my students." Ozpin said as he walked over to them, "And I can sympathize with all of you. I myself have found that how we feel looking back at our actions, with the benefit of hindsight, is an important thing as it helps us improve ourselves greatly. It isn't uncommon to look back and see things that fill us with regret or wish to improve upon or do differently. I am no exception, I have a great deal of things to regret, and not to mention having been given many chances and yet still failed to stop Salem, so I am being careful not to waste the chance I have been given this time."

They all looked at him, with Pyrrha speaking out, "Thank you, Headmaster. I am glad you understand my position."

"I do, all too well. But it's good to see that you are indeed doing better, Miss Nikos. I've seen more than my share of Huntsmen and Huntresses who couldn't cope with their failures and lash out, often accidentally hurting their friends and family. Or misguided people like Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus, who embraced the darkness because it gave them an easier way to get what they want. I have to live with my mistakes and the consequences they have wrought, and while I can't change the past I refuse to let my past mistakes stop me from making the future a better place for all." He mentioned earnestly, "In life, making mistakes is inevitable, and at some point we all look back and say 'I was wrong' and we regret our choices, just as you did Miss Nikos. We regret our mistakes so terribly that we eventually feel the temptation to give up, perhaps thinking that it was your actions were the cause of everything that went wrong or causing those you love to be hurt. While in many instances and situations that can happen, but we all have to do our best to improve and not give up, like I almost did before Qrow and Glynda stopped me."

Ozpin took in a slow breath and continued, "Nonetheless, I personally feel that it's important to look back from time to time and have regrets. It's only natural to feel bad about wrong choices and wish to have done better, because wisdom comes in part from experience, which includes mistakes. While it's foolish to rush in and do things without thinking them though, it's also just as foolish to never take chances. You can never achieve greatness by playing it safe all the time. What time gives is experience and in turn those lessons we learn give us the chance to see the difference between a risk worth taking and a terrible mistake, to make the right choice at a crucial moment. It's not easy to know when and where the best choice is worth taking as there are no solid rules. Life isn't so easy that you can simply charge headlong into things, but nor can you just stay by the sidelines and watch everything go by without taking action."

The trio of students nodded their heads while Elsa and Kaifin simply maintained their usual expressions. Glynda nodded her agreement at the headmaster's words, giving him an hint of a smile on her face.

"Everyone has mistakes and regrets no matter how great they are, but that is the price of our freedom to choose and sometimes we make the wrong choice, like you and I did, Miss Nikos. Looking back and reflecting is healthy and a way to cope with your trauma, and it lets you understand how you got to where you are now and where you will go in the future. You need to keep in mind that while you cannot ignore the past, you can never get anywhere by dwelling in it either, and no matter what you do the only way to the future is forward. We all carry the consequences of our choices, it's how we come to terms with and finally accept those consequences in the end that defines us." Ozpin finished and rested his both his hands on his cane, "My apologies, I didn't actually mean to give a speech. I merely wished to show that I feel the same way as my students do, and to let them know that they are not alone."

"It's quite all right, Headmaster. I think they appreciate the fact that you understand their feelings." Elsa mentioned and all three teenagers nodded.

"We sure do." Ruby chirped as she smiled at the headmaster who inclined his head a little. The red reaper then turned to Elsa and asked, "So… now that we have told you our stories, how about you tell us yours? Or is is that classified too and we have to take another oath?"

Elsa gave a small chuckle, before saying, "Not really, and I think since headmaster Ozpin has already taken all the necessary precautions we are allowed to tell you a little. Am I right?"

The headmaster and his assistant combat instructor shared a look before Ozpin gave a small smile and replied, "I see no harm in telling them your story."

The Winter Maiden nodded and then glanced at Snow Blade and Spirit Dreamer before speaking, "Very well. Kaifin and I were on the same Team at Atlas Academy, where we were among the highest ranked groups. We were rather popular, but unlike my teammates I was never one for the attention."

"And Kaifin was?" Jaune asked with a skeptical look.

"Ah, let's just say I was much more hard-headed in my youth." Kaifin admitted, which earned him a smirk from Elsa.

"At least you admit it. I remember our initiation, in which the last object we needed to collect was in a cave with a trio of large Ursas, including an Alpha. While the rest of our team were unsure, Kaifin just said ''We have them outnumbered four to three, we can take 'em no problem!' before hefting his own weapon and jumping right into the cave." Elsa said while doing a light-hearted impression of him, which made the three members of Team Beacon laugh.

Kafin shook his head before muttering, "Well, I was right in the end."

"Just barely." Elsa reminded him, before returning to the matter at hand, "By our fourth year we were among the best of the best teams, and then… well, one day everything changed. One night, General Ironwood came to our room personally and asked me to come with him. I followed him into a secret chamber beneath the academy where we met up with the lead councilwoman of the kingdom as well as a few top Specialists from the military. I was wondering why they brought me there when I saw an injured woman resting within a life support pod and was informed she had been brought there that very day. They told me she was Gerta Bely, the previous Winter Maiden."

"I assume she was gravely injured, just like Amber." Pyrrha commented while feeling how eerily similar her own experience had been compared to Elsa's. Beside her, Jaune and Ruby glanced at each other briefly, but they eventually returned their attention to the Winter Maiden and her guardian.

"Yes. General Ironwood then told me about The Story of the Seasons and even about Salem. He told me that Gerta had been attacked by an Elder Grimm, and while she managed to vanquish the beast it wasn't without grievous wounds. He also enlightened me on how important the balance of the four seasons is and how dangerous it would be if the powers of a Maiden fell into the wrong hands, and finally that I was chosen because I met all the criteria according to the Guardians of Remnant. Gerta didn't have long to live despite the advanced medical science of Atlas, so with no time to waste, I agreed to take her place as the Winter Maiden."

"Did you speak to her before...?" Ruby asked softly.

Elsa gave another nod, "I got to know her for a short amount of time before I took on her role, and while Gerta was weak she still managed to talk to me. She was quite a kind and beautiful woman, who was not much older than I am now. She said that she could tell that I was a good person from her brief conversations with General Ironwood, and that I must be quite talented to be chosen for such an important task. She warned me about the many dangers that I would face as a Maiden before whispering the promise that the first four Maidens made to visit the Wizard once every year."

The trio of students from Team Beacon nodded their heads, and patiently waited for Elsa to continue.

"The Atlas personnel then put me in another life support pod and initiated the transference of the Winter Maiden powers from Gerta to me. It was… well, needless to say an excruciatingly painful experience. And while it wasn't the worst pain I've ever suffered, it was nevertheless a strange, unique kind of pain that was entirely alien to me, one I haven't felt before or since." Elsa said as she visibly struggled to describe what she had felt that fateful night, "The closest expression I can give you was that if every single nerve ending in your body was set on fire."

"I know, I remember suffering the exact same sensations." Pyrrha agreed, her face flinching slightly at the memory.

Elsa nodded and continued, "Gerta died not long after passing the powers to me, the transfer was too much for her weakened body. It was then arranged that I would continue my education for a period of time until I was ready to begin travelling, but it wasn't long before my team demanded to see me. You see, by that time Kaifin and I were already in a relationship, and so once my team discovered what had happened, he demanded to spend as much time as he could with it. While it was...difficult at first, eventually General Ironwood permitted him to become my guardian."

"It wasn't an easy job, I had to prove myself to the general by fighting a dozen of his top soldiers, some of them highly trained specialists. I managed to defeat no more than five, but that didn't stop me from fighting, no matter how badly I was beaten and blasted. Our other teammates were eventually defeated but I keep getting back up, vowing to never give up a chance to be with her. I presume that's what convinced General Ironwood to allow me to become her personal guardian." Kaifin recounted, and smiled as he felt Elsa placed her hand atop his.

"We kept a low profile, and my fellow teammates were allowed to visit me and bring me our assignments until we graduated. While our other teammates went on their own paths, Kaifin and I remained together and began our journey as the Winter Maiden and her guardian, and we've been travelling together ever since." Elsa finally finished.

"Wow, and how long ago was that?" Ruby asked with curious look.

"Almost six years." The Winter Maiden answered before looking to Pyrrha and asked, "Now I think we should move on to another important matter. Pyrrha, how would you like to meet the other two Maidens?"

The three students were naturally confused. "The others? Are they here? And why only me?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, they are not here physically, but you and I can still meet them. You see, we Maidens have a special mindscape to ourselves where we can meet and discuss matters." Elsa explained.

Pyrrha continued her queries; "If that's the case, how could I enter it? And what about Cinder? She's a Maiden now, can't she enter?"

"Full of questions, aren't you?" Elsa remarked with a smile, "There's no need to worry about Cinder, neither she nor Salem can enter the Maiden's Mindscape. You see, about three hundred years ago, when Salem was corrupted by the darkness, the Maidens that came after her discussed her fall with the wizard, and he used his powers to make it so that no Maiden or former Maiden with evil within her heart can enter the mindscape. That's what keeps Cinder out and also keeps us safe from their detection. As for how you can enter, former Maidens can also enter as long as they have good within their hearts and hold true to the Maidens' spirit and ideals, and it's just I said earlier Pyrrha, you were the Fall Maiden for just a brief moment and I can tell that you live up to our virtues. That is enough for you to be part of the Maiden's sisterhood, and so you can enter with my help."

The Spartan thought about it for a moment before a smile graced her features, "I would be honored to meet the other Maidens, if it's not too much trouble."

Elsa returned the smile and said, "It's no trouble at all. In fact, the others are waiting for us right now."

She glanced to Kaifin who nodded in return, and gestured to Pyrrha's teammates, "Ruby, Jaune, please step away from the Maidens. They'll need room."

Jaune and Ruby stood up and backed away slowly, with the blond giving Pyrrha a caring look of encouragement that she was more than happy to return. She also noticed that while Snow Blade remained as still as a statue, Spirit Dreamer had moved a few steps forward, the white crystal at the top of her force staff shimmering a little.

Pyrrha and Elsa now sat alone in the circular depression in the middle of the chamber, directly across from one another. The Winter Maiden offered her smooth hands to Pyrrha and she gently accepted, noticing that they were faintly glowing with aura, "Close your eyes, and take calm breaths. Meditate and prepare yourself." Elsa instructed as she began to tighten her grip.

"No problem." Pyrrha replied as she did exactly as she was told, effortlessly relaxing as she began to meditate with her new-found friend which was made easy by her experiences with her own meditations with the Aura Crystal.

She could hear Elsa whispering strange words that she couldn't quite understand, but it seemed to her to be remarkably similar to those that Argentius had used when bringing Ruby into the mindscape. A warm and pleasant feeling began to surge throughout her body, and she somehow felt the physical world slowly slip away.

"You can open your eyes now, Pyrrha." Elsa told her.

Pyrrha released her hold on Elsa's hands and opened up her eyes, only to gasp as she saw that she was seemingly no longer in the meditation chambers, but in some strange place where all four seasons seemed to be happening at once. Despite her experience with the Aura Crystal, she could not help but be awed by what her own eyes were seeing.

She looked around to take in her new location, and saw that it was a uniquely beautiful place that wouldn't look out of place in a renowned painting sitting in a museum. They were currently standing on a pavement made of small stones which led into a large pavilion surrounded by multi-colored flower beds and tall trees with green and brown leaves.

A short distance in front of them was a hill sloping gently upwards until it reached a sizable stone table with four small stone chairs placed at all four points of the compass. The bright sun above cast its golden rays down, illuminating everything around them and the air was neither too hot or too cold, but a pleasant warmth in-between that distinctively made Pyrrha feel as though she could drift off to sleep without much difficulty.

The platinum-blonde Maiden smirked when she noticed Pyrrha's expression and said, "I know, that's the exact face I had when I first came here."

Pyrrha didn't respond, and as they walked along the pavement the Mistralian champion noticed that on Elsa's side the entire area was covered in layers of white snow and the trees were all coated with frost. Occasionally, a chilly gust of wind will blow past them, but it dissipated as quickly as it came and thus caused no discomfort to her. However when Pyrrha looked over to the Fall area her heart caught at the awful sight, as what she saw was evidently a dying forest in autumn, the darkened skeletons of trees towering over her in addition to piles of dark orange and brown leaves which piled up underneath every single tree like tiny mountains. There was no cooling breeze in the air either, and somehow the air had become a little thick and suffocating, as though someone was squeezing her neck if she so much take a deep breath.

She felt the Winter Maiden place her hand on her shoulder in a reassuring way, before directing her look at a pair of female figures standing at the base of the hill. Pyrrha felt her eyes widen at the her first impression of both the Spring and Summer Maidens, as they were definitely more than she had expected them to be.

The Spring Maiden was currently standing in an area where flowers of various kind bloomed and the sun shone brightly, while verdant green grass and trees rustled in the faintly sweet-smelling wind. Pyrrha took in her appearance; violet hair and varying shades of purple making up her clothes and laced heel boots. Fingerless shoulder-length gloves decorated her arms, and a gemstone necklace shaped in the same emblem of a sword through a gemstone could be seen around her neck. Despite her shorter height, Pyrrha could tell that the Spring Maiden was stronger than she initially looked.

"It's about time you guys got here, we were getting bored." Amethyst said jokingly as she looked at Pyrrha with curious eyes.

"You couldn't find something to occupy your time?" Elsa crossed her robed arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we had a sparring match to pass the time." The Spring Maiden mentioned.

"What's the final score?" The Winter Maiden asked calmly.

"Twenty to eighteen, you can guess who has the higher score." Amethyst winked playfully at her fellow Maiden who sighed a little and shook her head, as Pyrrha glanced over to the final Maiden on her right.

The Summer of Maiden stood in a dazzling, sunny portion of the mindscape that seemed to be of a richer green with bits of yellowish-red version of Spring's domain. She was about two inches taller than Pyrrha and wore a red-sleeved jacket with a dark-blue collar on her upper body while greyish-white pants and white and red boots. Her skin was of a healthy tan and her coffee-bean colored hair fell neatly just past her shoulders, with two braids framing her attractive face while her maroon red eyes gave off an attentive sense of intelligence and a good-natured sense of kindness. However, there was also a hint of steel within those same eyes as well, and Pyrrha somehow realized that the Summer Maiden was quietly appraising her at the same time, no doubt already knowing of her achievement of winning the Mistral Tournament four years in a row. Pyrrha could see that she was the largest and probably most physically powerful of all the Maidens with an athletic body that displayed well-defined curves in all the right places and abdominals that would have easily attracted the eyes of those who knew how to properly appreciate the female figure. In addition to her exceptionally fit and toned body which looked to be well-honed through stringent training, the Spartan couldn't help but notice her generous bust that was only out done by Yang's and her own.

She shook that inappropriate thought from her head and chided herself for thinking that  _'Looks like I may be hanging around Yang too much.'_

Amethyst obviously caught the faint blush on Pyrrha cheeks and chuckled, "Admiring Heliosia? I can't blame you, I mean just look at those things, they're almost as big as yours! I can never understand how girls like the two of you fight so well with boobs that size."

Pyrrha absently put a hand across her chest even as she noticed the Spring Maiden burst out laughing, while Elsa chuckled politely and Heliosia simply smiled and crossed her arms under her own ample bosom.

"This is Amethyst Rilo, the Spring Maiden. Nevermind her jokes, she doesn't mean anything by it. She's just very free-spirited by nature." Elsa mentioned to Pyrrha.

"By nature or bisexual nature? They both fit me perfectly." Amethyst said teasingly as she placed her hands on her own combat skirt, making Heliosia chuckle as Elsa introduced Pyrrha to the final Maiden.

"And last but not least, this is Heliosia Aenia; the Summer Maiden." Elsa finished, gesturing to her.

"Greetings, Pyrrha. It's wonderful to finally meet you in person, so to speak." Heliosia said with a kind smile on her face, "I take it you are impressed by the Maiden's mindscape?"

"It's quite wonderful, all four seasons happening at once for each of you. I'v never seen anything like it." Pyrrha eventually said.

"And you won't, outside of a dream." Elsa told her, "Though I admit the Fall section used to be so beautiful, with forests of trees full of constantly falling golden leaves before… well, you know."

The other two Maidens either sighed sadly, looking downtrodden, while Pyrrha nodded grimly as she knelt down and picked up a leaf from the many around her feet. It should have been red, but without the power of the Fall Maiden sustaining it in the mindscape, the leaf had lost its vibrant color to become a dull orange while the lines on it were all black as though poisoned. She took a moment to admire the Autumn section of the Maidens' mindscape, even though she knew it had been dying for a long period of time. Instead of feeling a warm sun and cool air with the crisp smell of leaves all round her, now there was only a thick dead air and a kind of cold that felt as if the life of the landscape has been utterly leached out of it.

"I understand, but I've been wondering about something and maybe you can answer me; the Wizard in the Story of the Seasons. According to legend, it was said that he was immortal and if he was the one who gave the Maidens their powers, then shouldn't be able to take them away from Cinder?" Pyrrha turned and look at the Amethyst, Heliosia and Elsa, "Where is he now?"

The three Maidens looked at each other, and an unheard conversation seemed to pass in the meeting of their gazes. Amethyst eventually began with, "Well, you see… we kinda… don't know. He's been missing for so long, he could be in space for all we know."

"You...you don't  _know where the Wizard is?_ " Pyrrha almost felt a migraine coming into her head, and she couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. Amethyst visibly flinched at her tone, while Heliosia simply raised her eyebrows and looked to Elsa who shrugged.

"I'm afraid Amethyst speaks the truth." Heliosia confirmed as she took a step closer to Pyrrha, opening her gloved hands in a placating gesture, "The Wizard vanished over two hundred years ago, and while previous holders of the Maiden powers have tried to look for him, every single attempt turned out empty. If anyone knows what happened to him, they aren't saying anything, and I am one of those who tried to find him. Like the previous Maidens before me, I chased down every single lead I could find across Remnant, no matter if it's so much of a whisper of some old hermit or anyone with remarkable abilities but they all turned out cold in the end."

"We all searched while performing our duties; myself, Amethyst, and Amber. And we'd compare notes here in the mindscape." Elsa added.

Pyrrha thought about what she had just be told, and knew that it didn't bode well. If the Wizard was missing, that meant Salem's plans to conquer Remnant had less major opposition than she hoped.

"Don't worry Pyrrha. The Sisterhood of the Maidens has managed to survive two centuries without the Wizard, I think we'll be alright for the time being. Now, you are no doubt familiar with the powers of the Fall Maiden, as you did fight the pretender Cinder Fall twice." Elsa said and Pyrrha nodded, "My apologies to bring up your… unpleasant memories, but would you like to know about our individual powers?"

Pyrrha's curiosity was piqued despite her experience with Cinder, so said, "Well, I suppose it would be an interesting experience. I'd definitely like to know what each of you can do."

"Very well, why don't we all take a seat first?" Elsa gestured towards the stone table at the summit of the small hill situated perfectly among the four different seasons. The Winter Maiden took the north-facing seat, while Heliosia and Amethyst took the southern and western seats respectively. Pyrrha took the final east-facing seat, noticing the respective seasonal emblems set in place before each Maiden and looked directly at Elsa herself.

"You see, being the Winter Maiden means I can manipulate frost, snow, cold temperatures and even create them where they are absent. In other words, cryokinesis." Elsa explained, as her sky-blue eyes began to glow white and shape of a snowflake shone around her eyes as she waved her hands and created a small whirlwind of snow around her.

"All Maidens are given enhanced strength, endurance, speed and the ability to use the elemental power granted to them. It's the one power that we all have in common." Heliosia added as Elsa made the small blizzard of snow vanish, "I am the opposite of Elsa as I have the power of Pyrokinesis, the ability to create and control fire, heat and warmth."

Once Heliosia said that she closed her eyes and snapped her fingers, creating a bright spark of fire. Allowing the spark of fire to drop into the palm of her hand, she coaxed the spark to become a ball of flames a second later and she opened up her maroon red eyes as the shape of a sun surrounded them, shining brilliantly and giving her entire body a visible glowing orange Aura. She smiled at Pyrrha, who looked quite impressed.

"And as for me," Amethyst spoke up, "In addition to my great skills and my not-so-awesome Semblance, the powers of the Spring Maiden has given me abilities that aren't too dissimilar to Amber's. I can control the wind just like her and I can also make the leaves razor sharp to use them for combat. I can also cause little sprouts of water here and there, as well as make plants grow at an accelerated rate."

As an example, the Spring Maiden placed a hand on the grass and her eyes began to shine, as bright green lights in the shapes of leaves formed within her eyes as the grass began to grow before their eyes, overtaking Amethyst's hands and quickly covering it in shaggy green blades.

"I must admit, your powers are all so amazing." Pyrrha remarked, knotting her hands together a little.

"Yeah, it's a shame you couldn't be one of us." Amethyst replied as she retracted her hand from the newly-grown grass.

Pyrrha sighed sadly before replying, "I honestly don't think I agree with you. From what Elsa had told me, had Cinder Fall not interrupted us and I received Amber's powers, I would either have to remain hidden within Beacon Academy or be forced to leave my fellow teammates behind and travel Remnant. That really wasn't something I wanted."

"It's understandable, Pyrrha. We all had to make difficult choices and sacrifices as well as accept heavy burdens to become Maidens and I wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to do the same." Heliosia said in a sympathetic voice.

Pyrrha nodded, "In the end I only accepted to receive the powers of the Fall Maiden was mainly because of how bad the situation was and how it was clear that the enemy was making its move. I honestly don't know if I would have made for a new holder of the Fall Maiden's powers, I would have had too many regrets."

Elsa gave her an look of understanding, one which told Pyrrha that the platinum-blonde Maiden understood her all too well.

"Well, you were only a Maiden for a couple of seconds and you're already better than Cinder." Amethyst commented cheerfully.

"No question about that, but if Pyrrha feels better off not being one of us, then we can't force her to change her mind. Though I would still prefer you compared to the current Fall Maiden." Heliosia voiced as she tapped her fingers rhythmically on the stone table.

"Thank you, but even if we could get the Fall Maiden powers back from Cinder, I don't think I would fit the criteria anymore." Pyrrha said while blushing a bit.

"What do you mean? You are fit, powerful, smart, kind and most importantly an excellent fighter… you fit the bill just fine!" Amethyst observed, before asking "What? You aren't a virgin anymore?"

The blush deepened and Pyrrha glanced away from the trio of Maidens nervously, and the Spring, Summer and Winter Maiden quickly understood what she meant from her expression alone.

"Oh, sorry." Amethyst quickly apologized, which earned an eye-roll from Heliosia.

Elsa allowed herself a small gentle smile before saying, "Jaune?"

Pyrrha silently confirmed it with a nod, and the Winter Maiden gave her a benevolent look as she reached over and took Pyrrha's right hand within her own.

"I saw the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. I can tell that you two truly, deeply love and care for one another. You're lucky, not everyone finds such love, and sometimes those who do don't have the necessary courage to act on it." She said, and a slight sadness entered her voice near the end.

"You mean… you and Kaifin?" Pyrrha guessed, and Elsa nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, we were in a relationship before I was chosen to become the Winter Maiden. He became my guardian out of love, but the rules of the Sisterhood of the Seasonal Maidens state that a Maiden must remain of pure virtue, meaning that they cannot make love." The Winter Maiden elaborated.

"And that rule sucks. Big time." Amethyst voiced grumpily.

"I'm not too fond of it myself, but for now I don't have that much of a problem with it." Heliosia said to Pyrrha.

Amethyst leaned close to Pyrrha and whispered, "That's because she's holding out for a long lost childhood love." She giggled at the faint blush that grew across the Summer Maiden's face.

Heliosia was tempted to rebuke her, but eventually decided that she was above what initially popped into her head and chose to change the topic.

"So, Pyrrha." She began, "I assume Elsa has told you about her own past?" Pyrrha nodded in reply, and she continued, "Well then, how about we fill you in on the basics of our own pasts before you tell us about yourself? Would that be acceptable?"

"That sounds all right to me, be my guest." Pyrrha agreed.

Amethyst clapped her hands together and spoke up, "I'll begin; first off I was an orphan. Never knew who my parents were, but from what I've been told by those who knew him my dad was a talented, but overconfident Huntsman who regularly bit off more than he could chew and that got him killed before I was born. My mom was a kind-hearted woman who wasn't exactly in good health and didn't survive giving birth to me. I grew up in an orphanage in Vale where I got into all sorts of trouble and learned to get away with and out of it. When I was older I decided that I want to be a Huntress and so I started learning how to fight, soon enough I found out what my Semblance was and I gotta be honest with you, I wasn't too thrilled with it."

"You mentioned it before, so what's wrong with it?" Pyrrha asked cautiously.

Amethyst sighed but elaborated, "My Semblance enhances me in a lot of ways. Firstly, it's like my eyes see the world moving slower than it actually is, hence letting me move quicker and plan my attacks faster and better, though I'm not always able to dodge an attack. I've trained a lot in the past, honed my body and my skills to be as good as possible so I can react faster than an average Huntress. That's not the issue with it, the problem is in its side effect. Whenever I use my Semblance, I lose all emotion, and focus on nothing but the battle at hand. Some witnesses have said that I act lifeless and cold… like I become a totally different person. The worst part is I can also feel it too, I can feel myself becoming someone I'm not. So… yeah, not a big fan of this Semblance."

"I understand, and I don't blame you for it." Pyrrha voiced, "I would hate it if my Semblance changed my personality and turned me into something I'm not. How do you live with it?"

"I use it as little as possible, and only bring my Semblance out when things get serious." Amethyst explained before getting back to the original topic, "Anyway, before I became the Spring Maiden I was a student at Beacon, more specifically part of Team KARD. My partner was a nice, but kinda overly serious girl named Kalifa from Vacuo while our other mates were Renard and Della. We made for a pretty good team for a few years, but one fateful day over four years ago I noticed this cute girl wandering around the academy grounds alone. Tall, pretty face, bright blue eyes with long green hair, she looked lost so I ended up talking to her, showing her around and hanging out. Her name was Rachel and it wasn't until later that I discovered she was really the Spring Maiden. That afternoon was a pretty fantastic time, but I think the most important thing was that I managed to make Rachel happy, even for a short time since she apparently didn't smile much. But all good things must end, as Ozpin and her bodyguards showed up and informed her that she needed to go, and that it wasn't a good idea to hang around with no one to protect her. Although Ozpin wasn't too harsh since he knew what I was capable of, he quietly convinced Rachel to leave and perform her duties. Of course, I didn't know about her true identity, but it was clear that I was the first genuine friend she had made since she had received the powers of the Spring Maiden. She wasn't so eager to depart, but finally didn't have a choice in the matter."

She removed her hood and continued, "This hood I wear was actually a gift from Rachel. She said I cheered her up and most importantly, reminded her of who she should continue helping so she wanted to give me something to remember her by. We said our goodbyes and she was escorted away by her guards, and I never saw her again."

"A few days later, I woke up feeling empowered and more energetic than usual. When combat class rolled around I was doing so good I didn't even need my Semblance, but when things get rough, strange lights began to appear around my eyes. That surprised everybody present, especially me. Professor Goodwitch pulled me out of class and brought me to Headmaster Ozpin, who… told me the bad news. Rachel's airship has been attacked by a giant swarm of Lancers. No one survived." Amethyst stopped speaking, her purple eyes and cream-coloured face turning sad and mournful.

"As you know, one of the ways the powers of a Maiden can be transferred is through a dying Maiden thinking about someone, which is usually the last person in their thoughts, most commonly a young woman who really had an impact on them. I was the last thing Rachel ever thought about. I gave her one afternoon of happiness, and in return she thought of me, and entrusted these powers to me. Ozpin told me everything, about who Rachel really was and about the legend of the Maidens and for once in my life I was stunned silent, I literally couldn't bring myself to talk. He told me about the responsibilities of being a Maiden, the powers and the burdens and all else that entails. I vowed to prove myself worthy of what Rachel gave me, to avenge her death and live a good life for her, and to be the Maiden she must have thought I could be. I… I hope I'm not letting her down." She finished with an uncharacteristically heavy voice.

"You aren't, Amethyst. I'm positive that you're making Rachel very proud." Elsa assured the younger Maiden with a kind and reassuring smile.

Amethyst returned the smile before finishing her tale, "Anyway, we had to lie to my team by telling them that my new powers meant I was a candidate for a top secret mission and I had agreed to go along with it. I said my goodbyes, promised to call them up whenever I could, which I have every now and then, and left Beacon behind. I've been wandering Remnant ever since, performing my duties and doing my best to stay one step ahead of the bad guys."

"I don't know what to say, I'm sorry for your loss." Pyrrha told her.

"I've learned to live with it, and I'm grateful that Rachel trusted me enough that she thought I was worthy enough to inherit these powers. It hasn't been easy, but I do my best." Amethyst replied before looking to Heliosia opposite her, "Enough about me, take it away, H!"

The Summer Maiden steepled her fingers a little before beginning with; "I was born to a family who founded the Raging Tempest martial arts school in Mistral, which was situated in a sizable town not far away from the Kagayaku Valley. My father, Apollos, is the descendant of the founder, and a grand master of martial arts while my mother, Daphene, is a physician who is very skilled with herbs and medicines. From a young age, I showed incredible aptitude for learning martial arts, especially sword fighting, and was trained by my father in preparation to become a Huntress. My fighting skills improved quickly till the point I was beating almost every disciple in my father's martial arts school, and it wasn't long before I was taking part in tournaments."

Pyrrha nodded as she absorbed what Heliosia had told her, knowing of the fighting tournaments that took place throughout the various clans and tribes in the continent of Mistral. Teenagers and adults representing their families came from all over the Kingdom to win glory and fame for their respective families, and while no deaths had happened in those battles it wasn't uncommon for fighters to be severely injured during particularly intense matches. She had heard of the Raging Tempest martial arts school, and knew that their disciples were among the most formidable fighters since the Mistral champion had fought quite a few during the tournaments she had taken part in. A small part of her mind wondered if she had met Heliosia before somehow, and she momentarily entertained a brief thought of herself fighting against Heliosia in the tournaments.

The Summer Maiden went on, "I later enrolled and excelled in my studies at Haven Academy when I became of age, and was assigned to lead Team HEAT where I fought alongside my fellow teammates Ernest, Abigail and Talos on various missions. As for how I met the Summer Maiden, it was during a terrible thunderstorm when I had returned from Haven to visit my family when we heard a banging sound coming from the large gates of the school. My father went to open the gates and found a cloaked woman who had collapsed against the gates, losing quite a lot of blood from various wounds. He quickly hauled the woman in carefully before shouting for my mother and I to help him, and my mother quickly prepared the infirmary to treat her wounds. I later learned from my mother that the woman has been cut by poisoned blades and it was a miracle that she had survived as long as she did, due to the amount of cuts she had taken from whoever attacked her."

Heliosia adjusted her fingerless gloves and continued, "Even with my mother's skill with medicines, she was only able to slow the progress of the poisons and informed my father that because of the poisons and massive blood loss, the woman had only around a couple of hours of life left. That was when the woman called out for my parents and they went to her side, he was about to order me out, not wanting me to see her die, but she called for me to come as well, so we respected her wish. After my mother removed her cloak, I finally saw the woman's face for the first time, who had long curling brunette hair and orange eyes with some freckles around them. In a soft voice as she gripped onto my mother's hands she informed my parents that she was attacked by dangerous mercenaries who wanted to collect the huge bounty on her head despite the fact that she had done no wrong, and her name was Aestas the current Summer Maiden. My parents knew about the old story and were shocked but managed to keep calm, and tried to comfort Aestas by assuring that she was safe now, but she told them that she already knew she was dying, and needed to pass on the power of the Summer Maiden before she perished."

"That was when one of my father's best disciples rushed to the infirmary and informed us that a band of mercenaries had arrived at the gates and were requesting my father's presence. My father wasted no time and ordered me to keep watch over Aestas with my mother while he dealt with the mercenaries, saying that he wouldn't let anyone else harm her. I don't know what he did to drive them away, but I'm told he somehow managed to convince the mercenaries that the Summer Maiden wasn't there, but I think my father's reputation as a respected, powerful, and very formidable grand master helped too, and so they left without further incident. When my father returned, Aestas thanked him for protecting her and my mother for the medical attention she had freely given, and then requested for me to hold her hands. She told me that she was remorseful for passing on the powers of the Summer Maiden to me, but my mother couldn't receive the powers due to giving birth to me and time was running out and she couldn't see if she could depend on any of my father's female students, so that left only me, and so she requested me to become the next bearer of the Summer Maiden's powers, but I had to accept of my own free will."

She took a breath, "I shared looks with my parents and they told me the legend, and while they had their reservations they ultimately left the choice to me, seeing it as mine to make. I never asked for the power of the Summer Maiden, but I saw little choice in the matter and I decided that if the Maiden chosen me to be her successor, then I would do my best to be worthy of it, which is was what I said to Aestas. She smiled and replied that what I said proved to her beyond any doubt that I was a worthy candidate for the powers, and gave me her heartfelt blessings before she grabbed my hands, and… I don't clearly remember what happened. My parents said there was a bright light, meaning the power was being transferred to me. Aestas breathed her last and I fainted, staying asleep for two days straight."

"That's not like what happened with them, or even me." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Sometimes transferring the powers is… different." Elsa justified as Heliosia's fingers gently tapped on the table in a slow rhythm to her thoughts.

She continued, "When I woke up, I knew that while I didn't look any different on the outside, I felt different in the sense that I could feel a certain kind of power radiating from the core of my very being, as though it was suffused into every single cell within my body. A soft glow of red could be seen around my eyes, and it took me some time to keep my newly given powers under control. My fellow members of Team HEAT were told that I had come down with a dangerous fever and eventually recovered, but I had expected that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed there was something different about me. When I was ready, my parents and I came before Headmaster Argo of Haven and told him what had happened. I showed him my peculiar new abilities and increased combat skills, not to mention my gently glowing eyes. After assuring me that what I told him won't leave his office, he congratulated me on becoming the new Summer Maiden, and informed me of the heavy responsibilities I was given to which I replied that I would strive to be as capable as the previous Summer Maidens before me."

"I presume there's still a price to pay for becoming the Summer Maiden right?" Pyrrha prompted.

Heliosia gave a nod in affirmation, "Like Amethyst I had to leave my team behind to fulfill my Maiden duties, and so I thanked Ernest, Abigail and Talos for all the support they have given me over the three years we spent together. It was a tearful farewell, but I promised to find them again one day if possible. I spent some time with Headmaster Argo and met Ozpin as well, and after they have told me everything and equipping me with some additional skills and fighting techniques I started my journey as the new Summer Maiden across the varied lands of Remnant after spending a final day with my parents."

"And if you don't mind me asking, what's your Semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

Heliosia allowed a small smile to come to her lips, "My Semblance is actually pretty simple and kind of useful. I can absorb and store excess thermal energy, and redirect it in a number of ways which include draining heat from certain objects and people, to covering my fists in raging flames or even to create flaming swords, and finally releasing the same energy I absorbed in powerful blast waves. However, using my Semblance taxes my Aura significantly, and so I tend not to use it unless combat situations that I encounter get very serious."

"That sounds like an interesting Semblance indeed." Pyrrha commented and the Summer Maiden nodded.

"At least it's not personality changing like mine." Amethyst added as she crossed her arms.

"Each person's Semblance is unique," Elsa gently admonished, "Perhaps one day you will come to terms with yours."

"Yeah, right." The Spring Maiden snorted as she put her hands behind her head.

"Now that you have heard Amethyst and Heliosia's tales, can you please enlighten them with your story?" Elsa turned her head to regard Pyrrha herself, smiling kindly as she did so.

"I guess that's fair. However I would warn you that it's not an entirely happy story." Pyrrha replied before a smile crept onto her face, "But I suppose that so far, the good is outshining the bad in my life."

Elsa returned the smile, relieved to see that Pyrrha had a lot of happiness in her life, at least. Amethyst and Heliosia nodded their heads and gestured for her to begin whenever she was ready.

And so Pyrrha began to tell them her story.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader with help from Amethyst's creator, Leaf Ranger.
> 
> This chapter was very hard to write. I wanted so badly to do the ptsd and trauma our characters have suffered through to be done well and respectfully but I had a hard time getting it out of my head and onto the screen. I can only hope I've pulled it off, so tell me what you guys think. The character arc about Pyrrha's own personal guilt and need to forgive herself isn't done, it can't be wrapped up that quickly, so it will come into play later.
> 
> By the way, just to clear things up; Ozpin is not immortal like in canon, our Ozpin just suffered nightmares about such a fate and constantly failing.
> 
> Also, I made my grandmother an anime fan, I showed her Wolf Children and she loved it.
> 
> You know the drill, if you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.


	61. A Meeting of Maidens Part III

Night was beginning to overtake Beacon as the sun began to set over the western horizon, with the shattered moon and the stars around it slowly becoming visible in the darkening sky. The lights of stars crept through the tall glass windows and dome-shaped roof of the roomy chambers, the soft illumination coming from the circumference of the room brightened considerably like the rest of the school at night, another function implemented during its reconstruction. As twilight went on, Ruby and Jaune both watched as Pyrrha and Elsa sat meditating together, their eyes shut and their breathing steady even as their bodies sat serenely in the grotto-like recess at the lowest part of the meditation chambers.

"So how long will this take? Is it as long as a regular trip into a mindscape?" Ruby inquired as she turned her head a little to look at Kaifin who was standing beside her and Jaune.

"I've tried to keep track, but I always lose interest as it was always longer than I expect it to be, or it feels like it anyway. There's no need to worry since they are safe in there, the Mindscape of the Maidens was personally crafted by the Wizard from the legends, so anyone with evil in their hearts cannot enter." Elsa's guardian calmly explained to them.

Ruby and Jaune both nodded understandingly, and while the blond knight shifted his position to stand against the nearest circular pillar, Ruby looked over to Ozpin and then gingerly made her way towards him and Glynda. The headmaster nodded a greeting to her and said, "Ah, Miss Rose. I hope we're not making you miss anything by requesting your presence here."

She shook her head in reply and assured him, "Not much professor, other than homework time. Luckily for me, thanks to Weiss, Blake, Penny, and Neptune, I've gotten pretty good at finishing my homework just in the nick of time."

"That's good. Miss Rose, I hope you don't mind me bringing this up, but I overheard you when you were talking about your fear of facing Salem alone." He mentioned to Ruby who looked away with an embarrassed look on her face, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I can sympathize with your feelings."

"Y-you were afraid of her too?" Ruby asked him in a soft voice.

"Were? Ruby, I still fear her. A long time ago I became the headmaster of Beacon, I was let in on the secrets regarding her, so I had seen her in reports and had spoken to her in the past during certain encounters, but never in person. When I was brought before Salem it took every ounce of courage within my power to not flinch away from her. Upon beholding her in the flesh for the first time...deep down I was terrified, and she knew it, but the fact that I was able to conceal my fear and match her word for word infuriated her." Ozpin told his young student before confessing, "And I won't deny that if I ever have to fight her alone, I would still fight on no matter what happens, but I wouldn't be able to hide my fear as well."

"I… I don't think I would be able to hide my fear from her at all. The first time I saw her I was so confused and scared. I feel so helpless..." Ruby managed to say before Ozpin placed a gentle comforting hand on her shoulder and looked at her.

"And no one can fault you for that, because to feel fear is natural. But still, when the attack on their base of operations in Haven began, I saw how bravely you spoke out against her and Cinder Fall. Though that moment of bravery was brought on by Jaune's victory against Fotia and the arrival of your friends, I still believe that it shows that you are indeed brave enough to stand against the darkness that threatens our world." Ozpin reassured her before adding, "But you are never alone. I learned the hard way that shouldering too much responsibility can only lead to catastrophe, but from what I have seen you have made many loyal and dependable friends along the way who trust and support you immensely."

Ruby felt a smile come to her lips and thought back, her memories reminding her that not only did she have her own team, but teams and the android that made up Team Beacon who she was overjoyed and honored to go into battle with, as well as her father and uncle, the various professors she knew, other teams like ABRN, NDGO, FNKI, CRDL, BRNZ and many others that she had come to know. In addition, she also knew she would also have the support of General Ironwood and his military forces, the reformed White Fang, the Remnant Knights, and maybe certain individuals like Neo.

She eventually spoke up, "You're right, professor. As long as we have people who trust us and will fight alongside us, I'm sure we will definitely have a good chance of winning. And, professor?"

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

Ruby gave him a thankful smile before replying, "All that stuff you said earlier about hindsight and regret, and wanting to go back and change stuff… I think it's given me an idea of something I want to say to my team when I get back."

"No regrets, I hope." He remarked.

"A couple here and there, but to be honest...well, you know the night I fought Torchwick and met you and Professor Goodwitch for the first time?" She asked as she knotted her fingers a little.

"I remember it all too well." Ozpin said as he glanced at Glynda, the latter allowing a small smile to come onto her normally stern face.

Ruby then finished with, "I have no regrets about that night. Whatsoever."

Ozpin nodded and agreed, "That, Miss Rose, is also something I have absolutely no regrets about."

Ruby's face brightened considerably as she and Ozpin smiled at each other, and then she noticed the prognosticator who the headmaster had earlier identified as Spirit Dreamer making her way over to her.

The Winter Templar detachment's prognosticator nodded respectfully to Ozpin and Glynda before turning her attention to Ruby herself. She gave a short courteous bow, her hooded white cloak flowing softly around her and showing a little of the silver-white Aegis armor underneath it. Her face however, was covered by a snow-patterned mask decked in the same colours as the lacquered plates of her armour, and a pair of azure lenses regarded Ruby evenly as the she adjusted her grip on her force staff.

"Greetings, Ruby Rose." She stated.

"Uh, hey, Spirit Dreamer, right?" Ruby asked hesitantly, and the prognosticator nodded.

"That's correct. My detachment was informed that you would be present for this meeting, and so during our travels Snow Blade contacted one of our fellow knights who is an acquaintance of yours I am sure you are eager to meet again." Spirit Dreamer related to Ruby, and immediately getting her full attention.

"Sharp Strike or Argentius?" Ruby asked.

"The latter, Knight Champion Argentius was concerned as to how you are faring and if you are interested in meeting him again." The prognosticator told the young huntress.

"You bet! Is he coming to Beacon?" She inquired again.

"Not exactly," Spirit Dreamer continued, "I have been told that the last time you met, you went into the mindscape with him and had quite the experience."

The leader of team RWBY shuddered at the memory of the Dreameater, but she quickly shoved that particular memory away in favor of a more pleasant one, so she briefly recalled her reunion with Summer Rose's spirit. She smiled and answered, "Yeah, I guess you can say we did. So, does he want to meet me in the mindscape?"

"Indeed he does. He mentioned that he would be meditating today, and he would be waiting for you. If you wish to speak with him, I can help you get there." Spirit Dreamer offered genially.

"I remember the words that will take me there, so I guess you can create a bubble thing like Soul Seer did?" Ruby posed to the prognosticator who nodded in return. The silver-eyed girl considered it and replied, "Well, I could use some more training with my powers, and Kaifin raised a pretty good point earlier about Salem that I didn't think about the last time I met Argentius. Besides, I think I am due for another appointment with him… if that's all right with you?" She said, and turned her head to look over to Ozpin for permission.

"Go ahead, Miss Rose." Ozpin permitted, "And be careful while you are in the mindscape."

"She'll be safe." Spirit Dreamer promised to the headmaster, "You have my oath."

Ruby nodded and walked over to another empty part of the meditation chamber which was closer to the windows. She settled down into a comfortable posture and then saw Jaune watching her with an expression of both encouragement and concern.

"Good luck in there, Ruby." He mentioned to her.

"Thanks, Jaune. Sorry for leaving you alone out here." She apologized.

"I'm not really alone. I'll be okay, I just hope nothing freaky happens while you're in there this time." He said to her carefully.

"Me too." Ruby agreed as she glanced over to Pyrrha's meditative form, "If Pyrrha and Elsa come out of their mindscape before I do, please tell them I am sorry that I bailed on them, but I had another meeting with Argentius."

"I will." Jaune answered as Ruby nodded to Spirit Dreamer, who waved her force staff while murmuring incarnations as she conjured up several transparent circles that glowed bright, pale blue in the air around the silver-eyed girl, which then formed into the signature beehive barrier bubble once more which enclosed the young huntress within its protection.

Ruby closed her eyes and concentrated smoothly, beginning the meditation ritual as she quietly murmured the words of power that Argentius had taught her six months ago, and once the words left her lips she felt her consciousness slip away from her physical body and into another plane of existence.

_**She then opened her eyes, finding herself in a vast white void at first before it gradually took on the shape of the familiar green valley she had been in the last time, as Argentius and her own thoughts and memories shaped the mindscape into what they wanted it to be, with large trees and grass-covered hills coming into existence all around her.** _

_**Ruby smiled as the cobblestone path formed right in front of her, which eventually led her through the villa's white walls and into an open-air pavilion, where a familiar armored figure sat on a grey marble bench before a stone fountain that steadily produced cool water from curved spouts on its tiers. A small tray with a ceramic teapot was placed right beside him, and presently he held a small tea cup filled with warm brown tea within his hands.** _

_**Argentius opened his silver eyes and smiled kindly at Ruby as she made her way over to him. Having forgone his master-crafted helmet like the last time he nodded his platinum-blond head a little, placed his tea cup back on the tray gently and spoke, "Greetings, Ruby Rose, it's good to see that you are as eager as ever."** _

_**"You too, Master Argentius!" She greeted him courteously as she came before him, remembering to bow respectfully.** _

_**"There's no need to call me master, Ruby. We might be teacher and student, but our bond isn't official, and I had more than enough experience of being a master around Sharp Strike and other knights, so please just call me Argentius." The knight said as he rose to his feet, his silver and gold-trimmed cloak whipping gently behind him.** _

_**"Sorry, just kinda got that whole 'sensei and apprentice' thing between you and me." Ruby apologized.** _

_**"It's perfectly understandable, but there's no need to be so formal. We are friends Ruby, friends who help and care for one another. On that note, how much progress have you made since we last met?" He asked her politely.** _

_**"I've been pretty good myself, doing all right with my studies. I've been improving my skills as much as I can and thanks to you I have also gotten better at using my silver eyes' powers when fighting Grimm." She reported to the knight.** _

_**"How has that gone?" Argentius prompted, "I take it you can control your own powers better now?"** _

_**"So far so good, but sometimes when I use the power of my silver eyes I kinda feel tired, but that's down to how much aura I put into an attack, so I've been trying to control how much of it whenever I use one of those shiny eye blasts." She explained while knotting her hands.** _

_**The silver-eyed knight chuckled a little at the words Ruby used to describe the usage of her silver eyes before saying, "I see. Nothing I didn't know already, but it's good to know that you're doing your best to improve." He reached up with one gauntlet to touch his bearded chin before he continued, "Now, I understand that you have met the Winter Maiden today?"** _

_**"Oh! That's right, I met Elsa today as well. She's pretty nice, and quite... cool, if you ask me." Ruby's eyes widened a little and she quietly pleaded, "And please don't let Yang know I made a joke like that, because she'll never let me live it down!"** _

_**Argentius simply raised an eyebrow before giving a polite laugh, "My lips are sealed."** _

_**She nodded appreciatively and decided to ask the query she had just recently learned of, "Thank you. However, Elsa's guardian Kaifin brought up something that I hadn't really thought about before and I thought maybe you can help me figure it out?"** _

_**"And may I ask what is it?" He questioned.** _

_**"Well, Kaifin pointed out that it was kinda weird how Salem wanted me to be captured and brought back to her alive in Haven, when she should want me dead since my powers are such a big threat to her." Ruby explained and then asked, "So… why did she want me alive?"** _

_**Upon hearing her question, Argentius sighed and gestured for Ruby to walk with him. As they proceeded down a pathway threading through the pavilion with brightly colored flower bushes on either side, he began elucidating, "When I heard of your...encounter with Salem I pondered over that question myself. You see Ruby, despite the fact that the warriors with silver eyes and the unique powers they possess are undeniably strong against the Grimm and resistant against the Dark Queen, it doesn't mean we're immune. We're just as flawed as any other person, human or faunus, and Salem has been using the weaknesses of her enemies against them for centuries, just ask Ozpin for further proof."** _

_**Ruby nodded, remembering what she knew about Ozpin's own sordid past and the failures that haunted him, "I know that but… well, I think that when I was their captive they sort of wanted to turn me to their side. Cinder wanted to make me her pupil, and she made me… watch a recording of those guys I accidentally killed at the construction site. Why would they want me on their side when my powers can easily hurt the Grimm and Salem herself? It would be like a person allergic to dogs owning a dog."** _

_**"True, but at that time you didn't fully understand nor grasp the full extent of your powers. From what I've been told, they only surfaced after you witness multiple distressing and even traumatizing things such as seeing your friend Penny being accidentally destroyed by Pyrrha and learning that your sister's arm having been severed, and finally when you thought Pyrrha had been murdered by Cinder right before your eyes. All those events increased the distress and sadness within you, progressively building up to the incredible emanation of silver energy that killed the Wyvern and caused Cinder to withdraw. Your powers had been activated, but you couldn't control them." Argentius stroked his beard in contemplation and continued, "I remember you told me that while you were captured by Cinder in Haven, your powers only surfaced during the times when you were under heavy emotional stress, such as the time Cinder 'trained' with you."** _

_**"That I understand, but does it mean she wanted to turn me over to her side or something?" Ruby asked and looked at the Remnant Knight beside her with a slightly worried look.** _

_**"While I can't disregard that appalling possibility, Cinder might have been trying to see just how well you could control the power of your silver eyes, and possibly could have been trying to find ways to protect herself and Salem from our abilities in future, ways to counter them." Argentius gently told her, "And as for Salem… I don't think we would ever fathom how her sick mind works, but it's safe to assume that whatever she has planned for you isn't going to be in your best interests."** _

_**"Yeah, I guess so too." Ruby replied as she and the veteran Knight continued walking along the winding cobblestone path, while the bright sun shone down on them from high above.** _

_**"So, has there ever been a silver-eyed warrior working for Salem before? Or any of the Grimm Mistresses that came before her?" Ruby asked after a while.** _

_**The senior knight thought for a moment and then answered thoughtfully, "I haven't met many other people with our gift Ruby, and I've never met any who have sided with the Dark Queen for that matter. Nonetheless, it is both unusual and dangerous that Salem would want you since even with no grasp of what your gift could so she still risked being hurt by your powers. If I were to make a guess, I would assume that she wanted to break you completely and then turn you to embrace their side, before using you as a powerful tool to destroy her enemies and weaken hope."** _

_**"What do you mean?" Ruby questioned, a little curiosity slipping into her voice.** _

_**"Think about it Ruby, you're the girl who killed a full-grown Wyvern without even really trying. I can safely tell you that to defeat that kind of creature would have usually taken a battalion of Hunters fighting together to even stand a chance of defeating it, and even the veteran Knights of the Order I served with would have difficulty fighting such a beast. Defeating that creature was one of the major signs that all hope was not lost even after Beacon fell, and you definitely made yourself a giant target by upsetting some very powerful individuals, least of all Salem herself." Argentius elaborated to the teenage huntress, "If they were to turn you to their side, manipulate you into being their tool, it would be a sight that would weaken mankind's hope and resolve to survive. If someone who could kill such a powerful Grimm by simply looking at it could be turned to the side of evil, then many would lose hope… and that would directly trigger a massive outpouring of negative emotions which would work in Salem's favour."** _

_**Ruby nodded and posed her next question, "That makes sense, but what if… what if they wanted to somehow alter my eyes? Like making them into some evil version of the silver eyes so that those powers would be used for evil instead of good? If Salem's scientists can turn people into Grimm hybrids, could they do something like that to my eyes?"** _

_**Argentius's hands tightened a little at his sides for a moment before he sighed and turned to face her, "I… do not know if such a thing is possible. If it was, then Remnant would be a far darker place now with such a terrifying power in existence. Salem and the people she has recruited for her dark cause have undoubtedly twisted minds and wills, and so it's hard to understand or predict anything they do. But after fighting against her Sin Commanders on many encounters in the past, I cannot discount the fact that there's a distinct possibility that either of our theories might be correct."** _

_**He noticed the somewhat worried expression on Ruby's face and placed a gauntlet on her shoulder to reassure her, "Don't worry Ruby, whatever Salem had planned for you at that time isn't an immediate threat. When you escaped from Haven you were reunited with your team, saved your friends and came to terms with what happened there. Your spirit hasn't just been healed from the trials of adversity, it's much stronger now and it cannot be easily broken anymore because you, Ruby Rose, are a stronger Huntress now, and one who I can tell will not surrender or give in to the temptations of evil."** _

_**Ruby felt Argentius give her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, and she returned the gesture with a bright smile, one that showed that she truly appreciated his words of praise and comfort, "Thank you. I hope you're right."** _

_**"I don't wish to sound arrogant, but I know I am." He told her with a kind smile before adding, "Now, show me just how much you have improved."** _

_**Ruby nodded and summoned up a replica of Crescent Rose in her arms, and followed Argentius to the wide field a short distance away from the villa where her training began once more.** _

* * *

Jaune watched silently as Ruby sat completely still within the protective bubble, her consciousness safely inside the mindscape thanks to Spirit Dreamer, who was focusing all her efforts on making sure that the additional incantations were performed just as amicably to avoid any wayward silver energies from leaking out into the physical world like what happened last time when Ruby entered the mindscape with Argentius. The prognosticator has planted her force staff in front of her, the white crystal at the very top shimmering slightly as she maintained the integrity of the bubble shield as well as her oath to keep Ruby unharmed.

He stood against the wall while he quietly kept watch over his friend and his partner's meditating bodies, both of which were only a short distance from each other. He knew that they were safe, but the protective side of him still insisted to keep on the lookout. Glancing to his side, the blond knight knew he wasn't the only one, as he could see Kaifin standing not too far from the meditative form of Elsa, a stoic look of concentration upon his bearded face as he focused his gaze intently on his beloved.

As the minutes slowly went by, the only noise in the was a hushed discussion whispered between Ozpin and Glynda while Snow Blade remained a few steps close behind Spirit Dreamer. Knowing that other Remnant Knights were stationed around the meditation chambers made Jaune reliably sure that they would all snap into action within the blink-of-an-eye should anything go awry.

And so he occupied his time by wondering what Pyrrha was seeing within the Maidens' Mindscape, but soon he grew bored and briefly considered taking out his scroll to text the other members of Team Beacon and update them that Ruby, Pyrrha and him were still at the secret meeting. He ultimately decided against it, since he was reminded of the fact that numerous measures were put in place to keep the meeting a secret, and not to mention the knights standing around would probably not take kindly to such a security risk, even a minor one.

So he sighed and continued to work on his patience, until out of the corner of his eyes he noticed someone was now standing next to him, so he glanced over to see the figure of Kaifin apparently changing his position around the chambers.

"Oh, hey Kaifin." Jaune said, "How did you get over here without me noticing you?"

"I've learned my fair share of stealth tactics during my days at Atlas Academy, plus the fact you had your eyes on Pyrrha the whole time." The older guardian told him with a faint smirk.

Jaune nodded as he knew Kaifin had made a good point, and so he looked away briefly a tad flustered.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, kid. It's good to keep an eye on the one you love." Kaifin told him, "In a way you two remind me of Elsa and myself."

"She's like a Maiden and I am her guardian?" Jaune observed.

"That's right. Tell me Jaune, I know that you two are in a relationship, but... pardon me for asking, how serious is it? How strong is the bond between you?" Kaifin quietly asked with a serious look on his face.

Jaune carefully considered the question before finally answering it, "Honestly... our relationship is pretty serious. Pyrrha has been there for me since we met during initiation and became Team JNPR. She gave me more help, respect, and love than I really deserved, and so I wanted to do the same for her, to be there for her like she was for me. But when it mattered the most I failed her, first by misunderstanding what she was trying to tell me and then not telling her to throw her life away for a purpose which she didn't fully understand. I was blessed enough to be given a second chance to save her, and that time I didn't mess up and so I succeeded in saving her but nearly died in the process. When we escaped from Cinder and became the new guardians of the Aura Crystal we made promises to always be there for each other so I can safely say we are not just partners. We're both half-Grimm as well, but it doesn't end there; our bond goes right down to the soul."

He took a breath and continued, "After all that we've went through ever since we survived that night in Haven our bond has only gotten stronger, and we continue to love and cherish each other. I didn't realize her feelings for me until it was far too late nor understand how lonely she was, and I'm never going to repeat that mistake again. I will protect her to my last breath, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her, no matter what."

Kaifin smiled and nodded, "I see, you remind me of myself when Elsa became the Winter Maiden. I had been in love with her for some time, even before we became a couple. When I found out what was going to happen to her, I did everything in my power to stay with her… despite initially facing heavy resistance from General Ironwood and certain high-ranking members of the Atlas Council. The thought of Elsa leaving and never seeing her again was too much. I… I wanted to ask for her hand in marriage just before graduation, so when we were told the various conditions a Maiden must abide by, such as the rule that they must remain a virgin, both Elsa and I understood that we could never have the freedom that others lovers have."

The tall and muscular man let out a sad sigh before quietly continuing with, "But it didn't stop me, as long as I was by her side to provide any support and assistance she wanted or needed was more than enough for me. We didn't need to engage in intimacy to show our love for each other, and even after so many years we're still together, our bond just as strong as ever."

Jaune nodded in understanding, before Kaifin softly whispered, "I take it that you and Pyrrha have… consummated your relationship?"

The blond knight blushed brightly and did his best to hide his flushed cheeks, but he managed to nod a reply to Kaifin who gave a faint chuckle in response.

"I am happy for you both," He whispered, "The two of you have been through so much, including nearly dying to protect one another, so I can tell that you both love each other very much."

"We do. I remember when I thought Pyrrha was dead, I actually made a vow that my ancestors used to make about never taking another spouse or lover. At first it was both a way to punish myself for the pain that I have caused her and also to honor her feelings for me, but now it means something real since I've became an actual couple with her, and she has promised herself to me as well." Jaune explained slowly.

"I would say that it started off rather unhealthily, but I understand the kind of emotional pain you were going through." Kaifin observed as he crossed his arms, and Jaune nodded

"Yeah… I was in a pretty unhealthy spot. My sisters tried to cheer me up, my oldest sister told me about how she coped when her fiance died and how I shouldn't let the past drag me down, but the pain I felt in my heart wouldn't go away." The blond confessed.

"And from what you told us earlier, a part of that pain still lingers." Elsa's guardian remarked.

"In a way, yeah. The nightmares come back every now and then, and in those nightmares I dreamt that Pyrrha never came back, that there was never any chance to save her or bring her back. I've even had nightmares about seeing the rest of my friends and family ending up like how she did that fateful night, being massacred by Cinder. Have you ever… ever seen your entire family impaled by flaming arrows? Even your baby niece? Or your friends and teammates? Let me tell you this, it's a horrible thing to even think about." Jaune whispered darkly as he buried his face in his hands for a few seconds, forcing himself to calm his emotions down.

"I know how you feel." Kaifin confided as he laid a gentle but firm hand on Jaune's shoulder, "When I learned about the existence of the dark forces that would go after Elsa because of her powers, I became dreadfully worried, and my fears only got worse after news of the attack on Amber. I couldn't imagine losing my beloved like that, since I've experienced that kind of heartbreak before. You see, my own parents were killed in a severe Grimm attack during a scientific expedition beyond Atlas's borders during my second year at Atlas Academy. Elsa's practically the only one I have left, and losing her is the thing I fear the most in my life now."

Jaune nodded in agreement, just as another thought surfaced in his mind.

"I guess I should consider myself very lucky." He spoke lightly, "After everything I've been through, after every close call and near-death experience, I should be happy that I'm still alive and I have my friends, teammates, my family, and… Pyrrha with me."

The Winter Maiden's guardian agreed and said, "You should, Jaune. Don't take them for granted, and never let sort of harm come to them. You've been given a good life, with a good family, friends, a team that cares about you, and a lover who loves you just as much as you love her. You should appreciate her, and appreciate all of them. Savor every moment and live every day of your life to the fullest, life is too short not to spend with the ones you love."

Jaune's eyes looked over the still form of Pyrrha as he nodded absently. "Thank you, I'll definitely remember this talk." He replied as his mind began to carefully consider what the large man had just told him.

* * *

In the outskirts of Vacuo's capital, the abandoned buildings of the derelict air base such as the hangar that had been used by Ante for his rendezvous with Tyrian now stood empty once again, standing as mute witnesses to the harsh climate of the near desert, now with only rodents and various insects to inhabit it as night fell. The surrounding area was likewise empty, with only a few scattered homeless populating the neighbourhood and since there was nothing left to loot the various gangs had already given up long ago, finding better places to do their dirty business.

With no one in the vicinity to see anything, why nobody noticed a normal-looking crow fly out of the endless dunes of the desert, past the scattered dead palm trees and towards the empty hangar before fluttering up to land on the rusting railing of the empty water tower. It's head twitched and looked around carefully to make sure that all was clear, and then flew down into the main hangar through a shattered window.

Once inside, the crow perched on one of the catwalks' handrails and began to survey the interior of the derelict building. Its blood-red eyes took in every detail of the hangar, from its girded and pipe-choked ceiling, to the damaged hard grey concrete floor where small piles of sand had accumulated from the strong winds blowing in from outside.

There was no visible sign of the stolen SDC cargo airship and its cargo of powdered Dust and uncut crystals, and knowing how Salem's agents operate they would have probably set it on auto-pilot in the direction of the nearest ocean and allow it to crash and sink into the depths to erase any evidence. Qrow wouldn't be surprised if they would probably have put in explosive charges to blow the whole thing to smithereens just to go the extra mile of covering their tracks.

_'Damn it, I took too long getting here. But they were here all right.'_  Qrow thought to himself as he sensed the faint remains of the individuals' Aura signatures even as he looked around.

After hopping along the rusted railing for some distance, he stopped to look over a catwalk flanking the wall to his left, and cocked his bird head a little. _'Okay, Callows was right over… there.'_  That confirmed the presence of Salem's unstable assassin, and it wasn't good news given what he knew what Tyrian was capable of when given a target.

Concentrating his other more receptive senses he could feel the unusual, slightly tainted aura signatures of the select few Red Fang members as well as the more natural ones of the other Faunus, that didn't bode either. The bird form of Qrow narrowed his eyes as he clicked his beak in revulsion, he could never fathom what kind of person would willingly allow themselves to be genetically altered to become some kind of hybrid.

Just when he thought the existence of Grimm-hybrids were bad enough...

_'And someone else was here, recently too. Humans, possibly criminals allied with them.'_  He thought as he fluttered down to the cracked concrete floor of the cavernous hangar, hopping around from one spot to another as he eyed the empty crates lying around, _'A sign they're still working for Salem, since an anti-human group wouldn't work with humans unless they had no other choice. The Dust they have stolen from the hijacked SDC cargo airship was here too...'_

He spread his wings and flew over to the entrance of the hangar, hovering via flapping and seeing the faint remnants of tire tracks in the sand which stretched off the main runway of the airbase and into the street. The same tire tracks were now mostly covered or blown away due to the abrading winds, but the tracks were still fairly recent in the sense that they could most likely be several hours old. Perhaps no one else but the most attentive Vacuo Ranger patrols may have noticed it, but to the bird eyes of Qrow the path the transport trucks took was as good as seeing an oasis in the desert itself.

_'Two… no, three transport trucks. All made for heavy lifting and one to carry passengers. There were rumors that Ante and his thugs hauled ass outta Haven by going to ground, and he probably knows how to grease the palms of corrupt officials he could easily have gotten himself and his henchmen over to Vacuo.'_ He mused to himself before flying around the hangar, trying to find anything else that could turn out to be a crucial lead.

There. The burnt out end of an expensive-looking cigarette laid right in between two of the empty old crates. The crow flew into the shadows before shapeshifting into the somewhat slouching form of Qrow as he walked over to the object in question and knelt down, picking up the discarded cigarette carefully in one hand and examining it carefully.

Custom-made from the finest tobacco leaves. Each stick individually stamped with an expensive label and capable of producing a distinct aroma that would appeal to individuals with expensive tastes once lighted. It probably cost half of what he made in a year, probably more, and Qrow could practically count on one hand the number of smokers who could afford such expensive cigarettes, and that's even counting the crime lords themselves.

_'So someone with the criminal lifestyle was here, someone rich, and if Ruby was right about that Ante creep, it's a safe bet he's involved with this.'_  Qrow thought to himself as he turned the burnt cigarette stick between two fingers, and then he felt his red eyes travel towards an upturned crate at the far end of the hangar as his heightened senses picked up yet another uncharacteristic aura signature,  _'Lingering traces of Dark aura, with a kinda sinister feel to it. Looks like some real troublemakers met up with some punks as reinforcements.'_

With a casual flick of his fingers he tossed the cigarette stick away, and paced to the open doors of the hangar which opened up to a view of the capital city of the Kingdom of Vacuo in the distance. The avian reaper stuck to the shadows not only out of habit, but just in case anything unexpected happened even though he was sure that Tyrian and Ante had already left the air base. But it never hurt to be careful, as years in the field had taught him.

Mentally calculating the carrying capacity of the stolen cargo airship, and adding it to the various clues he had collected over the past few days from the Vacuo Rangers and his own intelligence-gathering, Qrow knew without a doubt that something big was definitely going to happen to the western Kingdom. So he momentarily closed his eyes as his mind sorted out the cards in his mental hand...

Vacuo. The capital of the western Kingdom. The next most likely target by the agents of Salem due to the setbacks they have suffered in Haven city and with the White Fang, and the presence of the Summer Maiden within Shade Academy made it even more likely of a target, they might even be aiming going for the Relic that was no longer under the school's protection.

Sizable quantities of powdered Dust stolen from various warehouses and their current location unknown.

The presence of an insane assassin like Tyrian Callowed, his presence confirmed but his purpose and target as of yet still unknown.

The likely presence of Damien Ante and his Enforcers, plus the presently quiet Red Fang, more or less counted as Salem's agents.

It was more than Qrow had hoped to obtain from his intelligence-gathering mission: a goldmine of facts and speculation and potential connections that would link all those cards together, enough for Ozpin and the rest of the Guardians, as well as the Knights to piece together and hopefully come up with something to thwart anything Salem's agents would throw at them.

_'However, there's still a problem.'_  Qrow mused to himself as he shapeshifted back into his avian form and flew out of the hangar and perched himself on top of the water tower, gazing out at the capital city of Vacuo in the distance.  _'The city's going to make tracking difficult.'_

It was honestly an understatement since the various senses, sights, bright lights, and countless aura signatures that covered the city would make tracking Salem's agents harder than it would normally be.  _'If only Raven were here, she was better at track -'_  He quickly shook his avian head and then reined himself in,  _'Stop it. Big sis is gone, and even if she was still alive she wouldn't do this for me.'_

Raven had been much better at tracking with her senses than Qrow was, since she had taken to the animal side much easier than he had. Qrow hadn't learned as much from their father as his elder sister, because Vernal killed him before he could better educate Qrow in the ways of their Semblance. After they escaped Raven taught Qrow as much as she knew from their father's lessons, and from then on both Branwen twins had to learn the hard way until Ozpin came into the picture, offering them a place to start anew by becoming Hunters.

Despite the difficult time they had spent with each other in the wild, learning to survive on their own until they eventually made it to civilization, Raven had a much easier time with their Semblance than he ever did. The alcoholic Huntsman remembered that his mother once commented that he had a hard time transforming between human and bird forms because he was cautious, wary of becoming an entirely different species, while Raven actively embraced her animal side and took to the air like a true bird of prey too eagerly.

He was cautious and she was reckless, and the darker part of his mind thought that was probably why he was still among the living. He shook his head, mentally scolding himself for thinking of such a thing and tried to think about something else. So he briefly wondered, for about the umpteenth time, what his parents would say about him now? What would they think of Raven? Or of Yang or Ruby?

Deep down, he knew they would be proud of him, even though their father wouldn't have openly voiced that. And he knew that his mother would spoil his nieces at every opportunity.

He smiled inwardly before becoming serious once more, gazing towards the city as he took flight, easily picking up the trail of the transport trucks which led away from the abandoned air base. He decided to follow the trial as much as he could before contacting Ozpin to update him on his progress, before making his way to Shade Academy.

With any luck he would find something that would lead him to his prey, and perhaps learn what they were doing in Vacuo.

* * *

Within the mindscape of the Maidens, Pyrrha had finally finished telling Amethyst and Heliosia her long, sad story and all the major details that entailed, including the events after she was freed from Cinder and Salem's control before wrapping it up with an 'ending' that was her current, much happier place in life.

There was only the sound of the gently blowing breeze around the four women before Amethyst reached up to her face and wiped away a stray tear, "That's… some pretty heavy stuff." She managed to say, even though it was clear that she was unable to voice how she actually felt.

Heliosia nodded and removed her hands from her mouth, "Indeed. It's one of the most heart wrenching stories I've ever heard. I can't believe that you're still in good spirits after experiencing all of what you just told us. All of the pain, loneliness and insanity you've gone through at their hands would have driven a lesser person over the edge and reduce them to a nervous wreck."

"There were times that I came close to going over the edge. It's as I said, after I returned there were many moments when I nearly just gave up and surrendered myself to misery, but I was lucky enough to have a loving family and a very supportive team, and good friends to help me on the road to recovery." Pyrrha told them, smiling at the thought of the many wonderful people she was fortunate enough to have in her life, "I think that the 'happy ending' I have so far had made all I've suffered worth it. Like how a rough, unpleasant journey is made better by arriving at a breathtaking destination."

"You are quite lucky Pyrrha, I don't think I would want to test my chances against the odds you've went up against." Elsa voiced, thinking about the various terrifying things Pyrrha had told her. Despite having heard the story twice now, the idea of Grimm hybrids existing, suffering from severe emotional trauma, near-death experiences, and riding a dragon Grimm was still a lot to take in despite all she experienced herself.

"I'll say, but at the end of the day you still managed to survive everything thrown at you, get the guy you loved, and ride a dragon! I'm not too proud to admit that I'm definitely jealous of that last part." Amethyst commented, which made Pyrrha smile.

"The Wyvern was one thing about my time at Haven I don't look back with regret or… I don't quite know a word to describe it..." Pyrrha confessed, "Something that mixes up embarrassment, anger and sadness."

"Really? I have read about Wyverns and how they're supposed to be different from the normal species of Grimm, can you elaborate?" Elsa inquired as she fixed the Mistralian Champion with an inquisitive look.

Pyrrha nodded and explained, "The Wyvern I trained with was young, apparently hatched from the egg of the one that Ruby defeated the Beacon Academy tower, and yet it possessed an intelligence about it not unlike that of a normal animal, like a dog or a cat."

"Except that unlike a dog or a cat, it's at least ten times the size of you, can fly, and breathe fire." Amethyst remarked wryly.

Pyrrha chuckled and nodded, "I suppose so. What I mean is, it didn't come off as a mindless monster like most Grimm do, even the older and smarter Grimm lack the 'living' presence the Wyvern had. But aren't Grimm supposed to be soulless creatures since they do not possess any aura at all?"

The Winter Maiden nodded and said, "Perhaps I can explain; while studying during my travels across the Kingdoms I came across an old legend about the original Mistress of Grimm. After the first age of mankind ended with the shattering of the moon and the rise of the Grimm, the dragons returned. For some years they roamed the world and dominated the skies until the original Dark Queen began to attack them, and after she subdued them she brought those dragons to be submerged into the primordial Grimm Spawning Pits to transform them into Grimm Wyvern, which she then used to capture or destroy all the remaining dragons. For centuries the Wyverns were a feared threat until the formation of the Hunter guilds across the various factions. The many countries, villages and townships united to fight the Wyverns, cutting down their numbers substantially, and that victory was supposedly one of the things that motivated the original Mistress of Grimm into manipulating events behind the scenes and initiating the original Great War.

"The first Dark Queen knew that when properly united, people can be a serious threat. So she purposely played up the prejudices and distrust among mankind and fledgling Faunus race and set them to fight among themselves. Once mankind is divided enough and posing little to no threat, her legions of Grimm can effectively conquer Remnant without any resistance at all." Heliosia added shortly, "And while there have been many reports and hearsays of dragons throughout the history of Remnant, most of them were just blurry sightings or unverified rumours at best."

"Well, that explains why Wyverns are so rare. And I suppose that if what you say is true, then it makes the Wyvern Grimm hybrids just like myself." Pyrrha mused quietly, "Have there been many sightings?"

"In the last century? Only a few, although the ones that have been confirmed would be the one encountered during the Fall of Beacon and the slightly smaller one you trained with. The other sightings were so low in number you could count them on one hand." Elsa elaborated, while holding up her five fingers.

Pyrrha nodded as she thought aloud with a serious and somber voice, "I wonder what they're doing to it... How are the Grimm Handlers under the service of Salem treating him?"

"You really think it would care?" Amethyst remarked, "I mean, even if it's only half Grimm, it's still an animal."

"I don't know, but during that fight with the White Fang I encountered a Grimm Commander called Steppenwolffe again, and he told me that the Wyvern had been upset by my escape. I think that the dragons had large amounts of aura, which somehow make them more sapient than most animals so when they were transformed into a species of Grimm, it wasn't too dissimilar from what happened to myself and the other Grimm hybrids." Pyrrha said, and Elsa nodded understandingly.

"Some books do say that the dragons were remarkably intelligent beasts, so it's a good theory." The Winter Maiden voiced thoughtfully.

"Where are these books you speak of?" Pyrrha asked her with a tilt of her head.

"Let's just say one needs a certain level of clearance to read certain books within certain archives." Elsa commented, "Some secrets must still be kept, after all."

Pyrrha nodded just before the Summer Maiden spoke up, "Speaking of which, the thing about your story that intrigues me the most is the Aura Crystal. I've heard and read about it during my travels to look for the Wizard, but now that I know it's real I would like to know more about it. That is, if you don't mind enlightening me?"

Pyrrha thought about it for a moment before answering, "Well, physically it's a large crystal that's usually violet in color but it often changes its colors due to the sheer amount of different auras within it."

"Auras? What do you mean?" Heliosia inquired as curiosity glimmered in her maroon eyes.

"You see, within the Aura Crystal is the collective aura of billions of people who were killed when the old world came to its cataclysmic end with the shattering of the moon. We aren't sure how, but the aura somehow merged into one place and someone or something managed to create the crystal to contain the massive energy." Pyrrha explained to them.

"I see," Heliosia said with a nod, "What else can you tell us? No pressure."

"It's all right, I don't mind telling you." Pyrrha assured them, "I'm sure that Jaune would agree that you're all trustworthy. Now, the Aura Crystal naturally has an immense power about it, when you get near the crystal you can feel it, sometimes also just by looking at it, something my friends can testify to. The crystal itself doesn't just contain the aura of those lost lives, but also soul fragments of its previous Guardians, including Ember Kasai and her son."

"I still can't believe that a part of the soul of one of my predecessors resides within that crystal." Heliosia stated, before asking, "Perhaps, if we were to meet in person someday, can you help me try to contact her?"

Pyrrha thought about it and shrugged, "I'm not sure that would work. It seems that only the crystal guardians can enter the crystal's inner sanctum, kind of like how you Maidens can enter the Maiden mindscape. So that means Jaune and I are the only ones who can speak to her." she noticed the disappointed look on the tanned girl's face before adding, "However, I can tell her about you in the next meditation session. Is there anything you wish for me to convey to her?"

Heliosia smiled and replied, "Only that I hope she feels that I'm doing justice for the title of the Summer Maiden."

"Sure, I'll tell her that, and I'm sure she'll be more than happy to know how you've performed so far." The Spartan assured her.

"I know we're proud of you, and if you wanted your confidence boosted and ego stroked, all you had to do was ask." Amethyst teased cheerfully.

Heliosia chuckled and said, "I think that would be wonderful, Pyrrha. Thank you." She then looked to Amethyst and smirked before replying, "Though being lavished with compliments doesn't sound too bad either."

The four girls laughed at the idea, before Pyrrha continued with her description with her description of the Aura Crystal, "To get into the crystal, it requires a meditation session not unlike what it takes to enter this mindscape. Within the crystal itself… well, I can't really do it justice. It's a strange, vague, and surreal place that is quite a bit of a challenge to describe it since it always changes with each session. It's rarely ever the same, as the various auras that make up the place are always moving along and changing its mindscape, always altering it to look like something else, sometimes even making it appear like the world that was before. The aura collective even showed us what the moon actually looked like before it was shattered, and I can assure you that it was a beautiful sight."

"I wish I could have seen it. I love the moon as it is, but it would probably be prettier if it's in one piece." Amethyst remarked with a grin.

"I can assure you it is." Pyrrha told her before continuing, " Due to the chaotic nature of various auras merging and mixing together to create such a place, it's quite difficult to get a grasp on and we don't fully understand it, nor do the soul fragments of the previous guardians."

"They can't help you?" Elsa asked as her right eyebrow raised.

"They can, but I think that in the process of merging with all that aura, they're probably left dazed and confused, and that's why they are unable to outright tell us any clear answers." Pyrrha speculated before shrugging, "Perhaps it may improve in time, we shall see."

"Strange. How've your guardian duties been so far?" Heliosia inquired.

"So far so good." Pyrrha answered simply, " No one has made any moves on it, and there are no attempts at theft, since Ozpin's willingness to help us protect it at all times means we can safely leave our room for the school day and if anyone so much as tries entering our room while we're not there without the security codes the alarms would go off, bringing not just Jaune and I, or Team JNPR, but all of Team Beacon, Ozpin, Glynda, the rest of Beacon's staff, and the Valean security forces surrounding grounds. And we have no need to worry about it for now, as Ren and Nora are guarding it in our dorm room as we speak, or at least making sure no one goes in without them, though Nora isn't one to stay in one room for long."

The three Maidens nodded, and Heliosia said, "With all seriousness, I would love to see the Aura Crystal personally, since the legends around it fascinates me and after hearing you make it sound so fantastic..."

"Well," Pyrrha said, "If you ever happen to come to Beacon for a visit, I'm sure Jaune will be okay with it. If he's generous enough to use it to dazzle his baby niece, he'll be fine with letting you see it."

She smiled at brief memory of Jaune using the sparkling lights of the Aura Crystal to calm and dazzle baby Arabella a little before Amethyst spoke up again, "Speaking of Jaune… does he make you happy? Do you really love him?"

Pyrrha was momentarily taken aback by the suddenness and bluntness of the question, but she recovered after a few seconds and said, "I can say without a doubt that he does make me happy. While it's true that his initial obliviousness to my feelings did hurt a bit, but thankfully that's all in the past. Now he wants to make up for his past failures by making me as happy as he can, and let me tell you that he is an expert at that. And as for that second question, I can only say; yes, because he genuinely loves me and I love him with all my heart and soul."

"After everything you told us about him, I get the impression that he loves you as much as you love him." Heliosia remarked with a small smile.

"Trust me, he does." Pyrrha replied.

"I can vouch for that. I may not know Jaune very well, but from what I have seen of him and everything I've been told, I can tell that he's a good-natured boy who didn't realize just how smart, strong and brave he can truly be. Pyrrha was one of the first to help him truly believe in himself and live up to that potential." Elsa helpfully added.

"That sounds like you transformed him from a helpless dork into an actually kinda badass dork." Amethyst commented with a smirk.

Pyrrha giggled a little and said, "I admit he was awkward and clumsy at first, and still is on occasion, but he has grown so much since we met, and I couldn't be more proud of him, neither could his family or the rest of our team. He has also returned the favor for all my help by loving me as much as he possibly can."

"He better, because you deserve it after all you went through." The Spring Maiden voiced.

"Oh he does, I have seen nothing but love in his interactions with Pyrrha, to the point that even subtle gestures and the looks in his eyes give away how much he cares for her." Elsa said as she smiled at the redhead.

"That's good, because if the bond of being Guardians of the Aura Crystal means you have to be together and always care for one another, then I hope your love for each other remains strong and genuine." Heliosia remarked to the youngest woman present.

"It is, I could go on all day about how much we love one another. After being with him, I feel like I have truly learned what love is, and I understand what my parents once told me about love; that it's like a fire, but it settles into a warm, comfortable hearth that flares up whenever things get… passionate. Love is a warmth that will always be there, even during awful times, to show support and make you feel safe. That's what Jaune makes me feel whenever we're together, especially when we get in bed at night. We're not just partners, we are lovers, practically soulmates at this point." Pyrrha told the trio of Maidens, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

"So has he popped the question yet? If you two are so madly in love he should really put a ring on your finger." Amethyst commented brazenly.

"Amethyst, really! They're not even done with their second year yet, it's a bit too early for marriage." Elsa chided her violent-haired companion.

"Not true." Heliosia raised an eyebrow, "In some traditional clans from Mistral and tribes in Vacuo, they still encourage their children to get married in their teenage years."

"See? Heliosia agrees with me." The Spring Maiden chuckled, and Elsa simply shook her head with a sigh.

"Well..." A blushing Pyrrha began, while thinking about a certain parting gift Ashe had given Jaune, "I wouldn't mind a ring at least."

The Summer Maiden smiled and remarked, "I can tell that you truly love Jaune. It's wonderful that after everything the two of you have suffered, you managed to survive and find true love in each other. Cherish him Pyrrha, and never, ever let him go. I once had someone I cared deeply for, but things happened which unfortunately separated us. I don't know where he is or if he's even still alive, but if I ever find him I will… make him feel sorry for worrying me so much, and then I'll let him know how much I missed him."

Due to her hidden Grimm side, Pyrrha could easily sense a genuine sadness in Heliosia as she mentioned this long-lost childhood friend. She didn't know what to say, but instead managed to give the brown-haired Summer Maiden a comforting look and said, "For what it's worth, I hope you find him someday."

"We all do, and hopefully you will find a way to be with him." Elsa stated with a serene voice.

"I wish I could be with you, cheer you up Amethyst style." The Spring Maiden voiced with a melancholic tone. Pyrrha looked at the smaller girl and felt a sadness in her as well, but one that was more lonely and frustrated.

"I'm all right," Heliosia assured her, "While I would like to see you girls in person, it's still too dangerous for the time being. Nonetheless, I've found ways of entertaining myself around Shade. Sure, sparring with the students there is great and all, but I've even become sort of an unknown local hero for dealing with the Black Vipers gang."

"Ah, kicking butt. My favourite spirit-lifter." Amethyst joked, a smile now spreading across her lips.

"Are you sure that won't accidentally attract the attention of the enemy?" Elsa queried cautiously.

"I've been quite careful." Heliosia returned, "And if anything happens, I can take care of myself."

Both Elsa and Amethyst nodded their heads, and Pyrrha was about to say something when a stray orange leaf blew onto her left shoulder, so she glanced over to pick it off only to notice something that was nearly covered by the trees that she hadn't noticed before.

"Excuse me," She stood up and walked over to where she had seen the object, and through the barren branches she could make out what looked like some kind of statue. It was a statue on a stone plinth, just slightly taller than Yatsuhashi, who was the tallest person Pyrrha knew, and it stood surrounded by leaves that were brighter than all the others that had fallen. The thing that was noticeable right away about the statue was the figure at the forefront of it. The figure of a girl of average height, her skin tinted a dark yellow, her hair styled in the form of a short version of hairstyle known as a hime cut, and she wore a plain blouse with a scarf, a cape and a long skirt. All around her were smaller figures of other young women dressed in various kinds of clothing, all colored in varying shades of yellow, one of whom Pyrrha recognized as Amber.

"Pyrrha?" Elsa called as she stood up, her sky-blue eyes following what the Spartan was looking at.

"Pardon me, but what's this?" She inquired as she parted the branches gently, nodding at the statue.

The three Maidens looked rather saddened by her discovery before Elsa answered, "That is the Tribute Shrine, each Maiden has one."

She pointed deep into her own snowy section, and Pyrrha could now see a whitish-blue version of the tribute shrine covered with a delicate layer of shiny clear ice. The figure standing at the head of it was clad in a long thick winter robe and sported an ornate hairstyle not unlike that of royalty, her hands clasped in front of her with a peaceful-looking face.

Pyrrha looked over to Amethyst, who gestured over to her own shrine which was surrounded by a tiny moat and was led by a statue of petite-looking green-colored girl with a bright smile on her own face, and was clothed in a long dress with flower-decorated bracelets and a crown of flowers around her wrists and head respectively.

"The ones at the front of the shrines are the original Seasonal Maidens." Heliosia explained as she pointed to the shrine of Summer, which had a brownish-red tint to it, and a strong-looking girl with long hair that cascaded down her back and freckles covering her cheeks and arms, and she wore suspenders that held up short pants against a upper white work shirt, "The smaller figures surrounding them are the Maidens that came after. Once a Maiden passes on her powers or dies, they are added to the shrine of their respective seasons, and so it has been since the passing of the original Spring Maiden."

"It is the way of our sisterhood to remember those who came before us, so we will never forget them." Elsa added as she looked sadly at her own, "It is a way of keeping our sisterly bond intact throughout the ages, even as the bearers of the powers change."

Pyrrha nodded, but she then noticed something rather odd as Elsa's eyes were looking directly at a spot on the tribute shrine of the Winter Maiden that was different from the other white figures in the sense that this particular spot was blacked out, and the name on a small slab of ice was permanently erased as well.

"What's with that black spot?" She asked, although her heart already knew the answer.

Elsa's face hardened considerably as she briefly suppressed a surge of anger, "That was Salem's place in the shrine, before it was discovered what truly became of her. The Winter Maidens before me generations ago marked it out so that we will never forget the first Maiden who gave in so completely to the temptations of evil."

The Spartan champion was quiet for a moment, before glancing back at the Fall shrine and asking, "Have there been any other Maidens who gave in to the darkness and misused their powers?"

"It depends on who you ask Pyrrha, because there were holders who misused the powers of the Maidens for selfish reasons. We may not know all of them, but the Guardians of Remnant have told us a few instances as cautionary tales not to repeat their mistakes." Elsa answered.

"I take it the Guardians of Remnant had contingencies for such unpleasant incidents?" Pyrrha posed.

"Those tales were mostly vague on what they exactly did, but the implication was clear as we know that the Guardians have ways to ensure that the powers of the Maidens were given to those who would use their gifted powers selflessly and keep the seasons in balance." Heliosia told her, "As for what those previous Maidens eventually did, it was understood that they eventually surrendered their powers for breaking… certain rules, but as far as we know none of them ever did anything evil. They are colored a bit darker in the shrines, but we still respect them by counting them as our honored predecessors."

Pyrrha looked at the Fall shrine and asked, "So...what happens when Cinder is defeated? Will she be blacked out as well? Or included at all?"

The three Maidens were silent for a moment before Amethyst replied, "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Pyrrha nodded in acknowledgement before asking once more, "Speaking of Cinder, what exactly are your plans for dealing with those who would come after your powers?"

"We have gone over such scenarios with our protectors." Heliosia answered cautiously, "Salem can send send any number of things after us; Grimm, her Grimm Commanders, assassins, and her own candidates for future Maidens, or a combination of them. We know that an attempt on our lives is very probable now."

"So if and when they come for us, we will know what they're capable of, and so we won't hold back like what Amber did, we'll show them just how powerful a Maiden can be, and how steep the punishment is for attacking our Sisterhood." Amethyst stated angrily as she clenched her fists.

"Indeed. An attempt to take our powers is inevitable at this point. Salem needs the four Maidens under her control if she is to take the Relics." Elsa added, before her eyes widened slightly as she realized her tongue had slipped. Pyrrha noticed both Amethyst and Heliosia were surprised as well when the Relics were mentioned, which made the sentence Elsa uttered all the more mysterious.

"Relics? Wha-" The Mistral champion began to ask, but Elsa quickly cut her off with a raised hand.

"Please forget I mentioned it. They are… important, but this isn't the appropriate time for you to know about them. I'm very sorry for nearly burdening you with the knowledge, I hope you understand." The platinum-blonde apologized.

"No worries." Pyrrha offered, "I understand that some things must remain a secret."

"Thank you for your understanding." Elsa told her with a thankful smile before getting back to the topic at hand, "Anyway, we have already discussed it with the Kingdom Councils, the respective Remnant Knights, and the Guardians of Remnant. All three of us are doing all we can to keep out of sight and maintain our cover...at least, some of us anyway..." She shot looks at Amethyst and Heliosia both, in which the Spring Maiden huffed while the Summer Maiden held up her hands defensively.

"Hey, you would kick that guy's butt if you saw him acting like he did." Amethyst argued.

"And Vacuo has an atrocious gang problem that needed straightening. Besides, I feel quite pent-up staying within Shade all the time. We need some kind of way to stay in shape and alert for a fight other than sparring." Heliosia defended.

Elsa nodded, "Those are valid points, but it's still important to lay low lest we give ourselves away. For now we must remain hidden to avoid detection by enemy agents. With regards to the countering of Salem's plans, it's in the hands of the Guardians and the Remnant Knights for now. Hopefully they will find leads to uncovering what Salem and Cinder have been up to and make a move against them before they strike again."

Amethyst huffed and remarked, "It sucks just waiting around for the bad guys to try and kill us."

"No argument there, but for now there's nothing we can do against Salem that won't directly endanger us." Heliosia pointed out, "We don't know how powerful she is now but I am willing to bet that she's definitely stronger than we are individually, maybe stronger than all of us combined and confronting her directly is as good as committing suicide. For now, we can do nothing but wait."

"Did I detect a touch of cynicism in there, Heliosia?" Elsa asked quietly.

"It's not cynicism." The Summer Maiden remarked, "It's pragmatism. I'd rather focus on what we can do rather than what we can't do."

"I find myself agreeing with Heliosia." Pyrrha spoke up, "If I see something that's wrong happening right in front of me, I would personally rather do something rather than nothing."

"Same here." Amethyst chimed in, "Better to take any chance rather than sitting back and doing nothing."

Elsa looked at the other two Maidens and the youngest girl before giving a nod, "Your reasons are rational, so I don't have a problem with that. I suppose that's all we can do for the time being anyway."

Pyrrha turned from the three Maidens and looked at the statue of Amber, and a small thought came to her mind, "If you don't mind me asking, I would like to know more about Amber. I didn't get any chance to speak to her since she was in a coma when I was first brought before her, but since you all knew her for some time, would you mind sharing some stories with me?"

The three Maidens glanced at each other briefly before looking at Pyrrha, and Elsa said, "Since you have shared your story with us, it's only fair we indulge you with some of our experiences with Amber. She was a kind soul, and a dearly loved sister to all of us, and it's only right for you to know of her as well."

The Winter Maiden took another breath, and began to tell Pyrrha the story of her experience with Amber.

* * *

_**If Ruby thought the weapons training she had undergone when she had first been taken under her uncle's wing and the close range combat training she undergone with Yang and their father had both been exhausting, what Argentius had been teaching her since she had entered the mindscape to meet him was something else. She could feel exhaustion slowly creeping into her arms and legs even though she wasn't in her physical body at the moment.** _

_**The landscape around them was predominately colored in various shades of green and brown, with a bright sun shining down upon them both from the sparsely-clouded sky. They both stood in the middle of an endless stretch of green grass outside the villa which must have been a couple of miles wide at its most extensive.** _

_**The air around them when breathed felt as though it was freshly washed, and soft breezes would ruffle both of their cloaks from time to time while carrying fallen leaves. They could hear the melodic twittering of flying birds in the sky and the splashing of a waterfall located at the far end of the valley which fell into the sizable lake at the edge of the training grounds. Like Argentius had said, the whole place had been faithfully reconstructed back to the original way they remembered it, hence it bore no lingering sign of the widespread damage Ruby had accidentally wreaked when she accidentally lost control of her silver eye powers last time.** _

_**Ruby had shown the elder knight the way she fought with Crescent Rose, which was mostly based off the fighting style of her uncle which mostly focused on swift actions combined sweeping slashes and cuts of her weapon's large sharp blade, though she showed off all of the moves she had come up with herself. The Knight watched carefully, his own silver eyes effortlessly following every swift movement Ruby made without missing out on any of them, despite the fact she was dashing across considerable distances with the help of her Semblance. He took in everything, only nodding his assent when he required her to demonstrate another fighting technique she had learned.** _

_**She showed him how much she had improved after understanding the insightful pointers Argentius had given her in their previous encounter, corkscrewing through the air at incredible speeds with a trail of red petals behind her. Additionally, she demonstrated another ability in which she dematerialized into a couple of separate clusters of petals which flowed around certain rocky areas before reforming, as well as creating rather more powerful whirlwinds while using her Semblance which earned her a congratulatory clap from the senior Remnant Knight much to her contentment.** _

_**"You've improved greatly, you've mastered your Semblance and your handling of your weapon has become quite proficient " Argentius commented as he held up a gauntlet-clad hand for her to stop and take a break.** _

_**"I'm a fast learner," The red reaper grinned at the silver-eyed knight, "My dad and Uncle Qrow always said that about me."** _

_**"It shows." Argentius allowed a small smirk to form on his face.** _

_**"Thank you, Master Argentius." Ruby replied before remembering what the knight had told her earlier, "Oh, sorry… still trying to drop the 'master' word."** _

_**The veteran warrior simply gave a small chuckle and waved a unconcerned hand, "It's understandable. Sharp Strike still calls me 'master' from time to time even after his ascendance from squire to knight."** _

_**Ruby chuckled a little at that, "I can believe that."** _

_**Deciding to change the subject, Argentius reached for Iconoclast and brought it out into his hands in its inactive form, "Now that you've mastered the necessary fighting techniques, would you like to see how I actually do battle with my own weapon?"** _

_**Needless to say, the red-hooded reaper almost jumped with joy at the prospect of seeing more of the senior knight's skill with his weapon, "Oh yeah! If you can handle my weapon so well, I can't wait to see how good you are with your own!"** _

_**"Calm yourself," Argentius spoke gently as he gestured with his fingers before teasing her with "I wouldn't want you to inadvertently faint of joy."** _

_**Ruby nodded and did her best to keep her excitement under control before he continued, "Please take a dozen steps back and watch my movements carefully. What I'll be showing you is my own personal fighting style, although it's somewhat vaguely similar to your Uncle's."** _

_**During the meeting with the delegation of Remnant Knights, Ruby managed to catch a glimpse of Argentius' skill with his own weapon through his brief borrowing of Crescent Rose. The way he easily handled Crescent Rose was testament that his considerable fighting skills as a scythe wielder were equivalent to those of Qrow's, especially as his own unique weapon also possessed massive recoil as well.** _

_**She did as Argentius requested as she watched the gunmetal grey and silver armored knight unfurl Iconoclast into its fully extended form for his upcoming demonstration, giving the twin scythes a few experimental swings as though about to go into battle.** _

_**She definitely wasn't expecting what she witnessed in those brief but eventful minutes.** _

_**Despite being fully clad in his intricately-crafted armor suit, Argentius cut through the air in ways that seemed impossible for someone who was wearing the heavy weight of such an outfit. He wielded Iconoclast expertly in both hands, his own movements blurred by speed and precision as the large curved blades at both ends of his weapon moved with impeccable accuracy. Switching rapidly between offensive and defensive styles in the mere blink of an eye, it seemed as though he was fighting an invisible army of, effortlessly keeping them at bay while dealing quite a lot of imaginary damage at the same time.** _

_**'And I thought Uncle Qrow was skilled with Reaper...' Ruby mused to herself as she noticed a wind barrier of sorts forming around the knight, which seemed to bow out and push back anything that tried to get in close around him, and then realized that Argentius just gave her a hint of his Semblance as well.** _

_**Then in one swift motion the silver-eyed warrior split Iconoclast into two separate smaller scythes by detaching the weapon's haft, before spinning them in his gauntleted hands as though they were a pair of revolvers despite their weight. It was nearly impossible to follow the pattern of their blurring motions as the points of the scythe blades flickered right on the edge of sight. A few seconds later Argentius swiftly attached both pieces of Iconoclast back into their original configuration while performing a final somersault in mid-air, before landing boots-first a few meters away right in front of a very awed Ruby.** _

_**After explaining the scythe techniques he had just demonstrated to the young huntress, who was nearly squealing in excitement after witnessing them, Argentius broke down the individual teachings into reasonably-sized segments for her to understand before slowly guiding Ruby through the different separate movements, all the while keeping Ruby's Semblance and abilities with Crescent Rose in mind. And so they trained, two cloaked figures moving speedily with their respective scythe weapons underneath the bright orange rays of the imitation sun in perfect synchronization.** _

_**However it wasn't long before Ruby was on her hands and knees panting in exhaustion, still holding onto Crescent Rose, her body clearly trying hard to adapt to the more complex techniques taught to her by the experienced Knight. Beads of sweat rolled down the damp skin of her pale face as she wiped them off with the back of her right hand, while her chest expanded and contracted as she took great gulps of the cool air.** _

_**"Catch your breath." Argentius spoke gently as he extended a hand down for her to grip onto, before pulling her upwards to her feet.** _

_**"Argentius… your training sessions are just as… exhausting as… Uncle Qrow's!" The young scythe user mentioned as she looked at him, "And I thought the combat sessions at Beacon could wear me out."** _

_**The knight raised an eyebrow and said "If you think these sessions are demanding then you should know that I have tailored my fighting techniques accordingly to suit yours since I wasn't training another Knight, simply a young Huntress."** _

_**"You mean that it actually gets more difficult from what you've taught me so far?" Ruby asked with a wide-eyed face.** _

_**"In a manner of speaking, yes." Argentius confirmed calmly as he twisted the shaft of Iconoclast to retract back into its double-barreled assault rifle form, "Although I can see that your uncle has already established a good foundation for your fighting skills through his training, you still have much to learn in other areas."** _

_**"Like my hand-to-hand combat skills?" Ruby asked hesitantly.** _

_**"That's one way of putting it." The armored warrior pointed out to her, "You are at the top of your game so long as you have Crescent Rose with you, but if your opponents were to disarm you, you'd instantly find yourself in a more dangerous situation since you aren't as experienced as your elder sister in terms of hand-to-hand combat."** _

_**"That's why both Uncle Qrow and Yang taught me some of their fighting skills." Ruby said while making some karate-style poses with her hands, "They always tell me that I need to hold my own just in case, but I still don't think I am cut out for that kind of fighting. I mean, I'm not bad at it, but I'm not that good at it either."** _

_**Argentius gave a nod of his platinum-blonde head, "I see what you mean. Be that as it may, I would still advise you to brush up on your hand-to-hand combat skills whenever you can. I've already imparted a couple of those skills to you, so all you need now is to practice it with your fellow members of Team Beacon when you have the time."** _

_**"I will remember to do that, Argentius." Ruby replied as she adjusted her grip on Crescent Rose, "And I'll definitely try out those new skills you've taught me with Crescent Rose!"** _

_**A gentle smirk graced her mentor's lips as he took a breath and continued speaking, "From what I have seen so far of your progress, you have been steadily improving. However, it still going to take some time for your physical body to catch up with what you have learned in the mindscape, but I am sure with the right amount of practice the process would be expedited significantly."** _

_**"Thank you, Argentius." Ruby answered gratefully.** _

_**"You're welcome. I trust that you have an easier time trying to use the power of your eyes?" Argentius inquired.** _

_**"Yes. I've listened to your advice on how to control my silver eyes, and it seems slightly easier now after I have overcome my own… personal fears." She smiled and saw the knight nod in return, "But is it normal to feel tired after using my personal powers?"** _

_**Argentius rubbed his chin with one gauntleted hand for a few moments and then replied, "That would depend on how much control you have over your silver eyes. Even though quite some time ago I had the tutelage of my master Lord Emmanuel, it still took me a number of years to properly gain control of my own silver eyes, but it varies from person to person."** _

_**Ruby nodded her head in reply, "So that's how it is."** _

_**"With regards to your question, although I have rarely felt tired after using my own powers I can still feel it creeping in at times after some particularly difficult battles I've taken part in." His attitude turned slightly serious as he looked at Ruby in the eyes, "While you have been making great strides in controlling your own powers, you must never under any circumstances use them excessively. As I said before, you have the potential to become more powerful than even I am, but that kind of power can also be incredibly devastating should you lose control of it."** _

_**"I… understand." Ruby said carefully upon hearing the warning tone in her mentor's normally kind voice, "I'll make sure to keep my powers under control."** _

_**"Allow me to put it in a simpler way. Think of your silver eyes as a chalice of power." Argentius explained to her, "Too much power can be harmful to the user at hand, so for one to effectively control it you only take the amount you need and never anything more. In other words, a careful sip from the chalice but never drinking too deeply of it, lest you drown yourself in it, or use up so much that you're too weak to move."** _

_**"Thanks for the advice, Argentius, I'll keep it in mind." She told him politely.** _

_**"Good. You're progressing far better than I expected you to be." The dual scythe-wielding knight replied before looking at their surroundings briefly as though searching for something, "I've given you quite a number of things to think about today, so I don't think it would be helpful to give you more. Besides, our time here is growing short since you have to return to the physical world soon."** _

_**"Call me curious," Ruby queried with a smile on her face, "What else would you teach me?"** _

_**"You and my protégé Sharp Strike may have more in common than you think, Ruby." Argentius gave a good-humored chuckle, "Perhaps next time I can educate you on a certain skill that's related to your physical power, but I'll leave you with a little something to look forward to."** _

_**He then leaned down to the hooded huntress's ear almost conspiratorially and whispered two words, "Unleash Semblance." When Ruby gave him a somewhat puzzled look Argentius simply smiled and patted her kindly on her shoulder, "Just remember what I've taught you so far, and I'm sure you will definitely improve further on your physical skills and control of your eyes."** _

_**"Thanks again, Argentius!" Ruby retracted Crescent Rose and placed it back into its carrying spot on her waist, before bowing respectfully to him quickly.** _

_**"You're welcome, Ruby Rose." The silver-eyed knight returned her gesture as he guided her back to the pavilion where she had come from upon entering the mindscape, "Until we meet again."** _

_**With a final parting wave he watched as his student disappeared with a blinding flash of silvery light once she stepped through the archway that serves as the exit from his pocket reality within the mindscape, Argentius felt a sense of accomplishment upon seeing Ruby improve that quickly during her brief time with him. And he had a feeling that those additional fighting skills he had imparted to her may be called into practice sooner rather than later, whenever Salem and her agents would strike.** _

Returning back to the physical world within his chambers, Argentius made his way over to his table and was about to take a sip of his herbal tea when he was suddenly jolted by a strange but faintly aching feeling. The smooth surface of the brown tea within his ceramic teacup jumped a little as he faltered briefly, before his hand tightened on it again as the sudden jolt of pain quickly subsided. Thankfully he didn't fall, but deep within his heart he knew that something must have happened to Soul Seer. Something troublesome.

His suspicions were quickly confirmed when he heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it he saw the armored, robed form of the prognosticator Soul Searcher. She bowed quickly and spoke, "Honored Argentius, Chief Prognosticator Soul Seer requests your presence in the Prognosticator's Sanctum at the earliest convenience."

Seeing the silver-eyed warrior raise a questioning eyebrow, the young prognosticator clarified further by speaking, "Something... has happened."

"Let's not waste any time." Argentius took a measured sip of his tea before setting it on the table and striding off with Soul Searcher hurrying right behind him.

* * *

Elsa smiled happily as she listened to Amethyst and Heliosia tell Pyrrha a story about Amber, and how the previous Fall Maiden had involved herself in helping a family whose children had been kidnapped by a gang of less-than-savory individuals, who intended to ransom the children off for a hefty price.

"And so Amber used her personal Semblance to track the children's traces down to an abandoned mill in the forest." Heliosia continued.

"She thought about going for help, so as not to give away anything about identity, you know? But when she overheard the thugs talk about how they were gonna cut off the fingers of one little boy to force the parents' hand and make them pay up quicker, Amber decided right there and then to make her move." Amethyst added.

"Amber wasn't one for violence, but she had a big soft spot for children, so the thought of an innocent little boy being hurt like that made her lose it, so she gave them the thrashing of a lifetime. I'd like to think they still have nightmares about it." Heliosia remarked a bit darkly.

"It would serve them right." Elsa mentioned before taking over, "Anyway, Amber never really indulged in our desire to know the details of the beating she dealt to those lowlifes since she wasn't a violent person, but from what little we saw in the reports it looked like she really went all out on them."

Pyrrha nodded and queried, "So the children were returned safely?"

"Of course. Amber saw to it herself after she alerted the authorities to the whereabouts of the criminals. She got into a bit of trouble for nearly revealing herself like that, but Ozpin pardoned her since he felt that Amber helped to save innocent lives and brought the criminals to justice without exposing herself as a Maiden, it was a pretty understandable offense." Heliosia explained.

Pyrrha smiled, "She sounds wonderful, I wish I could have truly gotten to know her."

"It's a safe bet she would've really liked you." Amethyst said, "She was always trying to help people in need and do the right thing."

Elsa sighed at the memory of when she was first told of what had happened to Amber, but shook the dreadful thought out of her head and said, "Well, I think we've had enough time together for this meeting. I'm sorry to go, but Pyrrha does have a life to get back to."

The redhead Spartan nodded and answered, "Well, I do have a bit of homework to do, and I can't exactly have my friends worry about me, Jaune, and Ruby."

"And I was wondering whether you or Heliosia would win in a spar." Amethyst offered with a kind expression, "Oh well, perhaps next time? It was really nice to meet you, Pyr."

"Indeed it has, although we wish you could stay longer. It almost feels like our sisterhood is complete again after so long." Heliosia told her, and it was clear to Pyrrha there was still a sad look in her maroon eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry if my presence brought up bad memories..." Pyrrha apologized nervously.

"No. No, you didn't. I promise." The Summer Maiden assured her gently, "Having you here just felt...right."

"I second that sentiment. It's good to have a fourth person here, especially after over two years of emptiness in that spot." Elsa said while gesturing to the Fall Maiden's seat at the stone table, "And it was wonderful to have you here, Pyrrha. I'm happy I decided to commit to this."

"I am too." Pyrrha agreed before turning to the other two Maidens, "It was wonderful to meet you both. I hope we'll see each other again someday, hopefully in person."

"You have no idea how much I'd like that." Amethyst grumbled, "I get tired of having to be separated from my friends. I mean, yeah we get to talk and sometimes spar in here, but it's just not the same."

"I understand your frustrations Amethyst, but until the threat has passed we can't do anything much about it. But believe me when I say I wish we really were spending time together." Heliosia told her fellow Spring Maiden comfortingly.

Elsa nodded in agreement and added, "I would also like for us to come together again, but for now we must go our separate ways until it's safe again once more."

The Winter Maiden turned to Pyrrha, "However, before we leave… we'd like to give you a little something, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha's curiosity was definitely piqued, "What is it?"

Elsa looked to Amethyst and Heliosia who both nodded their heads, and turned to face the female Spartan, "We understand that while you received the Fall Maiden powers for a mere moment, you didn't die when the power left your body, which resulted in no statue of you in the shrine."

"And so, we have agreed among ourselves to accept you as an honorary Maiden of our Sisterhood." Heliosia continued, "By creating a likeness of you to be placed on the shrine with the others."

"It was the least we could do." Amethyst said nicely, "For all you've been through and the honesty you've given us."

"For your kindness and willingness to help others in need." Heliosia mentioned.

"And the love you've given freely to your friends and the one you cherish most of all." Elsa finished.

Pyrrha was speechless for a few moments, before she found her voice again, "I don't know what to say. How exactly did you do this?"

Elsa smiled and placed a robed hand around Pyrrha's shoulder as she guided the latter girl to the tribute shrine of the Fall Maiden, "What else? We use our powers. Now, sit back and watch the magic happen."

Pyrrha did so, and watched with rising excitement within her chest as she witnessed the three Maidens approach the Fall Maiden's shrine. When all three of them were at the exact same distance from the aforementioned statue, they raised their right hand at the same time and a glow of light appeared at their outstretched palm as they concentrated; Green for Amethyst, Red for Heliosia and Blue for Elsa.

At first nothing happened, then the dead autumn leaves began to swirl upwards around the shrine in a whirlwind. One of the blank spots on the shrine began to slowly erode in certain areas, grains of sand being carried off by the swirling winds as it was slowly and carefully crafted by the incredible powers of the three Maidens bending the powers of nature to their wills. Despite herself, Pyrrha felt herself gasp at the glimpse of what the Maiden powers were capable of when not used for destruction.

Within seconds a hand appeared, followed by a head and then a spear, and soon the rest of the statue's outfit and posture. It wasn't long before Pyrrha was looking at an incredibly life-like miniature version of herself, clad in her original Huntress outfit, carved in the rock, wielding Miló and Akoúo̱ in a combat stance with her ponytail hair flying behind. Her face in particular was made into one of determination and righteousness, as though she was just about to take whatever the world of Remnant could throw at her.

And right at the bottom of the shrine, Pyrrha just now noticed, were all the names of the fallen or departed Maidens, and she watched as a new name was engraved in cursive.

'Pyrrha Nikos, Honorary Maiden'

The amazing display of power slowly died away, and all three Maidens let their hands drop and turned to face Pyrrha with smiles on their faces.

The Spartan had her hands at her mouth, and sparkling tears of leaked from her eyes as she was visibly moved by the gift that was generously given to her by the Maidens Sisterhood. She almost collapsed onto her knees if not for Heliosia to catch her, while Elsa knelt down gently and reached up with a piece of blue silken cloth to wipe Pyrrha's tears away, and Amethyst gently patted her back as she sobbed in endless gratitude.

And for a few touching minutes, the Sisterhood of the Maidens were closer than it had been since the attack on Amber.

Once the redhead had stopped weeping, she was helped to her feet by the trio of Maidens. "Regardless of what happens tomorrow, today right here in the Maiden mindscape,  _this_ is what you deserve, Pyrrha Nikos." Elsa said as she gestured to the champion's figure on the shrine.

"Thank you." Pyrrha said with genuine gratitude, "Thank you all so much."

"You are quite welcome." Elsa replied, and turned to Amethyst and Heliosia, "Thank you for meeting us, my sisters. Goodbye for now."

"Bye Elsa." Amethyst bid, "You too, Pyrrha."

"Goodbye, my sisters." Heliosia said as Pyrrha gave them a small wave, "May Oum watch over you."

"Farewell, until we meet again." The female Spartan said to them as Elsa took her hand.

"Now, wake up." The platinum-blonde told the redhead, and with that they both disappeared before the eyes of the Spring and Summer Maidens.

"So, tell me a little more about the Remnant Knights you're with, are they as stern as mine?" Heliosia asked her fellow Maiden, who smiled back.

"Wind Runner's kinda stiff, but from what you have told me about those Relentless Crusaders, I'm pretty sure I got the laid back ones." She answered.

"Fire Walker may be strict, but at least he's giving me some leeway." Heliosia mentioned, "Although I understand his reasons for all those efforts to keep my true identity a secret. And besides, he's also quite useful as well for certain situations."

"Such as?" Amethyst gave a shrug.

"When I spar with him I don't have to hold back." The Summer Maiden winked at her.

* * *

Pyrrha opened her eyes to see Elsa sitting directly across from her, her blue eyes already open. Pyrrha shook her head a little, feeling a little dizzy due to experiencing the whiplash effects from the instant change of locations.

"A strange sensation, isn't it?" Elsa remarked.

"You can say that." Pyrrha told her as she slowly steadied herself, only to see Jaune and Ruby come to her sides.

"You're finally out of there, I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to spend the night in here." Jaune said to her, which made Pyrrha smile at his noticeable concern for her.

"I'm all right, Jaune. A little tired but I am fine." Pyrrha assured him, and as she looked around she found that a couple more Remnant Knights were standing around the meditation chambers on guard duty, along with the presence of Councilman Henry who she suspected to have arrived when she was still in the Maiden's Mindscape.

"The strange feeling will pass in a few moments. The first trip to the Mindscape of the Maidens is always the most draining, especially for those who are technically outsiders." Elsa explained to her as she accepted Kaifin's hand to help her up, and gave him a loving look of gratitude.

"So what was it like in there?" Ruby asked her red-haired friend.

"It was… breathtaking. All four seasons were happening in different sections at once." Pyrrha described, "It looked was like something right out of a painting. I met the Spring and Summer Maidens as well, they were quite nice."

"That's good, while you were still in there I had a little lesson with Argentius." Ruby related to her friend as the latter stood up, her body shaking a little from the out-of-body experience.

"Is he here as well?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, Spirit Dreamer over there helped Ruby enter the mindscape." Jaune elaborated, gesturing to the prognosticator who inclined her head, "She was in and out a lot quicker than you."

"Didn't feel that short to me." Ruby commented before adding, "Argentius let me show off my skills and how much I've improved before showing off his own and helping me learn some new techniques that I really want to try out. He also gave me some pointers on what to improve on; like my eyes' power and he told me I could also use some more hand-to-hand combat training."

"It's a good thing your sister is one of Beacon's top hand-to-hand fighters, Miss Rose." Glynda remarked.

Ruby nodded in agreement as Pyrrha looked out of the windows to see how dark it had gotten, "I must have been there for quite a while, what time is it?"

"Just a few minutes after seven." Glynda answered her, after checking her scroll's clock.

"We better call the rest of our team and tell them we're okay." Ruby suggested, before looking to Ozpin, "So… what exactly can we tell them? How much can we tell them?"

Ozpin looked to Glynda and Snow Blade, both of who nodded in his direction, "Councilman Henry arrived while you were with Argentius in the mindscape and we discussed it, Miss Rose."

The Vale Councilman then spoke up, "And we've decided that since the other members of Team Beacon have done a commendable job of keeping certain events secret you may tell them the basics, but please don't go into too much detail about the Maidens for security's sake."

"We understand, Councilman. Our humble thanks to all of you." Pyrrha said to them while bowing her head respectfully, a gesture which Jaune and Ruby mimicked.

"Good. Now if the Winter Maiden does not mind, it's time that you prepared for departure." Snow Blade turned to face Elsa with Spirit Dreamer by his side.

"Already?" Ruby asked.

"I'm afraid so, Ruby. The Atlas Council doesn't want me out of my havens in the mountains for long, lest I make myself a target, a sentiment the Remnant Knights and the Guardians agree with. While I would like to spend more time here, it would be for the best to prepare for a journey back to Atlas. You may tell the crew to prepare for take-off, Snow Blade." Elsa informed him.

"Very well, m'lady. And if it would be to your liking, I could arrange for the captain of the ship to take a more scenic route on our return voyage." Snow Blade offered, his voice softening a little but still remaining serious.

Elsa looked to Kaifin before smiling at the leader of the Winter Templars and saying, "I would like that very much, Snow Blade. Thank you."

The Knight Vanguard nodded and bowed his helmeted head to her before gesturing for Spirit Dreamer and the other Knights to remain with her and then took his leave.

"I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer, but you know how paranoid the Atlas Council can get." Glynda told Elsa, who smirked.

"Don't I know it, but it's no trouble at all, Professor. It was wonderful to visit your illustrious school." The Maiden praised, and both Ozpin and Goodwitch bowed their heads in respect.

"It was our pleasure to have you, Maiden Elsa." Glynda said.

"It certainly was, and I for one am happy that we have mended certain fences between us." Ozpin told the platinum-blonde Maiden who smiled at him.

"You're not the only one, Headmaster. Thank you." She said to him, before turning to face the three students. "This is where we part ways, I'm afraid. It was a pleasure to meet you all."

"The honor was ours." Jaune said, as the three students bowed their heads as well.

Elsa looked at Ruby and said, "Goodbye, Ruby Rose. And remember to stay strong, because I think that people like you and your friends are just what we need to win this war."

"I will, Elsa. Thank you." Ruby said gratefully before the Winter Maiden looked to the blond knight.

"As for you Jaune, I think I can trust you to look after Pyrrha, as much as she looks after you. You've already proven yourself to be worthy of her love, Jaune Arc, so promise me that you will do your best to love her in return." She told him, and he nodded with a serious look in his eyes.

"I promise to always protect and fight alongside her. She's the best partner I could ask for, it's the least I can do." Jaune swore, giving Pyrrha a caring glance.

"Very good. Now, Pyrrha, I want you to know that while you were never officially a Maiden, I consider you an honorary part of our Sisterhood, for your bravery, kindness, and strength. You have truly earned it." Elsa said, before leaning in to hug the younger woman, who returned the kind gesture.

"Thank you, my honorary sister." Pyrrha said to the Maiden, who planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You're quite welcome. Until we meet again, my young friends." Elsa said to her before she took Kaifin's offered arm. "Farewell."

As the Maiden and her Guardian walked to the slowly opening doors Kaifin glanced over his shoulder and called, "Jaune! Remember what I said. Good luck, boy."

The Arc son nodded as the couple left the meditation chambers flanked by their knight escorts, and then Ruby and Pyrrha looked to him.

"So what exactly did he tell you?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Uh...guy talk." Jaune answered, making both girls laugh in response as Glynda came over to them, about to escort them back to their dorm room.

Meanwhile out in the halls, Elsa raised an eyebrow as she looked at her lover and inquired, "What did you tell him?"

"Hopefully, something that will set him on the right path, and lead him and his love to a happiness like what we have." Kaifin told her as he kissed her brow.

"I think they're quite close to that. I hope for something better for them." Elsa responded as they went deeper into the hallways, their footsteps echoing on the polished floor along with the rhythmic marching boots of the accompanying Knight.

Back in the meditation chambers, as Glynda led the three members of Team Beacon away, Ozpin was engaged in a conversation with Councilman Henry when his scroll began to vibrate.

Producing it out of his pocket and looking at the I.D., Ozpin glanced at the Councilman who had a questioning look on his face, "It's Ironwood, and he's using a secure channel." He said to Henry before answering it, "Hello General, the meeting between the Winter Maiden and the students has just ended, and the  _Moonlight Serenity_  is about to begin its preparations for the return journey."

"That's good to hear, Ozpin, but I have something else to talk about. Task Force Omega just returned from a mission with some rather… unusual findings." Ironwood's voice came from the scroll's speaker.

The Headmaster of Beacon and the Vale Councilman both exchanged looks before Ozpin said, "Define unusual, James."

* * *

As luck would have it, the amount of homework for that evening was rather light, so the Team Beacon members didn't have that much to do.

As Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha returned back to their dorm, they found that quite a few of their friends were casually lounging around in the living room either doing their homework or watching news reports featuring Lisa Lavender on the television. Ren, Nora, Coco, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Scarlet, Neptune and Penny were all present within the living room area, and while the trio went unnoticed at first, it wasn't long before they were noticed by Velvet whose sensitive ears picked up their entrance.

"Well look who's back." The Rabbit Faunus said as she smiled at her friends after lowering a history book titled: Notable Battles of the Second Great War Volume V.

"Hey guys, sorry we took so long." Ruby told them even as she heard the scampering of a small dog across the floor. She braced herself and knelt down as the familiar form of Zwei rounded a corner and jumped up into her arms, playfully licking at her face. The young Huntress giggled as she enjoyed the corgi's enthusiastic licks, "Hey Zwei! I'm happy to see you too!"

"Dad dropped him off a couple of hours ago, you know how this boy doesn't like to be away from us for long." Yang said as she strode out from Team RWBY's room with Weiss behind her.

"Indeed, Yang and I had to keep him occupied after his incessant licking drove Blake to seek shelter with Sun." Weiss commented dryly, which only made Ruby giggle even more.

"So how was your 'secret meeting', friend Ruby?" Penny inquired with a beaming smile, "You have been away for a significant amount of time along with friends Jaune and Pyrrha."

"Sorry, the meeting was longer than we expected it to be." Ruby apologized as Jaune and Pyrrha made their way to their own room to change out of their school uniforms and into more comfortable clothes.

"Speaking of which, can you tell us anything that went down during that meeting?" Coco asked from the chair she sat in, lowering her shades to look at Ruby.

"Sure, Ozpin and Councilman Henry gave us permission to tell you guys the basics of what happened." Ruby replied as she withstood Zwei's affections while the door to Team SSSN's room opened up to reveal the face of Blake who was cautiously leaning out to see if the dog was still around.

"Ruby, so good to see you back." The Cat Faunus greeted as she carefully approached her leader, "Mind keeping Zwei in check?"

"Hey Blake, sorry I couldn't be here to save you from this puppy." Ruby joked as she placed the corgi down to the floor, who made for Blake who quickly retreated several steps backwards before Sun appeared and knelt down to get the dog's attention, easily taking the dog-shaped bullet for his girlfriend and chuckled as it began to lick him.

"Relax Blake, You'll get used to him some day" Sun grinned as he easily held Zwei up.

"I wonder when that will be." Blake almost flinched when the corgi looked in her direction with his tongue flopping out towards her, "Mind keeping him at arm's length?"

"Whatever you say." Sun smirked as he continued petting Zwei's head, while Yang chuckled heartily.

"So in all seriousness, what was this secret meeting about? Does it have anything to do with Cinder or our enemies?" Weiss asked her partner as they returned to their dorm room so Ruby could change her own clothes.

"Not really, Weiss. It has more to do with the Maidens and other stuff." Ruby told her as they entered their team's shared room, with the Schnee heiress closing the door behind them.

Ruby took off her jacket, kicked off her shoes, and grabbed some casual clothes from her dresser before moving to the bathroom, pulling the door closed. As she changed her clothes Weiss sat on her bed, jotting down some simple answers on her homework papers with a blue pen when she heard Ruby speak to her from behind the bathroom's door.

"Hey Weiss, do you think I'm strong?" The silver-eyed girl inquired.

Her pen stopped its movement across the surface of the papers, Weiss looked up to the door and said, "What do you mean?"

Ruby's voice came again, "You know, am I strong?"

"How so? Are we talking physically or spiritually?" Weiss asked, her right eyebrow raised.

From inside the bathroom, Ruby examined herself from head to toe in the full length mirror. While she was now just a tiny bit taller than Weiss, her muscles haven't developed to the point where she was in the same league as Yang, or Pyrrha or even Coco despite the fact she carried Crescent Rose pretty easily. After pulling on her black tank top she raised her arms and flexed them, mimicking how Yang often did, to see how much her arm muscles had developed since she had become the leader of Team RWBY.

She couldn't see much changes overall, although she did notice her arms have thickened a little more probably due to all the combat training and exercises she had undergone with the rest of Team Beacon.

"Hmm… both, I guess." She answered as she stepped into her pants and pulled them up.

"I would say yes, you are most certainly strong. Not as physically powerful as Yang or Pyrrha, but you've done things that may seem simple to you yet incredible in the eyes of normal people." Weiss's voice responded from outside.

Ruby nodded in agreement as she brushed her hair, which now went down to her shoulders, away from her face.

"As for the strength in spirit… I honestly can't say if I've met anyone whose spirit is stronger than yours." Weiss confessed, "I mean, anyone with a weaker spirit would have given up after the Fall of Beacon or after being Cinder's prisoner, but you kept on going no matter what. So, I'd say you are indeed strong in both body and spirit."

Weiss privately wondered where these questions came from, but Ruby's next question was the one that caught her off guard due to it appearing right out of the blue, and it honestly surprised her.

"Weiss, do you think I'm pretty?"

At this, Weiss did a double take, her head jerked up as her light-blue eyes widened. Where did that come from?

Then the memory of her sudden, spur-of-the-moment kiss she had given Ruby when they were reunited in Haven resurfaced in her mind, causing the Schnee heiress to blush slightly. She mentally thanked whatever god was listening that Ruby was still in the bathroom at the moment.

"Well… uh… I..." She struggled for a moment, trying to find the right words. Deep down, Weiss knew that she had slowly but surely begun to develop feelings for the energetic girl she had come to cherish as a partner. Feelings that weren't limited to respect and friendship, but something far more than that.

"Weiss? You're not exactly giving me a boost of confidence." Ruby said from within the bathroom.

"No, I don't mean anything by it, it's just that...well...it's complicated." Weiss answered before quickly adding, "But yes Ruby, I would say that you are definitely an attractive girl in certain ways. One might even say cute."

She looked up as the bathroom door opened and Ruby stepped out wearing her pajama bottoms and a black tank-top. She smiled at her partner and replied, "Thanks Weiss, I was just wondering… and I'm glad to hear your answer."

"And where did this line of questioning come from?" Weiss asked with concern, "Did someone call you ugly? Because if they did..."

"No, no! Nothing like that. It's just that… well, a girl needs to know if she's good-looking right? Not everyone has the natural grace and beauty of a Schnee, right?" Ruby teased, which made the snow-haired heiress blush even further.

"Well, of course not." Weiss huffed as she crossed her arms, before glancing at Ruby and asking, "Do you really think that?"

"Of course I do! I mean, if you weren't pretty Jaune wouldn't have been bugging you so much when he first met you." Ruby reasoned, and Weiss nodded at the logic in the point she mentioned.

"That is true, though I can't deny that I sometimes feel that I'm lacking in..." Weiss glanced down briefly and muttered, "...certain areas."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I can tell you without even thinking about it that you are very pretty." Ruby assured her kindly.

Weiss smiled at her partner, still blushing, and replied, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, but this does remind me of something. Ozpin told us something during that secret meeting that really stuck with me and after we're done with homework and other things I want to talk to you guys about it." Ruby informed her.

"All of Team Beacon?" Weiss asked.

"No, just Team RWBY." The red reaper corrected before she added, "But just to save us both some embarrassment, there is something I wanted to bring up to you personally."

Weiss looked at Ruby and asked, "And what is that?"

"Well, you see… Ozpin gave us a lesson about hindsight and regret and stuff like that, and it got me thinking. And… well… now that it's been over a year since that night in Haven, do you… erm… regret kissing me?" Ruby finally spat out her question.

Weiss' eyes widened considerably at Ruby's question. While they had discussed it at Hondyama during the White Fang mission, they had carefully avoided the subject since. The Schnee heiress remembered kissing Ruby as she was just so happy to see her partner alive and physically unharmed, and then Ruby kissed her back. Weiss couldn't deny to herself that the once rather annoying, naive, somewhat cute girl she had met had grown and developed into an admittedly attractive young woman who had grown wiser and was only annoying on occasion, and Weiss had caught herself catching a glimpse at Ruby's pajama clad body from time to time in the mornings and evenings. No matter how hard she wanted to deny it, she knew that deep down she felt something for Ruby Rose, something more than just friendship.

The ashen-haired heiress was silent for a moment, mentally debating what kind of answer she should give Ruby before saying, "Well, I… I was a bit overcome by relief at the time, you see? After spending months alone in the mansion after the Fall without seeing any of my teammates, and then to see you alive and well was an overwhelming sight after so long apart. While I might regret doing in front of a crowd, I… I honestly cannot bring myself to say I regret kissing you."

Ruby smiled at that and replied, "Good, because I don't regret kissing you back." The silver-eyed Huntress leaned over and hugged Weiss gently, and the once haughty girl leaned into the embrace, taking hold of Ruby's arms as they surrounded her midsection.

Though Weiss didn't say it, she honestly didn't feel like leaving Ruby's hug as something about it felt...nice.

She felt Ruby's head lean against hers, and felt something wet on her shoulder. For a brief moment Weiss wondered if Ruby had kissed her again, but when she looked at her partner she saw tears forming in those silver eyes, "Ruby… what's wrong?"

"Nothing… nothing's wrong. I… I don't know why I am crying. I don't feel sad or happy enough to cry," Ruby answered as she wiped her leaking eyes clean.

Weiss leaned back into the hug and said, "Well, if you need to talk about anything else I am here for you. I would be quite a failure of a partner if I wasn't."

Ruby smiled and planted a brief peck on Weiss' cheek which made the heiress blush visibly, but she didn't mind and simply tried to enjoy the hug. However, much to her chagrin Ruby parted and stood up, saying "C'mon, let's rejoin the others." Weiss then followed her partner out of their room and into the main living room area, where Jaune and Pyrrha had already rejoined the others, now wearing more casual clothes.

"So how was sword practice?" Jaune questioned Yatsuhashi.

"Penny got a little over-enthusiastic, she nearly knocked Scarlet off the balcony." The yukata-clad samurai informed the blond.

"I made it a priority to apologize to him and 'tone it down' as friend Sage put it, by making several adjustments to my speed and dexterity." Penny chimed in as Ruby and Weiss sat next to her on the couch.

"I take it things got crazy?" Ruby guessed.

Weiss rolled her eyes and replied, "Of course. Velvet here wanted to improve on handling her light swords so she joined us. It was her, myself, and Penny against Blake, Yatsuhashi, Sage, and Scarlet."

"Let's just say that with Penny operating at a high level, the two sides were… roughly an even match." Blake added.

"Did it get that crazy?" Jaune asked, and the Cat Faunus nodded.

"We attracted quite the crowd watching us from the ground, and I heard even bets were placed. I think an open field would be a better training ground, just so we don't accidentally damage anything or anyone" She pointed out, and received many agreements from those present.

"That might be for the best, if you don't mind joining us from now on, Velvet?" Jaune asked the Rabbit Faunus, who shook her head.

"Not at all, I had a pretty good time and I could use more practice with different types of weapons. If we had a bigger, more open training ground I could certainly use my camera's larger mass settings." Velvet responded.

"Yeah, then you can really do some damage." Fox remarked, as he and Sage exited CFVY's room, having finished up a few games of chess.

"I admit, it was a bit chaotic at that time but Yatsuhashi and Sage helped me learn some sword-fighting techniques I can use in future fights." Velvet stated, "Thankfully no one was hurt."

"Almost, as Penny's double parry and lift sent me over the edge of the bloody barrier." Scarlet commented, "I manage to grip onto the ledge or I would have fallen the whole way."

"I said I was sorry." The android girl voiced, and looked downtrodden.

"I know. It's okay, I'm just joking." Scarlet assured her with a smirk, "Just trying to point something out."

"Smartass." Coco commented.

"Better than being a dumbass." Scarlet retorted to the fashionista who laughed.

"That's true, can't fault you for that." She admitted while shaking her head.

"Okay guys, so what was the secret meeting Ozpin called you in for?" Sun asked as he sat down in front of the table, his robotic tail grabbing an open bag of snacks and bringing it over to him.

"Right. Just so you know, we can't tell you guys everything, security and all that." Jaune began, "But Ozpin and Councilman Henry have said that we could fill you in on the basics since everyone here have done pretty good jobs at keeping secrets so far."

"Good to know." Coco remarked, nodding.

"So who was there? The Remnant Knights?" Yang guessed.

"Yeah, a few of them were present, though not the ones we're familiar with." Ruby answered, "These knights came from the legion in Atlas, and they're called the Winter Templars. They were present because of who they were guarding."

"They were protecting someone? Who?" Blake inquired.

"The Winter Maiden." Pyrrha answered simply, causing a brief silence to fall over the room.

"The Winter Maiden?" Ren repeated, "From the legend you told us about?"

"The current holder of the powers, yes. Her name is Elsa, and she's a wonderful woman." Pyrrha responded happily, "She apparently wanted to come and see us for a while now, but was hesitant due to what happened to Amber, the Fall Maiden I told you about. She recently decided to commit to it and she managed to get Ozpin, Ironwood, the Remnant Knights and such to agree to allowing her to visit us."

"The three of us told her our stories, about the things we went through, and what we experienced. Apparently she wanted to hear from us personally just how far Salem and Cinder are willing to go." Jaune told them.

Pyrrha nodded and added, "She felt bad for waiting so long, she wanted to know the extent of the trauma we suffered. I suppose she wanted to help us confront that pain."

"And did she?" Nora asked.

The three members of Team Beacon thought about it before Pyrrha answered "Well, I'd say she did. I feel… better for talking about it now."

Jaune and Ruby nodded in agreement before the female Spartan added, "And then she took me into a mindscape where I met the other two Maidens, Spring and Summer. I don't know if we're allowed to tell you that much, so I suppose I'll leave their names out."

"Understandable." Ren agreed with a nod.

"Anyway, we talked for quite a while and well, it answered some of the questions I had about the Maidens and it helped to calm me about certain issues." Pyrrha said.

"Sounds like you were right when you asked if it was gonna be a therapy session, Ruby." Coco remarked, reminding Ruby of what she had asked Glynda that morning.

The silver-eyed Huntress chuckled and replied, "Yeah, I guess I was."

"Oh, and Jaune, before I forget, the Summer Maiden asked me to pose a question to Ember's soul fragment for her, and she wanted to know that if we were to ever meet her in person, we would allow her to see the Aura Crystal personally." Pyrrha mentioned to her partner.

"Why?" The Arc son asked.

"She has a fascination of legends and has always wanted to see the Aura Crystal for herself." Pyrrha elaborated.

Jaune considered it for a few moments and shrugged, "Well I don't see any harm," He stated, "Though I don't think our chances of meeting her face-to-face are that good."

"True, but you never know." Pyrrha told him.

Then Ruby spoke up, "Mind if I take over?" The couple shook their heads, and Ruby continued, "Anyway, while Pyrrha was meeting the Maidens, I went into the mindscape thing again to meet up with Argentius. We trained and showed off to one another, and he gave me a few pointers on what to improve on that I think you can help me with, sis."

"What is it?" Yang questioned.

"Well, Argentius said I need to work on my hand-to-hand fighting, and I can't argue with that." Ruby admitted, while Yang beamed and hugged her little sister from behind the couch.

"All right! Sister-bonding time over training! Just like the old days, don't worry Rubes, just stick with me and before you know it you'll be able to knock punks out without even trying!" The blonde brawler declared.

"Heh, let's not go that far." Ruby chuckled, trying not to struggle out from her elder sister's hug.

"We shall go as far as you wish, Ruby. If you'd like, I can also help you. I can download several close range fighting tutorials and other instructional guides to assist your training as much as possible." Penny offered, which made the two sisters smile.

"I'd love for you to help us out, Penny. The more the merrier, and maybe we can teach you some new moves." Yang returned.

"That would be delightful!" Penny voiced with a big grin on her face.

Ruby smiled at her robotic friend before glancing up at her sister and saying, "Hey Yang, Blake, I was wondering if we could talk about something personal, just the four of us." She gestured to herself, Weiss and them.

The other three members of Team RWBY nodded, wondering what their leader wanted to say.

For the next few hours the entire group talked and listened to each other about what Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha felt was appropriate to tell them about the Maidens, getting to work on their assignments, making casual small talk, or just watching the television even as the inky-black night covered the  _Moonlight Serenity's_  departure. Soon it was getting late, and Team RWBY retired to their room at half past ten, with JNPR deciding to turn in as well after bidding Teams CFVY and SSSN as well as Penny goodnight.

Ruby sorted away her homework to turn in tomorrow, humming a little song to herself as Zwei slept at the foot of her bed. Weiss slowly brushed her hair in front of an upraised mirror on her desk while Blake silently read a new book which she had recently bought, while Yang was showering.

"Thanks for helping me out with that Dust combining assignment, Blake," Ruby looked up at her teammate who was resting her back against a few pillows on the upper right bed.

"No problem at all, though I'd suggest you start using a more variety of Dust cartridges for Crescent Rose like Weiss and I normally do with our own weapons." Blake proposed as she turned a page.

Ruby nodded, "When I'm in the 'zone', I sometimes forget things. I'll try to practice that next time. So what's your book about?"

Blake glanced over to Ruby and answered, "It's a story about a group of pets whose owners were killed when Grimm attacked their village, so this group of cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, and such travel together through a dangerous world, one we'd see as ordinary, to find a safe place to live."

"Sounds nice." Ruby commented.

"It can be at times, but it's rather dark in places. The animals face death constantly and they don't always make it out alive. It's a still good book, with smart themes about civilization, compassion, and friendship and it's been speculated that it's a subtle commentary on Human-Faunus relations." Blake explained, "Maybe once I'm done with it, you'd like a chance to read it?"

"Sure." Ruby agreed, "I don't read that many books, but I don't see why we can't change that."

Blake smiled, "I'd be happy to introduce you to some more that might suit you, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Ruby said as Yang came out of the bathroom, wearing black shorts, an orange tank-top that was cut off above her navel, and a towel wrapped around her precious hair, slowly rubbing it to speed up the drying process.

"Another day, another shower." The blonde brawler remarked as she flopped down on her bed. She lifted herself up and looked over to Ruby, "So sis, you said you wanted to talk to us about something personal?"

Ruby nodded and swung her legs over the bed, glancing down at her teammates, "I do. When Pyrrha told Elsa her story, she talked about how much she regretted going up to that tower alone, because she didn't think about how it would affect her team and her family, and how sorry she was for hurting everyone emotionally, including me. Ozpin made some big speech about hindsight, regret, mistakes, and learning from them, about being able to forgive yourself, and all that got me thinking." Ruby jumped down and looked to her team and finished by posing the question, "Looking back, would any of you have done anything differently?"

Blake and Yang looked at their leader, not expecting such to be asked such a question.

"Well, I remember you once said you wouldn't want any other team, that you're happy with us." Blake voiced, "So, do you?"

"Me? Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I regret not getting up that tower faster to save Pyrrha from Cinder, I wish I had run fast enough to stop the fight between Penny and Pyrrha as well. I really, really wish I had figured out Cinder was evil sooner, and a part of me feels like I didn't do enough to help you when you were depressed Yang." Ruby said, making her sister's eyes water a little.

"Ruby…" She said softly, touched.

"I regret not calling Weiss more often and I regret whatever missteps I've made as a leader, but I don't really have that many regrets. Despite all the crazy, terrible things that have happened to me so far, I can't say that I'm unhappy with my life right now. I got a great team, a great family, great friends, and I go to a great school. Honestly, if I could I would thank Torchwick for robbing the store I was in, because it led to me getting in this school and getting the best team imaginable." Ruby finished.

"Aw, Ruby!" Yang cried as she grabbed her little sister and hugged her.

"It's all right Yang. So do you have any regrets?" Ruby asked as she relaxed in her big sister's embrace.

Yang sighed and opened her lilac eyes, "Yeah, I do. I wish I had gotten more time to spend with my mom when I could." She looked up at Blake and added, "And I wish I had made more of an effort to get to know my partner and maybe help her anyway I could."

Blake looked down at her partner and secret girlfriend with shimmering amber eyes and a warm smile, letting her know it was all right.

"I regret being so depressed that I let my baby sister travel to Haven without me." Yang added before glancing down at her mechanical appendage. "And a part of me wishes that I hadn't rushed in and lost my arm because of it. But I guess that sometimes terrible things can lead to something good, since now I have a kickass robo-arm after all. Plus at least we're back together again, and stronger than we were before, right?"

"I think you're right." Blake agreed, and placed her book down. "I have things I also regret as well; such as not listening to my family when they warned me about Adam, not being strong enough to leave him until it was too late, not spending enough time with my Aunt Kali and Uncle Ghira, and the fact that I didn't trust you all with the details of my past."

"You shouldn't feel guilty for that." Weiss said to the cat Faunus, "I was somewhat bigoted at the time, so I can't blame you for hiding that from us."

"I know, but I feel like I should have at least let my partner know." Blake pointed out, meeting Yang's gaze.

"Hey it's okay, Blake." The blonde bombshell assured her partner, who in return gave her a thankful look.

"And a part of me regrets not being fully honest with you about my past with the White Fang, and not explaining the… hurtful relationship I had escaped from." Blake added, shuddering at the brief memory of the times when Adam got violent with her.

"We don't blame you. I'd have been paranoid too if I was in your place." Ruby told Blake as she climbed down to join the others, "You couldn't help the mess you were in."

"Maybe I could have," Blake murmured as she sat down, "In hindsight, I wish I had been stronger when I fought Adam the night of the attack, I wish I hadn't run off because was scared you would all hate me for what happened to Yang. I should… should have trusted you more."

Yang sat next to her partner and said, "Yeah, you should have. I was hurt and angry when you ran away, but now that I know why, I wish I hadn't been so mad."

"It can't be helped. All we can do is strive to do better in the future." Weiss commented from her bed.

"And I think we're doing a pretty good job of that, I mean look at how Yang's bounced back from her depression." Ruby noted, "And Blake talks to her family way more now."

Blake nodded as it was true, she talked to her family in Menagerie twice a week now, and Yang felt that her robotic arm wasn't too different from her old one, aside from being made of metal.

"Right Ruby, and despite what regrets I have about the White Fang, I've done my best to confront those ghosts and mend my relationship with my family. So what about you, Weiss? Do you have any regrets?" Blake inquired.

"Yeah, Ice Queen regrets getting mixed up with us crazies and getting drawn into insanity." Yang joked.

Weiss shook her head and said, "Actually, I honestly think becoming Ruby's partner was one of the best things to ever happen to me."

"Whoa, really?" Yang asked, before adding, "I mean, I guess after all that's happened that's not so surprising but when I think about how you were in the beginning it's a real shocker."

"I suppose I have changed quite a bit." Weiss mused, "And while I suppose I do have some regrets, such as my old prejudiced attitude towards Faunus and not contacting Ruby more after the Fall, I don't regret becoming a part of this team. I look back at who I used to be and the things I've gone through, and I am grateful I had friends like the three of you who helped me change into someone better along the way. So, I stand by the opinion that becoming Ruby's partner, and a part of Team RWBY was one of the best things I ever could have wished for, I just didn't know that when this weird girl blew up my Dust in the middle of the courtyard would eventually turn out to be my best friend."

"Aw, Weiss!" Ruby said before leaping forward onto Weiss' bed and hugging her. "You're one of my best friends too!"

"Watch the nightgow- wait, one of?!" Weiss asked, her voice rising slightly.

"Yeah, I got a lot of friends and it's wrong to pick and choose." Ruby defended as Yang sat onto the bed and grabbed both smaller girls.

"Let's not ruin the team bonding moment, okay? Blake, get in the group hug!" The bombshell demanded as the smiling Cat Faunus joined in. Weiss almost protested, but since she was being in such close proximity with Ruby she reasoned with herself that it wasn't a bad thing after all, and so she decided to enjoy the hug while it lasts, and hearing the joyful voices of Ruby, Blake and Yang simply warmed her heart even more.

They kept talking for a while more, helping each other with whatever regrets and insecurities they could. As Ruby finally drifted off to sleep, she felt content and relieved that she had her entire team there for her. She felt safe in the knowledge that she could always count on her friends in Team Beacon, and especially on her fellow teammates in Team RWBY, all of whom would always be by her side no matter what.

* * *

Jaune laid on the combined bed he shared with Pyrrha, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and a pair of grey gym shorts while examining a small object in his hand; the ring Ashe had gifted him. The small piece of gold sat between his fingers unnoticed by Ren, who had laid down on his bed with closed eyes, listening to calming music via his headphones. Nora was busy reading a small comedy book with her legs stood in the air and moving as though she was peddling a bike, so she didn't notice either.

Pyrrha was in the shower, so Jaune was left to himself for a brief while as Kaifin's advice echoed through his mind; never take her for granted, never let her go, appreciate her and savor his time with her. While it was true that advice was for more than just Pyrrha, she was where Jaune's mind was at the moment.

The blond knight knew the bond he shared with Pyrrha was strong, but should he do something that could possibly make their bond stronger? Should he ask a question he didn't know if he was ready to ask?

The opening of the bathroom door made Jaune snap to attention, and he quickly placed the ring inside of the nightstand drawer on his side as Pyrrha exited the bathroom, clad in sweat pants and a sports bra with her flame-red hair already brushed.

She sat on the bed and glanced at Jaune before asking, "Jaune, are you all right?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine." He told her, giving off a smile, "Why?"

"You just looked a little… distant for a moment." She noted softly.

He nodded and answered, "Well I was, uh, thinking about the Aura Crystal, and what Ashe wanted to talk about next time we go in."

Pyrrha nodded although something in her mind was nagging at her, saying that wasn't what Jaune was really thinking of.

She laid down next to him and said, "Jaune, I know there's something else on your mind. Please be honest with me."

Jaune sighed and finally spoke, "I should've known there's no fooling you. I'm just thinking about what Kaifin had told me; it was something important. Something I kind of already knew, but he helped me realize how much I needed to really think about certain things."

"And what were those things?" Pyrrha questioned as she placed a gentle hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Relationship stuff. I have been thinking about… stuff that's kinda embarrassing." He whispered to her, noticing that Ren had turned the other way and Nora buried her head deeper into her book.

"I talked about our relationship with the Maidens as well, they told me to cherish you, and never let you go," Pyrrha leaned over and captured Jaune in a hug, adding, "And that's exactly what I intend to do."

She planted a loving kiss on his face and he smiled, enjoying the affection.

"To be honest, Kaifin's advice was kinda similar." Jaune told her quietly before briefly glancing at the drawer where the ring was hidden before adding, "I've been thinking about asking you something, but I think it can wait until the time is right. For now, I guess I;m more than happy to enjoy being in my own version of paradise; and that's being with you."

Pyrrha smiled brightly before kissing Jaune on the lips, which he enjoyed immensely even as they laid on the bed together, facing each other as they held each other's hands with their fingers intertwined together. It was clear that their love for each other was strong, and it will continue to be that way because of how deeply they loved each other. The spartan and the male knight pressed their heads together as Jaune pulled the blankets over the both of them, and lapsed into silence as they enjoyed each other's presence.

Nora smiled at the heartwarming scene and whispered, "Just when you think those two being lovey-dovey gets old, then you remember why true love like theirs really mattered."

Ren lowered his headphones and looked at his bubbly girlfriend, surprised at the relative maturity of her statement He smiled a little, before easing himself off his bed and over to her, gently kissing his childhood friend on the cheek and replied, "You couldn't be more right."

Nora smiled and hugged her best friend, while Jaune and Pyrrha got comfortable, embracing each other for the night's rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader
> 
> Sorry this took so long, I originally intended it to be a shorter chapter, but… well, I do what I always do. I also marathoned all of Star Wars Rebels to celebrate the finale, which was so, so great. That show outshined The Last Jedi in nearly every way, and yeah, I didn't care for The Last Jedi.
> 
> The reason the two mindscapes are written in different types of lettering is to show a difference between them.
> 
> If you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.


	62. Taking Action

Argentius marched down the statue-lined hallways of Tintagel swiftly, with Soul Searcher the prognosticator following, holding her staff held firmly as she hurried alongside the silver-eyed Knight. Neither spoke to each other as they passed through extensive corridors, up smooth marble staircases with striking patterns inlaid within them, and through chambers of unyielding opaque stone as their footsteps carried them towards the soaring tower which housed the Prognosticator Sanctum.

As he walked the scythe-wielder fastened on his silver-blue helmet, edged with gold filigree lines onto his head, as though preparing for a battle. Iconoclast was already magnetically-locked to his Aegis armor, ready to be drawn in an instant should the situation require it. While no alarms or automated defenses within the tower had been triggered, precautions were nevertheless undertaken as he gave orders into his helmet's built-in communication unit which were instantly obeyed.

After making their way across the spanning bridge known as the Path of Knowledge, its sides lined with huge statues forming tall arches overhead with their overlapping swords, Argentius and Soul Searcher reached the massive doors that led into the Prognosticator Sanctum. They were impressively towering, easily stretching a few hundred feet tall and covered with several painstakingly-crafted images portraying the history and greatest triumphs of the Remnant Knights, and at the very top was the image of the Vale King siring the first twelve Knights with his own sword who all would then go on to form the Knight Order of Remnant.

Arrayed on both sides of the huge gates were several squads of knights along with a pair of veteran prognosticators; Mind Weaver and Night Gazer, their individual weapons held within their gauntleted fists as they all took up positions facing the gates, and the Cavaliers of the knight squads all turned and saluted Argentius respectfully by clashing their fists to their chest-plates as they made way for him.

He already knew what had happened through communications made during the journey to his destination, the senior Knight walked past them with a nod of silent acknowledgement and proceeded towards a secondary door located at the foot of the gates. It was rather less imposing than the main entryway, but was just as lavishly decorated with an image of an knight spearing an Ursa Major through the head with his jousting lance.

Argentius paused in front of the smaller door, gesturing only for Soul Searcher to follow him. Once they were standing in a designated spot before the door they stood statue-still as a compact security scanner swept them up and down with a beam of azure light. Another built-in scanning device took snapshots of their respective Aura, and lastly the two pressed their gauntlet-clad hands into the imprint mechanism on the door's surface which depressed and took a tiny sample of their blood.

 _"Knight Champion Argentius. Prognosticator Soul Searcher."_  The sophisticated security system built into the secondary door voiced tonelessly,  _"Identities confirmed. Aura imprint confirmed. Blood sample confirmed. Security Clearance Platinum and Diamond confirmed. Welcome to the Prognosticator Sanctum."_  With loud grinding sounds the heavy door opened itself, and Argentius hurried through it with Soul Searcher following behind even as the door slammed behind them, sealing them in.

Argentius ascended the long, curving stairs and found Soul Seer sitting at one of the larger stone benches amidst ancient tomes of knowledge, clutching her flower-shaped staff Life's Requiem in her gloved hands as she took deep breaths. A small distance away from her a healer with the name of Flesh Mender was preparing a specialized medical cocktail from the vials of colorful elixirs he had taken from the open medical pack laying atop a stack of uncensored history books, while another grey-robed prognosticator by the name of Dream Seeker kept watch nearby, his own staff at the ready.

"What happened here?" Argentius inquired urgently. Flesh Mender's head turned a little from his medicinal ministrations to regard him carefully, but said nothing while he pushed a ceramic bowl full of brown liquid into Soul Seer's gloved hands which she slowly raised to her delicate lips and drank little by little.

Dream Seeker and the healer remained silent as they both looked at the senior knight, and Argentius was about to ask again in a more authoritative voice when he felt the unique bond he shared with Soul Seer pulse a little within his mind, and from what he was feeling she was mentally telling him to wait. A few moments passed while the other knights present waited for the Chief Prognosticator to finish drinking the bowl, after which she returned it to the healer and bowed her head in gratitude. She was breathing much easier and more naturally now, the calming effects of the medicinal fluids kicking into effect within her body, and she looked up at Argentius directly with her gold orbs which seemed to hold countless secrets within them.

An unspoken conversation passed between both Knight Champion and Chief Prognosticator in a flash and Argentius slowly held up a hand for the attention of those present, "Dream Seeker, Flesh Mender, Soul Searcher... leave us. Soul Seer and I have important matters to discuss."

The two prognosticators and knight healer immediately stood up and bowed, clapping their fists to their chest-plates despite looking a little uneasily at each other. They rapidly cleared the area, giving the warrior and mage the privacy they needed. Nonetheless, the sanctum halls were so huge that whole libraries could be stocked inside its interior with plenty of space to spare for multiple balconies and reading areas, so it was no question that they would still remain close by, observing from afar and not interfering.

"Soul Seer," Argentius knelt in front of her on one knee and reached up with a gauntleted hand to caress his sister's cheek with concern, "What ails you? What has your clairvoyance shown you?"

"Snatches of the future." The younger sibling winced as her grip on her Life's Requiem tightened considerably, "And none of it good."

The elder brother gently and carefully helped his female twin to her feet, and even though they were nearly the same height Argentius was still a little taller than Soul Seer in both bulk due to the thicker armor he wore, and by his presence alone as a formidable warrior. Soul Seer, on the other hand normally exuded great wisdom and tranquillity, and yet her brother knew that the incredible potential of her spell-casting abilities could also be used to enhance her already potent combat prowess in battle.

"What did you see?" Argentius asked with concern, "Is it the same as the visions you saw before? The massive battle in ice and snow?"

"No." Soul Seer shook her own head of platinum-blonde hair slowly, "I was meditating and using my Semblance to search for possible futures that may give clues to what the agents of our enemy were setting into motion for their grand plan to conquer Remnant, when something suddenly rushed into my scrying consciousness, drowning out all of the possible futures I have scryed before like an endless nightmare. I managed to catch as much detail as I could, before pulling out quickly to avoid any hidden traps within the mindscape."

Her older brother gave a nod but remained silent, gesturing for Soul Seer to continue. After all, his sister had a natural affinity for literally able to perceive visions of possible events that could happen in future, which was undeniably a rare and indispensable skill among the prognosticators who had served the Order, and her precognitive abilities have saved many Knights, himself included, from various unseen traps and disasters. Despite her unique Semblance Soul Seer's abilities had its limits, since they aren't always potent enough to give a clear enough picture of the future that would actually happen unless she uses her divination abilities under intense concentration.

"I saw… I saw a huge city surrounded by desert dunes being attacked by hordes of Grimm boiling out from the sands. I saw several ancient Grimm stir as well, throwing off their hibernation and joining in the attack on the Kingdom's brave defenders. I saw the agents of the Dark Queen attacking another Huntsman Academy when all of this is happening, and they sacked the entire place after finding taking what they needed from it. The Grimm swarms were dangerously unrelenting, destroying and consuming everything in their way. Countless humans and Faunus fell before them. Even the brave warriors of the Kingdom were devoured." She spoke anxiously, taking a shaky breath as her golden eyes glimmered a little, and the silver-eyed knight thought he caught a glimpse of the terrifying possibility that lingered behind her normally elegant eyes.

Argentius paused and considered what Soul Seer had said, and saw her wipe a tear rolling down her cheek. His younger sister has always been benevolent and selfless, looking out for the welfare of others and putting their concerns before her own. That was how she had always been even during their youth before they came to the Order's attention due to their unique abilities and the calamitous predicament that had befallen their family. Even though a long time had passed, her kind-hearted personality still remained more or less the same despite adopting another name after rising to the post of Chief Prognosticator within the Order, while her initially headstrong and sarcastic elder brother also matured under the watchful tutelage of Lord Emmanuel and became a powerful warrior.

Argentius reached up to the gorget of his armor and unclasped his helmet, allowed his sister to see the deeply concerned visage beneath, and worry slowly crept into his usual commanding tone, "Then time is of the essence. If the other prognosticators have also seen what you have, we need to bring this to the direct attention of the Knight Castellans and Grand Knight Master Seraph."

"The future is not a straightforward path, brother." Soul Seer spoke carefully, "It's made up of countless choices and trajectories from multiple individuals, and the far future is a dark, bottomless depth. Time flows like a raging river that splits into innumerable creeks and waterfalls, and our choices, no matter how big or how small, affect the future in ways we could never imagine. I still need to scry for further details so that the other knights operating in the field can have a better idea of what they're up against other than a frightening vision."

Her brother nodded in agreement, slowly stroking his chin with the fingers while contemplating what she had said. A while later he spoke up once more, "Then how certain are you sure that this vision of yours will come to pass?"

Soul Seer closed her eyes for a few moments, lapsing into deep thought as her staff shimmered slightly with golden light. She murmured a few litanies of soul-warding as she sifted cautiously through the many details of the vision she managed to collect before pulling out of her divinations within the mindscape. Out of all the prognosticators currently active within the Order, Soul Seer was perhaps the most proficient in scrying the various possibilities of the future through her divinations while keeping her consciousness intact. Other prognosticators tried numerous times, but most turned up with either tiny glimpses of the future or riddles full of metaphors, parables and hidden meanings that don't make any sense until the vision in question already played out.

It was several moments before she collected herself once more and replied, "Given the information that I have heard from the Relentless Crusaders, I'm quite sure that the vision I have divinated long and hard upon stands a high chance of happening. But even my Semblance has its limits, so I can't be completely certain of that everything I've seen in my vision will come to pass."

"The Relentless Crusaders Legion has already taken several precautions to protect the Summer Maiden, and the Kingdom of Vacuo is on high alert as well." Argentius pointed out.

"That's true, but how a vision exactly plays out is never certain even for an experienced Seer like me." Soul Seer remarked calmly, meaning every word.

Silence reigned once again between them until Argentius decided to change the subject, "What else did you see?"

"A pair of rhyming prophecies of sorts, but both were given from an unexpected source." Soul Seer answered and Argentius raised a thick eyebrow before she continued with, "In my brief contact with the Aura Crystal when the two crystal guardians granted me access to it during our meeting with Team RWBY and JNPR over six months ago, I communicated with the crystal's avatar during the authentication process and it gave me two different prophecies which I have used in further divination sessions of my own."

"And what are they?" The senior Knight Champion asked quietly.

"The first prophecy is this," Soul Seer said before her voice took on an otherworldly quality as her golden eyes flared brightly,  **"They will return, the legends of old. And when they do, the fate of the world they'll hold. We thought them simple children's tales of the past, but now we know they will save us from the Grimm's grasp. Many hardships and trials they will face, but in the end they will save the Human and Faunus race. Their friendships must never be broken or sever, for we know that love is forever. And though the darkness' reach is far, in the end love will ignite the stars."**

The flare of gold light dimmed as quickly as it came, and Soul Seer blinked a few times before looking at Argentius, "My divination senses so far are drawing this has something to do with Team Beacon, and possibly, their fates. But judging from what I have seen so far… the path ahead of them isn't very smooth and is fraught with many dangers that will no doubt test their bonds and resilience. However, they have already become qualified Hunters after everything they have been through, so the future ahead of them isn't set in stone."

"Nothing is, my sister." Argentius spoke solemnly, "What of the second prophecy?"

"Ah, that… is a bit trickier." The Chief Prognosticator sighed and adjusted her grip on Life's Requiem, and a moment later her voice took on an ethereal quality one again, eyes glowing vibrantly once more,  **"A daughter of the phoenix, brilliant feathers of red and orange, a fierce fighting spirit so pure and true. A son of the dragon, scales of azure and all shades of blue, a loyal spirit and a mighty warrior. Like Yin and Yang they complete each other in mind, body and soul. He is her pillar, a source of hidden unfathomable strength. She is his heart, a clear reason to keep fighting no matter the odds. She flows like lightning, he strikes like thunder. They search for each other across the lands and oceans, their separate paths in parallel but never in unity. Her power is a gift, granted by the Wizard of old. His power is expected, but sealed away with his line long dead. A strong beauty with the voice of an angel, a powerful warrior with the skills of an unmatched swordsman. When the darkest times arrive, they shall come together and bring dawn's bright light. Together they stand, together they fight, two kindred spirits side by side, for their burning love turns darkness into light."**  She paused for a moment, her eyes flickering a bit more, and then added, **"The Promethean Sun shall rise once more."**

Soul Seer took a moment to collect herself before noticing that Argentius's face had turned a little pale, and he turned his head away slightly and muttered something to himself. Even though it was a soft whisper, she could lip-read her elder brother's mouth easily, "Could… could it be  _him_?"

Despite herself, Soul Seer felt her youthful face slowly crease into a frown. Could her brother know something about the second prophecy she didn't? It seemed strange, but she waited until he spoke again, "I need to seriously consider the second prophecy. Regarding the first one, I advise you to continue your divinations along with the rest of your visions until you have a clear confirmation of what could potentially happen in the desert war."

He wasn't telling her everything, but since both siblings knew each other rso well, Soul Seer had an inkling what her brother might be thinking at times. So she nodded and answered, "Then I shall continue to do so. By the way, you can call off the silent alert outside the sanctum, I can still feel their tension all the way up here. It would also go a long way not to disturb the meditations and scrying sessions of my acolytes and me."

The silver-eyed knight gave a nod, and raised the vambrace of his left arm upon which a section of his armor plates slid back to reveal a built-in electronic system into which he tapped a line of coded message which instantly dismissed the squads of Remnant Knights and their commanders who assembled in combat formation outside the sanctum in case of any problematic situations. While ultimately it had been a false alarm, their unerring vigilance and rapid response to his swiftly given orders had to be commended nonetheless.

"I will inform the Knight Castellan of the Relentless Crusaders and Fire Walker to be vigilant for any further developments within and around Vacuo's borders." Argentius continued, and looked at Soul Seer who nodded, "And have you spoken with Merlinus about your recent visions?"

His oracle sister shook her head, "My mentor is currently indisposed at the moment in a meeting with Grand Knight Master Seraph. While he believed many of my visions in the past, I'd need verifiable proof that my recent visions would warrant the redeployment of other knights in the field. There are still many unknowns and missing pieces that I need to scry further from my divinations before I can give a near-complete answer."

"Very well." The other Remnant Knight agreed, "When you're as sure as you can be and confirmed your visions with the other prognosticators, inform me immediately and we shall bring this matter up to the attention of the Round Table. With regards to the prophecies, I suggest we both try to discern their true meanings before we do anything else."

"Would that I could say otherwise, dear brother." Soul Seer inclined her head in agreement, "I will send for you when I'm fully ready to present my most recent visions to the Round Table."

"Good. One last matter..." Argentius looked at his younger sibling directly in the eyes, silver to gold meeting across their faces, "Sharp Strike will be leaving for his appointment as representative of the Order in Vale soon. I'd like it if you'll come to the blessing ceremony to mark his departure, since you are as much of a teacher to him as me."

"Of course." Soul Seer agreed as she gestured with her left hand, "It's the least I could do before he goes on his way to fulfill his purpose as a Knight of Remnant."

"You have my gratitude, Soul Seer. I'll leave you to your meditations." Argentius bowed a little, and turned to leave as their conversation is over. However, before he reached the sweeping staircase that would bring him back to the huge gates at the front of the Sanctum, he turned back and spoke, "Before I forget, I'd advise you to get some much-needed rest before you attempt any more scrying sessions with your Semblance. Be careful."

"Thank you for your concern, brother. It's very much appreciated." Soul Seer returned a warm smile as she watched Argentius's armored and cloaked shadow vanish down the staircase, his footsteps slowly receding into silence.

* * *

The bright glow from the shattered moon covered the Vacuoan capital along with countless large and small lights that populated its sprawling cityscape and many winding streets. Qrow had landed on the upper levels of one of the main stone temples located in Vacuo's capital and promptly slipped into a sizable shadowed alcove where he shape-shifted back into his human form.

Rubbing his neck and stretching to work the kinks out of his limbs, the veteran Huntsman leaned against a caryatid that was one of the many which supported the huge statue-covered roof overhead. From what he could see, none of the monks or the temple guardians of the holy building would be out here after dark except for the main entrances, so it was a safe bet that he wouldn't be spotted.

And besides, he needed a place for two main things: One to rest his exhausted body after flying the rest of the way to the western capital, and two he needed to update the rest of the Guardians on what he had found so far in his investigation.

Oh, and his much-needed drink as well.

Producing his scroll and checking the time on the gently glowing screen, Qrow reached into his trouser pocket and took out a small metallic device which looked like a small metallic button. Giving it a gentle tap, the scrambler activated with a soft click and rendered any conversation he would later have over his scroll as unintelligible static to anyone who might be eavesdropping on him. Then he keyed in the code to connect to a private channel while taking out his drinking flask, all the while breathing in the cool night air which was tinged with a considerable amount of incense.

Once Ozpin and the others answered, he filled them in on his progress; "... and now I'm here talking to you guys. I tried following Callows's trail but the sheer number of Aura signatures in this city is messing with my Semblance's senses." He reported into his scroll, which showed the pictures of Ozpin, Ironwood, Glynda, Henry, Winter and two new additions: Commander Central and Willow Schnee.

"It's a good thing you contacted us when you did, Qrow. Now we can compare our findings." Ironwood's image told the dusty Huntsman, "Task Force Omega reported an unusual discovery from their own encounter with the Red Fang in Atlas, and I think you'll be surprised to find out that they can confirm what you told us about Tyrian Callows."

"Him becoming a Faunus? What did they find?" Qrow asked as he took a sip from his flask, "Let me take a wild guess… Human-Faunus Hybrids working with the Red Fang?"

"Not exactly." Ironwood responded grimly.

Elsewhere, in the Atlas Military Headquarters, General Ironwood stood with Colonel Chamberlain in his office while holograms of Ozpin, Glynda and Councilman Henry stood not too far away from them in a loose semi-circle around the sizable holocom table. Qrow was represented by his I.D. picture through his scroll's connection, and there were additional holograms of Winter and Willow Schnee, as well as Central who also stood in attendance for the meeting, the latter of which who at first glance was seemingly keeping his gaze forward but also subtly glancing in the direction of the Schnee Specialist every now and then.

Ironwood tapped some buttons on a holographic screen projected by a control lectern which brought up a 3D rendering of a DNA strand, allowing everyone present to see it while sending a smaller version to Qrow's scroll.

"Ozpin has informed me that the security footage you saw of Tyrian Callows shows him to now possess a peculiar Faunus trait, that of an arachnid no less. Well, from what new information we have received it might not be an isolated case." Ironwood revealed to the other attendees as additional information began to revolve around the DNA strand and highlighting certain areas in glaring red, "What you see here now is the DNA taken from a Red Fang cell leader named Drago Sanguine. He was initially a Vampire Bat Faunus, but this blood sample shows clear evidence that his genetic makeup had been tampered with, and an additional element was added which resulted in him having the features of a Komodo Dragon."

Almost everyone was surprised to hear this new development, and Winter commented, "I take it that these are the results of more experiments courtesy of the less-than-morally-sound scientists under our foe's employ?"

"We don't know for sure, but that theory adds up." Ironwood said.

"Drago Sanguine, as well as other members of Adam Taurus' more loyal troops, were reported missing by our allies from the reformed White Fang. Apparently they were sent away on some secret mission by Taurus, and now Drago suddenly resurfaces with a second Faunus feature, a non-mammal one at that. From what we know from the information provided by Razor, he reported that a couple dozen of Taurus's followers were sent off on that mission but given the time since then we don't know how many we could be dealing with, or how many human or single-trait Faunus have been turned into these unnatural Faunus." The Commander of Task Force Omega elaborated.

"That isn't that surprising. If the scientists of the enemy can combine Grimm features into certain individuals, then Faunus-Human hybrids or Faunus with traits of non-mammals could just be a simple task for them." Glynda commented, while being careful not to explicitly mention Salem in the presence of Willow Schnee whose face flickered briefly with a slight unease at what he had heard.

"Agreed, Professor Goodwitch." Ironwood said carefully, "That's why we need answers, but so far Sanguine isn't talking, despite the considerable efforts of the intelligence officers. However, some of his underlings and associates from other Red Fang cells who were captured by Task Force Omega have only given out vague details hinting to such unlawful experiments, but it's clear they're ignorant about the process or how many they are, and even the ones who were hybrids don't seem to know much."

"And where are these hybrid Faunus, currently?" Councilman Henry asked, "You can't exactly put them with common criminals."

"Due to their uncooperative behavior, they've all been imprisoned at our maximum-security penitentiary facility, the Ice Box." Ironwood replied as he looked at the Valean Councilman, "Drago will be joining them soon, only after the interrogators from the intelligence branch have cracked him open and find out what other useful information he still has."

Henry gave a nod of acknowledgement; he knew about the facility, said to be the most heavily guarded and remote prison on Remnant. Situated at a classified location unknown to all but the highest individuals within the Atlesian military forces and Council, it was the logical place to house the most dangerous of prisoners indefinitely, and protected by both unpredictable weather patterns and the most advanced security systems the Kingdom of Atlas had ever produced. Life expectancy there wasn't high, and the chances of escape were negligible.

"I figured Callows wasn't the only one, given the other weird Aura signatures I sensed at the abandoned Vacuoan air base." Qrow remarked with a grunt.

"Just do what you can, keep searching and tracking those Aura signatures Qrow. If you find something of interest or have trouble pinpointing them, you can request assistance from Headmistress Aria and the Vacuo Rangers. I have already informed her that those individuals you are searching for are wanted criminals for the Haven City incident and also in league with the enemy. She has already pledged her full support and will readily assist in whatever capacity she can."

"I'll keep it in mind, Oz." Qrow voiced grudgingly.

"Besides the existence of Callows and the Faunus Hybrids, what else have you found so far?" Ironwood asked him.

There was a pause as they heard Qrow took a sip from his flask, and then his voice came on again, "I've been tracking down enemy agents, and it's clear they are planning a strike on Vacuo. For the past couple of weeks, the Vacuo Rangers have reported robberies of large quantities of Dust and crystals from a number of scattered storehouses and cargo ships around the western continent, and the scattered Red Fang cells in have gone dark."

Ozpin and Glynda shared a glance before the former asked, "An attack seems likely, but Luna and the council of Vacuo have been preparing for one ever since the Vytal Festival. Hopefully you can find out something about their plans before they can put them into action. Now James, before this meeting began you informed us of a murder of a mid-level S.D.C. employee in Haven. I assume that's why President Schnee is present?"

"It is indeed, Headmaster." The head of the Schnee Dust Company addressed. A picture of the employee in question was brought up from the holocom table, with a report on his death written by the Mistralian law-enforcement, pictures of the charred corpses and the bloody message left behind appearing in the air above the holographic table while similar images of them appearing on the screen of Qrow's personal scroll, "Charles Meredith wasn't exactly a noticeable name in the company itself, but I vaguely remember encountering him once or twice during my inspection visits to our Haven manufacturing facility."

"Well then, have the police made any progress in uncovering who was behind his murder?" Ozpin asked, while knowing from the disturbing image of the blood message that it was undoubtedly Salem who had ordered his death but choosing to remain silent as that couldn't become public knowledge.

"No official statements as of now, but the high-ranking officers have their suspicions that our enemy is the one behind it, but they aren't sure who at the moment. They've done their best to keep the blood-written warning out of the papers, but somehow word got out about it. We don't exactly know how, but perhaps some officers have loose lips and if the reporters get wind of it, then it would be a safe bet that criminals would do so as well. The official version given to the reporters is that it's an act of arson by "unhappy and unscrupulous individuals", and the police are pursuing a number of promising leads to capture those responsible." Chamberlain explained, and then added, "However, even unconfirmed news like this still travels fast in the criminal underworld, with varying consequences."

"And did Meredith have a criminal past?" Councilman Henry inquired as he glanced at Willow Schnee, wondering if the president of the S.D.C. would see some implication in his query. The Schnee elder instead remained silent and stoic, his own eyes fixed upon the images.

"I'll let Winter explain the specifics of what she has found." The white-bearded man replied, and his hologram nodded to that of his daughter.

"Thank you, sir. I'm currently at the S.D.C. Haven headquarters, and I arrived as soon as I was given jurisdiction by the Mistralian authorities to enter the Kingdom and assist with the investigation. The content of the message in question obviously means that there's a connection to the enemies we've been fighting against, and because of my knowledge of the enemy and my relation to the company I was assigned this job. As far as we can tell, Mr. Meredith had a clean record. He's not a family man but his partner has informed us that he can't remember anything about any shady dealings. So he may not be a criminal, but all is not as it seems." Winter elaborated before bringing up some files in her hands, "His secretary discovered a folder was left in his desk drawer and when we searched his office she noticed that a number of files were missing from his cabinets as well. This peculiarity led me to dig a little further through his computer database logs, and I found something that caught my attention."

She brought up holographic scans of the documents with several highlighted parts, as well as screenshots of computer record logs that were showing certain segments empty as well, "Going by these documents and data, a little over a year ago Mr. Meredith made contact with an anonymous 'business associate' working for a small Dust company who had offered a generous commission to him. So he began to transfer a meager five percent of the Dust from the S.D.C.'s Haven branch to that unknown receiver, and marking the aforementioned transfer as 'miscellaneous' so as not to look suspicious. And from the looks of things, it worked."

"So he was secretly transferring Dust to the enemy, but the question remains; why?" The Valean Councilman put the question to the others present.

"I don't think it was done willingly. The documents left in the folder within his desk drawer links the Dust sales to two locations, and to accounts I discovered were once owned by CraftTech as well. More to the point, the factory address given to Meredith was once the headquarters of Haven's former crime boss, Damien Ante, and the other location was an abandoned warehouse which was registered under a fake Dust supplier who was found to be working for the crime lord." Winter reported as she filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle, "It's possible that Mr. Meredith kept copies of the transactions and also collected information on them to make sure that he'd have something to bargain with should anything go awry for him."

"To think my company unwittingly supplied these terrorists." Willow Schnee muttered darkly as his facial expression turned brooding for a few moments.

"So we know that being faced by such deadly criminals that he was most likely being coerced into supplying them, but why would they order his death?" Henry posed the next question.

"He left us another clue that is a likely answer to that, Councilman. According to the company records, the supply of Dust sent to the unknown receiver under 'miscellaneous' slowly but surely decreased over the months that followed. Apparently Mr. Meredith thought that with Ante out of town, he could subtly decease the Dust supply as time went by without being noticed. Unfortunately our enemy apparently took offense at this, given the gruesome message left behind after his horrific murder, there's a high possibility that his death was used to send a clear warning to the rest of their underlings that trying to back out of a deal will result in a horrific death." Winter finished, and after a few moments the majority of the holograms vanished as well.

"It occurred to me that there's also the possibility that our enemy has found other ways of getting their Dust supplies," Chamberlain spoke up, "Or they've already gotten enough Dust for whatever they're planning."

"Those are all plausible." Ozpin replied from his hologram, "But the main question we should be asking is that what are they planning to so with all that Dust this time?"

"Unfortunately, I doubt we have the answer to that." Qrow remarked, "And Ante is likely to be here in Vacuo along with his Enforcers, and if the Red Fang is joining up with them it means they've got additional support as well… possibly preparing for something big. Maybe if I can find him, I can get a full confession out of him to confirm his dealings with Meredith, not to mention what kind of plan they're putting into action."

"That would help a great deal, as it would wrap up this murder case quickly if the confession matches the circumstances of Mr. Meredith's death." Winter agreed with a nod, "However the final question still remains, who ultimately killed him?"

"Was there any security footage retrieved from the warehouse that survived the blast?" Ozpin inquired.

"I'm afraid not, and even if the warehouse hadn't been destroyed it seems that Meredith had used his access codes to disable the security cameras. Clearly he, or whoever instructed him to go there, didn't want to risk leaving any evidence to chance." Winter related to them.

"And yet a message was still left behind. Curious." Ozpin mused.

"Well, it's good to know that our 'Guardians' are doing their best to be on top of things." Willow Schnee began, he pointed at the holographic version of the blood-inked message floating atop the holocom table, "But I have a question to ask, who is this Dark Queen the warning mentions?"

The various members of the Guardians of Remnant exchanged quick glances before General Ironwood simply stated, "Mr. Schnee, the enemy has given certain… titles for certain individuals who make up their leadership. We aren't exactly sure why they call her the Dark Queen, but it could be a superficial name she has chosen for herself."

"I see." The president of the SDC raised an eyebrow, "The leader of the enemy must have quite an ego to choose a name like that for herself ."

Winter decided to cut off that particular train of thought before hazardous knowledge was accidentally revealed, "My apologies father, but specifics on our enemy is on a strictly need to know basis."

Undeterred, Willow opened his mouth again, "Is it that Cinder Fall woman? That Rose girl has bested her twice, so she can't be powerful enou-"

"Let's just say that Cinder Fall answers to someone who is far more powerful and influential than she can ever be. That is who this Dark Queen is, Mr. Schnee. Let me assure you, you  _don't_ want to burden yourself with certain things this group has become privy to." Ozpin told the hologram of the S.D.C. president, who returned his look gravely and then relented, solemnly nodding his head.

"I see, Headmaster. In the meantime, I'll have my most trustworthy employees from across all our facilities around Remnant to look into this, and see if anyone else is being forced to supply terrorists with Dust or if they are being bought out and bribed. You have my word that this incident will not go unchecked." Willow Schnee mentioned in a voice that all but stated his intentions.

"That's reassuring to hear, Mr. Schnee. If you manage to find anything of importance, please report to us as soon as you can." Chamberlain replied with gratitude.

The hard-faced elder Schnee nodded and said, "Now, if you don't mind… would it be any trouble if I can speak to Specialist Schnee in private?"

Ironwood turned to regard Winter who gave a nod, and then he focused his blue eyes on Willow, "Be our guest. We don't have much else to discuss for now, so you're dismissed Specialist Schnee."

Winter saluted him, "Thank you, sir. I will keep digging into the recovered files to see if there's anything else Meredith left behind that may be of further use to us. Specialist Schnee, out."

She gave a passing glance in the direction of Central's hologram, and noticed that cyan-blue eyes flicked a faction towards her for a miniscule second before those of her father and herself vanished from both the meeting room in Beacon and Ironwood's office at Atlas Military Headquarters, while her hologram remained in her father's personal study at the enormous Schnee Mansion and his projection in the office where she resided at the S.D.C. Haven branch's main building.

"How have you been holding up? We haven't spoken in nearly two weeks." The Schnee senior said to his elder daughter.

Despite the schism that had formed between them when her father abandoned her and declared her a traitor when Weiss and her friends freed Penny to stop the brainwashed Ironwood's insane plan, it had slowly healed in the past six months after Winter has discovered how far Willow was willing to go to improve himself and become a better person, albeit one who deserved the love and respect of his daughters. After finding out that he had implemented slightly better working conditions and benefits for the S.D.C. employees, they had slowly began to open up to one another once more despite Winter being initially apprehensive at first, but eventually made the effort to reconnect with her father at Weiss's insistence. It was slow going, but at least they were on speaking terms for now.

"I'm doing fine, father. The life of a Atlas military specialist is rarely a dull one." She told him.

"The same cannot be said for me, though I have long since learned to live with the tedium the family company can bring. Whenever I look at you and Weiss, I always see your brave and adventurous sides from your mother. She was always one for thrills." Willow spoke in a slightly melancholic voice as he reflected on his late wife.

"Father..." Winter began but he raised a hand, his gaze looking past her as though at something only he could see.

"What do you suppose she would think of me now?" He asked her softly.

His elder daughter carefully considered the question before answering, "You became cold and distant after she died, father. And I cannot lie that there are times where I think you would have driven her to drink or sometimes even openly fight with her over matters of how to manage the company and family. But given your actions now I have come to realize that you are indeed doing your best to change for the better, and trying to make amends with me rather than simply ignoring your mistakes." She paused and looked at him directly, "I'm sure that she would be very happy to see that you're changing for the better."

Willow nodded, "I suppose you're right. Despite some of the morally questionable things I have done over the years, I always told myself that the reason I did some of them was because I was afraid of losing you and Weiss. I was afraid of losing you like I lost Gwyneth… and dying alone and unloved."

His elder daughter's face flickered with emotions of amazement and sadness by this sudden admission from him, but she recovered quickly and managed to say, "That won't happen, father. Neither Weiss nor I would allow it."

"I know you won't, but then the rift between us was so large because of what I did to you, and what I said to you when you defied me and joined the military's Special Operatives Unit. I couldn't help but feel that my fear was becoming closer to reality than ever before, and in the end I had no one to blame but myself." he added with a heavy heart.

Winter's hologram looked at him in the eyes and said, "We're family, father… and we won't let you be alone or unloved. Despite our strained relationship, I cannot deny that I care about you as well.

The father of Weiss and Winter smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Winter."

She managed a smile and changed the subject of their conversation, "Perhaps when I have the time, maybe for one weekend, Weiss and I can come and visit you. Perhaps we can go on a walk through the garden grounds together and catch up on some much-needed family conversations?"

Willow thought about it for a few moments and nodded, "I would like that very much. Just send me the date and time, and I will clear my schedule. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to review a memo to be sent out to all branches of the S.D.C. for their individual managers to check for any signs of possible Dust siphoning from the company."

Winter gave a nod of agreement, "Notify me right away if your personnel find anything of interest at all."

"I will be sure to do that. Oh, and Winter… I know this is a somewhat sensitive matter, but I can't help but notice the way you look at Commander Central during the meeting earlier. I am pretty sure I heard of him during your time in the Atlas Academy, but this was the first time I've seen him in person and without a helmet, or at least a hologram of him after quite a number of years. Is there some sort of connection between you and him that I'm not aware of?"

Winter's hologram stiffened visibly at his words even though she had forced herself to remain calm. She wouldn't exactly call her association with Commander Central something so simple as a 'connection'. For all intents and purposes, it was quite an understatement if she ever heard of one. During her time in Atlas Academy after she had defied the wishes of her father, she and the male student who eventually became Commander Central had been assigned to the same team, studying and training jointly while enduring the various gruelling challenges put to them by the said academy. Then came their recruitment into the Atlesian military's Special Operatives Unit after their graduation, where they underwent the harshest of drills and toughest of missions, shedding both blood and sweat (and rare tears) together during those trials. And there was even once when he willingly took the blame and the punishment that went with it for one of Winter's mistakes during a simulation combat operation which would have easily seen her discharged from the Specialist Training Course in a heartbeat.

'Connection' doesn't even cover it, 'complicated association' would be a far more believable answer.

She breathed deeply and composed herself before saying, "Commander Central and I know each other as we were in the same Team during our time at Atlas Academy, as well as the same training unit in the Atlesian military. I might have introduced him to you at the Specialists' graduation ceremony, but your attention was probably occupied by the dignitaries present at the time. While we have undertaken some missions together when circumstances allow, let's just say that some things didn't work out and we aren't exactly on friendly terms at the moment."

"I see." Willow noted and added, "Well, I believe that some strained relationships can still be mended. Look at us."

"Not this one." Winter shook her head, "I have to get back to my investigations to see if I can find any other leads. Good night, father."

"Goodnight, Winter." He bid her as Winter's hologram disappeared from his personal study, while his own vanished from the requisitioned office Winter was presently in.

Winter leaned back on her chair, rubbing her tired face with the gloved fingers of her right hand, and sighed to herself. Seeing Central again triggered a number of emotions within her, despite her normally cold and dignified exterior. As Winter became a subordinate to Ironwood upon graduation from the Specialist program, so did the rest of her team who were assigned to various branches of the Atlesian military. Due to his exceptional leadership qualities and fighting capabilities, the masculine Specialist was assigned to the command of Captain White of the Atlas First Fleet, swiftly rising up through the ranks like she did until he was eventually given command of an elite covert operations team which was both feared and respected among the Specialists themselves.

While she respected his excellent fighting skills and leadership in leading Task Force Omega on its many successful missions of both high-priority target extractions and various counter-offensive operations, Winter knew that it was already far too late to repair whatever remained of her 'complicated association' with Central. Time and their duties had gradually drawn them apart, the distance lengthening till the point that a yawning gulf had opened up between them.

And besides, it's not as if she could easily find it within her heart to forgive him for what had transpired so long ago… even though it still cut her as deeply as the supposedly betrayal of trust from her own father. But even she could not deny that no matter how frayed her association with Central had become, there was still a tiny fragment of the trust and friendship they had once shared during their time at the academy.

Winter shook her head and dismissed those thoughts, focusing on her assigned task at hand. She looked up as the secretary of the Haven SDC branch entered her office with another thick stack of files and documents scrounged up from the archives, placing it hurriedly on the table in a neat pile. The Atlesian Specialist nodded her thanks, and began to sift through those folders for any other clues that could yield any useful information.

* * *

Meanwhile, the meeting went on without them, as the remaining individuals conversed about a report that Ironwood had received from Admiral Nemo earlier that day.

"According to Admiral Nemo's reports and the sightings that had been reported by the fleet, several different pirate gangs in the northern seas have been sighted to be unusually inactive, with the number of raids dropping. So far they have only restricted their activities to regrouping, with some ships of different gangs moving unusually close before vanishing to places unknown." Chamberlain summarized as he brought up a hologram of Nemo's report.

"Perhaps Admiral Nemo's measures against them have been more effective than she realized, forcing them to go to ground." Glynda speculated with a hand on her chin, "However, given her strong-armed tactics it could be only a matter of time before they were forced to unite by discussing possible alliances."

"A sound theory, but even the Roaring Sharks and the Bloody Sail gangs are reported to be sailing near each other, and those two gangs have notorious bad blood between them. While pirate activity has hit an unusual low for now, their peculiar activities correspond with the admiral's suspicions that something is happening." Chamberlain pointed out.

"As do I. I have already informed the Atlesian border fleets to put in extra patrols around the Kingdom's coastal towns just in case some bloodthirsty pirate leader aspiring to be a legend decides to take charge of all the pirate gangs and launch an invasion on Atlesian soil." Ironwood mentioned.

"It says here that Admiral Nemo thinks they are all converging around the Shipwreck Rocks formation. Due to the unpredictable weather patterns and choppy waves there, only the most experienced or foolish sailors are brave enough to venture into that place other than the pirate gangs themselves." Central remarked, gesturing with his gauntleted fingers at the highlighted hologram of the map showing the aforementioned location.

"Is there anything of value there?" Glynda inquired.

"Depends on who you ask. To most sailors, it's a huge graveyard made up of over a couple hundred wrecked ships from the past few centuries. However, rumors speak of some sort of hidden sanctuary for the pirate gangs which they use to hide when the law is on their backs, aided by more experienced pirates who have made the scrapheap their home. The entire place is crawling with enough weapons and firepower to repel any sort of air and sea assault, with enough resources to last them for years should a siege happen." The Atlesian army colonel recounted to them.

"I personally don't doubt that." Qrow quipped, "The sheer fact that even the Mistralian navy gives the Shipwreck Rocks an unusually wide berth already speaks of how dangerous the place is."

"Then I suppose that placing additional reinforcements around the coasts of Atlas would be a shrewd choice, just to maintain safety on that particular front." Ozpin mentioned to Ironwood who nodded in agreement.

"I'll be sure to do so, and inform Admiral Nemo to help organize the best crews she has among her fleet to man them." Ironwood replied as the headmaster of Beacon Academy turned his head to look at Commander Central.

"Commander Central, I understand that a new android has joined your team, one which our mutual friend Dr Polendina helped to create." Ozpin began, at which the commander of Task Force Omega nodded.

"Indeed, headmaster Ozpin. He goes by the designation N1CK3L, and he did a commendable job on his first mission." Central said with clear gratitude in his voice, "My team might not have been able to capture Drago Sanguine without his assistance."

"Yes, your mission report on him shows much promise. May we speak with him?" Ironwood requested in a voice full of command.

"He's waiting outside the briefing room. Excuse me for a moment." Central said, briefly disappearing for a minute or so before returning with the stoic form of N1CK3L, his hologram blinking into existence alongside the Task Force commander, encased in a blue-black suit of heavily customized combat armour similar to that worn by the rest of the covert operations team, "Here he is, our Enhanced Tactical Android."

"So that's the new little war machine?" Qrow voice asked from his I.D. image.

"Thank you, Commander Central. Huntsman Branwen, I find the term 'war machine' a tad distasteful, as I identify myself as an Enhanced Tactical Android, not a drone like the AK-200 and 300 series. I may be primarily designated as a combat unit, but I also have other uses outside of warfare." N1CK3L said as he smartly saluted General Ironwood and the others present, his reinforced helmet's panels retracting to show the life-like synthetic skin underneath and bright blue electronic eyes, "It's good to see you again, General Ironwood, and you as well Colonel Chamberlain."

"A machine programmed to kiss butt." Qrow was probably rolling his eyes by now, "Whatever would your scientists dream of next, Jimmy? Now I have seen everything." The Atlesian general simply choose to ignore that sarcastic jab thrown in his direction by remaining silent.

"At ease, N1CK3L." Ironwood told him, and the android obediently dropped his gauntleted hand to his side and shifted his stance into a more comfortable position, "Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Councilman Henry, Qrow; this is N1CK3L, our latest step forward in android foot soldiers and advanced combat technology. He's slightly more advanced than Penny in terms of combat capabilities, though he does lack some of the additional touches Dr. Polendina had created especially for her. However, he is also quite formidable in his own right due to the next-generation programming implemented into his core processors by the Special Research Robotics Branch during his development. The mission against the Red Fang cell was his first non-simulated mission out in the field, and by all accounts that appears to be a resounding success."

N1CK3L's gaze focused on Ironwood at the mention of his sister, before looking to the holograms of the other individuals present and said, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance, and I look forward to assisting in whatever capacity I can in the battle against the enemy however possible."

"Well if you perform as well as you did out there, I'm sure we'll be working together for a long time." Central told the android who nodded.

"It would be an honor, Commander. I feel quite at home with my leader's team within Task Force Omega, and while I am aware that some personnel among the Atlesian military are indeed wary of me, I have come to the conclusion that such negative feelings would eventually phase out after they have seen how effectively I have worked with Central's team." N1CK3L elaborated.

"That would be an acceptable solution, N1CK3L" Ironwood answered, "As long as you stay true to your programmed parameters and function at peak efficiency, working together with your assigned team will definitely help in establishing good relations with other personnel within the military."

"Acknowledged." N1CK3L replied, pausing for a few seconds before asking, "General Ironwood, may make a small request?"

"As long as it's within reason, you may." Ironwood permitted, his eyebrow raising a little.

"If it's not too much trouble, I would like a chance to meet my 'sister' Penny." N1CK3L requested, "You see, Dr. Polendina was a great help in my creation and the overall development of my programmed personality so that I wouldn't be an unfeeling drone, and during my maintenance sessions he would often tell me of his 'daughter' Penny who has been sent to Beacon Academy. He has told me that we were kind of siblings in a way, so I would like to actually meet her personally."

Ozpin and Glynda shared a glance with each other, the silver-haired headmaster had a faintly amused smile at the thought of the excitable female android finding out she technically had a brother.

Ironwood carefully considered the request and slowly nodded, "I don't see any trouble in a visit like that. If the Task Force doesn't have anything that requires immediate attention, I can perhaps arrange a visit for you to meet Penny this weekend. I think she would be thrilled to know that there's someone else like her, a brother no less."

"Thank you, sir." N1CK3L inclined his head a little, "Do you require anything else from me?"

"Not at the moment, so the two of you are dismissed for the time being. Commander Central, if our analysts manage to find out anything from the large amount of data your team recovered from the Red Fang computers' database, we will notify you. Dismissed." Ironwood said to the task force's leader and advanced android.

"Thank you sir, and good night you." Central replied and saluted, with N1CK3L performing the same gesture before the holograms of them both dissipated.

Ironwood and Chamberlain looked to the holograms of Ozpin, Glynda and Henry, as well as Qrow's I.D. picture, returning to the matter at hand.

"Do you honestly think Salem is planning something with these pirates?" Chamberlain asked.

"She has involved herself with people from varying levels of society, from the highest echelons down to the lowest scum, as long as they are useful to her plans. I wouldn't rule it out, so it's best to keep a watchful eye on your Kingdom's coast." Glynda advised.

"Agreed." Ironwood said with a nod, "All these Dust robberies with connections to our enemy. I doubt it's a coincidence."

"As do I. From what we have been able to piece together, plus information Qrow has obtained in his investigations and from the Vacuo Rangers, it's likely they are planning some sort of attack on the western Kingdom. We will need to be extremely careful and be prepared for whatever they throw our way." Ozpin stated, and that earned nods from the others, "At least until we know more about what their plan of attack is."

"And going by that logical route, Team Beacon would be the best choice to counter the enemy since they have experience in dealing with the Grimm as well as enemy agents, hence they'll be able to strike back against them effectively." Councilor Henry remarked.

"On that note, I am happy to announce that the  _Hyperion One_  is finally finished." Ironwood announced as he brought up a small hologram of a large, advanced looking airship

"Excellent. I will send Mr. Ross over to inspect it tomorrow. He will be one of the pilots after all." Ozpin replied.

"I hope he'll get along with his co-pilot." Ironwood remarked before saying "Our engineers from both the Atlas military and the S.D.C. research and development division have seen to it that the  _Hyperion One_  is outfitted with the best cutting-edge technology from the Kingdom, and I can assure you it will fit the team's needs comfortably. Though, hopefully they won't be forced to use it in any full-scale battles anytime soon."

"Indeed, that new airship would be quite a boon to Team Beacon's future operations." Henry agreed as he looked at the hologram with clear interest in his eyes, "And I'm sure they will be more than happy with it."

"Speaking of airships and flying, I'm gonna get rested up since the trip over here has tired me out completely, so I'm going to need some sleep if I run into either Callows or Ante." Qrow spoke up.

"In that case, do get some rest. Good night, old friend." Ozpin told the Huntsman.

"My pleasure, see you guys later." Qrow remarked before ending the call. He deactivated the scrambler and shoved his scroll into his pocket, turning to look out into the view of Vacuo's capital at night. He briefly considered flying out and continuing his search, since criminals tend to be more active at night, but ultimately decided against it as the flight across the desert had left him winded, and it was an incredibly bad idea to track dangerous people like Tyrian Callows when exhausted.

Qrow shapeshifted into his bird form and flew down to an abandoned alley before switching back to human form once more, making his way to the nearest motel to get a refill for his drinking flask and some much needed rest. Tonight he would sort out all the information he had collected so far in his investigations and those he had obtained from the Rangers, and see if he could piece together any leads to where Ante might possibly be hiding in Vacuo.

Tomorrow, his hunt would begin again.

* * *

A meeting took place early the next morning, so early that the sun had yet to rise near the place known as Shipwreck Rocks. Located roughly sixty miles southeast from the coast of Atlas, it was a place that only the most experienced or insane seafarers dared to venture due to the terrible weather conditions and terrifying sea-based Grimm creatures that were said to populate those waters.

Several dozen pirate ships gathered around the inner area of the island's natural cove within Shipwreck Rocks, spreading themselves out in a loose semi-circle to form a perimeter about the floating, but stationary, graveyard of wrecked ships. Each pirate ship was parked in their designated location within the cove, and their crew kept to themselves while sentries were watching each other warily as though expecting an attack to come at any time. Small boats carefully traversed the complex maze of jagged rocks to reach the makeshift docks that led into the heavily-fortified fortress of Remnant's ocean criminals.

Pirates of many different races and skin colors, humans and Faunus, infamous and those who hadn't made names for themselves yet, had come to gather around the main meeting room which was fashioned out of the remains of an Atlesian ocean liner that had been torn asunder by the treacherous rocks when a hurricane had slammed the unfortunate ship into them, killing everyone aboard. It was actually the main dining room of the liner in which the summit was being held in, and it had more than enough room to accommodate the varied pirate gangs that called Shipwreck Rocks their sanctuary.

The captains of the pirate gangs all sat around a large marble table draped with withered silks on an upraised platform that was supposedly used for performances during the liner's better days, their individual swords stabbed into its cold, hard and pitted surface upon which was an old map of Remnant and its seas, and their first mates standing silently by their side. The rest of their crew all stood or sat on rickety chairs a respectable distance behind their captains, chattering and discussing whatever that was on their minds while the captains themselves eyed each other with a wide variety of emotions across their faces. The light from thousands of hastily mounted electric light-bulbs and flickering candles shone down from above and around the ballroom, bathing the assembled pirates in a dull yellow glow despite the gentle sun rays which barely peeked in from the slightly open roof high overhead.

A large scarred man with a long silver beard and sporting dull-grey robotic limbs on his right side surveyed the fellow sea rogues who answered Captain Skarnage's summons and hence came to attend the summit. He recognized most of them, and among those he knew some who he was on good terms with, some who he could build potential alliances with, and finally those he wanted dead. The petty rivalries between the pirate gangs could wait for now as he heard whispers that this was some sort of alliance proposition. There hadn't been such a massive gathering of pirates from all over Remnant like this for some time, and all had come to bear witness to something. What exactly that was he didn't know, and so projected a mask of cold indifference on his brutal features as he waited along with the other pirate captains.

Eventually, he decided to break the ice by asking in an almost bored tone, "So, any of you lot know what this is about? Why Skarnage called all of us here?"

"Apparently Skarnage threw his hat in with the terrorist group that's have been giving the Kingdoms significant trouble, or so I heard." An exotic-looking female captain sitting two chairs from his right by the name of Lizbetha remarked, "Maybe he wants our help?"

"To get out of trouble or into bigger trouble?" A gruff voice emanated from a pirate by the name of Stephenson, leader of the Bloody Sails, who possessed wild beard of orange hair and was well-known for his deadly temper.

"Maybe it has something to do with that Alesian witch Nemo." This reply came from a warthog Faunus captain known as Yunthao, who had enough scars to rival the silver-bearded man and captain of the Roaring Sharks. He glared long and hard at his long time rival across the table, which the other pirate leader deliberately ignored.

"You're not far off, mates." The deep voice of Captain Skarnage announced as the sharply-dressed Panther Faunus emerged from the large metal and glass doors framing the huge open doorway and walked down the aisle that led to the upraised stage and the meeting table, his footsteps echoing through the enormous ballroom as the many other pirates began to quiet down when they saw the two men walking a couple of steps behind him.

One of the new arrivals was a heavily-built, tanned man dressed in a dark green outfit with a serious look on his face while the other was a smartly-dressed middle-aged man with a slim build and slightly tanned skin, with short black and grey hair. The former could easily passed as a brawler, while the other man with the mustache gave off an aura of intelligence and education about him as he walked slowly and leisurely as though out for a stroll. Both of them were unconcerned that they were surrounded by dangerous pirates at the moment.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Fortune, fellow sea rogues, and, if you're not too proud to admit it, pirates alike. Welcome, and thank you all for agreeing to answer my summons and come to this little meeting of ours." Skarnage greeted after stabbing his sword onto the table and slammed a large iron orb a couple of times for silence, "I'm sure all of you have some questions."

"You can start by telling us who are those two men are," The silver-haired pirate commented dismally, "They look awfully outta place among us." Murmurs of agreement came from the other pirate captains seated around the large table.

"I'm glad you asked that, Captain Silvers, as it allows us to cut to the chase. These two fine men are Dr. Arthur Watts and Hazel Rainhart." The Panther Faunus gestured towards his guests.

Stephenson burst out laughing, "Hazel?! Ain't that a girl's name? Ha ha!" A number of other pirates behind him and around the room guffawed as well at the bearded pirate captain's jibe.

Hazel narrowed his eyes and glared at him while Skarnage continued, "Anyway, they're associates of… let's just say they represent people I have allied myself with."

"We've heard, attacking cargo ships from Atlas and Mistral, and hijacking their Dust supplies." Lizbetha noted while checking her nails, "You even tried to take on the S.D.C.'s airships a number of times."

"That I have, but the white-haired bastard amped up security considerably after the first few attempts. That still didn't deter my gang though, but further details can wait. Anyway, I've made dealings with these men and the people they represent, and they have an interesting proposition for us which I am sure you lot would be very interested in it." Skarnage told them calmly as he placed his fingers on the severely weathered-down stone table, a glint appearing in his purple eyes.

"What're they suggestin'?" A captain further down the table piped up.

"And what sorta contract you got with these bilge-rats?" Stephenson inquired.

"Dust supply. I steal Dust and they pay me handsomely, simple as that. But my crew and I aren't enough for what they want us to do. That's why I put the word out to all the pirate captains to convene at this summit, to see if any of you are interested in such… heists." Skarnage explained

"I'd like to know exactly what they want us to do before anything is officially decided." Silvers voiced, and getting calls of agreement from his fellow pirate captains across the length of the table.

Skarnage looked to Watts who nodded and stepped forward, "Well it's rather simple and straightforward. You're all pirates, or ladies and gentlemen of fortune, if you prefer to sound more professional. But in the end despite what you call yourselves you are still criminals of the oceans, and all you wish to do is to sail the seas in search of adventure and riches to plunder. Come to think of it, I am pretty sure that for those of you who operate around the Kingdom of Atlas and the northern parts of Remnant, a certain female commanding Admiral has been making life harder for you in the last several years, correct?"

"Yeah, I lost some of my own men to her." Yunthao voiced.

"And an old friend of mine was killed when that bitch Nemo sank her ship." Lizbetha added icily.

"She makes it difficult for any of us to make a living in this line of work!" A captain shouted towards the back raising his fist in the air.

"She's a snag in our seafaring plans as well." Watts mentioned, "So what if we were to tell you that our plan for you involve disposing of her and crippling the Atlas naval fleet?"

There was silence for several moments as the various pirate captains looked to each other, and there were hushed words traded between some of them before they all looked up to the two men at the end of the table and nodded their heads. "We're listening." Silvers said.

"Very good. By now most of you have no doubt heard the rumours of a Dark Mistress of Grimm from the old legends, masterminding the Fall of Beacon and other such incidents in the last year or so. Whispers of human-grimm hybrids, the old tale of the seasonal Maidens, criminals pledging allegiance to some dark higher power. Well, those whispers are all true." Watts spoke casually as though he was talking about the weather, "Our Mistress, better known as Salem, Queen of the Grimm, is planning to strike at the Kingdom of Atlas and to do so we will need the aid of the pirate fleets. This attack on the northern Kingdom will not only damage their military might and their wealth, it's also to draw the eyes the other Kingdoms elsewhere while our forces make an important move against our opponents. There's no need for any of you to know the details of this plan we are setting into motion, simply what your part in it will be. We get what we want, and you all get to kill your most hated enemy, demolish the Atlesian Navy, and take whatever you want from them. "

The faces of the various pirate captains grew from skeptical to interested as the Atlesian doctor dropped some rather surprising information onto them. Hazel, on the other hand, remained silent and alert while keeping his eyes strictly forward. "It's the best deal you're going to get." Watts finished.

"So, the old tales are true… that's not surprising after all that's happened. Hell, we got word of some message being left by some 'Dark Queen' in Haven the other day." Silvers commented, his flesh fingers tapping on the arm of his chair.

"Yes, that would be the work of one of our dark warriors. It was his first mission and he did splendidly." Watts stated before Hazel spoke up.

"And that warning also goes to all of you, should any of you try and double-cross us. Mistress Salem does not take kindly to that, and you would beg for death if you so much as displease her." The muscular middle-aged man warned, his voice calm but the implied threat hidden within his words, which most of the pirate captains caught.

Most.

"I don't buy this crap," Stephenson barked as he rose, spittle flying across the table from his lips, "Where's your proof that what you're saying is true? Sounds like a bunch of hogwash to me! If any one of you want to follow Skarnage willingly to your deaths, I don't care. Even if we do move against Nemo and her navy, what's to say it'll actually work? What'll it get us in the end other than smashed ships, dead crews, and our blades as that bitch's personal trophies to hang in her room? Even if we do survive, we won't get much reward in the end! I won't throw me and my crew into some mysterious crusade, only to get thrown meagre table scraps while some dark queen and her lackies reap the benefits for themselves."

Hazel slowly turned his dark-brown haired head to glare at him, and said softly, "You will all be generously rewarded for the part you play, if you survive."

"The benefits outweigh the risks huh? None of us got where we are now by being fools! Good, strong ships have went up against Nemo and her navy, and now they're all at the bottom of the oceans, their crews fish food!" Stephenson ranted angrily.

Silver rose up and cut Stephenson off with a chopping motion with his robotic arm, "Before I make my choice, I've two questions for you. One; Stephenson's got a point, how exactly will we lowly pirates take on the massive and heavily armed navy, let alone its flagship? We might be powerful when working together, but they will eventually wear us down and take us out with their superior numbers and weaponry. And two; you mentioned human-grimm hybrids, that true?"

"I am glad you asked, Captain Silvers, was it?" Watts inquired, and the Captain of the Bloody Hook nodded, "Well, we can answer both your questions right now." He looked back to the open door and called, "Mavis? Come in my dear."

A hush fell through the gathered pirates as a young, skinny and frail-looking, and rather wet teenage girl entered the room wearing a cloak, covered with sinister-looking red sigils, tied at the waist as if it were a skirt, while her body was covered by a black elastic swimsuit, her soaking wet black hair leaving a dripping trail behind her as she approached the gathered pirates, she wore no shoes, allowing them to see her webbed feet. Her nervous-looking red eyes gave away her uneasiness at being in a room with so many pirates.

"Um...arrgh, ahoy maties?" She greeted shyly, which caused the assembled pirates to stare at her.

"What the hell is this?" Lizbetha rose from her seat, a dumbfounded look on her face.

"This is our aquatic Grimm Commander, Mavis. She's young but she's good at leading the aquatic Grimm and is also an excellent swimmer, even before Mistress Salem… changed her. We found her three years ago after a pirate ship attacked the cruiser her family was sailing on. Someone who might be among you." Watts elaborated, before looking at Mavis, "Well, my child? It's an off chance, but the captain of the pirate ship that attacked you could be here."

Mavis stepped forward and surveyed the entire room, then she looked at the assembled pirate captains carefully, before her eyes finally settled on Stephenson and began to glow red, "Him… that's him." She answered with a dark voice and pointed at Stephenson.

The orange-bearded captain grew uneasy as he shook his head, "That doesn't prove anything. This could be some pale whore from a brothel for all we kn-"

"I remember how you laughed as you killed my father and mother. I punched you, and as punishment you tied me to their bodies and tossed us all into the ocean. I remember how you laughed as you forced my parents to beg for their lives. I remember how you were going to sell me into slavery before I punched you." Mavis said sternly as she glared at Stephenson, and the atmosphere in the room grew uneasy rapidly. Stephenson reached for his sword in front of him as Hazel took a step in his direction.

"Look, even if she can control Grimm fish and even if this Grimm Queen bitch does exist, I ain't interested. So count me out!" Stephenson bellowed as he stood up.

"I understand." Hazel said solemnly, glancing at Skarnage, "I thought you would be smart enough not to invite the weaklings."

There was a brief silence as Silver and the other captains observed a seething Stephenson who withdrew his sword, his first mate doing likewise but the rest of his crew looking quite uncomfortable themselves.

Yunthao carefully spoke up, "Stephenson, I might dislike you, but I didn't know you would go so far to break the pirate code of selling children off as slaves..."

Murmurs of anger and disgust came from the other pirate captains seated around the table, and they glared daggers at the foul-tempered captain of the Bloody Sails.

"No way in hell I'm letting some fool with a girl's name insult me like that!" The captain roared as he pivoted about and charged at Hazel, only to be abruptly surprised as the large muscular man sidestepped and punched his arm hard enough to force Stephenson to drop his sword, and then pick him up by the neck.

 

Stephenson struggled in Hazel's iron grip, kicking, punching and wheezing in pain, but the larger man didn't even flinch as he placed his other hand on Stephenson's neck and began to squeeze down tightly. "Captain!" The first mate of the Bloody Sails charged forward but found a long length of silver metal resting on his neck, Yunthao's sword preventing him from doing anything further as he watched his captain being slowly strangled by Hazel.

"Perhaps your second-in-command will be more open-minded." Hazel remarked before he glanced over to Mavis, whose face had been infected with sorrow as she remembered being tied to her dead parents and thrown into the churning ocean waves.

She wiped her eyes and nodded.

Hazel squeezed down harder and harder, making Stephenson's face turn blue rapidly even as he continued to struggle and kick against the larger man, and then just as he was about to suffocate Hazel slammed his body downwards, head first, into the unyielding marble floor with a sickening crunch of flesh, bone and shattered marble, killing him instantly.

Everyone else was silent, although some pirates were grasping their guns and swords, but no one, not even Stephenson's own men made a move as Hazel reached down and pulled Stephenson's corpse roughly out of the hole in the ground. His face was now bloody and covered with shards of broken marble and metal stabbing into his face, red blood pouring out of those wounds in a spreading pool beneath him. Mavis shuddered slightly as she stared at the man who took her family from her.

"Justice has been served, just as Salem promised you." Hazel told her before he tossed the dead pirate captain onto the table, making the corpse slide down the surface. He walked forward and added, "Make no mistake, if any of you even consider turning on us or giving information to the authorities or our opponents, you'll wish you had shared his fate."

Careful nods met his words, and Hazel continued, "Anyone who doesn't want any part is this is free to back out now and leave, and live out the rest of your existence in the oceans because once you heard of our plan I'm afraid, if you'll pardon the expression, that ship will have has sailed. However, if you cooperate with us, you will enjoy the benefits that come with it. So make your decisions."

Watts smirked and remarked dryly, "You're quite the motivational speaker, Mr. Rainhart. Now, discuss this amongst yourselves and make your final decision. And please choose carefully."

"And while you're deliberating, we will dispose of Captain Stephenson's body. Dump 'im." Skarnage said, snapping his fingers and having his crew members seize the dead captain's body and giving the order to dispose of it.

"You killed one of my greatest enemies or me, for this I will join you." Yunthao said, bowing his head a little, "Just allow me to watch him sink into the depths of the ocean."

"Smart move, and I don't see the harm in letting you watch." Skarnage permitted before looking over to Stephenson's first mate and saying, "Well, will you and your crew stand by your late captain's stubbornness or will you join us willingly?"

The first mate of the Bloody Sails swallowed visibly and quickly said, "We're with you."

The other pirate captains scattered around the table also gave their agreements one by one.

"Good to know that people can still learn from the mistakes of others." Watts quipped as he twirled his mustache.

"You haven't answered my second question. So, can she truly control Grimm?" Silvers asked as Yunthao helped Skarnage's men carry Stephenson's body out of the room and onto the deck at the far end, overlooking the rocks.

"Ah yes, that. Mavis, would you please give the honored captains a demonstration?" Watts asked her gently, and the Grimm Commander nodded meekly as she turned and walked towards the deck, with the various pirate captains and their crew following behind her along with Hazel and Watts.

She suddenly turned her head back and looked at pirate captains, warning them, "Uh, you might want to warn your ships and tell them not to shoot. You'll only make it angry."

The assembled captains looked to each other, but each made the call to their crews not to open fire while Skarnage's men got ready to pitch Stephenson's corpse. Once everything was ready Mavis reached out, eyes glowing red as she drew upon her own dark powers.

All of a sudden from the rough churning waters surrounding the Shipwreck Rocks, rose the long slender scaled neck and body of a Grimm Sea Feilong, its short arms clutched to its chest while stretching its expansive wet wings and letting loose a blood-chilling roar that echoed throughout the cove. It eyes blazed bright yellow while red gills glowed down each side of its neck.

The pirates all took wild steps backward while some of their crews rushed back into the safety of the ballroom while Hazel, Watts and Skarnage remained calm. Silvers, with wide eyes, instead stepped forward in amazement at the sight of the usually terrifying beast remaining calm and steady as it lowered its head a large part of its body towards the mass of shipwrecks.

"It's… it's not attacking us..." Lizbetha noted with shock in her voice.

"No, because she is controlling it." Watts told her, an amused smirk on his lips.

"Magnificent." Yunthao remarked in awe.

"Throw him." Mavis spoke up, making the warthog Faunus captain look to her with a puzzled look. Mavis's glowing red eyes teared up as she looked to him, "Toss him into the ocean, just like he did to me and my parents!"

He nodded and gestured to the crewmen. He looked down at Stephenson's bearded face and smirked. "Bon Voyage, shithead."

With that Stephenson's body was thrown over the edge, his body crashing through the surface of the churning salt water with a mighty splash.

His face was still looking up, his dead eyes remaining open as his face was quickly submerged in seawater.

Mavis jerked her and all of a sudden the Sea Feilong darted down into the water and shot forward like a rocket loosed from its launcher, expertly avoiding the sharp rocks and ducking its head underwater to snatch the dead captain's body up, swallowing it in one mouthful. Its incredibly long neck came up to the decks of the makeshift docks, making Yunthao and Skarnage's men scramble away from it as Mavis approached.

She let out a heavy sigh and managed a smile as she placed her left hand on the Grimm dragon's snout. It obediently lowered its head and she climbed up and sat on the top of its mouth and smiled at the gawking looks of the pirates as they came closer, small plumes of water vapour and steam coming out of the Feilong's mouth as it lifted its head slightly.

Watts came to the head of the crowd and said, "You see, with the combined forces of all of your pirate ships and the aquatic Grimm controlled by young Mavis, we have a good chance of pulling this off."

Silvers smirked and said, "One last thing, Dr. Watts. I heard that a team from Haven has given you a lot trouble in the past, SSSN."

Watts stroke his chin in thought and nodded, "Ah yes, they have given our group problems before."

"I understand Scarlett David is on that team. I knew him, his parents were part of my crew, and they led a mutiny against me. I came out on top in the end but they…" Silvers gestured to his robotic hand and leg, "They got me good and their son escaped me."

"I see," Watts nodded, "I think something can be arranged."

"Well then, sign me up! " Silvers declared, followed by shouts of agreement from others pirate captains who haven't made their decision, but after seeing Mavis tame the Sea Feilong all of their doubts have vanished.

"Nemo's tactics have made life all the harder on our kind, so if your plan will allow us to destroy her once and for all, I will join you." Lizbetha agreed, and looked at Dr. Watts, "Only when this is done I will hold you to what you have promised us. Only one thing I do demand however."

Watts raised an eyebrow, "Let me take a wild guess...the head of Admiral Nemo?"

Lizbetha nodded, "On a spike. With regards to everything else, you can do as you wish."

"Excellent." Watts smiled and nodded to Mavis, who mirrored the gesture and looked down at Hazel who had crossed his arms and acknowledged her with a nod.

A while later, after all the pirate captains had signed the agreement to form an attack fleet together and unite against the Atlas Navy, and Mavis had sent the Sea Feilong away back into the ocean, things went more or less back to normal. Captain Skarnage stood with Watts, Hazel and Mavis at a balcony located at the highest point of the haphazardly-welded together shipwrecks that made up the pirate's sanctuary, the individual ships spread out in front of them stretching across one end of the island to the other.

"We're making it clear to all of our crews the conditions of this arrangement and making the punishment for betrayal even more clear to them all." Skarnage told them before looking out to the sea as the sun began to rise. "I think with all these ships allied together, we would have a decent chance of pulling this off. Hopefully you'll need us for more than a few attacks."

"Oh we will, Captain." Watts assured him as he turned to face the Panther Faunus, "There is something in Atlesian Ocean that we need, and we may need your help retrieving it. We don't know its exact location yet, but that will soon change."

"And when the time comes, we will do our best to serve you and the Dark Queen to the best of our abilities." Skarnage told them with a smile on his face.

"Make sure of that." Hazel remarked as a portal back to Salem's palace opened up at the far end of the balcony, which the three of them went through, the vortex promptly closing behind them.

Skarnage looked off at the rising sun, and saw a bit of red in the sky. The old saying _'red sky at morning, sailors take warning'_  echoed in his mind for a brief moment.  _'Well, the Navy should heed it too, because soon the sea will be red with their blood.'_  He thought to himself.

Meanwhile at Salem's palace, Watts went off to inform Salem of their successful recruitment mission while Hazel began to walk off in the direction of his quarters.

"Uh, Mr. Hazel?" Mavis called quietly behind him.

He stopped and turned to look back at her, the small teen swallowed as she managed to continue, "Thank you for making him pay. I...I hated him but...I don't think I would have been able to kill him. I know I'll have to, but I don't really want to kill anybody."

Hazel looked at her silently before saying, "That may be a weakness, but there are weaknesses that one shouldn't be ashamed of. I think you still have your humanity, but the same cannot be said for some of us."

She looked at him in silence, and then understood what he meant. "Still, at least you have meted out justice, and gave your parents' killer what he deserves. I still haven't gotten justice for my sister." He told her gravely before spinning on his heels and walking off, his thudding footsteps echoing through the empty corridors of the castle.

Mavis watched as he left her behind, before she decided to retire for the day and get some much needed rest.

As she untied the arms of cloak from her waist, letting it drop, and got into a small wading pool that served as her bed in which she settled down into, letting the cooling water enter her gills, Mavis closed her eyes as small tears streamed out and fell into the cooling water around her.

She may have become a monster to do it, but now with her parents' killer gone, their spirits could finally rest in peace.

However, a small thought echoed in the back of her mind, asking her  _'But at what cost?'_

She didn't want the answer to that, and so simply went to sleep.

* * *

Ilia Amitola, adopting a calm demeanour, carefully made her way through the stone-carved and statue-lined walls of Shade Academy, thankful that no one had noticed her as being out of place. She wore a more casual outfit that consisted of a navy-black jacket and an inner plum-colored shirt, dark brown pants that ended at her knees and dark leather boots, while black fingerless gloves covered her hands. She had freed her hair from its ponytail, and adopted a single, complicated-looking braid which hung down to her shoulders and allowed her bangs to frame her tanned complexion. She couldn't do away with the darker spots on her face and limbs, since they were the reminder of the fact that she was still a Faunus, despite the choice she had made to become a hybrid.

She easily blended in with the rest of the students, and was secretly glad that Shade was one of the few academies that didn't have a dress code. Her grey eyes flicked around, taking in the details of her surroundings and mentally comparing them to the map of the Vacuoan Huntsman Academy she had memorized back at the Red Fang's secret staging area. Ante had shown her the secret underground passage that led to the academy's deepest sub-basement, and after making her way through the darkness she was relieved to discover that it did come out underneath Shade as promised, although it had been a tight fit to carefully work her way past the detritus of various stored crates of discarded items which have seemingly been left there to block the forgotten secret entrance for years. Fortunately, no one came down to the basement anymore, hence no security cameras or guards coming down to inspect anything, and so Ilia went undiscovered.

Speaking of Ante, the crime lord had the nerve to joke that she should go naked into Shade since she could easily camouflage herself into the colour of the stone blocks that made up the school, joking that her chest was flat enough to blend in, which was enough to make up Ilia's mind about him; he was just as messed up as Tyrian, had laughed like a nutcase at Ante's suggestion, much to her displeasure and anger. The female Fusion-Faunus felt her fists clench instinctively and resolved to stay out of either Ante or Tyrian's path whenever and wherever she can.

Still, she had a Maiden to seek out and spy on.

It was pretty easy to locate a service corridor in the labyrinth-like sub-basements as the Red Fang operative was in possession of a map provided by Ante's contact within Shade, one which told her the various places with the least amount of security and little-used corridors that she could take certain shortcuts, hide whenever necessary, and to get around relatively unnoticed. After producing her scroll to check the map on its screen once more, she produced the small note which was little more than a piece of paper which told her what the name of the Summer Maiden apparently was, as well as a basic description of what the Maiden looked like, so all Ilia had to do was find this 'Heliosia' woman and try and confirm if this woman had any hint of Maiden powers about herself.

She had used the first half of the school day to fully acquaint herself with its layout, using her now enhanced Semblance and talented stealth skills to hide herself without much difficulty from detection and evade the security cameras placed at every major intersection of halls. Ilia herself had activated her own Semblance of camouflage and color change at a young age, but with the modified version of the Chameleon DNA that had been placed inside of her by Dr. West and the other scientists working for Salem, she could now become totally invisible whenever she needed to do so at will.

It was currently the lunch hour and break period, and as Ilia walked through the busy halls she couldn't help but noticed the sheer number of Faunus students attending Shade. It was no surprise that the Kingdom of Vacuo had a significantly larger Faunus population than the others, so it had been slightly more open to their kind, but it still nevertheless surprised her to see how many teams were made up of both Faunus and Human students.

While the majority of Teams she saw were made up of both races, there were others which were mostly human with one Faunus, or mostly Faunus with one human, or an equal number of humans and Faunus, and a small number of Teams that were made up of fully human or fully Faunus members.

It honestly amazed her to see such diverse teams within Shade, as compared to what things were like back in Atlas. But she had to keep in mind that this was Vacuo, a Kingdom with a heavy Faunus population which made it more tolerant towards them for ages, but while she was aware of teams of humans and Faunus in the other Kingdoms it didn't mean that the segregation and prejudice wasn't there. All the Teams Blake was aligned with only had one Faunus in them after all, so they were still in the minority.

Nonetheless, Ilia couldn't deny how much better things looked in Vacuo. She glanced over to a long series of benches in front of a sunny window, and spotted a couple lunching together. The girl of the duo had long, black-tipped Lynx ears while the boy appeared to be completely human, and they were interacting happily with each other. Then again, since she was able to pass as human most of the time so that didn't actually mean anything, so he could have possessed some hidden animal trait like she did.

Though she couldn't lie to herself that the boys sitting at the tables scattered around in the cafeteria eating, messing around with each other lightheartedly, and laughing together were all human or Faunus, there was an obvious mix of both races.

 _'This is Vacuo,'_ She thought a little bitterly to herself,  _'The day that happens in Atlas is the day I'll admit Blake won.'_

Despite the fact that it had been a year-and-a-half since their last encounter, Ilia couldn't help but think about Blake in her heart, especially about the time they shared a heartfelt talk on the roof, the subject of which regarding the reasons they each joined the White Fang. That had been a long time ago, and apparently their motivations and mindsets had changed as well, seeing what Blake did to take down the White Fang and Adam. As she walked across the length of the cavernous cafeteria, the girl knew that sooner or later there would be a reckoning between them, and she would want the answer as to why Blake turned her back on the White Fang.

As she looked around her, Ilia could see an academy where Faunus of every species were seen as equals to humans and got along just fine with the rest of them, and that was the realization of the original goals of the White Fang before Adam took over from Claudandus. It was a dream that White Fang recruits like Blake and herself aspired to make reality, and here it was… more or less.

Still, not everything was as it seemed, she suspected that some of the human students yet harbored resentment and prejudice against the Faunus race, they simply hid it so as not to draw attention to themselves and get punished. Ilia distinctly remembered a particular conversation she had shared with Adam before on one occasion, in which he had taught her the evils that humans were capable of hiding, though she couldn't deny that in the end Adam had been swallowed up by that hatred as well, which allowed it to twist him into the monster he became in the end.

But that didn't mean that Adam was wrong about everything, as Ilia herself had experienced the cruelty of humans firsthand. She recalled when she was very young, growing up in the mining community in Mantle before moving to Atlas to attend Atlas Academy. Despite being forced to hide her Faunus heritage by her parents, she enjoyed blending in with the human students there and even spoke badly of the Faunus just to gain the acceptance of her human friends.

However, it all changed one day when she and her classmates received news of a large explosion which caused a cave-in within the mines, resulting in the deaths of many Faunus workers. The very same friends who she studied and laughed with, instead of showing shock and concern, simply snickered about it and at that point in time she could not contain her emotions. As she cried her heart out, her skin turned blue abruptly, and her friends became afraid of her. Then the bullying came, when she was punched and kicked by assaulters just to see her change colour. She remembered how bratty and self-centered human girls called her ugly, and she did not take it lying down.

She assaulted them, broke noses and knocked out teeth.

Ilia was suddenly ripped out of her memories and thoughts when she heard the sounds of an intense fight, as well as the voices of a bunch of rowdy students coming from the main corridor outside the cafeteria. Many other students were making their way towards the sounds of battle, while others were calling their friends to come and watch the spectacle unfolding in the adjacent combat arenas.

Her curiosity, and the slight fear that it was perhaps something to do with race, eventually got the best of her and she ran to catch up with several students out of the cafeteria doors and over to the expansive courtyard outside, where the combat arenas were located and surrounded by invisible energy fields to prevent any spectators getting injured by projectiles or other objects from the arenas.

What she heard from the other academy students running beside and hurriedly past her simply made Ilia want to see what was exactly happening judging from the near-constant sounds of clashing of weapons and slamming of bodies coming from the largest combat arena in the courtyards right in front of her.

The chameleon and cheetah-hybrid girl pushed her way through the crowds of students and managed to get close to the handrail surrounding the training area, before finally settling down into a spot where she can see the entire battle without anyone accidentally blocking her view. Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted a strong and rather attractive-looking young woman with long brunette hair and tanned skin who appeared at first glance to be slightly older than the rest of the other students, and she was currently fighting a team made up of four humans by herself.

Ilia turned to look at the electronic screen which was placed beside the combat arena, and was informed that the team that was fighting against the brown-haired woman was Team BRNZ, and the aura monitor beside their headshots was displaying different numerical values of their aura levels. Their opponent still had more or less the entirety of her aura intact, while for Team BRNZ they were steadily being pushed into the orange range at the moment.

She glanced over and recognized that she was standing right next to one of the teams representing Shade from the Vytal Festival, Team NDGO to be precise. After a brief moment of recollection she remembered they were the all-girl team who had lost to Team SSSN during the festival. While the Red Fang agent knew that she had more important things to do than to watch an combat arena match, she was also aware of the fact that if she did not blend in with the student body the Vacuo Rangers security guards would inevitably find her behavior peculiar, if not outright suspicious. And since there were so many students gathering to watch the match, her target might be hidden among. Besides, it couldn't hurt to watch a little action.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked the girl closest to her innocently, one who sported dark blonde hair and violet eyes, and clothed in a sleeveless green dress, with what seemed to be golden-scale armor covering her chest, neck and left arm, while a lighter green sash was tied around her hips in addition to a small golden pauldron on her right arm.

"Huh? Oh, well… Team BRNZ challenged Adara Aenia to a fight after they saw her take out an entire squadron of training bots in the gym this morning. Or that's the story we were told anyway." The girl explained over the sounds of other students cheering at each move and countermove happening before their very eyes.

"They've been doing pretty good since the school year began, and Adara has become kind of a role model for us Huntresses-in-training." Said another girl brick-red hair, olive green eyes and her turquoise and brown outfit, "She even gave us some good advice a week ago."

"Is she a student here?" Ilia inquired as she watched the woman identified as Adara easily evade a few sharp jabs from Nolan Porfirio's cattle prod weapon, turning aside the latest strike and delivering first a elbow jab and then a swift roundhouse kick that sent him skidding across the arena's hard surface.

A girl with indigo hair brushed over her left side and olive eyes glanced at her and said, "No, we heard that she's some friend of Headmistress Luna and she's been living here for a couple of months. She tends to keep to herself, but she's nice enough. May I ask who you are?"

She had anticipated this and thus responded without difficulty, "My name is Lilyanna, my team and I are from Sandstone Academy in the Southwest of Vacuo. We were on a mission and since our Bullhead is under repairs at the moment we decided to stay here at Shade Academy for the time being. The rest of my team are resting up but I was bored and decided to take a walk around to see if there's anything interesting."

The leader of Team NDGO nodded and replied, "Well, it's nice to meet you Lilyanna. I'm Nebula, and here are my teammates Dew, Octavia, and Gwen." She said, gesturing to an olive-skinned girl with curly black hair pulled back from her face into ringlets and brown eyes, wearing a black and grey corset dress as well as a pair of armour tassets filled with throwing knives connected by a belt around her waist, who was watching the match carefully.

"Pleased to meet you." Ilia gave a fake smile and directed her head towards the battle taking place behind the force fields, "So, did Adara fight anyone else besides Team BRNZ?"

"Oh yeah, but you aren't here to witness those matches." Nebula mentioned, and began to tick off her fingers, "She beat Team HVST in pugil stick matches, dominated Team KAKI in hand-to-hand combat, and even defeated Team SHDW in a four-versus-one showdown like this one."

"Wow, that's… impressive." Ilia answered.

"Quite down girls, I want to watch this." Gwen chirped as her eyes were glued to the fight.

Nebula smiled and shook her head, while Ilia stood beside them and watched the hard-fought match, cheering whenever any of the combatants performed a particularly impressive move, so as to keep up appearances. As she watched the new girl fight all four members of Team BRNZ, the Fusion Faunus couldn't help but notice that this 'Adara Aenia' matched the description of the Summer Maiden she was given by the spy.

'Adara' back-flipped high into the air, managing to avoid the simultaneous attacks from Brawnz Ni, Nolan Porfirio, and Roy Stallion, whose weapons; a clawed gauntlet, electric cattle prod and an arm-mounted buzzsaw respectively, but they all met empty air as she spun through the air in a perfect somersault.

She landed behind them and drew her weapon, a staff and kusarigama hybrid named Flameguard, to strike at them while it was in staff form. The long stick extended to its fullest length within a couple of seconds and she jabbed at Brawnz's exposed back several times in quick succession before sweeping him off his feet with her weapon and then kicking him into Nolan, knocking the both of them down and resulting in Brawnz getting an electric shock from his teammate's prod. Then as though somehow forewarned, she bent over backwards just as Roy slashed horizontally towards her, the humming saw blades passing just bare centimeters from her chest and chin, and then struck back with her staff and whacking him across the cheek, momentarily disorientating the young man.

Before 'Adara' could press her attack, she sidestepped quickly just as May Zedong fired off a shot from her sniper rifle, the shot missing but buying her fellow team members some breathing space. The lightly-tanned, grey-blue eyed girl with dusky-rose hair speedily chambered another round into her weapon for another go at their powerful opponent, changing position where she could snipe without being hit by Flameguard.

Roy dashed forward again, furiously slashing at her with his sawblades, making 'Adara' bob and weave away from them until she pressed the side of Flameguard, which activated its kusarigama ability. A metallic circle with sharp edges like a sun ejected out from the tip which was connected to the staff by a strong, thin metallic chain. Timing her actions just as Roy brought his arm back for another slash, she wrapped the end of the chain around Roy's arms like a whip in one swift and well placed motion, careful to make sure the sharp parts of the metallic circle didn't cut him.

Roy had a brief look of shock when she yanked him forward, and so he jumped up and attempted to kick her, only for 'Adara' to step back unexpectedly and resulting in him nearly slamming into the section of the energy shield that was erected to protect spectators. Spinning around he managed to somehow free his hands him Flameguard's chains and sprinted towards her, throwing up his arms upwards in a downwards strike. Whipping the chains back into her staff, 'Adara' dived underneath Roy and used her momentum to come up behind him, kicking out his legs and throwing him down face-first onto the floor. The sound of a shot cracked through the air, and she ducked just in time to avoid May's second shot, rolling away to find cover.

The sniper rushed forward, taking shots at the Huntress whenever she could. When she closed within striking distance, May speedily snapped her sniper rifle apart and reconfigured it to form a shotgun in its secondary form, an addition she had added after the Battle of Haven for any situations that involve close-quarters combat.

'Adara' shot towards her in a sprint, and dodged a low-impact shot from May's shotgun configuration. May reloaded and fired again, catching her opponent in mid-sprint and sent her sprawling on her back, but the Huntress rolled out of the way immediately to avoid getting blasted again. 'Adara' quickly got up to her knees and felt another presence coming up behind her, and turned just in time to see Nolan bringing up his prod for a strike.

Before Nolan could jam his weapon into her shoulder he felt 'Adara' grabbing his arm, gracefully sidestepping him, and threw him directly into May who cried out as she let the third shot go off, blasting Nolan right before the prod collided into her and sent electricity coursing through her body. A number of spectators watching the battle winced slightly at the sight while others cheered and offered shouts of encouragement.

She was about to run forward to separate them when two chimes on the aura monitor notified her and the watching students that Nolan's aura was depleted to the red zone, while May was even lower as she was clearly twitching a little on the ground with a look of painful disbelief on her normally stoic face. Hearing the humming buzz of saws once more she leaned back instinctively as Roy thrusted his arms outwards to cut her again, and that earned him a couple of quick chops to his side and a series of rapid-fire punches to his chest and face that sent him promptly collapsing onto the firm ground.

As Roy thudded to the ground 'Adara' spun around just in time to catch Brawnz charging her, his claw gauntlets flicking out and aiming to slash at her. He delivered a flurry of kicks which she managed to deflect just as quickly, and then went on the defensive by using Flameguard to block his claws as they strained against each other.

"I gotta admit, you're really good." Brawnz grunted as he struggled against her.

"So I've been told, I'm not one to brag." She replied before she kicked him in the stomach which sent him stumbling backwards, and threw Flameguard's staff form up into the air. Sprinting forwards she delivered a number of precise punches to his upper body and then kicked Brawnz in the knees to knock him down, finally delivering the finishing move to deplete his aura by allowing Flameguard to come down so she could use it as a distraction to whack him on the side of the head and the leader of Team BRNZ collapsed sideways, effectively winning the match as another chime signaled his aura depletion.

The gathered crowds of students cheered and applauded loudly for both sides for the good match as Roy pushed himself up from the hardened floor of the arena, rubbing his face where it was subtly swelling. 'Adara' walked over to each member of Team BRNZ and helped them up to their feet, making sure each of them weren't seriously hurt, which they luckily weren't, and she also gave them a genuine smile of recognition before turning to bow politely at the cheering crowds who whooped and shouted their appreciation loudly for such a spectacular match.

"Hey, thanks for the match. Maybe you could teach us a few of your moves next time." The leader of Team BRNZ said as he held the side of his head where Flameguard's haft knocked into him.

"I would be delighted to." 'Adara' replied as she smiled warmly, "My apologies if I went overboard, since I am not used to fighting those younger than me."

"I would say that was obvious, but still a victory is a victory, Miss Aenia." The voice of Headmistress Luna Aria spoke as she appeared from the crowds of gathered students with her assistant secretary Cedric standing behind her, the latter pressing a button on a nearby control panel to deactivate the shields surrounding the main combat arena.

The headmistress of Shade Academy was tall and dignified, a woman in her early forties with long smooth hair as black as night and dark blue eyes. She wore a flowing blue and green-colored brocade dress embroidered with elaborate flora patterns that were repeated hundreds of times over the silken cloth, and footwear that resembled a mix between ornate desert boots and sandals with golden filigree. She had two long hair braids at each side of her shrewd face, and a symbol of the moon with four small yellow stars was painted on her forehead. A long sleek scimitar and a khopesh sword, both with beautifully-crafted hilts, dangled on either side of her waist attached by their ends to a brown belt. Her fingers were covered with signet rings in a wide variety of patterns, and bracelets of gold and silver covered her forearms in swirling patterns that resembled the sand dunes of Vacuo.

As if her appearance was just being noticed, all the students present in the crowds surrounding the main combat arena quickly straightened up and quieted down as the Headmistress walked forward. They all liked and respected her as she was compassionate and caring towards her students, but would not hesitate to take serious actions should anything wrong come to her attention.

Ilia, upon seeing the headmistress, slowly and subtly shifted behind Team NDGO and a couple of other students, just to make sure that Luna wouldn't notice her. If anyone were to know the face of every single student within their Huntsman Academy and easily identify anyone out-of-place, it would undoubtedly be the headmistress herself.

"Well, don't let me spoil the fun then," She said with a faint smile, "There's nothing against the rules about a friendly match, even if it is four against one."

"Sorry Headmistress." Team BRNZ said together as they bowed a little.

"No harm done, students." She assured them before turning to the crowds around the main combat arena, "Break time is almost over, so I would suggest that you rest up befor your next class. Team BRNZ." Turning to 'Adara', she gestured for the young woman to follow her, "Adara, walk with me."

'Adara' nodded and shook hands with the four members of Team BRNZ, "It was nice to meet you all, perhaps I can show you a few of my techniques some other time. You did your best, so there's no shame in that, for now just keep learning and training and I'm sure you will all improve very quickly." She then gave them a small bow which the other team returned, smoothly slipping Flameguard in its retracted form back into its holster on her lower back, and acknowledged Team NDGO with a smile and a nod before leaping over the elevated handrail and joining the headmistress in walking back into the interiors of Shade.

Ilia silently observed them as they walked into the least populated hall leading to the courtyard with the headmistress's assistant secretary trailing a few steps behind them. She easily slipped through the crowds of academy students who were dispersing in all directions and talking excitedly among themselves about the match, and she did it so quietly that Team NDGO didn't even notice her absence until it she was away.

The secret Red Fang operative stealthily snuck around the corners of the hall, listening in on the conversation taking place between 'Adara' and the headmistress.

"You should have asked me for permission before you went ahead and fought them." Luna gently reprimanded as she crossed her arms and looked down at 'Adara' who returned her look with piercing maroon eyes.

"Well, it would have looked strange, don't you think? Having to go to the headmistress every single time just to arrange a simple match?" 'Adara' argued as she gestured with her hands.

"Point taken, but it still means your bodyguards will be getting on my case over this match." Luna sighed as she faced forward.

"I personally think they're used to it by now." 'Adara' remarked with a small laugh.

Ilia's eyes narrowed as she hid behind a nearby pillar, sticking to the shadows as she thought  _'Bodyguards? Why would a visitor need bodyguards? Unless she's some form of VIP related to the Vacuoan Council, which is a distinct possibility. She's definitely Maiden-like, with incredible beauty and strength, and the presence of bodyguards and what Team NDGO had told me means that there's something definitely going on with her.'_

As they turned a corner into a length of hallway with tall open windows that offered a breathtaking view of the landscape and the desert and scattered trees and rocks behind the city, Ilia silently slipped in and out of the pool of shadows along the way, relying on her camouflage abilities to stay out of the view of the security cameras.

"We're in an empty wing, is that correct?" Luna slowly turned and asked Cedric.

"Yes, Ma'am. No students are present in this wing at the moment and all of the faculty members are also on break. I even made sure that the main security bureau had deactivated the cameras just in case anyone in the offices may be watching." Cedric reported.

"Thank you for your diligence." Luna told him before saying to 'Adara', "As we don't know how much longer you will be staying here, I don't think it would be productive to make too many friends since there's a possibility you won't be seeing them again."

"I know, but those Teams, especially BRNZ and NDGO, show a lot of promise in regards to their team dynamics and fighting methods. I wouldn't mind teaching them a few things, since it would probably greatly help them in future when they graduate as fully-fledged Hunters." 'Adara' commented.

"We'll go over it with your protectors, but right now please continue to limit your interactions with the student body as much as you can. I'm sorry, but if any of them discover who you really are things might rapidly get complicated and I seriously don't want to impose a stricter curfew on your comings and goings, Adara." Luna informed the young woman who nodded in response.

"I'll remember that, Headmistress." 'Adara' answered almost instantly.

Well, that settled it. There was obviously more to this 'Adara Aenia' than it initially appeared. It made sense for her to be using an alias if she was the Summer Maiden, but Ilia wondered why the spy within Shade didn't use it in the note passed on to her. Maybe the spy was not a hundred-percent sure if Luna's guest was actually the Summer Maiden, or maybe the agent didn't want to be too complicit.

Ilia kept following them discreetly until they approached another open courtyard that had an extensive garden with multi-coloured flowers and tall green trees grown within it along with the presence of a rather large fountain. At the far end of the courtyard was another large building built out of sun-bleached sandstone with a tall tower at its very roof. A pair of large doors at the front facing the garden opened up and led to a grand-looking staircase beyond the threshold. A group of Vacuo Rangers stood at the many terraces and rafters of the surrounding buildings that framed the large courtyard, their weapons all at the ready and alert.

Slipping into the shadows at a darkened corner of a long eastern-facing corridor which allowed her a view of the headmistress and the young woman, Ilia heard Luna speak again, "Some members of the council have suggested that I should keep you locked in the guest tower, like some princess from a fairy tale, but I know how much you value your freedom, so I refused."

"And how did they take it?" 'Adara' raised an quizzical eyebrow.

"They aren't happy, but I managed to make them appreciate your choice." Luna continued, shaking her head a little, "Besides, with your exceptional combat skills I'm sure you can more than handle yourself should anything happens, and while I've sworn an oath in the past to protect you to the best of my abilities I shall do so without precariously compromising the goodwill we have with each other."

"I know all of these precautions are for my safety, Headmistress, so don't worry about it. I'm already used to it, and I'm sure my bodyguards can also share the burden of protecting me should something happen. Still, it wouldn't hurt to help the students of Shade Academy hone their skills further, would it?" 'Adara' reasoned as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I'll speak to Fire Walker, and see what he thinks of what you have told me. Until then, have a good day, Adara." Luna gently patted the brown-haired woman on the shoulder and Cedric bowed politely before they turned and left through the courtyard again, while the latter feminine figure returned her courtesies before disappearing up the marble staircase as the large doors grinded shut behind her.

Ilia automatically shrunk back into the small and shadowy alcove she had chosen to hide in, using her skin colour-changing Semblance and the shadows to hide herself and held her breath from the view of Shade Academy's headmistress and her assistant secretary as they both walked by.

Once they were gone she opened her scroll once more to check the map to see which tower building 'Adara' had entered, and nodded to herself when she saw that it was the building that was used to house guests from other Kingdoms and exchange students, but it seems this particular one had been set aside for the exclusive use of 'Adara'. Curiouser and curiouser.

She had her suspicions from the various clues she had gathered around Shade Academy and from the conversation between Luna and the young woman who was being guarded far too seriously for a simple V.I.P.. Making a mental note to wait until nightfall to confirm if 'Adara' was really the Summer Maiden they were looking for, Ilia vanished into the shadows once more without leaving a trace.

* * *

Classes had ended at Beacon Academy for the day, but the various training halls within the school were still busy. While their studies were over for the day, their personal training were never quite done, and many knew this all too well.

Ruby cried out as she landed on her rear back on the padded floor of the training hall, sweat running down her cream-colored skin. She shook her head and blinked as she gazed up at the harsh lights of ceiling, just as Yang and Penny entered her sight and looked down at her.

"Sorry about the trip, Rubes, but you gotta be prepared for anything coming your way. Keep in mind that a lot of opponents are gonna fight dirty." Yang advised as she offered her flesh-and-blood hand to her sister.

Ruby accepted it and was hauled up to her feet, "It's all right, Yang. I should've paid attention to more than trying to dodge your fists."

Team RWBY, along with Penny, were currently in Beacon's expansive training hall, getting to work on improving Ruby's hand-to-hand combat skills as Argentius had suggested. Thus far, the silver-eyed girl had done reasonably well, but there was still a clear need for improvement. On another separate exercise mat not far away from them, Weiss and Blake were having a practice duel, trading soft blows, strikes and parries with each other, their movements swift and deft as they sparred.

All four girls and one female android were wearing their own individual gym uniforms as per regulation; a red t-shirt with black sweatpants for Ruby, black gym shorts and a yellow tank-top for Yang, a white t-shirt with silver-grey pants for Weiss, a black tank-top with white sweatpants cut off at the knees for Blake, and a beige t-shirt with green lines running down its short sleeves and black shorts combo for Penny.

After checking Ruby over for any unseen injuries, Yang gave her younger sister a nod who then walked over to stand at the center of the sparring mat and said towards the robot girl, "Okay Penny, you're up. Come at me."

"I will try my best, Ruby!" Penny promised as she approached her friend and took up a combat stance. Once she was right opposite of Ruby, the black and red-haired Huntress whipped around and let fly a punch that the android blocked easily before sidestepping another punch which flew past her face, shot out her hands to grab onto Ruby's arm and spinning her around.

"Don't hold back Ruby! Penny can take it!" Yang coached as her sister struggled in the android's grip.

Ruby managed to knee Penny in the gut, causing the android girl to jerk forward but she still kept her grip on Ruby's left arm. She the darted behind Ruby and attempted to hit her in the back but Ruby spun quickly and blocked the blow with an elbow jab before kicking out and forcing Penny to let go of her, managing to free herself from Penny's grasp.

The two approached one another once more, and Ruby managed to duck under Penny's attempt to get her into a headlock by side-stepping and throwing a left cross which was turned aside by Penny, who returned by striking again with several punches, with Ruby barely managing to defend herself by protecting her head with both forearms placed horizontally in front of her. As Penny launched another punch Ruby used her left hand to grab it and her right arm to attempt a retaliation, which Penny grabbed with her free hand and twisted slightly, making Ruby yelp as she was put into an arm-lock.

"Friend Ruby, are you in pain?" Penny asked, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah! Mind letting me go now?" Ruby turned over her shoulder to look at Penny who immediately let go with an apologetic look on her face.

"My apologies, friend Ruby."

"It's all right." Ruby assured her.

"Okay, you are doing good on defense but you gotta work on your offense." Yang drilled carefully as she observed them, and when Penny let her younger sister go she shot forward and began her attack. She then knocked Ruby back with a swift kick, and landed some light hits on the team leader's shoulder and chin when the latter moved her arms to block the brawler's sudden leg thrust, then grabbed Ruby by the back of her neck and forced her down while holding her arms upright, and finally finishing off by knocking Ruby off her feet with a sweeping kick.

"Ow! What gives?!" Ruby demanded as she sat up, rubbing her head.

"Always be prepared in case you're outnumbered," Yang told her as she watched Ruby push herself to her feet once more, and beckoned, "Come at me, sis!"

Ruby huffed before charging, and thanks to her Semblance she shot forward like a bullet, managing to land an opening blow on Yang's chest which nearly knocked the blonde fighter back. She threw out another admittedly impressive punch that Yang managed to dodge by moving her head aside at the right moment. Ruby then struck with her feet next, landing a blow on Yang's right shin and avoiding her elder sister's return kick, before lifting her leg high and hitting Yang on her left shoulder.

"That's more like it!" The blonde brawler complimented before Ruby struck again, but Yang grabbed the incoming fist and attempted to strike back with her free hand, only for Ruby to block it with her forearm. Yang smiled before using her grip on Ruby's left hand to twist her younger sister around, grab her midsection, and finally throw Ruby onto the mat again with a suplex move.

"Oh man, uncle!" Ruby whined as Yang helped her up again.

"Sorry, Uncle Qrow's not here." Yang quipped with a smirk.

Ruby rolled her eyes before Penny tilted her head and quietly suggested, "Perhaps we could quit for today, if you would like."

The scythe-wielding Huntress shook her head stubbornly and said, "Not yet, I'm not quitting until I manage to win at least one match. Come at me again, Penny!"

"That's the spirit!" Weiss called over positively while Blake raised an eyebrow. They had finished with their sword-sparring, and were now observing the close-range combat training. The Schnee heiress gave her partner an encouraging look, and Ruby returned it with a bright smile.

Ruby braced herself as Penny came forward, her body set in another fighting stance. She blocked and grabbed the first punch the android girl threw, forcing it down just as Penny landed a sharp slap on the side of her head. Momentarily disoriented, Ruby threw a clumsy punch Penny effortlessly dodged, and then moved under Ruby's extended arm and throwing a fist into her chest, causing Ruby to be pushed back a few steps. She then jumped over a sweeping leg before coming up again, wrapping her arms around Ruby's right arm, turning to slowly twist her friend down to the ground. Ruby was clearly struggling against the android's considerable strength, but wasn't about to give up just yet.

The silver-eyed girl speedily turned on her side and used her legs to push herself away, narrowly avoiding and blocking the elbow jab Penny tried to land on her shoulder. She twisted clear out of Penny's grip and in one swift motion delivered a fast kick which knocked the robotic girl's head back and then leaped forward and slammed into Penny's midriff, bringing her sparring opponent onto the exercise mats with a loud thud.

Ruby grunted as she brought her forearm underneath Penny's chin while using her other hand to keep the other robotic girl's other limbs from protecting herself, "Gotcha!"

Penny smiled and said, "Well done, Ruby! I yield."

Ruby returned the smile before letting herself fall over beside Penny onto the exercise mats, taking in deep breaths and faintly hearing the applause coming from both Weiss and Blake. Ruby jokingly flexed her limbs where she lay and said, "Oh yeah, who's the girl?"

Yang came over to her, knelt down and grinned, "You remind me of me when I first started training with dad."

"Yeah, but did you ever fight against a robot girl when you were training?" Ruby asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Nope, but there's always a first time. I'm sure I could easily lift Penny if I tried." Yang boasted as she looked over to Penny, who remained on the floor, smiling.

"I am sure the chances of that happening are quite high, and I would be more than happy to help you with your training, friend Yang." Penny offered.

Yang nodded as she helped Ruby up again, and smirked before adding, "I would do that, but I'll do this instead!"

Suddenly, she rammed straight into a stunned Ruby and suplexed her down onto the ground, then dropped on top of her younger sister and began to wrestle her.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby whined as she struggled to fight back. The wrestling sisters moved ahead on the mat, as Ruby managed to get her legs up and around Yang's head before using all her strength to tumble them around. Yang promptly freed herself from Ruby's head-scissors move, jumping upwards only to see the younger sibling throw an attempted karate chop at Yang's shoulder. She weaved side and managed to grab the extended limb, accidentally leaving her other side open and allowing Ruby to use both of her legs to kick Yang in the gut and knocking the elder sibling off the younger one.

Yang rolled away and recovered, jumping back up and smiling at Ruby, "You're improving pretty fast. That's my little sister!" She praised, "By the way, where did you learn all of these new tricks from?"

"Argentius taught me a couple of new fighting skills during our meeting." Ruby replied, shaking her hands to get the blood flowing once more, "I'm still trying to find a chance to practice what he taught me."

"Well, I'm sure you can find some way." Yang nodded her head, "So we keep going until you win one match against me?"

"No problem." Ruby said confidently, tilting her head in both directions and stopped when no noise came from the action, saying, "Uh… how do I make the knuckle-cracking sound with my neck?"

"Not important, sis. Stay focused." Yang snapped before she charged at Ruby again.

Ruby dug in her feet before she used her Semblance to launch herself at Yang again. The sisters collided and Ruby reached up to grab Yang by the head, careful not to be too rough on her sister's hair, and then used her weight to bring them both crashing into the ground. As second passed it was clear that her elder sister was gaining an advantage.

Ruby struggled under Yang for a brief moment, but when a couple of strands of Yang's long blonde hair obscured her vision for a brief moment, she got an impromptu idea; one that was unfortunately a tad too mean, but one that could win her the match.

Her knee jabbed sharply into Yang's midriff, briefly knocking the wind out of her older sister and giving Ruby the opportunity to tumble Yang around and scramble up her large body, and grab hold of Yang's precious locks of blonde hair.

Ruby smirked and asked, "Do you give up?"

Yang looked at her little sister in shock and stuttered, "Y-you wouldn't…" Weiss and Blake were both equally surprised Ruby would go as far as to threaten Yang's hair, of all things, to win the fight.

"I can play dirty too, if I have to. Plus, a good fighter pays attention to their opponents, and their weaknesses." Ruby said with a victorious grin.

Yang closed her eyes, let out a deep breath and said, "Okay, I give up. You beat me, sis."

Ruby smiled and released her sister's precious hair before falling backwards, breathing in and out as she relaxed on the floor.

Weiss and Blake came over to help them up, with the cat Faunus smiling at her partner while she gingerly stroked her yellow locks. She looked over to her leader and said, "That was a good strategy Ruby, one I didn't expect from you but it worked nonetheless."

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, I don't think I really would have done it. I would've only taken one little strand of hair, at most." Ruby said as she sat up, accepting the towel Weiss handed her to wipe off her sweat.

"Even one little strand of hair is one is too many." Yang pouted before smiling, "Still, gotta give you props, that was pretty smart and sneaky."

"I don't know about sneaky, but I hope I'm getting smarter." Ruby answered.

Weiss patted her on the shoulder and said, "Trust me, you most definitely are."

Ruby smiled at her as Penny came over, and the robotic girl asked, "So, would you like to go for another round?"

"No way!" Ruby cried, shaking her head and bringing up her hands, "Enough is enough for today!"

The others laughed as Ruby rolled her eyes, but once it died down she said, "Still, I'd say I improved a bit more than before, but what do you think?"

Yang nodded, "I think so too, but you're not an ace at it yet, so we'll keep going and see how much better you can get."

"How about a tag team match next time?" Weiss suggested evenly, "Ruby and I against you and Blake, Penny can be the referee and observe us all, telling us what we can improve on."

The rest of Team RWBY all considered it and nodded, "That's a pretty good idea, Weiss." Blake agreed.

"I'm up for it." Yang said.

"Count me in!" Ruby replied happily.

"I am more than happy to observe how the four of you can fight in a tag match." Penny added with a grin on her face as she adopted a sitting pose, "It would be so exciting!"

"I'm sure we can do it some other day, because right now I need a good long rest." Ruby said, letting herself fall back to the exercise mats to emphasize how tired she was, making Yang laugh while Blake smiled and shook her head.

"In that case, let's get you back to the dorm room." Weiss said as she and Penny lifted Ruby up, helping her towards the exit while Yang and Blake walked over to the benches to collect their stuff.

"I am so glad to have friends like you." Ruby remarked tiredly as she let them take her away.

* * *

Ilia knelt on a rooftop of one of the highest buildings surrounding the massive academy, this one being some sort of factory complex churning out refined minerals that had been mined from the various sites scattered around Sanus. She hid amongst the long metallic pipes that led to the water towers that populate the various roofs, while being surrounded on both sides by tall vent shafts and spinning turbine vents, knowing that their generated heat would mask her heat signature easily while she stuck to the shadows.

She had slipped out of Shade Academy the way she came in, changing into her stealth bodysuit and the specialized horned mask she was currently wearing, which helped her to blend in quite well with her surroundings. She scaled the walls of the darkened back-alleyways pretty quickly once she identified the factory complex which would have a perfect view of the tower 'Adara' was presently living in, and leaped onto the roof after she had reached the top. After finding a comfortable and practical spot to hide she kept to the darkness surrounding her, her skin easily turning charcoal-black with nothing but a thought. After making sure that she didn't accidentally attract any unwelcome attention, Ilia took out the pair of high-tech night vision binoculars that Ante had given her from one of her pouches and aimed them up at the tower.

She made cursory sweeps to the places she had identified and memorized on the map to make sure that she wasn't spotted by any of the sentries which had been posted along the academy's ramparts, checking out the small activities and security patrols happening around the school at night. The landing platforms which were connected by a direct path that led to the transport terminal were empty save for a couple of Vacuo Ranger Bullheads, and very few students were still out as the majority were already heading back to their dorms for the night.

Everything was progressing along well so far, and she was well under the radar for any of the patrolling Vacuo Ranger security guards with her choice of hiding places. Of course there was also the possibility of her being spotted by any unseen guards, but so far no alarm was raised within the Academy and her Faunus senses also told her that nothing was currently moving stealthily towards her on the rooftops at the moment. Nevertheless, she readied her whip just in case.

From what she had observed earlier of 'Adara's' activities, there was nothing out of ordinary with regards to her reading quite a number of books and watching the television screen. A thought crossed Ilia's mind that there was a chance that this girl wasn't a Maiden, but simply the daughter related to any of the members of Vacuo's Council, or someone like a well-connected old friend or politician with very close ties to Aria herself who requested for 'Adara' to stay within Shade Academy for an extended period of time as something of a personal favor, and hence she was nothing too special.

That would probably explain why she was so proficient in defending herself, but a nagging thought that Ilia couldn't shake told her that it was somewhat strange that a young woman like her would have such a weapon and would be skilled enough that she could easily defeat four Hunters-in-training and only being slightly winded after the match.

Adding to the fact that Ante's contacts hadn't been able to dig up any record of an 'Adara Aenia' made it unlikely that the young woman was connected to anyone within the Kingdom of Vacuo unless those records were so deeply buried and sealed behind countless layers of security that even undercover agents were unable to get to them. Ilia frowned as she considered the possibility, but promptly discarded it since the clues surrounding the girl she witnessed fighting Team BRNZ made her quite suspicious, and most importantly she had a gut feeling she was on the right track.

There was still one other thing she needed to confirm, and that was the secretive bodyguards that hadn't yet been seen. Perhaps if she continued to keep watch, she might just catch a glimpse of these 'bodyguards' Aria had mentioned, perhaps they were the key to proving that she was the Summer Maiden they were looking for.

She shook her head and looked back at the tower once more, trying to return her focus to her assigned mission, only to see that 'Adara' was out of sight, and cursed herself for allowing her thoughts to distract her. Her skin briefly flared pinkish-red for few moments, before shifting back into a darkened black hue once more as she gained control of her emotions.

It took a few minutes of quick searching around the various lit windows of the tower before Ilia managed to find where out where 'Adara' was again. She reappeared a couple of floors down, and when the Red Fang agent adjusted the binoculars and looked closer, the latter realized that 'Adara' looked as though she was ready for a workout as she strode into the fully-stocked exercise chamber.

Despite herself, the Fusion Faunus was thankful for the horned mask that she was wearing as she felt a brief surge of warmth within her chest as her heart pounded slightly faster than usual. As her cheeks blushed a bright red, so did her whole skin, at the sight of the how 'Adara' looked in her workout wear, practically an exercise bikini.

'Adara' was currently wearing a tight orange sports-bra with curved blue patterns around the shoulders, in addition to a tight pair of black and orange shorts, leaving her feet bare. She filled it out nicely, as it accentuated her naturally tanned skin, which spoke of many hours spent sparring and training. With so much of her skin showing, it served to only heighten her beauty. If she thought Blake once looked stunning in her White Fang uniform, then what she was looking at now was practically near-perfection crafted into the very form of a strong feminine figure. There was little to no fat compared to the slightly larger amount of muscle mass she possessed, the difference so skewed that it seemed as though there were only layer after layer of toned, rippling muscle moving underneath the moderately-tanned feminine skin. 'Adara' had apparently loosened the brown braids of her hair, allowing them to flow all the way past her shoulders before tying her hair up into a long ponytail of sorts with a red hair-tie, adjusting it a few times so that no wayward strands would inconvenience her during her exercise session.

Ilia bit her lower lip; Oum above this girl was delightfully attractive, with long and strong-looking legs, a deep cleavage that hinted at a plentiful pair of breasts contained in the sports-bar, a near-perfect blend of eye-catching curves and well-built muscles from head to toe, and lastly a gorgeous face that would probably have other women question their sexual-orientation. Ilia realized it was no surprise why many of the spectators witnessing the matches were boys, who wouldn't want to see such a powerful beauty fight?

She watched as 'Adara' stretched and exercised her body, going through the motions by bending over and unknowingly giving Ilia quite a show as she performed her yoga routine. Most humans would have lots of difficulty adopting any of the poses that she was performing one after another, but it seemed as though 'Adara' was going through a complex dance of sorts.

"If I didn't know better I would say I was… Oh, if only you were a Faunus..." Ilia murmured to herself as she entertained a brief fantasy, before shaking her head and focusing back on her mission by continue to look at her target through the night vision binoculars.

'Adara' was now standing on one leg while holding the other in her hand, a natarajasana pose, the Fusion Faunus recognized, and after quite a few other different yet balanced poses, she slipped naturally back to a normal stance, and with ease and grace she launched herself into an exercise regime she must have done many times before, given how her lean and firmly-muscled body moved about effortlessly.

With the conclusion of her first training routine, 'Adara' walked over to a wooden rack of long hanbo staffs and selected one that she weighed in her hands before giving it a few experimental spins. Walking over to a control lectern set in at the right hand side of the exercise chambers even as she continued spinning the staff between her agile fingers, she tapped a couple of buttons on the blue screen of the control panel which summoned half a dozen training robots from the tall metallic lockers stacked vertically in a row against the far side of the chambers.

She closed her eyes and breathed slowly and steadily as the training robots each produced metallic staffs from their forearms and took up a variety of combat stances as they surrounded 'Adara' with an equal amount of space between her and each other. There was a few seconds of calm and silence, before the first training robot shot forward like a lightning bolt, launching an overhead strike aimed at her head with its staff.

It hit only empty air as its target sidestepped before tripping it with a sweeping kick, while blocking another strike from the training robot behind her in a blink of an eye. Spinning around, she launched a series of sharp jabs into the other machine's face, chest and shoulders, loud metallic thunks echoed as the training robot's face snapped back sharply. With a sharp whack across its torso she sent it skidding across the training mats, several dents in its armor plates.

Leaning back as another staff whistled past a hair's breadth from her face, 'Adara' backflipped from the sharp thrusts coming from two other training bots, landing behind them with all the grace of a feline as she spun her hanbo staff to block off their continuous strikes. Her strikes were careful when warding blows away from her face, body and limbs, but were relentless when she went of the offensive, delivering multiple sharp blows that would have either incapacitated or outright knocked out several human or Faunus opponents in short order. The sheer sight of the training robots, probably programmed to fight at their highest setting, were evidently having trouble keeping up with the girl spoke volumes about the kind of rigorous training she must have received somewhere, possibly from different martial arts masters since Ilia identified a few of the defensive and offensive techniques displayed throughout the fight.

Clangs rang regularly throughout the training chambers in a steady rhythm, speedily and methodically hitting each training robot as they all fought against her, moving from one end to the other and back again. The whole training session was so intense that Ilia was completely engrossed by how 'Adara' moved so fluidly, weaving in and out of the machines' rapid strikes and blows while returning them just as quickly. One by one each training robot received its share of hits and deactivated themselves as per training protocol, the last one almost hitting 'Adara' with a straight thrust which she dodged with ease and finished off with twin strikes to the shoulders and a sharp blow to the face that caused the training robot's face to cave in. Ilia winced visibly at that, as if that robot had been a person it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

The Faunus felt her eyes widen when she realized that 'Adara' had only dispatched the robots with only a number of dents to their overall body structures, while managing to not knock over or damage anything in the entire training chambers which was filled to the brim with every kind of exercise equipment imaginable, besting them all quite swiftly. The last training robot slumped to its knees and smoked visibly, its servos pushed into overdrive to keep up with the fighting speed of the human girl standing before her as its metallic staff dropped from seized fingers and rolled across the matted floor. The other five humanoid machines were not in good shape either, each sporting several dents on their silver plating which would probably need replacing.

'Adara' saluted with her hanbo staff at the motionless machines as a courtesy and walked over to pick up a towel from a stack near the windows, running it over her wet face to wipe away the sweat. Ilia adjusted the binoculars again, zooming in close to the other girl's face just in time to catch a tiny flash of red glow around her irises. It was there, only for a split second, but the power that dwelled within 'Adara' herself revealed itself momentarily, and the Red Fang agent felt herself gasp as she realized her suspicions were correct.

Suddenly 'Adara' jerked around as the large doors leading into the chambers began to open. The brunette girl reached for a violet-red bathrobe hanging nearby and put it on to cover her body as someone slightly larger than her approached.

While slightly disappointed that her eye candy was gone, Ilia watched curiously as 'Adara' turned towards the opening doors which swung open to reveal a tall figure clad in an elaborate silver-colored with red trim suit of armor with an equally complicated looking helmet, tiny runic script running down the surface of those shiny armour plates. The cloak the armored warrior wore was grey and brown, and it flowed from his shoulders all the way down to near his equally thick metallic boots. The sight of such a powerful warrior immediately raised alarms in Ilia's head.

 _'Dear Oum, that armour looks way too advanced for any Vacuo Ranger or a simple bodyguard. So if what Tyrian and Hui had both told me are true, then there's no doubt about it; that's indeed a Remnant Knight.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she observed the Maiden talk to the large armoured figure casually, making gestures as though to prove some point to him,  _'Then there's the flash of ethereal red in her eyes… and that can only mean 'Adara Aenia' is the Summer Maiden they are looking for.'_

After a few moments of conversation the Remnant Knight lifted his hand and pointed to the tall open windows, which made 'Adara Aenia' look back also, the two of them staring in Ilia's general direction, and Ilia's heart skipped a beat for a terrifying moment as she dreaded the possibility that she had been spotted, and so she lowered herself until she was prone on the rooftop. A few seconds later she exhaled, her panic vanishing as the Maiden nonchalantly approached the tall long windows and tapped a control, which immediately caused the silken curtains on either side to close over the windows as she continued to chat with the knight.

Ilia resisted the urge to wipe her brow, and brought up her binoculars just in time to see the last sight of the knight currently engaged in some sort of animated conversation with the Maiden for having the windows of the training chambers open and allowing anyone to peer in from afar, probably exposing herself in the process, or at least that's what's it looked like to her.

With the curtains closed that means she could no longer observe the Maiden, but Ilia had the information her superiors needed. She quickly drew back into the shadows, making her way to a nearby gantry and descended quickly down the steel steps, going over the information she had collected after successfully infiltrating Shade and spying on 'Adara Aenia', the latter of which she was very sure was the Summer Maiden Heliosia. There was no doubt about it, the armored figure was a Remnant Knight, and if there was one, there was bound to be more hidden elsewhere within and around Shade, vigilantly guarding the girl, which obviously meant that she was without a doubt the real Maiden.

Ilia silently made her way to lower ground, jumping from the fire escape of the factory building and going across the other buildings across long leaking pipes and rusted walkways until she eventually made it to the back streets. She felt a brief twinge of guilt within her heart when she realized what she was doing, as it was obvious that the Summer Maiden would most likely have to die for Salem's plans...

Blake's former friend shook that thought from her head and reasoned with herself that if these Maidens were really so kind and pure of heart, where were they when the Faunus were suffering throughout the history of Remnant? If they were so powerful, why not step in and help the Faunus in their times of need? The anger still burned in her despite the death of Adam, and with Blake's betrayal it had grown into a flaring hatred which sometimes kept her up at night. There would be a reckoning between her and Blake, of that Ilia was sure.

Ilia sighed and forced herself to control her rising anger, her face grimacing as she decided that she could think about that another time, right now she needed to get back to Ante's hideout and report to him and the deranged assassin about what she had discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader


	63. Of Things To Come Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so sorry this took so long. Golden Crusader had a project to work on and since he's become my writing partner at this point I can't do certain things in this story without him and since this chapter ended up being so long I had to split it into two parts. On the bright side, however, I was able to work on chapter 65 in advance, so it should come out sooner. I hope!

Salem sat in solitude within her throne room, enjoying the relative silence while her ebony-white fingers toyed musingly with a black goblet filled with bright rich red fluid. Everything so far had been proceeding smoothly with regards to her grand plan, with each member of the Inner Circle knowing exactly what they needed to do to strike back at the Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knights. She didn't care what they each would do to sow discord and destruction, as long as the final ends achieved benefitted her and the Grimm.

Over to her right a faint clicking sound was heard as a Seer Grimm floated a small distance away, suspended in mid-air while its long red tentacles capped with bony white tips underneath twitched every few seconds as it awaited her instructions. She idly tapped her right index finger upon which a ring resembling an insect was worn on it on the arm-rest of her throne, wondering if she should check up on Cinder's current progress on harnessing the stolen power of the Fall Maiden. The fire witch's abilities and powers had increased significantly under her training, and if leaving the facial scar that the Rose girl had given Cinder on her face in Haven would help her focus her hatred and fear of failure, so much the better.

Cinder wouldn't dare fail her a second time, as she knew all too well what would happen to those who disappoint her.

A soft beeping sound, which signified that one of her agents was contacting her, attracted her attention and she pressed a button on a retracted panel of her throne to accept it. The deathly-pale woman observed silently as the image of Tyrian appeared on the holographic screen which unfolded before her, transmitted through on a secret secure channel. The assassin's image bowed to her as she spoke, "Tyrian, report."

"My goddess, it's always a pleasure to bask in your presence!" Tyrian cackled as he straightened up again.

"Spare me your groveling, Callows. Have you made any progress on your search for the Summer Maiden in Vacuo?" Salem asked in a stern, but calm voice.

He quailed a little but smirked and said, "I have good new on that front, Mistress. One of the Red Fang's operatives, the Amitola girl, has reported back from her mission to infiltrate Shade Academy, and she has brought with her some interesting findings."

"I take it she has obtained solid proof that the Summer Maiden is at Shade Academy?" Salem inquired.

The Human-turned-Faunus nodded, "Yes, Mistress. While she was there she witnessed a fight between a lone woman and a team of Hunters-in-training, and she defeated all of them with relative ease. From what she has found out this woman's name was Adara Aenia, but after checking in with our deep cover contact there is no record of such a woman before roughly half a year ago. Amitola also said that she learned that this Adara girl is currently staying at Shade Academy as an honored guest of Luna Aria, and none of the students are aware of who she really is or why she's there in the first place. Moreover, she is rarely seen outside of the Academy and Amitola said Aria apparently led her away quietly after the match was over, as if eager to get her out of the student population's attention. Finally, the dormitory building this particular lady is staying at is guarded by Vacuo Rangers."

"While that is indeed intriguing, it's still not enough to confirm her identity. We need something solid before we assume she's the Summer Maiden." Salem dismissed, her response earning a maniacal grin from Tyrian.

"That's not all; Mistress. When Amitola spied on this mysterious woman earlier tonight, she witnessed two things: One; Adara's eyes glow bright red after an intense workout session which indicates the Maiden ability, and two; a strange armored figure was seen to be speaking with the girl, one who matches the typical description of a Remnant Knight."

At these latest pieces of information Salem sat up visibly, a look of intrigue on her face, "That is much more promising. Does she have any pictures of this knight?"

"No, as she didn't want to risk giving herself away. However, she did get a good look at this knight and what she described from the armor configuration he's wearing it sounds like exactly one of their number, right down to the color of his Aegis armour." Tyrian reported, cracking a wide smile.

"The Knights wouldn't be guarding just anyone. This 'Adara Aenia' must be the Summer Maiden." Salem surmised thoughtfully, bringing up her left hand to her chin.

"That's not all; when Amitola returned to our hideout I was sitting in on a meeting Ante was having with one of the leaders of the Black Vipers, a powerful local gang that answers to him now. They had a run-in about a week or so ago with a mysterious, powerful vigilante woman who defeated some of their talented members with ease. Despite the subsequent crackdown by the Vacuo Rangers, the remaining gang leader was one of the few who got away, and when Ilia described Adara to him he quickly told us that she must be the same woman who kicked the collective asses of his underlings."

"A Maiden's heart always does bleed for those oppressed, and fights against predators such as this gang." Salem mentioned with a careful nod as she considered these facts, "Perhaps this can be a weakness we can use against her."

"I think it's safe to say we have the Summer Maiden in our sights, Mistress. What do you wish for me to do?" Tyrian asked respectfully.

Salem thought about it for a moment and replied, "With this information we now know the whereabouts of two of the remaining Maidens. I will send Thorn and Anansi over to you, along with Emerald and Mercury. Their training has gone well and they will be of great help to you. You shall work together to plan out an attack on Vacuo while I organize our concurrent assault on Atlas. In the meantime, continue with your current preparations and wait for my order to launch your attack."

She took a sip of red fluid from the goblet in her right hand and let it dangle from her fingers, "And so, once the time is right we will deal our next strike at our enemies, and leave them utterly devastated while we recover the Relics they have kept so carefully hidden from me."

"What about Cinder, Mistress? Will she be joining us as well?" Tyrian asked.

Salem allowed herself a dark smile before saying, "I have something else in mind for her, something just as important."

"And the Spring Maiden?" The assassin asked again, "Do we have any news on that front?"

"Tyrian, that's enough questions from you. Spring can wait, we will take the Summer and Winter Maidens first." Salem said.

"Yes Mistress, I'll get to work organizing a plan. " Tyrian said, bowing respectfully once more before the hologram of him vanished. Salem sipped again from the goblet before placing it back on the arm-rest of her throne, a pensive look on her deathly-white face as she noted to herself to contact the spy she had planted within Shade Academy to gather any further information with regards to the hidden Relics since the Summer Maiden's presence has already been confirmed.

She was brought out of her contemplations when she felt something brush against the deepest thoughts of her mind. It was nothing more than a ghost-like caress, but Salem knew what this particular thing wanted from her. So she quietly sat back on her throne and took in deep calming breaths as her mind began to focus on what she needed to do whenever she was making contact with it. She allowed herself to slip away fully into a trance-like state, and then opened her eyes which were now totally pitch black.

She wasn't in the throne room, or at least her psyche wasn't within that terrifying grand palace of hers. She was in a total black void, where absolutely nothing existed and shadows reigned supreme. Nonetheless she could somehow  _feel_ the existence of something there, and she communicated with it. She told the dark force that had created the Grimm, the darkness that had heard her prayers so many years ago and had granted her the powers of the Mistress of Grimm, as it had those who came before her.

It had been there since before time began, it had been everywhere when there was only silence and it snuffed out every attempt at life, light, and hope before the spark of creation lit up the universe. It didn't go away, it had merely been driven back by the light. Nevertheless, it was patient and thus waited for a chance to rise again. Using what little power it could in this world to make its moves throughout the history of mankind, it has sown many hidden seeds of chaos and hatred, letting fear and horror grow and spread, allowing such things to become a part of all living things.

Why? Because it wanted to control everything again, to reign supreme once more. It wished to create something of its own, and so when the world was devastated by an apocalyptic event known as The Great Shattering, the ensuing chaos made it strong enough to reach in and form its own creations to oppose the light. And so the Grimm came to pass, along with an human woman to become a leader of the Grimm; the first Mistress of Grimm.

And now, thousands of years later, Salem was the latest incarnation. She was the priestess of darkness, the Dark Queen, the Grimm Mistress. She was its conduit, its empress, its herald, its key and its salvation. The darkness depended on her, like she depended on it, for their goals were aligned together. It was also her treasure, her faith, and in the end it was ultimately her salvation as well.

In that dark place, Salem's ethereal form appeared and spoke into the black void made of pure shadow. The silence was broken by her words, and although she couldn't see anything tangible the Dark Mistress was acutely aware of  _something_ , or perhaps,  _many things_ ,both terrifyingly majestic and incredibly powerful watching her with unseen eyes and asked questions that only she could somehow hear without any sound being produced.

"Everything is coming together. My Grimm Knight spy has reported that the Winter Maiden has finally returned back to her sanctuary atop the mountain half-an-hour ago and now we also know where the Summer Maiden is. Our alliances with the pirates and the discontented tribes of Vacuo have also bore fruit, and it appears that this stage of the plan will be coming along quite easily. We will all get what we want eventually." She spoke carefully and waited for the primordial blackness around her to ask its unheard questions again.

Then again, nothing was easy in this eternal war. She had schemed and manipulated for hundreds of years to get to where she was presently. Everything she had orchestrated in the past; mass murder, military and political assassinations, assaults on the Kingdoms and Huntsman Academies, shadow wars against the Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knights, and various other dark deeds were all done without exception so as to make this future the darkness wanted would become a reality. With the pawns and underlings she had chosen, the endless armies of Grimm creatures and robotic warriors at her beck and call, and the knowledge of two of the remaining Maidens, it felt like the realization of this dream was coming closer and closer to fruition.

All she needed were the four Relics, and if she could get the Aura Crystal in the process so much the better.

The darkness didn't 'speak' to her in the traditional sense, but she could feel its presence and hear the words meant for her and understand its meaning, so there was no need for it to repeat anything else.

And right now, she felt pleased as well as a faint feeling of triumph. She wasn't triumphant yet, but soon enough she would be when her great plan reached its climax. Once she obtained the powers of the four Maidens, acquired the four Relics of Remnant, and then… and then everything would be theirs.

Salem smiled at the thought of their complete and total victory over Remnant, over Ozpin and his order of fools who imprudently followed him, over the infuriating Remnant Knights who fought tooth and nail against her over the centuries in the shadows, and any others who dared to oppose them. She lifted her head skywards and smiled wider as she spread her robed arms out and let herself feel the embrace of pure darkness.

It was pleased, and so was she.

* * *

 

No two experiences of entering the mindscape of the Aura Crystal were the same, as Jaune and Pyrrha came to realize. They were just as likely to appear on a thin causeway in the middle of a vast sea made up of flowing pure aura or onto a forgotten landscape of the world before the Shattering conjured up by the collective of souls dwelling within the crystal itself. Despite what they had seen within its inner sanctum during their meditation sessions, they both knew that they were barely scratching the surface of the many secrets and hidden knowledge kept within the Aura Crystal, which was akin to a monumentally huge library with several different sections closed off, as though they needed permission to access certain places.

Jaune and Pyrrha opened their eyes as they once again enter the mindscape of the Aura Crystal, the strange, colourful landscape spanning all around them with large, shiny rocks jutting out here and there not unlike that of a rocky seaside, and the varying shapes of aura that served as the otherworldly forms of the people whose collective aura made the relic so powerful floating leisurely in the sky above and surroundings around them. The couple looked around the alien landscape, and spotted tall green trees which were covered with many blooming flowers that shone with brightly-glowing aura.

"Wonder how long it will take for us to meet them this time?" Pyrrha pondered aloud as she held hands with Jaune even as they walked along the gently curving path, only to get an answer right away.

"Not long, actually." The voice of the Aura Crystal's Avatar reached their ears, which made them both turn around in surprise.

"Hey, don't sneak up on us like that!" Jaune admonished, earning a wry smile from the mysterious entity who had currently adopted the form of a bearded, middle-aged man clad in long smooth brown robes.

"My apologies." The Avatar lowered his head a little, "I assume you're here to speak with the Kasai family?"

They both nodded at the same time, and Pyrrha spoke, "Indeed. We have a little message to give Ember, and we were also hoping to pick up where Ashe left off last time."

The Avatar nodded and gestured for them to follow it deeper into the mindscape of the crystal, or whatever it preferred to call the strange realm that existed within the crystal. Jaune and Pyrrha carefully followed him along the curving pathways for some time until they reached a strange swirling vortex at the end of the path, which had the appearance of several watercolour paints being swirled around like a whirlpool. The two of them stopped to stare at the strange sight before the Avatar glanced back at them and said, "Well, come on."

Snapping out of their stupor, the couple moved quickly to catch up with the Avatar and followed it through the portal. There was a brief sensation of stepping through a cool breeze as they effortlessly passed through it and came out of a tall arched entrance into a large chamber-like room that resembled a combination of a library and a cathedral. Thick ornamental stone pillars held up the circular domed roof which was made of transparent glass that allowed the sun's rays overhead to illuminate the chamber, while rafters and thick buttresses extended upwards from the many galleries and walkways that separated each level of bookshelves. The sights outside from what windows they could see were wondrous, views of gorgeous landscapes filled with green grass and colourful flower beds among them.

Seated at opposing ends of a large stone slab located right in the center of the room, the fragments of Ashe and Ember's souls quietly conversed with each other. Ashe was dressed in his usual Guerilla Huntsman clothes just like the previous time, while his mother was wearing an elegant red and white kimono with a red sash around her waist while keeping her raven hair in a long, complicated braid which flowed over her left shoulder, and simple wooden sandals.

"Hello again! We're back." Pyrrha announced as they came forward. When Jaune turned his head to look at the Avatar the entity had mysteriously vanished, probably to give the four of them privacy.

The mother and son turned to look at the couple as they both stood up and smiled as the latter came over, "It's wonderful to see the two of you again." Ember said as she gestured to the empty stone seats around the table, "Please come and sit with us, I can tell you have something to talk to us about."

"We do, actually." Jaune confirmed as he and Pyrrha sat down, "It's only been a couple of days since we last spoke, but some… interesting things have come up."

"Like what?" Ashe asked.

"Well, we met the Winter Maiden for one thing." Pyrrha answered, earning a raised eyebrow from the male Kasai.

Ember smiled brightly, "The Winter Maiden I knew during my time was named Nieva, a nice girl even though she could be a bit snooty at times. So who's the current Maiden?"

"A wonderful woman named Elsa Vorst. She's very kind, and she came all the way to Beacon from Atlas because she wanted to personally listen to our story as well as Ruby's, and understand what we went through as Cinder and Salem's prisoners." Pyrrha elaborated, "She even helped me enter into the Maiden's mindscape."

Ember's eyes widened slightly as she said, "Now, that is indeed a surprise! It makes sense though, since you were the Fall Maiden, albeit very briefly. Since you were in there I take it you met the other Maidens?"

Pyrrha nodded as Jaune whispered a quick explanation to Ashe just to make sure he was caught up, "I did, and I met both the current Spring and Summer Maidens, the latter especially asking me to pass a message to you by the way."

"Really?" Ember asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes, her name is Heliosia Ainea. By the way, we told the other Maidens about the Aura Crystal, and I hope that's all right." Pyrrha explained, a trace of nervousness in her voice.

"I don't see any harm in that, since the other Maidens are on your side they should be trustworthy enough to know about its existence." Ashe answered, shrugging his shoulders, "But did any one of them know of the crystal beforehand?"

"Heliosia mentioned she had heard and read about the Aura Crystal during her travels." The spartan girl informed Ashe and Ember, "As for Amethyst and Elsa only knew it by name before I told them about it."

"I see." Ember tapped her chin in thought for a moment, "The current Summer Maiden must be quite a knowledge seeker herself. Besides, I agree with my son, since I think you wouldn't have told them unless you felt they could be trusted."

She looked understandingly at Jaune's partner and added, "Can you use your memories of them to recreate their images for us?"

Pyrrha nodded, "I can try, but is that possible here?"

"It's anyone guess as to what can happen here and what can't." Ashe informed her with a smirk, "So go ahead and give it a shot."

Pyrrha nodded again and closed her eyes, drawing upon her memories of the three Maidens deep within her mind. Even as she did so the collected aura that permeated the surroundings around them responded to her thoughts gradually as well, the tiny motes of light coming together to recreate the appearances of the three other Maidens before the group from Pyrrha's memories: the recreated life-like images of Amethyst, Heliosia, and Elsa shimmered softly as though they were mere holograms, standing a short distance away from the stone table in a horizontal-line like statues.

"Well, I assume the pretty blonde with the flowing dark-blue gown is Elsa," Ember correctly guessed while quietly appraising the shining images of the three maidens, "And the attractive girl with tanned skin is the newest holder of the powers I once had?"

"You are right, and the smaller girl is Amethyst Rilo, the Spring Maiden." Pyrrha told her.

The mother of Ashe and Cinder smiled and remarked, "It's good to know the current generation of Maidens are as beautiful as ever. So, what did Heliosia wish to tell me?"

Pyrrha smiled and spoke, "She simply wants to make sure that at least one of the Summer Maidens who came before her thinks she is doing justice for the title."

Ember thought about it briefly and regarded the spartan champion, "Well, seeing that you have met her in the Maiden mindscape, what do you think of her personally?"

Pyrrha considered it and said, "Well… from the impression she has given me, I can say that Heliosia is quite rational in terms of her character and has a strong sense of responsibility. While I struggled with the idea of leaving my team behind to become a Maiden, she actually followed through on it after she received her powers from Aestas, the Summer Maiden before her who was badly wounded by assassins. Despite the fact she has made some sacrifices to become the Summer Maiden, she has stood firmly by her choice and has been traveling Remnant ever since the fateful night she was granted the powers."

Ember smiled once again and voiced, "Well, since I don't know her personally I wouldn't know her character for sure, but I can tell from her appearance and from what you have just told me, I am quite certain that she will do her predecessors, Aestas and myself included, very proud."

Pyrrha returned the warm smile before speaking again, "I'll be sure to tell her that the next time I see her. Speaking of which, she knew of the Aura Crystal since she had read about its legends before, but didn't Ashe mentioned that very few records of the crystal remained?"

"I don't think that many places would have books with records relating to the Aura Crystal, but since she was a Maiden she must have come across some very old records during her travels." Ashe remarked slowly, "…or she could have contacts working in archives with high-level access privileges."

"That's a possibility. Anyway, Heliosia wanted to know if it was okay if we let her see the Aura Crystal if we ever meet her in person. Would the aura collective think that'd be okay?" Jaune inquired politely.

"I don't see why not. As long as a Maiden isn't corrupted, they can be trusted." Ember answered, and subtly implying her fallen daughter.

The couple nodded before Jaune decided to ask about something else, "So, the last time we were here, you mentioned that we would have something else to talk about. Care to enlighten us?"

Ashe shared a glance with his mother, the raven-haired woman giving out a soft sigh but nodded her head once. The Kasai brother turned back to Jaune and asked, "When you went through the books I left behind, did you notice a reference to an old prophecy written in stone?"

"Uh… I kinda remember something like that." Jaune replied with a small handwave.

"Yes, I believe it was something about old legends and children's stories coming back and saving the world from the Grimm." Pyrrha explained, "What about it?"

Ashe stood up with a serious look in his amber eyes, "Now that I'm part of this crystal, I don't think it was just some old prophecy. It actually has a meaning like the one that foretold a love like yours healing a great wound, the one I recited that night in the warehouse after the Aura Crystal healed you."

The couple nodded carefully, and Jaune queried "We remember, so what's this other prophecy?"

" **They will return, the legends of old. And when they do, the fate of the world they'll hold. We thought them simple children's tales of the past, but now we know they will save us from the Grimm's grasp. Many hardships and trials they will face, they kill save the Human and Faunus race. Their friendships must never be broken or sever, for we know that love is forever. And though the darkness' reach is far, in the end love will ignite the stars."**  Ashe recited.

"Well, that sounded nice, but…kind of awkwardly worded in places." Pyrrha commented.

"Whoever wrote it probably wasn't a literary genius." Ashe said dryly, before adding, "For years the Guardians of the Aura Crystal tried to figure out what it meant, but it was only after I died and joined the aura of the billions of people who died long ago did we manage to understand it."

"And what did you figure out?" Jaune asked again.

"That the prophecy is about your group, and many other friends of yours." Ember spoke suddenly, her face now serious yet having a caring look as well.

"W-wait, what?!" Jaune asked, a baffled expression on his face.

"What do you mean it's about us? Can you explain?" Pyrrha requested gently, her fingers tightening on the table as she was a bit put off by the idea that the fates of her, her partner and her friends in Team Beacon are connected to some ancient prophecy.

"The prophecy specifically children's stories and legends. When I was interacting with the aura of all those people who had passed on, I saw into the world that came before and I got glimpses from the younger entities, and tales from the older ones. Have you ever heard of the story of Little Red Riding Hood?" Ashe asked.

"No, but that kind of sounds like Ruby." Jaune replied after thinking briefly about it.

"Exactly. The story goes that a kind-hearted girl with a red hood traveled through the woods to visit her sick grandmother, only to have a run-in with a big bad wolf." Ashe explained.

"And Ruby has defeated many Beowolves in her time…" Pyrrha said, eyes widening at what this meant.

"And then there's the story of Snow White, the fairest woman in all the land with skin as white as snow." Ashe continued.

"Weiss…" Jaune whispered as his thoughts steadily clicked into place.

"Yep, and then there's Beauty and the Beast, a beautiful girl who loves reading and rescues her father from the castle of a furious, horned beast… only to calm his savage heart and find the goodness within him once again." Ashe went on, his eyes reading the expressions of his young friends carefully.

"Blake is the beauty and Adam was the beast, only that Blake couldn't help Adam see the error of his ways…" Pyrrha said quietly, taking in this surreal information that her friends were apparently ancient fairy tales from the world before Remnant come to life.

"And then there's Goldilocks, a beautiful girl with golden yellow hair and was somewhat reckless, and she would become furious if her hair was damaged." Ember said.

"Yang." Both Jaune and Pyrrha said together.

"And there's the legend of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from an ancient epic from a place called China…" Ashe added.

"It's literally the exact same name as Sun's!" Jaune exclaimed.

"And then there was Neptune, who was the god of the sea…" Ember mentioned, which made Jaune and Pyrrha look to each other as given Neptune's fear of water, the irony of that wasn't lost on them.

"There's also the Velveteen Rabbit, a toy rabbit who was beloved by a little boy who suffered from scarlet fever…" Ashe informed them, which made the knight and spartan to think of their kind Faunus friend.

"Don't forget Peter Pan, the boy who could fly and lived his days fighting against pirates." Ember recalled which brought Scarlet's past to the couple's minds.

Ashe then looked directly at Pyrrha and carefully said, "Then there's Achilles, a great and powerful warrior who was respected and adored by his people, and was tragically killed when his only weak spot, his heel, was struck with an arrow."

Pyrrha visibly gasped and absently touched her own heel, exactly where Cinder's arrow had once pierced her. She felt the comforting hand of Jaune on her shoulder, and looked up as Ashe continued speaking.

"There's also the tale of Joan of Arc, a brave woman who entered her country's military illegally but rose up through the ranks and led her people through war, aided by the voice of a god in her head. The kicker is that she wasn't just a legend, she was actually real." Ashe revealed to them.

Jaune's hand fell off Pyrrha's shoulder, which made her look at him and see the shock on his face upon hearing the story related to his name. She gently took his hand and squeezed it to get his attention, and when he looked at her she gave him a firm but caring look that reminded him that they were always there for each other. Jaune nodded back before the soul fragment of Ashe spoke again.

"And then there's Thor, the god of thunder, wielding his mighty hammer. If that's not enough, Thor was said to be the son of the mighty god Odin, who had powerful women known as Valkyries working for him." The soul fragment of the dead Guerilla Huntsman related to them.

"Oh great. Let's agree to not let Nora in on the fact that she's apparently a god. This is just getting crazy…" Jaune bemoaned before asking, "Do I dare ask who Ren is supposed to be?"

"I think he's supposed to be Mulan." Ashe told them promptly.

"But that's a woman's name." Pyrrha pointed out.

"According to legend I was told, Mulan disguised herself as a man to take the place of her aging father in a great war, where she rose up through the ranks and saved her people. And Ren has pink eyes and the pink streak of hair, and pink is usually seen as a 'girly' color, so it kinda fits." Ashe justified with a small, circular wave of his hand.

"This is completely insane. We're all some old fable or legend, or even a real person in my case, brought to life for some prophecy?!" Jaune cried out as his blue eyes went as wide as they could go.

"Basically." Ashe confirmed with a nod.

"Are there any others?" Pyrrha inquired carefully.

"Well I think Sage Ayana might have something to do with an epic poem, and Coco has something to do with a woman who had been a legend among fashion designers for a long time. Penny was created by a lonely old man, and she has those weaponry with strings, and does something which lets you know whenever she's lying, just like a story about a puppet named Pinocchio." Ashe explained to them.

"Oh, this keeps getting better and better." Jaune perceptibly groaned.

"You have no idea. Professors Port and Oobleck both have some connection with old children's stories and the one possibly to top them all is that apparently Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and Qrow, and possibly all of Team STRQ have something to do with a story called The Wizard of Oz." Ashe added while gesturing with his fingers, "It's incredibly bizarre, but the pieces fit together with what I have learned from the aura collective of the people from the world before the Great Shattering."

"So what does it all mean?" Jaune asked quietly.

"To put it simply, I think it means that you kids are more important than you realized. It's entirely possible that the destiny of Remnant and all of its people could lie in your hands at some point in the future. You children are going to have to save the world." Ember spoke sadly and then looked to her son who returned a rather melancholic gaze which was something Pyrrha caught right away.

Not one to be deterred, Pyrrha spoke up, "I sense there's something else about this rather insane revelation that you are not telling us yet."

Ember sighed before replying, "I suppose it's no use beating about the bush. During his time here Ashe also learned of another fairy tale, most specifically about a girl called Cinderella. A tale of a girl who wished for more than a life of servitude, and was granted that by a 'fairy godmother', eventually meeting a prince and becoming a princess in the end."

"Just like my sister who always wanted more in life, and so a wicked bitch of a fairy godmother came and tempted her with promises of power. The main problem is that even back when we were young children Cinder didn't want some simple life in the temple and instead craved for for something more." Ashe voiced darkly with a somewhat inscrutable look on his face, "From what's happened so far, she just wants power and it looks like she's got what she lusted after upon joining Salem."

Jaune sat up at this, bringing a hand to his chin as a thought suddenly popped into his head, "Wait a minute. If Cinder is a part of this prophecy, then is it possible she will help us save Remnant when the time comes?"

Pyrrha, Ashe and Ember were all looking at him as if he had gone mad, and hurriedly said, "Hey, I'm not saying we should give her a second chance… I mean, after everything she's done and I can pretty much say I hate her, and would love to see her punished what she has done to us, all of us, but if she resembles this fairy tale then maybe that means something."

"Prophecies don't hold all the answers, Jaune." Pyrrha told him.

"If they did, then the generations that came after might have been more prepared for the chaos and madness they had to deal with." Ember remarked, and then added, "Still, while prophecies are not something to be followed blindly nor their eventual outcomes could be guaranteed, the truths they hold are also not to be underestimated."

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded at her advice before she noticed the look of deep thought on her son's face, "Ashe?"

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and said, "Sorry mom, I was just… trying to feel something."

"What does that mean?" Pyrrha asked the younger Kasai sibling with a puzzled look.

Ashe sighed and began to explain, "You see, sometimes when I try hard enough I can feel the rest of my soul in the afterlife. However, as I'm a fragment that was broken off to be integrated into the Aura Crystal before I died, I wanted to try and see what my death was like. I mean, I know all about the details of what happened to my body, but I want to know what Cinder was like when she killed me. I want to know if she… if she hesitated before killing me." Ashe eventually answered in a saddened voice, "Then maybe she isn't totally lost."

Ember turned towards her son and knelt down in front of him, placing a loving hand on his and said, "Regardless of what choices she has made in life, it's obvious my daughter has some role to play in whatever comes next, for good or ill."

"Well, we haven't seen Cinder since I dropped a giant collection of crushed metal on her nor have we heard anything since we encountered both Emerald and Mercury at the White Fang Headquarters in Vacuo… so it's a good chance that the next time we face Salem's forces, we will have to face her again." Pyrrha spoke carefully as she thought about the possibilities of fighting Cinder again.

"And it's a safe bet that Salem will use Cinder to her fullest potential to achieve whatever she wants, so I guess we will have to face Cinder again sometime in the future, so maybe she will ]have something to do with this crazy prophecy." Jaune surmised thoughtfully.

Pyrrha nodded before asking, "I can't help but wonder… how sure can you be that this prophecy is genuine?"

"We can't be a hundred percent sure Pyrrha, since for all we know it could very well be a load of crap, but who knows? Maybe it is all an insane series of coincidences or maybe it's real. I do, however, believe in one thing about this." Ashe said and leaned in with a small smile appearing on his rugged face, "It's that whatever happens, I know you kids are all going to do great things and be one big pain in Salem's butt."

The young guardian couple both managed to smile at that.

"By the way, did you see the Knights again when you met the Winter Maiden?" Ashe queried and Jaune nodded.

"We did, but we didn't know these ones, they were a detachment from the Winter Templars Knight Legion of Atlas."

"It seems that they really make good on their word to protect the remaining Maidens." Ember remarked, "But as my son warned you before, the Remnant Knights may seem like powerful allies but they would be watching you closely… so remember to watch your back around them."

"You think the Remnant Knights might mean us harm?" Jaune asked.

"Not in that way." Ashe looked right at the Arc son, "From what I have managed to piece together from the other soul fragments, the Knight Order have taken great pains to keep their existence a secret alongside the Guardians of Remnant and their methods of combating against Salem and her associates are far more… brutal compared to what Huntsmen and Huntresses would do. While they do have a sort of honor code, the Knights are more than prepared to do what's necessary to hold back the darkness a little longer."

"In other words, don't trust them completely… because the Order has many secrets." Ember mentioned warningly, before lowering her voice slightly, "I presume you remember a certain prognosticator from the Knight Order managed to communicate briefly with the Aura Crystal some time ago?"

"Soul Seer right?" Pyrrha racked her thoughts back to their Teams RWBY and JNPR's first meeting with the Knights, "She requested to authenticate the Aura Crystal to see if it was the real thing, and so we allowed her to do whatever she needed to."

"During that brief connection with Soul Seer, we heard another prophecy being imparted to her from the aura collective alongside the one we told you." Ember continued while Ashe gave tiny nod in agreement, "It concerns something that could very well happen in future, but we aren't sure of the specifics either."

Jaune's eyebrows raised a little, "And what's this other prophecy?"

Ashe was about to speak but Ember slowly raised her hand for him to remain silent, and narrated instead,  **"A daughter of the phoenix, brilliant feathers of red and orange, a fierce fighting spirit so pure and true. A son of the dragon, scales of azure and all shades of blue, a loyal spirit and a mighty warrior. Like Yin and Yang they complete each other in mind, body and soul. He is her pillar, a source of hidden unfathomable strength. She is his heart, a clear reason to keep fighting no matter the odds. She flows like lightning, he strikes like thunder. They search for each other across the lands and oceans, their separate paths in parallel but never in unity. Her power is a gift, granted by the Wizard of old. His power is expected, but sealed away with his line long dead. A strong beauty with the voice of an angel, a powerful warrior with the skills of an unmatched swordsman. When the darkest times arrive, they shall come together and bring dawn's bright light. Together they stand, together they fight, two kindred spirits side by side, for their burning love turns darkness into light."**

The Kasai mother paused for a moment, and then added,  **"The Promethean Sun shall rise once more."**

There was several moments of silence as both Jaune and Pyrrha pondered on the second prophecy they just heard before the red-haired spartan began to pose her questions again, "Are you sure that prophecy doesn't refer to us, or anyone from Team Beacon, or better yet, anyone from Team STRQ?"

Ember shook her head, "No, this particular prophecy seemed to be directed for Soul Seer when she gained entry into the Aura Crystal's mindscape, and from what clues that could be gleaned from it… it seems to concern a daughter of the phoenix and a son of the dragon."

"Well, one thing's for sure it can't be Yang." Jaune pursed his lips, "She's the daughter of a dragon… so that obviously doesn't count. Nor can her and Ruby's father Taiyang since the prophecy makes mention of an actual swordsman, and he's a martial arts fighter. And while Pyrrha had her dragon for a while, I'm in no way a guy who'd be described as a dragon."

"Jaune has a point." Pyrrha said as she pondered over the second prophecy herself, "And the daughter of the phoenix… Aside from my own sort of rebirth I have yet to see anyone in have anything to do with a bird of fire. What else can you tell us?"

Ember knotted her fingers together and exhaled slowly, "During my travels across the lands of Remnant before as the Summer Maiden, I heard a couple of tales in the Kingdom of Mistral concerning the phoenix and the dragon. One of those tales mentioned that they make up two halves of a complete whole, a celestial couple representing everlasting commitment and love. As Yin and Yang, the dragon symbolizes incredible strength and power while the phoenix represents renewal and grace, as well as kindness and reliability."

"Wait, are we looking for another couple? They seem to be another powerful pair, judging from what the prophecy said about them." Jaune blurted out after hearing Ember's words.

"That's a possibility, but the prophecy makes mention that they are both separated at the moment." Ashe stated, "It also said that they are searching for each other across Remnant, so there's perhaps still time for you to keep an eye out for them as well."

"It won't be easy, we do have school to keep up with." Pyrrha answered a little reluctantly, "But at least we have the clues to guide us in finding the daughter of the phoenix and the son of the dragon."

"I suppose you're right," Ashe commented, "But it seems that there is more to this prophecy than meets the eye. While we aren't sure of the reason why the Aura collective imparted that prophecy to Soul Seer, but it could very well be something that might help all of you in future if you can figure it out for yourselves."

"Then it seems that we have some digging to do in the library." Pyrrha said as she looked at her partner who nodded in agreement.

"And if we do find them, I guess we could ask them to join us, since they also oppose Salem." Jaune suggested brightly, "Seeing who we would be going up against in future, I think we'll need all the allies we can get."

"No kidding." Ashe quipped agreeably, "In the meantime my mother and I will see what we can gather in here with regards to the prophecies that we told you, and perhaps we can also teach you both some new skills to become more capable guardians for the Aura Crystal."

"More training?" Jaune gave a nervous chuckle, "And I thought I already had enough in Beacon…"

"Don't worry." Ashe winked at him, "I'll go easy on you this time."

Pyrrha looked over to Ember and saw the latter woman giving her and Jaune a warm smile, "After all, practice makes perfect right? I'm sure you both are improving splendidly."

The female Mistral Champion felt herself smiling in return as well as she accepted the compliment.

Some ten minutes later the couple's souls exited the crystal, snapping out of their meditation positions in Team JNPR's room. Jaune stretched and groaned as he allowed himself to fall on his back on the floor, looking up to see Nora looking down at him.

"Well that didn't take very long. So whatcha find out in there?" Nora inquired as she looked from her leader to Pyrrha, who leaned back against the bed.

"Let's just say that Ashe told us something rather unusual." The redhead stated simply.

"What sort of something?" Nora asked curiously.

"Uh… wait and see." Jaune told her as he sat up.

"Was it something bad?" Ren questioned carefully from his own bed before unfolding his legs and standing up.

"Not exactly… in fact, I wouldn't call it bad per say, it's just… complicated." Pyrrha told them.

"Oh, complicated stuff is rarely a good sign." Nora remarked, tilting her head a little.

"Indeed, but I can tell it's something you need to think over carefully before telling anyone else." Ren noted quietly.

"You're a mind reader Ren." Jaune commented dryly.

"Oh, come on! At least give us a clue about what those guys in the crystal told you." Nora nagged as she pointed at the Aura Crystal, "Don't keep us in suspense!"

"Nora… we'll tell you once Pyrrha and I figure out the best way to tell anyone about what we were just told." Jaune explained to their excitable team member, "It's honestly pretty crazy stuff."

"So… considering what we've been through so far; pretty much average for us." Nora joked,

"Truthfully? Not even the madness we've been through prepared us for this." Pyrrha told her, "And while I can promise you it's not some grim prophecy of doom, it's still very strange and be quite to take in."

"I see. In that case, we won't press you both any further. Right Nora?" Ren said, giving his energetic girlfriend a look that signified the end of the conversation.

She eventually sighed and said, "All right, if you guys need time to go over everything before telling us, I suppose I can wait. Besides, dinner's in, like, half-an-hour, so you might wanna get ready."

"Speaking of which, I better get out there and get back to helping Neptune, Sage and Velvet. They agreed to start preparing dinner while I stood guard for you. Come on, Nora." Ren said as he headed for the door, his partner trailing behind him.

"Thanks Ren, we'll go ahead and get our showers." Jaune told him, before the other half of Team JNPR exited their dorm room and closed the door.

After putting away and securing the Aura Crystal back in its secret compartment for the night, the couple decided to save time and shower together. It was something they did when they were alone and were capable of doing so despite the initial nervousness they sometimes had about the idea at first, but given how familiar and intimate they had become with each other, showering together was no big deal.

A shirtless Jaune stood before the mirror above the running sink, mulling over what Ashe and Ember had revealed to them, "It's so weird… a woman named Arc who entered an army illegally and heard the voice of a god in her head… which somehow happened to me."

"Only that you had my voice in your head, and I'm not, nor will I ever be, omnipotent." Pyrrha told him.

"True, but you're still a goddess to me." He said as he glanced at her, making Pyrrha smile as she placed their change of clothes next to the sink. Despite her smile, Jaune noticed a bit of worry in her eyes.

"Still it's odd, and a powerful warrior who was fatally wounded after taking an arrow to the heel, which was just like how Cinder pierced my heel with an arrow, immobilizing me and leaving me an open target for her. So strange, but it's not hard to believe after everything that's happened to us." Pyrrha said over the sound of the running shower, waiting for it to get warm.

"Tell me about it. The other prophecy about the phoenix and the dragon pair also makes my mind hurt as well. I don't think we would even know where to start looking for them." Jaune sighed as he crossed his arms over his muscled chest, "We can't exactly leave school and go around asking every couple we come across whether they are the ones from the prophecy, right?"

That earned a chuckle from Pyrrha, "I don't think that would work at all."

"When we tell the others about it, they'll probably think we're crazy, or that the Aura Crystal itself is, at least." Jaune sighed, "We should probably wait until the weekend, that way it won't distract them from school. At least we're both well-versed enough in crazy by this point that we can do a decent job of keeping it under wraps."

Pyrrha nodded, but the worry Jaune spotted earlier instead became more noticeable, so he gently took her hands into his and asked, "What's wrong?"

Pyrrha sighed and said, "It's wonderful that you know me enough now to know when I'm worried. No offense."

"None taken, I was a dense dolt in our first few months at Beacon." He said sheepishly, making her giggle.

"Dense dolt? Is that something Weiss once called you?" She inquired.

"Oh yeah. So, what's wrong?" Jaune asked her again.

"If that prophecy is true and we're all based on legends and stories from the world before Remnant, then… what if it's destiny?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

The bathroom was silent for a few moments, aside from the sound of the shower's pouring water.

Jaune thought about it for a moment before slowly and gently taking his girlfriend in his arms, hugging her and pressing her tightly against him before saying, "I… well, it's tricky. I don't think destiny is always set in stone. I think our fates and the world we live in are what we make of them in the end. Back then, you got it wrong when you thought you were bound to some fate and had no hope of getting away from it."

Pyrrha nodded and she gently wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling into him and enjoying his warm bare chest, "I think that's right, but if destiny brought us all together… what does that mean for us?"

Jaune sighed sadly as he held her and confessed, "I don't really know. Maybe destiny decided that we deserve another chance or something like that, but I think that in the end destiny isn't absolute. If it was then those prophecies would be a bit more clear. I guess sometimes when people predict things…"

"They may get it right, and those things can actually happen." Pyrrha finished for him, "But for the most part, our true fates are up to ourselves and the actions we take."

"That's what I think; whatever happens to us in the end will be up to us, I hope." Jaune told her firmly.

"I already know what I want my destiny to be from now on." Pyrrha said, managing a bright smile.

Jaune grinned and kissed her before saying, "I think we should probably get in the shower now and stop wasting water."

"Good idea." Pyrrha said, giggling a bit as they stripped off their clothes and slipped into the shower together.

* * *

 

_**Amethyst walked silently through the wartorn ruins of the annihilated city. She didn't know where she was for sure, but her surroundings looked Vacuoan, but that didn't matter to her. What mattered was the destruction that had been done to the city, which was on a scale that was comparable to those that caused by the most brutal battles in the past wars. The devastation stretched for miles in all directions, with great palls of thick smoke polluting the once clear skies and hanging like a funerary shroud over the city's corpse.** _

_**Walls had been torn open, windows shattered, and piles of debris of all kinds choked the roads along with the burnt-out husks of many vehicles. Pools of blood occupied depressions in the surface of the road where the bodies of men, women and children, both humans and Faunus, filled the lifeless streets. The air was smothered with smoke and embers floating upwards, and the sounds of lingering battles could be heard nearby, as could be the blood-chilling roars of the Grimm that took the city for their own. Sometimes an echoing scream would reverberate throughout the empty streets, and the purple-haired girl would turn around to see where it had come from even though she knew that she would never find the source.** _

_**The surrounding smoke functioned like dense fog, hiding whatever was in front of her one instant and then disappearing the next, showing more of the ruined streets and collapsed buildings around her. Despite all she had seen, Amethyst walked forwards as though she was in a trance, until her feet brought her into sight of the devastated Shade Academy.** _

_**She walked over a bridge that had been completely destroyed by a crashed airship upon which its disintegrated hulk occupied the corpse-choked waters beneath, and saw the horrible sight of hundreds, if not thousands of Grimm roving the city. Some were moving slowly as though they had all the time in the world, while others were running in certain directions towards some unseen prey, their growls echoing down the streets towards her. She got off the bridge, not wanting to be spotted by the beasts, and made her way towards the academy while finding more death and destruction along the way, all of it terrible and senseless.** _

_**Despite the madness happening around her, Amethyst did not hurry or try to hide. She simply kept walking calmly towards Shade, somehow encountering no Grimm along the way, and momentarily wondered why. She arrived at the main gates of the academy, only to find them smashed open and torn off, lying in shattered chunks some distance away from the opening.** _

_**Her purple eyes followed the trails of blood that led from the shattered gates and into the main plaza within Shade and she proceeded to the place which in happier times would have been populated by the students and teachers, only to find the bloodied suits of Aegis armor that without a doubt belonged to the Remnant Knights who had fallen in battle. Pools of blood formed around the shattered grey and red armor plates, and scraps of meat and bone could be seen protruding among the remains. A long sword could be seen planed onto the pockmarked concrete slabs, its top half shattered and lying a few metres away like some sort of macabre tombstone marking the final resting place of the last knight's defiance.** _

_**Amethyst walked further into the school grounds, seeing the broken bodies of many more students and knights all around her. The place looked more like a one-sided massacre than the aftermath of a battle, judging from where the bodies had fallen and the shattered weapons lying around. While the usually jovial maiden was no stranger to death, she could feel hot tears streaming down her face and splashing onto the dust-caked stone slabs beneath her booted feet as she knew that no one deserved such cruel deaths.** _

_**She was wiping her tears away when she heard the sound of ragged breathing, causing her head to turn and follow the sound, breaking into a run until she reached a shattered archway which covered the entryway with smashed chunks of masonry. Lying face up was an injured boy with light-brown hair and copper-brown eyes, clothed in the trappings of a Vacuoan Huntsman but obviously a Freshman.** _

_**Blood could be seen leaking from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were closed even as his head lolled a little, but nothing else mattered except that he was still alive as Amethyst reached him and knelt down beside him. She helped him sit up and turned his head towards her with one hand so that she could see his face, which had been horribly beaten and bruised.** _

_**"Just hang on, you'll be all right," She told him quietly, "I promise."** _

_**The injured student slowly opened his tired, dying brown eyes and looked at her with pity and resentment. He coughed up fresh blood onto his chest-plate before saying in a raspy voice, "The…Maidens…should…protect…us…"** _

_**"W-what?" She asked him in a dread-filled whisper.** _

_**He gave no answer as he died in her arms right there. Everything went eerily silent suddenly, and not even the distant sounds of the Grimm could be heard.** _

_**Amethyst gently closed his eyes and laid his corpse back onto the dusty ground, shuddering at the sight of his blood on her hands. The strong silence that had settled over her surroundings was then abruptly broken by a loud, pain-filled scream which pierced the air and echoed everywhere. The voice was distinctly female, and it was beyond the point where an individual was begging for mercy… or death.** _

_**The Spring Maiden jolted up and began sprinting as fast as she could towards the source of the scream. She ran through the wrecked hallways of the academy, easily following the scream as though she was automatically homing in on where it had come from. The deserted corridors and smashed statues swept by her in a blur as she hurled up the main concourse and into the courtyards beyond.** _

_**Before she knew it she had made her way into the damaged courtyard within the academy and skidded to a halt at the utterly horrifying sight of her fellow Maiden Heliosia lying against a shattered low wall, her battered and beaten body leaking blood from a host of visible wounds, while several long and deadly blades were impaled on her bodice and limbs. More bodies of Vacuo Rangers and Remnant Knights laid in scattered heaps of broken flesh and armour plates around her, presumably dead from defending the Summer Maiden.** _

_**But the worst thing was that someone shrouded in a long black cloak was standing in front of the Summer Maiden, hand outstretched, a white glove sporting runes of sinister nature showing itself along with a thick line of black sticky mucus which extended from her palm and was very nearly covering Heliosia's entire face. And the raw, glowing power of the Summer Maiden was being siphoned from her nearly lifeless body and into that cloaked individual, who was surrounded by other cloaked figures.** _

_**Amethyst felt her blood run cold as she remembered Amber's final parting words within the Maiden mindscape before she died, about the enemy's candidates for the Maiden powers having such painful ways of stealing the Maiden's power.** _

_**"NO!" Amethyst screamed as she fell to her knees, realizing that she was too late to stop it.** _

_**The cloaked figures turned to face her, before parting like a curtain of shadow to reveal a female being who was clothed entirely in robes of pure darkness yet sporting a head of deathly white skin and hair, with deep red and purple veins showing under every visible patch of skin while blood-red eyes stared at her coldly and with untold malice within them. For some reason Amethyst felt as though those same eyes of the leader of the hooded and black-robed figures were staring deep into her soul, pouring indescribable amounts of terror and doom into her very being.** _

_**"Don't worry dear, you won't be alone for long." The terrifying woman showing the same characteristics as the Grimm creatures said as a dark smile devoid of humanity spread across her face. As the cloaked figures around her withdrew new blades as black as night and began to charge towards her alongside dozens of Grimm creatures which crept out of the shadows around them, the pale woman spoke two final words; "You're next."** _

_**The Spring Maiden could only scream as she was she was engulfed by a storm of flashing dark blades and roaring Grimm.** _

Amethyst let out a terrified scream as she jolted awake in her bed, punching and kicking the air wildly until she realized it had been nothing but a terrible nightmare. Her body caught up with her mind shortly and she stopped moving, breathing raggedly as she to calm herself, remembering the breathing techniques that Heliosia had shared with her during their spars within the mindscape, she focused on her breathing as she sat up, but she knew that it wouldn't be easy to get those horrible images out of her head.

All of a sudden the doors to her bedroom burst open in a clatter of thick armor plates, and Wind Runner entered with his gladius sword unsheathed and held in guard position, followed closely behind by another knight she recognized as Stone Claw from his armor markings. Behind them, another trio of knights spread out across the sizable bedroom, their weapons drawn and alert for any danger as their armoured helmets scanned the ceiling, closed windows and surroundings for anything amiss.

"Maiden Amethyst, what happened? We heard you scream." Wind Runner said as the other knights searched the room for intruders or any sort of threat.

She quickly covered herself with her long blanket and shook her ruffled-haired head, letting a few drops of cold sweat go flying, "It… it was a nightmare Wind Runner. And one hell of a bad one." She told him and shuddered visibly at the memory.

"Considering how loud the scream was, I don't doubt it. And I know you're not the type to scare easily." Wind Runner remarked as he looked to Stone Claw who turned from talking with the other knights.

"The room is clear, Knight Vanguard." Stone Claw reported dutifully.

Amethyst whispered something to herself as she carefully breathed in and out. It was obvious to Wind Runner that the Maiden he was charged with protecting was clearly disturbed by something, and he couldn't let her suffer this, and so he nodded to Stone Claw who gave them some distance by standing near the entrance with the other knights while he sheathed his gladius and knelt down in front of her.

"What's wrong, Amethyst?" He asked gently.

She raised her head a little, allowing the Knight Vanguard to look into her violet eyes. While she couldn't see into his, Wind Runner could view hers all too clearly, and he saw the distress and worry that raged within those purple orbs like a storm. A flicker of unease briefly passed through him at the increasing frequency of the nightmares the Spring Maiden had been experiencing as of late, but he quickly began formulating what actions to take next.

She observed him for a few seconds of silence before saying, "We can talk about it after I get dressed. Besides, I don't think I can sleep again after that nightmare."

The Knight Vanguard nodded understandingly and said, "Very well, I shall prepare a private meeting chamber where you can tell us about it. Eternal Warriors, remain outside but stay on guard. Inform the outlying patrols."

The other knights all bowed their heads respectfully before leaving the bedroom silently, with Wind Runner taking one last look at Amethyst before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Alone, Amethyst allowed herself to bury her face in her hands as she quietly wept.

Twenty minutes later, Amethyst sat with Wind Runner, Stone Claw and a knight known as Moon Hunter in a meeting chamber used by the monks of the monastery they were staying at. The place had been converted into a temporary base of sorts, with a couple of stone benches being arranged at the far side showing a few of knights' weapons in the midst of their maintenance with various small tools and open weapon kits neatly arranged beside them. A number of blue holograms showing other nearby knight teams on other missions were hovering above the medium-sized wooden altar set against one of the brown walls, emitted by a small cube-like device on its surface.

The Spring Maiden explained her nightmare to them, putting in as much detail as she could remember from her terrible dream, allowing Wind Runner to record it on his scroll for a report to Grand Knight Master Seraph. It was hard to read the three knights who were sitting opposite her since they were wearing their helmets, but she could tell that they listened intently to her. She finally finished, leaving the group to sit in silence for a few minutes.

Stone Claw looked to his commander and asked, "Wind Runner, what do you think?"

The Knight Vanguard tapped the last few details into his scroll and saved the latest report before confessing, "Honestly, I don't know. Dreams are strange things and hard to understand for most, unless you possess the same gifts the prognosticators have. However, a recurring vision of Vacuo being attacked by Salem's forces and the Summer Maiden as well as the Relentless Crusaders Knight Legion falling to their power is a disturbing thought, especially if the Spring Maiden herself dreamed it."

"So you think it means something?" Amethyst asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to dismiss it out of hand. There's something your visions are telling us, but we'll need Storm Bringer." Wind Runner said as he tapped his fingers on the screen of his scroll, referring to the detachment's assigned prognosticator.

"He hasn't returned from patrol yet, but didn't he recently mention getting word from the prognosticators at Tintagel about Soul Seer having some kind of dark vision as well?" Stone Claw pointed out.

"I heard about that, but he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe there's a connection…" Wind Runner stopped and shook his head, "He's not due back until late in the morning, correct?"

Stone Claw nodded and Moon Hunter checked his scroll, "He's currently helping other knights in the sealing of a Death Stalker nest some distance from here, judging from his latest report, but he should be back after sunrise"

"Screw waiting!" Amethyst snapped as she slammed her both her hands on the stone table, "What if this means something? Heliosia and everyone at Shade Academy and Vacuo City could be in danger! We gotta warn them!"

"We shall contact Tintagel and ask Grand Knight Master Seraph for his opinion, but no doubt he will issue a warning to the Knight of Fire and Fire Walker and the rest of the Relentless Crusaders to keep a sharp eye for anything remotely suspicious…" Wind Runner explained calmly.

"Wind Runner, that isn't enough! I… I want to leave right away, we need to get to Vacuo and make sure that Heliosia is safe and sound." Amethyst spoke quickly, an undercurrent of anxiety coloring her voice.

"Now wait a minute," Wind Runner spoke up firmly, "Letting you out into the open is already a bad idea, especially if it's near another Maiden when we know that the enemy probably has agents out there searching for you."

"I agree." Moon Hunter added, slowly shaking his head, "Over the last two years the enemy has shown just how dangerous the can be, and that is why the Order sent out detachments of knights to protect you as well as the other Maidens. The danger would be doubled if our foes somehow discover you going to Vacuo, and they might very well launch their attack ahead of time. If the Summer Maiden is in danger, then letting you go to her would be a catastrophically bad idea as both of you would be at risk

"I am at risk!" Amethyst shouted and slammed a gloved fist on the stone table, rattling Wind Runner's scroll and the ceramic tea set on its surface, the warm herbal tea jumping within those attendant cups, "I've been their target for a long time, apparently every Maiden is their target and always have been! Two Maidens are better than one, and two groups of Remnant Knights would mean double the security."

"A valid point, but it would also mean double the risk." Wind Runner argued, "Trust me, you're safer here."

The Spring Maiden sighed and tried another way to get her point across, "Look, I'm really, really worried about Heliosia. You see, we Maidens have a close bond with each other, a sisterly one. She means a lot to me."

"I can sympathize, I have been worried for my fellow Knights who I would call brothers and sisters in the past. We shall contact Tintagel and have them warn the detachment in Vacuo to double their efforts and to not let the Summer Maiden out of sight, and to make sure that she is safe no matter what." Wind Runner assured her.

However, that obviously didn't work as Amethyst instead got more frustrated, "Thanks, but I don't think you all really understand me, man! In my dream I saw her dying before my eyes! Salem was… her disciple was killing Heliosia! I… I…" The Spring Maiden's hands gripped the edge of the stone table she sat in front of and stood up, "I need to see her in the flesh, I need to make sure she's safe!"

It was at that moment her eyes flashed a bright hue of green as her Maiden powers activated, and several loud rustling and cracking sounds were heard outside the wooden doors of the meeting chamber and its adjoining environments. The three knights all straightened immediately, knowing that the incited wrath of any Maiden can be terrifyingly devastating.

For a few tense seconds she glared at them, but the forces of nature reasserted itself outside the monastery's surroundings once more as the green glow faded from Amethyst's violet eyes, thereby becoming calm once more.

There was an awkward silence within the meeting chamber for some moments before the purple-haired girl collected herself and said, "I… I 'm sorry I lost my temper. I'm just really worried about her."

"It's all right, Amethyst. I understand." Wind Runner told her carefully, "We will do everything in our power to make sure the Summer Maiden is safe and secure, but we can't do that at the risk of your own life. For now, I'll contact Tintagel to deliver my report and request Grand Knight Master Seraph to send more Knights to Vacuo and protect her. When Storm Bringer returns in the morning I'll have him look into that nightmare of yours and try to find a deeper meaning or the chances of such a disaster coming to pass. After hearing his findings, I am sure we can work out a compromise. But for now, I would suggest that you go back to your room and try and get some rest."

Amethyst balked at that and commented, "I don't think I can even get tired after what I dreamed."

"It might be hard, but sleep will do your nerves good. Would you like some tea?" Wind Runner offered, "I can request the high priest bring you some of his own special brew."

Amethyst sighed and shook her head, "No, I'll be all right. I'll try and get some sleep, but please just do as much as you can to make sure that Heliosia will be safe."

Wind Runner was surprised that the normally feisty Maiden was giving in so easily, but he suspected it wasn't going to be that simple. Regardless, he nodded and told her, "I will do everything within my power to make it so, I promise you. Stone Claw will escort you back to your chambers and stand guard for the night. I hope you have a pleasant sleep for the rest of the night."

"Wouldn't count on it." The Spring Maiden said quietly as she nodded in gratitude to him, "Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome, Amethyst." Wind Runner replied as he gestured for Stone Claw to follow her.

Their conversation clearly at an end for now, Wind Runner watched them leave. Once the doors were closed and the footsteps retreated into the distance, Moon Hunter rested his gauntleted fists on the stone table and stared directly at his commanding officer, "That was a close shave right there. For a moment I thought we would need to use the  _'Ultimate Sanction'_  on her."

"No." The Knight Vanguard shook his helmeted head, "Amethyst may seem rebellious at times, but that's just her nature. I can tell she's very worried about her friend, but she's letting her emotions cloud her better judgement in the face of her nightmares. However, I need more information before I can make a decision, and for that I require Storm Bringer."

"Then I'll impress upon him our urgency here." Moon Hunter said.

"Please do, the earlier our prognosticator gets here the sooner we can know what Amethyst's nightmare means." The leader of the knight detachment said and then added, "Double the guard on her sleeping chambers as well, I don't want her escaping on her own."

"My thoughts exactly." The other Remnant Knight nodded, "Its already done. And we might want to get the gardeners among the monks to do some major plant-trimming in the morning."

Wind Runner shook his head and sighed, before giving a series of curt orders through his helmet's communication device to the other knights before making his way to the communications room in the monastery to make his report.

An hour later, Amethyst silently crept towards the window of her room, fully dressed in her Huntress gear. Since Stone Claw and a couple of other knights were still standing guard outside, she needed to be especially quiet in order for her plan to work.

She trusted the Remnant Knights with her life, but she couldn't just sit by while she knew someone who was practically a sister to her was possibly in life-threatening danger. She wished she could contact Heliosia and warn her, but it was the middle of the night in Mistral and just a little further ahead in Vacuo, so the Summer Maiden would probably have her scroll deactivated. Not to mention Heliosia could sometimes tire herself out in her intense training sessions, so she couldn't simply tell her to enter the Maidens' Mindscape so that she could warn the Summer Maiden personally.

No, she needed to be there for her friend, and in order for that to happen she needed to escape from the monastery first and then to Vacuo. It was no easy task, as after checking her scroll she found the nearest city with an airship port was approximately fifty-six miles away, which she could easily reach in a little over an hour thanks to her Maiden powers, but she would still have to do her best to outrun the Eternal Warriors once they inevitably discovered she was gone. Even if she could leave them behind there was no guarantee that there would be an airship heading to Vacuo that could get her there quick enough, and that might mean she needed to change transport multiple times as well.

Everything about this hastily-conjured plan of hers was stupid and foolhardy. Just what she needed to make her point.

She carefully opened the window and stepped up to the sill, looking about to make sure she hadn't been noticed by anyone. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she carefully stepped down onto the roof below her window and slowly paced towards the left side of the roof's edge, where she silently dropped down into an outside corridor which was deserted for the moment.

Walking silently, she crept around the corner and began to make her way towards the outer wall that surrounded the monastery, planning to use her superior physical abilities to leap over it, only to hear the sound of marching armored boots closing in on her.

Amethyst quickly ducked behind a pillar as a knight she didn't know the name of appeared around the corner, apparently on patrol duty that went on the same path she was currently following. He strode past her hiding spot, and the Maiden held her breath hoping to go unnoticed.

No such luck, the knight pivoted around to inspect his rearview to make sure he hadn't missed anything, and spotted her immediately. He tilted his helmet in puzzlement and said, "Maiden Amethyst? What are you doing out here at three-thirty in the morning?"

"Uh…well, I had a bad dream, so I… decided to calm my nerves with a walk." She lied quickly.

"With your weapon at hand?" He noted, pointing to Gembreaker in her holster.

"It was a really bad dream." She excused, knowing deep down he wouldn't buy it.

"I was informed of the nightmare you suffered through earlier tonight, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out so late after that." He told her calmly, "Please don't go anywhere on your own without informing us."

"Well, whatever works." She said and attempted to walk past him, only for the knight to stop her.

"Does Wind Runner know you're out here?" He inquired suspiciously.

Amethyst sighed and muttered, "Okay, hard way it is." She whipped out Gembreaker in its longsword form and bashed the knight across his chest-plate, knocking him off his feet and producing a sharp ringing sound.

The knight landed on his back with a grunt but sprang to his feet swiftly and drew his sword, charging right at her. Amethyst twisted aside at the last moment and the silver blade missed her by inches, before grabbing the knight's vambrace and throwing him into the nearest wall with a loud clatter of armor meeting stone.

She transformed Gembreaker into its bow form and loaded up the arrow with an Ice-Dust cartridge and pointed it at him he he turned away from the wall. Knowing that he wasn't fast enough to stop her, the knight used the crucial few seconds he had to activate the communication channel within his helmet.

"The Maiden is attempting to escape, south-east side of the monastery!" He shouted before Amethyst released her arrow which hit the ground near his boots and was soon frozen to the wall by the sudden rush of frost and ice surrounding his armor-encased body.

"Sorry man, nothing personal!" She called as she began running towards the outer wall. She glanced back just in time to see Stone Claw erupting out of her open window and onto the roof, unsheathing the long claws within his thick-plated gauntlets in the process, as well as Moon Hunter leading a few other anonymous Knights appearing on her level.

Stone Claw looked up to the large tower that overlooked the entire monastery and spoke into his communication device to the Remnant Knight standing guard within, "Hawk Shot, are you following her?"

"I got my scope's night-vision on and she's in my sights. She's headed for the wall, and it looks like she's getting ready to aim and then leap over it…" The Knight Marksman reported to his comrade.

Up head, Amethyst carefully aimed Gembreaker's bow to the top of the wall, hooking up the cable within the hilt of the weapon to the arrow. She released it, and the tip shot forward and pierced the wall deep that she could easily climb it. The Spring Maiden let out a cry of effort as she jumped high into the air, coming down feet first right beside the wall, just a meter or so shy of where the arrow had hit.

"Amethyst, what are you doing?" Stone Claw demanded as he rushed forward.

"Making a statement!" She shouted before she ran towards the top of the wall and jumped into the air, performing a perfect somersault and snapping Gembreaker back to its sword form which severed the cable as she landed on the wall's top walkway.

"Should I take a shot with the tranquilizers? It won't do much given her power, but it might slow her down." Hawk Shot suggested as he kept his watchful eye on her, "Though I could use a heavy dosage…"

"Hold off on that, I have a better idea." The voice of Wind Runner appeared on the communications channel, "Stone Claw, go around to the other side of the wall and take a few others with you. Moon Hunter, take the left and make sure she can't jump off the cliff on the eastern side of the monastery's walls. Everyone else, block off the interior of the monastery and make sure no one interferes, and keep the tranquilizer option open Hawk Shot. She's a kind girl but we all know what she's like if her Semblance kicks in. I'm almost there…"

Amethyst watched as Stone Claw ran out of the perimeter with a few other Knights, leaving the others to block off the other exits out of the monastery. She turned and saw that she couldn't scale down from the cliff either with Moon Hunter and his accompanying Knights standing on the main walkway leading to the eastern walls. She didn't know what exactly her guardians were up to, but she also wasn't exactly sure of what she was doing either.

"Amethyst!" The voice of Wind Runner called from her right. She looked over to see the Knight Vanguard emerging from the door on the far end of the wall. She couldn't see his face underneath his helmet, but it didn't take a genius to guess he was less than pleased, "What in Oum's name do you think you're doing?"

"Getting away so I can help Heliosia." She answered simply.

"Running away will only make things worse. You've done enough for your fellow Maiden by telling us about your dream so that we can have her security increased significantly. What you're doing now is thoughtless and childish." He told her as he approached, keeping his weapons by his side and gauntlets opened out in front of him.

"Is it childish to want to protect someone you care about?" Amethyst shot back.

"No, but the way you're going about it…"

"I've already lost one of my sisters to these people, Wind Runner! The Maidens are like family to me! I can't lose another one!" She cried, tears beginning to brim.

The Knight Vanguard hesitated, remembering Amethyst's history as an orphan and knowing that she probably had few friends as well. Those probably decreased even further after she became the Spring Maiden, and thus it made sense that someone like her would be so desperate to protect the people she became attached to, the other Maidens most of all.

"I don't care what you do, but I will not stop until I'm convinced Heliosia is safe and I need to see her in the flesh for myself. I knew this plan wouldn't work, but I will come up with a better one and if that fails, I will just come up with another one." Amethyst told him fiercely. She glanced down at the other side of the wall to see Stone Claw and the other Knights getting ready to corner her.

"Was your nightmare that horrific? Are you willing to go that far to protect someone you care about based on a dream?" Wind Runner kept his voice calm but demanding.

"I am." The Spring Maiden answered simply but firmly. She glanced back as she saw a pair of heavily-armoured Knights bracing their large shields in front of them appearing on the wall's walkway behind her, and knew she had been steadily cornered. Wind Runner wasn't only speaking to her, he was also buying time for them to get into proper position.

Wind Runner sighed and said mournfully, "I understand." His voice made Amethyst's face soften, as if he knew what she was going through. Then he whispered, "Take the shot."

Amethyst felt a sudden pain in her neck which was followed swiftly by an immense drowsiness. Everything began to feel heavy and blurry, she felt herself drop Gembreaker and reached up with an unusually heavy arm and felt the tranquilizer dart in her neck.

She smirked despite herself and sleepily murmured, "Clever boys…" before falling forward and into Wind Runner who managed to catch her.

"Pleasant dreams, my Maiden." He bid her softly as she slipped into deep sleep. After giving the order for all the other Eternal Warriors to stand down, before lifting her up and gently carrying her back to her bedroom chambers while the other knights picked up Gembreaker.

The Grand Knight Master wouldn't like this latest development in the slightest, and the Knight Vanguard knew he would receive quite a stern reprimand for allowing Amethyst to even attempt an escape. Wind Runner didn't know what would happen next when Amethyst awakens once more, but he hated the fact that he was in the middle of it.

So he mentally prayed for Storm Bringer to return as soon as he can so that he could have all the answers he needed to make a momentous decision.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader
> 
> For those confused by the Yang dragon bit, Yang and Taiyang's names both have something to do with dragons, so RC wrote that bit.
> 
> And I decided to finally give you all a glimpse at the malevolence behind all the evil in RWBY. This dark nothingness isn't going to be the primary foe, that's still Salem and Cinder, but it's more like Giygas from Earthbound or The Lord of the Locusts from Bone or the Nothing from Neverending Story, it's not some tangible threat, it's this creepy, unearthly source of evil that can't truly be comprehended.
> 
> If you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.


	64. Of Things To Come Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is dedicated in loving memory to Don, a good man I have known my entire life who passed away early this morning. He has earned his place in heaven. Rest in peace, old friend.

Qrow groaned as he opened his eyes, glancing up at the dull grey ceiling of the motel he was staying at in Vacuo's capital. With a grunt, the shirtless Huntsman sat up from the frumpy old bed he had been sleeping in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He knew he must have overslept big time, since using his animal form for so long without rest usually left his body and aura drained, and so when he looked at the clock and saw that it was literally before sunrise he knew how long he had slept. He looked out the window and up into the sky and saw the shattered moon was beginning to descent and over the edge of the city.

"I can't waste any more time." He muttered to himself as he sat up from the bed and got to work, dressing himself in his usual long-tailed grey dress shirt and going through his usual morning rituals, getting ready to continue his mission. The veteran Huntsman at least made sure he had the bare minimum of uninterrupted rest in order to function throughout what would be another busy day for him.

As he poured himself a cup of water from a plastic container at a nearby table, Qrow went over the next steps in his head which he had formulated the night before; report to the Vacuo Ranger headquarters in the city and have them pass him any relevant information on the top gangs in town and whatever leads they had on Damien Ante, then his hunt could truly continue via those leads. And if he manage to spot some lowlife associated with a major gang, it would be easy to get any information he wanted out of them on any high-level member, followed by tracking the down and doing the same until he had a link to Ante.

From there it would be a simple matter of kicking ass until Ante spilled everything about the murder of Charles Meredith and whatever else the crime lord knew about Callows and the rest of the shadowy individuals he had been in contact with. And once he found Callows, the psychopathic assassin would be a firm link to Salem. He went over the routine and its accompanying strategy in his head several times as he used the soap provided in the adjacent bathroom as deodorant.

And should the situation require the intervention of the western Kingdom's military, the quick reaction force requisitioned by Lieutenant Santaro comprising of a couple of Bullheads filled with fully-armed squads of Vacuo Rangers would be his backup contingency plan. Qrow grimly thought of that as a last resort in the unlikely event he required some backup to take down Ante's associates and any other Red Fang agents.

It wasn't a solid plan, but none of his plans generally were and they usually worked out decently. Usually.

After checking that he had left nothing behind and Reaper was slung diagonally and attached to its holster, Qrow stepped out of the rented motel room and closed the door, locking it behind him. He disembarked down the staircase and walked past the empty ground level of the motel and set off into Vacuo's capital, following the map on his scroll to the Vacuo Ranger Headquarters as the street lights on both sides of the road lit his way.

He walked down the sidewalks, admiring the juxtaposition of slightly modernized buildings that had been there for a couple of decades or less mixing in with the old buildings crafted from sandstone that had been built a hundred or more years ago, or perhaps even several hundred when it came to the older district areas. Vacuo's capital was a strange mishmash of various forms of architecture and cultures, but his life could be described as such as well since he was raised in a bandit clan but was now a Huntsman who protected others, and was even involved in an insane conflict over the fate of Remnant itself, so he couldn't say his life was altogether consistent either.

Walking under a less-trodden walkway, Qrow stopped as a small group of birds which were startled by his presence suddenly burst out and took off into the slowly brightening sky above. Throughout his life birds had been his constant companion, even during the relatively innocent times of his younger years among the Branwen tribe. As the rest of the flock flew towards the gently glowing horizon, one of the birds simply fluttered down to a rusted steel trash can to the side. As his feet moved past the trash can, Qrow casually observed the bird and noting that it was a raven.

A glimmer of curiosity wormed its way through his heart and he turned slightly towards the raven but it didn't fly off the top of the trash can. Instead it simply looked right back at him, and let out a low, croaking call.

"Heh, friend of my sister?" He commented dryly, deciding to speak freely with no one around to hear him. He jokingly offered his arm out, and to his surprise the raven jumped onto his forearm, flapping its black wings a little.

Bemused, he smiled as it made another scratchy caw, "I know, I miss her too. We were one really messed up family, but I'd be dead if it wasn't for her. Our skills might be evenly matched, but she was always the better fighter of us both. I wish… I wish I could have returned the favor when she really needed it, then maybe she'd still be here. What I wouldn't give just to hear our usual bickering with each other like old times."

He then sighed, knowing that the words he had just spoken was more for himself than anything. However, the hard truth was that his sister was gone, and nothing could change that hard truth he had come to accept.

The bird cocked its head at him and croaked again, "Still here? Months ago out of the spur of a moment I chased a raven like you, hoping beyond all reason she had somehow came back, but I think it was just some bird. You wouldn't happen to be the same one, would you?" He added jokingly, reaching up with his other hand to give the raven's head an affectionate rub.

The raven simply stared at him before spreading its wings and flew away towards the end of the walkway and towards the Vacuoan skyline, quickly becoming a speck in the distance. Qrow sighed and remarked deprecatingly, "Didn't think so."

He shook his head a little and continued walking further into the city, his attention changing to focus on his mission at hand. Little did the Branwen brother notice the raven he spoke to land atop one of the taller buildings and continued to observe him.

Due to the height and uninhibited location the bird has chosen, it slowly became invisible to mortal eyes and shifted rapidly into the form of Raven Branwen.

The Guardian of Nothingness observed her living brother in silence as he walked away down the empty walkway, seeing him tuck his hands into the pockets of his pants and slouching a little in terms of usual posture. She resisted the urge to reveal herself to her brother, instead letting out a mournful sigh and looked downwards, a tear rolling down her red eye as she mentally replayed the words Qrow had spoken moments ago.

Not knowing of the ethereal entity observing him, Qrow let out a yawn and shook his head as he walked up a curling stairwell to the upper street level, only pausing at the sight of a small coffee shop which had opened for extremely early-morning business, its staff arranging the tables and chairs to serve customers for the day.

Despite his loyalty to his flask, the old crow knew that liquor wasn't going to help him wake up right now. So he sat at a stool near the counter and paid the kindly middle-aged human woman with tanned skin for a cup of strong-smelling coffee that was far better than what he had expected from a downtown coffee shop at this hour. He then leaned against the stone wall and slowly sipped his coffee, looking up into the mildly cloudy, pre-dawn sky and watched the sight of the moon disappearing over the yellow-brownish horizon.

He decided to enjoy this little moment of peace, because given what he had learned so far in his intelligence gathering mission the peace and quiet of the western Kingdom would not last for much longer.

* * *

It was six in the morning in Atlas, the bright rays from the rising sun slowly illuminating the enormous conical structure with a slightly tapered top which was built on an artificial plateau situated at the far side of the largest military base in the kingdom, rivaling skyscrapers in height. Like the rest of the buildings of the military bases within the kingdom, its mostly featureless concrete and steel façade was surrounded by many security gates and automated defenses, constantly alert for any kind of intrusion.

Housing many control rooms and separate operation chambers inside while being protected by layers of blast-resistant plating, anti-EMP armor and multiple formidable-looking anti-air turrets, it served as a worthy bastion in which the elite branch of the Kingdom's military forces resided and trained in, devoted to any covert missions and specialist assignments given to them by the Atlas Council. It was named Olympus, and it functions as the primary headquarters of the Atlesian military forces' S.W.O.R.D. special forces unit.

Deep within one extensive armory chambers, a certain android with sharply-cut black hair and bright blue electronic eyes sat alone in front of one of the armory's workspaces performing maintenance checks on his external weaponry, disassembling and reassembling in a methodical, routine fashion.

A short distance away from him at the far side of the huge armory his Mark II Full Armor Defense System powered exoskeleton suit stood proudly within its maintenance chamber, most of its weaponry stripped bare and attached to multiple electronic workstations through thick cables. The harsh lights set into the ceiling of the armory glinted off its polished armor, which was mostly flawless save for some superficial scratches sustained from the battle against the Red Fang cell.

What would have taken even the most proficient Atlesian elite trooper several hours to properly perform in terms of weapon maintenance was instead swiftly done in roughly twenty minutes by N1CK3L, and even at that the android was only using a small but noticeable fraction of his overall processing power thanks to an advanced auxiliary data-processing core unit integrated within his head.

Loud echoing clicks and clacks were heard as the individual components of the various weapons were systematically taken apart and laid on the surface of the workspace, then properly examined and oiled, before being reassembled back into their proper places once more and checked one last time and set neatly aside for the test-firing simulation that would take place in the virtual firing range later. Each of the android's fingers were more ambidextrous than any human or Faunus due to the advanced servos, and their rapid movements was almost hypnotic to watch as he continued in his weapon maintenance session.

Maintaining his weapons was somewhat calming for N1CK3L, it allowed him time to go over his recent experiences while doing something of use at the same time. There was also the fact that he could figure out new and faster ways of deploying his weapons, and formulating new strategies based on conclusive data analysis of the combat operations he had taken part in alongside Task Force Omega. However, he was currently thinking of his 'sister' Penny Polendina than his mission parameters.

Even when he was just little more than a head and a torso connected by hanging cables to various electronic monitoring devices within the laboratories of the Atlesian Special Robotics Research Branch, N1CK3L had listened to Dr. Polendina's many stories about her while he worked industriously on crafting the android's new body. Then came the times he walked around the senior robotics professor's personal lab on his prototype legs and came across photographs depicting her with his creator at various formal events and such at Atlas Academy, and finally he had watched the videos of Penny Polendina in action during various simulated environments multiple times, dissecting her manipulative combat style with several flying blades that comes out of a pack attached to her back.

It brought to mind just how different he was from his 'sister' and he couldn't help but wonder how she would react upon meeting him, though he could still make decent predictions as to the outcome of their first meeting, which was something he could go over yet again despite the many times he thought about it…

All of a sudden a familiar voice picked up through his auditory sensors from the entrance of the chamber he was occupying, "Alone again, my boy?"

N1CK3L turned his head to see Dr. Polendina dressed in his usual grey and white lab coat walking towards him while casually leaning against a simple wooden cane, the robotics professor's green eyes meeting his own shining blue ones. Like clockwork, the advanced android immediately stood up and saluted his primary creator, but the portly bearded old man gave a chuckle and waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, stop it. You don't need to salute me, N1CK3L."

"With all due respect Dr. Polendina, it's standard military protocol." The combat android argued.

"And we're alone, plus I'm not strictly military, just another scientist with a contract to them." Dr. Polendina said as he sat down on the bench beside the android, "By the way, I'm happy to hear that your first time out in the field was a success."

A small thought came to N1CK3L's regarding how his main creator could gain access to the headquarters of S.W.O.R.D. branch, but seeing that Dr. Polendina had been held in high regard by the Atlas Council due to his various inventions in various scientific fields, it was possible he could go wherever he wished as long as his security clearance and council approval allowed it.

"I am also satisfied with my performance, but I hope to be informed about the alterations to Drago Sanguine's body and what else it might entail." N1CK3L mentioned as he took a seat.

"Ah yes, I heard about that, though it's not my field of expertise." The robotics professor then inquired, "Did you mesh well with Commander Central and the rest Task Force Omega?"

"Commander Central was pleasant and reasonable, but the other Omega Troopers seemed to be wary of me." N1CK3L answered as his mind sifted through the expressions of the other members making up Central's hand-picked cadre when he was properly introduced by the commander of the Task Force on board the  _Retribution_.

"Just give them time to adjust. Everyone is like that when it comes to newcomers, be it people or technology." Dr. Polendina scratched his hair thoughtfully.

"Query: Why is that?" N1CK3L asked him as he picked up the finished rifle in front of him and placed it to the side.

"Hmm? For some it's an annoyance of a new person on a team or the introduction of a new component into a system. Though I think the most common thing is that many fear being replaced." The old doctor stated simply.

"If that is the case, then do you think Penny will accuse me of trying to replace her?" N1CK3L asked carefully.

Polendina stared at him for a few moments but eventually cracked a smile, "No, N1CK3L. Penny has made many friends in her brief life and those type of bonds, especially the bond that she and I have come to share, aren't so easily replaced. While she can be naïve, Penny has learned quite a lot during her time out in the world, and she also knows that her friends wouldn't replace her with anyone. And given her personality, I don't think she'd be anything other than accepting towards you. What brings this on?"

"I am wondering how Penny will react to me. I have already run several simulations and calculations as to what could occur between us, though I do not have sufficient data on her to make a completely accurate conclusion." N1CK3L mentioned calmly.

"I know her very well, N1CK3L, and I can assure you that she will be very surprised and even overjoyed to know she has a brother." Dr. Polendina assured the android by placing his hand on N1CK3L's armored-plated shoulder.

"Brother…" N1CK3L said quietly, his gently glowing eyes meeting that of his creator, "She and I appear to be quite different though; from what I have been told her personality is far more human than mine, though with a noticeable awkwardness and a slight childishness to her, while I am more mature and direct."

"I suppose you can put it that way." Dr. Polendina nodded.

"And our programming are quite different as well. I know that she is a combat android like myself, but you clearly designed her with a non-military purpose in mind, while I was thoroughly designed for warfare. And even then, you had based her on your daughter whereas I wasn't based on anyone to my knowledge." N1CK3L mused considerately, "Therefore I can conclude that the entire purpose of Penny was to bring your daughter back, to 'remake' her so to speak, while I was made simply for battle."

The old scientist listened intently, quietly tapping his fingers on top of his cane and then replied, "If you looked at it that way, yes. Penny's overall design and personality matrix went through countless trials and tribulations before she was fully finished and ready, and as the years went by the people I worked with for General Ironwood copied my designs in an attempt to make intelligent combat androids like you, but unfortunately they couldn't get it quite right. I was later brought to refine the process and although they've made some headway, you were the first genuine success."

He took a small breath and added, "And even then when I collaborated with the other scientists from the Robotics Branch to create you, I came to the conclusion that without an advanced A.I. program you would be no different from the other mindless Atlesian Knight models used by the military. So, to make you capable of human-like responses and emotions I programmed you with the same personality construct program that I used to create Penny, with some modifications to the dynamic memory-processor matrix used in all A.I. programs."

"Is that not the reason why I can not only absorb vast amounts of information, but also learn and comprehend from my surroundings and interactions with others?" N1CK3L asked.

"Yes. The changes I made to your programming makes your A.I. core slightly more advanced than any other Atlesian androids to date, just like the time I created your sister." Polendina explained.

"If that is the case, then the personality construct program you used create our separate personalities must have come from the template of a human mind." The masculine android looked at him, "Whose mind did you use then?"

The robotics specialist sighed and said, "That's a story for another time."

"I see. In any case, I feel that I should thank you for giving me and my sister the capability to learn new things." N1CK3L gave a grateful nod.

"Yes, and while you still have some distance to go you are here. I personally think that stands for something, son." The old scientist informed the android.

"But neither Penny nor I are human," N1CK3L pointed out.

"Not literally, but more in a spiritual sense, if you'll forgive the term. You're not strictly an android foot soldier like the Atlesian Knights since having a personality makes you so much more, and while yours hasn't developed as much as Penny's, you will eventually become more than you are now. I know you will." Dr. Polendina said as he extended his right hand to place it on N1CK3L's armoured forearm, a smile on his face.

N1CK3L considered this and offered his primary creator a small smile of his own, "Thank you, Dr. Polendina."

"You're quite welcome." The scientist replied kindly, though his eyes showed a hint of the sorrow hidden within and a heavy burden seemed to weigh heavily on his shoulders, "By the way, do you mind passing a message from me when you finally get to meet Penny in person?" The advanced android nodded, so Dr. Polendina leaned close and said, "No matter what the both of you do, you and Penny are and always will be my greatest creations."

"I will make sure she receives it, Dr. Polendina." N1CK3L said determinedly.

"Thank you." The aged scientist smiled with gratitude.

The sound of booted feet approaching the armory chambers' open blast doors caused both N1CK3L and Dr. Polendina to transfer their attentions to the open portal at the far side of the fully-stocked weapon room. A few seconds later the tall armoured figure of Commander Central entered the armory, walking over to where the android and his creator scientist sat, his advanced helmet tucked underneath one arm while his personally customized advanced assault rifle slung on his back.

"Good morning to you, Dr. Polendina." He greeted politely and received a nod of acknowledgement, then he looked directly at N1CK3L, "There will be a tactical briefing at operations room Delta Six shortly with regards to our new orders from Atlesian High Command. I was in the vicinity and thought that I would come over and pick you up as well."

"Of course, Commander. I am almost finished with my weapons maintenance session." N1CK3L adjusted the tracking scope of a long-range laser rifle in his hands and placed it on a nearby weapon slot with the rest of his other assorted weaponry.

"I trust that your conversation with N1CK3L is finished?" Central turned to look at Dr. Polendina who nodded his head, "Yes, we have heard what each other has to say. He's all yours, Commander Central. And please look after him for me, will you?"

"I will try my best, Dr. Polendina." Central inclined his head as N1CK3L marched over to stand beside him and then bid, "Good day to you as well."

"You too, Commander Central." The robotics specialist said as he watched both the commanding officer of Task Force Omega and his treasured creation salute him smartly before vanishing down the long corridor leading out of the military facility's main armory chambers.

* * *

_**A pair of children, one a boy and the other a girl, ran freely through the streets of the town of Himawari, their cheerful voices mingling with the other sounds that made up the bustling community. They grasped each other's hands tightly as they sprinted through the crowded marketplace, laughing as they ducked and weaved through the stalls and people, escaping the other kids who were chasing them in the game they were playing.** _

_**If one were to look at the running children, they'd notice signs of two different Mistralian societies; the boy was strong and swift despite his age, and was dressed in oriental-styled robes of blue, silver and white in addition to long grey pants and blue shoes. The girl who ran beside him was lovely and with a look in her eyes that hinted at a wildness, she wore a dress of palest gold and a tan-colored leather decorative harness in a distinctively Amazonian style, with protective red and orange arm guards on her forearms and a thin wooden staff clutched in her right hand.** _

_**Running into the lush green expanse of knee-high grass at the outskirts of the town, the pair continued past a sparkling lake and eventually reaching a clearing of sorts in the surrounding forest where they scrambled up a large tree off the path and hid among the dense branches and leaves, waiting for the other children to pass by underneath. They held their breaths and slid into the shadows, and soon enough they heard their pursuers running past their hiding spot, breaking up to continue their search for the missing players.** _

_**As the shouts died away and vanished, the boy gestured for his friend to remain quiet with a finger to his lips, before slipping nimbly down a couple of branches and poked his head cautiously out of the tree that served as their hiding spot. After making sure that they were alone he retracted his head back into the depths of the tree and nodded at the girl who was looking at him expectantly, then extended a hand for her to grip firmly onto as they descended the tree and dropped to the dusty clearing again.** _

_**"I can't believe they fell for it again." The girl quipped as she brushed some stray leaves from her shoulder.** _

_**"Even if we can't find this place, there are still other hiding spots I know around here." The boy grinned as he placed his hands on his waist, "That's why I always win. Come on, let's get back to town before they realize they have fallen for my trick again."** _

_**"And get back to hearing the elders talk about weapon-crafting and trading stuff?" The girl's smile dropped and she crossed her arms, turning her head to the side, "I would rather have a Grimm attack me than dying from boredom listening to the old geezers."** _

_**The boy's face looked shocked for few moments, probably because he had never heard his best friend talk about the elders of her clan like that. Sure, he was a bit stubborn when it comes to obeying the rules, but he still followed them as he had been taught to do, like every other child born to the tribe. But what intrigued him was that bit of rebelliousness in her personality that drew him to her. They had slipped out of his family courtyard and escaped the attentions of their caretakers just to have enjoy some fun with other kids in the town square.** _

_**"Well, you aren't wrong. I fell asleep a few times during those talks." The boy admitted and she smirked at him, before he asked "Would you like to see a beautiful place?"** _

_**She focused her fiery red eyes on him, "What do you mean?"** _

_**"Come on, trust me." He grabbed her hand and began to run again, this time down a certain dirt path that led through the forest towards the edge of the valley. Eventually they reached what looked like a derelict tower made of stone with a staircase cut into its pitted and weather-beaten exterior surface where young kids would reenact battles with wooden swords and shields pretending they were mighty warriors defending a makeshift castle against Grimm.** _

_**"We're almost there, give me your hand!" The boy reached down and grasped the girl's outstretched arm from the landing above, pulling her up they then clambered onto the top of the tower, and from the broken ramparts they looked across the wonderful view of the entire Kagayaku Valley along with the expansive yellow fields filled with gently bending fat stalks of corn stretching across the distance as far as they could see in the outskirts of Himawari. At the very edge of the valley the bright sun shone its rays through the low clouds moving through the clear blue sky.** _

_**"Beautiful, isn't it?" The boy said as he leaned on a block of broken stone that made up the parapet, his youthful face illuminated by the sunlight.** _

_**"You said it." The girl agreed as she tucked some wayward strands of her hair aside in the cool breeze, "Mistral has many gorgeous sites, I heard that the sunset seen from this valley was among one of the most beautiful places in Anima."** _

_**"And here is one of the best places to see it." The boy chuckled until he noticed he was still grasping her hand and quickly relinquished it, "Oh sorry."** _

_**She chuckled and playfully punched him on the shoulder, before changing the subject, "Anyway, what do you want to be when you grow up?"** _

_**"I'd probably become the chieftain of my tribe like my father and grandfather." The boy said, "But I would like to be something more, to make my life mean something other than looking after some silly family traditions."** _

_**"Why not become a Huntsman?" The girl suggested, "My parents already agreed to send me to Haven Academy to become a Huntress when I'm old enough, they're even preparing to give me basic training."** _

_**"Yeah, being a Huntsman would be good…" The boy turned his head a little to face her, "I want to be a true hero, who fights for justice and with honor, slays Grimm, protecting the weak and innocent who can't do it themselves. Someone like a Remnant Knight."** _

_**The girl chuckled, "Really? You know the Remnant Knights are just legends, right? How will you join them when you don't know where they are?"** _

" _ **My father once told me he met them, so if he can find them then I can find a way." The boy replied firmly, "I wonder how though? Perhaps when I become a great warrior I will seek them out?"**_

_**"Then you better prove yourself to be a capable fighter, or they won't even bother to spare you a glance. So you better brush up on those fighting skills." The girl chuckled.** _

_**"I will remember that." The boy laughed in return, "And I'm sure you'll become quite the fighter when become a Huntress."** _

_**"Oh please." The girl rolled her eyes, "I know I'm good, but there's always room to improve."** _

_**The boy nodded and they both looked at the setting sun in silence as it sluggishly lowered on the horizon, its orange glow brushing over the tops of the forest and casting the Himawari and the entire valley with its stunning radiance.** _

_**It was several moments later before the boy spoke again, "No matter what happens when we grow up, we will still be friends right?"** _

_**"What are you talking about? Of course we will, you will always be my friend!" The girl turned and smiled warmly at him.** _

_**"Then why don't we shout our names from the top of this tower? My mother told me a legend that if you do that at sunset, the gods will then bless you with the strength and courage to achieve whatever you want to do." The boy suggested.** _

_**"You really believe that?" The girl asked a little incredulously, "I thought you dislike traditional stuff."** _

_**"Well, if we want to become whoever we want to be, it can't hurt to have a little extra luck, right?" He smiled in return and stood up, offering his open hand to her, "Shall we?"** _

_**She smiled and accepted his hand, saying "If you say so."** _

_**He helped her up and they faced each other, and the boy suddenly felt strange as he looked right at her; her eyes, her face, her hair… he couldn't help but realize she was pretty. He blushed when he remembered she was clasping his hands, making her giggle.** _

_**They both turned to face the slowly lowering sun in the distance.** _

_**"Ready? One…Two…"** _

_**"Three…!"** _

_**But before the shout erupted from both of their throats, the mental image changed to another time and place.** _

_**Night had fallen and the shattered moon hung in the inky black sky, which was nearly concealed by the large palls of smoke that rose from the burning town. The boy was now running for his life through the forest, escaping the roaring inferno that has consumed his hometown.** _

_**The sensation of intense heat lapped against the back of his neck, his robes wet and streaked with soot, and the agonized screams of men, women and children of the town fleeing and dying echoed in his ears as he kept running. Many of those screams belonged to people he knew and it tore his heart to pieces to know that they had given up their lives to delay the terrifying enemy as long as possible for him to stand a chance of escape.** _

_**After all, what can a young boy do against an unstoppable enemy bent on destroying everyone and everything in Himawari?** _

_**Clutching the sword that was an heirloom of his family, the boy continued to put as much distance between himself and the Grimm which had undoubtedly picked up his scent with a burning desire to kill. Hot tears of fear and anguish ran down his cheeks as he ran, branches and leaves cutting into his skin and robes as he burst through dense thickets. The forest seemed to close in from all sides as he sought to outrun the creatures that were gaining on him with every passing second, and his strength was finite. It was only a matter of time before he would fall prey to exhaustion and be devoured by the Grimm.** _

_**He never knew something so cruel could happen to Himawari, the people of the town were fair and reasonable, existing in harmony with the neighboring towns, and would treat visitors from other Kingdoms and other Mistrailian villages with kindness and respect. Aside from the weapons they traded, there wasn't any form of negative emotions that would warrant such a massive attack from the Grimm on his home. The last thing he knew before a distraction was created to give him a chance to flee into the forest was that of his father giving him the family sword which was his birthright, and his mother telling him how much she loved him and that he must go at once.** _

_**Wayward tree branches and leaves prickled him and tangled up his red-streaked black hair as the running boy burst through the last of the forests trees and bushes and finding himself on the lip of a tall roaring waterfall, part of one of the largest rivers in Anima that acted as a natural barrier against the Grimm, and if he crossed it he should be relatively safe from the monsters and find sanctuary in the settlements at the lower regions of the river. But there were complications: The same river was several metres wide at its smallest, and the closest bridge was miles away.** _

_**The boy looked back the way he came and knew that it would be a matter of seconds before the Grimm would burst from the tree line and be upon him. There was no time to backtrack and search for another route through the forest and to make matters worse, the storm from the previous night had caused the river to overflow, which would make swimming more of a challenge that it would usually be.** _

_**So that left only two options: a slim chance of survival by leaping into the waterfall, or certain death at the hands of the Grimm? One was hardly better than the other.** _

_**At as explosion sounded in the distance, the boy made his choice. He closed his eyes and murmured a prayer to the gods his family worshipped, and broke into a run towards the rushing river in front of him. Daring a glance back he got the brief impression of a trio of snarling Beowolves bounding rapidly towards him, their drooling jaws filled with rows of sharp teeth eager to feast upon his flesh.** _

_**The boy leaped into the churning waters of the huge river, disappearing with a splash which marked his end. Consumed from nature's merciless wrath, he went over the waterfall and vanished downstream, leaving the Grimm Beowolves howling in rage as they were deprived of their prey.** _

Sharp Strike opened his sapphire eyes, slipping out of his pre-battle meditations and found himself standing in front of the arming chambers of Tintagel's massive armory deep within the fortress headquarters of the Order, guarded by a pair of hulking armored Templar Guardians who had escorted him from his personal chambers once the summons arrived.

While he didn't know why the vision came to him during his meditations, Sharp Strike made a mental note to think long and hard on it later when he had the chance to. Right now, he focused his eyes forward at the entrance where a ruddy orange light glowed and deafening hammering sounds echoed from as he went about his work.

Hot, sweltering heat permeated the entire place and sweat beaded on every inch of exposed skin as the knight errant waited quietly and patiently for Forge Smith to emerge from his personal forging realm at the far end of the cavernous halls. The tall, black, featureless walls stretched into the distant ceiling high above, populated by huge brass cages filled with racks of every kind of armament imaginable used by the Remnant Knights in their endless war against Salem, her associates and the Grimm. The forges were hot and constantly in production, tended to by its stern master and the forge acolytes who listened and obeyed his every word to the letter. Aided by wondrous machines, they churned out Aegis Armor plates and assorted weapons of astounding quality, as well as various munitions and even uniquely crafted weapons for the many knights serving within the Knight Order.

Everything used by the Remnant Knights were made here in the immense forges, from the simplest bullet to the enormous cannon shells that used for the massive defense turrets on mounted on Tintagel's heavily armed battlements.

After what seemed like an eternity, the heavily armored form of Forge Smith emerged from his domain, his armored bootsteps echoing around the forges not unlike the constant hammering that served as the backdrop of the place. Holding Mjolnira in one huge gauntlet, he marched towards Sharp Strike who was clad in pale grey robes and black boots, and armed with the long promethean sword which was resting in its black and gold-colored sheath attached to a simple belt around his waist.

As the master of the Order's forges stopped in front of him, his elaborate armor illuminated by the countless fires burning around them, he placed his mighty warhammer head-down in front of him with a mighty echoing boom on the metal plates beneath him and crossed his large gauntlets over the top of its leather grip. The knight errant immediately sank to one knee respectfully and bowed his head in respect, the two Templar Guardians on either side of him performing the action at the exact same time.

Keeping his head aimed downwards, Sharp Strike spoke, "Honored Forge Master, I have come as ordered to receive my new armor and weapons in preparation for my duty as representative of the Knight Order."

"Come." Forge Smith rumbled in his impossibly deep voice before picking up his warhammer and walking away, Sharp Strike dutifully following him while the pair of Templar Guardians rose and stood as still as statues, their silver-lacquered armor and powerful-looking lances glinting with the lights of their surroundings.

The forge master led Sharp Strike towards an arming chamber where upon an arming rack, a gleaming Aegis suit sporting silver-blue armor plates stood, similar to the one he wore on his many missions across Remnant. However it looked to be slightly more elaborate in terms of design and structure, as well as having the outlook of being freshly taken out of the forges. The emblem of the Order was rendered clearly on the right pauldron, while the left was empty where the knight's personal emblem would be added later. An immaculately-made cloak of midnight blue hung from the shoulders of the suit, and despite himself Sharp Strike felt his blue eyes widen at the sight of such an impressively crafted masterpiece.

Forge Smith's words came again, "Are you ready, Knight Errant?"

Sharp Strike collected himself and nodded his head in reply, "I am ready."

Upon a command from Forge Smith a few of his acolytes came forward and relieved the knight errant of his relic sword and pale robes, respectfully stripping them from him and bowing low as they withdrew, leaving him in his inner black body-glove which would be the canvas upon which the Aegis armor would clad onto him. The arming rack disengaged and extended from its mounts, with additional acolytes gathering to assist Sharp Strike in the donning of his new suit of armor.

The young knight walked to the center of the arming chambers and turned, presenting his muscled back to the arming rack and spread his arms wide to accept the open embrace of his new suit of armor. He kept his eyes forward as Forge Smith's acolytes and machine arms from the arming rack ritually clad him with plates of silver-blue armor, feeling rerebraces and vambraces around his arms while cuisses were fixed to his thighs. Under the careful orders of Forge Smith his subordinates clamped the new breastplate with detailed inlaid script around the edges to the Knight Errant's chest, while others secured the sections of his torso and greaves, bolting him into his new battleplate along with armored boots and gauntlets. He lifted his head as the gorget of his new suit locked into place, followed by the clanking sounds of both pauldrons also being fixed into position. During all this while he also smelled the tang of lubricants and machine oil and felt the intense heat caressing the sweaty skin of his neck as a pair of machine arms with tiny drill extensions and laser lances cutting his personal emblem into the plates of his armor in a small shower of sizzling yellow sparks, adding the final touches to truly making the armor his own.

Once all was done, Sharp Strike looked every inch a formidable knight like the rest of his brethren.

The arming process was finished and silence fell, and the armored knight took a few steps forward to get a feel of how his brand-new suit of Aegis armor measure up, feeling quite satisfied when it followed his movements perfectly like a second skin. He then looked at Forge Smith who turned and took a similarly freshly-crafted helmet from a pair of forge acolytes who offered it to him, and the knight errant bowed profoundly as the master of the forge came forward silently and placed the helmet upon Sharp Strike's head, covering it completely and locking with his gorget with a soft hiss of locking seals.

As Forge Smith withdrew he picked up his mighty warhammer once more, and his acolytes all stood in a perfect circle around the armor-clad knight errant at a respectful distance, "Sharp Strike, Knight of Remnant."

The young knight immediately stood still and waited for the forge master's next words to be spoken, and soon enough the deep voice came again, "Look to your personal wargear and it will protect you."

"We guard our Aegis armor with our lives." Sharp Strike intoned gravely, bowing his helmed head slightly

"As your Aegis armor guards your life." The forge master spoke the next line of the armoring ritual.

"As it has done so for the countless knights before me." The young knight spoke solemnly.

"Honor their deeds and sacrifices, all given in defense of Remnant." The heavily-armored giant boomed.

"We serve only the Knight Order." The knight errant said grimly.

"Honor the wargear of the Remnant Knights." Forge Smith slammed his mighty warhammer on the forge's ground with a loud doom which echoed through the cacophonous environment.

"We shall perform our duty until our final breath." Sharp Strike finished.

The acolyte who was holding onto Sharp Strike's sword came forward again and knelt slightly as he presented the weapon to the knight errant who took it with both hands and belted it back to his waist. He then saw the master of the Order's forges standing aside as another pair of his acolytes respectfully presented a long metallic casket to Argentius' protégé.

He looked to Forge Smith who inclined his head and gestured with a gauntlet, "I have considered your request, and accepted it. Your new weapons have been remade to your specifications, along with some additional improvements to them."

Placing his gauntleted hand on the specialized gene-lock, Sharp Strike heard a hiss of escaping air as the weapon casket split down the middle and retracted its metallic covers on either side to reveal its contents. As he looked inside, the young knight was stunned to see a pair of equally long swords occupying the interior of the casket, their newly-forged forms glowing as they reflected the forge's burning fires. One sword's hilt has a distinct red gem set into its blue-black grip, while the other had a dark blue theme to it, and they both had further in-built with firing mechanisms within the pommel and hilt sections which Sharp Strike had requested himself.

" _Hong Long and Lan Feng._ " Sharp Strike whispered to himself as he picked up both exquisitely-crafted long swords, giving them a few experimental swings in the air and found that they were perfectly balanced and fit his gauntlets' grip flawlessly. Sliding his new weapons in their accompanying sheaths and magnetically-locking them to the back of his new armor, he turned and bowed gratefully to the master of the forge.

"You have my deepest gratitude, Forge Smith." Sharp Strike said as he kept his helmeted head low.

"Aye." The forge master's voice echoed around his domain, "I entrust them to you now, and may Hong Long and Lan Feng serve you well in the trials to come."

"You have my oath that I will serve them well in return." The knight errant replied with clear conviction, placing one of his gauntlets on his chest-plate, "Protect the innocent, survive the trials, serve Remnant."

The huge knight brought one large gauntleted fist to his winged griffon breastplate with a thundering crash before echoing the creed, which his acolytes chanted in kind.

"Now come, the blessing ceremony awaits." Forge Smith picked up Mjolnira and gestured for the young knight to follow him.

* * *

Ruby settled into a chair in the living room area of Team Beacon's dorm, letting out a small sigh as she began brushing her hair. She had managed to claim the first shower by using her Semblance to speed past Yang and Weiss, something she did every now and then which both of them claimed was cheating, but all's fair in Ruby's view.

She looked up as Sun came by, dragging his feet as he went to get a morning drink from the coffee he shared with Coco and some of the older kids, something the others, and even her dad and uncle, had essentially forbade Ruby from drinking at all times until she was 'old enough', whatever that meant.

"You okay Sun?" She asked, remembering the hard time he had last night with the homework Oobleck had given them.

He grunted before looking at her with his tired eyes and saying "Let's just say that given the choice between Oobleck's homework and fighting Cinder on my own, I'd say bring her on."

Ruby giggled as Nora bounded into the scene, having overheard Sun. "What about taking on Salem?" The bubbly orange-haired girl asked daringly.

Ruby froze for a brief moment and glanced at Nora, somewhat surprised at the boldness of her joke.

Sun groaned and remarked "Homework or the Queen of Darkness? Hmmm... Let me weigh the pros and cons and I'll get back to you."

Both girls laughed as he went on into the kitchen, and Ruby looked to her friend and said "Hey, you mind not making jokes about Salem?"

Nora looked at Ruby curiously, "Oh, you're still a bit nervous about her." She realized.

Ruby slowly nodded, "Yeah,"

Nora nodded and said "No problem, I know it's serious, but sometimes when you make fun of something serious or scary, it becomes less imposing, y'know?"

Ruby considered this and slowly nodded, "I guess that makes sense. So, Jaune and Pyrrha didn't mention anything about their crystal meditation session last night. Did they say anything to you or Ren?"

"Well, not really. They made it sound like they learned something really crazy but they didn't want to tell me and Renny, or anyone else, just yet." Nora told her.

"Really? That's weird. Any idea what it could be?" Ruby inquired.

"Nope." Nora answered simply, "But, uh... don't let Jaune and Pyrrha know I told you. They seemed kinda uneasy about it last night and said they wanted to wait and figure stuff out before they tell us."

Ruby nodded and said "Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. Well not entirely shut, but you get the idea."

"Thanks, Ruby." The hammer wielder said with a smile before hopping up and saying "Now if you'll excuse me, I got some showerin' to do."

Ruby watched as her friend retreated back into JNPR's room, but deep down Ruby still found Nora's joke about taking on Salem alone unnerving.

* * *

Amethyst woke from a deep sleep, grunting a little as she gained consciousness, and mentally noting that she hadn't suffered another nightmare, something she was thankful for. Instead of being covered in sweat, she instead felt slightly sore, which was also something she was strangely thankful for.

The Spring Maiden pushed herself up from the bed, still clad in the Huntress gear she had worn during her hastily-made escape plan. Noting the familiar ceiling she realized she was back in her bedroom chambers of the monastery. Everything was as she had left it before her escape, although her personal combo-weapon Gembreaker was placed on a stone table out of her reach across the room along with her traveling pack containing essential items she required while traveling around Remnant.

As she wiped her eyes and blinked away the after-effects of whatever the Eternal Warriors had drugged her with, Amethyst realized that the knights who had been assigned to guard her had clearly been reluctant to engage in any sort of combat with her, resorting to trickery and non-violent measures. While she was a Maiden and was capable of wielding incredible power, she was nevertheless still human and could be hurt by physical attacks once her aura was broken. Amber had been proof that Maidens can be killed just as easily as anyone else.

But whoever had shot her with the tranquilizer had obviously used a high enough dosage to eliminate her aura and keep her asleep for a few hours, as the purple-haired Maiden could see that it was already morning from the sunlight seeping through the closed windows of her room. Sight and sound gradually returned to her senses, and soon she had full control of her limbs once more as her body shrugged off the effects of the tranquilizer.

"You're awake," She turned her head to see Wind Runner standing a short distance away from her with his arms crossed and whatever expression he had hidden behind his helmet. Judging from his body language the Spring Maiden knew he was far from pleased with her actions.

"Thank you, Sir Exposition, Knight of the Stating The Obvious Order." Amethyst replied snarkily, rolling her eyes as she stood up and gingerly shook her arms to make sure she could feel her fingers, "How long was I out from whatever your fellow knights shot me with?"

"A little over four hours." The Knight Vanguard spoke softly but guardedly, but his normally polite tone changed in the next instant, "Amethyst,  _what_ in Oum's name did you think you were doing?"

"Doing what I thought was right." The Spring Maiden snapped, her usually cheery outlook absent.

"So does your version of doing the right thing result in landing one of my scouting knights in the monastery's infirmary with frozen limbs, damage to the monastery's outer walls, and the competence of the entire detachment under my command being called into question?" Wind Runner gestured with a gauntleted hand, "My superiors won't take kindly to this act of defiance, Amethyst."

The Maiden turned her head away, a little belligerently, "I don't regret it, and it could've been way worse had my Semblance kicked in. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, if you won't listen to what I told you."

"This is very serious." The Knight Vanguard dropped his vambrace-wrapped arms and kept his gauntleted hands at his sides, "What you've done has put yourself in serious jeopardy, considering that agents of the enemy could have very well get the drop on you had you left our protection to go to Vacuo on your own."

"Oh please, Wind Runner. I was travelling across Remnant on my own long before I met you and the knights, and I've been careful in concealing my identity the whole time it was just me and one or two agents the Guardians trusted keeping their distance while they watched over me," Amethyst waved a hand dismissively as she turned and eyed the Knight Vanguard.

"I have no doubt of that." The Remnant Knight argued, "But look at what happened to the Fall Maiden, who was somehow identified and tracked down, before being attacked by Cinder Fall and her associates. That is what we have been trying to prevent happening to you, given the changing nature of the enemy we face."

"Then you know that it's even more important that I get to Vacuo and see Heliosia!" Amethyst blurted out as she turned sharply to face him, "I told you about the dreams I have, and it's getting more and more terrible with each night! What else do you want me to do other than stay here in Mistral?"

"Amethyst, listen to me." Wind Runner lowered his voice with a tiny hint of pleading in his tone, "I already informed my superiors on what you have told me, and immediate actions are being undertaken as we speak to bolster the defenses of the western Kingdom and protect the Summer Maiden. You have my assurance that your fellow Maiden won't come to any harm."

There was a brief pause before Amethyst spoke again, "I know, but as you said the nature of the enemy is changing, and that means they are out there somewhere, planning or even putting their plans into motion even now. If my dreams are right then something's going to happen to Vacuo. Something big, something bad. And I would rather be by Heliosia's side than here at the other side of Remnant when things get bad."

Wind Runner brought one gauntlet to touch the front of his helmet and sighed, "Please tell me you did not just use my words against me."

Seeing that she was slowly getting through to him, the Spring Maiden pressed on, "Look, there's no harm even if I go to the Vacuo and meet up with her with you knights in tow, since you're still performing your duty by protecting me wherever I go. Besides, if the Relentless Crusaders protecting Heliosia have taken as much precautions as you have with me, then I'm pretty sure I can pass through Vacuo relatively undetected when I get to Shade Academy and meet her in person."

"We've spoken of the heightened risk of having two Maidens in one single location." Wind Runner's blue helmet lenses flashed dangerously in the morning sunlight, "If the enemy so much discovers anything that both of you are there…"

"Yes, I know they would probably launch their attack to get both our Maiden powers." Amethyst gestured with her gloved hands to get her points across, "How about this? No matter what happens in my dreams, you help me get to Shade Academy in the Kingdom of Vacuo. Should what happened in my dreams somehow come true, you and your knights would be able to perform your duty by protecting not one, but two Maidens. And should the events in my dreams somehow not come true, at least I can meet Heliosia and warn her properly before we go our separate ways again, and that would at least make me more… cooperative in future."

She paused and looked directly at him, "After all, my little gambit last night wasn't supposed to work; it was supposed to make it clear how desperate I was to save a friend, a sister. So by allowing this, I won't act up anymore. So what do you have to lose?"

The Knight Vanguard was silent for several moments, before walking over to the stone table tapping it with a finger while considering what Amethyst had just said. The sound of his finger firmly tapping against the surface of the table and echoing around the room was like the constant pounding of a drum. Amethyst knew that whatever happened next would decide his actions which would either help her or hinder her further.

It was a while before Wind Runner turned to face her once more, "I noticed that you didn't ask forgiveness for your recent actions. Did you even consider the possibility that you may be wrong?"

She returned his stare, "During my studies at Beacon, I learned that it's better to take action than do nothing. From what I saw in my dreams, I know for some reason that it could happen no matter how many precautions are taken. The enemy is definitely on the move again, and I'll be damned if I don't do something to help Heliosia and prevent anything like what happened to Amber."

Wind Runner nodded, and Amethyst noticed a distinct change in his body language as though the Knight Vanguard had passed some sort of judgement, "Amethyst, you did what you felt was right, and caused quite some trouble in the process, but I can see that in your eyes when you said that you truly believe there is a risk of what you saw in your dreams becoming reality, and to someone you care deeply about. I've been there myself, when performing my duty as a knight, and because of my inability to make the right decision at the most crucial moment someone I called, respected and loved as a brother paid the price. A moment of hesitation, no matter how small, could mean the difference between life and death, and I swore never to make the same mistake again. That was why throughout my service to the Order I often act desperately to save anyone I can, no matter what it costs me."

For a moment the Spring Maiden didn't know what to say, as it was the most that she had ever heard Wind Runner speak since she met him. She prayed that he would help her, because she had already put her point across and she would not back down now, not when she had already poured her thoughts out to him.

"So are you going to help me or not?" She asked, more to reassure herself than anything.

In response the Knight Vanguard picked up Gembreaker and tossed it to her, the girl caught it in one swift motion. He then turned and walked to the closed door of the room, opening it, "I've heard all I needed to, and I have made my choice. Come with me."

Amethyst hesitated for a second, before slipping Gembreaker into its holster and striding towards the open door, noticing Stone Claw and Moon Hunter standing outside, with the shadows of other Eternal Warriors populating the corridors beyond. When the other two Remnant Knights tensed, Wind Runner made a calming gesture with his hands and they immediately relaxed, Stone Claw's hand slipping away from his weapon.

"Where are we going?" She asked Wind Runner as they walked away from her borrowed chambers into the monastery.

"To convince those who have not heard about the truth." The Knight Vanguard answered, before tapping the side of his helmet and spoke into a, presumably, private communication channel, "Storm Bringer, I require your assistance."

Moments later, they were standing in the communications room of the monastery and facing the holograms of Headmaster Ozpin, Headmistress Luna, General Ironwood, and Grand Knight Master Seraph. Wind Runner stood with Amethyst at a respectful distance from the quartet of holograms, while Stone Claw and Moon Hunter both stood on both sides of the room's entrance. Amethyst noticed a new addition however, a knight wearing navy blue robes with silver-grey lines over his personal Aegis armor and holding a long grey rod within his right hand which had a Wyvern-shaped head with a yellow Dust crystal protruding out of its mouth. He had his hood up and his face was concealed by a silver helmet decorated with ancient script on the surface of its plates, so she didn't know what he looked like but she could sense that there was some kind of concealed power radiating from him, not as powerful as hers but something to consider.

She was also pretty sure that the prognosticator was quietly observing her, but she kept her purple eyes forward as she focused her attention on the shimmering holograms who she needed to convince in order to make sure the horrors in her nightmares wouldn't come to pass.

"We have heard of the… misunderstanding with regards to the Spring Maiden." The heavily armored form of Seraph clad in his elaborate Aegis suit said in a deep rumbling voice, "Despite the developing situation in Vacuo, Knight Vanguard Wind Runner has requested this emergency meeting to be made as soon as possible, and so we have all answered, except for Headmaster Argo who is currently indisposed with his teachings."

"And I will inform him later on the details of this meeting." Ozpin mentioned with a tiny incline of his head.

"Let's just get this over with." Ironwood crossed his arms as his face turned severe, "I have to attend another session in the Atlas Council later, and there are other important matters requiring my attention."

"Very well, to the matter at hand then." Seraph continued as he turned his winged helmet to look at Amethyst directly, "Recently, my Knight Vanguard attached to the Spring Maiden has mentioned that she had been experiencing alarming visions of a horrible attack and the nightmare from last night was more specific. She apparently saw the Kingdom of Vacuo and Shade Academy coming under attack by our enemy, aiming to steal the Summer Maiden's powers."

"And it's become more and more frequent as the days go by." Wind Runner spoke carefully, gesturing to Amethyst, "She cannot even get one night of sleep without being tormented by those dreadful visions of death and destruction."

Despite her relatively neutral body language, Headmistress Luna's facial expression looked a little uncomfortable at what she was hearing at the moment.

"Is this true?" Seraph looked at Amethyst who nodded, "And is that why you fought with your protectors despite their repeated assurances that proper action would be taken?"

"Grand Knight Master, I take full responsibility for what happened…" Wind Runner began but was cut off by a chopping motion from his superior.

"Let the Maiden speak for herself." Seraph stated firmly.

Amethyst looked at the leader of the Remnant Knights and replied, "Yes, I've been having those dreams for a while now and they've been getting worse. And yeah, I caused some... damage, I was actually counting on my escape plan failing, in part due to the ton of precautions your Knights have undertaken, making it incredibly hard for me to pull off an escape without resorting to harming them, but most importantly it was nothing but a gambit to let you all know that I am a desperate woman and I'm dead serious about saving the only friends I have. I will never give up until I personally make sure Heliosia is safe."

As usual, the Grand Knight Master's face was as unreadable behind his helmet, but varying expressions were seen on the other faces belonging to the three Guardians of Remnant. From their positions behind Wind Runner and the Spring Maiden, Moon Hunter turned to Stone Claw beside him and whispered, "Well, you have to at least respect her conviction."

The knight with extendable talon-gauntlets grunted, "Tell that to her victim lying in the monastery infirmary with frozen limbs and dented pride."

"Amethyst, the Vacuo Council has taken a very firm stance about preventing something like the fall of Vale from happening to this Kingdom." Luna said in a cordial voice, "Besides fully mobilizing the Vacuo Rangers and the Desert Guard, I've also managed to convince the rest of the council to implement several additional security measures to keep both Shade Academy and the city as safe and secure as possible."

"And I'm telling you, whatever you've done, it's not enough." Amethyst retorted, "Not if you're going to face what I saw in my dreams."

"And from what we've been informed, you witnessed the aftermath of a devastating Grimm attack Vacuo's capital, with Salem herself among her agents?" Ozpin said as he gripped his fingers around the knuckle-guard of his cane.

"I saw a lot of death and destruction, and an agent of Salem successfully stealing the powers of the Summer Maiden. It was vague and unclear at first, but I've seen those dreams enough to know what I saw." She involuntary shuddered a bit, flashes of those horrible dreams appearing in her mind and disappearing just as quickly.

"I don't mean to refute your dreams," Ironwood mentioned quietly, "but could those nightmares possibly be born of something like say, your deep-seated anxiety and emotional fear?"

The glare Amethyst shot the Atlesian General was scathing in its naked ferocity, so much that Ironwood could not help but look at Ozpin and raise a questioning eyebrow. The leader of the Guardians of Remnant Order simply gave an equivocal shrug of his shoulders in return, while Seraph seemed to be in deep consideration enough not to notice.

Eventually the armored warrior's hologram turned to Storm Bringer and said, "Perhaps we require a... unique perspective in this regard, someone who can confirm the visions the Spring Maiden suffers from. Storm Bringer, please come forward."

"I am here. What is your command, Grand Knight Master?" The prognosticator said as he stepped smoothly forward and bowed his hooded and helmed head.

"Can you take a look at the dreams Amethyst has been experiencing? If the danger is as serious as she insists, then we may need to reconsider our current course of action." Seraph rested one of his gauntlets on the pommel of the sheathed Excalibrus.

"As you command, Grand Knight Master." Storm Bringer replied before taking a few steps towards Amethyst, gesturing for Wind Runner to step back and then extending his free gauntlet towards her, saying, "Take my hand, then close your eyes and concentrate on what you saw in your most recent nightmare."

"Sure, I can do that," She said, offering out her hand before warning him with "But make sure you don't look anywhere else, or I will literally kick you out of my mind."

Moon Hunter let out a grim chuckle from Moon Hunter who was quickly silenced when Wind Runner looked sternly in his direction. The prognosticator nodded his head, "Duly noted. You have my oath that I will only see what you would show me and nothing else."

So the Spring Maiden and prognosticator joined their hands together and the blue lenses of Storm Bringer's helmet flared brightly almost instantaneously, his grip noticeably tightening on his wyvern-head staff. Soft litanies and incarnations could be heard echoing throughout the communications room as Storm Bringer presumably slipped into the Maiden's mind to be personally shown what she had experienced in her nightmares. The observers present simply remained silent, while wondering about the outcome of the prognosticator's mind-reading.

None of them saw what happened next coming.

Wind Runner had never, in his long life of service to the Knight Order, heard a prognosticator scream before, much less an experienced one like Storm Bringer. They were said to be a peculiar group within the already clandestine Order, gifted with abilities that seem to be stuff of legends and capable of performing impressive feats that would seem all but impossible to normal knights, not to mention they could all shoulder any amount of pressure or burden given to them. But what escaped the detachment's prognosticator's helmet was something out of the darkest nightmare, an ear splitting howl of pure agony that echoed through the entire chamber and caused many of those present to wince or recoil.

The prognosticator, who had served with Wind Runner for several missions and had faced down countless terrifying Grimm types that would have even the bravest of Huntsmen and Huntresses think twice about fighting, dropped his force staff which clattered to the cold stone floor and released Amethyst's hand, his gauntlets flying to his head and dropping to his knees with a loud crash of armor. His shoulders twitched violently and blood could be seen dripping out of the lower edge of his faceplate, crimson droplets splattering on the clean floor as Wind Runner dashed forward to help his comrade who was writhing in pain.

Amethyst opened her horrified looking eyes and was about to move forward only to be hauled back by Stone Claw and Moon Hunter who wrapped their gauntlets around her arms, and Seraph's voice boomed loudly, "Amethyst! What did you do to Storm Bringer?"

"I-I didn't do anything! I only showed him I've been seeing in my dreams!" She blurted out before roughly squirming out of Stone Claw and Moon Hunter's tight grips, just as the prognosticator held up a shaky hand for their attention, his convulsions finally passing as Wind Runner knelt down beside him and looking carefully at the shimmering azure lenses of Storm Bringer's helmet.

"Storm Bringer, are you all right?" Wind Runner asked urgently as the prognosticator took several calming breaths and disengaged his helmet's lower faceplate to wipe away the remaining blood leaking from his nose.

"Yes, I witnessed what the Spring Maiden saw in her dreams, specifically what happened to Vacuo's capital. I saw it being attacked by countless hordes of Grimm, and despite facing fierce resistance from the Kingdom's forces and the Relentless Crusaders they still manage to mortally wound the Summer Maiden and steal her powers." Storm Bring said as he slowly pushed himself to his feet once more and looked at Seraph carefully while taking his staff from Wind Runner, "Nothing remains after their combined attack, only corpses, ashes, and ruins. A Kingdom and a Maiden laid low, its population butchered, and the fallout could possibly lead to something similar befalling the other Kingdoms."

"Are you sure?" Seraph asked in a serious tone, while Ozpin, Ironwood, and Luna all wore various expressions of unease on their faces.

"On my honor as a prognosticator of the Order, I swear that what I saw in the Spring Maiden's mind is true, or as true as a dark vision can be." The Eternal Warrior prognosticator mentioned a little shakily, his grip on his staff rather tight, "She genuinely believes that those visions could very well happen, and after seeing it for myself I'm forced to agree."

After hearing this, Ozpin and Luna slowly nodded thoughtfully, but Ironwood remained impassive, "While I'm not particularly inclined to place my trust in dreams and visions, I still require solid proof that our enemies are planning to attack the Kingdom of Vacuo."

"James, I believe that both Qrow and Winter had already gathered quite a bit of information on that front." Ozpin turned his head to look at his fellow Guardian from Atlas, "Damien Ante and his Enforcers have been sighted in Vacuo, large shipments of Dust has been stolen from warehouses and cargo airships across Anima, and the Red Fang cells present in Vacuo suddenly becoming suspiciously quiet for some unknown reason, it's abundantly clear that the enemy is already planning to put something into action."

"Nevertheless, placing two Maidens in one Kingdom is going make them both vulnerable targets." Ironwood pointed out, "Especially when Vacuo has shown to have deep-rooted mistrust of Atlas."

"I'm afraid that can't be helped, General." Luna's hologram spoke up, "During the Vytal Festival in Vale the images broadcasted before the communications blackout did show Atlesian knights gunning down innocent citizens, and we all know from history that the people of Vacuo already dislike Atlas due to the events of the Second Great War. It doesn't take much to cast the northern Kingdom in a negative image, even after your names were cleared. I cannot help my people's stubbornness."

"Despite everything Atlas is still trying to earn back its trust from the other Kingdoms slowly." Ironwood answered, "So that means even if I can send Atlesian troops to bolster the defenses of the Kingdom of Vacuo, the amount of political and bureaucratic red tape to cut through will still be quite sizable."

"I am afraid that is unfortunately true, even with my help." Luna agreed morosely.

"And if we're faced with the possibility that Salem and her agents could be launching an attack soon, waiting could prove disastrous." Ironwood noted.

In that moment, Wind Runner saw an opportunity and took it, "Guardians, if I may speak… I have something I've noticed from this discussion that I wish to share with you." He shared a look with the Grand Knight Master who nodded his helmet in return, and ignored the quizzical look from Amethyst.

"Very well, let's hear it." Ozpin gestured with a nod.

"While bringing the Spring Maiden to Vacuo is a dangerous choice, it isn't without its benefits either." The Knight Vanguard explained, "On one hand, we can alleviate Amethyst's fear that Heliosia might be attacked to assure her that her fellow Maiden is safe, and that would help to ensure her cooperation in future. On the other hand, should the enemy mount an attack on Vacuo, then they would have to fight two Maidens and two detachments of Knights when they possibly would only be expecting one, and Amethyst's presence might give us an added advantage against them if used properly and at the right moment."

"Finally!" Amethyst threw up her arms in exasperation, "At least someone here has some common sense!"

"That's a good point, despite the evidently increased risk." Ironwood grudgingly noted.

"And if that happens, we'd definitely get some payback for what they did to Amber." Amethyst growled.

"Then it is decided." Seraph turned his head back to face Wind Runner, "We shall allow the Spring Maiden to go to Vacuo and meet the Summer Maiden, but only for a short period of time. If there is no sign of Salem's agents, then Amethyst will leave Vacuo to return to Mistral, but she would still be constantly protected by her assigned knights."

The other holograms of Ozpin, Luna and Ironwood gave their agreement one by one, with the Atlesian General giving Amethyst a hard, long look before giving his own nod.

"One more thing," Ozpin looked at Ironwood directly in the eyes, "I feel that we shouldn't take any chances, and provide all the security we can. Since Team Beacon knows not only of the Maidens, but of our enemy, would it not be wise to have them go to Vacuo as extra protection? And seeing as the Mobile Airborne Command Ship Hyperion One has completed its construction, wouldn't it be an excellent opportunity to give its pilots a test drive by sending Team Beacon to the Kingdom of Vacuo on its very first journey?"

Ironwood considered it and said "I suppose that's acceptable, from what reports I have received your pilot Ross is adapting well to the advanced controls of the Hyperion One and the company of his co-pilot." The Atlesian Guardian agreed, "Since N1CK3L has requested to meet his 'sister' Penny, I think it would save us some considerable time by having him on-board as well."

"You have my thanks, James." Ozpin managed a small grateful smile, "Send Ross over to the base right away."

"Of course." Ironwood finished.

"There you have it, Amethyst." Seraph focused sights on the Spring Maiden again, "We have given you our agreement, and I will give orders to send a stealth prowler airship to your current location shortly and to depart tonight. We wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you all so much." The Spring Maiden felt herself finally smiling after such a rough night. She bowed thankfully to them, "I won't forget your kindness, understanding and empathy in listening to me and Wind Runner, and I also promise you that I won't do anything to endanger myself."

"That is all we ask of you, Amethyst," Seraph replied, "Be on your guard at all times, and if you see anything awry, be sure to inform Wind Runner or Storm Bringer immediately."

"I'll be sure to do that." Amethyst said, bowing politely.

"And Amethyst, try not to put anymore Knights in the infirmary." Seraph added, a wry tone to his voice.

"Uh, I'll try not to." She joked lightly in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was co-written by Golden Crusader
> 
> I hope to God Amethyst leaving makes sense, as I felt it was needed in order for the story to progress, but I was concerned about her coming off as stupid so Relentless Crusader, Leaf Ranger, and I worked out a way that we think works.
> 
> If you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.


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